asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received regarding the future of the Anglo-Irish agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Over recent weeks I have received a number of letters from members of the public about the future of the Anglo-Irish agreement. The majority expressed concern about its impact in Northern Ireland. I have also had discussions with representatives from a cross-section of the community in Northern Ireland, some of whom are in favour of the agreement while others have expressed reservations about it. The Government remain convinced that the agreement has the potential to offer considerable benefits to all sections of the community in Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he is yet in a position to announce the decision on the planning application to continue quarrying on land adjacent to Navan fort.

The Department of the Environment has today issued a decision refusing planning permission for the proposed development.

asked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners if the Commissioners maintain a list of approved estate agents for the sale and disposal of property for which the Commissioners are responsible; and if he will make a statement.

The Commissioners do not maintain an approved list. The bulk of the Commissioners' property is managed by five firms of chartered surveyors, individual partners within each firm being appointed as agents of the Commissioners. These firms are Messrs Chestertons; Messrs Cluttons; Messrs Donaldsons; Messrs Hillier Parker May and Rowden; and Messrs Smiths Gore. The sale and disposal of any property is usually handled by the agents previously responsible for its management, although in a few cases other firms may be asked to act as joint agents. The same principle applies to those few properties which for various reasons are managed by other agents.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in his Official Report all those cases in the past 20 years where persons have been convicted of offences on the basis of forensic evidence and where that conviction has subsequently been overturned because of doubt about the validity of that forensic evidence; and if he will indicate in which of these cases compensation has been paid for wrongful imprisonment.

We have information on cases where the Home Secretary has made an ex gratia payment in respect of a wrongful conviction, but information regarding the grounds on which convictions are quashed is not recorded centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what Government funds are made available to the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge; and if he will make a statement.

The Institute of Criminology is part of the University of Cambridge and hence receives Government funds through the University Grants Committee. Additional funds are provided from Government sources for specific research or raining initiatives. The Home Office research and planning unit made research grants to the institute totalling £68,000 in the financial year 1985–86, for studies concerning neighbourhood watch and the development of delinquency. I understand that the institute also received research grants from DHSS for work on intermediate treatment, and from the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), as part of its initiative on crime and criminal justice. The institute receives further funds from a variety of sources for specific training and seminar initiatives, including during 1985–86 £6,000 from the Home Office research and planning unit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make Uit an offence to circulate questionnaires seeking to discover past sexual experiences of individual members of the public; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to introduce such legislation. It is of course open to members of the public to decline to complete questionnaires which seek information about previous sexual experiences.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average delay being experienced at present by applicants for (a) new and (b) renewed British passports.

Because of industrial action earlier this year and an increase in demand, passport applications are taking longer to process than is normal at this time of year. Non-urgent applications for both new passports and other services are taking between five and six weeks to process. Priority is being given to applications which indicate an early date of travel and every effort is being made to reduce the backlog as quickly as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in Wandsworth

asked the Prime Minister what was the outcome of the Cabinet Office review of the pollution inspectorate; and if she will publish its report.

The report of the scrutiny team has been received and set out options for further study, which is now in hand. When Ministers have received the results of this further work, I will consider whether and if so in what form the scrutiny team's report might be published.

asked the Prime Minister which Secretary of State has responsibility for the specific operating cycle for the Calder hall and Chapelcross nuclear reactors.

British Nuclear Fuels plc is responsible for these reactors, which it operates in accordance with its commitments to its customers.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make it the policy of Her Majesty's Government to increase the funds they provide for famine relief by an amount equal to the estimated value added tax revenue received in connection with the fund-raising activities of Sport Aid; and if she will make a statement.

I applaud the Sports Aid initiative and the remarkable effort which has been put in to it by thousands of people throughout the world. I hope to meet Mr. Omar Khalifa, the Sudanese athlete, in

[pursuant to my reply, 8 May 1986, c. 206]: The information available centrally relates to the number of offences punished and is given in the table. Data for 1985 are not yet available.connection with Sports Aid at the weekend. Successive Governments have, however, taken the view that to allow special VAT relief or matching refunds for charitable fund raising events is not the right way to help in such circumstances. Nevertheless, our contribution to famine relief in Africa has been very considerable: it amounted to £81·4 million in 1984, £96·5 million in 1985, and £27 million in the first quarter of 1986 alone. We shall continue to play our part in the international relief effort.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will announce the recurrent grants allocated to universities for the academic year 1986–87 by the University Grants Committee.

