asked the Attorney-General whether he intends to bring forward measures to open the land registry to public scrutiny.

The hon. Member is presumably referring to the Law Commission's proposals in the report No. 148 on land registration, "Inspection of the Register". I refer the Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 6 May last at column 1.

asked the Attorney-General what is the average time that a litigant has to wait from making an application for (a) maintenance and (b) access to his or her child to be heard before the registrar at the Merthyr Tydfil county court.

The average waiting time for appointments before the registrar at Merthyr Tydfil county court is 10–11 weeks for maintenance hearings and 13–14 weeks for access hearings. If the hon. Member is concerned about delay in any particular case I would ask him to draw it to the attention of the Lord Chancellor so that inquiries may be made.

	*Home Civil Service			†Armed Forces			‡Judiciary
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
1 January 1982	704	32	736	226	0	226	668	19	687
1 January 1983	663	31	694	221	0	221	743	21	764
1 January 1984	653	28	681	210	0	210	685	25	710
1 January 1985	644	25	669	201	0	201	726	26	752
1 January 1986	634	26	660	208	0	208	801	31	║832
* Includes Grades 1,2 and 3 (formerly Permanent Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary).
† The TSRB covers Major General and equivalent and above.
‡ Refers to England and Wales only.
║ Includes 9 Social Security Commissioners and 50 Special Commissioners of Income Tax.

asked the Prime Minister what discussions she had with President Reagan during the recent economic summit in Tokyo about efforts by the United States Administration to encourage Americans to visit Britain and to ensure that accurate information is available to potential United States visitors to Britain about their safety.

We are doing all we can to persuade American tourists that it is safe to visit the United Kingdom. We have drawn the attention of President Reagan and of senior officials in his Administration to the importance of this: they have made a number of helpful statements.

asked the Prime Minister whether she is satisfied with the preparations which have been made for the next meeting of the European Council; and if she will make a statement

As I explained in my answer on 4 March the next European Council will be held on 26–27 June, and it is for the Dutch Presidency to make the necessary arrangements.

asked the Prime Minister when she was first informed officially that British scientists were in contact with their Russian counterparts about the Chernobyl disaster.

I am not responsible for such contacts.

asked the Prime Minister if she will (a) list the posts which fall within her scope of the top salary review, (b) list such posts currently held by women and (c) publish the number of such posts held by women and their proportion of the total for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The remit of the Top Salaries Review Body covers senior civil servants, senior members of the Armed Forces and the Judiciary. The numbers of men and women occupying posts covered by the TSRB over the past 5 years is as follows:

asked the Prime Minister what criteria she proposes to use in deciding whether to invoke the provisions of article 11 of the Anglo-Irish agreement relating to a review or revocation of the agreement.

The Anglo-Irish agreement provides under article 11 that the working of the intergovernmental conference shall be reviewed after three years and that it may be reviewed earlier if either the United Kingdom or Irish Government wish. I have made it clear that if there were agreement upon proposals for devolved government we should need to review the implications of any such proposals for the working of the intergovernmental conference. I cannot foresee other circumstances in which we might need to review the working of the conference befoe the end of the three-year period.

asked the Prime Minister over what time scale Her Majesty's Government propose to judge the extent to which the Anglo-Irish agreement has fulfilled the objectives set for it.

We cannot expect the Anglo-Irish agreement to achieve its objectives overnight, and it would be wrong to prescribe time scales. I am, nevertheless, encouraged by the purposeful start that has been made on the range of matters, not least in cooperation on security.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make it the policy of Her Majesty's Government that in future all legislation relating to Great Britain which is currently extended to Northern Ireland by subsequent Orders in Council applies directly to Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Sir J. Biggs-Davison) on 13 March at column 544.

asked the Prime Minister how the administration of the Prevention of Terrorism Act will be affected by the undertaking given at the Tokyo conference by France, West Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy and the United States of America not to admit to their respective territories persons excluded from the United Kingdom under that Act.

The administration of the Act will not be affected.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by site and county all opencast coalmining applications received since 1 January 1984, stating, in each case, whether authorisation has been granted, refused or is still pending; and if he will list separately for each approved, refused or as yet unauthorised case, the tonnage per year to be mined or proposed to be mined and the time-period requested or authorised.

