asked the Prime Minister whether she will make a statement about the Security Commission's inquiry into security at 9 Signal Regiment.

In answering questions on 29 October at column 812, I told the House that following the acquittal of eight members of 9 Signal Regiment charged with offences under the Official Secrets Acts, I would be considering further, in consultation with the chairman of the Security Commission, whether there should be some further inquiry by the commission into the arrangements for protecting security at the station in question.I have concluded, and the chairman of the commission agrees, that there is a need for further inquiry into the general level of security at that and other similar stations. I have accordingly invited the commission:

asked the Prime Minister when she next plans to visit Scotland.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether she has any plans to pay an official visit to Norwich.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will institute an inquiry into the breaches of security at Government communications headquarters alleged by Mr. Jock Kane in extracts from his book published recently in the Washington Post.

Mr. Kane's allegations about security weaknesses have been aired previously in this country and in the United States. They were the subject of extremely thorough investigations by the security service and Sir James Waddell, a senior retired Home Office official. As I told the House on 20 May 1980, at column 248, and on 12 June 1980, at column 271, most of these allegations had no substance, but those which did require action had received it. There is nothing new in these latest reports, and I see no need for a further inquiry.

asked the Prime Minister if she will dismiss the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

No.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will describe the methods by which the President of the United States of America is keeping her, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies, informed of the outcome of his discussions on disarmament with Mr. Gorbachev.

President Reagan has been meticulous in seeing we are both informed and consulted on the arms control talks. We had two meetings in New York last month, and we were in direct touch before the latest US proposals were tabled in Geneva. The day after he meets Mr. Gorbachev, President Reagan will brief a special session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, which I will attend.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make proposals to allow civil servants who are asked by Ministers to draft statements to the House which those civil servants believe to be untrue, to make their dilemma known to either a Select Committee of the House or to a judicial body or to an inspector general.

No. There is no need for such proposals. If such an unlikely circumstance were to arise, it would be the duty of the civil servant to tell the Minister that he believed the statement to be untrue, and for the Minister to decide about his statement in the light of that.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to establish a national drug abuse agency to co-ordinate all efforts to combat the drugs problem.

We have no present plans to do so. At national level Government action to tackle drug misuse is co-ordinated and energetically carried forward by the interdepartmental ministerial group on the misuse of drugs, chaired by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. This work is accorded very high priority.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list (a) the jobs in Government services, (b) appointments to judicial office, (c) appointments to quangos and (d) appointments to nationalised industries which require vetting from the security services.

It has not, under successive Governments, been the practice to disclose details of posts for which such clearance is required. In any event, such information is not available centrally.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 12 November.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I was present at Victoria station to meet the Amir of Qatar at the start of his state visit to this country. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I shall attend a state banquet given by Her Majesty the Queen in honour of the Amir of Qatar.

asked the Prime Minister whether Her Majesty's Government have any plans to increase official overseas aid to the level of the United Nations target in the lifetime of the current Parliament.

Like their predecessors, the Government accept the United Nations 0·7 per cent. aid target in principle, but not a date for reaching it. Progress towards the target must depend on Britain's economic circumstances and other calls on our resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning the refusal of the United States State Department to permit British companies to bid for their foreign buildings operations projects pursuant to section 11 of the Foreign Services Buildings Act of 1926 on the grounds that Britain refuses to allow substantially equal access to United States firms to participate in bidding on British diplomatic and consular building projects.

In addition to the case raised by my hon. and learned Friend in correspondence, my Department has received one further approach.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many officers and staff of the House have regular and constant access to secret and top secret material.

No officers or staff of the House have regular and constant access to top secret material.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the Government's plans for expenditure on education and science in the period 1986–87 to 1988–89.

As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his statement today, provision for education and science in 1986–87 will be increased by £300 million to £14,320 million from the figures in Cmnd. 9428.There is an increase of £88 million in vote expenditure: within this, additional provision has been made for science through the science budget and the universities vote, for additional places in higher education in science, engineering and technology, and for the expected higher cost of student awards. Provision for vote expenditure in 1987–88 and 1988–89 has been increased by £84·5 million and £69 million respectively.The total allocated to local authority current expenditure on education in the Government's plans is £10,815 million, £210 million more than the plans in Cmnd. 9428 as adjusted for Budget changes and so on. The total includes provision of up to £37 million in England for schemes of mid-day supervision (see paragraph 12 below). This represents an increase of around 5·8 per cent. in cash over the sum allocated to the service in 1985–86, after allowing for the transfer to the Manpower Services Commission of funding for some work-related non-advanced further education. It is, however, for local authorities to decide the balance between services within total relevant planned current expenditure in England of £22,250 million, taking into account their statutory obligations and Government policies.The Government have not yet taken decisions about their provision for total local authority current expenditure in 1987–88 and 1988–89. In the meantime the 1986–87 total and its distribution, including the figures for local authority education, have been rolled forward for a further two years. However, in setting the level of the reserve, account has been taken of the possibility that local authority expenditure in 1986–87 and later years may exceed the Government's plans. The provision to be made within the 1987–88 rate support grant settlement will be considered next year in the light of authorities' budgets for 1986–87 and other factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement about the programme of preparation of teachers for the general certificate of secondary education.

