asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received about strip-searching in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

About 40 letters, some from organisations and some from individuals, have been received during the last six months, mostly about the searching of women prisoners. In addition, a report was published by the National Council for Civil Liberties in July, and we have also received a report from the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights.Strip-searching is a normal feature of prison security arrangements throughout the United Kingdom, and to the best of our knowledge, in other western European countries and North America. I am satisfied that the level of searches in Northern Ireland is the minimum consistent with requirements of security and safety.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will now review current tax arrangements for encouraging self-employment; and if he will make a statement;(2) what representations he has received concerning the current Inland Revenue rulings determining the status of a taxpayer as between being employed or self-employed; and if he will make a statement;(3) whether he will publish a list of the basic rules and procedures by which the Inland Revenue determines the status of taxpayers, for both tax and national insurance purposes; what plans he has for amending and relaxing these rules, in the light of Her Majesty's Government's policy of promoting self-employment; and if he will make a statement;(4) what plans his Department has for promoting self-employment through changes in taxation policy and tax administration.

Since this Government came to office, the number of self-employed people has risen by more than 800,000; an increase of almost half. This reflects the success of the Government's measures over the whole range of policy and administration.Whether an individual is self-employed is a question of fact and of general law. Essentially the question is whether someone is in business on their own account. In the vast majority of cases, the rules provide a straightforward answer.We have taken a number of steps to provide, in plain words, clear guidance on the rules, to ensure greater consistency of approach between Government Departments, and to reduce the administrative burden on individuals. Copies of pamphlet IR 56 which the Inland Revenue published last year to help any taxpayers who are in doubt whether they are employed or self-employed have already been placed in the Library.Our consistent objective has been to encourage genuine self-employment and to help people to set up their own businesses.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what new economic and financial obligations it is envisaged that Her Majesty's Government would have to undertake in the event of the United Kingdom joining the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system; and if he will make a statement.

There would be an obligation to maintain the value of sterling within the agreed margins.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the EEC Commission is not required to pay interest on delayed payments to EEC member states.

The Council has always so far taken the view that it would not be fruitful for the Commission to pay interest to member states in such cases since member states themselves would have to finance the interest payments just like other Community budget expenditure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to adjust taxation on petrol so that lead-free petrol retails at a lower price than leaded petrol.

I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the estimated tax revenue since 1982 from the taxation of unemployment benefit, both in total and for each year since 1982.

I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the European Court of Justice to consider and determine the case being promoted by the European Economic Community Commission for a declaration that the zero rating of sewerage, water, gas, electricity, new houses and protective clothing and footwear should be discontinued for purposes of levying value added tax; and if he will make a statement.

The written part of the proceedings has now been completed: the United Kingdom's rejoinder was lodged with the court on 2 October 1986; but a date for the oral hearing has not yet been set. It is unlikely to be before March 1987. Judgment is normally given about two months after the oral hearing.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of additional revenue per annum which would accrue to the Treasury if the United Kingdom abolishes zero rating for certain goods and services as proposed in the infraction proceedings initiated by the European Economic Community Commission in the Court of Justice; and if he will make a statement.

The Government do not accept the Commission's contention that the sixth VAT directive requires the imposition of VAT on the goods and services covered by the infraction proceedings. If they did, however, the revenue yield would depend on the rate imposed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department has made a study of the correlation between changes in the total taxation in cigarettes and changes in the volume of sales; and if he will make a statement.

It is estimated that for a 1 per cent. increase in the total tax on cigarettes the price of cigarettes rises by about three-quarters of a percent and the volume of sales is about one-third of a percent lower than it would otherwise have been.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the retail price of cigarettes is taken up by the tax, including duty, on tobacco.

Duty and value added tax together currently account for three quarters of the retail price of a typical packet of 20 cigarettes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what approaches he has made to the customs directorate of the European Community Commission concerning the control copy T5 form; and what response has been received.

The United Kingdom customs delegation to the appropriate committee of the Customs Union Service of the EC Commission secured agreement, at the most recent meeting of that committee, on 23 September, that the question of control copies of T5 forms should be further examined with a view to improving the system. The United Kingdom has pressed for Commission staff to prepare proposals to be put before the committee at an early future meeting.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the assessment of Lloyd's underwriting profit for tax and national insurance purposes.

I regret that it has not been possible to provid an answer before Prorogation. I shall write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, for each of the financial years from 1980 onwards, how many businesses registered for value added tax purposes had an annual turnover of less than £100,000; and in each year what proportion of the total businesses registered for value added tax those numbers represented.

