To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report those motorways, or sections of motorways, that are fitted with matrix indicators which permit written messages to be conveyed on them; and what plans he has for extending this facility to all motorways.

Matric indicators are now fitted on almost all sections of motorway in England. The few remaining sections will have similar facilities as soon as practicable. The messages that the indicators currently display for incidents and occasionally for inclement weather are advice on recommended speeds and lane closures.Enhancements are under way to add some written text messages, within the limits of the indicator size. These include replacing the 'end of restriction' symbol with the word "End" and the automatic display (on the M25) of the word "Fog" when visibility is automatically detected to have fallen below pre-determined limits.Recent developments in sign technology offer the opportunity to display longer written text messages on variable message signs. These are now being used at specific locations where this ability is worth while.Information about the position on motorways in Wales and Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the local authorities that have been allowed to bid for design stage work under section 6 of the Highways Act; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has agreements with more than 90 local highway authorities under which they carry out design work on trunk roads as agents under section 6 of the Highways Act 1980. The authorities do not bid for this work. Standard terms and conditions for all agency agreements are negotiated nationally with the local authority associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving (a) motorboats and (b) yachts were reported in British territorial waters in each of the past five years; and how many instances in each year were fatal.

Records kept by Her Majesty's coastguard classify such incidents under the headings of (a) powered pleasure craft and (b) sailing craft. The totals below reflect incidents occurring within the United Kingdom search and rescue region for the last five years for which information is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether contingency plans exist to deal with serious accidents involving ferries on routes across the Irish sea; what arrangements are made to test these plans; and if he will make a statement.

Contingency plans exist at all coastguard regions to deal with serious maritime incidents, including ferry accidents in the Irish sea. The plans are frequently reviewed and tested from time to time with the full co-operation of the other emergency services including MOD, local authorities and the ferry companies.The plans are tested using both live scenarios and simulated exercises, the last exercise taking place on the Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire route in September 1988 and the next scheduled for Belfast-Liverpool in the spring of 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that exhaust emission standards agreed by the European Community are fully implemented in the United Kingdom; and what efforts are currently being made by his Department to encourage the fitting of catalytic devices to all motor vehicles sold within the United Kingdom.

We shall be consulting in the next few months on draft regulations which will fully implement the new European Community standards in the United Kingdom.Catalysts are a valuable aid to achievement of these standards. We expect most new petrol engined cars over 1·4 litres that comply with the limits will use them. The standards for cars under 2 litres have also been set so as not to inhibit the further development of lean burn technology, which has the dual benefit of improving fuel economy and minimising carbon dioxide emissions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received the report of the Stansted noise preferential routes working group; and whether he will make a statement.

My noble Friend Lord Brabazon has received the report and is arranging for it to be published. It should be available early next month. My noble Friend will arrange for copies to be placed in the House Libraries.The group endorses the present policy of concentrating aircraft along routes overflying the smallest number of people and recommends:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about his Department's tests on Suzuki SJ models and his discussions with Suzuki and the Consumers Association.

[holding answer 16 January 1989]: As indicated in my answer to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Bennett) on 14 December at columm 659, the transport and road research laboratory recently completed a series of stability tests. The results have been placed in the Library of the House. These covered a range of multi-purpose four-wheel drive vehicles, not just Suzukis. The tests were part of a continuing process by the Department to understand the vehicles' handling characteristics and to contribute to international discussions.Results from the tests were brought to the attention of the manufacturers and the Consumers Association. The tests indicated that none of the vehicles exhibited handling characteristics which could automatically be regarded as unsafe, or that would justify the calls from the Consumers Association to ban any one model.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discretion is allowed to individual universities in determining academic salary scales.

Acceptance of the salary scales for academic and related staff notified by the UGC to universities is voluntary. The salary structure for non-clinical academic and related staff provide flexibility to reward merit and special responsibilities and to counter problems of recruitment and retention. The salaries of clinical academic staff are broadly comparable with NHS doctors and dentists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discretion is allowed to local education authorities in determining teachers' salaries.

The 1988 school teachers' pay and conditions document gives LEAs discretion in certain circumstances over the scale point on which an individual teacher should be paid. It also allows LEAs to award incentive allowances, which may be given to teachers in shortage subjects or hard to fill posts, in relation to the assumption of extra responsibilities or in recognition of classroom excellence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the present salary scales for secondary school teachers.

All qualified teachers except head and deputy head teachers are paid on a single incremental scale as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many people need to qualify annually as teachers of the deaf, according to his Department's figures, in order to maintain the supply of qualified teachers of the deaf;(2) how many people who qualified as teachers of the deaf during the academic year 1987–88 were seconded under the grant-related in-service training scheme;(3) how many people training as teachers of the deaf in the academic year 1988–89 are seconded under the grant-related in-service training scheme;(4) if current training arrangements will ensure that sufficient qualified teachers of the deaf are available to teach hearing-impaired children in ordinary and special schools.

In 1987–88, the first year of the local education authority training grants scheme, funding for those qualifying as teachers of the deaf was not identified separately from that for teachers of other special educational needs. For 1988–89, we have made separate provision through the scheme to support the in-service training of 110 specialist teachers of the deaf. With the numbers qualifying through initial training this is estimated to be sufficient to maintain the supply of qualified teachers of the deaf.

To ask the Prime Minister which Department has primary responsibility for representing consumers' interests in matters of international agricultural trade.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture is responsible for all aspects of agricultural policy. He works closely with other ministers including my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who is responsible for United Kingdom policy on international trade negotiations and has overall responsibility for consumer affairs. The views of consumers and of bodies representing them are welcomed by the Government at all stages of policy formation, and consumer bodies are regularly consulted about developments in the Uruguay round of negotiations which is currently under way in the general agreement on tariffs and trade.

To ask the Prime Minister what response she made to the Manchester Trades Union Council Pensioners and Trades Unionists Association's letter concerning charges for eye tests and dental checks, the pensioners' Christmas bonus and the means testing of prescription charges.

The private secretary to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health has replied on my behalf setting out the Government's policy on these matters.

To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions witnesses have refused to travel to the Republic of Ireland to give evidence in cases where the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act 1976 has been employed.

Assessment of the evidence necessary to initiate proceedings in the Republic of Ireland under the 1976 Act, and of the availability of such evidence, is a matter falling within the responsibility of the Irish prosecuting authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence there is concerning the development of biological weapons by Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

I refer to the answer given by my noble Friend the Minister of State, Lord Glenarthur, on 3 February 1988 to Lord Kennet in another place, in which he state that as Iraq is a party to the 1972 biological weapons convention which prohibits the development or possession of biological weapons, any evidence that they might be developing such a capacity would he a matter of serious concern.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made on the re-establishment of human rights in Burma following recent disturbances.

In statements on 9 and 20 September 1988, we deplored the shooting of unarmed demonstrators and called for greater freedom and multi-party democracy. The Twelve issued similar statements on 19 August and 23 September. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State reiterated our concern in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 28 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Thailand over the position of refugees from Burma who are not currently being assisted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what facilities are offered to the Burmese Government in the field of military training.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what help he is giving towards the holding of free elections in Burma; and if he will make a statement.

With our partners in the Twelve, we have made it clear—in a series of statements and EC demarches to the Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)—that a lasting solution to Burma's problems can come about only if the Burmese people's manifest desire for greater freedom and multi-party democracy is met. In addition, aid has been suspended and dealings with the SLORC confined to essential business only. Further steps are under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Kingdom consulates and embassies (a) have and (b) do not have fax facilities.

There are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of the number of countries which either currently possess chemical weapons or are likely to do so before the end of 1989 if international agreement to control or discourage the holding of such weapons is not achieved.

It is not possible to provide a precise figure. Very few countries provide information on activity in this area. It is believed that between 15 and 20 countries either possess or are actively seeking to acquire chemical weapons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list directions made by his Department to the Welsh water authority under section 30(6) of the Water Act 1973, giving the dates and the nature of each such direction.

None. This section has subsequently been repealed by the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what directions he has made under the provisions of section 31(3) of the Water Act 1973, to the Welsh water authority, at any time since the coming into force of this Act, giving the date and nature of any such directions.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what dates since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has made any regulations under section 32(2) of the Act in relation to the installation of meters.

There were no regulations made under section 32(2) of the Water Act 1973. This section has subsquently been repealed by the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Act 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications have been made to the Welsh Office since the implementation of the Water Act 1973 for permitting a new discharge into a river in Wales; and, of these, how many have been approved and how many have been rejected.

Approximately 300 applications for new or altered discharges into rivers, including storm water and emergency overflows, have been received by the Welsh Office since June 1985. None has been rejected, although many have been approved with more stringent conditions than were originally sought. Prior to this, water authorities were not obliged to apply formally for consent unless specifically requested to do so by the Department and comparable figures are therefore not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of answering letters enclosing printed slips sent to hon. Members and sent on to him on behalf of the current lobby by the world development movement.

Answering letters about aid is an integral part of the work of the Overseas Development Administration. To isolate the cost of answering this particular group of letters would involve disproportionate cost, but if I had to make a rough calculation I would estimate that the cost has been about the same as that of a small NGO development project financed under our joint funding scheme in a developing country.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the value of (a) the office and secretarial allowance and (b) the salary of hon. Members for each of the years for which figures are available, taking the latest year as 100.

The information requested is given in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the long term future of the Royal Navy armaments depot at Trecwn, Pembrokeshire.

The consultative document which promulgated our decision in principle to close the Royal Navy armaments depot at Milford Haven, referred to the need for further consideration of the future of RNAD Trecwn. I have now commissioned an in-depth Ministry of Defence study into the future role and task of the depot which will commence in late February. The final study report should be submitted to management by the summer of 1989. There will be a full consultation with the trade unions and local authorities during the review period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his statement of 20 December 1988, Official Report, columns 283–84, he will state the dates of the intermediate milestones at which Vickers Defence Systems will have to demonstrate satisfactory progress on developing Challenger II mark 2.

The intermediate milestones referred to by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence in statement of 20 December 1988, Official Report, columns 283–4, for the Challenger II mark 2 demonstration phase, are September 1989 and March 1990, respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the fire control system of the Challenger I will be improved to meet the same specifications as the fire control system that is planned to equip the Challenger II mark 2.

The fire control system proposed for Challenger II mark 2 will certainly be significantly superior to that currently fitted to Challenger I. Improvements to the latter are under development, but full comparability with Challenger II mark 2 could not be achieved cost effectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his answer 22 of December 1988, Official Report, column 380, he will state the nature and contents of the written communication from the BNFL team carrying out the programme audit at Aldermaston and Burghfield received by the Ministry of Defence on 15 November 1985.

The communication from the BNFL team, received on 15 November 1985, confirmed the scope of the audit to be conducted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings were held between his officials and the BNFL team carrying out the programme audit at Aldermaston and Burghfield; and on what dates they occurred.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 15 December 1988 at column 686. Within the consultation and communication referred to therein were eight formal meetings held between 20 November and 18 December 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many men aged between 16 and 21 years were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) imprisoned for consensual sexual acts with other males aged 16 to 21 years in each of the years 1986 and 1987; and in the case of those imprisoned, what were the maximum, minimum and average sentences served by such men;(2) how many men were imprisoned in the United Kingdom in each of the years 1986 and 1987 for consensual homosexual acts with males between the ages of 16 and 21 years; and what were the maximum, minimum and average sentences served by such men.

The available information, which may be incomplete, is given in the following table. This information relates to cases where the victim was aged 16 or over and it is not possible from the information held centrally to isolate cases where the victim was aged 16–20. Comparable information for Scotland and Northern Ireland is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the representations he has received from Nottingham city council regarding legislation to make it an offence for the owner of a dog to allow it to stray; and what has been his response.

Nottingham city council has written twice about a bylaw which would make it an offence to allow a dog to stray. The council's first letter proposed the idea and the second was a response to a request for further information. Subsequently we have been engaged in consultations and will be writing again to the council shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking on correspondence from Mrs. Ann Marie Parker of 43 Moor road, Strelley estate, Nottingham, regarding her son Andrew, currently in Glen Parva young offenders centre.

The governor of Glen Parva remand centre was asked to reply to Mrs. Parker's letter of 31 December and did so on 13 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the ruling that allows those sent to prison for child abuse immediately to seek to go on rule 43 when in prison.

Any prisoner may ask to be removed from association with other prisoners under rule 43. It is for the prison governor to decide, in the light of any evidence of danger to the prisoner, whether to grant such a request. We have no plans to change this procedure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report on rule 43 prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

We expect the report to be available for wider consideration within the Department during February and March and to receive proposals by April 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce the number of prison inmates at present in prisons in England and Wales who are on rule 43 at their own request.

This question is among matters being considered by the prison department working group on the management of vulnerable prisoners which is expected to report shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the longest period of time that a prison inmate has been on rule 43 at his or her own request.

As far as we can ascertain without disproportionate cost, the longest current period is 21 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the number of (a) men and (b) women of ethnic minority backgrounds who are working in (i) the prison service and (ii) the police service in England and Wales.

For the prison service the available information is not in the form requested and derives from a survey conducted in 1986. Of some 11,500 members of the service (including staff in headquarters and regional offices) who responded to the survey, 111 stated that they were of ethnic minority origin. The results of a more recent survey of those who did not respond are currently being analysed.On 30 September 1988 there were 942 male and 236 female police officers of ethnic minority background in police forces in England and Wales. There is no central record of the ethnic background of civilian police staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce amendments to the existing broadcast receiving legislation to enable domestic consumers to share satellite receiving single dish aerials without seeking official approval as licensable cable services.

A satellite receiving system serving two or more homes (commonly known as a SMATV system) is generally a licensable diffusion service for the purposes of the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 and thus requires a licence from the cable authority. A system carrying only the services of an IBA DBS contractor would not, however, require a licence. We are considering the future arrangements for such systems as part of the follow-up to our recent White Paper, "Broadcasting in the '90s: Competition, Choice and Quality".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each police force area in England and Wales, the number of drivers given the breath test, and the percentage where the test proved positive, in respect of (a) the 1988 Christmas period and (b) Christmas 1987.

Information on screening breath tests required and results by police force area for 1987 was published in Home Office statistical bulletin 23/88, "Statistics of Breath Tests, England and Wales", copies of which arc in the Library. The official statistics for 1988 will be published later this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the findings of the Inland Revenue survey into the likely effects of the 1990 revaluation for the introduction of the national non-domestic rate.

I expect that an announcement covering this point will be made shortly.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the numbers of deposits of less than £5 made annually in national savings ordinary accounts.

Some 3·2 million deposits of less than £5 were made in the financal year 1987–88. These accounted for less than 1 per cent. of total deposits over that period.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total current number of national savings investment accounts.

There are about 4·3 million investment accounts.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the extra borrowing costs to industry incurred by a rise of 1 per cent. in interest rates.

The cost to industrial and commercial companies of a one percentage point rise in United Kingdom short-term interest rates maintained for a full year is estimated to be about £400 million. The estimate is based on their holdings of financial assets and liabilities at the end of the second quarter of 1988, the latest period for which comprehensive data are available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last reviewed the operation of the Treasury economic model.

The performance of the Treasury economic model is continuously monitored and the relationships updated. It is also subject to periodic scrutiny by the Treasury academic panel.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the extent of factory building in the United Kingdom in 1988.

In the first nine months of 1988 the value of factory building in Great Britain was £1,675 million at current prices. New orders in the first 10 months of 1988 are significantly higher than the same period of 1987 which should lead to higher output.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many home improvement grants were approved last year by local authorities (a) nationwide and (b) in Nottingham; and what comparable figures he has for previous years.

Numbers of renovation grant approvals for private owners and tenants, by local authorities in England from 1985 to June 1988 appear in table 2.16 of "Housing and Construction Statistics, Part 2", No. 34. A copy is in the Library.The available information reported by Nottingham is:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a schedule giving the address and the local authority of each of the areas of urban derelict land in Staffordshire.

Information about the location of individual plots of land is not collected by the Department. Aggregate figures for derelict land in each district or borough in England have been provided to the Department by local authorities in the course of the 1988 survey of derelict land. The report of the survey is due to be published in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a list of local authorities which have responded positively to his request to publish local plans setting out their policies and proposals for development and conservation; and what action he proposes to take to ensure that those local authorities which have not acted in response to PPG12 do so forthwith.

I am aware that many planning authorities have responded positively to PPG 12 and are starting work on preparing or updating local plans. The full impact of PPG12 will not, however, be apparent for some time, as several months are normally required for plan preparation and public participation before a plan can be formally placed on deposit.Though my right hon. Friend has powers of direction, I believe that the message to planning authorities should be a positive one—that it is in their own interests to ensure that local plans are prepared or brought up to date as quickly as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state, for each year since 1980, the number of schemes for housing development for which he has refused planning permission on appeal and the numbers of homes involved.

The table gives the information recorded by the Department on planning appeals relating to housing development.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now state the annual number of completions, for the most recent 20 year-period for which figures are available, of (i) private sector houses and flats, (ii) council and new town houses and flats and (iii) housing association houses and flats.

The total numbers of dwellings completed in England between 1977 and 1987 by local authorities, new towns, housing associations and the private sector are published in table 6.1 (a) of "Housing and Construction Statistics: 1977–1987". Figures for 1969 to 1976 are published in table 56 of "Housing and Construction Statistics: 1969–1979". Figures for 1968 are published in "Housing and Construction Statistics No. 4".Copies of these publications are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state, for each year since 1980, the number of schemes for housing development for which local authorities have refused planning permission and the number of homes that would have been built if planning permission had been granted.

The table gives information about decisions on planning applications for residential development. This does not indicate the number of dwellings permitted or refused because information about this is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, for the most recent 20-year period for which figures are available (i) the 20 local authorities which have had the most empty council properties at the end of each year, (ii) the corresponding figures for each authority's spending on housing in (a) cash and (b) real terms and (iii) each authority's total spending in (a) cash and (b) real terms on (a) statutory functions and (b) non-statutory functions.

I regret that information for the last 20 years, which is not in every case available in the form requested, could be provided only at disproportionate expense. Available figures for the last two years are given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide an estimate of the number of council and new town properties which were empty at the end of each year for the most recent 20-year period for which figures are available.

The available information, derived from local authorities' annual housing investment programme returns, is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish an estimate of the number of private sector flats and houses which have been withdrawn from use as rented accommodation each year for the most recent 20-year period for which figures are available.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish any information which has been made available to his Department by the Nature Conservancy Council concerning habitat loss surveys which have been commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council from Edinburgh university since 1970.

A confidential study commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council in 1980 from Edinburgh university was used to produce a methodology for the national countryside monitoring scheme. The first report in this series, "Changes in the Cumbrian Countryside" was published by NCC in 1987. I will arrange for copies of this report to be placed in the Library as soon as it has been reprinted.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied with the response time of the Leeds metropolitan district council to applications by council tenants under the right-to-buy legislation; and if he will make a statement.

I have become increasingly concerned in recent months that Leeds city council, in common with many other local authorities throughout the country, have been unable to deal with the very large volume of right-to-buy applications within the statutory timescales laid down by the Housing Act 1985. Because of my concern over such delays, several measures were introduced in the Housing Act 1988 to help prospective purchasers. Future applicants may be compensated for undue delays by having their rent held by their landlord as an advance payment on the purchase price. Assistance has also been given to authorities by enabling them to use the proceeds of sales to defray their administrative costs.I am encouraged to learn that Leeds city council has recently increased the number of staff working on right-to-buy sales and have improved the system for dealing with applications. Efforts are being made to clear the large backlog of cases. Once this has been achieved the council is confident that normal response times will be met.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has had any discussions with Torbay council about deceased persons who were council tenants and who were counted as voting in favour of the transfer of council housing.

We received one letter from a tenant and Torbay borough council, about a deceased person receiving a ballot form. When the council was asked about this it reported that a joint tenant of a house had died without the surviving joint tenant notifying the council of the death. When the occurrence was brought to its attention the council duly amended the list of tenants and reduced by one the number of tenants entitled to be consulted.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest figure for rent arrears in the London borough of Brent; and what is the percentage of total rents payable that this figure represents.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) on 10 November 1988, indicating for Brent as at 31 March 1988 combined arrears of rent, rates, water rates and heating service charges of approximately £16·7 million. The council has not given a separate figure for rent only, but my estimate is £ 8· 1 million representing about 47 per cent. of the 1987–88 rent roll.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to compelling planning authorities to advise parish councils and adjacent owners of planning applications in their area.

Parish councils have a statutory right to be consulted on planning applications if they so wish. Local planning authorities are not required to notify the owners of adjacent property about planning applications, because those authorities are best placed to decide on appropriate publicity for particular development proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the current levels of imports of toxic wastes.

It is estimated that in 1987–88 a total of 83,000 tonnes of special waste was imported into the United Kingdom. This is estimated to represent 5 per cent. of the special waste produced in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council house sales were completed in the Bolton local authority area during 1988 and each of the previous years; what revenue this accrued for the local authority; and if he will make a statement.

The latest table showing sales for each local authority for each year from April 1979 to June 1988 was placed in the Library in November 1988; since then we have received Bolton's September return which shows sales of 165 dwellings in the first six months of 1988–89. The following information is available for the capital value of dwellings sold in each year in Bolton.