asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to investigate the impact on United Kingdom high technology exports of the attempted imposition of United States export regulations by the United States subsidiary companies.

The United Kingdom remains firmly opposed to extraterritorial United States re-export controls and to the implied claim of the United States to jurisdiction in the United Kingdom. It is not possible to measure the impact of the imposition of such controls by United States subsidiaries. Companies with difficulties should approach the Department for advice.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to investigate the attempts by United States Government officials to audit and examine the books of United Kingdom computer and electronics companies; and if he will make a statement.

The Government are considering a request from the United States authorities for agreement to United States officials visiting a number of United Kingdom companies in connection with United States distribution licence regulations introduced last year. The United States authorities recognise that no such visits may take place without prior approval.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which he is responsible, in respect of which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

Crown immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies to the following establishments —premises for which my right hon. Friend is responsible.

Category	Number
Central departmental offices	24
Regional or local offices	140
Storage buildings	26
Research establishments and laboratories	9

These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply, but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.Our policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its merits. If we have evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances I shall consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these circumstances. This may, as in the case of hospital catering, lead to a reappraisal of Crown immunity.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will list those consumer organisations from which he has received representations concerning the recent discussion document on the recording and rental of audio and video copyright material;(2) whether he has received any representations from the National Consumer Council concerning the discussion document on the record and rental of audio and video copyright material; and if he will make a statement.

The National Consumer Council, the Consumers Association and the Consumers in the European Community Group have responded to the Green Paper "The Recording and Rental of Audio and Video Copyright Material" (Cmnd. 9445). The Government's conclusions on the matters raised in this Green Paper will be announced in a White Paper which is now in an advanced state of preparation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to promote and encourage innovation and technology.

A range of measures are operated by my Department to promote, encourage and support research and development, innovation and the spread and application of up-to-date technology. The major points are as follows.

The business and technical advisory services help small and medium firms benefit from consultancy advice on technical problems, quality and design and the exploitation of new technology.

The support for innovation scheme introduced in May 1982 offers financial support for research and development projects leading to new products and processes. £790 million has been offered to support over 6,500 projects.

Support for national regional investment includes grants for selected capital investment projects including the production or design of advanced microelectronics, fibre optic and optoelectronic components, and for the acquisition of CAD systems for the design of integrated circuits.

My Department supports collaborative R and D. A notable example is the Alvey programme, a five-year programme of collaborative research in advanced information technology.

Assistance is provided to civil aircraft and aero-engine R and D and to support the space programme.

My Department includes four industrial research establishments, the National Physical Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory, Warren Spring Laboratory and the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.

My Department actively promotes international R and D programmes such as ESPRIT and EUREKA in order that British firms secure the benefits of participation.

In all, this year my Department's expenditure on scientific and technological assistance and support for investment in innovation is expected to be about £440 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Government assistance is available to independently owned iron Founders towards the cost of modernisation.

My Department offers a variety of forms of assistance under its support for business schemes. Most of these are applicable to independently owned iron founders. I shall be writing to the hon. Gentleman with details.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he plans to refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the revised bid by Guinness for Distillers in the light of the proposed reduction in Guinness's share of the future whisky market; and if he will make a statement.

The Minister for Information Technology will make his decision in the light of advice from the Director General of Fair Trading.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the United Kingdom's share of world manufactured exports was in 1985, in 1979 and 1960.

Data for the main manufacturing countries, which account for around two thirds of world exports of manufactures, are more up to date than figures for all countries. This information is in the table.

