To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he has given, or intends to give, to egg producers in Wales as to the time at which they should comply with the provisions of the Welfare of Battery Hens Regulations 1987, in the light of the further review to be undertaken in 1993.

The regulations came into force on 1 January 1988. As from that date all new cages must conform: for existing cages the space allowance must be achieved by 1 January 1995. Within the seven-year lead-in period for existing cages, the timing of any change will largely be a matter for the individual producer. The Government will maintain close links with the industry on both their ongoing review and the scientific report due from the Commission by 1 January 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make representations to the European Communities Council of Ministers to ensure full compliance within Europe with the provisions of European directive 86/113 on the welfare of battery hens.

Compliance with EEC directives is a matter for individual member states and for the European Commission. In this instance, article 7 requires the Commission to undertake inspection programmes within member states to ensure that the directive is complied with and uniform standards applied. The Commission is also required to produce reports on those inspections.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy that cage sizes for battery hens should be increased by 1993 to allow greater space and height for the welfare of the birds.

The Government believe that a European standard of about 600 sq cm per bird would be more appropriate in welfare terms and will be seeking improvements when the review of the directive, due in 1993, takes place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will increase the finance available to the cardiology service provided by Liverpool health authority for north Wales patients.

The Mersey RHA is historically funded to provide cardiac services for patients in north Wales. A review of cardiac services provided by Liverpool RHA is currently under way and its outcome will be discussed with the Welsh Office in due course. In the meantime, in an effort to increase the number of cardiac patients in north Wales being treated, arrangements have been made by Clwyd DHA, with funding from the Welsh Office, for individuals to be referred to a private hospital in Manchester. The need for this arrangement will be reviewed regularly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in order of frequency the 10 most common forms of surgery for which patients are admitted to hospitals in Wales.

The information requested is shown in the following table:

Ten Most Common Forms of Surgical Operation in National Health Service Hospitals in Wales in 1986
OPCS Operation Codes	Type of operation	Number
703-706	Dilation, curettage, biopsy and excision of lesion of cervix	9,384
770-779	Post-Natal or post-abortion operations	8,866
607,608	Cystoscopy (with destruction of lesion)	8,027
752,753,758-762	Other delivery operations	7,347
780-789	Treatment of fracture by operations	7,160
230-239	Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy	4,636
742	Termination of pregnancy	4,592
400-409	Operations on abdominal wall, peritoneum and mesentary	4,311
764-769	Caesarean Section	4,107
170-179	Operations on lens	4,094

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any change to announce in the cash limit for class XVII vote 8.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class XVII, vote 8 (Hospital and Community Health Services, etc, Wales) will be increased by £3,800,000 from £716,836,000 to £720,636,000. My right hon. Friend announced this increase in his written answer of 16 December 1987, at columns 512 and 513, which should ensure that current levels of patient services are maintained without carrying forward a large burden of expenditure liabilities to 1988–89.This increase will be charged to the reserve and therefore does not add to the public expenditure planning total.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures have been taken by his Department to ensure that all children born with spinal curvature are screened for non-spontaneously resolving scoliosis within two to three months of birth in all Welsh health authority areas.

[holding answer 15 January 1988]: Guidance on the medical examination of the new born baby and the care of babies born with a malformation or risk of handicap, and their subsequent follow-up, has been published in the third report of the maternity services advisory committee to the Secretaries of State for Social Services and for Wales.The report, published in 1985, was endorsed by the perinatal mortality initiative survey group in its report to the Secretary of State for Wales in 1986. Both reports were distributed to general managers of district health authorities, administrators of family practitioner committees, secretaries of community health councils and health professionals working in the maternity and neonatal services. The Department issued a circular, WHC(86)69, in December 1986 to all health authorities in Wales asking them to review their service provision and examine their performance in the light of the guidance in these two reports. Copies of the two reports are available in the Library. A copy of the circular will be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the bodies with which consultations took place, and over what period, prior to the decision being made by Her Majesty's Government to close the Cardiff office of the social security commissioners.

Consultations on the proposal to close the Cardiff office of the Social Security Commissioners took place between 4 December 1985 and 31 January 1986.The following individuals and organisations were invited to comment:

To ask the Attorney-General how the Northern Ireland Court Service ensures that the minimum amount of time elapses between bail requirements being completed and the papers being returned to the prison in order to ensure the speedy release of the person to whom bail was granted.

In almost all cases, completed documents are given to the police for delivery to the prison.

To ask the Attorney-General what has been the maximum length of time which has elapsed in any individual case relating to a male held on remand in Her Majesty's prison, Crumlin road, between bail requirements being completed and the actual release of the person who was granted bail.

This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. If the hon. Member has a particular case in mind, I would be happy to look into it.

To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will list in the Official Report the eight requests for assistance for projects with a population component on which preparatory work was in hand at 31 December 1987.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murderers and rapists have been released over the last 10 years and have committed the same crime again.

In the period 1977 to 1986 four offenders originally convicted of murder and later released on licence from prisons in England and Wales have subsequently been reconvicted of murder.The only information readily available on rape relates to a sample of adult males discharged from prison department establishments in 1981 and is for those discharged from a sentence for any sexual offence. About 3 per cent. of those so discharged were convicted of another sexual offence within two years. Results of this study were published in tables 8(h) and 8(i) "Prison Statistics, England and Wales, 1984" (Cmnd. 9622), copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department if he proposes to take any action in the light of the report on stray , tethered and abandoned horses and ponies in England and Wales, issued by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a copy of which has been sent to him; and if he will make a statement.

It is already an offence under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960 to cause unnecessary suffering to domestic or captive animals, or to abandon them without reasonable excuse in circumstances likely to cause unnecessary suffering. The maximum penalty for such offences has recently been substantially increased, and proposals to extend the power of disqualification from keeping an animal have been introduced. We believe that with these changes the existing legislation provides adequate remedies for offences of cruelty.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to reduce the costs incurred by the Metropolitan police in the administration of the issuing of firearms and shotgun certificates, down to a level comparable with other police forces.

No sample survey of costs incurred by police forces in issuing firearm and shotgun certificates has been undertaken since 1981. A comparison of costs on the basis of the most recent Metropolitan police assessment of costs for the period 1 April 1985 to 31 March 1986 is not therefore possible. This assessment was accepted for consideration by the working party on the review of fees which we intend should resume its work in the light of the proposed new firearms legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken by police officers to locate, document or seize the 45 calibre Thompson and 9 mm Bergann pistol held by the late Michael Ryan without a firearms certificate.

I understand from the chief constable that extensive investigations carried out by the Thames Valley police since the Hungerford shootings into the weapons held by Michael Ryan have not disclosed any substantive evidence that Ryan was ever in possession of the firearms indicated.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of firearms in circulation in each category have been reported as stolen in each of the past 10 years or for any lesser period for which records are readily available.

The information requested is not available. The number of burglaries and thefts recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been stolen, by principal weapons, is published in table 3.12 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1986" (Cm. 233). The number of firearms and shotgun certificates on issue at the end of each year is published in tables 1 and 3 of Home Office statistical bulletin issue 2/88. Copies of both publications are in the Library. Information is not collected centrally at present on the number of firearms stolen in each offence nor of the numbers of weapons held on certificates. The information collected on these subjects is under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines he will be giving to community radio stations in Wales when granting their licences with regard to the proportion of time they will broadcast in Welsh and English; and if he will make a statement.

Under the legislative proposals that my right hon. Friend will bring before Parliament it will be for the radio authority and not the Home Secretary to award radio broadcasting licences, having regard to criteria which will reflect paragraph 7.23 of our Green Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, by species, the number of animals involved in experiments at Porton Down, in universities and other establishments of higher education, for each year 1979 to 1987; and how many of each were killed.

The number of experiments which were started on animals, in each year from 1977 to 1986, at universities and polytechnics in Great Britain is given in table 20 of "Statistics of Experiments on Living Animals 1986" (Cm. 187), copies of which are in the Library. The records are kept in terms of experiments begun each year on animals and do not show how many of these died as a result or were subsequently killed. A breakdown by species is not readily available; I will write to the hon. Member with this information.It is not our practice to make available detailed information on the usage of particular species in animal experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is (a) the average, (b) the median and (c) the maximum casework backlog in B2 division at Lunar house; what are the causes of such backlogs; and what measures are being taken to reduce them.

[holding answer 19 January 1988]: On 18 January there were 269 cases which had been in B2 division for at least a month without initial action being taken. This largely reflects staff absences for a number of reasons, including leave over the Christmas period. The highest number on any one case-working officer's desk was 68, the average 7·5 and the median 0.

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she plans to visit the St. Philip's Marsh area of Bristol.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the time, duration and nature of her engagements on Monday 18 January.

During the morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I gave a lunch at 10 Downing Street for the United Kingdom/ Japan 2000 Group. In the afternoon I had further meetings, and in the evening I attended a dinner at the Guildhall.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 26 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 26 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 26 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 26 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 26 January.

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

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a further statement on her practice in answering questions on the numbers and names of the Cabinet Committees and Sub-Committees.

There continue to be four Standing Committees of the Cabinet: a Defence and Overseas Policy Committee and an Economic Strategy Committee under my chairmanship; and a Home and Social Affairs Committee and a Legislation Committee under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council. Attendance at these Committees will vary according to the subject under discussion. Sub-Committees of the Standing Committees will be continued or established as appropriate. Membership and terms of reference of the Standing Committees and their Sub-Committees will remain confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will identify those institutions included in Her Majesty's inspectorate's report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" of which the inspectors reported that teaching accommodation showed serious deficiencies;(2) if he will identify those few institutions described in Her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" as ones in which the British education degree course contained a method course designed for students to consider the application of their specialist subject to childrens' learning;(3) if he will identify those institutions described in her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" of which the inspectors reported that they gave considerable time and emphasis to preparing students for work in a multi-ethnic society;(4) if he will identify those institutions described in Her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" of which the inspectors reported that attention was given to preparing students for work in a multi-ethnic society;(5) if he will identify those institutions and courses included in Her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" where the inspectors reported that specialist subject method courses in the British education and the post graduate certificate in education had serious difficulties;(6) if he will identify the small number of institutions included in Her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" of which the inspectors reported that there was some imaginative coverage of the world of work and the industrial and commercial relevance of the school curriculum;(7) if he will specify the number of instances covered by the reference in Her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" to cases where students were exposed to poor practice during their time in schools;(8) how many of the institutions surveyed in Her Majesty's inspectors' report "Quality in Schools: The Initial Training of Teachers" had libraries which contained a minimum of 90,000 volumes in the main collection, together with subscriptions to 400 or more periodicals.

It is not the practice to identify the individual institutions concerned as regards references made to particular aspects of their provision in reports of general surveys by HMI. Individuals HMI reports on each of the institutions have been published over the last three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest available figures for numbers of students for every university and polytechnic by (a) full-time and (b) part-time status.

The information is shown in the following tables:

University student number in 1986
Thousands
Universities (Great Britain)	Full-time	Part-time
Aston	3·6	0·4
Bath	3·7	0·3
Birmingham	9·3	1·0
Bradford	4·4	0·6
Bristol	7·1	0·5
Brunel	2·9	2·1
Cambridge	12·2	1·1
City	3·2	1·0
Durham	5·1	0·4
East Anglia	4·2	0·6
Essex	3·1	0·2

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest available figures on the number of students by age, over 21 years and under 21 years, and by gender in (a) universities and (b) polytechnics.

The information is as follows:

Student numbers in 1986
thousands
	Full-time	Part-time
Universities (GB)
Aged under 21
Men	97·5	0·5
Women	73·0	0·9
Total	170·4	1·4
Aged 21 and over
Men	82·1	23·8
Women	48·8	14·2
Total	130·9	38·0

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the future funding and future location of Persian studies in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

My hon. Friend wrote to me on 18 January on this subject, and I am making inquiries. I have received only one other recent representation. Persian studies fell within the scope of the review of Asian and African languages and area studies conducted by Sir Peter Parker for the University Grants Committee, which has accepted and is now implementing his recommendations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether the commitment to the target of 1992 for the completion of achievement profiling for all pupils in maintained schools still stands;(2) how many pupils in maintained schools at

The Government's objective is to agree and establish by 1990 national arrangements under which all young people in secondary schools will have a record of achievement. Education support grants are being used to support development work in nine pilot schemes in England and Wales, to cast light on the best ways to record pupils' achievement, including consideration of the resource implications.A national steering committee has been set up to oversee the work of the pilot schemes and to report this autumn on experience gained and the implications for introducing records of achievement nationally. The schemes have made annual reports on progress to the committee and will make their final reports in March. A national evaluation team is evaluating progress for the committee.Information about the number of pupils involved in records of achievement schemes throughout the country is not collected centrally. The pilot schemes receiving education support grant funding involve 22 local education authorities in England and Wales and some 250 secondary schools. Records of achievement are also being developed in many schools and local education authorities outside these areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will provide for each of the eight Scottish universities a table showing, for all academic staff, the location of their first degrees as between Scottish universities, other United Kingdom universities and foreign universities, only the totals being required in each case;(2) if he will provide a table showing for all academic staff at each of Oxford and Cambridge universities the location of their first degrees, as between Oxford and Cambridge, Scottish universities, other United Kingdom universities and foreign universities, only the totals being required in each case.

The "Commonwealth Universities Yearbook", a copy of which is in the Library, lists staff, by name, at each university and includes information on the university at which first degrees were obtained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the final version of the policy statement on modern languages in the school curriculum will be published.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have today published the policy statement "Modern Languages in the School Curriculum". Copies have been placed in the Library of the House and are being sent to all local education authorities and secondary schools, and to other interested bodies within and beyond the education service.The main messages of the policy statement are that pupils should study a modern foreign language throughout compulsory secondary education, and more should continue with a language into the sixth form; there should be a greater diversification of first foreign language provision into languages such as German, Italian, Spanish or Russian; and more emphasis should be placed on communication skills.The policy statement complements our proposals for a national curriculum, which include a modern foreign language as a foundation subject for all secondary school pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement concerning his review of night flying restrictions at London's airports.

The Department is considering the many helpful responses to the recent consultation. My right hon. Friend expects to be able to announce new night restrictions for Heathrow and Gatwick in the next few weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about funding levels for London Dial-a-Ride in 1988–89.

I have received a number of letters from Members of Parliament, private individuals and others concerning Dial-a-Ride. I have made it clear that as there is evidence that current resources are not in all cases being used cost-effectively, decisions on future levels of funding must depend on further efficiency improvements by some Dial-a-Ride organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reappraise future road requirements.

We shall continue to develop the trunk road network to meet future traffic needs in a timely fashion. We have a large new construction and improvement programme which is regularly reviewed and to which further schemes are added as required. Each scheme within the programme undergoes continuous assessment to ensure that, when constructed, it will meet its required objectives. Responsibility for local roads rests with local highway authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to meet the chairman of London Regional Transport to discuss problems facing London Regional Transport.

My right hon. Friend next expects to meet the chairman of London Regional Transport on 4 February 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total number of stations covered by the station modernisation of London Underground Limited as described in paragraph 15 of the annual business plan of London Regional Transport, together with (a) expenditure already incurred (b) expenditure already committed and (c) the total sums paid to each to the five contractors, respectively, receiving the highest global sums together with the number of stations contracts awarded to each.

The latest reported information shows that expenditure to date on the station modernisation programme, begun in 1981, is £73 million, with a further £32 million committed (1987 prices). The figures include additional maintenance and repair work undertaken during modernisation. The programme affects 138 stations in whole or in part. Information on the value of contracts placed respectively with individual contractors since 1981 is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has to encourage the provision of adequate resting and refreshment facilities for commercial lorry drivers on Britain's roads, in the light of the decline in such provision;(2) what steps are being taken to encourage the building of refreshment establishments on Britain's trunk roads that cater for the drivers of heavy goods vehicles.

We are shortly to have meetings with representatives of the local authority associations arid the private sector about steps to stimulate further provision of facilities.Our general policy on provision of service areas on English trunk roads was set out in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Forth) on 1 July 1987 at column 88.On motorways, our aim is to provide service areas at approximately 30-mile intervals. They are required to provide, for 24 hours of the day, toilets, refreshments, telephones and fuel for all motorway travellers, including drivers of heavy goods vehicles. Operators are free to agree parking stays of over two hours and may charge a fee. HGV drivers frequently rest overnight in their sleeper cabs. Operators are providing overnight accommodation blocks on many of the sites.On all-purpose trunk roads, the provision of services, including those for heavy goods vehicles, is primarily for the private sector within the framework of local planning policies. We want to see the needs of HGV drivers met.Responsibility for roads other than trunk roads lies with the local highway authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to outlaw the display of signs at refreshment establishments which refuse admittance to drivers of heavy goods vehicles.

We could not reasonably ban display of any road traffic sign which indicates that a particular service area is not for heavy goods vehicles. Some service areas off motorways do not have the capacity to take such vehicles. We have no jurisdiction over signs displayed by proprietors on their own property.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what would be the cost of providing a cattle creep under the A52 bypass at Bottesford, Leicestershire.

The cost would be £260,000 at Barkestone lane and £220,000 at Easthorpe/Muston lane had they been included in the design. Work on the bypass has started and it would cost considerably more to incorporate them now.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will list the bypasses of trunk roads constructed by his Department over the last three years which have (a) cattle creeps, (b) pedestrian under-passes and (c) pedestrian bridges provided as part of the construction work; and what was the cost of the provision in each case.

I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what would be the approximate cost of constructing underpasses under the new A52 by-pass at Bottesford, Leicestershire, at Easthorpe/Muston lane and Barkestone lane; and how that would compare with the construction cost of the by-pass itself.

If they had been included in the design, the cost of constructing the two underpasses would have been £480,000. Construction of the bypass is estimated to cost £2·76 million.Provision of a cattle creep or underpasses was ruled out because of the costs involved. They would necessitate raising the level of the bypass over a distance of 1 km to achieve the required height.At the public inquiry in April 1986, the Department gave evidence to show that, over a 10-hour period, between 8 am and 6 pm in September 1983, only 15 cyclists and 12 pedestrians used Easthorpe/Muston lane. Numbers may have increased slightly, but it is not considered that they warrant the provision of an underpass. Barkestone lane has become a dead end. No counts were taken, but we would expect the number here to be even less. Very few residents are served by it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations have taken place on the creation of new port facilities, or the expansion of existing port facilities, to land imported coal; and with whom.

The provision of port facilities for unloading coal is a matter for users and port operators.

	Landing		Take offs		Total
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Winter 1986–87	2,256	82	490	18	2,746	100
Summer 1987	1,348	67	654	33	2,002	100

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ascertain from the airlines concerned the justification for the night movements in and out of Heathrow attributable to these airlines, and the extent to which such flights could be made in daytime; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 25 January 1988]: The Department consulted airlines about night restrictions at Heathrow in 1986. We consulted again in November on our proposals for future night restrictions. It is clear from their replies that the effectiveness of Heathrow as a major international airport would be seriously impaired if flights now operated at night were required to be by day.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he intends to make an order under section 191(3) of the Financial Services Act 1986.

I have today laid before Parliament an order exempting trustees who are members of certain small self-administered pension schemes and the members of certain other small schemes in certain circumstances for the requirement in section 191(1) to obtain authorisation because of their investment management activity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personal accidents to passengers in the new London hackney cabs have been reported, with injuries arising from contact with the metal frame of the occasional seat; and if he will ask the Public Carriage Office to investigate and to make recommendations on necessary modifications.

I have received no reports of accidents of this kind. The Department would be prepared to investigate any complaints and consider whether any design modifications are desirable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the scheduled night movements from and to Heathrow are (a) landings and (b) take-offs.

[holding answer 25 January 1988]: The figures provided by Heathrow Airport Limited are:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total output of steel, the percentage exported and the share of the domestic market taken by imports in 1958, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975 and each year from 1979 to 1987.

The figures are as follows:

Year	UK Crude Steel Production '000 tonnes	Per cent, of Production Exported1	Imports as per cent, of Total Deliveries to Home Market2
19583	19,880	16·0	3·5
1960	24,695	16·0	7·7
1965	27,421	17·7	3·0
19703	28,291	18·5	5·5
19753	20,098	20·6	20·6
1979	21,464	27·0	20·6
1980	11,277	29·4	32·6
19813	15,573	31·0	23·0
1982	13,704	31·2	26·6
1983	14,986	33·2	24·7
1984	15,121	33·3	24·3
1985	15,722	37·8	26·2
1986	14,726	44·6	30·2
198734	17,420	na	na
1 Calculated on a "crude steel equivalent" basis.
2 Imports exclude conversion materials, except in the years 1958 and 1960 for which only total imports are available. Total deliveries

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the number and total deadweight of (a) vessels completed and (b) vessels in construction in British shipyards in 1958, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975 and each year from 1979 to 1987.

The available information is shown in the table.

Merchant vessels completed and under construction in United Kingdom shipyards
	Completed		1Under construction
	Numbers	2Gross tonnage: 000's	Numbers	2Gross tonnage: 000's
1958	270	1,464	310	2,234
1960	263	1,298	258	1,694
1965	176	1,282	184	1,388
1970	139	1,327	146	1,649
1975	114	1,170	145	1,880
1979	86	691	79	514
1980	68	427	58	644
1981	46	213	67	815
1982	59	435	71	793
1983	60	497	52	567
1984	46	445	40	236
1985	35	172	40	337
1986	37	101	31	255
1 Figures are at the end of the year.
2 Figures in deadweight are not available.
Source: Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total output of cars in (a) Britain, (b) West Germany and (c) France, the percentage exported and the share of the domestic market taken by imports in 1958, 1960, 1970, 1975 and in each year from 1979 to 1987.

The available information is shown in the tables.

Trends in United Kingdom Car Output United Kingdom
	Production of Cars (units: thousands)	Exports as Percentage of Total	Importers share of United Kingdom Market Percentage
1958	1,052	50	n/a
1960	1,353	57	n/a
1970	1,641	44	14·3
1975	1,268	42	33·2
1979	1,070	37	56·3
1980	924	38	56·7
1981	955	32	55·7
1982	888	25	57·7
1983	1,045	23	56·9
1984	909	21	57·5
1985	1,048	20	58·1
1986	1,019	18	56·0
1987	11,143	225	51·7
n/a = Not Available.
1 =Provisional.
2 = Estimated.
Source: DTI and Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the percentage of home demand taken by imports in the latest available year and in 1987 for (a) metal manufacturing, (b) chemicals, (c) man-made fibres, (d) mechanical engineering (e) electrical and electronic engineering, (f) motor vehicles and parts, (g) other transport equipment, (h) instrument engineering, (i) footwear and clothing, (j) other manufacturing and (k) manufacturing (revised definition).

The most recent information, relating I o the year ended September 1987, was published in " British Business" on 15 January 1988, page 20.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what percentage of EEC exports to Iran, by value was accounted for by exports from the United Kingdom in 1977, 1978, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987;(2) what rank, among the current members of the EEC, the United Kingdom held in value of exports to Iran in 1977, 1978, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.

Figures for the whole of 1987 are not yet available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many Government initiatives have been taken since 1979 to deal with urban dereliction and inner-city decay in Sheffield, by means of encouraging development and raising business confidence; if he will list them, indicating the amounts expended under each heading; if he will also indicate any grants available which were not taken up; and if he will make a statement.

Since 1979, the Government have developed a range of initiatives to deal with urban dereliction and inner-city decay by encouraging development and raising business confidence, as I outlined in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Heddle) on 19 January 1988, Official Report, columns 598–600.The following table gives details of the initiatives which have been undertaken in Sheffield since 1979 and the level of Government support:

	£ million
Urban Programme	38·0
Urban Development Grant	0·9
Derelict Land Grant	1·3
Estate Action	1·1
European Regional Development Fund	23·1
Regional Selective Assistance	9·2
Business Improvement Scheme	1·7
Industrial Development Act	3·0

In addition, the Government have given support under various schemes to assist local enterprise and innovation through the Sheffield enterprise agency and joint ventures with the private sector.We have directed over £75 million towards these initiatives in Sheffield since 1979, which represents a substantial commitment to the area. There has been an increasing level of interest and take-up across the range of initiatives available to encourage development and raise business confidence.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many visits he has authorised, to United Kingdom companies by United States of America officials, pursuant to his agreement with the United States of America relating to high technology audits; when these visits took place; which companies were visited; and what reasons were given.

None

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his policy on the forthcoming United Kingdom South Africa Trade Association trade mission to South Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Officials both in the United Kingdom and overseas provide information and advice on the market to business visitors to South Africa, whether they travel there as individuals or as members of a trade mission. Such assistance is not contrary to any of our undertakings on South Africa.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if, in the light of the report by the trading standards sub-committee of Nottinghamshire county council, dated 16 November 1987, submitted to his office on 13 January, if he will indicate what steps his Department will take to protect the textile trade from unfair competition and loss of value to consumers by false labelling of goods, with particular reference to garments labelled as wool, and found to be either deficient or containing no wool at all.

I have noted the recent report of the trading standards sub-committee of the Nottinghamshire county council. Enforcement of United Kingdom legislation governing fibre content labelling of textile products rests, as does much other consumer protection legislation, with individual local authorities. I know, however that the EC Commission has been investigating whether there are particular problems concerning the importation of fabric with overstated wool content. It has not yet announced the outcome.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give details of the progress made by his Department in implementing the policy of deregulation in the last 12 months.

Deregulation is one of the DTI's prime objectives and central to the enterprise initiative we launched earlier this month. In the last 12 months, substantial progress has been made in the areas listed in the report "Encouraging Enterprise" published last May, particularly in relation to reducing burdens imposed by company law, the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the Weights and Measures Act 1985. Legislation to amend those Acts and implement the proposed changes in company law will be introduced at the first opportunity.My hon. Friend can be assured that we will continue to devote every effort to simplifying those regulations which are necessary and removing those which are not.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish in the Official Report the names of all those companies which have received moneys from the regional development grant and regional selective assistance in excess of £25,000 since 1978–79 in the borough of Sunderland.

The information requested is only available at disproportionate cost. However, details of grant recipients above certain thresholds are published in British Business. The dates of publication of regional development grant payments were as follows:

Publication date
1978–79
11 August 1978	Q1
3 November 1978	Q2
16 February 1979	Q3
18 May 1979	Q4
1979–80
19 October 1979	Q1
7 December 1979	Q2
22 February 1980	Q3
6 June 1980	Q4
1980–81
29 August 1980	Q1
28 November 1980	Q2
13 February 1981	Q3
15 May 1981	Q4
1981–82
7 August 1981	Q1
6 November 1981	Q2
12 February 1982	Q3
7 May 1982	Q4
1982–83
13 August 1982	Q1
29 October 1982	Q2
4 February 1983	Q3
6 May 1983	Q4
1983–84
29 July 1983	Q1
4 November 1983	Q2
3 February 1984	Q3
25 May 1984	Q4
1984–85
31 August 1984	Q1
9 November 1984	Q2
15 February 1985	Q3
10 May 1985	Q4
1985–86
16 August 1985	Q1
17 January 1986	Q2
11 April 1986	Q3
20 June 1986	Q4
1986–87
19 September 1986	Q1
5 December 1986	Q2
10 April 1987	Q3
10 July 1987	Q4
1987–88
4 September 1987	Q1
18 December 1987	Q2