asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will take steps to assess the security implications of access by convicted terrorists to the Palace of Westminster; and if he will make a statement.

The responsible authorities are fully aware of the implications of the incident to which my hon. Friend refers. I have drawn his concern about the matter to their attention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the longest period of time that an unconvicted prisoner was held in police cells in 1984.

Thirty-six nights.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held in police cells at the latest available date; and if he will give then-sex and location.

On the night of 15/16 January, seven female prisoners were held in Metropolitan police cells. This apart, no prisoners have been held in police cells this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) why it was found to be necessary to hold prisoners in police cells in 1984;(2) what progress has been made towards implementing his promise given in 1983 to end the use of police cells for unconvicted and unsentenced prisoners.

The ending of the routine use of police cells for unconvicted prisoners in the London area on 31 December 1983 proved impossible to sustain throughout the first part of 1984 because of the rise in the unsentenced prison population. However, the re-opening of

	Age	Sex	Offence/Charge	Sentence	Cause of death
1.	44	M	Threatening to kill	Unsentenced	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
2.	47	M	Burglary, criminal damage	6 months	Open verdict: acute onchronic bronchitis, toxic myocarditis, coronary atheroma
3.	48	M	Grievous bodily harm	4 years	Natural causes: cardiac failure, coronary arterial sclerosis
4.	56	M	Conspiracy, drug offences	21 months	Natural causes: coronary thrombosis, atherosclerosis, myocardial fibrosis
5.	31	M	Theft, handling stolen goods	Unsentenced	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
6.	74	M	Riding without a crash helmet	37 days	Natural causes: haemo pericardium ruptured myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis
7.	42	F	Burglary, obtaining by deception	Unsentenced	Open verdict: subdural haemorrhage
8.	18	M	Burglary	9 months	Natural causes: cerebral haematoma
9.	33	M	Robbery	7 years	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
10.	55	M	Murder	Life	Natural causes: cancer

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what means the Metropolitan police have available to scrutinise non-English language publications that circulate among ethnic minorities in order to ascertain whether inflammatory material is being published that is offensive under section 70 of the Race Relations Act or the Public Order Act; what steps have been taken to bring prosecutions when such material is published; and what have been the results.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that if the police have reason to believe that such a publication might be in breach of section 5A of the Public Order Act 1936 they will arrange for it to be translated in order to determine whether an offence may have been committed. I understand there have been no prosecutions under section 5A in respect of non-English language publications.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide for each of those prisoners who committed suicide in prison in 1983 (a) any indication of the reason for the suicide, (b) the most recent medical assessment of his mental state, (c) the special precautions that were taken and (d) when he was last seen alive and by whom.

This information is not readily available, and my noble Friend will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the age, sex, offence and sentence and cause of death of those prisoners who died in custody in 1984.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the age, sex, offence and sentence of each of the 44 prisoners who died in penal establishments in 1983 and the further 20 prisoners who died in or en route to hospital.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now consider the introduction of tape recording facilities for immigration interviews at ports of entry.

No. Consideration needs to await the outcome of a further review by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the possible use of tape recordings in interviews by entry clearance officers abroad.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consideration has been given by Her Majesty's Government to the position of Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka; what is being done to allow such people to remain in the United Kingdom pending an improvement of the situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

We are keeping a close watch on developments in Sri Lanka. Since April 1984, no Sri Lankan Tamil who has expressed a fear of return to Sri Lanka has been returned there.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for the number of (a) Sri Lankan Tamils and (b) Sri Lankan citizens who since July 1983 have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom; of these applications how many have so far been determined; and of these how many have (i) been granted asylum or refugee status, (ii) been granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom, (iii) been granted leave to remain under other provisions of the regulations and (iv) been deported or removed to Sri Lanka during the period July to December 1983 and since 1 January 1984.

I regret that this information is not available in the form requested; immigration statistics are kept by nationality, not according to ethnic group.During the period 1 July 1983 to 31 December 1984, about 700 applications for asylum or refugee status were received from Sri Lankan nationals, of which 450 remained outstanding at 31 December 1984. Decisions were reached on 200 applications (others were withdrawn): two were granted refugee status, 28 were granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom and the remainder were refused. Information on the numbers of those refused who may have been removed to Sri Lanka is not available. However, since the end of April 1984, no Sri Lankan Tamil who has expressed a fear of return to Sri Lanka has been returned there.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people, since the Act came into force, have been registered as British citizens under section 4 of the British Nationality Act 1981; and how many of them were from Hong Kong.

The number of people registered under section 4 of the British Nationality Act 1981 since it came into force on 1 January, 1983 is 2,167. The further information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that Her Majesty's Government's food aid is properly distributed in Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

In general, yes. The Ethiopian Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, with whom we co-operate closely over plans for distribution, administer most of it. Transport and distribution are monitored by the World Food Programme on our behalf and we finance two British members of their monitoring team. The remainder is distributed by British voluntary agencies working in Ethiopia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further aid he will give to assist the victims of the African drought and the needs of other refugees in the world.

I have decided to give £1 million to the 1985 Africa Appeal of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; £1 million to the Africa Emergency Appeal of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for use in the Sudan; £1 million to the High Commissioner's 1985 programme for Afghan refugees in Pakistan; and £2 million to the 1985 Africa General Appeal of the International Committee of the Red Cross, to allow it to continue and extend its work in Ethiopia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further British food aid is being supplied to refugees in Sudan.

15,000 tonnes of British grain financed from our national food aid programme is now on the way to Port Sudan for use in feeding refugees entering the Sudan. The shipment was originally intended for World Food Programme use in Ethiopia but has been diverted to meet the emergency needs in Sudan following assurances that the Ethiopian ports will be working to capacity in January and February 1985 even without it; and that the WFP will make up the 15,000 tonnes for Ethiopia at an appropriate time.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he intends to take against any Northern Ireland civil servant who refuses to return the form recently distributed by the equal opportunities monitory unit.

None. A reminder will be issued but it has been made clear to staff that completion of the questionnaire issued by the equal opportunities unit is voluntary.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if it is the intention of the equal opportunities monitory unit to use the personal files of Northern Ireland civil servants to determine the section of the community to which they are perceived by others to belong if they do not return the questionnaire recently distributed.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to the total capacity of cold storage in Northern Ireland both publicly and privately owned.

The total capacity approved by the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce is approximately 58,000 tonnes, all privately owned.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will break down the figures in table 3.17 of the "Government's Expenditure Plan 1985–86 to 1987–88" (Cmnd. 9428-II) on the same basis as tables 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13 and 3.14 of the same publication.

This information will not be available until main Estimates for 1985–86 have been prepared by Northern Ireland Departments; I will write to the hon. Gentleman towards the end of March.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report, as soon as it is available to him, the total regional development grant paid for Wales in 1984.

Regional development grant paid in 1984 in respect of premises in Wales amounted to £80·8 million, of which £77·4 million was paid by the Department of Trade and Industry up to 28 November 1984 and £3·4 million by the Welsh Office from 29 November 1984.

asked the Secretay of State for Wales, if he will give details of the settlement reached on 10 February 1984 between the Welsh Health Technical Services Organisation and S. W. Milburn and Partners and W. S. Atkins and Partners pertaining to structural and material defects in the Heath hospital, Cardiff.

The settlement was reached between the Welsh health technical services organisation, acting on the advice of counsel, and the other parties. It was a term of the settlement that the agreement should be confidential to the parties subject only to the right of confidential disclosure to the Welsh Office and the Public Accounts Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress of the environmental epidemiology research unit of the Medical Research Council in its consideration of research into the incidence of cancer in relation to pesticides and agrochemicals.

I understand that the Medical Research Council's environmental epidemiology unit is conducting

Numbers of children in schools by size of class (England, January 1984)
Number of pupils in class	30 or fewer pupils	31–35 pupils	36–40 pupils	Over 40 pupils	Total
Classes taught by one teacher
Primary	2,606,929	796,447	87,368	7,741	3,498,491
Secondary	2,999,803	363,704	12,795	3,216	3,379,518
Classes taught by two or more teachers
Primary	72,908	34,606	18,051	46,044	171,609
Secondary	40,001	12,848	7,051	104,264	164,164
All classes
Primary	2,679,837	831,053	105,419	53,791	3,670,100
Secondary	3,039,804	376,552	19,846	107,480	3,543,682

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the purpose of the present system of incremental pay scales for teachers in maintained schools; and if this purpose is being achieved.

The purpose of the present system is not made explicit in the pay agreement made by the responsible Burnham committee. Recent work by and under the committee has addressed criticisms of the present system as regards the rewards for differing levels of experience, expertise and responsibility, and the career structure for teachers.

asked the Prime Minister if she will place in the Library a copy of the constitutional document concerning the Falkland Islands which has been discussed by the Falklands Legislative Council.

A copy of this document was placed in the Library of the House yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations have been conducted on the interdepartmental working party's review of legislation on false and misleading price information; what action he now intends to take; and if he will consider extending the review to cover consumer price indications for real property, including new houses.

I hope to make an announcement to the House on this matter shortly. a study of cancer incidence and mortality in a group of workers exposed to herbicides and pesticides in the course of manufacture and application, that the gathering of data for the study is complete and that the unit is at present analysing the data.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children in primary and secondary schools are in classes with (a) 31 to 35 pupils, (b) 36 to 40 pupils and (c) over 40 pupils.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's target for the level of public borrowing as a proportion of gross domestic product.

The Government's policies are directed towards a progressive reduction in public borrowing over the medium term. The Chancellor's autumn statement gave a forecast of £8½ billion for the PSBR in 1984–85, equivalent to 2·5 per cent. of gross domestic product. Illustrative figures for later years are set out in the medium-term financial strategy, published in the 1984–85 Financial Statement and Budget Report, and these will be reviewed at Budget time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he proposes to take to reappraise the relative rates of return of all nationalised industries.

Successive Governments have required industries' investment programmes to earn a real rate of return of 5 percent. before tax. Individual financial targets spanning a fixed period are set for nearly all nationalised industries. They are usually expressed in terms of a current cost operating profit as a percentage of revalued assets and are based on discussion with the industries. They reflect a judgment about the application of the basic principles on investment and economic pricing to the particular trading environment of the industry concerned. Industries' rates of return are, therefore, already systematically reviewed from time to time and I see no need for further reappraisal.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to date to the public sector borrowing requirement of the dispute in the mining industry; and if he will make a statement.

The autumn statement gave an estimate of abut £1½ billion as the cost to the PSBR in 1984–85 on the assumption that the strike would end on 31 December 1984. It is too soon to give any new estimate of cost.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is now in a position to make a statement about the arrangements for non-resident individuals in connection with the composite rate scheme for bank interest introduced by the Finance Act 1984.

Yes. The new scheme provides for the exclusion from the composite rate tax arrangements of deposits held by individuals who are not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, provided the deposit taker holds an appropriate declaration, signed either by the nonresident beneficially entitled to the interest, or by a person receiving the interest on his behalf, certifying that the individual concerned is not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and that a relevant change in residence status will be notified to the deposit taker.It has become clear, in the light of recent discussions with the banks, that the form and content of these declarations need to be more precisely defined both to ensure effective compliance and in the interest of efficient implementation of the scheme. We therefore propose to introduce measures this year to facilitate this. Details will be given in an Inland Revenue press release which, with my authority, it is issuing later today.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated total cost of the refurbishment and so on which will be required at Bicester, Bovington, Donnington and Old Dalby in consequence of the closure of the REME workshops at Chilwell and Newark.

