asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland whether any proceedings followed the reported death of Donald Donner while working on the breaking up of HMS Ark Royal at Cairnryan; and what action was followed.

Mr. Donner died on 1 August 1980. A report was submitted to the procurator fiscal at Stranraer, who inquired into the cause and circumstances of the death and directed that an autopsy be carried out. Following receipt of the pathologist's report, which indicated that Mr. Donner died of severe viral pneumonia, a report was submitted to Crown counsel, who instructed that no further action be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is likely to be announced about the future of the Crown Agents.

An announcement about the future of the Crown Agents will be made as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider hiving off to private industry the technical, training, procurement and consultancy services of the Crown Agents.

The Government are considering the future of all of the services performed by the Crown Agents.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it the policy of Her Majesty's Government to ensure that no preferment will be given to the Crown Agents over the provision of information on prospective loan projects funded by bilateral United Kingdom aid.

Crown Agents provide specific services related to the administration of all United Kingdom bilateral capital aid spending on United Kingdom goods and services. In order to carry out these tasks as agents of both Her Majesty's Government and the overseas Government receiving United Kingdom aid, they need to receive particular information concerning prospective aid financed projects.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the gross profit requirements imposed on the Crown Agents when bidding for contractual work on projects derived from international loan agencies.

As provided for by the Crown Agents Act 1979, the Government set a rate of return for the Crown Agents overall operations, not for particular types of business.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will undertake to supply a regular listing of prospective loan projects funded by bilateral United Kingdom aid to private companies and trade associations to enable them to compete for the business.

Information on projects and programmes which are to be financed with United Kingdom aid is made available to the Department of Trade and Industry and it publicises contracts likely to be of interest to British firms through the export intelligence service. Ways of improving this system are under review.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts what discussions the Minister for the Arts has had with representatives of the Greek Government during the past three months on the question of the Elgin marbles.

A formal request for the return of the Elgin marbles was made by the Greek ambassador on 12 October. It will, of course, receive careful consideration. As my noble Friend said in Parliament recently, the Government are aware of no general wish to change the existing powers of the British museum's trustees, and do not propose to seek authority to do so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts whether the Minister for the Arts will arrange to meet Melina Mercouri, the Greek Minister for the Arts, to discuss the location of the Parthenon marbles.

My noble Friend has no plans to meet Miss Mercouri to discuss the Parthenon Marbles.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if Her Majesty's Government have received a formal request from the Greek Government for the return of the Parthenon marbles; and what has been the response.

Her Majesty's Government have received a formal request from the Greek Government to take the necessary steps for the return of the Elgin Marbles. A formal reply will be given in due course.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts what is the level of grant to the London Festival Ballet for the 1983 Christmas production of "The Nutcracker"; how this compares with each of the last 10 years in real terms; and if he will make a statement.

The London Festival Ballet receives a grant for all its activities in the United Kingdom and not for individual productions. For the 1983–84 financial year the combined Arts Council and GLC grants total £1·84 million. A list of grants over the last ten years will be published in the Official Report.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if, when the Minister for the Arts next meets the chairman of the Arts Council, he will raise the matter of the level of the council's support for experimental art.

My noble Friend has no particular reason to raise the matter at the moment.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts what subjects were discussed when the Minister for the Arts last met the chairman of the Arts Council.

My noble Friend and the chairman of the Arts Council discussed matters of mutual current concern when they last met.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if the proposals for the arts following the abolition of the Greater London council and the metropolitan counties as set out in the document which accompanied the White Paper reflected the advice he received from the Arts Council.

The Government's initial announcement of the intention to abolish the GLC and metropolitan county councils did not deal with the detailed implications for the arts. Proposals for these were first published in the consultation paper last month. The Arts Council's formal response is awaited.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts how many meetings the Minister for the Arts has had since June 1983 with (a) the chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain, (b) the secretary general of the Arts Council of Great Britain and (c) members of the council of the Arts Council of Great Britain; what subjects were discussed at these meetings; and when he expects next to meet any of these.

My noble Friend has met both the chairman and the secretary general on six occasions, and members on one occasion since June 1983. On all these occasions matters of current concern were discussed. He expects to have regular meetings with the chairman.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if he will take steps to present an annual White Paper on arts expenditure to Parliament.

A recommendation to this effect was included in the Select Committee report on public and private funding of the arts. The Government's considered response will be published shortly.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if the Minister for the Arts will introduce mechanisms to ensure that, in view of the pressure on local authority expenditure, any additional sums provided for the arts will actually be spent on the arts.

