asked the Secretary of State for Energy at which power station sites construction of new radioactive waste storage facilities is under way or planned; and what are the volumetric storage capacities in each case.

No new waste storage facilities are under construction at any CEGB or SSEB nuclear power station sites, but additional storage for short-lived intermediate level Magnox waste is planned for Trawsfynydd to store 100 cu m in 200 litre drums for an interim period. No new facilities are under construction or planned for work resulting from nuclear power station operated by British Nuclear Fuels.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current status of the Severn barrage project; and whether a potential timetable presently exists for its design, tendering and construction.

I have recently received the report of the Severn tidal power group, which I am now considering. I shall respond in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has received the report of the working party set up following the inquest into the two children who died as a result of an accident at Selston electricity substation; and if he will make a statement.

I have received the report and today placed a copy in the Library. The working party recommended three courses of action to reduce the incidence of trespass into substations and the risk of accident to those who do; namely, improved security, improved education and research and development into more sensitive means of detecting mechanical failures. The improved security measures should be directed at substations which are at greatest risk of trespass or vandalism. The working party recommended a capital expenditure programme costing possibly some £10 million, but with an initial field trial designed to assess the effeciveness of such measures. The Electricity Council has accepted the report and has decided to implement the recommended programme, but to dispense with the field trial phase. The Electricity Council will monitor the programme and my Department will keep in close touch with this.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the value of contracts placed by his Department with small businesses in each of the financial years since 1978–79; and what percentage of total expenditure on purchase of goods and services those amounts represented.

I regret that my Department does not keep its records in a form which would enable this question to be answered, but we do wish to encourage small businesses.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary have applied for transfer to other constabularies in Great Britain since 15 November 1985.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Sir J. Biggs-Davison) on 17 April 1986, at column 470.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will state for 1983 and 1984 (a) the number of live births in Northern Ireland and the rate per 100,000 population, (b) the number of perinatal deaths and the rate per 100,000 population, (c) the number of infant deaths and the rate per 100,000 population and (d) the number of perinatal and infant deaths and the rate of such deaths per 100,000 population, ranked according to district council area; and if he will make a statement.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy on the acquisition for the use of his Department or for educational establishments for which he is responsible of computers and equipment supplied by companies which seek to impose extraterritorial United States control on their United Kingdom staff and on non-Government United Kingdom customers and on United Kingdom exports; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 27 March, at columns 559–60, to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what work has been done by his Department to promote education concerning drugs and drug abuse in school curricula for both secondary and primary schools.

£2 million has been made available through the education support programme mainly to enable local authorities to appoint a member of staff to stimulate and co-ordinate action in the education service aimed at the prevention of drugs misuse, including where appropriate the development of curricular materials.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what training is made available to teachers for coping with drug abuse among the pupil and the student population.

Many local education authorities are already undertaking some useful work in this area: in some cases their efforts have been supported by bodies with appropriate expertise, notably TACADE.The Department has identified work in this area as being of particularly high priority and a number of short courses under the aegis of Her Majesty's inspectorate have been held as part of the regional course series; more of these are planned.The package of educational materials which the Department is funding through the agency of the Health Education Council—and which involves bodies including TACADE—will include components aimed specifically at the training of teachers and providing support for curriculum developers. This material will be available later this year; as an interim measure the Department issued last year the booklet "Drug Misuse and the Young" which has been made available to the teaching force in large numbers and which sets out some useful, basic information.Within the education support grant programme £2 million has been set aside in 1986–87 for work relevant to drug misuse and local authorities have been encouraged to regard the funding of appropriate forms of teacher training as one of the areas in which the funding might be deployed.The Department is keeping under review what possibilities there might be for further initiatives in this field.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the figures for the number of children aged under five years attending maintained nursery and primary schools per 1,000 of the under-five population in (a) all of the councils under Conservative control and (b) under Labour control, respectively, in the latest year for which figures are available.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 8 April, at columns 53–55.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will publish in the Official Report a table listing education authorities by the number of discretionary awards issued, their average value and the number per thousand of the population aged 16 years or over for the latest year for which figures are available;(2) if he will publish in the

The table provides, for 1984–85, the provisional number of new, full-value discretionary awards per 1,000 of the average 18 and 19-year-old population for each local education authority in England and Wales. C denotes control by Conservative council; L denotes control by Labour council; N denotes no overall control by either. The average value of such awards is estimated at £2,300.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the value of contracts placed by his Department with small businesses in each of the financial years since 1978–79; and what percentage of total expenditure on purchases of goods and services those amounts represented.

