asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those trunk roads major improvement schemes in Wales which have, during the past 10 years, appeared in the Welsh Office preparation pool, but which no longer are listed in this pool, and which have not yet been undertaken.

I have written to the hon. Gentleman today and placed a copy of my letter in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received from bodies representing industry, local government, religious organisations, voluntary bodies or private individuals concerning the Government's proposals to abolish restrictions on Sunday trading in Wales; how many were in favour; and how many against.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply to his earlier question on this subject given by my right hon. Friend on 13 February, at column 508. Since then my right hon. Friend has received two more representations from religious organisations and five more from private individuals. All 83 representations received and both petitions opposed the Government's proposals. Records of representations sent to individual hon. Members are not kept by the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much the Manpower Services Commission will be spending in 1986 on courses in schools in Wales.

I am advised by the MSC that, under the technical and vocational education initiative, it is estimated that £3·468 million will be available for the financial year 1986–87 for school and college-based TVEI projects in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has decided upon a short list of sites for the 1992 National Garden Festival to be held in Wales.

I have decided that the following four sites should be the subject of further detailed appraisal and planning prior to the final site selection.

Cardiff	—proposed by South Glamorgan County Council
Deeside	—proposed jointly by Alyn and Deeside District Council and Clwyd County Council

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what progress has been made to extend unified grading in the Civil Service to principal level; and whether he will make a statement.

I am pleased to say that following the announcement made by my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State, Treasury on 26 July 1985, arrangements are now being made with effect from 1 January 1986 to bring a further 11,000 staff in a wide variety of grades at principal level into a new unified grade in the open structure. This change removes formal barriers between different occupational groups and classes at this level, making it easier for management to select people for jobs on the basis of merit alone irrespective of their background or method of entry into the service.The necessary cost of assimilating staff to the new structure, including appropriate transitional arrangements, will be met from within Departments' planned running costs limits.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the present condition of state school education throughout the United Kingdom.

While there have been marked improvements in both primary and secondary education, the Government believe that the standards now generally attained by our pupils are neither as good as they can be, or as good as they will need to be for the 21st century. The Government's education policies, such as those set out for England and Wales in the White paper "Better Schools" (Cmnd. 9469), aim at improving standards for all levels of ability and securing the best possible return from the national resources invested in our schools.

asked the Prime Minister what issues she intends to raise at the next meeting of the European Council.

The next European Council is not due to be held until 26–27 June. It is not yet possible to say what issues will need to be discussed.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the preparations which have been made for the next meeting of the European Council.

The next European Council will be held on 26–27 June. It will be for the Dutch presidency to make the necessary arrangements.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet the President of the United States of America.

I hope to meet President Reagan when we both attend the economic summit in Tokyo early in May.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister what discussions she has initiated in the light of the Cabinet Office's annual review of Government-funded research and development about the level of total Government spending on research and development; and if she will make a statement.

Ministers have discussed the findings of the 1985 annual review and are continuing to consider the issues raised.

asked the Prime Minister, when she next plans to visit Wales.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will initiate early measures at the Council of Ministers of the European Community to withdraw from the Commission the discretion given it to dispose of agricultural products to the Soviet Union at very low prices.

So long as there are substantial surpluses of agricultural produce in the Community one of the most economic ways of disposing of them is by sales to third countries. These take place at prices which reflect the competition on world markets. It would increase the cost of disposal to limit sales to particular markets. In the medium term the best way to reduce the need for sales of agricultural surpluses is to reduce production. A more realistic prices policy under the CAP would reduce the incentive to over-produce, would encourage greater consumption within the Community and put the CAP onto a more stable financial foundation. This remains a central element of our approach to improving the operation of the CAP.

asked the Prime Minister if she will appoint a Minister to have special responsibility for coordination between the Department of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the preservation of prime agricultural land and other attractive countryside sites; and if she will make a statement.

No. I am satisfied that the present arrangements for co-ordination work well.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the current arrangements for co-ordination between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of the Environment in the consideration of planning decisions affecting agricultural land or country areas of environmental amenity.