No.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if the Minister for the Arts will publish a diary of regional visits that he intends to undertake in the next six months.

My noble Friend the Minister for the Arts undertakes frequent regional visits. His diary for six months from November 1983 is not yet finalised but will include visits to the south west, the north west, Scotland and East Anglia before Christmas.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts how many meetings the Minister for the Arts has had with representatives of the Library Association since June 1983; what subjects were discussed; and when he next intends to meet them.

My noble Friend the Minister for the Arts met representatives of the Library Association on 1 November and discussed a number of issues including the development of information services, library expenditure, and the meeting of the International Federation of Library Associations to be held in England in 1987. My noble Friend intends to continue the practice of holding regular meetings with the Association to discuss matters of common concern.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts how many meetings he has had since June 1983 with (a) the chairmen of regional arts associations, (b) the directors of regional arts associations and (c) representatives of the council of regional arts associations; what subjects were discussed at these meetings; and when he expects next to meet any of these.

My noble Friend has had four meetings with chairmen and directors of particular regional arts associations, and one meeting with representatives of the Council of Regional Arts Associations. A range of subjects, including future arts provision, was discussed. My noble Friend expects to continue meetings as necessary.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts whether Her Majesty's Government intend that the Arts Council should take on sole responsibility for funding a number of arts organisations, as a result of the proposals for local government reorganisation; and what impact he expects this to have on the established Arts Council policy of encouraging local authorities to join it in funding the arts.

The measures proposed by the Government in the recently-published consultation paper include an increase in central support, through the Arts Council, for a small number of arts organisations in the areas concerned. The paper makes clear that the Government also expects an appropriate level of support from district and borough councils for arts activities in their areas. The proposals are therefore consistent with the Arts Council's policy of encouraging local authorities to join it in funding the arts.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if the Minister for the Arts has had any discussions with the Arts Council regarding those arts bodies that will go out of existence should the Greater London council and the metropolitan counties be abolished.

We await a formal response from the Arts Council to the proposals set out in the arts consultative paper.

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if he will list all those arts bodies, including museums, currently funded by the metropolitan counties; and if he is satisfied that none will be at risk should those authorities be abolished.

From the information available, it is understood that arts bodies receiving grants exceeding £20,000 each from the six metropolitan county councils in 1983–84 are as follows:

asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts if he will list all those arts bodies, including museums, currently funded by the Greater London council; and if he is satisfied that none will be at risk should the Greater London council be abolished.

Details are not normally held centrally but, from information made available for 1982–83, the following arts bodies were in receipt of grants exceeding £50,000 each from the Greater London council:

• Almeida Theatre, Islington
• Battersea Arts Centre
• The Combination
• English National Opera
• Free Form Arts Trust
• Geffrye Museum
• Greater London Arts Association
• Half Moon Theatre
• Horniman Museum
• Jacksons Lane Community Centre
• Kenwood Museum
• London Festival Ballet
• London Orchestral Concerts Board
• Mander and Mitchenson Theatre Collection
• Marble Hill House
• Museum of London
• National Theatre
• Ranger's House
• Riverside Studios
• Royal Opera House
• Sadlers Wells
• St. George's Theatre
• South Bank Complex
• Tara Arts Group
• Theatre Royal, Stratford East
• Torn Allen Centre
• Tricycle Theatre

In addition, about 240 other arts and cultural organisations in 1982–83 received smaller grants from the Greater London council.There can be no guarantee that all these activities will remain unaffected by abolition. To flourish they must convince their local communities — both public and private sectors—that they are worthy of support. No arts activity should assume perpetual public funding, regardless of merits or circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements exist for liaison between the Metropolitan police and the Atomic Energy Authority in respect of operations conducted by the Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary within the Metropolitan police area.

The Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary maintains close liaison with police forces throughout Great Britain, including the Metropolitan police, particularly on the timing and route of convoys containing special nuclear materials. Procedures for the escort of such materials have been agreed. Local police forces form part of the escorts, for the purpose of liaison and traffic control.

asked the Secretary of State for Home Department (1) how many police officers are engaged in foot patrols in the London borough of Newham at 12 midnight Sunday/Monday nights;(2) how many police officers are on foot patrol at any given moment in the London borough of Newham; and what percentage this is of the total number.

Responsibility for the day-to-day deployment of police officers rests with the chief officer of the force. I understand from the commissioner that the number of officers regularly deployed on foot patrol duties in any area varies according to the policing needs and the availablity of manpower at the time. It is not the practice to disclose details of the level of manpower likely to be deployed in a particular place at a particular time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take following the recent reports by the Chief Inspector of Prisons to improve hygiene conditions in prisons and to reduce the safety hazards to prisoners because of fire risks.

The measures which we are taking to reduce overcrowding and upgrade accommodation will make a substantial contribution to higher standards of hygiene. Fire risks for prisoners will be considerably reduced by the introduction of an entirely new type of flame retardant mattress, which has been developed for prison use as a result of intense research sponsored by the Prison Department in conjunction with the Property Services Agency supplies. This mattress is to be supplied to all closed cellular establishments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the photographing of suspects by the Metropolitan police;(2) under what authority the Metropolitan police take photographs of persons arrested for public order offences; and whether this authority extends to photographing persons arrested for other offences;(3) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on occasions, other than the arrest of persons for public order offences, when photographs would normally or sometimes be taken of arrested persons;(4) if he will call for reports from all chief constables on whether it is the normal practice in their police areas to take photographs of persons arrested for public order and other offences;

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that it is a normal practice in his force for photographs to be taken of people arrested for public order offences where there is a number of arrests arising from the same incident. The photographs are taken with the arresting officers also in the shot to avoid disputes about identity.So far as other offences are concerned, photographs are also taken where an arrested person is charged with an offence for which convictions are recorded in national police records in accordance with Home Office circular No. 6/1983, a copy of which is in the Library.All copies of photographs are destroyed if the person concerned is cleared of the offence or if it is decided that he should not be prosecuted for it or cautioned in respect of it.Practice in provincial forces, in regard both to the photographing of arrested persons, and the destination of photographs, is similar to that in the metropolis.There is no specific authority for the taking of photographs by the police, because the law places no restriction (provided that force is not used) on anyone photographing anyone else.Section 7 of the draft code of practice for the identification of persons by the police, which the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill requires the Home Secretary to issue, establishes detailed procedures governing the photographing of arrested persons, and the circumstances in which this may be done without consent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons (a) involved in road traffic accidents and (b) otherwise stopped by the police have been prosecuted in each of the last three years for which figures are available for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs; and, of these, how many cases involved drugs of the Benzodiazpine family.

The information requested is not available. The statistics collected centrally do not distinguish offences of driving a motor vehicle after taking drugs from those of driving after consuming alcohol. The latest available figures for prosecutions for driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol or taking drugs are given in Table 1 of "Supplementary tables: Offences relating to motor vehicles England and Wales", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be announcing the 12 chosen cable franchise areas.

We hope to do so before the end of November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish the Bill to license and regulate cable television in the United Kingdom.

Early in December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from the chief constable of Merseyside and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the number of people who have been prosecuted since 1980 for criminal harassment of tenants in privately rented accommodation.

Records available to us show that, in 1980–82, 24 defendants were proceeded against under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 1(3) (unlawful harassment of occupier) in magistrates courts in the Metropolitan police district, and one in the Merseyside police force area. These records do not however distinguish offences relating solely to privately-rented accommodation and may be incomplete because prosecutions are likely to be brought other than by the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside, on Monday 14 November, Official Report, c. 278, when he expects the review by the Criminal Law Revision Committee and the policy advisory committee on sexual offences to be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the outcome of the review by the Criminal Law Revision Committee and the policy advisory committee on sexual offences.

The Criminal Law Revision Committee is carrying out its review of the law on sexual offences in two stages. I understand that the committee expects to produce its final report on the first stage—the law on sexual offences other than those relating to prostitution —early next year. It is not yet possible to say precisely when the final report on the other stage — the law relating to prostitution—will be available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now give the gross cost involved in the deployment of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament march and other marches about nuclear defence policy held in London on 22 October: what was the additional cost made up by overtime; and what contribution the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament made towards the cost in that capacity.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the gross cost of deploying officers to police the events is estimated at £531,486, including an additional overtime cost calculated at £51,066. The organisers of the march made no contribution towards the costs in that capacity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Dorset police authority regarding the level of the police establishment in the county; what response he has given; and if he will make a statement.

