To ask the Attorney-General what are the criteria which the Lord Chancellor uses in deciding whether to appoint stipendiary magistrates; whether the Teesside bench of magistrates meets such criteria; and if the Lord Chancellor will consider appointing stipendiary magistrates for Teesside.

The Lord Chancellor is at present examining the criteria which would lead to consideration of the appointment of a stipendiary magistrate for a petty sessional division or commission area. The policy has been for the Lord Chancellor to act on a request for the appointment of a stipendiary magistrate from the justices themselves. No such request has been received from the Teesside justices.The Lord Chancellor is always ready to consider the appointment of a stipendiary magistrate in any commission area where the need is established.

To ask the Attorney-General what is the size of the lay bench of magistrates at Teesside; and what is the average size of lay benches in England.

There are 265 lay justices of the peace assigned to the Teesside petty sessional division. As at 1 January 1987, there were 27,650 active justices in England and Wales and 583 benches, giving an average size of 47·7.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list by grade the number of personnel currently employed in the information division within his Department;(2) if he will list by grade the personnel currently employed in the directorate concerned with marketing, publicity and promotion within the Energy Efficiency Office.

The number of personnel currently employed in the Department of Energy's information division is shown in column 1; those concerned wholly with marketing, publicity and promotion for the Energy Efficiency Office are shown in column 2. Other staff in the division also contribute to the work as part of their duties.

	Column 1	Column 2
Grade 5	1	—
Grade 6	1	—
Grade 7	3	1
Senior Information Officer	12	2
Information Officer	4	1

	Column 1	Column 2
Assistant Information Officer	6	—
Senior Executive Officer	1	—
Higher Executive Officer	1	—
Executive Officer	2	2
Administration Officer	5	—
Administration Assistant	2	—
Personal Secretary	1	—
Agency Staff	3	1
	42	7

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the cost of maintaining the information division within his Department in each year since 1979.

The information is as follows:

Year	£
1979	467,000
1980	580,000
1981	606,000
1982	565,000
1983	616,000
1984	614,000
1985	686,000
1986	758,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the cost of maintaining the directorate concerned with marketing, publicity and promotion within the Energy Effciency Office in 1986.

The marketing directorate of the Energy Efficiency Office is part of my Department's information division. The cost of maintaining those employees concerned wholly with energy efficiency in 1986 was £158,000. Other personnel in the information division also contribute to this work as part of their duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what response he has had to his invitation to apply for onshore exploration licences in the second round which he announced on 21 July.

The second onshore round closed on 28 October and I am pleased to report that 78 applications were received from a total of 79 companies either as individual applicants or members of a group of applicants. This response underlines the continuing interest in onshore exploration in Great Britain. The results of the round, which I hope to announce early next year, should help to maintain the momentum generated by the first round.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list the projects supported since 1985 by the Offshore Supplies Office which are North sea oil-related and with no impact on the other non-North sea oil-related industries.(2) if he will list the projects supported since 1985 by the Offshore Supplies Office which are not mainly North sea oil-related.

All research and development projects funded by the Offshore Supplies Office are principally aimed at the offshore oil and gas markets either on the UKCS or elsewhere. Provided this criterion is met, the subsequent exploitation of the developed product is a matter for the companies concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to ensure that whatever the timing of the privatisation of the electricity industry there will be no delays on the investment programme on existing and future expenditure.

The Government are determined to ensure that privatisation does not delay any necessary investment.

To ask the Prime Minister under what terms and conditions Mr. Peter Shipley was employed in the policy advisory unit attached to her office, whether his appointment was subject to the same approval procedures as apply to Civil Service appointments; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Shipley was employed as a special adviser in the policy unit in my Office between September 1982 and September 1984 on the standard terms applied to special advisers. The approval of the Civil Service Commission to such appointments is not required.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the numbers of (a) industrial and (b) non-industrial civil servants employed in each year since 1979.