The Department is mindful of Government policy to encourage the development of small firms, but has not to date kept detailed records of the value of contracts placed with small firms, However, the department will be keeping records of contracts let to small firms (under 200 people) for 1987–88 and beyond.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why his Department recently accepted a specification from the Ethiopian Government for road trailers fitted with German axles and suspension for famine relief purposes; what account was taken in reaching the decision of the willingness to the bid of York Trailer Holdings of Market Harborough; and what steps were taken to ascertain the extent to which that company already has such units operating in Ethiopia and supplies other countries in Africa.

The specification was accepted to ensure compatibility with the existing Government trailer fleet in Ethiopia. The tender from York Trailer Holdings was unsuccessful because it failed to meet the urgent delivery date. The existence of the company's units in Ethiopia and elsewhere could not override this. The contract went to another British firm.

asked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which an application was made by the prosecution to remand a 14-year-old boy from Leeds Crown Court to Hull prison on 9 April; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that no application was made by the prosecution to remand a 14-year-old boy from Leeds Crown Court to Hull prison on 9 April 1986. However, I am making further inquiries into this case, and I will write to the hon. and learned Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals to increase the percentage of capital receipts that local authorities can spend on capital projects.

In respect of 1986–87, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Mr. Moynihan) on 20 November at Small Businesses column 246. No decisions have been taken for later years. They will depend in part on the nature of a new local authority capital control system and the timing of its introduction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what tonnage of ash was released into the atmosphere by coal-burning power stations of the Central Electricity Generating Board during each of the calendar years 1970 to 1985.

Information is not compiled precisely in the form requested, but total grit and dust emissions to the atmosphere in the years in question from coal-burning power stations of the Central Electricity Generating Board have been estimated as follows.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the value of contracts placed by his Department with small businesses in each of the financial years since 1978–79; and what percentage of total expenditure on purchase of goods and services those amounts represented.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to support the transfer of former Greater London council property in Covent Garden to Covent Garden Area Trust.

It will be for the London Residuary Body, in the first instance, to consider this option, amongst others.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce planning controls to prevent the Covent Garden area being sold off to private interests.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has now received the consultants' report on the feasibility of leasing vacant apartments at Hampton court to substantial companies with a United Kingdom base, for use as company flats; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. We have received the consultants' report. They have concluded that there is scope for a viable scheme, though there would inevitably be important historical and architectural constraints. The cost of the associated works would have to be contained within public expenditure planning controls. The report needs to be very carefully considered, taking account of recent events at Hampton court palace. We will announce the Government's decisions in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to take any steps to arrange for the opening to public access of one and a half miles of towpath along the right bank of the River Thames between Albert bridge and Victoria bridge, in the Windsor home park; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Public use of this part of the towpath has not been available since the Home park became private in 1850, except for its use as a towpath for horse-drawn river traffic. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable as to how many police officers were involved in policing the cruise convoy at Roleston camp corner on Salisbury Plain on 17 March; and as to whether he intends to increase numbers of police protecting such convoys on future occasions.

For operational reasons, information of this nature is not disclosed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make it illegal to import, manufacture, sell or possess bullets for use in conjunction with shotgun cartridges.

Shotgun cartridges containing five or more shot, none of which exceeds ·36 in in diameter, are exempt from control under the Firearms Act 1968 but the insertion of solid pieces of metal such as single, rifled, lead slug in place of the normal pieces of lead shot in such a cartridge would bring the ammunition within certificate control. The possession of such ammunition without a firearms certificate would be an offence under the 1968 Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how value for money is assessed before the purchase of computers and hardware by police authorities.

It is for police authorities to satisfy themselves that expenditure on police computers represents good value for money. The Home Office issues guidance to chief officers and police authorities from time to time on the considerations to be taken into account in assessing value for money in this field. The most recent guidance is contained in Home Office circular No. 23/1985, a copy of which is available in the Library.In considering proposals for computer equipment for the Metropolitan police, of which my right hon. Friend is the police authority, he expects to see an investment appraisal which sets out the following:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent communications his Department has had with police authorities about the use of plastic bullets.

