asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements will be made for passports for Queens Messengers following the introduction of the European Community common format; and what distinctive feature such passports will display.

There are no plans at present to change either the arrangements for issue or the format of the distinctive couriers passport currently used by members of the Corps of Queen's Messengers in the course of their official duties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is (a) the proportion of working time allocated to his departmental equal opportunities officer for equal opportunities duties, (b) the other duties carried out by the departmental equal opportunities officer, (c) the proportion, and the amount, of the departmental budget allocated to equal opportunities work, (d) the number of occasions when the department equal opportunities officer meets equal opportunities officers from other Government Departments each year, (e) the guidelines issued to departmental training officers and equal opportunities officers to promote the use of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act and (f) what action has been taken to facilitate job share, part-time working and parental leave.

The Home Office has two equal opportunities officers, one for staff in prison service establishments, and the other for staff in the rest of the Department. The former spends about 10 per cent. of his time on work relating to equal opportunities and the latter about 20 per cent. of hers. Both have support from other staff. Both are also departmental training officers. The Prison Department EOO has, in addition, personal management responsibilities; the other EOO has responsibility for industrial relations, communications with staff, and certain other management matters.The departmental budget breakdown for equal opportunities work is not readily identifiable. The promotion of equal opportunities in the Home Office involves not only EOOs and their supporting staff, but personnel management divisions, training branches and line managers throughout the Department, as well as trade union representatives. In addition, because of its wider responsibilities, the Home Office has staff working to promote equality of opportunity in the community generally, and funds the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. The EOOs meet their counterparts from other Departments at an annual meeting arranged by the office of the Minister for the Civil Service, and on other occasions as necessary. No formal guidelines have been issued concerning the application of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act.The Department has informed staff that it will try to meet requests from those who wish, because of their domestic responsibilities, to work part-time or to share a job. The names of those wishing to share are noted so that they can, when the opportunity arises, be put in touch with a prospective partner. Staff inspectors have been asked to review the scope for part-time work or job sharing. In addition, special leave may be granted to staff to enable them to cope with temporary domestic difficulties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to privatise the recruitment of prison ancillaries, night patrols, moving staff, prison kitchen staff and dog patrols.

We have no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Government of the Isle of Man on the situation in which a bank account on the island was set up in order to facilitate the shipment of arms to Iran via South Africa; and what action is being taken by the Manx authorities to deal with the individual concerned and to prevent a recurrence.

There are no statutory provisions either in the United Kingdom or the Isle of Man regulating the use of a bank account in relation to arms shipments. I understand that the Isle of Man authorities have no information to suggest that a bank account in the island has been improperly conducted; and there is no evidence to suggest that there has been a breach of export controls. The Isle of Man authorities are well aware of the need to take whatever steps may be necessary within their domestic jurisdiction to conform with the Government's policy in relation to these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by the authorities to protect leading members of the African National Congress living in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that leading members of the African National Congress have been seen by the police and given advice about their personal security.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet able to announce the level of the television licence fees to take effect from 1 April 1988; and if he will make a statement.

The television licence fee has remained at £58·00 for a colour licence and £18·00 for a monochrome licence since 28 March 1985. On 14 January this year, at column 263, I announced that the fee would be increased only in line with the increase in retail prices index. I also said that the increase would be calculated from a notional baseline fee of £60·00 for a colour licence and £2000 for a monochrome licence.The principle of indexation and the choice of the baseline were both designed to encourage increased efficiency and economy by the BBC. Its costs had historically risen at a higher rate than the RPI and it was then planning to spend money on the provision of television and radio services in the present financial year at a rate higher than that represented by the baseline fee.The RPI figure for September published on 9 October showed a year on year increase of 4·2 per cent. I have accordingly decided that from 1 April 1988 the colour licence fee should be £62·50 and the monochrome fee £21·00. The necessary regulations will be laid before the House in due course.As I have already announced, the licence fee for the two years starting 1 April 1989 and 1 April 1990 will also be calculated in accordance with changes in the RPI, which themselves determine the rate of increase of pensions and other state benefits.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the present position with regard to the siting of a motorway service area on the proposed M40 extention in the Bicester area.

Cherwell district council has objected to our proposal for a motorway service area at Ardley. Esso plc has appealed against the refusal of its application for a services facility at an adjacent site. The Department of the Environment proposes to hold a joint inquiry. The date is not yet settled.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he discussed the proposed Wardie bay development and reclamation scheme when he recently met the Forth Ports Authority in Leith; and if he will make a statement.

The Forth Ports Authority outlined to my right hon. Friend the plans it has formulated, in a joint venture with GA Group Ltd of Glasgow called Edinburgh Maritime Ltd, for the regeneration of the waterfront between the ports of Granton and Leith. Last month Edinburgh Maritime submitted an application for planning permission for a £400 million mixed-use redevelopment scheme to the city of Edinburgh district council aimed at enhancing the environment and creating jobs and new housing. The planning application has now been called in by Lothian regional council. I understand that the proposals have been welcomed by the Scottish Development Agency as complementing the work that it and its partners have achieved in the Leith project.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for improvements to the A417–A419 link between Swindon and Gloucester, beyond those already programmed.

None. The published national trunk road programme contains schemes covering almost the entire length between Swindon and Gloucester where improvements have not yet been effected.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the current responsibility for determining the status of Prestwick airport as Scotland's transatlantic gateway.