Since 1 January 1984, four applications for authorisation have been made to me. No decision has yet been taken in any case. The information requested is given in the following table:

Opencast Coalmining—Applications Made to Secretary of State for Wales
County	Site	Time (Years)	Annual Years (tonnes)
Clwyd	Ley Farm, Chirk	2½	45,200
	Ashfield House Farm, Ewloe	1½	33,333
Dyfed	Garnant	5	80,000
Powys/West Glamorgan	Nant Helen, Ystradgynlais	11	254,545

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the total number of smears for cervical cancer examined in Wales for each year since 1970.

The required information is provided in relevant volumes of "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for Wales", copies of which are in the Library. The latest available figures relate to 1984, and are contained in issue No. 12 of the publication.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales which breeds of ewe in Wales and which areas of Wales are currently eligible for sheep annual premium payments.

All breeds of ewe in all areas of Wales are currently eligible for sheep annual premium payments, subject to all other conditions of the scheme being satisfied.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the amount of expenditure and the activities to be supported through education support grants in the financial year 1987–88.

Subject to Parliament's approval of regulations which will amend the Education Support Grant Regulations 1984, excluding midday supervision in schools, it is intended that expenditure of some £3·3 million will be supported by education support grant in 1987–88. We propose to devote £1·8 million of this total to support continuing expenditure from projects first approved in earlier years. About £1·5 million will be available to support expenditure on new activities and on new starts on existing activities. Grant will be paid at the rate of 70 per cent. of the amount of expenditure approved for support.The following tables show the activities on which expenditure is committed in 1987–88 and the new and extended activities which we propose should rank for education support grant in Wales in 1987–88; the amount of expenditure for each; a provisional assessment of the number of LEAs likely to be supported and the length of support. The precise division of the £1·5 million available for new and extended activities and the distribution among authorities will not be settled until applications have been received and considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his present estimate of the total number of people in the east of Scotland whose employment has been affected by the expansion of the north-east drift net salmon fishery, including those whose jobs are dependent on angling and tourism; and if he can express this total in terms of man days per year.

I regret that information on employment in salmon fishing and related industries is not collected in a way in which it would be possible to make the kind of estimate the hon. Member has asked for.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many whole-time equivalent community psychiatric nurses have been employed by each health board in each year from 1974 to the latest available year, broken down by (a) RMN, (b) RMNS, (c) SEN-M, (d) SEN-MH, (e) others and (f) total in Scotland.

The information requested is not held centrally. Numbers of qualified nurses employed as community psychiatric nurses in Scotland for the years 1981 to 1985 were given in my answer of 23 April to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) at column 173.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, further to his answers to the hon. Member for Ynys Môn of 28 April, Official Report, column 310, if he plans any further publicity campaigns beyond those set out in order to publicise drink-driving enforcement in May and June.

Drinking and driving is a year-round problem. Information and promotional material is always available to the public. Our rolling paid publicity programme focuses on this problem during those parts of the year when it is most important to remind drivers of the risks they face if they mix drinking and driving. I will consider further initiatives. Knowledge, self-discipline and enforcement all matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received against the movement from 1 August to 1 October of the motor vehicle date licence prefix; and if he will make a statement.

We have received 605 letters, mainly from motor dealers, opposing the move to October in 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is satisfied with the working of the regulations for disabled parking badges; and if he will make a statement.

We are currently reviewing the operation of the orange badge scheme with local authorities. This will form the basis for a discussion document for wider circulation in the summer.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the number of miles and percentage of route mileage, respectively, of bus services within the aegis of London Regional Transport run by (a) London Buses Ltd and (b) other organisations.

It is not clear to what period the hon. Member's question relates. The information requested would, however, be a matter for LRT.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated percentage change in the first quarter of 1986 from the previously lowest figures for the first quarter of a year in (a) passenger miles travelled and (b) passenger journeys taken, in the London Underground system.