Individual applications are, in the first instance, for individual local authorities to deal with, but there are well-established arrangements whereby local authorities consult MAFF, as well as many other bodies, in drawing up their development plans. There are also statutory requirements for consulting MAFF on applications for non-agricultural development on agricultural land.If the application is called in there is a full opportunity for MAFF's case to be heard at a public inquiry, although the general policy is not to call in cases unless they raise planning issues of more than local importance.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 4 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 4 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 4 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 4 March.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to the royal ordnance small arms ammunition factory at Radway green, Cheshire.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 30 January, Official Report, column 605, why Portsmouth was not listed among those authorities which have been sent copies of the list compiled by his Department's urban housing renewal unit of developers interested in refurbishing local authority housing estates for sale; and whether any other local authorities have been sent copies of this list who have not specifically requested copies of it.

Portsmouth is one of four authorities which were inadvertently omitted from my answer of 30 January. The others are Cleethorpes, High Peak and Woking. They were sent the list because of their expressed interest in the possibility of private sector involvement in the redevelopment of estates, rather than in response to a specific request. Since 30 January, Dudley, Hillingdon, Preston and Sevenoaks have also been sent the list, at their request.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the chimes from the Big Ben Clock Tower will be restored to proper working order; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 28 February 1986, c. 735]: There is nothing technically wrong with the chimes. Examination has revealed that a rubber bush, which absorbs the strike of the hammer on the largest quarter bell, has gradually become frozen hard over the current extended period of severe weather and has lost its usual resilience. The effect of this is to curtail the sound of the last strike. The expected onset of warmer weather will return the chimes to their former familiar sound.This problem has not occurred since the harsh winter of 1947.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of vacancies for full-time doctors within prisons in the United Kingdom; what action he is taking to fill such posts; and if he will make a statement.

There are eight vacancies for full-time medical officers of all grades in prisons in England and Wales and arrangements are being made to fill them by internal promotion and open competition.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were dismissed, reduced in rank, or fined in the last full year for which figures are exist.

The information for 1984 is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidelines on liaison between rape crisis centres and police forces outside the Metropolitan area; and if he will make a statement.

As my right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State stated in his reply to a question from the hon. Member on 23 January at column 270, we are considering with the police the scope for action on the issues raised by the recent report by the Women's National Commission on Violence Against Women. This will include the question of liaison between the police and victim support organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parents have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for failure to ensure their child's school attendance in each of the last 10 years.

The available information, which may be incomplete, relates to defendants proceeded against for offences against the Education Act 1944 and is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—offence classification 112 of table S1.S (A) of volume 1 of the supplementary tables for 1984. This information does not distinguish offences of failure to secure regular school attendance from other offences under this Act; nor is it possible to distinguish defendants who are parents from those who are guardians.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to the letter from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport to the hon. Member for Stretford of 5 February concerning airport security, he will explain the exceptional nature of the overt carriage of sub-machine guns by Metropolitan police officers at Heathrow from 9 January.

My right hon. Friend's agreement to the overt carriage of sub-machine guns by police officers at Heathrow was exceptional in the sense that such weapons had not previously been deployed for such purposes; and the authority related solely to Heathrow and is being kept under review. The weapons now deployed are capable of firing only in the single shot mode.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to provide extra funds to the National Association of Victims Support Schemes to make up the shortfall in the association's funding for 1986–87 as a result of the abolition of the Greater London council and the metropolitan counties; and if he will make a statement.

The National Association of Victims Support Schemes receives no funding from the GLC or the metropolitan counties. I understand, however, that a number of local victims support schemes receive financial assistance from such authorities. The Government have ensured that successor authorities will have access in 1986–87 to all the resources that the GLC and the metropolitan counties would have received. Additional arrangements for voluntary bodies include powers for local authorities collectively to make grants, and transitional grant support from central Government on projects to the value of £20 million a year.

Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms are reported to have been discharged* by principal victim, degree of injury and type of weapon
England and Wales	Number of offences
		Principal victim
		Police†				Other persons
Year	Type of weapon	Fatal injury	Non-fatal inury‡	No injury‡	Total discharges║	Fatal injury	Non-fatal injury‡	No injury‡	Total discharges
1979	Shotgun	—	2	2	4	41	72	96	209
	Pistol	—	—	1	1	8	24	11	43
	Other firearm	—	7	6	13	4	2,816	2,167	4,987
1980	Shotgun	—	2	7	9	12	66	88	166
	Pistol	—	2	—	2	8	35	16	59
	Other firearm	—	9	6	15	2	2,389	2,592	4,983
1981	Shotgun	—	—	3	3	20	90	122	232
	Pistol	—	1	1	2	11	56	38	105
	Other firearm	—	8	4	12	1	2,587	3,042	5,630
1982	Shotgun	—	1	3	4	35	98	118	251
	Pistol	3	1	—	4	6	44	21	71
	Other firearm	—	5	7	12	2	2,290	2,979	5,271
1983	Shotgun	—	—	1	1	32	80	104	216
	Pistol	—	1	2	3	9	41	22	72
	Other firearm	—	9	7	16	—	2,325	3,127	5,452
1984	Shotgun	1	2	1	4	40	82	71	193
	Pistol	2	5	1	8	19	40	29	88
	Other firearm	1	5	6	12	4	2,250	3,380	5,634
* Includes cases where the discharge was not directed at the victim or where the victim was not present (eg some criminal damage offences).
† These figures may not include cases in which police officers were fired at while investigating offences against other persons.
‡ In some of the cases where a non-fatal injury or no injury occurred the principal victim was not recorded; these cases have been included under "other persons" but some of the victims may have been police officers.
║ The figures on total discharges for 1979 and 1981 have been revised slightly from those given in the Official Report for 3 February 1983, vol. 36 column 168.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport why he has turned down an application for special funding for the reconstruction of the Plough Lane bridge over the river Wandle; and if he will make a statement.

I will write to the hon. Member about this case as soon as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions (a) handguns, (b) shotguns have been discharged at (i) the police and (ii) third parties in each year since 1979, showing on how many occasions a police officer or third person was (a) injured and (b) killed, and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 February 1986, c. 177]: The available information is given in the table.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he proposes to change the conditions of the orange badge scheme for disabled drivers when it expires shortly.

This valuable scheme for disabled people is not due to expire. Its current conditions were brought in with parliamentary approval during 1983 to tackle some damaging abuses that had crept in. We are about to review with local authorities and others concerned how the scheme has been working since then.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will provide resources to local authorities to enable them to introduce new methods to coordinate work on public highways by public utilities;(2) what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Horne committee report on the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950;(3) if he will seek to give further powers to local authorities to control the quality of reinstatement of public highways by public utilities after they have dug them up.

The Home committee's report was published in November last year and comments invited by the end of next month. Before decisions can be taken we will need to consider the report in the light of these comments, not all of which have yet been received. We must consider carefully the proposals made for strengthening control over the quality of reinstatements. We will also consider the resource implications for local authorities of introducing new methods to co-ordinate works on highways, but I cannot undertake that special aid will be provided for this purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is satisfied with the standard of reinstatement of roads after they have been dug up by public utilities.

Not entirely. This was one of the principal reasons for setting up the review of the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 chaired by Professor Horne. We are now considering the report of the review in the light of comments made on it.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if phoscatim has been (a) approved as a dangerous substance that is permitted for conveyance by road and (b) classified for the purpose of assigning a hazard warning sign on transporting vehicles.

This substance is a solid organophosphorus pesticide. It is listed by the World Health Organisation as "obsolete or discontinued". It would be regarded as "toxic" for transport purposes and vehicles carrying it in solution in tanks would have to display the appropriate hazard warning panel.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if chlorfenethol has been (a) approved as a dangerous substance that is permitted for conveyance by road and (b) classified for the purpose of assigning a hazard warning sign on transporting vehicles.

This substance is a solid organochlorine pesticide. It is regarded as "harmful" for the purposes of supply and use under the Classification, Packaging and Labelling Regulations 1984 and packages must be marked with a number of appropriate risk and safety phrases. The substance falls below the less stringent toxicity level for transport purposes and vehicles carrying it in solution in tanks would not be required to display hazard warning panels.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he proposes to include provision in the forthcoming Channel tunnel Bill for the A20 Folkestone-Dover road scheme.