United Kingdom share of main manufacturing countries*
Exports of manufactures†
	Per cent.‡
1960	16·5
1979	9·1
1985 Jan to Sept	║7·9

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has received the Director of Public Prosecution's report on dealings by individuals in the Heron Corporation and Harris Queensway in British Telecom shares at the time of flotation; and if he will make a statement.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has referred to my Department a report by the police on certain dealings in BT shares and this is being studied.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report the number of bids lodged on Friday 21 February for Hall Russell, Shipbuilders, Aberdeen; what were the names of the bidders; and if he will make a statement on the successful bidder.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 February 1986, c. 583]: While the names of bidders is commercially confidential information, I can confirm that three bids were received. I can only announce the name of a successful bidder when I have given my consent to British Shipbuilders to sell the yard.

asked the Prime Minister if she ascertained from President Mitterrand at her meeting on 12 February whether his Government share the view of Her Majesty's Government that the funding of the Channel tunnel should be entirely from private investments; and if she will make a statement.

Both Governments are fully agreed that the Channel tunnel should be constructed without recourse to public money or Government commercial guarantee.

asked the Prime Minister if, in the light of Sir Robert Armstrong's statement in evidence to the Defence Committee on 5 February, she will now seek to correct the version of her reply to a question from the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) recorded in the Official Report of 23 January, at column 455, in so far as it indicates to which aspect of her involvement in the Westland affair the giving of her consent was intended to refer; and if she will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the full account which I gave to the House in my statement on 23 January at columns 449–460 and in the debate on 27 January at columns 651–658.As to my reply to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow), I refer the hon. Member to my remarks in the debate on 27 January at column 682.

asked the Prime Minister if she will now pay a visit to a British Leyland factory to meet the work force.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister what discussions she has had with leaders of Northern Ireland parties since she signed the Anglo-Irish agreement; and whether she will make a statement.

I met the leader of the Alliance party on 22 November last year, a delegation from the Assembly led by the Speaker on 25 November, and the leaders of the Ulster Unionist party and the Democratic Unionist party on 25 February. Later today I shall meet the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party. I have listened to and recognise the concerns of party leaders about the Anglo-Irish agreement. I made it clear on 25 February to the Unionist party leaders that while the Government is committed to implementing the agreement we would like to establish new arrangements for enabling Unionists to make their views known to us on affairs in Northern Ireland. I have also proposed consultations on the Northern Ireland Assembly and about arrangements for handling Northern Ireland business in Parliament at Westminster. The Unionist leaders have proposed a round table conference on devolution in Northern Ireland, which we have agreed to consider positively.It was agreed that both sides would reflect on these suggestions and meet again shortly. Meanwhile, I shall be seeing leaders of the other constitutional parties.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 27 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 27 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 27 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 27 February.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 27 February.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings 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 whether the Government intend to make any further changes in the principal Civil Service pension scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Yes. Two minor improvements to the injury benefits provisions are being implemented. A number of issues are under consideration in consultation with the trade unions. Like other employers with occupational schemes, the Government will be considering the implications for the principal Civil Service pension scheme of the current Social Security Bill.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on co-ordination between the Department of Education and Science and the Scottish Office on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards proposals by the Scottish Tertiary Education Advisory Council for the future funding of universities in Scotland.

There is close co-ordination between the Department of Education and Science and the Scottish Office on higher education policy, and this has been maintained at all stages during the Scottish Tertiary Education Advisory Council's strategy review and since its report was published. Decisions on the future funding arrangements for the Scottish universities will be made in due course.

asked the Paymaster General how many industrial injuries there have been at the News International, Wapping, newspaper printing plant.

Since the start of production at the plant on 25 January, one accident causing personal injury has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive as required by the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980.

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which the Secretary of State for Employment is responsible, for which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

Crown Immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies to the following institutions/premises for which we are responsible:

Category	Number
Central departmental offices	28
Regional, area or local offices	2,477
Skillcentres and Employment Rehabilitation centres	97
Laboratories	3
Storage Buildings/Warehouses	2

These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply, but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.There is a difference between food hygiene legislation and heath and safety legislation. Whereas the Food Hygiene Regulations do not apply on Crown premises. the Health and Safety at Work Act, for example, does so apply. the Crown is subject to notices similar in purpose to those issued to other bodies under the Act and under which specified improvements can be required to be made. The Crown is, of course, immune from prosecution under either set of provisions.Our policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its own merits. If we have evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances I shall consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these circumstances. This may, as in the case of hospital catering, lead to a reappraisal of Crown immunity.

asked the Paymaster General how many man hours have been devoted to seeking out small unregistered workplaces; and how many have been identified in 1985.

