asked the Attorney-General if he will list his official engagements and those of the Solicitor-General for Friday 18 November 1983; and which of these were cancelled, postponed or curtailed.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris).

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if, following the experience of the experimental small claims court in Dundee, he will introduce a permanent procedure.

My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate has been considering the lessons to be drawn from the Dundee small claims experiment in the light of the comments which he has received. The Lord Advocate hopes that it may be possible to introduce a small claims scheme within the existing summary cause procedure and hopes shortly to discuss with the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Sheriff Court Rules Council what can be done, at least in the first instance without primary legislation, to meet the needs which have been identified.

asked the Solicitor General for Scotland if he will list his official engagements for Friday 18 November 1983; and which of these were cancelled, postponed or curtailed.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris).

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the provision of service facilities along the M11 motorway; and if he will make a statement.

Development of a motorway service area at junction 8 of the M11 at Birchanger will be arranged as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report for each local authority in England the value of the bids he has received for transport supplementary grant for the following items of expenditure in 1984–85 (a) highways: new construction and improvement, (b) public transport investment, (c) highway maintenance and (d) public transport revenue support and in each case compare the bid with the 1983–84 bid and the latest forecast of actual expenditure in 1983–84.

This information is given in the following tables. The forecasts for actual expenditure in 1983–84 are those made by the county councils in their recent transport policies and programme submissions:

Table A: Capital Expenditure—Highways Etc.*
	Bid for 1984–85	Bid for 1983–84	Latest forecast for 1983–84
	£ million cash	£ million cash	£ million cash
Greater London Council	140·853	124·547	98·887
Greater Manchester Council	30·084	21·762	19·921
Merseyside	19·816	18·875	17·296
South Yorkshire	19·591	14·682	14·695
Tyne and Wear	15·400	6·700	2·319
West Midlands	37·829	33·925	33·858
West Yorkshire	28·900	21·812	15·766
Avon	4·156	6·467	4·099
Bedford	5·137	6·940	7·773
Berkshire	23·378	10·679	11·588
Buckingham	10·534	7·098	6·480
Cambridge	8·517	6·153	6·905
Cheshire	7·621	6·335	6·660
Cleveland	12·648	13·404	9·368
Cornwall	7·858	6·885	6·332
Cumbria	6·473	3·695	3·747
Derbyshire	6·910	4·974	5·142
Devon	11·631	10·770	10·279
Dorset	14·200	12·518	12·166
Durham	8·081	6·177	5·502
East Sussex	9·904	5·431	5·893
Essex	20·160	17·257	13·471
Gloucester	6·563	6·119	4·955
Hampshire	18·615	16·137	16·035
Hereford and Worcester	9·252	9·266	7·238
Hertford	10·150	11·479	8·190
Humberside	12·316	11·173	11·130
Isle of Wight	3·455	2·395	1·876
Kent	19·562	16·593	14·388
Lancashire	24·168	17·712	14·798
Leicester	15·035	12·846	9·888
Lincoln	5·820	5·102	5·041
Norfolk	8·338	8·159	6·732
Northampton	19·220	12·115	6·925
Northumberland	3·834	3·619	2·695
North Yorkshire	9·895	8·572	6·720
Nottingham	12·617	11·892	10·646
Oxford	7·759	4·855	3·920
Shropshire	5·599	4·203	5·388
Somerset	7·166	7·100	6·590
Stafford	13·120	10·053	8·751
Suffolk	10·009	9·213	7·888
Surrey	9·349	9·638	11·349
Warwick	1·839	6·643	4·847
West Sussex	9·570	7·312	6·785
Wiltshire	8·718	4·789	5·563
* This table includes capital bids for highway construction and improvement, parking depots and other minor items.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, for each scheme in the 1982–83 Class VI, I section of the Supply Estimates with a total cost of between £1 million and £10 million he will list (a) the actual expenditure in 1982–83 and (b) the estimated provision in all cases where the two figures differ by more than 5 per cent.

The information is as follows:

Project		1982–83
		Expenditure at outturn prices	Estimates provision
		£000	£000
M63	Stretford—Eccles Stage 1	—	642
M63	Stretford—Eccles Stage 2	25	358
A1	Alnwick Bypass	—	335
A1	Catterick Northern and Southern Junction Improvements	1,857	2,798
A1	Berwick upon Tweed Bypass	4,934	*5,016
A6	Elstow Bypass	1,665	2,059
A11	Attleborough Bypass	185	507
A12	Gallows Corner	2,240	*2,188
A12	Copdock—Washbrook	3,779	2,650
A17	West of Kings Lynn—Norfolk County Boundary	3,139	*3,077
A17	Heckington Bypass	2,498	3,510
A27	Langstone Flyover	—	14
A31	Bere Regis Bypass	498	914
A34	Whitway Diversion	—	131
A35	Honiton—A30	3	71
A38	Alrewas Grade Separated Junction	1,334	491
A40	Northleach Bypass	53	722
A40	Perivale Lane Grade Separated Junction	6,161	3,361
A40	A312 Junction Improvement: Canal Bridge	1,138	666
A41	Hinstock Bypass	168	*167
A43	Broughton Diversion	75	551
A45	Levington Heath Improvement	2,637	*2,533
A47	Wisbech/West Walton Bypass	799	515
A47	Blofield Bypass	2,694	1,998
A47	Uppingham Bypass	637	577
A51	Tarvin South Western Bypass	1	368
A52	A614/A52 Junction Improvement	1,131	1,047
A57	Aston Relief Road	88	323
A66	Troutbeck Diversion	938	1,060
A66	Bowes Bypass	3,004	*3,142
A69	Greenhead Diversion	27	17
A69	Bárdon Mill Bypass	657	534
A249	Chestnut Street—Bobbing Railway Bridge	—	1,069
A282	Dartford Tunnel Approach Road North	—	930
A303	Andover-Thruxton	1	443
A339	Kingsclere Bypass	702	887
A423	Dorchester-on-Thames Bypass	1,544	1,647