We intend to make provision in the Bill for the western part of the scheme from the end of the M20, to which the tunnel terminal will be linked, to Court wood on the existing A20. This new road will provide much needed early relief for Folkestone and Capel le Ferne from the traffic between east Kent and the tunnel. The remainder of the scheme from Court wood to Dover will be taken forward as quickly as possible under the normal Highways Act procedures.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what maximum limit of expenditure by the Merseyside passenger transport authority he has fixed for 1986–87; what are his plans and intentions as to expenditure by that authority in the two years following; and what are the likely implications for the ratepayers of Sefton having regard to the resulting precepts.

Under the Precept Limitation (Passenger Transport Authorities) (Prescribed Maximum) Order 1986 the maximum precept which may be levied by the Merseyside passenger transport authority on Merseyside districts, including Sefton, in 1986–87 is 44·88p. It could, of course levy less. This figure was based upon an expenditure level redetermined on 20 December 1985 at £81·3 million, although the authority applied for substantially more at £105 million. I have made it clear that in the following two years of precept control further substantial reductions in revenue support must be achieved in order to ensure a reasonable balance between the needs of transport users and of taxpayers.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy to ensure that Barrow and Birkenhead shipyards cannot pass out of United Kingdom ownership, following their privatisation; and if he plans to include provisions for a golden share.

We will ensure Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. remains in United Kingdom ownership following its sale by British Shipbuilders. Any necessary arrangements will be in place before the business is sold.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is prepared to urge the introduction of a social clause into the multi-fibre arrangement bilateral agreements so as to ensure that the textile and clothing products imported into the United Kingdom are produced by workers who enjoy the protection of the minimum terms and conditions of employment laid down by the International Labour Organisation.

I see no need to strengthen the existing references to social development in the mulit-fibre arrangement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the decisions reached on the Community's multi-fibre arrangement negotiating mandate at the February meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The Council of Ministers reached decisions on some aspects of negotiating mandate but will not finalise its position until the Council on 10–11 March. The House will understand that the Community cannot announce its detailed negotiating objectives.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many officials in his Department have been seconded from industry; and how many were in place on (a) 1 January 1980, (b) 1 January 1981, (c) 1 January 1982, (d) 1 January 1983, (e) 1 January 1984, (f) 1 January 1985 and (g) 1 January 1986.

The number of officials in the Department of Trade and Industry and its predecessor Departments who have been seconded from industry and commerce between 1 January 1980 and 1 January 1986 is 102.The number in place on 1 January in each of the years concerned was:

	Number
1980	24
1981	15
1982	17
1983	21
1984	25
1985	31
1986	33

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will discuss world oil production and prices with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

My right hon. Friend maintains frequent contacts with representatives of other oil-producing countries, including members of OPEC.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) whether the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate had sight of all relevant reports and accompanying correspondence from Mr. Peter Phelan before signing off the long-term safety reviews for Chapel Cross and Calder Hall power stations; and if he will make a statement;(2) what steps the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has taken to satisfy itself of the capacity of Chapel Cross and Calder Hall nuclear power stations to withstand seismological shocks; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will specify the magnitude of seismic events expected to occur at least once in a nominal 40-year operating life at Chapel Cross and Calder Hall plants;

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is already checking to see whether there is anything new in the reported allegations of Mr. Phelan, and I hope to be able to reply to the hon. Member's questions shortly.

asked the Attorney-General if he will publish in the Official Report those cases, by title and trial result date since the passing of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976, in which rape and murder charges have been tried in one trial, giving the number of defendants on each charge at each trial and specifying in which trials judges have (a) been requested to make and (b) have made directions under section 6(2)(a) of that Act.

The information sought by the hon. Member is not centrally recorded. It could be obtained only at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the staff of the Overseas Development Administration by grade showing in each case the number of males and females, respectively.