Preparations for the introduction of the GCSE, including the special programme of in-service training for GCSE teachers, are on course and proceeding to the timetable set for the introduction of the new examinations.Under phase 1 of the special programme, the GCSE examing groups and the LEAs are currently making preparations for the later phases of the programmes: the in-service training seminars that will be conducted throughout 1986, beginning in January. Teacher's guides, prepared under the auspices of the Secondary Examination Council, will be distributed at the beginning of January to all GCSE teachers in readiness for these seminars; supporting videos will also be available for all schools and colleges.The local authority associations have, however, made representations about the funding available to LEAs to meet the costs of the later phases of the special programme, during which first subject representatives (phase 2) and then all teachers (phase 3) will receive in-service training. At their request, and subject to the consent of Parliament, I have agreed to increase from 70 per cent. to 90 per cent. the rate of grant payable to LEAs towards the cost of providing cover for subject representatives attending phase 2 seminars. I have also considered their view that, whilst it is neither desirable nor practicable to provide cover for all the remaining teachers attending phase 3 seminars, it would be of help to LEAs in the organisation of these seminars if some resources were available to provide a limited amount of cover. Again, subject to the consent of Parliament, I am prepared to bring phase 3 seminars within the scope of the in-service teacher training grants scheme and thus to support expenditure of up to £2 million for teachers released to attend these seminars.These changes, requested by the local authority associations, will I am sure be widely welcomed by LEAs and will be of help to them in their planning of the GCSE training programme.The Department is issuing today a circular letter to LEAs informing them of these revised arrangements and giving advance notice of other elements for inclusion within the in-service teacher training grants scheme for the academic year 1986–87. It is my intention to lay new regulations before Parliament as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received regarding the current budget of the Medical Research Council.

The Department has received 23 approaches from hon. Members and other interested parties relating in whole or in part to the current budget of the Medical Research Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science by what means the Government regulate and assess the progress of the Education Acts 1980 and 1981 in respect of educational appeals; and if he will make a statement.

The local appeal provisions of the 1980 and 1981 Acts are fully implemented and are available for parents to use as they wish. The arrangements do not require detailed Governmental oversight, but my right hon. Friend has limited powers to intervene if complaints about the local machinery are found to be justified. In addition, my right hon. Friend is directly involved in certain appeals which may be made to him under the 1981 Act.

	Column 1 Science Budget	Column 2 Science Budget as a fraction of gross domestic product	Column 3 Science Budget in real terms using retail price Index*	Column 4 Science Budget in real terms using DTI R & D Index†
Year	£m		£m	£m
1971–72	126·0	0·00212	554·1	607·4
1972–73	139·4	0·00208	572·9	609·8
1973–74‡	143·9	0·00193	541·4	566·7
1974–75	157·2	0·00176	509·7	520·6
1975–76	191·5	0·00171	499·8	498·5
1976–77	227·8	0·00175	510·1	513·8
1977–78	250·4	0·00166	484·0	501·4
1978–79	281·7	0·00163	502·8	506·4
1979–80	326·3	0·00158	513·6	509·5
1980–81	394·5	0·00166	526·3	516·8
1981–82║	450·7	0·00174	537·5	522·1
1982–83	481·6	0·00170	528·8	509·2

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects the National Advisory Body to make recommendations on future polytechnics.

I understand that the NAB hopes to offer advice in 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether he will list in the Official Report the number of occasions, and the local education authority involved in each case, on which a parent has been fined under the Education Act 1981 for failing to present a child for examination;(2) what information is available to his Department in respect of

The Department does not collect this information.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will list in the Official Report the science budget for each year since 1971 (a) as a fraction of gross domestic product and (b) in real terms using (i) the retail prices index and (ii) the inflation factor used by the Department of Trade and Industry as appropriate for research and development in each case, to the latest available date.

The table shows the information requested:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what study of the technological side benefits from particle physics his Department is planning before a decision is made on the recommendation of the Kendrew committee; and whether he will make a statement;(2) what study has been made by his Department of the technological spin-offs from particle physics research and development; and whether he will make a statement.

Comments on the value of technological spin-off and other side benefits from particle physics research and development were made in the report of the Kendrew review group. My right hon. Friend intends to take full account of those, and similar subsequent, assessments before any decision is made, but he is not planning any further study of those aspects.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will list in the Official Report the United Kingdom contribution to CERN in (a) cash terms, (b) real terms and (c) as a percentage of the science budget in each year since 1971.

The information requested is as follows:

Financial year	Cash terms £ million	Real terms* £ million	As percentage of science budget
1971–72	8·47	48·4	6·7
1972–73	9·37	53·4	6·7
1973–74	13·64	50·2	9·5
1974–75	16·01	46·7	10·2
1975–76	18·57	43·2	9·7
1976–77	23·16	43·0	10·2
1977–78	23·78	39·4	9·5
1978–79	27·70	37·7	9·8
1979–80	25·25	35·9	7·7
1980–81	22·38	33·9	5·7
1981–82	22·48	30·4	5·0
1982–83	26·56	30·0	5·5
1983–84	32·13	32·4	6·2
1984–85	35·51	35·5	6·5
* By using Swiss currency equivalent of figure in left-hand column, converting that to constant 1984–85 prices using Swiss indices, and reconverting to £ at 1984–85 exchange rate.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will list in the Official Report the representations he has received in respect of the United Kingdom's particle physics budget and participation in CERN; and how many of the representations advocated continuing the United Kingdom commitment to that project.

