asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether, in the light of the statement, Official Report, 21 November 1986, column 805, by the Secretary of State for Social Services, that the Health Education Council was to be reconstituted as a special health authority, he will make a statement on the future of health education in Wales.

Yes. I have decided that the health educational interests of Wales will be best served by a separate special health authority. The new body will take over the role in Wales of the Health Education Council, will carry on the work of the Health Education Advisory Committee for Wales and will assume responsibility for Heartbeat Wales. I envisage that Wales will benefit from the promotional aspects of the national AIDS campaign to be undertaken by the English authority, but that the Welsh AIDS campaign will continue its work in Wales under the aegis of the Welsh authority.The new body should give a renewed impetus to health education in Wales and will further the very important work already carried out by the Health Education Council and the Health Education Advisory Committee for Wales. It will be in an advantageous position to bring together the activities of the various statutory and voluntary bodies in the Principality who have an interest in health education.Much work needs to be done to bring the authority into being quickly and I shall make a further statement when decisions have been made on membership, staffing and resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will allow the Wales Tourist Board to promote Wales overseas and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to introduce legislation to change the existing arrangements whereby the promotion of Wales overseas is handled primarily by the British Tourist Authority. However, as I explained to the Welsh Affairs Committee when I appeared before it on 27 November 1985, should we find that the interests of Wales are not being best served by these arrangements we would be prepared to consider alternative proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he intends to take to promote the Government's link project in Wales.

General publicity material on the link research initiative has been prepared and, as a first step in promoting the range of programmes covered, was circulated to academic institutions in Wales in December. Information is now about to be distributed to all relevant companies, and other organisations. Other opportunities for publicity will be used as they arise and the need for future promotion will be considered in the light of responses.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will introduce legislation to allow his Department to purchase milk quota which comes on the market for redistribution to other producers in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many outstanding claims for housing renovation grants each of the district councils in Wales have; and what is the projected cost of such outstanding claims.

The information is shown in the table, as at 30 September 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how much each of the district councils of Wales have allocated for housing renovation grants during each year since 1979.

The information requested is not readily available and I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales by when he expects each of the district councils in Wales to have cleared the waiting list of claims for housing renovation grants made prior to 31 March 1984; and if he will make a statement.

It is not possible to give such an estimate, as not all authorities have taken steps to identify how many outstanding applications are still current. While many have cleared all those originating before 1984, others have substantial numbers outstanding. The distribution of housing capital allocations takes account of the problems of those authorities with the longest grant backlogs.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many applications for pressurised water reactor power stations he is currently considering.

One: that for Sizewell B.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if, when he next meets the chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board, he will discuss the maintenance and refurbishment of power stations.

I meet the chairman of the CEGB regularly, to discuss a wide range of matters.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will raise with the major oil companies the reasons for the increase in the price per gallon of domestic heating oil in view of the impact on rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 14 January.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Zimbabwe regarding the payment of pensions to British nationals who have returned from employment in Zimbabwe.

In line with the provisions of the Zimbabwe constitution, pensions continue to be remitted from Zimbabwe, generally without problem, to British nationals who have returned to the United Kingdom. In a small number of instances where individuals have experienced difficulties, our high commission in Harare has made appropriate representations to the Zimbabwe authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will now ratify protocols 7 and 8 to the European convention on human rights; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom ratified protocol 8 to the European convention on human rights in April last year. The question of ratification of protocol 7 is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide full details of the overseas aid provided to Bangladesh since 1979, and of each of the projects funded.

Total British bilateral aid to Bangladesh since 1979 has been:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what part he expects the University of Wales and other research establishments in Wales to take in the new link project.

The aim of Link is to accelerate the development of new products and services from scientific and technological research throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. Through Link, the Government will support up to half the costs of collaborative research programmes between the scientific community, and industry and commerce. All United Kingdom institutes of higher education, research establishments and industries are eligible to participate, including those in Wales. The basis for participation would be collaboration in a joint research project involving at least one research establishment and one industrial or commercial partner.A large number of enquiries concerning Link have already been received by the Link secretariat. Several of these have originated from Welsh organisations. Firm proposals will be expected to go through normal departmental channels as they come forward.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his time schedule for reviewing the assisted areas of England and Wales; and when he will publish his decisions.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will publish a table showing at 1986 prices the value of regional aid grants paid to each region, Scotland and Wales from 1978–79 onwards;(2) if he will publish a table showing at 1986 prices the value of regional selective aid paid to each region, Scotland and Wales since 1978–79 onwards.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how soon after receiving the report by Sir Patrick Neill and his inquiry team into the affairs of Lloyd's he proposes to publish the report; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 January 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive the report of the inspectors appointed to investigate alleged insider dealing in his Department, the Office of Fair Trading and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, and if he will make a statement.

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman a reliable estimate. The investigation is still in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list in the Official Report investigations under the Companies Act initiated in the past 10 years stating (a) the date when inspectors were appointed, (b) the date of any interim report and (c) the date of their final report, if received, to date.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 January 1987]: The following table lists Companies Acts investigations announced since 1 January 1977:

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make further information about the proposed new crossing of the Thames at Dartford available to local residents; and if he will make a statement.

A leaflet about the proposed scheme is being distributed this week in the Dartford and Thurrock areas giving details of public exhibitions about this scheme. These will be held in the Orchard Theatre in Dartford on 21 and 22 January and in the Cowdray Hall, West Thurrock on 28 and 29 January. Plans of the proposed new bridge and associated widening of the A282 approach roads will be on display. Staff from the Department of Transport and Dartford River Crossing Ltd. will be present to answer questions. I have arranged for copies of the leaflet to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if there are plans to site another weighbridge, other than that at Portsmouth ferry port, elsewhere in Portsmouth.

No. The existing weighbridge is to be re-sited in a more convenient position.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those lorry weighbridges in the south-east Hampshire area which are self-weigh facilities.

None of the weighbridges in the area has self-weigh facilities at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, following its proposed resiting to the customs area, the weighbridge at Portsmouth ferry port will be available for use by all road hauliers in the area.

If the Portsmouth Port Authority is prepared to allow road hauliers' vehicles into the ferry port, drivers will be able to take advantage of the self-weigh facility which will be provided when the weighbridge is re-sited.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the lines and stations reinstated by British Rail under the Transport Act 1962 (Amendment) Act 1981 together with those which it is proposed to reinstate in the next 12 months.

I understand from the British Railways Board that 32 stations and two passenger services have been opened or reopened on an experimental basis under the 1981 Act. A further 11 stations and five passenger services are expected to be opened or reopened in the next 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing legislation for ensuring that vessels registered in British territories adopt internationally accepted safety standards; and if he will make a statement.

Present United Kingdom legislation contains no provision to control the standards adopted by the marine administrations in the British Dependent Territories. For this reason a number of international conventions do not apply to ships registered in some of the dependent territories. The Government recognise that this is not a satisfactoy situation and propose to introduce legislation when the parliamentary time allows to remedy this defect in the law by seeking powers to control the type of ship which can be registered in different territories. In the meantime the Government will continue to provide advice and assistance to marine administrations in dependent territories so that safety standards can be improved and more international conventions extended to them where appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he takes to monitor the performance of materials used in the construction of motorways and trunk roads to ensure specifications are producing the required result.

The Department's engineers are closely involved with the construction and maintenance of motorways and trunk roads and monitor the performance of in-service roads. When a problem with a material is encountered on any site, the performance of that material on other sites is investigated and corrective action taken if required; consideration is also given to the need to revise any standards or specifications.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration his Department has given to altering regulations about the carriage of fuel in respect of carriage on inland waterways.

None, but if the hon. Member has a particular problem in mind, he may care to write to me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of production and circulation of the recent consultation document produced by his Department on the issues raised by the Warnock report; how many copies have so far been printed; and what is the total anticipated print run.

