asked the Attorney-General how many additional solicitors have been recruited for work with the fraud squad over the past year; and what is the number of solicitors so employed.

The fraud investigation group was set up by the Director of Public Prosecutions, after consultation with the Attorney-General, in January 1985. Eleven lawyers were allocated to the group, including a principal assistant director (grade 3) and two assistant directors (grade 5). In October 1984 a third general fraud division was added to the two fraud divisions which then existed. This division is headed by an assistant director (Grade 5), and four lawyers have been assigned to the division. All these staff have been allocated from within the existing complement of staff at the Director of Public Prosecutions' department.

asked the Attorney-General, pursuant to the answer of 15 November, Official Report, column 294, if he will indicate how many of the 1,585 magistrates in Wales who acknowledge a political viewpoint identify themselves with each of the political parties, respectively.

The breakdown of political views is given in the table with the caveat that views are indicated prior to appointment and may have since changed and that appointments were at dates widely ranging from the present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans any changes in his policy relating to unlawful sex in the light of the report by the Howard League for Penal Reform on that subject, a copy of which has been sent to him.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported breaches of parole were received by his Department in 1984; and, of these, how many resulted in recall and how many in warning letters being issued.

This information is not available in the form requested; but in 1984, 512 parole licences were revoked and 302 warning letters were issued after parolees had come to adverse notice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support Her Majesty's Government have given in 1985 to the National Association of Victims Support Schemes and local victims of violence schemes.

In the current financial year, the Government are making a grant of £120,000 to the National Association of Victims Support Schemes, and in addition providing £6,000 towards the cost of the association's move to new premises. There is no provision for direct grants from the Government to local victims support schemes, but a number are receiving assistance from the Government via the urban programme, the DHSS "Opportunities for Volunteering" scheme and Manpower Services Commission programmes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what indicators are used by his Department to assess the effectiveness of its crime prevention policies.

The Home Office and the police undertake research for this purpose. For example, the results of a property marking demonstration project in South Wales published earlier this year revealed a 40 per cent. reduction in domestic burglaries in the project area during the evaluation period, and an evaluation of a neighbourhood watch scheme in Bristol showed a drop in

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish for each division in the Metropolitan police comparative numbers of the following ranks in post now and in 1960; deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner, deputy assistant commissioner, commander, chief superintendent, superintendent, chief inspector, inspector, sergeant and constable.

The Commissioner informs me that divisional figures for 1960 are not available. The breakdown by rank, of the officers in post in the Metropolitan police as a whole on 31 December 1960 and 31 October 1985 is as follows:overall crime of 22 per cent. The effectiveness of crime prevention measures is also assessed in terms of their impact on the fear of crime, and the level of public confidence they generate measured for example by local surveys.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Cleveland on how many policeman in Cleveland were injured in the course of their duties in 1985 to date, 1984, 1983 and 1974.

I understand from the chief constable of Cleveland that the number of police officers of his force injured in the course of their duties in the periods requested are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for each year since 1979, for each police authority in England and Wales, what is the number of persons fingerprinted against their will;

The information requested is not available. For the future, section 50 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 will require chief officers of police to publish in their annual reports information about the number of people kept in police detention for more than 24 hours and subsequently released without charge; the number of applications for warrants of further detention and the results of these applications; and, in relation to each warrant of further detention, the period of further detention authorised under it, the period which the detained person spent in police detention under its authority, and whether he was charged or released without charge. Section 55 of the Act will require chief officers of police to publish in their annual reports information about the total number of intimate searches, the number conducted by a suitably qualified person, the number not so conducted but conducted in the presence of such a person, and the result of these searches. The information will also include, as separate items, the total number of drug offence searches and their results. These provisions will be implemented on 1 January 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons in the Metropolitan police area were stopped and searched by the police; how many such stops and searches resulted in (a) detection of an alleged offence, (b) charging of a person with an offence and (c) conviction of a person for an offence; and what were the offences involved in the above cases, for each year since 1979;(2) if he will call for reports from the appropriate chief constables as to the following information in respect of each police force area in England and Wales other than the Metropolitan police area, namely

I shall write to the right hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any complaint has been received from Miss Sara Keays regarding the conduct of the police in connection with their investigations into alleged offences under the Official Secrets Acts.

I understand that no such complaint has been received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what spending level he has set for the Greater Manchester fire authority for 1986–87; how this compares in real terms with the 1985–86 spending level; and if he will make a statement;(2) what recent representations he has received from the Greater Manchester fire authority about the spending level he has set for the authority for 1986–87; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will now redetermine the spending level he has set for the Greater Manchester fire authority for 1986–87.