The Dorset police authority applied in March 1983 for an increase of 11 police posts in the authorised establishment of the force for the financial year 1983–84. The application was not approved because Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary considered there was scope for greater use of civilians in the force. This would release more police officers for operational duties at less cost. A total of 19 additional police posts had been approved for the force for the previous two financial years, bringing the authorised establishment to its present level of 1,183. We hope that the police authority will continue its progress in civilianisation of posts now held by police officers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any decision has yet been reached about disciplinary proceedings against any of the police officers connected with the Stephen Waldorf shooting; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the investigation into this incident is almost complete. When the investigating officer's report is received, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police will consider in the light of its recommendations whether disciplinary proceedings should be brought against any officer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Merseyside as to (a) how many police officers are employed on Merseyside to deal specifically with drug abuse, (b) how many officers are employed to deal with the increase in heroin sales and abuse, (c) how many arrests of drug dealers have taken place in each of the years 1979 to 1983 and (d) what was the conviction rate of arrested drug dealers in the years 1979 to 1983; what were the average levels of punishment in those years; and if he will make a statement.

The chief constable of Merseyside has provided us with the following information:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to the figures on police stop and search operations in Peckham and Kensington quoted by the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) on 17 November during the Standing Committee of the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill, how many stops and searches took place, how many charges followed and how many convictions there were.

Such information as is readily available is summarised in tables 2 and 5 of Home Office research and planning unit paper I5, a copy of which is in the Library. In a two-month period in 1981, 2,238 and 1,074 persons were recorded as having been stopped by officers based at Kensington and Peckham police stations respectively. It is not known on how many of those occasions a search took place. Of those stopped in Kensington 206—9 per cent.—were subsequently prosecuted; in Peckham 82–8 per cent. It is not known how many of those prosecuted were convicted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the organisations and individuals who were supplied with embargoed copies of the Policy Studies Institute report into the Metropolitan police; and what were the dates on which they were sent.

I understand that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis did not supply embargoed copies of the finished report to anyone. It is not for me to answer for the Policy Studies Institute.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many indictable crimes were reported in the county of Humberside for the years 1974 and 1982, respectively.

The available information for police forces areas is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (table 2·5 of the volume for 1982, Cmnd. 9048). It should be noted that the local authority reorganisation in 1974 affected the county boundaries of Humberside.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of additional policing required at the Palace of Westminster during the week commencing 13 November in order to maintain public order in the face of demonstrators against the deployment of cruise missiles.

I have asked the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for this information and will reply when it is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement about the prison building programme and the staffing of the prison service.

Following the announcements made on 17 November by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I am pleased to give details of four more new prison building projects, on which construction should begin between 1985 and 1987, and be completed between 1988 and 1989. Sites for these have been identified at Bicester, Lancaster, March, and Milton Keynes. Planning clearance has been or will be applied for in the usual way.These four new projects are in addition to the 10 new prisons already in construction or in various stages of planning or design. Work will also continue on renovation at existing establishments, including the provision of additional accommodation. The completion of the 14 new prisons now in the programme and the renovation work at existing establishments is estimated to lead to an additional 10,000 to 11,000 new places by 1991.Between 1984 and 1988, it is intended to provide an additional 5,550 prison staff. This should make it possible to staff new prison accommodation and courts; to allow for the effects of introducing a new attendance system; to deal with the small amount of additional work which will result from a reduction in the minimum qualifying period for parole; and to reduce the present excessive reliance on voluntary overtime.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will consider constructing roads with conduits designed to carry gas mains and electricity cables in order to reduce the need to open trenches when repairs are required.

The Department does provide conduits for public utilities when building new roads where it makes sense to do so. Such conduits are not, however, provided as a matter of course because the public utilities' future requirements are not always known when a road is being designed and it would be wasteful to make provision that might not be required. Moreover, public utilities' apparatus can often be confined to the verge where the need to open trenches is less likely to pose a problem for road users.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is satisfied with the speed of processing applications for provisional driving licences, especially with the delays caused in cases where the driver and vehicle licensing centre incorrectly processes applications; and if he will make a statement.

Yes, I am satisfied in general with the speed of processing applications for provisional driving licences. The driver and vehicle licensing centre is currently issuing the vast majority of licences within 10 working days of receipt of the application.Applications which take longer are those which involve medical inquiries or which contain incomplete or inaccurate particulars which require clarification with the applicant before a licence can be issued. Delays caused by errors on the part of the centre are regretted, but I have no evidence that these occur in more than a very small proportion of the total cases. If the hon. Gentleman has any specific cases in mind, I hope he will let me have details as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has completed his review of the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 and the associated model agreement and specifications; and if he will make a statement.

Arrangements for the review of the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 and the associated model agreement and specifications are well in hand. I hope to be in a position to announce the names of those conducting the review shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the current regulations affecting the conveyance of nuclear waste (a) by rail and (b) by road; and whether it is intended to revise them.

