To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made to meet the cost of policing Heathrow airport; and whether such police count towards the strength of the Metropolitan police.

The provisions of the Aviation Security Act 1982 require Heathrow Airport Limited to pay the Metropolitan police for policing Heathrow airport and to provide accommodation and facilities for this purpose. Metropolitan police officers stationed at Heathrow airport count towards the strength of the force.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the late Michael Ryan made an application for a firearms certificate, or a variation of a firearms certificate; and what was the nature of that application.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a Question from the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 22 January at columns 869–70.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the special prison library grant.

Each year, a payment is made to public library authorities for the provision of library services in prison establishments. The payment is based on a formula agreed with the local authority asssociations and takes account each year of current costs in the public library service. There are no plans to change the basis on which these payments are made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to how many policemen were involved in policing the demonstration and abortion lobby on 21 January; what was the cost; and what was the police estimate for the number of demonstrators.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that 531 officers were rostered to police demonstrations and lobbies on 21 January at an additional cost (mainly overtime and catering) of £21,580. A further 248 officers were drafted in from other duties on the day. About 9,000 demonstrators are estimated to have been in attendance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to prohibit all sight deprivation experiments on animals under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list those publications by the Royal United Services Institute which he has approved for publication since 1979.

I have authorised no such publications as far as I am aware. A comprehensive check of records since 1979 would involve disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of prisoners in England and Wales who were eligible for parole were subsequently granted parole, under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, in 1987;(2) how many prisoners in England and Wales were eligible for parole, under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, in 1987.

This information is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners in England and Wales in 1987, who were eligible for parole under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, had not been notified of their release date by the time of their parole eligibility date during 1987;(2) how many parole applications, under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, have passed their parole eligibility date and are currently outstanding.

The parole eligibility date is the date before which an inmate cannot be released on licence but must have his case for parole reviewed at the prison. The review arrangements a re designed to enable the inmate to be released on parole licence on the parole eligibility date if parole is granted. It is not always possible to meet that objective. Delays can occur for a number of reasons in individual cases. The increasing parole caseload has also led in recent months to a general increase in the number of cases in which prisoners are not informed of the decision in their case until after their parole eligibility date, but the cases which are most affected are those which have to be referred to the Parole Board. In the overwhelming majority of cases of prisoners' sentences of less than two years (known as section 33 cases) the prisoner is notified of the decision to grant parole sufficiently in advance of the parole eligibility date to make release on that date possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which frequencies he has in mind to withdraw from the BBC to enable national commercial radio stations to broadcast.

I have it in mind, after the enactment of the legislative proposals outlined in my reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) on 19 January at columns 647–649, to reassign the medium frequencies now used by BBC Radio 1 and Radio 3. A VHF network will also be available for use by a national commercial station.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost of police services associated with the London City airport, and who pays.

[holding answer 18 January 1988]: It is not possible to identify the total cost of police services which may be associated with the airport. Such costs are borne by the police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the ICL series 39 computers used by his Department's auditors in connection with fraud cases with IDETOL software are capable of the fuzzy matching of data.

ICL series 39 computers and INDEPOL software are not used by MOD auditors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of any building projects which are planned by his Department in Angus, Scotland.

The only building projects planned by my Department in Angus, Scotland are:

1. A small new build of single living accommodation at Barry Buddon Training Camp.

2. Some married quarters improvements and Stage 4 of a project to build single living accommodation and dining facilities at RM Condor, Arbroath.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on plans for the disposal of HMS Dreadnought, now sited at Rosyth.

No decisions have yet taken on the preferred disposal route for reactors from decommissioned nuclear submarines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has had any discussions with Nirex over the disposal of nuclear waste in the Rosyth and Fife areas.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his plans for the siting of the four Polaris submarines once they are decommissioned.

No Polaris are planned to be decommissioned for several years. No decisions have been taken on how they should be dealt with when they do.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where he plans to store the nuclear waste that will arise from the decommissioning of the four Polaris submarines.

Decommissioning of the Polaris submarines will not begin until the first of the Trident submarines is ready to enter service in the mid-1990s. Nuclear waste disposal issues will only arise over the reactor compartment and associated components, and will therefore be identical to those raised by the decommissioning of nuclear attack submarines. The first of these HMS Dreadnought, has already been safely defuelled, de-equipped and laid up. Small items categorised as low-level or intermediate-level waste will be removed, suitably packaged and disposed of by routes currently under investigation by UK Nirex Ltd. The ultimate disposal of the reactor compartments themselves is still under study in my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost incurred in providing for the defence of the Channel Islands.

The cost of providing for the defence of the Channel Islands is not separately identifiable within the defence budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the costs to his Department of the recapture and occupation of the Falkland Islands for each year since 1982 inclusive.

Total defence expenditure, including campaign and garrison costs, relating to the Falkland Islands from 1 April 1982 to the end of the last financial year is as follows:

	£ million
1982–83	780
1983–84	637
1984–85	644
1985–86	572
1986–87	402

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what difficulties arose over the contract let to subcontractors by Marconi for BATES software prior to 1985.

The management of sub-contractors is a commercial matter for the prime contractor and it would not be appropriate for MOD to comment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will list those publications by the Royal United Services Institute which he has approved for publication since 1979.

Books and articles written by service personnel or Ministry of Defence civil servants should be cleared through the appropriate Ministry of Defence channels before publication by the Royal United Services Institute. A list of books and articles approved for publication since 1979 could only be made available at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will respond to the report of the National Radiological Protection Board into mortality and cancer incidence among United Kingdom participants in United Kingdom atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and experimental programmes; and if he will make a statement.

The report by the National Radiological Protection Board on mortality and cancer incidence in United Kingdom participants in the United Kingdom atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and experimental programmes is being published today. A copy has been placed in the Library. The report compares the health of the participants (over 80 per cent. of whom were included) with that of a similar number of matched controls to show whether their health has been affected. The roughly equal number of deaths in both groups (1,600) shows that participation has not had a detectable effect on their expectation of life. Indeed, both groups appear to be somewhat healthier than would be expected from the national rates of mortality, possibly due to the social class distribution and to their having been to some extent selected for overseas duties. The expected number of deaths according to national rates would be about 2,000.Compared with the control group, more participants were found to have died from leukaemia and multiple myeloma. Although the excess was only marginally above national rates, because of the association of these diseases with exposure to ionising radiation, even a small increase merited detailed analysis. Investigation showed that it did not occur so strongly among those present at any nuclear detonation, nor among those known to have been exposed to measurable doses of radiation, nor among those for whom inhalation or ingestion of radioactive material was a remote possibility. Consequently, although no cause of the increased leukaemia was identified, this investigation as not proved that the cause was exposure to ionising radiation.The Government welcome, and will co-operate with the NRPB in implementing, the recommendation to continue to observe the mortality and cancer incidence of the participants over a further period of 10 years, as a means of testing the three hypotheses which have been formulated. Meantime, however, they regard the results of this study to date as fully vindicating their view that the radiological protection measures adopted were effective and that the chance of anyone suffering harm to health as a consequence of participation is extremely small.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the order under the Access to Personal Files Act currently under discussion will extend to universities, polytechnics and all schools.

No. The draft regulations issued by my right hon. Friend for consultation in October 1987, which would be made under section 27 of the Education Act, 1980, would allow parents access to records of pupils in maintained schoolss and non-maintained special schools. Universities are outside their scope, as will be the polytechnics when the Education Reform Bill is enacted and the polytechnics cease to be local authority-maintained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has met vice-principals of the universities to discuss the implications of their code of practice and the right of subject access under the Data Protection Act; and if he will make a statement.

There has been no such meeting. This is a matter for universities, within the law. I understand that the code of practice was finalised in consultation with the Data Protection Registrar's office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of applications to the city technical college in Solihull were on behalf of female students; what proportion of female students have been accepted; and what is the total number of applications and acceptances.

Of the total 315 applications which were received for places at the Kingshurst city technology college, 43 per cent. were on behalf of female students. All but one of the places offered to students have been accepted and 47 per cent. have gone to female students.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date he received a copy of Sir Clifford Butler's report on geological surveying; when he received the comments of the Natural Environment Research Council and the British Geological Survey upon it; and if he will now announce his decision on the recommendation that the British Geological Survey should be separated from the Natural Environment Research Council.

The report of the study group into geological surveying, chaired by Sir Clifford Butler, was addressed to the chairmen of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils and the Natural Environment Research Council, who submitted it to my right hon. Friend in June 1987 with a recommendation that it be published. The views of the BGS staff were sent to the chairmen of the ABRC and the NERC and copied to my Department on 10 August 1987.The recommendations of the report that fall to be considered by Government are being discussed with the Departments concerned and with the NERC. A decision on the future status of the British Geological Survey will be reached in conjunction with decisions on other relevant recommendations in the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report a list of local education authorities in England which provide nursery education for children aged three to five years.

In January 1987 the local education authorities in England that provided nursery education for children under five in either nursery schools or nursery classes in primary schools were as follows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report those medical schools which are currently recruiting approximately equal numbers of women and men students.

In 1986–87 all medical schools in the United Kingdom, except for the medical schools at Cambridge, Manchester and Dundee universities and the London hospital medical school, recruited between 40 and 60 per cent. of women students. The average proportion of women entrants for all medical schools was 45 per cent. compared with 42 per cent. for all university entrants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have mounted advanced supplementary level courses in the current year; and if he will make a statement.

A survey carried out by my Department last autumn shows that 407 maintained and independent schools in England have mounted GCE advanced supplementary level courses this year. This represents nearly 15 per cent. of schools with A-level pupils.

To ask the Prime Minister if she is planing to visit the county of Gwent in the near future.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit north Devon.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister what evidence she has as to the extent of public support for more stringent protection of official secrets.

As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has said, we shall be bringing forward proposals for the reform of section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 which are effective, enforceable and reasonable. I believe we have general public support for that objective.

To ask the Prime Minister what are the terms of reference for Her Majesty's Government's consideration of the National Health Service; and when she expects to bring forward proposals for consultation.

The Government are undertaking an internal review of the National Health Service, with special emphasis on the hospital service. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services will consider carefully any submissions put to him. We shall be bringing forward proposals in due course.

To ask the Prime Minister whether the programme of reviews of non-departmental public bodies, which she announced on 19 November 1984, Official Report, column 57–58, has now been completed; and if she will make a statement.

Yes. I have now received a report on the review programme from the Minister of State, Privy Council Office and the Paymaster General. By April 1987, reviews had been carried out in over 75 per cent. of executive non-departmental public bodies, 75 per cent. of advisory bodies and over 60 per cent. of tribunals. For the period under review, departments reported total savings from their funding of NDPBs of some £30 million and 1,830 staff, as a result of winding up some 150 bodies, rationalisation of others, financial management reviews and other initiatives. Further savings are planned of 290 posts leading in total to continuing savings of some £33 million per year. NDPBs also expect to achieve additional value-for-money improvements from better standards of financial management. In all, there were 524 fewer NDPBs on 1 April 1987 than in 1979.For the future, I have accepted the recommendations in the report that the main responsibility for maintaining this progress should be placed on senior management in the NDPBs and their sponsoring Departments. In addition, all NDPBs will be subject to a comprehensive review at least every five years, which will consider the continued need for each NDPB, its objectives and its financial and other management systems.For some particular tasks, non-departmental public bodies can be the most appropriate and cost-effective solution, but we shall continue to resist proposals for new bodies unless this can be clearly demonstrated, within a strict framework of financial and management controls. Legislation setting up new bodies should normally contain powers to permit winding up at a later date, if a fixed lifetime is not established at the outset.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 28 January.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council last met; and what is Her Majesty's Government's future policy and programme for that body.

The Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council last met in November 1985. It continues to provide a framework for a wide variety of meetings between the two Governments, including those of the Intergovernmental Conference established by the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. This was explicitly set up within the framework of the AIIC. There will continue to be regular meetings, including those of the AIIC coordinating committee and its cultural and educational working group.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the Chinese Foreign Minister when he meets him in the spring the need to prevent the trade in rare and endangered species of wildlife between the Dongmen market in Shenzhen and Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

We have already drawn to the attention of the Chinese authorities the concern which is widely felt in this country about this matter. I understand that the Chinese authorities entirely share this concern.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the extra costs incurred by the high commissions in Kenya and Nigeria due to the recent visits by the Prime Minister.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 15 January at column 416.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will list those publications by the Royal United Services Institute which he has approved for publication since 1979.

The following articles and volume written by present and former officials, have been approved. They are listed by date of publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will support proposals to the United Nations Security Council for an arms embargo jointly on Iran and Iraq.

We remain committed to the twin-track approach agreed by the Foreign Ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council on 25 September 1987. The Secretary-General has our full support as he continues his efforts to obtain compliance with Security Council resolution 598. In the meantime we have begun work with other members of the Security Council on the terms of an arms embargo. It is the responsibility of the Security Council as a whole to determine non-compliance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will make it their policy to go further than the proposals in United Nations resolution 598 (1987), requesting the Secretary General to explore the possibility of appointing an impartial body to inquire into the responsibility for starting the Iran/Iraq war, and propose that such a body be now appointed.

The establishment of an impartial body to investigate responsibility for the conflict is one of a number of elements of Security Council resolution 598 currently under discussion. We are anxious to see both parties comply with the resolution as a whole.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when and under whose auspices he expects the proposed public inquiry into the proposed relocation of the main London coach terminal at Paddington to take place; when and by what means he expects to publish the detailed plans; and what range of time scale he envisages for the relocation.

The inquiry will be held only once a planning application for the proposed terminal is received. I understand that London Regional Transport intends to submit such an application later this year. The inspector would report to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for the Environment jointly. The plans for all applications made would be available for inspection at the inquiry and at the office of the local planning authority. Decisions on the time scale for any relocation would be made in the light of the outcome of the inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many search-and-rescue incidents involving small boats and non-commercial small vessels have occurred in each of the past 10 years; and how many were concluded successfully.

Search-and-rescue incidents involving small boats and non-commercial small vessels from 1982 to 1986 inclusive are summarised in the table. Information so far available on 1987 incidents is also included.As the statistical records kept prior to 1982 were not specific with regard to vessel types, it is not possible to provide figures for the past ten years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, having regard to safety factors, he will authorise the raising of the 16 tonne gross weight of a two-axle tractor unit in line with the gross weight now allowed for two-axle trucks.

Two-axle tractor units with a minimum axle spacing of 2·7 m have since May 1983 been permitted a gross weight of 17 tonnes provided the vehicle has a total train weight of more than 32·52 tonnes. Statutory Instrument 1987 No. 676 removes that proviso and fixes the maximum gross weight of two-axle rigid lorries also at 17 tonnes. The SI comes into effect on 1 April 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide details of recent assessments of the damage caused to the environment by the impact of various modes of transport, lorries, cars and other road users.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 January 1988, c. 702]: Information on some recently published reports on various effects of traffic on the environment is as follows. I have arranged for copies of those reports (shown with an asterisk) not already in the Library to be deposited there.

(1) Traffic-induced ground-borne vibrations in dwellings. TRRL Research Report 102, 1987.

*(2) The effects of a simulated traffic vibration on a dwelling house. TRRL Contractor Report 44, 1987.

(3) Public attitudes to drawbar goods vehicles. TRRL Research Report 108, 1987.

*(4) Pollution levels near a motorway in a cutting. TRRL Paper presented at the International Symposium on Environmental Meteorology in West Germany in 1987.

(5) Digest of environmental protection and water statistics. No. 9 1986, HMSO.

(6) The impact of the reduction in the lead content of petrol on airborne lead concentrations in the United Kingdom from January 1986. Warren Spring Laboratory Report No. LR 633 (AP)M, 1987.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will further consider seeking to introduce a system whereby an hon. Member suspended from the service of the House should forfeit his salary for a period of up to three months; and if he will make a statement.

This is ultimately a matter for the House to decide. I would, however, refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton. North (Mr. Marlow) during the course of business questions on 14 January at column 460.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to announce his response to the Food Advisory Committee final report on the Colouring Matter in Foods Regulations 1979.

We received a large number of detailed representations on the recommendations in the report, and these need to be carefully evaluated before I can come to any conclusion on the issues. We are dealing with the matter as quickly as possible and I shall make an announcement just as soon as we have reached decisions.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress was made towards reforming the common agricultural policy at the meeting of Ministers in Brussels.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on 25 January, at columns 52–53, to my hon. Friend the Member for Wansdyke (Mr. Aspinwall).

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether Falkis Ltd. has received decommissioning grants for either freezer or fishing vessels.

No decommissioning grants have been paid to Falkis Ltd.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether Berkeley Sound Shipping has received decommissioning grants for either freezer or fishing vessels.

No decommissioning grants have been paid to Berkeley Sound Shipping.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether Thomas Hamling Ltd. has received decommissioning grants for either freezer or fishing vessels.

Under the Fishing Vessels (Financial Assistance) Scheme 1983 grants have been paid in respect of four freezer trawlers which were decommissioned by Thomas Hamling Ltd. The details are as follows:

Vessel	Grant £
St. Jason	537,200
St. Jerome	515,280
St. Jasper	514,484
St. Benedict	581,504
	2,148,468

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date information relating to the awarding of decommissioning grants to Messrs. Putford Enterprise was provided to the National Audit Office by officials in his Department.

Information was available to the NAO on the awarding of decommissioning grants to Messrs. Putford Enterprises from the moment it commenced its examination in spring 1986.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action has been taken to ensure the safe use of pesticides on the farm.

Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 gave wide powers which were implemented by the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 and its consents. When using pesticides operators have been obliged since 6 October 1986:

(a) to use only products which have been approved under the regulations;

(b) "to take all reasonable precautions to protect the health of human beings, creatures and plants, to safeguard the environment, and in particular to avoid the pollution of water"; (Consent No. 2, 2nd Condition).

(c) to ensure that they are competent for the duties they are to perform.