Home Office officials have had discussions with the chairmen of the Greater Manchester, West Midlands, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire police authorities, and with representatives of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities and the Association of County Councils; and we have corresponded with the chairman of the West Midlands police authority. My right hon. Friend has met representatives of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities to discuss the availability of plastic baton rounds and other topics.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to combat the recent increase in racially motivated attacks.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Brandon-Bravo) on 23 January at column 267.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the acquisition for his Department's use of computers and equipment supplied by companies which seek to impose extraterritorial United States controls on their United Kingdom staff or on non-Government United Kingdom customers or on United Kingdom exports; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing further to add to my response to the similar question given on 27 March 1986 at column 542.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the value of contracts placed by his Department with small businesses in each of the financial years since 1978–79; and what percentage of total expenditure on purchases of goods and services those amounts represented.

The Department does not keep records of the size of firms to which contracts are awarded; and the percentage of total expenditure represented by contracts awarded to small businesses cannot readily be estimated. Most outstation purchases, amounting to about £35 million annually, are likely to be placed with small businesses.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to review the immigration status of Libyan trainee engineers and pilots currently studying in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

We keep these matters under constant review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any boys under the age of 15 years have been remanded into adult prison establishments in England and Wales since 31 March 1981.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if prison establishment standing orders have been amended to take account of Home Office circular 7/81, which altered the unruly certification procedure for boys under the age of 14 years in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

No. Full-scale revision of the standing order will be undertaken when the proposals for amending the arrangements for unruliness certificates—mentioned in my hon. Friend's reply to a question from the hon. and learned Member on 27 March at column 547—are fully developed. In the meantime, an interim amendment is being issued, drawing governor's attention to the prison department circular instruction which describes the current provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to change the unruly certification procedure for 15 and 16-year-old boys in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply given to a question from him on 27 March at column 547.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many people were working in National Health Service hospitals in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year;(2) how many people were working in the different occupational categories within the National Health Service in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year;(3) how many people were working in the National Health Service in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year;(4) how many people were working in the different occupational categories within hospitals in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year.

Other than for medical, dental and nursing staff it is not possible, from the information available centrally, to identify separately those National Health Service staff working in hospitals from those

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many people were working in local government in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year;(2) how many people were working in the different occupational categories in local government in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year.

The information requested is given in "Welsh Local Government Financial Statistics, No. 8, 1984" (table 66) and No. 9, 1985 (table 67), copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were working in the water industry in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year.

Figures are not available in the format requested, but the numbers employed by the Welsh water authority from 1975 are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many people were being trained and educated for a nursing career in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year;(2) how many people were being trained and educated in the different categories for a nursing career in Wales in 1975 and each subsequent year.

The available information is given in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many tutors and other staff were employed in the training and education of nurses in Wales in 1975 and in each subsequent year;(2) how many people were employed, by occupation category, in the training and education of nurses in Wales in 1975 and in each subsequent year;

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he received from the BBC on behalf of the staff of the "Food and Drink" programme about food labelling; and what has been his response.

I was sent on 13 February copies of the top four entries to the BBC "Food and Drink" programme labelling competition and I undertook to look at these ideas alongside other comments received on our proposals for fat and nutrition labelling of food. In my acknowledgement I did draw to the attention of the programme producers the difficulty of reconciling this selective graphic format with guidelines which allow for a full nutritional profile using words and figures.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, as part of his proposals for the compulsory labelling of fat content in food, he will incorporate a mandatory requirement for the inclusion of a symbolic representation of the fat content.

The available information is given in the following table:

The draft proposals for compulsory labelling of fat require levels of both total and saturated fatty acids to be displayed numerically, normally on a grams per 100 gram basis. We have no proposal for requiring in addition a symbolic representation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, as part of his proposals for the voluntary labelling of salt, sugar and fibre content in food, he will incorporate a requirement for the inclusion of symbolic representation of these constituents.

No. Our guidelines for voluntary nutrition labelling provide for the declaration of a wide range of nutrients including salt, sugar and fibre, and I can seen no justification for giving special prominence to these items by selective graphic representation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy on the acquisition for the use of his Department of computers and equipment supplied by companies which seek to impose extraterritorial United States controls on their United Kingdom staff or on non-Government United Kingdom customer or on United Kingdom exports; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's policy on the acquisition and use of computers in this respect was expressed in an answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Treasury, on 8 April, at c. 95, and my Ministry adheres to that policy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the value of contracts placed by his Department with small businesses in each of the financial years since 1978–79; and what percentage of total expenditure on purchases of goods and services those amounts represented.

Records are not maintained in a form which enables this information to be provided.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what responsibilities his Department has in relation to the provision of, and standards applied to, special food for diabetics.

