To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average time taken in each county in Wales from the day of application for a fair rent to the actual registration of rent, in the latest year for which figures are available.

The following table contains information on the median interval between date of application to registration by the rent officer. The intervals include a period of not less than seven and not more than 14 days in which both landlord and tenant have the right to request a consultation. Where a consultation is requested at least seven days' notice must be given by the rent officer, except where a landlord application involves service charges in which case 14 days notice must be given.

Rent Act 1977: Time Taken to Deal with Applications by the Rent Officer, Wales 1986
Rent Registration Area	Median Time Taken in Weeks
Clwyd	3·6
Dyfed	7·6
Gwent	6·5
Gwynedd	3·4
Mid Glamorgan	9·4
Powys	4·3
South Glamorgan	11·1
West Glamorgan	6·5

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) those secondary schools in each local education authority in Wales in which a second modern language, besides Welsh, is taught between the ages of 11 and 16 years and (b) those schools and other educational institutions catering for 16 to 18-year-olds, in which two, or more, modern languages are taught, other than the Welsh language, post 16 years old.

Information from the 1984 secondary school staffing survey indicates that a modern langage other than Welsh and English was undertaken within year groups I to V in virtually all maintained secondary schools in Wales. Comparable information for schools in which two or more modern languages other than Welsh and English were taught to pupils aged 16 and over is not available.The colleges of further and higher education offering identifiable examinable courses in two or more modern langages other than Welsh and English in 1987–88 are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many consultant rheumatologists there are in Gwent; what is the size of the population served; what is the ratio recommended by the Royal College of Physicians; and what action he intends to take to remedy the situation in Gwent.

There is currently one whole-time equivalent consultant rheumatologist employed by Gwent district health authority, although patients with rheumatic conditions are also treated by consultants in other specialties.Precise estimates of the population served are not available. The population of the area covered by the Gwent district health authority is 441,800. The majority of Gwent and some residents of other districts requiring rheumatological treatment are treated within Gwent. Likewise, some Gwent residents are treated in other health authorities.I understand that the Royal College of Physicians/regional advisers' guidelines refer to a recommended ratio of one whole-time equivalent consultant rheumatologist per 150,000 population.The level of staff and resources for rheumatology services in Gwent is an operational matter for the Gwent health authority to determine.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were (a) employed and (b) unemployed in (i) Wales and (ii) Clwyd for each year since 1979.

[holding answer 3 February 1988]: The information available is given in the following table:

000s
	Total in civil employment		Unemployed claimants
Year	1Clwyd	2Wales	3Clwyd	4Wales
June 1979	ֵ	1,157	ֵ	70·3
June 1980	ֵ	1,125	ֵ	84·2
June 1981	113	1,054	ֵ	132·4
June 1982	ֵ	1,027	ֵ	146·8
June 1983	ֵ	1,014	22·4	158·7
June 1984	118	1,030	21·9	162·7
June 1985	ֵ	1,023	23·0	172·2
June 1986	ֵ	1,016	23·1	175·0
June 1987	ֵ	1,027	20·4	154·1
1 For Clwyd, the figures exclude self-employed—the only available figure, from the April 1981 Census of Population, which shows 17,800. Employees in Employment Statistics come from Censuses of Employment and relate to September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the total value of goods and services provided to increase energy efficiency in each of the last 15 years, expressed as constant prices.

Energy efficiency goods and services are provided by a large number of bodies including central and local government, industry and professional organisations. Assessment of their value could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will issue instructions for the removal of all offensive pin-ups in all his departmental premises.

Item 69 of the programme of action to achieve equality of opportunity for women states that no form of sexual harassment at work will be tolerated in the Civil Service. The programme of action was published by the Cabinet Office (MPO) in 1984.Guidance has already been issued to all Department of Energy staff that the display of sexually offensive material in the office amounts to sexual harassment, and that such behaviour is not acceptable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply of 15 January, Official Report, column 421, in what form the figures for plutonium production are recorded.

I have nothing to add to the answers I gave the hon. Member on 15 January 1988 at column 421 and 2 February 1988 at column 532.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what share of current oil production from the United Kingdom North sea is accounted for by (a) BP and (b) Britoil;(2) what share of proven and probable oil reserves in the United Kingdom North sea is owned by

My annual report to Parliament on the development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom, available in the Library of the House, contains tables showing operating companies' oil reserve estimates, company shares in oil fields, and output levels from those fields.

