asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the expenditure per pupil for those involved in the technical and vocational education initiative.

The total projected cost to the Manpower Services Commission of the first 62 projects under the technical and vocational education initiative is some £150 million. These provide for some 62,000 entrants, which gives an average cost over the period of the experiment of some £2,400 per entrant. This includes substantial initial non-recurrent development costs but excludes local authority costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total capacity for the import of coal at British ports.

No meaningful estimate can be made of the total coal importing capacity at British ports given the variety of types and sizes of facilities which could handle such traffic.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to clarify sections 14 and 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 concerning motor rallies on public rights of way; and whether in the meantime he will issue a departmental circular to local authorities reminding them of the correct procedures for the authorisation of such rallies.

Consideration is being given at present to the relationship between sections 14 and 35 of the Road Traffic Act 1972. If clarification is needed, legislation will be introduced when a suitable opportunity occurs. Advice to local authorities, in the form of a circular roads, would be premature at this time.

asked the Prime Minister if she will publish the Cabinet Office figures for 1979 and each year until 1984, and the projections for each year 1985 until 1990, giving the total of civilian and military research and development expenditure.

The information requested is published in the "Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development 1984", HMSO, ISBN 011 630826 5, table 2.1, for the years 1981–82 to 1936–87. No projections are available for the years after 1986–87, the last year covered by the most recent public expenditure survey. Similar material for the period before that covered by the Cabinet Office exercise, collected for statistical purposes by the Department of Trade and Industry, has been published in the article "Research and Development in the United Kingdom in 1981", Economic Trends, August 1984, p. 81–96, table B.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have been taken to mark the end of the first 10 years of the Oslo and Paris commissions.

A book entitled "The Oslo and Paris Commissions: The First Decade — International Co-operation in Protecting Our Marine Environment" has been published by the Oslo and Paris Secretariat, New Court, 48 Carey Street, London WC2A 2JE. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.The book records the history of, and progress made by, the commissions over the past 10 years and contains chapters on the national policies of the contracting parties towards waste management and waste disposal. The depositing of wastes in the sea and the discharging of wastes from the land to the aquatic environment are considered in the context of overall national waste disposal strategies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what account the allocation of resources to the Housing Corporation announced on 18 December takes of the imposition of value added tax on building alterations.

The announcement on 18 December of the provision of net capital resources for the Housing Corporation of £605 million plus estimated capital receipts of £80 million takes full account of the effect of value added tax. I shall be announcing shortly the breakdown of the Housing Corporation's approved development programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of the airfield at Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.

Excellent progress has been made with the work during 1984 as hon. Members who have visited the site in the last few months will know. Provided there is reasonable weather during the current Falklands summer, there is every prospect that the time lost because of the two dock strikes last year will be recovered and that the main runway will be ready on schedule at the end of April. I pay tribute to all concerned with the project, the management and work force of the contractor (the Laing-Mowlem-Amey Roadstone Construction joint venture), PSA and its consultants, for what they have achieved so far.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of people who obtained relief under section 1 of the Rating (Disabled Persons) Act 1978 in the last year for which figures are available; and what was the average rate reduction in each case.

Figures for years prior to 1983–84 are not available in the detail requested, and for that year complete figures are not yet available. By the end of December 1984 292 of 367 local authorities concerned in England had made final claims for rate payments towards mandatory relief under section 1 of the Rating (Disabled Persons) Act 1978. In those authorities 65,889 households had received relief totalling £6,029,747, an average per household of £91·51.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now give his reasons for ordering a new inquiry into the proposed superstore Centre 21, at Enderby, Leicestershire.

The inquiry is to be reopened so that differing estimates of the impact of the proposals on central Leicester can be examined in detail before the appeal is redetermined.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations took place with his Department before 25 acres of the Rye harbour site of special scientific interest were bulldozed and drained in 1983; whether he is considering restoration of the site of special scientific interest; and if he will make a statement on the future protection of this site.

The Rye harbour SSSI, which was first notified under the provisions of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, has been afforded the fuller statutory protection of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 since September 1984, when the Nature Conservancy Council gave notice of the scientific interest of the site to landowners and occupiers.Prior to the re-notification of the site landowners and occupiers were not obliged to consult the Nature Conservancy Council before carrying out work. However I understand that although some damage occurred before the site was re-notified, it was not severe and should not have any lasting effect. The site is now fully protected as a SSSI.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of registered drug addicts in (a) England and Wales and (b) Essex and Basildon; and what steps he is taking to reduce these figures.

The latest available information on narcotic drug addicts notified to the Home Office in England and Wales and Essex relates to 1983 and is given in Tables 3.11–3.13 of "Statistics of the Misuse of Drugs, United Kingdom, Supplementary Tables", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Corresponding figures for Basildon could be provided only at disproportionate cost.In regard to the final part of the question, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar) on 22 November 1984, at column

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why police officers are reimbursed the cost of National Health Service prescriptions and dental treatment.

Before the introduction of the National Health Service, police officers were provided with free medical and dental treatment as part of their conditions of service. When NHS charges were first introduced, it was agreed that police officers should not be required to pay for treatment to which they had previously been entitled free of charge. Provision was therefore made in the police regulations for reimbursement of the costs of NHS prescriptions and dental treatment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many man-days have been worked by the Metropolitan police on duties in the coalfield areas since their first duties there; and how many complaints about their behaviour have been made in the same period.

Between 14 March and 31 December 1984, aid provided by the Metropolitan police to other police forces in connection with the miners' dispute has amounted to some 204,000 man days.During the same period, 11 complaints under section 49 of the Police Act 1964 have been received by the Metropolitan police against their officers arising from duties in mining areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he proposes to introduce in the immigration appeals system following consideration of comments on the discussion document "Review of Appeals under the Immigration Act 1971."

The primary aim of the Government's review was to identify ways of reducing the unacceptable delays in the appeals system. Over the period of the review, however, delays have been greatly reduced. At the end of November 1984 the number of appeals awaiting hearing was about 9,500 compared with 16,350 at the end of 1979, and the average delay in the hearing centres was reduced, over the same period, from 14 months to three to four months. The objective of the review has therefore largely been achieved. We do not propose at this time to introduce any changes in rights of appeal, for example for illegal entrants before removal, although this will be considered when a suitable opportunity presents itself to amend the Immigration Act 1971. In the meantime there are a number of minor and tidying up changes which it is proposed to make to the Immigration Appeals (Procedure) Rules 1972 and the Immigration Appeals (Notices) Regulations 1972; and revised rules and regulations, both of which are subject to negative resolution of both Houses, will be laid shortly. These changes have the support of the appellate authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to receive the report of the review group on the Rutherford-Appleton laboratory; and if he will make a statement.

No such review group exists.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to make a decision about orders for two type 22 Broadsword class frigates.

A decision on the placing of orders for a further two type 22 frigates will be taken as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest cost estimate of a type 22 frigate, with stores, spare parts and ammunition.

The average cost of a batch III type 22 frigate is currently estimated at about £140 million at 1984–85 prices. The cost of embarked helicopters, the first outfit of stores, spare parts and ammunition are estimated at about £18 million at the same price level.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated cost of a type 23 Duke class frigate in 1981.

The average cost of the type 23 frigate, as then envisaged, was estimated at £75 million at September 1980 prices. This is equivalent to £103 million at 1984–85 prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest cost estimate of a type 23 Duke class frigate.

The average cost of the type 23 frigate is currently estimated at £110 million at 1984–85 prices. This includes the cost of design changes judged necessary as a result of lessons learned from the Falklands campaign.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many type 23 frigates will be ordered.

No decision has been taken on the number of type 23 frigates to be built.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the overrun in the Nimrod airborne radar programme; and how many months this programme is behind schedule.

Because of difficulties with the radar, the Nimrod AEW aircraft did not enter service in 1984 as we had announced in the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1984" (Cmnd 9227-I). We are assessing the various options for bringing the project to completion. Until a way forward has been agreed, it is not possible to determine by how much in real terms the project will exceed original estimates, nor by how long the programme as a whole will be delayed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the overspend in the Royal Air Force budget in 1984–85 to date; and what is the projected overspend in 1985–86.

There is no separate budget for the Royal Air Force, but a single defence block budget. Overall defence expenditure for 1984–85 is expected to be contained within the cash provision. The Defence Estimates for 1985–86 will be presented to Parliament this spring.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the sinking of an oceangoing tug off the Isle of Wight on 24 December 1984 on its way to the Falklands.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 January 1984, c. 460]: MV Implacable, an ocean-going tug, was chartered last year for use on naval tasks in the Falkland Islands. On her way to the south Atlantic the vessel capsized off the Isle of Wight on 24 December. I regret to say that the chief engineer is missing, presumed drowned. The rest of the crew were rescued. There were no Ministry of Defence personnel on board. An investigation into the loss is being conducted by the marine directorate of the Department of Transport.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information Her Majesty's Government have relating to the request by the Republic of Ireland for a further derogation from the European Economic Community directive relating to intra-Community travel allowances; if the Government support this request and if he will make a statement on the implication of this derogation for United Kingdom towns near the Irish border.

