asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the amount of grant aid being given to each district and county council under regulations 4(1)(b) and 5(1)(c), respectively, of the Civil Defence

	Building work		Equipment purchases
	County	District	County	District
	£	£	£	£
Avon	—	51,500	1,000	28,500
Bedfordshire	14,000	167,000	1,100	—
Berkshire	—	130,300	5,380	6,000
Buckinghamshire	14,000	38,500	11,800	—
Cambridgeshire	—	60,000	4,610	—
Cheshire	92,700	—	4,060	—
Cleveland	—	—	1,860	—
Cornwall	—	155,500	—	—
Cumbria	204,000	—	400	—
Derbyshire	—	—	1,500	4,500
Devon	4,800	188,000	—	—
Dorset	30,400	46,000	9,500	11,500
Durham	7,000	28,000	1,150	—
Dyfed	—	35,000	—	—
Essex	—	—	11,000	45,000
South Glamorgan	17,000	—	4,930	—
West Glamorgan	39,000	—	1,320	—
Gloucestershire	—	115,000	10,000	—
Greater Manchester	—	—	2,708	—
Gwent	—	30,000	8,000	15,000
Hampshire	—	23,500	—	—
Hertfordshire	32,880	—	3,520	—
Humberside	20,000	10,000	4,470	—
Isle of Wight	—	9,000	560	—
Kent	70,000	425,000	10,000	65,000
Lancashire	20,000	126,000	—	—
Leicestershire	—	60,000	—	—
Lincolnshire	—	—	620	—
London	—	3,451	—	2,660
Merseyside	12,500	—	—	—
Norfolk	—	372,000	—	—
Northumberland	1,680	—	—	—
Nottinghamshire	—	46,000	—	—
Oxfordshire	—	253,300	3,000	21,200
Powys	460	—	1,020	—
Shropshire	—	—	660	—
Somerset	77,300	61,500	—	—
Staffordshire	49,973	97,000	—	—
Suffolk	13,250	2,000	—	—
Surrey	33,500	213,500	—	—
East Sussex	1,800	25,050	—	16,900
West Sussex	5,000	5,000	—	—
Tyne and Wear	2,000	166,781	5,852	—
Wiltshire	4,600	60,680	—	—
North Yorkshire	8,200	50,000	—	—

The amount of grant aid to be paid to each county and district council for establishing and equipping emergency centres during the current financial year will not be known until audited claims have been received. However, county authorities have submitted estimates for 1987–88 as shown, and expenditure incurred in accordance with agreed estimates will be eligible for grant aid at 75 per cent. Expenditure on maintaining emergency centres is not eligible for civil defence grant aid.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present number of parking spaces (a) for staff and (b) for visitors at (i) Risley remand centre and (ii) Strangeways prison.

At Risley remand centre 304 parking spaces are available for staff and 66 for visitors. At Strangeways prison, Manchester, a total of 180 parking spaces are available for staff (27 within the main prison and 153 on a temporary basis on the adjacent fenced Croft site); there is at present no official parking space available for visitors, although street parking is available for up to two hours and there are local authority car parks in the area. Future car parking arrangements at Strangeways prison will be considered in the context of the planned major redevelopment of the establishment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Suffolk as to (a) how many days are allocated in the training of a police constable to dealing with accidents involving radioactive contamination, (b) how many days are allocated in the training of a police sergeant to dealing with accidents involving radioactive contamination, (c) how many days are allocated in the training of a police constable to dealing with accidents involving radioactivity, and what are their areas of expertise, (d) what training policemen receive in the use of personal dosimeters, radiac survey meters, decontamination meters, breathing equipment, and protective clothing, and (e) what is the total amount of money allocated to the training of, firstly, a police constable and, secondly, a police sergeant to deal with accidents involving readioactive contamination;if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Cleveland as to

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will grant Ledy Castro Urra, formerly employed at Exeter university and now imprisoned without trial in Chile, the right to residence in the United Kingdom.

Any application that Ledy Castro Urra may make to return to the United Kingdom will receive sympathetic consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) from which sources the emergency services in Gloucesterhire can call for equipment to deal with accidents involving radioactive contamination; and if he will call for a report from the emergency services in that area detailing the total number of (a) dosimeters, (b) radiac survey meters, (c) sets of protective clothing, (d) breathing units and (e) decontamination units available for use;(2) from which sources the emergency services in Avon can call for equipment to deal with accidents involving radioactive contamination; and if he will call for a report from the emergency services in that area detailing the total number of

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the clarity and intelligibility of the forms for absent voting and with the workability of the altered procedures; and if he will make a statement.

We are satisfied of the workability of the new procedures for absent voting, which were drawn up after full consultation, and of the clarity and intelligibility of the forms, which reflect the requirements of the representation of the people regulations. We shall review both in the light of experience.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he expects the new procedures for absent voting to produce in the numbers of absent voters being registered and entitled to vote at local and parliamentary elections; and if he will make a statement.

We expect the new procedures to lead to an increase in the number of people who are entitled to an absent vote at any particular parliamentary or local election, since for the first time holidaymakers and anyone else who is unable to vote in person on the date of the poll will qualify for an absent vote.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for visits for compassionate reasons such as attendance at a funeral have been refused in (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Bangladesh since the introduction of visa requirements for visitors from the Indian subcontinent.

The information requested is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what current limitations exist on the amount of overtime that may be worked by any member of the Metropolitan police, or restrictions on the mileage over any given period and the use of its road vehicles.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has on the annual percentage increase or decrease since 1970 in net domestic fixed capital formation in manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the United States of America and Japan.

Figures for the United Kingdom were published in the Official Report on 30 March 1987, at column 357. Figures for the other countries specified are not available on a comparable basis.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers have been available for duty at Dover, Folkestone and Newhaven in each of the last five years; and what has been the volume of vehicular traffic coming into the United Kingdom through each of those ports during the same years.

For operational reasons it is not policy to disclose the numbers of Customs staff employed at specific locations. The staffing at Dover, Folkestone and Newhaven is regularly reviewed and an assessment made of the risks having regard to variations in traffic. The fixed staff are supported by mobile teams and specialist staff who are organised on a regional basis.The number of vehicles entering the United Kingdom through the ports of Dover, Folkestone and Newhaven for the last three years for which figures are available are as follows:

	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86
Dover	1,193,748	1,228,276	1,308,549
Folkestone	84,326	76,649	51,778
Newhaven	65,452	63,158	82,132

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the treatment of motoring expenses for value added tax introduced by the Finance Act 1986, and in particular the assumption by the Inland Revenue that an agricultural business in a rural area will undertake 500 miles of private motoring per month.

Customs and Excise will be monitoring the effects of the scheme carefully in the first year or two of operation: in any case, the Government are required to review the level of the scale charges on an annual basis, under the terms of the European Community derogation which had to be obtained before the scheme could be introduced.Under the scheme, VAT is charged according to a fixed scale where fuel used for private motoring is paid for by a business which recovers the input tax on its purchase. The scheme is intended to produce a broadly reasonable result without the need for detailed mileage records to be kept. It applies to all such motoring, and does not make assumptions about agricultural as compared with other classes of businesses.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total cost in 1986–87 prices of all reductions in rates of income tax since May 1979.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the amount of building society holdings in each of the past five years and to date; how many registered building societies there are in the United Kingdom; and how often he meets representatives of the Building Societies Association.

[pursuant to his reply, 27 April 1987]: The most recent information available is for the end of 1985. At that time there was a total of 171 registered building societies in the United Kingdom. The figures showing the total assets of building societies for the period 1981–85 are as follows:

Total Assets of United Kingdom Building Societies
	£bn
1981	61·9
1982	73·1
1983	85·9
1984	102·8
1985	120·1

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has not recently met representatives of the Building Societies Association, but I meet the BSA from time to time.

asked the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish information available to him on the level of financial support per capita for the arts by local authorities in the west midlands.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Monday 27 April 1987.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Kingswood.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister what has been the improvement in real terms in the rates of retirement pensions since 1979, taking into account the new rates which came into effect on 6 April.

The Government's policy is pledged to protect pensions and linked long-term benefits against inflation. The uprating which came into effect on 6 April is fully in line with this policy, and reflects the rise in prices between January and September 1986. It will not be possible to calculate the precise real term increase in the rate of retirement pensions until the retail prices index for April is announced in mid-May.

asked the Prime Minister what criteria she proposes to use in deciding which persons to recommend to Her Majesty for appointment to the board of governors of the British Broadcasting Corporation when three vacancies fall due in the summer.

As in all appointments to the, broadcasting authorities, I would wish to ensure that the members of the board combined personal distinction with a wide and balanced range of interests and experience in order that it should continue to fulfil its responsibility for safeguarding the public interest in broadcasting matters.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 April.

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.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what share of the £60 million package of local energy action projects is earmarked for Scotland.

It is currently estimated that Scotland will account for 15 to 20 per cent. of the 500 or so community insulation projects operating in 1988–89, and a similar proportion of Government support for those projects.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimates he has made of the impact which the new arrangements for paying the cost of draught proofing have had on take-up.

The new arrangements for meeting the cost of the draught-proofing service provided by community insulation projects will not be introduced until April 1988.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has any plans to arrange for staff of his Department to be screened for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1987. c. 368]: No.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether any current or former staff of his Department has been found to have developed AIDS or antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1987, c. 368]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Health on Wednesday 22 April at columns 627–28.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken to ensure that staff of his Department are warned about those homosexual and other activities which are deemed to involve a high risk of AIDS infection.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1987, c. 368]: This Department has circulated copies of the Department of Employment/Health and Safety Executive booklet "AIDS and Employment" to all staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial contribution the Government are making to the European public campaign on North-South interdependence and solidarity organised by the Council of Europe; and if he will make it his policy to devote to this campaign at least as great a level of resources as that put into other campaigns organised by the Council of Europe.

We are meeting the expenses incurred by the British representative to the European organising committee and bureau. While supporting the aims of the Council of Europe's North-South awareness campaign, we believe that non-governmental organisations are best placed to carry forward the campaign in Britain. Other Council of Europe campaigns have dealt with a wide variety of subjects, and are not directly comparable. Each case is considered on its merits.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he now has the results of the accelerated growth experiments carried out on Cumbrian vegetation contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout; and if he will make a statement.

We have just received some preliminary results from two successive croppings of the vegetation which was removed from the Cumbrian restricted area and grown on under simulated spring conditions.It had been hoped that radiocaesium levels in spring grass would show substantial falls as caesium became locked into the soil. Unfortunately, these low mineral soils are not binding caesium as efficiently as lowland soils and the first two cuts have shown evidence of some continuing recycling of radiocaesium. While the simulated conditions may not fully parallel conditions on the hillside, the indications are that the reservoir of available radiocaesium in the root matt in some upland species is larger than we had hoped and we must now expect that there will continue to be some radiocaesium in the vegetation eaten by certain upland sheep in the restricted areas in Cumbria and Wales in this spring and early summer. In practical terms, it means that restrictions on the movement and slaughter of sheep in the worse affected areas will probably have to remain in place for most of the 1987 marketing season.We shall continue to monitor the situation carefully. In view of our established live monitoring capability there will be no need for blanket bans and we shall do all we can to operate any necessary controls as flexibly as possible. Monitored sheep that pass the test are free to go for slaughter. For the small percentage that fail and have to be marked, we have full compensation arrangements for any price blight at auction. These arrangements were revised recently to encompass individual lot valuation, as well as special provision for ewes with lambs at foot.Additional research has been put in hand to find the best practicable means of reducing the present problems and minimising the need for restrictions. I will keep the House informed.For the future, we have an extensive programme of research and monitoring in progress which will enable us to refine our predictions and to identify when and/or where controls might be relaxed. I will keep the House informed of progress on this work.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the number of fishing vessels registered in Grimsby for 1979–80 and the latest year for which figures are available.

The records of the numbers of fishing vessels registered at ports in the United Kingdom are for calendar years. The numbers registered at Grimsby at 31 December in each of the years 1979, 1980 and 1986 (the latest year for which figures are available) is as follows:

	Number
1979	283
1980	271
1986	162

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the percentage increase in rail season ticket revenues from commuter services for each of the past five years.

The annual real percentage change in season ticket receipts relating to British Rail's network south-east services for each of the past five years is as follows:

	Percentage
1982	1-15·3
1983	1+15·9
1984	-0·5
1985	+3·9
1986	+10·6
1Distorted by 1982 BR strike which depressed receipts in that year.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to inform himself as to progress in the negotiations between British Rail and Eurotunnel on the financing of the Channel tunnel; and if he will make a statement.

Both British Rail and Eurotunnel are keeping me informed of the progress of these negotiations, which I am satisfied are being handled on a purely commercial basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether Parliament will be informed if advice from the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, or from its British delegation, is being disregarded.

The Channel fixed link treaty gives the Safety Authority the right to make reports directly to the Government. The Government have assured the Select Committee on the Channel Tunnel Bill in another place (Minutes of Evidence, Monday 6 April, page 28, second column) that should the Safety Authority bring to the attention of the Secretary of State a fundamental disagreement on an important issue of public safety between itself and the Intergovernmental Commission, or should the United Kingdom delegation to the Safety Authority notify a similar disagreement between themselves and their French counterparts, the Secretary of State will report that fact to Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any proposals for tightening the regulations regarding the shipment of dangerous chemicals into the ports and their onward transport by road and rail in the United Kingdom; whether he is satisfied that the current European Economic Community code of practice governing such transport is adequate; and if he will make a statement.

The carriage of dangerous chemicals at sea is subject to the international maritime dangerous goods code. The code is continually updated to take accounts of new technological advances while safeguarding safety requirements.Unloaded cargoes are subject to harbour byelaws. From 1 June the Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 1987 will apply.Road transport in bulk from the port area is covered by the Dangerous Substances (Conveyance by Road in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1981. The Health and Safety Executive is currently considering a number of amendments to these regulations. The Road Traffic (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Packages etc.) Regulations 1986, which became operational from 6 April this year, apply to certain substances in packages down to a capacity of 200 litres, and less in some cases. The Classification, Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations 1984, as amended in 1986, apply throughout. These three sets of regulations provide comprehensive controls.The transport of dangerous goods by rail takes place under British Rails' list of dangerous goods and conditions of acceptance scheme, which works very well.Responsibility for implementing EC directive No. 84/631 — EEC on the transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste rests with the Secretary of State for the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans for a drink-driving campaign during the summer months.

Yes. Plans for the Government's campaign against drinking and driving will concentrate advertising resources during the summer, autumn and pre-Christmas periods. This is only part of a 365 days a year effort against this unacceptable behaviour.The advertising will support other publicity initiatives using a variety of promotional methods and media in close collaboration with police, local authorities and others.The continuing campaign will rely greatly on the public, the press, television and radio to bring pressure to bear on irresponsible elements who endanger their own lives and the lives of others by mixing drinking and driving.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics he has on an annual basis, covering the number of drivers and passengers killed in motor vehicle accidents where consumption of alcohol by one or more of the drivers is shown to be a significant factor.

The number of drivers/riders and passengers who were killed in road accidents in which any driver or rider either (a) subsequently failed a breath test or (b) was shown, on autopsy, to have a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit is as follows:

Great Britain: 1984: Death in drink-drive accidents
	Number
Driver/riders	414
Passengers	235

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what data he has concerning the periods of the day in England and Wales when road accidents in which alcohol is a contributory factor do and are more likely to occur.

The table gives some indication of involvement of drivers or riders over the legal limit.

Drivers/riders failing breath test: by hour of day: England and Wales 1985
Hour beginning	Number of driver/riders involved in accidents	Number of driver/riders failing breath test	Proportion
			Per cent.
—	6,748	1,198	17·18
1	4,236	905	21·4
2	3,279	676	20·6
3	1,455	297	20·4
4	1,066	131	12·3
5	1,586	68	4·3
6	3,716	49	1·3
7	13,677	48	0·4
8	23,766	38	0·2
9	15,107	34	0·2
10	15,107	42	0·3
11	18,991	53	0·3
12	21,873	72	0·3
13	21,283	116	0·5
14	21,113	353	1·7
15	25,845	584	2·3
16	29,720	520	1·7
17	31,200	469	1·5
18	21,122	381	1·8
19	18,890	406	2·1
20	15,338	496	3·2
21	13,058	614	4·7
22	13,392	1,173	8·8
23	16,935	2,626	15·5
Total	358,748	11,349	3·2

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics he has, on an annual basis, concerning the number of pedestrians killed or injured by motor vehicles where consumption of alcohol by a driver is shown to be a significant factor.

The number of pedestrians who were killed or injured by drivers or riders who subsequently failed a breath test is as follows:

Great Britain—1985
	Number
Killed	107
Seriously injured	431
Slightly injured	583
Total	1,121

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many road users, including pedestrians, pedal cyclists and children, were killed or injured on the roads by a driver with a raised blood alcohol level; and if he will provide distributions of casualties and rates by hour of day, for 1975 and 1985 separately, for (a) Scotland and (b) England and Wales.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the national average weekly travel-to-work cost.

The average weekly travel-to-work cost in Great Britain as at January 1987 is estimated as £5·50.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what his policies are for investment in roads; and if he will make a statement.

I have placed in the Library of the House copies of "Policy for Roads in England: 1987" presented to the House today. This White Paper is in two volumes. Volume 1 describes the Government's current policies for the development of both the trunk and the local road system in England. Volume 2 outlines the national trunk road construction programme and reports progress since the last comprehensive review. It also sets out the results of my 1987 review and gives details of the 82 new road schemes that I have added to the forward programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many attacks there have been in the last five years on (a) passengers and (b) employees on (i) London Regional Transport services or property and (ii) British Rail Southern Region services or property.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 April 1987, c. 572]: The British Transport police has provided the following figures relating to criminal assaults:

Year	London Underground		BR Southern Region
	(a)	(b)	(a)	(b)
	passengers	employees	passengers	employees
1982	758	73	303	47
1983	662	104	292	87
1984	1,008	84	323	84
1985	1,205	80	379	80
1986	1,370	105	448	69

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report for the latest year for which figures are available (a) the average net cost per pupil, cash, per secondary pupil at maintained secondary schools in each local education authority in Scotland and (b) the average expenditure in the same years per assisted place pupil for each local education authority in Scotland.

The latest available information, for 1985–86, is set out in the table.

Authority	Cost per pupil in Local Authority secondary schools	Average expenditure per assisted place pupil1
	£	£
Borders	1,408	—
Central	1,482	1,411
Dumfries and Galloway	1,445	1,738
Fife	1,494	1,842
Grampian	1,522	1,628
Highland	1,457	2,427
Lothian	1,615	1,662
Strathclyde	21,597	1,487
Tayside	1,556	1,654
Orkney	1,760	—
Shetland	2,270	—
Western Isles	21,879	—
1 The figures relate to the 1985–86 academic year and represent the average cost to central Government of an assisted pupil in participating schools located in each education authority area.
2 Provisional figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the number of school pupils from each local education authority area who benefit from the provisions of the assisted places scheme during the current academic year.

Pupils at participating schools may come from outwith the area of the education authority in which the schools are located but the number of places currently taken up at schools situated in each local authority area is set out in the table.

Area	Number of assisted pupils
Borders	—
Central	55
Dumfries and Galloway	16
Fife	22
Grampian	99
Highland	43
Lothian	1,045
Orkney	—
Shetland	—
Stratchclyde	841
Tayside	459
Western Isles	—
Scotland	2,580

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now satisfied with the consultation procedure carried out by Forth Valley health board in respect of its proposals in relation to 11 Randolph road.

My right hon. and learned Friend has been given a full account by the chairman of Forth Valley health board of the arrangements made for consulting local residents about the board's proposals for 11 Randolph road, Stirling. These consultations included the following steps:

a. The board sent a copy of the draft application for planning permission to neighbours inviting comment before its submission to the planning authority;

b. the same neighbours were invited to meet senior officers of the board to discuss these detailed proposals and interviews were arranged for all who responded;

c. neighbours were advised of the date when the planning application was being submitted to the planning authority;

d. the board has responded fully to every letter received from anyone claiming an interest in the proposal;

e. all residents of Randolph road have been invited to visit the Royal Scottish national hospital to see the arrangements made to train patients for discharge to the community and meet those chosen for discharge to the Randolph road house.

In recent weeks the chairman and general manager of the health board have met members of the Randolph road community group, and the board remains willing to discuss with local residents any details of the proposal which may still require clarification.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many barnacle, pink foot, greylag and whitefront geese, respectively, have wintered on (a) the Solway and (b) the Island of Islay in each of the last five years.

My officials do not make counts of geese wintering in Scotland. The figures contained in the following table refer to seasonal migratory peaks and have been supplied by the Nature Conservancy Council from data collected on its behalf by the Wildfowl Trust.

	Species
Year and Area	Barnacle	Pinkfoot	Greylag	Whitefront
1981–82
Solway Basin	8,300	10,200	1,300	1—
Islay	17,000	1—	1—	3,300
1982–83
Solway Basin	8,500	11,300	3,100	1—
Islay	14,000	1—	1—	3,900
1983–84
Solway Basin	8,400	16,300	2,800	1—
Islay	22,900	1—	1—	4,600
1984–85
Solway Basin	10,500	27,000	3,700	1—
Islay	23,100	1—	1—	5,300
1985–86
Solway Basin	10,400	6,900	3,800	1—
Islay	19,200	1—	1—	6,300
1 Negligible flock population.

Final figures for 1986–87 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what follow-up discussions the SDA will be having with the estates department of Glasgow district council over the possibility of conversion to, and construction of, small industrial units at the Balmore industrial estate, Glasgow.

[pursuant to his reply, 8 April 1987, c. 292]: I understand that there were discussions between the Scottish Development Agency and the estates department of Glasgow district council on 9 and 22 April. The agency has now offered to construct some 10,000 sq ft of small industrial units on the Balmore industrial estate and lease these back to the district council. Final details are still to be agreed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the Scottish Development Agency's annual budget for all promotional purposes for each of the last five years; and what percentage of its total budget these figures represent.

[pursuant to his reply, 10 April 1987, c. 467]:The information is set out in the table:

	(£000)	Per cent.
1982–83	4,827	4·2
1983–84	5,611	5·0
1984–85	7,755	6·9
1985–86	7,250	5·8
1986–87	5,453	4·2

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons and firms are registered with the enterprise allowance scheme; how often payments are issued; and on how many occasions payments were delayed during the two months ended 31 March due to a breakdown in the supporting computer system.

A total of 2,143 persons representing 2,054 small businesses are currently receiving assistance under the enterprise allowance scheme.Payments to participants on the scheme are issued fortnightly in remittances of £80 on each second Tuesday of the 52-week period of payment.During the two months ended 31 March 1987 there were two occurrences of a one-day delay in the issue of payments caused by temporary computer problems.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the non-oil manufacturing trade balance with (i) the member states of the European Economic Community and (ii) the rest of the world each year since 1960.

The information is in the following table:

United Kingdom balance of trade in manufactures
£ million
Balance of payments basis
	European Community1	Rest of world
1960	138	1,464
1961	270	1,477
1962	359	1,423
1963	398	1,472
1964	339	1,268
1965	386	1,456
1966	392	1,528
1967	266	1,276
1968	306	1,335
19692	545	1,573
19702	643	1,918
1971	426	2,589
1972	55	2,090
1973	-368	1,856
1974	-507	2,477
1975	-588	4,326
1976	-476	5,393
1977	-488	6,374
1978	-1,727	6,793
1979	-2,580	5,277
1980	-1,168	6,626
1981	-2,613	7,197
1982	-4,335	6,706
1983	-7,174	4,911
1984	-8,082	4,203
1985	-8,683	5,680
1986	-10,058	4,662

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the index of competitiveness each year since 1960, taking 1979 as representing 100.

The most commonly quoted measure is relative unit labour costs which is used in the following table. Data for 1960 are not available:

United Kingdom Relative Unit Labour Costs
	1979 = 100
1961	102·5
1962	100·9
1963	97·9
1964	96·7
1965	100·5
1966	103·0
1967	98·0
1968	83·3
1969	87·0
1970	89·8
1971	92·4
1972	90·2
1973	80·2
1974	80·2
1975	86·7
1976	78·8
1977	77·8
1978	84·1
1979	100·0
1980	123·9
1981	125·5
1982	117·6
1983	107·3
1984	104·5
1985	107·9
1986 Q1-Q3	105·5

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further representations he has received regarding the proposed privatisation of Rolls-Royce; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I have received a number of representations about the company's privatisation. We welcome the return of Rolls-Royce to the private sector, further details of which were announced earlier today, including the offer for sale price.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on the privatisation of Rolls-Royce.

This morning the offer for sale of ordinary shares in Rolls-Royce was made at a price of £1·70p per share. This represents a market capitalisation of £1,362·5 million. The total number of shares being made available under the offer is 801,470,588, of which 789,705,883 have been fully underwritten and subunder-written, the balance representing shares made available under arrangements by which employees can obtain shares free of charge.Approximately 328 million shares are initially being offered to the general public including Rolls-Royce employees and pensioners. If the offer is at least twice subscribed, this number will be increased to 407 million shares, some 50 per cent. of the total. The remainder of the shares will be placed with financial institutions in the United Kingdom. There is no overseas offering.Prospectuses and application forms will be published in certain newspapers from Thursday 30 April. In addition, all those who have registered with the Rolls-Royce share information office will be sent a prospectus, including a public application form. Copies will also be available from 30 April from certain banks and stockbrokers. Applications must be received by 10 am on Thursday 7 May.Copies of the prospectuses are being placed in the Library of the House today.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total value of regional development grants and regional selective assistance grants awarded to businesses in Lancashire in 1987–88 and 1985–86 by district council area, indicating the number in each case.

The information provided in the table indicates offers of regional selective assistance made to companies in Lancashire in 1975–76 and 1985–86. It is not possible to provide details of assistance offered under old style regional development grant except at disproportionate cost. New regional development grant of £1,359,000 was offered to 52 companies in the West Lancashire district in 1985–86, which is the district in Lancashire with development area status and therefore eligible for regional development grant.

	Grant Offered 1975–76		Grant Offered 1985–86
Area	Regional Selective Assistance
District Councils	Number of offers	Amount 000's	Number of offers	Amount 000's
Blackburn1	12	346	10	655
Blackpool	1	4	—	—
Burnley	6	396	—	—
Chorley1	3	49	2	105
Fylde	1	17	—	—
Hyndburn1	3	33	5	618
Lancaster City	3	88	—	—
Pendle	5	604	—	—
Preston	—	—	—	—
Ribble Valley1	—	—	1	4
Rossendale1	5	49	6	272
South Ribble	1	45	—	—
West Lancashire1	8	1,513	6	870
Wyre	2	10	—	—
1 District councils with assisted area status

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications were made for regional selective assistance and regional development grant in the West Lancashire district in 1986–87.

There were four applications for regional selective assistance and 151 applications for RDG(2) in the West Lancashire district in 1986–87.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total value of regional development grants and regional selective assistance made in the year 1986–87 to applicants in the West Lancashire district.

The value of offers made in 1986–87 in the West Lancashire district for regional selective assistance and regional development grant (2) was £487,000 and £3,041,195, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the latest annual figures for each of 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1986 for the (a) deficit in manufactured trade between Britain and Japan, (b) deficit in manufactured trade between Britain and the EEC, (c) deficit in manufactured trade between members of the European Economic Community and Japan and (d) deficit in manufactured trade between West Germany and Britain.

The information is in the following table.

Balance of Trade in Manufactures1 (ECU billions2)
	United Kingdom trade with:			EC (12) trade with:
	Japan	EC (12)	F. R. Germany	Japan
1970	—	1·5	-0·2	-0·6
1975	-0·7	0·2	-1·3	-3·4
1980	-2·1	-1·9	-3·4	-9·8
1985	-5·7	-17·1	-10·3	-19·8
1986	-6·1	-16·7	-10·3	-23·6
1 Standard International Trade Classification Divisions 5 to 8.
2 1 ECU = approximately £0·42(1970);£0·56(1975);£0·60(1980); £0·59 (1985); and £0·67 (1986).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the cause of net Japanese disinvestment in the United Kingdom in 1982 and 1984.

The figures showing net disinvestment in the United Kingdom by Japan in 1982 and 1984 relate to net inward direct investment. This covers transactions between Japanese companies and their United Kingdom subsidiaries, associates and branches in all sectors of the economy, including the financial sector. An analysis of inward direct investment into its components is given in the table. This shows net increases from net acquisitions of share and loan capital and from reinvested profits, offset by net reductions in indebtedness to overseas parent companies and head offices overseas.The annual report for 1986 by the Invest in Britain Bureau, published recently, records more recent planned investment projects by Japan in this country. This shows that the United Kingdom's position as Europe's leading recipient of Japanese investment projects is being maintained.

Inward direct investment from Japan (£ million)
	1982	1984
Net acquisitions of share and loan capital	6·1	20·6
Increase in indebtedness due to overseas parent companies and to head offices overseas	-72·8	-107·6
Unremitted profits	4·0	52·8
Total	-69·7	-34·2

the Paymaster General how many people in (a) Burnley and (b) Pendle entered the YTS in 1985; what was the placement percentage; and how many completed the scheme.

The table shows the available information.

Percentages, January each year, Great Britain
	1981	1982	19831	19841	1985	1986
16-year-olds2
Total population of which:	100	100	100	100	100	100
(a) in full-time education or YTS-YOP or unemployed3	65	74	80	82	84	84
(b) other: mainly employed outside YTS4	35	26	20	18	16	16
17-year-olds2
Total population of which:	100	100	100	100	100	100
(a) in full-time education or YTS-YOP or unemployed3	45	51	56	54	52	52
(b) other: mainly employed outside YTS4	55	49	44	46	48	48
18-year-olds2
Total population of which:	100	100	100	100	100	100
(a) in full-time education or YTS-YOP or unemployed3	30	35	39	38	37	36
(b) other: mainly employed outside YTS4	70	65	61	62	63	64
1 YTS was introduced in April 1983.
2 Ages as at preceding 31 August.
3 Registered unemployed for 1981 and 1982, claimant unemployed for 1983 and thereafter.
4 Mainly those in employment (outside YTS) but including those who were neither employed nor seeking work (eg, because of domestic responsibilities). Also including the unregistered unemployed before 1983 and from 1983 those seeking work but not claiming benefit. This group is obtained by subtracting from the total population of the age group those estimated to be in full-time education or YTS-YOP and the unemployed.

asked the Paymaster General how many actions have been brought against employers, on a regional basis, under the Sex Discrimination Act on a yearly basis since 1983.

asked the Paymaster General what proportion of 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds, respectively, entered employment in each of the three years preceding the introduction of YTS; and what have been the proportions in each year since YTS was introduced.

Information in the precise form requested is not available.The available relevant estimates are shown in the following table:

The information is given in the following table, which refers to applications registered at the regional offices of industrial tribunals. A small proportion of these applications will relate to the treatment of partners not employees, but it is not possible to identify these separately.

asked the Paymaster-General what has been the increase in the ratio of median gross earnings of a full-time adult male manual worker compared with his counter-part on non-manual work between 1979 and 1986; and what estimate he has made of the effect this has had on employment in manual occupations.

Between April 1979 and April 1986 the ratio of the median gross weekly earnings of full-time adult male manual employees to those of full-time adult male non-manual employees is estimated to have decreased by 12·5 per cent. for Great Britain.Summary evidence on the general link between pay and jobs is contained in "The relationship between employment and wages", a review by Treasury officials, January 1985, a copy of which is available in the Library.

asked the Paymaster General if he will state each annual rate of unemployment in Grimsby from 1979 to the latest available year.

The following information is in the Library. The table shows annual average unemployment expressed as a percentage of employees in employment plus the unemployed in the Grimsby travel-to-work area for each year from 1979 to 1986. The figures are not comparable over the whole period because of the change in travel-to-work boundaries, and changes in the compilation of the monthly unemployment count.

Grimsby travel-to-work area
	Per cent.
As defined in 1978 as Unemployed registrants
1979	6·1
1980	8·4
19811	12·6
19822	13·9

asked the Paymaster General what has been the annual number of notified redundancies in Grimsby from 1979 to the latest year for which figures are available.

Information relating to confirmed redundancies is given in the following table:

Redundancies confirmed as due to occur in Grimsby
Year	Number
1979	0
1980	1,005
1981	1,886
1982	880
1983	1,436
1984	1,081
1985	332
1986	517

asked the Paymaster General how many people were in work in the Telford area in February 1987 and in February 1983; and what percentage of the population this was in each case.

The latest available information for new towns such as Telford comes from the 1981 census of population and is contained in the "New Towns Report, England and Wales, part 1", ref: CEN 81 NT(1), a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the unemployment figures for Easter for the month of March in each of the years 1975 to 1987.

The following information is in the Library. The table gives estimates of seasonally adjusted unemployment (excluding school leavers), consistent with the current count, for March of each year from 1975 to 1987 in the United Kingdom.

Unemployment (excluding school leavers) in the United Kingdom, adjusted for discontinuities and seasonality
March	thousands
1975	701·8
1976	1,149·6
1977	1,207·6
1978	1,247·5
1979	1,183·8
1980	1,210·2
1981	2,107·0
1982	2,532·3
1983	2,823·7
1984	2,966·4
1985	3,094·8
1986	3,198·6
11987	3,042·9

asked the Paymaster General how many people in (a) the Yorkshire and Humberside region and (b) the Leeds travel-to-work area are currently (i) on the enterprise allowance scheme and (ii) in receipt of a loan under the loan guarantee scheme.

On 22 April 1987 8,148 people were on the enterprise allowance scheme in Yorkshire and Humberside. This figure includes 1,189 people receiving the allowance in the Leeds area. Currently 1,374 loans under the loan guarantee scheme totalling about £40 million have been guaranteed in the Yorkshire and Humberside region. This includes the Leeds area for which separate figures are not kept. No records are maintained of those people who are receiving both enterprise allowance and a loan under the loan guarantee scheme.

asked the Paymaster General if, in the light of the undertaking given by the Bridge Agency to Mr. Mike Bendall of East Hartley, Blackawton, Totnes, Devon, that his employment as a community programme worker in the Action Van project, Totnes, was secure until August 1987, and of the statement by officials in his Department that every field placement initiated by the Bridge Agency would be honoured by the Community Rural Agency which has replaced it, he will instruct the Manpower Services Commission to reconsider its termination of Mr. Bendall's employment on 1 May 1987.

Community programme participants are normally employed for up to one year, although in special circumstances this may be extended. Mr. Bendall has already benefited from over two years employment on the Action Van project. He was informed in January 1987 by the Bridge Agency that his particular post would not be continued when the project was renewed from May 1987. This remains the position.

asked the Paymaster General when the Secretary of State for Employment expects to receive the annual report of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State and I have received the ACAS report for 1986, which will be laid before both Houses of Parliament tomorrow. The report is also published tomorrow and copies will then be available from the Vote Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases recorded in Her Majesty's Forces in each of the last 10 years.

Statistics are not held centrally on the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases within the armed forces. Within the United Kingdom, service men may well seek treatment at NHS specialist treatment clinics, so the service medical authorities would not therefore be aware of all cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if United Kingdom underground nuclear tests are for purposes other than the Trident ballistic missile programme;(2) if United Kingdom underground nuclear testing will be required once the Trident ballistic missiles are in service;(3) if continued United Kingdom underground nuclear testing is necessary for

It is not our practice to identify the specific purpose of any joint United Kingdom-United States underground test or the weapons programme it supports.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 22 April, if he will list those equestrian sports in which a service man can participate either individually or as a member of a team in a representative capacity and thereby be entitled to use military transport at public expense for the conveyance of privately owned horses.

There is no specific list of approved equestrian sports in which a service man can participate and thereby be entitled to use military transport at public expense for the conveyance of privately owned horses. Examples of such sports which may qualify for approval are polo, show jumping, eventing, racing, point-to-point, hunter trials and tent-pegging. It is, of course, a prerequisite that participants must be representing either their unit, their service or the combined services.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the list of names of countries to which invitations to the next Royal Navy equipment exhibition have been extended.

In common with all my predecessors, I do not intend to publish a list of countries invited to the Royal Navy equipment exhibition.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the next Royal Navy equipment exhibition will be held; and on which dates it will be open to (a) overseas customers, (b) the press and (c) the British public.