Figures for the whole of 1985 are not available. In the period 1 April to 29 September 1985, it is estimated that factory inspectors spent 19,000 man hours seeking out and inspecting 9,184 previously unregistered premises.

asked the Paymaster General how many (a) routine visits and (b) visits in relation to specific incidents have been made to Magnox nuclear power stations by the nuclear installations inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive in each year since 1974; and how many investigations of incidents undertaken by the inspectorate have been published.

The number of routing visits to Magnox nuclear power stations by the nuclear installations inspectorate for each year since 1974 is as follows:

Year	Number
1974	174
1975	187
1976	222
1977	241
1978	214
1979	190
1980	184
1981	177
1982	165
1983	197
1984	173
1985	142

Information on the numbers of visits in response to specific incidents is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Paymaster General whether he has reached a conclusion on the recent recommendation by the Trade and Industry Committee for a new statutory structure of tourist boards.

In its report on tourism, published on 15 January, the Select Committee on Trade and Industry recommended that the British Tourist Authority, the English tourist board, the Scottish tourist board and the Wales tourist board should be abolished, that the status of the Northern Ireland tourist board should be down-graded, and that responsibility for the development of tourism, both domestically and overseas, should pass to a new statutory body called the British tourist board, supported by a statutory regional structure.The Government will be making a formal response to the Select Committee's report, which contains a wide range of other recommendations about the promotion of tourism, in due course. However, the Government are aware of the damaging effect of uncertainty on the existing tourist boards, which have already undergone considerable reorganisation in recent years, as well as on the industry which engages in joint promotional work with them.I have therefore consulted my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about the Select Committee's proposals for an alternative to current statutory arrangements. We have concluded that, in the interests of the effective promotion of tourism within the United Kingdom, we should maintain the existing structure of the statutory tourist boards and ministerial responsibility for them and to concentrate on continuing to improve the liaison and cooperation between the boards.

asked the Attorney-General if a review of the legal process in Northern Ireland has been initiated.

The Lord Chancellor is conducting a review of the current practice of using juries in personal injury actions and the Northern Ireland court service is considering the results of the civil justice review in England and Wales to consider whether any of these might be applied to the Province.

asked the Attorney-General if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which he or the Lord Chancellor is responsible, in respect of which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

I have no such responsibility. The Lord Chancellor's Department is responsible for the following premises to which Crown immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies.

Category	Number
Court Buildings	411
Central departmental offices	13
Regional or local offices	96
Other premises	26

These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply, but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.The Lord Chancellor's policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its merits and to apply standards consistent with the regulations. If he had evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances, he would consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these cirsumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the Government's expenditure on civilian projects in the Falkland Islands each year since 1979.

For the financial year 1979–80 to 1984–85 (the last for which figures are available) expenditure was as follows:

	£ million
1979–80	1·1
1980–81	1·0
1981–82	1·0
1982–83	10·4
1983–84	6·1
1984–85	7·0

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make available the corporate plan of NCB (Enterprise) Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for the National Coal Board and I am asking the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many ex-miners have found full-time employment via NCB (Enterprise) Ltd.

At the end of January 1986 NBC (Enterprise) Ltd. had assisted in the creation of 4,412 job prospects, providing employment opportunities for ex-NBC employees and for mining communities generally. 305 job opportunities have been created directly as a result of projects set up by former NCB employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to support with research grants the installation of multiple small wind energy collectors as well as of the single large collectors; and if he will make a statement.

Small wind turbines are now commercially available and it is therefore not appropriate for my Department to contribute towards the installation costs of such "wind farms". Proposals for the monitoring of wind farms would be considered sympathetically.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of total world oil production was represented by United Kingdom oil production in 1985; and how this figure has changed since 1980.

In 1985 United Kingdom oil production represented 4·5 per cent. of world oil production; in 1980 this proportion was 2·5 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which he is responsible, for which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

Crown immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies to the following institutions-premises for which I am responsible:

Category	Number
Central departmental offices	1
Gas and Oil Measurement Branch specialised building	1
Storage buildings	2

In addition to these installations, I am responsible for the Government oil pipeline and storage system which is managed by the Oil and Pipelines Agency. This comprises over 1,000 miles of pipeline with 23 active storage facilities and 24 sites in varying stages of disposal.These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply, but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.Our policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its merits. If we have evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances, I shall consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the hon. Member for Yeovil can expect to receive a reply to the letter dated 16 January which he sent to the chief inspector of the nuclear installations inspectorate.

I understand that the chief inspector of the nuclear installations inspectorate replied to the hon. Member on 21 February 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will indicate the area from which nuclear installations inspectorate inspectors are being withdrawn in order to be deployed to Sellafield; and if he will indicate the effect this will have on the completion of the 20-year safety reviews on certain nuclear power stations.

I am informed by the NII that the team which will undertake the review of safety at Sellafield will be drawn mainly from branch 3 of the inspectorate, which normally carries out some of the routine inspection functions and safety assessment work related to new plants built at Sellafield. The Sellafield review will not have any effect on the completion of the long-term safety reviews of Magnox stations.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the nature of the incident which occured at Trawsfynydd nuclear power station at about 8 a.m. on 21 February; and if he will make a statement.

I am advised by the Central Electricity Generating Board that it was a minor incident. I have asked the Board's chairman to give the hon. Member a full description of it.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many nuclear incidents at Magnox nuclear power stations have been reported to his Department since 1974; and how many of these incidents have resulted in the declaring of a site alert.

Between 1974 and July 1982, 65 incidents involving Magnox nuclear power stations were reported to my Department. Between July 1982 and the present time, seven incidents have been reported. Most of the incidents were of a minor or trivial nature. Only on two occasions was a "site alert" declared.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he proposes to take to implement article 12 of the Anglo-Irish agreement.

As my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal indicated to the House on 17 February, consideration of the matter continues.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the workings of the Anglo-Irish agreement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to a question by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what effect the Anglo-Irish agreement has had on the security situation in the Province.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on how tourism in Northern Ireland will benefit from the reopening of the accommodation grant scheme.

The re-opening of the accommodation grants scheme offers an incentive to owners of tourist accommodation to improve their facilities so that the Province can compete successfully in the international tourist market.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what political institutions he is considering to enable the leaders of the political parties in the Province to play a part in its government.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I made it clear to Unionist leaders on 25 February that the Government wished to talk to the political parties about new arrangements to enable them to play a part in the administration of Northern Ireland. We continue to believe that a widely acceptable devolved government would be the best way of doing so.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress being made on the conversion of Kilroot power station as announced in the House by his predecessor on 22 May 1985.

Work on the conversion of the station has now begun and one of the two generating sets was taken out of service in January. The main contract, valued at some £40 million, for the conversion of the station's

Statistics on Security
Part I—Statistics of Terrorist activity
Yearly figures: 1971–1985
	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Shooting Incidents‡	1,756	10,628	5,018	3,206	1,803	1,908	1,081	755	728	642	815(327)	382(165)	290(134)	230(104)	196(41)
Explosions	1,022	1,382	978	685	399	766	366	455	422	280	398	219	266	193	148
Bombs neutralised	493	471	542	428	236	426	169	178	142	120	131	113	101	55	67
Weight of explosives in lbs*
Explosions	10,972	47,462	47,472	46,435	13,753	17,596	2,839	5,343	11,181	9,059	9,261	11,199	6,923	8,545	11,711
Neutralised	3,001	19,978	32,450	27,094	11,159	16,252	2,188	5,860·5	4,530	6,405	9,168	7,300	7,503	6,114	7,715
Armed robberies	437	1,931	1,215	1,231	1,201	813	591	442	434	412	587	580	622	627	459
Amount stolen	303,787	790,687	612,015	572,951	572,105	545,497	446,988	232,650	568,359	496,825	854,929	1,392,202	830,258	701,903	655,690
Malicious fires†	—	—	587	636	248	453	432	269	315	275	536	499	528	840	740

