To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost to public funds of the recent visit by his Minister of State to the sub-continent of India.

The cost to the public funds for travel and subsistence expenses of my recent visit to the sub-continent of India was £10,600.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be able to reach a decision on the applicants United Kingdom residence to which his letter and 106257/8(S) of 27 November 1987 to the hon. Member for Woking refers; and if he will allow the individuals concerned to leave the United Kingdom and re-enter again on a temporary basis until this case is determined.

I wrote to my hon. Friend on 9 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to (a) the age of drivers stopped and asked to take a breathalyser test and (b) the age of those failing such a test.

Information on all those required to provide a roadside screening breath test is published annually in Home Office statistical bulletins, the latest issue, No. 24/87, giving figures for 1986. The bulletin does not include information by age of driver, because these details are not collected centrally. However, information on the ages of those found guilty of driving and so on with excess alcohol is published in table 15 of "Offences Relating to Motor Vehicles, England and Wales, 1986, Supplementary Tables", and of those breath-tested after accidents involving personal injury in table 36 of "Road Accidents, Great Britain, 1986", copies of both of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the period of detention at Risley remand centre of the six Iranians and one Iraqi who entered the United Kingdom at Liverpool without authorisation in December 1987; to which nation these people were deported; whether any of them had any form of medical examination while they were at Risley remand centre; what was the nature of the suicide attempts that they made on 4 January; and whether any other suicide attempts were made by these men while they were at Risley remand centre.

These stowaways were detained at Risley remand centre from 22 December 1987 to 15 January 1988 following refusal of entry. All of them were medically examined there and held in the hospital wing. On 4 January, two of the men scratched themselves on the stomach and chest with a plastic knife causing superficial injuries. No other attempts to injure themselves were made. The men flew to Greece on 15 January under arrangements made by the immigration service and agreed with the men and the Greek authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the purpose of the meeting at the Royal hotel, Scarborough, in May 1986 which was attended by Sir Lawrence Byford, Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Mr. Phillip Myers, Inspector of Constabulary for the North West and Northern Ireland, Mr. Colin Sampson, chief constable of West Yorkshire, and Mr. James Anderton, chief constable of Greater Manchester; and for what purpose Sir John Hermon, Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary visited this hotel whilst the meeting was taking place.

The meeting was arranged by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary to discuss allegations about the conduct of the then deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester which had been brought to the attention of Mr. Anderton.The meeting took place on 19 May 1986. I understand that Sir John Hermon was in Northern Ireland throughout that day and that he had no prior knowledge of the meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement regarding the Government's policy towards Church of England secondary schools.

I value the work done by Church of England schools within the maintained sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the extra cost involved of full fee remission for all home students, in respect of part-time degree courses in (a) universities, (b) polytechnics and other colleges and (c) the Open University.

The extra cost of full remission of part-time students' fees would have been £14·14 million for the universities in the academic year 1985–86 and £8·85 million for the Open University in 1986. The information is not available for polytechnics and other colleges.

To ask the Secretary of Stale for Education and Science what proposals have been made to close down the department of metallurgy and metals engineering at the City of London polytechnic and for what reason; what steps are planned to safeguard the position of existing students in the event of such a closure; and when a decision is likely to be taken.

The court of governors of City of London polytechnic decided at its meeting on 20 January to cease recruitment to all metallurgy courses. I understand that the reason for the decision was the need to contain the polytechnic's expenditure within the funds expected to be available to meet it. The polytechnic has assured all existing students that they will be enabled to complete their courses under arrangements to be made with Thames polytechnic.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last met representatives of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education; and whether he discussed with them his proposals for further education colleges included in the Education Reform Bill.

My right hon. Friend will be meeting representatives of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education on 24 February. He expects to discuss with them then issues relating to the Education Reform Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to establish the membership of the Universities Funding Council; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend will announce the membership of the Universities Funding Council in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received concerning his proposals for devolving the control of further education colleges from local education authorities to college governing bodies.

361 responses have been received to the consultation paper, "Maintained Further Education: Financing, Governance and Law", from a wide range of colleges, local education authorities, educational and other organisations, and individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to increase the

	Total expenditure1			Authorised precept
	Cash	21987–88 real terms		Cash	21987–88 real terms
	£ million	£ million	Percentage change year on year	p	p
1983–84	855	1,018	—	77·00	91·66
1984–85	897	1,023	+0·5	80·00	91·17
1985–86	3887	954	-6·7	77·25	83·08
1986–87	4905	943	-1·2	77·25	80·53
1987–88	51,015	1,015	+7·6	79·73	79·73
1988–89	6970	928	-8·6	781·80	78·28
Percentage change between 1983–84 and 1988–89			-8·8

No. The rates of grant payable for extra weeks of attendance apply equally to all eligible students, and reflect the fact that the main rates of grant include provision for some items (like books and equipment) which is related to a full year's expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will indicate in respect of his policy to require reductions in the net expenditure of the Inner London education authority for the financial year 1988–89, the approximate percentage reduction he expects under each of (a) staff, (b) premises, (c) transport, (d) supplies and services, (e) transfer payments, (f) finance and debt charges and (g) other expenses;(2) over which academic terms in the financial year 1988–89 he expects the Inner London education authority to implement his required reduction in expenditure; and if he will indicate the percentage reduction of expenditure this indicates for the respective terms.

Subject to the House's approval, the Secretary of State intends to prescribe a maximum precept for the ILEA for 1988–89 of 81·8p, enabling the authority to raise £985 million. The ILEA will need to make substantial reductions to manage its expenditure within this level of precept income. It is for the ILEA to determine how best to achieve these reductions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will tabulate in the Official Report the net expenditure of the Inner London education authority for each of the financial years 1983–84 to that determined for 1988–89, in current values, together with the authorised precept in pence per pound on inner London local authorities, in both actual and current values, indicating which were subject to maximum rate limits, together with the approximate percentage increase or reduction in net real expenditure compared to the previous financial year, and the overall reduction in percentage of real terms from 1983–84 to 1988.

The information available is set out in the following table. The ILEA has been subject to precept limitation since 1985–86.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what inquiries or reports into the administration of educational standards in the Inner London education authority he has asked Her Majesty's inspectorate of education to undertake, or has received from it since 1979; and with what result.

The last comprehensive HMI report on educational provision in ILEA was made public in 1980. Since then, HMI has continued to inspect on a wide basis and has reported to the holder of my office accordingly; all institutional reports and surveys have been published and are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the primary or secondary schools in the London boroughs of Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and Lambeth to which he, or other Ministers in his Department, have paid an official visit subsequent to his taking up office as Secretary of State for Education and Science.

Since May 1986 my right hon. Friend has visited Notre Dame Roman Catholic girls' school in Southwark. My hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Mrs. Rumbold) has visited St. Luke's Church of England school in Lambeth, Mulberry girls' school in Tower Hamlets and Alleyn's school, which is an independent school, in Southwark and my hon. Friend, the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Walden) has visited Islington sixth form centre.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated total cost of the hire of a stand by his Department at the Ideal Home Exhibition, broken down by (a) full cost of officials and inspectors from his Department staffing the stand, (b) hire of stand, (c) publicity and publications and (d) all other costs.

The cost of hiring the Department of Education and Science stand is a matter of commercial confidentiality between the Department and the organisers. The stand will be manned by volunteers from the

Whole-time equivalent doctors and nursing staff in NHS hospitals
Lanarkshire Health Board
				Nursing staff1
Hospital	Type of hospital3	Doctors2WTE	Qualified	In training	Unqualified	Total
Alexander	Type of hospital subject to change4	—	8·0	—	—	8·0
Bellefield	Mental handicap unit (adult and children)	0·9	28·4	—	48·9	77·3
Bellshill Maternity	Non-teaching, non-GP, maternity unit	25·0	143·8	86·0	80·1	309·9

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science between what dates he intends to hire a stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition; for what purpose; and if he will make a statement.

