To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women in prison mother-and-baby units on the most recent convenient date had not previously served a custodial sentence; what were their ages; and for what offences they had been sentenced.

Forty three women in mother and baby units on 13 May had not previously served a custodial sentence. Their ages are shown in table 1. They received custodial sentences for a wide range of offences and in many cases they were sentenced for more than one offence. Table 2 lists the primary offence in each case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current state of civil defence planning in the areas covered by the joint fire and civil defence authorities with particular reference to south Yorkshire, as evidenced by those authorities' submission in response to his Department's circular dated 30 October 1986, entitled "A planned programme of implementation"; and if he will make a statement.

The initial submissions in response to the circular were in the form of preparatory information on how the planning requirements of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983 would be met. These indicated that in general progress was being made in civil defence planning. In April 1988 county level authorities, including joint fire and civil defence authorities, were required to submit the first group of operational plans: these are now being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his statement of 16 May, Official Report, column 685, if he will specify the period of time for which he expects the Broadcasting Standards Council to be a non-statutory body.

We intend to introduce legislation for the Broadcasting Standards Council in due course, by which time I hope the council will have established satisfactory working arrangements with the relevant broadcasting and other agencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many strip searches were carried out on inmates, both sentenced and remand, and on female visitors to (a) Holloway, (b) Styal and (c) Durham prisons during the first three months of 1988.

Strip searching is a routine security measure in prison establishments to which both male and female inmates, including those on remand, are subject. Comprehensive records of strip searches are available only in respect of category A women prisoners, of whom there were three in Durham prison during the period in question. Details of the numbers of occasions on which these prisoners were strip searched were given in my replies to questions from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 16 February, at column 546, and 21 April, at columns 525–26.If there is reason to believe that a visitor intends to smuggle drugs or other contraband into an establishment, it is the normal practice to call in the police to investigate the matter. Information is not available centrally regarding the action taken by the police in such cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the results of the ethnic monitoring survey of probation clients will be published.

Information from the survey, which relates to individual probation areas, has already been given to those areas. The preparation of a full report on the survey has been delayed, but a report will be published as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were found

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were found guilty of, or cautioned for, the offence of indecency between males, for each year from 1967 to 1987, showing how many offences were committed against boys aged less than 16 years.

Information collected centrally does not identify those cases where the offence involved boys under the age of 16. Details of offenders found guilty or cautioned for all offences of indecency between males are published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", copies of which are in the Library. The most recent figures, covering the years 1977 to 1986, can be found in table 5.14 of the issue for 1986 (Cm. 233). Data for 1987 are not yet complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the Official Report details of the response he has had from the Advertising Standards Authority on the nature of advertisements for the sale of firearms by mail order.

[holding answer 20 May 1988]: The Advertising Standards Authority was not convinced that a statutory requirement of the sort proposed at Committee stage of the Firearms (Amendment) Bill on 10 March was practicable or would meet the concern expressed. The authority is considering whether the British code of advertising practice covering weapon advertising generally can be strengthened in some way.

To ask the Prime Minister how many meetings have taken place from 1980 to the current date between Government Ministers or officials and representatives of the KMS private security company; and on which occasions Major (retd.) David Walker of KMS was present.

I have nothing to add to the replies which have been given to the many questions on this subject.

The information requested is shown in the table for the years 1979 to 1986. Comparable data are not readily available for the years prior to 1979 and information for 1987 is not yet complete.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the share of the top 100 private sector companies in (a) manufacturing employment, (b) net manufacturing output and (c) net capital expenditure in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

The information requested is presented in the following table:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many private sector manufacturers were declared bankrupt in (a) England and Wales and (b) Great Britain in each year since and including 1979.

The information that is available for insolvencies in manufacturing is given in the table:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how may private building contractors were declared bankrupt in (a) England and Wales and (b) Great Britain in 1985, 1986 and 1987.

The information that is available for insolvencies in the construction industry is given in the table:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many firms accounted for the upper half of retail sales in the United Kingdom in 1986 and 1987.

