asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has prepared plans for the implementation in his Department of the recommendations for sex monitoring and for positive action, respectively, for the purpose of providing equal opportunities in his Department in accordance with the recommendations contained in the draft code of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Arrangements which accord with the monitoring and positive action recommendations of the code are already in hand following the publication on 9 February 1984 of the programme of action on women in the Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now give the total coal stocks both distributed and undistributed as of (a) 31 December 1984 and (b) 31 January 1985.

The latest official figures for coal stocks published in the January edition of "Energy Trends" show total distributed stocks of 16·743 million tonnes and total undistributed stocks of 21·085 million tonnes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many man hours have been provided by the Metropolitan police in connection with the miners' dispute;(2) how many man hours have been provided by the Metropolitan police since 14 March to deal with racial harassment problems.

Between 14 March 1984 and 9 February 1985 aid provided by the Metropolitan police to other police forces in connection with the miners' dispute has amounted to some 213,000 man-days. Information about the number of man-hours worked is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.No central record is maintained by the Metropolitan police of the time spent by officers on each of the many tasks they may be called upon to perform in the course of normal divisional duties in the Metropolitan police district.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has prepared plans for the implementation in his Department of the recommendations for sex monitoring and for positive action, respectively, for the purpose of providing equal opportunities in his Department in accordance with the recommendations contained in the draft code of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Arrangements which accord with the monitoring and positive action recommendations of the draft code are already in hand following the publication on 9 February 1984 of the programme of action of women in the Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the delay in drawing up a national code of practice covering means of escape in case of fire from houses in multiple occupation; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the subject of means of escape in case of fire from houses in multi-occupation in the Liverpool area; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply, I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mr. Parry) on 14 February at column 235.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will seek the renewal of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984; and if he will make a statement.

A draft order was laid on 12 February under section 14(10) of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984. If the draft order is approved by Parliament, the Act will continue in force for a further 12 months. I shall receive Sir Cyril Philips' first report on the operation of the Act very shortly; his report and my response to it will be made public before the draft order is debated.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the present level of British aid to the Tigré area of Ethiopia.

The relief aid we are providing to help victims of the famine in Ethiopia is not specifically directed to particular provinces, but is intended to help those in need wherever they may be.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek a report from the Secretary General of the United Nations as to the present situation in Ethiopia, including allegations that food relief has been abused, and is not reaching all parts of Ethiopia, that people are being forcibly resettled and that money donated to relief agencies has been misappropriated; and if he will make a statement.

I discussed the problem as a whole with the United Nations Assistant Secretary General for emergency operations in Ethiopia, Mr. Kurt Jansson, on 12 February. I believe that the massive food and other relief now being provided is reaching those in need, including most of those so identified in Eritrea and Tigré, although clearly there are substantial difficulties in areas where there is civil war. I have been concerned at recent reports about forcible resettlement, but it is difficult to obtain firm evidence. Allegations that money given to relief agencies has been misappropriated are for those agencies to answer, but I am satisfied that the money we are providing to individual agencies is being properly and usefully spent.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the current level of Government aid given to Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

I am satisfied that we are doing what we can, both nationally and through the European Community. But further needs will arise as the year goes on, and we shall continue our efforts to meet them.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 4 December 1984, Official Report, column 135, what is the most recent information he has as to how much grain has now been promised by each developed country to Ethiopia over the next 12 months; how far this is short of Ethiopia's needs; and in which month each country's promised delivery is likely to arrive in Ethiopia.

Commitments of food aid notified to the office of the UN co-ordinator for Ethiopia for the period December 1984 to June 1985 are set out in table 1. Precise figures for the second half of the year are not available, although many donors have indicated their intentions. The UN co-ordinator estimates that completed deliveries plus pledges notified to him will be sufficient to meet the target of 1·2 million tonnes of cereals he set in December 1984. This took account of the country's absorptive capacity and was based on an estimate of 7·6 million people in need of emergency relief.Forecasts of arrivals of cereals and cereal products at the ports of Assab, Massawa and Djibouti are set out in table II. No firm information is available on shipments after April.

Table I
Commitments of food aid to Ethiopia covering December 1984 to June 1985 by country
Country	(Tonnes)
Australia	8,500
Austria	4,000
Belgium	8,400
Bulgaria	18,000
Canada	75,100
China	4,300
Denmark	900
European Community (to August 1985)	178,200
Finland	1,600
Federal Republic of Germany	31,000
France	2,600
Greece	8,000
Hungary	2,500
India	35,000
Ireland	1,600
Italy	2,000

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what allocation is being made in the current year to Oxfordshire county council to assist in building programmes for church-aided schools; and what criteria are used in determining such allocation.

The limit of capital expenditure by the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools in Oxfordshire on which the Department will be prepared to pay grant in 1985–86 is £113,000. In determining the distribution of the resources available for building work at voluntary schools, first priority must be given to meeting commitments on projects already under way. Governors' estimates of commitments for 1985–86 proved substantially higher nationally than had been expected. In consequence, it has been possible to approve only those new projects which are statutorily required to meet "basic need" — for new school places in areas of population growth—or to implement proposals approved under section 13 of the Education Act 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the cost at current prices, in both capital and revenue terms, if a place in nursery education were to be provided in September 1985 for every child aged three and four years old; and what is his estimate of the cost if that were done for September 1988.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the steps taken by the Commission and the various Councils of Ministers to fulfill the conditions linked to the agreement on increased own resources made at the Fontainebleu summit relating to budgetary discipline.

The Council of Ministers (Foreign Affairs) at the meeting in Dublin on 4 December adopted detailed arrangements to implement budgetary discipline. Article 10 of the Council conclusions adopted provides that budgetary discipline will apply to the 1986 budget and to Council decisions taken in 1985 affecting expenditure in 1986. The Commission has stated that its agricultural proposals for 1985 are within the agricultural guideline figure for 1986. Those proposals will be discussed by the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) on 25/26 February. Discussion of the 1986 budget has not yet begun.

asked the Prime Minister what mechanism has been established to monitor the effective budgetary descipline which the Council of Ministers agreed as a condition of increasing the Common Market's own resources at the Fontainebleu Council; and if she will make a statement.

The text agreed unanimously by the Council of Ministers on 4 December fulfils the European Council's request that the measures necessary to guarantee the effective application of budgetary discipline be adopted. Under the new procedures, Finance Ministers have been given an important role in ensuring that spending decisions are compatible with the requirements of budgetary discipline.

asked the Prime Minister if, in the light of the statement made by the then Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Kinross and West Perthshire (Sir A. Douglas-Home) on 21 April 1964, Official Report, column 1098, that military plutonium production was being gradually terminated, she will make a statement on progress to date in this regard.

It is not in the national interest to give details of defence plutonium production; however, it is kept to the minimum required to meet defence needs.

asked the Prime Minister if, in the light of evidence given to the Sizewell inquiry about the use of military reactors, Her Majesty's Government will now answer parliamentary questions about such reactors to the extent consonant with essential national security; and if she will make a statement.

Her Majesty's Government will continue to answer questions about the use of military reactors to the extent consonant with national security.

asked the Prime Minister what is the purpose of the moneys paid out of the Exchequer to hill farmers; and if she will publish in the Official Report particulars of such moneys paid out in each of the past five years together with particulars of any moneys paid out by the EEC during the same period.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave him on 31 January 1985. Details of support to agriculture in hill areas are given in table 28 of the White Paper on the "Annual Review of Agriculture 1985" (Cmnd. 9423).

asked the Prime Minister if, at any time during her holiday last summer, she was not contactable from London by telephone.

asked the Prime Minister (1) if she will list the occasions in 1984 when she was out of the country on official business; and by what means she could be contacted by her officials on each occasion;(2) what arrangements she made in 1984 for officials to be able to contact her whilst she was on holiday.

I was out of the country on official business on the following occasions during 1984:

Date
23 January	France
26–27 February	Italy
2–3 February	Hungary
13–14 February	Soviet Union
19–20 March	Belgium
17–19 April	Portugal
4 May	France
25–26 June	France
2–4 November	India
29 Nov.–1 Dec.	France
3–4 December	Republic of Ireland
17–23 December	China
	Hong Kong
	USA

Whenever I am out of the country, arrangements are always made which ensure that I can be contacted. For reasons of security, the details of these arrangements cannot be disclosed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will give the latest figures since 29 February 1984 for the number of firms announcing redundancies in (i) the Wirral and (ii) Birkenhead;(2) if he will give the figures since 29 February 1984 for the number of redundancies and closures in Birkenhead and Merseyside.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Redundacies confirmed as due to occur*from 1 March 1984 to 31 December 1984†
	Wirral local authority area‡	Birkenhead jobcentre area	Merseyside Metropolitan county‡
Number of occasions of redundancy≑	13	10	147
Redundancies involved	1,402	1,202	9,024
Closures: number of establishments	6	Nil	56
Redundancies involved in closures	157	Nil	3,663
Notes:
* Confirmation by the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur and based on notifications of impending redundancies involving 10 or more workers.
† Includes provisional figures for December.
‡ Groupings of jobcentre areas approximating to the area.
≑ Firms which have made redundancies on more than one occasion during the period are counted more than once.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the management of Computotech Ltd of Manpower Services Commission schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Computotech has been providing training of the quality and standards required by the Manpower Services Commission. I am informed that Computotech Holdings Ltd. and a number of its subsidiaries have been put into receivership, and this resulted in the closure earlier this week of Computotech's schemes in London. The remaining schemes are continuing to operate. All trainees who have been affected by the London closure will continue to be paid their allowances by the commission, and arrangements are being made to transfer them to new schemes or courses as soon as possible. The commission is, of course, keeping the remaining schemes under the closest review.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has prepared plans for the implementation in his Department of the recommendations for sex monitoring and for positive action, respectively, for the purpose of providing equal opportunities in his Department in accordance with the recommendations contained in the draft code of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Arrangements which accord with the monitoring and positive action recommendations of the code are already in hand following the publication, on 9 February 1984, of the programme of action on women in the Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what attitude was taken by Her Majesty's Government to the provision of a new conference centre for the United Nations Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa.

At the 1984 General Assembly the United Kingdom voted against provision of new conference facilities for the UN Economic Commission for Africa. United Kingdom representatives stressed that at a time of severe economic hardhship in Africa the United Nations should concentrate resources on helping directly to alleviate these conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will dissociate the United Kingdom from the United Nations' celebration of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of decolonisation.

The United Kingdom voted against the 1984 General Assembly resolution endorsing the United Nations programme of activities to observe this anniversary on the grounds that there were more pressing priorities for the funds to be allocated to the programme. We are considering our participation in the celebrations in the light of that vote.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will make it their policy to seek the saving of expenditure by the United Nations by opposing any project which is, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, unnecessary or frivolous.

It is our consistent policy to press for improved efficiency of United Nations operations through the curtailment of unnecessary, frivolous or otherwise ineffective programmes. Further, United Kingdom representatives recently emphasised that programmes of proven value should be financed by savings elsewhere in UN programmes and not by new money.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 7 November 1984, Official Report, column 4, what colleges in Britain will be receiving El Salvadorean officers; what is the estimated cost of this assistance; what subjects will be studied; and if he will make a statement.

We are still discussing with the Salvadorean authorities which courses would be suitable for the one or two officers to whom places have been offered in Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport who he consulted on the proposal for bus substitution contained in the Transport Bill.

My right hon. Friend announced proposals for legislation on bus substitution services on 21 June 1984. In formulating those proposals he took account of the views of the Select Committee on Transport, which commented positively on bus substitution in its report of May 1983; and of the views of the chairman of the British Railways Board. Since announcing his proposals my right hon. Friend has further consulted the British Railways Board, and has also sought the views of the Central Transport Consultative Committee, the Association of County Councils, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, the Association of District Councils and the London Boroughs' Association.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the terms of reference of the review body to be headed by Dr. Peter North to deal with questions relating to road safety and traffic management; and to what extent he will propose to await its recommendations before taking action on the recent report on road safety by the Transport Committee.

The terms of reference of the review body were set out in the reply of 31 January of my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Albans (Mr. Lilley). These include simplification of the law as proposed in recommendation XXV of the Transport Committee's report. In other respects I see no need to await the review body's recommendations before responding to the Transport Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if the information given to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East in his letter of 11 January, about the continuing entry to British ports of Soviet merchant and passenger vessels, has been communicated to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics;(2) what discussions are taking place, or are proposed, with the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics concerning continued access to British ports by Soviet merchant vessels.

There have been a number of discussions between my Department and the Soviet authorities concerning possible amendments to the Anglo-Soviet treaty of merchant navigation. It would not be appropriate to reveal the proposals that have been made by either side while these discussions are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether a driver not holding a heavy goods vehicle licence is permitted to drive a vehicle whose weight is below the gross 7·5 tonnes qualifying limit at which a heavy goods vehicle licence is required but which is pulling a standard drawbar trailer whose weight is such as to bring the combined gross weight of the vehicle and trailer to over 7·5 tonnes.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with representatives of the transport industry about the weight threshold for the plating and testing of goods vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Under present arrangements, all goods vehices over 1525 kg unladen weight are subject to the Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1982, which require, amongst other things, an annual roadworthiness test at a Department of Transport heavy goods vehicle testing station. Vehicles below this threshold are subject only to the normal MOT test.The use of an unladen weight threshold for these purposes is inconsistent with other legislation, where gross weights are now commonly used, and it has been put to me by representatives of vehicle body builders that there would be road safety advantages in moving to a gross weight threshold for plating and testing purposes also. My officials have therefore started informal discussions with representatives of the various sectors of the industry about possible ways of securing a change on these lines.There are a number of implications associated with any change to the plating and testing threshold and any arrangements could not be implemented for some time. Nevertheless, I have broad sympathy with the case for change, and I hope that it will be possible to reach a satisfactory solution acceptable to all parties.If the present discussions are successful, therefore, I hope to bring forward firm proposals for change in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out for each year since the implementation of the proposals in "Code of Conduct for Companies with Interests in South Africa", Cmnd. 7233, the number of companies expected to lodge reports with his Department; how many reports have been lodged; and what is the number of these which have been deemed satisfactory.

The numbers of companies which have reported each year since the publication of Cmnd. 7233 were given in table 1 of the latest "Analysis and Summary of Companies' Reports" presented to Parliament on 10 April 1984 and which is available in the Library of the House. The same table also recorded the numbers of companies believed to have a responsibility to submit a full report under the code, but which declined to do so. Companies whose reports fail satisfactorily to provide all the information required are on every occasion approached for additional details. But records have not been kept of the few times when that has been necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further plans he has for changing the role and resources of the British Overseas Trade Board; what representations he has received on the subject; and if he will make a statement.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has had from the Radio Society of Great Britain in relation to the introduction of a novice amateur radio licence.

[pursuant to the reply, 30 January 1985, c. 218]: The Radio Society of Great Britain, which represents the interest of United Kingdom radio amateurs, has put forward proposals for a provisional or novice licence in the past, but it has not done so in recent times because, I understand, doubts have been expressed as to whether a novice facility is in the best interests of amateur radio. My Department requires radio amateurs to achieve a minimum standard of proficiency and there are fears that introducing a lower standard for novices would cause interference to other services. Officials in the radio regulatory division of my Department have regular meetings with the society, and although no formal proposals have been put forward recently on this subject, it remains under discussion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for 1984, in league order, the 10 countries known to him to have the highest top rate of income tax (a) on earned income and (b) on all income, including investment income; and if he will include details for the United Kingdom.

The information available for other countries is given in the tables. The top rate of income tax in the United Kingdom is 60 per cent. on all income.

Table 1
Ten countries with highest top rates of income tax on earned (employment) income
	per cent.
Including local income taxes
Libya	96·5
Tanzania	95
Algeria	86
Ethiopia	85
Portugal	84·4
Japan	83·6
Tunisia	82·2
Sweden	81·2
Zambia	80
Poland	78
Excluding local income taxes
Libya	96·5
Tanzania	95
Algeria	86
Ethiopia	85
Portugal	84·4
Tunisia	82·2
Zambia	80
Poland	78
Belgium	72
Netherlands

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the yield if value added tax were to be extended (a) to the construction of commercial property and (b) to financial services.

It is estimated that the net additional revenue from extending value added tax at the standard rate to the construction of commercial property would be of the order of £300 million at 1984–85 prices. The application of the tax to financial services would raise difficult technical problems, and I regret that it is not possible to give a meaningful estimate of the likely yield.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his current estimate of the cost of exempting married persons from taxation on lodging allowances paid whilst working away from home; and what would be the additional cost of extending this concession to single persons;(2) if he has any plans to exempt single people from taxation on lodging allowances.

I assume the hon. Member refers to the lodging allowance an employee may receive from his employer when he is required to work temporarily away from his usual place of employment and it is impracticable to expect him to travel home on a daily basis. Providing the allowance reimburses the employee's additional costs of accommodation, it is not taxable income whether received by a married or a sigle person. Information is not available centrally on which to base an estimate of the cost of not taxing lodging allowances paid in these circumstances.If the hon. Member has another point in mind, perhaps he would write to me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what relationship is assumed or predicted by the Treasury model of the economy between each United States 1 cent. reduction in the value o the pound sterling and (a) the value per barrel of North sea oil production and (b) the revenue derived by the Treasury from that production.

At current levels of the dollar-sterling exchange rate and dollar oil prices a 1 cent. fall in the value of sterling against the dollar would raise sterling oil prices by about 1 per cent. Other things being equal, a 1 per cent. increase in sterling oil prices is expected to raise North sea revenues by about £150 million in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Government accept the desirability of the introduction of new technology so that statistical information no longer has to be collected at European Community frontiers; and if he will make a statement.

It is, of course, desirable that new technology should be used wherever possible and on a cost-effective basis to collect information in a way which will minimise delays at European Community frontiers. The United Kingdom already has efficient computer systems which directly collect statistics for about three quarters of all import traffic. Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has plans to extend the scope and capability of these systems and is considering, in particular, whether it will be possible to use them to collect statistics on exports.The European Community is evolving a plan for co-ordinating the development of member states' computer systems in order to maximise the benefits of new technology for intra-Community trade. Her Majesty's Goverment will lend full support to any proposals which are conducive to the reduction of frontier delays, provided that any investment in the systems or developments proposed is properly appraised and justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of a male worker's average earnings went in tax and national insurance contributions in the following years: 1955, 1964, 1970, 1979, and for the last year for which figures are available.

Information for a married man on average male manual earnings, assuming no tax reliefs and allowances other than the married man's allowance and NIC at the contracted-in rate, is as follows:

Average rate of tax plus NIC
	Percentage of gross earnings
1955–56	10·0
1964–65	17·6
1970–71	24·8
1979–80	25·4
1984–85	*27·6
* Provisional.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further representations he has received on the possible introduction of value added tax on books and newspapers.

Over 2,000 representations about the imposition of VAT on books, newspapers and periodicals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the effect on revenue accruing to the Exchequer of changes in income tax paid at above basic rate, arising only from the change in the tax threshold in each year since 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 7 February 1985, c. 673]: If in 1984–85 the main personal allowances had each been replaced by the corresponding 1978–79 allowances, indexed to 1984–85 levels by reference to the statutory formula, there would have been an additional liability to tax at rates in excess of the basic rate of about £30 million in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the effect on revenue in 1984–85 of the decisions made in Budgets from 1982 onwards to raise higher tax bands over and above the rate of inflation.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 February 1985, c. 61]: If the 1981–82 basic rate limit and higher rate income tax bands were indexed to 1984–85 by reference to the statutory formula and substituted for those currently in force, the direct revenue effect would be a yield of about £270 million in a full year at 1984–85 levels of income.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the Official Report the number of staff from the investigation division of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise attached to individual ports in the United Kingdom, listing the individual ports and the number of such staff in each one.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 February 1985, c. 291–2]: The investigation division of Customs and Excise is mainly based in London but also has a number of provincial offices. None of its staff is specifically attached to or responsible for individual ports.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report (a) the numbers of customs staff at seaports, airports and inland premises in Scotland at 31 March 1984, (b) the number of additional Customs staff allocated to Scotland since that date and (c) the number of new Customs posts which will be allocated to Scotland in 1985–86.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 February 1985, c. 291–2]: The information is as follows:

(a) Four hundred and thirty-nine.

(b) Four, but staffing levels at Glasgow airport have been reduced by three.

(c) Eight.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate how many dwellings in the public sector tenanted by elderly and infirm residents have been left unoccupied by their tenants because such tenants are too old or infirm ever to return.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the London borough of Brent about the effect of his rate capping proposals on their ability to maintain and improve homes transferred to them from the Greater London council.

No such representations have been received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has prepared plans for the implementation in his Department of the recommendations for sex monitoring and for positive action, respectively, for the purpose of providing equal opportunities in his Department in accordance with the recommendations contained in the draft code of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Arrangements which accord with the monitoring and positive action recommendations of the code are already in hand following the publication on 9 February 1984 of the programme of action on women in the Civil Service. The recommendations contained in the programme are being pursued in my Department through a subcommittee of the General Whitley council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many applications for consents under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984, made to him by 31 January, involve a financial consideration of less than £500;(2) how many applications for consents under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 made to him by 31 January 1985 involve no financial consideration.

Financial considerations are not always a material factor in determining applications under section 8 of the Act and such details have not been supplied or sought in every case. Of cases where financial details were supplied, 1,120 involved a sale price or periodic rental of less than £500 and 703 of these involved no financial consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many applications for consents under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984, made to him by 31 January 1985, are still outstanding;(2) how many applications for consents under section 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 made to him by 31 January 1985 are still outstanding.

Thirty-one applications under section 8 and 15 applications under section 9.In at least 16 cases further information is awaited from the local authority.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total cost of Government Departments so far incurred in processing applications by the six metropolitan county councils for consents under sections 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984.

Estimates across Government Departments are not collected centrally; and no distinctions made for these purposes between the sections of the Act.The cost of Department of Environment staff, including associated accommodation and administrative costs, engaged on processing specific applications from the metropolitan county councils for consent under sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Act in the period up to 31 January 1985 was approximately £55,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average value of contracts for which consent has been sought under section 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 by 31 January 1985.

The number of contracts involved is not necessarily a material consideration in determining applications for consent under section 9 of the Act. Such information is not always provided.The average value of applications received by 31 January 1985 under section 9 is £1,192,300. This figure excludes any cases where financial details were not provided.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications for consents under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984, made to him by 31 January 1985, were for (a) police vehicles, (b) fire service vehicles and appliances, (c) police clothing, (d) fire service clothing and (e) fuel; and what is the average contract value for each category.

Details of applications received for consent under section 9 of the Act in respect of each category are as follows:

Category	Number of applications received by 31 January 1985	Average application value (£)
(a) Police Vehicles	3	414,534

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will give financial assistance to local authorities, as in previous years, for snow clearing, gritting and salting, where the cost is greater than the product of a 1p rate;(2) whether expenditure on snow clearing, gritting and salting will be disregarded for grant penalty purposes; and if he will make a statement.

I shall answer these questions shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the interim report from the inquiry into local government practices and procedures will be made; and if it will be made available to hon. Members.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I consider it reasonable to look to the committee of inquiry to submit an interim report by the end of July. It is customary for published reports of this nature to be made available to hon. Members.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when appointments to the committee of inquiry into local government practices and procedures will be finalised.

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State advised the House on 6 February, further appointments to the committee of inquiry will be made shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of grant allocations to each local authority for 1985–86 under the homes insulation scheme, calculating for each authority the percentage increase or decrease on the 1984–85 grant.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 21 January at column 316. It is misleading to make comparisons between the allocations for the years 1984–85 and 1985–86 on an authority by authority basis, since 25 per cent. of the allocation for 1985–86 is being held in reserve for distribution to authorities as justified by demand. Such comparisons would be further distorted by underspending in 1984–85, which is likely to amount to about £4 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the grants made under the homes insulation scheme in 1984–85 he anticipates will go to householders increasing the amount of insulation rather than installing insulation for the first time.

Latest figures indicate that during the second quarter of 1984–85, 11,000 grants were paid to householders topping up existing loft insulation, compared with some 49,000 grants to those installing insulation for the first time.Since the homes insulation scheme was extended only to grant aid topping up on 20 July 1984, this ratio does not necessarily represent a reliable guide to the financial year as a whole.

asked, the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report those EEC regulations and directives relating to the standards of quality and inspection of private water supplies which are to be brought into force in the present year; and what consultations have taken place with the bodies whose duty it will be to implement any such changes in the law.

The EC directive relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption (80/778/EEC) will apply to all drinking water supplies and comes into operation on 15 July this year. My Department consulted those associations representing the bodies which in England and Wales will be implementing the directive in relation to private supplies, including the Association of District Councils, and the London Boroughs Association. DOE circular 25/84—Welsh Office Circular 51/84—was sent to local authorities in England and Wales on 18 October 1984 to guide them on their duties under the directive.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the report of the consultation exercise on the principles to be applied in assessing new disposal facilities for low and intermediate level radioactive wastes.

The report has been published today and I have placed copies in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has now dropped his proposals for the tagging of salmon.

Consideration of the possibility of introducing a salmon-tagging scheme is continuing and it is hoped to reach conclusions in the near future. Consultations with interested parties have identified a number of difficulties which require careful study.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he is considering to ensure the survival of the salmon.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 24 January 1985 at columns 517–18.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has received the submission from the Lothian health board on the closure of the Bruntsfield and Deaconess hospitals; and if he is in a position to indicate when he is likely to announce his decision.

Lothian health board submitted to my right hon. Friend formal closure proposals in respect of the Deaconess and Bruntsfield hospitals on 6 February.Otherwise, I have nothing to add to what was said in the reply to the hon. Member on 28 January.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the grants made under the homes insulation scheme in 1984–85 he anticipates will go to householders increasing the amount of insulation rather than installing insulation for the first time.

I estimate that the proportion will be of the order of 21 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85 to date the Forestry Commission issued felling licences for broadleaved woods; of these, how many licences had conditions requiring the replanting purely of broadleaved trees; and how many hectares of woodland this totalled in each period.

The information is as follows:

		Licences which required replanting with broad-leaves only
	Number of licences issued	Number of licences	Area (hectares)
Year ended 31 March 1983	421	143	262
Year ended 31 March 1984	386	117	227
Nine months ended 31 December 1984	155	69	110

In addition, a significant number of licences were issued requiring restocking with a mixture of broadleaves and conifers, designed to lead eventually to woodlands of a predominantly broadleaved character.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Forestry Commission has met representatives of local authorities in the United Kingdom since September 1984 to discuss broadleaves in Britain; and what changes in consultation procedures for felling licence and broadleaved woodland grant applications were discussed.

No, but representatives of local authority associations have been invited to the broadleaves in Britain seminar to be held in May.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representatives from the Country Landowners Association, the Countryside Commission, the Countryside Commission for Scotland, the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the National Farmers Union, the Nature Conservancy Council, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and Timber Growers UK have been invited to attend the broadleaves in Britain seminar organised by the Forestry Commission for 8 May.

One representative has been invited from each of these bodies except for the Nature Conservancy Council and Timber Growers UK, which have been invited to send two.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the Forestry Commission has restricted its invitations to the seminar on broadleaves in Britain on 8 May to only 22 organisations; and why many of those organisations have been invited to send only a single representative.

The Forestry Commission has been concerned to keep the numbers of persons attending the seminar within manageable proportions in order to ensure a constructive discussion. It has, however, extended its list of invited organisations to 27.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria the Forestry Commission used in deciding which conservation groups should be invited to the seminar on 8 May at which it will present its revised policies on broadleaves in Britain.

Given the need to restrict the numbers attending the seminar, the criterion was to select bodies which would provide a balanced representation of conservation interest.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria the Forestry Commission's working group on broadleaves in Britain used in deciding which non-governmental organisations it would consult privately before presenting its revised policies in May.

The Forestry Commission's working group has had meetings with such non-government organisations as it felt necessary to consult over particular aspects of its developing policy proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland have met the Forestry Commission since September 1984 to discuss broadleaves in Britain and its revision of policies for broadleaved woodlands.

No, but officials have been in regular contact and a meeting has been arranged for later this month to discuss this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those individuals and statutory or non-statutory organisations which submitted criticisms on the Deer (Firearms Etc.) (Scotland) Order 1984; if he will detail the nature of these criticisms; in each case specifically when each criticism was received by his Department; and if he will list the criticisms he intends to accommodate in the new draft.

Criticisms were received from Dr. J. Carr (14 September 1984); Lord Northfield (21 October 1984); Mr. K. W. Woodvine (23 October 1984); The British Deer Society (30 October 1984); The Gun Trade Association (26 November 1984); Mr. J. Hotchkis (3 December 1984); and Mr. J. R. Seago (17 January 1985). Criticisms mainly concerned the circumstances in which shotguns might be used and the specification of ammunition for rifles. My right hon. Friend expects to meet some but not all of the points made. For details I would ask the hon. Member to await the draft order which will be laid before Parliament shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what constituted the apparent irregularity in the laying procedure of the draft Deer (Firearms Etc.) (Scotland) Order 1984; and if he will make a statement.

Some corrections made to the draft order after it had been laid were not submitted to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he made a public statement or formally indicated the withdrawal of the draft Deer (Firearms Etc.) (Scotland) Order 1984.

A press release was issued on 27 November 1984, the date on which the draft order was withdrawn. In addition, all those involved in consultations were informed by letter.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which Mr. Steven Owen of Musselburgh was held in police custody for three days between 9 February and 12 February awaiting court proceedings arising from a parking ticket; and if he is satisfied that the appropriate notice for Mr. Owen to appear in the East Lothian district court on 23 January was served on him by the police in the appropriate manner.

I am having a full inquiry made into all the circumstances referred to by the hon. Member and I shall write to him as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army centres are guarded by Territorial Army personnel and not by regular soldiers; and if he will list the centres so guarded.

Whenever possible, if it is necessary to guard Territorial Army centres, they are guarded by Territorial Army personnel, unless the centres are within regular Army establishments for which regular troops have overall responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of defence land holdings have been released following the recommendations of the Nugent committee report; and what new land holdings have been acquired by his Department since its publication in 1973.

Defence land holdings have reduced by 7·6 per cent. since April 1973. I regret that details of acquisitions are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the recommendations of the Nugent committee on defence land holdings concerning the disposal of the Ministry of Defence site at Lydney and Aston Down, Gloucestershire, East Riggs, Dumfriesshire, Pershore, Worcestershire, Watchett/Doniford, Somerset, Wrekin, Shropshire, 011erton, Nottinghamshire, Netley, Hampshire and Perranporth, Cornwall have been fully carried out.

The recommendations of the Nugent report have been fully carried out at Lydney, Watchet/Doniford, Netley and Perranporth. Four hundred acres of land at Pershore and 370 acres at Aston Down have been passed to the Property Services Agency for disposal. Approximately 1,050 acres of leased land at Ollerton has been given up.The range at the Wrekin and East Riggs have been retained for defence use.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the two Army sites situated at Manorbier, Dyfed have been disposed of as recommended by the Nugent committee report.

The East Moor cliff training area and 184 acres of the firing range at manorbrier have been sold; 102 acres of the range head have been retained.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the RAF site at North Luffenham, Rutland, has been disposed of following the decision to move its facilities to RAF Benson and RAF Digby, in accordance with the recommendations of the Nugent report on defence land.

Some 75 acres of land were passed for disposal at North Luffenham following the review suggested by the Nugent committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, following the recommendations of the Nugent committee report on defence land, it has been practicable for land outside the main site at Yoxter, Somerset to be disposed of.

To date it has not been practicable but the matter is being kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the recommendations of the Nugent committee report have been carried out concerning the Dartmoor complex in Devon, 250 acres of land at Swinderby, Lincolnshire, Watton, Norfolk, Sealand, Cheshire, Irvine, Ayrshire, and 600 acres of land at Cronwell, Lincolshire.

All of the recommendations concerning the Dartmoor complex have been carried out. The range at Irvine has been sold and 600 acres of land at Cranwell have been passed to the Property Service Agency for disposal. Some 88 acres have been disposed of at Watton but the remainder of the site and the land at Swinderby has been retained for defence use. Th Ministry of Defence use of Sealand will be reviewed when decisions about the development of the Dee estuary have been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what decision has been taken concerning the future of the site at Maidstone (Sandling Wood), Kent following the recommendations of the Nugent report on defence lands.

The Sandling Wood site was declared surplus to defence requirements and subsequently sold in January 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any land has been made available for disposal at the Royal Air Force station at Andover, Hampshire following the recommendations of the Nugent committee report on defence lands.

Approximately 230 acres of land at the former RAF Andover have been disposed of since the report of the defence lands committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the recommendations of the Nugent committee on defence lands have been fully carried out with respect to Llansilin, Shropshire and Driffield, Yorkshire.

Both sites are being used for defence purposes. It has been possible, however, to dispose of 90 acres of the Driffield site.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why only 24 acres of the land held at West Rayham, Norfolk, have been released of the 111 acres so recommended by the Nugent committee report on defence lands.

There is a continuing defence requirement for the remaining 87 acres.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish in the Official Report the numbers of United States national guardsmen who have been on exercise in the United Kingdom in 1984 and in 1985 to date.

Eight hundred and forty in 1984. None so far in 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if there are any plans for United States national guardsmen to visit the United Kingdom to take part in exercises at any time in 1985.

It is envisaged that United States national guardsmen will participate in exercises in the United Kingdom in 1985 but no firm plans have as yet been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the United States Army units training in Britain during the recent Reforger exercises; and whether those units have been trained in the airland battle doctrine.

I shall answer shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 189, when the hon. Member for Linlithgow can expect to receive a letter from the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on HMS Splendid and HMS Spartan.

I have written to the hon. Member today.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many general practitioner partnerships also dispense medicines; what is the average income from National Health Service prescriptions received by such partnerships; and what estimate he has made of the financial consequences for such partnerships of the implementation of his original proposals for a limited list of drugs available under the National Health Service.

Central data are not readily available in the form requested. However, at 1 October 1983, the latest date for which information is available, there were 2,948 dispensing doctors in England, 209 of whom were not working in partnership. The average gross income from dispensing—excluding the cost of drugs—for all dispensing doctors was £6,041. In addition, some dispensing doctors receive an income from the discounts offered by manufacturers. The limited list proposals may reduce the average gross income from NHS dispensing if it reduces the total number of NHS prescriptions dispensed. We are still considering whether to allow dispensing doctors to prescribe privately to NHS patients medicines which will no longer be available on the NHS.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to the total income received by general practices in the United Kingdom from the dispensing of National Health Service prescriptions; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many doctors have applied to the Committee on Safety of Medicines for permission to conduct clinical trials of anti-progesterone pills on women; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many doctors have applied to the Committee on Safety of Medicines for permission to conduct clinical trials of the French anti-progesterone pill, known as RU 486, on women; and if he will make a statement.

All information provided to the licensing authority in support of applications made or exemptions applied for under the Medicines Act 1968 is treated as commercially confidential as it could be of financial value to the competitors of the applicant.Any clinical trials of RU 486, or any other similar product, as an abortifacient must, of course, comply with the requirements of the relevant Abortion Acts.