As my right hon. Friend told the House yesterday, the University Grants Committee has announced universities' recurrent grants for 1986–87. These are shown in the table. Copies of the general letter of guidance that the chairman of the UGC has sent to all universities have been placed in the Library of the House. The general letter will be followed in about a week's time by an institutional annex relating to the student numbers by subject and research funding of each university. These annexes will also be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much of a student's income is disregarded in respect of scholarship or sponsorship

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average cost per annum of each pupil with a boarding place at a maintained sector secondary school.

Information to provide an answer to this question is not collected routinely. However, a special exercise carried out some years ago by a departmental working group indicated that the average gross cost of a maintained sector boarding place was £1,805 in 1977–78.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list (a) for the Christchurch constituency, (b) for Dorset and (c) for England the total number of schools and the population therein for the last 10 years and the total population for each of those years.

The number of maintained primary, secondary and nursery schools in Dorset and in England in the years 1976 to 1985, the number of pupils attending those schools and the total resident population are as follows. Comparable figures for Christchurch are not available centrally.income and earnings from tutoring and demonstrating in the calculation of awards to postgraduate research students by the British Academy and each of the research councils.

The Economic and Social Research Council currently disregards £1,280 of a student's income from those sources. The British Academy and the other four research councils each generally disregard £1,230. In the case of some studentships funded jointly by the Agriculture and Food Research Council and industry a higher disregard of £1,655 is applicable. The first £425 of any other income is also disregarded. University or college prizes or gifts are not treated as income and are totally disregarded.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what officials from his Department were present at the launch of the Grange Hill anti-drug abuse video "Just Say No", and if he will make a statement.

I attended the launch of the Grange Hill anti-drug video "Just Say No" with two officials. The BBC is to be congratulated on producing the "Just Say No" campaign against drug misuse by the young. This initiative is both timely and useful and will certainly arouse interest in the local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Stretford, dated 11 February 1986, concerning weighting given to part-time students as full-time equivalents at polytechnics.

In order to give a full reply it has been necessary to seek advice outside the Department. This has recently been received and I shall write to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make a statement on his Department's involvement with United Kingdom Provident;(2) on what date his Department gave advice to United Kingdom Provident that it should reduce its future rates of bonus;(3) to what extent his Department made inquiries into the free reserves of United Kingdom Provident.

Under the Insurance Companies Act 1982 the Secretary of State may exercise certain powers if he considers that a company may be unable to meet its

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research has been and is being funded by the Medical Research Council into the causes, prevention and treatment of photosensitivity.

I understand that in the financial year 1984–1985 the Medical Research Council spent £227,000 on projects which have relevance to the causes, prevention and treatment of photosensitivity. I have asked the council to write to the right hon. Member with details.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the proportion of under-fives in nursery education in the United Kingdom: and what information he has about the equivalent figures for France, Japan and the United States of America.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 May 1986, c. 460]: The figure in column 4 of the table in respect of the United States was incorrectly printed in the Official Report.There is no standard definition of "nursery education". The forms of pre-school provision vary between and within countries, as does practice in the age and times of year at which children are admitted to compulsory education. The table shows the latest available comparative information on all forms of grouped provision for young children. Rates for both three and four, and three to five-year-olds are shown, as in the other countries compulsory schooling starts at age 6.liabilities or to fulfil the reasonable expectations of the insurance policy holders. In February the Government Actuary's Department, which examines for my Department the statistical returns of life insurance companies, reported that it had been in touch with the actuaries of the United Kingdom Provident Institution and that the company might be in financial difficulties. My officials met representatives of the company, who undertook to prepare urgently a detailed assessment of its solvency position as at the end of 1985 and to retain a firm of consulting actuaries to assist in this work.Officials of the Government Actuary's Department, after discussing the company's assessment of its solvency position with the company's own actuaries and the actuarial consultants, were satisfied that the company could honour its liabilities, including bonuses already allotted, and had sufficient free reserves to meet the required margin of solvency.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed on 1 January in each year since 1979 in (a) the postal service and (b) the telephone and other telecommunications services in the public sector.