My Department will be taking a stand at this year's Ideal Home Exhibition throughout the period when the exhibition is open, that is from 8 March to 4 April inclusive. The main purposes of the display are:

i to inform members of the public about the changes in the composition of school governing bodies following the passage of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986; and to interest parents visiting the exhibition in becoming parent governors of their child's school.

ii. to explain the new examinations (GCSE, AS-levels and CPVE) to parents and prospective employers.

iii. to explain the thinking behind the proposed national curriculum.

Relevant publications about these subjects and other education matters of interest to the public will be available on the stand. It will also show examples of best practice in education and will enable visitors to ask questions about particular aspects of their own or their children's education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will name the hospitals in the Lanarkshire health board area, giving details of the type of hospital and the numbers of (a) doctors and (b) nurses at each hospital.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list his overseas visits since June 1987.

I visited in my official capacity the United States of America between 9 and 16 October 1987 and Japan between 17 and 21 October 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he proposes to hold as part of the review of the National Health Service in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend will consider carefully any submissions put to him.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when representatives of his Department last met the British Veterinary Association to discuss the work of local veterinary inspectors; what matters were discussed; and when he anticipates a further meeting taking place.

No such meetings have taken place and none is planned. However, my officials are closely following the discussions which are taking place between the British Veterinary Association and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received against proposals to put work done by local veterinary inspectors out to tender.

Letters have been received from two hon. Members following approaches made to them by the north of Scotland division of the British Veterinary Association and an individual practitioner.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total cost to his Department's Department of Agriculture of paying fees to local veterinary inspectors in each of the past 10 years.

Fees and other expenses due to local veterinary inspectors in Scotland, as elsewhere in Great Britain, are borne by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, not by my Department. However, I am advised that the sums involved in the years for which information is available were as follows:

Year	Fees1	Travel and subsistence
	£	£
1981–82	1,317,894	81,694
1982–83	1,342,120	121,175
1983–84	1,461,200	126,825
1984–85	1,560,455	125,825
1985–86	1,341,155	133,219
1986–87	1,574,692	136,189
1 Including earnings related National Insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local veterinary inspectors are currently retained by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Scotland; and how many there were in 1985, 1980 and 1975.

The responsibility for appointing local veterinary inspectors in Great Britain rests with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, acting jointly. The number of local veterinary inspectors currently retained in Scotland is 508. This compares with 510 and 429 in 1985 and 1980 respectively. Comparable information for 1975 is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of brucellosis in human beings were recorded in Scotland in 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985.

Brucellosis is not a notifiable disease and figures for 1960 and 1965 are not available centrally. The Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit has supplied the following data for the later years:

Year	Number of cases of brucellosis
1970	347
1975	116
1980	79
1985	5

To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his statement of 25 January, Official Report, columns 21–23, when he was first informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland of the Director's decision to give directions not to institute any criminal proceedings relating to the Stalker-Sampson investigations.

Thursday 21 January 1988.

To ask the Attorney-General who was informed of his intention to make a statement in the House on 25 January prior to that date; and when.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman.

To ask the Attorney-General what communications there were between his Office and the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North on 24 January either directly or on behalf of his Office and what communications there were within the previous seven days.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table setting out for 1987–88 and 1988–89 the estimated number of (a) families and (b) persons in each health region or equivalent, and in Wales as a whole, showing net average expenditure on health and personal social services per family and per person in each year, and distinguishing between expenditure on the National Health Service and on the personal social services.

The information is not readily available in the form requested. For Wales as a whole net estimated outturn in 1987–88 and net planned expenditure in 1988–89 per person and per family of four are as follows:

	Net expenditure per year
Population (thousand)	Health and Personal Social Services	National Health Service	Personal Social Services
	£	£	£
1987–88 2,814:
Per head	445	391	54
Per family of 4	1,780	1,564	216
1988–89 2,817:
Per head	472	416·5	55·5
Per family of 4	1,888	1,666	222

The expenditure figures used are constistent with the information given in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1988–89 to 1990–91" (Cm. 288-II) and include net current and capital spending.The population estimates quoted are the most recently published ones based on a 1985 projection by the Office of Population Census and Surveys.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the figures for recruitment to teacher training courses in 1987; what were the figures for 1986 in (a) the University of Wales and (b) the local authority/voluntary sector; and whether recruitment targets were achieved.

Details of teacher training students recruited in 1986 and 1987 are as follows:

Recruitment to Initial Teacher Training in Wales
	1986–87	Target	1987–88	Target
Public Sector
BEd Primary	410	525	509	525
BEd Secondary	58	100	77	85
PGCE Primary	146	135	148	135
PGCE Secondary	89	105	l09	120
Total	703	865	843	865
University Sector
Primary	124	141	160	160
Secondary	451	545	468	545
Total	575	686	628	705

Recruitment to courses in the public sector increased by 20 per cent. and to courses in the University of Wales by 9 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what has been the contribution of heavy duty longwall mining equipment to the improvements in the productivity of British Coal for the years 1985–86 and 1986–87;(2) what information he has into how many British coal faces utilise heavy duty mining equipment, and as to when all faces will be so equipped.

These are matters for British Coal, and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give his estimate of the growth of the international trade in coal by the end of the century.

The Department does not undertake such estimates. However, a widely known projection of international coal trade in the OECD area is that published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in "Coal Information 1987". This projects that total hard coal imports by OECD countries in 2000 will be 65 per cent. higher than the level in 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will review the Government's energy policy, in the light of the conclusions of the Financial Times international coal report, a copy of which has been sent to him, about the potential number of coal-importing power stations likely to be built over the next 10 years and their capacity to absorb all the additional tonnage now planned, as well as the slack to be taken up in over capacity at existing mines.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will (a) list all occasions since 1 January 1973 when notifications of planned nuclear experiments have been made to the European Commission under European treaty article 34 and (b) place copies of such notifications in the Library.

No experiments have been carried out at United Kingdom nuclear power stations which required to be notified under article 34 of the Euratom treaty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will undertake to revise all statements made to the House by Ministers in his Department since May 1979 on safe levels of radiation exposure, in the light of (a) new dose limits recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and (b) the new exposure standards set by the National Radiological Protection Board.

Occupational exposure to radiation is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. Reference was made to the current advice on dose limitation provided by national and international bodies in the answers I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle Upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 22 January 1988 at column 886 and 1 February 1988 at columns 474–75.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will (a) list all occasions since 1 January 1973 that notifications of planned nuclear exports have been made to the European Commission under the European treaty article 103 and (b) place copies of such notifications in the Library.

The hon. Member may have in mind commercial contracts for the export of nuclear materials. I am advised that these contracts do not fall within the scope of article 103 of the Euratom treaty. Particulars of individual consignments and destinations are of course commercially confidential to the parties involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what valuation was put on the fixed assets at Sellafield, Capenhurst and Springfields when transferred from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. ownership in 1971; and whether the initial investment cost in these facilities is included as a proportion of the unit cost of nuclear-generated electricity by his Department.

The net book values of the fixed assets to which the hon. Member refers were:

	£ million
Sellafield (Windscale and Calder Hall)	8·29
Capenhurst	6·98
Springfields	4·31

The value of these facilities is reflected in BNF's charges to its customers and, as such, is included in the unit cost of nuclear-generated electricity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the work of British Nuclear Fuels plc to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for an exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 29 February to 4 March inclusive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the level of financial contributions made by member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency for its safeguards system.

The costs of the International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards system are met from the agency's regular budget. A total of $45 million has been allocated for safeguards in the 1988 budget of $137 million to which member states will contribute in accordance with their assessed contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if Her Majesty's Government will increase its contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency in support of the expanded role now played by the agency's operational safety review team.

The costs of the International Atomic Energy Agency's operational safety review teams are met from the agency's regular budget. The regular budget for 1988, to which the United Kingdom will contribute in accordance with her assessed contribution, allows for increased activity by these teams.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many small businesses have been established in the northern region since 1983.

The best estimate available of the number of small businesses is from VAT information. In the three years 1984 to 1986, there were an estimated 20,100 new VAT registrations in the northern region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any proposals to increase the range of aids available under the Manpower Services Commission's special aids to employment scheme.

The aim of the special aids to employment scheme is to supply any tools or equipment that are needed to overcome the effects of any disability in the employment field. Consequently, there is no limit to the range of aids that can be considered under the scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any proposals to publicise more widely the aids currently available under the Manpower Services Commission's special aids to employment scheme.

The special aids to employment scheme is already publicised widely by the Disablement Advisory Service and staff at jobcentres, through the code of good practice on the employment and disabled people, videos, leaflets, liaison with employers and voluntary organisations, and direct contact with individual people with disabilities. There are no plans to publicise individual items available under the scheme, but examples are quoted in leaflets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment is made of the suitability of aids issued under the special aids to employment scheme for the needs of the recipients.

The aim is to provide the most cost-effective suitable device which a person with a disability needs to do the job. Assessment of the appropriate aid for the purpose is made by staff of the Disablement Advisory Service in consultation with individual worker, the employer, the manufacturer, and technical and medical guidance and support as necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many aids provided under the Manpower Services Commission's special aids to employment scheme in the last five years were issued to people categorised as (a) deaf without speech, (b) deaf with speech and (c) hard of hearing.

The figures showing the number of aids issued under the special aids to employment scheme to the three categories of people with hearing impairment are only readily available for the latest two and a half years (April 1985 to October 1987):

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average length of time between receipt of an application for equipment under the Manpower Services Commission's special aids to employment scheme and the date the equipment was delivered.

There are no figures available on the average length of time between receipt of the application for equipment under the special aids to employment scheme and the date the equipment was obtained. Typically, the period can vary from a few days to several weeks depending on the complexity of the case and the availability of the equipment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what has been (1) the numerical, and (ii) the percentage, loss or gain in (a) manufacturing industry, (b) service industries and (c) the public service from 1979 to 1987 in(i) the United Kingdom, (ii) West Germany, (iii) the United States of America and (iv) Japan;(2) what has been the total increase or decrease in jobs in

There are no figures for job losses or job gains, and estimates are not available for all the dates, areas and categories specified. The available information is as follows:

Numerical changes in the levels of civilian employment1
	Manufacturing Industries	Service Industries	Totals in Civilian Employment
Great Britain
1979–1985	-1,783,000	1,119,000	-919,000
1979–1987	-1,954,000	1,856,000	-432,000
West Germany
1979–1985	-793,000	627,000	-505,000
Japan
1979–1985	1,200,000	3,210,000	3,280,000
United States of America
1979–1985	-1,579,000	9,370,000	8,326,000

Percentage changes in the levels of civilian employment1
	Manufacturing Industries	Service Industries	Totals in Civilian Employment
Great Britain
1979–1985	-25	8	-4
1979–1987	-27	13	-2
West Germany
1979–1985	-9	5	-2

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of those available for work in Derbyshire were unemployed in each of the years 1983 to 1987; and what was the number of advertised job vacancies for each of those years.

The table shows the annual average number of unemployed claimants expressed as a percentage of employees in employment plus the unemployed. Estimates of self-employment, also part of the working population, are not regularly produced for counties. Also included are the annual average number of unfilled job vacancies registered at jobcentres, in the county of Derbyshire for each year from 1983 to 1987. Total numbers of advertised job vacancies are not available but it is estimated that nationally about a third of vacancies are notified to jobcentres.

County of Derbyshire
Year	Unemployed claimants1 (per cent·)	Unfilled vacancies2
1983	12·4	1,512
1984	12·7	1,493
1985	12·7	1,663
1986	12·8	2,049
1987	12·0	2,363
1 The numbers are affected by changes in the coverage of the count·
2 The number of unfilled vacancies for 1983 is an average of 9 months, as the figures are only available from April 1983·

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many self-employed people there were in (i) the Northwich travel-to-work area, (ii) the Runcorn travel-to-work area and (iii) the Chester travel-to-work area in each of the last five years; and what those figures represented as a percentage of the working population.

The only source of information on the self-employed resident in travel-to-work area (TTWAs) is the decennial census of population. Information from the 1981 census of population for the relevant TTWAs is as shown in the table:

	Self-employed Number	as percentage of economically active
Northwich	5,237	9·1
Widnes and Runcorn	3,115	4·9
Wirral and Chester	17,084	7·0

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to how many visitors stayed overnight in (a) the Northwich travel-towork area, (b) the Runcorn travel-to-work area and (c) the Chester travel-to-work area in each of the last five years; how much they spent; and how many jobs they provided.

Data on the number and expenditure of overnight visits to the travel to work areas specified are not available. However, data on the number of overnight visits to Cheshire by overseas visitors and their associated expenditure are:

	Visits	Spending
	(000s)	(£ millions)
1982	172	20
1983	183	23
1984	211	27
1985	198	31
1986	204	38

The latest available data on employment in tourism related industries in Cheshire relates to September 1984 when there were an estimated 21,800 employees in employment. Equivalent data for specified travel-to-work areas are as follows:

	Number
Northwich	2,600
Widnes & Runcorn	3,200
Wirral & Chester	12,800

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have taken advantage of the job training scheme child care payment systems in (a) the Northwich travel-to-work area, (b) the Chester travel-to-work area and (c) the Runcorn travel-to-work area.

There are no trainees receiving child care payments in the three areas concerned. The facility for such payments is being piloted in 10 areas nationally, none of which fall within the boundaries of Cheshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, what is the current level of (a) youth, (b) long-term and (c) all unemployment in (i) the Northwich travel-to-work area, (ii) the Chester travel-to-work area and (iii) the Runcorn travel-to-work area; what have been the figures at the same date in each of the last five years; and what each figure represents as a percentage of those available for work.

The following information is available from the Library. Table (a) shows the number of unemployed claimants aged under 18, table (b) shows the number of unemployed claimants unemployed for over one year, and table (c) shows the total number of unemployed claimants at October of each of the last five years, (the most recent available figures are for October 1987) in the Northwich, Wirral and Chester and Widnes and Runcorn travel-towork areas, together with these numbers as a percentage of employees in employment plus the unemployed. Comparisons over the period are slightly affected by the change in the method of compiling the figures in March 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of school leavers went directly into full-time employment in (a) the Northwich travel-to-work area, (b) the Chester travel-to-work area and (c) the Runcorn travel-to-work area, in each of the past five years.

I regret that the information requested is not available for the relevant travel-to-work areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are his estimates of the prospects for further employment in the confectionery and biscuit industry in the north of England, in the event of the removal of value added tax from products currently charged at the standard rate.

I am not in a position to make such estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of those registered as unemployed in England and Wales in each of the last five years had previous primary diagnoses of (a) mental illness and (b) schizophrenia psychoses; and how many had been registered as unemployed for (i) three to six months, (ii) six months to one year, (iii) one to three years and (iv) over three years.

Average Hourly Wages of Employees in Manufacturing Industry1
	Belgium	United Kingdom	Federal Republic of Germany	France	Netherlands	Sweden	United States of America	Italy
	(Francs)2	(£)2/6	(Deut-schmarks)3	(Francs)2	(Guilders)2	(Kronor)3	($)	(Lira)4
1975	144·32	1·399	9·69	11·99	9·95	..	4·83	1,794
1976	159·68	1·559	10·35	13·87	10·77	27·31	5·22	2,133
1977	174·59	1·687	11·14	15·61	11·83	29·51	5·68	2,673
1978	18444	1·949	11·73	17·49	12·49	33·03	6·17	3,244
1979	199·61	2·275	12·36	19·56	13·05	36·01	6·70	3,849
1980	217·88	2·664	13·18	22·72	13·77	39·63	7·27	4,684
1981	243·08	2·934	13·92	26·14	14·56	43·18	7·99	5,742
1982	256·80	3·197	14·64	29 75	15·60	45·67	8·49	6,693
1983	270·33	3·436	15·14	33·56	15·93	48·45	8·83	7,712
1984	281·78	3·677	15·49	35·67	16·16	53·98	9·19	8,539
1985	293·81	3·971	16·20	37·75	16·58	58·58	9·53	..
1986	295·30	4·268	16·80	39·29	..	..	9·73	..

I regret that this information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has responded to the consultative document produced by the Health and Safety Commission regarding occupational health services and ratification of International Labour Organisation convention 161 adopted in June 1985; and if' he will make a statement.

I invited the Health and Safety Commission to give its views on whether the Government should ratify ILO convention 161 on occupational health services. The commission issued a consultative document and, in the light of the comments received, has recently submitted its advice which I am currently considering.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has for each year since 1975 as to the figures for average hourly earnings of industrial workers in (a) Belgium, (b) Britain, (c) Germany, (d) France, (e) Holland, (f) Sweden, (g) the United State of America and (h) Italy.

The table sets out the available information published by the International Labour Office for average hourly wage of employees in manufacturing industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he proposes to give to the British Industry Committee on South Africa in its efforts to get British companies to invest in social projects in South Africa.

We have kept in close touch from the outset with the British Industry Committee on South Africa about its scheme to invest in social projects in South Africa. We also maintain contact with the major British companies already involved in such projects, which we welcome. The Government have committed funds totalling £21 million for the five years beginning in April 1987 to our own major development programme for black people in South Africa.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the recent progress of Romania in fulfilling the Helsinki Final Act.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Maples) on 13 January, at columns 185–89. Romania's performance has not improved over the last six months. The presidency of the European Community made representations to the Romanian authorities on 3 February in Bucharest on behalf of the Twelve, drawing attention to the need for Romania to respect its CSCE commitments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will indicate in real terms the grant payable to the BBC overseas service over the last five years.

The total grants-in-aid of the BBC external services in the last five years for broadcasting and monitoring were as follows:

	Total £ million	Real increase on previous year percentage
1982–83	70·9	5
1983–84	77·6	5
1984–85	81·1	0
1985–86	90·0	5
1986–87	98·8	7

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any representations have been made to Her Majesty's Government or to the United Kingdom ambassador in Washington from the member states of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty concerning breaches of non-proliferation treaty article 1 on the prohibition of assistance in making nuclear weapon devices.

We have received no such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is aware of any breaches of article VI of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any member state Government party to the non-proliferation treaty has ever made it known to the depository states that they intend to consider withdrawing from the treaty; and if he will list the signatories to the treaty at the most recent practicable date.

We have received no suggestions that any party to the non-proliferation treaty wishes to withdraw. I have placed copies of the latest list of signatories to the treaty in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives his Department will take to ensure the extension and strengthening of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty at the 1995 renewal conference of the treaty.

We are strongly committed to the nonproliferation treaty. It is, however, too soon to consider initiatives for renewing the treaty in 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request Her Majesty's Government's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency board of directors to forward a report to his Department on the agency's director-general's latest safeguards implementation report and oral commentary; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

We receive International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards implementation reports on an annual basis. The reports and the Director-General's oral commentary are confidential to board members.However, a summary and the main conclusions of the 1986 safeguards implementation report (the latest available) are given in paragraphs 34 and 391 to 437 of the International Atomic Energy Agency's annual report for 1986. I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct Her Majesty's Government's permanent ambassador to the United Nations permanent disarmament conference to initiate negotiations under the amendment procedure of the 1963 partial test ban treaty to enforce the finalisation of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any representative from the nuclear authorities in the United Kingdom has been invited to the meeting of nuclear experts convened by the DG. 17 energy directorate of the European Commission on 15 February; and if he will set out the assistance the United Kingdom intends to offer to the Energy Commission inquiry looking into nuclear materials security in the European Economic Community.

Yes. The possibility of any United Kingdom assistance being supplied will be considered in the light of the outcome of the meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's evaluation of the adequacy of chapters 7 and 10 of the European treaty on ensuring oversight of nuclear materials and technology management within and without the EEC.

We are satisfied that chapters VII and X of the Euratom treaty adequately cater for the safeguarding of nuclear material both inside the Community and in trade between Community and third countries. These chapters do not address the question of technology management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department currently possesses on the inquiries to be undertaken, respectively, by (a) the Euratom safeguards directorate and (b) the commission of inquiry of the European Parliament appointed on 20 January to investigate the adequacy of the implementations of nuclear safeguards to nuclear facilities within the EEC member states.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the allegations involving a German firm, Transnuklear, and the Belgian nuclear centre at Mol. Following those allegations, Euratom officials, working with officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, carried out exhaustive checks and found no evidence that any nuclear material of significance has been diverted and no evidence of any breach of safeguards.The European Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry which was appointed on 20 January to investigate activities at Mol is to report within four months from that date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth. Affairs what assurances have been sought from the Turkish Government on the proposed uses of the 40 Shorts SS50 armoured personnel carriers which its Interior Ministry has contracted to buy for their gendarmerieé; and if he will make a statement.

None. Turkey is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally with which we enjoy excellent bilateral relations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct Her Majesty's ambassador to Sudan to inquire of the Sudanese Prime Minister if he will make available to Her Majesty's Government any information he possesses concerning the allegations of a black market in weapons grade nuclear materials in Khartoum made public initially on 30 October 1987.

Her Majesty's embassy in Khartoum is in touch with the appropriate Sudanese governmental authorities. There is still no evidence to confirm the allegation of a black market in weapons grade nuclear material in Sudan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received from Her Majesty's ambassador in South Africa about the case of Annette Heunis and Terry Tsle, who have fled to Bophuthatswana to escape the attempts by the South African police to stop their mixed race relationship.

None. The case has received extensive coverage in the British press. As the House knows, Her Majesty's Government believe that individuals should be free to live where they wish.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Hong Kong Government White Paper on representative government will be published; and if he will make a statement.

The Hong Kong Government White Paper on the development of representative government was published in Hong Kong earlier today. Copies of the White Paper were placed in the Library of the House today. The paper covers a range of issues connected with the development of representative government. The main decisions are that

(a) ten directly elected members will be introduced into the Legislative Council in 1991;

(b) in 1988 the number of appointed members in the Council will be reduced from 22 to 20, and the number of members elected by functional constituencies increase from 12 to 14. In 1991 the present geographically-based electoral college system of election will be abolished, but the urban and regional councils will each continue to elect one member to the Council;

(c) links between the urban district boards and the urban council will be strengthened;

(d) the Governor will continue to be the president of the Legislative Council for the immediate future.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with British Coal regarding its proposals to dispose of increased amounts of coal waste and slurry off Dawdon; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 9 February 1988.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average (a) cost of a dairy inspection, (b) duration of a visit for a dairy inspection and (c) number of visits each inspector carried out per day, for the last year for which figures are available.