The total number of staff of the Overseas Development Administration on 1 February 1986 was 1,528. Of these, 599½ (including part-time staff) were female. Details are:

Grade	Staff in Post
	Male	Female
Open Structure
GRADE 1A—Permanent Secretary	1
GRADE 2 —Deputy Secretary	1
GRADE 3 —Under Secretary	7
GRADE 5:
Assistant Secretary	21	3½
Senior Economic Adviser	4
Chief Statistician	1
Principal Natural Resources Adviser	2
Principal Engineering Adviser	1
Principal Education Adviser	1
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer	4
GRADE 6:
Senior Principal	8
Natural Resources Adviser	16
Population Adviser		1
Engineering/Architectural Adviser	12½
Energy Adviser	1
Electrical Adviser	1

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the consultants used by the Overseas Development Administration in each of the past three years have been male and female, respectively.

The ODA employs firms, not individuals, to carry out consultancy contracts. We have no record of the number of male and female staff employed by firms for doing this work.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the responsibilities and duties of the Duchy of Lancaster Office; and if he will make a statement.

The Duchy of Lancaster Office administers, under my supervision, the Queen's estates in the right of Her Duchy of Lancaster; and other palatinate responsibilities which fall to me, such as the appointment of high sheriffs and of magistrates within the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside; and the administration of intestate estates within the county palatine. In addition, there are a small number of historical appointments to church livings and the governing bodies of schools and universities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will report progress on his consultations with the Countryside Commission and the Nature Conservancy Council over the selection and setting up of environmentally sensitive areas proposed under the Agriculture Bill.

My officials are in close touch with the Countryside Commission and the Nature Conservancy Council, which are now carrying out a detailed analysis of the short-listed areas in England and Wales in consultation with the various organisations concerned. They expect to complete this work around Easter and will be making recommendations to me and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales by the end of April.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the total amount of agricultural spending by the EEC which is permitted in terms of the strict budgetary controls agreed at the European Council; and what estimate has been made by the Commission of the likely expenditure in 1986 if its farm prices and other agricultural measures are agreed;(2) what steps he is taking to inform hon. Members of the detailed proposals in the 1986 farm price review of the EEC before the debate on the subject which is to take place on Monday 10 March; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate the Commission has made of the increased production of other commodities if its proposals for a new outgoers scheme for dairy farmers is implemented.

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

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total amount of various perishable foodstuffs and fish, respectively, which were withdrawn from the market by the Intervention Board in 1985; and what part of each of these totals was destroyed.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the implementation by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and eastern European countries of the provisions of the Helsinki final act during the last six months.

Implementation by the Soviet Union and eastern European countries of their commitments under the Helsinki final act over the six-month period to 31 December 1985 has continued to be generally unsatisfactory. Levels of compliance have reflected the Warsaw Pact countries' selective interpretation of their commitments. There have again been widespread breaches of the provisions relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms though with variations in the pattern of implementation as between individual states.SECURITY IN EUROPE: PRINCIPLES GUIDING RELATIONS BETWEEN PARTICIPATING STATE; CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES AND CERTAIN ASPECTS OF SECURITY AND DISARMAMENT (BASKET I).The most notable feature of Eastern performance over the period was the continued non-compliance with principle VII which relates to

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to seek to secure the listing of the Gibraltar defences in the world heritage list set up by the world heritage convention; what arrangements have been made with the Gibraltar Government to ensure their maintenance, repair and public display; what funds he makes available for these purposes; what steps he is taking to seek to enlist private contributions; what support is forthcoming from international agencies including the world heritage fund; if he will visit Gibraltar to inspect the conditions of the defences; and if he will make a statement.

The Gibraltar defences were put forward last year in the "tentative list" of sites for inclusion in the world heritage list. We have in hand work on the preparation of their case for their formal nomination to the list. When this has been completed, the Gibraltar defences will be among those sites to be considered for such nomination.The Gibraltar defences are protected as ancient monuments under the Gibraltar Museum and Antiquities Ordinance 1982. Their maintenance, repair and public display are matters for the Gibraltar Government.My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans at present to visit the Gibraltar defences.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to encourage the evaluation of the Krasnoyarsk radar system by the joint United States—Soviet standing consultative committee; and if he will make a statement.

