asked the Secretary of State for Transport if the railway inspectorate is to investigate the incidents on the Central line recently when numerous trains were damaged by an unaligned section of conductor rail near St. Paul's; and if he will make a statement.

London Regional Transport reported the circumstances of the damage to trains to the railway inspectorate, as required by statute. The inspectorate is satisfied that the cause has been established and that measures are being taken to reduce the chances of a recurrence. Unlike the difficulties experienced in November 1982 on the Central line, described in the railway inspectorate's published annual report for 1982, the problem this time was not a misaligned conductor rail, but settlement of the track following night-time maintenance work.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate London Regional Transport has made of the cost (a) in lost revenue and (b) in repairs to stock and track, of the recent incidents on the Central line arising from an unaligned section of conductor rail near St. Paul's; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from London Regional Transport that preliminary estimates suggest the loss of revenue to be about £10⤓20,000 and the cost of repairs to the rolling stock and track to be in the order of £40,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the terms of reference of the shipping economics advisory group study on the availability of merchant shipping for a defence role.

The terms of reference of the study are classified, and were not published in the recent report from the House of Commons Defence Committee on the use of merchant shipping for defence purposes, but the annex to the notes by the Ministry of Defence in that report—page 34 — indicates the work the consultants were requested to undertake.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a list showing for each year since 1979 the residual life statistics derived from deflectograph surveys of the motorway network in each year.

Regular deflectograph surveys of the English motorway network started in 1983. Estimates from the 1983 and 1984 surveys give approximate residual live figures for the network as follows:—

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to bring into effect the Road Traffic (Driving Instruction) Act 1984; and if he will make a statement.

Most of the provisions of the Act were introduced on 20 May 1985. Section 1 of the Act relating to a requirement for driving instructors to display their official identification documents in tuition cars has yet to be implemented. Preparation of identification documents suitable for this purpose is in hand and we expect to bring this remaining provision into operation later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is satisfied with the reorganisation of London Regional Transport.

The creation by LRT of underground, bus and bus engineering subsidiaries at the end of March this year was an important step towards improving management accountability and business efficiency within LRT.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many road accidents have occurred within a radius of three quarters of a mile from the junction of the A17 and A607 at Leadenham, Lincolnshire, during each of the following periods: 1980 to 1985, 1975 to 1980 and 1970 to 1975;(2) how many fatalities have occurred as a result of road accidents that have happened on roads within his responsibility within a three to four miles radius of the A17, A607 junction at Leadenham during each of the years 1975 to 1984, respectively.

I regret that the information is not readily available. I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what improvements or remedial works to the A45 between Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich are currently being deferred; and if he will give details.

No national schemes and no remedial works have been deferred. It will not now be possible to start work on the Quarries Cross improvement before the financial year 1987–88.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to expedite a decision on the setting up of a British standard for pedal cycle crash helmets.

The British Standards Institution decided earlier this year to set up a committee to prepare a standard for pedal cycle protective helmets and I understand the committee has already commenced its work.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if it remains his intention that work on the A41 Hemel Hempstead and Bourne End bypass should commence in 1986–87; and if he will make a statement.

The report "National Roads, England 1985" published on 20 June, following my review of the road programme, places the A41 Berkhamsted and Kings Langley bypasses in the part of the programme for start of construction in the period April 1987 to March 1989.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in force for local groups to meet the consultants involved in the road assessment studies being undertaken in London.

The consultants undertaking the London assessment studies consulted widely with local groups and also advertised for comments. They are meeting all groups who ask to see them.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he is going to send out for consultation a draft of the advice he plans to issue to local authorities on the Cycle Tracks Act and the cycle tracks regulations.

As soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, when he next meets the chairman of British Rail, he will raise the matter of increases to the British Rail cheap intercity saver return fares scheme; and if he will make a statement.

The decision was British Rails. It is the board's responsibility to determine fares. I will, however, draw my hon. Friend's concern to the chairman's attention.

asked the Attorney-General why no Lord Chancellor's ecclesiastical patronage secretary has been appointed since Christmas 1984; and what proposals there are to fill the post.

The office of ecclesiastical secretary to the Lord Chancellor is not vacant. A new assistant secretary is expected to take up his appointment on 29 July.

asked the Attorney-General if he will list the latest dates on which each of the Law Lords and the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary have to retire.

The relevant dates of retirement are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration has been given to writing off official debt due to the United Kingdom from Vietnam, Laos, Senegal and South Yemen.

We do not think it appropriate to write off official aid debts for Vietnam under the retrospective terms adjustment arrangements because of Vietnam's human rights record and because it is in default on past British aid loan repayments. South Yemen is also in default on past British aid loan repayments and no consideration is being given to the application of RTA. Laos did not have any outstanding loan repayments to the United Kingdom at the time RTA was introduced in 1978. The country has since begun to repay a small interest free loan but no consideration is currently being given to the application of RTA. We have no plan to write off aid debts in respect of Senegal. The country has a per caput income above the RTA threshold (currently $400 in 1983) and is not included in the list of least developed countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those United Kingdom companies which have gained export orders of £50,000 or more from the aid programme in the latest year for which figures are available.

The Overseas Development Administration does not maintain comprehensive statistics which show aid funded contracts broken down by individual British companies, but information is available in respect of contracts supported under the aid trade provision.In 1984 the following companies gained export orders of £50,000 or more with ATP support:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why Britain refuses to make financial assistance available to the international fund for agricultural development.

There is no question of the Government refusing to make financial assistance available. We have paid all our contributions due under the initial funding and the first replenishment, and we are ready to contribute a similar share of the second replenishment if and when that is approved.When the second replenishment is in place, we shall consider whether to contribute to IFAD's new, voluntary special programme for africa. We have our own very effective bilateral aid programme however, and any additional contribution to IFAD would inevitably leave us with less money for that.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to persuade the Council of Ministers to introduce a minced beef directive.

Discussions on common rules for trade in minced meat are already taking place in the Community in order to set satisfactory arrangements to protect public and animal health.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the cost, subdivided so far as possible, to the Forestry Commission of the recent hippie invasion of Savernake forest.

The estimated cost is as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the percentage rise in expenditure on the common agricultural policy each year since 1980; and what increase is estimated for 1985 and 1986.

The percentage rise in expenditure on the common agricultural policy in each year between 1980 and 1985 compared with the previous year is as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he proposes to publish health warnings on cartons of unpasteurised milk; and if he will make a statement.

Under existing regulations, all milk sold under the special designation "untreated" must also be clearly labelled "raw unpasteurised milk" irrespective of whether it is sold in cartons or in bottles. This requirement was introduced with effect from 1 January 1982 and is intended to ensure that consumers are aware of the nature of the product that they are buying. We have no plans to introduce further labelling requirements.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how often the Government's advisory committee on pesticides meets.

The advisory committee on pesticides is scheduled to meet six times per year and its scientific subcommittee nine times. Facilities are provided for additional meetings when necessary.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what products, currently on sale in Britain, contain the chemicals 2,4,5-T or 2,4-D;(2) which manufacturers currently produce products containing the chemicals 2,4-D.

[pursuant to her reply, 20 June 1985, c. 215]: Proprietary products cleared for use in the United Kingdom containing 2,4,5-T as the sole active ingredient or in mixture with other active ingedients are marketed by a variety of companies under the following proprietary names:—

asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food if he will list, by proprietary brand, those phenoxy acid herbicides cleared for use in the United Kingdom.

The phenoxyalkanoic acid herbicides form a large group of compounds which are characterised by plant growth regulatory/hormone type activity on most annual and perennial broadleaved species. Compounds from this group used in herbicides cleared under the pesticides safety precautions scheme are:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has yet received the results of the survey of consumer understanding of food labelling which was commissioned in connection with the recommendations of the report of the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy on diet and cardiovascular disease.

Yes. The Government, the Consumers Association and the National Consumer Council collaborated in this survey with a view to assessing consumer understanding of and requirements for fat content and nutrition labelling. I have arranged for a summary of this work to be placed in the Library of the House. We shall be taking these results into account, alongside the views that have emerged from our consultations with all interested parties, in making proposals for implementing the labelling recommendations of the COMA report and in producing a revised version of the draft guidelines on nutrition labelling.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further action he intends to take to prevent the risk of rhizomania disease becoming established in the United Kingdom.

My right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales intend shortly to make a statutory order requiring all imports of seed potatoes to come from areas free from rhizomania. The disease attacks only beet plants but we need to avoid any possibility of its being carried by infected soil attached to imported seed potatoes. This new measure, which will come into operation in the autumn before the seed potato trade begins, represents an additional step in our defences against rhizomania.I am pleased to say that the Dutch authorities have, in view of the United Kingdom's freedom from rhizomania, established a set of special arrangements to ensure that all exports of seed potatoes to the United Kingdom from the Netherlands come from land free from rhizomania. This voluntary arrangement will greatly assist the effective operation of the proposed order and will, in the meantime, enable contracts to be made for the coming season's trade in the knowledge that they will not run counter to the safeguards against rhizomania. I am also considering the possibility of measures to ensure that used agricultural machinery imported into the United Kingdom is free from any risk of rhizomania-infected soil.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which laboratories within his Department, or within bodies for which he is responsible, have had their research budgets reduced in the current financial year; what is the financial value of the reduction; what is this figure expressed as a percentage of the total work carried out in the laboratory; and which of the laboratories for which he is responsible are being considered for privatisation.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 June 1985, c. 60]: The following reductions were made in the research budgets of my Department's laboratories as part of a reallocation of resources to make more funds available for research on food:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to introduce legislation to provide that a person owning a hairdressing salon or managing such a salon and in charge of training there must first be a registered hairdresser under the Hairdressers (Registration) Act 1964; and if he will make a statement.

Entry into the hairdressing craft has traditionally been free. It is important to maximise competition, and I have no plans to introduce legislation concerning compulsory registration.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list in the Official Report the allocations made by his Department from the European regional development fund non-quota textile measures fund.

The allocations to 31 May 1985 under the ERDF non-quota textile measures in England through Business Improvement Services are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why an announcement was made on 17 May that the proposed inward mission of buyers to the Interbuild '85 exhibition would not be eligible for British Overseas Trade Board funding, when negotiations about the proposed mission had been taking place between the British Overseas Trade Board and overseas posts up to a few days previously.

The decision not to provide the British Overseas Trade Board support for the proposed inward mission to the Interbuild '85 exhibition was based not on eligibility but on the availability of funds.The funds available to the BOTB for mounting inward missions in 1985–86 fell short of the amount that would be required to meet all the requests from industry. It was therefore necessary to establish a priority ranking amongst the various applications. Where appropriate, discussions with overseas posts continued during the priority review, in order that there should be no loss of momentum for the successful applications. In this particular case, however, BOTB was not involved in discussions with the overseas posts after the end of March. Overseas posts were not informed of the outcome of the priority review until the final decision on all the applications being considered had been taken and the relevant trade bodies had been told.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assurances he received, and from whom, about the true beneficial ownership of the House of Fraser prior to taking his decision not to refer the A1 Fayed bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

As stated on 14 March, in considering whether a reference should be made the Secretary of State took into account the statements made and assurances given by the A1 Fayed family about the offer, and the support given to those statements and assurances by Kleinwort Benson Ltd. The A1 Fayed brothers stated throughout that they were acting as principals and independently in this matter. Kleinwort Benson stated publicly at the time of the offer that it was satisfied that the A1 Fayed brothers were the beneficial owners of the Alfayed Investment and Trust (UK) Limited, the parent company of the company which acquired House of Fraser plc.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he was aware of the relationship between Mohammed A1 Fayed and the Sultan of Brunei when he took the decision not to refer the A1 Fayed bid for the House of Fraser to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he intends to refer the proposed takeover by the Burton/Habitat consortium of the Debenhams group to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

My right hon. Friend will announce his decision as soon as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for competition in the retailing industry of the current incidence of takeovers and mergers; and if he will make a statement.

A number of mergers have arisen recently in the retailing sector. My right hon. Friend considers each case on its merits in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973 and in the light of his policy of making references to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission primarily on competition grounds.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his latest figure for the number of shareholders in British Telecom and for the number of shareholders who have sold their shares since the company's flotation.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Association of Chief Police Officers concerning potential savings in cost arising from the fitting of the car pod system to police cars; and if he will make a statement.

None. Of six chief officers consulted about the value for money aspects of the system, only one expressed unconditional support.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons held in custody in police stations in the Metropolitan area have inflicted wounds upon themselves using plastic cutlery issued with meals in the latest year for which figures are available.

The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what specific arrangements are made to cater for the dietary requirements of prisoners (a) in prison and (b) while in custody undergoing trial, whose religion imposes restrictions on the foods they may eat; and if he will make a statement;

Instructions issued to all establishments in 1983 on the treatment of inmates belonging to religious and other minorities included advice on the restrictions imposed by certain religions on the food which may be eaten and the times when it may be eaten. It is for individual establishments to determine the best way of catering for any special dietary needs of prisoners in their custody, both whilst they are in prison and when they are produced at court for trial, in the light of current instructions and local circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions are made for food for those with special diet needs due to religious custom whilst they are attending courts in the custody of prison officers.

Governors are required to ensure that prisoners produced at court are provided with sufficient food at reasonable hours. Instructions have been issued to governors on the dietary requirements of prisoners belonging to particular religions. It is for individual establishments to determine the best way of meeting any special dietary needs of prisoners attending court in the light of those instructions and local circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to the answer of 11 June, Official Report, column 390, regarding the circumstances in which Mr. Parvaiz Khan was injured on 22 May at the Old Bailey, he will write to the hon. Member for Leyton about the outcome when the police investigation has been concluded, including a statement of the action proposed in the light of the results of the investigation.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints were made against the police during the mining dispute; how many cases have been considered to date; and, of these, in how many cases the complaint has been upheld and in how many cases it was not upheld.

Five hundred and forty-nine complaints against the police arising from the miners' strike have been recorded under section 49 of the Police Complaints Board and, since 19 April, its successor, the Police Complaints Authority, had, up until 19 June, considered the outcome of 135 completed complaint investigations arising from the dispute. No discipline charges have been preferred as a result of these complaints, although advice has been given to the officers involved in four cases.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what unused capacity there was at Ranby and Preston prisons for category C prisoners on 6 June.

On 7 June, the nearest date for which figures are available. Ranby had five vacancies for category C prisoners. The population of Preston exceeded its certified normal accommodation by 163.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Stocken prison will come into use; and what categories of prisoners will be sent there.

In late July for category C prisoners mainly from the midlands.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department with whom he consults before making decisions about the future of prisons.

This depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the proposed change and whether planning consent is required from the local authority.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the capacity of B wing at Hull prison for juveniles; how many juveniles it is proposed will be transferred there under the plans set out in his answer of 5 June, Official Report, columns 157–58; and from where they will come.

B wing at Hull has a certified normal accommodation of 102. It would take all the juveniles currently committed to Thorp Arch, of whom on 19 June there were 61.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used for the reclassification of category B prisoners into category C; and how many such reclassifications there have been in Leeds and Hull prisons in each of the last five years.

The downgrading of prisoners from one security category to another is conducted on the basis of individual assessments applying the same standards as for the original categorisation. New factors, such as greater maturity, may also be taken into account.The number of prisoners recategorised at Leeds and Hull during the past five years is not recorded centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young persons on remand or awaiting allocation were held in each of Leeds and Hull prisons on 31 January 1985 and 11 June 1985, respectively.

On 31 January, Leeds held 197 unsentenced and 85 sentenced prisoners aged under 21. On 14 June, the nearest date for which figures are available centrally, it held 152 unsentenced and 156 sentenced prisoners aged under 21.Hull does not at present hold young offenders.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category C prisoners were in Leeds and Hull prisons, showing the figures separately, on (a) 30 November 1984, (b) 31 January 1985, (c) 31 March 1985,(d) 31 May 1985 and (e) 11 June 1985, respectively.

The information available centrally is shown in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current population at Morton Hall prison.

One hundred and twenty seven on 21 June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which prisons the prisoners at Morton Hall prison have been transferred; and how many were from each establishment.

The first 50 were transferred from Ashwell, Sudbury and Ranby; the remainder have been allocated from the local prisons at Leicester, Lincoln and Birmingham and from other training prisons following recategorisation. The exact numbers are not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current staffing level at Morton Hall prison.

The staffing level varies according to the level of prison activity at different times of the day or week. At its busiest, the highest number of staff on duty in all grades would be about 45. The overall total of staff employed on 21 June, including night patrols and 10 part-time education staff, some of whom attend in the evenings only, was 59.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which prisons staff have been withdrawn in order to staff Morton Hall prison; and how many were from each establishment.

The staff needed are being provided either by recruitment or by transfer or detached duty from other establishments. The other prison department establishments affected by detached duty may change from time to time, but on 21 June the position was that there were 16 full-time permanent staff, including the governor who has been transferred from Wellingborough, and 10 part-time permanent teaching staff. There were 33 staff in all grades on detached duty from other establishments as listed:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the certified normal accommodation in Lincoln prison;(2) what is the current population of Lincoln prison.

On 21 June, the certified normal accommodation of Lincoln was 345 and the population was 637.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to relieve the overcrowding at Lincoln prison.

The reopening of Morton hall has already provided some relief. Next month a new category C training prison will open at Stocken in Leicestershire; this will allow some newly sentenced men at Lincoln to be allocated a training place more quickly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time that remand prisoners are held in Her Majesty's prison, Holloway.

Information on the average time spent on remand in individual establishments is not recorded centrally and could be calculated only at disproportionate cost. The latest available information about the average time spent in custody by all untried and by all convicted but unsentenced female prisoners is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (Table 2(g) of the latest volume—1983, Cmnd. 9363).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total availability of education time for the prisoners at Her Majesty's prison, Holloway, over the past four years.

The available information for the period 1 January 1984 to 21 June 1985 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average amount of time spent by officers at Her Majesty's prison, Holloway, on escort duties over the past four years.

The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. But a special examination of escort duty commitments at Holloway prison revealed that, for the quarter ended 30 September 1984, the average number of hours per officer per week spent on escort duties was just under 10.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average amount of association time for prisoners at Her Majesty's prison, Holloway, during each month of the last four years.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the total number of medical staff employed at Her Majesty's prison, Holloway (a) in the current year and (b) for each of the past four years.

The medical staff employed at Her Majesty's prison, Holloway was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the average number of staff, of all grades, at Her Majesty's prison, Holloway, for each year since 1978 and the average number of prisoners there for each year over the same period.

The figures requested are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the origin of the TNT in the bomb at Great Windmill street, Soho, on Saturday 15 June; and if he will make a statement.

Police inquiries into the origin of the explosives are continuing, and I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will explain the basis on which a joint passport is not usable by both husband and wife separately if either one travels abroad alone.

The term "joint passport" is a misnomer for a family passport, issued to either a husband or a wife to enable the family to travel on one passport, thus saving the expense of obtaining separate passports. Only the person in whose name the passport is issued may use it when travelling alone. To allow the spouse of the holder to use it independently would be contrary to international passport usage.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidelines to Her Majesty's prison governors and chief constables regarding the promptness and accuracy of information to be given to the public when escapes from custody occur involving prisoners with convictions for offences which may render them a danger to the public.

Prison governors are required to report escapes promptly to the police, and Home Office public relations branch notifies the Press Association. Similar arrangements for reporting to the police apply to failure to return from home leave, but we are reviewing the possible need for further instructions to prison governors. The police have their own arrangements for disseminating information. Appropriate action is a matter for their operational judgment in the light of the circumstances of the particular case. I do not think it would be practicable or appropriate to attempt to lay down guidelines.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now publish the names of the persons and organisations invited to submit evidence to the Peacock committee on the financing of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

It is for the committee itself to decide how to conduct its affairs, and whether to disclose the particular persons or organisations from whom it has invited evidence. The committee has made it known through the press that it will be pleased to receive, by 31 August, written evidence from any person or body on matters which are germane to its review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an offender sentenced to be detained for a determinate number of years by virtue of section 53(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, and detained in prison at the direction of the Secretary of State, is entitled to remission of any part of that sentence under the prison rules.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave in reply to his question on 23 May at column 570.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of north Yorkshire about the civil disturbances and criminal activity that took place in York on Saturday 15 June; if he will ask the chief constable to report on the extent to which the incidents originated from coach passengers and on the extent to which alcoholic drink contributed to these disturbances; and if he will make a statement on the substance of the report.

I understand from the chief constable of north Yorkshire that on the evening of Saturday 15 June 43 coachloads of visitors who had attended York races earlier in the day travelled into the city centre, where many spent the evening drinking. In the course of the evening there were a number of disturbances and 41 arrests were made, including 18 for drunkenness and others for breach of the peace, obstruction, theft and assault. Nine people were cautioned and criminal proceedings are pending in the other cases. Three police officers sustained injuries which required hospital treatment. It is not known how many of those arrested were members of coach parties, but 31 of them gave addresses outside the north Yorkshire police area. The number of arrests was more than twice the average for a Saturday evening in York.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of prosecutions for (i) possession and (ii) supply of the drugs (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) cannabis, (d) amphetamines and (e) L.S.D. for the years 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984, respectively.

The information requested for 1980 to 1983 is given in the following table; information for 1984 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Wiltshire as to the total cost of the police operation at the 1985 summer solstice festival at Stonehenge; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Wiltshire as to the number of police deployed at Rolston camp, Larkhill, Wiltshire, during the night of 15 May; and if he will make a statement.

The chief constable will be sending me a report once his operational commitment at Stonehenge is ended, and I shall then write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the total sums paid in rent allowances to Metropolitan police officers in each year since 1979, broken down into payments made to subsidise rents and payments made to subsidise mortgage payments.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that total payments of rent allowance and compensatory grant to officers of the Metropolitan police who are not provided with police accommodation during the financial years 1979–80 to 1984–85 were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the totals of the registered number of addicts in England and Wales addicted to (a) heroin and (b) cocaine, broken down by regional health authority areas for the years 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984, respectively.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of registered drug addicts in Slough.

The available information relates to notified drug addicts in the whole of the Thames Valley police force area and was given in the reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Mr. Wheeler) on 11 June 1985 at columns 394–95.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has proposals for amending the United Kingdom's extradition treaty with the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.

Agreement has been reached with the United States Government on a supplementary treaty to the United Kingdom/United States extradition treaty for which, in due course, the United States Senate's advice and consent to ratification will be sought and an order under the Suppression of Terrorism Act laid before Parliament for approval. The effect of the supplementary treaty would be to deny fugitives accused or convicted of certain serious offences of violence the ability to avoid extradition on the grounds that their offences were political. Both Governments believe that the present political offence exception to extradition, as it applies to violent offences, is not suitable to extraditon arrangements between two democratic countries sharing the same high regard for the fundamental principles of justice and operating similar independent judicial systems. The supplementary treaty would represent a most significant contribution to the efforts now being made by Western democracies to counter the threat posed by international terrorism. It is also intended to make some further, minor amendments to the present treaty.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for each year since 1979 the total amount Welsh health authorities have written off as bad debts because of private patients not paying their bills.

This information has not been collected centrally, but we have arranged for it to be included in the annual accounts of health authorities from 1985–86.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for Wales and for each year since 1979 the income received from private patients in National Health Service hospitals (a) in gross terms, (b) revalued by the retail price index and (c) revalued by the National Health Service pay and prices index.

The information requested is shown in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each travel-to-work area in Wales for the most recently available date (a) the number of unemployed claimants aged 18 years and under who have never had a job since leaving school and (b) the percentage that (a) forms of the estimated population of this age group.

Numbers of unemployed claimants aged 18 years and under who have never been in employment are available from the computer in the House of Commons Library.It is not possible to express these as a percentage of the population in the way requested. Estimates of population are not broken down from county to travel-to-work area level.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many medical laboratory scientific officers are employed by the National Health Service in Wales.

At 30 September 1984, there were 879 (whole-time equivalent) medical laboratory scientific officers employed in the NHS in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many principal medical laboratory scientific officers are employed by the National Health Service in Wales.

At 30 September 1984, there were three full-time principal medical laboratory scientific officers employed in the NHS in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total expenditure to date on phase one of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation base at Stornoway.

Expenditure on phase I is provisionally estimated to have been £8·9 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the outcome of the review of the options at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation base in Stornoway, referred to in his answer of 28 March 1985, Official Report, column 321, will be announced; whether it will involve on site inspections at the airport and around Broad bay; and whether the Stornoway airport sub-committee of the Western Islands council will be present.

The review is likely to be completed early next year. It will include a feasibility study to be undertaken by a commercial consultant who will require to conduct on site inspections and to discuss proposed resupply options with the Western Isles islands council.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of building and running an extremely low frequency station in Scotland for communications with Trident submarines and for control over their missiles.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies given on 17 April 1985, at columns 209–11, to the right hon. Member for the Western Isles (Mr. Stewart).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence where, in the Statement on the Defence Estimates, the cost of the extra low frequency communications systems and connected research appears.

Consideration of ELF communications is currently at the research stage. Expenditure on this is included in the figures which appear in table 3.2 of volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many physicists, bio-chemists and clinical psychologists are employed by the National Health Service in Wales; and, of each group, how many are in the top grade.

The information, which refers to 30 September 1984, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of the recent visit to the United Kingdom of the chief of staff of the United States army; and whether discussions were held with his Department on the subjects of AirLand Battle, and the AirLand Battle 2000/Focus 21 studies.

The recent visit of the chief of staff of the United States army was at the invitation of the chief of the general staff. The purpose of the visit was to discuss matters of mutual concern and to enable him to visit elements of the British army. Details of the discussions are confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total value of sales of military vehicles and equipment for each year since 1978.

It is not possible to identify figures separately for military vehicles. However, the total values of arms sales overseas in the years requested, up to the latest year for which information is available, are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the main purposes to which (a) the proposed new plutonium factory at Aldermaston and (b) the new prototype pressurised water propulsion reactor at Dounreay are intended to be put.

The new capital facilities at AWRE Aldermaston to which the question refers will replace existing facilities for processing nuclear materials in order to maintain the British nuclear warhead programme and to ensure the achievement of essential health and safety standards.Pressurised water reactors are used for all seagoing nuclear power plants. The new prototype pressurised water propulsion reactor, known as PWR2, is the second generation reactor. It will be used to power the Trident submarines and the next generation of nuclear powered hunter killer submarines. The prototype recently installed at Dounreay will be used for development tests and trials.

Brown asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current value of his Department's order for optical equipment for the armed forces.

I shall answer shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if costings of agency management and other options for the royal dockyards have been prepared in accordance with Her Majesty's Government's guidelines on privatisation, dated September 1983; and if he will make a statement.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the document "Transferring Work out of Government Departments," prepared by Her Majesty's Treasury in May 1983 and subsequently released to the trades unions and others, and which was produced for the guidance of Departments in assessing the cost implications of such proposals. The guidance, which is necessarily of general applicability, has been taken into account in considering options for the future management of the dockyards.

asked the Prime Minister what criteria she will use to judge the success or failure of the current Government campaign against heroin; and if she will make a statement.

The campaign is designed to improve knowledge about the effects of using heroin and to increase young people's resistance to trying it.My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Health and Social Security has commissioned Research Bureau Ltd. to undertake an evaluation of the campaign. It interviewed 700 teenagers and 400 parents in February 1985 to establish a baseline for the research and will be repeating the interviews with different groups of the same size in October 1985 and February 1986. This will enable us to judge the effects of the campaign on young people's attitudes to heroin and their knowledge about its effects.

asked the Prime Minister who represents the United Kingdom upon the committee meeting under the European Community convention on international trade in endangered species regulations; if she will detail the subjects covered by the agenda of each of the meetings; and if she will indicate those items on which no discussions took place.

The United Kingdom is normally represented on this committee by officials from the Department of the Environment and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. Representatives from the United KIngdom CITES scientific authorities, the Nature Conservancy council (for animals) or the Royal Botanic Gardens (for plants) also attend where necessary.The proceedings of this committee are confidential and I have nothing to add to the answer which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment gave on 3 June at columns

asked the Prime Minisster if she will ensure that a decision on the export credit and aid package which will secure for British contractors the contract for the Samanala Wewa hydro-electric project in Sri Lanka is reached as soon as possible.

The Government are pursuing the issues involved, and will take a decision shortly.

asked the Prime Minster in the tax year commencing 5 April 1985, how much (a) a single person and (b) a wife with a working husband, can earn without becoming liable to pay-as-you-earn or national insurance charges; and why the two thresholds do not coincide.

A single person and a wife with a working husband can both earn up to £2,205 per year (equivalent to £42·40p per week) before becoming liable to income tax and £35·50p per week before becoming liable to national insurance contributions in the 1985–86 tax year. The starting points differ because the payments have different purposes. National insurance contributions finance specific benefits and payments carry wih them rights to such benefits. The starting point is set at a level that will enable the great majority of employees to build up benefit rights. Income tax is levied to finance general Government expenditure and the Government's aim is to increase the theshold and take the lowest paid out of tax. Income tax thresholds are 20 per cent. higher in real terms than they were in 1978–79.

asked the Prime Minister, if she is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before a decision was reached not to refer the Al Fayed bid for the House of Fraser to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list those public sector companies and operations which are to be sold in part or in whole in the financial years (a) 1985–86, (b) 1986–87 and (c) 1987–88.

It is not the Government's practice to disclose future special sales of assets for individual years because advance details may be commercially sensitive and may depend also on decisions yet to be taken, and market conditions. Forecast receipts from special sales of assets are set out each year in the public expenditure White Paper and in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement.

asked the Prime Minister if, during her discussions with the President of Sri Lanka in April, the question of Tamils seeking asylum in the United Kingdom was discussed; and if she will make a statement.

No. I hope that the recent discussions between the Sri Lankan and Indian Governments and the ceasefire announced on 18 June will lead to the rapid resumption of efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement to the inter-communal dispute in Sri Lanka. Such a settlement, recognising the rights and interests of all communities, is the only way to end the violence which all have suffered.