To ask the Attorney-General (1) whether he intends to seek an injunction against Macmillans to prevent the distribution of the book "British and American Approaches to Intelligence";(2) why he has failed to prosecute under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act Mr. Robert Cecil for providing information for inclusion in the book published by Macmillans, "British and American Approaches to Intelligence";(3) why he has failed to prosecute under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act Mr. John Bruce Lockhart for providing information for inclusion in the book published by Macmillans, "British and American Approaches to Intelligence";(4) whether the Government have approved for publication the book "British and American Approaches to Intelligence";(5) whether he intends to prosecute Mr. Ken Robertson, editor of the book "British and American Approaches to Intelligence", under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act for securing the publication of information, knowing it to have been provided by persons subject to a duty of confidentiality to the Crown.

The contributions of Mr. Robert Cecil and Mr. John Bruce Lockhart were published with authority.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he will list those publications by the Royal United Services Institute which have been approved for publication by Her Majesty's Government since 1979.

This matter is not for me but for my ministerial colleagues in those fields for which they have responsibility.

To ask the Attorney-General (1) what steps he takes to ensure that deputy judges appointed to hear cases in the High Court do not have, or may not shortly have, direct financial or pecuniary interests in companies with cases which the said deputy judge is appointed to hear in the High Court;(2) what steps he takes to ensure that deputy judges appointed to handle individual cases are not in any way connected financially with companies, organisations or individuals who are parties in such cases;(3) if he will take steps to change the rules to ensure that Queen's counsel appointed to act as deputy judges divest themselves of all pecuniary interests which could in any way he connected with any cases on which they may adjudicate.

It is not necessary for the Lord Chancellor to take any such steps. It is a fundamental principle of English law that no man can be a judge in his own cause. It is well established that any judge who finds that he has a financial or other personal interest in the case which he is to try shall declare it forthwith and shall take no further part in the proceedings without the express agreement of all parties. If a judge acts as such in a case in which he has a financial interest, his judgment can be set aside unless the parties knew of his interest and accepted him as judge in that knowledge.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list those Queen's counsel who are eligible for appointment as deputy judges.

By virtue of section 9(4) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 all barristers of 10 years' standing or more are eligible to sit as deputy judges of the High Court, whether or not they are Queen's counsel.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will institute measures to ensure that all Queen's Counsel eligible to act as deputy judges declare all their existing financial interests and such interests as they may shortly be in a position to declare.

No; it would be neither appropriate nor practical for the Lord Chancellor to seek such a declaration.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she is yet in a position to nominate a successor for Lord Whitelaw as chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee on AIDS.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 9 July 1987, at column 207.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will explain the circumstances in which a canister of radioactive material was removed from Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria; what security measures exist to stop the removal from the plant of such material; and if he will make a statement.

The security measures in force at nuclear installations are the responsibility of the operators concerned. I understand from BNFL that the substance which was removed was a very small amount of liquid of low radioactivity which is freely available from laboratory suppliers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his policy on the siting of nuclear power stations in or near large metropolitan areas.

The siting of each nuclear power station is considered by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate against the background which is set out in chapter 5 of the booklet titled "The Work of HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many nuclear reactors will be in operation or under construction in Avon, Somerset and Dorset by 1995 under the Central Electricity Generating Board's proposals for the next power station development.

This is a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board. I have asked the chairman to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has received any report of the Gas Consumers Council on disconnection.

I understand that the Gas Consumers' Council is preparing for publication a report on disconnections, but that it is not yet finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what energy savings have been achieved by Government programmes in each of the last five years.

It is estimated that gross annual energy savings of about £700 million can be attributed to the Government's programmes covering the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his reply of 14 December 1987, Official Report, column 341, on what occasions in the last two years his Department has allowed a single tender to be submitted for the supply of computers or communications equipment to a British university; what were the names of tenderers involved; and which of them was foreign owned.

In the last two years single tender action has been agreed for the following university computer procurements involving capital grants of £100,000 or more:

Birmingham University	DEC VAX 8700
Edinburgh University	Meiko
Glasgow University	ICL 3980
Kent University	Meiko
Nottingham University	ICL 3980
Open University	SUN workstations
Queen Mary College, London	AMT DAP
South West Universities Regional Centre	ICL 3980
Strathclyde University	DEC VAX 8600
University College Cardiff	DEC VAX 8530

Two single tender orders costing £100,000 or more have been agreed in the last two years for communications equipment. One was placed with GEC Computers Ltd for enhancement of packet-switching exchanges and the other was placed with CAMTEC Electronics Ltd for upgrading packet assemblers/disassemblers and gateways for the joint academic network (JANET).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the funding of Goldsmiths' college in the light of the resolution passed by the senate of London university to admit the college as a school of the university from 1 August.

Goldsmiths' college is currently funded direct by the Department. In the light of its new status from 1 August, I have today written to the vice-chancellor of London University, the chairman of the University Grants Committee and the warden of Goldsmiths' college agreeing that, from that date, funding for Goldsmiths' should be added to the funding for London university which is paid from the universities vote on the advice of the UGC. Subject to parliamentary approval, the appropriate transfer will be made to the universities vote. This includes an addition of £800,000 for 1988–89 to meet the necessary transitional costs of Goldsmiths' new status.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for political asylum were received during 1987; and if he will list the countries of origin of the applicants.

Information for 1987 is not yet fully available. It is hoped to publish the figures, by nationality, in a Home Office statistical bulletin by the end of May. Figures for 1986 were published in table 7 of Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom, 1986" (issue 13/87), copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will construct a table showing the average number of doses of drugs administered per inmate in each of Her Majesty's penal establishments in the latest available year;(2) what were

The following table provides the available information in respect of the financial year 1986–87 for establishments served by more than one medical officer. Establishments in which medical services were largely provided by a single doctor are omitted in keeping with the long established policy of not publishing information relating to the prescribing practice of individual doctors.

Number of Doses of Medicine Administered to Inmates in Prison Service Establishments in England and Wales 1 April 1986 to 31 March 1987
			Prescription only Medicines
Establishment	Medicines available without prescription in the community	Psychotropic drugs (ie antidepressants, sedatives and tranquillisers)	Hypnotic drugs	Drugs acting on the central nervous system other than those shown in cols. (2) and (3)	Other drugs and medicines
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
HMP Birmingham	153,859	23,051	3,830	25,715	96,048
HMP Bristol	84,805	15,900	690	8,702	57,465
HMP Brixton	208,806	64,118	12,312	41,576	179,814
HMP Canterbury	16,986	11,329	5,484	13,313	24,783
HMP Cardiff	73,504	7,031	1,040	7,031	58,118
HMP Dartmoor	99,262	25,792	3,501	33,621	37,734
HMP Durham	90,120	13,308	2,471	25,386	61,269
HMP Gartree	53,393	16,396	9,880	3,813	30,813
HMYCC Glen Parva	33,486	10,272	3,603	13,206	74,974
HMP Grendon	96,237	17,954	3,090	18,009	40,718
HMP Holloway	120,884	77,841	21,911	28,237	132,079
HMP Hull	61,705	6,728	820	6,655	45,006
HMP Leeds	139,070	20,629	655	68,628	79,843
HMP Leicester	57,556	18,638	1,694	6,828	27,658
HMP Lincoln	41,456	13,162	700	11,906	30,795
HMP Liverpool	100,419	23,951	2,624	39,767	78,557
HMP Maidstone	99,680	16,220	3,200	44,080	49,580
HMP Manchester	109,087	19,023	1,858	30,409	60,317
HMP Norwich1	100,564	20,540	3,268	21,320	68,608
HMP Parkhurst	76,846	44,974	6,258	33,994	37,107
HMP Pentonville	112,801	20,863	1,504	20,185	90,583
HMRC Risley	162,100	24,814	9,223	22,667	68,345
HMP Wakefield	304,861	72,897	18,379	82,566	478,876
HMP Wandsworth	248,160	39,364	3,324	30,504	110,899
HMP Winchester	112,587	22,410	2,798	44,206	55,351
1Footnote: The figures for HMP Norwich are estimated as the returns from this establishment are incomplete. No information is available for HM Remand Centre Ashford, HM Youth Custody Centre Feltham, or HM Prisons Long Lartin and Wormwood Scrubs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will issue fresh guidance to magistrates' courts on the provision of information to the press.

Individual clerks to justices are responsible for the day-to-day running of courts and it is open to newspaper editors to seek to make suitable local arrangements with them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the Government's trial to test the acceptability and feasibility of the DNA technique for immigration work has been completed; and if he will make a statement;(2) what is his provisional timetable for DNA tests to be available for all seeking right of entry to Britain at United Kingdom embassies and commissions on the Indian subcontinent; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's pilot trial is in its final stages. A report is being prepared, and a copy will be placed in the Library. No decisions have been taken yet on the policy arising out of DNA testing, but meanwhile facilities are available at British diplomatic posts in Dhaka and Islamabad for blood samples to be taken and transported to the United Kingdom in connection with commercial DNA tests in immigration cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what arrangements are in force to require each police force to keep a detailed inventory of its firearms; and if he will make a statement;(2) what arrangements are in force to require each police force to ensure that, following operations involving firearms, the same number of weapons are returned as were issued; and if he will make a statement;(3) what arrangements are in force to require each police force to ensure that its supply of firearms does not fall into non-authorised hands; and if he will make a statement.

Every police force armoury is required to keep a detailed inventory of all weapons held within that force. When firearms are issued for police operations, they are issued only to those officers who produce a current authorisation certificate.All forces maintain a separate record which details the type of weapon issued, its serial number, the name of the officer to whom it is issued and the number of rounds of ammunition issued. Each entry is signed and counter-signed. Upon return of the weapon, the issuing entry is checked and a separate entry is made showing the number of rounds returned or used. If any rounds are used a report is completed by the firearms officer. Again, each entry is signed and counter-signed.As part of its annual inspection of police forces, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary examines closely both force policy and the administrative arrangements relating to the storage, issue and use of police firearms.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now arrange for the reasons, in summarised form, for refusal of entry to those in possession of valid entry clearance to be kept centrally; and if he will make a statement.

No. It would not be right to increase the amount of centrally collected information for this or any other group without a strong, continuing purpose.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated date by which the central mobilising project being produced by Marconi will be operating on behalf of the London fire and civil defence authority; on what date it was initially planned to be introduced; whether the authority will insist upon the fixed price; at what cost other United Kingdom fire brigades have purchased other systems because of the delay; and if he will make a statement.

We are informed by the authority that it is hoped that the new central mobilising system will be operational by the end of 1988. The contractual date for completion was 1985 which would have led to an in-service date of late 1985 to early 1986.We are informed that the question of the price of the system is a matter of contract between Marconi and the authority, and the contract is not for a fixed price.Neither we nor the authority are aware of any impact on other United Kingdom fire brigades resulting directly or indirectly from the delay in this case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases there have been, of which he is aware, over the past two years involving abuse of the police national computer; what was the nature of the abuse in each case; and if he will make a statement.

We have not been informed of any such cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a detailed list in the Library of all video films which the British Board of Film Classification has so far refused to classify or has censored in some way, together with a summary of the reason for so doing in each case.

Arrangements have been made to have placed in the Library a consolidated list published last year by the board of decisions made under the Video Recordings Act in 1985 and 1986. The board is at present preparing a further consolidated list which will, in addition, record decisions made in 1987, and a copy of this will be placed in the Library when it is available. The list shows those works in respect of which the board decided not to issue a classification certificate and those which were given a certificate only after cuts had been made. It does not record the reasons in each case, but the board's annual report for 1986, copies of which are in the Library, explains the main grounds on which the board refuses a classification certificate or cuts works before classification. If the hon. Member wishes to know the reasons in any particular instance, I am sure the board would be glad to explain them to him.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of the Republic of Ireland applied for British citizenship in 1987.

This information is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is given to civilianised night patrol guards before they first go on duty in Her Majesty's prisons.

Night patrol officers receive their induction training at the prison to which they are recruited. It includes security, the purpose of the regime, statutory obligations and emergency arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward legislation to enable a charge of manslaughter to be brought against persons alleged to have caused death by dangerous driving or other motoring offences.

The law already permits a person who kills another when driving recklessly to be charged with manslaughter. It is for the prosecution to decide on which charge to proceed in any particular case. This area of the criminal law is being examined by the road traffic law review, and we shall consider any proposals for change which may be made in its report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes in the arrangements for the payment of grants made by his Department to support law and order services.

As part of the preparation for the new local government finance arrangements proposed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, I have been reviewing the role of specific grants paid to local authorities to support the law and order services. We intend to retain the grants paid in respect of the police service, the civil defence service, the magistrates' courts service and the probation service. Such grants will continue to be paid to the authorities responsible for meeting the expenditure, not into the proposed community charge fund.I shall, however, consult the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and the local authority organisations concerned about changes to the present arrangements for the imperial and national services grant and other minor direct payments presently made to the Metropolitan police fund, including their possible integration into the main police grant.I also intend to consult the local authorities and the services concerned about the scope for modifying the magistrates' courts and probation service grant arrangements so that the amount paid out by central Government to support these services is known before the beginning of the financial year, and is distributed on an equitable basis to local authorities.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, as a rural development area, the Isle of Wight will qualify for the new incentives to be introduced in April in development areas announced in the White Paper entitled "DTI — the department for Enterprise"; and if he will make a statement.

The investment and innovation grants to be introduced from April 1988 will be available only in the development areas as designated in the Assisted Areas Order 1984. The Isle of Wight travel-to-work area (TTWA) is not so designated and the new incentives will not, therefore, be available in the TTWA.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will estimate what proportion of British goods has an export value tied to the United States dollar, what to the pound sterling and what to the deutschmark.

The percentage of United Kingdom exports tied to the United States dollar, pound sterling and deutschmark in 1986 was 18, 56 and 4, respectively. These percentages are based on results of surveys to identify currencies used for invoicing.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the conclusions of his Department's Advisory Committee on Arbitration Law on the issues raised by the Consumer Arbitration Agreements Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth.

I have placed a copy of the committee's report in the Library today. Copies may be obtained from the secretary of the committee on (01) 215 3481.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his reply of 16 December 1987, Official Report, column 540, how many staff are employed by the overseas trade divisions to examine and advise on hidden trade barriers; how many cases they have investigated in the last 12 months; and what has been the result of these investigations.

In my Department's overseas trade divisions some 57 staff years were spent dealing with trade relations, including examining and giving advice on barriers to United Kingdom exports, during 1987. A considerable number of cases were the subject of representations to overseas Governments either bilaterally or through the European Commission, who have competence for external trade issues, and progress has been made in some areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met officers of the Welsh health authorities to discuss proposed hospital closures.

My right hon. Friend has not met officers of all Welsh health authorities to discuss proposed hospital closures. Officials of the NHS directorate are in regular contact with health authority officers and keep my right hon. Friend and me informed of developments, including both the many new capital programmes as well as closures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the value of items stolen or maliciously destroyed in the National Health Service in Wales in each of the last five years.

The information is not available in the form requested.The following table shows the value of losses of equipment, property and cash in the NHS in Wales due to theft, fraud or arson, neglect of duty or gross carelessness. The figures also include losses due to malicious damage.

	£
1982–83	26,743
1983–84	35,039
1984–85	39,207
1985–86	57,606
1986–87	90,292

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is his estimate of, and basis of calculation for, the cost to the Welsh egg industry of adapting to EEC legislation on battery cages;(2) what is his estimate of, and basis of calculation for, the recurring costs of compliance with the additional requirements for three, two and one birds under the Welfare of Battery Hens Regulations 1987 for egg producers in Wales.

EC directive 86/113 places inescapable obligations on all member states. The cost of compliance will vary from producer to producer according to the type of cage in use, its age, and how the space allowance and other requirements contained in the directive are to be met. No estimate of the aggregate cost to Welsh producers is available.The same consideration will largely apply in the context of the allowances for three, two and one birds specified in the Welfare of Battery Hens Regulations 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the effect on the numbers of Welsh egg producers of compliance with the additional requirements for three, two and one birds contained in the Welfare of Battery Hens Regulations 1987.

No information is available on the numbers of egg producers who may cease production, if any.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he proposes to take to ensure that Welsh egg farmers are not put at a competitive disadvantage with their European counterparts in the implementation of the provisions of EEC directive 86/113.

EEC directive 86/113 lays down minimum standards. Other than in situations where fewer than four birds are housed in a cage, these minimum standards will apply in the United Kingdom. In the majority of cases, therefore, Welsh farmers will be in an identical situation to most of their European counterparts, though it is worth pointing out that in Denmark and in West Germany national rules will be somewhat stricter than the directive. We shall be keeping the matter under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) of 7 December 1987, Official Report, columns 25–28, he will give the actual costs to each district health authority of employing agency staff after taking account of the rates of pay which would have been expended had the posts for which agency staff were used been filled.

The information requested cannot be provided as the Department does not receive details of all posts filled by agency staff in the respective authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are his responsibilities in respect of the Nature Conservancy Council in Wales.

The Nature Conservancy Council is my right hon. Friend's statutory adviser on nature conservation in Wales. His main responsibilities include confirming appointments to the council's advisory committee for Wales, making nature conservation orders and designating marine nature reserves. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment consults the Department in exercising his responsibilities in respect of Nature Conservancy Council matters which affect Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether there is to be any change in his Department's provision for running costs in this current financial year.

My Department's running costs limit is to be increased by £750,000 to £38,516,000. The increase is to be fully offset through reductions in capital expenditure within my Department's Central Administration Vote (class XVII, vote 9).

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether he will introduce legislation to allow his Department to purchase milk quota which comes on the market for redistribution to new milk producers and young farmers in Wales; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether he will introduce legislation to prevent loss of milk production to Wales through sales of milk quota.

[holding answers 19 January 1988]: No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the implementation in Wales of the European Commission's 435 million ecu scheme to meet management costs of dealing with extra beef during the two years following the implementation of further milk quota cuts, agreed by the Council of Agriculture Ministers in December 1986.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: The Commission recognised that measures taken in the milk sector would have an impact on beef producers. 435 million ecu was its estimate of extra expenditure on aids for private storage and export refunds which would arise in 1987 and 1988 as a result of the extra cow beef coming onto the market. The level of refund and the introduction of private storage schemes are decided by management committee, but we are ready to press the Commission to ensure that the market is supported if there is any undue weakness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage change in farm incomes in Wales for the most recent 12-month period for which information is available; and what were the corresponding figures for each year since 1979.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: Based on the aggregate income calculation for Welsh agriculture, farm incomes in Wales rose by 57 per cent. in 1986. In each of the preceding seven years to 1979 the percentage change in incomes was as follows:

Year	Percentage change
1985	-49
1984	45
1983	-49
1982	31
1981	41
1980	8
1979	-50

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the total expenditure on clearing debris from the River Teifi between Cardigan and Llechryd, during the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: This is a matter for the Welsh water authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are at present employed in agriculture in Wales; and what are the corresponding figures for 1978, 1968 and 1958

	1958	1968	21978	11987
Agricultural workers	39,323	23,124	23,026	19,965
Farmers, partners and directors and their spouses	1—	1—	45,687	45,666
Total labour force	—	—	68,713	65,631
1 Not collected until 1970.
2 Figures include estimates for minor holdings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales under what circumstances each of the Welsh health authorities expect patients to attend hospital by public transport rather than ambulance.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: All health authorities in Wales apply the guidance issued in Welsh health circular (77)4. Ambulance transport is provided for patients medically unfit to travel by other means. Patients not in medical need are expected to travel by private or public transport. Individual cases of difficulty are treated sympathetically.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the Forestry Commission is presently taking to review its broadleaves policy; and if he will make a statement.

A review of the Government's broadleaves policy will be put in hand this autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to prevent, contain and treat outbreaks of meningitis in Scotland.

The evidence at present is that meningitis in Scotland is confined to sporadic cases with no significant upsurge in numbers beyond anticipated variation. We are, however, keeping the situation under close review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research is being undertaken to deal with outbreaks of meningitis in Scotland.

The Scottish Home and Health Department is not at present funding any research project

Reserve	Region	Hectares	Tenure
New reserves
Mealdarroch, Strathclyde region	South-West	205	Owned by Nature Conservancy Council

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: The numbers employed in agriculture in Wales are given in the following table:relating to meningitis but assistance has been offered by the Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust for one such project.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultation has taken place with health authorities south of the border to learn lessons from recent meningitis outbreaks in England.

My officials are in regular contact with their counterparts in England and are being kept fully informed on the recent outbreaks of meningtis there.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research is being undertaken into the incidence of battered wives in Scotland; and what steps he proposes to take to deal with the problems.

Recently completed research commissioned by the Scottish Home and Health Department into the working of the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 examined, among other matters, the influence of the Act on the incidence of domestic violence. I hope soon to publish the report of this research.The provision of services for the victims of domestic violence is the responsibility of local authorities, which are assisted by Scottish Women's Aid, a voluntary organisation which receives grant assistance from my right hon. and learned Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report those nature reserves situated in Scotland presently in public ownership.

National nature reserves as at 31 March 1987 are listed, with details of the type of tenure in each case, in the Nature Conservancy Council's annual report 1986–87, a copy of which has been laid before Parliament. Since that date the following national reserves have been declared in Scotland:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report the findings of the Scottish Audit Commission's special investigation into Roxburgh district council's decision to replace its computer system; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State has not received any report on this matter from the Commission for Local Authority Accounts in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the measures taken since 1979 to improve energy conservation in commercial and industrial undertakings, local authorities and domestic households in Scotland and indicate how much was spent promoting the schemes and the estimated benefits in energy conservation which accrued.

The Government have achieved considerable success in encouraging the efficient use of energy in all sectors in Scotland through their ongoing energy efficiency campaign.I regret that I am unable to provide a detailed breakdown of Government measures, expenditure and estimated benefits in the way suggested by the hon. Member, but I can say that there are now over 1,000 energy managers in Scotland. Commercial and industrial organisations and local authorities have, since the inception of the energy efficiency survey scheme in 1984, received Government grants amounting to £600,000 for energy surveys. These have identified potential estimated savings of £18 million per annum. In addition, since 1979, through the energy efficiency demonstration scheme £1·9 million has been provided to test new energy-saving technologies in working situations; and in the domestic sector almost 140,000 grants totalling £9·1 million have been provided through the homes insulation scheme to improve home comfort levels and provide lower fuel bills.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland by how much capital spending on trunk roads in Scotland has increased since 1978–79.

Net capital expenditure on trunk roads in Scotland has increased by £30 million: from £65 million in 1987–79 to £95 million in 1986–87, the latest year for which final figures are available. Net outturn expenditure in 1987–88 is expected to be of the order of £110 million—a further increase of £15 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration has been given to the importance of local authorities having advice from expert archaeologists.

Local authorities can play an important part in heritage conservation, and to this end may wish to have professional advice. It is, however, for authorities themselves to decide whether or not to employ archaeologists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to improve local government archaeological services in Scotland.

It is for local authorities themselves to determine, in the light of their local circumstances and priorities, the nature and extent of their archaeological services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to extend the number of sites preserved under the terms of the Archaeological Areas and Ancient Monuments Act 1979.

Increased effort is now being directed to the scheduling of sites, and the annual rate is between 150 and 200.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice is being provided by the Scottish Education Department to local education authorities on the characteristics of school computers to be purchased when they come to replace the current BBC models.

We have no plans to issue advice direct to education authorities in Scotland. One of the functions of the Scottish Council for Educational Technology is to advise on computers in schools. In discharge of that it is in regular and continuing discussion with education authorities about the specification and the facilities which are desirable in school computer hardware.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to implement the Widdicombe committee recommendation on reform of the way local authority councillors are remunerated.

The Government are giving careful consideration to all the recommendations made by the Widdicombe committee and the many comments made by all those who responded to consultation. Conclusions will be announced as soon as this consideration has been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time taken to reach a decision on public inquiry reports submitted to him.

There were 38 decisions made in 1987 following public inquiries into town and country planning matters. The average time taken was 23 weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many public inquiry decisions are outstanding in Angus district; what were the dates of conclusion of the public hearings; and when the final decision will be announced in each case.

I assume that the hon. Member has planning decisions in mind. The only outstanding decision is in relation to planning proposals for housing development at Small Glebe, Newtyle, which were the subject of a public local inquiry in March 1987. My right hon. and learned Friend will issue his decision on this case shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many small maternity units, particularly in rural areas, have been closed in each of the past five years; if he will list these by health board area; and what was the total number of maternity beds, affected in each year, also by health hoard area.

Only one maternity hospital has been closed in the past five years, Buckreddan maternity hospital, Kilwinning. The 26 beds were transferred to the Ayrshire central hospital when accommodation became available there, on transfer of services to the New Crosshouse hospital.Details are held centrally only for complete hospital closures. Records on partial closures of hospitals, or where there has been a change of use, are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many small maternity units, particularly in rural areas, are currently subject to formal health board proposals for closure; and if he will list these numbers by health board area and indicate the number of maternity beds involved in each area.

My right hon. and learned Friend is involved in hospital closures or major changes of use only when health boards submit formal applications to him. At present no such applications are outstanding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses in Scotland lack at present basic facilities such as hot water, electricity and inside lavatories; and how many of these are in rural areas.

The available information is set out in the following table, which gives the numbers of dwellings below the statutory tolerable standard and, of those, the numbers lacking one or more of the standard amenities (sink, hot water and inside WC). It also shows the numbers lacking a fixed bath or shower.

Dwellings below tolerable standard at 31 March 19871
	Number of dwellings below tolerable standard	Lacking one or more standard amenity2 3	Lacking a fixed bath or shower2 3
Scotland of which in districts classified as	54,791	31,389	29,406
Rural4	24,786	10,994	9,125
1 Including most recent years' figures for those local authorities which have not submitted returns for 1987.
2 Some local authorities were unable to provide information on dwellings in this category.
3 A dwelling may be recorded in both of these columns and there is therefore an element of double counting.
4 As defined in table 16 of Scottish Office central research unit paper "A Study of Multiply Deprived Households in Scotland", comprising Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Grampian (excluding Aberdeen district), Highland and Tayside (excluding Dundee district) regions; Islands areas; and north-east Fife, East Lothian, Argyll and Bute, Clydesdale and Cumnock and Doon Valley districts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has issued licences to permit the shooting of Greenland white-fronted geese on Islay; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for what reason permission was given to allow the shooting of white-fronted geese on Islay; and if he will make a statement.

Licences have been granted under powers contained in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to two farmers on Islay to shoot white-fronted geese. This step has had to be taken because substantial increases in the numbers of such geese on the island have led to serious damage being caused to grassland. The very limited issue of licences is intended to enhance the effectiveness of the scaring programme recently introduced with the aim of restricting the geese to the sanctuary areas. The effects will be closely monitored.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to privatise Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 3 December 1987 at column 669.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 30 November 1987, column 372, to the hon. Member for Meirionydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on alleged black market sales of plutonium in Sudan, this issue has been raised elsewhere within the structures of the EEC.

The matter has been discussed in political co-operation but these discussions produced no evidence of a black market in nuclear weapons material in Khartoum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has received representations and a transcript from the "20–20 Vision" television programme regarding allegations of a black market in plutonium in the Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend has received representations from "20–20 Vision" television, which he is considering. We have a transcript of the programme in question, but no evidence to support allegations that weapons-grade nuclear material has been on sale in Sudan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response has been made by Her Majesty's Government to the recent suggestion by Dr. Blix, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that the agency's expertise in safeguarding nuclear materials should be used in future verification of nuclear disarmament treaties.

Dr. Blix has made no approach to us. In our view, treaty verification is a matter for the parties to each treaty. But if they needed to seek assistance from an international organisation to enhance verification the International Atomic Energy Agency's experience could be valuable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he intends to take to encourage the nuclear weapons threshold nuclear states such as India, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

We take every opportunity to impress upon the threshold states the importance we attach to their signature of the non-proliferation treaty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has had any recent opportunity with (a) NATO allies and (b) officials from the Soviet Foreign Ministry to discuss progress in technical verification towards the completion of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.

The technical aspects of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty are regularly discussed in the conference on disarmament's ad hoc group of scientific experts to consider international measures to detect and identify seismic events. Its next meeting is planned for 7 to 18 March. Representatives of the Soviet Union and some NATO allies participate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the living condition of Sophie Desta and her sisters, of the family of the late Emperor of Ethiopia; what representations have been made to the Ethiopian Government regarding the imprisonment of these women; and what response was obtained.

We understand that the seven female prisoners belonging to the family of the former Ethiopian royal family are held in a cell approximately 20 ft by 12 ft in an Addis Ababa prison. We have made numerous representations to the Ethiopian authorities on behalf of these and the many other political prisoners in Ethiopia. My hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development took the matter up during a visit to Ethiopia earlier this month. The Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister responded that the release of the prisoners was being considered in the context of the new Ethiopian constitution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many legal actions for trespass were initiated by British Transport police during 1986 and 1987; and what were the results of the actions;(2) what are the criteria employed in deciding whether or not legal action is initiated for trespass on British Rail property;(3) who makes the decision whether or not to initiate legal proceedings for trespass on British Rail property.

I understand that the British Transport police initiated legal action for trespass as follows:

Year	Number of offences
1986	2,353
11987	1,363
1 First nine months.

Details of the results of the actions are not readily available. The Railways Board has also considered civil proceedings in a relatively small number of cases.Decisions on offences investigated by the British Transport police are made by BTP senior officers, who take into account the Attorney-General's guidelines and other relevant factors as set out in Home Office circulars. For civil cases involving British Rail operational land, I understand that decisions are normally taken at area manager level; for non-operational land, decisions are taken by the British Rail Property Board. They take into account whether BR's operational activities and other local landowners or residents are adversely affected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will discuss with the chairman of British Rail the case for providing at least some Sunday services on Network South East serving the Portsmouth area on Boxing day 1988;(2) if he will raise with the chairman of British Rail the case for providing some rail services on Boxing day 1988.

This is entirely a matter for British Rail, who are responsible for the detailed management of the railway system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report those areas of his departmental responsibility which extend to Scotland.

[holding answer 18 December 1987]: The Secretary of State has the following responsibilities in Scotland:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations have taken place between his Department and British Nuclear Fuels plc concerning the transport of plutonium by aircraft; and what were the results.

There is no need for consultations between this Department and British Nuclear Fuels on this issue until it submits a package design for competent authority approval.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he intends to consider and take any action in regard to the Civil Aviation Authority's draft charging proposals for Manchester airport and their implications for the gateway international airport status of Manchester, for the Government's national aviation policy objectives and for the future economic progress of the north-west region; and if he will make a statement.

Under the provisions of part IV of the Airports Act 1986, the charging proposals are now a matter for the CAA alone. The authority is fully aware of the Government's published aviation policy, including its policy on the gateway status and development of Manchester airport.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ordinary shares in BP plc are held by the Bank of England on account of Her Majesty's Government following the recent buy-back offer; what proportion of the total they represent; and what plans he has for their disposal.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answers of 14 January at columns 384–5 to the hon. Members for Redcar (Miss Mowlam) and for Easington (Mr. Cummings).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial consequences there have been for the Exchequer as a result of the rights issue of 459 million BP shares occurring simultaneously with the sale of the Treasury's holding.

The Goverment agreed to subscribe for the issue of BP shares on a fully-paid basis and immediately to sell the shares together with the Government's existing shares. The cost of this subscription (£1·5 billion) was more than offset by the proceeds of the first of three instalments from the combined offer (£2·5 billion).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will indicate the source and the breakdown of the figures he gave to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee on 9 December 1987, HC 197, Q.152, for the levels of personal sector borrowing other than mortgage borrowing in 1979–80 and 1986–87.

The figures quoted to the Committee were for borrowing by the private, not the personal, sector. The same definition was used for chart 2·4 of the 1987 Financial Statement and Budget Report and the supplementary note by the Treasury published as an appendix in the Select Committee's report on the 1987 Budget, although there have been some subsequent minor revisions to the figures. The latter gives the sources of the figures quoted. The private sector includes both the personal sector and industrial and commercial companies. The most recent figures for consumer credit and other personal sector borrowing are contained in table 9·3 of the December 1987 edition of "Financial Statistics". The figures were correctly ascribed to the private sector in the oral evidence. Unfortunately, the reference to the personal sector arose as the result of a later transcription error, of which the Committee has now been informed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for 1979 and 1986–87 the number of cases of tax fraud detected for which the amount recovered exceeded (a) £100,000, (b) £500,000 and (c) £1 million.

The Inland Revenue do not keep records of the number of investigations opened in any particular year, but the information for the number of investigations settled is as follows:

Year ended 31 March	1979	1987
£100,000 to £499,999	53	229
£500,000 to £999,999	—	13
Over £1,000,000	—	6

The amounts shown are total amounts recovered including, where appropriate, interest and penalties as well as tax.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was remitted or written off as irrecoverable in 1979 and 1986 and what was the number of tax payers for whom the ground for non-payment was (a) that they had gone abroad or were untraceable, (b) insolvency and (c) hardship.

The tax remitted or written off as irrecoverable amounted to £60·3 million in 1979 and £299·8 million in 1986. The number of taxpayers for whom the ground for non-payment was (a) that they had gone abroad or were untraceable, (b) insolvency and (c) hardship is as follows:

	1979	1986
(a)	26,171	51,304
(b)	23,032	56,693
(c)	7,988	5,349

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax office and inquiry branch investigations there have been where additional tax has become due in 1987, broken down by those paying tax at a top rate of (a) 60 per cent., (b) 55 per cent., (c) 50 per cent., (d) 45 per cent., (e) 40 per cent. and (f) 27 per cent.

In the year to 31 March 1987, a total of 61,656 tax office and inquiry branch investigations were settled in which additional tax became due. I regret that this total cannot be broken down in the way requested except at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value of undeclared value added tax discovered and recouped by his Department in each year since 1979.

The total value of underdeclared value added tax discovered each year since 1979 is as follows (figures relate to the financial year ending 31 March):

	£ million
1979	61
1980	84
1981	146
1982	169
1983	290
1984	320
1985	392
1986	496
1987	597

Information on the amount of underdeclared tax actually recouped is not available. However, approximately 99 percent. of all declared and assessed tax is collected.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the percentage rise in the value of under declarations of value added tax discovered per value added tax control officer since (a) 1979 and (b) 1984.

The figures are as follows:

(a) The percentage rise since 1 April 1979 after allowing for inflation is 368 per cent.

(b) The percentage rise since 1 April 1984 after allowing for inflation is 37 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many value added tax control officers are at present employed in the United Kingdom; and what are the corresponding figures for each year since 1979.

The number of value added tax control officers employed in the United Kingdom for the financial year ending 31 March 1987 was 4,330. The figures for each year since 1979 are as follows:

	Number
1979	4,000
1980	3,700
1981	3,600
1982	3,800
1983	3,550
1984	3,650
1985	3,900
1986	4,040

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average increase in the value of under declarations of value added tax discovered per value added tax control officer in each year since 1979.

The increases year by year in the average value of underdeclarations discovered by each value added tax control officer are as follows (figures relate to the financial year ending 31 March):

	£
1980	+7,450
1981	+17,850
1982	+3,950
1983	+38,350

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the ratio of current employment costs of the value added tax control officers to undeclared value added tax discovered and recouped; and what are the figures for each year since 1979.

The ratio of current employment costs of value added tax control officers to underdeclared value added tax discovered is 1:7·5. The figure is for the financial year ending 31 March 1987. The corresponding figures for each financial year ending 31 March since 1979 are as follows:

	Ratio
1979	1:1·4
1980	1:1·7
1981	1:2·8
1982	1:2·9
1983	1:5·1
1984	1:5·4
1985	1:6·0
1986	1:6·9

Information on the amount of underdeclared tax actually recouped is not available. However, approximately 99 per cent. of all declared and assessed tax is collected.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list in the Official Report those members of staff or Departments which are currently under consideration for relocation to sites outside London;(2) whether there are any plans to relocate civil service staff or Departments to Scotland;(3) whether he will now consider sites in Scotland for dispersal of civil servants or Departments being moved out of London;(4) if he will list all examples of decentralisation of civil service staff which moved staff or Departments to offices in Scotland since 1979.

Since 1979, some 5,560 Civil Service posts have been dispersed from London under the Government's dispersal programme including 1,930 posts to Scotland. The Scottish posts were in the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Overseas Development Administration. Further moves to Scotland of at least 125 posts are planned under this programme.For the future, Departments will be encouraged to consider all suitable locations, including those in Scotland, on the basis mentioned in my answer of 18 January to the hon. Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram) at columns

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the practice of the Inland Revenue as regards the treatment of regional selective assistance for the purpose of assessment of pre-tax profits.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: The precise tax treatment will depend on the facts of each case, but, in general, regional selective assistance is taken into account in determining the taxable profits of a business.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in resolving the budgetary crisis of the EEC; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards approving in principle the creation of a fourth resource for the EEC based on national gross national products.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: The Budget Council has met four times in an effort to establish a draft budget for 1988, but has failed on each occasion to reach agreement. It will renew its discussions in the light of the outcome of the European Council on 11–12 February.The fourth resource proposed by the Commission would link budget contribution shares more closely to shares in Community GNP, and hence to relative prosperity. It is worthy of further consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total value of unentitled benefits claims discovered and recouped by his Department in each year since 1979.

My Department's fraud investigation work was reorganised in 1984 and comparable figures for earlier years are not available.The estimated value of benefit saved by fraud investigation work in the Department for each year is as follows:

	£ million gross
1984–85	19·2
1985–86	33·8
1986–87	54·9

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the percentage change in the value of unentitled benefits recouped per Department of Employment investigating officer since (a) 1979 and (b) since 1984.

My Department's fraud investigation work was recognised in 1984 and comparable figures for earlier years are not available. There has been a 67·5 per cent. increase in the estimated value of benefit saved per fraud investigator between 1984 and 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the average change in the value of unentitled benefits recouped per Department of Employment investigating officer in each year since 1984.

The estimated value of benefit saved per fraud investigator in each year since 1984–85 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the ratio of current costs of his Department's investigation into fraud to the benefits recouped; and what are the figures for each year since 1984.

The ratios between costs and estimated benefit saved are as follows:

	ratio
1984–85	1:2·4
1985–86	1:2·9
1986–87	1:3·7
11987–88	1:4·4
1 First half year.