asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any proposals from British Rail that may result in the closure of staffed stations in the West of Scotland.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what recent proposals he has received from the British Railways Board concerning services in the Glasgow and West of Scotland area.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any proposals from the British Railways Board about the future of Ardrossan harbour.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will take steps to amend roads circular No. 20/68 so as to take greater account of the needs of pedestrians.

Roads Circulars No. 20/68 has been replaced by departmental standard TD/4/79 and departmental advice note TA/10/80, copies of which I am sending the hon. Member for information. Both are currently under review along with the pelican crossing regulations with the aim of further improving pedestrian safety and convenience.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to increase the number of European road haulage permits, and of French and German road haulage permits issued to road haulage firms in Northern Ireland.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State strongly urged his European colleagues at the Council of Ministers on 2 December to abolish road haulage permit quotas after a short transitional period and in the meantime to agree to significant increases in the Community quota. The French and the Germans bilateral quotas are renegotiated annually. Resulting increases make more permits available to United Kingdom hauliers, including those in Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to which states require some visual display on a motor vehicle to show that a driving test has only recently been passed; and if he will make a statement.

Newly qualified drivers are required to display a distinguishing symbol on their vehicles for a certain period after the test in Northern Ireland, parts of Australia, France, Japan, Portugal and Spain. It is not practical to relate a probationary period to actual driving experience, and I have no evidence that this measure has helped road safety.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give consideration to enabling all traffic turning to the nearside at traffic lights being able to treat the traffic lights as a give way sign, as is now the case in the United States of America and certain other countries.

The general application of this proposal would make conditions more difficult and less safe for pedestrians as some American states are now beginning to find. It could also increase the delay to straight-over traffic if, as is generally the case with this arrangement, one lane is reserved for turning traffic. Where conditions are appropriate in this country, we already provide "Left turn only" slip roads with "Give way" markings or a left-filter traffic signal. These facilities achieve much the same effect as the American system but on a more controlled and selective basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give guidance to county councils on the introduction of ride-sharing information pools for commuters.

My Department has conducted a considerable programme of research into the scope for increased ride-sharing. Several schemes were set up in collaboration with county councils and the results of these studies have been made available to all local authorities. It was concluded that ride-sharing was probably best initiated at the workplace and we have issued advice and guidance to employers on how to set up such schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor passes for the disabled were issued in 1982 and 1983 to date (a) nationally and (b) in York; and how many prosecutions were undertaken for the abuse of use in these years.

Disabled persons' parking permits—orange badges — are issued by local authorities and records are not maintained centrally on a continuing basis. At the time of a national census on 1 January 1983, there were 682,000 valid badges in Great Britain. Information on the number of prosecutions is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the information which is required to be displayed on motor passes for disabled people in each European Community state, in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; what penalties, including monetary, expressed both in the original currency and sterling equivalent, are incurred for the illegal use of such passes; and if he will make a statement.

Practice varies among those Community states who issue badges. Most require the name of the issuing authority, serial number, and often the disabled person's name. I have no information about requirements in countries outside Europe. The maximum penalty for misuse of badges in Britain is £200; I have no information on penalties elsewhere. The changes made to the British scheme earlier this year should do much to reduce abuse.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will conduct a survey to update the 1978 national travel survey in respect of the number of bicycle owners; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has authorised work to proceed to plan the next national travel survey which is to be held in 1985–86. The size of this survey and the general coverage of questions will be decided within the next two or three months. This survey will enable the Department to revise its estimate of the number of bicycle owners.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, in respect of his newly announced principles for London regional transport, he proposes to require such a body to ensure approximation of fare charges between buses and underground railways subject to its control.

Under Clause 8 of the London Regional Transport Bill published on 2 December, the new authority will determine the general level and structure of fares to be charged for all public passenger transport services under their control. In doing so it will be subject to the various duties and other requirements specified in the Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will specify in detail the additional costs he considers have been incurred by London Transport Executive; and by how much fares in London can be reduced if such costs are not incurred.

