To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, 9 March, Official Report, columns 200–1, how much nuclear material in the United Kingdom has been subject to exchange of safeguards obligations on the basis of strict equivalent in quantity and quality, in each year since 1973.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, 29 February, Official Report, column 483, when he expects the particular safeguards provisions for Sellafield referred to therein to enter into force.

Our aim is to bring the first four particular safeguards provisions for Sellafield into force by the end of 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the acceptance of unsafeguarded uranium into the United Kingdom for processing and subsequent re-export without direct use or application in the United Kingdom.

All civil uranium imported into the United Kingdom for processing and subsequent re-export is under safeguards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the gross national product of the Falkland Islands economy in (a) 1986 and (b) 1987.

The Falkland Islands gross national product for 1986 is estimated to have been approximately £9·9 million. In 1987 it was estimated to have risen to approximately £30·2 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Grenada on the treatment in prison of Phyllis Coard; and if he will make a statement.

No. The enforcement of prison regulations, which are presently the same as those introduced by the People's Revolutionary Government of which Mrs. Coard was a member, is entirely a matter for the Grenadian authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised the case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg with the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and if he will make a statement.

The case of Raoul Wallenberg was last raised with the Soviet authorities at ministerial level by the then Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind), during discussions in Moscow in July 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will call for a report from the Queen's university, Belfast, authorities on the status of Mairead Farrell; what public funds she was receiving in the year before her death; what steps will be taken to ensure that those with terrorist backgrounds are not able to receive public funds; and if he will make a statement.

Mairead Farrell was a full-time student in her first year of study in the faculty of economics at Queen's university, Belfast., Since her enrolment, on 23 September 1987, she received a maintenance grant of £1,380 from the Belfast education and library board. Grants for eligible students are mandatory.

To ask the Prime Minister what guidance she gives to departmental Ministers about receiving delegations from right hon. and hon. Members; and if she will make a statement.

Such meetings are a matter for the judgment of individual departmental Ministers.

To ask the Prime Minister if, in the light of his refusal to meet a delegation of hon. Members to discuss the financial position of South Manchester health authority, she will dismiss the Minister for Health, the right hon. Member for Braintree (Mr. Newton); and if she will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister when she replied to a recent letter by Mr. R. W. Marshall of Cymerau, Dolwen, Blaenau Ffestiniog, on the subject of nuclear reactor risks, radiation fog and smog from power plants.

It is not my usual practice to give information on correspondence from third parties.

To ask the Attorney-General which religious organisations were approached for assistance when preparing the now abandoned appeal against the decision not to remove charity status from the Unification Church.

[pursuant to his reply, 8 February 1988, c. 42]: Such an approach was made to the Church of England. I also received representations from the following organisations:The Churches Main Committee; The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches; The Arya Samaj in London; The Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is now in a position to announce the details of the inquiry he has decided to set up into discipline in schools.

The inquiry will be chaired by my noble Friend Lord Elton, will extend to England and Wales, and will have the following terms of reference:—

"In view of public concern about violence and indiscipline in schools and the problems faced by the teaching profession today, to consider what action can be taken by central Government, local authorities, voluntary bodies owning schools, governing bodies of schools, head teachers, teachers and parents to secure the orderly atmosphere necessary in schools for effective teaching and learning to take palce."

Other members of the Committee are:—

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which companies were asked to tender for the supply of the integrated Office System for Ministers in his Department; on what basis they were selected; what assessment was made of the suitability of HM Systems to provide the service; and if he will make a statement.

A networked engagements management system was needed that could be met only by a bespoke software development. The Department was aware of the typical diary facilities available from a wide range of office automation suppliers and these fell far short of meeting the requirement.The Department had previously used a particular software systems company to develop an earlier engagement management system. On the basis of that earlier successful implementation, a time and materials contract was placed with that company for the software development and hardware implementation. As part of the implementation, the software systems company had to take account of compatibility requirements. Additional facilities have subsequently been added to provide Ministers with an integrated office system.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress is being made with Her Majesty's Government's inquiry into the allegations of sales of military equipment to Palestinian terrorist organisations; and when it will be completed.

[holding answer 9 March 1988]: Allegations that in 1981–82, military communications equipment was licensed for shipment to the PLO have been investigated by the Departments concerned with the active co-operation of Racal-Tacticom.Applications to export military communications equipment are considered by relevant Government Departments before any licence is granted by the DTI. Records have been examined and there is no trace of any licence having ever been granted for shipment to the PLO.The investigation has revealed that in the case of one export licensed in 1982 to a company in the Lebanon an error occurred so that the usual procedures were completed without taking into account information showing that the Lebanon company had links with the PLO. It is possible therefore that this consignment eventually reached the PLO. It was of very small value and the equipment was non-lethal.No evidence has been found to justify any suggestion of unlawful actions by Racal-Tacticom.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many patients at Park lane hospital have been granted privileges to live at an outside hostel or to study at university while subject to a restriction order in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

During the last five years one patient subject to a restriction order has been given permission to leave Park lane hospital to attend a college of further education. None has been given leave to attend a university. Two patients in 1983, two in 1985 and one in 1987 were granted leave from the hospital to live at an outside hostel on a trial basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department issues to special hospitals on the provision of unescorted trips for inmates who have not been approved for release by mental health tribunals.

Under sections 41 and 49 of the Mental Health Act 1983, persons detained in hospital subject to restriction orders may be granted leave of absence only with my right hon. Friend's consent. Consent is given only when, on the best assessment that can be made in advance, there appears to be no serious risk to the patient or to the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many patients detained under the Mental Health Acts have been released from (a) Park lane, (b) Rampton and (c) Broadmoor hospitals in each year since 1979; and how many of those released have since reoffended.

The readily available information is given in the table:

Discharges into the community of patients subject to special restrictions on discharge from special hospitals
	Broadmoor	Park Lane	Rampton
1979	18	1	11
1980	18	1	14
1981	6	4	18
1982	21	1	4
1983	4	10	10
1984	9	22	18
1985	12	19	10
1986	5	6	15

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to amend the self-help transmitter scheme as a way of providing alternative television programmes to areas such as Gloucester.

The self-help transmitter scheme enables isolated communities not served by the BBC or IBA to construct at their own expense transmitters to relay existing television signals on spare UHF channels. Recently, a community group was licensed on an experimental basis to provide a transmitter offering an alternative to the regional service provided by the BBC-IBA transmitter. Further schemes of this nature will be considered in the light of the current experiment and once decisions have been taken on the possible alternative use of UHF frequencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the implications for his policy on refugees of Amnesty International's code of practice for fair treatment of refugees in the United Kingdom, a copy of which has been forwarded to him; and if he will make a statement.

A number of hon. Members and others have written to me drawing attention to Amnesty International's code of practice for fair treatment of refugees in the United Kingdom. I set out our views on Amnesty's proposals in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Mr. Evans) on 16 March at column 572.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to reply to the letter of 29 February from the hon. Member for Vauxhall concerning the treatment of Gary John Byrne.

I assume that the question refers to Gary John Byrne. I hope to reply shortly.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has as to the total amount of (a) United Kingdom and (b) overseas bad debt written off by United Kingdom banks in the financial years 1979–80 and 1986–87 at 1986 prices; and what has been the cost at 1986 prices to the Exchequer in each of those years of allowing these provisions to be written off against tax.

I regret that information is not readily available in the form requested.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he now has plans to introduce customs clearance for passengers on Channel tunnel trains terminating at London, Waterloo.

No. The most efficient and practicable customs control will be airport-type red and green channels at Waterloo. We are therefore planning on this basis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has received any representations on value added tax rules applied to working men's clubs and institutes; and if he will make a statement.

A few representations about VAT on gaming machines were received in the run-up to the Budget, including those made by the Committee of Registered Clubs Associations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state those treaty obligations of Her Majesty's Government that either prevented him from making or required him to make changes in rates of excise duty between 1987–88 and 1988–89; and if he will list the commodities so affected.

[holding answer 17 March 1988]: There is no obligation in the treaty of Rome which requires member states to set particular rates of excise duty. But, amongst other things, article 95 of the treaty prevents any member state from imposing, directly or indirectly, any internal taxation on the products of other member states in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar domestic products. Article 95 applies to all the excise duties levied in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total of Government (a) assisted and (b) allowed capital expenditure by local authorities on (i) local authority housing, (ii) private sector improvement, repair and intermediate grants, and (iii) housing association grants in the financial years 1970–71 to 1986–87 in 1986 prices.

At 1986–87 prices the total of gross capital public expenditure on housing in England (local authorities, Housing Corporation and new towns) in 1971–72, the earliest year for which figures are available on a consistent basis, was £4,327 million. The comparable figure for 1986–87 is £3,446 million.Available information for the three categories of expenditure specified, for England and at 1986–87 prices, is set out in the table. Although the net total of local authority capital spending is cash limited, spending on the individual component elements specified is not. "Allowed" expenditure is taken to mean gross outturn public

Housing, England
All in 1986–87 prices1
£ million
	Local Authority Housing		Private Improvement		Support to Housing Associations
Year					LA8	HC7	LA3	HC9
	PE2	Vote3	PE4	Vote5	PE		Vote
1971–7212	2,819	n/a	194	n/a	200	43	10n/a
1972–7312	3,341	n/a	347	n/a	253	106	10n/a
1973–7412	4,251	n/a	539	n/a	319	135	10n/a
1974–75	5,466	1,763	475	171	467	413	110
1975–76	4,878	3,828	187	200	533	519	11370
1976–77	4,554	2,191	162	194	529	630	425	566
1977–78	3,769	2,114	142	177	485	629	413	663
1978–79	3,304	2,057	175	176	359	637	435	675
1979–80	3,156	2,087	200	164	316	669	278	591
1980–81	2,361	2,167	182	159	239	714	337	401
1981–82	1,769	1,318	252	176	182	669	254	368
1982–83	2,030	778	508	214	160	902	196	499
1983–84	2,161	458	1,040	311	158	838	162	1,000
1984–85	2,261	503	802	412	161	762	163	868
1985–86	2,018	517	474	434	124	733	155	793
1986–87	1,910	626	392	473	126	715	120	690
Note: PE gross outturn figures taken from Public Expenditure White Papers; Vote outturn figures taken from Appropriation Accounts.
1 Uprated from the published cash figures using the GDP deflator.
2 Consists of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) renovation, HEA land and dwelling acquisitions, HRA new building for rent and Estate Action. Does not include public expenditure on central government subsidies to LA capital expenditure (eg Main Housing Subsidy).
3 Consists mainly of main housing subsidy which is paid to certain authorities reflecting annual revenue deficits as well as loan charges on capital borrowing. Also includes housing subsidies to the New Towns, which cannot easily be disaggregated.
4 Public Expenditure on Home Improvement, Repairs and Intermediate Grants.
5 Voted expenditure supporting Home Improvement, Repairs and Intermediate Grants.
6 Local Authority support to housing associations for fair rent and low cost home ownership.
7 Housing Corporation support to HAs for fair rent and low cost home ownership.
8 Housing Association Grant (HAG) paid via local authorities.
9 HAG paid via the Housing Corporation.
10 Before 1974 the Housing Corporation/local authorities made loans to Housing Associations without exchequer support. A new system of funding, including capital grants, was introduced in the 1974 Housing Act.
11 Cannot be disaggregated.
12 For these years disaggregated Vote information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the percentage of planning applications dealt with by local authorities within the statutory eight-week period at the latest available date; and if he will give figures for comparable periods since 1979.

The information requested for the latest available quarter and comparable periods since 1979 are given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his reply of 7 March, Official Report, columns 97–98, to the hon. Member for Gloucester, what is the cost of each intensive local comaign to discourage the evasion of vehicle excise duty carried out during 1987–88; what size of geographical area is covered by each such campaign; and if he has plans to establish a nationwide campaign.

The costs to the Department, together with the relicensing revenue and the court penalties imposed on evaders, of each of the campaigns already held or under way in the present financial year are estimated as follows:

	DTp1costs	Relicensing revenue	Court penalties
	£	£	£
April 1987
South Yorkshire	49,000	876,000	8,600
Nottinghamshire	48,000	747,000	6,700
May 1987
Lothian and Borders	49,000	688,000	6,700
London Metropolitan/City	107,000	7,000,000	335,300
July 1987
Merseyside	57,000	919,000	7,000
September 1987
Tayside	32,000	233,000	200
October 1987 (All Wales)
Dyfed	157,000	429,000	1,500
Gwent		389,000	4,000
North Wales		524,000	6,500
South Wales		1,016,000	3,500
February 1988
Hampshire	53,000	Results awaited
March 1988
Cambridgeshire	36,000
Lincolnshire	35,000
Norfolk	40,000
Suffolk	37,000
	700,000	12,821,000	380,000
1 Police costs are not included; in total, they are probably of a similar order of magnitude.

Each campaign covers a single police force area and is the subject of separate negotiations with the chief constable. Where better publicity can be achieved by synchronised campaigns in adjacent areas, officials endeavour to arrange them in collaboration with the police. I have no plans for a single nationwide campaign.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates have been made by his Department about the number of cars which are in use without a valid road fund licence.

The most recent estimate of vehicle excise duty evasion in Great Britain is based on a national survey in June 1984 which indicated that 580,000 unlicensed cars and vans were in use on the road.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why the Royal Arms no longer appear on the official notepaper of his office.

The Royal Arms crest appears on all letterhead paper supplied to the office of the Secretary of State, for official purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the terms of reference, and when is publication expected, of the study of the funding of vocational education and training being undertaken by the Manpower Services Commission.

The terms of reference of MSC's study of the funding of vocational education and training are:

(a) to describe fully current mechanisms for the financing of vocational education and training in Great Britain (excluding initial continuous full-time schooling) and of individuals (employed and unemployed) undertaking vocational education and training;

(b) to investigate, describe and analyse the effects and effectiveness of those mechanisms; and

(c) to make recommendations on ways in which the mechanisms and means for the financing of vocational education and training could be improved so as to achieve a system which

• —brings to bear sufficient resources for achievement of the New Training Initiative objectives and the proper vocational education and training of all the country's workforce;
• —is effective and efficient in the use of resources;
• —is responsive to changing needs; and
• —meets labour market requirements.

The study is to be informed by an extensive programme of original research which will report to MSC during the spring and early summer. It is anticipated that the final report will be published later in 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to introduce legislation requiring employers to provide adequate insurance cover for children in their employment.

Such provision already exists under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions have taken place as a result of industrial tribunals in the south-west in the last year; and in what areas.

None. Industrial tribunal decisions do not of themselves lead to prosecutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many women have served as sidesmen in industrial tribunals in the south-west in the last year.

Twenty-seven.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many women have served as chairpersons of industrial tribunals in the south-west in the last year.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many planting grant and felling licence applications to the Forestry Commission were objected to on environmental grounds in the last full year for which figures are available.

Twenty-four applications for planting grant were referred to the Forestry Commission's regional advisory committees in the year to 31 December 1987 because of sustained objections on environmental grounds. There were no sustained objections to applications for felling licences.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, in the event of civil or nuclear disaster, what arrangements have been made for distribution of emergency supplies including food.

Regional and island councils have contingency plans for dealing with emergencies, which include arrangements, as appropriate, for the distribution of food and other supplies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the electorate in each local authority district council ward in Scotland according to the electoral roll currently in force.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 March to the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh) at columns 327–30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the electorate in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland, according to the electoral roll currently in force.

A table giving this information will be available in April, when I shall send a copy to the hon. Member and place one in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest estimate of the level of uniform business rate for Scotland taking account of proposed rates for the financial year 1988–89.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 27 November to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) at column 132.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing for each rank of police officer in Scotland the number who are (i) from ethnic minorities and (ii) women; and what is the total number of police officers in Scotland.

The position at 31 December 1987 was as follows:

Rank	Ethnic minorities	Policewomen
Chief Constable	—	—
Deputy Chief Constable	—	—
Assistant Chief Constable	—	—
Chief Superintendent	—	—
Superintendent	—	1
Chief Inspector	—	3
Inspector	—	11
Sergeant	3	50
Constable	11	870
Total	14	935

On the same date, total police strength in Scotland was 13,476.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many judges in Scotland are (i) from ethnic minorities and (ii) women; and what is the total number of judges in Scotland.

Of the 24 senators of the College of Justice, six sheriffs principal and 89 sheriffs, four are women. No information is collected centrally on the ethnic origins of judges in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what factors of medical policy are considered by the Scottish Development Agency when considering financial support for private medical projects.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: The agency undertakes consultation with appropriate interests in considering support for any private medical project. If consultations bring out factors of medical policy then these are considered by the agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of staff in the Scottish Development Agency, and their numbers, currently involved in the consideration of private medical projects.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: The numbers of agency staff, and their allocation among divisions, are given in the agency's annual report which is laid before Parliament each year. The staff in post, as at 31 March 1987, was 683.No members of the agency's staff are employed solely in the consideration of private medical projects such as nursing or other homes for the elderly. Staff in the agency deal with such projects as and when appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the private medical projects currently being considered by the Scottish Development Agency for financial assistance, giving the companies involved and the level of assistance.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am unable to provide this information. The number of private medical projects currently being considered by the agency is eight. These comprise projects where one or more medically qualified staff are involved in providing health care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when considering financial support to private medicine, he takes into consideration the equivalent number of jobs and quality of health care that could be provided in the National Health Service for a similar investment.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: No. Applications for financial assistance in respect of health care projects are assessed in terms of any relevant statutory provisions — for example, the Industry Acts — and against the criteria appropriate to the form of assistance applied for.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland who are the Scottish Development Agency's medical advisers concerned with private medical projects.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: The Scottish Development Agency health care division provides in-house expertise in the evaluation of health care projects. Where necessary, this expertise is supplemented by the provision of advice from specialists who are consulted, in confidence, on a case by case basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance has been given by the Scottish Development Agency to the setting up of private homes or hospitals for the elderly in each of the years 1983 to 1987; what individuals or companies were involved and what non-financial assistance was provided.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: The financial support given by the Scottish Development Agency to the setting up of private homes or hospitals for the elderly in each of the years 1983 to 1987 was as follows:

Year	Assistance given	Number1
	£
1983–84	101,500	3
1984–85	90,000	2
1985–86	139,000	4
1986–87	180,000	4
1987–88	—	—
1 Companies-individuals assisted.

In each case the information relates to the Agency's Financial Year (ending 31 March).The projects identified in the table comprise nursing or residential homes where one or more medically qualified staff are involved. Financial support was provided by way of loan and-or equity as appropriate.For reasons of commercial confidentiality the names of individuals or companies assisted cannot be given.In all cases the Scottish Development Agency's full range of business development advisory services was made available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the guidelines within which the Scottish Development Agency considers requests for financial or other forms of assistance from private health care projects.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: Private health care projects are considered for financial or other forms of assistance by the Scottish Development Agency in exactly the same manner as projects in other business sectors. Projects are evaluated in terms of market demand, any relevant technical factors and the skills and experience of those engaged in management. Where investment or other forms of financial assistance are being considered, a financial appraisal is also undertaken. Investments are made under financial guidelines set jointly by the Secretary of State and the Treasury, with the agency board having delegated authority of up to £1 million or 30 per cent. of equity, whichever is the lower. Any investment proposed outside the guidelines has to be approved on a case by case basis by the Scottish Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set out in the Official Report the employment creation criteria used by the Scottish Development Agency when assessing private health care projects.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: The employment creation criteria used by the Scottish Development Agency in assessing private health care projects are no different from those used in assessing projects in other areas of business activity. The agency takes into account the additional earnings generated both directly by the project and elsewhere within the Scottish economy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which of his Departments is consulted about Scottish Development Agency support for private medical schemes; and which Department accepts final responsibility for approval.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: Within the limits of the agency's delegated authority, consultation in respect of any particular project is a matter for the agency's own discretion. Out with these limits, the Industry Department for Scotland is responsible (in consultation with the Scottish Home and Health Department) for approval of agency involvement in such projects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance in the form of loan guarantees has been given by the Scottish Development Agency towards setting up homes for the elderly in each year from 1983; and what are the names of individuals and companies involved.

[holding answer 22 February 1988]: There has been no such assistance over the period 1983 to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Development Agency about extending the geographical area of the Coatbridge project to cover a larger area in Monklands district; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 17 March 1988]: I am pleased to say that agreement has been reached between the Scottish Development Agency and its partners in the Coatbridge project on an extension both to the area of the project to include the rest of Monklands district, and for a further two years from 1 April 1988. The new project will be known as the Monklands project. This does not require the approval of my right hon. and learned Friend. While, therefore, I have kept myself informed about the current discussions between the Scottish Development Agency and its partners about an extension, I have seen no need for separate discussions with the agency, which—as I said in my answer to the hon. Member on 2 1 January—is aware that we regard Lanarkshire as an area which continues to need its special attention.