The information is as follows:

	Thousands as at 1 April each year
Year	Non-Industrial	Industrial	Total
1979	566	166	732
1980	547	157	705
1981	540	150	690
1982	528	138	666
1983	519	130	649
1984	504	120	624
1985	498	101	599
1986	498	96	594
1987	507	90	598

I refer my hon. Friend to the historical series published on page 33 of "Civil Service Statistics 1987", a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library, for the basis on which the figures are collected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have any plans to make a financial contribution to the European public campaign on North-South interdependence and solidarity, organised by the Council of Europe.

As an indication of our support for the aims of this worthwhile campaign, I am making a contribution of £40,000 available to the British national organising committee plus a £30,000 contribution to the European organising committee. These funds are in addition to our long-standing agreement to meet the costs incurred by the United Kingdom reprsentative to the European organising committee and bureau.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqi nationals he has allowed to remain in the United Kingdom on the grounds that they faced execution if deported to Iraq; and how many Iraqi nationals he has deported to Iraq in each of the last five years.

The grounds on which a person might claim asylum are varied and it is not possible to identify the number of occasions on which a claim of threatened execution was a principal factor in the decision to allow an individual to remain in the United Kingdom. Information on the outcome of all applications for asylum from Iraqi nationals decided in each year from 1979 to 1986 is given in tables 2 to 4 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom, 1986" (Issue No. 13/87).The numbers of Iraqi national, deported in each of the last five years were:

	Numbers
1982	5
1983	2
1984	2
1985	2
1986	1

Those deported had not necessarily applied for asylum. Information is not available on the country of destination of persons deported but it is normally the country of which the person is a national.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to make a decision about the immigration case involving Mr. M. B., Home Office reference B431103.

A decision on Mr. B's application to remain here with his wife was made on 27 October. He was given leave to remain until 7 October 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the current delays in interviewing people at the various immigration offices.

The available information is given in the table and shows the approximate period of time which has elapsed between the receipt of the file at the immigration office and the interviews currently taking place:

Port Office	Entry Clearance Interviews	Other Interviews
Aberdeen Airport	2 weeks	2 weeks
Avonmouth	2 months	—
Birmingham Airport	6 weeks	6 weeks
Cardiff	1 week	2 weeks
East Midlands Airport	6 weeks	6 months
Edinburgh	—	3 months
Felixstowe	2 months	2 months
Folkestone	6 weeks	6 weeks
Gatwick Airport	2 months	1 month
Glasgow	2 months	2 months
Gravesend	2 months	2 months
Hartlepool	2 months	2 months
Heathrow (Harmondsworth) Interview Unit	1 month	1 month
Intelligence Unit	—	6 months
Hull	2 months	2 months
Leeds/Bradford Airport	2 months	3–4 months
Liverpool	4 months	4 months
London (Isis House)	6 weeks	6 weeks
Luton	2 months	2 months
Manchester	3–4 months	3–4 months
Middlesbrough	2 months	2 months
Newcastle Airport	2 months	2 months
North Shields	2 months	2 months
Norwich	6 weeks	6 weeks
Plymouth	1 month	1 month
Sheerness	5 weeks	—
Southampton	—	2 months
Stanstead Airport	3 months	3 months

Files have not been sent to immigration offices during the peak summer months other than for urgent interviews. Additional staff resources have now been deployed at the ports to deal with the backlog of cases. Variations in waiting times reflect the concentrations of applications in particular areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes there are outside the Greater London area.

The latest available information suggests that there are now just over 35,000 such schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.

This information is not readily available and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given classifying the drugs temgesic and temazepam under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Temgesic (buprenorphine) is not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but we are ready to reconsider this in the light of any recommendation from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which currently has this drug under review. Tamazepam, together with other benzodiazepine drugs, was brought within the controls of the Misuse of Drugs Act in 1986 following consultation with the advisory council.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy with regard to the imposition of a limit as to the number of part I firearms that can be held by an individual.

There is at present no limit on the number of 'section 1' firearms that can be held by an individual certificate holder. However, the local chief officer of police must be satisfied that the certificate holder has a good reason for possessing each weapon that he wishes to acquire, and that the security arrangements are adequate for the number of weapons held. As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced during the debate on firearms in the House on 26 October at columns 28–69, we are considering a number of issues relating to firearms controls in addition to the measures already announced, and we hope to make known our comprehensive proposals by the end of November.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the past year officers of police have asked to see the firearms register of a gun dealer in the metropolitan district in accordance with section 40(4) of the Firearms Act 1968.

This information is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The register of a gun dealer will he examined at least annually when the dealers application for renewal of registration is under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date Patrick Mackay was released from Wormwood Scrubs; whether he participated in a pre-release scheme involving his being housed in a hostel; and if he will make a statement.

Information about inmates or ex-inmates is not normally given without the consent of I he prisoner concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his consideration of the report "The Use of Non-Human Primates as Laboratory Animals in Great Britain"; and if he will make a statement.

I have completed my consideration of this helpful document. In doing so I have been much helped by the Animal Procedures Committee which has, at my request, made a detailed examination of the report and the proposals in it.I entirely share the concern for non-human primates which underlies the report. There is a difficult balance to

strike between the need to use these animals in some medical and scientific research, and the special care that is needed in looking after them and their increasing scarcity. This joint initiative by the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments, the Committee for the Reform of Animal Experimentation and the British Veterinary Association has provided a most helpful opportunity to consider in detail the way in which the new controls under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 may be used to strike this balance correctly. I am pleased to say that I am able to accept many of the recommendations made in the report. The following is a summary of the resultant action which has been taken or is now in hand.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the implications for the work of the House of the current repairs to the exterior of the Palace of Westminster.

Currently there are no repairs to the exterior of the Palace of Westminster being carried out. However, a survey of the Central Lobby Tower is in hand prior to restoration and cleaning. This work will not start until next summer.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal if he has any plans to provide secure, fireproof data storage points for the use of right hon. and hon. Members at any place or places within the precincts of the Palace of Westminster.

No, Sir. But I am aware of my hon. Friend's concern about this matter and am sure the Services Committee would be prepared to consider any points he has to make.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal what representations he has received about the establishment of departmental Select Committees.

I have received representations from a number of right hon. and hon. Members, both on and off the Floor of the House.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal why hon. Members need the consent of the Central Office of Information before they reproduce the photograph of the House in session.

Photographs of the House in session are subject to crown copyright. Authority to reproduce resides with HMSO, and has been delegated to the Central Office of Information. As my hon. Friend will no doubt realise, crown copyright exists, unless restrictions have been agreed in the contract with the person commissioned to do the work, in all original work prepared or published by, or under the direction and control of, a Government Department. My hon. Friend has raised a very interesting point and I will ask the Services Committee to look at this matter.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal what representations he has received regarding facilities for hon. and right hon. Members to participate in the payroll deduction scheme giving money to charities.

My predecessor and I have received letters from three hon. Members asking when the payroll deduction scheme will he available for Members and their staff. Additionally, two written parliamentary questions have been answered on this subject on 4 March 1987 at column 630 and on 20 July 1987 at column 10. The Fees Office is at present negotiating with an agency, approved by the Inland Revenue, to set up a formal scheme for Members and their staff. Detailed arrangements will be circulated shortly.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal how many secretarial and research assistants in the Palace of Westminster are citizens of the United States of America.

One hundred and three.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal if he will give a breakdown, by party affiliation of employer, of the number, of the full or temporary (a) secretarial pass-holders and (b) research assistant pass-holders in the Palace of Westminster.

The numbers of Members' staffs broken down by party affiliation is as follows:

Party	Number of Members	Number of staff employed
Conservative	307	641
Labour	173	417
Liberal	17	63
Social Democrat	5	20
Plaid Cymru	2	4
Scottish Nationalist	1	1
Ulster Unionist	3	3
Democratic Unionist	2	2

I regret it has not been possible to subdivide these figures into secretarial and research assistant passholders without disproportionate cost.

To ask the Lord Privy Seal if he will give a breakdown of pass-holders in the Palace of Westminster who are citizens of (a) the United States of America and (b) of other foreign countries, broken down by party affiliation of employer where appropriate.

The latest available figures show that 126 Palace of Westminster photo-identity passholders are American nationals and 319 are from other foreign countries. These figures could only be subdivided by party affiliation of employer at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will commission a study on the reasons why children in Northern Ireland secure, on average, more high grade passes in O and A-level examinations compared with children in the rest of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The examination performance of Northern Ireland children relative to the rest of the United Kingdom has already been the subject of academic study, which has served mainly to emphasise the complexity of the factors involved, which in turn makes the drawing of firm conclusions difficult. I do not, therefore, consider that any useful purpose would be served by commissioning further study.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money from public funds has been spent providing hospitality for Ministers and officials attending meetings of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference or of its secretariat since 15 November 1985; and if he will publish this information broken down by month.

[holding answer 9 November 1987]: Information is not available in the form requested and would be disproportionately expensive to obtain, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that total costs so far assessed in this financial year in respect of conference meetings and associated meetings between officials is £1,275.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been agreed, pursuant to paragraph 6 of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference on 17 June 1986, to ascertain the number of Irish speakers in Northern Ireland; what financial support has been agreed for Irish language-related cultural activities; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 13 November 1987]: A number of questions on the use of and interest in Irish and other languages have been included in the Government's continuous household survey of social trends in Northern Ireland. Support for Irish language-related cultural activities is being provided through the Department of Education, through the Arts Council for Northern Ireland, and through public funding of research into Irish place names. I recognise and respect the special importance of the Irish language to a number of people in Northern Ireland. I am ready to consider further support where an appropriate level of demand for the use of the Irish language can be established.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what qualifications for school leavers are recognised by his Department other than O-levels; what proportion of pupils leaving school qualify in these examinations; what are the proportions for O-level; and if he will publish statistics for school-leavers with a breakdown of the qualifications they gain.

[holding answer 9 November 1987]: For the purposes of the annual statistical survey of school leavers in Northern Ireland, the qualifications, other than GCE O-levels, recorded by my Department are GCE A-level, CSE, and other qualifications such as City arid Guilds certificates, RSA certificates, Pitman's certificates, BTEC certificate and diplomas, and certificates of pre-vocational education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make available to right hon. and hon. Members copies of the code of conduct for the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

[holding answer 13 November 1987]: I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 27 October at column 227.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will detail the nature and extent of research into multiple sclerosis.

The Medical Research Council is the main Government agency for the direct support of biomedical research. The council is supporting a number of research projects on multiple sclerosis, including both basic work on the nature of the disease and clinical studies of its treatment. In the financial year 1986–87, the council spent £404,000 on research into multiple sclerosis. The council is always willing to consider soundly based research grant applications in competition with other applicants.Research into multiple sclerosis is also carried out in universities and medical schools using funds for teaching and research allocated on advice from the University Grants Committee. In addition the medical charities are funding relevant research. The Government are not in a position to influence directly the scale and nature of these research activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what special provisions are being made to allow for adequate schooling for people with haemophilia and HIV.

It is for individual local education authorities to ensure that appropriate educational provision is available for all pupils in their areas. The Government have made it clear that, since there is no evidence that HIV infection can be passed on through everyday social contact in a school setting, pupils who are known to be HIV antibody positive should be free to attend school in the normal way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are being taken to ensure that the reconstituted National Council for Vocational Qualifications consults the Secondary Education Council and other bodies to bring vocationally-oriented A and AS levels within the eventual new framework.

The National Council For Vocational Qualifications has not yet considered in detail the linkages and progression between its qualifications framework and A and AS levels, but the principle of such an association was clearly defined in Cmnd 9823 "Working Together— Education and Training". In recognition of the importance of such defined linkages, the Secondary Examinations Council has full observer status on the NCVQ, has a close day-to-day working relationship with the national council and its subgroups, and there are regular meetings between the chairmen of the two bodies. We expect such co-operation to continue when the SEC is replaced by the School Examinations and Assessment Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to ensure that opportunities within the proposed national curriculum will not only continue to exist for, but will expand, the potential for development education issues to be taught in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Topics such as development education may be taught through the relevant foundation subjects of the national curriculum where appropriate, or among the non-foundation subjects. The working groups drawing up attainment targets and programmes of study for foundation subjects are being reminded of the need to take account of related cross-curricular themes. It will he for schools to decide what to teach in the space available for non-foundation studies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's visit to Merseyside.

Whilst in Merseyside on Thursday 12 November 1987, I visited Childwall CE primary and the King David high school.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when his Department intends to reply to correspondence dated 1 September about Broughton Hall high school.

My right hon. Friend is still pursuing inquiries with the Liverpool local education authority. He will reply shortly.

		2Net Institutional Expenditure Per Pupil			316 and 18 Plus Examinations
	1Overall PTR	Nursery Schools (£)	Primary Schools £	Secondary Schools (£)	One or more Higher Grade at 'O' level/CSE	One or more A Level Passes
Barking	17·1	—	915	1,260	35·4	6·7
Barnet	15·7	1,320	930	1,330	67·3	30·0
Bexley	18·4	1,015	815	1,195	56·3	16·2
Brent	13·8	2,145	1,025	1,590	49·0	12·7
Bromley	18·1	—	855	1,255	57·4	20·3
Croydon	17·1	1,165	865	1,355	54·6	14·7
Ealing	16·2	1,580	1,050	1,460	51·6	12·9
Enfield	17·4	—	775	1,245	53·6	17·6
Haringey	13·5	910	1,160	1,710	43·3	10·9
Harrow	16·6	—	875	1,340	68·8	26·9
Havering	17·3	—	825	1,325	57·8	16·9
Hillingdon	18·6	945	895	1,315	51·9	14·6
Hounslow	16·3	—	955	1,290	52·3	14·6
Kingston upon Thames	16·8	1,270	825	1,325	62·8	22·3
Merton	173	4na	4na	4na	52·7	15·8
Newham	15·1	4na	4na	4na	37·2	7·3
Redbridge	17·9	—	835	1,290	53·7	18·1
Richmond upon Thames	17·1	1,215	900	1,200	55·0	—
Sutton	19·0	1,235	750	1,135	58·4	22·7
Waltham Forest	15·0	1,590	980	1,540	41·5	9·5
Inner London	13·5	2,505	1,315	2,085	43·2	10·9
Birmingham	17·7	1,225	745	1,175	44·5	10·5
Coventry	16·6	730	850	1,310	49·7	11·8
Dudley	17·6	1,520	735	1,125	48·8	9·2
Sandwell	16·8	875	875	1,230	37·5	6·7
Solihull	18·2	—	755	1,115	57·0	18·9
Walsall	16·4	1,065	830	1,185	48·5	13·1
Wolverhampton	15·9	920	920	1,225	42·7	9·2
Knowsley	16·0	—	845	1,320	37·1	6·6
Liverpool	16·4	1,350	875	1,250	44·2	12·1
St. Helens	17·2	1,385	770	1,150	49·9	13·7
Sefton	18·3	1,120	740	1,125	55·6	20·0
Wirral	18·0	1,535	720	1,125	52·9	15·0
Bolton	18·1	1,090	720	1,115	52·5	15·9
Bury	17·0	1,270	715	1,175	59·7	16·0
Manchester	15·8	1,665	905	1,425	43·1	11·9
Oldham	17·8	—	815	1,095	44·4	8·7
Rochdale	16·4	1,280	795	1,275	51·2	11·5
Salford	16·8	1,350	790	1,200	482	12·1
Stockport	18·1	1,215	740	1,115	59·3	16·6
Tameside	17·8	1,500	815	1,160	54·5	10·4
Trafford	18·6	—	735	1,140	60·4	15·7
Wigan	16·3	695	785	1,230	56·0	10·6
Barnsley	17·2	1,330	865	1,165	37·3	7·5
Doncaster	17·5	—	870	1,145	43·7	12·1
Rotherham	17·7	1,040	800	1,070	44·3	12·1
Sheffield	16·6	1,520	980	1,260	49·3	12·6
Bradford	16·9	1,585	850	1,085	41·7	10·7
Calderdale	17·0	1,265	800	1,110	49·0	13·3
Kirklees	18·0	1,020	785	1,055	50·7	14·0
Leeds	16·9	1,085	795	1,060	49·2	14·4
Wakefield	18·6	1,540	875	1,090	40·8	5·7
Gateshead	17·0	1,475	900	1,185	45·0	10·3

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each local education authority in England and Wales pupil to teacher ratios, per capita costs and O and A-level pass rates.

[holding answer 2 November 1987]: The information requested for England is given in the table. Information for Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.

This information is not readily available and could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with the Football Association regarding inviting Argentina to play in the Rous cup in May 1988; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (1) salary and (2) other expenses are payable to the honorary consuls at (a) Nice and (b) Perpignan.

The honorary consul in Nice receives an honorarium of £800 per annum. In addition, he is entitled to a refund of expenditure incurred on official business, including postage, telephone calls and travel. He receives allowances of £175 per annum to cover the cost of secretarial assistance, and £190 per annum for entertainment expenses.The post of honorary consul in Perpignan is currently unoccupied.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rent is currently paid in respect of (a) office costs and (b) residential accommodation for his Department's staff based in Marseilles; and what allowance is currently paid to honorary consuls in (a) Nice and (b) Perpignan to cover office and residential costs.

Her Majesty's Government own the British consulate-general offices in Marseilles, and currently pay £10,200 annually for a maintenance and service charge and for car parking spaces.The consul-general's residence is owned by Her Majesty's Government. That of Her Majesty's consul is rented at an annual cost of £8,400, including a condominium charge.The honorary consuls in Nice and Perpignan receive no allowances for office and residential rents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when next he intends to seek to visit Hungary.

As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Mr. Forman) on 21 October, we hope that the Hungarian Foreign Minister will visit Britain next year. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to visit Hungary again thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government intend to ratify the United Nations convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, which was signed on 15 March 1985.

We intend to ratify the United Nations convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as soon as possible. We need first to introduce legislation, mainly due to the extensive provisions of the convention regarding jurisdiction; we also need to ensure that our law covers that part of the convention's definition of torture as including severe mental suffering. The legislation timetable this session is very full, but we intend to bring in the necessary legislation as soon as we can.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will list by grade the personnel currently employed in the information branch within the Office of Fair Trading;(2) what was the cost of maintaining the information branch within the Office of Fair Trading in each year since 1979.

I will ask the Director General of Fair Trading 10 write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will list by grade the personnel currently employed in the British Overseas Trade Board publicity unit within his Department;(2) what was the cost of maintaining the British Overseas Trade Board publicity unit within his Department in each year since 1979;(3) if he will list by grade the personnel currently employed in the fairs and promotions branch of the British Overseas Trade Board within his Department;(4) what was the cost of maintaining the fairs and promotions branch within the British Overseas Trade Board in each year since 1979;(5) he will list by grade the personnel currently employed in the information division within his Department;(6) what was the cost of maintaining the information division within his Department in each year since 1979.

The personnel currently employed, listed by grade, are as follows:

	Number
Information Division
Grade 4	1·0
Grade 6	2·0
Grade 7	6·0
Senior Information Officer	17·0
Senior Executive Officer	1·0
Information Officer	16·0
Higher Executive Officer	4·0
Assistant Information Officer	10·0
Executive Officer	2·0
Senior Photographer	3·0
Photographer	1·0
Senior Personal Secretary	1·0
Personal Secretary	2–0
Administrative Officer	25·5
Administrative Assistant	12·0
Typist	5·0
Senior Paper Keeper	1·0
Paper Keeper	1·0
	110·5

In the information division there are 63 professional and managerial staff. In addition, a further 17·5 are engaged in the inquiry and reception point, and 30 on clerical and other support duties.

	Number
Fairs and promotion branch
Grade 5	1·0
Grade 6	1·0
Grade 7	4·0
SEO	4·0
SIO	8·0
HEO	10·0
IO	22·0
EO	34·0
AIO	27·0
AO	36·0
AA	15·0
PS	2·0
	164·0

	Number
British overseas trade hoard publicity unit
Grade 6	1·0
SIO	2·0
IO	6·0

	Number
AIO	1·0
PS	1·0
AO	4·0
AA	13·5
1 Includes 1 part-time member of staff.

Three other staff are currently employed on period contracts, one on a full-time basis.The direct running costs of these organisations, excluding accommodation and overheads, have been as follows :

£000s
	1985–86	1986–87	11987–88
Information Division	1,316	1,493	1,553
Fairs and Promotions Branch	2,396	2,561	2,545
BOTB Publicity Unit	204	262	244

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made at the Uruguay round of talks concerning the general agreement on tariffs and trade.

We are nearing the end of the first phase of this important negotiation, which will set the rules for the international trading system into the next century. It is essential to re-establish respect for the multilateral trading system in order to stop the tendency for countries to take unilateral trade action. GATT therefore has a crucial part to play. A large number of issues for negotiation and specific negotiating proposals have been put forward by many participants, including the European Community. These cover such topics as reform of agricultural support, trade in services, better protection for intellectual property, GATT disputes settlement mechan-isms, tariffs and the treatment of tropical products. There is a good basis for the phase of substantive negotiation, which begins next year. The Uruguay round is due to be completed in 1990.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.

My Department does not provide residential accommodation for either Ministers or officials at public expense.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if in the light of the current level of petrol prices (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) on the world market, he will ask the Director General of Fair Trading to report on anti competitive practices in the petrol market.

The Director General of Fair Trading is continuing to monitor certain aspects of the petrol market in the light of reports on the supply of petrol by the Monopolies Commission in 1965 and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in 1979. I understand that the director general presently sees no justification in developments in the petrol market for taking action under the competition legislation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will cause to be published, after he has received it, the report by the Director General of Fair Trading on FIMBRA's application for recognition as a self-regulating organisation; and whether he will invite comments on it from the financial services industry.

Under section 122(8) of the Financial Services Act, it is for the director general to decide whether to publish any report which he makes under that section. However, I understand that in the case of FIMBRA's application, the director general expects to publish his report. In reaching a decision on whether to give leave to the Securities and Investment Board to recognise FIMBRA, my right hon. Friend will take account of any representations made to him.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will request the Director General of Fair Trading to report as to whether the sample of category 1 practitioners in Arthur Young management consultants' survey, commissioned by him of potential FIMBRA members who are sole practitioners, is proportionate numerically to the membership characteristics of the other categories of financial services practitioners contained in their report.

It is for the director general to consider what should be covered in the reports which he is obliged to make under section 122 of the Financial Services Act. If my hon. Friend has material which he believes would be helpful to the director general in compiling his report. I should be happy to pass it to the director general.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will invite the Director General of Fair Trading to report on any characteristics of membership category balance in the council of FIMBRA when that body applies for registration as a self-regulating organisation, in so far as any lack of balance is judged to affect competition within the financial services industry.

It is for the director general to consider what should be covered in the reports which he is obliged to make under section 122 of the Financial Services Act. Paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the Act, will require FIMBRA, before it can be recognised under the Act, to satisfy the Securities and Investments Board that it has arrangements to ensure that its governing body represents a proper balance between the interests of its different members as well as between its interest of those of its members and the interests of the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the working of YTS in Hampshire.

At 1 October 1987, there were some 9,600 people in YTS training in Hampshire, the highest figure ever for the programme. Of those young people leaving the scheme between April 1986 and April 1987, nearly 83 per cent. went into employment, further education or training.It is encouraging that so many firms in Hampshire and throughout the country are now using YTS as their regular method of recruiting and training young employees. The Government hope that more and more companies will recognise the substantial benefits that YTS can offer to them and to the employees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to increase employment in the tourist industry in Cornwall.

The English tourist board and West Country tourist board are currently negotiating the setting up of a tourism development action programme for Cornwall. The aim of this programme will be to boost investment and help realise the full tourism potential of the county.Between April and October this year, the English tourist board has offered financial assistance under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 to 18 tourism projects in Cornwall. The total value of assistance offered was over £249,000 to development with a total capital cost of £1·57 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of those unemployed had been unemployed for one year or over at the latest date for which figures are available.

On 8 October 1987, 42·6 per cent. of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom had been unemployed for one year and over.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a pamphlet giving advice to members of trade unions about the steps which they can take under employment legislation if they consider that rules on ballots and picketing are being broken; and if he will make a statement.

My Department already publishes pamphlets which describe the provisions of employment legislation on ballots and picketing, and the statutory duties and rights owed to members by their unions. These explain, where appropriate, the steps which members can take to enforce these rights and duties.The Green Paper "Trades Unions and their Members" (Cm 95) suggested that a special effort be made to publicise and draw to the attention of union members trade unions' statutory duties, and to offer guidance and advice on how individuals can seek to remedy breaches of those duties. Any such initiative could be undertaken when the new rights set out in the Employment Bill have been enacted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the age distribution of dockers covered by the national dock labour scheme.

At the time of the last annual survey, carried out in July 1987 by the National Dock Labour Board, the age groups of registered dock workers were as follows:—

Age	Numbers
Under 25	33
25–29	166
30–34	527
35–39	1,213
40–44	1,987
45–49	2,283
50–54	2,303
55–59	1,517
60–64	305

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the cost of buying out dockers' entitlements under the national dock labour scheme.

I have made no such estimate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are now covered by the national dock labour scheme.

There were 9,983 registered dock workers on 10 November 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what residential accommodation is provided for departmental Ministers and civil servants and charged to public funds; and what has been the total cost in each financial year since 1979.

This information is not readily available and can only be supplied at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how the activity rate among women in Wales compares with the figures nationally and in Scotland and the English regions; and what are the comparable breakdown figures for full and part-time employment.

The table gives estimates of the civilian activity rates for women aged 16 and over in Wales, Scotland and each of the regions of England in 1985:

Female civilian activity rate1 Mid-1985
	per cent.
Wales	43·0
Scotland	47·6
Northern	45·4
Yorkshire and Humberside	47·5
East Midlands	49·2
East Anglia	48·1
South East	51·1
South West	47·6
West Midlands	48·8
North West	48·9
Great Britain	48·8
1 The activity rate is calculated as the percentage of women aged 16 and over who were economically active, that is in employment or seeking work in a reference week.

The available estimates of full and part-time employment are not fully comparable with the activity rates given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total spending on the provision of jobcentres in Scotland, England and Wales

MSC net expenditure on jobcentres from 1 April 1979 to 31 March 1987
£ million
	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
Scotland	n/a	12·6	16·4	16·0	15·9	15·7	15·8	15·9
England	n/a	112·6	113·1	123·7	120·6	10·7	109·8	116·8
Wales	n/a	6·4	8·0	7·8	7·2	7·2	7·6	7·9
Great Britain Total	111·8	131·6	137·5	147·5	144·3	129·9	133·2	140·6

Estimated expenditure on jobcentres from 1 April 1987 to 31 March 1990
£ million
	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
Scotland	17·9	19·9	19·4
England	98·1	103·2	105·5
Wales	9·3	9·5	9·8
Great Britain Total	125·3	132·6	134·7

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the total spending on the provision of unemployment benefit offices in Scotland, England and Wales for each of the years 1979 to 1986; and if he will give the estimated expenditure for the years 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990.

The information is as follows :

Expenditure on Unemployment Benefit Offices 1979–80 to 1986–87
£ million
		Great Britain Total
	1979–80	85·1
	1980–81	112·3
	1981–82	162·7
	1982–83	187·5
	1983–84	245·1
	1984–85	262·0
	1985–86	272·1
	1986–87	293·0

A breakdown of figures between Scotland, England and Wales is not available.

Estimated expenditure on Unemployment Benefit Office 1987–88 to 1989–90
£ million
		Great Britain Total
	1987–88	319·0
	1988–89	320·0
	1989–90	331·4

[holding answer 5 November 1987]: Figures for 1979–80 to 1986–87 are taken from the MSC annual reports. Figures for 1987–88 to 1989–90 are taken from the 1986 public expenditure survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list with the dates those significant capital projects his Department intends to commence in the next 10 years in the borough of Oadby and Wigston.

There are no significant capital trunk road projects programmed to commence in the next 10 years in the borough of Oadby and Wigston.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list with the dates those significant capital projects his Department intends to commence in the next 10 years in the district of Harborough.

There are three major trunk road improvement schemes currently planned for construction within the next 10 years in the district of Harborough— A6 Market Harborough bypass (April 1989 to March 1991) A6 Great Glen bypass (late 1992) M1-A1 link road (Part) (late summer 1988, subject to completion of statutory procedures).