To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has recieved the 13th annual report of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

The report has been published today, and copies have been laid before Parliament. It covers the period 1 November 1986 to 31 October 1987.The report deals with a wide range of matters which the commission has considered during the year under review. These include emergency legislation, the European convention on human rights, the European and United Nations conventions for the prevention of torture, the European social charter, compensation for victims of terrorism and community relations.Copies of my response to the commission's report and of the report itself have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what number of administrators he estimates will need to be added to the current administrations of the 12 proposed inner London local education authorities for the purpose of administering education in their own areas following the abolition of the Inner London education authority;(2) how many administrators he estimates will be needed by the proposed 12 inner-London local education authorities for the administration of student award schemes for the 12 separate authorities after the abolition of the Inner London education authority;(3) how many additional administrators he estimates will be needed by the proposed 12 inner-London local education authorities for the purpose of recoupment arrangements between each of these boroughs, after the abolition of the Inner London education authority.

Each inner London council will be responsible for deciding on the appropriate staffing levels to fulfil its duties as a local education authority from 1 April 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the additional duties which the Government intend to impose on the inner London borough councils, in the period 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1991, as a result of the abolition of the inner London education authority.

As my right hon. Friend explained in his statement on 4 February, we propose that the inner London boroughs should become the local education authorities for their areas on 1 April 1990. During 1989 they will be required to produce development plans, setting out the service they propose to provide and the arrangements they envisage for the transfer, as a basis for local consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to ensure the maintenance and continuation of the innovation and research work undertaken by the Inner London education authority's research and statistics branch.

Each inner London council will be required to produce, during 1989, a development plan setting out the service it proposes to provide. My right hon. Friend made it clear in his statement on 4 February, at columns 1178–79, that we will also be discussing with the boroughs which services, if any, might be provided on a co-operative basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements will be made by his Department to monitor and evaluate curriculum developments within the proposed new 12 inner London local education authorities, following the abolition of the Inner London education authority.

The inner London education authorities will be covered by the requirements of the national curriculum as this is introduced, in the same way as all other education authorities in England. The information provisions will ensure that parents and others are kept fully informed about the curriculum offered to pupils and their achievements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science why his statement to the House on the reorganisation of education in London did not define in detail which of the Inner London education authority's services are planned to be transferred to which successor bodies; and if he will make a statement.

As my right hon. Friend made clear in his statement, this will be a matter for discussion with the inner London councils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will indicate in detail what scope he envisages for the setting up of joint education boards under section 6 of and schedule 1 to the Education Act 1944 covering parts of the inner-London area following the abolition of the Inner London education authority; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend explained in his statement that each inner London council will become the local education authority for its area. We will be discussing with the councils which services, if any, might be provided on a co-operative basis. If necessary, powers under the Education Act 1944 enable the Secretary of State to require groups of boroughs to establish joint education committees in respect of certain services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the circumstances of the resignation of Professor Sigbert Prais from the mathematics working group for the new national curriculum.

In his letter of resignation to my right hon. Friend Professor Prais explained that the calls that the mathematics working group had made on his time were affecting his other commitments. My right hon. Friend regrets that the working group will no longer have the benefit of Professor Prais' advice. However, he has asked the group to take into account in the further work the issues raised by Professor Prais in the note which Professor Prais submitted last November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will now announce the outcome of his consultations on charging for school activities; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I undertook consultations about charges for school activities in response to requests from parents, schools and LEAs for clarification of the effect of section 61 of the 1944 Education Act. We together received some 480 responses; we have also had further discussions with the local authority associations and others. Respondents to the consultations have generally endorsed our objectives, which are to preserve the principle of free education, to clarify the law and to maintain valued provision.The consultations made clear that our proposals can be substantially simplified while still achieving these aims. We therefore propose to introduce new clauses to the Education Reform Bill on the following lines:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what steps he takes to ensure compliance with the law dealing with the scale of private opencast coal operations laid down in section 36 of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 as amended by section 46 of the Opencast Coal Act 1958;(2) if he has any plans to seek to amend the current legal limit on the scale of private opencast coal operation in the light of evidence given by Sir Robert Haslam to the Select Committee on Energy on British Coal's practice as regards interpretation of the current rules.

As I explained during the debate on the coalfields communities on 20 November 1987, at column 1362, the Government are committed to the development of a prosperous private sector for coal and are considering whether to raise the statutory limits applied to the licensed sector. In the meantime, I have asked Sir Robert Haslam to consider what scope exists for greater flexibility within the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act as it stands. Under existing legislation the British Coal Corporation is responsible for the granting of licences for private opencast mining operations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the locations and dates of licences granted since 1981 by British Coal to private operators of opencast coal workings to excavate single sites believed to contain 35,000 tonnes of coal or more and contiguous sites believed to contain a combined total of 50,000 tonnes of coal or more.

This is a matter for the British Coal Corporation and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of public expenditure for which he is responsible is spent on the research development, production and deployment of (a) nuclear energy and (b) other forms of energy.

The total amount of voted expenditure in 1986–87 for which the Secretary of State for Energy was directly responsible was £1,663.2 million. Of this, £188·3 million, or 11·3 per cent., was in connection with nuclear energy and £1,452·8 million, or 87·3 per cent., in connection with other forms of energy — the remainder being expenditure in relation to Departmental administrative costs. On the basis of our latest forecast outturn for 1987–88, the corresponding figures are: nuclear 12·3 per cent. and other forms of energy 86·1 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), Official Report, 8 February, column 62, what measures are in force physically to protect the Central Electricity Generating Board headquarters for the national grid control system in Southwark against malicious intruders; whether the Central Electricity Generating Board employs any security personnel at the site; what back-up system exists in the event of a total breakdown at Southwark; and if he will make a statement.

The threat of terrorism and malicious damage at all CEGB installations is recognised and appropriate measures are taken. It would not be appropriate for me to reveal the details. If national control in Southwark were lost for any reason, plans exist for its functions to be transferred to an emergency control centre.

To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received about the decision not to initiate prosecutions against members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

I have received a number of letters from hon. Members, various groups and from the general public commenting on the statement I made on 25 January.

To ask the Attorney-General how many requests for extradition have been made to the Irish Government since December 1987.

A total of 20 warrants, issued in respect of six persons, have been submitted to the Irish authorities since the date of entry into force of the Irish Extradition (Amendment) Act 1987.Seventeen of those 20 warrants, issued in respect of four of those six persons, are not covered by section 44A of the Irish Extradition Act 1965 (added by section 2(1) of the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1987), which relates to directions to be given by the Irish Attorney-General concerning the backing of warrants.One warrant, covered by section 44A, is to be withdrawn, the person in respect of whom it was issued having returned of his own volition to the United Kingdom.

To ask the Attorney-General what is his policy as regards the requirements for establishing a case for extradition and the conditions he has to comply with and what information he has as to the policy of the Attorney-General of the Republic of Ireland on those matters.

The requirements for the backing of warrants in the Republic of Ireland are laid down in part III of the Irish Extradition Act 1965, the Extradition (European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1987 and the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1987. Under the last mentioned Act, I understand that the Irish Attorney-General is required to give a direction that certain warrants for the arrest of a fugitive shall not be backed for execution by the Garda Siochana unless he is of the opinion that that there is a clear intention to prosecute or to continue the prosecution of the fugitive and such intention is founded on the existence of sufficient evidence. The Government have been concerned that these new provisions now inserted into the Irish Extradition Act 1965 would present impediments to extradition from the Irish Republic. (That Act before this amendment had effectively reciprocated the provisions of the relevant United Kingdom legislation, contained in the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965.) The Government made those concerns known to the Irish Government when the terms of the amending legislation were first intimated. In particular, the Government were concerned that they might lead to a requirement that the Irish courts be furnished with the actual evidence supporting any warrant submitted for backing in the event of a challenge to the execution of such warrant. The Government considered, and still consider, that seriously damaging consequences for the intended criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom could follow if that were to occur.I have notified my counterpart in the Irish Republic that I am entirely willing to provide him in each instance with a note from me confirming that the United Kingdom prosecuting authorities had considered the evidence, as they are required to do; that they were satisfied that it was sufficient to found a prosecution; and that there was a settled intention to prosecute accordingly. I have also agreed to his request that I provide him in each instance with a note setting out the relevant law.I had hoped that these particulars would be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the new Irish legislation, but the Irish Attorney-General has indicated that this is not the case. In these circumstances, I am considering with the Irish Attorney-General what practicable steps can yet be taken to secure the important mutual objective of enabling extradition between our two countries to proceed effectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many officers in each health authority area in Wales are appointed to inspect private and publicly owned residential homes (a) for the elderly, (b) for the mentally ill, (c) for mentally disabled people and (d) for physically disabled people; and if he will outline the training and guidance which such officers have received.

Information about the total numbers of local authority and health service staff engaged in this function in Wales is not held centrally. The training of such staff is the primary responsibility of the authorities concerned, but the Welsh Office has co-operated in the provision of suitable facilities and has issued general guidance from time to time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how his expenditure on regional aid in each of the next three years will be divided between (a) regional selective assistance, (b) regional development grant, and (c) the Welsh Development Agency, at constant prices.

[holding answer 15 February 1988]: Planned expenditure by my Department, as contained in the 1988 public expenditure White Paper and expressed at constant prices' is as follows:

£
	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91
Regional selective assistance	42·1	46·1	52·7
Regional development grants	58·3	37·2	23·8

Gross planned provision

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much food aid from European Community surplus stocks of cereals was sent abroad in the last three years; to which countries and in what amounts; what was the cost of transporting and administering the total amount of food aid; and what obstacles he sees to expanding food aid from European Community surpluses.

The European Community has allocated over 1 million tonnes of cereals as food aid in each of the last three years; over 90 per cent. of it has been obtained from sources within the Community. Detailed statistics are included in the European Commission's annual report on food aid policy and management. The 1984 report was deposited with the Select Committee on European Legislation on 30 July 1987, and is available in the Library of the House. The 1985 and 1986 reports will be deposited shortly, when they are circulated by the Commission.The European Commission has reported expenditure on the transport of food aid (not only cereals) in 1986 as £68 million. Figures for transporting cereals alone, and for the cost of administering food aid, are not separately recorded.Provision of food aid from the EC is fully justified in famine situations. However, in the longer term food aid will not solve the problem of continuing food shortages in developing countries; production by local farmers must be encouraged. Food aid may increase demand for imported foodstuffs which can never be produced locally and hamper efforts to encourage local food production in recipient countries.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to Little Lowford, North Rugby.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the under-calculation made in the cost of living increase due to be paid in 1987 to retired public sector pensioners; and how it is proposed to refund to such pensioners the shortfall in their pensions.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, South (Sir W. Clark) on 18 December 1987, at columns 845–46. Details of the arrangements for making payments to charities are still being worked out and will be announced soon.

To ask the Prime Minister if she intends to review other proposed closures of Scottish schools and colleges in the light of her intervention over the proposed closure of Paisley grammar school.

The Secretary of State for Scotland has made regulations which will ensure that any proposals to close a school which is operating at over 80 per cent. of its capacity will in future require his consent.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to visit RAF Lakenheath.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to a publicly owned site of vacant land.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the outcome of the European Council in Brussels on 11 and 12 February.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made on Monday 15 February.

To ask the Prime Minister when the official communique of the European Council Heads of Government meeting was made available to Her Majesty's Government; at what time of which day it was placed in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

The official conclusions of the European Council will take the form of a single text which will be prepared once agreement is reached at the Foreign Affairs Council on the non-arable stabilisers package. These conclusions will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as they have been circulated by the presidency. For the benefit of the House, two documents — the overall agreement (SN 517/88) and the detailed draft conclusions prepared by the German presidency before the European Council (SN 461/88)—were placed in the Library yesterday. As explained in the cover note, document SN 461/88 was agreed except in so far as it was modified by SN 517/88. It is those two documents which will form the basis of the single text which has still to be produced. As I said to the House yesterday, I apologise that the documents were not availabe before my statement.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet the President of the Commission of the European Communities.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a further statement setting out precisely the exceptional circumstances which can be used to justify agricultural spending in excess of the guidelines under the Brussels agreement of 11 and 12 February, in the light of the publication since her statement of 15 February, Official Report, column 706, of annex V of the note from the presidency (EEC document SN 461/88).

Document SN 461/88 was a draft of conclusions circulated by the presidency before the European Council. It was overtaken by decisions taken at the Council in a number of important areas. The agreed outcome of the Council is recorded in document SN 517/88. This contains no reference to provision for exceptional circumstances, since I and a number of others strongly opposed any such reference, and no such provision was agreed.

To ask the Prime Minister what estimate was made by the European Council of the cost of depreciating and disposing of existing surplus stocks which are to be financed outside the guideline, and which she referred to in her statement on 15 February, Official Report, column 706; and if she will further publish a table showing the amounts of stocks of each commodity which the Council agreed would be covered by these arrangements outside the guideline.

EEC document SN 461/88 states that amounts will be inscribed in title 8 of the budget for depreciation of existing excessive stocks (1988 prices) as follows:

1988	1,200 mecu
1989–91	1,400 mecu per year

These were based on overall figures provided by the Commission, which is now preparing a detailed breakdown between commodities.

To ask the Prime Minister if the special arrangements made in 1987 to transfer the cost of dumping butter surpluses from the European Economic Community to member states, which were covered by the report of the Court of Auditors to the Council of Finance Ministers, will continue following the Brussels agreement of 11 and 12 February; and if she will make a statement.

These arrangements are not affected by the agreement. Member states will receive reimbursement for the costs of disposal on the timetable previously agreed.

To ask the Prime Minister on what basis the Council estimated that cereal production in the European Economic Community would reach the level of 168 million tonnes in the current year, as set out in her statement of 15 February, Official Report, column 705; and what information was supplied to the Council about actual cereal production in the European Economic Community in each of the previous four years, respectively.

The EC Commission provides all member states with details of Community cereals production for previous harvests and trend projections for future harvests.The figures are as follows:

	million tonnes
1984	173·2
1985	160·5
1986	154·3
1987	1153·1
1988	2167·7
1989	2171·0
1990	2174·4
1991	2177·5
1 Estimate
2 Trend projection

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 February.

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

To ask the Secretary of State: for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current average waiting time for the determination of entry clearance applications from fiancées and spouses in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

The average waiting time from submission of an entry clearance application to first interview for fiancé(e)s and spouses in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is as follows:

	Fiancé(e)s	Spouses
	Time in months
New Delhi	7	3
Bombay	9	6
Islamabad	16	10
Karachi	10	5
Dhaka	8	8

Some applications are determined after first interview. No statistics are available on waiting times in cases where further information is required of applicants or where applications have to be referred to the Home Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Syrian Government about allegations of torture by its security forces.

None since October 1986 when we broke diplomatic relations with Syria.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to (a) how many Palestinian refugees there were in 1958 and at the last available date, (b) how many Palestinian refugees have been provided with jobs and permanent housing by each of the Arab states since 1958, (c) how much financial assistance each of the Arab states gives to the Palestinian refugees and what this is as a percentage of their gross national product, (d) how many Palestinian refugee families have been provided with permanent housing by Israel since 1967 and (e) how the infant mortality rate in Gaza has altered since 1967 and what information he has about the rate in the Palestinian camps in other countries.

(a) In 1950 just over 800,000 Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA); in October 1987 the total was approximately 2,218,000. Figures for 1958 are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many staff have been employed by the Northumberland ambulance service for each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Figures on a comparable basis are not held centrally for the years prior to 1982, due to the NHS reorganisation in that year. Such information as is available is given in the table.

NHS Ambulance Staff (including ambulance officers) employed at Northern Regional Health Authority Headquarters and Headquarters Units
At 30 September	Whole time equivalents1
1982	657
1983	661
1984	616
1985	591
1986	596
Source: DHSS annual census of NHS non-medical manpower.
Note:
1 Figures are rounded to nearest whole-time equivalent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North on 26 November 1987, Official Report, columns 319–21, if he will list in league order, with the highest at the top, by acreage of land held, district health authority areas within the National Health Service in England, showing the valuation in each case (a) before the recent revaluation and (b) at the present valuation as decided by the district valuer.

Returns from district valuers are currently being checked for completeness before being aggregated. It is likely to be several weeks before the information sought is available, when I let my hon. Friend have a further reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total acreage of (a) St. Andrew's hospital, Thorpe St. Andrew, Norwich (North) and (b) St. Andrew's hospital, Thorpe St. Andrew, Norwich (South); and if he will give details in each case of the valuation prior to the recent revaluation and present valuation as decided by the district valuer.

The acreages are 123 and 32 respectively. Valuations of these sites were not provided by the district valuer in 1985. As the sale of one of the sites is now under active consideration, I am not prepared to prejudice effective marketing by disclosing the current valuation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list all National Health Service property within the Norwich health authority district, stating acreage and valuation in each case (a) before the recent revaluation and (b) at the present valuation as decided by the district valuer.

The property with a site area of one acre or more, currently held by the Norwich health authority is listed with their acreage, and where available, the district valuer's open market valuation of 1985. For commercial reasons we are not prepared to disclose the current valuations of particular sites.

Property	Acreage	Valuation1£ million
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital	16·262	3·300
Whittingham Hospital	8400	0·250
Wayland Hospital	9·708	0·150
Colman Hospital	5·983	1·200
West Norwich Hospital	20·912	1·900
Drayton Hall Maternity Home	8·271	—
Hellesden Hospital	64·877	—
David Rice Hospital	35·778	—
Bethel Hospital	1·213	—
Land at Vale Hospital	15·750	0·010
St. Andrews Hospital	155·120	—
Eaton Grange	1·296	0·200
Hales Hospital	10·112	—
Little Plumstead Hospital	125·420	0·570
Cromer and District Hospital	3·700	0·200
North Walsham War Memorial Hospital	6·900	0·280
St. Michaels' Hospital	17·760	0·330
Kelling Hospital	31·975	0·580
Pine Heath Hospital	11·760	—

Number and cost of single payments made by Department of Health and Social Security local offices in Leicestershire during the period April 1983 to December 1987
	Office
Leicester
Year	Burleys Way	Lower Hill Street	Norton Street	Yeoman Street	Loughborough
April 1983 to April 1984
Number	3,138	5,438	4,630	6,137	3,100
Cost	£274,094	£614,589	£574,768	£683,905	£208,682
April 1984 to April 1985
Number	4,475	8,920	9,508	9,419	4,943
Cost	£314,323	£724,558	£780,380	£784.057	£382,439
April 1985 to April 1986
Number	6,825	11,032	12,969	12.168	6,291
Cost	£563,168	£904,285	£1,077,188	£1,042,317	£472,728
April 1986 to 7 April 19871
Number	8,363	10,828	12,521	14,642	5,345
Cost	£653,618	£813,747	£1,028,279	£1,321,734	£383,897
8 April 1987 to 15 December 19871
Number	2,327	3,358	3,836	4,728	1,708
Cost	£180,962	£224,912	£320,762	£375,584	£120,023
1 The figures for April 1986 -December 1987 are provisional and subject to amendment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that arrangements for the administration of the new benefit system are compatible with the requirements of the fourth and fifth data protection principles.

The Department's standing instructions on data protection require that all computerised systems which contain personal data be identified and registered with the Data Protection Registrar. These instructions demand strict adherence to all the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Additionally, the Department has

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the number of people in receipt of single payments and the total amount of single payments made in each of his Department's offices in the Leicester area in each of the years 1983 to 1987.

Information concerning the number of people in receipt of single payments is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The total number and cost of single payments made by each of the Department's local offices in Leicestershire is given in the table.established a data protection unit whose responsibilities include monitoring to confirm compliance with all the data protection principles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has had representations from local authorities concerning the difficulty of making arrangements for the processing of personal data in connection with the administration of the new benefit system; and if he will make a statement.

I am not aware of any representations arising from the use of personal data in the administration of rebates or allowances from April 1988. If the hon. Member is aware of any particular difficulty perhaps he could let me know.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department has studied the impact of community charge legislation for the accuracy of the 1991 census.

The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is taking steps to ensure that the 1991 census will be as accurate as possible. The likely effect of all possible causes of inaccuracy will be considered and monitored, both before the census in tests and after the census in post-enumeration checks. As in earlier censuses, it will be stressed that information provided by the public on census forms will be used only in the preparation of statistics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of restoring the benefits which students have lost since 1979, showing separately the costs in respect of (a) transport benefits, (b) housing benefits and (c) supplementary benefit.

On the cost of restoring assistance with student transport costs to its 1979 level, I refer the hon. Member to the reply of my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 1 February 1988 at column 441. The cost of reversing changes to the social security benefit rules for students cannot be calculated precisely because of the many variables. The total estimated net reduction in benefit expenditure in a full year arising from the changes made in 1986 and 1987 was, at 1985–86 benefit rates, £31/2 million in unemployment benefit, £31/2 million in supplementary benefit and £17 million in housing benefit. This takes no account of the £8 million cost of the related special increase in the accommodation element of the student grant. Expenditure on social security benefits paid to students is higher in real terms than in 1979, as relatively few students received help with rent and rates before the introduction of housing benefit in 1982–83.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply of 25 January, which specialised laboratories in the United Kingdom have a dual laser beam sorter; and what plans there are to use such machines to test the radiation exposure of (a) workers, or former workers, in nuclear installations, (b) residents or former residents, of the areas around nuclear installations and (c) former members of the armed forces who served near nuclear bomb test sites.

Of the laboratories in the United Kingdom with a dual laser beam sorter, we are aware of only one which is considering its use in estimating radiation exposure. I understand from the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid through the Department of Education and Science, that is clinical and population cytogenetics unit at Edinburgh has built such a device and one of its principal aims is to develop the technology so that the device can be used to detect the effects of radiation exposure on people. It is hoped that this may eventually be of use in assessing occupational radiation exposures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many officers are appointed to inspect private and publicly owned residential homes in each health authority area in England (a) for elderly people, (b) for mentally disabled people, (c) for mentally ill people and (d) for physically disabled people; and if he will outline the training and guidance which such officers have received.

Information about the number of local authority staff engaged on these functions is not held centrally. The Department has issued general guidance to authorities about residential care and the registration system. The Secretary of State has commended to them the code of practice for residential care, "Home Life". This spring the Department's social services inspectorate is running jointly with the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work a series of workshops to support good registration and inspection practice and the handling of complaints. The Department is also arranging in conjunction with the Welsh Office the preparation of distance-learning material for the basic training of the staff of local authorities and health authorities engaged on the registration and inspection respectively of residential care homes and nursing homes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in the light of his recent proposals to increase benefit suspension times from 13 to 26 weeks, he will give the percentage of those people disqualified for unemployment benefit on the grounds of being voluntarily unemployed without just cause or through misconduct who have imposed on them the full 13 weeks suspension; and what guidance is given to adjudication officers on imposing shorter disqualification periods.

Information is not collected on the length of disqualifications and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Adjudication officers are advised that when considering the length of disqualification to be imposed they should give regard to the individual circumstances of each case and should exercise their discretion accordingly. They do not automatically apply a disqualification of the maximum period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether urgent case payments will still be available to those denied unemployment and supplementary benefit on grounds of being unavailable for work after the proposed change in leglislation on 11 April.

At present the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 make no provision for payment of income support to a person who is required to be available for work as a condition of receiving income support but is found by an adjudication officer to be not available.However, the Government plan amendment of the regulations so that payment of income support at a reduced rate can be paid to such a person if hardship would otherwise be caused to that person or to a member of his or her family.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how, in view of his intention to substitute crisis loans for urgent case payments, he envisages such loans will be repaid; and if he will estimate the likely number of people who will be affected.

Where appropriate, social fund crisis loans will be recovered from future payments of certain social security benefits made to the recipient of the loan. Other arrangements for repayment will be made with recipients of crisis loans who are not in receipt of benefit. No firm estimates of numbers of crisis loans can be given in advance of experience.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Sciences what information he has as to what research is currently taking place into winter mortality; how much of this is being funded by Her Majesty's Government; when the results of such research are expected; and if he will make a statement.

The excess of winter deaths among the elderly is a matter of concern to the Government and we are anxious that the many factors involved should be carefully investigated to enable appropriate preventive action to be taken. The Medical Research Council, which is the main Government agency for biomedical and related research and receives its grant-in-aid through the Department of Education and Science, is at present setting up a working group to advise the council's physiological systems and disorders board on what scientifically valid studies could be carried out to address the reasons for the excess of winter deaths in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms. Harman) of 11 December 1987, Official Report, columns 295–96. if he will be able to provide the information requested after the new system for collecting maternity statistics, as set out by the steering group for health services information, comes into operation on 1 April.

From 1 April 1988, information collected on all births, in NHS hospitals and elsewhere, will include: the method of delivery, the birth weight, the highest level of care received by the baby, the length of stay of the baby, the intended place of delivery, and the actual place of delivery.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will give the capital spending on the hospital and community health services for each National Health Service region and for the special health authorities (i) in cash terms, (ii) adjusted using the gross domestic product deflator and (iii) adjusted using the National Health Service pay and prices index;

Captial expenditure figures for the latest year available are given in the table.

Gross capital expenditure 1986–87
Regional and Special Health Authorities	1986–87 (£000)
Northern	52,686
Yorkshire	69,981
Trent	77,478
East Anglian	32,529
North West Thames	66,543
North East Thames	75,904
South East Thames	76,517
South West Thames	54,172
Wessex	70,999
Oxford	33,539
South Western	68,403
West Midlands	115,259
Mersey	48,443
North Western	73,394
Post-Graduate Special Health Authorities	28,165
Total Gross Expenditure	944,012
Less Capital receipts	137,805
Total Net Expenditure	806,207

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 1987, Official Report, columns 936–37, he will indicate whether the routine monitoring of regional health authorities spending has now been fully introduced; and to what extent it and the National Health Service Management Board have revealed a continuing deficit for health authorities on revenue account for the current financial year.

The first routine monitoring of regional health authority spending on an income and expenditure basis will cover the period from 1 April to 30 June 1988. As I announced in the House on 16 December the review carried out by the National Health Service management board in the autumn led to an additional £75 million being made available to English health authorities in response to the problem identified in the current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to announce his decision on proposals for closure of Hartley hospital, Colne.

The regional health authority has decided that the transfer of out-patient services located at Hartley hospital and the future use of he building will be the subject of a public consultation exercise. A final decision on the proposals will be made by Ministers only if the community health council objects to them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the figures for each successive month from January 1987 to the present for the amount of post at the Camberwell office of his Department not yet linked with files, outstanding postal claims, single payment claims and other assessment work.

The information is not available in the form requested. The amount of unlinked post over two days old at the Camberwell DHSS office is as follows:

Items of unlinked post over two days old at Camberwell DHSS office
Date	Items
13 January 1987	983
10 February 1987	4,399
10 March 1987	4,544
7 April 1987	3,292
5 May 1987	2,592
2 June 1987	3,242
30 June 1987	2,241
28 July 1987	2,996

	Number of urgent need payments		Camberwell's totals as a percentage of the region's
Date	Camberwell	Region
13 January 1987	60	2,895	2·1
10 February 1987	103	3,843	2·7
10 March 1987	232	3,588	6·5
7 April 1987	245	3,447	7·1
5 May 1987	259	3,163	8·2
2 June 1987	648	3,520	18·4
30 June 1987	529	3,650	14·5
28 July 1987	482	3,919	12·3
25 August 1987	545	4,100	13·3
22 September 1987	576	4,233	13·6
20 October 1987	605	3,884	15·6
17 November 1987	435	3,827	11·4
15 December 1987	376	3,353	11·2
12 January 1988	371	3,305	11·2

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now in a position to announce his decision on the appeal by the Southend community health council regarding the proposal by the North East Thames regional health authority to close the radiotherapy unit at Southend general hospital; and if he will make a statement.

We hope to announce our decision very soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the supplementary benefit single payment expenditure (a) for each local office and (b) nationally, for the 32-week period ended on 7 April 1987.