My right hon. and learned Friend, the then Home Secretary, announced on 26 July at column 811 a provisional expenditure level of £37·886 million of which £37·803 million was for the fire service. On 30 October the authority submitted an application for redetermination to £41·723 million (£41·640 million for fire). The application estimated that the 1985–86 outturn expenditure on the fire service by the metropolitan county council would be £37·790 million. No application has been made for civil defence.On 5 November the authority requested a meeting to discuss this application. The authority's application is being carefully considered and my right hon. Friend intends to announce a decision by the time of the 1986–87 RSG settlement in mid-December. A response will soon be made to the authority's request for a meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish for each fire authority in England and Wales figures showing the number of deaths in fires in the home for the last three years for which statistics are available.

Information on deaths in fires in dwellings attended by local authority fire brigades is published annually in "Fire Statistics United Kingdom" (tables 58 and 59 of the issues for 1982 and 1983 respectively). The issue of "Fire Statistics, United Kingdom" for 1984 has not yet been published, but provisional figures are given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reply he has sent to the letter to him from the clerk of the Greater Manchester police authority with regard to the financial problems of Greater Manchester police.

I assume that the right hon. Member has in mind the letter of 31 October applying on behalf of the Greater Manchester police authority for a redetermination of its expenditure level for 1986–87 which my right hon. Friend set under section 3 of the Rates Act 1984. We are considering this application. My right hon. Friend's decision will be notified to the police authority during December.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Home Office trade unions are not given access to the full prison board; and if he will make a statement.

A meeting with the full prison board would be outside both the formal Whitley machinery and the usual arrangements for the informal conduct of business between the prison department of the Home Office and the Home Office trade unions. The executive members of the prisons board are expected, within their respective areas of responsibility, to consult fully with the trade unions through these channels and to ensure that the board is informed of relevant views.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of plans for further encouragement of the sale of public sector flats and wider private sector involvement in the ownership and management of council housing.

Yes. A number of factors have discouraged tenants of flats from buying their homes. In recognition of this, my right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales propose to increase the discounts available on flats under the right to buy scheme. The new discount scale will run from 42 per cent. to 70 per cent.; the present upper limit is 60 per cent. on flats. No change is proposed in the discount scale for houses, which currently runs from 32 per cent. to 60 per cent.The general consents will be amended to enable the new discount scale to apply straight away to voluntary sales of flats.Proposals to give further protection to buyers of flats against unexpectedly high service charges for repairs in the early years of the lease were announced in answer to a Question for the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) on 22 October, at column 129.We have also received representations that the requirement to repay discount on resale can cause hardship, and can be an obstacle to people who wish to move to take up employment. We propose to reduce the repayment period, for houses as well as flats, from five to three years. The full discount will be repayable on disposal in the first year after purchase; two thirds in the second year; and one third in the third year.This change will apply to former tenants who have already bought their homes under the right to buy, and most voluntary sales schemes, except where an owner has become liable to repay discount before the new provisions come into force.We shall also introduce provisions to enable local authorities to encourage greater tenant participation in management through the delegation of management responsibilities to a wide range of bodies; to safeguard tenants' right to buy where the ownership of tenanted estates is transferred from the local authority to (for example) a trust; and to enable housing management start-up, training and education grants to be made to encourage better and more innovative management. We shall be writing to the local authority associations and others on these provisions shortly. We shall also extend the present ground for possession (and the associated arrangements for compensation) where a local authority intends to develop or do works to a dwelling to cases where possession is required for disposal to the private sector, for renovation or redevelopment as part of a scheme approved by the Secretary of State.We expect to introduce a Bill shortly to give effect to these proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of empty council properties in each of the London boroughs on 31 October.

Information for 31 October is not available. The figures relating to 1 April 1985 provided by the authorities, including the Greater London council, in their housing investment programme returns are listed in column A81 of the "HIP1 (1985) all items print" which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislative proposals to give local authority tenants the right to manage all or part of their estates by tenant management co-operatives.

I have no immediate plans to provide a statutory right for tenant management co-operatives to take on management responsibilities. However, I am giving every encouragement to local authorities to make voluntary arrangements of this kind, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, South-East (Mr. Lightbown).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the next public expenditure White Paper, he will indicate specifically the provision made as regards (a) changes in expenditure by water authorities and (b) income arising from privatisation of their activities.