From 1 January 1988 they must observe certain conditions of use described on the pesticide label, including the target crop, maximum dose-rate and environmental and operator safeguards.The consents have also introduced a number of additional conditions upon use with which aerial operators must comply.To help farmers to fulfil these obligations we have:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the amount of intervention stocks in the United Kingdom at present in the following commodities: butter, beef, SMP, wheat, barley and rye; and what the figures represent in terms of days' supply.

A note setting out the volume of United Kingdom intervention stocks of agricultural commodities, and the number of days' supply these stocks represent, is deposited in the Library of the House and updated monthly.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he intends to take to protect United Kingdom pigmeat producers from heavy losses due to the advantage to Dutch and Danish producers receiving monetary compensatory amounts for the export to the United Kingdom of bacon, fresh pork loins and middle bacon.

Improvements which we have secured in negotiations in the Community, together with the strengthening of sterling, have resulted in a fall of 16 points in our pigmeat MCAs over the past year. I shall continue to seek further improvements in the position at every opportunity. I must, however, stress that this is a highly controversial issue in the Community.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will strengthen the present arrangements for controlling pigmeat imports so as to assist in stopping the spread of classical swine fever.

Imports of pigmeat are already the subject of stringent veterinary conditions laid down by European Community directives. Following pressure from the Government, the rules on classical swine fever controls have been strengthened by a package of measures which had to be implemented by 1 January 1988.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to introduce private storage aids to United Kingdom pigmeat producers.

This is to be discussed at the Pigmeat Management Committee in Brussels on Friday 29 January.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will allow feed users to use intervention grain stocks at intervention prices.

Decisions on the sale of intervention grain stocks on to the domestic market are taken by the European Commission; in view of the current surplus of feed grain on the market both in the United Kingdom and in the rest of the Community sales from intervention for use as feed could not at present be justified.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department retains any unpublished files, information and reports in connection with the 1957 Windscale fire; and if he will make a statement.

Various papers held in my Department have some connection with the 1957 Windscale fire; these have been or will be made available for public inspection in strict conformity with the Public Records Acts.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to alter the agricultural support mechanisms of the European Economic Community so as to facilitate the release of surplus food for use overseas.

The Community's existing commodity regulations contain appropriate provisions enabling food from intervention and from the market to be made available for export and for use as food aid.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy towards the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service charging for advice and services following an emergency; and how this operated the severe storm in south-east England in October 1987.

[holding answer 27 January 1968]: I am always prepared to look at the case for making appropriate information and advice available without charge following an emergency; but each incident must be considered on its own merits.In the immediate aftermath of the October storm ADAS provided free general advice on such matters as emergency repairs, ways to preserve produce in cold stores and save damaged trees and glasshouse crops and the financial implications for growers. Advice notes covering the four main horticultural sectors were sent without charge to growers in the worst affected areas and growers in th south-east were also invited to "storm clinics" giving general advice on how to cope with the damage, including the financial implications. ADAS also provided some free help with particular livestock problems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many investigating accountants he has within his Department to evaluate applications for regional selective assistance; how many cases on average each of them has prepared for the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board to consider over the past two years; and how many cases each of them is on average expected to prepare over the next two years.

There are currently four investigating accountants in my Department regularly engaged in evaluating applications for regional selective assistance. On average, each investigating accountant has prepared 47 cases over the last two years for consideration by the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board. The number of cases that each will prepare in the future will depend on the volume of RSA applications received, the amount of the grant sought and the complexity of the cases, and I am unable to give a precise estimate. I am expecting an increase in demand for RSA and will keep the requirements for accountancy staff under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his most up-to-date estimate of the expenditure on regional development grants in Wales in the next financial years, if there were no changes in the regional aid scheme to industry.

The 1988 public expenditure White Paper contained planned provision of £63·5 million (net of EC receipts) for regional development grants in Wales in 1988–89. Equivalent provision in the 1987 public expenditure White Paper was £26·7 million. The increase in provision results from a combination of several factors, including the need to provide resources for those RDG applicants who meet the deadline of 31 March 1988 and are thus subject to the transitional arrangements provided for the ending of the scheme. I am not able to make any precise estimate of the cost of such transitional arrangements at this stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of industrial assistance the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board has been considering each month on average in each of the past three years; and how many cases he expects it to be considering on average in each of the next three years.

In the past three years, the Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board has considered the following number of cases on average per month:

	Cases
1985	8
1986	6
1987	7

The number of cases to be considered by the board in future years will depend on the volume of regional selective assistance applications which will be received and the value of assistance sought. I am expecting the demand for RSA to increase in future years. I am unable at this stage to make a precise assessment of the effect of this on the caseload of the board but I am confident of the board's ability to cope with what I hope will be a substantial increase in applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his most up-to-date estimate of the increase in corporation tax receipts arising from the switch away from tax-free regional development grants to taxable selective assistance.

The tax position of regional selective assistance applicants is likely to vary widely depending on the circumstances of each company. It is not possible therefore to make any reliable estimate of the tax receipts which may arise from present or potential applicants for regional selective assistance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the amount of regional selective assistance to be paid out in Wales for each year from 1988–89 to 1990–91.

The 1988 public expenditure White Paper contained planned provision for regional selective assistance in Wales of £45·9 million, £52 million and £61·2 million respectively in the three years 1988–89 to 1990–91. The increase in provision between the years reflects additional demand for RSA, which I envisage as a result of the ending of the regional development grant scheme. There will be a further substantial contribution to regional assistance in Wales as a result of the substantial increase in the expenditure of the Welsh Development Agency and the new investment, innovation and business development grants scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if the consultants appointed to carry out a financial management and policy review of the national museum of Wales have now submitted their report; and if he will make a statement.

I am publishing today the report prepared by P-E Inbucon. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House and the executive summary is being made available to the press. It is a major document. The role, organisation and management of the museum have been critically examined. The Report identifies deficiencies and contains detailed and positive proposals for improvements which will have far-reaching implications for the future management of the national museum of Wales and for its relationship with the Welsh Office. I have had a preliminary discussion with the president of the museum and have asked for a considered response from the museum by 4 March 1988. This is a wide-ranging and penetrating analysis and the consultants' individual recommendations will need careful and thorough consideration. I intend to ensure that the recommendations are treated with urgency and determination. A major task confronts the museum and the Welsh Office. The museum will need additional administrative support and that will be provided. The museum has an important place in the life of the Principality and a major contribution to make to the culture and heritage of Wales and it is important that it should fulfil its role effectively and efficiently. I intend to see that it is able to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list of all circulars issued by his Department in 1985, 1986 and 1987, together with the corresponding numbers of those circulars.

I will write to the hon. Gentleman shortly and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a list of local education authorities in England which provide nursery education for children aged three to five years.

Nursery education is provided in each of the Welsh authorities. Seventy per cent. of the total three and four-year-old population in Wales was receiving nursery education last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he expects that the bequerel counts in sheep in the Llyn Vyrnwy and Ysbyty Ifan areas will fall below (a) 1000bq. and (b) 600bq. within the next 30 years; and if he will make a statement.

Monitoring of sheep from the north Wales restricted areas during 1987 indicated that some 86 per cent. already had readings below 1,000 bq/kg which is the action level the Government have adopted. Research work is under way on the recycling of caesium from peat soils into different types of pasture and this should enable an estimate to be made of how long restrictions on the movement and slaughter of sheep will be necessary. It does not follow that because the half life of caesium 137 is 30 years, restrictions will be necessary for anything like that long.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest available figures for the number of patients waiting for hospital admission for (a) more than one month for urgent treatment and (b) more than one year for non-urgent treatment.

At 31 March 1987, 2,639 patients on waiting lists had waited more than one month for urgent hospital treatment; and 9,139 had waited more than a year for non-urgent treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how the eradication of surplus school places will be affected by the parental choice provision of the Education Reform Bill, based on 1979 school rolls.

The continuing need for local education authorities to remove surplus school places is not affected by the provisions in the Education Reform Bill on admission to county and voluntary schools, which aim to give additional scope for parental choice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish in the Official Report the recent letter from the Data Protection Registrar concerning the community charge, together with his response; and if he will make a statement.

I have today placed in the Library copies of the registrar's letter of 17 November 1987 and my response of 18 January 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list those organisations which will not be allowed to obtain copies of the community charge register; and if he will make a statement.

Under section 20(2)(b) and (c) of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, access to the full community charges register is restricted to local authorities for the purpose of determining levying and collecting the community charges, and to assessors and electoral registration officers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether the community charge officer will be able to access sources of information other than those data held by a local authority; and if he will make a statement;

Under section 17(2) and (3) of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987, community charges registration officers will have access, for the purpose of discharging their functions, to information held by the assessor or registration officer for their area and, on request, to information held by local authorities or housing bodies in their area, or other registration officers. The Act gives registration officers no other general right of access to information.Under section 17(5) of the Act, registration officers are able to require responsible persons to give them information in respect of premises in their area. In certain circumstances, local authorities and health boards may be responsible persons for this purpose. The information which may be requested is limited to that prescribed for the purposes of section 17(5). Otherwise, registration officers will have no access to information held by health boards. Under no circumstances will they have access to census information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what advice he will be giving to prisoners just before their release as to their responsibility to pay the community charge from their first day of freedom; and if he will make a statement;(2) what advice he will be giving to homeless persons which describes their responsibility to pay the community charge; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend has launched a public information campaign to help ensure that all future community charge payers are aware of their obligations under the new system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to introduce regulations obliging the community charge officer to seek the consent of individuals as to whether they want their name and address on the community charge register to be sold; and if he will make a statement.