I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total cost of pre-flotation publicity for each of the concerns privatised by the Government since 1979.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 October 1986, c. 232]: The Government's pre-sale publicity costs on share sales since 1979 were, excluding VAT:

	£'000
British Aerospace (1981)	545
Cable and Wireless (1981)	303
Amersham International (1982)	99
Britoil (1982)	304
Associated British Ports (1983)	260
Cable and Wireless (1983)	806
Associated British Ports (1984)	125
Enterprise Oil (1984)	213
British Telecom (1984)	12,383
British Aerospace (1985)	1,656
Britoil (1985)	3,528
Cable and Wireless (1985)	2,422

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people had incomes below the level which makes them liable to the standard rate of income tax in 1956, 1960, 1970, 1975, 1980 and the latest date for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 November 1986]: The information is as follows:

(million)
	Tax units1
Year	Not liable to tax	Liable at Reduced Rates2only	Total not liable at Standard/Basic Rate
1956–57	38·9	12·7	21·6
1960–61	37·3	14·2	21·5
1970–71	8·2	—	8·2
1975–76	7·6	—	7·6
1980–81	8·8	—	8·8
1986–874	10·7	—	10·7
1 Married couples and single persons over school leaving age but not at school.
2 Reduced rates were charged as follows:

£	per cent.	per cent.
1956–57
60 at	11·25	(8·75)
150 at	23·75	(18·47)
150 at	33·75	(26·25)

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the proportion of public expenditure taken up by rent rebates, rate rebates, and housing benefit, in 1956, 1960, 1970, 1975, 1980, and the latest date for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 November 1986]: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the Lord Advocate's guidelines to chief constables on the workings of the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) Act 1981; and if he will make a statement.

As the guidelines are lengthy, I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will make available to interested parties the guidelines to chief constables on the workings of the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) Act 1981.

Courtesy copies of the guidelines will be made available to interested parties on request.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what recent representations he has received on the introduction of the General Certificate of Secondary Education syllabus in Welsh schools; if he plans to increase cash support for the examination; and if he will make a statement.

Since the start of the present school term representation about resources for the introduction of the GCSE have been received from three local education authorities, three parent teacher associations, one school governing body, one teacher and two parents. Considerable resources have been made available to local education authorities; special funding for books and equipment during 1986–87 of £300,000 from MSG and more than £900,000 through the education support grant mechanism, and £1·2 million over the two years 1987–88 and 1988–89. The Government consider that these resources are sufficient to ensure the smooth introduction of the GCSE bearing in mind that they are intended to be additional to adequate local authority provision through secondary school capitation allowances.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the adoption of an amendment to the current European Community tariff quota on wet, salted cod.

As requested by the House of Commons Select committee on European Legislation, I wish to explain the agreement by the Government to the amendment to the operative date of the current tariff quota for wet, salted cod before it was possible for the Select committee to scrutinise it. There is no impact on the United Kingdom's interests. In order to meet the compelling economic needs of Portugal, agreement in principle was reached at the Fisheries Council on 22 September that the quota, which came into force on 2 July 1986, should be retroactive to 1 March 1986. The Government agreed to this exceptional measure, after satisfying itself that the use of retroactive application in this case met the conditions of the EC Council resolution of 27 June 1974 concerning measures to simplify customs administrations and although it had not been scrutinised by Parliament. I regret that the normal parliamentary procedures were not followed on this occasion but, in the circumstances, I hope the House will understand why the Government acted in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Internal Market Council meeting held on 3 November.

The Council, which I chaired, agreed three items in the presidency action programme on completing the internal market. These were directives on standards for direct broadcasting by satellite (which was adopted) and on the co-ordination of the laws of member states relating to self-employed commercial agents; and a resolution on the introduction of appropriate signboards at the communities external frontiers and internal borders. The Council also made progress on a number of other items in the internal market programme; on good laboratory practice for chemical products; on marketing and testing of pharmaceutical products; on Community trade marks; on the gradual abolition of controls and formalities applicable to Community nationals when crossing intra-Community borders; on a right of residence for EC nationals in the territory of other Member States and on roll-over protection structures for tractors.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has on the average effective patent life of pharmaceutical products.

The term of the patent is 20 years from the date of filing. Patents filed before June 1978 are subject, during the last four years of that term, to licences of right. The Association of the British Pharmacutical Industry has supplied statistics showing that, for products first marketed in recent years, the average time that had elapsed from filing of the corresponding patent was as follows:

	Years
1981	9·1
1982	11·6
1983	10·6
1984	11·7
1985	11·8

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what steps are being taken by Her Majesty's Government to encourage inventors by increasing the patent life of products;(2) whether the Government proposes to legislate on the basis of paragraph 6.11 of chapter VI of Cmnd. 9712;(3) when the Government propose to introduce legislation on the basis of Cmnd. 9712 on intellectual property and innovation.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table showing the trade deficits and surpluses in manufactures with the European Economic Community and the rest of the world, respectively, as set out in his reply of 5 November, Official Report, column 466, but on an overseas trade statitics basis.

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

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply of 23 October, Official Report, column 933, to the right hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Freeson) if the search of the Ministry of Defence records revealed any involvement by Dr. Kurt Waldheim in the fate of service men taken prisoner by German Army Group E during world war two.

I have nothing to add to my answer of 23 October to the right hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Freeson).

asked the Prime Minister what information Her Majesty's Government have received recently in relation to an accident with a United States nuclear submarine in the Irish sea; and if she will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 9 May 1986 at column 270.

asked the Prime Minister (1) what discussions she or her Office had with the Australian Prime Minister Mr. Bob Hawke on matters relating to legal action in Australia on the Wright memoirs;(2) whether she has discussed the proceedings or matters relating to the proceedings in the Wright memoirs case in the Australian courts with members of the Australian Government or Members of the Australian Parliament; and if she will make a statement;(3) what advice she has given the Australian Government as to the way the Australian Government may wish to participate in the proceedings before the Supreme Court in New South Wales in the case of Her Majesty's Government's action against Heinemann Australia PTY Ltd. and Mr. Peter Wright for an order restraining the publication of Mr. Peter Wright's manuscripts.

Any such discussions, if they have occurred, would be confidential.

asked the Prime Minister whether she has had any discussions with (a) Mr. Shimon Peres and (b) any other member of the Israeli Government regarding Mr. Vanunu prior to Mr. Vanunu's departure from the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

No.

asked the Prime Minister whether any member or official of the Israeli Government communicated to the Prime Minister or her office their intention to seek to procure the return of Mr. Vanunu from the United Kingdom.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total cost to the taxpayer of compiling the Main report on teachers' pay and conditions of service in Scotland.

The cost of the inquiry up to the date of publication of the report, but excluding the cost of publication, was some £67,000. No remuneration was paid to any member of the committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been paid out in travel grants to each school in Tayside region participating in the assisted places scheme in each year since the scheme was implemented.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future of planning education in Scotland; and what representations he has received from the Royal Town Planning Institute on entry into the profession.

The report of the transbinary review of town and country planning education in the United Kingdom was completed in March this year.Following representations from interested parties, including the Scottish branch of the Royal Town Planning Institute, it has been decided that planning courses will continue to be provided at higher education institutions in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Royal Town Planning Institute advocated the retention of three Scottish centres for planning education, resourced on the basis of the report's recommendations, with some additional funding for postgraduate students. No final decision has yet been taken on the latter question.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional accommodation costs at Dunfermline college site will be incurred to meet the proposed transfer of students from Jordanhill college of education.

I do not expect any additional accommodation costs incurred as a direct result of the transfer of students from Jordanhill college of education to be of more than a minor nature.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many services registered under the Transport Act 1985 and which were due to come into operation on 26 or 27 October did not in fact operate.

This information is not available. However the Traffic Commissioner has powers under the Transport Act 1985, where a case is brought to his attention, to penalise any operator who fails to operate a service that has been registered.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received from the Edinburgh council for the Single Homeless about accommodation for young people in the public sector; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I have received letters dated 28 October from the Edinburgh Council for the Single Homeless, making a number of points about youth homelessness. We are still considering these representations; when my reply issues, I will send a copy to the hon. Member.

asked the Sectretary of State for Scotland if he will now instruct the Scottish Education Department to increase its annual grant to the centre for continuing education at Dundee university to a level comparable with the 1985 funding of at least £11,500.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will include the video "Getting over the Fear" in the training programme for police officers at Tulliallan police college.

The relevance of this video to police training is currently being assessed by the college.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hours the course at Tulliallan police college lasts for (a) new recruits, (b) refresher courses for officers up to the rank of sergeant and (c) refresher courses for officers; and how many hours on each course are specifically allocated to the workings of and the implementation of the Matrimonial Homes (Family Violence) Act 1981.

The training programme at the Scottish police college is based on the recommendations of a working party of the Police Advisory Board for Scotland which reported in 1983. The programme is kept under regular review and adjustments are made as necessary to meet changing demands. Courses are provided for:—

• Probationer constables (Basic and Advanced courses—both eight weeks)
• Sergeants (two weeks)
• Selected Sergeants (eight weeks)
• Newly Promoted Inspectors (five weeks)
• Superintendents (six weeks)
• Detective Training
• Traffic Training

At present probationer constables receive two periods devoted to the Matrimonial Homes (Family Violence) Act 1981 and domestic violence generally. The selected sergeants' course has three periods on violence against women and two periods on the role of the female and child unit which is operated by Strathclyde police. The newly promoted inspectors' course has two periods on the 1981 Act, and the detective courses have three periods on crime against women. In all cases, each period lasts for 50 minutes. In addition, the safety of women features in other aspects of the training.

asked the Attorney-General, pursuant to the answer of 3 November, Official Report, column 301, what advice he has given to the Australian Government as to in what way the Australian Government may wish to participate in the proceedings before the Supreme Court in New South Wales in the case of the action against Heinemann Australia PTY Ltd. and Mr. Peter Wright for an order restraining the publication of Mr. Wright's manuscripts.

Discussions on these matters between Her Majesty's Government and the Australian Government are confidential.

asked the Attorney-General if he will refer to the Director of Public Prosecutions the allegations of murder contained in the submission to Her Majesty's Government by the Simon Wiesenthal Institute concerning 12 persons currently residing in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

I have not yet had an opportunity fully to consider the submission referred to by the hon. Member and will therefore write to him.

asked the Attorney-General when the Lord Chancellor proposes to publish the results of his review of Order 113 of the Rules of the Supreme Court and Order 24 of the County Court Rules; and if he will make a statement.

The Lord Chancellor is considering the responses to his paper on the summary procedure for the possession of land and the Rule Committee will then decide what changes, if any, to make to the rules in the light of those responses. It is possible that such changes will be concluded in a statutory instrument in December.

asked the Attorney-General if he is taking any steps to seek to ban the distribution of the book "Conspiracy of Silence".

No.

asked the Attorney-General whether he proposes to take any steps against Sir Dick White, Mr. Arthur Martin or Mr. George Russel Leigh in respect of information on MI5 which they have given to publishers.

This matter is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what criteria he used in fixing the level of the charges which have been introduced for milk plant inspections; and if he will make a statement.

The object of charging for milk and dairies work is to cover all the costs which the Ministry incurs in administering the milk and dairies regulations. These costs — which comprise not only wages and salaries but travel expenditure, office and laboratory services, accommodation and other overheads — currently total approximately £2·2 million a year. Following informal discussion with the NFU, FUW and MMB we have concluded that the most equitable way to collect this sum from producers is to charge on the basis of two flat rates, one for routine visits to farms by dairy husbandry officers to check compliance with the regulations and another for visits to farms to sample and later test raw milk sold by holders of an untreated milk producer's licence and private water supplies used for dairying purposes. In the course of discussion with the industry my officials have indicated that these rates are likely to be in the region of £90 a visit and £22 a visit respectively. Dairy husbandry officers visit wholesale producers once every two years on average, so £90 a visit is equivalent to £45 a year. Wholesale producers with high standards of compliance with the regulations are visited once every three years or even less frequently, and for them the proposed charge is equivalent to £30 a year or less. I recognise that holders of an untreated milk producer's licence, including farmhouse caterers, are visited more frequently and that there is concern about the effect of charging upon this sector. I am therefore considering this aspect of charging. I shall then issue formal proposals as a basis for consultation with interested parties in accordance with Section 118(6) of the Food Act 1984, and regulations will then be made and laid before the House in the usual way.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the conditions in which a lorry load of 500 live sheep were transported from Dover to Spain on or about Friday 10 October; and what action he proposes to take.

A journey on 10–11 October was reported in The Observer newspaper on 19 October and further details have been supplied to my Department by the RSPCA. The sheep were transported in French lorries from Calais to Spain. We have contacted the French and Spanish authorities to discuss these reports and ask for their future co-operation. We are investigating whether breaches of United Kingdom law have occurred and have told exporters of sheep to France that they must provide more extensive information, including documentary proof of final destination from the French importer, before further export licences are issued.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by whom the chemical Dinoseb was cleared for use in the United Kingdom; what account he proposes to take of the action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States of America in relation to the chemical; what estimate he has of the size of the workforce of both sexes exposed to this chemical in the United Kingdom; if products containing Dinoseb are available over the counter for use by amateur gardeners; and if he will make a statement.

The herbicide dinoseb has been evaluated on a number of occasions since 1961 by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and its scientific subcommittee. On the basis of their advice, successive Governments have agreed to allow its use, subject to certain conditions, under the pesticides safety precaution scheme and more recently under the new statutory arrangements for pesticides approvals. Under these, Dinoseb has provisional approval. This was agreed jointly by my Department, the Scottish Office, the Welsh Office, and the Departments of Employment, Health and Social Services and the Environment.Companies supplying Dinoseb products in the United Kingdom have been requested to provide us with the data on which the EPA based its decision. As soon as we have those data, they will be evaluated and reviewed as a matter of urgency by the independent experts of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and its scientific sub-committee.No data on exposure to workers using Dinoseb in the United Kingdom are available in the form requested. However, Dinoseb is not widely used in the United Kingdom and, under the terms of its approval, does not leave residues in crops at harvest. Moreover it is subject to the poisonous substances in agriculture regulations as a second schedule part II substance which require operators to wear, according to operation, faceshield, rubber gloves, coverall, rubber boots and hood.The risk of exposure is therefore low.No products containing Dinoseb have been cleared or approved in the United Kingdom for use by amateur growers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the volume or tonnage of cereals which is estimated to have been lost or stolen from intervention stocks in the United Kingdom during the last seven years.

Company	Exchequer loss	Action
	£
Bedford Transport Limited	239,770·20	Beef stocks were sold at a reduced price to minimise loss after mould growth had developed.
Industrial Storage and Forwarding Limited	4,523·70	The stock of skimmed milk powder was taken over by another company. The loss represented handling charges.
F C International Limited	12,233·70	The stock of skimmed milk powder was moved to another store and the sum shown arose principally from the transport costs incurred.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the area in square kilometres of water bounded by the United Kingdom fishing limits; how many (a) vessels and (b) aircraft are available to

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate supervision and effective management of intervention arrangements as far as food surpluses held in the United Kingdom are concerned;(2) if he is satisfied that the management of stocks of cereal surpluses in intervention stores is and has been of adequate competence; and if he will make a statement;(3) what checks are carried out, prior to the approval of companies and premises for storage of intervention stocks of cereals, as to the quality of their staff's equipment and experience; and if he will make a statement;(4) what is his estimate of the size of the stock of cereal held in intervention within the United Kingdom; and on how many sites these stocks are held;(5) how many prosecutions have been initiated in regard to the adulteration of cereal stocks in intervention stores during the last seven years; and if any further prosecutions are currently envisaged;(6) if he will investigate reports that silica sand had been added to cereal stocks held in intervention; arid if he will make a statement.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions companies involved in holding intervention stocks of agricultural produce have been found to be in financial difficulties; how many have gone into liquidation or are threatened with it; and if he will name the companies involved and state in each case the action taken by officials to safeguard public money and the amount of public money that has been or is likely to be lost as a result of the liquidations that have taken, or are likely to take, place.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 November 1986, c. 419]: Details of the companies which went into liquidation are given below. Other information held by the Intervention Board on companies' financial affairs is commercially confidential.police those waters; what estimate he has of the average number of fishing vessels active in United Kingdom waters; and if he will make a statement.

The total sea area within British fishing limits is 581,584 sq km. It is not possible to give a precise estimate of the average number of fishing vessels active in United Kingdom waters but our approximate estimate is between 300 and 500 vessels at any given time, depending on seasonal patterns of fishing and the weather. The Royal Navy fishery protection squadron comprises 13 ships, which are deployed with the aim of securing continuous coverage throughout the year equivalent to 4·7 ships on station. In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland operate four offshore and three inshore patrol vessels to the west of Scotland. At the present time four aircraft are available for inshore and offshore surveillance.The United Kingdom fishery protection services are widely recognised as doing a magnificent job and the surveillance and enforcement of fisheries legislation within British fishery limits are among the best in the world.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review the application of the Official Secrets Acts in regard to the operation of intervention policies in the storage of food surpluses.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's contingency plans for the supply and rationing of food in the event of war together with any expenditure that is being incurred by his Department on preparation for the administration of a rationing system and on stocks of food for human consumption.

Contingency plans for the control and distribution of food in the event of war are developed as part of the normal civil emergency planning functions in my Department. They are summarised in section 11 of the emergency planning guidance issued to local authorities by the Home Office and are the subject of discussions with local authority representatives.Apart from staff costs, the expenditure on these activities is set out in class IV vote 4 of the 1986–87 Supply Estimates.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement as to the effectiveness of part I of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and any circulars issued pursuant to it in dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster; if he proposes to introduce any amending legislation in the light of experience of those consequences; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he proposes to introduce standard training exercises in order to seek to ensure that the provisions of part I of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 are understood fully by the local authorities concerned in their implementation, and that the place of those provisions in the wider context of emergency procedures is also understood; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he is satisfied with the qualifications and training of investigating officers designated under part I of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985; and if he will make a statement.

I am satisfied that the emergency measures implemented by this Department in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident worked well. We are participating in a full review of all aspects of the Government's arrangements and will be examining any specific aspects such as the involvement of local authorities as part of that review. Any changes in present emergency arrangements will be notified to those required to implement them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether during the summer Adjournment United Kingdom agreement was given to the adoption by the Council of any European Community measure before the European Legislation Committee had considered it.

Yes. The Fisheries Council agreed, as a result of a United Kingdom request, to increase the total allowable catch for Clyde herring from 3,100 tonnes to 3,400 tonnes; and the Agriculture Council adopted with United Kingdom agreement a measure repealing certain retaliatory trade steps against the United States of America following the roll-back agreement between the Community and the United States of America. My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State has explained to the chairman of the committee why he agreed on behalf of the United Kingdom to adoption of these measures and of a number of other items of lesser importance.The House will also wish to know that the Agriculture Council agreed to devalue the Irish green rate by three points for crops and six points for livestock products before the committee had considered the proposal. The United Kingdom did not vote in favour, but the measure was nonetheless adopted by a qualified majority.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what forestry development is currently proceeding or is in process of preparation within environmentally sensitive areas; and if he will make a statement;(2) what drainage projects are planned or proceeding on wetland of ecological or environmental attraction within environmentally sensitive areas;(3) what current developments are taking place within environmentally sensitive areas which he assesses are likely to be injurious to the present character of such areas; and which of these projects are supported by grants from public funds.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 November 1986, c. 423]: There may be a number of existing investment projects within environmentally sensitive areas which will need to be reassessed in the light of the designation of these areas. Whilst my Department will honour its commitments where appraisal has already been granted to a project, I have asked my local staff to ensure that where decisions remain to be taken on existing or future works, suppport is given only to those projects which respect the new environmental status of the area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority in Dorset for each of the last five years (a) the number of appeals against planning refusals heard by his Department, (b) the total number of houses involved in these appeals, (c) the number of appeals, (i) upheld and (ii) rejected, (d) the total number of houses involved in (c)(i) and (c)(ii) and (e) the total number of houses involved in (c)(i) and (c)(ii) expressed as a percentage.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria he uses (a) when deciding whether building development should be disallowed on archaeological sites and (b) when deciding whether to fund archaeological survey or rescue work.

The Secretary of State determines each application on its individual merits, following consultation with the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission which is his statutory adviser on archaeological matters. Responsibility for funding archaeological surveys or rescue work rests solely with the commission.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how, when and at what price the Spectrum Arena, Birchwood, Warrington was sold by the Warrington and Runcorn development corporation.

The sale of the Spectrum Arena has not been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when the United States Naval ship Vega first visited Holy Loch;(2) what is the purpose of the visits of the United States Naval ship Vega to Holy Loch.

I understand that the USNS Vega began visiting the Holy Loch in 1983 for routine resupply operations.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether any discussions have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government on the introduction of facilities at Holy Loch for United States Navy strategic missile submarines armed with the Trident I (C-4) missile;(2) whether the Government have been informed by the United States authorities of any use of facilities at Holy Loch by United States Navy strategic missile submarines armed with the Trident I (C-4) missile.

Under existing arrangements, United States SSBNs capable of firing Poseidon missiles may use Holy Loch. The question of the use of Holy Loch by Trident I (C-4) armed United States SSBNs has not arisen.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any discussions have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government on the introduction of facilities for United States Navy attack submarines at Holy Loch.

United States Navy attack submarines have made some use of the facilities at Holy Loch for some years under existing arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what class of missile-firing submarines is supported by the visits of the United States Naval ship Vega to Holy Loch.

I understand that the USNS Vega supports operations conducted by all classes of submarines from the Holy Loch facility by the United States Navy.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will now publish the total amount spent on boarding school allowances to assist service personnel to have their children educated at private schools in Scotland in each year since 1981–82 on account of posting moves at home and overseas;(2) if he will publish in the

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 21 October 1986 at column 822. Records are not maintained in the form requested and the information could not be provided without disproportionate effort.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what commitments were given to his Department by the French Government or Air Force as to the purchase of Nimrod AEW aircraft, before commercially confidential information about the project was made available to such representatives.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the criteria whereby his Department allowed French Defence Ministry and French Air Force officials to be privy to commercially confidential information in connection with the Nimrod AEW project; and if he will make a statement.

Because there are potential savings to be obtained through a joint airborne early warning procurement, the French authorities, with the agreement of both GEC Avionics Ltd. and the Boeing Aerospace company, have been given commercially confidential information about both the systems we are still considering.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he plans to order extra Tornado aircraft for the Royal Air Force as replacements for those originally ordered which formed part of the export contract For the Royal Saudi Air Force.

As announced in the RAF debate on 26 February at column 960, agreement has been reached with British Aerospace that the Tornados being diverted to the Royal Saudi air force will be replaced at no cost to the defence budget.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the Nimrod AEW mission system avionics are now operating at an acceptable standard;(2) what is his assessment of the present efficiency of the GEC Avionics Radar in the AEW Nimrod programme.

[pursuant to his reply, 4 November 1986, c. 432]: We are assessing the merits of each of the two remaining contenders as part of the current AEW competition which is now nearing its final stages.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Royal Observer Corps in Wales has established any nuclear reporting cells in conjunction with armed forces headquarters.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 November 1986]: The locations of the Royal Observer Corps nuclear reporting cells are classified.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the intended functions of Royal Observer Corps nuclear reporting cells before and after a supposed nuclear attack.

[pursuant to his reply, on 6 November 1986]: The function of the nuclear reporting cells is to provide details on nuclear bursts and assessments and advice on the path and intensity of fallout.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the number of graduates in the faculties of engineering and science at Dundee university in each of the past five years.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total cost of the production and posting to each state school of his document concerning teachers' salaries.

The total cost is estimated to be about £50,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions on which he has been asked since 1979 to use his powers under the Police Act 1964 so as to allow for the possession of plastic baton rounds by a police force in England and Wales; what was the police force involved in each case; and if he will state the nature of his response in each case.

To date there has been one occasion on which, under the procedure set out in my reply of 19 May 1986 to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) at columns 15–16, a chief constable has asked the Department to supply baton rounds following a refusal by the police authority to authorise purchase. The force concerned was the West Yorkshire police. The baton rounds were supplied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from members of police authorities against the possession of plastic baton rounds by their police force; and if he will state the police force concerned in each case and the nature of his response.

Since we announced the setting up of a central store of plastic baton rounds and CS equipment on 19 May 1986, we have received representations either against the central store arrangements, or against the use of baton rounds generally, from the police authorities for Cleveland, Gwent, Merseyside, Northumbria, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. The responses have varied according to the particular points raised. The representations made have not caused us to change the policy announced in the replies of 26 November 1985 to a Question from my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Mid-Bedfordshire (Mr. Lyell) at columns 515–16 and 19 May 1986 to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) at columns 15–16.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received from the Institute of Professional Investigators advocating statutory controls over the security industry; and if he will make a statement.

Six hon. Members have very recently written enclosing correspondence from the Institute of Professional Investigators, or from companies and investigators who are members of the institute, advocating statutory control to support self-regulation.We fully understand the desire on the part of the Institute of Professional Investigators for proper regulation of its profession. We do not agree with its view that such regulation should be by statute. We shall continue to support and encourage self-regulation for professional investigators as we do for the private security industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received from the National Association of Probation Officers about the transfer of Irish prisoners from England to Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

We have received no such representations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prosecutions were instituted in each year since 1975 in respect of the murder or manslaughter of children; and how many such prosecutions each year were against a parent or stepparent of the victim;(2) how many convictions were secured in each year since 1975 in respect of the murder or manslaughter of children; and how many such convictions were of a parent or step-parent of the victim;(3) how many children were murdered in each year since 1975;(4) how many convictions were secured in each year since 1975 in respect of sexual offences against children; and how many such convictions in each year were of a parent or step-parent of the victim;(5) how many prosecutions were instituted in each year since 1975 in respect of sexual offences against children; and how many such prosecutions each year were against a parent or step-parent of the victim;(6) how many convictions were secured in each year since 1975 in respect of assaults on children; and how many such convictions in each year were of a parent or step-parent of the victim;(7) how many prosecutions were instituted in each year since 1975 for assaults on children; and what was the number of such prosecutions each year against a parent or step-parent of the victim.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the frequency with which (a) Warrior square, London E12 and (b) the Little Ilford estate is patrolled; and if he will make a statement.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the Little Ilford estate is patrolled by two home beat officers working overlapping shifts of 8 am-4 pm and 2 pm-10 pm. Patrol cars based at Forest Gate police station also visit the estate from time to time. Warrior square is part of the Little Ilford estate and no separate arrangements are made for it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis were seized in consequence of Operation Condor in Brixton on 24 July.

A total of 300·12g of cannabis resin, 905·59g of herbal cannabis, 33·69g of cocaine and 42mg of heroin were seized by police during the course of Operation Condor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were brought against people for litter offences for each year of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were brought against people for copying copyrighted materials on to blank cassettes for each year of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any proposals concerning Crown court sentencing practice; and if he will make a statement.

Most sentences passed by the courts are in line with what the public expect. For less serious offences, specially those not involving violence, sentences should clearly be no more severe than necessary, and full use should be made of sensible alternatives to custody. But there is a small minority of sentences for serious offences which are widely regarded as unduly lenient. This can damage public confidence disproportionately. The main guarantees of high sentencing standards are the good sense of the judges and the guidance provided by the Court of Appeal. I welcome the Court's willingness to extend arid develop its guidance, and the steps which are being taken to make that guidance more accessible to sentencers. I do not at present think it necessary to take forward the suggestion in the White Paper on Criminal Justice legislation (Cmnd. 9658) that the publication and dissemination of the guidelines by the Judicial Studies Board should be put on a statutory basis.I am, however, persuaded that there is a case for reinforcing the Court of Appeal's role by providing a means by which the issues raised in individual cases can be ventilated and the correct sentencing principles laid down. I therefore intend to include in the Criminal Justice Bill a procedure under which the Attorney General would be able to draw cases to the attention of the Court of Appeal, thus enabling the Court to state or reaffirm the principles which should be applied in any future case of a similar character. The procedure would be similar to that proposed during the passage of the Prosecution of Offences Bill. As with the earlier proposal, the sentence of an offender whose case was the subject of the new procedure would not be affected. Unlike that proposal, however, it would be confined to cases which in the Attorney-General's view raised sentencing issues of public importance.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether any revision is proposed for the arrangements for Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions; and if he will make a statement.

The experiment for Foreign and Commonwealth questions introduced last year on 22 March 1985 at column 624–5 whereby oral questions to Foreign and Commonwealth Ministers were no longer divided between those relating to European Community affairs and those relating to the rest of the world, has been concluded. Following consultations through the usual channels it has been decided that the new arrangements be made permanent and that this will take effect with the introduction of the new questions roster.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the burning by military personnel of Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana in Chile on 2 July; and if he will make representations to the Chilean ambassador.

Investigations by the Chilean military prosecutor into this atrocity are continuing. One army lieutenant has been charged with using unnecessary violence, which led to the death of Sr Rojas and serious injury to Srta Quintana.We have made strong representations to the Chilean ambassador and to the Chilean Foreign Minister in Santiago, and have urged that the Chilean authorities publish soon the full facts of the case.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the treatment of refugees destined for the United Kingdom during their period of detention in Thailand.

Refugees leaving Indo-China are not detained in Thailand. Thailand responds in a humane manner by offering first asylum to Indo-Chinese fleeing their countries. These refugees are housed in camps under the auspices of the United Nations High Commmissioner for Refugees. Conditions in the camps are adequate in terms of shelter, food, health care and security. Any with a claim to resettlement in third countries, including the United Kingdom, are screened in the camps to determine whether they meet the resettlement criteria.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made about the problems of piracy faced by refugees in the South China sea.

We continue our full support for the anti-piracy programme run jointly by the Thai Government and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We have pledged a further £70,000 for the programme in 1986–87, and have also provided the services of a Royal Navy officer to report on how the efficiency of the programme can be improved.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of refugees escaping from Vietnam each month; as to how many perish at sea; and as to how many are victims of piracy.

We do not know the fate of all those who leave Vietnam by boat. However statistics show that in the first eight months of 1986 around 20,000 refugees arrived in south-east Asia by boat. Over 1,600 in the first six months of 1986 were rescued at sea. Of the refugees boats arriving in Thailand, the proportion which have suffered attacks by pirates has fallen steadily to around 20 per cent. We cannot tell how many refugees are lost at sea.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial or other assistance he is prepared to give to Christian Care Projects' efforts to provide a boat in the South China sea to rescue refugees who escape by boat from Vietnam.

We have received no request from Christian Care Projects for assistance. If asked, we would provide no support. Such "mercy ships", though well intentioned, exacerbate the problem, encouraging more Vietnamese to risk their lives by setting out in unseaworthy craft with no guarantee of making contact. We shall continue to support more effective responses to the problem, such as the orderly departure programme and the rescue at sea resettlement offers programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of the number of fishing vessels active in the waters bounded by the newly promulgated fishing limits around the Falklands.

Some 600 vessels were sighted fishing in the Falkland Islands protection zone during the main 1986 squid fishing season which ended in June. For 1987 the Falkland Islands Government will be aiming to reduce significantly the numbers of vessels targeting squid in the Falkland Islands interim conservation and management zone.Detailed licensing arrangements will be drawn up shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether, during the course of discussions with the Soviet Union over the last six months on the subject of the south Atlantic fisheries, the Soviet Union objected to the imposition of the Falkland Islands interim conservation and management zone;(2) whether he has received any response from the Soviet Government or their representatives in London on the question of Her Majesty's Government's establishment of the Falkland Islands interim conservation and management zone.

I have nothing to add to the answer that I gave the hon. Member on 6 November.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects any difficulties with the Soviet Union or other East European countries to arise following upon his decision to establish the Falkland Islands interim conservation and management zone.

It is in the interests of all the fishing nations and fleets including those of the Soviet Union and other East European states to co-operate in orderly functioning of the interim conservation and management zone.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is meant by the term European partners in the EEC Council statement on human rights.

In the declaration on human rights issued by the Foreign Ministers of the Twelve in Brussels on 21 July 1986 the term European partners refers to the member states of the European Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how much money the Government have paid to independent and grant-aided schools in Scotland in each year since 1980–81 as boarding allowances for the education of the children of diplomatic staff;(2) how many children of diplomatic staff have been educated and boarded at independent and grant-aided schools in Scotland under his Department's finance in each year since 1983.

The detailed information of this nature is not available in the form requested. It is not required for administrative or accounting purposes and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the response of Her Majesty's embassy in Washington to inquiries about the United States investigation of Systime plc initiated by the United States Department of Commerce; and if he will make a statement.

It is not clear what inquiries the hon. Member has in mind. At the request of Systime plc we did not intervene in the US Department of Commerce action against the company. However, a formal protest was made to the US authorities on 26 June 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department gave assistance in arranging the recent visit to Britain by senior Chilean police officers to study radio equipment manufactured by Pye.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the implications of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill for the control of food imports into the United Kingdom with particular reference to the maintenance of existing public health standards.

I am satisfied that the Bill will not affect our ability to maintain public health standards.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of children in the London borough of Newham are in local authority care; and what is the national figure.

There were 520 children in care, which equates to 9·7 children in care per thousand population under 18 in the London borough of Newham as at 31 March 1984; the equivalent figure for England was 6·5. These are the latest figures available.

asked the Secretary of State for social Services what is the per capita expenditure on social services in the London borough of Newham; and what is the national figure.

Gross personal social services current expenditure in 1984–85, the latest year for which full details of actual spending are available, was £96 per capita in the London borough of Newham and £56 per capita nationally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the hospital accident and emergency departments which will have been closed in each year since 1979, showing respectively which have closed permanently and which have closed temporarily.

I regret that I cannot give the hon. Member the information he seeks. It is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money his Department allocated in 1985–86 and 1986–87 for local authorities to help in the fight against child abuse; for which local authorities; and for which projects.

Local authority services for children are mainly funded through the rate support grant system and it is for individual local authorities to determine how the money should be distributed between the services for which they are responsible.On 30 October to help with child abuse training projects for professional staff and telephone counselling services we announced grants of £400,000, part of which sum will be spent in 1986–87. The training projects will be based at The National Children's Bureau under the aegis of the training advisory group on the sexual abuse of children and at the department of psychological medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond Street. The two counselling services are Touchline, based in Leeds and run by the National Children's Home, and Child Line.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many children were removed from the family home in each year since 1975 by reason of abuse by their parents or step-parents;(2) how many cases of child abuse by parents or stepparents were reported to social services departments in each year since 1975.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to receive the Forrest report; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the expert group on breast cancer screening chaired by Professor Sir Patrick Forrest has almost completed its report and that we shall receive it very shortly.