The 1985 airports policy White Paper explained that if Prestwick airport's financial results had not shown steady improvements by 1989, the Government would review their present policy for air traffic distribution among the Scottish lowland airports. This remains the case; we shall naturally have regard to BAA plc's assessment of Prestwick's performance and future prospects in deciding whether to conduct a review.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what date work will start on the construction of the M1–A1 link.

Subject to the satisfactory completion of the remaining statutory procedures, in the late spring or early summer of next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an approved specification for a tactile warning device for pedestrians using pedestrian crossings.

The specification for a tactile warning device for pedestrians using pelican crossings was approved and issued on 6 August 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is satisfied with the progress being made by the National Bus Company in the implementation of its disposal programme.

I am impressed by the progress made by the National Bus Company in the implementation of its disposal programme, as shown by the company's annual report and accounts published today. Already some 50 subsidiaries have been sold, and there is an encouraging level of interest in the remainder. I congratulate Mr. Lund, chairman of NBC, and his colleagues.To facilitate the remaining sales, I have modified NBC's disposal programme to enable it to offer for sale two or more bus operating subsidiaries together. This modification, made at NBC's request, will not affect NBC's statutory duty to promote fair and sustained competition in disposing of its subsidiaries, but will give NBC more flexibility in fulfilling this duty. All sales will remain subject to the consent of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I have placed a copy of the amendment in the Library of the House. I have also laid before the House a revocation of two directions given to NBC on 13 February and 7 April 1986, in relation to the preparation of its disposal programme. The directions had ceased to have effect once the programme was approved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has studied the publication "This Pleasant Land" which has been sent to him; and what are his policies on (a) establishing protected green belt areas, (b) designating housing restraint areas and (c) creating strategic development boundaries, in the light of the publication;(2) if he will introduce regulations to establish

"This Pleasant Land" is an interesting discussion of current planning issues. However, it understates the strength and success of existing conservation policies. The Government have vigorously maintained the protection afforded to the green belts and other sensitive areas, and will continue to do so. I see no need for new designations of the kind proposed. The success of policies for housing development in existing urban areas is evidenced by the extent to which land for housebuilding is coming from previously developed sites and vacant land within urban areas—in the last two years about 46 per cent. of land developed for housing came from these sources.Land use surveys can provide valuable information, but assessments of housing land supply must also take account of such factors as ownership, market demand and the availability of services, which can only be assessed at the local level. That is why, within the context of structure and local plan allocations, we have urged local authorities and housebuilders to undertake joint studies of housing land availability in each area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the likely impact of the proposed unified business rate after revaluation on non-domestic ratepayers in each of the districts of Buckinghamshire, expressed as a percentage change.

The table shows the effect on business rates in Buckinghamshire districts if a uniform non-domestic rate had been set in 1987–88 at the present national average poundage. Arrangements for the revaluation of non-domestic property are not yet sufficiently far advanced to predict what the impact will be in Buckinghamshire.

	Present poundage	Uniform poundage	Per cent, change
Aylesbury Vale	220·9p	224·1p	+1·5
South Bucks	222·0p	224·1p	+1·0
Chiltern	227·2p	224·1p	-1·4
Milton Keynes	236·9p	224·1p	-5·4
Wycombe	223·8p	224·1p	+0·2

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish estimates of the presence of asbestos fibres in the air in Commons Court; and if he will make a statement.

Air samples taken on 23 October from all three floors at Commons Court block show a reading of less than 0·01 fibres/ml. This is below the minimum safety level and is the same as the reading taken before the removal of sprayed asbestos from structural beams and girders in 15 offices during the summer recess. It is intended that the remaining 34 offices will be treated during the next summer recess.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council and new town commission houses or flats have been sold in each of the last five years.

Sales of dwellings by English local authorities and new towns for 1982 and 1983 were published in table 9.6 of "Housing and Construction Statistics 1976–1986" and figures for 1984 to 1986 were published in table 2.12 of "Housing and Construction Statistics Part 2 June 1987" copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on future plans to encourage wider home ownership.

The Government's commitment to supporting the growth of owner occupation was set out in chapter 2 of the recent White Paper "Housing: The Government's Proposals" (Cm. 214). The Government will encourage the operation of a free market in buying, selling and constructing homes, and will continue to assist homebuyers through tax relief on mortgage interest. They will also encourage the development of initiatives such as shared ownership which reduce the initial cost of home ownership, and will maintain the right of council tenants to buy their homes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make it his policy to establish an independent scientific survey into the hare population with a view to including the species under schedule 5 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

No. The conservation status of the brown hare was carefully considered by the Government's statutory adviser on wildlife matters, the Nature Conservancy Council, as part of its recent statutory review of schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, following its first five years of operation. Its advice following this review was that the brown hare does not merit inclusion in schedule 5 on conservation grounds. I understand the blue hare is not under threat.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on progress made by his Department on declaring housing action areas in Handsworth, Birmingham, since the Parliamentary Under-Secretary replied to the Adjournment on 14 July, Official Report, columns 1105–8.

Further discussions took place between officials of the Department and Birmingham city council on 11 September. A formal submission for the declaration of Charles as a housing action area is now awaited from the city council. A decision on whether or not the declaration is allowed to stand will be made as quickly as possible after the submission is received.The other area referred to in the Adjournment debate was Turville. I understand that the city council will need to carry out further survey work before it will be ready to make a submission in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many enveloping schemes he has approved in Birmingham since 14 July.

Since 14 July 1987, four envelope schemes submitted by Birmingham city council have been approved. They involved a total of 525 dwellings, at a cost of £4,279,177.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people have received assistance from the Government's home loan scheme in (a) Gloucester and (b) England and Wales for the most recent year for which figures are available; how this compares with previous years; what proportion of first-time buyers this represents; and what action the Government takes to promote the scheme.

Information on the take-up of the home loan scheme is not available for individual areas.The take-up of the scheme for the last five years is shown in the table:

Financial year	Number of first-time buyers benefiting
1982–83	6,277
1983–84	4,240
1984–85	3,580
1985–86	3,520
1986–87	1,660

The number of people receiving assistance in the financial year 1986–87 represents about 0·25 per cent. of first-time buyers who received advances from banks and building societies.The Government make a full range of promotional material for the scheme available through banks, building societies and other mortgage lenders and savings institutions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his proposals for the rate support grant settlement for 1988–89.

I am today issuing a consultation paper to the local authority associations and local authorities setting out my detailed proposals for the 1988–89 rate support grant settlement. The associations and individual local authorities have been asked for their written comments and representations on these proposals by 17 November.Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the most recent estimate of the growth rate in the European Economic Community, the United States of America, Japan and the United Kingdom respectively; and if he will make a statement.

The latest available data for the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan are for the second quarter of 1987. Over the year to that quarter, GDP grew by 3·8 per cent. in the United Kingdom, 2·7 per cent. in Japan and 2·4 per cent. in the United States. The latest complete data for the EC are for the first quarter of 1987. Over the year to that quarter, GDP in the EC grew by 2·6 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is (a) the proportion of working time allocated to his departmental equal opportunities officer for equal opportunities duties, (b) the other duties carried out by the departmental equal opportunities officer, (c) the proportion, and amount, of the departmental budget which is allocated to equal opportunities work, (d) the number of occasions when the departmental equal opportunities officer meets equal opportunities officers from other Government Departments each year, (e) the guidelines issued to his departmental training officers and equal opportunities officers to promote the use of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act and (f) the action taken to facilitate job share, part-time working and parental leave.

The departmental equal opportunities officer reports to the principal establishment officer. In addition to work on equal opportunities, for which no fixed proportion of the time is allocated, there are other duties, including policy on personnel management. The officer attends the annual meeting of departmental equal opportunities officers, and meets them frequently on other occasions throughout the year. No specific part of the departmental budget is allocated to equal opportunities.No guidelines have been issued, either to departmental training officers or to departmental equal opportunities officers, on the operation of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act.All personnel managers in my Department are encouraged to identify opportunities for job sharing and part-time working. Individual requests are dealt with sympathetically, taking into account the working needs of the Department. The Department offers maternity leave. Requests for special leave caused by domestic emergencies are considered on an individual basis.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that, where tax arrears result from errors made by the Inland Revenue, there be no obligation on the taxpayer to pay such arrears.

The general rule is that tax arrears remain legally payable, whether or not the underpayment is attributable in some measure to Inland Revenue error. The Inland Revenue does, however, operate an extra-statutory concession under which arrears of tax may be wholly or partly waived if they have arisen because of a departmental error which involved the failure to make proper and timely use of information about income or personal circumstances supplied by the taxpayer so that he could reasonably believe that his affairs were in order.The proportion of arrears remitted under this practice varies according to the size of the taxpayer's income. The terms of the concession (ESC A19) are published in the Inland Revenue's list of extra-statutory concessions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect on the arts of tax incentives for individuals and companies introduced in the Finance Act 1986.

The tax incentives which the Government introduced last year to encourage personal and corporate donations to charities were widely and warmly welcomed. Inland Revenue records do not distinguish between different types of charities, but arts charities can benefit in the same way as other charities. It is too soon to judge the full effect of the 1986 measures, but the early signs are encouraging. I hope donors and charities will take full advantage of the opportunities which the Government have provided to increase the flow of funds into charities.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how access to taxpayers' computer records will be governed when the new computer system proposed by the business review of the collection service is introduced by the Inland Revenue; and if he will make a statement.

European Communities Budget
	1986 Payment appropriations mecu	Percentage of total budget	1987 Payment appropriations mecu	Percentage of total budget
All fisheries support	164·0	0·5	177·3	0·5
All agricultural support	22,902·2	65·1	23,804·0	65·8
European Social Fund	2,533·0	7·2	2,542·3	7·0
European Regional Development Fund	3,373·0	6·7	2,497·3	6·9

These figures are based on the payment appropriations entered into the 1986 and 1987 European Communities budgets.

The new computer system, BROCS, is planned to be implemented in stages from 1990. It will be designed to improve both the efficiency of the revenue's operations and the service provided to taxpayers. In particular, it will provide accurate and up-to-date information in three main areas where present systems are now generally seen to be unacceptably slow and fallible:

(i) where a tax inspector needs to have information held on collection records relevant to an assessment for which he is responsible.

(ii) where a collector needs to have information held on tax office records relevant to a tax debt which he is handling—to ensure that recovery procedures start with an accurate knowledge of the taxpayer's position.

(iii) where a collector needs to know of information on other collection records—to confirm the payment position of outstanding liabilities, co-ordinate handling of cases where a taxpayer may have several tax debts outstanding and ensure prompt banking of tax receipts.

These facilities are, in essence, the same as those that tax and collection offices are authorised to have under the present collection procedures. It is proposed to adopt standard access rules for BROCS and the other main computer systems linked with it: COP (for PAYE); CODA (for schedule D) and OCTA (for corporation tax).Access to information under these systems will continue to be strictly controlled on a "need to know" basis. In some circumstances, it will be given only to certain nominated officers and generally on a view-only basis. There will continue to be special controls for certain sensitive records. Additional safeguards built into the new system will include a separate record and audit trail of all accesses to computer records.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest figure for the proportion of the European Commission budget for 1987 on (a) all fisheries support, (b) all agricultural support, (c) the social fund and (d) the regional fund; and how these sums compare with those of 1986.

The information requested is given in the table.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress of hip replacement operations under the National Health Service in Wales.

Between 1979 and 1986 the number of hip replacement operations performed by the National Health Service in Wales rose from 1,541 to 1,908—an increase of some 24 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he will take to ensure that adequate short-term funds are made available to local health authorities to meet the cost of setting up properly funded community care schemes for the elderly, mentally ill and physically disabled people.

A variety of mechanisms already exist to provide central funds to health authorities in support of community care schemes for elderly, mentally ill and physically disabled people. These include joint finance, under which the Department collaborates financially with health authorities, local authorities and voluntary organisations, and the mental health development scheme, under which health authorities receive 100 per cent. central funding for projects for mentally ill people. In addition, the elderly initiative grant scheme launched in January this year provides grant-aid to health authorities and other agencies to set up innovative projects to test new patterns of community care for elderly people.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the number of workers in Wales who earn less than £3 per hour and the percentage which they constitute of the total Welsh work force.

An estimate of the number of workers is not available, but results of the 1986 new earnings survey indicate that 28·6 per cent. of full-time adult workers in Wales whose earnings were not affected by absence earn less than £3 per hour.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of children under the age of 16 years in Wales are educated in state schools.

In January 1987, 97·9 per cent of all school pupils aged under 16 years in Wales were educated in maintained schools.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assurances the Post Office has (a) sought and (b) received about the delivery of mail in the Soviet Union; and what steps it takes to monitor their implementation.

International postal operations are governed by the provisions of the Universal Postal Union convention, to which both the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom are signatories. The UPU convention makes provision for the prohibition of the importation of articles whose importation and circulation is prohibited in the country of destination. The precise internal regulations under which Soviet customs or postal officials operate in confiscating items are not publicly available. But the Soviet notification to the UPU of prohibited articles is so widely drawn as to allow the Soviet authorities, in theory, to refuse entry or to confiscate items we would consider innocuous. We find this situation far from satisfactory.The Soviet authorities are well aware of our views, which we have made known to them on a number of occasions. As I said in my reply to a question from my hon. Friend on 21 October, at columns 811–12, we have raised the matter at the CSCE follow-up meeting currently taking place in Vienna.I understand that most mail to the Soviet Union is registered, and all registered items are individually listed before dispatch. It is therefore always possible to check whether a particular letter has been forwarded. The Post Office sets inquiries in train with the Soviet postal authorities as necessary about the non-delivery of specific items.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list in the Official Report the value and country of origin, of imports into the United Kingdom of finished (a) marble, (b) granite and (c) stone in each year since 1980.

Building and monumental stone is classified in the standard international trade classification revision 2 (SITC R2) under item heading 661.32, but marble and granite are not separately identified. Information by country of origin is not readily available at SITC item level: information on a country of origin basis for the years 1980 and 1986 has been prepared within cost limits.

Imports of Building and Monumental Stone
Total United Kingdom Imports
	£'000
1980	9,668
1981	10,460
1982	11,384
1983	13,491
1984	16,238
1985	19,066
1986	27,245
Country of Origin breakdown:
1980
Total imports =	9,668
of which
Italy	6,529
India	734
South Africa	730
France	417
Portugal	407
Pakistan	239
1986
Total imports =	27,245
of which
Italy	14,867
France	2,195
Portugal	2,025
Taiwan	1,755
India	1,632
Spain	1,236

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his Department's policy towards fees for subject access under the terms of the Data Protection Act; how many register entries his Department has; and what would be the total cost to a data subject seeking access to personal data held under all register entries.

My Department intends to make no charge in respect of subject access requests made by its employees in respect of information that it holds under the Act in its capacity as their employer. For all other requests, including external requests, a fee of 10 will be charged in order to cover the cost of providing the service. This is in accordance with Treasury guidelines on charging.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will use his statutory powers to prevent increased control of music publishers by record, film and television groups, in the light of the effects of such control on the contractual and royalty terms of composers; and if he will make a statement.

Any such increases of control may constitute mergers which qualify under the terms of the Fair Trading Act 1973 for reference to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for further investigation. My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State announced on 7 October that the proposed merger between enterprises carried on by or under the control of Chappell and Co. Inc. and enterprises carried on by or under the control of Warner Communications Inc. had been referred to the MMC. In assessing whether a merger may operate against the public interest, the MMC has a statutory duty to take into account all matters which it considers in the circumstances to be relevant.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to release the Director of Fair Trading's report on practices relating to the public exhibition of films.

I intend to do so shortly in order to consult the industry and other interested parties about the appropriate follow-up action to the report.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will report on the outcome of the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Geneva from 9 July to 3 August 1987.

This session of the conference adopted a Final Act which set out the consensus reached on the main substantive item under consideration—the revitalisation of development, growth and international trade.I have arranged for copies of this document, the speech I made at the conference and the text of the closing statement by the United Kingdom following the adoption of the Final Act to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will report on the Internal Market Council held on 5 October.

The Council, at which I represented the United Kingdom, agreed a common position on a revised proposal by the European Commission to amend the EC directive on the rules for public sector supplies contracts. The Council also discussed proposals for a directive on the mutual recognition of member states professional qualifications and for amending the existing directive on sound power levels of lawnmowers, and heard a Commission statement on its proposal for a regulation on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the "Merger Control" regulation).

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the adoption of a European Community directive on listing particulars.

A Council of Ministers adopted on 22 June a directive on the mutual recognition of listing particulars, the information document required to be published when securities are admitted to official stock exchange listing. This directive requires listing particulars which have been approved by a competent authority in one member state to be accepted throughout the Community. During negotiations on the proposal the United Kingdom secured important improvemens to the original proposal which materially reduced the scope for listing particulars of an unacceptable standard to benefit from mutual recognition. There was a real risk that these improvements might have been undermined had the United Kingdom delayed adoption of the proposal beyond 1 July, the date on which the Single European Act came into force. I therefore judged that it was in the United Kingdom's interest not to delay adoption until the House had completed its consideration of the measure. I regret that the normal scrutiny procedures were not followed on this occasion. but I hope the House will understand the special reasons why the Government agreed to the adoption of the directive in these circumstances.

asked the Prime Minister when she next intends to make an official visit to Pembrokeshire.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government have yet responded to the Soviet protest in connection with deliveries of Blowpipe missiles to Afghanistan.

I have nothing to add to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 13 July at column 335.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to Darnchurch, near Rugby.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when she next intends to visit Burgh Island.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister on what basis, and for what reason, Her Majesty's Government have given permission to British Nuclear Fuels to sell the equipment and know-how to make weapons-grade plutonium to other countries; whether any other of Britain's NATO allies were consulted; and if she will make a statement on the implications for non-proliferation agreements.

All exports of nuclear materials, equipment and technology are made within the guidelines set out in the statement by the then Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Sir James Callaghan, on 31 March 1976 at columns 514–16. Those guidelines ensure that any such export will be wholly consistent with our international non-proliferation obligations under the non-proliferation treaty.

asked the Prime Minister what response she has made to the representations from ACOST to the effect that further funds should be committed to space research and development or the United Kingdom should withdraw from the European venture.

I have in the last few days received advice from ACOST on the subject of space research and development. That advice was given in confidence. My hon. Friend should not assume that the advice coincides with his description of it. I shall be responding to ACOST in due course.

asked the Prime Minister what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on co-operation of the British security services with the South African authorities; and if she will make a statement.

It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security matters.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 October.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 October.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 October.

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 Education and Science on what basis he will determine the specific objective ratings for school attainment scores, in particular with mathematics, once the regular testing of children at seven, 11 and 14 years comes into force.

My right hon. Friend has appointed expert working groups on mathematics and on science to advise on the national attainment targets for these subjects and arrangements for assessment and testing performance in relation to these targets. He has also appointed a task group on assessment and testing to make recommendations for a national assessment system, including ways in which results should be expressed and reported to meet the various purposes of assessment.The mathematics and science working groups are to produce interim reports in November and final reports by July 1988. The task group on assessment and testing has been asked to report by Christmas 1987. There will be consultations about its recommendations before new arrangements are brought into effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will collect and publish statistics on the incidence of truancy amongst 12-year-old and 13-year-old children (a) in authorities with a middle school system and (b) in authorities which have an 11 to 16-year-old school system.

The Department does not collect any statistics on the incidence of truancy.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will collect and publish statistics on A-level passes obtained by pupils, as a percentage of those entered for the examination in (a) authorities with a middle school system, (b) authorities with an 11 to 16-year-old school system, (c) sixth form college system authorities and (d) authorities with a tertiary college system.

Information on the A-level attainments of English school leavers is published in "Statistics of Education: School Leavers CSE and GCE", a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his Department's policy towards fees for subject access under the terms of the Data Protection Act; how many register entries his Department has; and what would be the total cost to a data subject seeking access to personal data held under all register entries.

My Department's policy on subject access fees is to recover the direct costs of meeting a request for personal data, on an estimated average basis. My Department has eight register entries at present.The cost to a data subject of obtaining his personal data would in most cases be £8 but, very exceptionally, might total a maximum of £40.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Merseyside.

In the course of my visit to Liverpool on Monday 5 October I was able to see a nursery, a primary, and a comprehensive school, and to lunch at Liverpool polytechnic. I welcomed the opportunity to meet members of the authority and to discuss matters of common concern with a group of young people at Shorefields comprehensive school in Toxteth.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much has been spent by the Medical Research Council on research into the causes of the post viral fatigue syndrome in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

The Medical Research Council has not funded any research directly on post viral fatigue syndrome. However, the council does support research on immune responses to muscle, nerve cells and related structures which may shed light on this problem. The council is always willing to consider soundly based scientific proposals in competition with other applications.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will now give details of the arrangements in place to approve examination courses offered in the compulsory years of secondary education against national criteria.

My right hon. Friend announced earlier this month interim non-statutory arrangements for the approval of all public examination courses for 14 to 16-year-olds against national criteria. Under these arrangements, agreed by the major examination bodies concerned, all examinations offered to the 14 to 16 age group will be subject to approval and monitoring by the Secondary Examinations Council in the same way as GCSE courses.All single-subject courses will be approved against the existing GCSE national criteria. New criteria are being introduced for approving integrated courses, that is those which cover a range of subjects and occupy most of a pupil's time. Approved courses will be offered in schools from September 1988.These arrangements are based on advice made to my right hon. Friend by the SEC in the light of consultation on the report of a working party chaired by Mr. R. S. Johnson, director of education for Leeds. We are grateful to the SEC for its advice and to the working party for its recommendations.Our proposals for a national curriculum, which my right hon. Friend intends to present to the House this coming Session, will put these arrangements on a statutory basis. They may also necessitate changes to the integrated course criteria.Copies of the interim integrated course criteria have been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Green Paper on permanent arrangements for settling teachers' pay and conditions will be published.

I have today laid before Parliament a Green Paper entitled "Teachers' Pay and Conditions: a Consultative Document". Copies are available in the Vote Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions will be given its remit.

I have today written to Lord Chilver, the chairman of the interim advisory committee on school teachers' pay and conditions, a letter which sets. out the issues on which the advice of the committee is sought. The text of my letter is as follows:Lord Chilver FRS, FEng, CBIMChairmanInterim Advisory Committee onSchool Teachers' Pay and Conditions 27 October 1987Dear Henry,1. I am grateful to you and your colleagues for agreeing to be members of the Interim Advisory Committee. The purpose of this letter is to set out the issues on which the Government now seeks the Committee's advice.2. As you know, the Committee has a statutory basis, Sub-sections (1) and (4) of Section 2 of the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Act provide that:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what contingency arrangements he proposes to make for national or regional emergencies affecting the national grid in the proposals he will be putting before Parliament for the privatisation of electricity.

Our proposals for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry will ensure that the industry maintains the ability to operate the national grid in a flexible manner, during national and regional emergencies and at other times.

asked the Attorney-General if, pursuant to his statement and answers given to the House on Friday, 23 October, he will list those criminal charges which on available evidence, could be made against the persons discharged from Lambeth magistrates court; and if he will request the Director of Public Prosecution to consider prosecutions accordingly.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has already considered all the available evidence and all possible criminal proceedings arising therefrom. It is not his practice, nor is it mine, to detail allegations, whether or not they are capable of substantiation, against persons who are not subject to criminal proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) the total aid budget given to India in the past financial year by Her Majesty's Government, and (b) the estimated aid budget for India in the coming financial year; and what proportion of Her Majesty's Government aid budget comprises loans to the Indian Government to be paid back to Her Majesty's Government with interest.

Firm figures for gross public expenditure on aid in the last financial year are not yet available by country. In the calendar year 1986, gross public expenditure on aid to India was £143·5 million.It is not our practice to reveal planning allocations for future years: these are of a provisional nature.All aid expenditure in India in 1986 was in the form of grants, which have been the standard form of aid to India since 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what was the total United Kingdom overseas aid budget for the last financial year as a percentage of United Kingdom gross national product;(2) if he will list the total percentage of United Kingdom gross national product given as overseas aid in comparison with similar percentages of the member nations of the European Economic Community.

The percentages of gross national product given in 1986 as net official development assistance by European Community states which are members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development were:

	Percentage
Belgium	0·48
Denmark	0·89
France (excluding overseas departments and territories)	0·49
Germany	0·43
Ireland	0·28
Italy	0·40
Netherlands	1·00
United Kingdom	0·32

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total overseas aid budget given by Her Majesty's Government to (a) Bangladesh, (b) Pakistan and (c) Sri Lanka in the last financial year; and what proportion of this aid comprised loans to be paid back to Her Majesty's Government with interest.

Firm figures for gross public expenditure on aid in the last financial year are not yet available by country. In the calendar year 1986, gross public expenditure on aid to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka was as follows, excluding transactions by the Commonwealth Development Corporation:

	£ million
Bangladesh	38·3
Pakistan	20·7
Sri Lanka	13·4

None of these disbursements was in respect of an interest-bearing loan. Since 1975 the standard form of aid to these countries has been grant. In addition, the Commonwealth Development Corporation disbursed £2 million to Sir Lanka in 1986 in loan form.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the death of Jonathan Wash in the Ivory Coast on 19 November 1985; and if he will make a statement.

The file on this case prepared by the examining magistrate in the Ivory Coast has been sent to the Bedfordshire police who are conducting an investigation into Mr. Wash's death at the request of the Bedfordshire coroner. A team from the Bedfordshire police expects to visit the Ivory Coast shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many citizens of (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Bangladesh were granted full United Kingdom citizenship for each year since and including 1983;(2) how many citizens of

I have been asked to reply.Grants of citizenship by nationality are published annually in Home Office statistical bulletins, most recently in bulletin 29/87; the figures requested are given in the table. Corresponding information on refusals of applications for citizenship is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from voluntary organisations on Merseyside about planned changes in the operation of the community programme; if he plans to meet such organisations; and if he will make a statement.

I have received correspondence from a number of hon. Members on this matter. I have already met national representatives of the voluntary sector to discuss the proposed improvements to community programme provision, but I have no current plans to meet voluntary organisations from Merseyside.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the current levels of unemployment in France, Italy, West Germany., the United States of America and the United Kingdom respectively; and what were the comparable figures of the calendar years 1973 and 1982, respectively, for each country.

Following is the information requested. The figures are not fully comparable becaue of national differences in definitions and the methods of compiling the statistics.

Thousands
	Current level (Seasonally adjusted—latest month)	Annual average
		1973	1982
France	2,638 (July)	394	2,000
Italy	3,233 (May)	1,005	2,163
West Germany	2,255 (September)	274	1,855
United States of America	7,221 (August)	4,365	10,678
United Kingdom1	2,775 (September)	545	2,626
1 Excluding school leavers on consistent basis, allowing for changes in coverage.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing, in respect of the most recent date for which figures are available, the percentage of unemployed men in France, Belgium, West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America respectively, who have been unemployed for a year or more; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is given in the following table. The figures are not directly comparable because of national differences in definitions and methods of compiling the statistics. In particular, the figures for the United States of America are based on surveys rather than registrations at unemployment offices.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures Her Majesty's Government will take so as to strictly abide by the European Community ban of hormone treated meat imports from the United States of America.