To ask the Prime Minister what is the Cabinet Office policy on sexual harassment at work; whether guidance has been issued to staff on reporting complaints; what is the number of complaints which have been reported in the past five years; and what disciplinary action has been taken.

The Cabinet Office is totally opposed to sexual harassment at work. No specific guidance has been issued on reporting these matters. Complaints should go to the personnel manager or welfare officer. None has been reported in the past five years.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) if, during her recent discussions with Chancellor Kohl, she raised questions of the modernisation programme for NATO nuclear weapons, in terms of the re-deployment of the nuclear warheads of Pershings I and II and cruise missiles within the context of the Montebello agreement of 1983;(2) if, during her recent meeting with Chancellor Kohl, the issue of possible United Kingdom-France joint nuclear weapons development and deployment was raised, in the context of the responsibilities discharged by Her Majesty's Government under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister if, in her recent meetings with President Mitterrand and Ministers in the French Government, she discussed the implications of article I of the non-proliferation treaty of 1968 in future Anglo-French nuclear weapons collaboration.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister which of her Ministers has the duty of asking the Attorney-General to consider whether the former deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester is to be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act or, in view of the income derived from the publication, to be proceeded against under the civil law.

As to the question of possible criminal proceedings, I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 4 February, at column 681. The question whether to institute civil proceedings against Mr. Stalker is a matter for Ministers collectively.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy at the next European Council of Ministers meeting to raise the matter of the bribery and corruption allegations involving European Economic Community civil nuclear installations; and what initiatives she expects to take to strengthen Euratom safeguards provisions in the European Economic Community.

No. The allegations surrounding the transfer of nuclear material between Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany are matters for those Governments. Judicial inquiries into them have been set up in both countries and the question is also to be considered by a committee of inquiry of the Federal Germany Parliament. Investigations by the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have found no evidence of any breach of Euratom safeguards provisions.

To ask the Prime Minister what assessment she has made of the implications for security in Northern Ireland, with particular reference to the safety of British troops, of the recently announced decision not to prosecute officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary for alleged offences of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice; and if she will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 28 January 1988, at column 465.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many documents published by the Commission of the European Economic Community have been reclassified from the COM series, following representation from Ministers or officials of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

None. Decisions about the classification of documents are for the Commission. We have not sought to have documents reclassified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the British delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights will support a move to have the human rights situation investigated in East Timor at their meeting in Geneva in February.

I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave on 19 January to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) at column 639.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will call for a copy of the report to the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Nottinghamshire police regarding Councillor Mrs. Angela Pink; and if he will make a statement.

Reports of alleged offences are submitted to me by the Director of Public Prosecutions only if my consent to a prosecution is required or if for some other reason it is considered appropriate to do so.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will review the current cost of obtaining photocopied pages or microfilm copies of documents released under the 30-year rule and kept at the Public Records Office; if he will seek to institute a reduction in unit costs charged to researchers seeking such Public Records Office information; and if he will make a statement.

The fees and charges payable in respect of photocopies and microfilm of public records open to inspection in the Public Records Office are currently prescribed by the Public Records Office (Fees) Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/444). They are calculated to recover the full cost of the service in respect of each particular reprographic process and are kept under continual review.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will place in the Library a copy of the code for Crown prosecutors.

The code for Crown prosecutors is set out in the annual report made by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Attorney-General. Copies of the Director's first report were placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 13 August 1987. This was announced in the Official Report on 21 October 1987 at column 743.

To ask the Attorney-General whether the reports of either Mr. Colin Sampson or Mr. John Stalker to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland recommended prosecution of any members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary with regard to the illegal killings of any persons; and if he will make a statement.

As is the usual practice with police reports covering criminal investigations, neither the report by Mr. John Stalker nor the report by Mr. Colin Sampson will be published. I remind the hon. Member, however, of the following passage in the statement I made to the House on 25 January 1988:

"In regard to the shooting incidents to which I have referred, the Director has considered all the facts and information ascertained and reported by Mr. Stalker and Mr. Sampson, and he has re-examined the original RUC investigation files. He has concluded that the evidence does not warrant any further prosecution in respect of the shootings which occurred on 11 November 1982 and 12 December 1982 and which have already been the subject of prosecutions. He has further concluded that the evidence does not warrant any prosecution in respect of either the fatal shooting or the wounding that occurred on 24 November 1982. I have considered the Director's conclusions and I agree with them. He has given directions accordingly."—(Official Report, 25 January 1988; Vol. 126, c. 22.]

