To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to a spinning factory in Bradford.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister whether, on the initiative of Her Majesty's Government, as one of the jointly responsible governing powers for Greater Berlin and in pursuit of joint rights and responsibilities for the security of Greater Berlin, she will institute an inquiry into the alleged abuse of diplomatic facilities in the Soviet sector of Berlin, in the light of evidence at the trial of Christina Endrigkeit; and what has been the result of Her Majesty's Government's close contact with the Soviet authorities since April 1986 on this matter.

No. The allied powers with responsibility for Berlin have made clear to the Soviet Union their position on this matter. It is not our practice to reveal details of confidential exchanges.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to Newton near Rugby.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost of the reception for the editors of regional daily newspapers at 10 Downing street in the evening of 21 March.

The estimated cost is £ 1,600.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 24 March.

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 Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report (a) the total number of entrants to each dental school, and (b) the total number of graduates from each dental school, in each of the past five years; and what is the total cost per graduate per dental school.

(a) The pre-clinical intake to each dental school in Great Britain in the five years to 1987–88 is shown in the table. (Figures for 1987–88 are provisional).

School	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88
Birmingham	81	75	75	76	77
Bristol	55	63	42	47	49
Leeds	57	55	54	55	54
Liverpool	61	60	60	60	61
London:
—Kings College	62	62	54	64	58
—University College	52	51	52	50	50
—United Medical and Dental School (Guys & St. Thomas's)	96	91	88	87	88
—London Hospital	56	57	57	58	56
Manchester	68	62	62	63	61
Newcastle	76	70	70	70	71
Sheffield	54	50	45	44	48
Wales	50	45	47	48	48
Dundee	50	50	44	45	51
Edinburgh	56	39	40	36	37
Glasgow	75	70	70	70	70

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance is available to head teachers to assist them in assessing whether the drama entitled "Scene", produced by BBC School Television Service, conforms with the requirements of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986.

Department of Education and Science circular No. 11/87 "Sex Education at School" contains guidance for LEAs, governing bodies and head teachers on sections 18 and 46 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to reach a decision on the validity of degrees awarded by the International Management Centre, Buckingham, to its clients and students.

I understand that the International Management Centre, Buckingham has begun discussions with the Council for National Academic Awards with a view to gaining academic validation of its qualifications. These negotiations are a matter for the parties involved, and not for my right hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report expenditure by (a) the Medical Research Council and (b) any other Government funded projects into arthritis research in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

I understand from the Medical Research Council that its expenditure on arthritis research was as follows:

Year	£ millions
1982–83	0·9
1983–84	1·0
1984–85	1·1
1985–86	1·2
1986–87	1·3

Some support for arthritis research is also provided through UGC block grants to universities. Information on support for arthritis research by other Government Departments is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate how much expenditure there has been by charities and other voluntary bodies on arthritis research in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and whether he takes this expenditure into account in allocating Government funding for such research.

I understand from the handbook of the Association of Medical Research Charities that support of arthritis research by the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council currently amounts to about £6 million a year. Support from the science budget for arthritis research is provided through the Medical Research Council which is responsible for determining its own priorities for the research supported from its annual grant in aid — currently £147 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on prescribed expenditure allocations in respect of education for 1988–89.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has announced that additional capital allocations will be made for 1988–89. Twelve million, five hundred thousand pounds of the total will be allocated in respect of education and, in particular, but not exclusively, to support projects in inner city areas. A further £5·2 million in respect of education is expected to be available later provided that returns from local authorities do not indicate a likely overspend of the revised DOE-LA1 cash limit in 1988–89. My Department will be inviting local education authorities which cover urban programme areas to submit plans for projects which they would undertake if granted a supplementary allocation.A small number of authorities have already satisfied me that, because of special circumstances, they would be able to make particularly effective use of an additional allocation in 1988–89. Those authorities will receive appropriate notification shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will appoint a successor to Sir Ronald Dearing as chairman of the Council for National Academic Awards.

I am pleased to announce that, together with my right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales, I am appointing Sir Bryan Nicholson, chairman of the Post Office, as chairman of the Council for National Academic Awards. He will shortly succeed Sir Ronald Dearing who is relinquishing the post to take the chair of the Polytechnic and Colleges Funding Council. Sir Bryan's term of office will be three years.

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.

[pursuant to his reply, 18 March 1988, c. 687]: I have appointed two further members to the committee of inquiry:

Mrs. Colette Thomson, a former member of the England netball team, and now a mathematics teacher at Alderbrook school, west midlands; and following consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, Mrs. Glenda Thomas, head teacher of Blaencaerau junior school, Maesteg, Mid-Glamorgan.

These appointments complete the membership. My intention is that the committee should start its work as soon as possible and aim to report by the end of the year.

To ask the the Attorney-General how many (a) solicitors and (b) barristers have been excluded from legal aid work either temporarily or for a specified period, for reasons connected with professional standards in the past five years.

In the last five years one solicitor has been registered as excluded from legal aid work for a specified period as a result of a decision of the Legal Aid (Complaints) Tribunal. No barrister has been so registered as excluded in that period.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will state the number of occasions since 1 January 1973 when each category of United Kingdom court has applied for, or received, guidance from the Council of the European Communities concerning interpretation or execution of legislation of that Community.

I assume that the hon. Member intends to refer to requests made by United Kingdom courts to the Court of Justice of the European Communities for preliminary rulings under article 177 of the treaty of Rome. In the period from 1 January 1973 until the end of February 1988, the House of Lords made six such requests, the Court of Appeal six, and all other courts and tribunals a total of 64. It is not possible to provide figures separately for the courts and tribunals whose references are included in the latter figure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to the answer of 3 March, Official Report, column 641, if he will list by Civil Service grade the number of officials in his Department located outside London; and what proportion they represent of all officials employed by his Department in each grade.

The figures for 1 January 1988 for the DTI are as follows:

Grade	1 January 1988	Percentage of Department of Trade and Industry total
Grade 3	8	16·0
Grade 4	1	16·7
Grade 5	17	9·6
Grade 6	41	23·3
Grade 7	186	22 9
Senior Executive Officer	100	34 8
Higher Executive Officer	273	30·8
Executive Officer	538	35·5
Administrative Officer	977	43·0
Administrative Assistant	446	35·9
Insolvency Grade A	2	15·4
Insolvency Grade B	24	38·1
Insolvency Grade C	53	40·8
Insolvency Grade D	180	69·5
Insolvency Grade E	151	63·8
Senior Assistant Statistician	3	42·9
Assistant Statistician	3	42·9
Information Officer	1	2·3
Cleaner	1	28·5
Higher Graphics Officer	1	100·0
Investigation Officer	17	47·2
Librarian	3	18·8
Assistant Librarian	2	8·0
Senior Messenger	6	8·1
Messenger	46	19·3
Office Keeper I	1	16·7

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what effect the Budget proposals will have on manufacturing industries in the north-west region during the remainder of the current year.

Manufacturing industry in the north-west and elsewhere will benefit from the priority given by the Budget to a continuation of steady economic growth and low inflation; and from the additional incentives to effort and enterprise which the reductions in personal taxation will bring.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in the development of the Uruguay round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade multilateral trade negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

The initial phase of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations, which was devoted to the examination of the issues identified in the Punta del Este declaration, has been completed. Some 160 proposals have been tabled by the contracting parties, covering all the main areas. Substantive negotiations are now beginning and are due to be completed in September 1990. A mid-term meeting will take place in Montreal in the week of 5 December 1988 at which Ministers from the contracting parties will review progress.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

Yes. Arrangements have been made for such an exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall to take place from Tuesday 12 April to Friday 15 April.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a further statement concerning implementation of the Financial Services Act 1986.

The Government intend to bring into force the remaining investor protection provisions of the Act, including the central requirement to be authorised or exempted, on 29 April. A commencement order will be made shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many people have had their gas supplies disconnected in the five years prior to privatisation; and how many have been disconnected in each year subsequently in (a) Dundee, (b) Scotland and (c) the United Kingdom as a whole.

This is a matter for British Gas plc. I have asked the chairman of British Gas to write to the hon. Member with the information available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has any proposals for a further round of offshore production licensing.

I propose to launch an 11th round of offshore licensing as soon as the customary consultations about the detailed arrangements have been completed. As in recent rounds, I propose to invite applications for a range of mature and frontier blocks selected from various areas of the United Kingdom continental shelf. I expect to offer a larger number of blocks for companies to consider than in the last round. The aim once again will be to consolidate on recent exploration successes and to provide potential for further discoveries which can be developed to replace existing fields as they become depleted.I hope to license blocks from the following broad areas:

Area	Quadrants
Northern North Sea	2, 3, 8, 9, 210 and 211
Faroes/Shetland area	204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 213 and 214
Hebridean Platform	154, 165, 166
Orkney/Shetland area	5, 6 and 7

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will place in the Library copies of the lines of communication arrangement 1973 and the memorandum of understanding on the use of Royal Air Force bases by United States air forces operational units 1974, including all subsequent alterations and amendments.

No. The US-UK lines of communication arrangement 1973 and the memorandum of understanding on the use of RAF bases by US Air Force operational units 1974 are classified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost since the surrender of the Argentine forces of the United Kingdom military presence on the Falkland Islands, including military infrastructure costs, expressed (a) in cash terms and (b) as a per capita sum for the permanent population of the Falkland Islands.

The additional cost of maintaining a garrison in the Falkland Islands from April 1983 to the end of the last financial year is estimated to be £1,425 million in cash terms, or about £700,000 per Falkland Islander. Figures for 1982–83 do not distinguish between campaign and garrison costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if military training has been given to officers of the Bangladeshi military who have been involved in violations of human rights in the Chittagon area; and if he will make a statement;

No. While I understand that some Bangladeshi officers trained with the help of the British military advisory team (BMAT) at the Bangladesh defence services command and staff college have been appointed to the division covering the Chittagong hill tracts, nothing in the United Kingdom's military training assistance to Bangladesh could encourage any abuse of human rights. On the contrary, the strong emphasis on fairness and restraint given by the BMAT can only help inculcate high ethical standards in the students and, indeed, the college training as a whole emphasises these standards in line with the British military tradition.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if any logistical or other assistance (a) has been, (b) is being or (c) will be given by United Kingdom armed forces in Belize to the United States troops recently deployed in Honduras.

No such assistance has been or is being given, and we do not intend that it should be.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions when the United Kingdom has been party to cases at the European Court of Justice (a) as a respondent in cases initiated by the Commission of the Community, (b) as a respondent or plaintiff in respect of other member states and (c) in other cases.

The figures since United Kingdom accession are:

(a) 23 under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty

(b) 1 under Article 170 of the EEC Treaty

(c) 16 under Article 173 of the EEC Treaty

(a) and (c) include cases still in progress.

Details of these cases are given in the relevant chapter or annex of the six-monthly White Paper on "Developments in the European Community".

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the number of rulings of the European Court of Justice which effectively determine case law in what would otherwise be within domestic jurisdiction since the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Economic Community.

I assume that the hon. Member's question refers to references to the European Court of Justice under article 177 of the EEC treaty. There have been 76 such references from United Kingdom courts up to the end of February 1988.Article 177 references are concerned with the interpretation of Community law. The interpretation of Community law given by the European Court of Justice is applied by the national court in deciding the case before it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what indications there have been in recent years of the increased work load of the European Court of Justice.

The number of cases brought before the European Court of Justice in a year has risen from 79 in 1970 to 329 in 1986. The number of cases brought in a year more than doubled from 202 in 1979 to 433 in 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish any instructions and directives from Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom acting together with other Commonwealth Governments setting out the functions of the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The functions of the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat and his staff are set out in the "Agreed Memorandum on the Commonwealth Secretariat", which was approved by Commonwealth Prime Ministers at their meeting in London from 17 to 25 June 1965 (Cmnd. 2713).As provided for in the Memorandum, these have been added to by subsequent decisions of Commonwealth Heads of Government and Ministers, particularly in respect of the Commonwealth fund for technical cooperation, the Commonwealth Science Council and the Commonwealth youth programme, which are administratively part of the secretariat, but which are covered by separate memoranda of understanding. I am arranging for copies of these memoranda to be placed in the Library as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, following the recent visit of the Laos deputy Foreign Minister, he has plans to reopen the British embassy at Vientiane.

We have no plans at present to do so. The economic considerations which led to closure in 1985 still apply. Her Majesty's ambassador in Bangkok, who is also accredited to Laos, and other members of the embassy visit Vientiane on a regular basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the main area of operation of the new European Court of First Instance; and whether its decisions will be limited to points of law.

Under article 3 of the draft decision, the European Court of Justice proposes to transfer to the Court of the First Instance its jurisdiction in cases concerned with staff matters, competition and antidumping, steel and certain non-contractual liability claims. The Court of the First Instance will decide both facts and law; appeals to the European Court of Justice will be limited to points of law.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the additional cost of establishing a European Court of First Instance; and how many persons are likely to be employed by it.

The European Court has estimated that the proposal for a court comprising seven judges would cost £210,000 in new equipment and add £3·15 million to the annual budget of the court. A final position on the total number of judges of the court has not yet been reached. It is not possible at this stage to say how many staff will be employed by the Court of First Instance alone. It seems likely that some staff now employed by the Court of Justice would be attached to the Court of First Instance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been received from the Spanish authorities on the surveillance and eventual killing of the three suspected Irish Republican Army terrorists in Gibraltar.

It is not our practice to comment on such matters, though as my right hon. and learned Friend said in the House on 7 March, we are grateful for the invaluable assistance we have received from the Spanish authorities in preventing a dreadful terrorist attack.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government have any plans to increase the accountability of parents and guardians for offences caused by persons under the age of 17 years; and if he will make a statement.

Parents are not responsible in law for criminal offences committed by their children. Where juveniles are convicted of a criminal offence the courts are required (except in certain circumstances) to order their parents or guardians to pay any fines or other financial penalties that may be imposed. The Criminal Justice Bill extends this requirement to fines imposed as a sanction for breach of supervision orders and community service orders.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) sentenced and (b) remanded juveniles were held in police or court cells during 1987, and how many since the beginning of 1988.

Information is not available in the form requested. Records held centrally do not distinguish between juveniles and other young persons, or between sentenced and unsentenced prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the light of his Department's most recent statistics on the prison population and ethnic minorities, he intends ( a) to issue any guidance to prison governers and (b) to make available any additional training for prison staff; and if he will make a statement.

Guidance on race relations is issued to prison governors from time to time, most recently in circular instruction 32/1986, a copy of which is in the Library. Further guidance will be issued as necessary. We are planning a review of race relations training for prison staff which will look, among other matters, at the form and quantity of training presently offered.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 March, Official Report, column 3, if he will list by Civil Service grade the number of officials in his Department located outside London.

Home Office staff in the following grades serve outside London:

Grade	Staff numbers
Grade 5 (Unified)	13
Grade 6 (Unified)	15
Grade 7 (Unified)	126
Senior Executive Officer	67
Higher Executive Officer	244
Executive Officer	541
Administration Officer	1,817
Administration Assistant	758
Messengers and Paperkeepers	77
Inspector of Immigration	16
Chief Immigration Officer	95
Immigration Officer	718
Prison Service Unified Grades I-V	649
Prison Service Unified Grades VI	1,310
Prison Service Unified Grades VII	2,573
Prison Service Unified Grades VIII	12,864
Night Patrol (Prison Service)	698
Prison Auxiliary (Prison Service)	564
Typist	548
Personal Secretary	76
Telecommunications Technical Engineer	569
Lecturer	40
Professional and Technology Officer	210
Instructional Officer	67
Higher Scientific Officer	110
Assistant Scientific Officer	83
Senior Scientific Officer	139
Scientific Officer	134
Others	893

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to secure the publication of the report conducted by officers of the Northamptonshire police into the conduct of the Metropolitan police at Wapping on 24 January 1987.

No. Such reports are always treated as confidential. The commission will consult the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police Complaints Authority in due course on whether criminal or disciplinary proceedings should be taken against any police officer on the basis of the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the dates of visits by his Department's inspectors to Professor Ian Steele-Russell's animal laboratories in the last five years, along with the main findings of these visits.

It is not our practice to disclose information of this nature. However, all establishments where licensed experimentation is carried out are visited frequently by inspectors, usually unannounced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals have been used by Professor Ian Steele-Russell in the last five years; if he will list the species used and the experimental procedures used; and to what extent anaesthesia was used.

It is not our practice to disclose such information about experimentation specific to individual researchers or establishments which has been provided to us in confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations took place with the trial judge regarding parole for Ian Richard Thain; what were the channels for such consultations; what were the dates on which the judge was consulted; and if he will outline the views which the judge offered.

The views of the trial judge were received in July 1986. In accordance with the normal procedure in the cases of all life sentence prisoners transferred from Northern Ireland to this country to serve their sentences, the approach to the trial judge was made through the Northern Ireland Office. The views of the judiciary in life sentence cases are given in confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all outstanding initial, reinspection and routine fire prevention inspections for private residential homes in Kent expressed in officer man years for the last recorded year.

This information is not available centrally. I have ascertained from the Kent fire brigade that during 1987, 65 full inspections, 568 specific, 229 follow-up and 250 routine inspections were made of the 809 homes for old persons, the disabled and mentally handicapped and nursing homes in the county. These figures do not distinguish between homes financed privately and by local authorities. Such inspections are undertaken on an advisory basis in co-operation with the responsible authorities and the brigade determines its own policy in making them. The question of outstanding inspections does not, accordingly, arise.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all outstanding initial, reinspection and routine fire prevention inspections in Kent expressed in officer man years for the last recorded year.

Fire prevention inspections are required statutorily only when an application for a fire certificate for premises designated under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 is made to the fire authority. During 1987, 238 certificates were issued by the Kent fire brigade and at the end of the year 2,991 certificates were in force for such premises. A further 1,646 certificates issued under the Factories Act 1961 and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 were also in force. I have ascertained from the brigade that at the end of 1987 the issue of 492 certificates was outstanding on premises that had been inspected and 289 premises were awaiting inspection. Figures are not available centrally to express outstanding inspections in officer man years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has regarding the costs of policing the meeting of the central council of the Conservative party held in Harrogate.

The last meeting of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations Central Council was held at Buxton in Derbyshire on 18–19 March. I understand from the chief constable of Derbyshire that the estimated additional costs of policing the meeting were in the region of £200,000. Under the normal arrangements 51 per cent. of this expenditure will be met from central funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of operations in which firearms were issued to police officers in England and Wales in 1987; in how many of those operations shots have been fired by police officers; how many police officers are currently qualified to carry firearms; and what were the equivalent figures for (a) 1986 and (b) 1983.

The number of operations in England and Wales, against criminals or those known or believed to be armed, in which firearms were issued to police officers in 1987 was 2,101. This was 14·35 per cent. fewer than in 1986 and 33·93 per cent. fewer than in 1983. Police officers fired shots in seven, or 0·003 per cent. of those operations. The number of such operations in which shots were fired by police officers in the preceding four years was three in 1983; six in 1984; seven in 1985; and one in 1986. As at 31 December 1987 a total of 7,349 police officers in England and Wales were qualified to carry firearms. This was 12·46 per cent. fewer than at the end of 1986 and 43·66 per cent. fewer than at the end of 1983. The latest figures represents 5·99 per cent. of the total police strength in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Environment Council on 21 March.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Environment, Countryside and Water represented the United Kingdom at this meeting.The Council adopted a resolution on the close of the European Year of the Environment which emphasised the need for continued efforts on environmental information and awareness. Notwithstanding disappointment that some important proposals had not yet been adopted, there was general agreement that the year had stimulated many and varied environmental achievements.The Council reached agreement on a directive to control discharge of chloroform to the aquatic environment, in particular those from significant industrial sources. In connection with this agreement and at the United Kingdom's request, the Commission undertook to bring to the Council at an early date proposals for drawing up a list of the most dangerous substances for future priority consideration. A proposal for a directive to co-ordinate controls over discharges of chromium to the aquatic environment was also discussed. Due to divergences of opinion among member states the Council failed to agree draft guidelines put forward by the presidency for further work on harmonising national programmes for reducing pollution caused by waste from the titanium oxide industry.A general welcome was given to the Commission's recently published proposals for ratification and implementation of the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. It was hoped that the proposed regulation on Communitywide measures could be adopted in June.Discussion of the large combustion plants directive focussed on the emission standards proposed for new combustion plant and, in particular, the size threshold above which such standards would apply. It was necessary for my hon. Friend to stress that the German presidency's "compromise" proposals were unrealistic and represented a step backwards from those recently presented by the Danish presidency. Although my hon. Friend was ready to discuss the new plant standards and the requirements for reductions from existing plants, the presidency decided not to discuss anything further. Thus it was not possible to make progress at the Council, although my hon. Friend and I look forward to more constructive discussions with the presidency in the near future.The Council had an initial discussion of the Commission's recent proposal for standards for emissions from small cars, as required by directive 88/76/EEC (the "Luxembourg Package"). My hon. Friend made a statement welcoming a proposal to establish a European standard for replacement silencers for motor cycles.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homeless people in England and Wales have previously been admitted to mental hospitals; and what this figure represents as a percentage of the total number of homeless persons.

This specific information is not available centrally. It is estimated, however, that in 1987 English local authorities accepted responsibility for accommodating about 2,300 households who they judged to be in priority need, on the grounds of some mental illness or handicap. This amounts to some 2 per cent. of all those accepted in priority need. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales has responsibility for these matters as they affect the Principality.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to abolish local authority searches for house buyers; and if he will make a statement.

Apart from searches of local land charges registers, maintained by local authorities under a duty imposed by the Local Land Charges Act 1975, the system of local authority searches is not statutory. The present system has been agreed between the Law Society and the local authority associations in response to the demands of conveyancers and their clients.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will update the information provided in his answer to the hon. Member for Bootle (Mr. Roberts) on 13 July 1987, Official Report, columns 387–88, concerning the sale of empty local authority dwellings to private developers.

The most recent information available is given in the table. The earlier reservations about the comprehensiveness of the figures still apply. The table should not, therefore, be compared directly with the earlier one.

Number of disposals of vacant dwellings since 1979
Local Authority	Number
Birmingham	128
Bolton	50
Bradford	156
Brentwood	10
Bristol	5
Broxbourne	113
Burnley	111
Calderdale	96
Copeland	47
Coventry	76
Crewe & Nantwich	2
Halton	56
Hartlepool	117
Gedling	54
Kensington & Chelsea	50
Kettering	23
Knowsley	204
Lancaster	44
Langbaurgh	419
Leeds	91
Lichfield	128
Liverpool	392
Macclesfield	5
Manchester	46
Middlesbrough	350
Newcastle	241
North Tyneside	150
Nottingham	118
Oldham	331
Portsmouth	520
Preston	344
Reading	245
Rochdale	130
Rochester Upon Medway City	511
Rotherham	331
Rushcliffe	54
Salford	1,028
Sedgefield	196
Sefton	378
Solihull	268
South Holland	23
South Kesteven	11
South Tyneside	150
Southwark	191
Stockport	54
Stoke-on-Trent	42
Sunderland	694
Swale	14
Tamworth	41
Thurrock	90
Tower Hamlets	443
Trafford	156
Uttlesford	4
Walsall	70
Wandsworth	1,099
Warrington	52
Wear Valley	5
West Lindsey	59

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Ealing, Acton, Official Report, column 1096, 16 March concerning the community charge, if he will place in the Library the preliminary estimates to which he referred.

I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received seeking the exemption from the poll tax of overseas students and their dependents during the duration of their course of studies; and if he will make a statement.

We have received a number of representations concerning overseas students. All full-time students—including those from overseas—will be liable to pay only 20 per cent. of the personal community charge.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to announce the decision of the inquiry into the Howbury Grange/Dartford North Marshes development proposals.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 25 February at column 269.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report recent correspondence between himself and others regarding planning in the green belt.

I am today putting in the Library copies of my right hon. Friend's recent exchange of correspondence with my right hon. Friend the Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the planning procedures necessary for the establishment of a mink farm.

The use of land for agriculture, including mink farming, does not require planning permission. At present a general permission is given to many farm buildings and agricultural operations on land by the General Development Order. In national parks and some adjoining areas, this is modified to give planning authorities discretionary control over the siting, design and external appearance of farm and forestry buildings and roads. In revising the GDO later this year, we propose to require specific permission for new livestock units within 400 m of most buildings. When planning permission is required for agricultural or any other development, applications should be made to the local planning authority, which should consider each case on its individual merits.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning applications are currently pending for the establishment of mink farms in England.

We have no information on the number or type of planning applications awaiting determination by local planning authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take further steps to tackle the problems of homelessness.

Yes. I am concerned to look at further action to help homeless people to reduce their dependence, especially in London, on bed and breakfast. It is unacceptable for there to be large numbers of properties built with public funds standing empty on communities with homeless people. These properties must be brought back into use. Authorities and housing associations must seek the best use of their stock; and help people in the greatest housing need. I can now announce three important initiatives to help both objectives. I want to see authorities and associations take up this challenge urgently.First, additional resources of £28·1 million will be made available to local authorities in the financial year 1988–89. This is part of the £58·1 million increase in DOE cash limits arising from local authority underspend announced today by my right hon. Friend. These resources will be targeted on those authorities where homelessness pressures are most acute. Our main purpose in making these extra resources available is to reduce the number of households, in particular families, temporarily accommodated in bed and breakfast.It is indefensible that so many families are forced to live in bed and breakfast accommodation at severe, continuous cost to the public purse whilst well over 100,000 local authority properties lie empty. It is a particular scandal that 28,000 properties, almost three times the number of households in bed and breakfast, have been empty for more than a year.These extra resources will help provide additional accommodation for the homeless by getting local authority empty properties refurbished and back into use; and by supporting housing association projects of a similar kind. Bids will shortly be invited from local authorities for these additional resources which will then be distributed through the Department's regional offices.Second, there are housing association dwellings standing empty and uninhabitable for lack of necessary major repair work. This problem arises when the properties were originally developed with local authority money, but the authority has refused to fund the repairs. In exceptional cases of this kind, the Housing Corporation is already authorised to provide funding. I have now decided to relax the rules so that the corporation may step in wherever the authority is genuinely unable to fund the repair work, on condition that, after repairs, the dwellings are let to homeless people.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of outturn in the current year on the DOE-LA1 cash limit; and if he will make a statement.

The DOE-LA1 cash limit covers capital expenditure and receipts by local authorities in England on education, housing, transport, personal social services, and other services. On the basis of local authorities' third quarter expenditure returns, the cash limit is forecast to be underspent by about £750 million in 1987–88, similar to the forecast based on first and second quarter returns. The underspend is caused by capital receipts being substantially higher than forecast before the year.Under the relevant end year flexibility arrangements, the DOE-LA1 cash limit for 1988–89 will be increased in due course by £141·7 million — five per cent. of the 1987–88 cash limit, provided that fourth quarter returns confirm an underspend of at least that size.I and my colleagues responsible for services within the DOE-LA1 cash limit will therefore be making additional capital allocations for 1988–89. We propose to issue £100 million of these shortly, and a further £41·7 million when local authorities' budget returns for 1988–89 are available, provided these returns do not lead to a forecast overspend against the revised cash limit.The sum available for my Department's services from the £100 million is £58·1 million. I propose to hold back a £5 million reserve to cover any claims for storm damage expenditure in 1988–89 on DOE services. I will be making allocations of £25 million to local authorities towards capital expenditure necessary to prepare for collection of the community charge, and my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning will be including details of £28·1 million extra capital allocations in an announcement he is making about housing matters today.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the reconstitution of the Committee to advise Mr. Speaker and himself on matters relating to works of art in the House.

I am pleased to announce that Mr. Speaker and I have appointed a new advisory committee. There will continue to be nine members. They are my hon. Friends the Members for Staffordshire, South (Mr. Cormack), for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price), for Salisbury (Mr. Key), for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel) and for Chipping Barnet (Mr. Chapman) and the hon. Members for Heywood and Middleton (Mr. Callaghan), for Warley East (Mr. Faulds), for Stockton, North (Mr. Cook) and for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell), My hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, South has agreed to be Chairman. The committee will hold its first meeting this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently participating in the enterprise allowance scheme.

At the end of February 1988 there were 94,790 enterprise allowance scheme recipients.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why the United Kingdom has not ratified convention 131 of the International Labour Organisation.

International Labour Organisation convention 131 concerns "Minimum Wage Fixing with particular reference to Developing Countries". The convention was not ratified when first adopted in 1970, because, as its title indicates, it is specially directed at the situation in developing countries and its provisions were considered less appropriate to industrialised countries with a long tradition of determining wages by individual or collective bargaining. The present Government consider that wage determination is primarily a matter to be settled between employers and employees, and that ratification of the convention would not in any case be appropriate for the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were out of work in the Eddisbury parliamentary constituency at the most recent count; and what were the figures in each of the last three years.

The following information is available from the Library. The table shows the number of unemployed claimants in the parliamentary constituency of Eddisbury in February of each year since 1985. The comparison is slightly affected by the change in the compilation of the unemployment statistics in March 1986.

February	Number
1988	3,649
1987	4,722
1986	5,226
1985	5,245

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of notified job vacancies in each jobcentre covering the Tottenham constituency for each month since June 1979.

Tottenham constituency is covered by Tottenham jobcentre, but the information for Tottenham jobcentre is not separately available. Prior to April 1985, job vacancies in Tottenham and Edmonton jobcentre areas were notified to Wood Green jobcentre and combined with the Wood Green job vacancies. However, figures for Tottenham and Edmonton jobcentres combined are available from April 1985 and are as follows:

Tottenham and Edmonton jobcentres
	Unfilled vacancies
1985
April	272
May	340
June	370
July	325
August	320
September	366
October	441
November	433
December	322
1986
January	265
February	272
March	346
April	315
May	454
June	505
July	561
August	509
September	500
October	668
November	662
December	646
1987
January	670
February	602
March	637
April	667
May	842
June	939
July	856
August	485
September	531
October	654
November	551
December	332
1988
January	338
February	309

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance Bill will be published.

The Finance Bill will be published on Thursday 14 April.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate in the Official Report those commodities formerly, or currently, subject to zero value added tax rating, including all those in groups 1 to 17 listed in his note to the Select Committee on the Treasury and Civil Service and published by it on page 8 of its third report of Session 1987–88, (HC 248), in five separate tables to show items that (a) were zero-rated by Her Majesty's Government but have subsequently had their zero-rated status changed by virtue of actions taken, or requests made, by either the Court or the Commission of the European Economic Communities, (b) items currently the subject of infraction proceedings before the court of the European Economic Communities, (c) items currently zero-rated which have been the subject of specific pledges from Ministers concerning their continued zero-rated status, (d) other items of zero-rating subject to current proposals from the Commission of the Commission of the European Communities and (e) other zero-rated items not in categories (a) to (d) above, showing for each item in each table (a) to (d) the rate or band of rates applied, or proposed to be applied, together with the approximate annual revenue, or range of revenue, which has accrued or is likely to accrue to Her Majesty's Government, at 1988 prices for each category, with totals for each table and grand total, and in respect of table (c) footnote references to the respective principal pledge made.

[holding answer 18 March 1988]: The information requested is given in the tables.

Table (a): There are no items which were zero-rated by the Government but which have subsequently had their zero-rated status changed by virtue of actions taken, or requests made by the Court or the Commission of the European Communities.

Table (b): Items subject to zero-rate infraction proceedings
(i)	(ii)	(iii)
Item	Proposed VAT rate band under approximation proposals Per cent.	Theoretical net revenue yield from (ii) (£ million at 1987–88 prices)
Animal feedstuffs, seeds, live animals yielding food for consumption (all supplies)	14–20	neg
Sewerage services supplied to industry	14–20	neg
Water supplied to industry	4–9	neg
News services (all supplies)	14–20	5
Fuel and power (supplies other than to final consumers)	4–9	5–15
Construction of buildings etc. (supplies other than to final consumers 'within a social policy')	14–20	1,200–1,500
Protective clothing and footwear (supplies to employers)	14–20	neg

Table (c): Zero rated items subject to Government pledges1
(i)	(ii)	(iii)
Item	Proposed VAT rate band under approximation proposals Per cent.	Theoretical net revenue yield from (ii) (£ million at 1987–88 prices)
Food	4–9	1,100–2,400

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has now received from the National Museum of Wales its considered comments on the P-E Inbucon report; and if he will make a statement.

I received the museum's comments on 4 March. The museum's council has responded constructively and positively to the recommendations in the report. It has broadly accepted the recommendations, though with certain reservations. In particular, the council expresses concern that there should be the shortest possible delay in proceeding with the Cathays Park building project. My response makes clear that I have no intention of delaying matters longer than is necessary. I am placing a copy of the president's letter in the Library of the House, together with a copy of my reply. Officials will now engage in detailed discussion with the museum and draw up an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations. In that context we shall consider any case advanced by the museum for additional resources.There is still a long way to go, but the council's response gives me confidence that the problems of the museum will be tackled expeditiously and effectively. Our common purpose is that the museum should be enabled to realise its full potential and take its proper place in the cultural life of the Principality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to the ethnic composition of staff in his Department; what is the total number of staff; and how many are (a) Welsh, (b) English and (c) members of ethnic minorities.

A survey to provide information on the ethnic composition of staff in the Welsh Office will be carried out shortly as part of a phased programme of ethnic surveys across the Civil Service; the total number of staff is 2,2041/2 (full-time equivalents) who are not and will not he classified according to their country of origin within the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those primary schools in Gwynedd which (a) have classes where Welsh is the sole or main medium of instruction of first or second language pupils, (b) have classes of first or second language pupils where some of the teaching is through the medium of Welsh and (c) teach no Welsh, or, where there are classes where Welsh is taught as a second language but not used as a teaching medium.

The information, as at September 1986, is as follows:

Schools having classes where Welsh is the sole or main medium of instruction of first and second language pupils:

• Ysgol Gwaun Gynfi
• Ysgol Babanod Nefyn
• Ysgol Iau Nefyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanrug
• Ysgol Gynradd Abererch
• Ysgol Gynradd Beddgelert
• Ysgol Gynradd Bethel
• Ysgol Gynradd Betws-y-Coed
• Ysgol Bodfeurig
• Ysgol Bronyfoel
• Ysgol Ardal Brynaerau
• Ysgol Gynradd Capel Curig
• Ysgol Gynradd Carmel
• Ysgol Y Gelli
• Ysgol Penybryn
• Ysgol Treferthyr
• Ysgol Gynradd Cwm-y-Glo
• Ysgol Gynradd Chwilog
• Ysgol Crud y Werin
• Ysgol Dolbadarn
• Ysgol Gynradd Dolwyddelan
• Ysgol Gynradd Edern
• Ysgol Gynradd Felinwnda
• Ysgol Bro Plennydd
• Ysgol Gynradd Garndolbenmaen
• Ysgol Gynradd y Groeslon
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanaelhaearn
• Ysgol Llanbedrog
• Ysgol Morfa Rhianedd
• Ysgol Maelgwn
• Ysgol Llangybi
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanllechid
• Ysgol Llanllyfni
• Ysgol Llidiardau
• Ysgol Morfa
• Ysgol Gynradd Nantlle
• Ysgol Gynradd Nebo
• Ysgol Gynradd Penisarwaun
• Ysgol Gynradd Penmachno
• Ysgol Gynradd Penygroes
• Ysgol Pentreuchaf
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhiwlas
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhosgadfan
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhostryfan
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhydyclafdy
• Ysgol Sarn Bach
• Ysglo Eifion Wyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Tal-y-Bont
• Ysgol Gynradd Talysarn
• Ysgol Gynradd Trefriw
• Ysgol Y Gorlan
• Ysgol Yr Eifl
• Ysgol GynraddTudweiliog
• Ysglo Waunfawr
• Ysglo Pant-y-Rhedyn
• Ysgol Glancegin
• Ysgol Yr Hendre
• Ysgol GynraddBontnewydd
• Ysgol Gymraeg y Garnedd
• Ysgol Cymerau
• Ysgol Abercaseg
• Ysgol Gynradd y Felinheli
• Ysgol Gynradd Aberffraw
• Ysgol Gynradd Amlwch
• Ysgol Gynradd Bodedern
• Ysgol Gynradd Bodffordd
• Ysgol Gymuned Bryngwran
• Ysgol Gynradd Brynsiencyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Caergeiliog
• Ysgol GynraddDwyran
• Ysgol Gynradd Gaerwen
• Ysgol Gynradd Carreglefn
• Ysgol Gynradd Gwalchmai
• Ysgol Gymuned Moelfre
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanfachraeth
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanfairpwll
• Ysgol y Graig
• Ysgol Llangoed
• Ysgol Henblas
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanerch-y-Medd
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanrhuddlad
• Ysgol Gynradd Pencarnisiog
• Ysgol Penysarn
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhosybol
• Ysgol Gynradd Y Talwrn
• Ysgol Gymuned y Dyffryn
• Ysgol Goronwy Owen
• Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan
• Ysgol y Borth
• Ysgol Gymraeg Morswyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Abergynolwyn
• Ysgol Gynradd y Bala
• Ysgol Gynradd Croesor
• Ysgol Dyffryn Ardudwy
• Ysgol Bro Cynfal
• Ysgol Gynradd y Ganllwyd
• Ysgol Edmwnd Prys
• Ysgol Glanypwll
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanegryn
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanelltyd
• Ysgol y Garreg
• Ysgol O M Edwards
• Ysgol Gynradd Llawrybetws
• Ysgol Manod
• Ysgol Gynradd y Parc
• Ysgol Gynradd Pennal
• Ysgol Cefn Coch
• Ysgol Gynradd Talsarnau
• Ysgol Gynradd Tanygrisiau
• Ysgol Penybryn
• Ysgol Bro Hedd Wyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Frongoch
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhydymain
• Ysgol Tanycastell
• Ysgol Ffridd y Llyn
• Ysgol Maenofferen
• Ysgol Capel Garmon
• Ysgol Babanod Llanrwst
• Ysgol Corn Hir
• Ysgol Pont y Gof
• Ysgol Iau Maescincla
• Ysgol Babanod Maesincla
• Ysgol Foel Gron
• Ysgol Llandegai
• Ysgol Gynradd Lladwrog
• Ysgol Llangelynnin
• Ysgol Llanystumdwy
• Ysgol Pencae
• Ysgol Tregarth
• Ysgol Ysbyty
• Ysgol Parc y Bont
• Llangaffo VP
• Ysgol Llanfachreth
• Ysgol Llanddoged Wirfoddol
• Ysgol Eglwysbach
• Ysgol Santes Helen

Schools having classes of first or second language pupils where some of the teaching is through the medium of Welsh:

• Ysgol Gynradd Dolgarrog
• Ysgol Gynradd Abersoch
• Ysgol Gynradd Borthygest
• Ysgol Gynradd Capelulo
• Ysgol Deganwy
• Ysgol Dyffryn Road
• Ysgol Glanadda
• Ysgol Glanwydden
• Ysgol Yr Wyddfid
• Ysgol Gyffin
• Ysgol Tudno
• Ysgol Gynradd Maenan
• Ysgol Gynradd Y Rowen
• Ysgol Babanod Coed Mawr
• Ysgol Craig Y Don
• Ysgol Gynradd Beaumaris
• Ysgol Gynradd Bodorgan
• Ysgol Gynradd Cemaes
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanbedrgoch
• Ysgol Gynradd Llandrygarn
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanddeusant
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanddona
• Ysgol Ffrwd Win
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanfechell
• Ysgol Gymuned Pentraeth
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhoscolyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Rhosneigr
• Ysgol Ty Mawr
• Ysgol Llanfawr
• Ysgol Llaingoch
• Ysgol Gynradd Niwbwrch
• Ysgol Y Traeth
• Ysgol Y Clogau
• Ysgol Gynradd Brithdir
• Ysgol Gynradd Bryncrug
• Ysgol Gynradd Corris
• Ysgol Gynradd Dinas Mawddwy
• Ysgol Gynradd Dolgellau
• Ysgol Gynradd Llanbedr
• Ysgol Gynradd Llwyngwril
• Ysgol Y Friog
• Ysgol Gynradd Aberdyfi
• Ysgol Iau Llanrwst
• Ysgol Gynradd Hirael
• Ysgol Cadnant
• Ysgol Bodlondeb
• Ysgol Y Faenol
• Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan
• Ysgol Gynradd Cae Top
• Ysgol Y Parch Thomas Ellis
• Ysgol Babanod Dolgellau
• Ysgol Bodafon
• Ysgol Beuno Sant Y Bala

Schools having classes where Welsh is taught as a second language but not used as a teaching medium or schools where no Welsh is taught:

• Ysgol Nant y Coed
• Ysgol Gynradd Y Parc
• Ysgol Babanod Y Tywyn
• Ysgol Gynradd Kingsland
• Ysgol Glan Conwy
• Ysgol Sant Sior
• Our Lady Immaculate
• Ysgol Stella Maris
• St. Mary's RC School

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultation is taking place on a scheme for hotel grading as a separate qualitative assessment from classification.

The Wales Tourist Board has consulted all classified establishments, tourist associations, and local authorities in Wales. The board now intends to discuss with the industry the detailed implementation of the grading system it intends to introduce. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 22 March 1988 at column 52.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects information for 1987 on loans and grants received by (a) Clwyd and (b) Wales to become readily available.

Information for 1987 on all identifiable EC loans and grants received by Clwyd and by Wales will be available later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many mink farms currently operate in Wales; and what was the figure 12 months ago.

One; nil.