Data for the first quarter of 1986 are not available yet. I will write to the hon. Member when they are.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has to assist local authorities and passenger transport executives to continue operating the schools special journey buses, especially those not being registered with the traffic commissioners by the Yorkshire Traction Company; and if he will make a statement;(2) what consideration he has given to awarding special grants to those local authorities whose school buses are likely to be withdrawn from service as a result of bus companies not registering them with the traffic commissioners because they do not operate on a profitable basis; and if he will make a statement;(3) what system he intends to operate to safeguard young schoolchildren's safety on the roads walking to school as a result of school bus services being withdrawn, as under the terms of the Transport Act they cannot be registered because they are unprofitable services; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities and passenger transport executives can subsidise local bus services, including school services, to supplement those which have been registered as commercially viable. Their expenditure on public transport revenue support is taken into account in the calculation of the rate support grant. Competitive tendering for subsidy contracts will ensure value for money spent on bus service subsidies.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if any assessment has been made of the danger of radiation building up on the fuselage of commercial planes; and whether he has given any advice to airlines about safety precautions in the light of increased atmospheric radiation.

The Civil Aviation Authority has advised operators of British aircraft to monitor their aircraft for increases in radioactivity levels so that precautions may be taken if necessary. Monitoring of British aircraft operating over Europe has indicated only slight localised increases in levels of radioactivity.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's policy on the granting of extensions to the licences of any of the Woolwich ferry vessels which are not being regularly maintained.

The three vessels operating the ferry service at Woolwich are surveyed at 12-monthly intervals by marine surveyors in my Department: if satisfactory, they are issued with passenger certificates, valid for 12 months. When there are good reasons why the ferries cannot be taken out of service for this survey these certificates may be extended for a short period, but only if it is found safe to do so following an inspection by one of my Department's surveyors.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to maintenance work currently being carried out on each of the three vessels operating the Woolwich ferry to ensure that his Department's safety standards are being met.

One of the ferry boats, the John Burns, is still undergoing a major refit which should have been completed by the GLC in October 1985. The Ernest Bevin and the James Newman receive a visual inspection twice a day by the marine superintendent of the London borough of Greenwich. Following an inspection by the Department's marine surveyor, both received three-month extensions of their passenger licences on 8 May.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the financial loss in terms of (a) revenue and (b) profit accruing to British Caledonian following his decision to revoke the licence to operate the helicopter airlink between Gatwick and Heathrow.

The Civil Aviation Authority estimated that the loss to British Caledonian in terms of both revenue and profit would be about £2 million to £3 million annually, but this has to be balanced against the environmental disturbance caused by the helicopter service. Moreover, in my right hon. Friend's view, the completion of the new motorway link between the two airports means that alternative fast surface links can be provided which should prove acceptable to the majority of passengers wishing to transfer between the airports.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the reason for the delay in reaching a decision on the siting of the Melbourn bypass; and if he will make a statement.

Some 600 objections were received to the draft orders. They raised a number of complex issues, including the possibility of an alternative to the route proposed. It has necessarily taken some time to consider the objections and the inspector's recornmendations. The Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport hope their joint decision will not be long delayed.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what time has elapsed since the conclusion of the public inquiry into the A1–M1 link road; when he expects to receive the inspector's report; when he intends to make a decision; and if he will make a statement.

Public inquiries into the proposed 45-mile M1–A1 link road ended last June after nine months. I understand that the inspector does not expect to complete his report before June or July of this year. Given the scope and complexity of the issues, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport do not expect to announce their joint decision before the end of the year at the earliest.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received on the subject of the A1–M1 link road.

At the public inquiries, the inspector had before him about 1,200 objections and representations, including some in support of the proposals. A few representations have been received since the inquiries.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what audit control is proposed to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of new transport undertakings established under the Transport Act 1985.

The audit of public transport companies formed under section 59 and 67 of the Act will be carried out in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 by auditors approved by the Audit Commission for England and Wales or the Commission for Local Authority Accounts in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, in assessing helicopter coverage off north-west Scotland, the United Kingdom SAR committee's working group will take into account the response times to the incidents off Benbecula in October 1981 and off Lewis in December 1983.

The United Kingdom SAR committee's helicopter working group is intended to consider the casualty risks arising from shipping, fishing vessels and aircraft, including light aircraft, such as those lost in Hebridean waters on 3 October 1981 and 8 December 1983. In making its recommendations, the working group will take into account all relevant factors, including changes in pattern of activity, weather, survival times and performance of SAR helicopters.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many changes to areas of prime responsibility have been submitted to him under the terms of section 12(1)(d) of the Education Act 1980.

I understand that the right hon. Member is referring to changes of catchment area for which proposals under section 12(1)(d) are not required.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the most recent figures for the pupil to teacher ratio in schools in the United Kingdom; and what information he has about the equivalent figures for France, Japan and the United States of America.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 11 March to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Albans (Mr. Lilley) at column 397.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the most recent figures for the number of young people in higher education as a proportion of the 18 to 25-year-old population in the United Kingdom; and what information he has about the equivalent figures for France, Japan and the United States of America.

Information for other countries is not available in the form requested. The table shows new entrants to higher education expressed as a percentage of a single year age cohort (the average population in the most relevant age range). This measure was devised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as the fairest measure for international comparisons of higher education participation.

New entrants to higher education as a percentage of the relevant population 1982–83
	Age group*	New Entrants per Relevant Population†
United Kingdom	18·20	‡30·1
France	18·20	34·1
Japan	18	║34·2
United States of America	18	║61·2
* Age group which encompasses at least 80 per cent, of new entrants (divided by number of single years involved) and which is used as the denominator for column 2.
† New entrants (ie. those entering higher education for the first time) of all ages, as a percentage of a single young age cohort (the average population in the specified age range). Includes full-time and part-time.
‡ 1983–84. Overseas students and those already with a higher education qualification excluded. Excludes correspondence courses and others outside the public education system other than nursing and paramedical students at DHSS establishments. If included the United Kingdom figure would be around 40 per cent.
║ Includes private sector colleges.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out in tabular form the proportion of those in employment with higher education qualifications or the equivalent in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States of America, respectively, and show these proportions for each year from 1970 to the latest available date.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many student places in higher education have been unfilled in each year since 1979 in the universities and the public sector institutions, respectively; and what number of those places, and what proportion of the total, have been in science, technology and engineering.

Information on student places is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish information available to his Department setting out the correlation between the number of young people in the 18 to 19-year-old cohort and the number entering higher education in each of the years from 1970 to the latest available date.

The relationship is measured by the age participation index, which is defined as the number of home initial entrants, aged less than 21, to full-time and sandwich courses of higher education expressed as a percentage of the most relevant age cohort. This is taken as half of those who were aged 18 and 19 in the relevant year. The figures for Great Britain are as follows:

	API	API†
1972	14·3	12·4
1973	14·0	12·3
1974	13·8	12·2
1975	13·7	12·4
1976	13·3	12·5
1977	12·8	12·4
1978	12·4	12·1
1979	12·4	12·3
1980	12·6	*
1981	13·1	*
1982	13·4	*
1983	13·2	*
1984	13·7	*
‡1985	14·0	*
* There were no such entrants after 1979.
† Excluding entrants to teacher training courses with less than 2 'A' levels.
‡ Early estimate.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish information available to his Department indicating the extent to which there is a connection between levels of participation in higher education and national economic performance.

It is very difficult to quantify the effect that higher education has on economic performance. Calculations of the social rate of return approach this question indirectly by analysing the relationship between levels of education and earnings. An account of work in this area by DES economists was published in Cmnd. 9524 "The Development of Higher Education, into the 1990s". This suggested that the overall social rate of return to university first degrees was in the region of 5 to 8 per cent. in real terms.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish information available to his Department indicating the social rate of return from higher education provided at particular institutions or in particular departments of such institutions.

No information is available on the social rate of return from higher education provided at particular departments or institutions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish any information available to his Department from sample surveys indicating the extent to which those who have experienced higher education believe that they have benefited from it.

I am aware of only three studies, which, while not of the precise kind referred to by my hon. Friend, have a bearing on students' perceptions of the value of higher education:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any proposals to seek to control the time teachers spend on duties outside the classroom; and if he will make a statement.

No; talks between the parties under the leadership of an independent panel appointed by ACAS are now in progress on, among other things, a clear definition of the contractual duties and responsibilities of teachers and their employers. The Education Bill includes a provision in clause 37 giving the Secretary of State an enabling power which, if used, would require LEAs to appraise the performance of teachers in discharging their duties and engaging in other activities. I refer my hon.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the most recent figures for science, engineering and technology graduates in the United Kingdom; and what information he has about the equivalent figures for France, Japan and the United Stales of America.

The information is as follows:Friend to what my right hon. Friend the Earl of Swinton said on this matter in another place on 1 May at columns 399–402.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any proposals to encourage better deployment of teachers between schools; and if he will make a statement.

In the White Paper "Better Schools", the Government emphasised their aim to improve the effectiveness with which the school teacher force is deployed across and within local education authorities. We recognised that authorities had difficulty relating Government policies for the size of the teacher force nationally to their decisions on local teacher numbers, and encouraged the establishment of a joint official working group with the local authority associations. This group has recommended that national planning horizons should be established for teacher numbers, and appropriate guidance should be issued to local education authorities. In considering our response to the group's advice, we shall want to take account, among other things, of the scope for local authorities to rationalise their school provision and thus to mitigate the staffing diseconomies associated with smaller schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the progress made by local education authorities in closing redundant school buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Local education authorities are expected to exceed existing targets for the removal of surplus places up to 1987; but much remains to be done, particularly in secondary schools where, against a stock of 4·1 million places, pupil numbers are projected to fall from 3·5 million in 1985 to 2·8 million in 1991. My right hon. Friend plans to promulgate new targets for the period to 1991 shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will undertake a new survey of the state of repair and decoration of schools in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 10 February at column 320, regarding the sample survey of school building improvement needs currently being carried out by my Department. This seeks information on work, which may include repair and decoration, considered necessary to bring the school buildings in the sample which will be retained in 1991–92 to the defined standard of physical condition. The survey covers England only; schools in Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will indicate the length of time that his Department will take to complete the payment of pensions and lump sum arrears to teachers whose last day of service was on or after 1 April 1985.

Approximately 16,000 superannuation awards fall to be revised as a result of the late 1985 teachers' pay settlement, of which some 4,000 will have been processed by the end of this month. Bearing in mind the need to give priority during the summer to first-time awards for some 12,000 teachers expected to retire at the end of the summer term, the Department estimates that the remaining pension revisions will be completed by the end of November.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many entrants into teacher training courses there have been in each of the past five years in (a) total and (b) scientific subjects; and if he is satisfied that there is currently no shortage of suitably qualified teachers in these fields.

The number of entrants into initial teacher training courses in England in each of the past four academic years is given in the following table. Comparable data for the academic year 1981–82 are not available.

Recruitment to initial teacher training in England
Academic years	1982–83	1983–84	*1984–85	1985–86
Primary and secondary	15,756	14,861	15,404	15,435
Secondary only	9,712	8,029	7,667	7,330
Secondary sciences	1,790	1,400	1,279	1,215
* The figures for 1984–85 exclude a small number of entrants to degree courses with concurrent certificate in education.

We are satisfied that for most areas of the curriculum there is a sufficient supply of teachers nationally to meet the needs of schools, but we are concerned about continuing difficulties with the supply of suitably qualified teachers in the physical sciences, in mathematics and in craft, design and technology.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what information he has on the change in the number of clinical posts at the Institute of Psychiatry in each of the years 1979 to 1986;(2) what information he has on the number of posts at the Institute of Psychiatry which have fallen vacant in the last two years, and as to how many remain vacant.

The numbers of clinical staff in post at the Institute of Psychiatry at 31 December each year, were as follows:

	Numbers
1979	45
1980	51
1981	46
1982	50
1983	61
1984	66
1985	60

I understand that there are currently five clinical vacancies at the institute.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the role of the Institute of Psychiatry in the training of doctors, psychologists and nurses in the treatment of psychiatric patients, the mentally handicapped and the elderly.

The Institute of Psychiatry is a school of the University of London and a federated institute of the British Postgraduate Medical Federation. In association with the Maudsley and Bethlem Royal hospitals, it provides clinical training in psychiatry. The institute also provides training in clinical psychology. It is a major centre for research into aspects of mental disorder, and offers a range of clinical or laboratory-based higher degree courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the projected deficits of the Institute of Psychiatry in the years (a)1985–86, (b)1986–87, (c)1987–88, (d)1988–89 and (e)1989–1990.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the amount of expenditure and the activities to be supported through education support grants in the financial year 1987–88.

The Education (Grant and Awards) Act 1984 empowers the holder of my office to pay education support grant to local education authorities in England. It is intended that expenditure supported through education support grant will amount to some £53 million in 1987–88. I propose to devote £31·5 million of this total of planned expenditure to committed expenditure arising from projects first approved in earlier years. About £10·1 million will be available to support new starts on existing activities and £11·3 million on new activities. Grant will be paid at the rate of 70 per cent. on the amount of expenditure approved for support through education support grants.

Committed Expenditure on Activities begun in earlier years
Category	Committed Expenditure to be supported through ESG in 1987·88	Number of LEAs to be supported	Total length of support
	£ million
The teaching of mathematics in schools	6·3	94	4 years
The teaching of science and technology as part of primary education	7·7	92	4 years
Pilot projects to develop records of achievement for young people in secondary schools and colleges	2·3	14	3 years
Pilot projects to improve the quality of education provided in primary schools in urban areas	0·8	12	5 years
Pilot projects to improve the quality or the range of the curriculum provided in primary schools in rural areas	1·3	15	5 years
Pilot projects to meet the educational needs of those from ethnic minorities	1·9	44	Up to 5 years
The development, provision and appraisal of courses of initial training for school governors	0·1	10	2 years
Action within the education service to combat the misuse of drugs	2·3	96	2 years
The management and appraisal of school teachers	1·0	*	Up to 5 years
The provision of retraining and updating courses directed towards the needs of industry and commerce (PICKUP)	1·4	61	3 years
The development of the use of information technology at further education establishments, by providing equipment, preparing or providing course material and computer software and training teachers employed at such establishments	3·4	58	5 years
The planning, development and co-ordination of provision to meet the educational needs, including the need for guidance of those who are unemployed (excluding those currently receiving full-time education)	1·7	42	2 years
The provision of services to support parents in the teaching of children under five with special educational needs	1·3	44	3 years
Total	31·5
* This expenditure has yet to be allocated; it is hoped to do so during the course of 1986–87.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to the account taken by the European Community when assessing the extent of regional aid to be made available to an area and of the impact on existing and prospective industry of the character of existing industries in that area; and if he will make a statement.

In deciding whether to approve member states' own regional aids or whether to grant aid from the European regional development fund, the European Commission has regard to a range of factors, including the relative need of the area in question for assistance with economic development. The character of existing industries in an area may be related to its degree of need. For certain ERDF purposes, areas which are dependent on industries which are particularly associated with Community policies may receive more favourable treatment.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to the ownership of Generics (UK) Ltd.

Information on the ownership of companies is submitted to the Registrar of Companies once a year on the company's annual return, and on other returns when new shares are allotted. This information, together with other details about the company, is publicly available. The latest documents available on the public record show the following as members:

Name of Shareholder	Number of Shares held at 7 May 1985 (1985 Annual Return)	Additional Shares Allotted at 28 June 1985
Interpharm Inc	360	30,240
Julian Neil Tabatznik	69	5,796
Anthony S. Tabatznik	69	5,796
Bernard Samuels	30	2,520
Lawrence G. Stolzenberg	24	2,016
Henry Brian Davis	24	2,016
George Calvin Davies	12	1,008
Robert Miller	12	1,008

Subject to any restrictions the company's articles of Association place on transfers of shares, there may have been changes in ownership since these dates. The company is required to hold an up-to-date register of its shareholders, which may be inspected at its registered office.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evidence he has of infringements of the general agreement on tariffs and trade by Japan in relation to quantitative restrictions, licences, and other methods of protecting the Japanese tanning industry.

In May 1984, the GATT Council adopted a report which found that quantitative restrictions applied by Japan to imports of leather were nullifying or impairing benefits accruing to other contracting parties under GATT. In accordance with the GATT Council decision, Japan eliminated these quantitative restrictions on 1 April, while introducing a tariff quota system. The Community has reluctantly accepted the new arrangements in the course of negotiations with Japan in GATT. The tariff quota offers British and Community exporters improving access to the Japanese market for at least five years. We hope that the arrangements will be further improved in future.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to his answer of 28 April, Official Report, column 351, on food imports, whether he will provide the 1984 figures for the countries listed in 1970 and not in 1984 and the 1970 figures for countries listed in 1984 and not 1970.

