asked the Prime Minister why no disciplinary action has been taken against any member of her staff over their conduct in the disclosure of the Solicitor-General's letter to the then Secretary of State for Defence.

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

asked the Prime Minister what is the estimated cost to public funds of Her Majesty's Government's case against Peter Wright in Australia which cannot be recovered regardless of the outcome of the judgment.

It is not possible at this stage to estimate the cost to public funds of Her Majesty's Government's case against Peter Wright in Australia which could not be recovered regardless of the outcome of the judgment.

asked the Prime Minister if she will refer the matter of conversations between the Attorney-General, the right hon. and learned Member for Wimbledon (Sir M. Havers) and Mr. Chapman Pincher on 1 January 1983 on security issues to the Security Commission; and if she will make a statement.

No. I have no reason to believe that the conversations referred to raise any matters of concern to the Security Commission.

asked the Prime Minister (1) if she will issue notes of guidance to Ministers drawing their attention to the inadvisability of discussing matters of security at social functions; and if she will make a statement;(2) if she will issue notes of guidance to Ministers drawing their attention to the advisability of discussing security matters only on a need-to-know basis; and if she will make a statement.

No. Steps are already taken to draw Ministers' attention to these matters.

asked the Prime Minister what factors led to the decision to send Sir Robert Armstrong as Her Majesty's Government's principal witness in the Wright case in Australia; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Robert Armstrong is my principal official adviser in relation to matters of security. He accordingly swore the affidavits which form a significant part of the evidence relevant to the case and has appeared as the Government's principal witness in the proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to improve the A44 trunk road between Aberystwyth and Llangurig during the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Improvements are planned at Capel Bangor and Penllwyn crossroads. Their timing will depend on the completion of statutory procedures and the availability of financial resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is in a position to announce the membership of the All Wales Committee on Drug Misuse, its aims and the date of its first meeting.

I have today announced the names of the 21 members of the All Wales Committee on Drug Misuse. The names and details of each member are contained in a press notice which I have placed in the Library.The committee will be concerned with the development of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services in response to the growing menace of drug misuse. The aims of the committee will be to keep under review the extent and nature of drug and solvent misuse in Wales; to help to disseminate good practice throughout Wales by advising statutory and voluntary local providers of service; and to suggest appropriate all-Wales responses to the problems identified. The membership, which is drawn from all over Wales, has a broad base of interests and includes a wide range of expertise and experience. I will inaugurate the committee on 4 December, when it will hold its first meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the problems faced by the supreme head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association on his arrival at Sheerness on 4 November, what action and discussion he has taken to ensure that such an incident does not take place again; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the supreme head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, arrived with a party of 10 other persons, all of whom were subject to immigration control. They were travelling in two cars, which arrived at the control kiosk towards the front of the queue of the 70 cars disembarking from the ferry. Only one immigration officer was immediately available to clear the car passengers. The passengers in the other cars were not subject to full immigration control and could be cleared more quickly. The chief immigration officer judged that the overall clearance rate of all vehicles would be more quickly achieved by requesting the party to wait until the other cars had been examined. The officer explained that his decision was based solely on grounds of operational efficiency and apologised for the delay. No discourtesy was intended to the supreme head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association and his party, and indeed the chief immigration officer was not aware of the very important position which Mr. Ahmad held, but I regret the delay and inconvenience caused. Suitable advice has been given to the staff at Sheerness to prevent a recurrence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of acknowledged mentally disturbed inmates of Holloway prison who have been punished at disciplinary hearings since the beginning of the current year; how this figure compares with the two previous years; if he has any proposals to stop this practice; and if he will make a statement.

	Number placed on report	Assessed as unfit by MO	Found Guilty	Found not Guilty	Other
C1
1 April 1985–31 March 1986	199	31	166	1	1
1 April 1986–21 November 1986	123	75	48	0	0
B4
1 April 1985–31 March 1986	102	24	75	2	1
1 April 1986–21 November 1986	61	25	36	0	0

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were brought for cruelty to animals in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Information on proceedings for offences of cruelty to animals is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables, Volume 1" [table S1·1(A) of the 1985 issue under offence classification 108].

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes in which a firearm was used there were in the United Kingdom in 1985 and 1979.

The available information for England and Wales relates to notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used and is published in table 3·1 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1985". The latest available figures for Scotland are for 1983 and were published in Scottish Home and Health Department "Statistical Bulletin", issue 4/1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list initiatives by his Department which have been of benefit specifically to the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire and Humberside regions since 1979.

Initiatives by my Department which have benefited these regions since 1979 include the crime prevention and community programme. Since this began in October 1985 some 61 community programme projects have been established, offering 2,904 places in the MSC north-west region, 28 projects offering 756 places in the

The term "mentally disturbed" is not a medical term. Once a decision to charge any inmate has been taken, it is for medical officers to assess the inmate and bring to the governor's attention cases where the inmate is unfit for adjudication and punishment. Inmates who are mentally disordered are marked unfit for adjudication. Board of visitors adjudicating panels are provided with full medical reports, and it is always open to them to disagree with the assessment of fitness, and to defer or dismiss the charges. My right hon. Friend has no plans to change the current practice. Information on disciplinary hearings at Holloway prison is not available in the form requested. However, the following details are available for women in Holloway's psychiatric wing (C1 unit) and the main hospital (B4 unit).MSC Yorkshire and Humberside region and 43 projects offering 1,419 places in the MSC northern region (comprising Northumbria, Tyne and Wear and Co. Durham). Five local crime prevention demonstration projects were also announced in October 1985; one of these is in Bolton and another in North Tyneside. These projects are designed to show how crime and the fear of crime can be reduced by co-ordinated action by local agencies and concentrate on particular local crime projects.Following the announcement in 1985 that dedicated drugs wings would be created in all regional crime squad areas, drugs wings have been set up in three areas covering the north of England, providing seven wings, all of which are now operational. These wings are intended to increase the effectiveness of police operations against drug offences.A substantial amount of building has also been undertaken in these regions since 1979. Capital allocations for police buildings, magistrates' courthouses and probation offices have been made to authorities in the areas named to enable them to provide in recent years some 40 major schemes which are now completed, under construction or in planning; a further 36 major schemes in these areas have been accepted for eventual inclusion in the capital allocation programmes. An extension to a protected underground control centre in Preston was completed in 1982 and a building with training facilities for UKWMO in Carlisle was completed in 1983.Since 1979 my Department has completed three new prison establishments in these areas—Frankland, Thorn Cross youth custody centre and Lindholme—and two further establishments—Full Sutton and Garth—are still under construction. In addition, refurbishment and redevelopment work has been completed or is in progress at 13 existing prison establishments.In respect of the Fire Service, for which I have a general statutory responsibility, during 1979 to 1985 major building projects were undertaken in these areas which included four brigade HQs, four control centres, seven fire stations and two training centres.Arrangements have also been made for increased posts in some areas which fall within my Department's responsibilities. Since May 1979 the following increases have been approved in the police establishments of forces in these areas:

	Number of additional police posts
North East
Cleveland	63
Durham	8
Humberside	33
Northumbria	53
North Yorkshire	40
South Yorkshire	129
West Yorkshire	50
North West
Cumbria	42
Greater Manchester	208
Lancashire	40
Merseyside	228
Cheshire	40

In order to make special provision for services to persons of Commonwealth origin my Department has substantially increased since 1979 the amount paid to local authorities for posts funded under section 11 of the Local Government Act in these areas. The Home Office has also provided 80 per cent. specific grant towards the cost of increases in the manpower of area probation services in the North of England.In addition, the Home Office dispersed over 300 posts to Merseyside between 1981 and 1983.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has concerning the number of prosecutions for child abuse which were brought in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of the defendants in these cases were (a) the natural father of the child, (b) the natural mother of the child, (c) the stepfather of the child and (d) the stepmother of the child.

The readily available information for 1985 is brought together in the following table. For other types of offences of violence and sexual offences it is not possible from the records of the results of court proceedings to distinguish the age of the victim. Similarly, the data collected centrally do not contain details about the relationship between offender and victim, except in cases of homicide.The information provided on those offences marked with an asterisk is published annually in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary tables, Volume 1" [table S1.1(A) in the issue for 1985].

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information he has concerning the number of suspected child abuse cases which have been reported in each region in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and how many of these reported cases involved children who were either illegitimate or members of single-parent families;(2) what information he has concerning the numbers and percentages of all child abuse cases in the latest year for which figures are available in which the child concerned had been born illegitimate.

The information requested is not collected centrally. Estimates of the numbers of children under 16 who were victims of certain violent and sexual offences recorded by the police in 1984 have been published in table 2 of Home Office "Statistical Bulletin" issue 29/86.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will make a statement on the new guidelines issued to the police on domestic violence.

The revised guidelines have been made public. I have already arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library and copies are being made available to parties on request.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he is yet in a position to make a statement on the case of Mr. Alan J. Pocock.

The case is being referred to the High Court by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland in terms of section 263 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.

asked the Paymaster General if he will make the enterprise allowance available to those working in agriculture.

The enterprise allowance is available to all unemployed people who can fulfil the eligibility conditions of the enterprise allowance scheme. Currently 4 per cent. of scheme participants are engaged in businesses in agriculture and horticulture.

asked the Paymaster General if he will give the latest estimate of the total size of the small business sector, including that represented by the self-employed; and if he will give the latest estimate of those employed within this sector; and if he will make a statement.

Self-employed Persons—Great Britain, Spring 1985
Occupation Order		All Self-employed persons Thousands
I	Professional and related supporting management and administration	187
II	Professional and related in education, welfare and health	160
III	Literary, artistic, sports	106
IV	Professional and related in science, engineering, technology and similar fields	77
V	Management	846
VI	Clerical and related	70
VII	Selling	157
VIII	Security and protective service	—
IX	Catering, cleaning, hairdressing and other personal service	140
X	Farming, fishing and related	62
XI	Processing, making, repairing and related (excluding metal and electrical)	205
XII	Processing, making, repairing and related (metal and electrical)	227
XIII	Painting, repetitive assembling, product inspecting, packaging and related	97
XIV	Construction and mining	263
XV	Transport operating, materials moving and storing	108
XVI	Miscellaneous	8
	Inadequately described/not stated	3
	All occupations	2,714

asked the Paymaster General if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing quarterly levels and changes in the United Kingdom employed labour force since 1979, together with the estimated average hours worked by each category of workers and the

While accurate information is not available, small firms probably account for around 96 per cent. of the 1·4 million firms registered for VAT in the United Kingdom.In June 1986 and estimated 2·7 million people in the United Kingdom were in self-employment, some of whom will have been in firms registered for VAT. In all, small firms probably provide employment for over one quarter of the employed labour force.

asked the Paymaster General if he will give the latest figures available for the total number of self-employed; and if he will indicate what trades and professions are represented in that total.

The latest provisional estimate of the number of self-employed persons in Great Britain, as shown in the regular quarterly self-employment series, is 2,665,000 as at June 1986. This series is not classified by occupation.The labour force survey provides information on a different basis but allows an analysis by occupation. Estimates from the 1985 labour force survey are given in the table.full-time equivalent level of the employed labour force for each quarter, identifying separately

The available estimates of the employed labour force are given in table 1.

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the 50 constituencies in which unemployment shows the largest fall over the past 12 months.

The following information is in the Library. The table shows the 50 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain at 9 October 1986, where in percentage terms unemployment had the greatest fall in the previous 12 months.

asked the Paymaster General whether he has received any representations from any disablement organisation in relation to the recent European Community recommendation on the employment of disabled people; whether these representations express satisfaction or otherwise with the contents of the recommendations; and whether Her Majesty's Government supported or opposed the changes which took place in the final recommendation from the provisions of the earliest draft recommendation.

My Department received comments on the draft recommendation from the national advisory council

asked the Paymaster General if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing information available to him on the size of the employed labour force or the nearest alternative statistic in 1979 in each country in the European Community and in each subsequent year up to 1985 including estimates or projections where official data are not available, and showing (a) the source and coverage of all figures and (b) the time frame of each figure.

The employment information requested is given in the attached table.on employment of disabled people and from the Spastics Society. Both organisations broadly supported the recommendation but expressed some reservations on points of detail. Ministers and officials took an active part in negotiations on the recommendation, and I believe the final text provides a clear but flexible framework for the continued development of measures to help the employment of disabled people.

asked the Paymaster General how many new registered dock workers have entered the national dock labour scheme in each of the last three years; and how many he estimates to be needed in the next three years.

The figures are:

	Number
1984	74
1985	37
19861	44
1to date.

Of these new entrants, the majority replaced men who had left the industry through natural wastage. While it is not possible to predict requirements over the next few years, they are unlikley to be significantly different in scale.

asked the Paymaster General whether he will take steps to ensure that the questionnaire designed to discourage those who are not available for work from claiming benefits does not discourage claimants from taking up voluntary work; and if he will make a statement.

The introduction of the new procedures has made no change at all to the long-standing requirements for people who undertake voluntary work whilst claiming unemployment benefit to be available for work.The established legal rules have always provided that voluntary work in itself does not prevent payment of benefit providing a claimant:

asked the Paymaster General (1) what is the number of (a) male and (b) female disabled people who have been interviewed by his officials in the Tooting constituency as part of the availability for work scheme;(2) what is the number of people over the age of 50 years who have been interviewed by his officials in the Tooting constituency as part of the availability for work test;(3) what has been the number of people interviewed by his officials in the Tooting constituency as part of the project to see which people are available for work;(4) what has been the number of people living in the Tooting constituency who have been refused benefit after being interviewed by his officials under his availability for work test.

Tooting A and B unemployment benefit offices took part in the experimental testing of the availability for work of new claimants and also those existing claimants over the age of 50 years who attend quarterly. The Tooting A office was a control for the experiment carried out in Tooting B office.The information collected in the experiment is not available in the form requested. In the new claims experiment a total of 2,139 people completed questionnaires. Only in those cases where doubts arose about availability for work were interviews carried out but we do not keep a separate total of the number of interviews.Similarly, we did not collect separate information about the numbers of disabled people involved.The number of people who were subsequently disallowed benefit by the independent adjudication authorities on availability grounds was 44.The experiment with those over the age of 50 years who attend quarterly is not yet complete but 338 questionnaires have been issued. The claim of one claimant in receipt of benefit has been disallowed and the crediting of a further 40 claimants in receipt of national insurance credits only, have been disallowed.

asked the Paymaster General how many long-term unemployed people there were in the Fulham constituency before the introduction of the restart scheme; how many there are currently; and how many have in the meantime been interviewed as part of the restart scheme.

On 10 April 1986, the last date before the restart scheme was introduced nationally for which an analysis of unemployment by duration is available, the number of claimants in the Fulham constituency who had been unemployed for over one year was 2,176. The comparable figure on 9 October 1986 was 2,193. We do not have figures for the number of people who have been interviewed and offered help and advice as part of the restart scheme in the Fulham constituency, but the Hammersmith restart team which covers the boroughs of Hammersmith, Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea has interviewed 4,764 people up to 13 November 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further measures he has taken to improve the supply of mathematics, physics and craft and design and technology teachers since the publication of the recent consultative document.

Since the publication of the consultative document, I have asked the National Advisory Body to allocate expenditure—amounting to £2·1 million in the first year 1987–88—for the development of courses by local authority institutions of higher education to increase the supply of teachers of the shortage subjects, namely mathematics, physics and craft, design and technology. The voluntary colleges have been allocated £250,000 in 1987–88 to enable them to participate in this initiative. The UGC, at my request, has set aside £1 million a year from 1987–88 onwards for similar initiatives in the universities. The Open University will receive up to £1·5 million in grant over the next three financial years for new work in support of shortage subject teachers, including the development of an in-service training package for physics.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to ensure that information about the GCSE is available to parents whose first language is not English.

Leaflets for parents explaining the new GCSE are being issued this week by my Department in the following translations: Bengali, Chinese, Greek, Gujerati, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu. This is part of the continuing process of explaining the new examination to parents and employers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his policy towards the funding of scientific research in each of the Welsh universities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing (a) current non-clinical academic university salaries, (b) salaries for school teachers as foreshadowed in his statement of 30 October and (c) the salaries in the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service agreement of 15 November, showing starting salaries and salaries at age 27 years.

The information is set out in the following table:

My right hon. Friend has endorsed the UGC's policy of selectivity in research funding and the committee's plans for developing that policy in conjunction with the research councils, as described in the Official Report for 6 November at columns 494–496. The funding of scientific research in the constituent institutions of the University of Wales will depend upon decisions made by the University Grants Committee and by the institutions themselves, and their success in attracting funds from the research councils, industry and other sources.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total amount spent on student support for each year since 1976 both in cash terms and in real terms.

Total expenditure on student maintenance excluding fees was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will initiate a review of the implications of transferring all the costs of the state sector of education to the national Exchequer; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to him on 5 November at column 435.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received the report by the Institute of Education on the Education Act 1981. "Policy and Provisions for Special Needs Project"; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

The report was received on 31 October. Its findings were presented at a national seminar held at the University of London Institute of Education on 10 November. My right hon. Friend now intends to study these, along with the findings from two complementary projects, with a view to considering whether amendments are needed, either to the legislation or to the current guidance issued to authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the county councils currently regarded by his Department as low spenders.

In the Government's view every local authority has scope to obtain better value for money through increased efficiency. Therefore no local authority can be described as a low spender in the sense that it cannot make further economies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on making available to independent researchers all records held by his Department of environmental monitoring around licensed nuclear installations, for all years that records exist; and if he will describe the arrangements under which such records may be used by independent researchers.

The records which are held by this Department of environmental monitoring carried out near nuclear installations include information obtained by nuclear site operators. This information remains the property of the operators and requests to consult it should be addressed to them. Information gathered directly by this Department is obtained as a check on the accuracy and reliability of the operator's measurements. This material can be made available for inspection by independent researchers on written application to Her Majesty's Radiochemical Inspectorate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of repairs and special grants to private owners were mandatory grants in each calendar year since 1979 in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) London.

Mandatory grants were introduced by provisions in the Housing Act 1980 and figures were first collected from English authorities For the June quarter of 1981; after the March quarter of 1986, numbers of mandatory repairs grants are to be reported annually. The available estimates are as follows. For Welsh figures, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

Mandatory repairs grants as per cent. of all repair grants1
	England	London
April to December 1981	9	21
1982	6	18
1983	4	11
1984	5	8
1985	11	16
1st quarter 1986	13	21

Mandatory special grants as per cent. of all special grants.
	England	London
April to December 1981	70	69
1982	75	78
1983	69	76
1984	79	87
1985	86	89
1st half 1986	91	93
1Mandatory grants to owners are not separately reported.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the number and amount of special grants paid to the owners of houses in multiple occupation in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) London;(2) if he will publish in the

Estimated figures for 1985 and first half 1986, with additional details for second quarter 1986, are given for England and London. For Welsh figures, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek to make further facilities available for the sport of angling; and if he will make a statement.

The responsibility for considering the general need for further facilities lies with the Sports Council, with of course the angling bodies. Although most of the existing and potential amenities are owned by the British Waterways Board and local and water authorities. The Sports Council recognises angling's importance as a popular sport and provides financial and other support to aid its development.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice on energy efficiency will be available from the new housing advice centres which his Department is to fund; and if he will make a statement.

Both the organisations which the Department is to fund, Care and Repair Ltd. and Neighbourhood Revitalisation Services (NRS), are aware of the importance of energy efficiency measures to the repair and improvement of the housing stock. NRS already works closely with Neighbourhood Energy Action and is shortly to employ an energy surveyor to promote energy efficiency at its pilot project in Hillsborough, Sheffield. NRS hopes that experience in Sheffield will provide a model for incorporating energy efficiency into future projects. Care and Repair projects also give clients advice on and help with improved insulation and other efficiency measures and expect to liaise with existing specialist agencies, such as those run by Neighbourhood Energy Action, in the areas where schemes are established.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish statistics on the numbers of homeless young people; and what advice he has given to local authorities on the subject of housing provision for such young people.

The statistics that we collect from local authorities on homelessness do not contain a breakdown by age or household composition.Individual homeless young people may fall into one of the priority need categories (including the vulnerable) for whom authorities have a duty to secure accommodation. In our code of guidance we have asked authorities to treat as vulnerable young people at risk of sexual or financial exploitation, and, where resources permit, to do all they can to ensure that accommodation is secured by homeless people outside the priority need categories. Authorities also have a duty under section 22 of the Housing Act 1985 to give a reasonable preference to homeless people among others in the selection of their tenants, and we have urged authorities to allocate tenancies on the basis of housing need. It is, however, for individual authorities to decide on their own housing priorities within their areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action his Department is taking to deal with the problem of homeless young people.

Young people stand to benefit from a range of Government measures, including new housing association schemes for young people wishing to move to take up employment, our hostels initiative, the facilitating of subletting by council tenants and other more general measures to relieve homelessness. We are also helping to fund a leaflet by the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless Trust aimed at preventing homelessness among young people and advising them on accommodation prospects before they take the decision to leave home.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if Her Majesty's Government conduct research designed to discover the possible environmental effects of all new chemical compounds (i) known to be entering the environment and (ii) upon commencement of production with a view to their inclusion on either black or grey lists of the Oslo commission, Paris commission or the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.

New chemicals are subject to the provisions of the Notification of New Substances Regulations 1982. These implement European Community directive 79/831/EEC which requires manufacturers or importers to submit a package of information and technical data on new substances prior to placing them on the market in the European Community. The information submitted covers environmental effects and the onus is on the notifier to carry out the appropriate tests to get the information required to satisfy the competent authority (the Health and Safety Executive and my Department acting jointly). It is not necessary for the Government to commission research, therefore. The information submitted is assessed by my Department to establish the potential environmental hazards of the notified substance. If the assessment of a substance showed that it met the criteria laid down by the Oslo or Paris commissions or by the European Community, this could lead to a recommendation that the substance be included on the black or grey lists.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the East Midlands Play Association opposing his decision to integrate Play Board with the Sports Council; and what reply he has sent.

None. However, I am aware that the proposals to merge Play Board's functions with those of the Sports Council have not been fully understood and, as a result, have caused some concerns. The proposals are not, as seems to be widely believed, designed to merge "play" into "sport"; they are aimed at achieving a strengthening of the campaign to raise the profile of play.Over the past three years Play Board has succeeded in bringing to the fore the needs of children for proper play facilities and opportunities. I agree with the board that more remains to be done and a national focus for play remains important. I believe, however, that this role needs to be given added impetus through having an ability to grant-aid facilities and projects, for which additional funds from the private sector should be generated. It is for this purpose that I consider play should be brought within the structure and role of a major, established body—one with a track record for achieving results, for raising private sector funds, and value for money.Consequently I have proposed to Play Board that its function and role should be merged with the Sports Council. The two bodies have agreed to enter into negotiations with us to identify the best way forward acceptable to both parties and to the Government. Those negotiations started on 25 November and I know that "play's" separate identity and needs are going to form an important part of the future discussions. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that the two organisations will reach agreement on future arrangements for the greater benefit of children's play.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will now introduce legislation to repeal sections in the Local Government Act 1986, concerning political propaganda on the rates;(2) if he will seek to redefine "prohibited material" in the Local Government Act 1986 to include partisan as well as party political propaganda on the rates.

I refer to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) on Tuesday 25 November 1986. My right hon. Friend will consider all the options for restoring the effects of the words deleted by their Lordships.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has about the total number of lettings by private landlords, excluding housing associations, currently in existence in Greater London, and as to what percentage of these involve fair rents set by the rent officer.

From the annual "Labour Force Survey" it is estimated that there were some 400,000 households in Greater London renting from private landlords in the spring of 1984; these included job—or business-related lettings and other lettings to which the Rent Act does not apply. There were an estimated 130,000 regulated tenancies in London at the end of June 1984, for which a fair rent had been registered within the previous 24 months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will use his powers under section 23 of the Housing Act 1980 in respect of the London borough of Camden; and if he will make a statement.

I am most concerned over the council's inadequate performance in the handling of right-to-buy applications, which is formally monitored by the Department. The case for advising the Secretary of State to use his powers of intervention will be kept under review. I shall write to my hon. Friend.