The relevant national safety requirements are as follows:

(i) Road:

• The Radioactive Substances (Carriage by Road) (Great Britain) Regulations 1974 (SI 1974/1735)
• The Radioactive Substances (Road Transport Workers) (Great Britain) Regulations 1970 (SI 1970/1827) and (Amendment) Regulations 1975 (SI 1975/1522)

(ii) Rail:

• British Railways Board List of Dangerous Goods (LDG) and Conditions of Acceptance by Freight and Passenger Train (1977 Edition as amended).

The provisions are based on the International Atomic Energy Agency Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials 1975 Revised Edition (As Amended) [IAEA Safety Series No. 6]. The agency is currently reviewing its regulations and consideration will be given to revising the national requirements when the conclusions of this review are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to standardise seat belts throughout the European Community countries.

The principal features of seat belts and their installation are already governed by Community directives, and I am not aware of any case for further standardisation. If my hon. Friend has a special aspect in mind, I shall be glad if he will write to me about it.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider the adoption of the practice of some European countries of requiring maximum speeds on motorways and other roads, respectively, to be specified on the rear of public service vehicles and omnibuses.

Operators and drivers, as well as enforcement authorities, are well aware of the speed limits which apply to these vehicles on motorways and other roads. Speed discs or labels may be useful in cases, such as in Germany, where a different speed limit applies depending on constructional or other features of the vehicle which are not visible. Our speed limits for buses vary according to the type of road travelled, but not with any other feature, so labels could not serve such a purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will adopt the practice in some other European countries of imposing lower speed limits for motorways and other roads, respectively, on omnibuses and heavy goods vehicles.

At present heavy goods vehicles are restricted to 60 mph on motorways, and mostly 40 mph on other roads. Buses and coaches are restricted to 70 mph on motorways and to 50 mph or less on other roads. Under proposals which I circulated for comment in the summer, new limits of 50 mph and 60 mph respectively could be introduced for these types of vehicles when travelling on non-motorway dual carriageways.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will erect overhead lighting on the M1 motorway throughout Leicestershire and the remaining stages of the M1 between Leicestershire and London.

I have no proposals to provide lighting in Leicestershire north of the M6 (junction 19). Lighting is currently installed on a short two-mile section of the M1 between junction 14 and the Newport Pagnell service area and will be extended to junction 16.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what figures he has available as to the number of notifiable accidents which have occurred on the M1 motorway in Leicestershire in the last 12 months.

In the 12 months up to 30 September 1983, 85 accidents involving personal injury have occurred on the M1 motorway in Leicestershire.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he makes of the role of lighting in the prevention of accidents on motorways; if he has any plans for providing full motorway lights throughout the motorway system; and whether he will make a statement.

Motorway lighting can be expected to reduce the night-time accident rate. Lighting proposals for existing motorways are assessed on a cost-benefit basis taking account of the expected accident savings. However, motorways are the safest type of road and it would neither be economic nor environmentaley acceptable to light motorways throughout their entire length. Therefore I have no plans to do so.A comprehensive statement on road lighting policy was given by my Deprtment to the House of Commons Transport Committee — (Road Safety Minutes of Evidence, Tuesday 22 March 1983 annex 7 page 25—a copy is in the Library of the House). This policy is broadly consistent with international practice.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he proposes to call for a topping up of the air travel reserve fund following payments in respect of Laker clients;(2) if he will introduce legislation to extend the ambit of the air travel reserve fund to include protection for those travelling on package tours by surface transport.

We are monitoring the position of the air travel reserve fund in the light of payments to be made following the collapse of the Laker group but there does not appear to be a need at present to top it up by reintroducing a levy on air travel organisers. Nor are there any plans to extend the coverage of the Fund to other kinds of holidaymaker.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what action he proposes to correct the defect in the design of the M5, as a result of which traffic driving southwards on the M5 is unable to turn left onto the A30 towards Ottery St. Mary and Honiton.

When this section of the M5 was built, the relevant scheme gave power for a slip road to be built allowing movement of southbound M5 traffic to join the A30. In the event this slip road was not constructed because the traffic useage was considered at that time insufficient to justify the cost of its construction. A draft Revocation Scheme was published in 1982 covering the unbuilt sections of this interchange.I am at present considering objections to this draft revocation scheme. However, before coming to a decision I shall take into account the recent inclusion into the roads programme of a scheme to improve the A30 from Honiton to Exeter and the effect this would have on turning traffic movements at this M5 interchange.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will include Heathrow and Gatwick airports as primary destinations for signposting purposes.

[pursuant to her reply, 18 November 1983, c. 583]: I am considering proposals from highway authorities for changes in the primary route network. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are already included in the primary route network.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on new road projects and on road maintenance for the latest six-month period for which figures are available.