Temperature record, Carnwath, Lanarkshire
	Absolute maximum (°C)	Highest daily mean (°C)	Monthly mean (°C)	Lowest daily mean (°C)	Absolute mimimum (°C)
1980
January	7·8	4·3	-0·1	-7·1	-13·5
February	10·0	7·4	3·2	-4·4	-9·2
March	9·8	5·1	2·1	-2·8	-8·4
October	13·1	10·8	6·2	0·3	-6·2
November	12·0	9·9	4·1	-2·3	-8·2
December	10·6	8·4	3·4	-2·3	-8·0
1981
January	9·5	7·8	2·5	-3·3	-9·2
February	10·1	7·4	1·5	-2·6	-9·1
March	13·4	10·1	4·9	-1·6	-7·6
October	11·7	10·8	4·4	-0·9	-7·8
November	12·2	8·7	5·1	0·7	-4·0

It is not possible to separate the consequences of the closure of Chilwell and Newark in cost terms from refurbishment and other costs arising from the totality of REME static workshop review proposals. The estimated capital investment needed in the workshops mentioned in order to satisfy the requirements proposed for the reorganisation of the static workshops are:

£
Bicester	805,000
Bovington	885,000
Donnington	130,000
Old Dalby	600,000

However, there are capital savings associated with the closures; these amount to £4 million. to which should be added the realisable value of the Chilwell and Newark sites, assessed together at £1·5 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why members of the armed forces were placed on amber alert in Liverpool in November 1984.

It would not be in the public interest to comment in detail on the reasons for the particular alert states applying to the armed forces; but we must be alert to the danger of terrorist attack. The state of alert in November 1984 applied throughout the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what temperatures have been recorded for the Meteorological Office at Carnwath, Lanarkshire, in each winter month in each of the last five years; and what is the latest temperature recorded.

There is no meteorological office at Carnwath, Lanarkshire. However, temperature measurements are available to the Meteorological Office free of charge from a voluntary climatological observer there. These consist of daily maximum and minimum temperatures and the temperature measured at 9 am each day and are reported monthly in arrears.To extract from archives the 2,700 temperatures recorded over the period requested would involve disproportionate effort. The latest measurement, obtained by telephone from the volunteer, the minimum temperature on 21 January 1985, was minus 10°C. However, the following details are illustrative.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will provide information on the thermal energy generated and spent fuel discharged by each of the Central Electricity Generating Board's magnox reactors in the fiscal year 1983–84;(2) if he will provide information on the amount of plutonium produced, and the total of all isotopes, by each of the Central Electricity Generating Board magnox reactors in each fiscal year from 1978–79 to 1983–84;(3) if he will provide information on the amount of plutonium in the spent fuel in storage at the each of the Central Electricity Generating Board's magnox reactors on 31 March 1978 and on 31 March 1984;(4) if he will update to 31 March 1984 the information on the allocation of plutonium produced in Central Electricity Generating Board and South of Scotland Electricity Board magnox reactors given in reply to the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester), on 27 July 1983,

The following table sets out the allocation or use of plutonium produced in the Magnox reactors of the CEGB and SSEB at 31 March 1984.

Table One Allocation of Plutonium produced in CEGB or SSEB Magnox reactors. Position at 31 March 1984.
	Tonnes (Nearest ½tonne)
Plutonium in irradiated fuel
(a) Estimated in fuel in CEGB/SSEB Magnox reactors	9
(b) Estimated plutonium in fuel discharged from CEGB/SSEB Magnox reactors, but not yet reprocessed	3½
Separated plutonium
(c) In stock at British Nuclear Fuels Ltd as oxide	19½.

	Tonnes (Nearest ½tonne)
(d) In process at British Nuclear Fuels Ltd in intermediate other forms (eg. nitrate)	½
(e) Sold or leased to UKAEA for Fast Reactor R & D since 1969	5
(f) Exported for civil purposes to countries other than the US	½
Sub total	38
(g) Balance (see note (g) below)
Notes
(a) These figures are derived from the known tonnage of fuel elements and their estimated overall average irradiation and cannot be accurately calculated.
(b) As for (a). About 30% of amount shown was held by BNFL.
(e) About 20% of amount shown was held by BNFL.
(g) The balance of plutonium produced in the Boards' Magnox reactors was consigned to the United States before 1971 under the United States/United Kingdom Defence Agreement, and as stated by the Prime Minister, on 21 April 1964, was used by United States for civil purposes. Because of the barter arrangements under which this plutonium was consigned, it would not be in the national interest to publish this figure.