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state his Department's latest estimates of expenditure in 1983–84 on (a) new construction and improvement and (b) structural maintenance for both motorways and trunk roads other than motorways.

Net expenditure estimates for capital expenditure in 1983–84 are broken down as follows:

New construction and improvement	£516 million.
Maintenance	£129 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest estimate of the amount of unpaid vehicle excise duty.

The most recent available estimate of the extent of evasion of vehicle excise duty was made following a survey conducted by my Department in 1977–78. The survey indicated a level of evasion of 7 to 9 per cent. for cars and 10 to 13 per cent. for goods vehicles and motor cycles. Evasion at this level in 1982–83 would have resulted in a loss of revenue of £135 million to £174 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current average cost of constructing one mile of (a) dual two-lane motorway, (b) dual three-lane motorway, (c) dual two-lane urban motorway, (d) dual three-lane urban motorway, (e) all purpose dual two-lane carriageway, (f) all purpose dual three-lane carriageway and (g) single carriageway.

The information requested is as follows:

(a) £3 million.

(b) £5 million.

(c) £8 million.

(d) £11 million.

(e) £3 million.

(f) No figures available.

(g) £1 million.

All figures are at current prices and cover works only. Costs of land, rehousing, preparation and supervision and so on add between 20 per cent. and 25 per cent. to total costs. The figures given are averages. Construction costs of motorways and trunk roads vary widely, depending in particular on the nature of the terrain through which the road passes.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list his official engagements and those of the Ministers in his Department for Friday 18 November 1983; and which of these were cancelled, postponed or curtailed.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris).—[Vol. 49, c. 496]

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table in the Official Report of the value of travel concessions to individual pensioners in each local authority in England.

Local authorities are not required to inform my Department of the decisions they take about provision of concessionary fare schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to introduce a national scheme of free transport for all senior citizens; and if he will make a statement.

No. It is for local authorities to decide what arrangements to make for concessionary travel in their areas. They are best placed to decide how to help elderly people most effectively within the resources they have available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, in view of the number of recent accidents on the M4 in Wiltshire involving either (a) vehicles crossing the central reservation or (b) vehicles leaving the carriageway altogether, if he will investigate the possibility of providing new or strengthened crash barriers in the interest of greater road safety.

The investigation of new and strengthened safety fences to provide greater containment of vehicles impacting upon them is already part of the Department's research programme. A number of new types are presently being tested and evaluated to establish whether the containment they provide has safety advantages over present designs and, if so, whether the costs involved are justified. The Department's policy for safety fencing will be reviewed when the investigations have been completed.

(1) asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report details of the total spending on research by his Department for each year since 1974, together with the latest year for which figures are available, expressed at constant prices, and specify what proportion was expended with the relevant research councils on the customer-contractor principle, what proportion was expended directly and what proportion was placed in the private sector;

I have been asked to reply.The data requested, to the extent that they are held in central records, are shown below. The expenditure given is for research and development as defined by the OECD "Frascati Manual" 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to assist members of the present staffs of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London council to make arrangements for their employment under the successor authorities in advance of the legislation which will abolish their existing employers; and if he will make a statement.

We propose to establish a staff commission to look after the interests of staffs affected by the abolition of these councils and to ensure that they have a proper opportunity to secure jobs with successor bodies. As in previous reorganisations, it is our intention that the commission should start work in an advisory capacity during the passage of the legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about the outcome of the Council of Environment Ministers' meeting on 28 November 1983.

I led the United Kingdom delegation at this meeting at which a wide range of environmental issues was discussed.Considerable progress was made in discussion of the proposed directive on the environmental assessment of certain public and private projects. Agreement was reached on a group of provisions of importance to the United Kingdom, including an exemptions procedure and the form of a future developments clause. The Council was unable to reach agreement on the directive as a whole because of the general reservation from Denmark arising from a general review of Danish environmental policy and relating in particular to the assessment of projects specifically approved by national parliaments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list his official engagements and those of the Ministers in his Department for Friday 18 November 1983; and which of these were cancelled, postponed or curtailed.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris).—[Vol. 49, c. 496.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made with the various improvement works to the Croxteth housing estate in Liverpool subsequent to the meeting of his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine), with representatives of the local community on 2 August 1981.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the planning application by Shell UK Ltd. to drill for oil in the Denny inclosure in the New Forest was valid at the time when his Department's inspector opened the public planning inquiry at Lyndhurst in January 1982.