[pursuant to her reply, 18 November 1983, c. 584]: For English motorways and trunk roads £254 million was spent on new construction and £105 million on maintenance in the first six months of 1983–84. Six-monthly figures are not available for local authority roads. The latest period for which local road figures are available is for the year 1982–83 when total estimated expenditure on English roads was £1,986 million, including £935 million on new construction and improvement. These figures cover motorways, trunk roads and local authority roads. I am not responsible for road expenditure in other parts of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the estimated cost to public funds for a 55-year-old redundant mineworker during the first year of unemployment and the cost per year thereafter.

Statutory redundancy payments and payments under the redundant mineworkers payments scheme (RMPS), made to a mineworker declared redundant at the age of 55 currently amount on average to a total of about £12,000 during the year redundancy occurs. He can also draw unemployment benefit during that year. Thereafter, up to the normal retiring age, he receives payments under the RMPS and from age 60, through his pension scheme, which together average at present about £3,500 a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the actual average amounts of money companies will have to find to finance their stocks if the Petroleum Stocks (Amendment) Order is implemented.

The position will vary from company to company depending on its supply arrangements, and no realistic average can be given. In deciding on the extent of obligations in accordance with the Order the Government will bear in mind the financial implications for individual companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the annual output of (a) opencast coal and (b) deep-mined coal for the years 1980–81, 1981–82 and 1982–83; and whether he has any information by division.

Details of the annual output of the National Coal Board by opencast region and deep-mine area are published in the board's annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will seek to abolish standing charges in order to help pensioners.

Gas and electricity tariffs including standing charges are a matter for the industries concerned. At the Government's suggestion, British Gas and most area electricity boards have agreed to limit standing charges to no more than 50 per cent. of a consumer's total bill. About half the beneficiaries of this measure are pensioners.Abolition of standing charges even for pensioner households alone would cost the two industries together some £300 million a year in lost revenue. This would have to be recovered from other consumers, many of whom would also be less well off consumers. This would not be a cost-effective means of directing help to those most in need. Instead the Government are spending well over £350 million this year in direct assistance to less well off consumers and some 2·25 million people are benefiting, of whom 1·5 million are pensioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what costs are incurred by the National Coal Board by the 58,437,000 tonnes of coal stockpiled at the end of September; and if he will make a statement

As the National Coal Board has said, the cost of funding coal stocks at pitheads, which currently exceed 24 million tonnes, is running at more than £100 million per annum in interest charges. The board also incurs costs through arrangements under which some coal is stocked on customers' premises on deferred payment or similar terms instead of at the pithead. Such costs contribute to the board's deficit on revenue account and are eligible for offset through the deficit grant made available to the board to reduce or eliminate its consolidated loss. The deficit grant for 1982–83 was £374 million.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government will designate all less favoured areas in the United Kingdom with assisted area status; and if whe she will make a statement.

It is too early to say what the coverage of a revised assisted area map might be. The White Paper which is to be published soon will invite views on a number of aspects of regional industrial policy including this one.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Departments of Energy and Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the supply of heavy water owned by the Central Electricity Generating Board to Argentina to develop that country's nuclear capacity.

The consignment of 143 tonnes of United States origin heavy water recently sold by West Germany to Argentina was not owned by the CEGB, although at one time it had an option to purchase part of it. It is not involved in the sale to Argentina. I am satisfied with the coordination between the Departments of Energy and Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the supply of nuclear materials or equipment to any destination.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 17 November, if she will set out the existing arrangements for satisfying United Kingdom obligations under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Existing arrangements in this field in the different parts of the United Kingdom are too extensive and complicated to summarise in the compass of this Answer. I am satisfied, however, that the existing arrangements meet our obligations under article 6 of the convention. If the hon. Member has a particular matter in mind, perhaps he could write.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Liverpool.

During my visit to the north west on 15 November I took the opportunity of seeing a number of development projects in Liverpool with which I was associated in my former capacity, including Stockbridge village, the international garden festival site, Albert dock and Minster Court. I was greatly heartened by the progress which has been achieved on everything I saw.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when negotiations for the release of Royal Arsenal land for the widening of Plumstead road-Beresford street, Woolwich, began; when they were completed; and what has been the reason for the delay in reaching agreement.