The following is the information requested, at 31 March each year, according to information published by the Post Office and British Telecom in annual reports available in the Library of the House:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has concerning anti-dumping procedures recently taken by the European Commission concerning polyester staple fibre imports from the German Democratic Republic, Rumania, Turkey and Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.

No formal anti-dumping investigation into these imports has yet been initiated; but the European Commission is prepared to take such action once it is presented with a well-founded complaint that dumping is taking place which is damaging the Community industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the European Commission to take action in response to the complaint lodged last year by the International Rayon and Synthetic Fibres Committee about unfair imports of acrylic fibres.

The European Commission has almost completed its investigation into these imports and the result is likely to be announced in the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what has been the percentage of total imports of man-made fibres and man-made fibre products represented by such imports in each of the last five years from (a) East Germany, (b) Rumania, (c) Turkey and (d) Yugoslavia;(2) what information he has concerning the volume and value of imports of synthetic fibres and synthetic fibre products from the following countries in each of the last five years for which figures are available:

Figures for synthetic and other manmade fibre products are not available as they are not separately identified in the trade statistics. Information on fibres and yarns is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the sums of money announced on 14 May, Official Report, column 705, for British Shipbuilders Enterprise Ltd. will be allocated between the different areas affected by recent redundancies in the shipbuilding industry.

British Shipbuilders is pressing ahead with the arrangements for British Shipbuilders Enterprise Ltd., including the appointment of a board and recruitment of key personnel. It will be for the new company to determine how the moneys should be allocated, though clearly the pattern of spend will be influenced by that of the redundancies the new company is charged to help.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the ability of building societies to make preparations for the new legislation; and if he will make a statement.

A number of representations have been received about whether building societies have the power to do preparatory work before Royal Assent for their new powers under the Bill. In the light of these concerns, and for the avoidance of doubt, I am proposing that the Building Societies Bill should contain appropriate provisions.It is clearly sensible for a building society to be able to do preparatory work, provided that its scale is reasonable and takes account of the possibility that the Bill might not be enacted in precisely its present form or that the members might not pass the special resolution necessary for the adoption of a particular power. Many societies have done preparatory work in good faith on the correct presumption that the provisions already in the Bill against anticipation of powers are intended to catch the provision of services to the public, not such preparatory work.I have accordingly tabled an amendment to schedule 16 to the Bill which treats societies as having had powers to do such preparatory work since 19 December 1985, the date of Second Reading of the Bill. A new clause provides that societies will have a similar preparatory power in respect of additional powers conferred in future by a statutory' instrument under the Bill, in the case of a resolution requiring approval in draft from the date of an affirmative resolution by either House, and in other cases from the date of laying.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if documents published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in London are published simultaneously in Cardiff.

Major items particularly those of Welsh interest, are published simultaneously in Cardiff and London whenever feasible. However, the tight time scales laid down for the publication of most parliamentary papers and Government reports inevitably result in them being available at the HMSO London bookshop a day earlier than elsewhere.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many savings-related share option schemes have been set up in each year since the passage of the Finance Act 1980; and how many' employees are covered by the savings-related share option schemes set up in each year.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 May 1986, c. 91]: The information requested in as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many approved share option schemes have been set up in each year since the passage of the Finance Act 1984; and how many employees are covered by the approved share option schemes set up in each year.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 May 1986, c. 91]: The information requested is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will bring up to date the table published in the Official Report on 3 April 1984, columns 451–52, giving details of the United Kingdom contribution to the European Economic Community budget; and if he will add an estimate for this year and the forecast for next.

[pursuant to his reply. 19 May 1986, c. 88]: The information is as follows. The Government's latest forecast of the United Kingdom's gross payments to and receipts from the 1986 and 1987 Community budgets is contained in the public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9702). The forecast in the White Paper does not take account of the supplementary budget for 1986 and was made before details of the 1987 preliminary draft budget were available. On the basis of the figures for United Kingdom contributions in the 1986 budget and the 1986 supplementary budget, and those likely to be contained in the 1987 preliminary draft budget, our gross contribution in 1986 will be 6796 mecu before abatement, and, in 1987, 7328 mecu. The budgets do not contain estimates of United Kingdom receipts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring up to date the figure for gross receipts from, and gross payments to, the European Economic Community budget given in his reply of 7 July 1983; if he will provide an estimate for 1986, including forecast supplementaries, together with a forecast for next year; and how the figure for refunds is made up.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 May 1986, c. 88]: The information for the years 1983 to 1985 is set out in the table. The Government's latest forecast of our net payments to the European Economic Community budget for the years 1986 and 1987 remains as set out in the public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9702). The White Paper does not take account of this year's supplementary budget and was prepared before details of the preliminary draft budget for 1987 were available. On the basis of the figures for United Kingdom contributions in the 1986 budget and the 1986 supplementary budget, and the figures likely to be included in the 1987 preliminary draft budget, the United Kingdom's gross contributions in 1986 will be 6795 mecu (before abatement), and, in 1987, 7328 mecu. The budgets do not give information on United Kingdom receipts. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 14 May 1986, at columns 487–88, concering the formula for calculating the United Kingdom's rebates.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many approved deferred share trusts have been set up in each year since the passage of the Finance Act 1978; and how many employees are covered by the approved deferred share trusts set up in each year.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 May 1986, c. 91]: The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer of 8 April to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby, Official Report, column 29, what progress NIREX has reached in consideration of compensation for home owners and local authorities for blight on value and development following the laying of the special development order.

Since 8 April NIREX has announced that where there is written evidence that house sales, which had been agreed prior to the sites' announcement on 25 February, have fallen through as a result of the announcement, it will purchase the properties at the price agreed between the vendor and purchaser before the sale was called off. This applies to houses within the immediate areas of the four sites. This is in addition to NIREX's previous announcement that it intends to provide compensation for householders within one mile of the boundary of any eventually selected site, should that be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he proposes meeting the local authority associations to discuss proposals to privatise the water authorities in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to do so at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received on his White Paper: "Privatisation of the Water Authorities in England and Wales."

My Department has received 237 letters from organisations and others interested following publication of the White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many responses he had received by 16 May to the White Paper: "Privatisation of the Water Authorities in England and Wales."

My Department had received by 16 May, 227 letters from organisations and others interested following publication of the White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the area of green belt land in (a) the London area and (b) the London borough of Ealing; and if he will make a statement.

There are some 1·2 million acres of green belt in London and the home counties, but I have no recent estimate of how much of that is within London itself. In the Ealing borough plan, which has just been adopted, there are 682 acres of green belt within the London borough of Ealing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to meet leaders of Liverpool city council to discuss Government financial support for its housing programme.

My right hon. Friend has offered to meet a small deputation of councillors during his visit to Merseyside on 23 May. In doing so he has made clear that they should expect no treatment beyond what would be available to other similar authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next proposes meeting representatives of voluntary organisations in Greater London and the metropolitan areas to discuss funding arrangements for 1986–87 and 1987–88.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors he will take into account when deciding on funding for local authority housing investment programmes for the coming financial year.

Decisions on the method of making housing investment programme allocations for 1987–88 will be taken later in the year, when the Government have fixed the total to be allocated and after consultation with the local authority associations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average rate poundage paid by businesses in (a) the north-east and (b) the south-east.

The average non-domestic rate poundage in 1986–87 is 287p in the north-east and 190p in the south-east.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had from the business community regarding the Government's proposals for reform of business rating contained in the Green Paper "Paying for Local Government"; and if he will make a statement.

We have received about 50 written representations, together with many more informal representations.It is too early do draw any conclusions from these.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement as to the latest information on damage to the environment arising from the most recent discharges of radioactivity.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the levels of radioactivity experienced in the United Kingdom following the Chernobyl accident are transient and have already considerably declined. However statistical models predict that small traces of radionuclides will be detectable for many years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that the results of radiological monitoring are accessible to and comprehensible by members of the public.

I am aware of the difficulty of presenting these technical issues in a simple way. However I believe that statements like that contained within the bulletin prepared by my Department on 9 May 1986 present the results of radiological monitoring in a way that is comprehensible and available to the public through news media.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on the latest levels of radiation following the Chernobyl disaster; and what trend is indicated by the relevant data.

I refer the hon. Member to the daily bulletins prepared by my Department which are in the Library of the House. Further statements will be issued if and when necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the calibre of atomic weapons, in TNT equivalent, that would be likely to produce the equivalent amount of radioactive material as that released by the accident at Chernobyl.

It is not possible to make this calculation until the Russian authorities supply information on the amount of material released from the core of the Chernobyl reactor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now make it his policy to make public information on all incidents involving the release of radioactive materials from where they are intended to be; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Crouch) on 15 May at column 554.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he was first informed that British scientists were talking to their Russian counterparts in Chernobyl.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Tuesday 20 May.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the size of the waiting list for accommodaion by local housing authorities in England and Wales at the latest available date; and what was the comparable figure for 1979.

I do not have this information. Local authorities only report the number of households on their waiting lists which are in certain categories of housing need, for example overcrowding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the outcome of his most recent assessment of enterprise zones.

My Department's most recent assessment was published in "Enterprise Zone Information 1983–84", a copy of which is in the Library. A further assessment is in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department has about the level of services and rate levels in Sefton in relation to the level of employment in the area over the past seven years.

Of the five Merseyside district councils, Sefton provides major services at the least cost per head, has consistently levied the lowest local rate poundage, and has the lowest level of unemployment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homeless households applied to local authorities in England in 1985; how many were accepted; how many were accommodated in bed-and-breakfast hotels at the end of December 1985; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the statistics published quarterly by my Department, copies of which are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now investigate the reason for the rise in the number of homeless families in 1985: and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 30 January. Further information is expected to emerge from various projects in the Department's current research programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to call a special meeting of the consultative council on local government finance to discuss the 1987–88 rate support grant settlement.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to hold a special meeting of the consultative council on local government finance. As usual there will be two further meetings of the consultative council this year. which among other things, will discuss the 1987–88 rate support grant settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends announcing provisional details of the 1987–88 rate support grant settlement before the end of July; and if he will make a statement.

I expect to announce the aggregates of provision and grant in July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to monitor emissions from coal-fired power stations.

Her Majesty's air pollution inspectorate requires power station emissions of smoke and fine particulates and, where practicable, grit and dust, to be monitored continuously.Emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to bring to the attention of local planning authorities his statement of 30 April, Official Report, column 414, of the circumstances in which planning permission might be granted for a change of use of redundant agricultural buildings in green belts; and if he will make a statement.

My Department issued a news release containing the text of the statement and copies were sent to the local authority associations and to other planning bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received in the last six months on the reform of the system of rates; and if he will make a statement.

Nearly 300 written representations on this subject have been received in response to the Government's Green Paper "Paying for Local Government", which was published on 28 January. The consultation period continues until 31 October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received about defective housing in Basildon; and if he will make a statement.

Since my hon. Friend's Adjournment debate on 9 April and my reply on 23 April to my hon. Friend's similar question at column 169. I have received a further letter from my hon. Friend on the question of Lindsay Parkinson HSSB houses at Vange, Basildon, and seen the remarks he made about these houses in the debate on the spring Adjournment on 12 May at column 524. My Department has also received a number of letters direct from owners of these houses. We are carefully considering possible ways of dealing with the problems facing these owners, and a decision will be taken as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning applications for superstore developments in the past two years have been determined on appeal; and how many such appeals have been upheld.

In the two years to 31 December 1985, 39 planning applications for superstore developments of 50,000 sq. ft. or more were determined on appeal by the Secretary of State. Of these, 18 were allowed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the latest representations received from West Lindsey district council on the disposal of nuclear waste.

My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment, Countryside and Local Government wrote to the chairman of the council on 14 May in response to the representations received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next plans to meet the chairmen of the Central Council for Physical Recreation and the Sports Council to discuss the future of those bodies in the light of the report of the Environment Committee.

My plans and proposals in the light of the Select Committee's report will be set out in my Department's formal response.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received over the past year about the future arrangements for the London marathon; and if he will make a statement.

I have had a number of contacts with the race director. I have received 17 letters and have answered two parliamentary questions on this subject. The Government will continue to give support and encouragement to the London Marathon, as it has this year and in previous years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the proportion of households which live in privately rented accommodation.

About 8½ per cent. of the Dwellings in England at December 1985 were rented from landlords other than local authorities, new towns and housing associations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Macclesfield borough council on the controls on the spending of local authority capital receipts; and if he will make a statement.

Macclesfield borough council's response to the proposals in the consultation paper on the review of the local authority capital expenditure control system, including the use of new and accumulated capital receipts, was sent to the Department on 10 April. My right hon. Friend is considering this, along with the other responses that have been sent to us, before deciding how best to proceed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what planning responsibility he has for the south bank of the Thames in central London.

My right hon. Friend has no special planning responsibilities for the south bank.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will define the very small quantities of alpha emitters and small amounts of trace elements mentioned in his reply of 3 May to the report of the Environment Committee on nuclear waste; and if he will specify what quantities of each can cause human harm.

The Government have stated their intention that only wastes which are broadly classed as low level wastes should go into a near surface facility. Detailed control over the type of waste disposed of would be exercised through the site authorisation issued under the RSA 60, together with the nuclear site licence issued by the NII.Any site authorisation would take careful account of the characteristics of the chosen site. It is therefore premature to define precisely what levels of alpha emitters and trace elements would be appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the health risk arising from nuclear waste in nuclear waste dumps; and on what basis these figures are calculated.

The risk assessment methodology used by the Department is described in research report DOE/RW/86.076, and in an article published in the journal of the British Nuclear Energy Society (London, 1984). A copy of this article has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will refund the rail fares of those delegates invited to London to give their arguments for the exclusion of Killingholme from the special development order on nuclear dumping.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the letter of 7 April 1985 from Mr. J. W. Saville of 61 Yarrow road, Grimsby, with regard to the proposed nuclear dump site at Killingholme; and if he has replied to this letter.

Mr. Saville's letter was received on 9 April. A reply was sent on 15 May.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment at what stage he will make available to local authorities the technical site selection criteria used in the choice of the four possible nuclear dumps.

NIREX has already sent copies of its brochure explaining its site selection procedures to all county councils in England and Wales and regional councils in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, at the time of the laying of the Town and County Planning (Nirex) Special Development Order (a) how many letters protesting at the proposals for nuclear dumping he had not answered, (b) how many requests from deputations for a meeting he had not answered and (c) how many of the four proposed sites he had visited.

I and my colleagues met Members and delegations from all the areas in which a site is located before the SDO was laid. In addition, I was able to visit three of the four sites concerned and I visited the remaining site on 15 May. I have yet to reply to a request from Britain Against Nuclear Dumping for a meeting.It has not been possible so far to reply to 600 of the letters received, but the points made have been considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals to extend the Rates Act 1984 to parish, town and community councils.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has had any correspondence with county associations of parish or town councils, or the National Association of Local Councils regarding the budgets of parish, town and community councils.

I have had no such correspondence about the budgets of parish, town or community councils.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many roller towel points are available in the Palace of Westminster for toilet facilities; how many are non-functional; and who is responsible for the maintenance of such facilities.

There are 209 towel cabinets in the Palace of Westminster of which 170 are in the House of Commons. The towel service is supplied under a PSA contract, renewed at three-yearly intervals, providing for maintenance of the cabinets and replacement of roller towels as necessary. Replacement of faulty towel cabinets is arranged by the authorities of both Houses direct with the contractor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he has any plans to bring forward proposals to change the basis of current expenditure controls on local authorities in England;(2) whether he intends to instigate a review of the present basis of current expenditure controls on local authorities in England; and if he will make a statement.

The Green Paper, "Paying for Local Government", reviews the present system of local government finance and makes proposals for reform. These aim to make local accountability the main determinant of expenditure and priorities in local services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new drinking water taps have been installed in the Norman Shaw South building since the contamination of tap water on 4 June 1985; and how many of these have not yet been connected to the drinking water supply.

Six new drinking water taps have been installed. All have now been connected to the drinking water supply. I regret that the work took longer than anticipated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications he has received for urban development grant in respect of the conversion of redundant churches in England.

One. This was for the conversion of the redundant church of St. Michael and All Angels, Tower Hamlets into flats. Urban development grant of £350,000 was approved in January 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of sites of special scientific interest in England and Wales have been re-notified in accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and when he expects completion of the re-notification programme.

I am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council that by 31 March 1986, 45 per cent. of SSSIs in England notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, and 71 per cent. in Wales, had been re-notified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.The re-notification of sites to owners and occupiers is expected to be substantially complete, in Wales by the end of this year, and in England and Scotland, (because of unforeseen technical and legal difficulties which have been overcome), shortly after.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many proposed sites of special scientific interest have been notified to him by the Nature Conservancy Council since the coming into force of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and what percentage of those have since been notified as sites of special scientific interest in accordance with the provisions of the Act.