asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will introduce legislation to provide a public right of access to the foreshore of beaches and to public slipways and jetties.

Highway authorities already have the power under part III of the Highways Act 1980 to create statutorily public rights of way.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will initiate discussions with each of the directors of education of the local education authorities within Wales, in order to ensure that children in all areas in Wales are given an opportunity to learn to play musical instruments.

No. It is for local education authorities and schools to determine the music curriculum. My right hon. Friend is satisfied that provision in Wales, including opportunities to play musical instruments, is of a generally high standard but believes local education authorities will welcome, as he has done, the recent Her Majesty's Inspectorate publication "Music from 5–16" and its views on ways on securing a comprehensive range of provision.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the photocopying equipment supplied to the parliamentary Labour party at public expense is exclusively for the use of the civil servants provided for the official Opposition.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many companies supported by the Scottish Development Agency since 1975 have failed; and what has been the cost to public funds.

By 31 March 1985 the figures were 175 and £10·9 million respectively. At that date the agency had outstanding investments of £48·8 million in 850 firms.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Common Services Agency costing study of the supply of units by the blood transfusion service to private sector medical establishments has been completed; and if it has been decided to vary the charge to these establishments as a result.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many units of blood were supplied to (a) commercial medical establishments and (b) other private hospitals by the Scottish blood transfusion service in each year since, and inclusive of, 1982–83; what has been the estimated cost of such supplies in each year; and what has been the revenue income in each year from charging for such supplies.

The information is as follows:

	Units of Whole Blood Supplied to the Private Sector	Revenue Received
1982–83	650	Nil
1983–84	560	£1,915
1984–85	730	£27,287

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current charge per unit of whole blood to (a) commercial medical establishments and (b) other private hospitals in Scotland for blood supplied to them by the Scottish blood transfusion service; and if the charge has been varied since being introduced.

The current charge to the private sector is £19 per unit of whole blood. It will be increased very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the factors taken into account, and the financial weighting attached to each, when fixing the handling charges for blood supplied to private hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

The charge is intended to cover the expenses incurred by the blood transfusion service in processing blood for supplying to the private sector. No charge is made for the blood itself.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new entrants to the labour force there have been in each year since 1974; how many new entrants he estimates there will be in the current year and in each year until 1990; and if he will express the new Scottish entrants as a proportion of all entrants to the work force in Great Britain.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 July 1985, c. 251]: The size of the civilian labour force in Scotland in 1971 and at two-yearly intervals between 1977 and 1983, the latest date for which estimates are available, is shown in the following table; this is based mainly on the labour force survey. Estimates for 1984 and labour force projections are under preparation. The table also shows the changes in the civilian labour force in Scotland between the years for which information is available, and the corresponding changes for Great Britain.

thousands
Year	Scottish civilian labour force estimates (mid-year)	Changes in civilian labour force
		Scotland	Great Britain
1971	2,303	0	0
1977	2,457	+154	+1,006
1979	2,486	+29	+120
1981	2,430	-56	+207
1983	2,430	0	-329

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many companies in Scotland are operating in the electronic manufacturing sector and how many in the research and development and software sectors; and what information he has as to how many of the electronic manufacturing firms also maintain research and development units in Scotland.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 July 1985, c. 256]: Information is not available on the basis requested. The latest results from the census of employment show that in 1981 the numbers of units classified directly to the electronics manufacturing industry, the research and development industry and the computer services industry in terms of the 1980 standard industrial classification (SIC) were as follows:

Industry	Number of Units
Electronics	433
Research and development	117
Computer services	149

These figures do not include units engaged in these activities which are classified to other industries in the 1980 SIC.I have no comprehensive information on the extent of research and development undertaken by electronics manufacturing companies in Scotland. The hon. Member may wish to refer, however, to the Scottish "Economic Bulletin No. 29 of 1984", pp 9–10, which explores the results of a 1981 survey of employment in research and development. A copy of the "Bulletin" is in the Library.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate of the dollar/ecu exchange rate was used in determining the level of agricultural spending contained in the 1986 draft EEC budget.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assumption regarding the increase in cereal prices was made in deciding on (a) the limit for EEC agricultural spending in 1986 and (b) the 1986 draft budget.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all categories of agricultural and rural spending or support not included in the 20·6 billion ecu limit on EEC agricultural spending for 1986; and if he will state for each category (a) the level of spending in 1984, (b) the level of spending for 1985 and (c) the estimated level of spending as contained in the 1986 preliminary draft budget.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what levels of Dieldrin were found by the analyses carried out upon the dead herons found on the River Avon near Evesham; and if he will report on the efforts made to locate the source of this pollution.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which uses of Dieldrin are likely to be approved once the Food and Environment Protection Bill becomes law.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about the refusal of the Home Grown Cereals Authority to accept Merseyside companies offering space for the storage of EEC intervention board grain; what his response has been; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish details of his allocation by area of the 50,000 additional community programme places recently announced.

I set out current targets for the expansion of the community programme in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) on 30 April at column 105. The Manpower Services Commission is consulting area manpower boards about distributing places available at regional level, and this will be taken into account in the allocation of the remaining 50,000 places.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in the light of the recent court judgment regarding the compatibility with the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 of the rules for eligibility for women in respect of the community programme, he will make a statement on the future provision of places for women on the programme.

We are awaiting the published decision of the industrial tribunal in the case of Mrs. Chandler and will consider its implications for the community programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps have been taken to ensure the involvement of young people in the planning and execution of the youth training scheme, and in particular, trainee representatives on area manpower boards and programme review teams.

Trainee involvement in the youth training scheme takes place at a number of levels. At the individual level, trainees are involved in shaping their training programmes through the regular contact with scheme staff which is one of the requirements of the scheme. At programme level, sponsors are encouraged to set up programme review teams which include trainee representatives. The commission's aim under the forthcoming two-year youth training scheme is that all programmes should have such teams from April 1987.At area level, individual area manpower boards may include organisations representing trainees' interests through co-option or by invitation, and some already do so. The composition of area manpower boards is currently under review. At national level, the youth training board includes a member from the British Youth Council, who represents the interests of young people.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently employed in the textile industry in the Staffordshire, Moorlands constituency.

The available information on employment in local areas is from the September 1981 census of employment. Industrial breakdowns are not available for constituencies but in the area covered by the jobcentre areas of Leek, Longton, Cheadle, Biddulph, Burslem and Hanley, which corresponds most closely to the Staffordshire Moorlands constituency, there were just over 2,700 employees employed in the textile industry (class 43 of the standard industrial classification 1980) at September 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the total grants made to Remploy Ltd. since 1979; what was the annual loss made by the company in 1982, 1983 and 1984, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

Grants are made by the Manpower Services Commission to Remploy to finance the company's excess of expenditure over income and capital expenditure. The information requested (available by financial year only) is as follows:

£000's
Financial year	Grants			Annual operating loss
	Revenue	Capital	Total
1978–79	22,530	2,422	24,952	—
1979–80	27,263	3,764	31,027	—
1980–81	35,235	6,943	42,178	—
1981–82	39,195	6,493	45,688	42,222
1982–83	42,442	6,658	49,100	43,408
1983–84	44,572	7,331	51,903	46,335
1984–85	47,825	8,745	56,570	49,290

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brent, South on 9 July, Official Report, column 416, how many of the 618 unemployed claimants in Brent, who have not had employment since leaving full-time education, have been unemployed for more than 12 months.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to prohibit religious discrimination in employment.

The Government deplore all unfair discrimination, including discrimination on the grounds of religious belief. However, they do not consider that either the scale or the nature of such discrimination makes legislation an appropriate solution.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest available figure for the number of school age children whose head of household has been unemployed for a period of (a) one to two years, (b) two to three years, (c) over three years and (d) over two years, respectively.

Figures are not available in the precise form requested. According to the labour force survey conducted in the spring of 1984, there were 421,000 children in total under the age of 16 whose head of household had been unemployed for between one and two years, and 1,011,000 children whose head of household had been unemployed for two years of more. Separate figures are not available for children of school age, or unemployment durations beyond two years.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when the report of the Health and Safety Executive on the Putney gas explosion will be published; and if he will make a statement.

I understand the report to the Health and Safety Commission will be published shortly. When it is I will make a statement pursuant to this reply and place a copy of the report: in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the responses which his Department has received in reply to his proposals in respect of wages councils expressed support for his policy.

The consultative paper made clear the Government's position that change is needed. The responses to the paper suggest considerable support for this view.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the number of people employed in the road haulage industry in 1960 and in each of the last 10 years.

The following table gives, for the dates specified, the estimated number of employees in employment in the road haulage industry in Great Britain. The Department's employment statistics are analysed according to the standard industrial classification (SIC). The figures for June 1960 to June 1981 are for minimum list headings (MLHs) 703 and 704 of the 1968 SIC while those for June 1982 to June 1984 are for group 723 of the 1980 SIC. The figures for September 1981 are on both bases.

Employees in Employment—Road Haulage Great Britain
	1968 SIC MLHs 703 and 704	1980 SIC Group 723
June 1960	208,000	N/A
June 1975	224,200	N/A
June 1976	215,400	N/A
June 1977	219,900	N/A
June 1978	220,800	N/A
June 1979	222,500	N/A
June 1980	214,900	N/A
June 1981	192,800	N/A
September 1981	196,500	194,800
June 1982	N/A	191,400
June 1983	N/A	186,400
June 1984	N/A	184,200
N/A= Not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications his Department has received for licences to operate community radio stations; if he will break down this figure by region; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many representations he has received about the licensing of community radio since the answer of 6 June to the hon. Member for Stockport (Mr. Favell)

Applications for community radio licences have not yet been invited, although interested groups have on occasion forwarded details of their programming and other plans. Since 6 June, we have received about 90 letters and telephone calls about community radio; a small number of these inquired about the timing of a further statement on the development of community radio. In this latter connection, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Mr. Wheeler) on 11 July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) why plastic handcuffs have been introduced by the Metropolitan police;(2) what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that the use of plastic handcuffs conforms with the guidance in the Metropolitan police instruction book.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that plastic handcuffs have been the subject of evaluation trials but have not been issued for normal policing duties. A limited number are available, however, for use by officers on special duties, under the direction of senior officers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fire resistant overalls the Metropolitan police possess; and how many have identity numbers attached.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that his force has about 6,500 pairs of fire resistant overalls and that instructions have been issued that officers must display identity numerals when wearing overalls on duty.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek powers to amend the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, section 1 and schedule 1 (Licensing of Public Entertainments) to provide that licences attach to the premises and are not personal to the particular applicant; and if he will make a statement on the implications of the present statutory provisions for the enforcement of safety regulations.

Under section 1 of and schedule 1 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, a public entertainment licence is granted to a particular person but in respect of particular premises. It is essential that the licence should be granted to an individual so that he can be held responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the licence (including those relating to safety) are complied with. If he fails to comply, he renders himself liable to criminal proceedings and the licence itself may also be revoked. My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to amend the legislation, nor are we aware that it has led to difficulties of enforcement of safety regulations

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Greater Manchester on the use of special branch officers of the Greater Manchester police to take part in community relations activities; and if he will make a statement on the substance of the report.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to replace the police national computer.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his question of 14 November 1984 at column 258.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will place the operational specification of the proposed criminal information system for the Metropolitan police in the Library.

My right hon. and learned Friend is considering with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis whether to proceed to detailed design work on a computerised crime reporting system. The Commissioner informs me that, primarily for reasons of security, he does not intend to make the operational specification widely available. He does not consider, therefore, that it would be right to place it in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there is an expiry date for proxy votes; and if he will make a statement.

In general, a person appointed to vote as proxy on an elector's behalf is entitled to vote at any parliamentary, European Parliament or local government election so long as the elector is entitled to be treated as an absent voter. If my hon. Friend has a particular difficulty in mind, perhaps he would write to me.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of new offenders are unemployed.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission a study on the implications for penal policy and deterrence of a statutory minimum penalty, subject to reduction only in exceptional circumstances, for the crime of manslaughter; and if he will make a statement.

The argument against statutory minimum penalties is that they would unduly constrain the court's ability to take the circumstances of the offence and the offender fully into account in passing sentence. This applies with particular force to the offence of manslaughter, which varies greatly in degree of seriousness. The courts already have the benefit of full guidance in judgments of the Court of Appeal on sentencing in cases of manslaughter. We do not therefore believe that a study would be worthwhile.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners remanded in custody in England and Wales were not produced at courts where they were due to appear as defendants for each day in May and June.

The information is not available centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria for determining whether prisoners should be released from (a) open prisons and (b) closed prisons for medical treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Prisoners requiring medical treatment that cannot be provided within the prison system are sent outside for it. Security arrangements are decided case by case. Prisoners from open prisons do not usually require extensive security arrangements and they are frequently sent to outside hospitals even though appropriate treatment is available elsewhere in the prison system.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released from (a) open prisons and (b) closed prisons for medical treatment during each of the last five years.

