asked the Secretary of State for Energy what advice his Department makes available to elderly people to try to ensure cost-effective heating of their homes.

My Department's energy efficiency office produces a range of publications which provide information to householders, including the elderly, on the cost-effective energy efficiency measures which they can take to improve their homes. Advice is also available to the public on the free Monergy hotline telephone service number 0800–234–800. In addition, the office supports the community insulation projects which provide a free or low-cost insulation service and advice for elderly and other householders on low incomes.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list each occasion since April 1986 on which a Minister in his Department had made a statement encouraging members of the public to visit British Nuclear Fuels Sellafield nuclear complex.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 24 July 1987 at column 519.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply on 24 July, Official Report, column 517 on how many occasions and for what length of time Euratom inspectors have been present at British Nuclear Fuels plc Sellafield nuclear site since March 1986.

I have nothing to add to my reply of 24 July, at column 517.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South, (Mr. Mullin) Official Report, 24 July, column 517 whether plutonium from Calder Hall and Chapel Cross Military Magnox reactors is kept segregated from safeguarded plutonium stocks in a separate building.

I have nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 24 July at column 517.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he is now in a position to publish further information on plutonium in line with recommendation 13(b) of the Sizewell report.

In the light of discussions between my Department, the AEA, BNFL and the generating boards, I have decided to publish information concerning the production of plutonium from United Kingdom civil reactors on an annual basis from 1986–87 onwards. Work on collating the information is in hand and we will publish it as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he will take to the conference next month of Environmental Ministers from all North sea states to (i) limit industrial discharges into the marine environment, (ii) stop all sea dumping and incineration, (iii) phase out the discharging through pipelines of heavy metals, radio-nuclides organochlorines and other chemicals known to affect the food chain and (iv) test for more chemicals than Her Majesty's Government presently do; and if he will make a statement.

I am giving detailed consideration to the issues that will be considered in London later this month at the second international conference on the protection of the North sea, including some of those mentioned by the hon. Member. I cannot prejudge the United Kingdom's final negotiating position at the conference nor predict what the outcome will be.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what transition arrangements will be made when the community charge is introduced in 1990.

The Government are considering their proposals for transitional arrangements in the light of recent representations.

Williams asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the charitable status of manses will be maintained under his proposed community charge; and if he will make a statement.

When the community charge is fully in force, no domestic property will pay rates. The question of charitable status will not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to the reply of 26 October, Official Report, columns 37–38, he will give a source for the sample survey data on which the projections in the answers on regional gainers and losers in respect of the poll tax are based.

The information is taken from the family expenditure surveys for 1981 to 1984 inclusive.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the titles of papers on the sea disposal of nuclear wastes submitted by his Department to the London dumping convention in October 1987; and if he will place copies of all such reports in the Library.

In common with other contracting parties to the London dumping convention, the United Kingdom submitted to the October 1987 meeting a response to a questionnaire on nuclear matters framed at the 1986 convention meeting. A copy of this questionnaire and the United Kingdom response have been placed in the Library. The response refers to a number of documents, including the "Report of the Independent Review of Disposal of Radioactive Waste in the North East Atlantic" (the Holliday report, 1984), and the "Assessment of Best Practicable Environmental Options (BPEOs) for Management of Low and Intermediate Level Solid Radioactive Waste" (DOE, 1986). Both of these documents are already in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Environment if he will list the water authorities engaging senior management staff on performance related contracts in the financial year 1986–87; what was the number of personnel involved; and what was the average bonus paid out in each water authority area for the financial year 1986–87.

This information is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the Housing Corporation regarding the purchase of British Coal houses.

On 30 September my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning met representatives of British Coal and the Housing Corporation to discuss the progress of negotiations between British Coal and the housing associations interested in purchasing certain blocks of British Coal houses in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. I understand that these negotiations are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make additional finance available to enable housing associations to purchase British Coal houses.

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

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what categories of buildings owned by county councils and district councils are not eligible for financial assistance for their repair following the recent hurricane; and if he will make a statement.

Buildings suffering damage which is insurable under normal building insurance policies would not qualify under the scheme of special financial assistance to local authorities announced by my right hon. Friend on 21 October.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications for overseas development policy of the decisions taken at the latest meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Britain's aid policy, particularly on major issues such as developing-coutry debt and structural adjustment, is entirely consistent with decisions taken at recent IMF-IBRD meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has for supporting education, specifically for women, in the Third world.

About £140 million a year is provided from the aid programme for supporting education. A substantial poportion is spent on education within developing countries and benefits both sexes.Some £50 million of the total is currently spent on training in Britain. We are exploring the reasons for the low number of nominations of women or training awards and are making a major effort to increase the number receiving awards for the 1988–89 academic year and beyond. We also support less formal education specifically for women. Examples include aid for Pakistan's Open University, which is particularly helpful to women who cannot leave home for education, and recruitment of women for training as agricultural extension workers in Nepal.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what response he has received from the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation to the consultation paper on the proposals for a national curriculum; and what consideration he proposes to give to it:(2) what response he has received from the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation to the consultation paper on the proposals for grant-maintained schools, admission of pupils to maintained schools and financial delegation; and what consideration he proposes to give to it.

Copies of these responses, along with all responses received other than those from individuals, have been placed in the Library. We are giving very careful consideration to the points which the Royal Association has made.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date in each of the last six years his Department published Her Majesty's inspectors' report on local education authority provision and the quality of education.

The annual expenditure report by Her Majesty's inspectors has been published on the following dates in the last six years:

• 5 April 1982; 20 July 1983; 6 June 1984;
• 23 May 1985; 21 May 1986 and 21 July 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a grant to the University of Wales for a five-year evaluation by a research team to assess the effectiveness of conductive education and to monitor how well it transposes from Hungary to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The University of Birmingham will be carrying out research aimed at assessing the effectiveness of conductive education and monitoring how well it transposes from Hungary to the United Kingdom and I see no purpose in a second such project. Both my right hon. Friend and I will be taking an interest in the research and will consider particularly its relevance to children in Wales

asked the Secretary of state For Wales if he will provide a detailed breakdown of publicly-funded subsidies to private residential establishments and nursing homes by local authority in Wales for each of the last five years, together with the estimates for 1987.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Monday 26 October 1987, at columns 25–27. I have also written to him today.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he proposes to make any changes to his Department's cash limits in the current year.

Yes. The cash limit on class XVII, vote 2 is being increased by £11,251,000 to £66,214,000. This increase relates to the grant-in-aid for the Welsh Development Agency and is necessary to cover the cost to the agency of taking on the residual industrial assets of the Cwmbran development corporation. As a consequence, there will he a corresponding reduction to the cash limit for WO/LA 1 of £1 1,251,000 to £353,747,000.The cash limit on class XVII, vote 9 is being increased by £85,000 to £38,785,000. This increase covers the additional cost to the Department arising from the transfer of NHS audit staff from the DHSS. There is a corresponding reduction in the cash limit for class XV, vote 5.The cash limit on class XVII, vote 10 is being increased by £22,675,000 to £953,289,000. This increase takes account of additional block grant payable in respect of teachers' pay, together with payments and abatements in grant in respect of previous years in the light of out-turn expenditure information. The adjustments to block grant will be subject to the approval of the requisite supplementary rate support grant reports by the House.

asked the Attorney-General if he will prosecute The Times newspaper for publishing, on Friday 23 October, details of the Royal Navy nuclear deterrent base facilities in Scotland: and if he will make a statement.

No. I understand that the release of the material contained in the article in The Times on 23 October was authorised.

asked the Prime Minister what cost to public funds arose as a result of her return from Vancover to the United Kingdom at the end of the Commonwealth conference.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North West (Mr. Banks) on 22 October, at column 847.

asked the Prime Minister when Her Majesty's Government propose to implement those sections of the Disabled Persons (Representation Services and Consultation) Act 1986 which offer some assistance for mentally handicapped school leavers, their parents, and carers.

My hon. Friend the Minister for the Disabled hopes to make an announcement shortly about the implementation of sections 5 and 6 of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the percentage of armed robberies for the years 1979 to 1986 which involved unregistered guns;(2) if he will make a statement on the number of armed robberies for the years 1979 to 1986.

The available information for England and Wales relates to the number of offences of robbery recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used and is published annually in table 3.1 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", the latest issue of which, Cm. 233, for 1986, was published on 29 October 1987. In 1986, 2,651 such robberies were recorded, compared with 1,038 in 1979; however, the proportion of all robberies in which firearms were used remained at about 9 per cent. during this period. The police do not record the number of firearms recovered which were shown to have been used in crime, nor the proportion of these which were subsequently found to have been illegally held.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to transfer Irish prisoners in gaols in England, Scotland and Wales to prisons nearer their homes; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he plans to extend his policy which enables prisoners in England and Wales to serve sentences in a prison near their family and relatives so that Northern Ireland prisoners on the mainland can be transferred to Northern Ireland prisons to complete their sentences.

Under the Criminal Justice Act 1961 sentences inmates may be transferred at their own application between United Kingdom jurisdictions. In dealing with requests from inmates in England and Wales for transfers to Northern Ireland, the Department, in consultation with the Northern Ireland Office, considers each case on its merits, applying publicly stated criteria covering such matters as the length of the sentence remaining to be served, the inmate's current behaviour, and his or her history and background.Transfers of sentenced prisoners to the Republic of Ireland will not be possible unless and until the Republic takes powers to hold prisoners sentenced in another jurisdiction.Applications for transfers from inmates held in Scottish prisons fall to be dealt with by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all those who were the subject of exclusion orders between November 1974 and the present day, giving the date on which the order was made.

No. Statistics on exclusion orders made under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974, 1976 and 1984 are published quaterly in statistical bulletins published by the Home Office. I do not consider it right or fair to the individuals concerned for me to publicise their names without their permission.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many section 11 grants he has approved in each of the last five years; how many applications he has refused; and how many are awaiting decision, categorised by (a) Waltham Forest, (b) London and (c) nationally and sub-categorised by whether they relate to (i) social services, (ii) education and (iii) other purposes.

The available information is as follows. It is expressed in terms of numbers of posts applied for.

	1983	1984	1985	1986	11987
Posts approved	1,188	856	898	786	124
Posts refused	2—	2—	2—	723	428
1 1 January—23 October
2 Information not available.

Application currently under consideration are:

Area	Education	Social Services	Other	Total
Waltham Forest	16	22	2	30
London (including Waltham Forest)	176	60	28	164
England and Wales (including London)	1631	223	124	978
1 An application for posts for part-time staff covering 4,000 hours a year is also under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he accepts that provision for second generation immigrants with similar problems to first generation immigrants is eligible for section 11 grant approval, and if he will make a statement.

Applications for section 11 grant are considered in accordance with the criteria set out in Home Office circular No. 72/1986. This makes clear that the scheme covers not only those born in another country of the Commonwealth, however long they have resided in the United Kingdom, but also their immediate descendants.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria for refusing entry at British ports to individuals who have obtained valid entry clearance visas; how many have been refused entry on arrival since the introduction of the current system; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 13 of the "Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules" (HC 169), laid before Parliament on 9 February 1983.Since visa requirements are extended to citizens of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ghana and Nigeria, the number of such citizens who have been refused entry at Heathrow, Gatwick and Dover while in possession of a valid entry clearance (up to 24 October) is as follows:

Numbers
India	36
Pakistan	93
Bangladesh	49
Ghana	69
Nigeria	79
Total	326

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what would be the cost of current proposals for nuclear civil defence (i) London and (ii) nationally, and if he will make a statement.

Civil defence planning under the Civil Defence Act 1948 relates to measures to mitigate the effect of any hostile attack by a foreign power, whatever form it may take. Separate costings for nuclear aspects are not made.In London, the principal responsibility for civil defence planning rests with the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority, whose preliminary estimate for civil defence expenditure as a whole for 1987–88 was 1·5 million. Total programmed expenditure on civil defence in the United Kingdom during 1987–88 is £105 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he gives in respect of fire risk categorisation reviews.

Home Office fire service circular No. 4/1985, of which a copy is in the Library, commended to fire authorities the report on fire cover standards of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council. The report recommended that fire authorities should review the categorisation of fire risk in their area and provided guidance on how the fire risk of areas should be assessed. Fire authorities were advised that Her Majesty's inspectors of fire services would be ready to offer advice on application of the guidance, and such advice has been given.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when it is proposed that DNA tests will be available for all seeking right of entry to Britain on the Indian subcontinent; and if he will make a statement.

DNA tests have been commercially available since 1 June from Cellmark Diagnostics. It is open to any person who commissions such as test to submit the results in support of his immigration application, if he so chooses. In addition, the Government are carrying out a trial using the technique in a small sample of cases, so that the general acceptability and feasibility of its use in immigration work can be assessed. The trial is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any proposals to make hacking—unauthorised entry into a computer or communications system—a criminal offence; and if he will make a statement.

The Law Commission is examining the adequacy of the existing criminal law to cover misuse of computers. We will consider whether legislation is needed in the light of its advice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been refused naturalisation under the British Nationality Act 1981 on the basis of either unsound mind or not being of good character.

Between July 1986 and September 1987, three applications for naturalisation as British citizens have been recorded as refused on the ground that the applicant was of unsound mind. Earlier figures are not readily available.Between January 1983 and September 1987, 1,244 applications for naturalisation as British citizens have been recorded as refused on the ground that the applicant was not of good character.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the steps being taken to inform people who are currently in prison, long-stay hospitals and homes for the disabled of their rights to register as British citizens under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981 before the deadline of 31 December.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) on 21 October at column 779.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many women are eligible for registration as British citizens on grounds of marriage under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981;(2) how many people living in Britain are eligible to register as British citizens by 31 December under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981;(3) how many people have registered to date as British citizens under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981; and what proportion of the total number eligible this represents;

The number of people entitled to apply before 31 December 1987 for registration under sections 7 and 8 of the British Nationality Act 1981 cannot be accurately estimated.From 1983 to 1986 inclusive, some 112,000 adults have been registered as entitled on grounds of marriage to a British citizen or of long residence in the United Kingdom. Provisional figures for 1987 show there to have been some 24,000 registrations on this basis up to the end of September.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases have people been refused registration as a British citizen under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981; and on what grounds.

Figures relating to the refusal of British citizenship alone are not readily available but between January 1983 and September 1987, 7,485 registration applications for British citizenship, British Overseas citizenship and British subject status were refused on the grounds either that the Secretary of State was not satisfied that the applicants had met the statutory requirements or that he did not think it appropriate to exercise his discretion to register them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to ensure that people who are eligible to register as British citizens under the British Nationality Act 1981 are fully informed of this right in time to make their application by the deadline of 31 December.

A free information leaflet "Your Right to British Citizenship", was published in 1986. It is available in seven languages. At the same time, a poster drawing attention to the leaflet was published and has been widely distributed to advisory and community organisations. We followed this up this year by publicising the leaflet in selected local and ethnic minority newspapers in March and September in an advertisement drawing attention to the 31 December 1987 deadline.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those religions and religious occasions which he proposes will be exempt from his proposed changes in the law relating to the carrying of offensive weapons.

We propose in the Criminal Justice Bill to make it an offence for a person to have a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place without good reason or lawful authority. It will be a defence for a person charged with the offence to prove that he has such an article with him for religious reasons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the report from the working party of teachers and police representatives on ways of improving relations between schools and the police; what response he has made; and if he will make it his policy that the working party's recommendations should be made available to local police forces.

My right hon. Friend has received a copy of the report, which we regard as a welcome demonstration of co-operation between teachers and the police over police involvement in schools. We are still considering a response to the report together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the number of random hygiene inspections of prison kitchens made by Government environmental health officers in each of the last five years, indicating the percentage of total prison kitchens which each figure represents;(2) if he will list the number of occasions in each of the last five years when, as a result of random hygiene inspections, kitchen standards were found to be below the standard elsewhere applied through the Food Hygiene (General) Regulation 1970; and which prisons were involved.