The negotiations for the release of the land for the road-widening scheme formed part of wider discussions with the London Borough of Greenwich over the sale of the whole of the Beresford Square site, which began formally when the site was offered for sale in April 1968.The borough was eventually obliged to withdraw in 1979 but negotiations continued with the GLC about its purchase of a part of the site for road widening. Legal completion is in hand and terms for early entry by the GLC have been agreed.The delay has mainly been caused by the need to take into account the existence of listed buildings and soil contamination, and to resolve questions about the precise route of the road and accommodation works (including maintaining security).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) service men and (b) civilians have been employed in the Defence Intelligence Staff in each year since 1975; and what are the projected staffing levels.

I am not willing to give details of the Department's Intelligence organisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are sufficient United Kingdom service personnel available at Greenham common to prevent a unilateral firing there of cruise by United States service personnel.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in her reply to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Colchester, North (Sir A. Buck) on 12 May 1983, the effect of the existing understandings between the United Kingdom and the United States governing the use by the United States of nuclear weapons and bases in this country, and of the arrangements for implementing those understandings, is that no nuclear weapon would be fired or launched from British territory without the agreement of the British Prime Minister. The contingency envisaged by my hon. Friend does not therefore arise.—[Vol. 42, c. 435.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the delivery of cruise missiles will be completed at each base.

I cannot add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Cartwright) on 9 November—[Vol. 48, c. 156.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been any change in the basis of accounting for the purpose either of the defence budget or the United Kingdom's forward North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commitment.

The method of calculating the real terms increase in defence expenditure in 1984–85 of about 3½ per cent. follows past practice but uses as the base line the current rather than the original provision for defence expenditure in 1983–84, i.e. after the reduction announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his statement on 7 July.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the recent damage by the Army to archaeological sites on Salisbury plain; what restoration work has been undertaken; and what steps are being taken to ensure such damage is not repeated.

There are a large number of archaeological sites on the Salisbury plain training area. Every effort is made to ensure that they are not damaged during training but many are unrecognisable to the untutored eye, and unfortunately damage does occur. Discussions are shortly to take place with the directorate of ancient monuments and historic buildings in the Department of the Environment on how the sites can be better protected in the future.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the percentage increase in real terms between the years 1978–79 and 1982–83 in the Defence budget.

About 14 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are any plans for American troops and cruise equipment to be located in royal ordnance factory, Chilwell.

There are no plans to station cruise missiles at Chilwell. As for the presence of United States forces, the Americans have made enquiries about the possibility of storing some equipment at Chilwell, mainly motor transport, but these are at a very early stage and even if implemented, would not involve more than a very small American presence, if any at all.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost of paying a Ministry of Defence war widow's pension to all war widows from the period before 1973 currently receiving pensions from the Department of Health and Social Security.

The cost at current rates is estimated at £180 million a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to seek advice from sources outside Government on the management of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

I have invited Mr. Peter Levene, the chairman of United Scientific Holdings, to act as my personal adviser, and he has agreed to do so for a period of six months beginning on 9 January 1984. During the tenure of his appointment, which will be unpaid, Mr. Levene will remain chairman of his company.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent to which contracts by his Department are on a fixed price or other incentive basis and the extent to which they are placed on a cost plus basis.

The information is set out in the following table:

Value of Contracts placed by the Ministry of Defence in 1982–83
	Value £ million	Percentage of Total
1. Placed at fixed prices established either in competition or by reference to market prices	2,504	36
2. Placed on a single source basis and priced by reference to estimates of costs either at the outset or as soon thereafter as practicable	3,049	45
3. Placed on a single source basis with incentives to cost containment (eg a maximum price or a target cost arrangement with cost under/ over-runs being shared)	145	3
4. To be priced on the basis of incurred costs plus a percentage for profit	1,132	16
	6,830	100

Note The characteristic of the types of contract at 1. to 3. above (84 per cent. of the total) is that the contractor is motivated to maximise his profitability by minimising costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce the level of transport supplementary grant for Wales for 1984–85.

My right hon. Friend proposes to make available a total of £31 million for transport supplementary grant in 1984–85.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest number of applications for housing renovation grants which have been approved by local authorities in Wales but not yet paid out; what is the approximate value in grant terms of these applications; and what proportion of them he expects (a) will be paid before 31 March 1984, and (b) will carry over for payment into the 1984–85 financial year.

We estimate that as at 30 September about 29,000 grants had been approved but not paid. Their value is between £85 million and £90 million, of which about £50 million is likely to be paid before 31 March 1984. The balance will carry into the next financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are unemployed in (i) Wales and (ii) Clwyd.