It is provisionally estimated that the largest 88 individual companies accounted for one half of retail sales in Great Britain in 1986. No estimate is yet available for 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has about the distribution of (a) capital goods and (b) consumption goods imported from abroad by region of destination.

I regret that this information is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his policy with regard to dealing with

[holding answer 20 May 1988]: It is the practice of my Department's Companies Registration Office, Cardiff to respond in the Welsh language: more generally, my Department communicates in the English language except where it is considered appropriate and practical to do otherwise.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the total expenditure by the Central Office of Information on the Government's action for cities programme for each month since its inception.

[holding answer 18 May 1988]: The only significant expenditure incurred by the Central Office of Information was approximately £34,400 for the launch of the action for cties programme on 7 March. This represents a very small part of the Government's expenditure of approximately £3,000 million each year on inner cities programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list United Kingdom contributions to each of the member states of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference through national, Commonwealth and European Community action in each year from 1979 to 1987 inclusive (a) in cash and (b) in 1987 prices.

For bilateral aid I refer the hon. Lady to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave her on 13 May, at column 250. Figures for Commonwealth aid are not readily available in the form requested. The United Kingdom share of European Community programmes is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the level of official development assistance in 1987.

We have today informed the development assistance committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that in 1987 net official development assistance as defined internationally was estimated to be £1,151 million. As a proportion of GNP it was equivalent to 0·28 per cent.The net official development assistance figure for the calendar year 1987 compares with a net public expenditure provision for overseas aid of £1,247 million in the financial year 1987–88. The figure of net official development assistance as a proportion of GNP for 1987 reflects the strong growth in the United Kingdom economy last year and the fact that expenditure in the calendar year 1987 was lower than expected as a result of an unusually high proportion of financial year 1987–88 expenditure falling in the quarter ending 31 March 1988.Increases in the aid programme announced in this year's public expenditure White Paper mean that aid is now planned to grow in real terms. The aid budget for this financial year is £70 million higher than for last year—an increase of 5·7 per cent., which is considerably in excess of the expected rate of inflation. The planned aid budgets for 1989–90 and 1990–91 provide for increases of £140 million and £185 million respectively over the budget for last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on his policy towards the development of nuclear power in the light of the report and recommendations of the Trades Union Congress review committee on nuclear power, published on 3 May, a copy of which has been sent to him.

The Government's policy on the development of nuclear power is as stated in the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) on 17 December 1987 and in the White Paper "Privatising Electricity" (Cm. 322). I welcome the recognition given by the Trades Union Congress review committee to the importance of nuclear power.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has given permission for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for the import of Namibian uranium since May 1979.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has imported no uranium from Namibia during this period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether (a) the Central Electricity Generating Board, (b) the South of Scotland Electricity Board, (c) British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. or (d) the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has sought permission and safeguards arrangements for the import of uranium from (i) Namibia and (ii) the Republic of South Africa, either directly or through a second or third country, since May 1979.

Uranium for the United Kingdom's civil nuclear programme has not been imported from South Africa since 1973 or from Namibia since 1984. British Nuclear Fuels plc receives uranium ore concentrate from overseas customers for processing and re-export. The origin of such uranium is a matter for its customers who remain the owners of the material.All uranium imported into the United Kingdom for these purposes is subject to Euratom safeguards and to the terms of the UK/Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the visit by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South (Mr. Spicer), to Liverpool to hold talks with the Mersey Barrage Co. Ltd.

I visited Liverpool on Tuesday, 17 May, to make a joint announcement with the Mersey Barrage Company of a £1·3 million extension to studies of a possible Mersey barrage. The money will be used to finance further work on the engineering, economic and environmental aspects of the proposed barrage. Funding will be on a 50/50 basis between the Government and the Mersey Barrage Company.Whilst in Liverpool I also took the opportunity to meet members of the Mersey Enterprise Forum and representatives of the shipping and environmental groups whose interests are likely to be affected by a barrage construction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list in the Official Report the designed generating capacity for each advanced gas-cooled reactor, the actual outputs currently being achieved, the reasons for any differences and details of the timetables and actions planned to rectify current operating difficulties.

These are operational matters for the Central Electricity Generating Board, and I have asked the chairman to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has about the future of the coal industry social welfare organisation in the light of the Government's plans to privatise the coal industry.

The Government have no present plans to privatise the coal industry. The future of the coal industry social welfare organisation is one of the issues that would need to be considered in any such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans there are for the discharge of low-grade nuclear waste into the sea from nuclear power stations after June.

I have been asked to reply.There are no plans to change the current system of regulating discharges by authorisations issued under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the responses he proposes to make to the conclusions reached by the Law Commission in its report of July 1987 on commonhold tenure proposals, "Strata Title."

The working group report Cm. 179, to which my hon. Friend refers, makes far-reaching recommendations. A decision on implementation will be taken when these have been fully considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consultations he has undertaken about the future of the Horniman museum after the proposed abolition of the Inner London education authority; and when he now expects to be able to announce firm proposals.

My right hon. Friend has concluded that, after April 1990, both the Horniman and Geffrye museums should be established as independent charitable trusts. To ensure the future of the two museums he proposes that, in addition to support they are able to raise from local authorities and the private sector, they should receive a grant, in the first instance, from the London Residuary Body, and in the longer-term from the museums and Galleries Commission. We now propose to discuss the details of these proposed arrangements with the museums, with ILEA and with the local authorities whose residents enjoy the services of the two museums.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the most up-to-date figures for school rolls at secondary schools in Cumbria, together with the number of unused places at each school.

The numbers on roll in secondary schools in Cumbria in January 1988, the capacities based on the DES work station and the number of empty places were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what plans he has to develop portage; and if he will make a statement;(2) what is his estimate of the number of families with young children who need portage but do not obtain it.

It is the responsibility of local education authorities to provide portage. Over the five-year period from 1986/87 the Department will have provided in excess of £8 million through the education support grant scheme for the development of portage. Every local education authority wishing to participate in this scheme has been offered support by the Department. It is up to local education authorities to consider future support once the ESG scheme comes to an end and to determine the number of families who would benefit from portage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the Advisory Board for the Research Council survey commissioned to look at scientific equipment in United Kingdom universities and polytechnics has been completed; when the Government expects to receive a copy of the results; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the Advisory Board for the Research Councils expects to receive the report of this survey around the end of this year. My right hon. Friend and I await with interest the information which is being collected and the ABRC's advice on its implications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the current financial position of the Open University in terms of (a) the development of new courses, (b) current course maintenance and updating and (c) research.

The Open University is now conducting a thorough reappraisal of its existing plans and forecasts. Its conclusions are to be discussed with the visiting committee, and the committee will report to my right hon. Friend later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of post-doctoral posts in medical and biological research remain unfilled at present.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the career structure of post-doctoral researchers in medicine and biology; and if he will make a statement.

The terms of individual research contracts and the career structures available to post-doctoral researchers are matters for the employing institutions. The Government are, however, considering the recommendations of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils, contained in "A Strategy for the Science Base" calling for the more explicit management of research manpower in universities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many applications were received by the Medical Research Council for research studentships; what was the number awarded during the last year for which full figures are available; and what are the corresponding figures for each year since 1978–79.

The MRC receives applications for research studentship places from academic departments and its own establishments; individuals apply to the department or establishment for a place. The following table gives the number of places sought and the numbers awarded:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) of 9 May, Official Report, columns 14–15, if he has now received a copy of the Macdonald report on Burnage high school, Manchester, and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has not yet received a copy of the published report from Manchester city council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those representations he has received concerning his Department's decision to withdraw funding from the proposed research project into children with emotional and behavioural difficulties; and if he will make a statement.

No funds have been withdrawn, because no funds had been committed. The Department had been considering the possibility of commissioning a research project in this field and representations have been received from the three researchers whose proposals had been short-listed for final consideration. Priority is being given to the enquiry into disruptive children chaired by Lord Elton and further consideration will be given to the problems of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in the light of the outcomes of the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many civil servants in his Department are also directors or consultants in (a) public liability companies, (b) companies limited by guarantee, (c) building societies, (d) other friendly societies and (e) commercial undertakings other than the above; and what rules or instructions govern these activities with particular reference to remuneration.

This information is not available. Full-time officers are not allowed to accept any post in the management of any society, firm or company which requires attendance at any time during working hours. They should not undertake any outside activity which might impair their usefulness as public servants or conflict with the interests of their department.Records of such directorships as are held within these rules are not kept.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans as to announce a city technology college for (a) Doncaster, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) Scunthorpe.

There are at present no plans to make any such announcements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, pursuant to his answer of 13 May, Official Report, column 260, he has received any recent representations from Dixons Plc on the site of the proposed city technology college; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has not himself had any contact with Dixons since May 13, but officials have had discussions. Dixons is considering a number of possible locations. It would be premature for me to make a statement while it is doing so. I understand that Dixons has recently emphatically confirmed its commitment to sponsorship of a CTC and its belief in the importance of the programme.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what recent representations the Church Commissioners have received about the role of religious education in Church schools; and if he will make a statement.

None. The commissioners have no direct responsibility for religious education in Church schools, although they do have some indirect responsibilities through their support for some aspects of higher education.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what restrictions the Church Commissioners place upon the use of property for which they have responsibility.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what restrictions the Church Commissioners place on the use of Church buildings for which they have responsibility.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what restrictions the Church Commissioners place on the use of Church buildings for which they have responsibility.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what representations the commissioners have received about the restrictions placed by them on the use of Church buildings for which they have responsibility.

The commissioners do not normally carry responsibility for church buildings when they are in use for worship. The restrictions which they place upon the use of property for which they do have responsibility depend upon its nature. For example, when a redundant church is put to another use, restrictive and other covenants are included to safeguard the use and fabric.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what account the commissioners take when they are consulted about the future use of redundant churches of the uses to which those buildings have previously been put.

Under the Pastoral Measure 1983 the commissioners must be satisfied that an alternative use proposed for a redundant church is "suitable". The commissioners interpret this to mean a use which has planning permission and which is consonant with the former use of the building as a place of worship and also with the building's historic and architectural qualities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many youth training scheme trainees are currently in employment in the Monklands district; and if he will list the employers with which they are placed together with the number of trainees at each employer.

At 16 May 1988, 1,184 young people living in Monklands district were participating in YTS. Of these, 75 have employed status.Information is not held centrally on placement providers and the number of trainees each has. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest figures for male and female unemployment in the Paisley travel-to-work area; and if he will list these in the Official Report.

Paisley is contained within the Glasgow travel-to-work area. Figures showing the number of male and female unemployed claimants in the Glasgow travel-to-work area and for the Paisley parliamentary constituencies on 14 April 1988 (the latest date for which information is available) are shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the suitability of testing of the distinctness, uniformity and stability of cereal seeds for use in Scotland being carried out at Cambridge, and if he will make a statement on the recommendations of the recent review of plant variety testing and seed certification systems.

There are no agronomic or scientific reasons why seed of new varieties of cereals for production in any part of the United Kingdom should not be tested for distinctness, uniformity and stability at a single suitable location. The testing of all cereal varieties is currently shared between centres at Cambridge and Edinburgh at both of which the work is carried out adequately.The United Kingdom Agriculture Ministers agreed that the report on the plant variety testing and seed certification systems in the United Kingdom should be published and copies made available for comment by interested organisations. Ministers will decide in the light of those comments what action should be taken on the many recommendations contained in the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the projected percentage increases in health expenditure for 1988–89 and 1989–90 as corrected for the gross domestic product deflator.

