asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of any changes made in plans for the concentration of units of the Tropical Development Research Institute at Chatham since he made the initial announcement.

There have been no changes to the plan announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Raison), the then Minister for Overseas Development, on 5 September 1985 for the relocation of the Tropical Development and Research Institute and the Land Resources Development Centre to a single site at the Chatham maritime development area. Detailed planning is continuing and the move is expected to be completed during 1988.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to increase the numbers of teachers of physics, chemistry, mathematics and other sciences.

The consultative document "Action on Teacher Supply in Mathematics, Physics and Technology" set out our proposals for those secondary subjects experiencing the most serious supply difficulties. Some of the measures discussed in the document are relevant to other science provision. We shall continue to monitor the demand for teachers of all subjects and to consider where further action might be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will rank in ascending order by his country the number of weekly hours of reading time for each of the age groups (i) 15 to 24, (ii) 25 to 34, (iii) 35 to 44, (iv) 45 to 54, (v) 55 to 64 and (vi) 65 years and over in those Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries for which he has information;(2) if he will rank in ascending order by country the total number of weekly hours of reading time in those Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for which he has information;(3) what information his Department holds on the incidence of functional illiteracy by age group for the British population.

This information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of schools closed for each year from 1979–80 to 1985–86 inclusive, and the percentage of these closures which involved rural schools.

Information on school closures is kept by calendar year. Numbers of closures approved by the Secretary of State or determined by local education authorities since 1979 are shown in the table.

Year	Total school closures	Rural school closures	Rural school closures as a percentage of all closures
1979	77	26	33·8
1980	110	45	40·9
1981	225	89	39·6
1982	247	76	30·8
1983	295	131	44·4
1984	259	103	39·8
1985	210	56	26·7
11986	98	36	36·7
1 To end of September.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if there are any plans to alter the current three-term academic year; and if he will make a statement.

The National Association of Head Teachers, the Association of County Councils and, very recently, the National Union of Teachers have all issued consultative documents on this subject. I understand that the NAHT will be discussing the matter shortly with representatives of examining and validating bodies. We shall be interested to see the outcome of the consultations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received regarding the position in the talks on the pay of teachers in England and Wales.

My right hon. Friend has received some 200 letters since the Coventry meeting in July. Nearly all have been critical of the Coventry heads of agreement The most common criticism has been the reduced differentials for the present scale 4 and senior teachers. Other criticisms have included the long period of assimilation to the proposed new pay scale, and the reduced opportunities for promotion.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many single sex schools there are in England; if he will break down the numbers into local education authority areas, showing the number of schools (a) for boys and (b) for girls; and if he will make a statement.

The number of maintained single sex schools in England in January 1986 was 616. The breakdown by local education authority is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science pursuant to the answer of 22 October to the hon. Member for Leicester, East Official Report, column 885, if he will now give comprehensive figures detailing the number of passes attained in A and 0-levels for Leicester and the east midlands.

This information is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the policy sub-committee of Manchester Education Committee concerning his proposal to establish city technology colleges; what reply he is sending; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has recently received a letter from Councillor Harris, Chair of the Policy Sub-Committee of the Manchester City Council Education Committee. He will be replying shortly, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the number of orange badges issued to people who are registered blind in (i) inner London, (ii) outer London, (iii) metropolitan districts, (iv) non-metropolitan counties in England, (v) Wales and (vi) Scotland.

Information is not collected centrally in the form requested. In the light of details supplied by some local authorities it is estimated there are currently some 24,000 such badge holders throughout Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects to publish the consultants' reports on the four London road assessment studies.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Greenwich on 27 October at column 40.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to improve communications, other than by rail, from the north east to the Channel tunnel.

Our aim is to ensure that the network of motorways and trunk roads is adequate to meet current and future needs. These include the need to provide access to the Channel tunnel from all parts of the country. The current construction programme includes schemes to upgrade existing north-south routes and roads to the tunnel in Kent.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what safeguards he intends to introduce to ensure that commercial pressures on ports to reduce costs will not reduce standards within the marine pilotage service;(2) if he has any plans to change the current arrangements for marine pilotage so as to improve safety of navigation.

The Government intend to introduce proposals for legislation as soon as possible which will transfer responsibility for pilotage to the harbour authorities. The legislation will require authorities to provide the pilotage services which are necessary to secure safety of navigation, and there is no reason to believe that the authorities will act irresponsibly in meeting this requirement.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now list those harbour authorities to which he intends to transfer pilotage responsibilities.

The terms of the new legislation will determine which harbour authorities will become responsible for pilotage. A list of the relevant authorities will be made available when the legislative proposals are published.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list information available to him as to which harbour authorities have experience in running pilotage services.

Of the 45 pilotage authorities which have responsibility for pilotage, 29 are harbour authorities; those harbour authorities which are active in this capacity are as listed:

• Aberdeen Harbour Board
• Associated British Ports
• Berwick Harbour Commissioners
• Bristol Port Authority
• Coleraine Harbour Commissioners
• Dundee Port Authority
• Fenland District Council
• Fraserburgh Harbour Commissioners
• Grampian Regional Council
• Inverness Harbour Trust
• Irvine Harbour Company
• King's Lynn Conservancy Board
• Lancaster Port Commissioners
• Lerwick Harbour Trust
• Littlehampton Harbour Board
• Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners
• Manchester Ship Canal Company
• Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
• Montrose Harbour Trust
• Orkney Islands Council
• Peterhead Harbour Trust
• Shetland Islands Council
• Wick Harbour Trust

In addition, local harbour authorities are invariably among the interests represented in the membership of other pilotage authorities or their pilotage committees. In a few cases, staff are shared by a pilotage authority and a harbour authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of cost savings arising from economies in administration and operation as a result of the proposed integration of pilotage with other port services.

I refer to my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend's earlier question on 25 July at column 515.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to quantify estimated savings expected to be achieved from legislative proposals emanating from his Department.

It is already my right hon. Friend's policy to do so wherever possible.

asked the Paymaster General if he will consider the extension of the community industry scheme to allow participants to stay on the scheme for two years instead of one.

No.

asked the Paymaster General if he will rank in ascending order for the most recent year for which figures are available the number of public holidays and days of annual leave entitlement per year per employee in each Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country for which he has information.

Different countries apply different conventions to the definition and measurement of holidays so their statistics are not wholly comparable. However, the table gives the latest information which is available ranked in ascending order of annual leave entitlement.

Number of public holidays and days of annual leave
Annual entitlement per employee in 1980 (unless otherwise stated)
	Public holidays	Annual leave entitlement
Japan	12	6–203
Germany	11–132	18–333
United Kingdom	8	204
Norway5	9	203
Canada6	10·6	20·33
Italy	9–10	20–2617
Portugal	12–14	21–301
Netherlands	8	233
Denmark	9·5	241
France	10	241
Belgium	10	241
Sweden	10	251
Luxembourg	10	2531
Austria6	12	263
Notes:
1 Statutory minimum.
2 Varies according to state.
3 Average entitlement.
4 Leave to which over 85 per cent. of full-time employees in Great Britain were entitled in 1981.
5 Figures for 1978.
6 Figures for 1977.
7 Varies according to industry.

asked the Paymaster General what information his Department collects on the trends in average hours actually worked per week per employed person and activity sector for England and Wales.

An index of average weekly hours worked by operatives in manufacturing industries in Great Britain (but not in England and Wales separately) is published each month in table 1.12 of the labour market data section of Employment Gazette. This index is based on the average basic hours worked by operatives covered by national wage agreements, together with the hours of overtime worked and hours lost through short-time working.Table 5.6 of the labour market data section of Employment Gazette gives information from the new earnings survey, which is conducted each April, on average weekly hours of full-time employees in Great Britain in manufacturing industries and all industries and services. Table 5.4 gives similar information for certain industries for full-time manual employees by industry in the United Kingdom for October.Estimates of the average hours worked by persons in employment in all industries in England and Wales in the spring of each year can also be derived from the labour force survey.

asked the Paymaster General what estimates there are for expenditure on each special employment measure, including YTS, for each year from 1980 for each area manpower board in England, Wales and Scotland.

I regret that it is not possible to provide the information requested except at a disproportionate cost.

asked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards self-employment, with specific reference to current Inland Revenue practice in relation to assessment for income tax and national insurance contributions.

The Government is committed to encouraging self-employment as an important source of enterprise and innovation, new business formation and jobs. I welcome the marked increase in the number of self-employed people, from just over 1·8 million in 1979 to more than 2·7 million now. More than 179,000 self-employed people have benefited from our enterprise allowance scheme.Paragraph 6.12 of the White paper "Building Businesses … Not Barriers" (Cmnd. 9794) recorded progress being made by Inland Revenue and DHSS to improve tax and national insurance procedures for the self-employed. The Government remain committed to seeking further such improvements where these are possible.

asked the Paymaster General what plans there are to assist more easily and generously long-term unemployed men and women to relocate to take up employment.

Long-term unemployed people, like other jobseekers, may apply for assistance under the travel to interview scheme, which pays fares to jobseekers attending interviews with employers beyond daily travelling distance of their homes. Restart interviewers give long-term unemployed people advice about this scheme in appropriate cases. There are no plans at present to extend this scheme.

asked the Paymaster General how many men and women over 50 years of age who had been long-term unemployed are now in full-time employment in the northeast region.

The information requested is not available.

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the total number of exemption permits issued by the Manpower Services Commission in relation to the requirement of employers to employ a minimum of 3 per cent. registered disabled people in each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

Information is not collected centrally on the number of permits issued under the terms of the quota scheme. However, figures are available on the numbers of employers who were below quota on 1 June and to whom permits had been issued during the previous 12 months. Figures for the last seven years are set out in the table. The issue of a permit enables an employer who is not employing the 3 per cent. quota of registered disabled people lawfully to engage a specified number of workers who are not so registered. However, the permit does not exempt the employer from the duty under the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act to employ the quota.

Number of employers issued with permits in the 12 months to 1 June
Year	Number
1980	22,001
1981	21,183
1982	19,796
1983	18,536
1984	18,769
1985	18,681
1986	18,840

asked the Paymaster General if he will list those companies with 1,000 or more employees for which an exemption certificate in respect of employment of disabled people was issued during the last 12 months for which this information is available.

Information about the application of the quota scheme provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act to individual employers has been treated by successive Governments as confidential and is not disclosed without their agreement.

asked the Paymaster General what assessment he has made of the employment consequences of a minimum wage policy.

Using the earnings information from the 1985 new earnings survey, we estimate that a national minimum wage of £80 per week (the level implied in the TUC/Labour party document "Low Pay: Policies and Priorities") could result in job losses ranging between 60,000 and 600,000 over a period of time. This large range reflects uncertainty about the effect of a minimum wage on the structure of earnings, and the extent to which higher paid workers would be able to secure compensating wage increases to restore previous differentials.

asked the Paymaster General if he will indicate the nature of each change in the basis of the calculation of the total number of unemployed persons since 1979 and the effect, in terms of numbers, on the unemployed register consequent upon each change.

A full description of all the changes since 1979 which have so far affected the published unemployment figures was given on page 422 of the October 1986 edition of Employment Gazette, a copy of which is the Library.

asked the Paymaster General in which department, within the local office, the claim advisers administering the new availability for work regulations will be; and who will be their line managers.

Claimant advisers will operate from unemployment benefit offices and will replace unemployment review officers in the DHSS advising on benefits and re-employment opportunities. They will be managed separately by team managers who will report directly to their respective regional offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will indicate the nature and size of the current deficit in the balance of trade in manufactured goods.

In September, trade in manufactures showed a deficit of £0·6 billion.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the financial targets set for the Post Office for 1985–86 and 1986–87, respectively.

As I announced on 24 July 1985, at columns 565–66, each of royal mails and counters was required to secure a 4·5 per cent. return on turnover, on the current cost accounting convention, before tax, but after interest for the financial year 1985–86.As to 1986–87, I announced on 31 July this year that the postal business of the Post Office had been set an overall target of securing a return on turnover of 3·25 per cent. before interest and tax in each of the years 1986–87 to 1988–89. The full text of my announcement was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the amount of Post Office investment approved for each year, individually since 1983, together with his estimate of the amount to be approved for 1986–87 and 1987–88; what the amount will be in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

The annual public expenditure White Paper states the level of investment in fixed assets agreed for the succeeding financial year for individual nationalised industries. For the Post Office's postal business the figures for the years 1982–83 were as follows:

	£ million
1982–83	115·0
1983–84	130·0
1984–85	156·8
1985–86	134·0
1986–87	98·0

During 1985–86 the level of investment approved for that year was increased to £164 million. The investment approved for 1987–88 and estimates of expenditure on fixed assets in 1988–89 and 1989–90 will be published in the forthcoming public expenditure White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has as to the comparative productivity of foreign-owned firms operating in the United Kingdom and British firms over the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

The table compares the value added per employee in United Kingdom manufacturing industry by United Kingdom and foreign owned enterprises for 1981 and 1983. Data are available only for every second year, the most recent being 1983. The apparent significant difference between the productivity of United Kingdom and foreign firms may, at least in part, be explained by the disproportionate presence of foreign owned firms in high value added sectors of the economy.

Gross value added per employee by United Kingdom and foreign owned enterprises in the United Kingdom manufacturing industry
	1981	1983
	£	£
United Kingdom owned enterprises	9,631	12,323
Foreign owned enterprises	12,355	16,626

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the volume of cigarette sales in the United Kingdom in 1980–81, 1985–86 and in the first three months of the present financial year; and what proportion of the total volume of those sales was met by imported cigarettes in each of those periods.

The information available on quantities of cigarettes released for consumption in United Kingdom as compiled by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise is as follows:

Quantities of cigarettes released for home consumption
	Total clearances	Proportion accounted for by imports
	Million	Per cent.
1980–81	119,185	1·5
1985–86	96,304	11·0
1986–87 April-June	13,190	8·1

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list in the Official Report the chemicals which are on the restricted list for export to Iraq.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he is providing to retailers about the steps which they should take in relation to lawnmowers in stock at the time of implementation of the Lawnmowers (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1986; and if he will make a statement.

The Lawnmowers (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1986 applies to lawnmowers manufactured on or after 1 July 1987. Retailers existing stock at the time of implementation will therefore not be affected.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if batch sampling of new lawnmowers will be permitted after the implementing of the Lawnmowers (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement outlining the policy objectives which Her Majesty's Government are seeking to achieve by making the Lawnmowers (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1986.

The regulations arise from the requirement on the United Kingdom to implement EC directive 84/538/EEC. The directive removes those technical barriers to trade between member states which arise because member states have different national rules on noise levels which they apply to lawnmowers. Thus, the UK policy objective of the regulations is to gain the advantage for British lawnmower manufacturers of guaranteed access to markets in member states without having to comply with many different standards. It is also part of the general UK policy to complete the internal market by 1992. This policy was affirmed by heads of member states at the treaty conference in December 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds in travel and accommodation of public servants during the negotiations in the EEC of the directive on lawnmower harmonisation of noise emission standards; and how many official and ministerial meetings took place in the course of negotiations.

No such estimate can be made. The lawnmowers proposal was one of a package adopted in 1984 and was negotiated (over a number of years) together with others in a sometimes sporadic fashion. Meetings attended by United Kingdom officials usually covered more than just the lawnmowers proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many testing centres he plans to authorise to conduct tests in accordance with the Lawnmowers (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1986; and what criteria he will apply in determining the location of such centres.

Nine test laboratories have already been appointed to carry out tests. Any test organisation can apply to be appointed and one of the criteria for appointment is satisfying the national measurement accreditation service requirements. There are no criteria for determining the location of the laboratories.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what steps he is taking to control the level of charges levied for testing lawnmowers under the Lawnmowers (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1986; and if he will make a statement;

[pursuant to his reply, 3 November 1986]: The additional cost to manufacturers will depend largely on the extent to which their lawnmowers already meet the specified noise levels.The Lawnmower (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1986 implements the European Communities article 100 directive, which was adopted in September 1984 and comes into force on 1 July 1987. The purpose of this directive is to harmonise member states' laws relating to the permissible sound power level of certain categories of lawnmower. Prior to being placed onto the market, lawnmowers will have to be tested and certified to show they conform to the requirements of the directive. Conforming products will have free access to the Community market. Obviously it is hoped that the advantages to be gained by the United Kingdom's Lawnmower industry from a more open Community market will outweigh the initial additional costs.With regard to the control of charges for tests, my Department has agreed with the manufacturers and the appointed test laboratories to allow for market forces to dictate the charges. Manufacturers are therefore able to shop around and negotiate an acceptable price.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the fifth conference of European Ministers responsible for sport.