To ask the Attorney-General whether his statement in relation to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland's decision not to prosecute Royal Ulster Constabulary officers for allegedly perverting the course of justice was based on the findings of inquiries prior to, as well as during, the course of the Stalker-Sampson investigations; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 25 January. The Director considered all the facts and information ascertained and reported by Mr. Stalker and Mr. Sampson, he re-examined the original RUC investigation files and his conclusions were reached in the light of all the facts and information brought to his notice.

To ask the Attorney-General whether forensic evidence discovered during the course of inquiries by Mr. John Stalker and Mr. Colin Sampson was made available to the courts during any prosecution of persons for unlawful killing; and if he will make a statement.

Trials of members of the RUC took place in March 1984 and May 1984. Mr. Stalker was appointed to conduct his investigation on 24 May 1984 and Mr. Stalker's interim report was furnished to the chief constable on 18 September 1985. Accordingly any evidence elicited by the investigation team headed by Mr. Stalker and Mr. Sampson was not available to the courts during the prosecutions referred to.

To ask the Attorney-General (1) whether tapes in connection with the killing of Michael Tighe at Ballynerry Road North, Lurgon, are still in existence; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether

As is the usual practice with police reports covering criminal investigations, neither the report by Mr. John Stalker nor the report by Mr. Colin Sampson will be published. Accordingly I do not intend to make any statement on detailed matters of evidence.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will specify the precise considerations which led him to inform the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland about the nature of the public interest in relation to the possible prosecutions of Superintendent Thomas George Anderson, Superintendent Samuel George Flanagan and Chief Superintendent Desmond Brown for seeking to pervert the course of justice in respect of the alleged suppression of information on an unlawful killing; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the full statement which I made to the House on 27 January 1988. I have nothing to add to it either generally or with particular reference to the considerations of public interest (and in particular considerations of national security) which were taken into account, or as to the identity of any person whose conduct was the subject of investigation.

To ask the Attorney-General whether the tapes in connection with the killing of Michael Tighe were made available to the court at the time of the trial of Mr. Martin Macauley; and if he will make a statement.

The evidence before the court at the time of the trial of Mr. Martin Macauley is a matter of public record. The court received no evidence of or from any tape.

To ask the Attorney-General why information is not available in respect of the amount of legal aid moneys recovered in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 and paid in respect of a solicitor who at the relevant time did not hold a current practising certificate; and whether he will make a statement.

The information is not available because recoveries of legal aid moneys in the circumstances described are not separately recorded.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he will introduce new procedures designed to ensure that a declaration of certification is made before a legal aid payment is made to a solicitor and that anyone making a false declaration is prosecuted.

The Lord Chancellor has asked the legal aid head office to give further details of its procedures and if necessary to review them. I will write to the hon. Member when that review is complete.

To ask the Attorney-General under which heading in the legal aid accounts for 1985–86 are to be found sums recovered from solicitors who at the relevant time did not hold a current practising certificate.

Sums are recovered by deduction from subsequent payments to the solicitors concerned. Recoupments thus lead to the amount recorded in the legal aid accounts as "solicitors" charges and counsel's fees being lower than would otherwise have been the case.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he will seek to strengthen the criminal law with the intention of reducing the number of uncertificated solicitors who are acting improperly.

I see no reason to do so. Criminal sanctions for an offence under section 20 of the Solicitors Act 1974 are already severe; penalties of imprisonment for not more than two years, a fine, or both may be imposed. Specific offences relating to the commission of certain prohibited acts attract other penalties under the Solicitors Act 1974.

To ask the Attorney-General why he will not take steps to establish a method of complaints against uncertificated solicitors which is more open to scrutiny than the Solicitors Complaints Bureau.

I have not seen any reason to do so.

To ask the Attorney-General why he will not set up an inquiry into the way in which the Solicitors Complaints Bureau conducts investigations, with respect to its standards of impartiality.

I have not seen any reason to do so.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he has ever met Mr. Stringer of the Solicitors Complaints Bureau; and whether he will make a statement.

I have not met Mr. Stringer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is willing to consider representations from right hon. Members and hon. Members in respect of proposals made under sections 12 and 13 of the Education Act 1980 at any time up to the date of his formal decision on that proposal being published.

My right hon. Friend would encourage hon. and right hon. Members to make representations to him about proposals made under sections 12 and 13 of the Education Act 1980 whenever possible within three months of the date of publication of those proposals. He is, nevertheless, willing to listen to representations after that time. Once proposals have been approved or rejected under those sections, my right hon. Friend has no power to rescind that decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the procedures taken by himself, his Ministers and officials within his Department in arriving at a decision for approval or rejection of a proposal under sections 12 and 13 of the Education Act 1980 are treated as strictly confidential, and do not constitute any decision until he publicly announces such a decision.

Advice from officials to Ministers is normally regarded as confidential. My right hon. Friend is advised that, where a decision in respect of particular proposals under sections 12 or 13 of the Education Act 1980 is communicated to the proposers, the proposals are approved or rejected for the purposes of those sections, irrespective of whether any public announcement has been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the procedure he adopts (a) to publish decisions taken under sections 12 and 13 of the Education Act 1980 and (b) to inform all interested parties of such a decision.

Approval or rejection by my right hon. Friend of proposals published under sections 12 and 13 of the Education Act 1980 is conveyed to the proposers concerned. The authority is required to inform local objectors of the decision. Where an hon. or right hon. Member has expressed an interest in the proposal, it is the usual practice of my right hon. Friend to inform the hon. Member of the decision at the same time as it is conveyed to the proposers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received seeking the insertion of a clause in the Education Reform Bill which would require that, where a school had voted under the opt out provisions to remain under local authority control, a minimum time period should elapse before a further ballot may be held on the same subject; what response he has made; and if he will make a statement.

No such representations have been received. However, in the interests of minimising disruption to schools, the Government have brought forward an amendment to the Bill in Committee to ensure that no governing body may resolve to hold a ballot if one has been held within the previous 12 months, unless the Secretary of State gives his written consent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what grants he has allocated to Lancashire county council for 1988–89; what were the allocations for 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

Lancashire LEA's allocation for prescribed capital expenditure on schools and further and higher education in 1988–89 is £12·809 million; its allocation in 1987–88 was £5·994 million. Next year's allocation is 113 per cent. higher than this year's, and represents 50 per cent. of its planned expenditure compared with the national average of 39 per cent. In addition, the authority has been allocated £3·298 million for expenditure by governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools in 1988–89 compared with £0·793 million in 1987–88, which represents an increase of 316 per cent. and is the second highest allocation made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those applications made by agencies in the United Kingdom for funding under the European Commission ACE fund to protect the environment; and if he will give the outcome of those applications.

In the information in the table, successful applications for funding udner the European Community ACE—Action by the Community on the Environment—regulations are marked with an asterisk. Decisions on some projects have had to be deferred pending clarifications of technical points or through lack of funds at the time of consideration.

Applications under article 1.1 (a)—Demonstration projects aimed at developing new "clean" technologies
Project	Applicant
1. Proposed effluent plant	Charles Paisley and Sons
2. Control of lead emissions	Choloride Metals Ltd.
3. Reduction of chrome effluent levels	Alumina Company Ltd.
4. New process for manufacturing cellophane	BCL ltd.

Applications under article 1.1(b)—Demonstration projects aimed at developing new techniques and methods for measuring monitoring the quality of the natural environment
Project	Applicant
1. Windpowered aerogenerator	J. Roger White
2. Techniques of resonant ionisation mass spectroscopy	University Glasgow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Chelmsford, Official Report, 1 February, column 432, how many of the planning appeals received by his Department from applicants in the Chelmsford area involved planning applications in green belt land, in each of the last three available years.

The information is not available exactly in the form requested. The number of planning appeals from Chelmsford borough involving land in the designated green belt recorded as having been decided by inspectors in 1984, 1985 and 1986 was:

Year	Appeals Decided
1984	18
1985	32
1986	35

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional measures he intends to undertake to ensure equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities to allow for the fact that local authorities will no longer be able to exercise contract compliance on their behalf if the terms of the Local Government Bill remain unchanged; and if he will make a statement.

None. The provisions of the Local Government Bill do not affect employers' duties under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action is being taken to reduce the pollution of the River Calder in west Yorkshire.

Most of the River Calder from Huddersfield to its confluence with the River Aire is classified as poor quality (class 3). The Yorkshire water authority is working towards upgrading the river to fair quality (class 2) by the early 1990s. The improvement will largely come about through the completion of major schemes at sewage treatment works in the Huddersfield area on which the authority is planning to spend around £17 million over the next two to three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what grants he has agreed to make to Lancashire county council in 1988–89; what grants were made by his Department to Lancashire in 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

On the basis of its estimated spending, Lancashire county council will receive in 1987–88 £317.568 million in rate support grant. For spending at the 1988–89 RSG settlement spending assumption of £644.309 million, the council would receive £337.336 millionThe council will also receive in respect of this financial year and 1988–89 payments of gipsy site grant and derelict land grant and small sums under part III of scheduel 15 to the Housing Act 1985. It is not yet possible to say how much the council will receive in these grants in respect of the two years, as payments are made on the basis of claims made to my Department after expenditure is incurred.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the third supplementary report for 1986–87 and the fourth supplementary reports for 1983–84 and 1984–85 for England will be published.

I have laid these supplementary reports—SRs—before the House today. The main purpose of these SRs is to adjust grant to reflect the latest information on each authority's expenditure. The fourth SRs for 1983–84 and 1984–85 make new estimates of the totals of relevant expenditure, and specific grants, and adjust aggregate Exchequer grant, individual authorites grant, grant-related expenditure—GRE—assessments and their liability to grant abatement in the light of audited outturn expenditure in these years. The third SR for 1986–87 makes similar changes in the light of provisional outturn expenditure. However, there was no expenditure guidance issued in 1986–87, so there was no grant abatement in that year. All three SRs make certain other changes to correct errors, reflect boundary changes, and so on.The SRs have to be approved by the House of Commons. Subject to that, I plan to make the revisions to grants payments to reflect the reports early in April. Copies of the reports and tables showing revised grant entitlement are being sent today to local authoriy associations and to each authority.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about current progress towards removing internal barriers to trade within the European Economic Community.

We and our Community partners are making encouraging progress towards the completion of the single market by the target date of 31 December 1992. Over 100 individual measures aimed at removing barriers have been agreed in the last 18 months, 48 of them during the United Kingdom presidency in the second half of 1986. Following implementation of the Single European Act, the increased use of qualified majority voting is likely to speed up the process of decision taking.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will list in the Official Report the names of all the companies and individuals holding general value added network services licences and the dates of issue for each;(2) if he will indicate the circumstances in which a general value added network services licence can be revoked.

The provision of value added and data services, other than by the public telecommunications operators and their associates, is authorised under a class licence granted to all persons on 30 April 1987. Public telecommunications operators provide services under their main PTO licences. PTO associates are authorised to provide VADS under a separate but similar class licence also granted on 30 April 1987.The precise circumstances in which the class licence can be revoked are set out in schedule 2 to the licence. In brief the licence may only be revoked in respect of an individual and then only:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take regarding John Bainbridge, who petitioned the House on 9 December 1987.

The matter raised by John Bainbridge in his petition to the House on 9 December 1987 has been considered in accordance with the normal procedures and a decision will be given to him shortly. I shall then write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has reached a conclusion about his response to the requests from the North Yorkshire constabulary for an increase in their police establishment of 50 officers.

The application by North Yorkshire police authority for an increase in their force establishment is being considered along with applications from other authorities and in the light of advice from Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary. No decisions have yet been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Deaprtment (1) how many fixed penalty fines were issued on foreign-registered vehicles for each of the last five years; if he will give a breakdown of the figures between (a) private vehicles and (b) business vehicles; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the total number of fines;(2) if he will list, by country of origin, the total number and value of fixed penalty fines for road traffic offences unrecovered, for each of the last five years;(3) how many of the fixed penalty fines issued on foreign-registered vehicles for each of the last five years were paid; and if he will estimate the cost of recovering such fines that remained unpaid in the first instance;(4) if he will list, by country of origin, the number of fixed penalty fines issued on foreign-registered vehicles for the last year for which figures are available;(5) if he will list, by country of origin, the number of convictions for road traffic offences, other than fixed penalty fines, against drivers of foreign-registered vehicles,

for the last year for which figures are available; and if he will give a breakdown between

Information on fixed penalty notices issued, the proportion paid, and so on, and findings of guilt at all courts is published annually in the Home Office statistical bulletin "Offences Relating to Motor Vehicles, England and Wales" (tables 3,6 and 7 of the issue for 1986, number 36/87, a copy of which is in the Library. Information is not collected centrally on the cost of recovering unpaid fines, the country of registration or the type of vehicle involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the total number of foreign

Receptions under sentence1into Prison Department establishments in England and Wales: by type of offence and citizenship, 1986
Number of persons
Citizenship	Motoring offences	Other offences	All offences
British, British Overseas, British Dependent Territories, Commonwealth countries, Pakistan and the Republic of Ireland	12,270	71,900	84,160
Other Foreign nationalities of which	160	1,170	1,330
Belgium/Luxembourg	3	ֵ	ֵ
France	2	ֵ	ֵ
German Federal Republic	52	ֵ	ֵ
Greece	2	ֵ	ֵ
Holland	4	ֵ	ֵ
Hungary	3	ֵ	ֵ
Italy	9	ֵ	ֵ
Poland	5	ֵ	ֵ
Spain	3	ֵ	ֵ
Other Europe	12	ֵ	ֵ
United States of America	16	ֵ	ֵ
Other Americas	3	ֵ	ֵ
South Africa	11	ֵ	ֵ
Bangladesh	2	ֵ	ֵ
Burma	1	ֵ	ֵ
Peoples' Republic of China	1	ֵ	ֵ
Iran	4	ֵ	ֵ
Turkey	7	ֵ	ֵ
USSR	1	ֵ	ֵ
Rest of the World	17	ֵ	ֵ
Not recorded	100	560	660
All	12,530	73,630	86,150
1Including fine defaulters. Based on records held centrally, which are approximate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to strengthen the provisions of the Data Protection Act in relation to the first and third data protection principles, in the light of the Data Protection Registrar's comments on the community charge; and whether he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State of the Home Department how many refugees are currently seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom; from which offenders imprisoned for each of the last five years; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of (a) the total number of prisoners and (b) the total number of foreign prisoners imprisoned for road traffic offences;(2) if he will list, by country of origin, the total number of offenders imprisoned for road traffic offences for each of the last five years, who were using foreign-registered vehicles.

The readily available information, which is only for 1986, is given in the table, excluding citizens of Commonwealth countries, Pakistan and the Republic of Ireland the recording of whom is not sufficiently reliable for separate estimates of their numbers to be given. No details of the registration of any vehicles involved are held centrally.countries they originate; how many are in detenion; and what information he has as to which political movements they are members.

The latest available information on outstanding applications for asylum relates to 1 October 1987 and is shown in the following table. Delays in the input of data to the computer system means that some applications made before this date do not appear in the table and some applications on which a decision has been taken are included.There are at present some 53 persons seeking asylum in the United Kingdom who have been detained for more than 14 days. Information regarding the membership of political movements of asylum-seekers is not readily available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the new radio authority will have powers to restrict the networking of programmes between local radio stations.

The extent to which programmes of interest to a wider audience are distributed between individual stations will be governed principally by the requirement on stations licensed by the radio authority to honour their promises of performance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the report on amusement arcades and similar activities from the Gaming Board of Great Britain.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are currently being held in detention under the Immigration Act 1987 (a) pending the outcome of an immigration appeal and (b) under detention for other reasons, at (i) Welford road prison, Leicester, and (ii) all other prisons in Britain.

There are currently seven people detained at Leicester prison, under the Immigration Act 1971. Of these one is detained pending the outcome of an immigration appeal.The main prison service establishment used for immigration cases is Latchmere house where, on 4 February, 94 people were detained under the Immigration Act 1971. Similar information for other establishments, and details of those detained pending the outcome of an appeal is not kept centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the feasibility study on DNA testing; what arrangements he is making to assist those in financial hardship to obtain DNA tests; and if he will make a statement.

Officials are preparing a report on the pilot trial of the use of DNA profiling in immigration cases. A copy will be placed in the Library as soon as possible. We shall address the related policy issue, including the availability of financial assistance, when the report is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many duplicate (a) shotgun licences and (b) firearms certificates were issued by each police force area in the last year for which figures are available and in the preceding year.

The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing and maintaining a central guns register.

The recently published White Paper on the review of firearms controls drew attention to the possibility of establishing a national guns register, if on further examination, this seems desirable. I do not now have estimates of the costs which would be incurred in establishing and maintaining such a register.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the stolen property index is maintained on a sub-division, division or whole-force police area; and whether it is (a) circulated to other police forces and (b) available on request.

I understand that the stolen property index is maintained on a national basis. Some forces maintain their own index. Details from the index are available to police forces on request but are not available to the public.

	Multilateral aid	Bilateral aid
		Project aid	Programme aid	Technical cooperation	Disaster relief	Food aid
1977	33·7	22·4	11·7	20·7	0·2	1·2
1978	25·0	25·1	17·4	20·4	0·4	2·0
1979	27·3	28·7	16·3	19·8	0·2	0·8
1980	27·3	29·9	7·1	23·1	0·3	0·9
1981	29·3	35·9	5·8	18·3	0·1	1·2
1982	37·9	28·4	6·6	19·5	0·2	1·1
1983	40·9	27·7	4·3	19·7	0·2	1·1
1984	40·3	30·3	2·8	18·2	0·7	1·1
1985	37·7	27·3	3·5	21·1	2·5	2·1
1986	37·6	29·5	4·2	21·4	1·4	0·6

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will issue instructions for the removal of all offensive pin-ups in all his departmental premises.

No form of sexual harassment at work is tolerated by my Department.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate for the public sector borrowing requirement for 1987–88.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wire taps were authorised in 1987 for the purpose of investigating nuisance callers to (a) British Telecom Talkabout and (b) other premium services operating with general value added network services licences.

Any arrangements British Telecom may make for routine monitoring of calls to such services as British Telecom Talkabout are not made under section 2 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the proportion of the Overseas Development Administration budget spent on emergency relief, project aid, programme aid, multilateral aid and technical assistance for each year for the last 10 years.

Percentages of gross public expenditure on aid spent on these programmes were as follows:

The Autumn Statement forecast was for a PSBR in 1987–88 of £1 billion. A revised estimate will be published next month in the Financial Statement and Budget Report.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest indication of Her Majesty's Government's borrowing requirement at the end of the 1987–88 financial year, on present spending plans.

The Autumn Statement forecast was for a public sector borrowing requirement in 1987–88 of £1 billion. A revised estimate for 1987–88, together with a forecast for 1988–89, will be published next month in the Financial Statement and Budget Report.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of recent representations, he will increase the resources available to (a) the National Health Service and (b) education and training from the totals proposed in his White Paper.

The White Paper plans show large increases in provision for both health and education. They will be reviewed again in the normal way in this year's public expenditure survey.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to meet the National Economic Development Council to discuss economic matters.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor plans to meet the National Economic Development Council next year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent growth in the economy has been reflected in falling unemployment over the past year.

Strong growth in the economy accounts for the greater part of the fall in unemployment of over half a million over the past year, the largest fall since similar records began in 1948.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the General Aviation Manufacturers and Trade Association to discuss the duty on Avgas.

My right hon. Friend has not met representatives of GAMTA and nor have I.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement on the costs of the BP sale.

It is provisionally estimated that the cost of the sale of BP shares in the financial year 1987–88 will be some £114 million. This represented about 2 per cent. of the total proceeds raised for the Government of £5,503 million.The main categories of expenditure are estimated to comprise:

	£ million
United Kingdom sale
—advisers fees	3
—marketing costs	39
—receiving bank registration	5
—underwriting and selling commissions	36
Overseas sales	31
	114

In addition, the administrative costs of the Bank of England purchase arrangements borne by the Treasury are provisionally estimated to amount to some £1·4 million.The corresponding spring supplementary estimate for these costs, which is for a token £1,000 and which will be presented shortly, provides for expenditure on expenses of £161,860,000. The difference represents transfers of funds within Government, principally stamp duty and VAT, which are not a cost to the Exchequer.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the latest figures for the growth of gross domestic product over the past year.

Real gross domestic product is provisionally estimated to have grown by 5¼ per cent. in the year to the third quarter of 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total revenue collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in Aberdeen over each of the past 10 years.

[holding answer 3 February 1988]: I regret that this information is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has held about proposals that Her Majesty's Customs and Excise office in Aberdeen, covering the north and north-east of Scotland, should be closed and its work transferred to Edinburgh or Glasgow.

[holding answer 3 February 1988]: The office will not be closed. Although overall administrative responsibility for Customs and Excise matters in the north and north-east of Scotland will be transferred to Edinburgh and Glasgow (and Clyde) collections, senior managers will remain in Aberdeen to manage Customs and Excise matters and full services to local commercial and industrial organisations will be maintained.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants, by grade, are employed at Her Majesty's Customs and Excise office in Aberdeen.

[holding answer 3 February 1988]: The Aberdeen regional collection of Customs and Excise has a total of 471½ staff, of whom the following grades are located in the town of Aberdeen:

Grade	Number of staff
5	1
6	1
7	4
SEO	14
HEO	51
EO	104
AO	71
AA	23
Personal Secretary	1
Typist	6
Messenger	2
	278

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to meet staff at Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in Aberdeen to discuss proposals to close that office.

[holding answer 3 February 1988]: The Customs and Excise office in Aberdeen is not to close. The administrative section will, however, be transferred to Edinburgh or Glasgow as part of a necessary restructuring of the Scottish collections. Staff trade union representatives have been kept advised of the proposals and full discussions are taking place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland why prisoners in Scotland are not informed of the reasons for refusal of parole; and if he will make a statement.

The practice of not giving reasons for refusal to grant early release on parole licence has operated since the parole scheme was introduced. The decision on whether an individual should be granted the privilege of parole is taken by my right hon. and learned Friend in the light of confidential advice from the Parole Board for Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what dispensation was given in August 1986 to farmers in the restricted areas, following the Chernobyl accident, to leave their sheep unmarked.

There was no dispensation to allow unmarked sheep to be moved from the restricted areas except in the case of movement of breeding stock to recognised breeding sales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many sheep without markings were authorised by his Department to be recalled from auction marts in or around the restricted areas following the Chernobyl accident in August and September 1986.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date marking paint was made available to satisfy the needs of all sheep farmers in the restricted areas of Scotland following the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

Marking paint was available from 13 August 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners are in solitary confinement for disciplinary measures and how many prisoners are in solitary confinement for their own safety, in Scotland.

Under rule 43 of the Prison (Scotland) Rules 1952, a prisoner may, as a punishment, be confined to his cell for a limited period on the authority of the governor or the visiting committee. This punishment is awarded very rarely and no prisoner is subject to it at present. Under rule 36 of the prison rules, a prisoner may be removed from association, with the authority of the visiting committee or the Secretary of State, in the interests of good order or discipline, or in his own interests. This is not a punishment, and the prisoner has access to normal privileges other than association. At 31 January 1988, 68 adult inmates were being held under this rule.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has decided the amount of fee remission grant to allocate to schools participating in the assisted places scheme in respect of session 1988–89.

The allocations of fee remission grant for 1988–89 are shown in the table. As in 1987–88, 41 schools will participate.

School	£
Albyn School for Girls, Aberdeen	29,000
Belmont House School, Newton Mearns	31,000
Craigholme School for Girls, Glasgow	45,000
Dollar Academy	108,000
Edinburgh Academy	106,000
Fernhill School, Glasgow	69,000
Fettes College, Edinburgh	97,000
Fort Augustus Abbey School	120,000
George Heriot's School, Edinburgh	419,000
Glasgow Academy	81,000
Glenalmond College, Perthshire	140,000
Gordonstoun School, Morayshire	84,000
The High School of Dundee	322,000
The High School of Glasgow	105,000
Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow	219,000
Keil School, Dumbarton	125,000
Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow	118,000
Kilgraston (Convent of the Sacred Heart)	98,000
Kilquhanity House School, Castle Douglas	31,000
Lomond School, Helensburgh	97,000
Loretto School, Musselburgh	87,000
Merchant Company Schools	1,144,000
Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh	175,000
Morrison's Academy, Crieff	283,000
Rannoch School, Perthshire	75,000
Robert Cordon's College, Aberdeen	88,000
Rudolf Steiner School of Edinburgh	104,000
St. Aloysius' College, Glasgow	230,000
St. Denis & Cranley School, Edinburgh	48,000
St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh	34,000
St. Leonard's School, St. Andrews	58,000
St. Margaret's School for Girls, Aberdeen	26,000
St. Margaret's School for Girls, Edinburgh	116,000
Strathallan School, Forgandenny, Perthshire	133,000
Wellington School, Ayr	79,000
West of Scotland School Company	506,000
Total	5,630,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many places on YTS he plans for the Peterlee and Seaham areas of his Department in the year 1988–89.

For 1988–89, a total of 1,105 YTS places are provisionally planned in the local authority district of Easington, which includes Easington, Peterlee and Seaham.