We have made it clear that the siting and orientation of the large phased array radar under construction at Krasnoyarsk gives rise to serious questions in connection with obligations under the ABM treaty. The United Kingdom is not, however, a party to the treaty and does not participate in the Standing Consultative Commission, whose proceedings are confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have made, or propose to make, any representations to the Government of New Zealand concerning the arrangements for the security of Her Majesty the Queen during her current visit to that country; and if he will make a statement.

Her Majesty paid this visit as Queen of New Zealand. We were not involved in any way in the organisation of this visit, for which full responsibility, including that for security, lay with the New Zealand authorities.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current position on the difference of view between the European Community Commission and Her Majesty's Government regarding the zero rating of certain goods and services.

The EC Commission has applied to the European Court of Justice for a declaration against the United Kingdom that the zero rating of certain goods and services is incompatible with the sixth VAT directive, as not being for clearly defined social reasons or for the benefit of the final consumer. The Government do not accept this contention and will defend the issue before the European Court. It is unlikely that the case will be heard, at the earliest, before the end of the year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list for each country in the European Economic Community the percentage value added tax take-up entailed by the budget approved by the Council of Ministers.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total revenue generated by value added tax and duty on tobacco products in the last full year for which figures are available; and what proportion this represented of total value added tax receipts.

The excise duties on tobacco products yielded some £4,340 million in the calendar year 1985. It is estimated that the related value added tax was of the order of £910 million. This total of £5·25 billion is equivalent to 26 per cent. of the total net receipts of value added tax in the same period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average amount of income tax paid at the standard rate in 1978–79 and 1984–85.

The average income tax liability per taxpayer, excluding liabilities at rates in excess of the basic rate and the investment income surcharge, was about £900 in 1978–79. The corresponding figure for 1984–85 was about £1,600. The estimate for 1978–79 takes account of tax collected at the lower rate of 25 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the latest number of people who are paying income tax at the top rate of 60 per cent. on earned income; and what are the total tax receipts obtained from these persons paying at the rate of 60 per cent.

About 90,000 married couples and single people will pay income tax for 1985–86 at the rate of 60 per cent. The total tax liability on that part of their income subject to the 60 per cent. rate is about £1·4 billion. If investment income is disregarded, the number liable to tax at 60 per cent. on part of their earned income is about 50,000, with a corresponding tax liability on that income of about £0·8 billion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the revenue received from duties on spirits from the beginning of the current financial year to the month for which he has the latest figures together with the figures for the same period in the two immediately preceding years; and if he will give similar data for the complete years 1983–84 and 1984–85, and the expected figures for the financial year ending 31 March.

The revenue received from duties on spirits for the first nine months of the current financial year and of the previous two financial years is as follows:

£ million
	Excise duty	*VAT	Total
April-December 1983	1,229	255	1,484
April-December 1984	926	280	1,206
April-December 1985	1,171	295	1,466

The revenue from duties on spirits for the last two complete financial years and the Budget estimate for the current year are as follows:

£ million
	Excise duty	*VAT	Total
1983–84	1,702	430	2,132
1984–85	1,242	455	1,697
1985–86 (estimate)	1,460	n.a.	n.a.
*Estimates based on consumers' expenditure data; forecasts of VAT receipts from particular goods are not made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women who have submitted tax returns during the last seven years to Inland Revenue offices in England and Wales were registered as being over the age of 60 years and being engaged in (a) full-time or (b) part-time employment.

The Inland Revenue keeps no records of tax returns submitted by reference to the age of the taxpayer. I regret that the information is not, therefore, available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of European Economic Community agricultural expenditure was fixed for 1986 under the budgetary discipline arrangements; what is his current estimate of agricultural expenditure in 1986; what steps he will take to ensure that agricultural spending does not exceed the budgetary discipline limit; and if he will make a statement.