At the meeting of the Internal Market Council on 18 December 1984, a compromise proposal to raise the value of both the intra-Community travel allowance and the Irish derogation was considered; but it was withdrawn in the face of opposition by certain Member States. The United Kingdom would have been prepared to agree to this proposal.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the net amount to be contributed by the United Kingdom to the Common Market in 1985 and 1986 will compare with the net amount contributed in 1984 on the assumption that the resources of the EEC are increased in accordance with the Council of Ministers' recommendation.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish the latest estimates of the real change in taxes, rates and national insurance in 1984–85 compared with 1978–79 broken down (a) into the following categories: (i) income tax, (ii) corporation tax, (iii) North sea taxes, (iv) capital taxes and stamp duty, (v) national insurance contributions, employees (vi) national insurance contributions, employers, (vii) national insurance surcharge, (viii) local authority rates and (ix) taxes on expenditure; and (b) to show the division of changes in income tax between (i) taxes on investment income and (ii) taxes on those in the lower and upper deciles and in the four quartiles of tax units ranked by income.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 December 1984]: The available information is in the table. It is not possible to split the figure for the change in income tax revenue in the way requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the published total of rent arrears due to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive includes sums deemed due in arrears on behalf of its tenants under arrangements with the social security authorities; and what proportion of the total arrears those sums represent.

I understand from the chairman of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that about 4 per cent. (£800,000) of the total rent, rates and district heating arrears owed by tenants at 30 September 1984 was collected under current arrangements with the Department of Health and Social Services. It had not, however, been paid over to the Housing Executive at that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by the British Embassy in Paris to help United Kingdom manufacturers of medical equipment and aids for the handicapped to sell their products.

The embassy at Paris has been active in support of a task force on medical equipment and aids for the handicapped which was launched in October 1983 by the European trade committee, an area advisory group of the British Overseas Trade Board.The embassy was involved in the organisation of an inward trade mission in March 1984, when representatives of five French health care organisations visited the United Kingdom for five days. In November, a presentation of medical equipment and aids for the handicapped manufactured by 10 British firms was mounted at the Paris residence of Her Majesty's ambassador. The British Health-Care Export Council and the participating firms consider the presentation to have been an outstanding success.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times the staff of the commercial section in Peking visited the exhibitions in Tianjin, China, that took place from 29 November to 4 December.

Two members of the commercial department of Her Majesty's embassy, Peking attended the opening day (29 November) of the electric power and water exposition in Tianjin, China. They met the British exhibitors before the opening ceremony, attended the ceremony, escorted the Chinese dignitaries through the British stands and talked to the British exhibitors over lunch and in the afternoon at the exhibition. The commercial department of the embassy also assisted and briefed those exhibitors who contacted them at the embassy during or after the exhibition.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British companies exhibited at the energy exhibition in Tianjin, China, from 29 November to 4 December.

Nineteen British firms, including one major engineering company and five of its manufacturing subsidiaries, exhibited at the electric power and water exposition in Tianjin, China. Their participation was organised jointly by the Federation of British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers' Associations and the British Overseas Trade Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have received any request for diplomatic status to be given to Mr. E. Barlow, the Director of the South African Sports Office.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the number of staff in the British Embassy in Peking; and how they are deployed.

There are 38 United Kingdom based staff and 47 locally engaged staff in the British Embassy in Peking. The breakdown by Department is:

• Ambassador
• Personal Assistant

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what treaties and agreements have been signed with the Soviet Union since 1955.

The list of bilateral treaties and agreements between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union signed since 1955 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what notice he has been given by the Governments of (a) Japan and (b) Taiwan about fishing in 1985 in Falkland waters; and if he will make a statement.

No such notice has been received from either Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has and what consideration he is giving to assisting with the research and production of gallium arsenide microchips.

Government assistance for research and development and production investment of gallium arsenide integrated circuits has been provided for under the microelectronics industry support programme 2.The majority of the market for integrated circuits will continue to be satisfied by silicon devices which, accordingly, remain the major priority for assistance under MISP 2. However, because of the importance of the high speed and optical properties of integrated circuits made from gallium arsenide and similar materials, assistance has been earmarked for projects in this area.Proposals for assistance have been received from three companies and several more are expected.Support is also being given for research and development in this broad area through the joint optoelectronics research scheme and, indirectly, the ESPRIT programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how he defines productivity in manufacturing industry; and what statistics are used to assess changes in such productivity.

The definitions of productivity in manufacturing refer only to labour productivity. This is defined as either output per person, in which manufacturing output is divided by the employed labour force in manufacturing, or output per person hour in which an adjustment is made for the number of hours worked. Statistics are readily available for productivity on both definitions. Further information is available in the CSO occasional paper "Output Per Person Hour in Manufacturing" (CSO output measures occasional paper number 15). A copy of this publication is in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the meeting of the Minister of State for Information Technology and James Beggs, Director of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in relation to the future of IRAS, and possible participation in the European infra-red space observatory in 1992.