The printing and distribution costs were borne by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, with recovery in the usual way from the proceeds of sales. There are some 1,100 copies still in stock out of the total print run of 5,500.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has in the light of the Anglo-American pact on banking supervision, about the likelihood of other major banking countries adopting similar requirements with a view to the creation of a system of global banking supervision; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom-United States supervisory agreement is an important advance towards establishing common international standards of capital adequacy.The joint announcement by the Bank of England and the United States Federal banking supervision authorities on 8 January invited comment on a proposed common risk asset ratio (a measure of capital strength relative to the size and risk of a bank's business). The proposed measure incorporates off-balance sheet risks. I am placing a copy of the consultative paper in the Library of the House.The supervisory agreement has drawn on work done in continuing supervisory discussions in Basle and Brussels, and most recently at the international supervisory conference in Amsterdam. The Bank of England and the United States authorities are discussing their proposals with supervisors in other major banking countries, notably in Europe and Japan, as well as with United Kingdom and United States banks. The Government believe that the United Kingdom-United States agreement will encourage further international co-operation in banking supervision. I understand, however, that it is too early to say what the next steps may be.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many United States nuclear-powered warships have docked in Portsmouth in the last three years.

Nineteen.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the costs of the building works for the new swimming pool in Portsmouth for the Royal Navy.

The new swimming pool for the Royal Navy at Portsmouth is being provided at a cost of £450,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if any of the sport facilities in his Department's ownership are available for community use in Portsmouth.

There is extensive community use of Ministry of Defence indoor and outdoor sports facilities in Portsmouth.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the future of the swimming baths at Pitt Street, Portsmouth, which are owned by the Royal Navy.

Consideration is being given to the future of the swimming baths at Pitt Street, Portsmouth when the new swimming pool in HMS Temeraire comes into use.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what arrangements exist to determine the operational requirements of major equipment to be procured for Her Majesty's forces; what person or committee is authorised to determine operational requirements at each stage (a) in concept formulation and in definition of staff target, (b) in feasibility study and in definition of staff requirement, (c) in project definition, if appropriate, and (d) in full development; and if he will make a statement;(2) what arrangements existed to determine the operational requirements of major equipment to be procured for Her Majesty's forces at the times relevant to determining actions of the operational requirements for demountable rack off-loading pick-up systems; whether these arrangements have since been changed; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will list the dates on which a staff target for demountable rack off-loading pick-up system equipment was either stated or updated; what person or committee was authorised to determine the operational requirements contained in each such staff target, and if he will make a statement;(4) if he will list the dates on which a staff requirement for demountable rack off-loading pick-up systems equipment was either stated or updated; what person or committee was authorised to determine the operational requirements contained in each such staff requirement; and if he will make a statement;(5) if he has received any guarantees regarding application of the United States of America Export Administration Act to off set orders in connection with the Boeing air warning aircraft system contract; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 January 1987]: An operational requirement for a substantial piece of equipment for the armed forces is expressed as a staff target and subsequently as a staff requirement. Responsibility for formulating operational requirements and sponsoring STs and SRs rests with the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Systems). STs and SRs involving expenditure above a certain level require endorsement by the equipment policy committee of the Ministry of Defence, whose chairman is the Chief Scientific Adviser. These arrangements have been in force since 2 January 1985 when the reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence took effect. Prior to that date formulation of STs and SRs was the responsibility of the service staffs concerned, and endorsement was required from the operational require ments committee (ORC), whose chairman was the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operational Requirements), and subsequently the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.A ST for a demountable rack off-loading and pick-up system (DROPS) was endorsed by the ORC on 24 August 1982. A SR for DROPS was approved by the EPC on 4 July 1985. A first revise of the SR was approved by the EPC on 6 November 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the number and percentage of families living in their own homes (a) in 1979 and (b) now;(2) what information he has concerning the size and quality of the housing stock in England

It is estimated that there were about 18·8 million dwellings in England at the end of September 1986, of which 12·2 million (65 per cent.) were owner-occupied. The corresponding figures for the end of March 1979 were 17·6 million dwellings, of which 10·0 million (57 per cent.) were in owner-occupation.Reliable information on the quality of the country's housing stock is available only from the quinquennial English "House Condition Surveys": copies of the 1981 report, which also contains results for 1971 and 1976, are available in the Library. Results of the 1986 survey are not yet available.Since the Government came into office in 1979, the English housing stock has increased by 1·2 million, while owner-occupation has grown by 2·2 million, an unprecedented rate of increase reflecting the success of the right-to-buy scheme. Private spending on maintaining and improving housing has been assisted by the payment of nearly 1·1 million renovation grants, and there have been 600,000 renovations of local authority and new town dwellings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is in a position to estimate the number of new housing starts in 1986.

It is not the practice for the Department to make forecasts of housebuilding starts. Provisional figures for the first 11 months of 1986 were published on 7 January in the Department's press release No. 6, a copy of which is available in the Library. Figures for the whole of 1986 will be released on 5 February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning the total financial contribution of the construction industry to the United Kingdom economy in each year since 1979.

The net output or value added of the construction industry, (as defined by the Standard Industrial Classification which excludes manufacturing) expressed as a proportion of the United Kingdom gross domestic product for the years 1979 to 1985 is shown in the following table.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he is making of cyanuric acid techniques, developed at the United States Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore laboratory, as a means of anti-pollution control; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is following the progress of the experimental work at the Sandia national laboratories in California on the use of cyanuric acid to reduce nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases. First laboratory tests have been promising, but the feasibility of applying the method to practical combustion systems has yet to be demonstrated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has allowed any local authority, on application, a relaxation of the right to spend limits on the use of capital receipts; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has no powers to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if any local authorities have used all of their capital receipts received from the sale of a particular asset to pay off immediately the debt charges on that particular asset.

Information on this is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to seek to relax planning controls to allow the re-development of agricultural buildings for use as small industrial units and or housing in green belt areas; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Mr. Baker) set out the Government's policy on the re-use of redundant agricultural buildings in the green belt in answer to a question by the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) on 30 April 1986, at column 414. He said that redundant agricultural buildings can provide very suitable accommodation for small firms and tourist activities, or can be used as individual residences, without detriment to the green belt and to the benefit of the local community, especially where the buildings are of attractive appearance and can be expected with normal repair and maintenance to last for many years. There are no plans to adjust the policy further.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to combat the rise in homelessness and bad housing conditions; and if he will make a statement on the recent launch of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless 1987.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 January 1987]: Action on these matters is primarily for local authorities.We are constantly looking at ways of preventing and relieving homelessness. Recent measures include the extra money being put in through housing associations (the Housing Corporation has received an extra £20 million in 1987–88, expected to attract a further £40–45 million private capital) and through our estate action initiative (£l·26 million already allocated this year, with more schemes in the pipeline, specifically for homelessness initiatives on housing estates). Many of the authorities approached are now responding positively to the latter despite a disappointing response from some London boroughs. However, some are still not doing so. Further information was given in my hon. Friend's reply to two debates on 19 December, at columns 1497–1501 and 1536–38.We have increased the resources available to authorities for investment in housing in 1987–88 by 15 per cent. over 1986–87 plans. And we expect authorities to give the highest priority to renovation of their own stock, too much of which is still lying empty (113,300 dwellings at 1 April 1986). Authorities have a wide range of powers for dealing with poor housing conditions in the private sector both by renovation and by clearance. They will spend more than £500 million on these activities in the private sector this year.On the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 December to the hon. Members for Leeds, West (Mr. Meadowcroft) and Knowsley, South (Mr. Hughes).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on alleviating homelessness in the light of Professor John Grieve's recent report on homelessness in Greater London, a copy of which has been sent to him; and what is his estimate of the comparative public sector costs of housing homeless families in London by (i) providing them with newly built council dwellings, (ii) providing them with dwellings acquired from the private sector and improved for letting and (iii) providing them with bed and breakfast accommodation.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 January 1987]: Prevention of homelessness is a major concern. The reasons why people become homeless vary greatly: for example, changes in family structure, children leaving home earlier, marital disputes and increasing divorce rates. But better understanding of and early advice with family and financial problems can help positively. We also need to make much better use of the housing available. Far too many homes stand empty today in both the public and the private sector.Once families are accepted as homeless, we advise local authorities to find them permanent accommodation as soon as possible. Sometimes this will be a council house or flat which, if newly built or acquired in Greater London, cost authorities around £7,000 and £5,500 respectively in the first year. This comprises interest on capital, management and maintenance. Sometimes the family will find accommodation in housing association property or elsewhere in the private sector either as tenants or as home owners.It can be difficult to arrange accommodation at short notice where required by the homelessness legislation without using some form of temporary accommodation, especially where further inquiries are being made and a family has not yet been accepted as homeless. Some London authorities are having to make use of bed-and-breakfast hotels which cost an average of some £30 per household day. Purpose-built or adapted hostels or short life property can provide a much cheaper and a better alternative. We have made it clear to authorities that we are prepared to approve suitable proposals to acquire properties for use as hostels and, though some of the authorities approached are still refusing to bid for these resources, we have launched our estate action initiative to bring empty council dwellings into use for the homeless. The Government are funding a new Housing Corporation programme next year specifically designed to provide better interim accommodation for homeless families. The money for this programme will come from an extra £20 million for the Housing Corporation, which will be complemented by £40 to £45 million of private capital. We have also taken measures recently to stimulate the private rented sector to provide more accommodation and fill empty flats and houses, including an extension of the assured tenancy scheme.