I expect the next public expenditure White Paper to include information about water authorities' external finance and investment similar to that published this year in part 5 of Cmnd. 9428-II.The Government have not yet reached decisions on the possibility of privatisation for water authorities. In any case, because estimates for future receipts from special sales of assets are dependent on commercially sensitive assumptions about content, timing and market conditions, no attempt is made to break down current and future year figures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why no information of the housing needs appraisal; dwelling stock position at 1 April is available for Welwyn Hatfield district council; if he will now take steps to secure this information; and if he will make a statement.

The housing investment programme submission by Welwyn Hatfield district council, of which this information forms part, was placed in the Library in early August.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local authorities in response to his announcement in October of provisional grant-related expenditures for 1986–87.

Up to 27 November, I had received representations from 23 local authorities about provisional GREs for 1986–87.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were employed by Wirral metropolitan council in 1979 and at the latest available date in total and (a) according to the numbers of part-time and full-time staff employed in both years and (b) as full-time equivalents for both years.

The available information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of homeless families in each of the London boroughs on 31 October.

The latest available information on homelessness refers to the second quarter of 1985 and is published for each local authority as table 9(b) in "Local Housing Statistics No. 75" (November 1985), a copy of which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to publish the report of the review team considering the future of the Crown Suppliers.

It would not be appropriate to publish the complete report, because it contains commercial information given to the review team in confidence. My right hon. Friend hopes soon to provide the departmental trade union side with details of the team's findings and recommendations to enable it to let him have its considered views.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek powers to allow him to insist on a public inquiry about a proposal for development in an enterprise zone; and if he will make a statement.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation imposing a set time scale for local authorities to provide the results of searches in respect of house purchase.

Local authority responses to local searches and inquiries were considered in both the second report of the Conveyancing Committee and the report of the interdepartmental group on simplifying house buying, copies of which are in the Library. Both reports recognised the importance of speeding up responses and made recommendations.In October this year the Government appointed a Standing Committee on Conveyancing to promote changes in practice and procedure in the light of the recommendations of the second report. The Committee's first objective will be to bring about improvements within two years which will be apparent to ordinary housebuyers and sellers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation to allow leaseholders of flats (a) to buy the freehold collectively, (b) to hire and dismiss managing agents, (c) to have the right to have the freeholders accounts examined by an auditor of their choice and (d) the same right to extend the lease as applies to houses.

These are all matters which we will take into account in considering the report of the committee chaired by Mr. E. G. Nugee QC on the management of privately owned blocks of flats, which was published on 14 November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation to extend the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to include flats and maisonettes.

Before this could be considered it will be necessary to resolve the technical difficulties over the enforcement against successive owners of freehold flats of positive covenants dealing with the repair and maintenance of common parts and the provision of common services. My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor is considering Law Commission report No. 127, which proposes a way of dealing with these difficulties, and he intends to give the public an opportunity to comment on the Government's provisional conclusions before any major reform of the law relating to positive and negative covenants is proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish for each year since the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 came into operation the numbers who (a) have purchased freeholds and (b) have extended their leases under that Act; and if he will give a regional breakdown of the figures.

The Government have never collected information about individual transactions between freeholders and leaseholders under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward legislation giving a right to representation by tenants on local authority housing committees.

I have no present plans to do so. The system of co-option of non-elected members is, however, being considered in the wider context of the Widdecombe committee of inquiry into the conduct of local authority business.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list Government contributions since 1979 towards reducing the costs of buying and selling homes.

In 1980 and 1982 the stamp duty thresholds were raised by £5,000 on each occasion. In 1984 the thresholds were again raised and the main rate of duty reduced to 1 per cent.The relaxaton of restrictions on solicitors' advertising has already resulted in significant reductions in conveyancing costs. The Government have added further competitive impetus through legislation which allows qualified non-solicitors to carry out conveyancing for reward. In addition, we intend to bring forward legislation to allow building societies to expand their activities in the house transfer market. The increased competition will benefit house buyers and sellers directly.The Government's commitment to making house buying and selling cheaper and simpler is reflected in the establishment of a Standing Committee on Conveyancing in October of this year. The committee's first objective will be to bring about improvements within two years which will be apparent to ordinary housebuyers and sellers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to introduce minimum noise insulation standards for housing construction.

The building regulations at present require that the walls and floors between new dwellings should have a reasonable resistance to sound.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to introduce minimum space and layout standards for housing construction.

This is not a matter which is appropriate for regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the percentage decrease in housing expenditure between 1980 and 1985.

Figures for housing expenditure in 1985 are not yet available. But between 1980 and 1984 total public and private expenditure on housing increased by 41 per cent. in cash terms and 7 per cent. in terms of constant value of money.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the report of the Building Research Station into Truscon RD27 houses in Storrington avenue, Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

I expect to receive the Building Research Establishment's findings on Truscon RD27 houses in Liverpool shortly. I shall inform the hon. Member of its conclusions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange for an exhibition relating to the coalfields community campaign to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

I understand that arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 9 December to Friday 13 December.

asked the Prime Minister if she has travelled by rail in the course of her official duties during the past year.

No.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the role of the Manpower Services Commission in the effort to raise standards in education and training.

Yes; there is much more to be done but I am satisfied that the Manpower Services Commission, in liaison with the education service where appropriate, is making an important contribution to the raising of standards in education and training.

asked the Prime Minister what are the arrangements for Her Majesty's Government to request a news blackout on a particular event, and what are the criteria for determining whether such a request is activated.

There are no such arrangements.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to Southall.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 November.

This morning I presided at a meetings of the Cabinet and had meetins with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.

asked the Prime Minister what is the total overall identifiable allocation of public money made by the Government since 1979 to (a) Edinburgh, (b) Bristol, (c) Lambeth, (d) Newcastle, (e) Hammersmith, (f) Cardiff, (g) Haringey, (h) Southampton, (i) Leicester, (j) Leeds, (k) Wandsworth, (l) Belfast and (m) Northampton (i) in total, (ii) per person, (iii) per unemployed person, (iv) per unemployed person aged under 21 years and (v) per retirement pensioner, in each named district.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will introduce measures to help the economy of the north of England.

The Government's economic policies are creating conditions for a sustainable growth in jobs and output in the whole country. In addition, improved measures of regional assistance were announced a year ago today and these apply widely throughout the north of England. I have no plans to amend these policies.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms have applied for regional selective assistance in the west midlands since it became available there; how many applications have been approved; how these applications are divided between firms employing (a) one to 10 persons, (b) 11 to 20 persons or (c) 21 to 50 persons; how much money has been approved in each category; and what figure was the smallest amount approved in each category to an individual firm.

There have been 607 applications. So far 188 formal offers of grant have been made to a total value of £22·6 million and this is associated with some 13,800 jobs either created or safeguarded. I regret that a breakdown of grant offers by company employee sizeband is not yet available, but grants have ranged from £3,000 towards projects from the smaller companies to well over £1 million in the larger cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has made any assessment of the effect upon British exports of proposed increases in tariffs for overseas mail; and if he will make a statement.

No. Overseas postal tariffs are the responsibility of the Post Office and my right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, has no power to intervene. However, we expect that the adverse impact of tariff changes on some mail users will be offset by the effect on others of reducing cross-subsidies within overseas postal services.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, when he next meets the chairman of the Post Office, he will raise the subject of increases in the prices of overseas mail.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and industry who will represent the United Kingdom at the next Universal Postal Union Congress.

It is customary for a joint delegation comprising officials from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Post Office to represent the United Kingdom in this forum.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received any representations concerning the implications of the current external financing limit for the capital investment programme of the Post Office; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assumptions were made when fixing the external financing limit for the Post Office for 1986–87 as to the implications for tariffs within the overall financial framework of the Post Office.

Pricing decisions are a matter for the Post Office Board, but in determining the Post Office's external financing limit for 1986–87 my right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, assumed a general level of tariffs consistent with the Government's policy on nationlised industry pricing. Our expectation is that the Post Office will be able to maintain its recent record of reductions, in real terms, in the cost of first and second class postage.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has recently received concerning the implications of Government external financing limits for tariffs charged by the Post Office.

Apart from the views of the Post Office given in discussions with my Department about future financing needs, the Post Office Users' National Council has commented on this question.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any record of any business generated by the West Midlands county council's participation in the Birmingham and West Midlands festival held in Hong Kong in October and November 1984.

The West Midlands county council participation was not financially supported by the British Overseas Trade Board. We have no record of resulting business.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to the answer of 11 November, Official Report, column 44, when a decision will be reached in relation to the visits by American inspectors to companies buying American electronics.

A decision will be made as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the terms of the new United States distribution licence regulations.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote trade with the Soviet Union.