Mr. Beggs was in the United Kingdom only briefly on 13 and 14 December to present NASA awards in connection with the very successful infra-red astronomy satellite mission. Mr. Beggs then had a short social meeting with my hon. Friend. Their discussion touched on a number of space matters, including possible British participation in the international space station programme but not the particular science projects referred to by the hon. Member. My hon. Friend hopes to meet Mr. Beggs again in Washington later this month.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the ratio of staff to work load in his Department's offices at Saxon house, East Newcastle and the Green, Wallsend, by year over the past 10 years; and if he will give the total staffing figures for the past 10 years, by year, and the annual number of claimants.

The Departmental local office complementing system — a guide to which is in the Library—provides for the determination of local office complements, that is the number of staff required to deal with the estimated continuing work load, and their adjustment as work load levels change.I regret that statistics in the form requested on the number of claimants over the last 10 years at the local offices mentioned could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In addition, comparison between numbers of staff and claimants would be misleading as workloads vary considerably by type and duration of claim and the action that has to be taken. All these factors vary over time and as a result of legislative, policy and procedural changes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice is given to examining medical officers on the virtually-unable-to-walk eligibility requirement for mobility allowance.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman) on 21 November at column 203.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaf-blind people are currently in receipt of mobility allowance; how many have appealed after an initial refusal; how many have succeeded on appeal; and what are these figures on geographical basis.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated cost of extending mobility allowance to (a) all deaf-blind people and (b) deaf-blind people between the ages of five and 65 years.

I regret that information on which to base an estimate is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in the light of the Oglesby report, he is looking at ways in which medical reports on mobility allowance claims could be simplified and used by the claimant's own doctor.

We are still considering this recommendation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are deaf-blind; and how many are aged between five and 65 years.

As at 31 March 1982, the latest date for which information is centrally available, the number of people in England registered as blind and deaf was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects the reviews being undertaken on pensions, housing benefit and supplementary benefit to be completed.

We will be publishing our conclusions and proposals for change as soon as we are in a position to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why back pain and back injury are not included as a prescribed disease in the industrial injury provision of the Social Services Act 1975; and if he will make a statement.

In its review of the schedule of prescribed industrial diseases (Cmnd. 8393) the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council concluded that prescription would not be appropriate for back pain since this was a symptom rather than a specific clinical condition or an effect of exposure to certain substances. Claims in respect of back pain and back injury may, however, be successful under the accident provisions of the industrial injuries scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many industrial injury benefit scheme claims have been received by his Department in each of the last five years from National Health Service employees; and of these how many were successful.

I regret this information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in comparable terms, what are the levels of supplementary benefit presently allocated to the families of striking miners; and what were the levels paid in similar circumstances in 1974.

Levels of supplementary benefit payable for the families of strikers depend on individual circumstances, taking account of any other family income. The rules which apply to such payments have changed since 1974 and it is not possible to provide figures showing amounts of benefit paid in exactly comparable terms. One of the main changes is that help with rent and rates is now provided by a separate housing benefit, whereas in 1974 housing costs were covered by supplementary benefit. Another major change, since 1980, is that a specified sum (currently £16) is now deducted from the supplementary benefit requirements of families of strikers.For illustrative purposes, some examples of supplementary benefit scale-rates which applied to strikers' families in 1974 and their equivalents at the present time are shown in the table. Housing requirements have been excluded and the £16 specified sum has been deducted from the 1984 figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps were taken by his Department to enforce the requirement that recipients of attendance allowances notify his Department when they move from private accommodation to residential accommodation which is provided by or with the help of a public or local authority.

A claimant who fails to notify the Department of a change of circumstances which affects his entitlement to attendance allowance may be liable to prosecution and, subject to the decision of the adjudication authorities, be required to repay any sums to which he is found not to have been entitled.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what investigations have been conducted by his Department into the health hazards arising from haphazard veterinary waste disposal methods.

None, but the problem of veterinary waste disposal is discussed in waste management paper No. 25 "Clinical Waste", published in 1983 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what specific guidelines he has issued to hospitals about energy consumption during the last three years.

During the last three years, the Department has issued guidelines to health authorities on a number of energy conservation measures including recovering waste heat from incinerators and in laundries, minimising heat losses in hot water systems, energy management systems, replacement of inefficient boilers, thermal insulation of buildings and appropriate engineering services, small-scale combined heat and power plants and checks on energy saving effectiveness. A computer program has been made available for making decisions locally, when planning long-term investment in energy saving measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has on the costs of supplementary benefit, housing benefit and unemployment benefit to 16 and 17-year-olds.

Approximate, estimated expenditure for 16 and 17-year-olds in 1983–84 was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total amount of benefit claimed by, and in respect of, unemployed 16 and 17-year-olds; and how that amount is distributed between the various classes of claim.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 January, c. 506]: Estimated total benefit expenditure on unemployed 16 and 17-year-olds in 1983–84 was £225 million (rounded). This breaks down approximately as follows: