asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public money from whatever sources has been paid to British Insulated Callendar Cables towards the costs of developing and setting up the fibre optics unit on the Knowsley South industrial park.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive the report of the Office of Fair Trading on the take-over bid for the Ault and Wiborg paint factory, Perivale by Bergers; and if he will make a statement.

The Director General of Fair Trading expects to submit his advice to my right hon. Friend on this case shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 1 December, Official Report, columns 434–35, when he expects consultations with consumer and trade associations about the possibility of making an order under section 8 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

The associations concerned have been asked to submit their comments by 30 January 1987 on a consultation letter from my Department dated 4 December. The Government will study the responses carefully and it may be necessary to clarify certain points further with those who submit comments. At present I think it unlikely that consultations will have been completed before the middle of March.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who represented Her Majesty's Government on the recent trade delegation to Iraq; and what their itinerary was.

I visited Baghdad in November for the annual meeting of the United Kingdom/Iraq joint commission. I was accompanied by DTI and ECGD officials. I remained in the city throughout my visit.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what representations he has received regarding possible redundancies at the Rolls-Royce plant, Hatfield.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has on the current state of progress in the negotiations with Lloyd's insurance in formulating a settlement on members of syndicates managed by Peter Cameron Webb.

The formulation of any settlement is a matter for Lloyd's itself and the other parties involved, but I am informed that intensive negotiations are proceeding.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the timetable for implementing the bilateral agreements for the multi-fibre arrangement.

The bilateral agreements will be implemented in the Community under regulations already agreed by all member states. The regulations are expected to be adopted by the Industry Council on 22 December following the lifting of the United Kingdom's parliamentary scrutiny reserve. This will enable the agreements to come into operation as planned on 1 January.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the assistance to companies made available under the quality assurance support scheme.

The quality assurance support scheme, which was launched in 1983 to run for four years, provides assistance to firms employing up to 500 people to introduce quality management systems and to demonstrate their quality achievements through independent assessment. The aim of the scheme was to provide clear evidence of the benefits to smaller firms of good quality management and certification by building up a portfolio of successful case studies, the lessons from which could then be disseminated more widely.To date over 600 applications have been made for assistance under the scheme, of which 372 have been received this year. This reflects growing awareness on the part of industry and commerce of the importance of quality to Britain's competitiveness, a message which the Government has been promoting vigorously through its national quality campaign. The quality assurance support scheme, which is part of that campaign and on which £3·8 million will have been spent once outstanding applications have been processed and the projects completed, has thus fulfilled its objective. It has therefore been decided that no further applications under the scheme can be accepted as from midnight today. A full evaluation of the scheme will be conducted in 1987 and its results made public.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will identify the various programmes promoted by his Department within the United Kingdom and through collaborative ventures within the European Economic Community to promote research, development and production; when these programmes were inaugurated; and what are the financial resources devoted to each of them.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 610]: The information requested is given in the table below. Further information on research and development programmes is contained in the annual review of Government funded research and development 1985 and on measures under the Industrial Development Act 1982 in the annual report for the year ended 31 March 1986 (HC 552).

Research, development and production programmes promoted by DTI
Programme	Inaugurated1	1986–87 estimates provision (£ million)
United Kingdom activities
Research establishments	na	46·2
Support for innovation2	1982	221·6
Aircraft and aeroengine research and development3	na	29·9
Space technology programmes4	na	64·0
Launch aid5	na	100·4
Industrial Development Act:—	1982
Section 7—Regional support		226·8
Section 8—Industry schemes		35·8
Part III—Assistance to the shipbuilding industry		28·0
European Community industrial research and development programmes6
ESPRIT (Information technology)	1984	21·0
RACE (Telecommunications)	1985	1·4
BRITE (Industrial technologies)	1985	4·4
Biotechnology	1985	1·5
Materials	1986	2·0
Technical reference standards	1983	0·7
1 Not applicable if inaugurated prior to 1979–80.
2 Includes support for United Kingdom companies involved in EUREKA projects.
3 Includes contribution to the European Transonic Wind tunnel.
4 Includes contribution to the European Space Agency.
5 Includes support for BAe's part in Airbus Industries A320 civil aircraft.
6 Expenditure is the expected United Kingdom share of the average annual programme budget.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the log of telephone calls made within the Palace of Westminster is stored in machine readable form; how long copies will be kept; and where the log is kept.

The telephone logging equipment which is attached to the Palace of Westminster telephone exchange stores the information on telephone calls in a machine readable form. The printing out of this information is subject to very close controls.The equipment is capable of storing information only for the current month and the preceding month. When a print-out is taken it is kept only for as long as it is necessary to carry out the particular work for which it was obtained. The information logged for telephone extensions other than those in public places has not, and will not, be printed out without the specific authorisation of the person concerned. The equipment is located on the third floor of the Palace of Westminster.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether the system whereby telephone calls made within the Palace of Westminster are logged will be registered under the terms of the Data Protection Act.

I am advised that the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984 do not apply to the information stored in the call logging equipment attached to the Palace of Westminster telephone exchange. The question of registration therefore does not apply.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will raise the matter of the alleged interceptions of hon. Members' telephones with the Select Committee on House of Commons Services; and if he will make a statement.

The tandem exchange referred to in the letter which the hon. Member read to the House on 15 December (Official Report, c. 824–5) forms part of the Government telecommunications network, and as such comes under the responsibility of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has recently reiterated the assurances that have been given by successive Governments with regard to the interception of the telephone calls of Members of Parliament on 10 December 1986, at column 161. In these circumstances I do not consider it necessary or appropriate to raise this matter with the Services Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing (a) the level of uptake of selective assistance to industry under section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 in cash terms for Wales in each year since 1982 and (b) the percentage change in level of uptake between years.

The value of regional selective assistance grant offers accepted in Wales in the financial years 1982–83, 1985–86 together with the percentage change between those years is as follows:

	£ million	per cent.
1982–83	22	—
1983–84	51	+131
1984–85	39	-23
1985–86	48	+23

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether his Department has at any stage made an application to CADW for scheduled monument consent; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many scheduled monument clearance applications have been received for sites in Wales since CADW came into existence; how many of these have been determined; and if he will list them indicating the determination in each case;

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the length, cost or estimated cost, start and finish date for the Newbridge, Chirk Gresford bypasses; and if he will make a statement.

Work on the Newbridge bypass and Whitehurst link (3.1 miles) is scheduled to start before the end of December 1987, subject to the completion of remaining statutory procedures and the availability of resources. The estimated cost is approximately £12 million at current prices. Work on the Chirk bypass (1.6 miles in Wales, 0.4 miles in England) is planned to start between January 1988 and December 1990, subject to the completion of statutory procedures and the availability of resources. The estimated cost of the Welsh section is approximately £8 million at current prices. Work started on the Gresford-Pulford bypass in early December. The Welsh section is 4.5 miles (total length 6.3 miles) and the estimated cost of that section is approximately £20 million at current prices. The work is expected to take two and a half years to complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what studies his Department has undertaken into an association between damp housing, mite infestations and allergic reactions;(2) what studies his Department has undertaken into an association between the incidence of visible moulds on house walls and the incidence of asthma;(3) what evidence his Department has compiled about an association between damp patches on bedroom walls and persons complaining of wheezing and breathlessness.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if the 1986 Welsh house condition survey will include comprehensive data on temperatures in occupied homes.

That is not part of the survey.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Gower on 25 November, Official Report, column 173, if he will place in the Library the result of question 96 of the schedule section M of the Welsh housing condition survey of 1981, disaggregating the figures by each county in Wales and also presenting the figures in percentage terms.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of Stare for Wales what information his Department holds on the seasonal mortality of babies on the first year of life.

The Registrar General is responsible for the registration of all deaths in England and Wales. Details of infant mortality in Wales, on a quarterly basis are published in table 9 of "Population Trends", a copy of which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what information his Department holds on (i) the proportion of all homes in Wales which have central heating and (ii) the proportion of homes in Wales which have central heating where all the occupants are over 65 years of age.

It is estimated from the Welsh house condition survey that, in 1981, 55·1 per cent. of all dwellings in Wales, and 42·2 per cent. of those dwellings in which the head of household was over 65, had central heating. Figures cannot be reliably estimated for pensioner households for later years; but the family expenditure survey suggests that in 1982–83, 59·1 per cent. of households in Wales had full or partial central heating.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the capital costs of establishing each city technology college in (a) a new building or (b) a converted building.

It is impossible to give detailed costings at this stage. The capital costs of establishing a city technology college will depend on various factors such as local property prices, the extent of any gifts or loans of furniture and equipment, and the size of the school. However, as a guide the Department has estimated that on average the total capital cost of a city technology college in converted premises would be between £3 million and £6 million, and that on average the total capital cost of a city technology college in new premises would be between £7 million and £10 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the capital costs for the establisment of a city technology college his Department intends to be provided by (a) local business, commerce and industry, (b) his Department, (c) local authorities and (d) charities.

My right hon. Friend intends that all or a substantial part of the capital costs for the establishment of a city technology college will be met from private sources such as industry and commerce or educational charities. Some assistance towards capital costs may be available from the Department. It is open to local education authorities to assist promoters by releasing surplus buildings for this purpose. The exact mix of funding will depend on the local circumstances of each individual CTC.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what funding for new works has been granted by his Department to church-aided schools in each of the last five years; and how this has been disbursed among the main denominations.

The annual allocations made for capital work at voluntary aided and special agreement schools take account of expenditure on specified major projects on which work is due to begin in the forth-coming year. The table shows the expenditure allowed for on such projects in each of the last five years.

£000's England only
	Roman Catholic	Church of England	Other Aided Schools
1986–87	4,831	647	396
1985–86	1,916	1,180	411
1984–85	1,390	1,172	295
1983–84	1,275	1,233	600
1982–83	957	1,484	600

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to complete his comprehensive review of future arrangements for students financial support; and if he will make a statement.

The work of the student support review is expected to be completed next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any proposals for the review of provision of careers advice in schools.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave him on Tuesday 2 December at column 564.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the projects which will be included in the public sector higher education capital programme for 1988–89.

The National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education, which advises my right hon. Friend on both capital and recurrent expenditure allocations, has deferred consideration until the new year of its advice on the projects to be included in the public sector higher education capital building programme for 1988–89.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now announce his decisions on public sector higher education provision in 1987–88 and on the distribution of the advanced further education pool and voluntary sector quantum for 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

I have today written to the chairman of the committee of the National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education (NAB) in response to the committee's advice on the disposition of student numbers in public sector higher education in 1987–88, and on the basis for distributing the advanced further education quantum of £716·5 million and voluntary sector quantum of £48·85 million for the financial year 1987–88 which I announced in the House on 6 November. I have accepted this advice except for recommendations on town and country planning education and as it bears on fine art provision.Following my announcement that the resources available for polytechnics and colleges in 1987–88 would be nearly 8·5 per cent. up on the current year, NAB recommends that student access should be further extended in 1987–88. The target numbers now set for 1987–88 provide for nearly 3,000 more student places compared with plans for 1986–87 and a growth in recruitment of 2·5 per cent. over planned 1986 intakes. They also look forward to expansion in the priority areas of science, engineering and other vocational disciplines.As in previous years, the greater parts of the advanced further education quantum and of the voluntary sector quantum are being allocated to local education authorities and voluntary colleges in relation to target student numbers. The allocations have been made to allow every institution a standard teaching unit of resource for each student. This is supplemented in the case of institutions whose advanced provision exceeds a quarter of the total in recognition of the higher costs associated with advanced further education.The allocations announced today include £15 million for a range of selective initiatives in areas of high priority and in institutions of recognised strength. Polytechnics and colleges have bid competitively for funds and these have been awarded as follows:£5·5 million for new courses in science and engineering, particularly conversion courses which will equip those with non-science backgrounds to enter advanced courses in the technologies, and on the development of new courses of teacher training in shortage subjects for non-traditional students;nearly £4 million to develop further a capacity for applied research of relevance to industry;£2·5 million to provide for an increase in technicians in support of high technology courses;£3 million to expand continuing education and professional updating (PICKUP).A total of £0·25 million is included in the voluntary sector allocations to support the development of new courses of teacher training.In addition, £1·418 million has been allocated to eight polytechnics to meet the recurrent costs of their continuing participation in phase II of the engineering and technology programme, and £2·948 million has been allocated to continue for a third year the research and biotechnology initiatives which began in 1985–86.I have provisionally accepted NAB's advice that intakes to three public sector undergraduate courses in town and country planning should cease in order to bring about a desirable concentration in centres of strength. I propose, however, not to bring the decision into effect until 1988–89 to give the institutions affected time to make representations to me if they wish. Meanwhile, and so as not to pre-empt my final decision, I have made allowance for all existing public sector undergraduate town and country planning courses in financial allocations for 1987–88.As regards fine art, I have decided to allocate modest additions of numbers—in all over 40 places—to certain institutions in order to moderate the overall reduction of over 20 per cent. in fine art intakes recommended to me by the NAB.Letters are being sent today to local education authorities and institutions notifying them of my decisions. Copies of my letter to the NAB committee chairman, and of a note explaining the method by which the two quanta for 1986–87 are being distributed, together with full details of the allocations, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures the Government are taking to increase the number of places available for students in polytechnics; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave him today on public sector higher education provision in 1987–88.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) to what factors he attributes differences between the examinations attainment of Catholic and non-Catholic comprehensive schools;(2) what information is available to his Department about the comparative achievements in terms of numbers of pupils achieving five or more O-levels of Catholic and non-Catholic comprehensive schools, respectively in

Information is not available centrally: the Department's examination statistics are not classified by the religious denomination of the school.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about advanced fine art student numbers in Kent; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received a large number of representations about fine art numbers in Kent following the recommendations to him from the National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education (NAB) that the planned intake for 1987 should be substantially reduced compared with previous years. My right hon. Friend has carefully considered these representations. He has decided to accept NAB's advice for 1987–88, but is persuaded tht it would be right in the longer term to look for a restoration of fine art numbers in Kent to their existing level.In so deciding, my right hon. Friend had particular regard to the desirability, following the creation of the Kent Institute of Art and Design of phasing out provision duplicated in the three constituent colleges. He understood that the reduction in numbers for 1987 recommended by NAB was consistent with the rationalisation of existing provision which the authority itself intends to carry through. My right hon. Friend understands, however, that the authority plans to continue the rationalisation process by launching new, replacement courses. He was not satisfied that the authority's plans to introduce new courses were sufficiently far advanced to justify the allocation of numbers in 1987, but looks to the authority to bring forward proposals for 1988 and expects then to make financial provision for them.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what improvement he expects in local authority arrangements for the in-service training of teacher; next year as a result of his intended new grants scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Local education authorities have responded to my proposals to improve in-service training with plans for a 17·5 per cent. increase in training expenditure from £225 million to £265 million and for better systems to identify training needs and priorities and to ensure the effectiveness of that training.I have therefore decided to confirm my indicative allocation of £200 million aided expenditure for the scheme. I intend to confirm allocations to each authority after regulations have been laid before Parliament and come into force.This is a major commitment by the Government to the improvement of teaching quality and to the professional development of teachers. Central Government training grants to local authorities will total £114 million. Training should be more evenly spread throughout the country. In monitoring the implementation of these plans I shall look at the extent to which authorities take account of the needs of individual teachers, of their schools and colleges and of the others covered by the scheme, and of the effectiveness of the training in improving the quality of teaching.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science who will succeed to the chairmanship of the advisory board for the research councils when the term of appointment of the present chairman, Professor Sir David Phillips, expires on 22 January 1987.

I have decided to reappoint Professor Sir David Phillips, FRS, professor of molecular biophysics at the university of Oxford for a further period of four years.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he proposes to take in relation to disruptive behaviour by younger pupils in primary schools in the light of the paper by Lawrence and Steed in "Educational Studies."

The greater authority which the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 will confer on governing bodies and headteachers in relation to the conduct of schools will do much to secure better standards of discipline. In addition Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools is conducting a survey of good practice in the matter of behaviour and discipline which will be published in the near future.My right hon. Friend is concerned about disruptive behaviour wherever it occurs. However the many visits to schools which the inspectorate is constantly making show that most primary—and secondary—schools are well ordered communities and that the overwhelming majority of pupils are well behaved for most of the time. Evidence from the inspectorate does not support the suggestion that the onset of disruptive behaviour in primary schools is getting earlier. In comparison, the studies made by Lawrence and Steed were limited in scope, sample size and duration; and I do not believe that they are a sufficient basis on which to reach any firm conclusion.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he is taking following the Stoker report about the clinical research centre.

The Stoker report recommended that a multi-speciality national centre for postgraduate medical education and research should be formed by merging the MRC clinical research centre at Northwick park and the royal postgraduate medical school at Hammersmith hospital with basic medical science as an integral part of the new institution. This recommendation has been approved in principle by the Medical Research Council, which has so informed my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services and me. Detailed studies of the ways and means of implementing it are now being undertaken by the council in collaboration with the other bodies directly concerned with the proposal. No decision can, of course, be taken until these studies are complete.The Government note this interesting and constructive initiative by the Medical Research Council, aimed at creating a new national centre of excellence in clinical research by merging these two institutions. If a practical and cost-effective scheme can be devised, it will open up new possibilities with the potential to be of great benefit, not only to medical research and the development of medical care but to our pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. The Government will consider the results of the detailed studies, and the council's conclusions, when they are presented, with particular interest.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the amount available for capital expenditure on schools in 1987–88 including the voluntary aided sector.

Local education authorities have today been informed of their allocations of presecribed capital expenditure for 1987–88, and of the allocations for capital spending by the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools in their area. These are as follows:

Education capital expenditure 1987–88 Allocations for each local education authority
£'000
LEA	Capital expenditure at county and controlled schools and further education establishments	Capital expenditure by the governors of aided and special agreement schools
Greater London
Barking	806	—
Barnet	1,744	880
Bexley	1,641	126
Brent	2,514	613
Bromley	1,618	20
Croydon	2,428	503
Ealing	2,147	762
Enfield	1,222	93
Haringey	1,121	75
Harrow	2,952	25
Havering	393	—
Hillingdon	1,059	230
Hounslow	1,255	153
Kingston upon Thames	1,683	—
Merton	1,054	65
Newham	1,165	60
Redbridge	1,761	5
Richmond upon Thames	115	12
Sutton	247	—
Waltham Forest	2,585	50
Inner London	14,957	862
Metropolitan Districts West Midlands
Birmingham	3,860	985
Coventry	5,709	340
Dudley	1,329	858
Sandwell	576	15
Solihull	500	166
Walsall	824	50
Wolverhampton	1,932	8
Merseyside
Knowsley	1,108	570
Liverpool	1,885	2,239
St. Helens	855	888
Sefton	1,790	50
Wirral	1,316	327
Greater Manchester
Bolton	645	734
Bury	320	120
Manchester	8,968	2,831
Oldham	2,799	274
Rochdale	2,220	335
Salford	1,882	750
Stockport	1,243	122
Tameside	389	35
Trafford	1,064	30
Wigan	2,717	1,045
South
Barnsley	530	5
Doncaster	365	—
Rotherham	287	69
Sheffield	3,197	130
West Yorkshire
Bradford	6,303	270
Calderdale	1,883	25
Kirklees	1,664	14
Leeds	2,802	20
Wakefield	2,074	47

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in the United Kingdom where on 1 December prisoners were sleeping three to a cell.

Information on prisoners sharing cells in prisons in England and Wales is collected on the second Sunday of every month. The prison establishments in which some inmates were sleeping three to a cell certified for one prisoner on 9 November, the latest date for which information is available, were as follows:

Bedford	Leicester
Birmingham	Lewes
Brockhill	Lincoln
Canterbury	Liverpool
Cardiff	Manchester
Dorchester	Norwich
Durham	Oxford
Exeter	Reading
Gloucester	Shepton Mallet
Hull	Swansea
Leeds

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many men and women, respectively, who were sentenced after deferment in 1985 following conviction for indictable offences received immediate custodial sentences;(2) how many men and women, respectively, who were convicted of indictable offences in 1985 had their sentences deferred.

The readily available information is published in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1985, Supplementary Tables, Volume 4" in tables S4.8(a), S4.8(b), S4.9(a) and S4.9(b).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Cleveland as to the training which police in Stockton on Tees, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Langbaurgh areas receive in dealing with accidents involving radioactive contamination;(2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Cleveland as to the equipment available to the police and as to the conduct of emergency and evacuation exercises, in the Stockton on Tees, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Langbaurgh areas.

All officers of Cleveland constabulary are made aware of the national arrangements for dealing with incidents involving radioactivity (the NAIR scheme). Officers attend initial and refresher courses in dealing with incidents involving hazardous materials, including radioactive substances. Course open to officers of other forces and emergency services are also run. Relevant equipment is held by the fire service. Contingency plans are regularly tested in exercises held with industry, including the CEGB at Hartlepool.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Durham as to the training which police in the Sedgefield, Easington, Darlington, Teesdale, Derwentside, Wear Valley, Chester-le-Street and Durham areas receive in dealing with accidents involving radioactive contamination;(2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Durham as to the equipment available to the police, and as to the conduct of emergency and evacuation exercises, in the Sedgefield, Easington, Darlington, Teesdale, Derwentside, Wear Valley, Chester-le-Street, and Durham areas.

All officers of Durham constabulary are made aware of the existence of the national arrangements for dealing with incidents involving radioactivity (the NAIR scheme). Some officers of the rank of sergeant and above attend training courses in dealing with incidents involving radioactive substances run by Cleveland constabularly. Relevant equipment is held by the fire service and is also available from industry. During 1986 one major incident exercise has been held, and plans for the evacuation of premises were used operationally twice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the remaining numbers of pre-1956 preserved rate police widows and of the cost of implementing the police negotiating board's recommended award for them; and if he will make a statement.

The number of police widows in England, Wales and Scotland in receipt of preserved-rate pensions whose husbands retired before 1 April 1956 is estimated as 6,500. The initial cost of awarding the increase recommended by the police negotiating board is estimated as £455,000 per annum.With regret my right hon. Friend felt unable to implement the recommendation because to do so would have been a breach of the long standing principle that entitlement under public service schemes should not be improved retrospectively. Such a breach could not be justified for this group of police widows in isolation from claims on behalf of other groups of public service widows, the cost of meeting which would in total be unacceptably high.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been in the standards of fire cover by the London fire brigade since 31 March 1979; and whether he plans to permit any increase in the net number of fire appliances or in the recruitment of firefighters for the brigade.

There has been no change since 1979 in the nationally applied recommended minimum standards of fire cover. Comprehensive information is not held centrally about the changes made by individual fire authorities to the level and disposition of fire cover in their areas.We have received no proposals from the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority in respect of the establishment scheme for the London fire brigade for 1987–88. Such a scheme has to be submitted by 1 January 1987 and when received it will be carefully considered on its merits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been provided by his Department for the West Mercia police authority in each of the last five years; and what has been the authorised strength of the force at the end of each of those years.

Until this financial year, the Home Office met 50 per cent. of the expenditure of the West Mercia police authority through police grant. The Department of the Environment also made a contribution to the remaining expenditure through block grant. Police grant is paid in advance on the basis of estimates and any under-or over-payment is corrected by adjustments to advances in later years. The actual sums paid out in each year will, therefore, be more or less than 50 per cent. of the police authority's actual expenditure in that year.We have increased the rate of police grant for 1986–87 from 50 per cent. to 51 per cent. The table below sets out for each year the sum of police grant paid by the Home Office to the West Mercia police authority, the authorised establishment of the West Mercia police at 31 March and the actual strength of the force at that date.

	Police grant paid £ million	Authorised establishment at 31 March	Actual strength at 31 March
1981–82	14·77	1,921	1,926
1982–83	16·48	1,923	1,916
1983–84	18·13	1,923	1,920
1984–85	20·55	1,923	1,919
1985–86	20·61	1,953	1,939

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used in deciding which categories of person should be included in lists maintained by the Metropolitan policy for intelligence purposes; if the possession of a criminal record is a condition for inclusion on the list; who has access to such lists; and what safeguards exist to ensure that unauthorised persons do not gain access to such lists or that unauthorised use is not made of them; and if he will make a statement.

These are operational matters for the Commissioner, but the Home Office has issued guidance in a circular of 17 July 1986 on the disclosure of information—a copy of which was placed in the Library—and in guidelines on the work of Special Branch, which was published in the Fourth report of the Home Affairs Select Committee in April 1985. The guidance emphasises that only necessary and relevant information should be recorded, and that police information should not be disclosed unless there are important considerations of' public interest to justify departure from that rule.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement concerning his decision to refuse to extend the temporary admission of J. S. (Home Office reference 5579 717/3(S)) on the ground of the expected confinement of his wife in December, when requested to do so by the hon. Member for Stretford;(2) if he will make a statement concerning his decision to extend temporary admission to J. S. (Home Office reference S579 7I7/3(S)) on the ground of the expected confinement of his wife in December, when requested to do so by the right Reverend S. Booth-Cliborn, Bishop of Manchester.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time a person seeking to appeal against a refusal to issue a visa for a visit to the United Kingdom from the Indian sub-continent has to wait before the case is dealt with by an adjudicator; what proposals are being considered to speed up this process; and if he will make a statement.

No appeals against refusal in the Indian sub-continent of a visa to visit the United Kingdom have yet been received by the appellate authorities and it is understood that very few have so far been lodged. Consequently it is too soon to provide the information required. The situation is being closely monitored in consultation with the appellate authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish the figures of those admitted to the United Kingdom for settlement over the past 12 months and state their country of origin.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that every prisoner whose home is in Wales may be held within a prison in Wales if he or she so wishes.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the reasons for writing to the community/police consultative group for Lambeth on 23 September to say that the Government have allowed the Metropolitan Police (Compensation) Act 1886 to remain on the statute book even though the Government no longer accepts the principles upon which it is based; and if he will specify the principles with which his Department disagrees.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number and proportion of prisoners held on rule 43 in the prison department's south-east region at the end of October in 1976, 1985 and 1986, respectively.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department collects on the number of immigrants who have entered the United Kingdom with the stated intention of working, but who have not worked for a five-year period.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of Sri Lankan Tamils (a) men and (b) women, who were held in detention on 10 December 1986.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of responses to the consultation document issued by his Department and the Department of Health and Social Security, a decision has been reached on whether to seek to amend the Mental Health Act 1983 in respect of offenders suffering from psychopathic disorder.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services and I are grateful for the many comments which we received in response to the joint consultation document. We have decided not to proceed with an amendment to the Mental Health Act. But we shall be giving further consideration to the procedural measures proposed in the document.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) passengers in total and (b) people seeking admission as visitors who arrived at Heathrow from the Indian sub-continent on any of the days from 11 to 15 October for which figures are available were (i) granted admission, (ii) refused entry and detained, (iii) refused entry and granted temporary admission, (iv) returned to the Indian sub-continent within that period and (v) are still waiting for a decision on whether to grant leave to enter.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1986, c. 252–53]: The available information relates to arrivals at terminal 3, Heathrow only in the period 11 to 15 October inclusive and is given in the table. Column (b) refers to all passengers from the Indian sub-continent; no separate information is available about those seeking entry as visitors.

(a) All passengers subject to control	(b) Passengers from the Indian sub-continent
i. Approximately 27,600	i. Approximately 5,000
ii. 244	ii. 240
iii. 323	iii. 273

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passengers from the Indian subcontinent who were detained or granted temporary admission pending further examination between 11 and 16 October were subsequently (i) refused entry but granted temporary admission, (ii) refused entry without the grant of temporary admission, (iii) granted leave to enter and (iv) still await decisions on whether to grant leave to enter the United Kingdom.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1986, c. 252–53]: The available information which relates only to those passengers who arrived at terminal 3, Heathrow between the 11 and 16 October is as follows:

(i) 245

(ii) 248

(iii) 50

(iv) 554 on 12 December 1986

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those who sought entry to the United Kingdom as visitors between 11 and 16 October are (a) still in detention, (b) still on indefinite temporary admission and (c) still awaiting an interview before a decision on whether to grant leave to enter.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1986, c. 252–53]: The following is the information.

(a) none

(b) No separate figure is available.

(c) 586 on 12 December 1986

The available information relates to passengers who arrived at terminal 3, Heathrow in the period and sought entry in any capacity. Separate statistics are not kept of passengers who seek entry as visitors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people (a) in total and (b) from the Indian subcontinent, sought leave to enter the United Kingdom as visitors on the days from 11 to 16 October for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1986, c. 252–53]: The available information relates to the total number of passengers arriving at terminal 3, Heathrow. No separate statistics are kept of passengers who seek leave to enter as visitors.In the period about 29,000 passengers sought entry. About 7,200 passengers arrived on flights either from or having connections from the Indian subcontinent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passengers (a) in total and (b) from the Indian subcontinent, arrived at Heathrow airport on any of the days from 11 to 15 October for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1986, c. 252–53]: The available information relates to the total number of passengers arriving at terminal 3, Heathrow. In the period about 36,500 passengers arrived of whom about 6,500 arrived on flights from or having connections from the Indian subcontinent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to end the manufacture and sale of amyl nitrite; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the extent of drug abuse on amyl nitrate within the scope of existing anti-drug regulations.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 651]: In the light of comments which I have recently received, I am asking the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to consider whether there now appear to be sufficient grounds to justify controlling the alkyl nitrite group of chemicals under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

asked the Minister for the Arts if he is prepared to fund the National Theatre, the Royal Opera

£ million
	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86
Public lending right	—	—	—	2	2	2·75
Book purchases by public libraries in England	40·2	43·3	49·2	54·1	53·7	n/a
British Library	33·5	35·7	39·6	48·8	45	46·2

I shall supply the hon. Member with details of the Arts Council funding for literature as soon as possible.

asked the Minister for the Arts if he will introduce legislation to require 10 per cent. of the purchase price of all paintings sold at public auction to be used to finance the visual arts through means of a statutory levy; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 630]: No. Matters relating to taxation are for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Minister for the Arts what has been the total grant by his Department to the Arts Council between 1979–80 and 1987–88.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 629]: The information is as follows:

	£ million
1979–80	61·476
1980–81	70·470
1981–82	80·361
1982–83	90·850
1983–84	94·580

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 629–30]: In 1984, the Government rejected the proposal by the Education, Science and Arts Committee that these bodies should be directly funded, and I see no present reason to change that decision.

asked the Minister for the Arts what has been the total amount spent by his Department both directly and indirectly on funding literature in each of the past six years.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986. c. 630]: My Office gives no direct support to literature. It does, however, give substantial indirect support through three main channels: the Arts Council, the public lending right scheme, and the acquisitions budget of the public library service. Further indirect support comes through the availability of the magnificent collections of the British Library which are extensively used by scholars and authors, the reference part of which will be re-housed in the new building at St. Pancras. The relevant figures, in cash terms, are as follows:

	£ million
1984–85	100·000
1985–86	105·000
1986–87	135·600
1987–88	138·400

asked the Minister for the Arts what are the reasons for using the gross domestic product deflator in calculating the year on year grant charge made in respect of the Arts Council grant; and how the gross domestic product deflator is calculated.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c.629]: The gross domestic product deflator provides a broad measure of inflation in the domestic economy and as such is appropriately used for public expenditure work.The deflator is calculated by dividing gross domestic product at cash prices by gross domestic product at constant prices.

asked the Minister for the Arts, what has been the change in the core grant paid to the Arts Council in each year between 1979–80 and 1987–88 (a) using the average earnings index and (b) using the retail price index.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 629]: Forecasts for the two indices are not published.The change in the Arts Council's grant year on year to 1985–86, for which the indices are available, is as follows:

Per cent.	Using average earnings index	Using retail price index
1980–81	-3·9	-1·4
1981–82	+2·1	+2·3
1982–83	+3·2	+5·6
1983–84	-2·7	-0·6
1984–85	-0·8	+0·7
1985–86	-3·3	-0·8

asked the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the achievements of the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Council of Ministers in respect of cultural matters.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 629]: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Mr. Alexander) on 15 December at column 406.

asked the Minister for the Arts which countries he has visited in an official capacity since taking up his position as Minister for the Arts; and which arts institutions he visited in those countries.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1986, c. 629]: I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage share of income tax was paid by the top 0·25 per cent., 0·5 per cent. and 0·75 per cent. of income earners for each of the years since 1979.

Information for the years 1978–79 to 1983–84 (the latest year for which reliable estimates are available) is as follows: The analysis is of single people and married couples and the quantiles are determined by reference to income tax liability.

Quantile shares of income tax
Per cent.
	Quantile group of tax units
	Top 0·25 per cent.	Top 0·5 per cent.	Top 0·75 per cent.
1978–79	5·6	8·0	9·7
1979–80	5·1	7·3	9·0
1980–81	5·4	7·7	9·4
1981–82	5·5	7·9	9·7
1982–83	5·9	8·4	10·2
1983–84	5·6	8·0	9·8

Tax units1 receiving mortgage interest relief by range of total income—1986–87
Range of total income (£'000)	Numbers receiving mortgage relief2 ('000)	Average value of relief per mortgagor (£)	Total cost of relief (£ million)	Percentage of total cost (per cent.)
Under 4	690	350	240	5
4 to 5	110	360	40	1
5 to 6	240	390	90	2
6 to 7	270	400	110	2
7 to 8	410	430	180	4
8 to 9	490	450	220	5

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of income tax was paid by those taxpayers whose earnings are (a) twice, (b) two and half times, (c) three times, (d) three and a half times, (e) four times and (f) 10 times the average wage and above; and what percentage of income tax was paid by each equivalent group in 1979.

The table shows the percentage shares of total income tax liability for single people and married couples with gross incomes for income tax purposes above the multiples of average earnings specified. The figures for 1978–79 are based on the survey of personal incomes for that year. For 1986–87 they are based on a projection from the 1983–84 survey and are therefore provisional. I regret that it is not possible to make reliable projections of the percentage of income tax liability for taxpayers with incomes 10 times average earnings and above.

Shares of income tax liability
Per cent.
Gross income1	1978–79	1986–87
2 and above	24·1	31·1
2½ and above	16·6	22·6
3 and above	12·4	17·0
3½ and above	9·9	13·4
4 and above	8·1	10·8
10 and over	1·9	—
1 As multiples of average earnings based on estimated mean earnings for full time adult males of £92·90 per week for 1978–79 and £213–40 per week for 1986–87.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing, for the financial year 1986–87, the number of taxpayers in each income group expected to be receiving relief on mortgage interest and the anticipated average relief per mortgagor, together with the assumed rate of interest, in the following income bands; less than £4,000 per year, £4,000, £5,000, £6,000 £7,000, £8,000 £9,000 £10,000, £12,000 £15,000, £20,000, £25,000 and over £30.000 per year.

The information is given in the table. The estimates by income range are based on projections to 1986–87 of information in the 1984–85 survey of personal incomes and the 1985 family expenditure survey. The estimates include mortgages formerly under the option mortgage scheme, now subsumed under MIRAS.The average rate of interest for 1986–87 is expected to be 11·5 per cent.