Provision for the NHS in Scotland in 1988–89 is some £2,451 million. This represents an increase over the provisional outturn for 1987–88 of 0·5 per cent. after allowing for forecast GDP inflation. In 1989–90 expenditure is planned to rise to around £2,560 million, an increase of 0·6 per cent. over and above forecast GDP inflation for that year.These figures do not take into account the additional £92 million allocated to the health programme in Scotland, as a result of the Government's acceptance of the NHS pay review bodies' recommendations. This will raise the increase for 1988–89 over forecast GDP inflation from 0·5 per cent. to 4·2 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what funding is to be given to mountain rescue teams to replace existing radio equipment following the allocation of second radio frequency to 158·650 megaherz.

Assistance with equipment, including radio equipment, may be given to mountain rescue teams by police authorities, whose expenditure in this respect, provided it complies with established criteria, is eligible for police grant at the rate of 51 per cent. Where appropriate, rescue teams, desirous of moving to the new frequency, may wish to discuss their particular needs with the relevant police force in the first instance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to reply to correspondence from Hamilton district council addressed to the historic buildings section of the Scottish Development Department, relating to a request for comments on the studies about Chatelherault.

The Scottish Development Department responded to the district council on 16 May 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to reply to correspondence from Hamilton district council regarding the sale of council-built houses at Barncluith, Hamilton.

The Scottish Development Department is seeking further information from the council to enable a decision to be reached on the council's proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were (a) the categories and (b) the numbers of industrial doses of drugs administered to members of each prison in Scotland in the latest year for which figures are available.

No records are maintained centrally of the categories or of the number of doses of drugs administered to inmates in Scottish prisons and this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether it is his practice to recover an overpayment of superannuation benefit when the overpayment was made as a result of errors on the part of the supperannuation division.

Yes. Irrespective of the reasons for an overpayment of superannuation benefits, recovery is sought but care is always taken to avoid hardship.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the recommendations contained in the Wildy report on the future of animal disease research as they affect Scotland.

The Wildy report to the Agriculture Ministers and the chairman of the Agricultural and Food Research Council reviewed current arrangements for R and D in farm animal diseases and made recommendations on the use of resources in the future. In Scotland it covered work at the Moredun research institute, the Rowett research institute, the veterinary investigation service of Scottish agricultural colleges and the Edinburgh and Glasgow veterinary schools.The report makes no specific recommendations about the programmes of research in Scotland but the recommendation on the establishment of an overall United Kingdom executive body will need further consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future of regional councils.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no specific plans at present affecting the future of regional councils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what percentage of the health budget was spent on rates bills in each health board in the latest year for which figures are available;(2) what was the total rates bill for each hospital in the latest year for which figures are available;(3) what was

Information is not held centrally on the amount of contributions paid in lieu of rates in relation to individual premises. The following table shows the total of payments made by each health board in 1986–87 in lieu of rates and the proportion which this represents of their gross recurrent expenditure on hospital and community health services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each local authority the revised levels of community charge from April 1989.

The levels of community charge for 1989–90 will be set by individual local authorities and will reflect their own spending decisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the average domestic rate bill payable per household for 1988–89 in each local authority area in Scotland.

The table shows estimates of the average domestic rate bill in each local authority area in 1988–89 calculated using the latest data available. The figures do not reflect the rate reduction of 5·6p proposed for Lothian regional council:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the forestry planting in Caithness and Sutherland undertaken by (a) the Forestry Commission and (b) Fountain Forestry has been of broadleaved trees in each year since 1 April 1981; and what proportion of the further planting proposals accepted for grant aid by him in the statement of 25 January will be of native broadleaved trees.

[holding answer 16 May 1988]: The information for Forestry Commission planting is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names and areas of those parcels of land which were (a) submitted and (b) approved for forestry grant aid in the Dornoch forest district in 1987–88.

[holding answer 16 May 1988]: The information is as follows: