To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what approaches he has made to, or received from, the Botswana Government in respect of the raid by South African security forces into Botswana on 28 March.

Following the raid, the Botswana high commissioner in London called on me.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the South African Government following the raid by South African security forces into Botswana on 28 March.

We issued a statement on 28 March condemning the raid. I asked the South African ambassador to call on 29 March and delivered our very strong protest. On 31 March the German ambassador in Cape Town gave a similar message to the South African Government on behalf of the 12 member states of the European Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for United Kingdom policy on the maintenance of stability in southern Africa of South Africa's policy towards Botswana.

We have condemned South Africa's use of force in its relations with Botswana and its other neighbours. We shall continue to urge the South Africans to exercise restraint and to co-operate peacefully with their neighbours.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has made any representations to, or received representations from, the African National Congress with regard to the African National Congress's use of Botswana as a route into South Africa.

No. But we have made clear on many occasions our opposition to cross-border incursions from whatever quarter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the African National Congress use of Botswana as a route into South Africa.

We have repeatedly condemned cross-border incursions in either direction. Our opposition to the use of violence by the African National Congress is well known to it, as well as to others.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for United Kingdom policy towards the maintenance of stability in southern Africa of the African National Congress's use of Botswana as a route into South Africa.

Cross-border incursions from whatever quarter threaten stability in the region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he proposes to take to strengthen the United Kingdom's relationship with Botswana.

The United Kingdom already enjoys a close and cordial relationship with Botswana. We consult regularly about the situation in the region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, during the recent meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Ministers and Heads of State, on 2 to 3 March, any consideration was given to the issues planned for discussion at the United Nations special session on disarmament, to be held in New York from 31 May to 25 June in terms of their relevance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's collective security strategy and agreed disarmament goals.

The UNSSD was not specifically discussed at the meeting of NATO Heads of Government in March, but the Alliance keeps its security and arms control objectives under constant consideration, and allies have discussed their approach to UNSSD at official level within NATO.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report, a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council held on 25 April.

The Foreign Affairs Council met in Luxembourg on 25 and 26 April. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was present on 25 April. I attended on 26 April.The Council further reviewed the implementation of the conclusions of the European Council in Brussels in February.Possible dates for the 1989 European Parliament elections were discussed, and the question was remitted for further consideration at the May Foreign Affairs Council.The Council discussed progress in the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations, and examined prospects for the negotiations during 1988. The Council also reviewed, and reached conclusions on, relations between the Community and Japan; a copy of the conclusions is being placed in the Library of the House.Commission proposals on guidelines for the EC's programme of aid to Asia and Latin America were discussed, and the presidency declared them adopted. The Council also met a European Parliament delegation to discuss the extension of the food aid framework regulation, which expires at the end of June: the presidency will pursue the matter further with the Parliament, and will report back to a future Council.Though over dinner there was a discussion of political issues with Turkish Ministers, the planned Association Council with Turkey did not, to Her Majesty's Government's great regret, take place. We attach importance to building up the Community's relationship with Turkey on the basis of the association agreement: and hope that this temporary set back will soon be overcome.In the framework of European political co-operation, my right hon. and learned Friend raised the Kuwaiti Airlines hijacking and its aftermath, and put forward proposals for action to tighten international protection against hijacking. It was agreed that an expert group should meet soon to consider these proposals and other aspects of the hijacking.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether, in the arrangements for disclosure of information about those seeking to work with children, any restriction will be placed on the type of information that the police will be allowed to pass on to employers about those seeking to work with children other than past convictions, cautions and bindovers; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether, in relation to the arrangements for the disclosure of information about those seeking to work with children, it will be permissible for the police to pass on to employers information concerning unproved allegations about those seeking to work with children which they consider relevant; and if he will make a statement.

Under the arrangements for the disclosure of information from police records to local authorities and other bodies, the police may disclose any relevant information which might give cause for concern about a candidate's suitability to work with children. Where this information does not agree with that disclosed by the candidate, the employing organisation must take the matter up with the individual before reaching a decision on whether to appoint the person to the post in question.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received as to the rules and money limits for amusement with prizes in public houses; and if he will make a statement.

None recently. The maximum amounts of the prizes which may be paid out for winning on amusement-with-prizes machines, in public houses as elsewhere, were increased on 1 January 1987. We have no current plan for any further change in the maxima, or for any amendment of the provision of the Gaming Act 1968 that premises licensed for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises in which such machines are installed require a permit from the licensing Justices.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether applications are to be invited for the contracting of management of private urban remand centres and open prisons; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Mr. Wheeler) on 15 April at column 258 about the fourth report of the Select Committee on Home Affairs on contract provision of prisons.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he anticipates the new prison at March, Cambridgeshire, will be completed; what will be its final cost; what will be the number and type of inmates it will take; what will be the number of full-time prison warder staff, and the number of ancillary staff required; what will be the estimated total wage bill for the prison for all employees; and what is the starting date for recruitment of staff.

The new category B prison at March — to be known as Her Majesty's prison, Whitemoor — is expected to open in mid-1991 at a forecast capital cost of £34·9 million at current prices. The prison is designed for 522 inmates. It is estimated that 225 prison officer class and 70 locally recruited ancillary staff will be required to man the establishment at a total estimated annual salary cost of about £5 million at projected 1991 prices. The prison will be manned by serving and newly appointed officers, who will start to be posted in about the six-months period before the arrival of the first inmates; account has already been taken in forward plans of the need for the additional staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to how many cases of criminal or other misuse of semi-automatic rifles have been reported since the Hungerford tragedy in August 1987.

The information requested is not available centrally. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 30 November 1987 at column 392. It is planned to publish in June 1988 the summary statistics for 1987 of offences recorded by the police in which firearms were used.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received seeking the introduction of a scheme to compensate owners of buy-in weapons that would become unsaleable by virtue of the Criminal Justice Bill [Lords].

A few representations have raised the question of compensation. Decisions have not yet been reached on which weapons it will become an offence to manufacture, sell and import; simple possession will not become an offence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those petrol stations which are also licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic drinks are located in (a) urban areas and (b) rural areas.

The Department has not had cause recently to seek detailed information about the location of licensed garages. Such information as is available relates to the number of garages — petrol stations with off-licences as at 30 June 1986 by petty sessional division. This is given in the table:

Petty Sessional Divisions	Number of garages and petrol stations licensed
ENGLAND
Berkshire
West Berkshire	1
Maidenhead	1
Windsor	1
Total	3
Cheshire
Crewe and Nantwich	1
Total	1
Cornwall
Bodmin	8
East Pennith	1
Liskerrett	1
Penryn	1
Penwith	3
Pydar	7
South Powder	1
Truro and West Powder	1
Total	23
Cumbria
Kendal	1
Maryport	2
Total	3
Derbyshire
Chesterfield	5
Derby and South Derbyshire	1
Ilkeston	1
Total	7
Devon
Barnstaple	8
Bideford and Great Torrington	7
Honiton	1
Kingsbridge	2
South Molton	4
Total	22
Dorset
Shaftesbury	1
Total	1
Durham
Darlington	1
Total	1
East Sussex
Hastings	3
Battle and Rye	1

Petty Sessional Divisions	Number of garages and petrol stations licensed
Bexhill	1
Crowborough	1
Hailsham	1
Total	7
Essex
Colchester	3
Total	3
Gloucestershire
Gloucester	2
Cheltenham	1
North Cotswold	1
Total	4
Hampshire
Southampton	1
Basingstoke	1
Total	2
Hereford and Worcester
Pershore	1
Ross	1
Total	2
Hertfordshire
Dacorum	5
Total	5
Humberside
Epworth and Goole	1
Holme Beacon	1
Total	2
Kent
Ashford and Tenterden	1
Maidstone	2
Total	3
Lancashire
Burnley	1
Chorley	I
Wyre	1
Total	3
Leicestershire
Market Harborough	1
Rutland	1
Total	2
Lincolnshire
East Elloe	1
Spilsby and Skegness	2
West Elloe	1
Total	4
Merseyside
South Sefton	1
Total	1
Norfolk
Cromer	2

Petty Sessional Divisions	Number of garages and petrol stations licensed
Downham Market	1
Fakenham	2
Great Yarmouth	2
Hunstanton	2
Kings Lynn	3
Total	12
Northumberland
Hexham	1
Wansbeck	1
Total	2
North Yorkshire
Claro	3
Ryedale	1
Staincliffe	2
Total	6
Oxfordshire
Oxford City	2
Moreton and Wallingford	1
North Oxfordshire and Chipping Norton	1
Total	4
Shropshire
Ludlow	2
Oswestry	1
Shrewsbury	2
Total	5
Somerset
Ilminster	1
Sedgemoor	1
Total	2
South Yorkshire
Rotherham	1
Total	1
Suffolk
Bury St. Edmunds	1
Total	1
Surrey
Farnham	2
Staines and Sunbury	2
Total	4
Tyne and Wear
Newcastle Upon Tyne	2
Total	2
Warwickshire
Kineton	1
Warwick	1
Total	2
West Midlands
Stourbridge	1
Total	1

Petty Sessional Divisions	Number of garages and petrol stations licensed
West Yorkshire
Bradford	2
Wakefield	2
Total	4
Wiltshire
Bradford on Avon	1
Trowbridge	1
Whorwellsdown	1
Total	3
Total England	148
WALES
Clwyd
Colwyn	3
Dyffryn Clwyd	1
Total	4
Dyfed
Amman Valley	3
Carmarthen	1
Cemaes	1
Dewsland and Haverford West	5
Fishguard	2
Gogledd Ceredigon	3
Llanelli	2
Milford Haven	1
Narbeth	3
Newcastle Emlyn	1
Pembroke	4
Pencader	1
Tenby	3
Whitland	2
Total	32
Gwent
Bedwelty	1
Newport	1
Total	2
Total Wales	38
Total England and Wales	186

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information he has concerning the percentage of total profit generated on average by the retail sales of alcoholic drinks by those petrol stations which are also licensed for such sales;(2) whether he has any information concerning the percentage of customers using the shops at those petrol stations licensed for the retail sale of alcohol who also buy petrol.

We have no such information.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the provision in the Licensing Bill which would remove the licence for the retail sale of alcohol from petrol stations in rural areas which hold such licences.

Since the clause relating to garages was added to the Licensing Bill, seven letters have been received of which all but one have opposed the amendment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will give the number and location of publicly owned collections of edged, pointed, concussive and other weapons;(2) what studies his Department has conducted into the effect of provisions of the Criminal Justice Bill

Our consultations with outside interests on a first draft list of weapons which it will become an offence under the Criminal Justice Bill to manufacture, sell and import have prompted helpful responses from museums, auctioneers, dealers and others on the possible consequences of the proposals for them. These will assist us in reaching decisions on the final composition of the list.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report and recommendations of the advisory committee considering whether anabolic steroids should be made controlled drugs.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will consider this question when it meets on 12 May. We expect to receive its recommendations shortly thereafter.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to seek to improve co-ordination between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other interested Ministers in relation to Government policy on the level of sterling; and if she will make a statement.

There are no plans for change.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the allocation of ministerial responsibility for the management of the sterling exchange rate.

Economic policy is that of the Government. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the lead Minister.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list in the Official Report the general public statutes and law reports made available to county court judges.

On appointment, all circuit judges are invited to select one of the following to be provided for their personal use: "All England Law Reports", "Weekly Law Reports", "Criminal Appeal Reports", "Family Law Reports". Copies of public general Acts are supplied to judges on request."Halsbury's Laws of England" and "Halsbury's Statutes" are available to principal county courts, together with the "All England Law Reports", the "Weekly Law Reports" and the "Law Reports". Either the "All England Law Reports" or the "Weekly Law Reports" are available to smaller county courts provided that sittings are sufficiently frequent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many buildings Canary wharf will consist of; and how many square feet of space each will have:(2) what are the heights proposed for the major buildings envisaged at Canary wharf.

There will be about 26 buildings of varying sizes totalling 12·2 million sq ft. The main tower will be about 800 ft high and the approved height of the other two towers is up to 690 ft.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what percentage of the new jobs in docklands has gone to residents in the three docklands boroughs since 1981;(2) what percentage of employment in docklands is in firms which were in existence before 1981.

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of employment in docklands is female.

About 32 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many jobs there are in the offices of the London Docklands development corporation.

About 281 — including permanent officers, fixed-term contract staff and consultancy and agency appointees.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the houses built on land taken by the London Docklands development corporation from borough councils or the Greater London council is public housing for rent.

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many jobs there are at St. Katharine's Dock.

About 2,600.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce the date for the implementation of the proposals first published in March 1983, under the title "Report of the Standing Technical Committee on Water Regulations on its proposals for a New Model Water Byelaws", subsequently confirmed as the model in June 1986.

I shall make an announcement as soon as I have given full consideration to representations received following public advertisement last year of the new byelaws made by water undertakers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total cost to date of building the dry stone wall around Thorpe hall in Peterborough; and what is his estimate of the final total cost of the project.

The building of the dry stone wall around Thorpe hall, Peterborough is funded by the city council as part of its community programme, with the Manpower Services Commission. No grant aid for the wall has been given by English Heritage or by the Department. Inquiries on the cost of the project should therefore be made to Peterborough city council.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the order made by Oxfordshire county council to create a public footpath through Wychwood forest; when he expects a public inquiry to be held to consider the objections; and when he expects the decision on the order to be issued.

The Secretary of State for the Environment received the order on 2 June 1987. Subject to confirmation by Oxfordshire county council the inquiry will be held on 19 July. A decision will then be issued as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals his Department has for advertising in connection with the introduction of the community charge; and what will be the estimated cost of such advertising.

My right hon. Friend has as yet made no decisions on the public's need for information in relation to new rights and duties when the Local Government Finance Bill receives Royal Assent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will define the term hostel as used in class IX, vote 1, A2.1(b) of the Supply Estimates.

[holding answer 26 April 1988]: The term "Hostels" as used in connection with expenditure under class IX, vote 1, A2.1(b) is defined in section 106(i) of the Housing Associations Act 1985. Grant is paid under section 55 of that Act to hostels managed by housing associations registered with the Housing Corporation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many councils are the subject of special investigation into possible overspending by homeless housing units; and what proposals he has for preventing overspending by those providing bed and breakfast accommodation for local authorities.

[holding answer 26 April 1988]: Such investigations are the responsibility of local auditors and the Audit Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he has taken, or proposes to take, to assist the Botswana Government to strengthen their national economy and decrease their dependence on the South African economy.

All our bilateral aid to Botswana aims to strengthen the national economy. In addition we support the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference, of which Botswana is a member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list United Kingdom contributions to Botswana through national, Commonwealth and European Community action in each year since 1983.

United Kingdom bilateral aid and the estimated British share of Commonwealth and European Community aid to Botswana since 1983 have been as follows:

£'000s
	1983	1984	1985	1986
United Kingdom bilateral aid (1)	13,289	15,975	8,775	12,805
Estimated United Kingdom share of European Community aid	330	1,180	500	1,120
Estimated United Kingdom share of Commonwealth aid (2)	108	83	113	147
Figures for 1987 are not yet available.
(1) These figures include expenditure by the Commonwealth Development Corporation of:	3,332	6,570	2,700	6,027
(2) Figures cover the period July-June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list current development projects in Botswana for which United Kingdom national, Commonwealth or European assistance is given; what is the value of that assistance; and if he will specify the means or agencies through which assistance is given.

The British bilateral aid programme to Botswana is currently funding with grants a range of technical co-operation activities including the provision of expert personnel, training for Botswana in the United Kingdom and consultancies. We expect to spend about £5·5 million in 1988–89. This is a Government-to-Government programme.The Commonwealth fund for technical co-operation is currently funding with grants estimated at £490,000 a number of projects in Botswana involving the provision of experts.Projects in Botswana currently being financed by the European Community from the fifth and sixth European development funds as part of the Lome conventions are as follows:

	Total cost of project (£ million)
Grant Funding
Sheep and goat development (phase 2)	1·12
Services to livestock owners (phase 2)	1·80
Francistown rural training centre	0·87
Wildlife, tourism and environment	1·47
Airborne geophysical survey	1·38
Trade promotion	0·77
Conservation Kalahari ecosystem	1·40
Manpower development programme	3·08
Kasane airport	4·19
Special loan funding
National development bank	0·56
Services to livestock owners	1·07
Pacapye water supply	1·31
European Investment Bank Risk Capital	Risk capital
Francistown abattoir	1·40
Botswana Development Corporation	2·10

The United Kingdom share of the EDF grants, special loans and risk capital projects totalling £22·52 million is £3·7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a table showing per capita contributions to United Nations international children's emergency fund, for the latest year for which figures are available, for each member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in ranked order.

Preliminary 1987 contributions per capita (including both general fund and special appeals) are as follows:

Rank	Donor	$/head
1	Sweden	9·41
2	Norway	9·39
3	Finland	4·64
4	Switzerland	2·63
5	Denmark	2·26
6	Canada	1·31
7	Netherlands	1·15
8	Italy	1·12
9	New Zealand	0·39
10	United Kingdom	0·34
11	Australia	0·26
12	United States of America	0·25
13	Germany	0·20
14	Austria	0·17
15	Belgium	0·17
16	Japan	0·16
17	Luxembourg	0·14
18	Ireland	0·13
19	France	0·11
20	Iceland	0·09

Rank	Donor	$/head
21	Spain	0·02
22	Greece	0·02
23	Portugal	Negligible
24	Turkey	Negligible

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing in constant 1987 pounds sterling contributions by Her Majesty's Government for each year since 1974 to the United Nations international children's emergency fund the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation.

The information is as follows:

	UNICEF £ million1	UNESCO £ million1	WHO £ million1
1974	5·0	na	29·6
1975	10·7	26·0	29·1
1976	6·0	26·6	212·6
1977	7·6	26·7	212·2
1978	13·5	5·1	213·7
1979	313·3	5·4	11·0
1980	7·5	4·3	12·4
1981	10·0	5·9	7·9
1982	7·5	6·3	8·8
1983	7·3	6·9	10·2
1984	6·9	0·4	11·4
1985	9·1	6·8	12·5
1986	8·7	—	12·0
19874	13·6	—	10·9
1 Constant (1987) prices.
2 Partly estimated.
3 Special increase to mark international Year of the Child.
4 Figures for 1987 are provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government expect to achieve the United Nations' target of 0·7 per cent. of gross national product for overseas aid.

Like previous Administrations, the Government have not set a date for achieving the 0·7 per cent. target. Progress towards the target depends on developments in the economy and other claims on resources. We have a substantial aid programme and one that is now growing in real terms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the percentage increase in teachers' pay for each year since 1974.

The pay increases received by teachers in England and Wales from 1 April 1974 to 1 April 1986 are listed in chapter 3 of the Government's consultative document, "Teachers' Pay and Conditions" Cmnd. 238, copies of which are in the Library. In 1987 teachers in England and Wales received a pay increase of 16·4 per cent. in two equal instalments from 1 January and 1 October 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will state the principal countries of origin of the lynx furs offered for sale annually in the United Kingdom as finished garments; and if he will estimate for each country the number of garments involved;(2) if he will state the principal countries of origin of the red fox furs offered for sale annually in the United Kingdom as finished garments; and if he will estimate for each country the number of garments involved.

The items referred to are not identified separately in the Overseas Trade Statistics.

	Prosecutions initiated		Number not proceeded with1		Number heard at court		Convictions		Convictions as a percentage of numbers heard at court
	Accounts	Annual returns	Accounts	Annual returns	Accounts	Annual returns	Accounts	Annual returns	Accounts	Annual returns
1978	818	2,245	187	475	392	1,254	392	1,251	100·0	99·8
1979	3,103	1,933	951	610	1,381	826	1,375	820	99·6	99·3
1980	2,290	1,430	506	378	1,742	1,036	1,720	1,028	98·7	99·2
1981	1,952	1,270	381	247	1,470	957	1,433	948	97·5	99·1
1982	1,886	1,442	424	321	1,478	1,126	1,472	1,123	99·6	99·7
1983	1,920	1,494	528	460	1,203	861	1,188	848	98·8	98·5
1984	2,928	2,190	1,006	827	1,536	1,091	1,530	1,087	99·6	99·6
1985	4,409	3,109	1,549	1,049	2,462	1,736	2,449	1,732	99·5	99·8
1986	5,160	3,359	2,074	1,540	2,672	1,728	2,654	1,715	99·3	99·2
1986–87	5,454	3,503	2,141	1,518	2,749	1,672	2,728	1,661	99·2	99·3
1987–88	5,339	2,868	2,017	1,233	2,932	1,462	2,908	1,448	99·2	99·0
1 Includes cases where summonses could not be served or were withdrawn but excludes those adjourned "sine die" which are not shown in the table.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultative procedures are followed when taking action under section 11(5) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987; and if he will publish any guidelines on how businesses likely to be affected by proposed regulations are consulted.

About 80 organisations are consulted on safety regulations covering consumer products. These include chambers of commerce, the associations representing wholesalers, retailers, importers, manufacturers, independent businesses and mail order houses as well as local authorities, enforcement bodies, consumer groups, the British Standards Institution and the Health and Safety Commission. Copies of draft regulations are deposited in the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries. To this general list are added trade associations and other organisations representing those directly concerned with the particular regulations. I am confident that all reasonable steps are taken to consult all those with an interest and I do not consider it necessary to issue any further guidelines.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what other European Community members have statutory controls on the hairdressing industry; and what are the natures of such controls in each country.

I am making inquiries and will write to the hon. Member when the information is available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of prosecutions for failure to file (a) accounts and (b) annual returns have been successful in each year since 1978.

Following is the information.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps are taken by his Department to monitor the burden on business of voluntary agreements.

Voluntary restraint arrangements do not impose any special administrative or legal burdens on United Kingdom business but have an economic impact. In looking at the net effect of such arrangements on the United Kingdom economy as a whole, my Department examines the effect on the industry concerned as well as that on industrial and other users.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Darlington on 30 March, Official Report, column 478, he will list the nature of each voluntary restraint agreement to which he refers.

As indicated in my written answer of 30 March, at column 478–79, the majority of the voluntary restraint agreements are negotiated between the United Kingdom industry and its counterpart overseas. The agreements negotiated by the European Commission on steel and textiles (and those with Japan which were brought to an end in 1985) were entered into on behalf of the Community as a whole. The Commission does negotiate restraints on footwear with certain eastern European countries on behalf of the United Kingdom.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to what extent the United Kingdom has been party to discussions on inter-industry voluntary restraint agreements within the framework of the general agreement on tariffs and trade round negotiations; and what conclusions have been reached.

The Community was party to the agreement reached by Ministers of the contracting parties to the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) in September 1986 that all trade restrictive or distorting measures inconsistent with GATT should be phased out or brought into conformity with GATT by the date of the formal completion of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations. There have been no substantive discussions to date on the relationship to GATT of industry-to-industry voluntary restraint agreements.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will list those restraint agreements on steel applicable to the United Kingdom, giving the date of commencement and extent of each such agreement.

As part of the Community's external regime on steel, the European Commission negotiates restraint arrangements on behalf of all member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). There are currently agreements with the following major suppliers.

Country	Year commenced
Austria	1978
Finland	1978
Norway	1978
Sweden	1978
Bulgaria	1979
Czechoslovakia	1978
Hungary	1978
Poland	1978
Romania	1978
Brazil	11979
	21985
Republic of Korea	1978
Venezuela	1987
1 pig iron only
2 other steel product

These agreements apply to EEC products only. They are negotiated annually, commencing 1 January.In addition, there is an inter-industry agreement on special steels from Spain, which we understand is negotiated on an annual basis during the period of Spanish transition to full Community obligations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will take steps to restrain imports of flexible manufacturing systems from Japan and Taiwan; and if he will make a statement.

No. There is an inter-industry restraint arrangements on machining centres and numerically controlled lathes from Japan.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what information he has on the sums paid by the British Steel Corporation to advertising agencies since 11 June 1987;(2) what information he has on the expenditure incurred by the British Steel Corporation on television advertising in the period from 11 June 1987 until the latest date for which figures are available.

None. All recent advertising by the British Steel Corporation has been at BSC's own initiative and expense.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he intends to consult the World Intellectual Property Organisation about the general compatibility of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Bill [Lords] with the requirements of the Berne convention; and if he will make a statement;(2) what consultations there have been between his Department and the World Intellectual Property Organisation about the compatibility of clauses 115 to 119 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Bill

My Department has not formally consulted the World Intellectual Property Organisation on the general provisions of the Bill, or on any particular clause, since the functions of the organisation do not include judging the compatibility of national legislation with the requirements of the Berne convention. We have, however, kept the organisation fully informed of the progress and contents of the Bill.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any information about takeovers, other than the Guinness takeover of Distillers, in which Mr. Ivan Boesky has been involved in a professional or personal capacity; and if he will make a statement.

It is not our practice to reveal such information.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many alleged insider dealing cases are presently under investigation by his Department.

Fifteen cases of possible contraventions of the insider dealing legislation are presently being investigated, all of them by inspectors appointed by the Secretary of State.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what additional expenditure is expected in 1988–89 in connection with the sale of shares in Rolls-Royce.

Residual expenditure is expected in 1988–89, mainly due to a delay in the payment of stamp duty to the Inland Revenue. Parliamentary approval for this expenditure will be sought in a Supply Estimate of class V, vote 9. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £2,500,000 will be met by repayable advances from the contingencies fund.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much purchasing by Government and other public bodies is accounted for in the United Kingdom's gross domestic product; what estimates he has of the amount of public purchasing contracts by Government and other public sector bodies awarded to United Kingdom firms; and what estimates he has of comparable figures for other European Community countries.

[holding answer 25 April 1988]: Based on national accounts data, United Kingdom public sector final expenditure on goods and services (but excluding wages and salaries) and fixed assets in 1987 accounted for about one eighth of gross domestic product at market prices. Comparative information for European Community countries, which is on a slightly different basis and limited to general Government (that is, central and local government), is set out in the table.United Kingdom firms account for about 98 per cent. of the value of United Kingdom Government contract advertised and awarded under European Community/ GATT rules, with about 94 per cent. of goods and services supplied being of United Kingdom origin. Comparable figures are not readily available for other public bodies in the United Kingdom or public sectors in other European Community countries.

General Government final expenditure as percentage of gross domestic product
	per cent.	Year
United Kingdom	10·2	1984
Belgium	6·6	1984
Denmark	9·5	1984
France	7·3	1984
Germany	11·6	1984
Greece	n/a

	per cent.	Year
Ireland	11·3	1983
Italy	9·4	1984
Luxembourg	15·4	1982
Netherlands	7·8	1984
Portugal	7·5	1981
Spain	5·4	1982

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services why polyester fabrics enclosing flame-retardant polyester are still approved for use by his Department.

Only the flame retardant (FR) forms of polyester fabric or treated cotton are recommended for use as primary and secondary covers enclosing FR polyester in-fill for continental quilts used in the NHS. All supplies under national contract comply with these requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services pursuant to his answer of 25 January, Official Report, column 89, what steps he has taken to ensure the availability of leaflet FB22 in all those local offices where claimants from the ethnic minorities affected use the services of the local office; and if he has any plans to produce the leaflet in addition in Greek and Turkish.

Social security series FB22 is a group of six minority language leaflets giving the same general overview of benefits as the English-language leaflet FB2 "Which benefit?" There are plans to produce a new set of translations later this year in seven languages: Urdu, Hindi, Gujerati, Bengali, Punjabi, Chinese and Turkish. Translations into other languages, including Greek, are being considered.All the FB22 series leaflets will be available from social security offices and copies will be sent out to local and national ethnic minority organisations, and to welfare and advice organisations. Posters advertising the leaflets will also be produced in minority languages. They will be displayed in social security offices and will be available to organisations that request them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will publish the "Nursing in London" study.

Copies have been sent to the Health Service and placed in the Library today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received seeking amendment of section 77 of the Social Security Act 1986 to enable local authorities to receive directly the £2·20 included in the family credit to compensate for the loss of free school meals; and if he will make a statement.

Representations have been received from one local authority. Paying the £2·55 directly to local authorities would be inconsistent with the Government's policy of providing benefits to working families wherever possible in the form of cash rather than kind. There would in any case be significant practical difficulties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report figures showing the number of maternity payments made in 1987–88 to women in receipt of (a) supplementary benefit and (b) family income supplement.

The number of social fund maternity payments made during the period 6 April 1987 to 8 April 1988 was as follows:

	Number
To people receiving supplementary benefit	178,509
To people receiving family income supplement	9,896

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the additional cost in the first year of operation of raising the proposed cut-off for housing benefit from £6,000 of capital to £10,000.

Of the order of £60 million on the assumptions contained in the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) on 18 April 1988 at columns 341–42.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what provisions exist for payment of benefit to a young person, living away from home, awaiting a place on a YTS course; and if he will make a statement.

I assume that the hon. Member refers to under 18-year-olds who, from September, will not be entitled to income support except in prescribed circumstances. The Government intend that young people under 18 who have applied for a youth training scheme and have good reason for being away from home, or have no parental home, will be entitled to income support, subject to the normal rules, during the child benefit extension period. This is the additional period (16 weeks for summer school leavers, and 12 weeks for others) during which their parents would be entitled to claim child benefit for them if they were at home. Regulations have not yet been laid, but our intention is that those with good reason for living away from home will include young people who have recently been in local authority care, those at risk of physical or sexual abuse if they remain at home, those under the guidance of the prison or probation service or a social services department who have been advised to live away from home and those whose parent or guardian is unable to support them because, for example, he or she is in prison.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, whether acceptance of a place on a YTS course leads to eligibility for income support for a young unemployed person living away from home; and if he will make a statement.

The Government intend that someone under 18 who is receiving a youth training scheme training allowance will be able to receive income support to supplement his training allowance if it is insufficient, by income support standards, to meet his living expenses, for example because he is in accommodation on a "board and lodging" basis. We plan to lay regulations later this summer to prescribe the circumstances in which someone under 18 will have title to income support.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has on the retirement ages of men and women in each of the countries of the EEC.

I refer the hon. Member to the Department's publication, "Tables of Social Benefit Systems in the European Communities (Position at 1 January 1987)", a copy of which is in the Library. Section IV contains information concerning retirement ages for men and women in each of the EC member states.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients were waiting for in-patient treatment on 31 September 1987.

The figures for the end of September 1987 show that, on a comparable basis with previous waiting list statistics, the in-patient waiting list was 662,000. This is 4 per cent. less than the March 1987 figure of 687,000, and 3 per cent. less than the September 1986 figure of 681,900.As a result of changes resulting from the introduction of the new Korner NHS information system from April 1987, additional information is also available, for example on the number of patients with a booked date of admission, the number of patients who have put off the date of their operation, the number of patients admitted to hospital from the list, and the number of patients awaiting treatment as day cases.A statistical bulletin describing this information more fully has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will urgently review the benefit entitlement of Mrs. L. Scotson of 2, Marshgreen cottages, Hartfield, East Sussex.

I wrote to the hon. Member about this case on 19 April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many requests for funding have been received from organisations supporting those addicted to tranquillisers; how many have been given assistance; and how many have been refused and for what reason.

Six organisations offering support specifically to those dependent on tranquillisers have applied for central Government funding since 1984. Four of these have received grants. The two remaining applications are still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he intends to provide any funding for the Council for Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction in Merseyside.

We have already provided funding for several organisations on Merseyside experienced in the field of tranquilliser addiction including the following:

Name	Total funding £
Mainstream (Warrington)	81,534
Merseyside Drugs Council (St. Helens)	70,893
Merseyside Drugs Council (Wirral)	61,563

These are all supported by the local statutory authorities. Mersey region has been allocated a total of £2,177,756 under the central drugs initiative. No request for funding has been received by the Council for Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction, which I understand is a locally based pressure group.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of his Department's offices where partitions have been strengthened in sections where the public have access over the past six months.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 18 April at column 344.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in the light of research undertaken on surgical glove punctures at Leicester general hospital, he will introduce routine pre-operative HIV testing for patients and regular screening for surgeons.

The health care workers sub-group of the expert advisory group on AIDS intends to review its "Guidance for Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Dentists and their Teams for Dealing with Patients Infected with HTLV III", issued in 1986, and will take into account any relevant evidence. Meanwhile, as my hon. Friend is aware, the expert advisory group's report "AIDS: HIV Infected Health Care Workers", published last month, concluded that the risk of the virus being transmitted in a health care setting is extremely low, and stressed that no case of a patient being infected by a health care worker has been reported anywhere in the world.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services on what date in 1987 an application was received from the National Childbirth Trust for a three-year grant commencing on 1 October 1987; for what amount the application was made; what previous grants have been made to this group; and when he expects a final decision on the current application to be made.

An initial application from the National Childbirth Trust for section 64 funding for a further three years was received early in April 1987. The relevant financial information was not received until September 1987.The request was for:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he intends to make regulations extending the powers of the occupational pensions board to modify the rules of occupational pension schemes to enable them to reduce surplus funds in accordance with schedule 22 to the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

My right hon. Friend has intended making regulations under section 64(1 A) of the Social Security Act 1973 to enable the Occupational Pensions Board to authorise modification of the rules of occupational pension schemes to enable them to reduce any surplus in scheme funds in any of the ways specified in schedule 22 to the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988. The board, to which draft regulations giving effect to this proposal were referred, has received legal advice that regulations made under section 64(1A) could not work in the way intended. I have decided, therefore, to withdraw the draft regulations and to await the report of the board on the matters which I have referred to it today, before proceeding further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will invite the occupational pensions board to consider whether further measures are needed to safeguard the interests of members of occupational pension schemes, the role of trustees of such schemes and associated issues.

I have today asked the occupational pensions board to consider and report to my right hon. Friend on the following issues:

(i) the balance to be struck between employers' legitimate interests and those of members of occupational pension schemes;

(ii) the involvement of pension schemes in company mergers and takeovers;

(iii) the extent to which decisions of the trustees of occupational pensions schemes should be unanimous and the circumstances in which one or more trustees may act on their own;

(iv) the need for independent trustees of pension schemes;

(v) whether restrictions should be placed on investments by pension funds in companies to which they relate; and

(vi) any other measures to safeguard the rights of members.

My right hon. Friend has asked to receive the board's report before the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest available figures for the proportion of families with children dependent on supplementary benefit who received one or more single payments, broken down into two and one-parent families.

[holding answer 20 April 1988]: The latest available figures are as follows:

Percentage receiving single payments
	Per cent.
One-parent families	12·7
Two-parent families	23·7
Total: all families with children	36·4

The information relates to single payments made in the twelve months preceding the February 1986 annual statistical inquiry to claimants in receipt of benefit at the time of the inquiry. As a result, it does not record all the single payments made in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Avon ambulance authority met the ORCON standard for emergency calls in 1986.

[holding answer 22 April 1988]: In 1986–87 the Avon ambulance authority exceeded the ORCON standards for emergency calls. This information is contained in the latest package of Health Service indicators which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce legislation to involve health authorities in the standards achieved by private ambulances along the lines of the regulations applied to private nursing homes; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 25 April 1988]: Private ambulance companies are free to operate subject to the provision of common law and traffic legislation. We have no current plans to introduce further legislation, but the Department is keeping the matter under review. Health authorities continue to be responsible for the standards of service for patients which they may buy in.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services on how many occasions during 1987 a higher private tender submitted under the competitive tendering process in the National Health Service has been accepted in preference to a lower in-house tender; in which district health authorities this occurred and with which contracts; and what were the reason given for this course of action.

[holding answer 26 April 1988]: This information is not available centrally since under the terms of departmental guidance evaluation of tenders is a matter for the health authority concerned. Where a district health authority decides that there are compelling reasons for not accepting the lowest tender it is expected to notify its decision to the appropriate regional health authority.The 1987 National Audit Office reports on competitive tendering for support services in the NHS provides the best available information on practice in rejecting the lowest tender bids. Of the 29 cases which NAO examined nine involved a decision to reject the lowest tender. In two of these cases commercial contractors were rejected in favour of in-house tenders and in the other seven cases one commercial contractor was rejected in favour of another. Eight of the contracts were for domestic services and one for laundry services. The main reasons to reject the lowest tender were as follows:

	Number
a. Inadequate hours tendered for job required	4
b. Inadequate proposed staffing levels	1
c. Inadequate or incomplete tender submission	2
d. Doubts on feasibility not dispelled on interview	1
e. Small cost difference linked to wider operational, personnel and financial considerations	1
	9

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he has of the proportion of bulbs imported from the Netherlands and examined by plant health inspectors to ensure that they are soil-free;(2) whether he will list the seaports and airports where Dutch bulbs have been imported in 1987; and whether sufficient plant health inspectors have been available to examine each consignment.

In the last import season, which ended in February, our plant health and seed inspectors examined just under 10 per cent. of all consignments of bulbs imported from the Netherlands. They checked for plant pests and excess soil. The inspectors work to a planned pattern of import checks on representative samples of a wide range of plants, bulbs, vegetables and so on, and covered this satisfactorily; it is not considered necessary to check each consignment of imported bulbs.The main ports of arrival for Dutch bulbs last year were Felixstowe, Dover, Harwich and Hull although small quantities may have been imported through other points of entry. Most inspections of imported bulbs are carried out at the importer's premises or nurseries.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received any representations from individual customers of companies in the Netherlands about the state of bulbs they have imported from the United Kingdom.

No.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to propose any change before 1992 in the system of inspecting bulbs imported from other EEC countries

I have no basic changes in mind at present, but our overall system of import inspections is flexible and can be adapted to meet particular needs.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will institute a system of total field inspection for bulbs, to be paid for by growers.

No. I see no reason to introduce total inspections of all bulb fields. So far as exports are concerned, growing season inspections are already necessary for bulbs intended for European Community member states and certain other countries. Under our domestic legislation charges are made for these inspections.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will list the countries other than the Netherlands to which the United Kingdom has exported bulbs in the last two years; and whether any country has complained that the imported bulbs were not soil-free.

Leaving aside exports to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom has exported bulbs in the last two years to the United States, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria. Small quantities have been sent to several other countries. None of these importing countries has complained that the bulbs were not soil-free.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the new system of registration and control of medicated animal feedingstuff.

Two statutory instruments will shortly be laid before Parliament to implement the first part of new controls on medicated animal feedingstuffs. A central feature is a requirement that all manufacturers of medicated feedingstuffs must register with the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain or the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland and agree to abide by a code of practice. Registration will take place in two stages: 1 July 1988 is the operative date for those with more sophisticated facilities, and 1 July 1989 for the remainder. Fees will be charged to cover the costs of administering and enforcing the register. Further controls on licensing and sale and supply of medicinal feed additives are being prepared. It is intended that these should also come into force on 1 July 1989.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants have been transferred since 1979 in the relocation of Government Departments and agencies from London and the south-east to the regions.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 31 March 1988, at columns 610–11, to my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Mr. Arnold).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what cost savings have been made by the relocation of Government agencies to the regions since 1979.

The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, since no records are kept centrally of cost savings from relocations by central Government agencies. However, a recent report has been submitted to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland evaluating the dispersal of part of the Overseas Development Administration from central London to East Kilbride in 1981. This offers evidence of the significant financial and other advantages which can be obtained through relocation. I understand that my right hon. and learned Friend intends to publish this report in the near future.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place a copy of the transcript of his interview on the "This Week/Next Week" programme on 24 April in the Library.

No; but I understand that a transcript is available from the BBC.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the notes on those clauses of the Finance Bill to be taken in Committee of the whole House will be made available to hon. Members.

Yes. The appropriate notes on clauses were placed in the Vote Office earlier today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the conditions of employment of chairmen of health authorities in Wales.

There are no conditions of employment as such for chairmen of health authorities, but I am placing in the Library of the House a copy of a note of guidance which is given to them on appointment.