The figures published by LT show that since 1970 its unit costs per vehicle mile have gone up in real terms by nearly two thirds on the buses and by more than 50 per cent. on the Underground; bus engineering costs have more than doubled in real terms.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he intends to take to inform the public of the artificial additions it is proposed to introduce into those cheeses that will be produced under the proposed amended provisions of the Cheese Regulations 1970.

None. The requirement to label all cheese in accordance with the Food Labelling Regulations 1980, as amended, will continue.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on further progress toward reform of the common agricultural policy.

The adaptation of the common agricultural policy is one of the items under discussion at the European Council meeting in Athens from 4 to 6 December. The outcome of the Council will be made known to the House as soon as practicable.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the adequacy and efficiency of public control over expenditure on subsidies to agriculture.

All grant and subsidy schemes incorporate arrangements designed to ensure that claims are properly scrutinised, and my audit division provides an independent check on these arrangements.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the cost to public funds, in the financial year 1982–83, of travelling abroad and associated expenses of hon. Members and officials serving on Select Committees of this House; how this cost compares with that of financial year 1981–82; if he will give detailed costs relating to each Select Committee; and if he will make a statement.

The cost to public funds in the financial year 1982–83 of Members and officials travelling overseas with Select Committees was £212,401; the cost in the financial year 1981–82 was £167,725. The detailed costs relating to each Select Committee are given in the Select Committee returns for 1982–83 (HC. No. 50) and 1931–82 (HC. No. 183).

asked the Lord Privy Seal what has been the total cost of travel of hon. Members within the United Kingdom, excluding journeys between hon. Members' homes, their constituencies, and Westminster, for each year since the scheme began; and how much of this cost was for journeys to or from Northern Ireland.

A resolution of the House of Commons of 4 March 1980 permitted hon. Members to be reimbursed for expenditure incurred on travel within the United Kingdom on parliamentary business in addition to previously authorised travel between their homes, Westminster and constituencies and within the constituencies.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the return on capital (a) in each of the nationalised industries and (b) all other commercial state concerns; and what total capital is involved in each case.

It is not possible to provide information for each nationalised industry on a comparable basis. Available figures are as follows:

Capital returns 1981*
	Capital employed £ million	Rate of return
		Including subsidy Per cent.	Excluding subsidy Per cent.
Air Transport (British Airports Authority; British Airways Board; Civil Aviation Authority)	2,420	-5·9	-6·4
Coal (National Coal Board)	6,290	1·9	-5·9
Electricity (Electricity Council, England and Wales; North of Scotland Hydroelectric Board; South of Scotland Electricity Board; Northern Ireland Electricity Service)	29,106	-0·2	-0·2
Gas (British Gas Corporation)	10,828	5·0	5·0
Posts and Telecom (Post Office; British Telecom)	20,710	0·7	0·7
Rail (British Railways Board)	17,142	-2·2	-7·1
Steel† (British Steel Corporation)	11,256	-8·7	-8·7
Total Nationalised Industries‡	104,160	-0·4	-1·9
Public Corporations (other than nationalised industries)	35,840	1·4	-0·8
* Latest available year.
† Excludes capital write-offs.
‡Includes industries not appearing elsewhere in this table.

The basis for the calculation and comparable figures for the years 1970 to 1979 were supplied by the Treasury in evidence to the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee in 1981. These have been published as appendix 12 in volume III of its report "Financing of the Nationalised Industries" HC 348—III.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate whether loans to the Berger group of companies amounting to £1·14 million recorded in the Britannia Building Society's AR11 for 1981 under the special advances section infringed building society regulations laid down by his Department.

As my predecessor explained to the hon. Member, it would be contrary to the public interest to give information about the monitoring by the registry of particular societies except where the Chief Registrar has used his statutory powers to restrict the operations of a society, or following the appointment of inspectors.The public record shows that the Britannia Building Society made special advances, including the advances referred to by the hon. Member, of 0·78 per cent. of total advances in 1981. It was permitted by section 22 of the Building Societies Act 1962 to make up to 10 per cent.If the hon. Member has any other point in mind, perhaps he would write to me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies will investigate the circumstances of the loan of moneys by the Britannia Building Society at various times since 1964 on the security of Hollington Court, Chislehurst, previously purchased by the Bernard Clarke group of companies through funds originally raised by mortgage with the Leek and Westbourne Building Society.