The Imported Food Regulations 1984 give powers to prohibit, by notice in the London Gazette, the import of meat and meat products which do not satisfy the relevant requirements of EC legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he plans to meet the Farm Animal Welfare Council working group on religious slaughter before announcing his conclusions on the Farm Animal Welfare Council report on religious slaughter.

Yes. In fact yesterday I met the chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Council and members of the council's working group on religious slaughter.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the definition of organic farming used for the purposes of his Department.

My Department does not currently use any one definition of organic farming. However, the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards has recently been established by Food From Britain to consider the question of standards to be observed in organic production and I shall seek advice from that body as required.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he now has concerning the number of farmers, in total and by county in England and Wales, who are using (a) organic methods and (b) low-input, low-output methods.

Such information is not currently available. In due course, however, it should be possible to produce data on the number of farmers using organic methods and who have registered with the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards.

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the operation of the Sheep Variable Premium (Protection of Payments) (Amendment) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/1009) and the (Recovery Powers) Regulations 1983 (S.I. 1983/1010) have had on sheep meat prices and the cost of the sheep variable premium scheme; and if he will make a statement.

These regulations form a necessary part of the sheep variable premium scheme operated in Great Britain. Their effects on prices or SVPS costs cannot be meaningfully isolated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report the freezer trawlers which received de-commissioning grants, the amount of grant in each case, and the amount of money obtained by the sale of each of these vessels; how much money was paid by the state, by way of a grant, to assist in the construction of each of these vessels; and if he is able to estimate the annual depreciation of each of these vessels.

Information about decommissioning grants and construction grants paid in respect of 17 freezer trawlers is shown in the table. The decommissioning scheme did not require vessel owners to supply my Department with details of the selling prices. I am therefore not able to estimate the annual depreciation of decommissioned vessels.

Vessel Name	Decommissioning Grant £	National Construction Grant £
Arctic Raider	484,400	113,177
Arctic Freebooter	587,600	145,496
Cordelia	614,000	459,033
Farnella	591,100	279,572
Dane	591,992	554,344
Roman	579,292	393,494
Defiance	580,400	158,287
Goth	579,292	383,472
Norse	579,292	355,270
St. Jasper	514,484	241,128
St. Jerome	515,280	217,925
St. Jason	537,200	226,288
St. Benedict	581,504	505,990
Boston Lincoln	397,620	89,615
Sir Fred Parkes	620,000	138,109
Pict	728,800	561,160
Northella	614,000	506,443

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many basking sharks were taken from British territorial waters in each of the past five years; which countries took them; for what purposes; what is the estimated population of basking sharks in British waters; and if he will consider a total ban on their being fished.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 October 1987, c. 890]: The only known directed fisheries for basking sharks in British fishery limits are carried out by Norwegian vessels fishing within quotas allocated under the EC-Norway fisheries agreement and by an individual Scottish fisherman who has taken a number of basking sharks each year since 1983 in the Clyde and the Irish sea.The Norwegian quota is 400 tonnes of basking shark liver.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the per capita expenditure and revenue allocations of each of the four area health boards in Northern Ireland.

The revenue allocation for each board in 1987–88 and the corresponding per capita figure, based on mid-1986 population estimates are:

	£	£ per capita
Northern	95,472,000	252
Southern	90,199,000	312
Eastern	320,439,000	499
Western	88,344,000	344

This information is meaningless for the purposes of comparison between boards. Estimated board populations do not coincide with actual catchment populations for many services; for example, regional medical services, acute hospital services, psychiatric and mental handicap hospital services.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) when the Royal Ulster Constabulary code of conduct as approved by the Police Authority (Northern Ireland), will be published;(2) whether he will place a copy of the Royal Ulster Constabulary code of conduct, as approved by the Police Authority (Northern Ireland), in the Library.

The Chief Constable has issued a document entitled "Professional Policy Ethics" to be incorporated in the RUC manual, which is an internal document for police use only. Any decision on publication is a matter for the Chief Constable.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have had deductions made under the provisions of the Payment for Debt (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972 from moneys due to them from state bodies, in each year since the passage of the legislation, broken down according to religion and local authority area.

Information on the number of people from whom deductions have been made under Payments for Debt (Emergency Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 in respect of moneys due to them from state bodies is not readily available in the form requested and could not be compiled except at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total cost to the British Government of the recent 11-day trip by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the United States of America.

I regret that the information requested is not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Member with the detailed information as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the breakdown of numbers of individuals receiving contraceptive advice and treatment (1) by contraceptive method and (2) by source of treatment clinic or general practitioner in Northern Ireland for each of the last five years.

The information is not available in precisely the form requested. The information available is given in the table.

Table A
	Health1 and Social Services Boards	General Practitioners1			Total
Year		Oral Contraceptives	Intrauterine Devices	Total
1982	260,064	35,379	1,429	36,808	96,872
1983	364,542	39,635	1,558	41,193	105,735
1984	74,660	39,139	1,950	41,089	115,749
1985	75,483	40,424	2,010	42,434	117,917
1986	73,836	43,988	1,873	45,861	119,697
1 Numbers of individuals for which contraceptives prescribed.
2 Numbers of individuals attending for advice and treatment.
3 Figures for Western health and social services board not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of abortions undertaken in each health authority area since 1967.

In Northern Ireland abortions are carried out only on therapeutic grounds where the life of the woman is threatened by the pregnancy or where continuance of the pregnancy is likely to cause grave danger to her physical or mental health.Statistical information is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each health board the number of outstanding gynaecological operations.

The information is not available in the form requested. However, the total number of patients, by health and social services hoard, awaiting admission to a gynaecological bed at 30 June 1987 was:

	Number
Eastern Board	1,058
Northern Board	263
Southern Board	284
Western Board	496

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is his policy on the maintenance of acute hospital services facility in Down unit of management;(2) if he accepts the findings of PA Management Consultants in respect of hospital services in Down unit of management which was presented by Down district council to the Department of Health and Social Services.

As the hon. Member knows, decisions on the pattern of hospital services are in the first instance a matter for health and social services boards. I understand, however, that in its area strategic plan for 1987 to 1992, a copy of which is available in the Library, the Eastern board has concluded that it should attempt to maintain acute services at the Down hospital over the current planning period.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he is prepared to instruct the Eastern health board to make an allocation from the capital budget towards the construction of a new hospital to replace the Down hospital, Downpatrick;(2) what is his policy on the need for a new hospital building programme in Downpatrick.

It is not for me to instruct boards about the need for specific capital developments in their areas. Boards are responsible for the planning and management of services in their areas and must assess not only the justification for each specific proposal but the priority of such proposals in relation to other demands on resources. Since the replacement of the Down hospital would involve major capital expenditure it would require the approval of the Department of Health and Social Services. The Department, however, has not yet received any formal proposal from the Eastern board for such a capital scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what purpose the Moss Lane factory, Castlewellan has been transferred from the IDB to the Department of Health and Social Security.

The lease on premises at Bessbrook, Co. Armagh, which the DHSS uses for emergency stores, expired on 30 September 1986. The Moss Lane factory was declared surplus to IDB requirements and first offered to Government Departments and public bodies under normal disposal rules. The offer was taken up by DHSS which had an immediate need to find alternative accommodation for the stores.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the exact location and size of the existing site in the south of Northern Ireland which it is proposed the Castlewellan factory will replace.

The present store is located within the industrial estate on the outskirts of Bessbrook Village, Co. Armagh. This store is approximately 25,000 sq ft and occupies four floors of a former mill.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many stores of medical supplies for use after a nuclear exchange are there in Northern Ireland; and what is their location.

There are two such stores in Northern Ireland, one at Bessbrook, Co. Armagh and one at Ballymoney, Co. Antrim.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what district councils will be serviced by the Castlewellan factory in a post-nuclear situation.

All 26 district councils.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there will be any communication between the Castlewellan factory store and the three nuclear stations which the Government have proposed to site in Northern Ireland.

It is assumed that the nuclear stations referred to are the proposed emergency centres which would be used among other things in the event of a nuclear attack. There will be no special communication link between the Castlewellan factory store and any of the three proposed emergency centres other than by the public telephone network.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in view of the recent severe flooding, what additional resources are to be given to help those affected by flood damage; and what financial aid will be given to farmers who have suffered stock losses.

It is too early yet to say what measures if any might be taken, but it is a general rule that the Government do not compensate for losses caused by the weather. Nevertheless, my colleagues and I are looking at the nature of the circumstances surrounding the flooding emergency in Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officers from police forces in England, Wales and Scotland were seconded to duties in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years.

[pursuant to his reply, 22 October 1987, c.877]: No formal secondments have been made, but under normal co-operation arrangements some officers may have been temporarily attached to the RUC over this period.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest figures for drug abuse increase in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

In Scotland in 1986, 616 new addicts were notified by medical practitioners to the Home Office and 348 former addicts were re-notified. In the same year there were 3,437 seizures of controlled drugs by the police and HM Customs and Excise in Scotland and 5,318 drugs offences were recorded by the police.There were increases in the total number of seizures and in the number of drugs offences recorded compared to 1985 but the rates of increase were lower than in the previous year. The total number of addicts notified in 1986 decreased by 12·5 per cent. compared to 1985 when there was a 51 per cent. increase over 1984.These statistics are not an accurate measure of the extent of drug misuse but may serve as indicators of general trends. These and other indicators suggest that the

European countries' stock by tenure
percentages
				Rented stock
		Owner occupied	All	Public sector	Housing associations	Private sector
Scotland	1986	42	58	49	2	6
United Kingdom	1986	63	37	27	3	8
Belgium	1981	61	39	57	5—	532
Denmark	1980	55	45	4	16	25
France1	1982	51	49	13	—	36
Germany, Federal Republic2	1982	40	60	3	14	43
Greece3	1982	72	28	4	4	4
Ireland, Republic of	1981	74	26	13	—	13
Italy2	1981	59	41	4	4	4
Luxembourg3	1981	60	40	4	4	4
Netherlands	1981	43	57	12	30	14
Portugal	1981	56	44	3	—	41
Spain	1980	77	23	2	1	20
Austria1	1981	50	50	4	4	4
Switzerland	1980	30	70	3	4	4
Finland	1980	68	32	4	4	4
Sweden	1980	58	42	523	5—	519
Norway	1980	74	26	4	4	4
1 Occupied main residences—Owner occupied: includes condominiums and co-operatives of similar nature.
2 Main residences.
3 Households—Rented: includes tied and rent free accommodation.
4 Not known—Housing associations: organisations broadly similar to those in Britain.
5 Approximate estimate.
All figures including totals have been individually rounded.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make and publish a detailed analysis of waiting lists for public sector houses in each district and island area in order to ascertain whether there are enough suitable houses available to let to meet local needs.

A two-year research project, to assess the extent to which waiting lists can be used as an indication of housing need, was announced by the Government in December 1986.