Since the publication of the Kendrew report my right hon. Friend has received 39 letters concerning particle physics and CERN. Many of these letters included a copy of a resolution adopted by a recent meeting of over 100 particle physicists. All the letters indicated concern at the possibility of the United Kingdom withdrawing from CERN.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions he has had with his colleagues in those countries signatory to the 1954 CERN convention concerning the recommendations of the Kendrew committee that the budget of CERN should be cut by 25 per cent. and on the possible withdrawal of the United Kingdom from CERN; and whether he will make a statement on the outcome of those discussions.

My right hon. Friend has had no such discussions with his colleagues in CERN member states, but he informed them of the establishment of the Kendrew review group and sent them a copy of the report. Furthermore he has undertaken to consult them should any change be contemplated in the United Kingdom's relationship with CERN.

asked the Secretary of State for Education (1) what information is available to his Department in respect of the effects on international scientific collaboration of (a) a 25 per cent. cut in the United Kingdom particle physics budget and (b) withdrawal from CERN by the United Kingdom; and whether he will make a statement on the implications for the United Kingdom;(2) what information is available to his Department in respect of the impact on the CERN project of a 25 per cent. cut in the United Kingdom particle physics budget.

Action is in hand to assess the likely effects and implications using a number of sources, but precise assessments are not practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce his decision in respect of the recommendations of the Kendrew committee.

My right hon. Friend is considering the advice he has received from the advisory board for the research councils and the science and engineering research council on the recommendations of the Kendrew review group. An announcement will be made as soon as this consideration, including any necessary consultation with other member states of CERN, is complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to seek to amend section 116 of the Education Act 1944 in respect of the educational rights of young people in custody; and whether he will make a statement.

No. My right hon. Friend has received no representations which indicate that such a step is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he expects to publish a consultative paper as part of his review of the student support system; and if he will make a statement.

The possibility of replacing maintenance grants wholly or partly with loans has been ruled out at the present time by the Government. As I announced on 17 July at column 165, I have been considering the publication of a consultative document in which student loans would not feature as an option, but have concluded that no useful purpose would be served by the publication of such a paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he plans any changes in his public expenditure programme.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced the main changes to the Government's public expenditure plans for 1986–87 and the following two years. The following table gives details of the major changes in my Department's programmes.The total net housing programme is being increased by £220 million in 1986–87 and by £200 million in 1987–88. This will enable gross provision for capital expenditure in 1986–87 to be set at £3,250 million, £200 million above the figure for 1985–86 published in last year's White Paper.The major part of this increased provision will be for local authorities to enable them to make progress in dealing with the problem of serious disrepair revealed by the report of the inquiry into the condition of their stock, which I am publishing separately today.I shall be announcing later, in the usual way, the apportionment of this total between the local authorities, the Housing Corporation and new towns. I shall as usual be consulting the Housing Consultative Council and the Housing Corporation on the details.Widespread problems of disrepair have been growing up over the years since the great expansion of municipal housing in the 1950s and 1960s. We have now, however, for the first time commissioned a systematic inquiry, which reveals the extent of the problem. A greater concentration of resources is clearly required to deal with this situation over a number of years.Local authorities have already been giving increasing priority to housing renovation. Last year over £2 billion was spent on this (over £1 billion on capital account and a further £1 billion on revenue). In the light of the inquiry report, and as a result of the additional resources I am now making available, I now look to them to give even greater priority to this work.The private sector should also be brought in to assist whenever this is possible. Private sector resources and skills have a major part to play in developing new patterns of ownership and management in co-operation with tenants, for an increasing number of local authority estates.New building by local authorities must be a lower priority. In most areas new local authority building for general needs has rightly been reduced to very low levels—these needs can more appropriately be met by the private sector. The continuing success of our right-to-buy policies also means that thousands more families every year are able to become owner-occupiers. Local authority new building should increasingly be concentrated on providing for elderly and disabled people and others with special needs. Similarly, improvement grants should be targeted primarily to those who can least afford to pay for repair and improvement of their own homes.In the other environment services programme, provision for local authority local environmental services capital, net of receipts, has been increased by £39 million, to £205 million for 1986–87. The revised level of provision more realistically reflects the perceived level of need for spending on these services.Ministers are currently reviewing Government policies affecting the inner cities. Meantime, provision for the urban programme is being maintained at the levels shown in Cmnd. 9428.I have increased the resources for the derelict land scheme over previously planned provision to maintain a high rate of clearance; and the urban development corporations are to retain some £11 million extra receipts from disposal of developed land to plough back into their development programme.I shall also be making additional resources available to the Nature Conservancy Council for its statutory responsibilities for protection of natural habitats; for the Countryside Commission's successful "Groundwork" projects in rundown countryside around towns and other work; to the Development Commission, to maintain the pace of provision of workshops and small factories in rural areas; to the Sports Council to boost in particular its valuable work in the inner cities; and for the heritage to continue the rehabilitation and conservation of our historic houses, parks and monuments.These additions are more than offset by extra receipts now expected from the new towns' programme of disposal of completed commercial and industrial properties. New investment by the new towns is not affected, and remains at the previously planned level.As regards overall local authority spending, my predecessor announced on 26 July that we have increased local authority relevant current expenditure provision for 1986–87 by some £500 million. I have consulted local government on the various elements of the 1986–87 rate support grant settlement and will lay proposals before Parliament in December.There was a substantial overspend on local authority net capital provision in England in 1984–85. It is most important for national economic management that spending be brought into line with our public expenditure plans.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now publish the results of his Department's inquiry into the condition of local authority housing stock; and if he will make a statement.

A report setting out the main results of this inquiry has been published by my Department today. I have placed a copy in the Library. Other copies are available in the Vote Office. Local authorities' responses to the inquiry indicated that in their view some 84 per cent. of their properties require some renovation or repair work: and that, on the basis of their estimates, the total cost of all the work they believe is needed would be £18·8 billion.This is the first occasion on which any Government have commissioned such an inquiry. We did so because of our concern about the condition of the local authority stock and because we considered it helpful to have more detailed and comprehensive information on both the nature and scale of the problem. We now intend to discuss the results with the local authority associations. My Department is ready to help with the exchange and sharing of information both on renovation needs and possible solutions, including technical advice from my Department's Building Research Establishment.The renovation problem has been accentuated by the telescoping of disrepair arising out of the natural aging of the pre-war housing stock and the unexpected structural problems now emerging in the non-traditional and postwar stock. Some of these problems are emerging in buildings which have been up less than 20 years. But these problems have not developed overnight and will have to be tackled in a measured way over a number of years. Not all the work is equally urgent or important: I therefore expect authorities to continue with their present efforts to identify priorities and to tackle the most urgent work first.I should also stress that I look to local authorities to examine renovation options carefully. There is growing scope for private finance, and for imaginative solutions to problems of housing renovation and management, in consultation with tenants. Tenants are concerned not just with the physical fabric of estates and the facilities within their own homes, but with how estates are managed and, indeed, all the factors which affect the quality of their lives. The legislation we shall be bringing forward during this Session will encourage these initiatives. My Department's urban housing renewal unit, which was set up in June, is making good progress in discussing with authorities ways of introducing private finance and other measures to improve the quality of life for tenants.In addition to all these measures to revitalise rundown council estates, it is clear that local authorities will need some additional public expenditure resources to deal with the problems identified by the inquiry. I am making a separate announcement about this today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the objectives and priorities of the urban housing renewal unit.

Ministers have set up the urban housing renewal unit to help local authorities tackle the problems of their rundown estates in a variety of imaginative ways, such as redevelopment projects involving the private sector, community refurbishment schemes and local estate-based management initiatives along the lines of the priority estates project. The unit is concentrating its effort on the 69 authorities with the worst problems, by offering detailed advice and assistance on individual estates, but it will respond to a request for help from any English local authority. Authorities have welcomed this initiative and are responding most constructively.

asked he Secretary of State for the Environment what responses he has received (a) to the proposals relating to the criteria for qualification as unfit housing and (b) to the proposals as a whole, contained in the Green Paper on improvement policy, Cmnd. 9513.

In response to its wide consultation on the Green Paper, my Department has, to date, received 423 responses to the proposals as a whole. Of those. some 40 per cent. specifically mentioned the proposed fitness criteria.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to expand the urban housing renewal unit and the funds available to it.

The urban housing renewal unit is offering local authorities detailed advice and assistance on tackling the problems of their rundown estates. It can help authorities to maximise private sector funding opportunities and can influence the direction of public sector resources, where necessary. We are keeping both the size of the unit and the resources at its disposal under close review, as requests from local authorities for assistance increase.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish details of the indicators used to select authorities eligible to bid for resources under the 1986–87 urban programme and list for each urban area with a population of more than 30,000 its score on each indicator.

Details of the indicators used to select authorities eligible to bid for urban programme resources, and the scores for individual authorities, are contained in my Department's "Census Information Note No. 2", copies of which are in the Library of the House. For the purpose of selecting the authorities to be given priority for support under the traditional urban programme for 1986–87, latest data about unemployment rates derived from the Employment Gazette have also been taken into account.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many (a) loans and (b) grants have been made under the house purchase assistance scheme during each financial year since its introduction; and what has been the annual cost of the scheme to public funds.

The Department records only the totals paid, not the number of bonuses and grants. Since loans are fixed at £600, the number can be calculated from the total of payments. Bonuses, however, vary in amount between £40 and £110, and such a calculation is therefore not possible. Details are as follows:

Financial Year	Loan Payments £ million	Bonus Payments £ million	Estimated number of loans	*Net cost £ million
1980–81	0·36	0·06	602	0·42
1981–82	3·33	0·54	5,545	3·84
1982–83	3·77	0·59	6,277	4·24
1983–84	2·54	0·41	4,240	2·48
1984–85	2·15	0·35	3,580	1·61
†1985–86	0·57	0·10	950	0·28
* Total payments less repayments of loans and interest on late repayments.
† To September 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the evidence submitted to him by the hon. Member for West Bromwich, West from building societies and lending institutions, stating their policy in refusing loan facilities on Smith constructed properties, he will now include those properties in section 1 of the Housing Defects Act; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is considering most carefully recent further evidence on Smith houses, including the information supplied by the hon. Lady about building society lending policies. I hope to make an announcement concerning the question of designation of Smith houses under the Housing Defects Act very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new council houses and flats have been built in Great Grimsby in each year since 1975.

The numbers of council dwelling completions reported by Great Grimsby during 1975 to 1979 appear in issues 37, 41, 45, 49 and 59, respectively, of "Local Housing Statistics", those during 1980 to 1983 in issue 73 and 1984 in issue 74: copies are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what the percentage increase has been in net public expenditure on house building in Great Grimsby between 1979–80 and 1984–85 in real and cash terms.

Public expenditure on house building in Great Grimsby by the borough council and the Housing Corporation was 46 per cent. lower in cash terms and 64 per cent. lower in real terms in 1984–85 than in 1979–80.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses have been sold to sitting tenants in Great Grimsby in each year since May 1979.

The numbers of right-to-buy sales and other sales to sitting tenants reported during the financial years 1980–81, 1981–82 and 1982–83 appear in issues 62, 63 and 67, respectively, of "Local Housing Statistics", and during 1983–84 and 1984–85 in issue 75: Copies are available in the Library. Sales to sitting tenants were not separately reported before 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present size of the housing stock in Great Grimsby.

The borough council reported a total of 34,628 dwellings in Great Grimsby at 1 April 1985 in its latest housing investment programme return.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how great a factor the attitude of the local populations will be in his final choice of sites for the building of nuclear waste repositories.

The views of local people will be a material consideration in any decisions made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to take any measures to ensure that the residents of the areas proposed as sites for nuclear waste repositories will be made aware of (a) the proposal to build the repository in the vicinity, (b) the exact nature the use to which the site would be put, (c) the implications of the proposal for the future of the area and (d) the arguments, both for and against, the building of the repository.

Any planning application by NIREX for disposal of waste will be subject to a public inquiry following advertisement and notification of particular parties affected. NIREX will be expected to submit with any such application information on the nature of the development proposed and how the site as so developed would be used. It will also be expected to submit a report of an assessment of the wider environmental implications of its proposal. There will be a full opportunity at any public inquiry for people interested to express views for and against what is proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will reaffirm that, consequent on the abolition of the metropolitan county councils, metropolitan district councils will not have to pay former metropolitan county council staff they employ to run the devolved services the same salary as they received formerly.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the responses received to his Department's consultation paper arising from the Local Government Act 1985 regarding compensation for financial detriment for staff of the Greater London council and metropolitan county councils.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of the London and Metropolitan Government Staff Commission's circular No. 9 issued on 11 October, he will instruct the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission further to consider designating staff of the Greater London council currently working on historic building functions for transfer to the commission.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on housing construction in Liverpool in the past three years; and if he will show how his Department's publication, "Local Housing Statistics", takes account of starts in the private and other public sectors which became transferred to the local authority.

In the three years 1982 to 1984, 793 dwellings were completed in Liverpool for the city council, 1,499 for housing associations and 2,091 for the private sector.If any dwelling is first reported by an authority as started in one category of ownership but is reported, in a later period, to have been transferred before completion to another category, the numbers shown as under construction at the end of that period in the two categories are adjusted to reflect the transfer. In due course, the dwelling appears in completions in the new category in "Local Housing Statistics". Liverpool city council reported that 88 dwellings which had been started in the private sector were transferred to it and included as completions for the council in 1983. No such transfers were reported for 1982 or 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total value of extra resources requested by local authorities to operate the Housing Defects Act following his circular 9/85; and how this compares with the total extra resources made available.

The local authorities in England which responded to circular 9/85 indicated that they could incur some £131 million in 1985–86 on statutory obligations under the Housing Defects Act. The need for expenditure under the Act was taken into account when the housing investment programme allocations for 1985–86 were first set; but we announced on 9 August 1985, in response to the circular, that additional allocations of up to £37 million would be made available to those authorities which would otherwise be unable to meet their obligations under the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the report on the study of relative disadvantage experience by those in rural areas commissioned by his Department; and what plans he has for publication of this report.

The final report of this study entitled "Deprivation in Rural Areas", carried out by Chelmer institute of higher education on behalf of my Department and the Development Commission, was received in June. It is currently being evaluated, after which plans for publication will be considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to give his decision on the consent to the grant to the Brent and Harrow Engineering Group Training Association for which the Greater London council applied on 24 July.

This application was received on 19 September. A decision will be reached as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to give his decision on the consent to the grant to the Brixton Young Families Housing Aid Association, for which the Greater London council applied on 24 July.

This application was received on 15 October. A decision will be reached as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to give his decision on the consent to the grant to the Hounslow Engineering Group Training Association for which the Greater London council applied on 12 September.

As soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will call in the Canary wharf scheme; and if he will make a statement.

The scheme, which is still under discussion between the developers and LDDC, is for a major development, primarily of offices, on Canary wharf in the London docklands development area. The site is located almost entirely in the Isle of Dogs enterprise zone. As a result, it benefits from the automatic planning permission which goes with the enterprise zone regime laid down in the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980. That Act makes no provision for the intervention of the Secretary of State to call in an individual planning application for public inquiry as with other major planning cases.I take the view that, having established through the EZ system a particular means of providing planning permission in parts of the country which are in urgent need of regeneration, it would not be right for me to intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that Welwyn and Hatfield district council is fulfilling its obligations with respect to the provision of civil defence; and if he will make a statement.

We are determined to ensure that all local authorities meet their civil defence obligations in full. Primary responsibility under the 1983 regulations lies with county, not district councils, who have been asked to complete plans by the end of the year. We shall then review progress and prepare a staged programme for further action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total transfer of resources from aiding to aided police authorities in England and Wales arising out of the coal dispute 1984 to 1985; what value of the transfer has since been reimbursed by aided authorities; what proportion of costs was paid by central Government; and how many authorities have yet to settle their accounts.

In the course of the miners' dispute some 1·4 million officer-days were provided to forces policing the dispute by other forces. It is for the police authorities concerned to settle between them payments for aid provided. There is no central record of such individual transactions or the costs involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of police per head of the population in Cambridgeshire; and how this compares with other constabularies in England and Wales.

On 31 December 1984 the number of police per thousand population in Cambridgeshire was 1·89 compared with the average of 2·39 for all police forces in England and Wales, and 2·15 for police forces outside London in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out in the Official Report, the names of those hon. Members referred to in his statement of Tuesday 29 October concerning the immigration rules and the number of instances of alleged abuse in each case; and if he will make a statement.

I have not yet received replies from all of the hon. Members to whom I have written. The House will be informed of the outcome of the correspondence in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is available to his Department in respect of the number of young people below the school leaving age and over the age of 14 years who are detained in penal institutions and youth custody centres who are not receiving education; and what proportion of the young people so detained the figure represents, in each case at the latest available date.

All sentenced inmates below school leaving age are normally occupied in full-time education (excluding PE) for at least 15 hours a week. The same applies generally to those remanded in custody, subject to factors such as further court appearances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with the British Deaf Association concerning the code of practice on the detention, treatment and questioning of persons by the police under the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; why safeguards sought by the association for deaf suspects were not included in the code; and if he will meet the association to discuss its concern about the code.

The Department has considered proposals put forward by the British Deaf Association for amending the provisions of the code of practice. It has throughout been our objective to ensure that the code provides essential safeguards for the rights of deaf people questioned by the police without subjecting the police to unduly rigid or unnecessary requirements. We believe the draft which has now been laid before Parliament strikes a proper balance. I would be happy to meet the right hon. Member together with representatives of the association to discuss their concern.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what organisations representing disabled people have made representations about the draft guidance proposed to accompany new cinema safety regulations; and if he will make a statement.

The following organisations representing disabled people have sent comments:

• Access Committee for England
• Access for All
• All Party Disablement Group, House of Commons
• Association of Disabled Professionals
• The Balham Network
• Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind
• British Council of Organisations of Disabled People
• Carnegie Council (Arts and Disabled People)
• Centre on Environment for the Handicapped
• Cleveland Council for the Disabled
• Coventry Council for the Disabled
• Disabled Living Foundation
• Exeter Access Committee
• Greater London Association for Disabled People (GLAD)
• Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
• Harrow Association for Disability
• Insight Group of Visually Handicapped
• Invalid Children's Aid Association
• Joint Committee on Mobility for the Disabled
• Leicestershire Standing Conference of Voluntary Organisations for the Physically Handicapped
• Multiple Sclerosis Society
• National Federation of the Blind of the United Kingdom
• The National League of the Blind and Disabled
• Northern Shape
• Oldham Disability Action Group
• PHAB (Physically Handicapped and Abled Bodied)
• Prince of Wales Advisory Group on Disability
• Project for the Mentally Handicapped
• Projects by the Blind, Wandsworth
• Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation
• Royal National Institute for the Blind
• Royal National Institute for the Deaf
• Scottish Council on Disability (Committee on Access for Scotland)
• The Spastic Society
• The Spinal Injuries Association
• Sutton Talking Newspaper Association
• Taff Ely Disabled Group
• Wales Council for the Disabled.

All comments sent by these organisations and by other interested organisations and individuals are now being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made thus far towards the drafting of a third United Nations convention on illicit drug trafficking which would provide for multilateral extradition arrangements for persons arrested for drug offences.

Earlier this year the Secretary-General of the United Nations invited member states to submit comments and proposals on the elements which might be included in a new convention on the illicit drug traffic. A copy of the United Kingdom's response was placed in the Library on 3 July. At its meeting next February the United Nations commission on narcotic drugs will consider the responses made by Governments, with a view to initiating the preparation of the text of a draft convention. The United Kingdom will be pressing for quick progress on those aspects where international co-operation is vital, including more effective extradition arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the status of the trip in a chauffeur-driven car by Commander Phil Corbett of the Metropolitan police to north Devon to meet retired police officer Harry Clement about an interview he had given to the BBC; and what was the cost of the trip and the overnight stay of Commander Corbett and his driver.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the investigation into allegations against Mr. Roy Garner and Mr. Kenneth Ross reopened after the Attorney-General's answer to the then hon. Member for Lewisham, West on 26 July 1982, Official Report, column 359.

The investigations have been continuing since before 1982 and certain matters are at present before the courts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will place in the Library details of all communications between the Metropolitan police and the BBC about the "Brass Tacks" film, "The Untouchable."

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Metropolitan police communicated with the BBC about its "Brass Tacks" programme which referred to Mr. Garner's case; what was the substance of the communications; and if he will make a statement.

The contents of the communications between the Metropolitan police and the BBC were confidential but did not deal with the cases of specific individuals.

asked the Attorney-General when he expects the Crown Prosecution Service to have completed its survey on jury challenges by defence counsel; and if he will make a statement.

The Director of Public Prosecutions is considering the earliest date on which a survey can be commenced. At present it is not anticipated that the survey will be completed until 1987.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current Public Works Loan Board rate of interest; and how this is fixed in relation to base rate.

The Public Works Loan Board lends at both fixed and variable rates of interest. The rate depends on the type of loan and on the method and period of repayment. Rates are not fixed in relation to commercial banks' base rates. Fixed rates are derived from current yields on gilt-edged stock and are published regularly in the London and Edinburgh Gazettes. Variable rates are set at a small margin, which is currently ⅛ per cent. above eligible bill rates in the case of loans with one or three-month interest periods, and above the lower of eligible bill rates or six-month LIBOR in the case of loans with six-month interest periods. The rates prevailing on any particular day are available to borrowers on application to the board.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the Bank of England's involvement, including financial involvement, with the Henry Ansbacher bank and its subsidiaries and related group companies.

Henry Ansbacher & Co. Ltd. is a recognised bank under the Banking Act 1979 and is supervised by the Bank of England. It is not the Bank of England's normal practice to comment on its financial relationships with individual institutions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on unitary taxation.

I am placing in the Library of the House a copy of the press release of Her Majesty's Treasury of 8 November giving the texts of statements on unitary taxation issued on that day by Her Majesty's Government and the President of the United States.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the estimated revenue that would be obtained by increasing the basic rate of income tax by 1p; and if he will give the estimated revenue that would be obtained by increasing the rate of value added tax by 1 per cent.

The direct revenue yield from increasing the basic rate of income tax by 1p is estimated to be about £1,200 million in a full year at 1986–87 income levels. An increase of 1 percentage point in the standard rate of VAT would yield net additional revenue of about £925 million at 1986–87 prices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been raised from the sale of public assets in each fiscal year since 1979–80; what percentage of income to the Treasury these sales represented; and what costs were incurred in the process of the sales in each year.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Thurrock (Dr. McDonald) on 16 May 1985 at column 191–92, which shows proceeds from special sales of assets and sales of land and buildings since 1979–80. In line with internationally agreed conventions, proceeds from such sales are not treated as income in the "National Accounts". Fees and commissions associated with flotations up to the end of 1984–85 were given in my reply to the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) on 24 May 1985 at column 562–66. Information about the costs incurred by local authorities in connection with sales of land and buildings is not held centrally.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of real demand in the economy each year since 1960; and what was the growth rate in each of those years.

Year	Royalty	Supplementary petroleum duty	Petroleum revenue tax	Corporation tax			£ million	Gas levy
				Total before ACT set-off	ACT set-off	Main stream CT	Total government revenues from United Kingdom oil and gas production
1973–74	12	—	—	3	—	3	15	—
1974–75	15	—	—	5	—	5	20	—
1975–76	20	—	—	5	—	5	25	—
1976–77	71	—	—	10	—	10	81	—
1977–78	228	—	—	10	—	10	238	—
1978–79	289	—	183	93	40	53	565	—
1979–80	628	—	1,435	248	78	170	2,311	—
1980–81	992	—	2,410	333	97	236	3,735	—
1981–82	1,396	2,025	2,390	680	270	410	6,491	383
1982–83	1,632	2,395	3,274	513	202	311	7,814	471
1983–84	1,904	—	6,017	861	428	433	8,782	522
1984–85	2,426	—	7,177	2,399	1,242	1,157	12,002	500
*1985–86	2,500	—	8,200	2,800	1,200	1,600	13,500	520
* Forecast: as published in the 1985–86 Financial Statement and Budget Report.

Forecasts of total Government revenues from United Kingdom oil and gas production for each financial year up to 1988–89 were published in table 2.3 of the 1985–86 "Financial Statement and Budget Report" and for a longer-term projection on specified assumptions, I refer the hon. Member to table A.10 of the Green Paper "The Next Ten Years: Public Expenditure and Taxation into the 1990s" (Cmnd 9189).

[pursuant to his reply, 11 November 1985, c. 69]: Figures for the level of real demand in the economy (interpreted as final expenditure on goods and services at 1980 market prices) are as follows for the years 1960 to 1962:

	£ million
1960	170,859
1961	175,364
1962	177,515

Figures for subsequent years are published in table 1.5 in the 1985 edition of the CSO publication "United Kingdom National Accounts". The growth rates requested may be readily derived using this information.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing actuals and forecasts, as approprate, for the years 1973–74 to 1993–94, for (a) North Sea oil and gas revenues ast the same level of detail as in Table 12 of the 1985 Brown Book and (b) proceeds of the gas levy.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 November 1985, c. 69]: The latest figures for Government revenues from United Kingdom oil and gas production and the gas levy in each year from 1973–74 are as follows:No forecasts of gas levy for future years are available. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy on 11 November.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many marine nature reserves are currently being considered for the Welsh coastline; and if he will make a statement.

Three. The Nature Conservancy Council is consulting interested parties on proposals to establish reserves at Skomer and in the Menai straits. Proposals relating to Bardsley-Western Lleyn are less advanced.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the study which his predecessor announced on 3 July, Official Report, column 161, in relation to employment equality in Northern Ireland.

I hope shortly to receive a report from officials. I attach great importance to this matter and it would be my hope to publish proposals for discussion early in the new year.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with Hertfordshire county council regarding traffic levels on the B197 between Welwyn and Stevenage; and if he will make a statement.

There have been no general discussions between the Department and the county council regarding traffic levels on the B197, for which the county council is the highway authority. By agreement with it, it is being used during roadworks on the A1(M) as a diversionary route to enable northbound traffic from Welwyn to join the motorway at Stevenage.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles expected to use the A11 south-east of Barton Mills roundabout in the years 1986, 1990 and 1995, respectively.

The figures requested, which are given below, are based on 1984 national road traffic forecasts and represent the annual average daily traffic flow (two-way) over a 24-hour period, for both low and high economic growth predictions:

	Low growth	High growth
1986	21,600	22,000
1990	22,600	24,000
1995	23,600	26,200

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if a full environmental impact assessment will be made of the various schemes submitted for a fixed cross-channel link; and if the scheme selected by the Government will be subject to a public inquiry.

As part of their assessment of proposals for the channel fixed link, the Government are conducting a thorough appraisal of the environmental impact assessment submitted by the four promoters. The decision on whether to go ahead with any scheme selected must be taken by Parliament as a matter of national as well as local significance.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how both low and intermediate level nuclear waste will be transported to any sites chosen as waste repositories; and what measures will be necessary in order to ensure that there are no possibilities of either radiation leakages or other accidents during transit.

As with all radioactive material in this country, the transport of low and intermediate level radioactive waste is subject to safety regulations based on the stringent and internationally agreed standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. These require the design of the transport container to incorporate safety features appropriate to the nature and quantity of the material irrespective of the modes of transport or routes used and taking into account the possibility of severe accidents.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to how many orange parking badges have been issued to date under the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) Regulations 1982 and as to how many of these holders pay vehicle excise duty.

This information is not available centrally, as records of disabled persons' parking permits (orange badges) are not maintained other than by the local authorities that issue them.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the number of disabled persons' parking badges issued under section 21 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 prior to the introduction of new regulations in 1982 and as to the number of these whose holders pay or paid vehicle excise duty.

At the time of a survey in January 1983, (prior to the introduction of the current regulations), some 682,000 disabled persons' parking permits (orange badges) had been issued in Great Britain. No information is held centrally on the number of badge holders who pay or paid vehicle excise duty.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what contacts his Department has had with the Manchester international airport authority, British Rail and other appropriate agencies concerning a rail link to the airport; what progress has been made; if he will outline what is proposed, giving the likely cost and time scale of providing a 1½ mile double track link; and when he expects to be able to make a statement.

Officials from my Department held preliminary discussions about this rail link with local interests in September. It is now for British Rail and the local authorities to come forward with a viable scheme. I look forward to receiving their proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the results of the evaluation of the stay low campaign which was conducted during the Christmas period 1984.

An assessment of levels of drinking and driving over the Christmas period 1984 will appear in "Road Accidents Great Britain," to be published later this month. Copies will be placed in the Library.The assessment indicates that, compared with 1983, there was, over the Christmas period, an increase in the number of drivers failing the roadside breath test and an increase in casualties during the "drinking hours". However, both breath test results and casualties are open to a range of influences and to draw firm conclusions as to the part played by publicity in any particular year, as against other factors, would be wholly unjustified. Individual publicity campaigns are in any case part of our continuing programme to educate drivers and riders about the dangers of alcohol, the success of which can only be measured over a substantial period of time.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to make caravans subject to road tax.

I have been asked to reply.I have no present plans to do so.

asked the Paymaster General if (a) legislation or (b) a code of practice will be introduced in the next Session to facilitate the speedier payment of accounts by large concerns to small firms; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans for introducing legislation or a code of practice on this subject in the coming Session. I am currently discussing with a number of industry representative organisations the possibility of promoting good payment practices by means of cooperation between firms rather than by coercion. We expect to produce practical guidance on the subject for both customers and suppliers.At this stage I do not consider a statement to be necessary.

asked the Paymaster General what steps have been taken in his Department to improve the reliable collection of data concerning the small business sector; and if he will make a statement.

The Department recognises the importance of reliable data concerning the small business sector. However, any special large-scale exercise to collect information would be expensive and would represent an additional burden on those who run small firms.We are therefore considering what more can be done by using existing sources of data, both official and nonofficial. We intend to strike a balance between our need for better information and the need to avoid increasing the burdens on small businesses.