The arrangement for environmental health officers from the Department of Health and Social Security to conduct random hygiene inspections of prison kitchens was introduced only last year. A five-year profile cannot yet be provided.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government will take steps to secure the removal of Crown immunity of prison kitchens from inspection by local authority environmental health officers; and if he will make a statement.

The prison service has its own internal arrangements for inspecting prison kitchens and there are no plans to make far-reaching changes. Inspections are considered to be of a standard equivalent to those that

Proportion of persons initially received into Prison Department establishments in England and Wales as untried prisoners in 1985 and 1986 who were known to have been found not guilty or not proceeded against: by ethnic origin
Percentage
Ethnic origin
Year of receptions	White	West Indian Guyanese African	Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi	Chinese Arab Mixed origin	Other, not recorded (including refusals)	All persons
1985	3·6	7·4	6·3	4·8	5·8	4·1
19861	3·9	7·5	7·2	6·8	4·2	4·4
1 Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the incidence of young people, from Scotland in particular, providing false information to doctors in order to obtain analgesics for non-medical purposes; what action the police take in such cases; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that it is not would otherwise be carried out by local authority environmental health officers. The arrangements do not preclude calling on local authority environmental health officers for advice, if necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently serving life sentences in England for offences other than murder; and how many of these are of Irish nationality.

The recording of nationality on the records held centrally for citizens of the Republic of Ireland is not completely reliable because it depends upon the information provided by the prisoner. On 31 August, 520 prisoners were serving life sentences for offences other than murder in prison department establishments in England and Wales, of whom about 15 were recorded as citizens of or born in the Republic of Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide statistics showing the respective proportions of black, Asian and white defendants acquitted during 1985 and 1986 by courts in England and Wales following remands in custody until trial.

The available information is given in the following table. However, the figures are to an unknown extent too low because for a substantial proportion of the untried prisoners the outcome of the court proceeding was not known—10 per cent. for the 1985 data and 19 per cent. for the 1986 data. Further analysis by ethnic origin of remand prisoners was published in "The ethnic origins of prisoners: the prison population on 30 June 1985 and persons received, July 1984-March 1985." (Table 16 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin 17/86.)possible to assess how many young Scots are obtaining prescriptions in this way. The Metropolitan Police are working closely with their colleagues in other forces and with the Drugs Inspectorate on this problem; and they will take appropriate action when circumstances allow. The situation is being carefully monitored.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make it his policy that all future disclosures of personal data from his Department's computer in Newcastle to the security services be covered by a certificate signed by him under section 27 of the Data Protection Act.

I have been asked to reply.I can confirm that the requirements of section 27 of the Data Protection Act will be followed in respect of any request for personal data for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many women are member of public bodies, the members of which are appointed by Ministers; and what proportion these women represent of the total membership of those bodies.

Figures for appointments by Ministers to public bodies as of 1 April 1986 are to be found in "Public Bodies 1986" published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Some 8,923 of these appointments were women, representing 19 per cent. of the total. Figures for 1987 will be published later this year.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the growth in British exports to the EEC compares with the growth of British trade over the past 10 years.

In the 12 months ended September 1987, the value of United Kingdom exports to the other countries of the European Community was three and a quarter times that in the same period in 1976–77; United Kingdom exports worldwide were two and a half times their value 10 years ago.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further action he has taken to secure the removal of discrimination in rates of value added tax levied on spirituous beverages in Greece since 1 January.

Following strong representations by the Government about the discriminatory VAT rates in Greece, the European Commission has commenced infraction proceedings against the Greek Government in the European Court.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps have been taken to seek the removal of discrimination in rates of alcohol tax and value-added tax, as well as in alcohol tax deferment provision, applicable to spirituous beverages in Portugal since 1 January 1986.

We have made several representations to Portugal and to the European Commission about the elements in the Portuguese tax regime which discriminate against imported products. As a result, significant improvements have been made in the Portuguese legislation, which removed the main tax discrimination against imported spirits. We are continuing to press the European Commission for further action.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many trade mark registrations were filed in 1979, 1983 and 1987.

The number of applications for the registration of trade marks filed in the years mentioned were as follows:

	Number
1979	19,328
1983	22,100
1987	25,778

The figure for 1987 relates to the period to the end of September and includes applications for the registration of service marks.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many patent registrations were tiled in 1979, 1983 and 1987.

The number of patent applications filed at the United Kingdom Patent Office in the years mentioned were as follows:

	Number
1979	44,666
1983	34,691
1987	23,014

In addition, applications designating the United Kingdom were filed at the European Patent Office as follows:

	Number
1979	10,402
1983	28,602
1987	28,014

The figures for 1987 relate to the period to the end of September.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the reasons for the delay in announcing the successor programme to the Alvey programme; and if he will make a statement.

The report's recommendations are being considered as part of our review of the priorities, in the field of research and development, for the Department of Trade and Industry. I will make a statement as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on Rover Group's plans to dispose of its interests in Ashok Leyland and Ennore Foundries.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on Rover Group's plans to dispose of its interest in Ashok Leyland and Ennore Foundries.

The Rover Group announced on 26 October that it had agreed to sell Land Rover Leyland International Holdings, the holding company for its Indian interests, to the Hinduja/Iveco Group. These interests comprise 39·04 per cent. of the commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd. and 59·09 per cent. of Ennore Foundries Ltd.Following the completion of the sale of Land Rover Leyland International Holdings the Government will accept no further responsibility for ensuring that the obligations of Land Rover Leyland International Holdings, Ashok Leyland and Ennore Foundries are met.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the marginal cost of paying child benefit to all those families who currently pay income tax but whose income tax paid is less than the amount of child benefit received; and what is the outgoing on child benefit which is paid to families not liable for income tax.

For 1987–88 it is estimated that the difference between child benefit received and income tax paid by those families who pay income tax and whose income tax is less than the amount of child benefit they receive is about £200 million. Families who are not liable to income tax are estimated to receive about £1,200 million in child benefit in 1987–88.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women now occupy posts in (a) the administrative grade of the Civil Service and (b) the executive grade of the Civil Service; and what proportions these represent of the total number of civil servants employed in those higher grades.

The information as at 1 January 1987 is as follows:

Grade level1	Number of women	Percentage
Open Structure	1,800	8
Executive	55,300	27
Administrative2	182,900	66
1 Broadly equivalent grades based on a comparison of salary scales.
2 Formerly known as Clerical grades.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate in how many cases mortgage tax relief is given to more than one individual in respect of the same mortgage.

I assume that my hon. Friend is interested in the number of unmarried sharers who receive mortgage interest relief on a shared loan. Although firm information is not available, it is tentatively estimated that about 500,000 single people are involved in multiple borrower mortgages in respect of around 250,000 properties.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give the average mortgage interest

Estimates for the years 1977–78 to 1982–83 have been derived from the result of the survey of personal incomes and are given in the table.Following the introduction of MIRAS in April 1983, estimates of the average value of mortgage interest tax relief in Scotland cannot be extracted from Inland Revenue records. Estimates of the amounts attributable to Scotland can be derived from the family expenditure survey (FES) but, as the sample size for the FES is relatively small, it is not possible to derive a robust estimate of the trend in the average amount received by mortgagors in Scotland after 1982–83. For 1983–84 onwards, the table therefore shows figures only for mortgagors in the whole of the United Kingdom.FES data for 1983 to 1985 suggest that average mortgage interest tax relief per mortgagor in Scotland was about 15 per cent. higher than the average for the United Kingdom.

Average mortgage interest tax relief per mortgagor
	Scotland		United Kingdom
	Outturn prices	11987–88 prices	Outturn prices	11987–88 prices
	£	£	£	£
1977–78	200	440	190	415
1978–79	220	440	200	400
1979–80	270	470	245	425
1980–81	370	550	335	500
1981–82	385	515	350	470
1982–83	390	485	350	440
1983–84	n/a	n/a	365	440
1984–85	n/a	n/a	450	515
1985–862	n/a	n/a	565	605
1986–872	n/a	n/a	550	570
1987–883	n/a	n/a	565	565
1 Revalued with respect to the Retail Prices Index.
2 Provisional.
3 Forecast.
n/a Not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage increase in real personal disposable income during the years 1957 to 1964, 1964 to 1970, 1970 to 1974, 1974 to 1979, 1979 to 1983, and 1983 to 1987; and what was the average annual percentage increase for each of these periods.

The information requested is given in the table. Data for 1987 are not yet available so the growth in real personal disposable income for the period 1983–86 is given instead.

	Growth in real personal disposable income	Average annual growth rate
	per cent.	per cent.
1957–1964	30·5	3·9
1964–1970	13·0	2·1

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will meet representatives of Leeds city council to discuss the council's managing agency for the community programme; and if he will make a statement.

I shall he happy to consider a meeting once I am informed of any points of concern about the managing agency which the Leeds city council may have.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place in the Library a list of the names and addresses of Training Commission managing agencies.

A list of managing agents for the new job training scheme is available in the Library. National lists of managing agents for YTS and the community programme are not currently available. Such lists are being prepared and copies will be placed in the Library in clue course.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in manufacturing industries in the Barnsley, East constituency in each year since 1979.

The available employee estimates for constituencies are from the September 1981 and 1984 censuses of employment. An industry breakdown is not available for the earlier year, but the latest estimates indicate that there were 3,500 employees employed in manufacturing industries in the Barnsley, East constituency at September 1984. The figure excludes the self-employed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the Official Report the number and nature of major injuries in the mining industry for each of the last five years.

The number of major accidents reported to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Mines and Quarries occurring in the mining industry is as follows:

Year	All Coal Mines	Mines Other than Coal
1982	865	17
1983	824	31
1984–851	378	29
1985–86	732	32
1986–87	982	23
1 Covers a 15-month period (January 1984 to March 1985) during which time there was a major industrial dispute. It is not comparable with previous calendar year data.

The introduction of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations on 1 April 1986 widened the coverage of the major injury category. Major injury accident figures from 1986–87 are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years.It is not possible to list the nature of these injuries without incurring disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many participants there are on the job training scheme;(2) how many participants have successfully completed a job training scheme course; and what qualifications they received.

By 25 September 1987, 22,111 people were receiving training on the new job training scheme.As the scheme was launched nationally only last April, information on the number of participants who have successfully completed a job training scheme course and what qualifications they received is not yet available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the progress to date of the Government's safety review of pesticides.

Since the early 1960s the Advisory Committee on Pesticides has carried out major reviews of pesticides or classes of pesticides. Some of these are described in the 1984 and 1985 reports of the committee, copies of which are in the Library of the House. This work continues and will be summarised in the committee's further annual reports.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what staff and financial resources are presently devoted to the Government's safety review of pesticides.

It is not possible to give accurate figures without disproportionate cost. Some 50 scientists are currently employed by my Department and the Health and Safety Executive on the evaluation of pesticides including those under review. In addition, members of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and its scientific sub-committee also contribute to reviews.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the saving in a full year due to the fact that family credit and housing benefit will be means-tested rather than income tested; whether this figure will represent a real reduction in the total value of privately owned capital of the same amount; and how many persons will be affected.

I assume my hon. Friend is referring to the introduction of a capital cut-off of £6,000, and a notional tariff income for those with capital of between £3,000 and £6,000, into the family credit and reformed housing benefit schemes next April. We estimate that approximately £80 million will be saved, almost entirely from housing benefit as a result of treating capital in this way rather than taking into account the actual income it generates as happens at present.What effect the changes have on the total value of privately owned capital will depend on the individual behaviour of those affected. On the basis of information about income from capital in recent family expenditure surveys, which may not be wholly reliable, we estimate that some 2 million households will be affected in some way by the changes. This figure, which again mainly represents housing benefit recipients, includes those with smaller amounts of capital which will, of course, be treated more favourably under the new rules.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish figures showing the change in the number of families with children that would be entitled to family credit and to housing benefit in 1988–89 if child benefit (a) is increased in line with current earnings, (b) is increased in line with the Lawson-Rooker-Wise formula, or (c) remains at its present figure.

It is estimated that (a) about 10,000 more families with children would be entitled to family credit than would have been the case if child benefit was increased in line with the movement in the retail prices index in the year ending September 1987, and (b) over 15,000 more families with children would be entitled to family credit than would have been the case if child benefit was increased in line with the increase in earnings over the same period.In housing benefit, it is estimated that very few more families with children would be entitled to housing benefit than if child benefit was increased under either of the other two formulae.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he last had discussions with disabled people's organisations about the likely effects upon disabled people of the proposed income support scheme; which organisations were involved; and if he will make a statement.

I discussed the income support scheme with representatives of the disability organisations on 30 September and have subsequently replied to their alternative proposals. I have placed a copy of my letter in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the total annual cost of income support (a) in total and (b) minus the addition covering the 20 per cent. allocation for rates.

On the basis of the rates announced to the House by my right hon. Friend in his statement on 27 October at columns 179–81, the estimated cost of income support in 1988–89 would be £8,570 million. Excluding the 20 per cent. contribution to rates, the figure would be £8,290 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the total cost of the increases in income support to compensate for the exclusion of 20 per cent. of rates from housing benefit on the figures in his statement of 27 October.

On the basis of the rates announced in my right hon. Friend's statement to the House on 27 October at columns 179–81, the total cost (including the cost of additional payments of income support, housing benefit and family credit) would be £372 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out in the Official Report the calculation by which he estimated that £1·30 and £1 represent the average new liability to rates of claimants of income support; and what is his estimate of how many claimants face a liability (a) above that average and (b) below that average.

The figures are based on statistical samples of the rates liability of existing claimants of supplementary benefit uprated to reflect the expected liability of income support claimants in 1988–89. We estimate that slightly under half of income support claimants will face a liability above their relevant average and slightly more than half will face a liability below that average.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what compensation through income support to single mothers under 18 years he has provided for the exclusion of 20 per cent. of rates from housing benefit.

The proposed rates of benefit for all claimants under the age of 18 contain no element to compensate them for their 20 per cent. contribution to rates in recognition of the fact that the vast majority of this age group on income support have no rates liability. However, under the transitional protection arrangements, all supplementary benefit claimants receiving a rate rebate in respect of week commencing 4 April 1988 will, for the purpose of any benefit income to be protected, have included in that income, for transitional protection purposes from 11 April 1988, either £ 1, if a single claimant under age 25, or £1·30 in other cases (including single mothers under 18).

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a table for rates of income support showing (a) the illustrative figures in the annex to the 1985 White Paper, (b) the illustrative figures uprated by the retail prices index since then, (c) the illustrative figures uprated by the Rossi index, (d) the amount by client group provided to compensate for the exclusion of 20 per cent. of rates from housing benefit and (e) the provisional figures for income support in his statement of 27 October.

The information requested is as follows:

Income Support	Technical Annex to the 1985 White Paper	Uprated by		Compensation for 20 per cent. rates contribution	Proposed Rate
		RPI	Rossi
Personal Allowances
16–17 single	18·2	19·57	19·38	—	19·4
18–24 single	24·00	25·81	25·56	1·00	26·05
25+ single	30·6	32·91	32·59	1·30	33·4
couple	48·00	51·63	51·12	1·30	51·45
Premiums
Family	5·75	6·18	6·13	—	6·15
Lone Parent	3·45	3·71	3·67	—	3·70
Pensioner—single	10·00	10·76	10·65	—	10·65
Pensioner—couple	15·25	16·4	16·24	—	16·25
Over 80—single	12·25	13·18	13·05	—	13·05
Over 80—couple	17·45	18·77	18·58	—	18·60
Sick/disabled single	12·25	13·18	13·05	—	13·05
Sick/disabled couple	17·45	18·77	18·58	—	18·60
Children
Age under 11	10·10	10·86	10·76	—	10·75
Age 11–15	15·10	16·24	16·08	—	16·10

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he has any plans to put further National Health Service services out to tender; and if he will make a statement.

We encourage health authorities to give careful consideration to any possibility of securing greater cost-effectiveness in the provision of National Health Service services, noting that competitive tendering has already generated annual savings of over £100 million for redeployment within the service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the patient-orientated tasks being considered for privatisation and which were referred to in documents considered at a meeting of district general managers at the North-West regional health authority on 24 September.

I understand the occasion was a routine private meeting of North Western health authority general managers at which, among other items, the scope for developing the region's successful competitive tendering programme was discussed. The existing programme has already released some £8·5 million for direct patient services. The hon. Member may wish to pursue his detailed inquiries with the chairman of the North Western regional health authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services 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 department 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 departmental 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 departmental equal opportunities officer (DEOO) is the focal point for equal opportunities awareness within the Department. Central guidance is routed through him and all personnel are made aware of the importance of equal opportunities policy and practice through departmental circulars and instructions.

(a) It is not possible accurately to measure the amount of time spent by the DEOO on equal opportunities work. However, the DEOO has a full-time deputy and support staff.

(b) Other duties carried out by the DEOO are personnel and administration and these often overlap with equal opportunities work.

(c) There is no specific budget for equal opportunities work. However, a budget of approximately £8,000 was set aside for the current financial year to cover travel, subsistence and printing. In addition, those responsible for implementing equal opportunities work, for example personnel and training officers, make provision for this in their budgets.

(d) Meetings of DEOOs are held at least once a year. In addition, ad hoc meetings, seminars and working groups are held throughout the year on particular subjects.

(e) No specific guidance is issued. A programme of action for women, "Equal Opportunities for Women in the Civil Service", has been agreed with trade unions and has led to running a course, "Women in Management".

(f) Job share and part-time working are encouraged and publicised in departmental circulars and leaflets. Maternity leave of up to one year is routinely allowed and paternity leave is currently under consideration by Treasury. Sympathetic consideration is also given to the provision of special leave to cope with domestic difficulties such as sickness and school holidays, and this facility is publicised to staff in manuals and instructions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement outlining the details of the scheme in the current year to govern the payment of severe weather allowances.

The current scheme for exceptionally cold weather payments is set out in the Supplementary Benefits (Single Payments) Amendment Regulations 1986 [SI 1986 No. 1961].For this winter we plan to make it easier for claimants to get help during repeat periods of exceptionally cold weather. We intend to provide that, where a successful claim is made in respect of one period of exceptionally cold weather, that claim will remain valid in respect of subsequent periods of cold weather during the winter. At the same time we will be correcting a number of technical errors in the description of areas covered by particular weather stations. This will not change the links between local offices and weather stations themselves. Regulations to make these changes will be laid before the House shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how much was spent in each health region in each of the last five years on the care and treatment of patients suffering from schizophrenia; and what percentage each figure was of total expenditure on (a) mental and (b) all health services;(2) what is the current annual cost overall per patient to the National Health Service in each health region of the care and treatment of patients with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia psychoses.

I am sorry I cannot give my hon. Friend the information he seeks as it is not collected; health authorities do not analyse mental illness costs by diagnosis.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will agree to fund phases 2 and 3 of the proposed new development at Whipps Cross hospital; and if he will make a statement.

We gave approval in principle in June of this year to phase 1 of the redevelopment of Whipps Cross hospital including a new out-patient department, operating theatres and wards. The scheme will receive 35 per cent. capital support from the Department under arrangements to assist in the extra cost to health authorities of providing teaching facilities. The Department will consider submissions about future phases of the redevelopment when they are received from the health authorities concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidance he has given to general practitioners about whom they should refer to Family Planning Clinics for the provision of contraceptive appliances free of charge on prescription, to help restrict the spread of AIDS; and if he will make a statement.

The "Handbook of Contraceptive Practice", issued by the Department to all general practitioners and other doctors working in family planning, refers to the value of condoms in reducing the risk of sexually transmitted disease; and to their availability from a range of sources including family planning clinics. The handbook is currently being revised by the Royal Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of General Practitioners to include specific references to AIDS.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services over what period of time the number of known AIDS sufferers in England and Wales is currently doubling.

At the present time, the number of cases of AIDS reported to the communicable disease surveillance centre from England and Wales is doubling every 10 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much his Department's single payments budget is underspent proportionally in the current finance year in each of the previous five years.

There is no budget for expenditure on single payments which are determined in accordance with regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services 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.

There is no charge for information held on social security records or for information held on health and personal social services records. In respect of health and personal social services information held by regional and district health authorities (boards in Scotland) and social services' departments of local authorities, it has been left to each authority to determine whether or not to charge for access. The policy for the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is to give subject access free of charge. The Department has 33 registered entries and the OPCS 42.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the capital limits for supplementary pensions for each year since 1980, in cash terms and in real terms, using 1980 as a base year and the change in the retail price index over that period.

The information is provided in the following tables.