On 13 October 1983 there were 169,145 unemployed claimants in Wales and 23,888 in Clwyd.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many young people under the age of 25 years are unemployed in each of the travel-to-work areas of Dyfed; and how many of these have been unemployed for (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) over 12 months.

Latest information relates to 14 July 1983, when the figures were as follows:

Claimants Unemployed
	Aged under 25 years	Unemployed over 3 months	Unemployed over 6 months	Unemployed over 12 months
TTWA
Aberystwyth	537	246	182	62
Cardigan	215	125	87	43
Carmathen	417	251	157	53
Fishguard	98	55	42	20
Milford Haven	1,442	1,013	768	409
Lampeter	405	239	176	91
Llandeilo	153	91	65	37
Llanelli	2,300	1,599	1,212	589
Pembroke Dock	538	385	310	177
Tenby	174	99	76	32

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many beds there are in Wales for the treatment of leukaemia; where these beds are located; and if he is satisfied that present facilities, including the availability of marrow transplantation, are adequate.

There is no specific allocation of beds to leukaemia patients, who are treated in general wards of district general hospitals. I have put in hand a review of the need for bone marrow transplant facilities in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the amount of expenditure authorised by the Welsh Office for civil engineering projects in Wales, roads, schools, hospitals and so on during the first three quarters of 1983; and how this compares with the corresponding period in 1982.

Capital expenditure by my Department on trunk road improvements and on major hospital schemes, together with capital expenditure by the Welsh Development Agency, the Development Board for Rural Wales and the Welsh water authority amounted to £179·9 million in the first nine months of 1982 and 199·8 million for the same months in 1983.Of course local authorities and district health authorities also spend on such projects, but information on this expenditure is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make it his practice for international sporting teams playing in Wales to be given an official reception jointly by his Department and the Welsh Sports Council.

There may be occasions when it would be appropriate for the Department to extend hospitality to visiting national teams, but my right hon. Friend has no intention of making this a general practice. Hospitality for visiting teams at all levels must remain primarily a matter for the sports bodies who invite them.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total spending in Wales on the annual ewe premium and the variable slaughter premium on sheepmeat for the latest year for which figures are available.

In the 1982–83 marketing year, payments to producers in Wales amounted to £10.3 million on the annual ewe premium, and £25·3 million on the sheep variable premium.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the amount of reduction in the annual ewe premium paid in Wales if the premium were to be based on the difference between the reference price and the average market price, multiplied by a coefficient reflecting the average weight of lamb produced from each ewe in five regions making up the European Community sheepmeat régime as proposed by the European Community Commission.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 18 November 1983—[Vol. 48, c. 593]

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the average amount of reduction in the weekly variable slaughter premium for sheepmeat paid in Wales if European Commission proposals for a ceiling of 25 per cent. of the guide price were to be implemented, taking the latest year for which figures are available as a base.

Appeals Decided
		Determined by Inspectors				Determined by the Secretary of State
Local planning Authority	Number Received	Written Method		Inquiry Method		Witten Method		Inquiry Method		Number Withdrawn	Number remaining on hand
		No	Median Time (Weeks)	No	Median Time (Weeks)	No	Median Time (Weeks)	No	Median Time (Weeks)
Alyn and Deeside DC	12	3	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	9
Colwyn BC	16	6	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	9
Delyn BC	21	4	26	—	—	—	—	1	36	1	15
Glyndwr BC	13	4	25	1	25	—	—	—	—	—	8
Rhuddlan BC	12	6	24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6
Wrexham Maelor BC	20	7	23	1	28	—	—	—	—	—	12
Carmathen DC	16	8	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	6
Ceredigion DC	16	2	22	3	22	1	36	—	—	4	6
Dinefwr DC	6	1	24	1	35	—	—	—	—	—	4
Llanelli BC	22	9	21	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	12
Preseli DC	13	5	18	1	18	—	—	—	—	1	6
South Pembrokeshire DC	16	6	28	1	23	—	—	—	—	1	8
Blaenau Gwent BC	7	2	24	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	4
Islwyn BC	6	2	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4
Monmouth DC	34	11	17	1	21	—	—	—	—	1	21

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 18 November 1983—[Vol. 48, c. 593]

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the actual spending on health expenditure in Wales per head of the latest population figures available.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Howell) on 14 November 1983—[Vol. 48, c. 296.]

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many planning appeals there were in respect of planning refusals by each of the district councils of Wales during the past year; and what was the average waiting time for the completion of such appeals.

The information about planning appeals to my right hon. Friend under section 36 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 arising fr0m refusals of planning permissions by district councils in Wales and received during the period 1 November 1982 to 31 October 1983, is as follows.