If the hon. Member has any specific point on any advances which may have been made, which he considers should be investigated in the interests of protecting investors, perhaps he would write to me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he estimates the United States surplus on capital account and factors arising therefrom have on the level of British interest rates.

Capital inflows into the United States have contributed to the strength of the dollar during 1983, and it is against this background that other countries have operated monetary policy. This is, however, one of a number of factors that have influenced the financial environment so that it is not possible to estimate the extent to which United States capital inflows have influenced interest rates in these countries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the banks operating in Scotland (a) with their head office in Scotland and certified under the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, (b) with their head office in Scotland but not so certified and (c) with their head offices elsewhere.

There is no definition of "bank" which is valid for all purposes. The table which follows lists deposit-taking institutions which are authorised under the Banking Act 1979 or are exempt from authorisation under that Act, other than building societies. The lists of institutions under (b) and (c) are believed to be reasonably complete but are not necessarily exhaustive.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many income tax offices have been closed in Wales in each of the past five years; how many staff have been made redundant in consequence; how many such offices are under threat of closure at the present time; and where they are located.

One collection office has been closed, in October 1983; no staff have been made redundant.

Eighteen offices are scheduled for closure under reorganisation plans announced earlier this year—

Nine collection offices-in Cardiff three, Newport, Carmarthen, Neath, Pontypool, Pontypridd and Rhyl.

Nine tax districts-in Cardiff, Newport two, Aberdare, Haverfordwest, Llandudno, Pontypridd, Port Talbot and Swansea.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is satisfied with the bona fides of Wallace Field Co. which has made an application for a free port at Liverpool airport, Speke; if he will describe the nature of its application; and set out the credentials of the applicants.

The information supplied by potential free port operators must be regarded as confidential. The merits of all applications will be fully considered before a decision is taken.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in the light of the House of Lords ruling on 24 November in the case of Customs v. Viva Gas Appliances, he will now clarify the situation regarding zero-rating value added tax for construction alteration work.

The Commissioners of Customs and Excise have been considering the implications of the Viva judgment. Their initial view is that the guidance contained in their public notices on the liability to VAT of construction work will need revising only to a very limited extent. They will, however, be consulting the construction industry trade associations before announcing any changes in that guidance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when placing a value on a public sector house, what criteria are used by the district valuer.

The district valuer has regard to the provisions of the Housing Act 1980 or the Tenants' Rights Etc (Scotland) Act 1980, as appropriate. The primary consideration is open market value with vacant possession, excluding any improvements the tenant may have made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what has been the cost in each of the past five years of printing and distributing to the public (a) all public decisions of the value added tax tribunals and (b) leaflets and notices by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise;(2) how many organisations and individuals received copies of all public decisions of value added tax tribunals in each of the past five years.

The distribution of copies of decisions by the VAT tribunals is a matter for the president of those tribunals.I am advised that the number of individuals and organisations receiving copies of all public decisions of the VAT tribunals was 21 in 1980 and 37 in 1983. In addition, in 1980 six individuals-organisations received copies limited to subjects of interest to a particular trade, while by 1983 this number had risen to 17. The total estimated annual printing and distributing cost was £2,000 in 1980 and £2,200 in 1983. Figures for the other years are not available.The estimated cost of printing and distributing all Customs and Excise leaflets and notices relating to VAT was as follows:

Year	£
1980–81	510,000
1981–82	168,000
1982–83	227,000

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he will not consider, when a suitable legislative opportunity arises, amending the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, to (a) raise the limit on the fiduciary issues of Scottish bank notes to a level commensurate with the devaluation of the currency since 1845, (b) allow the Trustee Savings Bank to issue its own bank notes on a comparable basis to the existing three Scottish banks, and (c) give the Treasury powers to grant a similar right to any new banks that might be established in the future.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1983, c. 464]: I understand the Scottish banks do not seek to extend their privilege. Moreover, the proposals are not in the public interest, since they would deny the Government their return on the note issue, and increase the cost of their borrowing.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consult the Trustee Savings Bank in Scotland to ascertain its interest in being permitted to issue bank notes.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1983, c. 464]: The Trustee Savings Bank has been consulted about all elements of the TSB group's proposed restructuring. Neither the TSB central board nor TSB Scotland has proposed during these discussions that TSB Scotland might issue bank notes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the Scottish banks certified by the Commissioners under the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 and the amount of bank notes certified as issued under section 1 of the Act.

Date of Merger	Banks in Merger		Authorised Note Issue £
	Clydesdale Bank	Clydesdale Bank	274,321	498,773
1950	North of Scotland Bank		224,452
	Bank of Scotland	Bank of Scotland	396,852	851,198
1954	Union Bank of Scotland		454,346
	Commercial Bank of Scotland	National Commercial Bank of Scotland	374,880	671,904
1958	National Bank of Scotland		297,024
	Royal Bank of Scotland	Royal Bank of Scotland	216,451	888,355
1969	National Commercial Bank of Scotland		671,904
	Bank of Scotland	Bank of Scotland	851,198	1,289,222
1969	British Linen Bank		438,024

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the banks, certified in terms of section 1 of the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, which have ceased to trade other than under the terms of a merger covered by section 4 of the Act since 1953.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1983, c. 465]: None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the organisations and individuals to which section 18 of the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 applies.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1983, c. 464]: The information is as follows:

Banks issuing under the 1845 Act	Authorised Issues £
Bank of Scotland	300,485
The Royal Bank of Scotland	183,000
British Linen Bank	438,024
Dundee Banking Co.	33,451
Perth Banking Co.	38,656
Banking Co. of Aberdeen	88,467
Commercial Bank of Scotland	374,880
National Bank of Scotland	297,024
Town and Country Bank	70,133
Union Bank of Scotland	327,223
Ayrshire Banking Co.	53,656
Western Bank of Scotland	284,282
Central Bank of Scotland	42,933
North of Scotland Bank	154,319
Clydesdale Bank	104,028
Caledonian Banking Co.	53,434
Eastern Bank of Scotland	33,636
City of Glasgow Bank	72,921
Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank	136,657
Total	3,087,209

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the bank mergers that have taken place since 1953 to which the provisions of section 4 of the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 applied, the dates on which the merger became effective and the certified amounts of issued bank notes determined under the said section.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1983, c. 464]: Five mergers between Scottish banks have taken place since 1950, to which section 4 of the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 applied. Details of these are as follows:

[pursuant to his reply, 2 December 1983, c. 644–645]: Section 18 applies to any person issuing notes in Scotland for less than £5, except the banks now certified under section 4 of the Act. There are no longer any banks deriving their authority to issue from section 1.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the lastest estimate his Department has made of the total number of students who will be in state primary, secondary and tertiary places of education, respectively, in each year from 1983 to 1993, inclusive.

England: pupils and home students (thousands)
	1982–83 (actual)	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
Maintained schools
Primary*	3,752	3,645	3,602	3,599	3,615
Secondary (under school leaving age)	3,395	3,308	3,197	3,064	2,931
Secondary (over school leaving age)	346	343	338	335	328
Non-advanced further education†	532	580	579	574	566
Higher education‡	410	425	431	431	424
* Full-time equivalent.
† Full-time equivalent includes students on part-time courses sponsored under the Youth Training Scheme.
‡ Full-time and sandwich.

England: pupils and home students (thousands)
	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93
Maintained schools
Primary*	3,650	3,712	3,784	3,836	3,890	3,960
Secondary (under school leaving age)	2,769	2,635	2,546	2,528	2,549	2,592
Secondary (over school leaving age)	328	319	304	290	278	268
Non-advanced further education†	—	—	—	—	—	—
Higher education‡	—	—	—	—	—	—
* Full-time equivalent.
† Full-time equivalent includes students on part-time courses sponsored under the Youth Training Scheme.
‡ Full-time and sandwich.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many secondary schools have school libraries containing more than (a) 2,500 books, (b) 5,000 books, (c) 10,000 books;(2) how many secondary schools employ a trained professional librarian; and what percentage this represents of all secondary schools.