[holding answer 11 February 1988]: The supplementary benefit single payment expenditure nationally for the period for the 32 week period ending on 7 April 1987 was £167,385,633. This figure is provisional and subject to amendment. The information for each local office has now been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the figures for the number of urgent needs payments made in each successive month from January 1987 to the present, at the Camberwell office of his Department and the percentage which those figures represent of the total number of urgent needs payments made in the region.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many scheduled heart operations at Birmingham children's hospital were cancelled between 8 February and 19 February; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many children are on the waiting list for heart surgery in the west midlands; how many scheduled operations have been cancelled and how many emergency heart operations have been performed over the last 12 months at Birmingham children's hospital; and if he will make a statement;(3) what is

[holding answer 15 February 1988]: This detailed information is not held centrally. However, in 1987 a total of 288 cardiac operations were carried out at the Birmingham children's hospital compared with 155 in 1978 which represents an 86 per cent. increase. The total revenue allocation to the hospital under the supra-regional services arrangements for neonatal and infant cardiac surgery in 1988–89 will be £1·032 million compared with £0·988 million this year. Decisions on the level of provision of beds are a matter for health authorities and the hon. Member may therefore wish to write to the chairman of the West Midlands regional health authority for the further information she seeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to put in place bilateral international arrangements for the confiscation of assets of convicted drug traffickers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of discussions with foreign Governments about introducing reciprocal legislation to provide for the confiscation of all assets of drug traffickers.

On 9 February my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I signed the first such agreement with the United States of America. We expect to conclude further agreements in the course of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to reinstate Dr. Frank Skuse in the light of the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in the light of the evidence of Dr. Frank Skuse at the Birmingham pub bombings Appeal Court hearing, he will order an inquiry into the Home Office forensic laboratory at Chorley; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will order an inquiry into the Home Office forensic laboratory at Chorley; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines he has issued to prison governors in England and Wales concerning the rights of convicted prisoners and prisoners on remand to speak Welsh with visitors, to receive correspondence and printed matter in Welsh, and to send letters in Welsh; and whether these guidelines have been revised during the past year.

Prison standing orders provide that prisoners may speak the language of their choice at visits; and prisoners are free to send letters and to receive letters and publications in any language. The position, which has not changed recently, is the same for both unconvicted and convicted prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the current levels of prison officers at Her Majesty's young offenders prison, Chelmsford.

On 9 February, there were 147 officers of grades VI to VIII at Her Majesty's Prison Chelmsford. We plan to post a further 17 officers there during March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will visit the Nottingham, North constituency to discuss crime prevention with local electors; and if he will make a report.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so; but I hope to visit Nottingham, when an opportunity arises, to talk to those concerned with a wide range of local crime prevention activity. This includes a commendable increase in the number of neighbourhood watch schemes, the involvement of the private sector in local crime prevention initiatives through the local chamber of commerce, and last November's knives amnesty during which some 470 knives and other weapons were handed over to the police.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by his Department in developing or stimulating crime prevention measures, particularly in t he private sector.

Good progress has been made on an increasingly wide range of crime prevention initiatives at local and national level. Home Office funding of the five local projects at Bolton, Croydon, Wellingborough, Swansea and north Tyneside has now ceased, but the projects will continue with funding from other sources. We have encouraged professional bodies and other groups and organisations to identify their crime prevention potential and to act. A great deal can be achieved through the dissemination of good practice, and bodies such as the Royal Institute of British Architects and the National House Building Corporation have arranged conferences or produced sound practical advice for architects and builders. The other way in which the private sector can help in the development and stimulation of crime prevention measures is through sponsorship. Recent examples include Rolls-Royce, which will be funding a local crime prevention project in Crewe, Barclays bank, which is meeting the salary cost of a project co-ordinator at Knowsley, and National Westminster bank, which has met the costs of providing domestic security equipment for schemes running in Avon and Birmingham.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the future of the BBC.

In recent months we have received many representations about the future of broadcasting, including that of the BBC. A number have suggested new methods of financing the BBC. On this our policy remains that we accept the view of the Peacock committee that the television licence fee should remain for the time being the principal means of financing the BBC, with the fee indexed to the retail prices index to encourage the BBC to use its resources efficiently and to determine priorities in carrying out its duties under its charter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will invite the Chief Inspector of Prisons to submit a report on the situation in police cells used to house prisoners on remand; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to his question on 15 February at column 437.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of people being held in police cells on 1 February.

On 1 February 1988, 758 prisoners were held in police cells in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to have any further discussions with the BBC and the independent television companies about the effectiveness of their self-imposed regulation of the content of programmes shown before 9 pm and if he will make a statement.

We shall keep in close touch with the broadcasting authorities over the next few months on a wide range of issues including their responsibility for enforcing programme standards. The Government recognise the need for stronger and more effective oversight of standards relating to the portrayal of violence and sex on television. My right hon. Friend has announced our intention to set up the Broadcasting Standards Council which will provide a focus for public concern about these matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce his response to Lord Colville's report on the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to seek to amend the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1984 in order to assist in combating terrorism.

I refer my hon. Friends to what I said during the debate on the renewal of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions during 1987 he employed his powers to authorise an extension of detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1984.

In 1987 I authorised 41 extensions of detention under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to introduce amending legislation on charities.

My right hon. Friend announced on 21 January, at column 1089, in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown), that the Government intend to bring forward legislation to implement the recommendations of Sir Philip Woodfield's efficiency scrutiny for the supervision of charities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to seek to make any changes to the way in which the Charity Commission adjudges whether a purportedly religious organisation should be granted charitable status; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter of common, rather than statute, law. The Government propose to improve the supervision and monitoring of all charities, in line with the recent efficiency scrutiny report by Sir Philip Woodfield. We are considering the scope of this legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has estimated the cost of removing Crown immunity from prisons with regard to health and safety and kitchen hygiene legislation.

We are satisfied that existing arrangements are effective and can see no justification for the removal of Crown immunity from prisons with regard to kitchen hygiene legislation. The cost of removing Crown immunity has not been estimated.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had regarding the involvement of the private sector in the building and management of prisons.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fallon) on 12 February at column 363.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to how many non-white police officers are currently employed on uniform duties in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is in the table:

Number of non-white police officers employed on uniform duties
Force1	As at 31 January 1988
Metropolitan police	390
West Midlands police	2138
Greater Manchester police	78
Merseyside police	30
1 The information is only available on a force basis.
2 This is the total west midlands figure. Separate figures for uniformed officers are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on his response to the report of the review of police manpower in Leicestershire, a copy of which has been sent to him.

On the basis of the review, the Leicestershire police authority has sought approval for an increase of establishment of 45 posts in 1988–89, 33 posts in 1989–90, and 13 posts in 1990–91. The application will be considered in the light of advice from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary along with applications which have been received from other police authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the licensed trade to discuss the recommendations of the Government's ministerial working group on alcohol abuse.

My right hon. Friend has not recently had an opportunity to do so; I met representatives of the licensed trade to discuss these matters on 26 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will implement the recommendation of the Home Affairs Select Committee in its report on "Miscarriages of Justice" to the effect that an independent review body be set up to review cases of alleged miscarriage of justice; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will implement the recommendation of the Home Affairs Committee's report on "Miscarriages of Justice" that an independent review tribunal be set up to examine alleged miscarriages of justice; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Government's response to this recommendation was set out in paragraphs 7 to 16 of our reply to the Home Affairs Committee (Cmnd. 8856).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the recommendations of the Home Affairs Select Committee report on "miscarriages of Justice" which have been implemented.

The Select Committee's recommendation for the establishment of a public prosecution service was implemented in the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. The other principal recommendations concerning an independent review body have not been accepted, for reasons given in the Government's reply to the report (Cmnd. 8856), to which I refer the hon. Member for further details.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to refer any further cases of alleged miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend will continue to exercise the power given him by section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 in accordance with established practice where he is satisfied that there is some new evidence or other new consideration of substance which has not previously been taken into account by a court and which the Court of Appeal can properly consider.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refer the case of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings to an independent review body of the sort recommended by the House Select Committee on Home Affairs report on "Miscarriages of Justice".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up an independent review body to examine evidence that the persons responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings are living in Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish an independent review tribunal to examine evidence in relation to the Birmingham pub bombings that was not admissible before the Court of Appeal.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up an independent review body, along the lines recommended by Lord Devlin and the Home Affairs Select Committee, to review evidence by the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) that he has traced and interviewed the four persons solely responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings and that they are all in Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refer the case of the Birmingham pub bombings to an independent tribunal; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refer the case of the Birmingham pub bombings to an independent review body.

I refer hon. Members to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Deptford and Lewisham (Ms. Ruddock) on 15 February at column 437.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish an independent review body to consider evidence that the persons actually responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings are not in custody; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Deptford and Lewisham (Ms. Ruddock) on 15 February at column 437.I understand that on application by the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings the Court of Appeal has certified that there has been raised a point of law of general public importance. I understand further that the court has refused the six men leave to appeal to the House of Lords, but that: it is now open to them to apply to the House of Lords for leave to pursue the point. Consequently, the matter is now sub-judice.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are subject to deportation orders in Liverpool at the latest date.

Information on deportation orders is not readily available by area or city.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the working of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) on 20 November 1987 at columns 716–17. Further information is contained in the board's latest annual report (Cm. 265), a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce the backlog of cases awaiting resolution by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

The Government provided £77 million for the criminal injuries compensation scheme in the Estimates for this financial year—an increase of £33 million over previously planned provision—and plans to make available £81 million in 1988–89 and £89 million in 1989–90. This increased provision will finance an increase in the number of compensation payments and has enabled the board to recruit 90 additional staff at its new office in Glasgow who will help to deal with the backlog of claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the speed and manner in which passport applications and renewals are currently being processed.