The information is in the following table.

United Kingdom Trade
	Share of United Kingdom food imports*	United Kingdom share of imports of manufactures†
1970
Italy	1·5	6·3
Belgium/Luxembourg	0·8	7·2
FR of Germany	0·6	5·5
1984
Canada	2·8	2·0
S. Africa	1·8	‡15·3
Australia	0·6	7·4
* Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Section 0.
† Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Sections 5 to 8.
‡ United Kingdom share of OECD countries' exports of manufactures.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what precautions are being taken to prevent highly sophisticated industrial products for the purpose of military or nuclear use being sold to the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

Strategically sensitive goods are subject to control under the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1985. The Government's policy is not to grant licences for exports which would be likely to damage national security.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the access available to United Kingdom firms to the market in the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware that some firms experience difficulties in obtaining access to reliable market information and to end users in the Soviet Union, but have no reason to believe that United Kingdom firms are treated any differently from other Western European companies. The Department takes the opportunity of Government-to-Government contacts, such as the joint commission, to raise these difficulties with the Soviet authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of how British companies, trading with the Soviet Union in light industry, computers, fibres, furnishings and construction engineering will be affected by the Chernobyl disaster; and if he will make a statement.

I have at present no reason to believe that British companies trading with the Soviet Union in these sectors will be seriously affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the most recent figures available for the balance of imports and exports to and from the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

The most recent figures available are the provisional figures for March 1986, which show a crude United Kingdom trade surplus of £5·3 million. This compares with a crude surplus of £34·2 million for the first quarter of 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial assistance Her Majesty's Government are providing to the Soviet Union, in order to expand the construction industries in the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

None — nor do I see any reason why Her Majesty's Government should do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the takeover bids promoted by the Cannon Group in the cinema industry; and if he will make a statement.

The acquisition of Screen Entertainment by the Cannon Group is currently being considered by the Director General of Fair Trading. My right hon. Friend will make his decision on whether it should be referred for further investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in the light of the Director General's advice. The Director General is not aware of any other bids for United Kingdom companies involving the Cannon Group.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what duties, levies and quotas are imposed on the import of foodstuffs from east Europe to the EEC; and if there are any significant differences in the duties, levies and quotas imposed on imports from East Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany by comparison with other east European countries.

The current import duties charged by the Community are set out in the Official Journal of the European Communities, volume 28 number L331 of 9 December 1985; the current quotas on imports of East European products are set out in Official Journal volume 28 number L382 of 31 December 1985; and the levies which are charged by the Community are also published in the Official Journal, but these change frequently, there is no consolidated list of them, and it would be disproportionately costly to list them here.East German products entering the Federal Republic of Germany are treated more favourably than those from other East European countries, in accordance with the protocol on German internal trade annexed to the treaty establishing the European Economic Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what alleged abuses of the inner German trade agreement have been reported to him; what representations his Department has made to the EEC Commission about the alleged abuses; and what has been the result of these representations.

Since 1980, my Department has received 12 representations about alleged abuses of the inner German trade agreement. The complainants were able to supply detailed evidence in one case relating to powdered egg, which the European Commission has investigated at our request. But to date it has proved difficult to produce conclusive evidence that products resulting from inner German trade are adversely affecting the Community's egg products market. The Commission has however undertaken to continue to monitor developments closely.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on his latest contacts with the National Coal Board about the smouldering bing at Polkemmet.

I understand from the chief scientist at NCB's area laboratory in Edinburgh that the fire at the Polkemmet bing has been extinguished and that the contractors are now tidying up and landscaping the site.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will expand the home insulation scheme to incorporate a fuller range of energy saving methods within the home.

The 1986–87 homes insulation scheme allocation is expected fully to meet total demand, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has said that he will bear in mind Energy Efficiency Year in considering any applications for additional allocations.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what fresh plans he has to provide financial assistance to companies in order to encourage investment in the conservation of energy.

My energy efficiency office continually encourages firms to take advantage of the highly attractive investments which energy efficiency measures offer. Its latest initiative has been to set up 2,000 free half-day surveys by expert energy consultants.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many representations he has received, respectively, in favour and against the Gas Bill.

I have received a large number of representations. Only a small minority join the Opposition in opposing the privatisation of British Gas.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the salary and length of contract for the recently appointed energy scientific adviser in his Department.

The recently appointed chief scientist and head of energy technology division in the Department of Energy is on secondment from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for a period of two to three years. His salary is equivalent to that of a Grade 3 (under-secretary) in the open structure.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much has been spent to date in advertising the energy efficiency campaign run by his Department; and which advertising agencies have been used.

I am hoping this year to obtain £20 of outside advertising expenditure for every £1 of Government advertising.Advertising expenditure by my Department on energy efficiency was as follows:

Agency	Year	Amount spent with agency
		£
Young and Rubicam	1983–84	1,630,000
Young and Rubicam	1984–85	1,660,000
Doyle Dane Bernbach	1984–85	2,567,000
Doyle Dane Bernbach	1985–86	8,987
Saatchi and Saatchi	1985–86	4,182,000

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will report the latest progress with his Department's energy efficiency year programmes.

Over 550 Energy Efficiency Year events have already taken place. Our television and press advertising campaign promoting the Monergy message has generated a greatly increased awareness.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he plans to publish the feasibility study of the Severn tidal power group.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what recent representations he has received about the construction of a Severn barrage; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is yet in a position to state when he will make a statement on his conclusions on the Severn tidal power group's report on the Severn barrage, and if he will make a statement.

As I said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Mr. Mudd) on 18 April, the Secretary of State for Energy has received the report of the Severn tidal power group assessing the viability of a private sector barrage across the Severn estuary.We are considering the report. The Severn tidal power group hopes to release its report shortly and we will place copies in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament at that time.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give figures for the percentage of electricity generated by nuclear power in each of the last three years.

The figures, as percentages of electricity available from the United Kingdom public supply system, are as follows:

	Per cent.
1983	17·6
1984	18·6
1985	20·5

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much money he estimates might be saved in 1986 by local authorities implementing good energy efficiency practice; and what incentives are available to both them and ratepayers in this respect.

The Audit Commission has identified potential savings of at least £135 million a year through improved energy efficiency in local government buildings in England and Wales. These savings themselves are the incentive for the necessary measures to be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he last met the chairman of the National Coal Board to discuss the future plans for the industry.

I meet the chairman of the National Coal Board regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry, including its plans for the future.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy by what percentage the average price of coal to the domestic consumer has changed since 1979; and how this compares with gas and electricity.

Between 1979 and 1985 the current price index for domestic coal rose by 97 per cent. In the same period the current price indices for domestic gas and electricity rose by 121 per cent. and 82 per cent., respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will make a statement on the current level of oil and gas exploration activity on the United Kingdom continental shelf.

A total of 79 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled on the United Kingdom's continental shelf and onshore in the United Kingdom in 1986 in the period to 24 April.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what recent representations he has received advocating the increased use of nuclear power in the United Kingdom.

There is widespread demand for cheaper electricity from industry and in the home. The Government believes that nuclear power, subject as it is to the most stringent safeguards, has an essential contribution to make in the provision of electric power economically.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment his Department has made on the impact of the fall in oil prices on the privatisation of British Gas.

The offer for sale of shares in British Gas will take full account of prevailing market circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, when he next meets the chairman of the National Coal Board if he will discuss with him the future of the Yorkshire coalfield.

My right hon. Friend and I meet the chairman of the NCB regularly and discuss all aspects of the coal industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his Department's estimate of future investment in the Welsh coalfields.

The Government agree an overall capital expenditure limit with the NCB, but it is for the board to determine levels of investment in individual areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many tonnes of coal equivalent was burned in oil-fired power stations in March and April; and what were the stations.

Figures for fuel used in the generation of electricity in March and April will appear in future editions of "Energy Trends", which is published monthly. The actual stations used in meeting demand for electricity are an operational matter for the generating boards.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement of the latest level of output of oil and gas from the United Kingdom sector of the North sea.