Supplementary Benefit Capital Limit
Date1	£
November 1980	2,000
November 1981	2,000
November 1982	2,500
November 1983	3,000
November 1984	3,000
November 1985	3,000
July 1986	3,000
April 1987	3,000
1 Dates of uprating of benefits.

£2,000 limit in November 1980 expressed in real terms1 2
Period	£
November 1980 to November 1981	2,239
November 1980 to November 1982	2,379
November 1980 to November 1983	2,494
November 1980 to November 1984	2,618
November 1980 to November 1985	2,761
November 1980 to November 1986	2,807
November 1980 to November 1987	2,930

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are currently receiving retirement pension payments by means of automatic credit transfer to a bank or building society account.

About 1·25 million. About 31 per cent. of newly retiring pensioners choose this method of payment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1973 the value of the basic state pension (a) at 1987 prices and (b) as a percentage of average male earnings.

The information requested is in the table. Column (c) shows the basic retirement pension for a couple as a percentage of average net earnings for a married male manual worker without children.

Basic retirement pension since October 1973 at April 1987 prices and as a percentage of net average male manual earnings
	(a)	(b)	(c)
	Retirement pension (couple)	Value at 1987 prices	Percentage of net earnings
	£	£
October 1973	12·50	51·93	41·3
July 1974	16·00	58·57	47·3
April 1975	18·50	57·55	46·7
November 1975	21·20	59·04	49·1
November 1976	24·50	59·34	50·6
November 1977	28·00	60·00	50·8
November 1978	31·20	61·88	48·9
November 1979	37·30	63·02	48·4
November 1980	43·45	63·66	49·7
November 1981	47·35	61·96	50·9
November 1982	52·55	64·72	53·1
November 19831	54·50	64·02	51·3
November 1984	57·30	64·14	49·6
November 1985	61·30	65·06	49·9
July 1986	61·95	64·67	47·8
April 1987	63·25	63·25	45·7
1 There is a small discontinuity between the figures for November 1982 and November 1983 caused by a change in the method of calculation of average earnings.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the rates for the basic state pension and other long-term national insurance benefits at April 1988 if the uprating formula of the 1975 Act had been applied in every year since 1979.

The Social Security Act 1975 required pensions and other long-term benefits to be increased by the higher of the increase in either prices or earnings, but did not provide a formula for the period over which the increase was to be measured or to take effect, nor any requirement to measure the increase either historically or on a forecast basis. Moreover, the Secretary of State was given freedom to estimate the changes in prices and earnings as he saw fit. In view of the discretion inherent in the original wording of the 1975 Act, which was interpreted in different ways during the 1970s, it is not possible to give an accurate estimate of what pensions would be in April 1988 on this basis.If retirement pension had however been increased in line with the movement of earnings between November 1978 and September 1986, the end of the uprating period for the April 1987 uprating, a single person's retirement pension would have been £43·70 in April 1987 and a couple's pension £69·90. It is not yet possible to provide comparable figures for April 1988.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to assist pensioners with the payment of standing charges on domestic services.

The normal weekly rates of supplementary benefit provide for normal day-to-day living expenses, including standing charges on domestic services. We believe it is right to concentrate available resources on those most in need, through the supplementary benefit scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will be taking any action in regard to the report entitled, "The Unkindest Cut of All", from the disabilities study unit, a copy of which has been sent to him; and if he will make a statement.

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for sending me a copy of this report. I have not yet had a chance to study it. When I have done so, I will vv rite to him.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has as to the incidence of doctors prescribing analgesics to drug addicts for non-medical purposes; what steps his Department takes to control such practices; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has no information which would enable an assessment to be made of the extent of any such prescribing.My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has powers under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to prohibit, by direction, a practitioner whom he finds has been prescribing controlled drugs in an irresponsible manner from prescribing some or all controlled drugs.Any case of alleged irresponsible prescribing can be referred to the General Medical Council which can take action against a doctor whom it judges to have acted unethically.The Department's regional medical officers are able to offer advice to general practitioners within the NHS and can alert them if there is evidence that a particular drug is being misused.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the cost savings arising from the abolition of the existing supplementary benefit scheme, taking account of the effect of the statutory uprating which was due this November.

In public expenditure terms, we estimate that expenditure on income support and the social fund (excluding payments for maternity and funeral expenses) will be £290 million higher in 1988–89 than if the existing supplementary benefits scheme had continued with rates increased in the usual way. The statutory date for upratings was fixed at April by the Social Security Act 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what will be the reduction in expenditure in a full year from increasing the rent taper of housing benefit from 60 per cent. to 65 per cent.; and how many claimants will lose entitlement to housing benefit as a result.

The reduction in expenditure in a full year from increasing the housing benefit taper from 60 to 65 per cent. is estimated at £46 million. We now estimate that some 60,000 households will lose all entitlement to rent rebates or allowances as a result of this change.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what level of child benefit would be necessary at April 1988 to maintain its real value as at April 1979; and what is the reduction in expenditure in a full year achieved by the failure to maintain that value.

Until the April 1988 retail prices index is available, the rate of child benefit needed to maintain its April 1979 value will not be known. If its April 1979 value was expressed in April 1987 terms and then uprated by 4·2 per cent. (the latest available RPI movement, between September 1986 and September 1987), the level of child benefit would be £7·80 which would represent a total additional net cost of around £220 million a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why there are no shock-wave machines for the treatment of patients with kidney stones in the west midlands region.