asked the Secretary of State for Defence if any United Kingdom forces routinely use the US Navy's EC-130 Hercules Tacamo airborne aircraft for communications; and if he will make a statement.

United Kingdom forces do not use the US Navy's EC-130 Hercules Tacamo airborne aircraft for communications.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to establish defence facilities at Boddam Island in the Chagos Archipelago.

Under the terms of the 1966 exchange of notes between the United Kingdom and the United States, the whole of the British Indian Ocean territory is available for defence purposes. We have no plans to establish any defence facilities on Boddam Island.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what investigations are being undertaken into allegations of bullying in the junior leaders infantry battalion at Sir John Moore's barracks, Shorncliffe.

A board of inquiry was convened to look into certain allegations concerning the battalion, and its report is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many suicides have occurred since 1983 among recruits to the junior leaders infantry battalion at Sir John Moore's barracks, Shorncliffe.

Between 1983 and 1986 there were none. The cause of the death of a junior soldier which occurred on 29 January 1987 has still to be determined.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if disciplinary proceedings are still pending against any members of the armed forces in connection with their alleged part in the riots in the Heysel stadium in Brussels in May 1985; if any members of the armed forces were arrested by the Belgian police in connection with the riots but not proceeded against by the United Kingdom military authorities; and if he will make a statement.

There are no members of the armed forces among those accused of offences in connection with the riot at the Heysel stadium.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what checks and searches are made on men and officers on boarding and disembarking Royal Navy vessels, in particular for drugs.

As part of normal disciplinary procedures, men returning on board ships may be searched by the gangway staff. Random, occasional checks of baggage were carried out by ship's regulating staff to ensure that dutiable or prohibited goods are not landed. When HM ships return from abroad the normal customs procedures apply. Where there is any suspicion that drugs may be involved the RN special investigation squad undertakes a search.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what ports have been visited by HMS Ark Royal. HMS Wilton, HMS Hubberston, HMS Iveston, HMS Bronington and HMS Bossington in the last 18 months.

Full records of visits by HM ships to United Kingdom ports are not generally retained. However, in the time available, the following information can be provided.

Ports
HMS Ark Royal:	Hamburg, Amsterdam, Lisbon, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Norfolk VA, Gibraltar, Souda Bay, Marseilles;
HMS Wilton:	Delfzijl, Leixoes, Rouen, Jersey;
HMS Hubberston	Aarhus, Bremerhaven, Wemeldinge, Leixoes, Ystad, Guernsey;
HMS Iveston:	Aarhus, Bremerhaven, Ystad, Rosyth, Grimsby, Southend, Guernsey, Bristol, Liverpool;
HMS Bronington:	Aarhus, Bremerhaven, Leixoes, Ystad, Hull, Jersey;
HMSBossington:	Aarhus, Bremerhaven, Leixoes, Ystad, Jersey, Ipswich, Bristol.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what ports HMS London and HMS Juno visited in their last year of active service.

Full records of visits by Her Majesty's ships to United Kingdom ports are not generally retained. However, in the time available, the following information can be provided.HMS London paid off in March 1982. During her last full year of operational service, she made the following port visits:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many drug offences have been recorded on board Royal Navy vessels in the last 18 months for which figures are available.

I shall reply shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will order an immediate investigation into drug use and trafficking on Royal Navy vessels.

The recent press allegations about drug abuse and trafficking on board Her Majesty's ships are being investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the guidelines adhered to by his Department regarding the transportation of bombs.

The transportation of military explosives, including bombs, by road, rail and sea is governed respectively by regulations contained in Statutory Instruments SI 1977 Nos. 888–890.So far as nuclear weapons are concerned, the regulations applied by my Department are at least as stringent as those governing movements of civil radioactive material, which were set out by my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 25 July 1983 at column

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether all expenditure so far incurred on project Zircon has been separately and specifically identified as such for the purposes of the scrutiny of his Department's accounts by the Comptroller and Auditor General; and if he will make a statement.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has completed his consideration of the report concerning Torvinstyle Properties Ltd., trading as Five Star Developments; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

Information obtained concerning Torvinstyle Properties Ltd. remains under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will introduce legislation to require all providers of mailing lists to subscribe to the Mailing Preference Service; and if he will make a statement.

I recognise the value of the Mailing Preference Service to those individuals who wish to restrict the amount of unsolicited mail that they receive. Whilst I would encourage all providers of mailing lists to subscribe to the service, I have no plans to introduce legislation which would require them to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has yet been informed by his Department's inspectors about the possible commission of criminal offences in relation to the Guinness takeover of Distillers; and if he will make a statement.

It would not be in the public interest to give detailed information on the progress of this investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will specify the number of claims made for various science and technology grants to his Department during each year since 1979; and which of these claims were received from small companies.

I will reply to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) when Her Majesty's Government last filed an orbital slot with the International Telecommunications Union;(2) if he will place in the Library examples of data filed with the International Telecommunications Union in connection with orbital slots.

I will reply to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many teachers have recorded criminal convictions apart from motoring offences;(2) how many teachers are currently approved by the Department of Education;(3) how many teachers, as a result of recorded criminal convictions, have had their recognition either suspended or withdrawn by his Department.

Information on the total number of recognised teachers is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Seven have had their recognition withdrawn and the continued recognition of a further three is currently being considered. Sixteen with convictions for offences considered not so serious as to warrant withdrawal of recognition currently hold teaching posts in grant-aided schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated size of the Moslem community in Northern Ireland; what facilities exist for burials in accordance with the rites of the Moslem religion; and if he will make a statement.

In the 1981 census the number of persons in Northern Ireland who stated their religion to be Mohammedan was 608. Responsibility for burials in Northern Ireland rests with district councils. I understand that none of the councils concerned provides burial facilities in accordance with the rites of the Moslem religion.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what consideration he has given to the disturbance of the children's education at Calderstones comprehensive school, Liverpool, following the proposed closure of the Morrison wing of that school;(2) what consideration he has given to the timing of the proposals to close the Morrison wing of Calderstones comprehensive school.

Arrangements for the disposal of the Morrison wing are entirely a matter for the Liverpool LEA.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance he gives to boards as to the standards of spelling, syntax and use of the English language which should be required in A-level examinations.

None. The GCE boards are independent bodies wholly responsible for the content and conduct of A-level examinations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received regarding the provision of nursery education.

The Select Committee on Education, Science and the Arts, in its report on achievement in primary schools, made some recommendations about nursery education, which the Government are considering, and the British Association for Early Childhood Education has asked to see my right hon. Friend about aspects of the education of under-fives.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the school population in each of the years 1978 to 1986, inclusive, attended (a) public schools, (b) direct grant and other fee-paying schools and (c) local education authority schools.

Information on independent schools cannot be readily classified into public schools and other independent schools. The proportion of the school population in England in each of the years 1978 to 1986 who attended independent schools, direct grant schools and local education authority maintained schools was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will allow teachers to include their national service years in calculation of their pension arrangements if their entry into the teaching profession was delayed by national service.

No. My right hon. Friend has no intention of altering the present arrangements whereby teachers, in common with all other public servants, can count their national service for pension purposes only if it interrupted pensionable service.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total amount he expects to be spent in the current year in grants to national voluntary youth organisations; and what is expected to be the comparable amount in 1987–88.

In the current financial year it is expected that grants to national voluntary youth organisations will total £2,546,180. Overall expenditure for 1987–88 has not yet been agreed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he intends to publish a response to the parts of the Home Affairs Committee report "Bangladeshis in Britain", relating to education; and if he will make a statement.

The Government will be responding to all the Committee's recommendations in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the distribution of the science budget for 1987–88.

Having considered the recommendations of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils (ABRC), my right hon. Friend has decided that the science budget for 1987–88 should, subject to approval by Parliament of the Estimates in due course, be allocated as follows:

asked the Attorney-General what criteria the Director of Public Prosecutions uses, when suggesting lines of inquiry to the police, to determine the desirability of searches of particular premises belonging to individuals or organisations; and if he will make a statement.

The advice given to the police by the Director of Public Prosecutions will be such as seems to him, upon the relevant facts known to him at the time, to be desirable for the purposes of the relevant police investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the break-in at 27 Clerkenwell road, London, on the night of 26–27 January; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that on 27 January 1987 Mr. Sayed Hussain, an accountant, reported a break-in at his office at 27 Clerkenwell road, London. Mr. Hussain was initially unable to confirm that anything had been stolen but subsequently alleged that some documents had been removed. No arrests have been made and Mr. Hussain has now asked the police to cease their inquiries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who have applied for political asylum and refugee status since 1979 have been refused; and, of these, how many have been granted exceptional leave to remain.

Figures for applications, grants and refusals (with separate figures for those refused asylum but granted leave to remain on exceptional grounds) for 1979 to 1985 were published in tables 1 and 5A-5F of Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom, 1985" (Issue 12/86). It is hoped to publish corresponding figures for 1986 by the end of April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in each of the last three years were charged with an offence and acquitted and were subsequently removed from the United Kingdom.

The information requested is not available. However, no person would be removed from the United Kingdom because of a criminal charge of which he had been acquitted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted people in each of the last three years were subsequently deported without a court recommendation.

The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted people were also recommended for deportation by the courts in each of the last three years.

The number of persons subject to court recommendations to deport were published for the years 1975 to 1985 in table 20 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom 1985" (Cmnd. 9863). Corresponding numbers for the first three quarters of 1986 were published in table 14 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics, Third Quarter 1986" (Issue 38/86). Figures for the year 1986 will be given in the next Statistical Bulletin in this series due to be published in the first half of March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people applied for political asylum and refugee status in 1986; and from which countries they came;(2) how many people are currently awaiting a decision on their application for political asylum and refugee status; and from which countries they came;(3) how many people were

This information is not yet available for the year 1986. It is hoped to publish the figures by the end of April in a Home Office Statistical Bulletin.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of (a) men and (b) women in prison on 31 January who were known to be suffering from AIDS.

There was no reported case, male of female, of diagnosed AIDS in the prison population of England and Wales on the date mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in the United Kingdom that are able to treat inmates who are suffering from AIDS.

As regards England and Wales, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to his question on 16 December 1986 at column 479. The position elsewhere in the United Kingdom is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prison establishments that are being used as part of the prison department exercise as to the possible working of the fresh start project.

Each establishment will be reviewed under the fresh start arrangements. In the first phase, there are to be development exercises, scheduled to start before 1 April 1987, in the following establishments:

• Acklington, Albany, Aldington, Ashwell, Bedford, Blantyre House, Camp Hill, Canterbury, Cookham Wood, East Sutton Park, Eastwood Park, Gartree, Gringley, Hatfield, Haverigg, Leeds, Lewes, Leyhill, Manchester, Onley, Portland, Reading, Rochester, Stafford, Stocken, Styal and Wayland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes have been established in (a) Burnley, (b) Pendle, (c) Lancashire, (d) Greater Manchester, (e) Merseyside and (f) Cheshire.

There are 18 neighbourhood watch schemes in Burnley, five in Pendle, 88 in Lancashire, 2,888 in greater Manchester, 2,585 in Merseyside and 3,505 in Cheshire.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to the answer given by the hon. Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg) on 10 February, regarding the deployment of police officers on specialist traffic duties, he will state the estimated cost of providing the information covering the period prior to 1986 sought by the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland.

The estimate of the proportion of police resources devoted to road traffic duties which I gave in response to the hon. Member's previous questions on this subject (5 February 1987. c783 and 10 February 1987, c174) was derived from returns held on a computer. Returns for earlier years are stored manually and the records are not in a form which necessarily enables the information required to be extracted. The initial cost of examining the manual returns and extracting the immediately available information is estimated to be of the order of £300. Further costs are likely through follow-up inquiries to try to fill gaps or explain discrepancies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, giving details of all surveillance equipment employed by the police at Wapping on 24 January.

I understand from the Commissioner that three video cameras were used to assist the policing of the demonstration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, listing the full dimensions and specifications, including weight, of all authorised weapons carried or used by officers, mounted or on foot, of the Metropolitan police on 24 January at Wapping.

I understand from the Commissioner that the normal truncheons were carried by foot and mounted officers. Some foot officers drew and used their truncheons but no mounted officers did so. The truncheon carried by foot officers is 15½ ins. long and weighs about 10 oz. Mounted officers carry two truncheons. One is 3 ft. long and weighs 1 lb; the other is 12 ins. long and weighs 9 oz.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy over the future use of British Airways to return people deported from the United Kingdom following the privatisation of British Airways.

We have no plans to change the existing practice of using British airlines whenever possible, but will keep the matter under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now issue a circular to electoral registration officers advising them that all bona fide students are entitled to a postal vote using form RPF7.

No. We issued a circular letter to electoral registration officers on 6 February which advised them that students who cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at a particular election because they will be away from their qualifying address will be able to apply for an absent vote at that election on the appropriate form, form RPF9. A copy of the circular (RPA 307) is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, in the light of the letter of 9 December 1986 from the Home Department to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, referring him to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding the case of Mr. Ramasamy Rajendrau, the hon. Member subsequently received a letter from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office dated 26 January 1987, referring him back to the Home Department; and if he will make a statement.

; Mr. Ramasamy's application was apparently referred by the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to the Home Office for a decision on 28 October, but the papers went astray in transit. When I wrote to the hon. Member on 9 December I was therefore unaware that the case had been so referred. Having contacted the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was able to establish the true position, and this was explained in the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's letter of 26 January. A further copy of the referral report has now been obtained. I regret the delays that have occurred and shall write to the hon. Member as soon as a decision on the application has been reached.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will specify what grants have been allocated to Wals from the European regional development fund during each year since its inception; how many of these allocations have been de-committed each year; and for what reasons.

The information requested is shown in the table:

Year	Gross commitment (£ million)	Number of projects committed (£ million)	Amount decommitted1	Number of projects decommitted2
1975	6·2	122	—	—
1976	8·4	116	—	—
1977	7·1	119	0·6	—
1978	17·1	93	—	—
1979	25·6	85	3·9	—
1980	33·0	107	0·6	—
1981	25·5	92	0·7	5
1982	50·7	99	3·3	13
1983	47·3	136	2·2	16
1984	65·6	113	2·6	6
1985	56·9	100	1·9	8
1986	59·5	119	—	—
Figures have been rounded.
1 Total grant de-commitment; includes projects which have been de-committed in whole or in part.
2 Relates to entire schemes which have not proceeded as originally intended by the responsible organisation. In addition there are a number of schemes which have not reached the maximum eligible expenditure and a small, residual amount of grant has been de-committed in each case. No records are available of individual project de-commitments prior to 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many people work on the Welsh Development Agency industrial estates; and what are the corresponding figures for each year since 1979.

The information is as follows:

Number of persons working on Welsh Development Agency industrial estates
As at 31 March each year	Number
1978–79	58,575
1979–80	55,525
1980–81	47,698
1981–82	44,735
1982–83	42,791
1983–84	43,160
1984–85	43,187
1985–86	43,658

The figures do not include Welsh Development Agency staff located at the agency's offices at Treforest.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the rate of inward migration and outward migration in each district authority area in Wales during the last decade for which figures are available.

Information on gross migration flows at a district level is available only from the 1981 census and this is given in the following table:

	Migrants1 in the year preceding the 1981 census per 1,000 usual residents
District	Inward	Outward2
Alyn and Deeside	39·3	37·7
Colwyn	48·2	36·7
Delyn	36·8	31·8
Glyndwr	40·5	29·8
Rhuddlan	43·7	31·0
Wrexham Maelor	23·5	18·8
Carmarthen	34·4	31·5
Ceredigion	46·0	32·6
Dinefwr	33·4	24·5
Llaneli	15·5	16·3
Preseli	39·3	30·4
South Pembrokeshire	39·9	26·7
Blaenau Gwent	12·7	16·4
Islwyn	18·2	20·9
Monmouth	44·0	34·3
Newport	23·7	21·3
Torfaen	21·6	19·6
Aberconwy	36·3	29·3
Arfon	28·7	29·6
Dwyfor	24·9	23·4
Meirionnydd	33·5	29·6
Ynys Mon	39·7	31·5
Cynon Valley	12·6	16·7
Merthyr Tydfil	13·3	14·6
Ogwr	20·0	18·3
Rhondda	11·0	12·5
Rhymney Valley	19·9	21·6
Taff-Ely	28·4	27·1
Brecknock	50·0	34·2
Montgomery	30·6	22·4
Radnor	43·5	30·2
Cardiff	26·5	28·5
Vale of Glamorgan	47·5	38·3
Port Talbot (Afan)	11·4	18·3
Lliw Valley	29·1	25·3
Neath	20·2	17·6
Swansea	20·8	21·8
1 Excluding those under one year of age.
2 Excluding those who moved outside Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many people from outside Wales came to live in Wales in each year since 1979; and how many people left Wales to live elsewhere in each of those years.

