asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the Official Report all the agreements concerning rescheduling of debts made between the United Kingdom and each other developing country since 1979.

Since 1979 the United Kingdom has signed 76 agreements concerning rescheduling of debts with other countries, the dates of which are listed below. These include agreements made by the Export Credits Guarantee Department and the Overseas Development Administration. There are a further 24 agreements under negotiation or to be negotiated following multilateral agreements.

Debt Rescheduling Agreements made between United Kingdom and other Countries since 1979
Country	Date Agreement Signed
Bolivia	21 January 1987
Brazil	13 December 1984
	31 December 1984
Central African Republic	18 April 1986
Chile	29 April 1986
Costa Rica	12 March 1984
	25 September 1984
	30 January 1986
Cote D'Ivoire	10 January 1985
	17 October 1986
Cuba	22 July 1983
	3 October 1985
	12 November 1986
Ecuador	18 June 1984
	29 January 1986
Jamaica	27 December 1984
	13 May 1985
	27 December 1985
	6 February 1986
Liberia	26 October 1982
	26 January 1984
	8 October 1984
Madagascar	4 April 1982
	21 May 1983
	7 January 1985
	18 December 1985
Malawi	7 July 1983
	29 August 1984
Mauritania	9 July 1986

Country	Date Agreement Signed
Mexico	31 January 1985
Morocco	17 October 1984
	20 August 1986
Mozambique	13 August 1986
Niger	11 October 1984
	7 March 1985
	28 September 1986
Peru	27 April 1979
	12 December 1979
	12 March 1984
Philippines	4 February 1986
Poland	2 July 1981
	30 November 1985
	7 August 1986
Romania	26 November 1982
	8 December 1983
Senegal	1 September 1982
	11 January 1984
	12 November 1985
	12 November 1985
Sierra Leone	30 June 1980
	17 October 1985
Somalia	14 August 1986
Sudan	25 August 1980
	25 August 1983
	25 January 1984
	18 June 1986
Togo	27 April 1982
	9 February 1984
	5 February 1985
Turkey	20 December 1979
	5 December 1986
	17 June 1983
Uganda	17 June 1983
	10 November 1983
Yugoslavia	6 December 1984
	7 February 1986
Zaire	26 September 1979
	28 July 1983
	28 July 1983
	14 November 1984
	7 July 1986
Zambia	30 December 1983
	15 February 1985
	31 July 1985
	20 August 1986
	31 October 1986

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received relating to the respective liability of (a) dispensing doctors and (b) chemists to value added tax in relation to prescriptions.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate the non-availability of copies of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 (S.I., 1977, No. 500); if he will ensure that an early reprint by Her Majesty's Stationery Office is arranged; and if he will make a statement as to why these regulations are currently not available at certain of Her Majesty's Stationery Office's bookshops.

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 are numbered S.I. 1977 No. 500 and were published in March 1977. The most recent reprint was in October 1985 and current stocks are sufficient to meet expected demand.Copies are normally available at all HMSO bookshops except Belfast, which does not stock them as the regulations do not apply to Northern Ireland. There may have been very occasional times when individual shops were temporarily out of stock for short periods, but on such occasions orders would be taken for fulfilment when replacement copies arrived.

	Turnover 1974–75
	(a) Central Government	(b) United Kingdom Public Sector (excluding central Government)	(c) Export
	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Royal Ordnance Factories (Note 1)	56	—	44
Her Majesty's Stationery Office (Note 2)	69	27	2
Royal Dockyards (Note 3)	100	—	—
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (Note 4)	80	—	—

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each metropolitan district and each London borough the estimated highways capital and highways maintenance expenditure for 1986–87.

The information requested is in the following tables:

Capital and maintenance expenditure on roads by London boroughs and Metropolitan districts 1986–87
London Boroughs	Capital budget £ million	Maintenance budget £ million
	(a)	(b)
City of London	2·390	4·187
Inner Boroughs
Camden	2·488	7·156
Greenwich	3·842	8·032
Hackney	2·826	3·742
Hammersmith and Fulham	0·310	4·981
Islington	1·078	3·070

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the latest situation concerning the European Community budget for 1987.

The president of the European Parliament declared the 1987 community budget adopted on 19 February. The adopted budget is unchanged from that proposed by the Budget Council on 13 February, which I described to the House in my answer of 17 February to the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Hirst) [Official Report, c. 542–3.]

[pursuant to his reply, 17 February 1987, c. 545]: The information requested is given in the following table in respect of the royal ordnance factories, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, the royal dockyards and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The other bodies were not constituted on a trading basis in 1974–75 and details of their turnover in the form requested are not available.

London Boroughs	Capital budget £ million	Maintenance budget £ million
Kensington and Chelsea	0·761	4·356
Lambeth	3·044	8·241
Lewisham	1·664	6·719
Southwark	2·675	6·909
Tower Hamlets	2·254	8·403
Wandsworth	7·640	4·515
Westminster	5·271	9·746
Outer Boroughs
Barking and Dagenham	2·000	3·221
Barnet	1·715	8·483
Bexley	4·880	4·236
Brent	1·006	3·397
Bromley	2·338	9·321
Croydon	1·294	7·438
Ealing	6·064	6·125
Enfield	9·091	5·629
Haringey	2·443	3·481
Harrow	3·443	1·714
Havering	5·783	5·059
Hillingdon	11·278	5·667
Hounslow	1·818	2·541
Kingston-upon-Thames	10·684	3·644
Merton	4·938	5·491
Newham	3·994	4·163
Redbridge	4·314	5·115

London Boroughs	Capital budget £ million	Maintenance budget £ million
Richmond-upon-Thames	0·938	4·609
Sutton	2·037	3·558
Waltham Forest	2·329	3·908

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the places on the motorway system where extra access or egress roads have been built subsequent to completion of the motorway, showing in each case the purpose of such extra roads.

I shall write to my hon. Friend shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the timetable for the Market Harborough A6 bypass; and when he expects construction to commence.

The anticipated date for publication of draft orders later this year is dependent on the analysis of further ground investigation work which has recently been carried out.A public inquiry could, if it proves necessary, be held in early 1988. This would allow construction to start in 1989.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to hold the public inquiry in respect of the bypass at Kingston Bagpuize in Oxfordshire.

We hope to hold a public inquiry, if needed, about six to nine months after the publication of the draft orders planned for this summer.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations he has received concerning the identity marking of motor cycle frames;(2) if he has any plans to encourage or require the marking of motor cycle frames with identification numbers to be listed in registration documents.

The Construction and Use Regulations require vehicle identification numbers to be marked on a plate on motorcycles up to 150cc if first used between 1 August 1977 and 1 January 1982 or up to 125cc if first used after 1 January 1982. Regulations made under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 require a frame number to be quoted when application is made to register any motorcycle for the first time.As a result, virtually all motorcycles are marked with an identification number. The Department cannot trace representations on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress on the development of a new coach terminal for central London; and if he will make it his policy that the costs of building and running such a terminal will be on commercial terms to the operators.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Mr. Wheeler) on 17 November last. I am still considering what would be an appropriate form of inquiry and hope to make a further statement shortly. I am also considering, with LRT, the opportunities for private funding of any coach terminal that may be developed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the percentage of television production currently provided by independent producers; and if he will make a statement.

The most recent information about the origin of programmes shown on United Kingdom television is contained in the annual reports of the BBC and IBA for 1985–86, copies of which are in the Library. The Government are discussing with the BBC and IBA means of achieving its target of 25 per cent. of original material on BBC and ITV being supplied by independent producers within about four years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what evidence is available to him of a link between child prostitution and runaways; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will set up and fund a research project endeavouring to establish the number of runaway children reported missing throughout the United Kingdom, and to investigate the number of homeless children involved in child prostitution in the metropolitan area;(3) if he will convene an urgent meeting of chief constables throughout the United Kingdom with a view to establishing what information they have about runaway children; and if he will make a statement.

The police are aware of the dangers to runaway children, including the risk that they may become involved in crime, and endeavour to assist them within the limits laid down by the law. Police forces keep records for operational purposes of persons reported missing. Chief officers do not consider that collecting further statistical information would offer them any practical assistance, and research to establish reliable estimates of the numbers of homeless children involved in prostitution would be extremely difficult, given the illegal and covert nature of the activity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 26 February, Official Report, column 345, to the hon. Member for Leicester, East if he will take steps to establish a unit to collate for the future statistics relating to missing children from each police force area; and if he will make a statement.

No. We are not persuaded that such a unit would be justified on operational grounds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the gestational age of the foetus in each of the cases where prosecutions have been brought during the last five years on charges of child destruction under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 2 March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the change in the size of the prison population in England and Wales from February 1985 to September 1986; and what information he has about the relevant figures for other member states of the EEC.

Between 28 February 1985 and 30 September 1986 the population of Prison Department establishments increased by 1,800 (4 per cent.), which is equivalent to about 2,000 after allowing for normal seasonal variation. Information on the prison population in other member states of the European Community is published twice a year by the Council of Europe in its Prison Information Bulletin, copies of which are held in the Library.The information for different countries is not comparable because the definitions of prisons and prisoners vary between countries and such differences may have a substantial effect on the comparisons. However, the most recent information indicates substantially greater growth in the three years ending February 1986 in every country in the EEC except Germany and Spain when compared with England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use he has made of his powers in relation to the appointment of a medical advisory panel to the Independent Broadcasting Authority under section 16(5) of the Broadcasting Act 1981; what criteria he uses in deciding which professional organisations he shall require the Independent Broadcasting Authority to consult on the appointment of a medical advisory panel; what steps he has taken to monitor the results of such consultation; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is informed by the IBA of the bodies consulted on each occasion that a prospective appointment is to be made to the panel. We would wish to be satisfied that these consultations ranged widely across the relevant professional bodies. It is the duty of the authority and not the Government to take into account the views of the bodies consulted. The membership of the medical advisory panel is published in the annual report of the IBA.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the average figures served for life sentences imposed for offences of murder in the years 1960, 1970, 1975, and each year from 1980 to 1985.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 February 1987, c. 340]: Information on the number of persons sentenced for murder is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales," supplementary tables volume 2, (in table S2.1(a) under offence classification 1).The readily available information on time spent under sentence in Prison department establishments is given in the table, which also shows the numbers received in each year who were still in custody on 31 December 1986. The corresponding information for persons received in 1960 is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to ensure the accuracy of the registering of deaths which have occurred as a result of the individual concerned having contracted AIDS; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Attorney-General when the Lord Chancellor intends to make available all public records relating to the Anglo-French-Israel negotiations before the 1956 Suez crisis.

The Lord Chancellor has already done so. As far as is known, all public records relating to Suez have been available in the Public Record Office since 2 January last, except for the small proportion approved for extended closure or retention under the usual criteria. No records have been withheld because they contain information about Anglo-French-Israeli negotiations.

asked the Attorney-General how long after the appeal hearing social security commissioner's decision No. CU/387/85 was sent to the claimant; and what was the reason for the delay.

The appeal was heard on 29 August 1986 and the decision was sent to the claimant on 6 February 1987. The decision was a matter for the commissioner in the exercise of his independent judicial functions, but the Lord Chancellor is seeking information from the chief social security commissioner.

asked the Attorney-General what is the average delay between a Social Security Commissioner's oral hearing and notification of the decision to the claimant.

The average time is misleading since it is distorted by the existence of a small number of abnormally long delays. However, for decisions issued during January and February 1987 the average time from oral hearing to notification was three and a half months.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the performance of other European Community countries of their obligations to New Zealand; and if he will make a statement.

So far as agriculture is concerned, we know of no obligations between other member states and New Zealand, entered into bilaterally. There are two major Community agreements with New Zealand, which concern access for imports into the Community of butter and sheepmeat.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the volume of on-farm stocks of cereals in Lincolnshire was at 31 December 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Information for Lincolnshire could be provided only at disproportionate cost. End of month regional estimates of on-farm stocks of cereals in England and Wales according to MAFF region for December 1983 and by standard statistical region for December 1984, 1985 and 1986 are contained in the MAFF cereals stocks surveys for the months in question. Copies are in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food .if he will state the average farm rent in pounds per acre in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) England for each year since 1979.

Government statistics are presented in metric terms. The table below gives average farm rents for (a) Great Britain and (b) England. The land tenure system of Northern Ireland is not generally comparable with Great Britain. Consequently no information can be provided for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Average Farm Rents (£ per hectare)
Year	Great Britain	England
1979	35·54	42·13
1980	41·93	50·01
1981	49·21	58·36
1982	56·51	66·14
1983	63·32	73·93
1984	69·65	81·27
1985	75·40	88·01
19861	80·72	95·75
1 provisional

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now give instructions that the European Economic Community butter to be distributed should be handled on a standard basis throughout the country and that a pound of butter should be given to someone who produces an order book for retirement or invalidity pension; and if he will make a statement.

Distribution arrangements, including amounts distributed to each person and verification of eligibility are for the various charitable organisations concerned. I see no case for further specific guidance and I regard it as right that we should proceed on the basis that the charitable organisations use their own discretion.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will specify the main points of difference at the February European Economic Community Agriculture Council on new arrangements for milk.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 24 February to my hon. Friend the Member for Torridge and Devon, West (Sir P. Mills) (Official Report, c. 242.)

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has reached decisions on future action against pea bacterial blight; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has taken firm steps to combat pea bacterial blight since infection was found in the fodder pea crop in the summer of 1985.Our longer-term aim has been to minimise infection by bringing pea bacterial blight within the seed certification scheme. A review carried out in the light of the results of crop inspections and laboratory tests on fodder pea seed last year has confirmed this as the right course. We therefore propose to amend the seed certification scheme so that, from 1 July 1987, home-produced seed submitted at breeders, pre-basic, basic and C1 levels will be certified only if tests have shown the stock to be free from pea bacterial blight. At the same time, we shall extend the existing controls on imported fodder pea seed to the C1 category.Pea bacterial blight will, at least for the present, continue to be a notifiable disease. This will enable the incidence of the disease to be monitored.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the European Economic Commission about proposed legislation concerning the export of pesticides without prior informed consent.

I have been asked to reply.In discussions about the proposed EC regulation concerning the export from the import into the Community of certain dangerous chemicals, the United Kingdom has put forward the arguments set out in the explanatory memorandum which was deposited in Parliament on 3 November 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are unemployed in the Grampian region of Scotland.

On 8 January 1987, the latest date for which information is available, the number of unemployed claimants in the Grampian regional authority was 25,192.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on progress of the East Fife regional road; and what he now estimates will be its final completion date and cost.

This scheme is being built in four separate phases. Phase I was completed and opened to traffic in September 1985. Phase II is under construction and is due for completion in late May of this year. Phases III and IV— which are planned to be constructed concurrently—will be the subject of a public local inquiry to be held at the end of March. Depending on the outcome of the inquiry, it is hoped that work will start early in 1988 and be completed within a two year period. The total cost of the road is likely to be of the order of £36 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what capital allocations have been made, and used, for educational purposes by Fife regional council in each of the last five years.

The information is given in the table:

Fife regional council
£000s at outturn prices
Education capital allocation			Actual capital expenditure on education
Year	Allocation originally notified	Final level of consent
1982–83	1,535	2,119	2,587
1983–84	1,255	1,121	1,710
1984–85	2,320	2,320	2,991
1985–86	3,885	3,615	4,788
1986–87	5,665	5,192	5,124
1987–88	4,080	n/a	n/a

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the 24 judges of the court of session appointed under the Maximum Number of Judges (Scotland) Regulations 1986 are women.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the amount of rates paid by each Scottish health board to (a) regional councils, (b) islands councils, (c) district councils and (d) in total for each of the last 10 years.

Information held centrally relates to payments in lieu of rates made by each health board to its local rating authority. No breakdown between regional and district council rates is available. The information is spread over a number of headings in health boards' annual accounts. I shall write to the hon. Member once the information has been collated. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

asked the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the impact on consumers in the EEC of the Commission's proposals for a tax on margarine and cooking oils; and if she will make a statement.

I hope that the Commission's oils and fats tax proposal will be withdrawn before the next European Council meeting in June. The right way to control the growing cost of the Community's oils and fats regime is to reduce support prices, not to tax the consumers.

asked the Prime Minister when she last hosted an official dinner at No. 10 Downing street.

I last gave an official dinner at No. 10 Downing street on Thursday 8 January.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her forthcoming visit to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton), Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, to my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Cleethorpes (Mr. Brown) on 18 February at column 693.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to change the role and functions of Manpower Services Commission managing agents of community programme schemes.

The role and functions of community programme managing agents are kept under review by the Manpower Services Commission. There are at present no plans for changes.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on ministerial accountability for the Crown Estate Commissioners in respect of policy decisions taken by them.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland are accountable for any directions that might be given to the Crown Estate Commissioners as to the discharge of their functions under the Crown Estate Act 1961. The commissioners are required to provide the Treasury with accounts and other returns and with estimates of future receipts and expenditure. Treasury approval is also required for the salary of the commissioners and the numbers and conditions of service of their staff.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 March

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 March.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 March.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what new initiatives the Government are introducing to stimulate and assist individuals and families to relocate in areas of housing shortage following the successful obtainment of permanent employment.

Five million pounds of the Housing Corporation's programme for 1987–88 will be allocated to the provision of grants of up to 30 per cent. of the cost of housing association schemes to provide shared accommodation for young single people moving into an area to take up employment. Recent measures in the Housing and Planning Act are intended to enable shared ownership schemes to become more widely available using private finance. These schemes can be particularly helpful to home owners moving into an area of higher house prices. The new Act also increases the scope for approved landlords to offer assured tenancies to widen the choice in the private rented sector. The powers proposed in the Local Government Bill to enable local authorities to give financial assistance towards the provision of privately rented housing will be a further encouragement to mobility, for public sector tenants the well established national mobility scheme, tenants exchange scheme and key workers schemes run by local authorities are available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from residents in the London borough of Ealing concerning the policies and spending of Ealing council.

The Department has received representations from residents in the London borough of Ealing complaining about the extent of the rate increases being proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of PRC homes eligible for assistance have been repaired to date; and approximately what proportion he expects to have been repaired by 31 March 1988.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 4 February to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Sir J. Biggs-Davison) at column 723 concerning progress under the housing defects legislation. Evidence available to the Department suggests that some 23,000 private owners of PRC properties were eligible for assistance. Although it is not possible to forecast reliably the position at 31 March 1988 we expect to see substantial progress on repairs over the next year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he intitated on, and what response was made to, his proposal that the functions of the charitable body, the Association for Children's Play and Recreation Ltd., should be assessed by the Sports Council.

In addition to discussions with the two organisations directly involved and with other interested Government Departments, the views of the Association of County Councils, the Association of District Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities were sought. Written comments were also received from voluntary organisations. All the organisations consulted accepted that some degree of change was necessary if arrangements for children's play were to be improved, though several have expressed misgivings about the proposed merger. I remain convinced that this option offers a secure future for children's play and I welcome the fact that negotiations between the Sports Council and Play Board are well advanced.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the powers to be provided for the local government and Parliamentry Commissioners to investigate complaints against the Commission for the New Towns and the New Towns Corporation.

As foreshadowed in paragraph 11 of its White Paper (Cmnd. 9563, July 1985), the Government are currently seeking powers, through the Parliamentary and Health Service Commissioners Bill, to extend the general jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to the Commission for the New Towns and new town development corporations, with the exception of their housing functions which will be a matter for the Commission for Local Administration. Separate powers to give effect to this extention of their jurisdiction will be introduced when an appropriate opportunity arises.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the total number of homes which he estimates were available to rent in England (a) from local authorities, (b) from housing organisations, (c) from other public authorities, (d) from private landlords, and (e) in total in each of the years from 1957 to 1986.

The available estimates are :

Stock of rented dwellings: England
Thousands of dwellings
	LAs and NTs	Rented from HAs	Private owners and other tenures1	Total rented stock
April
1961	3,339	4,424		7,763
December
1966	4,016	3,683		7,699
1967	4,145	3,569		7,714
1968	4,267	3,455		7,722
1969	4,390	3,354		7,744
1970	4,506	3,202		7,708
1971	4,587	3,122		7,709
1972	4,605	3,013		7,618
1973	4,635	2,911		7,546
1974	4,743	2,811		7,554
1975	4,872	2,707		7,579
1976	4,990	2,619		7,609
1977	5,096	2,547		7,643
1978	5,157	2,476		7,633
1979	5,187	2,404		7,591
1980	5,171	2,341		7,512
1981	5,117	411	1,876	7,404
1982	4,952	432	1,799	7,183
1983	4,837	451	1,726	7,014
1984	4,755	474	1,656	6,885
1985	4,677	493	1,587	6,757
19862	4,606	507	1,516	6,629
1 "Private owners and other tenures" include dwellings occupied by virtue of employment whether in public or private ownership, and before 1981 included housing associations.
2 provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to revise, in line with inflation, the £50 maximum limit for fees that may be payable to a local authority for services incurred under the right to buy provisions of the Housing Act 1980.

The limit is under review and 1 will let the hon. Member know the outcome.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest 12-month period which is available for the total number of people who applied to be treated as homeless; how many were accepted as homeless under the Homeless Persons Act; and how many were offered non-permanent accommodation.

On the basis of information provided to the Department by local authorities, in the period 1 October 1985 to 30 September 1986, inquiries under the homelessness legislation were completed for 217,740 households, and authorities accepted responsibility to accommodate 101,280 households. The Department does not collect information on the number of households placed in temporary accommodation. However, information published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy shows that in the financial year 1985–86 authorities placed at least 39,432 households in temporary accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the amount of money that will be devoted to the urban programme for inner cities in 1987–88 compared with the previous year: and what is the percentage change in real terms from 1986–87 to 1987–88.

Provision for the urban programme (including urban development grant and urban regeneration grant) in 1987–88 is £324 million, compared with £317 million in 1986–87. This is a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in real terms. Provision for the urban group of programmes as a whole, however, (including urban development corporations and derelict land grant) is increased by £54 million, or an increase of 7·3 per cent. in real terms.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of housing insulation grant he plans to make available to householders who are not claiming housing benefit or supplementary benefit.

None. Under the proposed new homes insulation scheme which I announced on 19 December at column 756 grants would only be available to eligible householders who are in receipt of housing benefit or supplementary benefit. Our aim is to target help on those who most need it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make 100 per cent. home insulation grants available to any householder claiming either housing benefit or supplementary benefit.

No. The proposed new scheme would withdraw the general grant at 66 per cent. but would extend the 90 per cent. grant to all householders who are in receipt of housing benefit or supplementary benefit (provided the other conditions of the scheme are met).We would normally expect householders to have a stake in this sort of expenditure, to help to ensure that the total amount of expenditure is reasonable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure level on the homes insulation scheme in 1986; and what is the expected level for 1987.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, the Member for Surbiton, (Mr. Tracey) to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing) on Friday 13 February at column 380.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of those householders who claimed home insulation grants in 1986 were claiming housing benefit or supplementary benefit.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the percentage of householders in dwellings without loft insulation claiming either housing benefit or supplementary benefit.

Precise information is not available, but the Government believe it is sensible to target assistance towards the costs of loft insulation on the households least able to afford it for themselves. On 19 December last, I therefore announced our intention to extend the scheme of 90 per cent. grants for this purpose to all on housing benefit or supplementary benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total costs incurred by commerce and industry as a result of the reduction in the share of local authority expenditure met from central funds since 1979, including his estimate of such costs for the current financial year.

The level of Exchequer grant is determined each year in relation to estimated local authority relevant expenditure and it is not possible to know what local authorities would have spent if a different proportion of relevant expenditure were met by grant. However if grant were paid at 60 per cent., the percentage at settlement in England for 1979–80, of the estimated relevant expenditure set out in each of the rate support grant settlements from 1979–80 to 1986–87, then the total available would he about £10½ billion more than shown in those reports; this would have been financed from central taxation. Assuming this amount was in fact simply met by rates about 40 per cent. would have come from industrial and commercial ratepayers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 23 February, Official Report, column 96, if he will publish in the Official Report, the text of the direction issued in March 1985 to Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation under section 43 of the New Towns Act 1981.

The text of the direction issued in March 1985 to the Warrington and Runcorn development corporation and Warrington borough council under section 43 of the New Towns Act 1981 is as follows:NEW TOWNS ACT 1981DIRECTION UNDER SECTION 43( I ) WITH RESPECT TO THE NEW

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will take a decision on the selection of prospective sites for the deep burial of long-lived radioactive wastes; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for identifying potential sites for the disposal of intermediate level radioactive wastes rests with UK NIREX Ltd. Heat-generating wastes will be vitrified and stored for at least 50 years before disposal, so the question of site selection for these wastes does not currently arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the average council rent level as a percentage of (a) average earnings and (b) the state retirement pension for a single pensioner and a pensioner couple in each of the years from 1970 to 1986.

The estimated figures are as follows:

Average local authority and new town unrebated rents
	As per cent, of average earnings1	As per cent, of state retirement pension2
		Single person	Married couple
England and Wales
1970	7·6	45·4	28·0
1971	7·5	49·6	30·6
1972	7·5	45·8	28·4
1973	8·2	51·0	31·6
1974	7·9	48·4	30·0
1975	6·8	35·9	22·5
1976	6·6	35·9	22·5
1977	7·0	36·1	22·5
1978	6·6	33·4	20·9
England
1979	6·3	32·9	20·5
1980	6·2	33·0	20·6
1981	8·1	42·1	26·3
1982	8·7	45·6	28·5
1983	8·3	42·7	26·7
1984	8·2	43·2	27·0
1985	8·1	43·5	27·2
1986	7·8	42·8	26·7
1 Average earnings for men aged 21 and over working full-time in all occupations. Source: Department of Employment "New Earnings Survey".
2 Basic state retirement pension based on national insurance contributions. Source: DHSS.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of derelict land have been brought back into use for each year since the derelict land grant scheme was first introduced.

This information is not available. However, the following areas of derelict land in England have been reclaimed with the aid of derelict land grant:

	Area (acres)
1974–75	2,235
1975–76	3,221
1976–77	2,129
1977–78	3,912
1978–79	3,115
1979–80	3,053
1980–81	3,465
1981–82	4,303
1982–83	3,567
1983–84	3,369
1984–85	3,317
1985–86	2,594

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much grant was paid to the Notting Hill Housing Trust in each of the last 10 years; how much is being sought by this body for 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

Notting Hill Housing Trust has received revenue deficit grant, in respect of its accounting periods, as follows:

Period ended	£
30 September 1977	883,393
30 September 1978	639,182
30 September 1979	610,418
31 March 1981 (18 months)	1,314,939
31 March 1982	1,051,496
31 March 1983	232,707
31 March 1984	1,051,118
31 March 1985	818,103
31 March 1986	1260,054
31 March 1987	2416,000
1 Estimated.
2 Projected.

The association has not indicated the likely size of any claim in respect of the period ending 31 March 1988.The NHHT has received subsidy under the Housing Finance Act 1972, in respect of financial years, as follows:

Financial year	£
1976–77	3,568
1977–78	3,068
1978–79	2,568
1979–80	2,068
1980–81	1,568
1981–82	1,068
1982–83	568
1983–84	168
1 Final payment.

The NHHT has received extra-statutory development loss grant payments as follows:

Date of payment	£
2 March 1983	330,266
22 November 1983	10,800
19 March 1985	16,529
1 Final payment.

Registered housing associations may receive payments of housing association grant in respect of specific housing projects. HAG is paid through the Housing Corporation and through local authorities, and details of payments to individual associations are not kept centrally.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are the total cumulative savings arising as a result of the Rayner reviews to date.

Cumulative savings of around £1 billion have been made since 1979 as a result of efficiency scrutinies. Currently, savings are running at some £300 million a year with further annual savings of about £100 million in the pipeline.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of companies which have been established in Wales over the past seven years; and if he will give a breakdown of the countries from which they came.

The main countries of origin of the 258 new manufacturing plants opened in Wales since 1 January 1980 for which an origin has been assigned (new start-up manufacturing plants are not assigned a geographical origin) are as follows:

	Number
United Kingdom (excluding Wales)	129
Wales	79
Direct Overseas1	50
Of which
United States of America	16
West Germany	9
Eire	3
Other EEC	3
Japan	6
Canada	3
Other	10
1 The country of origin of a new manufacturing plant is not necessarily the country of ultimate ownership; new overseas manufacturing plants opened since 1980 for which the origin is an overseas-owned plant already in production in the United Kingdom are assigned an origin within the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide the latest available figures as to how many people are employed by foreign companies in Wales.

The latest estimate is that about 44,000 people are employed in overseas-owned manufacturing plants now in production in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has recently met relevant trades unions to discuss the proposed introduction of admission charges to the natural history museum.

No. Admission charges are a matter for the trustees of the museum.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what contribution to teaching is made by microcomputers in (a) secondary schools and (b) primary schools.

The contribution microcomputers can make is large: I am sending my hon. Friend the reports of the subject associations which illustrate what can be done, both in primary and secondary schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the use made by schools of microcomputers.

My Department has recently published a survey on this, a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 20 February, Official Report, column 840, concerning the proportions of expenditure covered by education support grants and in-service training grants, what administrative arrangements ensure that such grants cover the intended proportion of outturn expenditure; what proportion has total outturn expenditure borne to total approved budgeted expenditure for each programme in each relevant year; what amounts of grants have been paid in each year to cover outturn expenditure in excess of approved budgeted expenditure for each programme; and if he will make a statement.

In the case of both these grants, the Secretary of State approves ahead of the year in question a specific sum of expenditure in each local education authority to be eligible for grant. He pays grant at a fixed percentage on that approved expenditure, or such lower expenditure as the local education authority claims. If the authority spends more than the approved sum, the Secretary of State does not increase the grant; and he does not ask authorities to inform him of out-turns which are higher than the approved sum.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is assisting the University of Sheffield in its recent endeavours to establish university enterprise training partnerships (UETP) under the European Economic Community's COMETT programme. and in particular its attempts within this programme to place Yorkshire and Humberside students into companies and industries in other European Economic Community member states.

The Government wish to encourage applications for COMETT funding from United Kingdom higher education institutions and has set up an information centre to assist the relevant interests, a service which is open to all higher education institutions including the university of Sheffield.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on progress made by the COMETT action programme of the European Community in education and training for technology; what grants have been made available from the European Economic Community to stimulate co-operation between universities and enterprises in respect of training in the field of technology; to what extent the university of Sheffield has been assisted by his Department in the development of these schemes; and if he will make a statement.

COMETT was adopted by the EC Council of Ministers on 24 July 1986. The closing date for the first round of applications is 31 March 1987 and decisions on these are expected in late July. This is the first EC programme to offer specific support for co-operation between higher education institutions and enterprises in training for technology. The Government wish to encourage United Kingdom higher education institutions to apply for EC funding under the COMETT programme. On his question regarding the university of Sheffield I refer the right hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Duffy) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the estimated cost of building (a) a nuclear power station, (b) a coal or oil-fired power station and (c) an oil burning station, of the same generating capacity.

I shall ask the CEGB to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what action he is taking within the European Economic Community to seek to ensure that electricity prices charged to industry by member countries are fair and transparent; what representations he has made to the Commission about the compatibility of electricity prices in France with the treaty of Rome; what action Her Majesty's Government propose to take on this matter within the general agreement on tariffs and trade; and if he will make a statement.

The Council of Ministers has agreed principles governing electricity pricing on the Community. The Commission has confirmed that it will ensure the application of the treaty of Rome to pricing in the electricity sector and will bring to the Council's attention any malpractices.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what price is paid for the electricity imported from France by the Central Electricity Generating Board; and what information he has about the extent to which this price covers the total cost of production.

The detailed terms on which electricity is traded between the CEGB and Electricity de France are commercially confidential. The CEGB has, however, stated that its present arrangements provide for a two-year supply at a cost of up to 20 per cent. cheaper than could be generated on average in the United Kingdom. The costs of production are a matter for Electricity de France.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent the resources for the business improvement scheme have been allocated and spent; and if he will make a statement on the future of the scheme.

The business improvement services package of schemes operates only in England and Wales. Broadly similar schemes operate in Scotland and Northern Ireland. £53,950,000 has been allocated to BIS in specified areas in England. At the end of November 1986, 68 per cent. of this amount had been fully committed in response to applications, and 28 per cent. of it actually paid to applicants. But I am keeping the future of the BIS under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the projected number of jobs in the power manufacturing industry from 1987 to 1990.

It is not possible to forecast the number of jobs in the power manufacturing industry in the future. In common with all manufacturing industry, this will depend on the orders which are secured. It is estimated that around 40,000 are currently employed in power manufacturing.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he informed Parliament about the need to repeal the Trade Descriptions Act 1972 for reasons of European Economic Community law; if European Economic Community decisions on the matter required unanimity; and if he will make a statement.

I explained the background to this matter in answers to my hon. Friends the Members for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor) and for Chislehurst (Mr. Sims) on 1 December last year, at columns 434 and 426. The need to repeal the Trade Descriptions Act 1972 results from threatened action by the European Commission under article 169 of the EC treaty, based upon legal precedents established in the European Court of Justice on the interpretation of article 30 of the treaty. Decisions of the European Community, as such, are not involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table showing imports, exports and the resulting trade balance between the European Community and Japan, for each year since 1980, including 1986, in relation to the following goods (i) motor cars, (ii) video cassette recorders, (iii) compact disc players, (iv) electronic typewriters, (v) photocopying machines and (vi) machine tools.

Data on electronic typewriters are not readily available. Figures for the other goods are in the following table:

European Community (12) Trade with Japan
United States $ million
	Exports	Imports	Crude balance
Passenger cars (SITC 781)
1980	324·6	3,232·9	-2,908·4
1981	240·3	3,156·2	-2,915·9
1982	279·1	2,660·6	-2,381·5
1983	343·1	3,116·6	-2,773·5
1984	382·5	3,272·5	-2,890·0
1985	500·4	3,284·3	-2,783·9
19861	870·0	5,320·0	-4,450·0
Video cassette recorders (SITC 76381)
1980	1·1	686·3	-685·2
1981	1·0	1,264·4	-1,263·4
1982	0·4	1,093·3	-1,092·8
1983	1·0	1,817·6	-1,816·6
1984	21·0	1,284·9	-1,283·9
1985	1·1	1,279·7	-1,278·6
11986	3·0	1,380·0	-1,377·0
Compact disc players (Nimexe 921120)
1980	..	..	..
1981	..	..	..
1982	..	..	..
1983	..	..	..
1984	0·2	22·0	-21·8
1985	6·4	84·1	-77·7
11986	3·0	212·0	-209·0
Photocopying machines (SITC 75182)
1980	23·4	362·0	-338·6
1981	4·5	422·7	-418·2
1982	8·3	457·8	-449·5
1983	5·2	513·1	-507·9
1984	1·3	545·9	-544·6
1985	1·5	658·3	-656·8
11986	2·0	820·0	-818·0
Machine tools (SITC's 728, 736)
1980	214·3	379·1	-164·8
1981	197·9	362·4	-164·5
1982	208·6	345·1	-136·5
1983	157·8	311·0	-153·1
1984	164·2	414·8	-250·6
1985	188·1	585·0	-396·8
1986	..	..	..
..Not readily available.
1 Provisional estimate.
2 Adjusted to allow for return of equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the amount granted in national selective assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1972 and the Industrial Development Act 1982 to Scotland, Wales and the regions of England in each year since 1979–80 at constant 1986 prices.

Cumulative expenditure by region from 1 April 1979 to 31 March 1986 for certain forms of assistance under section 8 of the Industry Act 1972 and the Industrial Development Act 1982 is as follows:

Region	Amount (£,000)
Scotland	42,916
Wales	25,805
North East	11,218
Yorkshire and Humberside	59,521
East Midlands	55,553
West Midlands	69,749
South East	128,200
South West	35,311

Region	Amount (£,000)
North West	87,108
Northern Ireland-mixed	3,045
Total	518,426

The forms of assistance included arc the following schemes: wool textiles (parts 1 and 2), ferrous foundries, machine tools, clothing, paper and board, non-ferrous foundry, instrumentation, drop forging, printing machinery, textile machinery, poultrymeat processing, footwear, accelerated project, selective investment, support for major projects, redmeat slaughterhouse, electronic components, microelectronics industry support 1, coal firing, fibre optics and opto-electronics, private sector steel, small engineering firms investment (1 and 2), advanced manufacturing technology, computer aided design and test equipment, innovation linked investment, quality assurance and support for the microelectronics industry.The more detailed information requested by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many company inspectors are employed by his Department; if, in the light of recent events affecting the City, he has any plans to seek to increase the powers available to them; and if he will make a statement.

There are 20 specialist departmental officers engaged full-time on investigations, mainly under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985, in the companies investigation branch of my Department.In addition, the Department engages outside inspectors as required to make inquiries under sections 432 and 442 of the Companies Act 1985, and to inquire into insider dealing allegations. At present there is a total of 20 such inspectors.Powers of inspectors were widened by the Companies Act 1981 and the Financial Services Act. There are no plans for further change.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he has made in consulting interested parties on the proposals on misleading price indications put forward in the context of the Consumer Protection Bill by the National Consumer Council, the Retail Consortium and enforcement officers.