asked the Paymaster General what are the conditions for the expenditure of European Community social fund moneys through Manpower Services Commission programmes; and whether there is a guideline from the Directorate General V of the EEC Commission that such funding should be for "bottom up" or local initiatives rather than "top down" initiatives from Government.

Manpower Services Commission employment and training programmes which fall within the rules and guidelines of the European social fund are eligible for support from the fund on the same basis as are other applications to it. There is no guideline in the social fund regulations which stipulates that grants for such programmes should be for local initiatives.

asked the Paymaster General on what basis the decision was taken to introduce the criteria of positive progression into Manpower Services Commission-funded programmes; and whether the introduction of such criteria was agreed by the Commission of the European Communities for Manpower Services Commission projects funded through the Community's social fund.

Unfortunately the criteria to which the hon. Member is referring are not readily identifiable from the terms of his question. If he would like to write to me setting out his concerns, I shall of course seek to provide a full reply.

asked the Paymaster General if he will provide the numbers employed within the London docklands, together with an analysis of the nature of the occupations currently followed there.

Employment statistics for local areas are obtained from the census of employment and the most recent are for September 1981. Local estimates for the September 1984 census are not yet ready. An analysis by occupation is not available but, at September 1981, there were 25,000 employees employed in the area. The figures relates to the area covered by the wards of Custom House and Silvertown, Dockyard, Riverside, Blackwall and Millwall which corresponds most closely to the London docklands.

asked the Paymaster General what is the number of people living in the Greater London area who have never worked since leaving school.

The following information is in the Library. On 11 December 1986 there were 36,947 unemployed claimants in Greater London of all ages who had not had a job since leaving full-time education, and of these, 7,115 were aged under 18 years.

asked the Paymaster General what is the latest information available to him about the proportion of all those in employment who have two or more jobs; and how this compares with the corresponding figures for each of the five previous years for which the information is available.

The latest available estimate of the proportion of persons in employment with a second job comes from the 1985 "Labour Force Survey".Comparisons with available estimates from previous "Labour Force Surveys" are presented in the following table:

asked the Paymaster General (1) what was the last date when discussions about the control of Industrial Major Accidents Hazards Regulations were held with the management of each of the installations which were the subject of investigations into Canvey Island safety in 1978 and subsequently; and what improvements have been made;(2) if he will list the total amount of hazardous substamces currently stored at the high risk installations which were the subject of Health and Safety Executive investigations in 1978 and subsequently;(3) if he will indicate when the last survey was taken of safety standards at the industrial installations which were the subject of the Canvey Island first, second and third reports and of public inquiries held since 1978; what are the findings; and whether any additional steps have been taken in regard to the safety of these installations.

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

asked the Paymaster General whether the Health and Safety Executive has been informed of the plans of British Gas to develop a former oil refinery site on the Isle of Grain in conjuction with its existing storage facility there, including any linkage with the Canvey methane terminal on Canvey Island; and what are the implications for the Island's safety from any such linkage.

Yes. In early 1984 the Health and Safety Executive was informed by British Gas of its plan to develop the former Kent oil refinery site on the Isle of Grain and detailed discussions on the proposal have taken place since then and are continuing. The Health and Safety Executive is not aware of any proposed link between the Isle of Grain site and the Canvey methane terminal.

asked the Paymaster General what information he has as to the proportion of those unemployed, who have completed a Manpower Services Commission scheme, and who were unemployed prior to joining the scheme.

No reliable information is available on past participation on Manpower Services Commission schemes by those currently unemployed.

asked the Paymaster General when he expects the Health and Safety Executive to issue to the gas industry its proposals for replacing the Council of Registration of Gas Installers.

The Health and Safety Executive hopes to discuss its proposal for a new, independent and representative body to promote gas safety with representatives of all sides of the industry within the next few weeks.

asked the Paymaster General if, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Wainwright), Official Report, 9 December, column 115, he plans to make any changes to arrangements for assessing training allowances for those taking part in the pilots of the new job training scheme.

Changes are being introduced this month which will simplify arrangements for people going on to the scheme.Under these revised arrangements new trainees will receive a training allowance based on their benefit entitlement and normally this will equal the amount of unemployment benefit last paid or, in the case of those receiving supplementary benefit, a fixed amount below the non-householder scale rate. This will be topped up by a training supplement, where appropriate, to the person's level of benefit entitlement. People getting this training supplement will continue to qualify for single payments, certificated housing benefit and other passported benefits without the need for any special arrangements.

asked the Paymaster General what are the latest figures, expressed as numbers and percentages by region, for (a) the numbers of Restart letters sent out, (b) the number of second letters sent out, (c) the numbers

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the number of Welsh police officers serving in Welsh police forces who have been successful since 1971 in gaining a place on the senior command course at the police college, Bramshill.

Since 1971, five police officers from police forces in Wales have been selected for the senior command course at the Police Staff College, including two for the course in 1987. Of these, three officers were born in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of reported racial attacks in each of the London boroughs during each of the last three years.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 4 December 1986, at columns 711–14.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will appoint new members of the Independent Broadcasting Association Board to replace those who have retired.

As soon as possible.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 January 1987, c. 52]: The latest figures are for the period up to 11 December 1986. They are contained in the table. The numbers of those who have ceased to claim benefit include those who cease to do so for reasons unconnected with Restart. We do not know how many people who cease to claim benefit do so because they have found work or training or how many of those did so as a result of Restart.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet finalised the dates of the United Kingdom's warning and monitoring organisation (UKWMO) exercises for the current year.

The 1987 exercise dates for the United Kingdom warning and monitoring organisation are: 4–5 April, 21 June, 11 October and 1 November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the names of persons appointed to the Animal Procedures Committee.

The Animal Procedures Committee will be appointed shortly and the membership of the committee will be made public.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will call for a report from the chief constable of Greater Manchester upon the restrictions placed upon the deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester by the clerk for the Manchester Police Authority on his giving evidence in forthcoming proceedings concerning the chief constable of Greater Manchester and two other senior police officers.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to police forces in Wales on the production of bilingual Welsh-English fixed penalty tickets for motoring offences; and if he will make a statement.

We have not issued any formal guidance to chief constables of this question, but there was consultation between the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers before implementation of part III of the Transport Act 1982, which had regard to the practical difficulties of producing and using convenient bilingual versions of the form.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any prisoners on remand or sentenced are required to submit to blood tests during the course of a medical or other examination.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the proposed new prison projects announced since the beginning of 1984 with the original and revised financial estimates.

The list of new prison building projects added to the programme since 1984, together with the original and latest estimates of cost, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all detention centre establishments whose designation has changed since the beginning of 1982.

Of those establishments which were designated, in whole or in part, as detention centres on 31 December 1981, the following have been redesignated as youth custody centres; Erlestoke; Guys March; Werrington House; and Campsfield House. Aldington and Send have been redesignated as prisons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state (a) how many women were in custody with their children on the most recent convenient date, (b) in which prisons these women with their children were held, (c) what were the ages of the children and (d) for what offences these mothers had been imprisoned.