I take every opportunity to encourage United Kingdom firms to seek business in the USSR, which represents a challenging but promising market. The Department of Trade and Industry provides advice and assistance to companies and will be drawing their attention to promising areas highlighted in the five-year plan. Many companies are currently bidding for major projects in the USSR. The overseas project fund is available to support them, while ECGD is currently considering flexible financing packages for these projects. The BOTB offers financial and administrative support for missions and exhibitions. The Department provides a grant-in-aid to the East European Trade Council, the area advisory group which covers the Soviet Union. Attempts are being made to agree an early date for the next session of the Anglo-Soviet joint commission and for the signature of a new programme for economic and industrial co-operation, an important document which highlights sectors and products where we and the Soviet Government have identified the best opportunities for collaboration. I have every hope that Mr. Gorbachev's target of a 40–50 per cent. increase in trade can be achieved over the next few years.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has regarding the approach of the United States' Administration towards renewal of the multi-fibre arrangement.

[pursuant to his reply, 27 November 1985]: The United States have stated that they consider that the MFA should be renewed but as far as I am aware they have not yet determined their detailed policy approach.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his response to the letter which he has received from the chairman of the University Grants Committee about his proposed reduction in the number of places for university students.

The letter from the chairman of the University Grants Committee of 11 November, which has been published, conveyed the committee's response to the Green Paper "The Development of Higher Education into the 1990s" (Cmnd. 9524). It will be taken into account, with other responses to the Green Paper, in the formulation of the promised further statement of policy on higher education which the Government hope to be able to make next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what considerations he has given to the possibility of arranging payments of course fees to all part-time university students.

Fees are paid to institutions as part of the mandatory award made in respect of full-time university students. To extend mandatory support, even if limited to fees, would result in a substantial increase in public expenditure and cannot be contemplated at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make provision for exceptions to present regulations exempting students from having to pay back an overpayment mistakenly made by a local education authority where a student has made a full disclosure of all facts as to his or her financial position to the local education authority.

No. It would be inappropriate to allow students to keep public money mistakenly paid to them.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his response to the request which has been submitted to his Department by the National Union of Students for re-establishment of the minimum maintenance award.

There is no intention to reintroduce into the awards system a feature which would insulate higher income families from increased parental contributions when higher contributions than before are assessed of parents in the middle income bands.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to how long people have to wait before being admitted to courses of the Open University.

In recent years the majority of applicants have been offered places for the year for which they applied. Those unable to be offered a place for that year were offered a place in the subsequent year if they reapplied.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage increase in a university lecturer's salary—maximum—since October 1979, as compared with the rise in the retail price index during the same period.

Between October 1979 and April 1984 (the date of the last pay increase) a university lecturer's salary maximum has increased by 50·9 per cent. as compared with a rise in the retail prices index of 48·4 per cent. during the same period.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will set up an independent review body to decide upon university employees' salary scales;(2) what measures he is prepared to take to increase the salary of a university lecturer to bring it into line with the rise of the cost of living index since October 1979.

Pay negotiations are in progress between the university employers and the staff side. It is for the employers to consider proposals from the staff side in the first place.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he now hopes to receive the advice of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils on the Royal Society report on support of geophysics in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the ABRC will be discussing the Royal Society report on the support of geophysics in the United Kingdom in the new year. It is for the board to consider what advice to offer my right hon. Friend in the light of that discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will show forecast outcome expenditure for 1985–86 and planned expenditure for 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89 on (a) trunk roads capital, (b) trunk roads current, (c) local authority roads capital and (d) local authority roads current.

The provisional forecast of net outturn expenditure for 1985–86 is:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy, when arranging meetings, lectures or discussions with farmers at Gwynedd, to ensure that such meetings should be conducted in the Welsh language.

My policy is that meetings, lectures or discussions arranged by the Department with farmers or any other group in Gwynedd or in any other part of Wales shall be held in the language most appropriate to the circumstances. Account is taken of the preferences of those attending, and, necessarily, of the competence in Welsh/English of those addressing the meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what advice his Department is currently giving to Welsh farmers regarding alternatives to milk production in areas most affected by the quota scheme.

Milk producers will adapt their enterprises in the light of changes to their particular circumstances. The Agricultural Development and Advisory Services is available to assist producers in making those decisions and to advise on alternatives to milk production.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the revenue expenditure of each district health authority in Wales for each year since reorganisation of the National Health Service.

The information requested is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he plans any changes in the present criteria for eligibility for the homes insulation scheme.