Estimates of migration into and out of Wales are given in the following table. These are estimated from changes notified within the United Kingdom to the National Health Service central register and from the international passenger survey. Migration between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic is not included.

	Migrants in thousands
Year	Into Wales	Out of Wales
19791 2	55	51
19801 2	51	54

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of local government development plans in Wales.

A paper, "The Future of Development Plans", was issued by the Welsh Office for consultation on September 15 1986. A copy of this paper is available in the House of Commons Library. The Department of the Environment is undertaking a parallel exercise in England. The closing date for comments is 14 March 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate the total amounts made available in Wales for loft insulation grants in each of the years 1979 to 1987; and what he expects it to be in 1987–88.

Welsh local authorities' homes scheme allocations for the financial years 1979–80 to 1986–87 are as follows:

	£ million
1979–80	1·473
1980–81	1·136
1981–82	1·500
1982–83	2·196
1983–84	1·965
1984–85	3·772
1985–86	2·920
1986–87	2·680

The allocation for 1987–88 is £2·338 million and, as in the previous year, the bids made by local authorities have been met in full.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will send immediate medical and food aid to assist Palestinian refugees trapped in the Bourg el Barajneh camp in Beirut.

The Government are deeply distressed at the situation in and around the refugee camps. We shall continue to call upon all parties to the fighting to observe humanitarian conventions and to allow relief workers to carry out their essential tasks. As soon as this is possible we shall be ready to respond urgently to requests for emergency aid.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the financial case submitted by British Rail regarding the proposed closure of the Settle-Carlisle railway line.

I understand that copies of the Full financial case are now available from British Rail.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy towards the extent to which:he commercial operations of the British Railways Board should be profitable in every individual year, rather than over a period of years.

The objectives set for the board last October do not specify a level of profitability for each individual year, but we have made it clear that we want the commercial businesses to improve their financial performance and to achieve a return of 2·7 per cent. on net assets by 1989–90.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about changes in bus mileage in the north-west region in the past 12 months.

Some reductions in bus mileage have occurred in greater Manchester and Merseyside in the last 12 months. Otherwise I am not aware of any major changes in the north west.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding the progress of repair work on the Severn bridge.

Work for the strengthening of the Severn crossing is well under way. The first two contracts, for the provision of improved access and for strengthening the Aust viaduct at the eastern end of the crossing, are complete. A third contract for the supply of new hangers for the suspension bridge is in progress. Tenders for the fourth contract for the major strengthening works are due back on 23 February 1987; this is planned to be a two-year contract, to be completed in spring 1989. A fifth contract, for protection works to some of the river piers against possible shipping collision, is expected to be let later this year. Following the major strengthening work, the entire crossing will be completely resurfaced in 1989–90, for the first time since it was opened in 1966.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the cause of the delay in the construction of the Tutbury bypass near Burton-upon-Trent.

Tutbury bypass is a Staffordshire county council scheme. The council's orders, published last September, attracted five objections. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will arrange a public inquiry if requested to do so by the county council.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving death or injury occurred on the A1 between Morpeth and the Scottish border in the most recent years for which figures are available; whether he will calculate these figures as a proportion of the traffic flow on that section of road; and what is the average for the A1 road system as a whole.

The numbers of accidents involving death or personal injury which have occurred on the A1 between Morpeth and the Scottish border were:

	Numbers
1984	59
1985	66
1986	56

Measured against the volume of traffic carried, this gives an accident rate of 0·35 accidents per million vehicle kilometres. The comparable rate for all A roads is 0·78.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when payments will be made to passenger transport executives and district councils in reimbursement for the liabilities for redundancy compensation which they incurred during 1986–87 in respect of their bus operations.

My right hon. Friend announced on 4 June 1986 at column 598 that passenger transport executives and those shire districts with municipal bus companies would be reimbursed for additional costs resulting specifically from the effects which bringing forward the abolition of redundancy rebate would have on the special circumstances of their bus operations. Parliamentary approval for these payments will be sought in a Supplementary Supply Estimate for the local roads and transport vote (VIII, 5), and in respect of payments in Scotland for the roads, transport and environmental services Scotland vote (XVI, 6). Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £7·255 million will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government intend to issue a reply to the recommendations of the Select Committee on the Channel Tunnel Bill in its special report, Session 1986–87: HC34.

The Government's reply to the recommendations in the Select Committee's special report has now been issued and a copy placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will receive a deputation from the hon. Member for Cambridgeshire, South-West, to discuss the proposal by British Rail for the electrification of the railway line between Cambridge and Royston; and if he will make a statement.

I am studying a proposal from British Rail for electrification of the line between Royston and Cambridge. I shall be happy to listen to a deputation led by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the current system of financing lighthouse services in the United Kingdom; what plans there are to harmonise systems within the European Community; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received a wide range of representations about the financing of these services. We have no plans for harmonisation. The Government think that, if feasible, the costs should be met by those who use the services. We propose to extend light dues liability to the larger fishing vessels that are exempt at present. Nearly all pleasure craft are also exempt and many use the services. We think that the costs of recovering dues from them would be disproportionate to the likely revenue.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the total amounts available for loft insulation grants in England in each of the years 1979 to 1987; and what he expects it to be in 1987–88.

There can never be a total amount available since local authorities can, with the approval of the Department, switch resources from their housing investment programme to the homes insulation scheme. However, the expenditure on loft insulation grants for the financial years from 1979 was as follows:

	£ million
1979–80	14·3
1980–81	14·6
1981–82	21·5
1982–83	26·5
1983–84	22·3
1984–85	22·4
1985–86	24·6
1986–87	1 22·5
1 Estimated

As my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing, Urban Affairs and Construction made clear in his announcement on 19 December at column

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his policy on the homes insulation scheme, in the light of the proposals made to him by Neighbourhood Energy Action.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total number of written communications between his Department and local authorities in the Greater London area in (a) 1979–80 and (b) 1986–87 to date.

No central record is kept of written communications between the Department and local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all functions and responsibilities currently undertaken by any central division or organisation within his Department which is concerned with local authority services solely within the Greater London area, stating the total estimated cost to public funds in 1986–87 and the total number of officials involved.

The divisions within my Department's central headquarters have no responsibilities or functions that relate solely to local authority services within the greater London area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all regional or sub-regional outposts of his Department responsible for functions or services within the Greater London area, stating the functions and responsibilities of such outposts and giving the total cost of such offices to public funds in 1986–87 and the total number of officials involved.

The Department's greater London regional office's main functions lie in the fields of housing, planning, the urban programme, land registers and derelict land, together with liaison with the London Docklands Development Corporation and the London Residuary Body. Staff in post total 128. The estimated costs for 1986–87 are about £2,317,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the additional functions and responsibilities undertaken by his Department of a temporary or permanent kind as a result of the abolition of the Greater London council, stating the total estimated cost to public funds in 1986–87 and the total number of officials involved.

The Local Government Act 1985 conferred on my right hon. Friend a number of duties, controls and powers, including those in relation to the London Residuary Body and other successor authorities. However, the main specific responsibilities undertaken by my right hon. Friend as a direct result of the abolition of the Greater London council are:

the laying before Parliament of a report in February 1986 on the transfer of functions related to the protection and enjoyment of the countryside, under Section 7 of the 1985 Act.

the initial preparation of strategic guidance under Schedule I to the 1985 Act.

The estimated cost, including accommodation and overheads, during 1986–87 of the six staff that were engaged on the above functions at one time or another is about £55,000.Staff time devoted to a number of abolition matters in London cannot readily be distinguished from that spent on abolition in all metropolitan counties, with which I am dealing in a separate answer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what action he has taken since the abolition of the Greater London council to ensure that the functions and responsibilities of his Department and its related non-departmental public bodies dealing with the Greater London area are co-ordinated with each other;(2) if he will make a statement on measures adopted by the Department of the Environment since the abolition of the Greater London council to ensure that the functions and responsibilities of that Department and its related non-departmental public bodies dealing with the Greater London area are co-ordinated with those of other departments and their related bodies in London matters.

The Department, other departments and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations consult each other as appropriate on matters of mutual concern.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 27 January, Official Report, column 169, concerning the price of land to be sold to the Canary Wharf Consortium by the London Docklands Development Corporation, what factors, other than land price, will be taken into account in assessing the terms of the agreement overall; whether the consideration of other factors excludes acceptance of a price below the market value of land in the enterprise zone; if he will list all the previous occasions on which land for which he has any responsibility has been sold at a price below the market value as a result of priority being given to other factors involved in the transaction; and if he will make a statement.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the rate support grant, in cash terms, for the borough of Slough for each year since 1979; and what is the percentage difference between the 1979 figure and the most recent figure available.

The figures requested are provided in the table.The figures for 1979–80 and 1980–81 are not comparable with those for 1981–82 to 1986–87 because they comprise the needs, resources and domestic elements whereas from 1981–82 onwards the figures comprise block grant and domestic rate relief grant.All figures are in cash terms. Those for 1979–80 to 1982–83 are final entitlements. Domestic rate relief grant figures for 1983–84 and 1984–85 are final entitlement; those for 1985–86, and 1986–87 are first estimates. Block grant figures for 1983–84 and 1984–85 are entitlements after holdback based upon provisional outturn; those for 1985–86 are entitlements after holdback based on budgets; those for 1986–87 are entitlements based on initial budget returns.

Borough of Slough rate support grant in cash terms
	£ million
1979–80	3·08
1980–81	3·37
1981–82	3·08
1982–83	2·89
1983–84	3·79
1984–85	3·13
1985–86	3·21
1986–87	5·24

The percentage difference between the 1979 figure and the most recent figure available for rate support grant is a 70·13 per cent. increase.

asked the Minister for the Arts (1) what estimates he has for the construction costs of the new British Library on completion;(2) what estimates he has for the construction costs of each phase of the building of the new British Library.

The latest estimated cost of stage 1A, the stage so far approved, including the cost of design and supervison of construction, is £218 million at 1986 prices. No decisions have been taken on subsequent stages.

asked the Minister for the Arts what schedules he has for the completion of each phase of the construction of the new British Library.

Stage 1A of the project, the stage so far approved, is due for completion in 1993. No decisions have been taken on subsequent stages.

asked the Minister for the Arts when the Office of Arts and Libraries will pay the money which was due to area museum councils in March 1986.

I regret that the final instalment of grant payments due to the seven English area museum councils in 1985–86 was not paid because of an administrative oversight in the Office of Arts and Libraries. I have made arrangements to pay a proportion of these payments at once and the balance on 1 April this year. The payments due in 1986–87 have already been made in full.

asked the Minister for the Arts when the grant aid due to area museum councils in March 1986 will now be made; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Davis) today.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) what percentage of (a) external male appointees and (b) external female appointees to administration posts in the home Civil Service attended, as their last school attended (i) public schools, (ii) direct grant and other fee-paying schools and (iii) local education authority schools in each of the years 1979 to 1986;(2) what percentage of

Recruitment to administration posts in the home Civil Service is mainly undertaken by individual departments and statistics on the schools background of appointees and applicants are not kept centrally.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount paid in income tax for the tax year 1985–86 by persons who earned less than the national average wage showing the percentage of the total income tax revenue that this figure represents.

In 1985–86 average earnings were about £10,300 for male employees paid at adult rates with pay unaffected by absence. Taxpaying single people and married couples with gross incomes for income tax purposes below this level had income tax liabilities of about £12 billion in 1985–86, approximately 30 per cent. of total income tax liability.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has any plans to review extra-statutory concessions in relation to concessionary fuel supplied to miners;(2) if he will estimate the loss to the Treasury resulting from extra-statutory concessions allowed in relation to concessionary coal supplied to mine workers.

The concession relating to miners' concessionary coal is, like all extra-statutory concessions, reviewed from time to time. The cost of the concession is estimated to be about £15 million annually.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he intends to treat the new milk outgoers scheme for tax purposes.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to payments under the Milk (Community Outgoers) scheme or the Milk (Partial Cessation of Production) scheme. Under these, outgoers can opt for the payments to take one of two forms: compensation for the loss of their quota, which is liable to capital gains tax, or compensation for the loss of profit, which counts as income for tax purposes. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has taken steps to inform those applying for compensation of the tax position before they decide between the two options.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government's policy on the spread of shareholdings of the incidence of dealings in shares of newly privatised companies on the stock exchange before letters of allotment have been sent out; and if he will make a statement.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to provide for the representation of the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel on the Ambulancemen's Whitley council.

By long-standing convention, the composition of the staff sides of the NHS Whitley councils is a matter for determination by the staff sides themselves. I have no power to compel the staff side of the ambulance Whitley council to allow representation of the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel on the staff side of that council. I can say, however, that the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel has been granted full local recognition within the Scottish ambulance service.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland on what grounds the Forestry Commission bases its advice that conifers should be planted at least 15 to 20 m back from main watercourses; what account is taken of local geography in reaching this assessment; and in what ways the Forestry Commission establishes whether this advice has been observed by planters.

The Forestry Commission's advice on this matter is published in its leaflet "The Management of Forest Streams", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. This leaflet recommends that, depending on the land form, the area to be kept free of conifers at each side of the watercourse should be about 10 times the width of the watercourse up to a maximum of 30 m. This is to avoid dense shading which would block out the sunlight that is essential if water plants and fish food organisms are to flourish. Such areas also provide ground through which water from drainage channels can be filtered to remove silt, space in which broadleaved trees can be planted for landscaping and to improve stream habitats, and easy access for anglers and walkers. The commission monitors whether such advice is being observed in the course of inspections of planting for which grants have been claimed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many men have been prosecuted for rape in each of the last five years in Scotland; how many have been convicted in each of these years; of these, how many have not been sent to prison; and how many have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment of not less than three years, between three and five years, between five and 10 years and over 10 years, respectively.

The information requested is set out in the table below:

Persons proceeded against for rape, Scotland
	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Total	64	55	52	43	80
Charge proved	40	31	30	20	39
Sentenced to imprisonment 1	38	30	22	18	36

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland have been prosecuted during the last five years for committing the offence of rape having already served a sentence of imprisonment for that offence; and what were the sentences administered.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the total cost of management consultants engaged by the Scottish Home and Health Department to advise on management arrangements in the Health Service in Scotland; and what savings have been achieved as a result of this work.

The Scottish Home and Health Department commissioned Coopers and Lybrand Associates to review unit management arrangements in the Scottish Health Service and to make recommendations about the introduction of general management at unit level. The total cost of this research, the production of detailed working papers, some additional work commissioned in connection with the research and the printing of the final report was £118,126, including expenses and value-added tax.The introduction of general management is intended to ensure the efficient, effective and economic use of the substantial resources allocated to health boards. It is not possible to quantify specific savings arising out of the work undertaken by Coopers and Lybrand Associates.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost, broken down by individual health board, of management consultants engaged by the various health boards during the financial years 1984–85 and 1985–86, giving details of the payments made to each firm; and what financial savings have resulted.

This information is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his most recent estimate of the population of (a) Dundee, (b) Tayside and (c) Scotland.

The most recent estimates of population published by the registrar general relate to 30 June 1985. They are:

	Population
Dundee	177,674
Tayside	394,322
Scotland	5,136,509

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now publish in full the assessment of dose effect relationships referred to on page 118 of the National Radiological Protection Board publication M139.

The Scottish Development Department will publish shortly the Scottish monitoring data relating to the Chernobyl accident for the period up to December 1986. The publication will contain dose assessments.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if those on (a) supplementary benefit, (b) housing benefit and (c) family income supplement in Scotland will qualify for free food from European Economic Community intervention food stores in the eight-week European Economic Community campaign; and what monitoring procedures are being undertaken to ensure those eligible receive such food.

Assessment of eligibility is for the charities themselves, but the Government regard the most needy as including those on supplementary benefit and family income supplement, and other groups of people who are either homeless, living in hostels, attending feeding centres, receiving meals on wheels or very disadvantaged in other ways.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the total amounts made available in Scotland for loft insulation grants in each of the years 1979 to 1987; and what he expects it to be in 1987–88.

The amounts made available to local authorities in Scotland for loft insulation grants in each of the years 1978–79 to 1986–87 were as follows:

	£ million
1978–79	1·64
1979–80	2·30
1980–81	2·67
1981–82	2·44
1982–83	2·33
1983–84	2·33
1984–85	2·88
1985–86	2·35
1986–87	2·19

The amount available for allocation in 1987–88 has still to be determined.