The approximate number of occasions on which prisoners were treated in outside hospitals was as follows. The figures do not distinguish between open and closed prisons.

Year	In Patient Treatments*	Out Patient Treatments
1980	1,400	14,500
1981	1,400	15,500
1982	1,500	16,300
1983	1,650	17,700
1984†	2,300	21,500
* Excludes confinements
† Fifteen months from 1 January 1984 to 31 March 1985

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom in another category have been treated as illegal entrants in each year since 1979 and the current year to date; what was their nationality; and how many were detained on these grounds.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances he declares asylum seekers to be illegal entrants; at what stage in the asylum procedure this is done; and under what circumstances detention would be considered.

If a person who may be an illegal entrant applies for asylum, his application is considered in accordance with normal asylum procedures. Only if his application is unsuccessful is consideration given to the possibility of his removal as an illegal entrant. Detention is then authorised only where this is considered necessary to effect removal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances he will provide written reasons for refusal of asylum where there is no right of appeal and where no Member of Parliament is involved.

Apart from the brief reasons given, for example, in the notice of refusal of leave to enter where a passenger seeks asylum on arrival in this country, it is not the practice to give detailed written reasons in these circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances travel documents will be offered to those people refused asylum but granted exceptional leave to remain.

In general, if it can be shown that their own national authorities refuse to document them or that it would be unreasonable to expect them to approach their national authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iranians expressing a fear of returning to Iran have been refused permission to stay in the United Kingdom and subsequently deported to Iran in each year since 1979.

The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For the total number of Iranians who have been deported since 1979, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Battesea (Mr. Dubs) on 2 May 1985 at columns 216–18.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the amounts paid in out-of-court settlements of claims arising from the wrongful acts of Metropolitan police officers in 1984; what were the amounts paid under awards made by courts in similar cases in 1984; and what was the number of cases initiated in 1984 and the number concluded in 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the amounts paid in out-of-court settlements of claims arising from the wrongful acts of Metropolitan police officers in 1984, the amounts paid under awards made by courts in similar cases in 1984, the number of cases initiated in 1984 and the number concluded in that year.

The total amount paid in 1984 by the Metropolitan police in settlement of claims arising from allegations of misconduct by police officers—whether or not formal proceedings were instituted—was £162,986. The total amount paid by the force under awards made by the courts in similar cases during 1984 was £15,617. The number of such civil actions initiated against the force in 1984 was 181, and the number disposed of was 107.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown by district of the civil cases initiated by members of the public against the wrongful acts of police officers in the Metropolitan police for 1984.

A breakdown by police district of the 181 such cases initiated in 1984 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-British citizens resident in the United Kingdom have submitted applications during the past six years for their spouses to be granted permanent settlement in the United Kingdom; and what proportion of such applications were successful and unsuccessful, respectively.

Comprehensive information is not collected centrally on the citizenship of the spouses of those applying for entry clearance to or settlement in the United Kingdom. However, the following information is readily available. Over the period 1980 to 1984 about 100 husbands were refused entry clearance in the Indian subcontinent to join their wives in the United Kingdom solely or partly because they were not British citizens and in 1984 about 70 husbands from all countries were refused permission to extend their stay in the United Kingdom solely or partly for the same reason. The numbers of wives settled on removal of time limit at the same time as their husbands, all of whom will have been non-British citizens, were given for the years 1978 to 1984 in table 14 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom 1984" (Cmnd. 9544).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received the report of the investigation he ordered into the removal to Sri Lanka of Mr. Kandiah Raveenthiran on 4 June; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. I have received a full report about the circumstances in which Mr. Raveenthiran was returned to Colombo before the receipt of representations from the United Kingdom immigration advisory service against the decision not to grant asylum. This serious error occurred because not all those who ought to have been told of the setting of the directions for Mr. Raveenthiran's removal were told.The Tamil emergency placed considerable strain on staff both in the immigration service and in other parts of the immigration and nationality department, but the report shows that there were a number of general weaknesses in communication and organisation which should not have been present. As a result, clearer lines of communication—particularly between headquarters departments and the ports—will be introduced and relative responsibilities more clearly defined.In view of the pressures placed on staff, and the more general weaknesses to which I have referred, formal disciplinary action against individual officers involved would be inappropriate. Those involved have, however, been seen by the head of the immigration and nationality department and the ways in which they failed in their responsibilities have been made clear to them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will name the building societies in the Birmingham area known to be willing to lend on the security of houses designated under the Defective Housing Act 1984 after the houses have been repaired under the provisions of the Act.

In my reply of 7 May, at column 300, to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker), I explained that the Building Societies Association had participated in the setting up of the arrangements for the NHBC warranty scheme for repairs to PRC houses and that I am confident that houses repaired under the NHBC scheme will prove acceptable to building societies generally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses under the Housing Defects Act 1984 have been repaired to fitness standards; and if he will set out the number and type in each category.

Under the Housing Defects Act 1984 local authorities provide grant assistance to private owners of houses designated under the Act towards the cost of reinstating those houses satisfactorily. I regret that information on the number of houses which have been reinstated is not available at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the percentage of gross domestic product spent on construction in the following countries: (a) Canada, (b) West Germany,(c) France and (d) Sweden; and what is the equivalent figure for the United Kingdom.

The available information for these countries relates to fixed capital investment only and excludes repair and maintenance work which is substantial in the United Kingdom.

Fixed Investment in Construction as a Percentage of GDP in 1982
	Percentage
Canada	13·5
Federal Republic of Germany	12·7
France	10·3
Sweden	10·9
United Kingdom	9·0

Although countries attempt to conform to common definitions, this is not always possible because of the differing information systems within each country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many bungalows for disabled people have been built since 1979; and how many were built between 1974 and 1979.

From January 1980 to March 1985, completions were reported of 19,600 dwellings provided for the chronically sick and disabled by local authorities, new towns and housing associations in England, compared with 15,900 from January 1974 to December 1979. The type of dwelling is not reported.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those rivers which exceed the levels permitted under European Community directive 80/778/EEC for Dieldrin residues in waters intended for human consumption.

The standards laid down in European Community directive 80/778/EEC relate to drinking water and are not meant to be applied to river waters. There is, as yet, no Community agreed river water quality standard for Dieldrin in the series of daughter directives arising from the directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning the number of homeless people in Portsmouth in each half-year since 1979.

The following table gives the number of households accepted as homeless by Portsmouth local authority in each half-year since 1979.

	Number
1979 1st half	75
2nd half	65
1980 1st half	54
2nd half	60
1981 1st half	77
2nd half	71
1982 1st half	65
2nd half	56
1983 1st half	36
2nd half	49
1984 1st half	44
2nd half	109

These figures need to be increased by about 40 per cent. to allow for those households who, although considered to be homeless, received advice and assistance only.My Department does not collect information on the size of these households.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many consent applications citing clause 92 of the Local Government Bill have been received from each of the metropolitan county councils, the Greater London council and the Inner London education authority;(2) how many consent applications citing clause 93 of the Local Government Bill have been received from each of the metropolitan county councils, the Greater London council and the Inner London education authority.

This information is set out in the following table:—

Applications received under clause 92 of the Local Government Bill and section 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984 as amended by clause 93 of the Local Government Bill
Authority	Clause 92	Section 9/Clause 93
Greater London Council	193	521 (264)
Inner London Education Authority	1	28 (17)
Greater Manchester Council	90	208 (169)
Merseyside County Council	18	83 (59)
South Yorkshire County Council	71	236 (209)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about delays in granting consent for applications received under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984.

Each application must be considered carefully and on its individual merits. If unnecessary delays are to be avoided, it is imperative that fully documented applications are submitted at the earliest possible stage.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has consulted any claimants' organisations about the Greater London council consent application under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for Searchlight took over three months to be granted; and whether he has personally visited the organisation.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on Wednesday 10 July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he or his officials have visited Spare Rib the London Lesbian and Gay Centre or the Women's Peace Bus since the Greater London council applied for consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act to make a grant to the three organisations.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) why consent for the Greater London council claimants festival has not been forthcoming;(2) why consent to the All London Teachers Against Racism and Facism is being delayed.

	Number of applications by value (£)
Authority	Not supplied	Under 100	100–999	1,000–9,999	10,000–99,999	100,000–1 million	Over 1 million
Greater London Council	390	213	258	809	514	68	5
Greater Manchester Council	40	110	118	216	137	9	0
Inner London Education Authority	180	527	0	0	0	0	0
Merseyside County Council	60	48	39	61	10	6	0
South Yorkshire County Council	108	117	75	140	43	2	0
Tyne and Wear County Council	5	39	41	101	30	2	0
West Midlands County Council	36	122	64	227	134	7	1
West Yorkshire County Council	65	43	35	75	39	4	0
All Authorities	884	1,219	630	1,629	907	98	6

Responses are awaited to requests made to the GLC for further information needed to enable proper consideration to be given to these applications.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the representations received in support of the Greater London council application for consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for the London Lesbian and Gay Centre, Spare Rib and Women's Peace Bus.

Thirty two letters have been received in support of the Greater London council's application for consent under section 7 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for the London Lesbian and Gay Centre, four letters in support of the application for Spare Rib and five letters in support of the application for the Women's Peace Bus.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why consent has not been forthcoming to the Greater London council's anti-racism awareness campaign; and whether he has consulted the Council for Racial Equality about his decision.

A response is awaited to a request made to the GLC for further information needed to enable proper consideration to be given to this application.My right hon. Friend has not consulted the Council for Racial Equality with regard to this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all outstanding applications for consent received from the Greater London council and the dates they were received.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many consent applications for the Greater London council and each of the metropolitan county councils under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act were for a value of less than £100, between £100 and £1,000, between £1,000 and £10,000, between £10,000 and £100,000, between £100,000 and £1 million and over £1 million.

Financial considerations are not always a material factor in determining applications under the Act and such details have not been supplied or sought in every case. The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when a further series of general consents will be issued under sections 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act, and clauses 92 and 93 of the Local Government Bill.

A further series of general consents under sections 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act and statements of intention to consent under clauses 92 and 93 of the Local Government Bill were issued on 11 June. Further consents will be issued in due course, as appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many consent applications under sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act are still being considered by his Department.

Three hundred and sixty-one.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many press and public relations officers are employed in his Department; and what is the figure for each of the past three years and the total cost for each of those years.

The number and estimated staff costs of Government information officers employed by my Department over the last three years is:

Number (at 1 April)		Estimated costs (at outturn prices) £000's
1983	*25	0·346
1984	22	0·326
1985	23	0·338
* Staffing levels adjusted to reflect the transfer of officers dealing with transport matters to the Department of Transport.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many press notices have been issued by his Department in each of the past three years; and what was the total cost.

In 1982, 1983 and 1984 my Department issued respectively 520, 608 and 592 press notices at a total cost of £50,395, a sum which includes all staff costs and a share of departmental overheads.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to make additional resources available to housing authorities to enable their housing stock to be brought up to higher standards following the meeting with the director general of the National Economic Development Council.

One of the main conclusions reached in the NEDC's report was that better information was needed on the condition of the infrastructure. My Department has recently undertaken an inquiry into the condition of local authority housing stock. The results are now being analysed and will be taken into account in deciding the future levels of resources needed for public sector investment in housing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Greater London council can expect to receive written consent under section 8 of the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act for the disposal of 2, Home Road, Battersea.

Written consent was issued on 11 September 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what samples of potable waters have been taken from the River Avon near Evesham for analysis; and what are the levels of Dieldrin, DDT and DDE found in the samples taken.

The River Avon near Evesham is not used as a source of potable water and accordingly no samples have been taken for such usage.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the costs per year of tax relief for those who take out private insurance policies in substitution for the state earnings-related pension scheme when the state earnings-related pension scheme is phased out.

It is provisionally estimated that the proposals could reduce tax revenues by some £300 million per annum in 1989–90.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the increase in United Kingdom unit labour costs relative to the world generally and the EEC in particular; and to what extent this is used by Her Majesty's Government as an indicator of changes in competitiveness.

Estimates of United Kingdom relative unit labour costs are available in the International Monetary Fund's publication "International Financial Statistics" (p64 in the July 1985 issue). The equivalent figures for relative unit labour costs vis-a-vis our EC partners on the same basis are given in the following table. Figures for the first half of 1985 are not yet available.

United Kingdom Unit Labour Costs Compared to the EC
	Per cent
1975	86·1
1976	71·2
1977	66·25
1978	71·0
1979	81·8
1980	100·0
1981	109·2
1982	104·6
1983	96·5
1984	99·8

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the average variability of sterling against exchange rate mechanism currencies since the establishment of the European monetary system in terms of the real exchange rate measured in (a) consumer prices and (b) relative export prices.

The data necessary to calculate real sterling exchange rates and their variability can be found as follows:

(a) nominal sterling exchange rates against all currencies in the exchange rate mechanism are published in Financial Statistics, table 13.1;

(b) consumer price and export unit value indices are published in the country tables of the IMF's International Financial Statistics.

There are many alternative measures of exchange rate variability, and they can give widely varying results. Different measures will be appropriate in different circumstances.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the annual yield produced by value-added tax in England and Wales for 1983–84.

Net receipts of VAT in 1983–84 were £15,218 million, of which it is estimated that some £13,500 million was raised on expenditure in England and Wales.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on his policy regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in the case of Direct Cosmetics Ltd. and the Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

As I indicated to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe on 8 May (Official Report, column 402), a formal submission was made to the European Commission seeking to restore the VAT valuation provisions which the European Court of Justice judgment rendered ultra vires. The submission succeeded and the powers were restored on 12 June. New directions have been issued by Customs which took effect on 1 July. Claims have been invited from traders who consider that they may have overpaid tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the percentage level of value added tax take-up for each EEC country necessitated by the 1986 draft EEC budget.

The preliminary draft budget has not yet been published by the Commission, so it is not expected that the Council of Ministers will be in a position to establish a draft budget until September.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the percentage level of value added tax take-up for the United Kingdom for each EEC budget since 1975.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the maximum level of expenditure in the EEC budget implied by a 1·4 per cent. value added tax ceiling; and if he will list any similar estimates made by other EEC countries or the EEC Commission.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now publish his proposals for changes to the mines and oil wells allowances.

A consultative document containing these proposals is being published today, and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library. The document proposes changes on both the structure and rates of the mines and oil wells allowances. The effect of the proposals is to bring these allowances more closely into line with the general system of capital allowances, following the changes in the 1984 Finance Act and the provisions of this year's Finance Bill. The aim is to simplify and clarify another complex area of the tax system. The main proposals consistent with the wider capital allowances code are:

The abolition of the present system of allowances (initial allowances and writing down allowances based on output and royalty value of output formulae).

Their replacement by straightforward percentage based annual writing down allowances on a reducing balance basis. The proposed rate is 25 per cent. for qualifying expenditure other than that on the acquisition of minerals or rights over them for which a 10 per cent rate is proposed.

Relief to start when the expenditure is incurred provided that a mining trade has begun.

The abolition of relief for expenditure on land.

It is proposed that legislation on these proposals should be introduced in next year's Finance Bill. The consultative document invites representations on the proposals in the document and these should be sent to the Inland Revenue by the end of October of this year. An Inland Revenue press release issued today gives further details, including the price and the availability of the document.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will initiate studies of recent estimates of the size of the black economy and the correlation between the level of unemployed claimants and registrants at jobcentres, with a view to instituting subsequently an inquiry into the size of the black economy and ways to restrict it; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 July 1985]: Methods for dealing with the black economy are kept under constant review. In this connection, outside studies and estimates of the problem are carefully noted.

asked the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Lewisham.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the preparations being made for the special meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss the draft Treaty of European Union; and if she will make a statement.

Preparations for the proposed intergovernmental conference called under article 236 of the EC treaty will be discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 and 23 July.

asked the Prime Minister what progress is being made with representations to Japan on its international trading policy.

In addition to direct representations to Japanese authorities by Ministers, the European Council in Milan endorsed the declaration by the Foreign Affairs Council on 19 June. This calls for Japan to make a clearly verifiable commitment to a significant, sustained increase in imports of manufactures and processed agricultural products, to further liberalise her financial markets and to internationalise the yen. The President of the Commission, M. Delors, will be meeting Prime Minister Nakasone on 19 July and will stress that the Community will judge Japan's response by the actual results of the action programme to be announced this month.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Treasury, the Department of Trade and Industry and other Departments of State on the forward development of Her Majesty's Government's economic and industrial policies.

There is always room for improvement.

asked the Prime Minister if she will increase the level of the present aid and trade provision in support of the proposed mechanism for soft loans.

The future level of ATP will be decided in the light of overall decisions on public expenditure and other claims on resources.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the European Council's decision that priority should be given to creating a free market for transport, when the other European Community countries will extend to British-registered ships the rights of cabotage.

The EC Commission has proposed a 10-year transitional period for the opening up of cabotage trades as between member states. This is a far longer period than is necessary or than we can accept and the Secretary of State for Transport is having discussions with Ministers from other member states with a view to securing much earlier access for British vessels to those trades that are still closed.

asked the Prime Minister, further to the statement on 2 July on the meeting of the European Council at Milan, whether any agreement was reached about when a free market in non-life insurance will be established throughout the Community.

The European Council agreed that the removal of barriers in financial services should be a high priority in the action programme for completing the Community internal market by 1992. Non-life insurance services are an important element in the Commission's paper on which the action programme is to be based.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make representations to the French Government about incidents of ill-treatment of non-white British passport holders by French border officials.

We have already drawn the French authorities' attention to the concern felt here over the incident involving a British delegation to the Council of Europe Youth Week in Strasbourg, in which a Jamaican national was primarily involved. The French authorities are looking into the matter. I am not aware of any other recent incidents of this kind.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to how many British-made aircraft have been exported to Phillipine Airlines since 1970.

According to information that I have, British-made aircraft exported to Philippine Airlines since 1970 comprise five new and 11 used aircraft, three of which were purchased from United Kingdom operators; additionally, a further three aircraft have been leased from a United Kingdom airline. Five European Airbuses purchased in this period, in which Britain has a stake, have not been included.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect the increase in relative unit labour costs since 1978 has had on the relative profitability of manufactured exports; and if he will make a statement.

Manufacturers' relative unit labour costs affect their ability to compete in both home and overseas markets, while the relative profitability of exports may influence the balance they choose between export and home sales. The two are not therefore directly related, although they both have implications for the level of export sales.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in the light of the death of Roddy Breslin in Tyrone county hospital on 6 May, he will introduce legislation to prohibit the import and sale of chocolate eggs and other confectionery containing small plastic toys.

While saddened to learn of the death of Roddy Breslin through choking on the plastic wheels and axle of a toy car, I have to recognise, as parents do, that the world is full of small objects which can cause the death of a child by choking.In the case of small toys and toys containing small parts the consumer safety unit advises the use of warnings to keep the objects away from small children, and many responsibile suppliers follow this practice. I have no plans to prohibit the supply of such products.The Food Imitations (Safety) Regulations 1985 make illegal from 1 August 1985, small toys and some other objects which imitate food in appearance, taste or smell. But it would not be fair or practicable to extend this concept to small objects associated with food, such as cake decorations or novelties contained within chocolate eggs. Such products should carry warning labels and parents should be particularly vigilant.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he made prior to formulating his investor protection policy as it relates to the users of (a) commodity markets in general and (b) to the terminal coffee market of the costs likely to arise to the markets and the implications for their international competitiveness; and if he will make a statement.

The proposals for investor protection, described in the White paper "Financial Services in the United Kingdom" (Cmnd. 9432), are designed to promote the efficiency and competitiveness of the financial services sector, within a regulatory framework which inspires confidence in investors. These objectives apply to the regulation of business in all investments, which will include coffee and other commodity futures. Costs will be minimised because the system of self regulation within a statutory framework will allow the detailed rules to take account of the differing needs of the various types of investment and of the interests of investors and traders.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to progress in establishing the Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers; and what role he envisages for this body, in the context of his investor protection policy, in relation to the regulation of the terminal coffee market.

I welcome the progress made in establishing the Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers, which I hope will become operational as soon as possible. The White Paper, "Financial Services in the United Kingdom" envisages that recognised self-regulatory organisations will have a major role in regulating investment business under the proposed new regulatory regime. The AFBD will be eligible for recognition if its rules and practices provide an adequate level of investor protection.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 June, Official Report, column 443, how many shares Rudolf Wolff & Co. undertook to buy in its role as underwriters to the flotation of British Telecommunications; and what happened to the shares they handled.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 July 1985, c. 6]: Rudolf Wolff was allocated 1·375 million shares under the placing and commitment arrangements described in my answer of 27 June. The arrangements for the offer for sale did not require applicants to give an account of their management of their allocations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 June, Official Report, column 443, when the applications by employees of an eligible fund based overseas for 31,900 British Telecommunications shares were discovered; what arrangements were made for the surrender of their profits to charity; which charities were involved and on what dates payments were made to them; if any investigations into possible fraud or deception were carried out; and if he will make a statement.