Apart from my general responsibilities for the nation's food supply, I have no particular responsibilities for the provision of foods for diabetics. I have, however, made the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 which does, amongst other things, control the conditions under which a claim can be made that a food is suitable, or has been specifically made, for diabetics.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is proposing to take to ensure that opium poppy crops grown for seed are marketed solely for the purposes for which they are being grown.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 April 1986, c. 470]: Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the unlicensed extraction of opium from poppies is already an offence. What, if any, additional steps to take will be decided in the light of the report which my officials are preparing jointly with those from the Home Office.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the number of contracts signed to grow opium poppy for seed in England ad Wales; and what is the estimated contracted acreage.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 April 1986, c. 470]: Reports suggest a total of about 20 contracts covering up to 300 acres.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of his officials are involved in preparing a joint report with the Home Office into opium poppy production in England and Wales; and how many meetings have so far been held.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 April 1986, c. 470]: Four of my officials are directly involved in the preparation of the report, and one meeting has taken place with Home Office officials.

asked the Minister for the Arts, pursuant to his reply of 14 April, if he will state the number of staff deployed on the South Bank by (a) Argus Shield, (b) Blue Arrow, (c) Pall Mall and (d) Matthew Hall.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts is currently abroad. I have been asked to reply. Information is as follows:

asked the Minister for the Arts, pursuant to his reply of 11 April, Official Report, column 221, how many staff were employed by the South Bank concert halls immediately prior to 1 April.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts is currently abroad. I have been asked to reply. A total of 239 at 31 March 1986.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out in comparative form such information as he has as to the top rate of income tax in France, Japan, Canada, West Germany, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate of 27 March, Official Report, columns 602–5, if he will set out in respect of tables 1 and 2, the equivalent rates of tax for the United Kingdom.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value of contracts placed by his Department with small businesses in each of the financial years since 1978–79; and what percentage of total expenditure on purchases of goods and services those amounts represented.

Her Majesty's Treasury does not record information about the value of contracts according to the size of businesses with which they are placed. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Since 1978–79 there has been greater emphasis on contracting-out Government business and the value of contracts placed with all businesses, including small businesses, has increased. Examples where Treasury purchasing is known to be from small businesses are travel arrangements, taxi hire and carpet purchasing and laying.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the earlier payment of non-value added tax own resources to the European Communities in April.

In accordance with article 10(2) of Council regulation 2891/77, the Commission has invited member states to advance from 20 May to 21 April the payment of own resources other than VAT in respect of agricultural, sugar and isoglucose levies and customs duties collected by the Government on its behalf in March.In accordance with this request, the Government propose to make an advance payment of some £132 million on 21 April. This will be financed initially by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund, pending parliamentary approval of a summer Supplementary Estimate. The payment of levies and duties on 20 May 1986 which is made directly from the Consolidated Fund under section 2(3) of the European Communities Act 1972 will be reduced by the amount of the advance. There will therefore be no net addition to forecast public expenditure for 1986–87.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to seek to ensure that tax changes announced in future Budget statements will take effect from a minute past midnight on the day of his statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 April 1986, c. 418]: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made in the debate on the Budget resolutions on 19 March at columns 377–78. Some Budget changes which affect income tax and corporation tax have to take effect more or less immediately. Where changes of this kind are proposed, it has been the normal practice in the past for those which work to the taxpayers' advantage to take effect on or after Budget day, but for those which impose or increase tax to take effect only after Budget day. In future the Government will consider making changes effective from the start of Budget day to prevent forestalling. This practice is already frequently followed for the capital taxes. As far as taxes on consumer expenditure (value added tax and excise duties) are concerned, the Government see no need to depart from the long-standing practice of applying changes from the most convenient and appropriate time after the Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been paid out in tax relief for private health insurance since 1979, showing separately the figures for the financial year 1985–86.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 April 1986, c. 354.]: I assume the hon. Member is referring to the fact that, since 1982–83, tax has not been chargeable on the cost of private medical insurance provided by employers for employees earning less than £8,500 per annum. The total additional yield, if such benefit had been chargeable to tax, is estimated at about £25 milion for 1982–83 to 1985–86, of which about £7 million relates to 1985–86.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of prisoners admitted to Scottish prisons in the latest year for which figures are available who were sentenced to periods of three months and 30 days or less, respectively; and what percentage this was of the total number of admissions of prisoners serving sentences in that year.

Provisional figures for 1985 are as follows: