Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Thursday 12 June 1986

Wales

School Leavers (Qualifications)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the percentage of school leavers in Wales obtaining one or more A-levels, five or more higher grade

	Percentage of school leavers with:
Academic Year	1 or more 'A' level pass	5 or more higher grade passes at 'O' level or CSE^*	No graded results at 'O' level or CSE†
1964–65	12·1	23·5	64·7
1965–66	13·8	24·7	63·3
1966–67	15·4	25·2	62·1
1967–68	15·6	25·1	60·8
1968–69	15·8	25·6	59·4
1969–70	15·3	26·0	51·3
1970–71	16·4	25·8	50·0
1971–72	15·3	26·2	49·0
1972–73‡	—	—	—
1973–74	14·5	24·5	31·6
1974–75	14·2	23·7	30·5
1975–76	15·2	24·7	26·5
1976–77	15·2	23·5	26·7
1977·78	14·2	23·2	27·6
1978–79	14·6	23·9	23·8
1979–80	14·9	23·8	25·1
1980–81	16·0	24·4	21·0
1981–82	16·0	25·7	18·9
1982–83	16·5	26·9	17·9
1983–84	16·1	25·6	17·7
1984–85║,	16·3	26·4	16·8
^* From 1974–75 O-level grade A-C, CSE grade 1. Prior to 1974–75 O-level examinations were graded pass or fail.
† From 1969–70 no graded results at O-level or CSE. Prior to 1969–70 data included lower grade CSE passes.
‡ The raising of the school leaving age affected the total number of school leavers which was unusually low in 1972–73. Percentages are therefore unrepresentative.
║ Provisional.

Sixth Form Colleges

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the local education authorities in Wales have established sixth-form colleges during the last five years and how many before that; and what proportion of the sixth-form students in each education authority receive their education in sixth form colleges.

There is one sixth-form college in Clwyd, established prior to 1981, whose students at January 1985 accounted for 17·5 per cent. of the county's total school population aged 16 and over.

Nuclear Waste (Capenhurst)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the effect on residents of the tipping at Mount Tip, Buckley, Clwyd of concrete rubble and steel waste from British Nuclear Fuels Limited, Capenhurst; and if he will make a statement.

O-level or Certificate of Secondary Education grade 1 passes, and no graded O-level or Certificate of Education results, in each year from 1965 to 1985.

The information is given in the following table:

Other than an inquiry from the hon. Gentleman I have received no such representations. The hon. Gentleman is aware that Her Majesty's Radiochemical Inspectorate is satisfied that the waste in question is not radioactive within the meaning of the Radioactive Substances Act 1960.

Nursery Education

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of children of pre-school age attend voluntarily non-local authority run nursery schools in each of the education authority areas in Wales; and what were the corresponding figures for each year since 1979.

Information is not available centrally on the number of children attending non-local authority run nursery schools. However, information on the number of places available at registered nurseries is provided in relevant volumes of "Activities of Social Service Departments", copies of which are in the Library. The latest available figures relate to 31 March 1985.

Orthopaedic Health Officers

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the numbers of

Senior House Officers and House Officers^ in Traumatic & Orthopaedic Surgery (whole-time equivalents)†*
	1977	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Clwyd	8	8	7	6	5	6	6	7
Dyfed	3	6	9	5	4	4	5	4
Pembrokeshire	3	6	9	5	2	3	2	2
Gwent	8	6	7	6	7	7	6	8
Gwynedd	1	1	1	—	1	1	1	1
Mid Glamorgan	11	14	14	15	17	17	17	18
Powys	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
South Glamorgan	(4)7	(4)7	(6)9	(4)7	(1)4	(5)8	(4)7	(5)8
West Glamorgan	(1)7	(1)7	(1)10	(1)6	8	7	9	8
WALES	45	49	57	45	48	53	53	56
^* Figures for House officers are given in brackets and included in totals.
† As at 30 September.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of children of pre-school age attend local education authority run nursery schools in each of the education authority areas in Wales; and what were the corresponding figures for each year since 1979.

Per cent.
	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Clwyd	3·0	3·5	3·5	3·6	3·4	4·3	4·2
Dyfed	3·0	3·0	3·4	3·5	3·6	3·1	3·2
Gwent	10·9	11·1	11·7	11·8	12·9	11·6	11·0
Gwynedd	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Mid Glamorgan	9·2	9·5	9·0	9·5	9·7	9·2	8·3
Powys	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
South Glamorgan	9·8	9·3	8·8	9·3	9·3	8·7	6·7
West Glamorgan	5·6	4·5	5·0	2·8	2·8	2·5	2·6

The figures exclude pupils under five years in primary schools; all provision in Gwynedd and Powys is made through primary schools.

Nhs (Cash Limits)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will announce an increase in his cash limits to take account of the pay settlements following the recommendations of the National Health Service review bodies.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class XVII, vote 8 (Hospital and Community Health Services, etc. Wales) will be increased by £2,941,000 from £654,746,000 to £657,687,000. This increase should enable services to continue to be delivered and developed as planned following the decision to implement from 1 July 1986 the recommendations of the pay review bodies in respect of doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and professionals allied to medicine, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 May. The increase will be charged to the reserve and therefore does not add to the public expenditure planning total.

orthopaedic house officers in Welsh hospitals and for all Welsh health authorities for 1976, 1979 and each successive year.

The available information is given in the following table. It is not possible to provide figures for individual hospitals. Figures for 1976 are not available.

The numbers of full-time and part-time pupils aged under five years in nursery schools, expressed as a percentage of the total three and four-year-old population in the years requested, are shown in the following table.

Trade And Industry

Leyland Bus

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of the privatisation of Leyland Bus.

On 11 June BL informed the parties which have expressed interest in acquiring Leyland Bus that it would invite offers from them for the entire business on the basis of a tender procedure. The parties concerned are the Laird Group, Aveling Barford and a Leyland Bus Management Consoritum, Tenders are to be delivered to BL's advisers, Hill Samuel and Co. Ltd., by 26 June 1986. The BL board will then consider them and will submit a recommendation as soon as possible to Her Majesty's Government as the majority shareholder.

Unimar

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the report of the investigation into the affairs of Unimar; and if he will make a statement.

The hon. Member refers to an interim report on the affairs of Minet Holdings plc and W. M. D. Underwriting Agencies Ltd. which will be published as soon as possible.

Regional Development Agencies

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will consider the establishment of regional development agencies in England with powers similar to those exercised by the Scottish Development Agency.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Jaguar Cars

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money from the sale of Jaguar went to BL after the payment of loans and the reductions in aid from the Government.

The proceeds from the sale of Jaguar in August 1984 were £292·9 million net of expenses arising from the flotation. All these proceeds accrued to BL. However, BL agreed with the Government during 1984 that £110 million equity funding, previously available to the company, if needed, from the Government, would be cancelled.

Bl (Corporate Plan)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, when the new corporate plan is discussed with BL, the fact that Land Rover, Freight Rover and British Leyland Vehicles were not sold, will result in any cutback by Her Majesty's Government in the provision of funds for capital expenditure.

I intend to discuss BL's corporate plan with the chairman, Mr. Day, in due course. I am not able to predict the outcome of those discussions.

Japanese Vehicles (Import Restrictions)

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 9 June, Official

Power	Statutory authority	Number of officials
To enter and inspect any place, building or aircraft (except premises being used as a dwelling place at the time of the proposed entry) in connection with accident investigation.	Section 9 of the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983 No. 551).	Twenty-eight Inspectors of Accidents.
To enter aircraft or any land, buildings or works at aerodromes in connection with aviation security.	Section 20 of the Aviation Security Act 1982.	Three Aviation Security Advisers.
To enter premises on which there is reason to believe a public service vehicle or goods vehicle is kept and to enter and inspect the vehicle.	Section 56(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1982 (as amended by Schedule 3 of the Transport Act 1978); and Section 8 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981.	A maximum of 679 officials of the Vehicle Inspectorate are or may be so authorised, as are 235 Traffic Examiners.

Report, column 42, what are the quantitative restrictions against the import of Japanese vehicles which exist in Spain and Portugal which the EEC allowed to continue; and for how long these will be allowed to continue.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

British Shipbuilders

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed by British Shipbuilders in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow and (b) Strathclyde for each year since 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 June 1986, c. 42]: The information is as follows:

Nos. employed at end	Greenock and port Glasgow	Strathclyde (inc. Greenock and Port Glasgow)
June 1979	8,601	20,021
June 1980	7,277	16,441
March 1981	6,867	15,927
March 1982	6,855	15,708
March 1983	6,824	16,075
March 1984	1,156	9,238
March 1985	1,011	8,888
March 1986	942	3,672

Note:

The Greenock and Port Glasgow figures include numbers of people employed at the Scott Lithgow yard until its sale in March 1984. Strathclyde figures include numbers of people employed at the Scott Lithgow yard up to March 1984, and at the Yarrow yard until its sale in June 1985.

Transport

Entry And Search Powers

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials for whom he has responsibility currently have the power to enter and search premises, subject to statutory conditions; and, in each case, if he will indicate the statutory authority under which power is exercised.

The information requested by my hon. Friend is set out in the following able:

Power	Statutory authority	Number of officials
To enter railway premises in connection with accident investigation or the statutory inspection of new or altered railway works.	Section 4 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1871.	Six Inspecting Officers of Railways; 15 Railway Employment Inspectors.^*
To inspect ships, their equipment and documents for marine safety purposes and to enter premises believed to contain provisions or water for United Kingdom-registered ships.	Section 76 of Merchant Shipping Act 1970.	Fifteen Marine Superintendents, 249 Marine Surveyors, three Inspectors of Ships' Provisions.
To board ships and enter premises for the purpose of investigating the cause of any accident or damage any ship has sustained or caused.	Section 27(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979.	Twenty-three Inspectors appointed under Section 728 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 to investigate casualties.†
To serve improvement and prohibition notices relating to the safety of ships.	Section 7(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1984.	Sixty Inspectors appointed to serve notices.‡
^* The Railway Inspectors also have powers of entry conferred by Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.
† The number of appointments varies depending on the number of casualties under active investigation.
‡ The number of appointments varies depending on the number of cases under investigation.

In addition, in exercise of the Department's functions as a highway authority, officials of the Department may be empowered, under the Highways Act 1980 or the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, to enter land for such purposes as surveying, maintaining or removing certain structures or works, or taking possession of land subject to compulsory purchase.

Severn Tunnel Junction (Closure)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to reply to the letter of 3 June from Gwent county council, Newport borough council and Monmouth district council expressing concern about British Rail's proposal to close Severn tunnel junction and other rail freight operations; and if he will agree to their request for a meeting.

My office has replied to the council's letter today. As the matters it raised are for BR management and I am in no position to intervene, I do not believe that a meeting would be useful.

Road And Rail Improvement Schemes

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to introduce a system of comparability in the evaluation of road and rail improvement schemes as recommended by the Leitch committee in 1976.

Cost benefit techniques are used for assessing railway investment projects where wider social benefits such as reduced congestion are important, or where rail and road schemes are direct alternatives. Where railway investment is designed to improve the financial performance of the Railways Board, financial appraisal is the right approach.

East London River Crossing

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the public inquiry in the East London river crossing to conclude.

The day-to-day programming of the inquiries is in the hands of the independent inspector. However, I am advised that the public inquiries will conclude towards the end of the year.

M25 (Thames Crossing)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the name of the successful bidder for the project to provide a new crossing of the River Thames at Dartford for M25 traffic; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I are carefully examining the bids submitted by promoters on 31 May. My right hon. Friend will announce the result as soon as possible; hopefully by the end of July.

Highway Maintenance

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all the advice and circulars issued by his Department to local authorities since 1979 concerning standards of highway maintenance and the cleaning of motorways and trunk roads; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Advice on standards for routine maintenance, including cleaning of motorways and trunk roads is contained in the Department's code of practice on routine maintenance. This was issued in 1985 and is available in the Library. Agent authorities had previously adopted their own standards. Additional advice on routine maintenance standards is as follows. I am arranging for these documents to be placed in the Library.

Departmental Standard TD 23/86—Maintenance of Road Lighting
Departmental Standard TD 24/86—Maintenance of Traffic Signals
Departmental Standard TD 25/86—Maintenance of Traffic Signs
Departmental Standard TD 26/86—Maintenance of Road Markings

A249 (Repair Works)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the implications of the proposed major repair works to the Kingsferry bridge on the A249 for traffic to the Isle of Sheppey and the port of Sheerness; and if he will institute an urgent study to consider emergency relief measures and long-term improvement of the existing facilities.

In consultation with British Rail, we are considering how the urgently needed repairs to the concrete deck of Kingsferry Bridge should most conveniently be undertaken. I recognise the importance of the A249 to the Isle of Sheppey and the port of Sheerness, and although delays to traffic will be unavoidable, every effort will be made to keep them to a minimum.

British Airways (Aero Engines)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions have taken place with British Airways about its proposed purchase of General Electric's 616 80 engine for Tridents and Boeings; what information he has as to the reasons for British Airways' preference for the General Electric engine; and when a decision will be reached on this question.

In considering what orders to place for Boeing 747–400s, British Airways has sought quotations from all the major aero engine manufacturers. This is their customary practice when evaluating a new aircraft type. Discussions are still continuing with the manufacturers, and it will be some time before British Airways will be in a position to submit an investment proposal for the approval of my right hon. Friend.

Traffic Commissioners

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if any payments will be made from sub-head G5 of the transport services and central administration vote in advance of approval by Parliament.

Pending parliamentary approval of this Vote, (VIII, 2), urgent expenditure on this new service, estimated at £12,900, will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.

M4 (Service Areas)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether Warren Copse, Berkshire, is included in the current search by consultants for a site for a motorway service area on the M4; if he will list the undertakings given by his Department to the hon. Member for Windsor and Maidenhead on this subject since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Warren Copse is not included in the current search by consultants. I apologise for not saying so in my letter of 15 May to my hon. Friend. A letter from the Department's south-east regional office of 14 May to the consultants specifically excluded Warren Copse from the area of the search. That is the correct information. I made a mistake.The exclusion is in line with undertakings given to my hon. Friend by successive Ministers in the Department of Transport. These assurances include a reply to a parliamentary question by my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Mr. Speed) on 22 January 1973, another answered by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Fowler) on 19 December 1979, and a letter from my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) dated 18 February 1982.

Employment

Careers Advisory Service

asked the Paymaster General if he will give the numbers employed in the careers advisory service and

Manpower Services Commission training division area	Relaled† LEA careers service(s)	Total careers service staff in post^*			Expenditure by local authorities on the careers service financed from central government grants, rates and balances
					1979–80		1984–85
		1 October 1979	1 October 1984	October 1985	Actual expenditure	Expenditure at 1986 prices	Actual expenditure	Expenditure at 1986 prices
					£000	£000	£000	£000
Cleveland	Cleveland	80·0	117·0	110·0	564	907	1,154	1,212
Durham County	Durham	71·0	85·0	88·0	444	714	995	1,045
Newcastle	North Tyneside	29·0	42·0	42·0	182	293	390	409
	Newcastle	60·0	69·0	72·0	364	585	696	731
	Northumberland	36·0	48·5	50·5	235	378	437	459
South Tyne	Gateshead	32·0	42·0	44·0	208	334	472	497
	South Tyne	29·0	36·0	35·0	167	268	337	354
	Sunderland	51·0	68·0	62·0	338	543	690	724
Bradford/Calderdale/Kirkless	Bradford	70·5	85·0	89·0	466	749	874	918
	Calderdale	15·0	21·5	24·5	107	172	232	244
	Kirkless	38·0	47·0	47·0	190	305	991	1,041
Humberside	Humberside	91·0	137·0	141·0	657	1,056	1,519	1,595
Leeds/North Yorkshire	Leeds	75·0	87·0	86·0	55·0	884	991	1,041
	North Yorkshire	64·0	80·0	80·8	417	670	821	862
Sheffield/Rotherham	Sheffield	80·0	104·0	108·0	553	889	1,217	1,278
	Rotherham	32·0	37·0	37·0	228	367	411	432
Wakefield/Barnsley/Doncaster	Barnsley	29·0	33·5	33·5	182	293	350	367
	Doncaster	49·0	44·0	49·0	333	535	497	522
	Wakefield	39·0	40·0	46·0	231	371	405	425
Cheshire	Cheshire	102·0	122·0	121·0	627	1,008	1,139	1,196
Cumbria	Cumbria	46·5	59·5	59·0	298	479	617	648
Greater Manchester	Salford	22·0	35·0	35·0	126	203	338	355
Central	Trafford	23·0	26·0	27·0	156	251	285	299
	Manchester	64·0	81·0	82·5	507	815	789	828
Greater Manchester	Stockport	25·0	28·5	28·0	142	228	224	235
East	Tameside	26·0	30·75	37·5	127	204	258	271
	Oldham	18·0	23·0	24·0	142	228	260	273
Greater Manchester	Bolton	25·0	32·0	33·0	119	191	274	288
North	Bury	20·0	27·5	25·5	115	185	256	269
	Rochdale	22·0	28·0	35·0	136	219	289	303
	Wigan	29·5	43·0	42·0	174	280	454	477
Merseyside Inner	Liverpool	78·0	105·0	96·0	519	834	1,031	1,082
	Sefton	39·0	50·0	45·0	241	387	461	484
Merseyside Outer	Knowsley	35·0	48·0	48·0	199	320	426	447
	St. Helens	24·0	31·0	29·0	148	238	281	295
	Wirral	36·0	49·0	45·0	177	285	509	534
Birmingham	Birmingham	152·0	150·0	155·0	1,077	1,732	2,019	2,112
	Solihull	21·5	35·0	34·0	146	235	423	444
Derby	Derbyshire	86·0	112·0	114·0	486	781	1,109	1,164
Dudley/Sandwell	Dudley	17·5	33·5	32·5	86	138	309	324
	Sandwell	38·0	54·0	54·0	219	352	702	737
Leicestershire	Leicestershire	81·5	105·0	105·5	472	759	1,029	1,080
	Northamptonshire	47·0	62·0	64·0	268	431	592	621
Lincoln	Lincolnshire	53·5	67·25	67·25	360	579	644	676
Nottingham	Nottinghamshire	108·5	141·0	139·5	663	1,018	1,403	1,473

the cost of the service in actual terms and at 1986 prices by Manpower Services Commission areas for 1979–80, 1984–85 and 1985–86, respectively.

Available information for 1979–80 and 1984–85 is set out in the table. There is no comparable information for 1985–86 as expenditure returns from local authorities are not yet available.

Manpower Services Commission training division area	Related†LEA careers service(s)	Total careers service staff in post^*			Expenditure by local authorities on the careers service financed from central government grants, rates and balances
					1979–80		1984–85
		1 October 1979	1 October 1984	1 October 1985	Actual expenditure £000	Expenditure at 1986 prices £000	Actual expenditure £000	Expenditure at 1986 prices £000
Staffordshire	Staffordshire	105·5	131·0	136·0	628	1,010	1,340	1,407
Telford/Shropshire/	Shropshire	45·0	59·0	58·5	291	468	628	659
Hereford and Worcester	Hereford and Worcester	72·5	82·0	82·8	419	674	901	946
Coventry	Coventry	57·0	89·5	88·5	436	701	968	1,016
	Warwickshire	52·0	72·5	74·0	352	566	784	823
Wolverhampton/Walsall	Walsall	32·0	49·0	49·0	206	331	463	486
	Wolverhampton	42·0	57·5	59·5	282	453	547	574
Avon	Avon	99·5	107·5	108·5	607	976	1,298	1,363
Devon and Cornwall	Dcvon	98·5	110·75	107·7	604	971	1,229	1,290
	Cornwall	40·0	46·5	44·5	270	434	483	507
Gloucester and Wilts	Gloucestershire	50·0	60·5	61·6	305	490	654	687
	Wiltshire	54·0	66·0	66·0	320	515	620	651
Taunton/Somerset/Dorset	Dorset	58·5	66·5	63·0	330	531	683	717
	Somerset	44·5	57·5	58·5	313	503	704	739
Chatham	Kent	145·75	169·0	165·0	1,063	1,709	1,463	1,536
Chelmsford	Essex	119·0	136·0	140·0	764	1,228	1,715	1,801
Fareham	Hampshire	154·5	207·5	208·5	997	1,603	2,124	2,230
	Isle of Wight	12·0	16·0	17·0	72	116	146	153
High Wycombe	Buckinghamshire	47·5	59·0	61·0	295	474	641	673
	Hertfordshire	104·5	116·5	117·0	651	1,047	901	946
Horsham	East Sussex	63·0	55·0	66·4	444	714	742	779
	West Sussex	39·0	48·0	47·5	256	412	535	562
	Surrey	96·5	111·5	105·5	761	1,224	1,321	1,387
Ipswich	Norfolk	48·5	59·5	60·5	316	508	679	713
	Suffolk	51·0	73·0	70·0	280	450	672	706
Luton	Bedfordshire	61·0	70·0	66·0	365	587	665	698
	Cambridgeshire	60·5	64·0	70·0	352	566	733	770
Reading	Berkshire	71·0	96·0	89·5	409	658	932	979
	Oxfordshire	49·0	56·5	54·6	312	502	579	608
London North East	Redbridge	24·0	24·75	26·8	204	328	299	314
	Barking and Dagenham	19·0	22·0	19·0	143	230	263	276
	Newham	31·0	39·0	35·0	214	344	421	442
	Waltham Forest	22·5	33·0	34·5	164	264	392	411
	Havering	33·5	34·0	39·0	241	387	409	429
London South East	Bexley	19·5	25·5	21·0	125	201	330	346
	Bromley	24·0	22·5	21·5	166	267	283	297
	Croydon	28·0	30·5	31·5	217	349	354	371
London South and West	Hillingdon	26·5	31·0	26·0	185	297	314	329
	Hounslow	22·0	26·5	24·0	174	280	328	344
	Ealing	32·0	42·0	39·0	233	375	470	493
	Kingston	10·0	15·0	15·0	75	121	155	163
	Merton	12·0	12·5	13·5	98	158	153	161
	Richmond	15·0	11·25	10·0	94	151	228	239
	Sutton	11·0	13·0	14·0	76	122	148	155
London North	Harrow	27·0	26·0	26·0	185	297	406	426
	Barnet	21·0	22·0	20·0	172	277	274	288
	Brent	34·0	43·0	44·5	264	424	670	703
	Enfield	19·0	24·0	27·0	141	227	310	325
	Haringey	32·0	38·0	32·5	303	487	547	574
	ILEA (Boroughs) Camden Westminster	366·5	508·5	518·0	3,170	5,097	6,725	7,062
London North East	Islington Tower Hamlets Hackney

Manpower Services Commission training division area	Related† LEA careers service(s)	Total careers service staff in post^*			Expenditure by local authorities on the careers service financed from central government grants, rates and balances
					1979–80		1984–85
		1 October 1979	1 October 1984	1 October 1985	Actual expenditure £000	Expenditure at 1986 prices £000	Actual expenditure £000	Expenditure at 1986 prices £000
London South East	Lambeth
	Southwark
	Lewisham
	Greenwich
London South and West	Hammersmith
	Kensington
	Wandsworth
	Chelsea
England		‡5,155	‡6,412	‡6,433	33,490	53,851	68,229	71,640
^* Staffing figures include those in posts directly funded by the Department of Employment under the Careers Service Strengthening Scheme.
† The areas covered by the local education authorities responsible for careers services are not precisely aligned in every case with the boundaries of the MSC's training division areas.
‡Rounded.

Wages (Arrears)

asked the Paymaster General if he will provide details of recovery of arrears by the Wages Inspectorate in the same form as his reply on 23 May,

Hat, Cap and Millinery Wages Council
	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
(a) Arrears assessed but not recovered	£15	—	—	—	—	£579	—
(b) (a) above as a percentage of arrears paid	0·4 per cent.	—	—	—	—	87·1 per cent.	—
(c) arrears which it was not considered practicable to pursue	^*£15	—	—	—	—	—	—
(d) (c) above as a percentage of arrears paid	0·4	—	—	—	—	—	—
(e) workers for whom arrears were assessed but not recovered	1	—	—	—	—	1	—
(f) (e) above as a percentage of workers paid arrears	2·4 per cent.	—	—	—	—	14·3 per cent.	—
(g) workers for whom it was considered not practicable to pursue arrears	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
(h) (g) above as a percentage of workers paid arrears	^*2·4 per cent.	—	—	—	—	—	—

Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages Council
	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
(a) Arrears assessed but not recovered	—	—	—	—	£3,000	—	£2,460
(b) (a) above as a percentage of arrears paid	—	—	—	—	†141·8 per cent.	—	†517·9 per cent.
(c) arrears which it was not considered practicable to pursue	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
(d) (c) above as a percentage of arrears paid	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
(e) workers for whom arrears were assessed but not recovered	—	—	—	—	3	—	3
(f) (e) above as a percentage of workers paid arrears	—	—	—	—	25 per cent.	—	75 per cent.
(g) workers for whom it was considered not practicable to pursue arrears	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
(h) (g) above as a percentage of workers paid arrears	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Official Report, column 358–60, separately for workers covered by the Hat, Cap and Millinery and the Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages Councils.

The information requested is given in the following table: ^* These figures include data relating to arrears waived. Information concerning arrears which it was considered not practicable to pursue is not separately identifiable for 1979, 1980 and 1981.† In each of these years, the amount assessed but not recovered exceeded the amount paid.

Community Programme

asked the Paymaster General if, pursuant to his answer given on 20 May, Official Report, Volume 98, columns 153–54, he will indicate how many of the 1,117 job placements made following restart interviews were on the community programme.

Of the 1,117 job placements, 900 were in community programme jobs.

Earnings

asked the Paymaster General what are the median earnings of white men; what are the median earnings of Asian men; and what are the median earnings of West Indian men.

	^1979*	^1980*	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Establishments covered by the Clothing Manufacturing Wages Council not displaying wages council notices	292	194	161	205	216	271	354
^*In the years 1979 and 1980 there were seven wages councils covering clothing manufacturing. Amalgamation took place in 1981.

Wages Councils (Inspections)

asked the Paymaster General if he will publish for each year from 1979 to 1984 the number of scheduled inspections of establishments covered by wages councils covered by the Clothing Manufacturing Wages Council and the councils it replaced and covered by the

	^1979*	^1980*	^1981*	1982	1983	1984
Clothing Manufacturing Wages Council
(a) Scheduled inspections which did not take place	—	—	—	186	218	441
(b) (a) as a percentage of scheduled inspections which did take place	—	—	—	28 per cent.	26 per cent.	37 per cent.
Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages Council
(a) Scheduled inspections which did not take place	—	—	—	16	47	77
(b) (a) as a percentage of scheduled inspections which did take place	—	—	—	46 per cent.	85 per cent.	96 per cent.
^* Information relating to scheduled inspections which did not take place was not collected prior to 1982.

Scotland

Tree Diseases

168.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about his Department's intitiatives in controlling the spread of tree diseases; which types of disease are currently prevalent; and to what extent.

The Forestry Commission maintains controls against the import of exotic tree pests and diseases by means of the Import and Export of Trees, Wood and Bark (Health) (Great Britain) Order 1980, the

The Department's annual survey of the distribution of earnings, from which median earnings can be obtained, does not distinguish employees according to ethnic origin.

Wages Orders

asked the Paymaster General if he will provide information for establishments covered by the Clothing Manufacturing Wages Council about the number of establishments where employers were found by the Wages Inspectorate not to have displayed copies of wages orders equivalent to that provided on 23 May, Official Report, column 359–60.

The information requested is given in the following table.Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages Council which did not take place; and, in each case, if he will express the number of scheduled inspections which did not take place as a percentage of the scheduled inspections which did take place.

The information requested is given in the following table.Tree Pests (Great Britain) Order 1980 and domestic legislative measures. The most important tree diseases prevalent in the country are — Dutch elm disease, Watermark disease of willow, and the Great Spruce Bark Beetle, which affects spruce trees.

Students (Sce)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of students obtaining three or more passes at Scottish certificate of education higher grade in each year since 1979 have obtained places at universities.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. Such information is normally presented as a qualified participation index (QPI), showing the number of Scottish entrants to universities in the United Kingdom aged under 21 in any particular year expressed as a percentage of those leaving school or further education in the preceding year with three or more SCE higher grade passes. The available data are as follows:

	QPI
1979–80	48·4
1980–81	48·7
1981–82	45·6
1982–83	41·0
1983–84	38·3
1984–85	38·4

Beds: Patients
Health board	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	^1985*
Argyll and Clyde	0·8:1	0·7:1	0·7:1	0·9:1	0·6:1	0·6:1	0·6:1
Ayrshire and Arran	0·6:1	0·6:1	0·7:1	0·6:1	0·6:1	0·6:1	0·6:1
Borders	1·8:1	1·4:1	2·3:1	2·4:1	2·3:1	3·7:1	2·8:1
Dumfries and Galloway	0·7:1	0·8:1	0·8:1	0·5:1	0·5:1	0·6:1	0·6:1
Fife	0·6:1	0·7:1	0·7:1	0·4:1	0·5:1	0·5:1	0·5:1
Forth Valley	0·8:1	0·9:1	1·0:1	0·9:1	1·0:1	1·2:1	1·3:1
Grampian	0·7:1	0·8:1	0·8:1	0·5:1	0·5:1	0·6:1	0·16:1
Greater Glasgow	0·9:1	0·9:1	0·9:1	0·7:1	0·7:1	0·7:1	0·8:1
Highland	2·1:1	1·8:1	2·0:1	1·4:1	1·2:1	1·3:1	0·9:1
Lanarkshire	1·0:1	1·1:1	1·1:1	0·6:1	0·7:1	0·7:1	0·8:1
Lothian	0·6:1	0·8:1	0·9:1	0·5:1	0·6:1	0·6:1	0·6:1
Orkney	3·1:1	2·6:1	2·8:1	3·1:1	2·3:1	2·4:1	2·3:1
Shetland	0·6:1	0·8:1	0·8:1	0·9:1	1·3:1	1·2:1	0·9:1
Tayside	1·1:1	1·0.1	1·0:1	1·0:1	0·7:1	0·7:1	0·8:1
Western Isles	1·3:1	1·1:1	0·6:1	1·3:1	2·0:1	2·8:1	2·7:1
Scotland	0·8:1	0·9:1	0·9:1	0·7:1	0·6:1	0·7:1	0·7:1
^* Provisional.

Nhs (Waiting Lists)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of patients in Scotland who were on National Health Service waiting lists for (a) urgent treatment and (b) non-urgent treatment for each year since 1979.

Information distinguishing urgent and non-urgent cases is not held centrally. The numbers on waiting lists in Scotland at 30 September in the years in question were as follows:

Year	Numbers
1979	70,970
1980	67,180
1981	65,024
1982	86,179
1983	88,213
1984	82,937
1985	^*78,303
^* Provisional.

The increase in waiting lists caused by industrial action in 1982 is now being steadily reduced. Lists tend to overstate numbers of patients waiting for treatment since they include duplicated entries and patients who no longer need treatment. Lists exclude altogether the significant numbers of patients who are admitted directly into hospitals without being at any stage included in waiting lists.

Over the same period, the corresponding QPI for the non-university sector has increased from 41·6 to 47·1.

Nhs Beds

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each year since 1979 and for each health board the ratio of National Health Service beds to patients on waiting lists.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average waiting time for National Health Service patients in Scotland requiring (a) urgent treatment and (b) non-urgent treatment in each year since 1979.

Information distinguishing urgent and non-urgent cases is not held centrally. The mean waiting times (in days) for all in-patient treatment in Scotland in the years in question were as follows:

Year	Days
1979	79
1980	75
1981	73
1982	67
1983	98
1984	85

The increase in 1983 reflects the effect of industrial action of 1982. The 1985 statistics are not yet available.

School Rolls

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pupils were on Scottish state (a) primary and (b) secondary school rolls in each year since 1979; what was the size of the total teaching staff in each of these years; and what was the staff pupil ratio.

The information is set out in the table:

Scottish Education Authority Schools
	Primary			Secondary
	Pupils	Teachers^*	Pupils per Teacher	Pupils	Teachers	Pupils per Teacher
1979	545,161	26,870	20·3	410,242	28,510	14·4
1980	518,492	25,530	20·3	407,844	28,410	14·4
1981	492,645	24,300	20·3	404,575	28,070	14·4
1982	467,971	22,980	20·4	399,075	27,920	14·3
1983	448,009	22,070	20·3	390,368	27,890	14·0
1984	437,538	21,450	20·4	376,071	27,440	13·7
1985†	435,454	21,360	20·4	360,645	26,680	13·5
^* In full-time equivalent terms, rounded to the nearest 10.
† Provisional.

Data Protection

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many registrations his Department has made under the Data Protection Act; how many people are involved with implementing the legislation in his Department as a significant part of their job description; and how much he estimates it will cost to conform with the eight data protection principles.

My Department has submitted 64 applications for registration. One member of staff is involved with implementing the Act on a full-time basis: no others have this task as a significant part of their job descriptions. In general the eight data protection principles reflect existing practice in the handling of personal data by my Department; and the only additional costs will arise from compliance with the seventh principle which provides for subject access. These costs will depend on the number of requests received for such access and cannot be accurately forecast. A proportion of the costs will, however, be recovered by way of fees.

Greater Glasgow Health Board

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he will take to improve the management of the Greater Glasgow health board, in the light of conditions at Lennox Castle hospital.

The Government have required all health boards to appoint board general managers, who are now in post, and are currently consulting on plans to develop general management at unit level. Mental health care will continue to be a priority area for the boards when planning further development of their management arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money per head has been allocated to the Greater Glasgow health board; and what is the comparable figure for all other health authorities in Scotland.

The amount per head allocated to each health board in Scotland in 1986–87 is as follows:

Health Board	£
Argyll and Clyde	239
Ayrshire and Arran	207
Borders	220
Dumfries and Galloway	260
Fife	212
Forth Valley	255
Grampian	266

Health Board	£
Greater Glasgow	397
Highland	278
Lanarkshire	214
Lothian	319
Orkney	214
Shetland	212
Tayside	349
Western Isles	244

The available funds are distributed to boards according to the Scottish health authorities revenue equalisation formula, which takes account of the differences between areas in such matters as age structure of the population, birth rate and morbidity. In addition, the formula recognises the greater responsibilities of certain boards for the treatment of patients from other areas, medical and dental education and specialist treatment. It is therefore not possible to draw reliable conclusions from comparisons of per capita expenditure by health boards based on resident population figures which make no allowance for these factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the performance of the Greater Glasgow health board.

The Greater Glasgow health board faces difficult decisions in adjusting its services and priorities in the light of changing population and patterns of care, so as to make the best use of resources and develop services for long-stay patients. My right hon. and learned Friend and I are sure that the recent appointment of a general manager will bring improvements.

Lennox Castle Hospital

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to ensure proper laundry provision and personal clothing for patients at Lennox Castle hospital.

The Greater Glasgow health hoard is considering improvements to the laundry as part of an area review of laundry services and intends to extend the limited personalised clothing service at present available to cover the whole hospital as soon as possible.

Mental Welfare Commission

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the performance of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.

Yes.

Royal Scottish National Hospital

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of sudden death have occurred at the Royal Scottish national hospital at Larbert since 1976; and if he will give details of the circumstances.

I have no information as to which deaths in this period at the hospital might be regarded as "sudden". It is however standard practice at the hospital for sudden or unexpected deaths to be reported to the Mental Welfare Commission and the procurator fiscal. I have therefore asked the health board how many reports were made to the procurator fiscal and shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

Housing (Member's Correspondence)

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill dated 13 May concerning houses in multiple occupation and conservation efforts in the Queen's crescent area of Glasgow.

I replied to the hon. Member on 11 June 1986.

Salmon

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what specific improvements in the conservation of salmon in Scottish rivers he anticipates will accrue from the legislation which he is currently promoting; and if he will make a statement.

The Bill contains a number of new measures to deal with illegal fishing which should result in a larger proportion of the runs of fish returning to their native rivers. In addition, there are provisions which can be used to reduce fishing effort where that is considered necessary in the interests of conservation.

Energy

Nuclear Industry

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a list showing, for each of the last five years, the approximate expenditure by each licensee on improving safety features of Magnox nuclear power stations, identifying the licensee and the number of reactors operated; and if he will estimate what additional expenditure is likely to be made by each licensee as a result of the 20-year safety reviews.

I will ask the chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board, the South of Scotland Electricity Board and British Nuclear Fuels plc to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many staff are employed by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd in (a) uranium receipt and handling, (b) fuel fabrications at Springfield, (c) uranium enrichment at Capenhurst, (d)spent fuel receipt and storage, (e) decanning and solvent mixing and settling, (f) chemical reprocessing, (g) plutonium finishing and storage, (h) radioactive waste management, (i) SHEP operation at Sellafield, (j) operation of Magnox reactors at Calder Hall and Chapel Cross and (k) Risley administrative centre.

I have asked the chairman of British Nuclear Fuels plc to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many staff are employed in nuclear and non-nuclear work, respectively at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority establishment, at Harwell, Winfrith Heath. Sellafield, Dounreay and London.

I have asked the chairman of the Atomic Energy Authority to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many staff are employed by the Central Electricity Generating Board and the South of Scotland Electricity Board, respectively, on nuclear specific work.

I have asked the chairmen of the boards to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the re-employment options and difficulties in transferring staff working on nuclear research and development in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Central Electricity Generating Board and South of Scotland Electricity Board and staff working in Magnox spent fuel reprocessing into the area of nuclear waste management.

None. The deployment of staff is a matter for the organisations concerned. The Government see a continuing need for work on all aspects of nuclear power, including radioactive waste management.

British Gas

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list in the Official Report the representations received, respectively, for and against privatisation of British Gas from organisations and local authorities indicating the size of the organisations represented.

I have received over 260 representations on behalf of organisations and local authorities concerning the privatisation of British Gas. Around 200 of these have been from organisations such as the national and regional gas consumers' councils and citizens advice bureaux, which have adopted a constructive approach to our proposals. Fewer than 70 representations have been received expressing opposition to the privatisation. In the main these have been from Labour-controlled local authorities.

Nuclear Reactors (Insurance Cover)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will seek information from the Central Electricity Generating Board concerning the upper limit of insurance cover for damage to third parties arising from an accident to a nuclear reactor; and if he will make a statement.

In accordance with section 16(1) of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (the 1965 Act), as amended, the liability of the Central Electricity Generating Board to pay compensation in respect of nuclear damage resulting from an occurrence at a nuclear power station is limited to £20 million. Section 19(1) of the 1965 Act requires the board to make provision by insurance or by some other means for sufficient funds to be available at all times to ensure that any duly established claims are satisfied.

Further, sections 18(1) and 18(1A) of the 1965 Act require that there shall be made available out of moneys provided by Parliament such sums to meet compensation claims as, when taken together with the sums mentioned above and approprate contributions from other states party to the 1963 Brussels convention supplementary to the 1960 Paris convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, aggregate to 300 million SDR (about £230 million). In addition, section 16(3) of the 1965 Act provides that to the extent that claims cannot be satisfied out of sums made available for the purpose of section 18, they shall be satisfied to such extent and out of funds provided by such means as Parliament may determine.

Housebuilding (Energy Efficiency)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what action his Department is taking to promote energy efficiency in the design and construction of houses.

The energy efficiency office of my Department promotes energy efficiency in the design and construction of houses through the energy efficiency demonstration scheme, through support for the preparation of relevant codes of practice and advisory publications and by maintaining close liaison with the Department of the Environment in its current review of the building regulations.

Small Businesses

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list those measures introduced by his Department within the past year and intended to be of benefit to small businesses.

My Department is committed to the initiatives outlined in the recent White Paper "BUILDING BUSINESSES … NOT BARRIERS" (Cmnd. 9794), which will be a major contribution to the Government's support for small business. I have several ongoing activities which are of benefit to small as well as large business—for example:

The Offshore Supplies Office is developing business opportunities for British companies engaged in the oil and gas industry.
Grants are made available under the energy survey scheme and many small firms have taken advantage of them. In addition, specific advice is provided for small business on the efficient use of energy.
My Department funds the coal firing scheme.
General advice and help to United Kingdom businesses, often small, in relation to EEC grants for energy R and D demonstration projects.

During the last year we have

issued an improved brochure describing the activities of the Offshore Supplies Office and providing contacts relevant to the offshore industry;
held a series of seminars on export opportunities for the offshore industry;
publicised and distributed details of the latest invitation for EEC funding for Community technology development projects in the hydrocarbons sector, which, for the first time, is giving preference to small and medium sized companies;
circulated for consultation draft electricity supply regulations which consolidate and simplify existing statutory requirements;
extended the coal firing scheme to 30 June 1987, removed the ceiling on the funds available, and issued an introductory leaflet about the scheme.

Energy Conservation

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will quantify, in millions of pounds, the savings to the United Kingdom's energy bill after 10 years if all new houses were built to the insulation standards currently applied to Danish housing.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 20 March 1986, at columns 256–57. The variation in patterns of household energy use preclude a more precise estimate.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the saving in the United Kingdom's energy bill from improving all existing buildings to the thermal insulation levels laid down in the building regulations and building new buildings to the same standard.

The proportional saving likely to be realised in the United Kingdom's energy bill from improving all existing houses to the thermal insulation levels laid down in the building regulations is estimated to be 5 per cent. The saving arising from other buildings is more difficult to estimate but would be in the region of an additional 2 per cent.

Sellafield

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will place in the Library copies of the agreement reached between Her Majesty's Government and the Commission of the European Community on the safeguarding of the dual-purpose military-civil nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield in accordance with the Euratom treaty.

No. It is not the custom within Euratom to publish details of the inspection arrangements for any nuclear facility in the Community. The agreement on the safeguards inspection regime at Sellafield was recorded in a series of informal working documents; the main elements were set out in the answer given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean) on 4 June at columns 594–95.

Nuclear Waste

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has as to the costs incurred by the electricity industry in regard to the handling and management of nuclear waste material in each of the last 10 years.

Provision is made each year in the CEGB's annual accounts for the cost of all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including the estimated cost of waste management.

Home Department

Small Businesses

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those measures introduced by his Department within the past year and intended to be of benefit to small businesses.

The following measures, referred to in the White Paper, "Building Businesses …Not Barriers" (Cmnd. 9794), have been introduced within the past year:

—betting shops allowed to provide TV coverage of sporting events and light refreshments;
—bingo clubs allowed to provide a national bingo game with prizes of up to £50,000 (measure introduced by a private Member and supported by the Government);
—pest control companies exempted from requirement to hold a Home Office authorisation where the company has a licence from the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;
—casinos permitted to redeem customer's cheques (measure introduced by a private Member and supported by the Government).

These measures are not aimed solely at small businesses, but small enterprises as well as large will benefit from them.

Armley Gaol

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers have sustained injury as a result of violence by inmates of Armley gaol in the years 1979 to the present time; and how many days were lost as a result in each year.

The information recorded centrally is as follows:^*

Year	Number of assaults on Prison Officers in Armley gaol	Total days lost in each year from assaults
1980	10	119
1981	17	100
1982	27	142
1983	18	61
1984	46	188
1985	16	260
1986	Not available	47
^* Figures for 1979 are not available.

Immigration

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether, when a right hon. or hon. Member has notified his staff of interest in an immigration case or is in the course of making inquiries of the immigration officer concerned with that case as to the grounds upon which entry has been refused, he will make it his practice not to entertain any application from any other right hon. or hon. Member on the same case at that stage;(2) if he will make a statement on the operation of the current guidelines on the handling of representations from right hon. and hon. Members in immigration cases;

(3) what steps he expects right hon. and hon. Members to take to satisfy themselves as to the prima facie existence of new and compelling evidence before making representations to him in immigration cases.

The guidelines on the revised arrangements for handling representations by Members of Parliament in immigration cases which were introduced on 1 May reflect the convention that right hon. and hon. Members do not take up cases involving other Members' constituents. The guidelines also recognise that a Member may deal with another Member's constituency business on his behalf if he is absent or ill and that a Member may have a known specialist interest in the problems of particular national groups. In either circumstances it is assumed that the Member making the representations will have consulted the constituency Member.In any other case where substantive representations from a Member are awaited or are under consideration and another Member notifies an interest the latter is told that representations have already been made. A copy of the substantive reply is sent to the second Member if he says he wishes to maintain an interest in the case. Where initial representations have been considered, and rejected, further representations will be considered only if they contain new and relevant facts. They should be new in the sense that they had not already been taken into account and compelling in that they should be sufficiently material to point to reconsideration of the decision in question. How right hon. and hon. Members apply these criteria when considering whether to press for the reconsideration of a case is a matter for their judgment.The new guidelines which have been in operation for little over a month appear to be working satisfactorily, but it is too early to form a final judgment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, during the period 1 January to 31 May, in how many cases in which right hon. and hon. Members requested his office to defer removal of a passenger refused entry by an immigration officer he overruled that decision.

Forty-one up to 9 June out of a total of some 2,500 such cases, a large number of which have yet to be resolved.

Visitors

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his latest estimate of the numbers of visitors to the United Kingdom who do not return to their country of origin; and if he will make a statement.

No such estimate is available for the reasons set out in my reply to a question from the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 3 June at column 515.

Suicides (Leeds)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides there have been in the last year, and each year from 1979 to 1985, within the area of jurisdiction of the Leeds coroner.

The information available for the coroner's district covering the metropolitan districts of Leeds and Wakefield is given in the table. Corresponding information for 1979 and 1980 is no longer available centrally.

Verdicts of suicide returned al coroners inquests in the Eastern District of West Yorkshire
	Number
1981	106
1982	75
1983	69
1984	59
1985	63

Breeding Of Dogs Act 1973

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider seeking to amend the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973 (a) to require the inspection of proposed breeding premises, by a qualified veterinary surgeon approved by the local authority, prior to the issuing of breeding licences and (b) to provide that the standards laid down under section 1(4) of the Act are mandatory.

We have no plans to amend the Act which already makes it clear that it is mandatory for a local authority to secure that all the requirements set out in section 1(4) are achieved. It is for the local authority to decide how to fulfil this duty. If in any particular case my hon. Friend has evidence that any of the requirements are not fulfilled, he should get in touch with the relevant local authority so that it can investigate the matter thoroughly.

"Bury The Debt—Not The Dead"

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he or his Department was consulted by the BBC over its refusal to broadcast Mr. David Bailey's film "Bury the Debt—not the Dead"; and if he will make a statement.

Neither my right hon. Friend nor the Department was consulted. Programme decisions are entirely a matter for the BBC.

Community Radio

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he will employ when granting franchises to community radio stations in Wales so as to ensure that the linguistic balance which will be offered by these stations is satisfactory.

The central criterion for the community radio experiment is that the new stations should enhance existing broadcasting arrangements and broaden the diversity of consumer choice by offering the community in question a service which is distinct in character. In deciding on the allocation of experimental licences in Wales as elsewhere we shall apply this criterion, taking into account the extent to which the service proposed reflects the characteristics and needs of the area concerned.

Committal Proceedings

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the shortest, the average and the maximum length of time between the commencement and the termination of committal proceedings, in prosecutions for murder in England and Wales, over the last five years.

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Firearm And Shotgun Certificates

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearm and shotgun certificates were on issue in 1984 and 1985 in (a) England and Wales and (b) the Metropolitan police district.

The information as at 31 December was as follows:

Year	England and Wales		Metropolitan Police District
	Firearm certificates	Shotgun certificates	Firearm certificates	Shotgun certificates
1984	160,307	798,352	8,878	30,293
1985	161,318	820,978	8,957	37,147

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that records of shotgun certificates held in the Metropolitan police office were transferred to a computer during 1985 and this has provided more readily accessible and accurate data than were available under the old manual system. It is therefore likely that a significant proportion of the 1985 increase (6,854) is attributable to previous under-recording.

Education And Science

Advanced Further Education

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list, for each local education' authority in England, the 1986–87 total target student numbers for probable advanced further education and the provision within that total for arts and design targets, respectively, as compared with the estimated population in each such local education authority in 1986–87, or the most recent year available.

The information requested, so far as it is available, is as follows:

	Estimated population (Mid-1986)(Thousands)	Target student numbers^ 1986–87*
		(Full-time equivalent)
		Total†	Art, design,‡ music and drama
Outer London Boroughs
Barking	148	5,602	206
Barnet	297	6,961	1,280
Bexley	217	370	168
Brent	254	563	0
Bromley	299	897	316
Croydon	321	1,236	166
Ealing	286	3,017	28
Enfield	264	130	0
Haringey	205	360	0
Harrow	200	970	374
Havering	237	231	0
Hillingdon	235	0	0
Hounslow	201	1,960	118
Kingston-upon-Thames	132	5,705	521
Merton	167	350	246
Newham	212	469	48
Redbridge	226	0	0
Richmond-upon-Thames	160	1,431	183
Sutton	171	0	0
Waltham Forest	213	136	0
Inner London	2,279	34,755	3,205

	Estimated population (Mid-1986) (Thousands)	Target student numbers^ 1986–87*
		(Full-time equivalent)
		Total†	Art, design,‡ music and drama
Metropolitan districts
Barnsley	225	174	0
Birmingham	1,004	8,020	877
Bolton	262	2,034	48
Bradford	465	1,654	130
Bury	174	9	0
Calderdale	191	30	0
Coventry	311	6,434	388
Doncaster	290	974	48
Dudley	301	371	179
Gateshead	205	140	24
Kirklees	378	5,144	521
Knowsley	166	0	0
Leeds	708	8,186	651
Liverpool	490	10,093	645
Manchester	450	12,967	1,608
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	274	7,862	980
North Tyneside	191	16	0
Oldham	220	270	0
Rochdale	206	17	0
Rotherham	254	154	0
St. Helens	187	257	0
Salford	240	1,635	174
Sandwell	303	907	0
Sefton	293	26	0
Sheffield	534	9,322	503
Solihull	197	45	0
South Tyneside	155	647	0
Stockport	286	1,031	92
Sunderland	300	4,372	297
Tameside	214	55	0
Trafford	215	139	0
Wakefield	311	1,114	303
Walsall	263	717	0
Wigan	307	572	24
Wirral	335	344	0
Wolverhampton	253	5,583	379
County Councils
Avon	939	8,459	799
Bedfordshire	520	2,193	74
Berkshire	724	3,494	214
Buckinghamshire	604	1,414	208
Cambridgeshire	614	2,703	169
Cheshire	938	4,018	361
Cleveland	561	4,047	264
Cornwall	441	801	333
Cumbria	481	991	96
Derbyshire	913	2,816	210
Devon	982	7,951	683
Dorset	618	2,713	179
Durham	601	1,041	0
East Sussex	675	6,028	699
Essex	1,508	3,744	268
Gloucestershire	508	2,966	233
Hampshire	1,528	12,935	562
Hereford and Worcester	649	1,749	87
Hertfordshire	983	6,110	158
Humberside	851	3,516	313
Isle of Wight	120	46	0
Kent	1,491	3,291	830
Lancashire	1,377	8,917	527
Leicestershire	871	7,364	1,314
Lincolnshire	566	825	68
Norfolk	717	1,380	276
North Yorkshire	688	2,590	317
Northamptonshire	549	1,896	91
Northumberland	301	81	0

	Estimated population (Mid-1986) (Thousands)	Target student numbers^ 1986–87*
		(Full-time equivalent)
		Total†	Art, design,‡ music and drama
Nottinghamshire	993	8,381	630
Oxfordshire	558	5,312	77
Shropshire	388	150	0
Somerset	442	449	96
Staffordshire	1,022	5,530	667
Suffolk	623	869	96
Surrey	1,009	1,988	674
Warwickshire	481	135	0
West Sussex	687	1,975	228
Wiltshire	546	750	96
^* As accepted by the Secretary of State, following advice from the National Advisory Body for public sector higher education. Numbers shown against each LEA include targets in respect of voluntary colleges situated in the relevant authority as well as colleges maintained or assisted by the LEA itself. Voluntary colleges are grant-aided by the Department.
† Excluding students on poolable short courses of in-service training for teachers.
‡ Targets for art and design were not separately identified in 1986–87. For the purposes of planning, art and design were subsumed within an academic programme which also included music and drama.

Careers Service

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many secondary or upper schools have no specialist careers teachers.

A sample survey of maintained secondary schools in England carried out by the Department in 1984 indicated that there were some 3,000 schools (excluding middle deemed secondary schools) with no full-time or part-time teacher whose higher education qualifications included careers education as a main or subsidiary subject. There were some 800 schools where careers lessons were not part of the timetable.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many specialist career teachers are employed in England and Wales by each local education authority in 1985–86; and what are the comparable figures for 1979–80.

Information for individual LEAs is not available centrally. A sample survey in 1984 indicated that in maintained secondary schools in England, there were some 800 full-time teachers for whom careers lessons formed the largest teaching subject. There were nearly 1,000 full-time teachers who had a higher education qualification in which careers education had been a main or subsidiary subject, compared with about 500 (in England and Wales) recorded by a similar sample survey in 1977.

Liverpool (Ministerial Visit)

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Liverpool.

My last visit to Liverpool was a private one and was not made in my capacity as Secretary of State for Education and Science.

Anti-Drug Abuse Video

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if any financial assistance was given by his Department towards the production of the Grange Hill anti-drug abuse video, "Just Say No", and if he will make a statement.

No, but we have provided financial assistance on a small scale for another BBC project to produce and disseminate a directory of services concerned with drug misuse.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department advised Mr. Eric Rowan, producer of the Grange Hill anti-drug abuse video, "Just Say No", during the production of the video; and if he will make a statement.

My Department did not advise the producers on this. None the less, it is a useful piece of work and I am pleased at the success it is having.

Special Educational Needs

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children were assessed for special educational needs in each of the last five years in the United Kingdom and in Essex.

Information is not collected centrally on the number of children assessed for special educational needs. Before April 1983, local education authorities submitted annual returns of children ascertained under the Education Act 1944 as in need of special educational treatment. The 1981 Act, which came into effect in April 1983, replaced the ascertainment of children with procedures for making statements of their special educational needs. Transitional arrangements were made for the first year under the new Act and the authorities' returns for 1983 included both children ascertained under the 1944 Act and children with statements under the 1981 Act. The returns for 1984 onwards relate solely to children with statements.Figures for 1981 to 1985 for England and Essex are as follows. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are responsible for special educator in their respective countries.

	England	Essex
1981	21,339	542
1982	21,521	609
1983	16,964	1,257
1984	28,227	733
1985	22,038	930

Note: The figure for the number of statements made in 1985 is an estimate, based on incomplete returns.

Part-Time Students

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give guidelines to the University Grants Committee on the conversion factor used for funding places for part-time students, with a view to encouraging the growth in the number of such students.

No. It is for the committee itself, in formulating its advice to my right hon. Friend, to consider the relativities between full-time and part-time students.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the provision of part-time university education.

There has been a small but steady increase in recent years in the number of part-time students at universities. We welcome that trend and hope that it continues.

Animal Harvesting

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what work is currently underway at the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering in connection with animal harvesting.

I understand that the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering is currently working on the mechanisation of poultry collecting and transport, automatic weighing of pigs and poultry, dairy parlour monitoring and control, and milking machinery.

School Leaving Dates

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the official school leaving dates.

The Education (School Leaving Dates) Act 1976 provides that in England and Wales pupils born between the inclusive dates of 1 September and 31 January may leave school at the end of the spring term following their 16th birthday and that those born between 1 February and 31 August may leave on the Friday before the last Monday in May in the year in which they reach their 16th birthday. Prior to their relevant leaving date, pupils are of compulsory school age.

Sixth Form Colleges

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many local education authorities in England have established sixth form colleges during the last five years; how many had been established before then; and what proportion of sixth form students in each of the local education authorities received their education at such colleges.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Nursery Schools

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of children of preschool age attend (a) local authority and (b) voluntary/ non-local authority nursery schools in each of the local education authority areas of England; and what were the corresponding figures for each year since 1979.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

Corporal Punishment

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the extent to which corporal punishment in schools is permitted in other countries; and if he will present such information as he has, by country, in tabular form.

Complete information is not available. I understand that the use of corporal punishment is allowed in schools in a number of Commonwealth countries and in many parts of the United States, and that, in general, it is not used in schools in Western or Eastern Europe or the USSR, China and Japan.

Cash Limits

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he proposes any changes to his cash limits for 1986–87.

Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary and Revised Estimates, the 1986–87 cash limit for class XII, vote 8, will be increased by £2 million from £313,529,000 to £315,529,000 and that for class XII, vote 3, will be reduced by £2 million from £1,564,274,000 to £1,562,274,000. There will therefore be no increase to the planned total of public expenditure. This transfer has been agreed in order to facilitate the purchase of advanced computers for research programmes in the higher and further education

Expenditure per pupil at 1983 values^*
	Year	1st level†	2nd level‡	1st and 2nd level
France	1980	730	1,300	1,020
Japan	1982	870	1,120	980
USA	1981	n/a	n/a	1,600¶
United Kingdom	1983	810	1,210	1,030
Germany, Federal Republic	1982	940	1,320	1,210
n/a Not available.
^* No specific inflator for education expenditure is available. Hence, as a proxy, expenditure per pupil in foreign currencies were converted to pounds sterling at 1983 values by adjusting to 1983 levels via OECD consumer price indices and then applying OECD purchasing power parity factors. These allow for exchange rates and differences in the cost of living between countries. Public sector costs, including subsidies to private education, (covering costs such as teachers' salaries) have been divided by all pupils, unless otherwise stated.
† Equates broadly with primary (compulsory) education.
‡ Equates broadly with secondary school education and non-advanced further education.
║ Excludes public subsidies to private sector and pupils in private sector elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools.
¶ Includes capital expenditure, special and pre-compulsory school education, the latter being 84 per cent. part-time.
Rates based on full-time equivalent pupil/student numbers. Excludes private sector schools and colleges.
Excludes students in part-time vocational education, some 1·8 million, although their associated expenditure is included.

Sources: United Kingdom—Department of Education and Science

Other countries—UNESCO Statistical Yearbook 1985

—Statistical Abstract of Education, Science and Culture, 1983 edition—Japan

Basic and Structural Data, 1984/85—Federal Republic of Germany

—Employment Gazette

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Land Drainage

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure the proper maintenance of agricultural land drainage; and if he will make a statement.

Under the Land Drainage Act 1976 responsibility for maintaining arterial drainage channels in England and Wales rests with the riparian owners. Drainage authorities, that is, water authorities and district councils and in certain areas internal drainage boards, have permissive powers to undertake maintenance work. I am not aware of any particular problems concerning the maintenance of arterial drainage channels benefiting agricultural land at the present time.

sector. The University Grants Committee has agreed to contribute £2 million in 1986–87 from the total funds available for recurrent grant for the universities. A similar sum will be provided by the Science and Engineering Research Council from within its existing budget for 1986–87.

Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the most recent figures for spending per school pupil in schools 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, 13 May 1986, c. 434]: The figures for France, Japan and the United States of America had not been put on a common price basis. The table presents the correct figures for first level (primary) and second level (secondary and non-advanced further education) education. Pre first level education (nursery) has been excluded due to difficulties for comparability with full-time equivalent pupil numbers and private funding. Figures for West Germany has also been included as of general interest.

Chernobyl Disaster

12.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what conclusions he draws from the speed with which his Ministry reacted to the Chernobyl disaster.

I am satisfied that my Department made a prompt and realistic assessment of the implications of the Chernobyl nuclear accident for food and agriculture in England and Wales.

26.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the effect of the Chernobyl disaster on surplus stocks of cereals, dairy products and meat in store in the European Community.

It is too early to say what the eventual market effects of the disaster may be.

Intervention Butter

16.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much butter is currently held in intervention stores in the United Kingdom.

As at 29 May, 224,502 tonnes of intervention butter were held in store in the United Kingdom.

Food Prices (Monitoring)

17.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many staff in his Department work on monitoring food prices to consumers.

The last control on retail food prices, that on liquid milk, was removed by this Government in January 1985. There is therefore no need for my Department to monitor food prices to consumers other than to ensure compliance with any European Community regulations. A small number of staff, representing less than one man year, will be checking prices of concentrated butter in retail outlets.

Monosodium Glutamate

18.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to seek to ban the additive monosodium glutamate; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to do so.

Cereal Crops

19.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total acreage of land in England and Wales devoted to cereal crops.

There were 3,434,000 hectares planted with cereals in England and Wales at the June 1985 agricultural census, the latest information available.

Agricultural Price Fixing

21.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the anticipated effect of the 1986–87 agricultural price fixing on surpluses.

The tough measures agreed at the price fixing, particularly in the cereals and milk sectors, will help to hold down CAP costs, and should lead to production lower than it otherwise would be.

Ec Rice Regime

22.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to reform the European Economic Community rice regime.

The United Kingdom has pressed for improvements in the rice regime and continues to seek a technical re-examination of this regime.

Social Butter Scheme

23.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he plans to introduce a social butter scheme for pensioners and other low income groups.

We would be prepared to consider such a scheme.

Nuclear Accidents

24.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to ensure the full and prompt provision of information and advice in the event of a future nuclear accident.

My Department has contingency plans which enable us to make a prompt and continuing assessment of the implications of a nuclear accident for the safety of food and agriculture and to advise those affected of any necessary action.

Departmental Staff (Forestry Work)

25.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many officials in his Department are engaged in work relating to forestry.

No Ministry officials are wholly engaged on work relating to foresty, which is the responsibility of the Forestry Commission. But forestry and farm woodland issues are relevant to a number of areas of Ministry work. My officials accordingly maintain close links with their opposite numbers in the Forestry Commission.

Hengistbury Head (Coastal Protection)

27.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the progress of the coastal protection work at Hengistbury head.

The scheme at Hengistbury head is very complex and has been divided into a number of distinct, phases. Construction work has begun on phase one, comprising two timber groynes on Solent beach and protection to the cliff at Double dykes. This phase also includes a mathematical and physical model study which is still in progress. Phase one-A, comprising emergency construction of 120 m of the eastern causeway, has also begun.

Ec (United Kingdom Presidency)

28.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will identify the main agricultural issues to be addressed when the United Kingdom assumes the presidency of the European Community.

I expect the main items of Council business during our presidency to be decisions on long-term reform of the beef and veal regime, on socio-structural measures, and on the quantities of New Zealand butter to be imported under the special arrangements in 1987 and 1988.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

29.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assistance is available to farmers in environmentally sensitive areas; and if he will make a statement.

33.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has reached a decision on the rate of grant to be payable in environmentally sensitive areas.

In environmentally sensitive areas farmers will be offered incentive payments in return for entering agreements to farm in an environmentally beneficial manner. The levels of payment have not yet been determined. We are currently studying recommendations from the Countryside Commission and Nature Conservancy Council on 14 short-listed sites in England and Wales.

36.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects the first payments of grant to be made in environmentally sensitive areas.

I would expect the first payments to be made during 1987. The precise date will depend upon the timing of environmentally sensitive area designations and on the terms of environmentally sensitive area agreements.

Outgoers Scheme

30.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has plans to increase the compensation offered to milk producers under the European Economic Community outgoers scheme.

I am giving careful consideration to the rate of payment to be made under this scheme.

Common Agricultural Policy

31.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the potential impact on food surpluses of changes in the system of management of the common agricultural policy.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister to my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough (Sir M. Shaw) earlier today.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the reduced or additional costs which have accrued to the common agricultural policy in consequence of movements in the dollar exchange rate with the ecu since the date on which the strict budgetary controls were approved; and if he will make a statement.

The 1985 Community budget was drawn up on the basis of an exchange rate of $1 = 1·30 ecu. The actual average rate for the year was slightly higher at about $1= 1·33 ecu, and this is estimated to have saved the budget some 200 mecu. The rate assumed in the 1986 budget was $1 = 1·20 ecu, but the Commission has recently proposed a supplementary budget based on $1—10 ecu. It estimates that such a fall in the value of the dollar would increase expenditure by some 900 mecu over the year as a whole. The average rate in May 1986 was about $1 = 1·04 ecu.

Agriculture Industry

32.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he intends to publish a Green Paper on the future of the agricultural industry.

It is my aim to ensure, through speeches, debates and similar means, that the agricultural community is kept fully informed of developments in our thinking on the future of the industry. There is also continuing discussion about the changes needed in order better to secure the future of agriculture. I am already in close contact with all parts of the industry. However, I do not rule out any options for deepening our exchanges.

Cereals (Co-Responsibility Levy)

34.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from what date the co-responsibility levy for cereals will be applied in the United Kingdom.

The EC Council of Ministers agreed to apply the cereals co-responsibility levy for the 1986–87 marketing year which begins on 1 July 1986. This decision is directly applicable in the United Kingdom.

Bee-Keeping

35.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the current state of commercial beekeeping in the United Kingdom.

Commercial beekeepers, defined as those with more than 40 colonies, number some 450, or 1 per cent. of all beekeepers in the United Kingdom; they keep about 46,000 colonies, representing about 25 per cent. of all bees kept. The industry has recently been adversely affected by substantial losses of bee colonies last winter resulting from the bad weather during the previous 12 months. My Department estimates these losses to have been some 40 to 50 per cent. on average, although some commercial beekeepers may have suffered higher losses, compared to 20 per cent. in a normal winter. Recovery of the losses will require careful husbandry, but the speed of recovery will also depend on weather conditions this summer.

Acid Rain

37.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies have been undertaken into the effects of acid rain on agriculture.

My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, listed those research projects which concern acid rain and which are being undertaken or supported by the Government in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 11 November 1985 at columns 19–21.In addition, the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology has carried out a study of the effects of air pollutants on agricultural crops. Its report, published last year, concluded that there was no unequivocal evidence that agricultural crops are damaged by acid rain.

English And Welsh Fishing Fleet

38.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the current size and standard of the English and Welsh fishing fleet; and how this compares with the position five years ago.

The number of fishing vessels over 40 feet in length in the English and Welsh fleets at the end of 1985 was 899 compared to 1,133 vessels at the end of 1981. Information for 1985 on the number of vessels under 40 feet in length is not yet available, but the number in the fleet at the end of 1984 was 4,079 compared to 3,504 at the end of 1981.Information on the age structure of the fleet is not yet available for 1985, but figures for 1984 and 1981 are as follows:

Age Structure of English and Welsh Fleet
	As at end 1981 per cent.	As at end 1984 per cent.
26 and over	49	47
21 to 25	17	16
16 to 20	9	13
11 to 15	10	14
6 to 10	12	7
5 and under	3	3

Food From Britain

39.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has had about the future of Food from Britain.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) on 8 May.

47.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what contingency plans he has prepared for the event that sufficient funding to secure the future of Food From Britain is not forthcoming from the farming industry.

Food From Britain's functions are laid down in the Agricultural Marketing Act 1983. They include the improvement of marketing and the encouragement of co-operation. The Government have always envisaged that it was for the industry itself to follows the lead which the Government have given and provide FFB with sufficient money to continue to perform its market function. Abolishing the marketing function would require legislation and consideration would need to be given to the future of FFB's co-operative development activities.

Fishing Net Mesh Sizes

40.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last discussed the proposed increase in net mesh sizes with other European Economic Community Fisheries Ministers; and if he will make a statement.

The Council of Fisheries Ministers last discussed the question of increased mesh sizes in the North sea on 24 May 1984 when it was agreed further to postpone the increase in the whitefish mesh size to 90 mm until 1 January 1987. Decisions on possible derogations for certain species were to be taken by 31 December 1985. The Council decided on 20 December to extend this deadline to 31 March 1986, but unfortunately it was not possible to reach decisions on the matter by that date. The Council will be discussing the question of possible derogations from the 90 mm whitefish mesh size in the North sea, along with proposals for mesh size increases in the Irish sea and to the west of Scotland, when it meets on 25 June. Our aim will be to reconcile as far as possible the needs of the fishermen concerned with the overriding priority of ensuring the improved conservation of the stocks.

Agricultural Development And Advisory Service

41.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the proportion of Agricultural Development and Advisory Service advisory work which will continue to be free of charge because it relates to conservation, rural diversification or animal welfare.

At this stage it is not possible to forecast the future composition of ADAS advisory effort after the introduction of charging, but I have no plans to reduce the relative level of resources my Department currently devotes to these issues.

48.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest estimate of the revenue which will be yielded by charging for Agricultural Development Advisory Service advisory and promotional work.

The position remains as at 7 November 1985, when I indicated, at column 7, that for 1987–88 I would be looking for a contribution of at least £5 million from charging for ADAS advisory and promotional work.

Fishing Industry

42.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he had for improving job prospects and the efficiency of the British fishing industry.

There are signs of increasing confidence within the industry now that the common fisheries policy is firmly established within the enlarged Community. Recent falls in oil prices and increased prices for fish can only serve to improve employment prospects, although the scope for expansion of fishing effort is limited by the opportunities available. Investment in the construction and modernisation of fishing vessels, which is important to the efficiency of the industry, remains at a healthy level with Government assistance totalling over £21 million in the last three years. I am confident that the increased emphasis on the quality and marketing of fish, stimulated by the Sea Fish Industry Authority, will have a lasting impact on the future well-being of the fishing industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to seek to improve standards of training in the United Kingdom fishing industry; and if he will make a statement.

The Sea Fish Industry Authority seeks to secure continuing improvements in training arrangements. In this it works in collaboration with the Manpower Services Commission and fishing industry training associations.

Milk Quota

43.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the valuation of milk quota for the purpose of compensating tenants on the termination of their tenancies will take into account the length of time which the quota scheme has still to run.

The valuation of milk quota for the purposes of end-of-tenancy compensation will depend upon the circumstances and market force which exist at the time of the termination of the tenancy.

44.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of tenants who will receive compensation in respect of milk quotas in any one year.

There are over 22,000 holdings in England and Wales involved in dairying which are either wholly or partly rented. It is not possible to indicate how many of these would be eligible to claim end of tenancy compensation for milk quota in any one year.

Agricultural Structures Payments

45.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in the light of the decision that financial aid under article 19 of the Agricultural Structures Regulation of March 1985, payable to farmers in designated environmentally sensitive areas, should not be subject to reimbursement from common agricultural policy funds, he has any plans to put forward proposals for a Community-funded successor scheme; and if he will make a statement.

The European Commission has now put forward proposals for reimbursement from Community funds for expenditure in sensitive areas subject to certain conditions. These proposals will be put to the Council of Agriculture Ministers in due course.

Beef Variable Premium Scheme

46.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received about the future of the beef variable premium scheme.

Ministers and officials of the Agriculture Departments are in frequent contact with all sectors of the livestock and meat industries. Our success in securing the continuation of the beef variable premium at this year's CAP price fixing has been generally welcomed.

Agriculture White Paper

49.

asked the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food if he will publish a White Paper on the future of agriculture.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 6 February 1986, at column 420.

Set-Aside Scheme

50.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for a set-aside scheme for agricultural land.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Latham).

Ec (Agriculture And Fisheries)

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what objectives he has for the Councils of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers during the period of the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community.

As far as agriculture is concerned, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Holland with Boston (Sir R. Body). On fisheries matters, I will be particularly concerned to ensure that the annual TACs and quota arrangements, the associated third-country agreements and guide prices for 1987 are agreed before the end of the year. I would hope that progress can also be made in the spheres of technical conservation measures and on fisheries structures.

Select Committee Reports

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the estimated costs to his Department of carrying out the accepted recommendations of Select Committee reports for the year March 1985 to March 1986.

[pursuant to his reply, 10 June 1986, c. 132]: The main recommendations of the sixth report of the Agriculture Committee (1984–85) which I accepted bear on considerations which have underlain and will continue to underlie agricultural policies pursued by my Department. The total cost of carrying out the work involved is not something which can be separately identified.

Prime Minister

Maritime Industry

Q84.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on co-ordination between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Transport in relation to Her Majesty's Government's policy towards maritime industry.

There is full co-ordination between the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and for Transport and other Ministers on matters of policy affecting the maritime industries.

Salt 2

Q86.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the SALT 2 agreement.

As I told the House on 3 June, we regard it as important that the SALT 2 agreement continues to be observed, and observed by both sides.

Libya

Q131.

asked the Prime Minister what information Her Majesty's Government received from the German authorities both before and after the decision by Her Majesty's Government to grant approval for the use of United Kingdom bases for the United States attack on Libya, regarding the evidence available to the relevant authorities in Germany of any alleged involvement by Libya in the recent bombing of a nightclub in Berlin.

We have kept closely in touch with the German authorities on this matter. There is clear evidence that Libya was involved in the bombing of "La Belle" discotheque in Berlin on 5 April.

Intergovernmental Undertaking

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply Official Report, 20 March, column 263, in what way the text of the 1984 intergovernmental agreement was recorded; and in what languages.

The text of the 1984 intergovernmental agreement was recorded as an entry in the minutes of the 2–3 October 1984 Foreign Affairs Council, in all Community languages.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply, Official Report, 20 March, column 263, relating to the 1984 intergovernmental undertaking, on what occasions since May 1979, prior to 2 and 3 October 1984, and in respect of what subjects, such a procedure has been adopted or agreed to by Her Majesty's Government in respect of international agreements.

Agreements between the member states meeting within the Council of the European Coal and Steel Community, to provide supplementary finance for that Community, were concluded for each of the years from 1978 to 1981 by a procedure similar to that used for the 1984 intergovernmental agreement.

Radiation

asked the Prime Minister whether she will set up an interdepartmental committee to review the Government's policy on the disclosure of information on civil nuclear power and radiation levels.

No. The Secretary of State for the Environment, in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Crouch) on 15 May, undertook to publish all incidents which are reported to him by Her Majesty's Radiochemical Inspectorate and which involve the release of radioactivity, however small, to the environment. The Secretary of State for Energy is discussing with the nuclear industry the implementation of comparable arrangements for incidents reported to him by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.

Clean City Campaign

asked the Prime Minister what allocation from public funds Liverpool city council will receive towards the Clean City Campaign; and if she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will shortly be making a statement about a new initiative to encourage more local environmental improvement work by volunteers and MSC community programme teams. The statement will cover the arrangements for funding the initiative.

Engagements

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 12 June.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.

Residential Care Homes

asked the Prime Minister whether Her Majesty's Government are considering proposals to deregulate the regime of control and inspection of private residential and nursing homes.

The Government have no such proposals.

Shipowners

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government are working on a range of policies designed to improve the competitive position of British shipowners.

Yes. We have a range of policies designed to do this. In international negotiations, in the EC and other fora, we are seeking the creation of conditions that will preserve and enhance opportunities for British ships and encourage United Kingdom ownership of vessels, preferably under the British flag. At home, we are working to reduce the burden of costs and marine regulations. We are also extending the business expansion scheme to cover ship chartering. This should provide new opportunities for sound investment, particularly in the coastal and short sea trades.

Advisory Committee On Business Appointments

asked the Prime Minister what is the current composition of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

The current membership of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is as follows:

Chairman:	The Right Hon. The Lord Diamond FCA
Vice Chairman:	The Right Hon. the Lord Trend GCB CVO
Members:	The Right Hon. the Lord Barber of Wentbridge TD
	The Right Hon. Merlyn Rees MP
	Admiral Sir Anthony Morton GBE KCB
	Sir David Orr
	Sir Trevor Holdsworth

Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham

asked the Prime Minister whether she or any Minister has had any contact or discussions with representatives of Community Psychiatric Centres about their proposal to build and run a psychiatric hospital catering for National Health Service patients in Birmingham.

Neither I nor any DHSS Minister has had any such contact with this company. In the first instance it would be for the health authority to consider the feasibility and benefit to patients of any proposal.

House Of Commons

Members' Salaries

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the current salary of a civil servant at an equivalent grade to that which will be used as the base for computing Members' salaries on and after 1 January 1988.

The resolution of the House of 26 July 1983 provides that, after 1 January 1988, Members' pay should be 89 per cent. of the maximum point of the senior principal salary scale. The current maximum salary for a senior principal is £24,302 per annum.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Terrorism

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department has made any new assessment of the scale and nature of the threat posed by international terrorism in the light of the consequences of the United States military action against Libya; and if he will make a statement.

We continue to monitor carefully terrorist threats from whatever quarter they may come. In the light of our assessment of that threat, we decide on what action is required in co-operation as necessary with other like-minded countries.

Syria

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any discussions have been held with his EEC counterparts concerning action against Syria, in relation to international terrorism.

We have not discussed action against Syria in this context. But we and our EC partners have made representations to the Syrians about their support for the Abu Nidhal group.

Latina Magnox Power Station

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts his Department has made with the Italian authorities on the subject of the possible closure of the Latina magnox power station; and if he will make a statement.

We are aware that there have been calls in Italy for the closure of the Latina Magnox reactor. There are differences between the Chernobyl reactor and Magnox reactors operating in the United Kingdom and in Latina. We have informed the Italian authorities of our view that the design-safety features of Magnox reactors are fundamentally sound.

Iran-Iraq War

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to seek to prevent the use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war.

Following the first confirmation in March 1984 of the use of chemical weapons in the Gulf conflict, the United Kingdom imposed controls on the export of five chemicals which were capable of being misused to make such weapons. Similar controls have also been imposed by a number of other countries. The United Kingdom has kept these controls under continuous review since their introduction, and they now cover ten chemicals.In addition, a longer list of chemicals has been drawn up as a result of internationl consultation, to indicate other chemicals which can be used to manufacture lethal chemical agents. This warning list is intended to supplement these formal controls and is being issued to the United Kingdom chemical industry and to chemical traders. It will provide an aid to industry, by alerting it to the possible dangers of misuse of these chemicals and to enable industry to take action on a voluntary basis in case of doubt or suspension. The list is being introduced into 18 countries (the 12 EC Member States, US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Norway) and is intended to inhibit the spread of chemical weapons. At the same time there is no intention of interfering in the widespread normal and legitimate civil trade in many of the chemicals on the list.The warning list reflects a determination by all the countries concerned to enhance the authority of the 1925 Geneva protocol and to prevent any damage to the prospects for the negotiations in Geneva for a comprehensive ban on all chemical weapons.

Defence

Lance Corporal Simon Cockton

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why his Department refused successive requests from Mrs. Winifred Cockton for a statement as to the cause of the fatal crash of a helicopter carrying her son, Lance Corporal Simon Cockton, on 6 June 1982; and if he will make a statement.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence has now led his Department to conclude that the helicopter carrying Lance Corporal Simon Cockton was shot down by a missile fired from the destroyer HMS Cardiff during the Falklands war; to what extent and in what specific respects this evidence was available to the Army coroner in November 1982; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 June 1986, c. 57]: The evidence concerned the result of a review carried out by RAE Farnborough in the latter part of the last year of the findings of an analysis of missile fragments found in the wreckage of the helicopter which had been undertaken by RAE in 1982. The 1985 review concluded that there could be no definitive conclusion as to the exact source of the missile fragments recovered from the crash site. This led the Department to conclude in the light of all the available evidence that the Seadart missile fired by HMS Cardiff must be adjudged the probable cause of the loss of the helicopter. The evidence of the 1985 review was of course not available to Her Majesty's coroner for Hampshire (Southampton and New Forest District) in 1982.

Strategic Arms Limitation

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from the church and nation committee of the Church of Scotland concerning strategic arms limitation.

I am not aware of any such representations having been received to date.

asked the Secretary of State for defence what recent representations he has received about the military balance of advantage in strategic arms limitation.

In addition to questions in Parliament, the Ministry of Defence receives a considerable amount of correspondence and representations from groups and individuals expressing varied views relating to strategic arms control and its implication from the military balance.

Army Exercise (Salisbury Plain)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why the British Army exercise which was taking place at West Down Plantation on Salisbury Plain on 10 April was abandoned; why cruise missile convoys from the United States base at Greenham Common were allowed to exercise there instead; what representations he received prior to this decision being made; and what was the cost of this abandoned British Army exercise.

I understand that on the day in question all units were able to use the exercise area for the period previously allocated. I also refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 1 May, at column 455.

Data Protection

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many registrations his Department has made under the Data Protection Act; how many people are involved with implementing the legislation in his Department as a significant part of their job description; and how much he estimates it will cost to conform with the eight data protection principles.

The Ministry of Defence had submitted six applications for registration. Three posts have been established to deal full time with the implementation of the legislation. The eight data protection principles reflect accepted good computing practice, which the Ministry of Defence has always followed. However, the rights of subject access conferred by the seventh principle are new, and it is not possible at this stage to provide realistic estimates of the cost of providing this service.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many certificates he has signed under section 27 of the Data Protection Act; and if he will describe briefly the subject matter of each.

Certificates under section 27 of the Data Protection Act relate to exemption from the provisions of part II and sections 21 to 24 of part IV of the Act, for the purpose of safeguarding national security. Disclosing details of such certificates would itself not be in the interests of national security.

Job Dispersal

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to relocate defence jobs and establishments to the north; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to a reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Thurnham) on 11 March, at column 802.

Departmental Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total amount spent in Scotland by his Department in 1985–86; and what proportion this represents of his Department's total budget in the same year.

Defence expenditure is not accounted for on a regional basis.

Army (Equal Opportunities Policies)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what equal opportunity policies are run by the Army; what personnel are involved in the implementation of such policies; and if he will make a statement.

The Army is an equal opportunity employer under the terms of the Race Relations Act 1976. No form of racial discrimination is tolerated either in recruitment or subsequent employment. Any complaint of racial discrimination brought by a member of the Army concerning his treatment in the service would be fully investigated under the redress of grievance procedures. With regard to opportunities for women, the Army is not subject to the provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. It is, nevertheless, Ministry of Defence policy to accord women equal employment opportunities in the Army wherever possible other than in combat roles. In areas where women are employed they compete on equal terms with their male counter-parts for appointments and promotion.The Adjutant General and his staff, together with the chain of command, are responsible for implementation of these policies under the Secretary of State for Defence.

Services (Black Recruits)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what records are kept regarding the number of black recruits to the defence forces.

None.

Attorney-General

Police National Computer

asked the Attorney-General, pursuant to the answer of 14 April, Official Report, column 31, if the Director of Public Prosecutions has yet reached any conclusion about the report from the complaints investigation bureau of the Metropolitan police regarding alleged abuses of the police national computer by an alleged homosexual ring operating within the force; and if he will make a statement.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has advised the Complaints Investigation Bureau of the Metropolitan police as to further inquiries which are appropriate in this case. A decision will not be taken until the result of those enquiries is received by the director.

Unimar

asked the Attorney-General what action he intends to take in the Unimar case as it affects the Peter Cameron Webb Syndicate; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has provided the Director of Public Prosecutions with a copy of the interim report of the inspectors appointed to investigate the affairs of Minet Holdings plc. and WMD Underwriting Agencies Limited. It is at present being considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Paul Bostock

asked the Attorney-General what was the length of time between the commencement and the termination of commital proceedings in the case of Paul Bostock, of Beaumont Leys, Leicester; and what was the reason for the delay in the case.

Paul Bostock was arrested on the 1 May 1985 for an offence of murder which was committed on 27 April 1985. He first appeared before magistrates on 2 May. He was committed for trail on 13 December.The investigation of the case by the police was complicated by the fact that Paul Bostock admitted during his interviews that he had committed a murder in 1983. A very large number of statements had been taken during the earlier murder investigation, and these statements had to be assessed and the case re-investigated in the light of the new development. These factors resulted in a delay before the report was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions on 8 August. After the submission of the report, the Director instructed the police to take certain further steps with the result that committal papers were not served on the defence until the middle of October. After service of committal papers it is the responsibility of the defence to agree a date for committal.

Northern Ireland

Historic Buildings Council

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Historic Buildings Council for Northern Ireland has published an annual report in each year since 1981; and if he will make a statement.

The most recent report of the Historic Buildings Council was published in May 1983 and covered the year ended 31 March 1981. Action is being taken to bring the annual reports up to date.

Civil Service (Voluntary Transfer)

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will amend the appropriate regulations to enable formal arrangements for voluntary transfers between the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Home Civil Service to come into being.

No. The present arrangements adequately meet the interests of both management and staff in the two separate services under the Crown.

Belfast Gas

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will re-estimate the financial position of Belfast Gas at present in view of the drop in oil and naphtha prices.

No. It is a matter for Belfast city council, which last year decided to close the gas undertaking because it was not viable in the absence of ongoing subsidy.

School Leavers

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the percentage of school leavers in Northern Ireland obtaining one or more A-levels, five or more higher grade O-level or certificate of secondary education grade 1 passes, and no graded O-level or certificate of education results, in each year from 1965 to 1985.

Available information is as follows:

School Year	1 or more "A" Levels	5 or more Higher Grade "O" Levels or CSE Grade 1	No GCE CSE Qualifications
1965–66	10·3	7·6	77·1
1966–67	12·5	7·5	74·7
1967–68	14·2	6·7	72·5
1968–69	16·0	7·0	69·2
1969–70	16·3	6·9	68·4
1970–71	18·1	7·3	65·7
1971–72	17·5	7·8	64·7
1972–73^*	29·1	13·2	38·2
1973–74†	19·7	9·4	—
1974–75	18·8	8·7	—
1975–76	18·6	7·9	—
1976–77	18·7	8·6	—
1977–78	19·8	8·6	—
1978–79	19·8	8·6	—
1979–80	21·1	11·3	27·0
1981–82‡	22·3	10·5	24·3
1983–84	22·5	8·7	22·4
^* Figures for 1972–73 reflect the effect of the raising of the school leaving age to 16 in 1972.
† From 1973–74 to 1978–79 school leavers with CSE grades 2 to 5 and from 1977–78 to 1978–79, those with GCE O levels grade D-E were included in the no qualifications category and figures are not separately available.
‡ Statistics were collected annually until 1979–80 but only biennially thereafter.

Births And Abortions

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the current criteria used within the Health Service in Northern Ireland to decide if a pregnant woman should have an induced abortion; and whether these criteria have changed in the last 10 years;(2) if he will list the names of those hospitals in Northern Ireland, both National Health Service and private, in which abortions are currently performed; and if he will state in the case of each of these establishments the number of abortions which were performed in the latest year for which figures are available;(3) how many

(a) births and (b) abortions have taken place within the National Health Service in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

In Northern Ireland abortions are carried out only on therapeutic grounds where the life of the woman is threatened by the pregnancy or where continuance of the pregnancy is likely to cause grave danger to her physical or mental health. There has been no change in these criteria in the last 10 years.

Therapeutic terminations of pregnancy may be carried out in any gynaecological unit in the Province. Statistical information is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The number of births (including still-births) which occurred in hospitals administered by the health and personal social services in Northern Ireland for the years 1975 to 1984 is as follows. These figures include a small number of births to private patients but this number cannot be quantified.

	Number of births
1975	26,095
1976	26,284
1977	25,816
1978	26,496
1979	28,208
1980	28,706
1981	27,431
1982	^*
1983	27,198
1984	27,701
^* Not available due to industrial action.

Social Services

Food Intolerances (Treatment)

169.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what discussions his Department has had with the food and drink manufacturing industries about the treatment of food intolerances.

This Department has had no such discussions. Officials did, however, participate in the work of the Committee formed by the Royal College of Physicians and the British Nutrition Foundation whose joint report was published in April 1984. The treatment for a patient with this reaction is a matter for the clinical judgment of the responsible medical practitioner.

Smoking (Health Warnings)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards health warnings on cigarette packets in the light of the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians on the subject;(2) if he will seek to have the health warnings on cigarette packets moved from the side to the front or back; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will now seek to ensure the use of the words "Danger: Cigarette Smoking causes Heart Disease, Lung Cancer and Bronchitis" instead of the current health warning on cigarette packets; and if he will make a statement;(4) whether he will seek to ensure the use of more strongly worded health warnings on cigarette packets; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's policy is to ensure that the general public, and smokers in particular, are made fully aware of the serious risks to health from cigarette smoking. The latest voluntary agreement with the tobacco industry, which commenced in April, replaces the old health warning with six new and stronger messages some of which refer specifically to the main diseases linked with smoking: heart disease, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. The agreement also increases the space devoted to the warnings on posters and press advertisements from 15 per cent. to 17½, per cent. In formulating the warnings account was taken of views received from medical and health bodies, including the Royal College of Physicians.

Small Businesses

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list those measures introduced within his Department within the past year and intended to be of benefit to small businesses.

As part of the Government's initiative to encourage enterprise and to help businesses, particularly small businesses, the Department has set up a deregulation unit. The unit works closely with the enterprise and deregulation unit in the Department of Employment and co-ordinates action within the Department to explore ways of assisting business and easing any burdens imposed by compliance with regulations or administrative, requirements. The unit is currently systematically reviewing all regulations for which the Department is responsible which impact on business to ensure that any unnecessary burdens are removed. Full details of the Government's action in this area are given in "Building Businesses … Not Barriers" (Cmnd. 9794).Specific measures likely to benefit small businesses include:

the October 1985 package of changes in the national insurance contributions payable by employers produced net savings for employers of £80 million a year at 1985–86 rates. Reductions in the contributions paid by employers in respect of employees earning less than £130 a week at 1985–86 rates (£140 a week in 1986–87) should particularly benefit small businesses;
the Class 2 contribution payable by the self-employed was also reduced in October from £4·75 per week to £3·50. Even with the April 1986 increase the Class 2 contribution is still £1 less than it was a year ago.
since October 1985 it has been easier for the newly self-employed on low earnings to claim exemption from Class 2 national insurance contributions. New follow-up procedures should also ensure that those with continuing entitlement to do so receive exemption for succeeding years.
closer liaison between DHSS and Inland Revenue is helping to avoid duplicate visits to employers by Inspectors from both Departments. Arrangements are being improved to ensure greater consistency of decisions (which arc taken on the basis of the same case law) about whether someone is self-employed. Proposals in the Social Security Bill for increased exchange of information should assist this liaison;
proposals in the Social Security Bill to remove the odd pence in the NI Contribution tables from April 1987 by using earnings bands of £1 instead of the present 50p bands. This should considerably reduce the size of, and simplify the tables.
enquiries of employers about their employees' earnings are being reduced in number, and ways will continue to be sought to reduce them further. For example, Local Offices arc being asked to consider making greater use of the P60 annual statement rather than direct approach to the employer. Proposals in the Social Security Bill to simplify the awarding of special hardship allowance will cut enquiries to employers by up to 200,000 a year.

the Department has introduced a number of simplifications to leaflets, instructions and forms used by employers. Design and layout of publications is being improved. One example is the new style Employers Guide to Statutory Sick Pay (October 1985 edition). The Department has also used market research to seek the views of small businesses on improvements to the design and layout of National Insurance Contribution tables.
some local offices have set up specific inquiry points for employers and the Department is considering whether the setting up of such points in each local office would be helpful.
a number of other initiatives have been taken locally, for example, new employers in the Isle of Dogs Enterprise Zone were visited in order to offer help and advice.

We continue to be firmly committed to better regulation and exploring ways to assist small business men and encourage enterprise.

Mental Patients

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if his Department operates any system of norms in relation to the number of hostel places for mental patients per head of population which should be provided by the responsible local authority; and if he will make a statement.

We do not operate any system of norms on hostel places. The Government's position is stated in paragraph 90 of our response to the second report from the Social Services Committee, 1984–85 Session (Cmnd. 9674).

Residential Homes (Elderly Residents)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide full details of the costs taken into account in calculating the allowances payable to elderly residents in privately owned residential homes.

Supplementary benefit for elderly people in homes meets actual charges — not costs — up to a maximum limit, currently £120. The Government aim to set limits at a level which will enable reasonable charges to be met, and take account in doing so of the best information available on relevant factors, including costs and charges. We are currently studying a report we have commissioned from management consultants on costs and charges in homes, and will make the results available shortly.

Income Support Scheme

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the position of those who qualify for more than one premium under the proposed income support scheme.

As paragraph 3.29 of the White Paper "Reform of Social Security, Programme for Action" (Cmnd. 9691) makes clear, only one of the premiums for lone parents, the disabled, or pensioners would be payable. If a claimant or partner satisfies the qualifying conditions for more than one, the higher premium would be payable. The family premium would be payable in addition to any of these premiums above if the claimant has dependant children.

Social Fund

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now in a position to give an indication of the size of the budget for the social fund; and what are the latest figures for current spending on single payments.

A decision on the size of the social fund budget from April 1988, which must of course take account of various factors including the rates at which the income support levels and premia are set, has yet to be taken. Latest, provisional, information is that expenditure on single payments in the financial year 1985–86 amounted to £336 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assessment he has made of the impact of the management performance bonus on social fund claimants.

No such specific assessment has been made; but the experimental performance bonus scheme is intended to give a further incentive to efficient and effective working in all areas of the Department's business. As far as the social fund is concerned, social fund officers will be expected to handle applications for help in accordance with the law and any directions issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and taking proper account of any guidance issued by him.

Disturbed Adolescents

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether extra resources are to be provided to enable the health and social services authorities to improve services for disturbed adolescents, as recommended in the health notice on the "Bridges Over Troubled Waters" report; and if he will make a statement.

The vast majority of the report's recommendations are for action which can be taken at local level to improve the co-ordination and effectiveness of existing services, and to that extent have no specific revenue implications for Health and Social Services authorities. No specific additions are proposed to the extra resources available from central cash allocations and cost improvement programmes.

Benefit Fraud (Computerised Records)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department uses computerised records in its fraud investigation section with special reference to investigation of fraud among itinerant claimants.

Fraud investigators have access to all Departmental records, both manual and computerised.

Health Authorities (Finance)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how the figure of £60 million as the extra finance to be made available to health authorities in 1986 was arrived at.

The addition to health authority cash limits for 1986–87 announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 May at columns 239–44 recognised that United Kingdom health authorities would need additional resources if they were to meet the costs this year of the pay awards to review body staff without adverse effects on services to patients.Forecast general inflation has fallen from 4·5 per cent. when public expenditure provision for 1986–87 was decided; the budget forecast was 3·75 per cent. This is equivalent to a saving for United Kingdom health authorities on their non-pay expenditure of some £25 million. The Government's assessment is that the £60 million addition to health authorities' initial cash limits, together with the fall in inflation, will enable health authorities to pay for the review body awards without adversly affecting services.

Drug Users (Directory)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Vote Office copies of the British Broadcasting Corporation Drugwatch/ SCODA "National Directory of Services for Drug Users, Their Families and Friends", which was partially financed by his Department.

Copies have already been placed in the Library.

Hospital Beds

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the total budget provision for the Riverside health area in each year for 1985–86 and 1986–87 and for the future years for which figures are available; and if he will list the number of hospital beds which will be lost over this period in each hospital within the area.

Revenue allocations to district health authorities are made annually by the relevant regional health authority. The North-West Thames RHA's revenue allocation to Riverside health authority for 1985–86 was £120,192,000. and for 1986–87 is £128,089,000. Allocations have not yet been made for future years.The Department does not hold information on the number of hospital beds lost for the period specified, and the hon. Member may wish to approach the Riverside health authority direct on this point.

Appeal Tribunals (Chairmen)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a list of chairmen of social security appeal tribunals and the areas in which they sit.

This is a matter for the President of social security appeal tribunals, his Honour Judge Byrt, QC, and the hon. Member may care to approach him.

Nhs (Audit Group)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the cost of the Department of Health and Social Security/National Health Service audit group on value for money in the National Health Service; and what fees and expenses were paid to its members.

The working group to review audit of the National Health Service was set up in 1982 and completed its work by 31 January 1983.The directly attributable costs of the group totalled £1,028 which included £170·24 for travel expenses claimed and paid. There were no fee payments to members.

Management Consultants

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total expenditure by his Department on management consultants on health matters in each year since 1979.

The expenditure was as follows:

	£
1979	259,000
1980	313,200
1981	327,000
1982	386,400
1983	684,566
1984	910,596
1985	1,693,263

The figures are approximate. In some cases expenditure on health matters has been estimated where consultants have been employed on both health and social security matters. All departmental central funding is included. The figure for 1985 includes some overlap into 1986.

Babies (Research)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will take steps to seek to ensure that no research is undertaken within the National Health Service on babies, other than straightforward observation and basic examination, with parental knowledge and without obtaining the prior consent of the relevant hospital ethics committee.

Clinical research is governed by the general law and guided by codes of practice such as those of the World Medical Association (the Declaration of Helsinki 1964 and its Tokyo revision 1975) and of the Medical Research Council of this country.In 1975, the Department drew health authorities' attention to a report from the Royal College of Physicians and in particular to two recommendations. First, that all proposed clinical research investigations should be referred to a local ethical committee. Second, that clinical research investigation of children, not of direct benefit to them, may be conducted only when the procedures entail negligible risk or discomfort, and subject to the provisions of common and statute law and with the consent of the parent or guardian.The Department will be considering whether further guidance or a reminder to health authorities is now required.

Child Benefits

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what offsetting cuts in expenditure he intends to make to compensate for the £64 million unplanned overspend on child benefits.

Since this expenditure occurred in the financial year 1985–86 and became apparent only at the end of that year, there was no question of compensating action.

Psychiatric Hospital Scheme, Birmingham

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what grounds he is providing £11 million ahead of time to Central Birmingham district health authority for the purposes of financing an American company to build the only NHS psychiatric hospital in Birmingham in 1992–93 on the site of the old Queen Elizabeth hospital.

No capital funds are being made available to West Midlands regional health authority other than those already allocated under the normal arrangements. It is for the regional health authority to decide the content, order and timing of its capital programme within this general allocation subject to the usual approval in principle procedures.

Hospital Waiting Lists

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were on hospital waiting lists in Leeds eastern district health authority and Leeds western district health authority in (a) October 1985 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

I am sorry I cannot give the hon. Member the information in precisely the form requested. The information available centrally is given in the table:

Number of cases on in-patient waiting lists, NHS hospitals
	All cases
District Health Authority	30 September 1985	31 March 1986^*
Leeds Western	4,587	4,686
Leeds Eastern	5,681	5,663
^* Provisional

Family Income Supplement

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the latest estimate of the number of claims for family income supplement made by (a) couples, (b) single parents and (c) all family income supplement claimants.

For the 12-months period up to the end of March 1986, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 393,000 claims to family income supplement. I regret it is not possible to separate the figures for couples and single parents.At the same date 201,000 families were actually receiving family income supplement, 118,000 couples and 83,000 single parents.

Maternity Grant

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimates he is able to make of the overall effect on public expenditure of the abolition of the maternity grant.

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

Bethlem Royal And Maudsley Special Health Authority

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage change there has been in the revenue allocation to the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley special health authority in the last six years.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Medical Equipment (Costs)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage change there has been in the rate of inflation for medical equipment in the last six years.

The increase in the cost of medical and surgical equipment over the period 1979–80 to 1985–86 measured by the Health Service prices index was 60·3 per cent.

Pensions

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will issue guidance to his Department's offices requesting them to inform those pensioners whose pensions are paid quarterly into bank accounts of any changes in the rate of their pensions when they take place.

The pension accounts of pensioners who have their pensions paid directly into bank accounts are maintained by the Department's Central Pensions Branch at Newcastle which informs all such pensioners of the new rate payable about the time of every up-rating of pensions and notifies other changes in the amount payable on an individual basis when they occur.

Single Payments

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if women being rehoused from refuges will retain their rights to single payments for all their household needs in the regulations coming into force this summer.

The proposals to change the Single Payment Regulations, which were referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee on 24 February 1986, include a revised list of individual furniture items; the introduction of miscellaneous lump-sum payment for other household needs; and revised qualifying conditions for the receipt of such payments. Neither the current nor proposed regulations make any specific reference to women being rehoused from refuges. Such women will continue to be entitled to a payment where they satisfy the conditions in the regulations.

Solicitors (Child Care)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidance has been issued to local authorities about training for local authority solicitors in child care work before such solicitors take responsibility for child care cases.

No such guidance has been issued.

Member's Correspondence

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he intends to reply to the letter of inquiry about acquired immune deficiency syndrome from the hon. Member for Glasgow, Maryhill, dated 18 April.

My noble Friend wrote to the hon. Member yesterday.

Maudsley Hospital

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the number of violent incidents at the Maudsley hospital in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement on the trend shown by these figures.

This information is not available centrally. The hon. Member may, therefore, wish to direct her inquiry to the chairman of the health authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the percentage change in the number of patients attending the emergency clinic at the Maudsley hospital in the last 10 years.

I shall let the hon. Member have the available information as soon as possible.

Supplementary Benefit

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if Whitsun school leavers who return to school only to take examinations qualify for supplementary benefit under the same terms as Easter leavers.

Questions of individual entitlement to benefit are determined by the independent adjudicating authorities. However, I understand that the Chief Adjudication Officer's guidance would be that Whitsun leavers who have attended school full-time after Easter will not be entitled to Supplementary Benefit.

Potassium Iodate Tablets

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many of the potassium iodate tablets held to counter possible ionising radiation have been in stock for more than 10, five, two and one years, respectively;(2) what is the shelf life of potassium iodate tablets.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 June 1986, c. 541]: Arrangements for the stocking and issue of potassium iodate tablets form part of the contingency plans maintained for both civil and defence nuclear installations.Contingency planning for civil nuclear accidents is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy (in respect of England and Wales) and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, advised by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive.Contingency planning for accidents at defence nuclear establishments is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.Information provided by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Ministry of Defence on the length of time tablets have been held in stock is set out in the table. This reflects better information on numbers in stock than my reply to the hon. Member on 9 May 1986 at column

293:

	Thousand tablets
10 years or over	30
6 to 10 years	3,280
3 to 5 years	90
1 to 2 years	—
Less than 1	^*2,000
^* Received May 1986.

I am advised that tests have been carried out which found that tablets as old as 20 years are still in good condition.

Civil Service

Senior Civil Servants

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he has any plans to increase the flexibility of the conditions of service of senior civil servants not covered by the Top Salaries Review Board, and if he will make a statement.

All civil servants at grade 3 and above are covered by the recommendations of the Top Salaries Review Body, and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 22 May the Government's intention of introducing discretionary pay at these levels. The grades immediately below are covered by the current performance bonus experiment, and in evaluating the outcome of this experiment, the Government will continue to look at ways of strengthening the link between performance and remuneration.

National Finance

Small Businesses

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those measures introduced by his Department within the past year and intended to be of benefit to small businesses.

My right hon. Friend's 1986 Budget contained a number of fiscal measures which are of benefit to small businesses. These were as follows:

(i) The small companies' corporation tax rate was reduced to 29 per cent. for 1986–87 in line with the basic rate cut.

(ii) The cut in the basic rate of income tax to 29 per cent. reduced the marginal rates for the majority of unincorporated businesses.

(iii) The business expansion scheme was improved and its life extended indefinitely thus helping growing, innovative small companies.

(iv) The abolition of the charge on lifetime gifts between individuals which allows family businesses to be passed on to the next generation free of tax, provided it is done at least seven years before death.

(v) The reform of the agricultural buildings allowance, which recognised the special position of short-life agricultural buildings or works.

(vi) The VAT registration and deregistration thresholds were increased broadly in line with inflation.

(vii) Relaxations in the rules governing employee share schemes which improved access for unquoted companies and worker co-operatives.

(viii) The treatment of the enterprise allowance as a source of income separate from the takings of the business solved the problem of the allowance being taken into account more than once for tax purposes and made the scheme even more attractive.

Additionally, measures have been taken to ease the burden on businesses arising from the collection of taxes and duties and the control of imports and exports. The Government's White Paper "Building Businesses … Not Barriers" (Cmnd. 9794) lists these measures, which collectively amount to a significant reduction in the demands placed by the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise on the full range of small businesses.

Investment (Return)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he measures the rate of return on investments in different parts of the country.

With regard to public sector infrastructure, the Government look for the same rate of return on investment in all parts of the country. For investments that are considered under regional policy, grants are made only to investments in assisted areas and local factors may be taken into account in individual decisions, but the same criteria for efficiency are applied to all projects.

Value Added Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many late registrations for value added tax were recorded in the period 1 January to 31 May 1986; how many in the corresponding period of 1985; how many have incurred a penalty; in how many cases the penalty has been waived because of a reasonable excuse; whether any reasonable excuse other than serious illness has been accepted by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise; what was the aggregate tax outstanding in the penalty cases; and what was the aggregate penalty exacted.

I regret that, since registration for VAT is dealt with at local VAT offices, some of the information requested by my hon. Friend is not held centrally. Customs and Excise estimates that before the new penalty system was introduced belated notifications were in the range of 10,000 to 12,000 a year. Since the introduction of penalties under section 15 of the Finance Act 1985. some 3,200 penalties have been imposed. The aggregated value of the penalties imposed to 31 May 1986 is £1,645,000, and the aggregated tax outstanding about £5 million. A plea of reasonable excuse has been accepted by Customs and Excise in about 150 cases where registration was late. A substantial proportion of such cases have involved serious illness and the like, but a number of other excuses have also been accepted as reasonable on the particular facts concerned.

War Service Credits

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the dates from which war service credits were made payable to pensioners of the Home Civil Service, local government, police, local education authorities and other public services, respectively.

Provision for civil servants to reckon war service for pension purposes was made in the Superannuation Act 1946. The arrangements apply to those who entered service before 1 July 1950. Similar arrangements have been introduced by other public services for those who were in employment or retirement on the following operative dates.

	Operative date
Local Government	1 April 1978
Police	1 April 1975
Fire	1 April 1975
	1 September
Teaching—England and Wales	1974
— Scotland	20 July 1975
NHS	17 July 1975

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the basis of calculation for the addition of war service credits to the pensions of home civil servants, local government officers, police officers, teachers and other public service pensioners, respectively.

The general basis for the public services is that war service rendered from age 18 reckons at half its length for pension purposes for those who entered service before 1 July 1950. Beneficiaries are required to pay appropriate contributions.

Single European Act

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps Her Majesty's Government intend to take to implement their obligations in the harmonising of economic and monetary policies in the Single European Act; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend will continue, in concert with other member states, to maintain sound financial conditions and downward pressure on inflation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps Her Majesty's Government intend to take to implement their obligations on the harmonising of indirect taxation in the Single European Act; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 12 May 1986 at column 348.

European Monetary System

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement outlining the advantages and disadvantages which would accrue to the United Kingdom and the effect of the freedom to conduct economic policy in the United Kingdom in the event of a decision to join the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.

I refer my hon. Friend to my statement in the dabate on 29 January, at columns 984–1006.

Tax Refunds

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the cost of the refunds due to the miscalculation of tax relief given on any lump sum exceeding £50,000 paid since 6 April 1982; how many individuals are involved; and what is the average refund due.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 June 1986, c. 76]: It is not known centrally how many people may be entitled to a refund, or what the average refund due will be, but only lump sums over £50,000 are affected and there are thought to be relatively very few of these.

Environment

Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to seek to amend the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 in the light of the House of Lords ruling in the case of Puhlhofer v Hillingdon borough council.

I have no such plans at present. The key question is what effect, if any, the ruling could have on the way in which local authorities carry out their responsibilities. We shall be monitoring the position through our regular quarterly statistics and through a research study which is just starting on the operation of the legislation by local authorities.

Housing (Hull)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now reply to Hull city council's bid for 1986–87 urban housing renewal unit target funds for (a) Yorkshire Development Group, Maisonettes and Bransholme Court Estate, (b) Newtown Project and (c) Vertical Shelter Housing Scheme, Kinthorpe Orchard Park Estate.

Hull city council's application for the Bransholme estate has raised some difficult issues which are still under consideration. I expect shortly to be able to announce the decision on its bid for Newtown court estate. With regard to the Orchard park estate, I refer the hon. Member to the announcement made in my reply of 26 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Bruinvels), at columns 500–501, which indicated the extent to which the proposals on the estate have qualified for targeted UHRU funds.

Small Businesses

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those measures introduced by his Department within the past year and intended to be of benefit to small businesses.

My Department has introduced a number of measures, many of which are part of the deregulation initiative described in Cmnds. 9571 and 9794. In particular we have:

Set up and funded two pilot "one stop shops" in partnership with Nottingham City and Blackburn district councils, providing a single advice point within each local authority, to help small firm inquiries;
Provided that specific planning permission is no longer needed for certain extensions to industrial and warehouse buildings except in environmentally sensitive areas;
Published "A Step by Step Guide to Planning Permission for Small Businesses";
Published circular 2/86 "Development by Small Businesses" urging local planning authorities to be helpful in dealing with small firms' planning applications and adopt a commonsense approach to enforcement;
Included measures in the Housing and Planning Bill to extend the assured tenancy scheme to improved, repaired and converted dwellings; to simplify the planning system; and to improve procedures for planning applications and appeals;
Introduced simpler and more flexible building regulations covering England and Wales including inner London;
Given increased funding to the Development Commission to enable it to expand its factory workshop and redundant building grants programmes and the advisory and assistance services operated by its agency, the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas.

Local Authority Services

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the advice and circulars issued by his Department to local authorities since 1979 concerning standards of refuse collection, disposal and street cleansing; and if he will place copies in the Library.

A list of the advice and circulars is as follows:

Waste Management Papers:

No. 8—Heat Treatment Cyanide Wastes (Second Edition)1985
No. 16—Wood Preserving Wastes 1980
No. 18—Asbestos Waste 1979
No. 20—Arsenic-bearing Wastes 1980
No. 21—Pesticide Wastes 1980
No. 23—Special Wastes 1981
No. 24—Cadmium-hearing Wastes 1984
No. 25—Clinical Wastes 1983

Local Authorities Circulars:
4/81—Control of Pollution Act 1974—Control of Pollution (Special Wastes) Regulations 1980
20/83—Hazardous Waste Inspectorate (Formation of)

Others:

The Hazardous Waste Inspectorate — First Report — Hazardous Waste Management:
An Overview 1985
Arrangements are being made for copies to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, and publish an analysis of, the responses received by his Department to the consultation paper "Competition in the Provision of Local Authority Services" issued on 14 February 1985.

I shall answer this question shortly.

Parking Fines

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment under what circumstances a tine was incurred by his Department in South Audley Street in 1985.

The line was in respect of a Government car service car collecting a Minister from a lunchtime engagement in the area. I should add that the fine was wrongly attributed to the Department of the Environment in the answer I gave the hon. Gentleman On 4 June at columns 570–71. It was incurred by the Department of Health and Social Security.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the total number of parking fines incurred by each Government Department in each year from 1973 to 1984.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will detail the six parking fines incurred by non-ministerial vehicles during 1985.

Four parking penalties were incurred by vehicles on GCS despatch duties and two were incurred by vehicles carrying officials.

Melton Borough Council

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to announce his decision on the Melton Borough Council (Burton Street) Compulsory Purchase Order 1984, following the public inquiry in January.

The report of the inspector who carried out the public inquiry is being considered and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will issue his decision as quickly as possible.

Hampstead Heath

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current position regarding the future of Hampstead Heath.

The London residuary body is preparing a consultation paper on the options for future ownership and management of the heath. It will be sent to interested parties for comment.

Seaside And Countryside Homes

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current position regarding the future of the Greater London council's seaside and countryside homes.

I shall answer this question shortly.

Housing Associations

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what restrictions have been imposed on the operation of the scheme operated by housing associations with the approval of the Housing Corporation whereby eligible tenants can buy suitable privately owned property on the open market with the aid of a discount, and why; and if he will make a statement.

As present, only those eligible tenants whose applications were received before 23 August 1985 are being given approval to look for a property to buy. This is because of the popularity of the scheme and because, unlike the right-to-buy discounts, those available to tenants of charitable housing associations impose a direct cost on public funds which has to be accommodated within the Housing Corporation's cash limited approved development programme. Further funds have now been made available for the current financial year and we are reviewing with the Housing Corporation the possibility, of lifting restrictions on the later applicants who have been placed on a waiting list.

Local Government Reform

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what guidance he is giving to the London residuary body in respect of transfers from the Greater London council mortgage account to private sector companies;(2) if he will itemise the subjects covered by instructions, directives and guidance issued by his Department to each residuary body since abolition of the Greater London council and metropolitan county councils;(3) if he will give his current estimate of the number of ex-Greater London council staff who have still not received full payment of outstanding moneys from the London residuary body;(4) if he has given any guidance to the London residuary body in respect of the disposal or future use of County Hall;

(5) pursuant to his reply of 27 March, Official Report, column 621, if it is his intention that the transfer of Greater London council seaside and country homes to a housing association will be made without charge.

I shall answer these questions shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an indicative figure of meetings between (a) officials and (b) Ministers with the London residuary body since abolition of the Greater London council.

Since 1 April last, there have been three formal meetings between Ministers of this Department and members of the London residuary body; and about 20 meetings between officials of the Department and those of the London residuary body.

Water Authorities

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, and publish an analysis of, the responses received to date by his Department to the White Paper "Privatisation of the Water Authorities in England and Wales".

My Department has received 280 letters from organisations and others, following publication of the White Paper. It is for the originators of those letters to publish their views, if they so wish. Many were seeking information.

Widdicombe Report

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now announce the date for publication of the Widdicombe inquiry report on local government.

I shall answer this question shortly.

County Hall

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive proposals for the future use of County Hall; and if he will make a statement.

Decisions on the future use of County hall are for the London residuary body, which is awaiting a consultants' report on its market possibilities.

Hostels

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate how many families with dependent children are currently living in hostels which have been declared unfit by environmental health officers.

I regret that no information is kept centrally from which a reliable estimate could be made.

Rate Support

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the amount of Government support per ratepayer in 1986–87 in Derbyshire; and if he will give equivalent figures for Surrey, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire.

The information is as follows:

Aggregate Exchequer Grant Per Domestic Ratepayer in 1986–87
	£
Derbyshire	512
Surrey	208
Wiltshire	619
Bedfordshire	425
Leicestershire	653
Gloucestershire	574

1. The figures include grants paid to the county council and the district councils.2. Aggregate Exchequer Grant consists of Block Grant (the Department's initial estimates of entitlements prior to the first Rate Support Grant Supplementary Report), Domestic Rate Relief Grant and Transport Supplementary Grant as given in the Rate Support Grant Settlement Report, and specific grants as reported by authorities in their 1986–87 budget returns.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of Government support per ratepayer was given in 1985–86 in Derbyshire; and if he will compare that figure with the years since 1978.

The information for Derbyshire is as follows:

Aggregate Exchequer Grant Per Domestic Ratepayer
	£
1981–82	597
1982–83	597
1983–84	616
1984–85	675
1985–86	561

Notes:

1. Information for years prior to 1981–82 is not readily available.

2. The figures include grants paid to the county council and the district councils.

3. Aggregate Exchequer Grant consists of block grant, Domestic Rate Relief Grant and Transport Supplementary Grant as given in the latest Rate Support Grant Reports and specific grants as reported by authorities on returns to the Department.

Departmental Staff

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff in his Department are currently engaged on planning work associated with London.

There are 32 staff in the Greater London regional office currently engaged wholly or partly on planning work.

Volume 99: debated on Thursday 12 June 1986

Written Answers To Questions

Wales

School Leavers (Qualifications)

Sixth Form Colleges

Nuclear Waste (Capenhurst)

Nursery Education

Orthopaedic Health Officers

Nhs (Cash Limits)

Trade And Industry

Leyland Bus

Unimar

Regional Development Agencies

Jaguar Cars

Bl (Corporate Plan)

Japanese Vehicles (Import Restrictions)

British Shipbuilders

Transport

Entry And Search Powers

Severn Tunnel Junction (Closure)

Road And Rail Improvement Schemes

East London River Crossing

M25 (Thames Crossing)

Highway Maintenance

A249 (Repair Works)

British Airways (Aero Engines)

Traffic Commissioners

M4 (Service Areas)

Employment

Careers Advisory Service

Wages (Arrears)

Community Programme

Earnings

Wages Councils (Inspections)

Scotland

Tree Diseases

Wages Orders

Students (Sce)

Nhs (Waiting Lists)

Nhs Beds

School Rolls

Data Protection

Greater Glasgow Health Board

Lennox Castle Hospital

Mental Welfare Commission

Royal Scottish National Hospital

Housing (Member's Correspondence)

Salmon

Energy

Nuclear Industry

British Gas

Nuclear Reactors (Insurance Cover)

Housebuilding (Energy Efficiency)

Small Businesses

Energy Conservation

Sellafield

Nuclear Waste

Home Department

Small Businesses

Armley Gaol

Immigration

Visitors

Suicides (Leeds)

Breeding Of Dogs Act 1973

"Bury The Debt—Not The Dead"

Community Radio

Committal Proceedings

Firearm And Shotgun Certificates

Education And Science

Advanced Further Education

Careers Service

Liverpool (Ministerial Visit)

Anti-Drug Abuse Video

Special Educational Needs

Part-Time Students

Animal Harvesting

School Leaving Dates

Sixth Form Colleges

Nursery Schools