To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles of hedgerows have been lost in Wales during the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Information is not available over this time scale. Results from the monitoring landscape change survey conducted by Huntings Technical Services and published in 1986 indicated that hedgerow length in Wales fell from approximately 77,688 miles in 1969 to approximately 70,850 miles in 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what extra funds he will make available to the Clwyd local eduction authority in order that Bistre nursery school, Buckley, Clwyd, neither suffers cuts in its provision to the Buckley community nor faces the prospect of closure.

It is for the Clwyd local education authority to determine its own priorities within the resources available to it. No statutory proposals for the future of the Bistre nursery school have been published by the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit the Bistre nursery school, to meet members of staff, county councillors and parent governors; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to visit Bistre nursery school.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if poll tax will be levied against the sisters of the Poor Clare's monastery, Ty Mam Duw, Aston Hall lane, Hawarden, Deeside, Clwyd; and if he will make a statement.

The position of members of religious communities in relation to their liability for the community charge is under consideration. A decision will be announced in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his plans for financial assistance to industry in Wales.

I shall publish tomorrow a statement entitled "Enterprise Wales"/"Menter Cymru" and will place copies in the Library of the House. This will describe my plans for increasing expenditure by the Welsh Office on industry in Wales in the next financial year. It will set out changes to the industrial grant regime, including the ending of regional development grant and the introduction of a number of new grant schemes. I have no plans to change the geographical coverage of assisted areas and regional selective assistance will continue to be available in these areas. I shall also be making increased resources available for development agency work. I am confident that the new programme will foster the enterprise spirit and achieve significant improvements in the competitiveness of Welsh industry.

To ask the Prime Minister what matters she discussed with the Polish Foreign Minister on 8 December; and if she will make a statement.

My meeting with the Polish Foreign Minister on 8 December was friendly and constructive. We discussed bilateral and international matters, and the internal situation in Poland following the recent referendum. As the House knows, Professor Orzechowski renewed his authorities' invitation to me to visit Poland, which I accepted. I hope the visit will take place during the first half of this year.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to RAF Greenham Common.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Yorkshire.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister why the system for registration of deaths in England differs from that in Scotland.

The death registration systems in England and Scotland are governed by separate statutory provisions which arise from differences in the legal systems of the two countries and from the different functions of the office of coroner and procurator fiscal.

To ask the Prime Minister what information she has about regional variations in retail and wholesale prices charged by major companies, with particular reference to Northern Ireland; what is her estimate of the effect of higher prices in Northern Ireland on the level of public expenditure there; what account is taken of these factors in determining social, employment and other policies in the Province; and if she will make a statement.

Price indices are not compiled on a regional basis. The level of public expenditure in Northern Ireland is determined by a wide range of factors which take into account the Province's particular circumstances including, where appropriate, prices and also wider national policies. The needs of Northern Ireland are reflected in the fact that public expenditure per capita on comparable programmes is substantially higher than elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Social, employment and other policies are similarly framed to take all relevant factors into account, including prices where appropriate, within the framework of national policy.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by her who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her recent visit to Nigeria.

I paid a visit to Nigeria on 7 and 8 January at the invitation of President Babangida. In the course of this I had a long and very useful talk with the President, which covered all aspects of our bilateral relations as well as regional and international questions. I took the opportunity to express our strong support for Nigeria's economic recovery programme. I also put on record publicly the very positive practical contribution which Britain is making in southern Africa. I believe that the visit has contributed to strengthening our relations. I am particularly grateful for the very warm and friendly welcome which I received from many thousands of ordinary people.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 12 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 12 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 12 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 12 January.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what special features and factors are taken into account by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in the staffing allocation formula referred to in the annual report for 1986;(2) what criteria are used by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as the basis for the formula for the allocation of police amongst the Metropolitan police areas referred to in his annual report for 1986.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the manpower allocation formula is used as a means of allocating the number of uniformed police constables available between the eight areas of the Metropolitan police district on an equitable basis. The formula takes account of the general demands on divisions including calls for police assistance, the level of crime, the demands of crime prevention and traffic control, and the number of traffic accidents. It covers also commitments not directly related to local demand such as the need to provide area and divisional support staff, mounted officers, dog handlers, courts' staff and coroners' officers, and special factors such as airports, the Palace of Westminster and major housing estates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what indicators are used by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to assess the demand for police staffing levels other than the formula referred to in his annual report for 1986.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis takes account of a number of factors in assessing the manpower requirements of the force. These include specific demands such as reported crime, traffic accidents, public order and requests by the public for police assistance; and the extent to which the commissioner considers it necessary to undertake a variety of policing activities including the provision of a visible presence on the streets, involvement in community projects and measures against, for example, street robberies and organised crime. Within the framework of the programme of annual manpower increases which my right hon. Friend announced in May 1986, manpower requirements are assessed in an annual manpower review which examines the use being made of existing manpower and future manpower needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to make any changes in Government funding for the policing cost of annual party political conferences in 1988.

We have no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representation he has received requesting additional police for Leicester.

We have not recently received an application by the police authority for an increase in the authorised police establishment of the Leicestershire constabulary. My right hon. Friend will be prepared to consider any such application that may be put to him, in the light of advice from Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there are any plans to extend further the number of neighbourhood watch schemes; and if he will make a statement.

There are already over 42,000 neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales. They provide clear and welcome evidence of the public's willingness to help the police to prevent crime. We are sure that there is scope for the further development of the neighbourhood watch concept and for the establishment of new schemes. The Home Office is therefore preparing a further guidance note on neighbourhood watch which will draw examples of good practice from across the country to help and encourage those who are thinking of setting up new schemes or of expanding the range of activity within existing ones.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many charities have been investigated by the Charities Commission in each of the past three years on the issue of whether the charities concerned were incurring expenditure on non-charitable purposes; and what was the outcome of these inquiries.

Information in the form requested is not available. However, I understand from the Charity Commission that of 1,000 complaints received by the charity commissioners in the 12 months to 31 July 1987 180 arose from allegations of dishonesty or fraud on the part of trustees, their agents or employees, or of trustees benefitting improperly from their trust. A further 80 complaints alleged inadvertant or deliberately improper political activities including the expenditure of charitable monies on such activities. In nine of these latter cases action was taken following investigations. In eight cases advice was given to trustees about campaigning. In the remaining case the commission required the cost of advertisements judged to be political in nature to be repaid to the charity. Similar information is not available for previous years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his recent visit to North Africa.

I visited Tunisia from 3–6 January arid Morocco from 6–10 January at the invitation of the Ministers of the Interior in both countries. With the object of further strengthening bilateral cooperation, our discussion centred upon combating international terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking.A joint communiqué on these matters was issued on 6 January on behalf of the British and Tunisian Governments. The Minister of the Interior of the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and I signed a memorandum of understanding between our two Governments on 7 January. Texts of both documents will be placed in the Library. During my visit I had the honour to be received by His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco and by President Zine el Abidene Ben Ali of Tunisia.I believe that these visits illustrated the increased arid specific openings which now exist for reinforcing in practical ways our traditional friendships with Tunisia arid Morocco.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about split frequency broadcasting on local radio.

As noted in our Green Paper "Radio: Choices and Opportunities", published in February 1987, local radio services normally broadcast the same programme on medium wave and VHF/FM frequencies. Approval has, however, been given from time to time to the broadcasting of separate programmes on the two frequencies for a limited period to meet local needs, and in 1985 the Government approved an experiment in which selected BBC and independent local radio (ILR) stations undertook split frequency broadcasting for up to 10 hours a week. The experiment enabled the stations to address specialist or majority audiences, to provide alternative speech or music services and to offer a different emphasis in their programmes.The experiment has been successful in achieving these aims, and listeners have welcomed the enhanced range of choice that it allowed. In the light of the experiment, the BBC and IBA have suggested that local radio stations should be able to split frequencies at any time at the discretion of the broadcasting authorities. This approach would be consistent with the proposals in our Green Paper, which were that simulcasting — the automatic broadcasting of the same programme on two frequencies — should be phased out. I have therefore given my approval to the proposals from the BBC and IBA, and invited them to proceed with split frequency broadcasting.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on tendering to get the best price when disposing of land assets.

None. Except where special provisions apply, as in the case of disposals pursuant to the right to buy, a local authority may dispose of land held by it in any manner it wishes, but it must obtain the Secretary of State's consent for any disposal for a consideration less than the best that can reasonably be obtained. It is for the local authority to consider what professional advice it should receive when it contemplates the sale of a particular site.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many times in the last 12 months he has used his powers to direct councils to dispose of any land held by them.

Under section 98 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, the Secretary of State may direct certain public bodies to dispose of the interest held by them in any land entered on the register, compiled by him under section 95 of that Act. He has used that power 25 times in the past 12 months in respect of land owned by local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the undertakings given by the deputy chairman of the London Docklands Development Corporation in his letter to the Docklands Forum of 24 September 1987 still apply, following his removal from office.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the name of the new deputy chairman of the London Docklands Development Corporation; and if he will make a statement.

Soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if any discussions have taken place between his Department and the London Docklands Development Corporation on the use of London City airport by jet aircraft; and if he will make a statement;(2) if any consideration is being given by the Civil Aviation Authority or his Department to the use of BAe 146–200 aircraft at London City airport; and if he will make a statement.

No proposals have been put to the Department about the use of jets at London City airport. The Department has, however, on a contingency basis sought and received assurances from LDDC that any planning applications concerning future uses of the airport will be drawn to the Department's attention. The only discussions which have taken place have concerned safeguarding arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to make available his Department's publications "Grant-Related Expenditure 1988–89" and "The Technical Handbook of Grant-Related Expenditure 1988–89".

My right hon. Friend has today placed copies of these documents in the Library of the House. Copies have also been sent to every local authority in England, and to the local authority associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his answer of 15 December, Official Report, column 458, and 16 December, Official Report, columns 521–22, he will give details of the calculations used to assess the contribution to local services via the grant system from national taxation of the 10 per cent. of households with the highest incomes compared to that of the 10 per cent. with lowest incomes.

[holding answer 11 January 1988]: Using a sample of households grouped into deciles of gross income, the calculations involved the following stages:

(i) Calculate the amount of local spending funded by national taxation as a multiple of income from domestic rates (less rebates).

(ii) Taking the figure produced by (i), calculate the amount of national taxation accounted for by centrally funded contributions to local taxation.

(iii) Calculate the amount produced by (ii) as a proportion of total national taxation.

(iv) Assuming that the proportion at (iii) applied equally to all households, estimate the amount of national taxation paid as a contribution to local authority spending by the top and bottom deciles of households by income.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he intends to take to enable consumers in the water industry to charge suppliers in the event of unsatisfactory service;(2) what arrangements will be taken to ensure that water public limited companies replace and update mains in order to minimise flooding, interruptions of supply and the potential for pollution;

[holding answer 11 January 1988]: The privatised water utility companies will have obligations towards their customers identical in most respects to those of the water authorities at present. However, consultation papers issued in 1986 proposed changes in water and sewerage law and in the law relating to drinking water quality. The legislation to privatise the authorities will take those changes into consideration. Local authority responsibilities in respect of non-mains drainage and drinking water quality will be unchanged. The legislation and the system of regulation will ensure that water utility companies provide an effective service to customers

Country	1982 tonnes	1983 tonnes	1984 tonnes	1985 tonnes	1986 tonnes
Scotland	498,187	499,121	543,312	592,570	551,290
England	237,130	220,676	163,940	137,891	136,332
Wales	14,040	9,819	7,851	9,005	9,603
Northern Ireland	25,278	18,806	18,549	22,587	20,481

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will put copies of the responses to the consultation exercise on the housing White Paper in the Library.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 November 1987, c. 419]; I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of responses we have so far received to the housing White Paper and related consultation documents from those respondents who have indicated that they are content for their views to be made public.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply of 4 November, Official Report, column 723, if he has any proposals to make the 60 per cent. grant for the provision, replacement or improvement of hedgerows available to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

I have no powers to pay grant to local authorities.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total tonnage of fish landed in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the past five years.

The following shows the total tonnage of fish caught by British vessels and landed in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the years 1982 to 1986 (information for 1987 is not yet available).

To ask the Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has yet. completed his consideration of the implications of the European Community free food scheme; and whether he will make a statement.

The scheme provides for member states to make available to designated organisations food from intervention stores for distribution to the most needy. The Government continue to believe that such a scheme is an inappropriate way of dealing with the surpluses, but do not wish to deprive these United Kingdom citizens of having the possibility of arrangements available to consumers in the Community as a whole.The Government have therefore considered how the scheme could be applied in this country. We have decided to make butter and beef available, subject to Commission authorisation, in response to specific applications received from charitable or non-profit-making organisations which meet appropriate conditions. Quantities made available would be limited to amounts specifically authorised by the European Commission within the finance available. The Commission has said that up to about £10 million worth of product could be authorised for distribution in the United Kingdom in 1988. I am arranging for further details of the arrangements to be sent today to the relevant representative bodies, and I am placing a copy of this information in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what use his Department makes of research conducted in the United Kingdom into problems of geo-magnetism; and if he will make a statement.

The sea and air charts and land maps produced by MOD show magnetic declination and its annual change. These values come from five-yearly epoch global data sets produced in part by British Geological Survey and part by the United States Naval Oceanographic Office as a joint project. The basic data come from magnetic observations worldwide.In 1986 MOD commissioned British Geological Survey to produce a regional magnetic model for Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report those organisations his Department has consulted in the evaluation of air/sea rescue services; and if he is yet in a position to make a statement.

The study into proposals put forward by Bristow Helicopters Ltd., suggesting that the search and rescue helicopter service currently provided by the RAF and RN should be put to commercial contract, has been conducted within the Ministry of Defence. A number of external organisations have made representations to my Department, and these are being fully taken into account in our consideration, which is continuing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 16 December, OfficialReport, column 536, regarding the International Military Supplies Office in Tehran; what is the purpose of this office; how many people are employed in Tehran; if any Iranian citizens; and what is the address.

IMS (Iran) Ltd. was set up in 1973. It has its office in Tehran (PO Box 19395/1695). Its activities before the revolution were limited to making administrative arrangements in Iran in support of the various contracts between International Military Services Ltd. and the Iranian Government. Following the revolution the office was kept open with a skeleton staff to assist in processing the negotiation and settlement of previous contracts. This office remains open, although for the present it is on a care-and-maintenance basis, with only one member of staff, an Iranian citizen. The position of the office is reviewed by IMS regularly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 26 November 1987, Official Report, column 281, if he will give details of (a) the eight companies prosecuted since 1979 over defence contracts and (b) names of the companies still under investigation.

The eight prosecutions were against individual directors or employees of defence contractors, not the companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his Department's plans for the replacement of the Chieftain tank.

Following a re-examination of likely developments in future tank technology the Ministry of Defence has been considering the time scale in which it might need to replace the Chieftain tanks which entered service in BAOR in the middle and late 1960s. As well as reviewing possible overseas options the Ministry is discussing with Vickers Defence Systems Ltd. the possibility of adopting an improved version of the Challenger tank. This would be attractive in terms of commonality and interoperability within the British tank fleet. No decisions have, however, yet been taken on the timing of a Chieftain replacement and the Ministry is continuing seriously to examine both the improved Challenger and other possible options.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide in the Official Report full lists of (a) all Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force hospitals and (b) all service establishments which contain in-patient hospital facilities, listing in each case the number of beds established, the number of beds occupied on any recent convenient date, the nursing establishment and the relative number of nurses currently employed.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 December 1987, c. 655]: The additional information for Military hospitals in the United Kingdom is as follows, reflecting the position at 1200 on 6 January 1988:

		RNH	RNH	BMH	BMH	BMH	RAF(H)	RAF(H)	RAF(H)	Total
		Haslar	Plymouth	Aldershot	Catterick	Woolwich	Ely	Halton	Wroughton
Number of Beds
Complemented	(1)	305	133	309	150	482	170	170	280	1,999
Available	(2)	228	98	261	130	427	170	170	238	1,722
Occupied	(3)	194	84	146	67	292	149	116	179	1,2.27
Nurses
Complement	(4)	338 (156)	172 (52)	240 (21)	114 (21)	382 (60)	170 (28)	149 (0)	226 (25)	1,791 (363)
Available for wards	(5)	185	92	255	64	309	136	127	167	1,335
On duty on day or wards	(6)	143	62	131	26	160	68	79	93	762

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by the Law Officers' Departments who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

I make no appointments to public bodies. A list of the names of those appointed by the Lord Chancellor and his Department could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary Schools—England 1985–86
	Expenditure1	Examination results2
	Per pupil £	Percentage of leavers achieving defined results	Ranking
1 ILEA	2,085	16·2	86
2 Haringey	1,710	21·3	61
3 Brent	1,590	178	78
4 Waltham Forest	1,540	12·2	95
5 Ealing	1,460	15·9	87
6 Manchester	1,425	17·6	80
7 Croydon	1,355	24·4	39
8 Newcastle-upon-Tyne	1,345	15·4	88
9 Harrow	1,340	43·1	1
10 Barnet	1,330	40·1	3
11 Havering	1,325	24·9	37
12 Kingston-upon-Thames	1,325	41·3	2
13 Knowsley	1,320	12·3	94
14 Hillingdon	1,315	20·7	64
15 Coventry	1,310	21·1	62
16 North Tyneside	1,295	19·4	70
17 Hounslow	1,290	20·7	65
18 Redbridge	1,290	27·3	18
19 Rochdale	1,275	18·2	76
20 Barking	1,260	10·0	96
21 Sheffield	1,260	18·1	77
22 Bromley	1,255	29·8	10
23 South Tyneside	1,255	19·7	68
24 Liverpool	1,250	16·3	85
25 Enfield	1,245	24·0	44
26 Sandwell	1,230	14·5	90
27 Wigan	1,230	29·9	9
28 Wolverhampton	1,225	13·9	92

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list all local education authorities in England in rank order of expenditure per secondary pupil per year, starting with the highest spending authority, together with their position in the table of examination results for school leavers achieving five or more O-levels at grades A to C or CSE grade 1, in the latest year for which figures are available.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the report of the task group on assessment and testing.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are publishing today the report of the task group on assessment and testing. Copies are being placed in the Library of the House, made available to members of the Committee on the Education Reform Bill, and are available on request from my Department. A shorter version is being prepared for distribution to schools within the next few weeks. I am very grateful to the task group's chairman, Professor Paul Black, and his fellow members for the speed and thoroughness with which they have discharged their task. Their report will make an important contribution to the development of arrangements to underpin the national curriculum in schools, provided for in the Education Reform Bill now before Parliament.The report recommends a national assessment system, including testing, which incorporates the main features of the Government's proposals. It provides for assessment related to clear objectives at ages 7, 11, 14 and 16 which takes account of differences in ability and maturity; for a balanced mixture of national testing and other assessment by teachers during the course of their work, and for reporting on pupils' attainments in ways which are comprehensible and helpful and which recognise the sensitivities of publishing information about the results of assessment. It lays emphasis on formative assessment of a child's positive achievements in order to help further learning as the basis of a national assessment system. It makes clear that a system along these lines could play a substantial part in the professional development of teachers, in raising standards of teaching and learning, and in improving parental and public confidence in our education system.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I welcome the broad framework proposed in the report and will be considering its detailed recommendations. We shall be happy to receive comments on those recommendations. I am asking the mathematics and science working groups, and the Kingman committee on English, to take this broad framework into account in their work on attainment targets and related assessment arrangements in their subjects. My right hon. Friend and I will be giving similar guidance, subject to refinements which may be needed in the light of comments on the recommendations, to other subject working groups which may be set up.I am inviting the task group to continue in being for a further period, in order to undertake more detailed study of arrangements for implementing and administering the national assessment system; to discuss, with working groups and others, more specific criteria for assessment arrangements in different subjects; and to offer further advice as necessary in the light of the public reaction to its report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

I regret that this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report a statement of forthcoming business in the European Community Council of Ministers.

The usual forecast was deposited in the House last week. At present, only two meetings of the Council of Ministers are planned for January.The Agriculture Council meets on 18/19 January and is expected to discuss preparations for the European Council, beef balance sheets and quotas, and the extension of Greek national measures for table olives.The Foreign Affairs Council will meet on 25/26 January. Discussion will cover the Community's financial situation and progress made in negotiations with Hungary on a trade and co-operation agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any proposals for changes in the guidelines issued to British manufacturers to further limit exports to Iran so as to include non-lethal equipment ancillary to lethal military equipment; and if he will make a statement.

Subject to any United Nations arms embargo resolution to enforce SCR 598, we have no plans to change the guidelines on the sale of military equipment to Iran and Iraq. These already prohibit the export of all defence-related equipment that could significantly enhance the capability of either side to prolong or exacerbate the conflict. We continue to urge other countries to adopt similar stringent measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many members of staff formerly employed by the Iranian Arms Procurement Agency at 4 Victoria street, London, have left the United Kingdom since his Department announced that it was to be closed.

Following our decision to close the Iranian Military Procurement Offices, all 34 Iranian staff previously employed there have left the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what proportion of late abortions carried out in Scotland are to women aged under 20 years.

There is no universally accepted definition of late abortion. The number of notifications of abortions performed under the Abortion Act 1967 on women aged under 20 years resident in Scotland in 1986 carried out at 21 completed weeks gestation and over is five, which represents 20 per cent. of all abortions at this gestational age carried out in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by sex, the number of children in each local education authority in Scotland who receive nursery education.

The provisional number of children in education authority nursey schools at September 1987 is as follows:

Authority	Boys	Girls	Total
Borders	202	195	397
Central	1,255	1,250	2,505
Dumfries/Galloway	227	208	435
Fife	2,242	2,037	4,279
Grampian	1,445	1,256	2,701
Highland	348	276	624
Lothian	4,157	3,860	8,017
Strathclyde	9,019	8,711	17,730
Tayside	1,253	1,149	2,402
Orkney	43	42	85
Shetland	54	56	110
Western Isles	—	—	—
All Scotland	20,245	19,040	39,285

	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
A74
Total	215	185	163	164	169	180	198	196
Fatal	15	6	13	13	12	10	14	17
Serious	67	70	54	70	60	56	55	64
A75
Total	129	136	135	110	106	103	112	120
Fatal	14	13	9	4	8	7	8	9
Serious	26	25	37	31	40	36	37	46
A76
Total	93	87	88	95	78	73	78	95
Fatal	6	5	6	4	9	1	2	2
Serious	36	30	33	25	25	18	20	17
A77
Total	300	299	302	262	254	288	299	280
Fatal	9	15	13	14	15	8	13	14
Serious	80	80	90	87	76	85	78	64
M8
Total	182	158	147	158	146	126	151	152
Fatal	5	9	5	9	8	7	4	6
Serious	53	51	49	51	37	38	49	31

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

I have today placed in the Library a copy of the letter I have sent to the hon. Member with the information requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest traffic figures recorded for any stretches of the following roads: (i) A74, (ii) A75, (iii) A76, (iv) A77 and (v) M8.

Traffic volumes on these roads vary at different locations. The following are illustrative annual daily averages for different stretches for 1986:

• A74 (south) 14,000–20,000
• (central) 15,000–30,000
• A75 (Dumfries-A74) 8,000–12,000
• A76 (Dumfries-New Cumnock) 3,000–5,000
• (New Cumnock-Kilmarnock) 5,000–7,000
• A77 (Girvan-Maybole) 5,000–7,000
• (Maybole-South Ayr) 5,000–10,000
• (South Ayr-A78) 10,000–20,000
• M8 (Newbridge-Newhouse) 25,000–30,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the figures for all road accidents, those involving serious injury and those involving fatalities for (i) A74, (ii) A75, (iii) A76, (iv) A77 and (v) M8 for each year from 1979 to 1986; and what are the monthly figures up to the latest available month for 1987.

The information requested is as follows:

1987 (provisional)
	January	February	March	April	May	June
A74
Total	8	16	9	9	25	12
Fatal	1	2	—	—	—	—
Serious	4	4	3	3	8	2
A75
Total	5	9	7	2	7	10
Fatal	1	1	—	—	—	1
Serious	3	1	2	1	4	4
A76
Total	11	3	5	8	8	7
Fatal	—	—	—	—	—	—
Serious	4	1	1	2	2	4
A77
Total	14	19	15	18	14	19
Fatal	—	—	—	—	1	—
Serious	3	7	7	2	6	7
M8
Total	8	9	11	11	8	8
Fatal	1	—	—	2	—	1
Serious	1	2	4	3	2	1

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much he has paid out in the current year in (a) regional development grant and (b) regional selective assistance; and how much he expects to pay in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

[holding answer 17 December 1987]: Gross expenditures on regional development grant (RDG) and regional selective assistance (RSA) under section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 in the period April to November 1987 were £40 million and £19 million respectively. As my right hon. and learned Friend has announced, net provision for his industry, energy, trade and employment programme, which includes regional assistance, for 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91 is £266 million, £260 million and £260 million respectively. Further detail will, as usual, be published in the annual "Scottish Commentary" on public expenditure. In addition full details of my right hon. and learned Friend's proposals for 1988–89 will appear in the Supply Estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give total amounts paid in Cunninghame, North constituency by the Scottish Development Agency and the Highlands and Islands Development Board since 1979 in cash terms and also at 1987 prices.

[holding answer 30 October 1987]: As a result of changes in constituency boundaries the information in respect of the Scottish Development Agency is available only from 1983–84 and relates to all recognised schemes of agency financial assistance. The information is set out in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the total amount of grant to industrial projects in (a) the constituency of Aberdeen, North and (b) Aberdeen by the Scottish Development Agency or the Department of Trade and Industry for each year since 1979 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms in 1986–87 prices, showing the percentage changes in payments between years.

[holding answer 26 October 1987]: As a result of changes in constituency boundaries the information in respect of the Scottish Development Agency is available only from 1983–84 and relates to all recognised schemes of agency financial assistance. The information is set out in the table below:

Scottish Development Agency Expenditure
	Cash terms £ thousand	Percentage change	Real terms £ thousand	Percentage change
Aberdeen North
1983–84	53	—	60	—
1984–85	261	+392·5	285	+375·0
1985–86	59	-77·4	61	-78·6
1986–87	64	+8·5	64	+4·9
Aberdeen City
1983–84	146	—	167	—
1984–85	405	+177·4	442	+164·7
1985–86	1,332	+228·9	1,372	+210·4
1986–87	198	-85·1	198	-85·6

Overseas Development Administration
	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
(i) Joint Funding Scheme
OXFAM	1,200	1,200	1,450	1,650	1,894
Christian Aid	330	330	700	900	940
Save the Children Fund	—	—	—	675	905
CAFOD	100	100	300	375	350
Other1	760	885	1,379	1,281	1,823
(ii) Volunteers
British Volunteer Programme	4,027	5,071	6,045	7,049	7,758
British Executive Service Overseas	283	284	259	246	290
(iii) Other grants to specified charities2
British Red Cross	15	15	20	19	12
League of Red Cross Societies	50	1,070	2,945	1,707	520
International Red Cross	1,150	4,225	3,295	5,220	5,215
Disasters Emergency Committee	—	—	1,000	—	—
Christians Abroad	5	6	10	7	9
Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind	13	—	—	—	—
Women's Corona Society	32	49	29	27	40
Plunkett Foundation	6	7	7	7	8
Co-operative Union Ltd.	10	—	—	—	—
Other grants for refugee relief and development projects	167	374	231	810	592
Diplomatic Wing
British Atlantic Council3	44	45	47	49	51
British Youth Council4	42	44	44	43	44
United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service (Bangladesh)	12	13	13	14	14
1 Includes Save the Children Fund figures for 1982–83 to 1984–85.
2 Excludes disaster relief and food aid channelled through charities.
3 To assist in the promotion of and knowledge and understanding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
4 Support for the council's international activities and to enable it to carry out a programme of activities in pursuance of the provisions of the final act (Helsinki 1975) of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the names of all the people appointed to public bodies by his Department who are currently in office, giving for each the office concerned and the date of appointment.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the charitable bodies which his Department supports and provide tables showing the amounts devoted in the most recent five years for which figures are available and the general purposes for which the grants were given.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of the standard capital grants scheme.

This scheme, which is unique to Northern Ireland, provides automatic grant assistance at a current rate of 12·5 per cent. on capital expenditure in qualifying manufacturing sectors of industry. It is not related to job creation criteria or conditions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are (a) the rateable values and (b) the rates payable for the British Steel Corporation's integrated steelworks; and on what basis they are levied.

The rateable values and rates payable for the British Steel Corporation's integrated steel works are as follows:

Integrated works	Rateable values	Rates payable
	£	£
England
Teeside	4,600,000	14,091,640
Scunthorpe	4,078,000	10,884,998
Wales
Llanwern	3,552,120	8,227,588
Port Talbot	3,292,000	8,757,707
Scotland
Ravenscraig	7,320,000	5,892,600

These figures relate to the 1987–88 rate year which ends on 31 March 1988. The rates are levied on the rate in the pound adopted for other non-domestic properties in the particular area of the rating authority. The works are assessed in accordance with general rating law and not under any special statutory formula.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the import in tonnes of acrylic yarn from Turkey in each of the last three years.

United Kingdom imports of acrylic yarns from Turkey were: 1984—44·7 metric tonnes; 1985 — 611·0 metric tonnes; and 1986 (provisional)—3,227·4 metric tones.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what exports for non-lethal military equipment have been authorised for export to Iran since 1 September 1987.

It has been the practice of successive Governments not to make public information of this kind.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the value (a) by cash and (b) by tonnage of imports for each year since 1980.

Information on imports by tonnage and so on is not available. For information on the value of imports I refer the hon. Member to the "Annual Abstract of Statistics 1986 edition" and "Overseas Trade Statistics Annual 1985" and December 1986 editions, copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the value of imports of cars from (a) the EEC, (b) Japan, and (c) other world sources into the United Kingdom annually since 1980 giving (i) the cash value and (ii) number of units.