The latest information, from the 1979 secondary school library sample survey, is as follows

England, March 1979
	Proportion of maintained schools per cent.	Number of maintained schools (estimates)
Size of School library stock
More than 2,500 books	98	3,980
More than 5,000 books	75	3,050
More than 10,000 books	25	1,020
Schools with a qualified librarian*	16	630
† Librarians with degrees or diplomas recognised as professional qualifications for librarianship or information science.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what response he has made to the report of the Gulbenkian foundation entitled "Arts in Schools".

My right hon. Friend was sent a copy of the report in January 1982. In his reply to the foundation he noted that the report was a timely contribution to the

Current projections by the Department are given in the attached table. They do not take into account the early information now available on staying-on at school and enrolment at FE this autumn.curriculum discussions being undertaken at local level. He pointed out that the Government's document of guidance "The School Curriculum"—a copy of which is available in the Library — identifies aesthetic subjects as an essential part of the primary school curriculum, and makes quite clear that pupils should retain opportunities for aestheic activity up to the end of their compulsory schooling. An extended statement of the Government's view was given by my noble Friend Lord Elton in the House of Lords on 5 April 1982. — [Vol. 429, c. 98–105.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the amount the Nottinghamshire education authority is losing financially by its participation in the youth training scheme; and if he will meet that authority to negotiate a higher fee rate for off-the-job training.

The financial aspects of Nottinghamshire local education authority's participation in the youth training scheme are a matter for the LEA. Fees for off-the-job elements of YTS provideds in further education colleges in 1983–84 were negotiated between the local authority associations and the Confederation of British Industry and are a matter for those two parties. I understand that negotiations for the fees from March 1984 will take place shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has fixed a date by which the governing bodies of maintained special schools must include parent and teacher governors.

Following my statement to the House of 29 July—[Vol. 46, c.629–30]—my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have consulted the local authority associations, teacher associations and other interested parties on this matter. In the light of the response to these consultations we have made an order applying sections 2 and 3 of the Education Act 1980 to maintained special schools from 1 September 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of admirals in the Royal Navy and the number of fighting ships of frigate class and above, together with the corresponding figures for 1973, 1963 and 1953.

Ratio of admirals and above to fighting ships of frigate class and above, including submarines, are as follows:

	Admirals	Ships	Ratios
1953	81	384	1 : 4·74
1963	69	193	1 : 2·80
1973	60	112	1 : 1·87
1983	47	97	1 : 2·06

These figures give the average complemented number of admirals on the general list for the years specified. They exclude admirals of the fleet who have ceased active employment, admirals in non-combatant posts and flag officer royal yachts and hydrographer whose ships are not included in the numbers given for fighting ships.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each of the three services the number in each rank from brigadier upwards and the total number of officers and other ranks; and if he will provide corresponding figures for 1973, 1963 and 1953.

The information requested is as follows:

	1953	1963	1973	1983
Royal Navy
Admiral of the Fleet	1	2	1	—
Admiral	10	6	5	6
Vice Admiral	27	17	14	12
Rear Admiral	69	49	48	40
Commodore/Senior Captain	104	122	118	119
Total Officers	14,591	10,616	10,034	9,321
Total Service men/women	119,900	76,257	62,669	54,317
Royal Marines
Lieutenant General	1	1	1	1

	1953	1963	1973	1983
Major General	3	4	4	3
Brigadier/Colonel	10	12	11	12
Total Officers	677	622	614	649
Total Servicemen	10,900	8,668	7,522	7,112
Army
Field Marshal	1	—	—	1
General	13	10	10	8
Lieutenant General	20	17	14	11
Major General	123	95	80	74
Brigadier	425	276	261	245
Total Officers	35,891	20,092	28,542	17,001
Total Servicemen/women	413,300	167,127	153,367	143,080
Royal Air Force
Marshal of the RAF	1	—	—	—
Air Chief Marshal	6	7	7	7
Air Marshal	21	20	17	12
Air Vice Marshal	73	71	56	43
Air Commodore	151	143	130	109
Total Officers	29,468	21,452	19,293	15,052
Total Servicemen/women	286,600	120,589	84,199	75,208

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the children of armed forces personnel, whose education in independent boarding schools in the United Kingdom is financed by his Department come from officer families; what proportion come from the ranks; and if he will compare these figures with five years ago.

Precise figures are not available, but it is estimated that some 75 per cent. of the children of armed forces personnel who were being educated at independent boarding schools in the United Kingdom in the school year 1982–83 and in receipt of boarding school allowance came from officer families and 25 per cent. from families in the ranks. The respective percentages are estimated to be 80 per cent. and 20 per cent. five years ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the latest estimate of the annual cost of military operations in Northern Ireland, together with the corresponding figures for each of the past five years.

The extra cost of military operations in Northern Ireland in the financial year 1983–84 is estimated at £141 million at outturn prices. As the hon. Member was informed in a written reply on 13 July 1982—[Vol. 27, c. 341–42]—a more realistic method of assessing the extra cost was adopted in 1981, and for this reason it is not possible to provide comparable figures for the financial years 1978–79 to 1980–81. However, the figures for 1981–82 and 1982–83 at outturn prices are £149 million and £143 million, respectively. The figure of £134 million for 1982–83, which the hon. Member was given on 13 July 1982, was not at outturn prices, as was stated, but at the original Estimates prices. I regret the error.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what disbursements have been made under the aid trade provision from 1 January to date; which countries have been direct beneficiaries of disbursements; and which British companies have been indirect beneficiaries.

The information requested is as follows:

United Kingdom company (main contractors)	ATP disbursements 1 January 1983 to 30 November 1983 £ million	Beneficiary
Northern Engineering Industries
(NEI)/Parsons	2·571	Botswana
Klockner/NEI	5·010	Brazil
Balfour Beatty	0·090	Burma
Sykes Marine	0·751	Burma
Cementation/APV Int.	0·188	Burma
John Brown Engineering	0·061	Burma
John Brown Engineering	0·300	Burma
Balfour Beatty	0·127	Colombia
Seltrust Engineering	0·606	Egypt
Dowty Meco	2·882	Indonesia
Plessey	0·139	Kenya
British Shipbuilders/Ferguson
Ailsa	1·621	Kenya
British Rail Engineering-Metro
Cammell	2·033	Kenya
British Aerospace	0·065	Madagascar
General Electric Co.	0·796	Malaysia
British Leyland	0·163	Mozambique
Davy McKee	2·001	Mexico
Balfour Beatty	1·059	Paraguay
Balfour Beatty	3·627	Peru
Balfour Beatty	0·005	Philippines
Balfour Beatty	0·586	Philippines
Balfour Beatty	0·021	Philippines
Brush Electrical Machines	0·002	Sri Lanka
General Electric Co./
Westinghouse/Balfour Beatty	1·064	Zimbabwe
Pipework Engineering Ltd.	0·387	Zimbabwe
Northern Engineering Industries	5·000	India
	31·155

The firms named are the main contractors in each case. There are also many British subcontractors who will have gained orders from these contracts.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of all offers made of aid trade provision assistance that have been turned down by foreign Governments from 1 January to date.

The following shows aid trade provision offers not taken up the recipient Government since 1 January 1983. For the most part of the contracts have been awarded to non-British companies, but in some cases it is known that the project did not proceed.

asked the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the recently announced change to the definition of "poorest countries" for aid purposes will bring the British definition into line with the definition used by the development assistance committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

No. There is no internationally agreed list of the poorest countries. For some years the DAC has used the term low-income countries which currently covers 67 countries. They comprise those defined as least developed countries—a UN-defined list of 37 countries—together with those other countries with an income per head as assessed by the World Bank of less than US$600 in 1980.The British definition has been and remains more restrictive than the DAC definition. Until the recent change our definition of the "poorest" group was all least developed countries plus those others with a per capita income of less than US$370 in 1980. The new British definition is simply the 50 poorest countries as assessed by the World Bank, excluding states with a population under 100,000 and dependencies.The reasons for the change were given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 26 October 1983.—[Vol. 47, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much direct bilateral aid has been given to Turkey in 1983 to date; and if he will identify the projects such aid has funded.

In 1983 to date about £5 million has been drawn down from loans to Turkey. £1·6 million of this sum met the final instalment of the 1980 refinancing loan No. 2 and the balance was for expenditure under the 1979 and 1981 programme loans. Programme loan funds were made available for the purchase of British goods and services and were not tied to specific projects. In addition, some £270,000 has been provided during this period for the technical co-operation programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to renegotiate the Lisbon agreement with the Spanish Government so as to ensure that the Spanish-Gibraltar frontier is fully open before Spain joins the European Community.

No. The Lisbon statement remains an adequate framework for managing our differences with Spain over Gibraltar. We remain in close touch with the Spanish Government with a view to the restrictions on Gibraltar being lifted at the earliest moment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which embassies, consulates and missions of Her Majesty's Government currently (a) hold and (b) do not hold stocks of English or Welsh vineyard wine.

Her Majesty's missions overseas do not maintain wine cellars. Wines served are chosen and stocked by individual officers. We do not have records of what wines are stocked, although wines from the United Kingdom are served on occasion. They are also served by the Government hospitality fund at functions hosted by Her Majesty's Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he raised the issue of unitary taxation at the Council of Ministers of the European Community on 28 and 29 November 1983; and if he will make a statement.

School	Number of places currently available each year	Total number of assisted pupils in the school in September 1982*	Total number of assisted pupils in the school in September 1982* who had previously been in a fee paying school	Column (d) as a percentage of column (c)
(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)	(e)
Christ College, Brecon	8	13	5	38
Howells School, Denbigh	15	28	18	†64
Howells School, Llandaff	45	63	16	25
Llandovery College	4	5	2	40
Monmouth School for Boys	28	47	18	38
Monmouth School for Girls	13	23	8	35
Penrhos College	12	16	4	25
Rydal School	4	25	14	†56
Total	129	220	85	39
* Information for September 1983 is not available as claims have not yet been received from all the schools.
† These percentages are inflated because, by special arrangement, pupils transferred to these schools from Lowther College, a participating school which closed unexpectedly in July 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the centres in each of the Welsh health authorities where facilities are available for the laster treatment of retinal detachment and for the use of cryotherapy in the extraction of lenticular opacities.

There was no discussion of this topic at the Council of Ministers meeting on 28 and 29 November, but at the Council of Ministers meeting on 17 and 18 October I urged our partners to make their own representations on this matter. The Community is continuing to pursue the matter with the utmost vigour.We have made clear that we are opposed to the application of the unitary method of state taxation on a worldwide reporting basis. It imposes a heavy administrative burden on companies and is a severe disincentive to investment in those states which apply it. It is also contrary to the internationally agreed arm's length method of attributing profits to members of a group of companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of pupils attending schools under the assisted places scheme in Wales are receiving full fee remission on the grounds of family income.

In the 1982–83 educational year 43 per cent. of assisted pupils received full fee remission.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each participating school in the assisted places scheme and for an agregate Welsh total (a) the total number of places made available and (b) the number of places made available to pupils already attending a fee-paying school and the corresponding percentage of the total number of places.

The information requested is as follows:

The information is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of imported coal was used in the iron and steel industry in Wales for each of the last four quarters for which such information is available.

The comprehensive information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many area schools in the primary sector have been opened in each of the education authorities in Wales

	1980*		1981*		1982*
Local authority	Local authority	Private and voluntary	Local authority	Private and voluntary	Local authority	Private and voluntary
Clywd	23	45	23	55	24	59
Dyfed	28	5	29	5	29	5
Gwent	25	4	25	5	25	5
Gwynedd	26	22	26	27	26	27
Mid Glamorgan	32	2	33	3	33	4
Powys	15	2	15	2	15	3
South Glamorgan	27	16	27	16	27	20
West Glamorgan	22	5	22	5	22	7
*At 31 March.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he last had discussions with British Rail regarding the financing necessary for services on the line between Llanelli and Shrewsbury; if he has received reports on the negotiations between British Rail and the county councils in Wales through which the railway line passes; and whether the councils will be providing greater financial support than hitherto.

I am aware that British Rail has approached the local authorities through which the line passes about the possibility of financial assistance towards the provision of infrastructure improvements. I have not had discussions with British Rail on this subject. Government support for the line is already provided by means of the public service obligation grant which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport agrees each year with the British Railways Board. The possibility of support from local authorities is for them to decide.

Year Ending	New Planting		Restocking		Total
31 March	Hectares	Acres	Hectares	Acres	Hectares	Acres
1983	436	(1,077)	1,482	(3,662)	1,918	(4,739)
1982	326	(805)	1,524	(3,766)	1,850	(4,571)
1981	683	(1,688)	1,116	(2,757)	1,799	(4,445)
	The corresponding figures in the 1970s were:
1980	797	(1,969)	1,241	(3,066)	2,038	(5,035)
1979	572	(1,413)	884	(2,184)	1,456	(3,597)
1978	769	(1,900)	937	(2,315)	1,706	(4,215)
1977	1,096	(2,708)	793	(1,960)	1,889	(4,668)

There is no statutory definition of the term "area school". I shall write to the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many registered homes for the elderly there are now in each county in Wales as compared with (a) one year ago and (b) two years ago.

The information is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will detail the financial provision provided by his Department in the financial years 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84 to the following organisations: (a) the Children's legal centre, (b) the Family Planning Association, (c) the Brook advisory centre and (d) Family forum.

The Welsh Office makes no grants to the Children's legal centre, the Brook advisory centre or the Family forum. The Department contributed £5,940 in each of the financial years 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84 to the grant given to the Family Planning Association by DHSS.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many acres of trees were planted by the Forestry Commission in Wales during the last three years; what the corresponding figures were for 1970 to 1980; and if he will make a statement.

The areas planted and restocked by the Forestry Commission in the last three years were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many acres of land the Forestry Commission hopes to sell in Wales during the next three years; and what the estimated revenue will be from such sales.

The Forestry Commission currently has 4,775 hectares—11,799 acres —of forestry land and plantations, with an estimated value of £5·8 million, in the process of being sold—that is, either on the market or approved for sale with reserve prices fixed.Because of variable market conditions, and other factors, it is not possible to be precise as to when these sales will be completed.

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

The development of rural areas in Wales will continue to be supported in every way possible—for example, by the work of the Development Board for Rural Wales in Mid-Wales, the Welsh Development Agency and the Wales Tourist Board. Selective financial assistance can be made available to eligible projects in the rural parts of the assisted areas. In addition, agriculture benefits from a comprehensive system of support. I keep the various mechanisms for providing assistance uner continual review. My officials are currently in discussion with the Commission on ways in which assistance from the European regional development fund could be made available to areas of mid-Wales on the basis of the scheme of aid announced on 28 June 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to improve the Devils bridge road junction on the A44 between the Dyffryn Castell Hotel and Ponterwyd; and if he will make a statement.

There are no present proposals for the improvement of this junction.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report those centres in

The NHS has one 24-bed centre with supporting cardiology facilities in Cardiff with three surgeons performing about 500 cardiac operations annually. The BUPA hospital in Cardiff also carries out some cardiac surgery operations, but we do not collect statistics from the private sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the special kidney dialysis units in Wales; and how many beds each centre has.

The information is as follows:

Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan, Clwyd	7 beds
Royal Infirmary, Cardiff, South Glamorgan	12 beds

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will state for each of the six prisoners who have been in prison on remand for the longest period of time, the offences with which they have been charged and the length of time they have so far been held in prison on remand;(2) how many

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young persons, by age and location, are in prison and remand centres awaiting transfer to youth custody centres; and what is the length of time that each has been waiting.

The only information readily available is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners held on remand in custody for longer than three months were subsequently acquitted in the most recent period for which figures are available.

The latest available information, which is as complete as we can provide, relates to those initially remanded in custody in 1981. About 750 of them were found not guilty or not proceeded against more than three months later. This time includes any time spent on bail.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the ad hoc committee on the Court of Justice and protection of criminal law in the European Community and include in that statement the purposes of the committee, the names of the United Kingdom representatives and progress so far made towards its objectives.