No reason was seen to doubt the validity of the planning application at the time the public inquiry was opened at Lyndhurst in January 1982. However, I am now advised that it appears in fact to be invalid, since it relates to Crown land in which there is no apparent non-Crown interest. By virtue of section 266(1)(b) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 there is no power to grant planning permission in respect of such land.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the number of planning applications which have been granted for the extraction of hydrocarbons on Crown land since 1971.

The information that my Department collects on planning applications submitted to local authorities is not classified either by mineral type or land ownership.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what contracts have been entered into with Cenargo for the shipment of equipment for the Falkland Islands airport; and if he will make a statement.

The contractor for the construction of the airfield, the Laing-Mowlem-Amey roadstone construction joint venture, is employing Cenargo to ship freight from the United Kingdom to the Falkland Islands.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what contract has been entered into with Messrs. Denholm and Company of Glasgow, for management services in connection with work in the Falkland Islands; and if he will make a statement.

None. However, I understand that Denholm Ship Management Ltd. are the consultants normally employed by Cenargo Ltd.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is going to take to promote rural improvement in England; and if he will make a statement.

Action is being taken, where appropriate, through various programmes to improve the appearance of the countryside and to strengthen the economies of rural areas. I refer in particular to reclamation of derelict land, the wider improvements initiated in the north-west in the context of the groundwork initiatives, and grant aid administered to rurally based firms and related developments through the Development Commission and the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas. All this is additional to a wide range of other action taken by local authorities for the benefit and improvement of their areas within the framework of Government policies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Building Research Establishment's reports on the Boot, Cornish unit, Orlit, Unity, Wates and Woolaway types of prefabricated reinforced concrete houses and on the Smith system house will be published.

All seven reports will be published by the Building Research Establishment tomorrow. Copies will be sent to local authorities with a request that they be passed on to private owners of these houses in their areas. I have today placed copies in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue regulations to ensure that transit of asbestos waste is allowed only in securely fastened and fully enclosed containers; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.The Asbestos Regulations 1969 require that

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he has any plans to introduce amending legislation relating to the position of an hon. Member to whom sections 26 and 30 of the Parliamentary and Other Pensions Act 1972 apply.

On appointment to an office to which section 26 of the Act of 1972 applies, a Member ceases to be a contributor to and a prospective pensioner of the parliamentary contributory pension fund. Contributions already paid are refunded when service ends under section 30 of that Act, the ultimate pension being non-contributory and not related to length of service. However, I am advised that the provisions relating to the cessation and ultimate refund of contributions do not cover payments made for the purchase of added years. It is, therefore, my intention to include appropriate provision in the Bill which will be introduced to give effect, inter alia, to the resolution of the House of 19 July 1983 relating to Members' pensions. In anticipation of this legislation, and with the concurrence of the Treasury, I have authorised discontinuance of the deductions forthwith in appropriate cases.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many rooms in the Palace of Westminister are used as bedrooms; how many beds there are in each room; and who uses them and for what purpose.

There are 42 rooms in the Palace of Westiminster which are used as bedrooms by those occupying official residences and by staff of the House whose duties may require the provision of overnight accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects his Department's review of the basis of casualty and damage effects from nuclear weapons to be completed.

I hope that we shall be able to publish the results in the summer of 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the figures for offences of poaching from farms and assault on persons in rural areas for the latest year available and give comparable figures for the previous two years.

:The information requested is not available separately, because the circumstances of offences are not recorded centrally. Offences on farms or in rural areas would be included in the general figures of offences of assault or poaching. Moreover, offences in the latter group are not notifiable to the Home Office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made this year on research into civil defence shelters and domestic dwelling protection; and whether the results will be made available.

Progress has been made in designing improvised shelters, in constructing such shelters and in subjecting some of them to blast in a simulated nuclear explosion in America. We are also working on a consolidated guide to shelters made of a variety of shapes and materials. We expect to publish information on improvised shelter designs and the consolidated guide on shelter design by the end of 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the new generation of radiac instruments to be available for training civil defence volunteers.

The new instruments are being made available to councils, police and fire services as they are produced under a three-year contract which ends in May 1986. Local authorities decide how and when volunteers should be trained, and 30 meters are available already to every county council for training purposes. A letter explaining the arrangements for distribution of the meters was sent to county councils on 11 November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure adequate monitoring of the performance of local authorities in carrying out their new responsibilities under the civil defence regulations.

Yes. In addition to the present monitoring procedures, my right hon. and learned Friend will seek progress reports from local authorities on the performance of their functions under the new civil defence regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reconsider the discretion given to immigration officials at all ports of entry concerning refusal to enter the United Kingdom.

Immigration officers carry out their duties in accordance with the provisions of the immigration rules and such instructions as may be given them by the Secretary of State. My right hon. and learned Friend has, at present, no plans to revise those rules or instructions.