asked the Lord Privy Seal how many research assistants are employed by Members of the House of Commons; and what is the number and percentage from (a) the United Kingdom, (b) United States of America and (c) any other country.

A total of 523 Research Assistants currently hold either temporary or full Palace of Westminster photo-identity passes. Of these:

(a) 431 (82 per cent.), are British nationals.

(b) 71 (14 per cent.), are from America.

(c) 21 ( 4 per cent.), are from other countries.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what will be the total spending of the Privy Council Office on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I shall answer on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office: None since August 1981. Expenditure in earlier years was:

	£
1979–80	19,600
1980–81	25,600
1981–82	10,500

asked the Lord Privy Seal what will be the estimated spending by his Department on television, radio, newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I take it the question refers to expenditure by the Privy Council Office and shall answer on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office.No expenditure since 1979–80 and none is planned for the current year.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many press and public relations staff are employed in the Privy Council Office; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I shall answer on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office: none since August 1981. For 1979–80, 1980–81 and up until August 1981 three press and public relations staff were employed.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I take it the question refers to expenditure by the Privy Council Office and have interpreted 'outside consultants' as management and computer consultants. I shall answer on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office.None since 1984–85; figures for earlier years can be produced only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what month he next intends to pay an official visit to the Soviet Union.

My right hon. and learned Friend has accepted Mr. Shevardnadze's invitation to visit the Soviet Union next year. Precise dates have not yet been discussed.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has as President of the European Council to raise the question of human rights and the Helsinki agreement with the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend expressed very clearly the concern of the Twelve at human rights abuses in the Soviet Union in the speech which he made on 4 November to the Vienna CSCE follow-up meeting on behalf of the Twelve. A copy has been deposited in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards human rights in the Soviet Union.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 18 November, at column 143.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to take any initiative as President of the European Council, regarding the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

On behalf of the European Community my right hon. and learned Friend made it clear to the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September that the Soviet Union should implement the principles that must underly a solution in Afghanistan — principles which were again massively endorsed by international community on 5 November—and withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan without delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions reported to or by the United Kingdom Embassy in Washington when United States Embassy staff made official communications with Systime plc in relation to the United States fine on that company; and if he will make a statement.

We were first made aware of discussions between Systime and the US Department of Commerce by the company in April 1983. We are not aware that US embassy staff played any part in those discussions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the proposal that the MBFR talks be shelved and conventional force reduction talks transferred to a new Europe-wide forum as part of the CSCE process.

The question of our future approach to the mutual balanced force reduction talks in Vienna, and indeed to the whole question of the conventional arms control in Europe, is still under discussion within the NATO high level task force on conventional arms control in Europe. In the meantime, we should welcome a proper response from the Warsaw Pact to our proposals of December 1985, in which we made a constructive attempt to break the long-standing deadlock in the talks.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress is being made by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation high level task force on conventional arms control; and whether he expects it to be able to recommend a future course for conventional force reduction talks when it reports to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Ministers in December.

On 29 October the high level task force produced its interim report, which contained analysis of the negotiating histories of both MBFR and CDE, which assessed the recent Eastern proposals on conventional arms control, and which provided basic guidance for Western ministerial interventions at the opening of the Vienna CSCE follow-up meeting. The task force is now working on its report to the North Atlantic Council ministerial meeting in December. Its recommendations will form the basis for discussions between Allied Ministers and for the evolution of Alliance policy thereafter. We are participating fully and constructively in the discussions of the task force.

Total expenditure on press and public relations was as follows (£ million)
	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
Payments to Central Office of Information for overseas information material and related activies	9·3	11·2	12·6	14·7	17·4	18·8	18·3	19·1
Other Information Services	0·4	0·3	0·6	0·7	0·9	0·8	0·9	0·7
Running cost of Diplomatic Wing Information News Departments	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	1·8	1·4	1·9	n/a
Running cost of ODA Wing Information Department	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0·3	0·3	0·3	n/a
Cost of Information Staff at Overseas Posts	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	12·4	12·8	13·6	n/a
Total	9·7	11·5	13·2	15·4	32·8	34·1	35·0	19·8

Most of this expenditure is incurred in carrying out the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's responsibilities for the projection of Britain's image and Her Majesty's Government's policies in overseas countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the estimated spending by his Department on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of a linkage with strategic and theatre nuclear force reductions on the future progress of talks on reductions in conventional forces.

My right hon. friend the Prime Minister and President Reagan agreed at Camp David on 15 November that reductions in nuclear weapons would increase the importance of eliminating conventional disparities. Nuclear weapons cannot be dealt with in isolations, given the need for overall balance at all times.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

This information is available only for managerial and computer consultants from the year 1984–85. Foreign and Commonwealth expenditure is:

	1984–85	1985–86	11986–87
	£	£	£
FCO Diplomatic Wing	113,580	257,620	399,250
FCO ODA Wing	28,164	144,598	80,000

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the total spending of his Department on Press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The information requested is as follows:

FCO expenditure on advertising and other promotional literature in past financial years was as follows:

	FCO Diplomatic Wing)	FCO (ODA Wing)
	£	£
1979–80	100,226	214,739
1980–81	116,532	145,697
1981–82	162,988	207,964
1982–83	229,711	135,506

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many press and public relations staff are employed in his Department; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The numbers of staff employed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Department news department and Overseas Development Administration press office in each year since 1979–80 have been:

Year	Staff
1979–80	21·5
1980–81	21·5
1981–82	26·0
1982–83	27·0
1983–84	26·0
1984–85	26·0
1985–86	26·5
1986–87	25·5

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for inclusion in INF talks of (a) theatre-assigned submarine-launched ballistic missiles and (b) dual-capable aircraft.

The INF negotiations at the Geneva nuclear and space talks, to which the United Kingdom is not a party, currently deal only with land-based cruise and ballistic missiles.NATO Alliance policy since 1979 has been that INF arms control should be a step-by-step process. The immediate priority is for an agreement on a global basis as discussed at Reykjavik: a zero-zero solution on land-based cruise and ballistic missiles in Europe, with tight limits on SS20s in Soviet Asia and on Soviet shorter range INF. Discussion of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and dual capable aircraft could be for consideration once the initial agreement on land-based missiles was achieved.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Lesotho in regard to the reported kidnapping and murdering of Mr. Desmond Sixishe and Mr. Vincent Makhele, Cabinet Ministers of the former Lesotho Government.

This incident is an internal matter, for investigation by the Lesotho authorities. The Government of Lesotho have announced that they are conducting an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the abductions. We await the result of this investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest available figures for the cost per patient of each renal dialysis treatment carried out (a) in National Health Service hospitals and (b) in private units within National Health Service hospitals; and how many patients are treated under arrangements (a) and (b), respectively.

There are 71 patients currently receiving renal dialysis treatment for end stage renal failure in National Health Service hospitals in Wales. The cost per patient treatment is not held centrally. There are 22 patients currently receiving this treatment in private units within National Health Service hospitals in Wales. The average cost per patient treatment is presently £80·23.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what will be the total spending of his Department on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Figures for total expenditure on press and public relations that can be readily identified are as follows:

	£
1979–80	451,355
1980–81	511,656
1981–82	519,000
1982–83	575,090
1983–84	637,636
1984–85	692,854
1985–86	834,556
1986–87	1518,350
1 Budgeted expenditure only.

These figures include expenditure on information and publicity material, and salaries and accommodation for all information grades and support staff based on ready reckoner figures for the years 1979–80 to 1985–86. The figure for 1986–87 gives expenditure only as ready reckoner figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what will be the estimated spending by his Department on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I refer the hon. Gentleman for figures for expenditure on newspaper and television advertising to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 8 May 1984, at column 287, for the years 1979–80 to 1983–84, and on 6 December 1985, at column 353, for the financial year 1984–85.Figures for radio advertising and other promotional literature are as follows:

	Radio	Other promotional literature
	£
1979–80	Nil	24,200
1980–81	Nil	22,171

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many Press and public relations staff are employed in his Department; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The total number of information staff currently employed in the Welsh Office is 15. The figure for each year from 1979–80 is as follows:

	Number
1979–80	17
1980–81	17
1981–82	15
1982–83	15
1983–84	13
1984–85	15
1985–86	16

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Information relating to the appointment by my Department of outside consultants prior to the financial year 1984–85 is not readily available and to provide it would involve disproportionate costs.The spending of fees for outside consultants in respect of centrally managed tasks in the financial year 1984–85 and subsequent years is as follows:

Financial Year	£
1984–85	93,654
1985–86	55,688
11986–87	32,000
1 estimated.

It is not possible to identify without disproportionate costs fees paid to outside consultants in respect of projects not centrally managed.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce his decision on the allocation of the National Garden Festival 1992.

I have announced this morning that I have decided in favour of the proposals jointly put forward by Blaenau Gwent borough council and Gwent county council that the 1992 festival should be held at Victoria Heights, Ebbw Vale.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in view of the publication produced by his Department, "Quality Counts", he will require mandatory certification of gas cookers on sale in the United Kingdom to conform with stipulated British standards.

I do not propose to require mandatory certification of gas cookers to conform with stipulated British standards. I am proposing, however, that they be required to conform with the safety requirements given in those standards.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Published Supply Estimates for DTI and its predecessor Departments show the annual allocation for "advisory and labour services". The equivalent figure for 1986–87 is £7·064 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what will be the total spending of his Department on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year;(2) how many press and public relations staff are employed in his Department; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I refer to the answer which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 27 January, at column 385, which covered the years 1981 to 1985. Figures are not readily available for 1979–80. The equivalent staff number for 1 April 1986 is 120 and the combined running cost budgets of information division and BOTB's publicity unit for 1986–87 are around £1·8 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what will be the estimated spending by his Department on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

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

asked the Attorney-General (1) whether he will prosecute Russell Lee, a former officer in MI5 under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(2) whether he will prosecute Christopher Harmer, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(3) whether he will prosecute William Luke, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets act, for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(4) whether he will prosecute Mr. T. A. R. Robertson, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act, for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(5) whether he will prosecute Lord Victor Rothschild, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act, for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(6) whether he will prosecute Colonel Leo Long a former officer in M14, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act, for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(7) whether he will prosecute Andrew King, a former officer in MI6 under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act, for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(8) whether he will prosecute Colonel William Skarden, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman.(9) whether he will prosecute Stephen Demoubray, a former officer in M16, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(10) whether he will prosecute Lord Dacre, a former officer in MI6, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(11) whether he will prosecute George Carey-Foster, a former officer in Foreign Office Security, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(12) whether he will prosecute Nigel Burgess, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;(13) whether he will prosecute Constance Burgess, a former officer in MI5, under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act for discussing aspects of his work in the security services with Barrie Penrose and Simon Freeman;

No proceedings are contemplated under the Official Secrets Act in respect of the individuals named in the questions in relation to allegations that they have discussed aspects of their work in the security services with Mr. Penrose and Mr. Freeman.

asked the Attorney-General what will be the total spending of the Lord Chancellor's Department and his Department, respectively, on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The estimated spending by the Lord Chancellor's Department on press and public relations in 1986–87 is £26,100.For the years 1984–85 and 1985–86 the expenditure was £5,180 and £13,253 respectively.The amounts spent for the previous years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.My Department incurred no expenditure on press and public relations in the years to which the question relates and the estimate spending for the current year is nil.

asked the Attorney-General how many press and public relations staff are employed in the Lord Chancellor's Department and his Department, respectively, and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The number of press and public relations staff employed in the Lord Chancellor's department is as follows:

1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
1	2	3

There were no such staff employed in the period up to 1983–84.

asked the Attorney-General what will be the estimated spending by the Lord Chancellor's Department and his Department, respectively, on television, radio and newspaper advertising and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The estimated spending by the Lord Chancellor's Department on promotional literature, and so on, for 1986–87, including staff costs, is £149,432.For the years 1984–85 and 1985–86 the expenditure was £135,730 and £176,613 respectively. The breakdown of the amounts spent on respective areas and the amounts spent for previous years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.My Department incurred no expenditure on promotional literature in the years to which the question relates and the estimate expenditure for the current year is nil.

asked the Attorney-General what will be the spending of the Lord Chancellor's Department and his Department, respectively, on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The estimated expenditure on consultants for the current financial year in the Lord Chancellor's Department is £450,000.The expenditure for 1985–86 was £376,000. Details for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.My Department incurred no expenditure on consultants in the years to which the question relates, and the estimated spending for the current year is nil.

asked the Attorney-General what are his latest figures for fraud prosecution under fraud investigation group procedures; and if he will make a statement.

The latest information from the Crown Prosecution Service relates to the first nine months of 1986. During that period 66 trials on indictment (involving 149 defendants) handled by the fraud divisions at Crown Prosecution Service headquarters have been completed. Pleas of guilty or convictions were obtained in 58 cases. The outcome of those cases when analysed in terms of defendants was as follows:

	Number
Pleaded Guilty:	88
Convicted:	45
Acquitted:	16

Of the 66 cases, 16 were formally designated as FIG cases. In 15 of these cases convictions were secured. In most cases handled by the fraud divisions FIG methods are used even where a case is not formally so designated.The total sum at risk in the cases dealt with this year to the 30 September was £147 million. The average length of trial in contested cases was 13 days, and the average time from first reference to the fraud divisions to plea or verdict was less than 16 months.

asked the Prime Minister if she knew from her discussions with her office on 7 January that the disclosure of the Solicitor-General's letter of 6 January to the then Secretary of State for Defence had been unauthorised; and if she will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 17 November, at columns 49–50.

asked the Prime Minister what will be the spending of her office on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

There has been no expenditure by my office on fees to outside consultants since 1979–80 and none is planned for the rest of this year.

asked the Prime Minister what will be the total spending of her office on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Estimates of information officer, support staff and news agency costs for my office are, in cash prices:

	£
1984–85	136,000
1985–86	149,000
1986–87	176,000

The information for earlier years cannot be produced except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Prime Minister what will be the estimated spending by her Department on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

There has been no expenditure by my office on television, radio or newspaper advertising, or other promotional literature since 1979–80 and none is planned for the current year.

asked the Prime Minister how many press and public relations staff are employed in her office; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Since 1979–80 there have been five information officers employed in my office.

asked the Prime Minister if she will arrange a transfer of resources for those with special housing needs from the Department of Health and Social Security to the Department of the Environment housing budget in order that responsibility for a comprehensive housing policy could be within a single Department.

The Secretary of State for the Environment already has a comprehensive responsibility for housing policy. There is full co-ordination of policies with the Department of Health and Social Security and other interested Departments. Transfers of resources between the two Departments are made as and when the need arises.

Classics graduates in universities
	Year of completion of course
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
First degree graduates
Scotland	13	22	16	26	19	16
Great Britain	493	525	506	580	539	541
As a percentage of all first degree graduates
Scotland	0·1	0·2	0·2	0·3	0·2	0·2
Great Britain	0·7	0·8	0·7	0·8	0·8	0·8
Higher degree graduates
Scotland	3	2	3	2	5	2
Great Britain	44	53	56	59	56	67
As a percentage of all higher degree graduates
Scotland	0·2	0·1	0·2	0·1	0·2	0·1
Great Britain	0·2	0·3	0·3	0·3	0·3	0·3

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the holding of religious assemblies every morning in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Some 100 letters about religious assemblies were received during the past year, of which three were complaints that the statutory requirements were not being met in particular schools. My right hon. Friend undertakes a full and careful investigation of all such complaints.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green may expect a reply to the letter he wrote to the Minister of State, Department of Education and Science on 20 March on behalf of his constituent Mr. C. A. McLean, to which no acknowledgement has been received despite reminders sent on 29 April, 6 June, 24 July and 25 September.

I regret that my hon. Friend's letter of 20 March was mislaid within the Department. I have replied today to the copy which he enclosed with his letter of 25 September, and I apologise unreservedly for the delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the number of classics graduates in each year in total from (a) Scottish universities and (b) universities in Britain since 1980; and if he will express these figures as a percentage of the total number of graduates in each case.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what difference in the level of expenditure his Department expect from the recent changes made to the assessment of mature student grants.

Increased rates of allowances for older students are expected to result in additional expenditure of about £500,000 per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans his Department has to encourage mature students over the age of 26 years to enrol on education courses; and if he will make a statement.

The number of home students entering full-time higher education in Great Britain at the age of 25 or over has increased by 20 per cent. since 1979. Under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations, students over the age of 25 are treated as independent and their grant is not subject to a parental contribution. Students aged 26 and over who satisfy certain conditions relating to previous earnings are eligible for additional age-related allowances, and these allowances were increased in 1986–87 by an average of 10 per cent. There are other supplementary allowances for students with dependants.In addition, the Department's PICKUP and Replan programmes are helping to increase the education and training opportunities available for employees and unemployed adults respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he requests the Natural Environment Research Council to publish a separate report for the year 1986 by the British Geological Survey; and whether he will make a statement.

I understand that a report for the British Geological Survey for 1985–86 is in preparation and that this will be published in the near future. It is planned to publish a similar report for 1986–87 in about a year's time.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will advise the Natural Environment Research Council to defer any public advertisement for a new director of the British Geological Survey until after the receipt of the Butler report; and whether he will make a statement.

Decisions about the appointments of senior staff of the Natural Environment Research Council, including that of the director of the British Geological Survey, are matters for the council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when a Minister in his Department next expects to visit the British Geological Survey; and when the last such visit took place.

There are no plans for such a visit. The last visit to the British Geological Survey by a Minister from this Department was by my hon. Friend the Member for the City of London and Westminster, South (Mr. Brooke), the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science, on 8 October 1985, on the

Higher education in Great Britain
	Home full-time initial entrants1							First year2 3
Academic year beginning	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	19854	Part-time 1984
Numbers (000's)
Less than 21	108·0	113·0	119·8	125·0	123·9	125·8	124·6	35·3
21–24	16·9	16·2	17·1	17·3	17·1	17·6	18·7	34·2
25 or over	17·0	17·1	18·9	18·6	19·7	19·4	20·4	69·7
All ages	142·0	146·3	155·9	160·9	160·7	162·9	163·7	139·2
Percentages
Less than 21	76·1	77·3	76·9	77·7	77·1	77·2	76·1	25·4
21–24	11·9	11·0	11·0	10·7	10·7	10·8	11·4	24·6
25 or over	12·0	11·7	12·1	11·6	12·2	11·9	12·5	50·1
All ages	100·0	100·0	100·0	100·0	100·0	100·0	100·0	100·0
1 Ages at December.
2 Ages at August.
3 Excluding the Open University.
4 Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the spending of his Department on fees to outside consultants in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The Department's spending on fees to management and computer consultants in the years 1984–85 onwards is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to receive a report from the Advisory Board for the Research Councils regarding Sir Clifford Butler's study group on geological surveying; and whether the report will be laid before the House.

I understand that Sir Clifford Butler is expected to submit the report of his study group to the chairman of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils and the chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council, who jointly commissioned the study, by the end of the year. It will be for the two chairmen to decide if they wish subsequently to submit the report, with their comments, to my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students entering into (a) part-time and (b) full-time higher education in each of the past 10 years were aged (i) between 21 and 25 years, (ii) 25 to 30 years, (iii) 30 to 40 years and (iv) over 40 years; and what percentages of all such students these figures represent.

The available information for home full-time initial entrants and first-year part-time students, in higher education in Great Britain, is shown in the following table.

	£
1984–85	69,300
1985–86	113,897
1986–871	152,821
1 estimated.

Similar information for 1979–80 to 1983–84 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the total spending of his Department on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Total spending, including staff costs, on press and public relations by the Department of Education and Science for previous years and estimated for the current year are as follows:

	£
1984–85	788,834
1985–86	1,026,341
1986–87	1,048,348

Total spending figures for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the estimated spending by his Department on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Estimated spending on advertising and other promotional literature for the current financial year is as follows:

	£
Newspapers	185,000
Television	—
Radio	—
Other promotional literature	370,000

Figures for 1979–80 to 1985–86 are as follows:

	TV and radio	Press	Other promotional literature
	£	£	£
1979–80	—	91,600	12,200
1980–81	—	8,924	58,303
1981–82	—	86,952	49,900
1982–83	—	5,998	33,700
1983–84	—	9,570	74,931
1984–85	—	18,544	150,603
1985–86	—	14,804	184,121

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many press and public relations staff are employed in his Department; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The approved complement of the Department's information division is currently 36. This figure includes support staff. The complement for the 1979–80 and each intervening year was:

	Number
1979–80	40
1980–81	40
1981–82	37
1982–83	37
1983–84	37
1984–85	36
1985–86	36

asked the Secretary of State fir Education and Science if he will publish, or place in the Library, the text of the advice he received from non-Government sources concerning the degree of differential incorporated in his offer of October to the Burnham committee.

My right hon. Friend indicated in his statement to the House on 30 October that his proposals were based on the report of the Main committee, which was presented to Parliament as Cmnd. 9893 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 2 October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what amounts were spent on the storage, handling, distribution, repair and replacement of polling booths at the last round of local government elections throughout the United Kingdom.

This information is not collected by central Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement outlining the guidelines regarding the design or construction of polling booths and their distribution.

The distribution of polling booths at parliamentary, European Parliament and local government elections in the United Kingdom is a matter for the returning officer, who is required to provide each polling station with sufficient compartments to enable the electorate to cast their votes in secret. The official guidelines on the design and construction of such compartments are contained in Home Office circulars RPA 214, 219 and 269, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to visit Cardiff in the near future; and if he will make a statement.

I hope to make a visit to south Wales in January 1987. The programme for the visit has not yet been decided.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many hours in the most recent convenient week the workshops in Wormwood Scrubs prison were open; what was the average number of prisoners employed; how many classes took place arid for how many hours; what was the average number of prisoners in each class; and how much time on average each prisoner spent out of his cell during that week.

In the week commencing 3 November 1986, the workshops were open for an average of 18 hours; an average of 470 prisoners were employed each working day in the workshops and on catering, maintenance, cleaning and other domestic tasks; 87 education classes (52 day-time, 35 evening) took place for a total of 209 hours; there were an average of eight prisoners in each class. It is not practical to calculate the average amount of time spent out of cells since this covers many things apart from work and education including, for example, exercise, associatiion, visits, use of the prison library and canteen and other out of cell activities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average population of Wormwood Scrubs prison in the most recent convenient week.

Prison population figures are collected centrally once a week. On 14 November 1986 HM prison Wormwood Scrubs held 1,405 prisoners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the maximum number of prisoners who can be employed in Wormwood Scrubs on any one day.

The number is 701.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many baths, showers and toilets are available to prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs prison; how many baths or showers each prisoner is allowed per week; and how many changes of clothes each prisoner is allowed per week.

The number of baths, showers and toilets available are as follows:

	Number
Baths	4
Showers	128
WCs	96
Urinals	93

Each prisoner is normally allowed one shower per week and an additional shower when he makes use of the gymnasium. Additional showers are available for prisoners employed on jobs of a physically dirty nature or on return from court appearances. When appropriate for medical reasons a bath is available instead of a shower. Prisoners at Wormwood Scrubs have one change of clothes per week consisting of one shirt, one T-shirt, two pairs of socks, two pairs of underpants and two vests. Overclothing is changed as necessary, but on return from court prisoners receive a full kit of clean clothes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many square feet of exercise space is available to prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs prison.

The amount is 48,870 sq ft in exercise yards and 6,780 sq ft in the sports hall.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average population of Brixton prison in the most recent convenient week.

Prison population figures are collected centrally once a week. On 14 November 1986, Her Majesty's prison Brixton held 1,086 prisoners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the maximum number of prisoners who can be employed in Brixton prison on any one day.

The number is 113.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many hours in the most recent convenient week the workshops in Brixton prison were open; what was the average number of prisoners employed; how many classes took place and for how many hours; what was the average number of prisoners in each class; and how much time on average each prisoner spent out of his cell during that week.

In the week commencing 3 November 1986, the one workshop at Brixton was open for 20 hours; an average of 106 prisoners were employed in the workshop and on catering, maintenance, cleaning and other domestic tasks; 30 evening education classes took place for a total of 73 hours; there were an average of four prisoners in each class. It is not practical to calculate the average amount of time spent out of cells since this covers many things apart from work and education including, for example, exercise, association, visits, use of the prison library and canteen and other out of cell activities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many baths, showers and toilets are available to prisoners in Brixton prison; how many baths or showers each prisoner is allowed per week; and how many changes of clothes each prisoner is allowed per week.

Nineteen baths, 80 showers, 95 WCs and 68 urinals are available in Brixton prison. In general all prisoners have access to a bath or shower daily. This routine may be varied for medical cases or for prisoners appearing at court. Prison clothing is exchanged at least once a week but more frequently if considered necessary —for example for prisoners on kitchen parties and some other work parties. Unconvicted prisoners may wear private clothing and this may be exchanged on visits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many square feet of exercise space are available to prisoners in Brixton prison.

Thirty-nine thousand four hundred and sixty one square feet.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average population of Pentonville prison in the most recent convenient week.

Prison population figures are collected centrally once a week. On 14 November 1986 Her Majesty's prison Pentonville held 1,049 prisoners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many baths, showers and toilets are available to prisoners in Pentonville prison; how many baths or showers each prisoner is allowed per week; and how many changes of clothes each prisoner is allowed per week.

The number of baths, showers and toilets available are as follows:

	Total
Baths	39
Showers	22
WCs	115
Urinals	78

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many square feet of exercise space is available to prisoners in Pentonville prison.

Approximately 30,000 sq ft in exercise yards and 3,260 sq ft in the gymnasium.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will summarise the findings of the research commissioned by his Department upon the Greiss test; and if he will make a statement.

No. This work was undertaken as a part of my right hon. Friend's review of the Birmingham pub bombings case. It would not be proper to say anything about the findings before we have reached a conclusion on what action, if any, we should take with regard to the convictions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the amounts recovered by the Metropolitan Police from other forces for costs incurred during the miners' strike; and what amounts are still outstanding.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the amounts paid to the Metropolitan police by other police forces in respect of mutual aid supplied during the miners' dispute and the outstanding claims are as follows:

	Recovered £	Outstanding claims £
Derbyshire	5,376,000	—
Durham	59,000	—
Essex	6,000	—
Humberside	1,928,000	—
Kent	105,000	—
Leicestershire	836,000	375,000
Nottinghamshire	5,787,000	832,000
Sussex	295,000	—
Warwickshire	368,000	—
North Yorkshire	720,000	—
South Yorkshire	1,225,000	—

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons do not allow magazines to be brought in by visitors to prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

The general practice provided for by standing order 4 is that newspapers and periodicals are received direct from publishers, newsagents or booksellers. No information is held centrally which would indicate the extent to which governors may exceptionally allow magazines also to be brought in at visits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have arrangements with neighbouring shops that only magazines ordered through those shops can be supplied to prisoners; what is the financial basis upon which these arrangements are entered into; and if he will make a statement.

Providing they comply in other respects with the rules governing their receipt by prisoners, newspapers, periodicals and books may be supplied either at the order of a relative or friend of an inmate, or by payment from the inmate's private cash or, through the canteen, from the inmate's earnings. Details of local arrangements for the supply of publications through the canteen could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the procedure by which letters to prisoners in a foreign language are vetted; and what is the average time delay this involves.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Merionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Thomas) on 17 November 1986 Official Report, column 28. Records are not kept of the average time taken to censor correspondence in a foreign language: in any given case, if a translation is considered necessary, the time it takes will depend to a great extent on the availability of a translator for the language in question, and on the length of the letter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much is being spent by South Glamorgan county council on civil defence up until the present time on (a) equipment, (b) shelters and (c) staff; and if he will make a statement.

The latest financial information available is the estimate received from the Council on 30 September 1985:

	1985–86 £	1986–87 £
Equipment and premises	21,700	22,730
Shelters	—	—
Staff etc.	86,530	96,230
	108,230	118,960

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received regarding the increased crime rate; and if he will make a statement.

I receive numerous representations on all aspects of crime. Our strategy for fighting crime is practical and realistic: we are providing the police, the courts, the probation service and the prison system with additional resources. We are vigorously pursuing improvements in crime prevention techniques and encouraging crime prevention initiatives in the development of wider social policy. At a meeting of the Home Office standing conference on crime prevention earlier this week, working groups on residential burglary, car security, shop theft, commercial robbery and violence associated with licensed premises, presented reports offering a wealth of advice on good practice and recommendations for future action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings have taken place between his officials in the last year that discussed the replacement strategy for the police national computer; what is the state of readiness of any new operational specification; when he expects to announce a police national computer strategy; if he will place a copy or summary of the operational specification in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Regular meetings are held between officials to discuss the replacement strategy for the police national computer. We expect to make a decision on this strategy during 1987. For security reasons we do not intend to make the operational specification widely available, and I do not consider therefore that it would be right to place it in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many names have been weeded from the criminal names index of the police national computer in accordance with the policy announced on 14 March; what was the size of the index on 14 March; and what is the current size of the index.

All records which have been considered for weeding under the old criteria are being reexamined in the light of the criteria announced on 14 March 1986. As of 31 October 1986, 23,059 names had been removed from the criminal names index of the police national computer by this process. The number of entries in the index is calculated weekly. On 15 March 1986 the index contained 5,089,272 entries; on 8 November 1986 it contained 5,138,826 entries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average population of Liverpool prison in the most recent convenient week.

Prison population figures are collected centrally once a week. On 14 November 1986 HM prison Liverpool held 1,278 prisoners.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department is he will publish in the Official Report the letters he has received from the hon. Member for Leyton concerning Mr. Rajadurai Srirangarajan who has been detained by immigration since his arrival in the United Kingdom on 5 July; why he has sent no reply to any of these letters; and if he will make a statement.

I replied to the hon. Member on 17 November 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the total spending of the Metropolitan Police on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that staffing and accommodation costs of the Directorate of Public Affairs and spending on recruitment and other advertising and other promotional literature totalled £3,622,861 in 1985–86. The estimate for 1986–87 is £4,184,294. Total costs for earlier years are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press and public relations staff are employed in the Metropolitan Police; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the number of staff in the information officer grades employeed in the directorate of public affairs on 31 October 1986 was 39. The number at the end of each financial year from 1979–80 is as follows:

	Number
31 March 1980	30
31 March 1981	29
31 March 1982	29
31 March 1983	27
31 March 1984	35
31 March 1985	31
31 March 1986	35

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the estimated spending by the Metropolitan Police on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that expenditure by the Metropolitan Police on all forms of recruitment and other advertising, and other promotional literature, in each financial year from 1979–80 to 1985–86 and the estimated expenditure for 1986–87 as follows:

	£
1979–80	759,000
1980–81	967,000
1981–82	1,062,000
1982–83	1,028,000
1983–84	1,675,000
1984–85	1,747,000
1985–86	1,868,000
11986–87	2,375,000
1 Estimated

A breakdown of this expenditure is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the estimated spending by his Department on television, radio and newspaper advertising, respectively, and other promotional literature in the current year; and what was the total in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

During this financial year the Home Office plans to spend an estimated £3 million on advertising, plus a further 1·6 million spent partly by the Home Office and partly by NTVLRO on the TV licence anti-evasion campaign. It is not yet possible to say how expenditure will finally be divided between television, radio and press. Approximately £1·3 million is likely to be spent on the production of promotional literature and related printing.Figures for expenditure on newspapers and television advertising for 1979–80 to 1983–84 were covered by answers which appeared in

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the total spending of his Department on press and public relations in the current year; and what it was in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

The budget for the Home Office public relations branch for 1986–87 is £704,000. Figures for earlier years are as follows:

Year	£'000
1979–80	374
1980–81	478
1981–82	448
1982–83	429
1983–84	545
1984–85	596
1985–86	646

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press and public relations staff are employed in his Department; and how many were employed in 1979–80 and each intervening year.

Staff in the information officer grades in post in the Home Office public relations branch on 1 November 1986 numbered 27. The figures of information officer staff in post on 1 January each year were as follows:

Year	Number
1980	26
1981	27
1982	25
1983	21
1984	21
1985	25
1986	25