The Council of Ministers agreed last year on a financial guideline of 20,619 mecu for agricultural market support expenditure in 1986 for the Community of Ten. The EC budget for 1986 includes 20,445 mecu for such expenditure with an additional 567 mecu for expenditure in Spain and Portugal giving a total of 21,012 mecu for the whole Community. The EC Commission in its proposals for CAP prices for 1986–87 has indicated its intention of seeking 790 mecu supplementary provision for agriculture in 1986, mainly to take account of the effects of the significant fall in the value of the dollar against the ecu since the 1986 budget was drawn up. Both the Council of Ministers and the Commission have committed themselves under the budget discipline conclusions to make every effort to avoid the need to take supplementary provision for agriculture. It will be a key United Kingdom objective to ensure that the budget discipline conclusions are respected in the CAP price fixing negotiation.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, if he will state for each of the last six years the number of (a) Welsh debates, (b) meetings of the Welsh Grand Committee and (c) statements on matters relating to Wales; and if he will give similar information in respect of Scotland.

In so far as debates and statements on Scottish and Welsh matters can be separately identified the information is as follows:

Session	Debates* Welsh/Scottish		Statements relating to
			Wales	Scotland
1979–80	11	13	1	1
1980–81	3	20	2	4
1981–82	5	12	3	3
1982–83	4	8	2	2
1983–84	7	17	3	4
1984–85	6	11	4	7
* Excluding debates on various stages of legislation, ten minute rule bills, money resolutions, SO No. 10 applications and PNQs but including inter alia daily adjournment debates and debates on statutory instruments.

Information about meetings of the Scottish and Welsh Grand Committees and of other standing committees is contained in the Return of Standing Committees published sessionally as a House of Commons paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what have been the changes in the level of student grants, especially for those students from Northern Ireland, who are studying in Britain.

The rates for mandatory awards, which were increased by around 3 per cent. for 1985–86, apply irrespective of whether students are studying within Northern Ireland or elsewhere within the United Kingdom. They are as follows:

• £1,480 for students studying from their parental home;
• £1,830 for students living away from home but outside London; and
• £2,165 for students living away from home in London.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many orders have been made under section 17 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to amend electoral areas; and how many were for (a) regional councils, (b) district councils, (c) island councils and (d) a combination of regional or island and district councils, respectively.

Twenty-one orders have been made under section 17 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to amend the electoral areas constituted following the initial review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland under schedule 5 of the Act of the electoral arrangements for regions, islands areas and districts throughout Scotland. Of these, three affect the electoral areas of regional councils, three affect the electoral areas of district councils, and 15 affect the electoral areas of both regional and district councils. None relate to islands area councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will give the average sentence meted out by courts for poaching salmon by means of poisoning the water in the last 12 months together with the previous three year's figures;(2) if he will give the number of convictions obtained in the courts for poaching salmon by means of poisoning the water, in the last 12 months, together with the previous three years' figures;(3) what was the average sentence meted out by courts for poaching salmon in the last 12 months, together with the previous three years' figures.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take to require the Scottish Examination Board to review its syllabus for the higher grade examination in religious studies following the representations from various bodies about its apparent discrimination against candidates who are not of the Christian religion.

A number of representations were received by the Scottish Examination Board during the course of its normal consultations on the proposed new higher grade religious studies course about the fact that a candidate may concentrate wholly on Christianity if he or she wishes. These comments were considered and rejected by the board's religious studies panel. The new syllabus, like all other syllabuses of the Scottish Examination Board, will in any event be kept under review. I therefore see no reason to take any action.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will reallocate the remainder of the Scottish running reserve of wholesale milk quota.

I intend that an amended and consolidated version of the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations should come into operation in March. I am glad to say that this will enable most of the remainder of the Scottish running reserve of quota to be reallocated before the end of the 1985–86 milk year and will mean that producers' 1985–86 wholesale milk quota can be finalised.In these reallocations we shall be helping a number of groups of producers. Firstly those whose development awards were reduced by 42·5 per cent. when the awards were made will have 10 per cent. of that cutback in quota restored to them.

asked the Paymaster General what changes were introduced into the methods of (a) assessing and (b) recording exposure of workers to radiation under the regulations which came into force on 1 January; whether, under the new regulations, there are any circumstances in which the dose record of a worker exposed to radiation either internally or externally will show a lower level of recorded exposure than previously would have been recorded for the same exposure; and if he will make a statement on the implications of the revised regulations for the interpretation of the cumulative dose records of workers exposed to radiation both before and after 1 January.