The themal output generated and spent fuel discharged for each of the CEGB's Magnox stations in 1983–84 was as follows:

Table Two
Station	Thermal Output (Gwh)	Fuel Discharged (tonnes u)
Bradwell	5448	64
Berkeley	3786	8
Hinkley Point A	13416	104
Trawsfynydd	10678	105
Dungeness A	10368	94
Sizewell	11552	91
Oldbury	10668	97
Wylfa	24249	121

The total of the board's plutonium in spent fuel in storage at the stations and at Sellafield at 31 March 1984 is given in table one line b. Typical plutonium production rates for Magnox reactors were given by my hon. Friend

the Member for Pudsey (Mr. Shaw) in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Mr. Rost) on 27 July 1983 at column

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has decided which consortia will receive grants for the preparation of a prospectus for a combined heat and power district heating scheme following his announcement on 5 April 1984; and if he will make a statement.

On 5 April, I announced the Government's willingness to make up to three grants, not exceeding £0·25 million each, to consortia for the preparation of a prospectus for a combined heat and power/district heating scheme. I said then that the preferred choice would be one scheme in each of Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and that the Government would be looking for substantial private sector involvement in the consortia. I received 10 proposals.In deciding upon the consortia to receive further funding, I particularly took into account:

asked the Attorney-General what means he has available to scrutinise non-English language publications that circulate among ethnic minorities in order to ascertain whether inflammatory material is being published that is offensive under section 70 of the Race Relations Act or the Public Order Act; what steps he has taken to bring prosecutions when such material is published; and what have been the results.

I do not have the facilities available within my Department for the routine scrutiny of non-English language publications. If I receive a complaint about such publications, and have reason to believe that an offence may have been committed under this provision, I will ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to refer the matter to the police, who have translation facilities available to them. Before reaching a decision to refer the matter to the police for translation, I welcome an indication, however rough, of the contents of

EC unemployment
	Unadjusted, national definitions			OECD standardised rates
	Latest month	Thousands	Percentage rate	Latest month	Percentage rate
Belgium	November	510·0	18·5	November	15·7
Denmark	October	257·4	9·8	*	*
France	December	2,524·9	13·2	November	9·2

asked the Attorney-General if the Director of Public Prosecutions will prosecute Commander Wreford-Brown in respect of information provided by him and published in "Our Falklands War" in March 1983.

The circumstances of the publication of "Our Falklands War" have not been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the Ministry of Defence or any other body or individual.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons have applied for assistance under the enterprise allowance scheme whose applications were refused because of a lack of places under the scheme.

High demand for places early in 1984 meant that many people had to wait before they could proceed with their applications. However, in response to this demand the number of places available on the scheme was increased substantially and waiting lists were eliminated.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish for the latest available date a table showing the numbers out of work and the unemployment rate for each of the countries of the EEC and for each of the four countries of the United Kingdom respectively.

Following is the available information using national unadjusted series, and also including standardised unemployment rates compiled by the OECD. The latter are only available in the form of rates. The national unadjusted figures are not comparable because of differences in definitions and coverage of the statistics, while the OECD standardised rates take account of these differences as far as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been unemployed for over 12 months; and what were the comparable figures in April 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of people unemployed for over 12 months; and what this is as a proportion of those out of work.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) by what percentage the total number of unemployed in the Hertfordshire, West constituency has changed between December 1983 and December 1984;(2) by what percentage the total number of unemployed women in the Hertfordshire, West constitutency has changed between September 1984 and December 1984.

The information is available in the House of Commons Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement of Government policy regarding the Republic of China on Taiwan and future diplomatic and commercial relations.

Since 1950 Her Majesty's Government have dealt with the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Goverment of China. Accordingly there can be no question of entering into diplomatic or other official relations with the authorities in Taiwan.British industry has substantial commercial dealings with Taiwan, but these are pursued through non-official channels.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of the total cost against his budget of maintaining the Falkland Islands for the present financial year; and what are the corresponding figures for 1982–83 and 1983–84.

There is no provision in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget for the normal cost of maintaining the Falkland Islands. Normal expenditure is met from the Falkland Islands Government revenues.Provision has, however, been made in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget for rehabilitation and

development aid, and for the cost of the Diplomatic Service personnel in Port Stanley. These costs are approximately as follows:

	Rehabilitation and Development Aid £ million	Diplomatic Service Personnel £
1982–83	10	152,000
1983–84	6	170,000
1984–85*	8	187,000
* Estimate.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will analyse the present population of the colony of Hong Kong, other than persons temporarily resident there, according to their existing nationality, specifying in each category the basis of that status and the estimated numbers holding it.

According to the latest figures available the total population of Hong Kong is approximately 5·3 million. The Hong Kong Government estimate that this figure is made up as follows:

A. 20,000 British Citizens (with right of abode in the United Kingdom).

B. 3 million British Dependent Territories citizens (with right of abode in Hong Kong).

C. 1·8 million Chinese residents (ie persons of Chinese race with the right to reside in Hong Kong).

C. 400,000 other persons of Chinese race (who have lived in Hong Kong for less than seven years and have not therefore acquired the right of permanent residence).

E. 95,500 Other foreign nationals.

F. 4,500 Stateless persons of non-Chinese race, most of whom originate from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the new category of British nationality (overseas) is proposed for Hong Kong instead of the existing category of British overseas citizenship; and in what significant respects the former differs from the latter.

We believe that the circumstances of Hong Kong are unique and should be reflected in a unique status. There are also reasons why British overseas citizenship would not be an "appropriate status" within the terms of the United Kingdom memorandum. For example, British overseas citizenship may be acquired at any time by registration, but the United Kingdom memorandum imposes time limits on the acquisition of the new status.The benefits to be accorded to holders of the proposed new status of "British national (overseas)" are still under detailed consideration and will be subject to parliamentary approval. The Government intend, however, that they should be broadly the same as those enjoyed by British dependent territories citizens, except for transmissibility. This means that there are unlikely to be major differences under United Kingdom law in the benefits enjoyed by holders of the proposed British national (overseas) status and the existing British overseas citizenship.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for road service licences to run stage carriage bus services have been made in the last two years for which figures are available; and how many of these applications have been refused.

In 1982–83 2,005 applications were made for new road service licences (excluding renewals and excursions and tours). Three hundred and fifty-one applications were opposed of which 104 were withdrawn following objection and 18 refused. The comparable figures for 1983–84 were 1,885, 319, 93 and seven.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made any study of the navigational implications of the provisions contained in the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Bill.

Before making its report on the Bill in due course, the Government will consider all its aspects, including those affecting navigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to enable all objectors appearing before transport users' consultative committees in connection with railway closures to be represented by counsel; and if he will make a statement.

There is nothing in the present law to prevent the chairman of a transport user's consultative committee allowing objectors to be represented by counsel when public hearings into rail passenger closure proposals are held, and I understand that some chairman already do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now announce his decision, following the commissioners' report, about the proposal to increase toll charges on the Severn bridge.

As I explained to the hon. Member in my reply of 3 December 1984 at column 32, the inspector's report is being considered. The decision will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the annual cost of maintenance of road signs for the years 1980 to 1984.

The cost of maintaining road signs is not recorded as a separate item. However, the total costs of routine maintenance of permanent road signs, traffic signals, pedestrian crossings and motorway communications equipment in England in the financial years 1980–81 to 1982–83 were as follows:

£ million
	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83
Motorways and trunk roads	5·125	5·792	6·596
Local authority roads	32·758	37·924	40·672
Total	37·883	43·716	47·268

Final figures for 1983–84 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the research projects and studies on maritime issues which are currently under commission by his Department, their purpose, the organisations which are carrying out the work, and the costs.