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been killed by terrorist action in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and, of these numbers, how many were members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

The information is as follows:

Year	Total Numbers of Deaths	Number of RUC Deaths
1981	84	21
1982	85	12
1983	66	18
1984	53	9
1985	49	23

Deaths caused by the security forces in incidents initiated by terrorist action are not included.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the Government's plans for the future of Enterprise Ulster.

The future of Enterprise Ulster is under review in consultation with the board of Enterprise Ulster and other interested parties. No decisions have yet been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the security statistics for 1985 are now available, together with details of persons charged with terrorist-type offences and convictions for scheduled offences for the year; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 February 1986, c. 76]: Yes, the statistics together with those since 1971 are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which he is responsible, for which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

Crown immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies to the following institutions for which I am responsible:

Category	Number
Departmental Government Offices	450
Storage buildings	2
Hospitals	86
Other health Premises	480
Prisons	7
Training and recruitment establishments	22
Research institutions and laboratories	22

These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply, but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.Our policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its merits. If we have evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances, I shall consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these circumstances, and this may include a re-appraisal of Crown immunity. It is my intention that Northern Ireland will take similar action to England and Wales in relation to the removal of Crown immunity under the Food Act from health service premises.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the grants now available for farmers for purposes of improving the environment or using alternative sources of energy.

The grants available under the agriculture improvement scheme are as follows:

Description	Rate of grant
	Basic Per cent.	LFA per cent.
Bracken control (other than soil cultivation)	15	30
Dykes—using materials traditional in the locality	30	60
Heather burning—or regenerating by cutting	15	30
Hedges	30	60
Manure stores for poultry (not integral with poultry house)	15	30
Shelter belts (with 50 per cent. or more of broadleaved trees)	30	60
Shelter belts (other)	15	30
Solar heating	15	30
Thermal insulation—agricultural use	15	30

Description	Rate of grant
	Basic Per cent.	LFA per cent.
Walls—using materials traditional in the locality	30	60
Waste disposal (agricultural effluents and waste)	30	60
Wind/water powered pumps and generators	15	30

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy on the purchases of goods and services for his Department; how he is monitoring its effectiveness; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is progressively adopting a more cost-effective purchasing stragegy, based on continuing studies by the internal team and commercial adviser to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend of 14 March 1985 at columns 266–7. A full-time professional director of purchasing and supply is now being recruited; organisational and procedural changes designed to raise and sustain purchasing performance are being made; and monitoring techniques are being developed for the purpose of assessing progress towards the April 1987 value for money target prescribed in the Management and Personnel Office report entitled "Government Purchasing".

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which he is responsible, for which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

Crown immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies to the following institutions for which I am responsible:

Category by major use	Number
Central departmental offices	13
Regional or local offices	153
Storage buildings	123
Research institutions and laboratories	44

These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.Our policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its merits. If we have evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances I shall consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these circumstances.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent special sales of surplus food and wine have been agreed by the management committee of the EEC; and if he will specify the amounts of food and wine and the sale prices, respectively, expressed in pence per pound.

I Will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as Possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Gillingham (Mr. Couchman) of 7 November 1985, Official Report, column 6, if he is now able to announce further details of the reduction expected in Agricultural Development and Advisory Service posts by the spring of 1987.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I believe that economies and improvements in the efficiency of ADAS are possible which will lead to savings of about 370 ADAS posts and some 80 non-ADAS posts, as foreshadowed in my statement of 7 November. It is envisaged that ADAS posts will be distributed as follows: agriculture service, 107; agricultural science service, 80; land and water service, 37; and the state veterinary service, at most 141. The figure for the veterinary service includes the result of two recent efficiency and organisational studies covering the veterinary investigation service and the organisation of the service at divisional level, which account together for 56 posts. The balance is subject to possible downward adjustment following reassessment of the revenue from certain schemes. Further details for each service have been placed in the Library of the House.These economies cannot be achieved without redundancies, but every effort will be made to deal sympathetically with the problems of those who are displaced.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce his decision on the proposals submitted by Devon county council for the reorganisation of secondary schools in Plymouth.

My right hon. Friend rejected these proposals on 25 February.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the proposals submitted to him by Devon county council for the reorganisation of secondary schools in Plymouth.

My right hon. Friend received two delegations, one from parents and governors of Whitleigh school and the other from the county council, and also met the right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Dr. Owen), 11 Statutory and 77 non-Statutory proposals were forwarded to him by the Devon local education authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information is available to him to compare the achievements of pupils, and the cost of education, in selective and non-selective systems.

Some information on the relative achievements of pupils in selective and non-selective schools is available from research studies, including research into examination results for individual local education authorities published by the Department in "Statistical Bulletin 13/84". Following his announcement in the House on 14 November 1984, at column 697, my right hon. Friend is considering proposals for wider ranging research into the factors affecting performance in schools. Information on costs in individual schools or school systems is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what level of funding was provided for Reading university by the University Grants Committee between 1978–79 and the last year for which figures are available.

The total funding provided by the University Grants Committee to Reading university in the financial years 1978–79 to 1984–85 was as follows. The figures include recurrent, capital and equipment and furniture grant.

	£
1978–79	10,185,279
1979–80	12,225,290
1980–81	15,998,929
1981–82	17,194,224
1982–83	20,309,964
1983–84	21,858,900
1984–85	22,144,510

The figures are not comparable from year to year because of various changes in funding arrangements most notably adjustments made to reflect changes in the level of the home undergraduate tuition fee; provision for redundancy and restructuring costs and the progressive withdrawal from 1980–81 of the subsidy for overseas students.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the number of pupils in sixth forms at independent schools; what percentage this is of the total number of pupils in sixth forms; and if he will make a statement.

In January 1985 there were 66,084 pupils aged 16 years and over in independent schools in England. This represents 17·5 per cent. of all pupils aged 16 and over in maintained secondary and independent schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the categories, and the numbers within them, of institutions, for which he is responsible, for which exemptions are claimed from (a) food hygiene legislation and (b) health and safety legislation on the grounds of Crown immunity; and if he will make it his policy to plan to remove the immunity for the relevant institutions.

Crown immunity from prosecution under food hygiene legislation and health and safety legislation applies to the following premises for which I am responsible:

Category	Number
Central departmental offices	2
Regional and local offices	46

These figures include premises where Crown immunity for food hygiene legislation would apply, but where food sales or preparation are not at present carried out.Our policy on Crown immunity is to consider every case on its merits. If we have evidence of inadequate standards in particular circumstances, I will consider, with colleagues, how best to deal with these circumstances. This may, as in the case of hospital catering, lead to a reappraisal of Crown immunity.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the latest figures available to him for the membership of the National Union of Teachers and the Professional Association of Teachers, respectively, and indicate how many seats on the Burnham committee each of these bodies has.

The gross membership of the National Union of Teachers and the Professional Association of Techers in December 1984 (the latest date for which I have figures for both unions) was 258,440 and 27,722 respectively. I have no later figure for the NUT, but I understand that the PAT's current gross membership is about 42,000. The NUT has 13 seats and the PAT one seat on the Burnham primary and secondary committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how his Department tackles the problem arising from teachers convicted or charged with (a) sexual offences and (b) other offences against young persons.