The following changes in assessing and recording exposures of workers were introduced by the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 (a) any committed dose received from internal radiation must now be assessed, as well as any actual dose from external radiation, and (b) the dose record must show the sum total of committed and actual dose received. There are no circumstances in which a lower level of dose will be recorded under the new regulations than would have been recorded under the previous regulations. There is no requirement in the new regulations for a record of cumulative dose.

asked the Paymaster General (1) how he proposes to seek to overcome trade union resistance to community programme schemes;

The undoubted success of the community programme is due to the support of many organisations including employers and trade unions. Where local difficulties arise, efforts are made to seek local solutions and experience has shown that this is the best approach.

asked the Paymaster General what proportion of the places available on the community programme are currently taken up by participants in (a) Wolverhampton, (b) Birmingham, (c) Coventry and (d) Walsall; and how many of the additional places will be distributed among participants in these towns.

At the end of January the proportion of available community programme places taken up by participants in these areas were:—

(a) 84·3 per cent. (3,380 filled places) in Wolverhampton/ Walsall.

(b) 82·2 per cent. (6,591 filled places) in Birmingham/ Solihull.

(c) 86·8 per cent. (3,080 filled places) in Warwickshire, including Coventry.

Between 1 February and the end of May the number of filled places in these areas is planned to increase by:

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the number of people who have been employed on a full-time basis on community programme projects in each year since 1982; and what this number represents as a percentage of the total number of participants in the community programme in each year during the same period.

The numbers and percentages of people employed on a full-time basis on community programme projects at the end of each year since 1982 are as follows:

		per cent.
1982	980	46·1
1983	39,200	34·1
1984	38,100	29·3
1985	48,400	26·5

asked the Paymaster General how many 16-year-old 1985 school leavers are not taking advantage of a place on the YTS, and are currently registered as unemployed; and if he will make a statement.

In January 1986 there were an estimated 100,000 young people in Great Britain included in the count of unemployed claimants who left school in 1985 aged 16. Most remain eligible to take advantage of the YTS: some were waiting to take up a YTS place allocated to them and others can be expected to participate later on. In addition, some members of the group will already have taken part in the YTS since leaving school.

asked the Paymaster General what is his Department's latest estimate of the number of full-time apprentices currently employed in British manufacturing industries; and what was the comparable number for the same period in 1979.

There were 73,200 full-time apprentices employed in british manufacturing industries in March 1985. For 1979, the most comparable figure is 155,000.The numbers entering traditional apprenticeships will become increasingly irrelevant as a measure of the real level of skills training being undertaken by industry because of both the modernisation of existing training arrangements and the substantial provision of initial skills training now taking place under YTS.

asked the Paymaster General if he will compare the total number of persons employed in the entire public sector (a) in actual and (b) in full-time equivalent terms, where appropriate, for each of the years 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985, respectively; and if he will show these figures as a percentage of the total employed work force in each year.

I refer my hon. Friend to an article "Employment in the public and private sectors 1979 to 1985" on pages 90–98 of Economic Trends December 1985, a copy of which is in the Library. The entire public sector employment figures, actual and full-time equivalents, are given in table 1 of appendix 1 for the years 1979 to 1985. The employed labour force figure for 1979 is in table A and the corresponding figures for the years 1980 to 1985 are in table 2 of appendix 1.

asked the Paymaster General (1) if he will list the number of persons made redundant who were included in the unemployment count for each of the years 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and at the latest available date for which figures are available; and if he will show this figure as a percentage of the total unemployed for each year;(2) if he will list the numbers of disabled included in the unemployment count for each of the years 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985; and if he will show this as a percentage of total unemployment in each year.

I refer my hon. Friend to the replies given to him on 27 November 1985 at columns 596–7.

asked the Paymaster General how many people aged (a) under 19 years and (b) under 24 years are currently registered as unemployed in (i) England, (ii) Yorkshire and Humberside, (iii) West Yorkshire and (iv) the Kirklees area; and in each case, what proportion of them have been unemployed for a period of 52 weeks or more.

The following information is available in the Library. The figures relate to unemployed claimants on 9 January 1986, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age and duration is available.The table shows the numbers of unemployed claimants aged under 19 years and under 25 years (not available under 24 years) in the regions specified.