I refer to the answer I gave on 3 November 1987 at columns 550–551. My right hon. and learned Friend is still considering whether any amendment to section 20(4) of the Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc (Scotland) Act 1987 is required to provide for any restriction on the parts of the public register which may be made available for sale.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what precautions he is taking to ensure that addresses of members of the armed forces, security services or other public figures who may be at risk do not appear on the community charge register; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend is considering this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has given any instructions or advice to the Scottish new town development corporations on the implementation of the poll tax; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 26 January 1988]: My officials have had discussions in the last few months with representatives from Scottish new towns about the implementation of the community charge and in addition the new towns have received copies of the consultation drafts of regulations which have been issued. The role which new towns, as housing bodies, may play in implementing the community charge will depend on the nature of any agency agreement reached by them with the levying authority, the regional council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he now expects the sale of staff houses at Mearnskirk hospital to sitting tenants to be completed.

I expect the Greater Glasgow health board to be in a position to make formal offers to the tenants concerned within a month, following the meeting of the board's property and land sub-committee on 27 January. The conveyancing procedures are normally completed within three months of offers being accepted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of housing projects which are planned to take place in Angus, Scotland.

Angus district council's latest housing plan, published in January 1986, sets out its general strategy for housing provision in its area. it is, however, for the council to deploy resources available for capital expenditure according to the priorities it determines on a year-to-year basis, and details of council projects programmed are not held centrally.The Scottish Special Housing Association will shortly be starting work on 35 special needs houses in Arbroath. The Housing Corporation in Scotland has approved housing association projects of various kinds in the district. These projects, which are at different stages of development, will provide 300 units.No detailed information is available centrally on proposed private sector housing projects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of new forestry projects which are planned to take place in the current year in Angus, Scotland.

On the basis of schemes approved to date, it is expected that between 700 and 800 hectares of new planting will take place in Angus in 1988 under the Forestry Commission's grant schemes. Some 60 hectares of new planting will be carried out by the Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the average cost to the local health authority of each baby born; and what are the highest arid current costs of delivery for each health board;(2) what is the average cost to health boards of delivering babies born at home.

I regret that the information requested is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of babies are born in units handling more than 1,500 deliveries a year.

The proportion of babies born in units handling more than 1,500 deliveries a year is 79 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of babies in each local health authority area are born in maternity units which handle under 200 deliveries a year.

The proportion of babies born in units handling fewer than 200 deliveries a year is 4·3 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of babies in each health authority are born at home.

The information is as follows:

Percentage of births (live and still) taking place at home in each health board area, Scotland, 1986
Health Board Area	Percentage
Scotland	0·5
Borders	0·9
Forth Valley	0·5
Dumfries and Galloway	0·8
Fife	0·4
Grampian	0·7
Highland	1·0
Lothian	0·5
Argyll and Clyde	0·5
Ayrshire and Arran	0·3
Greater Glasgow	0·5
Lanarkshire	0·5
Tayside	0·4
Orkney	0·4
Shetland	1·1
Western Isles	1·2

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of babies are born in units which handle fewer than 200 deliveries a year.

The information is as follows:

Health Board	Percentage
Argyll and Clyde	5·3
Ayrshire and Arran	6·2
Borders	20·1
Dumfries and Galloway	7·5
Fife	—
Forth Valley	—
Grampian	13·8
Greater Glasgow	—
Highland	9·6
Lanarkshire	2·2
Lothian	—
Orkney	76·3
Shetland	—
Tayside	8·1
Western Isles	9·1

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consult the National Farmers Union and local industries in the Angus area, regarding the consequences of his decision to ban the use of Dinoseb.

We have been in regular contact with the National Farmers Union of Scotland over the last 18 months on the use of Dinoseb. These contacts will continue as necessary. It is not possible at this stage to make any assessment of the likely consequences on local industries of the decision to ban the use of Dinoseb.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research is being conducted in (a) alternatives to the Glencova variety of raspberry and (b) a replacement for Dinoseb; and if he will produce extra funds for such research.

Two new raspberry varieties bred with Government support at the Scottish Crop Research Institute are already available to growers. Both show considerable promise as replacements for Glen Clova. Work also funded by Government has been ongoing for some time to find alternative means of controlling cane vigour in Glen Clova. There are no signs of any early breakthrough and the grant-aided work is continuing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has of the economic and employment effects on the raspberry and associated industries of his decision to prohibit the use of Dinoseb.

It is not possible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the extent of the losses that will be caused by raspberry producers and associated industries as a result of the ban on the use of Dinoseb. Much will depend on how farmers and others react to the new situation.While we appreciate that the decision to ban the use of Dinoseb will have serious consequences for raspberry producers and associated industries, we had no option but to take this decision in the light of the conclusion by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides that Dinoseb and its related products could pose a health risk to people using them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the arrangements he proposes with private sector hospitals to carry out National Health Service operations; and what money he has set aside in this and the next financial year.

I am encouraging health boards in Scotland to consider the extent to which Scotland's private health sector could help them to improve their services for National Health Service patients. I have not set aside money for this purpose in this or the next financial year, but as part of our initiative on waiting lists £300,000 of the additional resources for the current financial year announced by my right hon. and learned Friend on 16 December has been allocated to meet bids from boards to use private sector hospitals to carry out National Health Service operations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest estimate available to him of the cost of the following operations in (a) National Health Service hospitals and (b) private hospitals in Scotland for (i) hysterectomy, (ii) tonsillectomy, (iii) hernia, (iv) hip replacement, (v) heart by-pass and (vi) varicose veins.

Comparative information on this basis is not available. Information on health service costs is not generally held in a form which permits total costs of individual procedures to he identified; progress is, however, being made in improving cost information for resource management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of prosecutions which have occured in each of the past five years as a result of salmon proprietors (a) failing to provide his Department with statistical returns or (b) being found to have made fraudulent returns.

[holding answer 14 January 1988]: There have been no such prosecutions.

	1984		1985		1986
Statistical District	Number of Forms		Number of Forms		Number of Forms
	Sent	Returned	Sent	Returned	Sent	Returned
Tweed	138	136	136	128	135	127
Forth	70	61	64	50	66	58
Tay	150	136	149	133	151	146
South Esk	26	23	24	20	24	23
North Esk and Bervie	21	20	21	20	21	21
Dee (Aberdeen)	73	69	70	64	68	66
Don	49	46	46	41	48	45
Ythan	21	21	20	20	21	21
Ugie	13	13	12	11	12	9
Deveron	53	52	50	46	49	47
Spey	63	61	61	55	61	60
Lossie	6	6	5	4	5	4
Findhorn	22	22	21	20	21	21
Nairn	28	28	28	25	28	27
Ness	33	32	31	29	32	32
Beauly	11	11	10	10	11	11
Conon and Alness	31	27	30	26	32	32
Kyle of Sutherland	29	28	26	22	25	22
Fleet and Brora	4	4	4	4	4	4
Helmsdale	6	4	6	1	1	1
Berriedale to Wick	10	10	7	5	9	6
Thurso and Forss	12	9	11	9	11	10
Halladale and Strathy	7	7	7	7	6	5
Naver and Kinloch	9	8	9	9	9	8
Hope and Grudie	7	7	7	7	7	6
Inchard to Kirkaig	12	11	12	12	11	11
Kennart to Gruinard	16	15	15	14	14	12
Ewe	8	8	8	7	8	7
Badachro to Applecross	7	6	6	4	6	5
Kishorn and Carron	8	7	7	5	8	7
Loch Long and Croe	14	12	13	11	13	13
Glenelg to Kinchoan	6	6	8	6	8	8
Morar to Shiel	17	15	17	15	17	15
Skye and Small Isles	25	23	25	21	24	21
Sunart and Aline	8	8	5	5	6	5
Sanda to Creran	38	33	36	29	35	31
Awe and Nell	63	58	58	48	55	50
Add and Ormsary	30	28	27	25	33	30
Island of Mull	36	34	35	28	35	31
Islay and Jura	9	9	10	10	11	10
Carradale and Iorsa	14	12	14	11	14	12
Fyne	20	19	16	12	17	14
Ruel and Drummachloy	5	5	5	5	5	5
Echaig	10	9	9	7	12	12
Clyde	13	12	13	11	14	12
Irvine	7	7	7	7	7	7
Ayr	37	31	37	33	37	37
Doon	30	28	29	27	29	24
Girvan	24	21	24	21	24	23
Stinchar	41	37	38	33	37	32
Luce	5	5	5	4	6	6
Bladenoch	19	18	18	16	19	19
Cree and Fleet	30	30	30	25	30	29
Dee (Kirkcudbright)	28	25	26	23	27	24
Urr	24	23	24	20	28	25
Nith	56	47	52	42	54	48