The United Kingdom was represented by officials from the Department and the director general of the Sports Council. The agenda was divided into two themes: progress in European sports co-operation 1984–1986; and items of current political concern. A number of resolutions were adopted, all of which were acceptable to the United Kingdom.In particular, the conference agreed on the need to extend the impact of the European anti-doping charter for sport adopted at the last conference in Malta in 1984. Doping remains one of the intractable problems facing sport today. Although the ultimate sanction lies with the national and international sports federations, Governments can and should help through concerted international action. To this end the conference welcomed the positive contribution made by the Canadian Minister of Sport, and his offer to act as an intermediary to spread the Council of Europe's-and Canada's-work to other nations, including the United States of America and the Eastern block.Another important agenda item was apartheid in sports. On the point of principle there was nothing between us: we all abhor apartheid and wish to see it ended in South Africa.There were, however, differences — inspired by differences of constitution — in the way Governments viewed their locus in trying to prevent sporting contacts with South Africa. The resolution adopted is acceptable to the United Kingdom, and is compatible with Commonwealth and Her Majesty's Government's policy on sporting contacts with South Africa as enshrined in the "Gleneagles Agreement."There was a useful discussion about the operation of the European convention on spectator violence and misbehaviour at sports events. Continuing political impetus was given to the work on violence associated with sport in general, and in particular to a study of the reasons behind violence with an aim to prevention.The conference also adopted resolutions on ways to increase the impact of "Sport for All" policies with reference to participation by specific target groups. In particular, it endorsed the "European Charter for Sport for All: Disabled Persons"; and passed a resolution on "Sport for Prisoners and Young Delinquents". The conference agreed more generally the need to assess ways in which healthy participation for all might be promoted in a co-ordinated European programme through the study of injuries and their prevention.Conference also supported resolutions on: international sports competitions, recognising that Governments share some concern for the wider implications of staging of major sports events; new partnerships in sport, conscious of the respective roles of Government, sport, commerce and media to the development of sport , sport and the environment, recognising the importance of reconciling sporting and environmental interests when and where these are in conflict; the 1988 Olympic Games, reaffirming support for the Olympic movement both now and in the future; and the future activities of the Council of Europe in the field of sport.I shall place copies of these resolutions in the Library once the final texts have been issued by the conference secretariat.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange for his Department to collect and publish information on the percentage of the British population exposed to (a) road traffic noise and (b) aircraft noise.

The "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics", published annually by my Department and available in the Library of the House, includes statistics relating to noise from road traffic and aircraft. While my Department's research programme includes studies aimed at identifying more precisely the nature and scale of noise nuisance from various sources, we have no plans to expand these statistics at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many changes have been made in the contents and method of calculating rate support grant for 1987–88.

The Secretary of States proposals for the 1987–88 rate support grant settlement were set out in his consultation paper issued on 3 October, copies of which are in the Library. By comparison with the 1986–87 settlement, substantial increases are proposed in the provision for local authority expenditure, and in the aggregate amount available for grant. A number of changes in the method of distributing grant are also proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the number of travellers caravans on (a) authorised and (b) unauthorised sites in (i) Greater London and (ii) the London borough of Greenwich as revealed by the July 1986 census.

Returns were received from 31 out of the 32 London boroughs. The figures are:

	Caravans on authorised sites	Caravans on unauthorised sites
Greater London	598	413
London Borough of Greenwich	78	66

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth can expect a reply to his two letters of 1 May and 25 July with reference to Mrs. B. Johnston of Age Concern, Rugby.

My hon. Friend's letter of 1 May was received in the Department and was identified as a matter for which the Department of Health and Social Security has responsibility. The correspondence then appears to have gone astray in the process of arranging its transfer. The Department can find no record of the further letter of 25 July. I apologise unreservedly for any difficulty that may have been caused to my hon. Friend, and I shall write to him so that we can now deal speedily with the issues raised by him and his constituent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the percentage change in grant-related expenditure for each local authority between 1986–87 and 1987–88, ranked from biggest increase to biggest decrease.

The figures are as follows:

Per cent. change 1986–87 to 1987–88
	Provisional GREs
City of London	47·8
West Yorkshire Police	23·6
Merseyside Police	21·6
Easington	18·4
South Yorkshire Police	13·5
Greater Manchester Police	12·0
South Yorkshire Fire	11·1
Tyne & Wear Fire	9·6
West Yorkshire Fire	9·4
Metropolitan Police	9·0
Merseyside PTA	8·9
Greater Manchester Fire	8·9
Merseyside Fire	8·7
West Midlands Fire	8·3
Newham	8·2
West Midlands PTA	7·8
Greater London Fire	7·6