[pursuant to his reply, 13 January 1987]: On 12 January, 24 women had their babies with them in prison mother and baby units, at Askham Grange, Holloway and Styal.The ages of the babies were:

asked the Prime Minister how much has been spent on publicly funded capital spending projects for each of the last three years.

Public sector capital spending figures for the last three years are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many representations he has received from residents of Northern Ireland concerning proposals to extend licensing hours; and how many of these representations have been (a) broadly in favour of the extension of such hours and (b) opposed thereto.

I have received 26,904 letters from members of the public and organisations concerning the Government's proposals to extend licensing hours in Northern Ireland. Of these, 16,461 were in favour of and 10,443 were opposed to the proposals. I have also received petitions from the Presbyterian and Free Presbyterian Churches containing 25,935 and 23,594 signatures respectively opposing the proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy that measures which he proposes on licensing hours in Northern Ireland should be in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the people in Northern Ireland, and to consult with hon. Members representing constituencies in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

I shall consider carefully the view of all those who have commented on the Government's proposals for changes in the licensing hours as they apply to licensed premises and registered clubs in deciding the contents of the draft legislation which Parliament will be asked to approve later this year. I shall also take account of the representations which the Government have received since publication of the Blackburn report in 1979, as well as the findings of attitudes surveys conducted by the Government in 1978 and 1984. Additionally, I shall have regard to other important considerations, including the unsatisfactory state of the existing law, the problems of enforcement, and of course, the implications for the health of the community.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his intention to proceed with proposals to extend licensing hours in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

I am at present considering the representations received from members of the public, churches, and other organisations. I shall take all the views expressed fully into account when deciding what changes, if any, should be made to the published proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what are the current male and female populations of Mahgaberry prison in Northern Ireland; and what is the certified normal accommodation;(2) whether there are any plans to allocate additional prisoners to Mahgaberry prison during 1987; and if he will make a statement;(3) what was the cost of building and other alterations to Mahgaberry prison during 1986; and what are the estimated costs for building and other alterations in 1987.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the students attending colleges of further education in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) England and Wales are registered disabled.

The information is not collected centrally on a routine basis. However, in 1985 a survey of students with special educational needs was carried out, covering public sector higher education and non-advanced further education in England. The survey estimated that some 18,000 of the students attending courses at colleges of further and higher education had special educational needs which required additional support or equipment. This represents about 0·9 per cent. of students in public sector further and higher education. In addition some 26,000 students from other institutions were receiving tuition from FE college staff under link or outreach arrangements.Information for Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the size of the Medical Research Council budget for the current financial year.

The Medical Research Council budget for 1986–87 is made up of the grant-in-aid from the science budget of £128·3 million, plus a further £8·3 million received mainly from other Government Departments, industry, international organisations, local government authorities, other research councils and charities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether it is the Government's intention to include any new schemes in the capital allocations for buildings in the local authority sector of higher education for (a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89.

It was not possible to make any allocations for major new building work in local authority higher education in 1987–88. In making allocations for new capital projects by local education authorities I had to give priority to projects to provide new school places in areas of population growth and to work arising from statutory proposals to remove surplus school places. After taking account also of local education authorities' contractual commitments I had little remaining to allocate either for much needed improvement work in schools or for other capital expenditure in further and higher education. However, with the total spending power available to authorities from allocations and capital receipts and the freedom they enjoy to vire within their total of prescribed expenditure between and within services, some authorities may decide nevertheless to start work on major building schemes in their higher education institutions. It is too early at this stage to predict whether, and, if so, at what level, it will be possible to make allocations for major new building work in local authority higher education in 1988–89.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy towards the retention of the remaining grammar schools; and if he will make a statement.

The draft circular "Providing for Quality", issued for consultation in August 1986, makes it clear that in exercising his statutory duty to consider on their individual merits proposals for the reorganisation of schools the holder of my office will have regard, inter alia, to parental preference for retention of grammar schools and to whether the established quality of the school was likely to be sustained. He would normally approve the closure of a school only if he were satisfied both that it was unlikely to be able to sustain its established quality and that the alternative provision would be better.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy towards the maintenance of charitable status for private schools; and if he will make a statement.

The independent sector's contribution continues to enrich the education system and the Government are committed to preserving and fostering it. We have no plans to remove charitable status from those schools which enjoy it.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why Knowsley borough council's proposals concerning the resettlement unit at Field Lane, Fazakerley, were rejected; and what account was taken of the recommendations by the review body set up on Merseyside.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for the resettlement unit in Merseyside; and if he will make a statement.

All 22 DHSS-run resettlement units, including that at Fazakerley, Liverpool are to be closed. They will be replaced by groups of smaller hostels, run by local agencies, voluntary and local authority, and funded by the Department. The proposal by the Liverpool review team that the existing unit at Fazakerley should simply be taken over by Knowsley borough council did not offer the kind of improved provision envisaged, and the review team has therefore been asked to reconsider.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report those institutions which are recieving funds from his Department for AIDS-related research, together with the magnitude of those funds.

Funding for AIDS research currently supported by the Department has been allocated to the following research institutions:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice he has received as to whether heat treatment of blood and blood products, respectively, destroys HIV (a) before and (b) after it can be identified; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now in a position to guarantee that (a) blood products, including factor 8, and (b) whole blood, supplied through the national blood transfusion service is totally free of the AIDS virus; if he is in a position to give a guarantee that no patient receiving such supplies will contract the AIDS virus in this way; and if he will make a statement.

The safety of the blood supply in this country is maintained in two ways. First, all potential donors are given a leaflet which asks those who are at risk of AIDS not to give blood. Secondly, all blood donations are tested for evidence of infection.These precautions reduce the chance of a unit of blood being infected and failing to be detected to about one in a million.Whole blood or red cells cannot be heat treated when used for blood transfusions, but those blood products for which transmission of HIV has been established are given a heat treatment to inactivate the virus.Evidence suggests that the heat treatment currently used by manufacturers of blood products made from blood plasma will inactivate any HIV present, even if HIV antibodies had not been identified in the blood donation from which it was obtained.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of its resources to screen for AIDS students coming to the United Kingdom from Africa, America and the middle east; and what estimate he has made of the cost of providing that screening.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 December 1986, c. 122–23]: The cost of such arrangements would vary considerably according to a number of factors, including the country in which the screening was carried out. We would not expect resources to be an inhibiting factor, should such a policy be considered appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why Mr. K. T. Runfitt of flat 2, 26–28 Osborne road, Southsea, whose case is the subject of a letter from the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South, dated 8 November 1986, has not received replies to his four letters to his Department.

The case to which the hon. Member refers is complex and required advice from the chief adjudication officer. The advice has now been received and the Department will he writing to Mr. Runfitt as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in how many areas the severe weather payments have come into effect this winter so far.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 13 January, at column 132.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to draw attention in the Leeds metropolitan district council area to the availability of severe weather payments for those in receipt of supplementary benefit.

Advertisements about exceptionally cold weather payments have been placed in the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post, which cover this area, and they will appear today. Articles about the scheme will appear in other local papers this week.The regional information officer has been interviewed on local radio and has appeared on Yorkshire TV.Advertisements will appear in the national press today and on commercial radio throughout the country.Posters and leaflets have been issued to all of the Department's local offices, including the five offices serving this area.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people over retirement age received severe weather payments in the Leeds metropolitan district council area in 1984, 1985 and 1986; and what was the total cost of those payments for each year.

Information on exceptionally severe weather payments is not collected by category of claimant. The total number and cost of payments made by the local offices which deal with the Leeds metropolitan district council area are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give (a) the minimum night temperature, (b) the daily mean temperature, (c) the weekly mean temperature for each of the weather stations used for calculating severe weather payments for the week 5 January to 11 January inclusive.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will list, for the week 5 January to 11 January, the average daily temperatures for each weather station designated for measuring temperatures for exceptionally severe weather payments; and what was the lowest recorded temperature for each station during that week.

[pursuant to his replies, 13 January 1987 and 15 January 1987]: The following table gives the information on daily and weekly mean temperatures for the week 5 January 1987 to 11 January 1987 inclusive. I shall let the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) have information on minimum night temperatures very shortly.