To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will seek to repeal sections 66 and 67 of the Licensing Act 1964.

We have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims are received annually under the criminal injuries compensation scheme; how many of these claims are successful; and what is the average length of time for processing such claims.

The latest annual report of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (Cm. 265), a copy of which is in the Library, shows that in the year 1986–87 the board received 42,301 applications and resolved 29,605 in the main applications made in earlier years, 21,925 by monetary award. The board does not calculate the average length of time taken to deal with applications, but the report shows the percentage of cases resolved within certain periods: half of those resolved in 1986–87 were resolved within a year of application.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide support and protection to jurors who are subjected to intimidation during and following trials, in the light of the recent incidents at the trials of football hooligans.

Protection of jurors is an operational matter for chief officers of police. They are aware of the dangers, and if necessary seek the authority of the trial judge to provide police protection to prevent interference. Acts calculated to prejudice the administration of justice are punishable as contempt of court, or may amount to attempts to pervert the course of justice. We are satisfied that the police and judges have the necessary powers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes were operating in Waveney in (a) 1983–84 and (b) 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the chief constable of Suffolk that there were no neighbourhood watch schemes in Waveney in 1983–84, the first scheme having been established there in October 1986. This was also the first scheme to be established in Suffolk. By the end of March 1988 there were 87 schemes in Waveney, and the total has now risen to 100, an increase I greatly welcome.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review magistrates' travelling allowances.

The allowances are reviewed each year, and are varied in line with those payable to local authority members. The basis for the payment of these and other allowances is under consideration, and I have discussed the issue with the chairman of the Magistrates Association, Mr. John Hosking.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which countries it will be possible to read the machine-readable page in the new British European Community passports.

[holding answer 21 June 1988]: All the information contained on the machine-readable page of the new British passport in the European Community common format will be readable by the human eye as well as by optical character recognition equipment. I understand that the United States of America has begun to install passport-reading equipment at ports of entry, and other countries are expected to follow suit. The United Kingdom immigration service is using passport-reading equipment in a pilot project at Dover. It is not intended to machine-read the passports of United Kingdom nationals routinely at United Kingdom immigration controls, but the capability to do so will exist.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will report on the progress being made by his Department's central policy unit in its review of export promotion; and when he expects the review to be completed.

An internal review of export promotion by the Department's central unit has been completed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the costs and revenues for each of the services provided by the companies registration offices and indicate the effect on them of the proposed fee increases.

Fee income received by the companies registration offices is applied to meeting the costs of a system of regulating companies and developing the law relating to them.In 1987–88, the costs of CRO search services were £8·5 million against fee income of £4 million. The costs of incorporating companies and registering documents at CRO amounted to £12·6 million. The balance of fee income, £23 million, was applied to these costs and to those of running other parts of the system. These include companies investigation work and the branches of the Department's companies division which are concerned with the development of company law.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what investigations have been carried out on behalf of or by his Department since 1979 into companies which have gone into receivership or liquidation, or under any other legislative power of administrative procedure, listing, in each case, whether any of the companies or associated companies was registered in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

This information is not readily available and the cost of the necessary research could not be justified. If the hon. Member will write to me about his specific concerns, I will see what relevant information can be given.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those organisations consulted by his Department in the recent review of the four Department of Trade and Industry research establishments.

Officials consulted a wide range of customers and potential customers of the research establishments. They spoke to a number of the Department's external advisors on research and development. They contacted organisations in the United Kingdom which themselves carry out research to find out how their work was commissioned and organised. Officials also sought information from a number of Her Majesty's diplomatic posts overseas on research in those countries.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will seek with his EEC counterparts a ban by the EEC on the manufacture, sale and export of all skin lightening soaps and creams; and if he will make a statement.

We shall inform the Commission of the EC that we have banned exports from the United Kingdom of soap containing mercury salts, and that we are suggesting that exports from the United Kingdom of skin-lightening creams should meet the same conditions as are required for sale within the EC. It will be for the Commission, in consultation with member states, to consider what action should be taken by the EC collectively.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will arrange for health warnings to be displayed on all skin-lightening soaps and creams sold in, and exported from, the United Kingdom, and if he will list the brand names of such products and the British companies by which they are manufactured.

We are stopping the export from the United Kingdom to the Third world of soap containing mercury salts. Skin-lightening creams containing hydro-quinone with a maximum concentration of 2 per cent. may be sold within the EC, provided certain warnings are clearly displayed. We shall ask industry in the United Kingdom to limit the hydroquinone content to 2 per cent. and to put the same warnings on these products when they are exported outside the EC.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has as to how many firms requiring to be licensed under the provisions of the Financial Services Act 1986, are trading without licences; and what action has been taken to ensure that unlicensed firms comply with their statutory duty.

Section 3 of the Financial Services Act prohibits any person from carrying on investment business unless authorised or exempted under the Act. The relevant provisions were commenced on 29 April and it is too early to make a meaningful estimate of the extent of unauthorised investment business. However, the publicity which the new requirement has received, the substantial penalties which can be incurred if this section is contravened and the resources which the SIB, which is responsible for taking the lead in enforcing this provision, are allocating to following up complaints, mean that I do not expect widespread non-compliance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions inspectors have been appointed under section 106 of the Financial Services Act 1986.

Eleven authorities have been given by my Department under section 106 of the Financial Services Act. The power to give such authorisation is also exercisable by the Securities and Investments Board. Questions about the SIB's exercise of its powers are a matter for the board.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date his Department was first notified by the National Association of Security Dealers and Investment Managers of its concern over the operation of the Barlow Clowes partnership; and what was the precise nature of those concerns.

While the facts of my Departments handling of the Barlow Clowes case are under investigation I do not believe that it would be appropriate to answer specific questions relating to the case.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has introduced any new arrangements in respect of large contracts for export of defence goods insured by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

While most contracts for defence goods will continue to be accommodated within ECGD's normal arrangements, the current procedures under which ECDG provides cover under section 2 of the Export Guarantees and Overseas Investment Act 1978 have not proved entirely suitable for handling certain large defence contracts. These are often very large in relation to the limits set by ECGD to control its exposure on individual overseas countries and, in addition to economic factors, involve special strategic and political considerations.I have, therefore, authorised new arrangements to be introduced in connection with such contracts. Initially a ceiling of £1 billion has been set for business underwritten in this category. All cases will be subject to approval by Ministers. Where in future ECGD's normal limits for individual countries cannot easily accommodate specific contracts, cover will, where appropriate, be made available under these new arrangements outside the country limit, but within the overall £1 billion ceiling. In all other respects, ECGD's normal underwriting criteria, as well as its financial objective, will apply to business entered into under these arrangements.The arrangements which will be made under section 2 of the Export Guarantees Act 1978 will conform with previous assurances given to the House that ECGD will not support unduly hazardous risks. The repayment record in the defence sector has, in the past, generally been a satisfactory one.The outturn of guarantees given under these arrangements will be separately recorded in ECGD's trading accounts by way of a note. These changes will enable ECGD more effectively to support business in a highly competitive environment where keen prices and fast decisions on credit are playing an increasingly important part in winning orders.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the outcome of the European Council of Industry Ministers' meeting on 24 June.

The Council marked the very welcome end of the European Coal and Steel Community steel production quota system, which had been in place under article 58 of the treaty of Paris since 1980. The quota system will come to an end on 30 June.The quota system was introduced at a time of crisis in the European steel industry, but it is clearly no longer suitable for current market conditions. The quota system has prevented the British steel industry from fully exploiting its competitive position in the European market, and the outcome of the Council will therefore be of significant benefit to both United Kingdom consumers and steel producers.The Council also agreed on the importance of maintaining strict rules on the granting of state aid for steel companies, and on the need for social measures to accompany restructuring.I am placing a copy of the full conclusions of the Council in the Library of the House.

To ask the Attorney-General what recent steps the Lord Chancellor has taken, in his capacity as chairman of the Magistrates Association, to review policy in sentencing those responsible for causing water pollution through farming operations; and if he will make a statement.

The Lord Chancellor does not review the policy in sentencing of those responsible for causing water pollution through farming operations. However, as indicated in a previous answer to my hon. Friend, Official Report, 26 October 1987, column 14, the Lord Chancellor, as president of the Magistrates Association, on occasion expresses his personal views on the approach to sentencing for certain offences. When speaking to the Buckinghamshire magistrates on 18 April 1986, Lord Chancellor Hailsham drew attention to the need to impose in this category of offence fines high enough to establish that this type of illegal act can be seen not to pay.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what representations have been made to him regarding (a) the issue by the various examination boards of written notices of corrections to the sample on the actual General Certificate of Secondary Education examination papers, and (b) the extent to which those notices were available to schools in time for the mock or actual General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations;(2) what representations have been made to him about misprints and factual mistakes in

My right hon. Friend and I have received some 50 letters since July 1987 about alleged administrative failures on the part of the independent examination boards and examining groups. The Secondary Examinations Council and the examining groups are collaborating to review the experience of the first GCSE examinations this summer and to make any necessary administrative improvements quickly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what (a) health and (b) other grounds the Health Education Authority's pack on AIDS and HIV was vetoed; and on what criteria such publications are rejected.

The HEA pack has not been vetoed. The Government suggested certain changes—all of which have been accepted—to reflect developing medical knowledge on HIV and AIDS, to see that teachers and school governors were fully aware of the legal context before mounting teaching programmes, and to ensure the educational suitability of the material, especially for younger pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what basis pupils will be selected to attend city technology colleges.

CTCs will cater for students of widely differing abilities. Selection will be based on aptitude, commitment and the ability to benefit from what the college has to offer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what powers the governors of city technology colleges will have in the development of the curriculum within their schools.

The overall shape and balance of the curriculum will be determined by the governors after consultation with the principal, but they will be required as a condition of grant to implement the substance of the national curriculum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether parents will be represented on the governing bodies of city technology colleges; and how far industry will be represented when colleges are funded by private capital.

The scheme of government for each city technology college, which will need to be approved by my right hon. Friend, will provide for representatives of the sponsors, of parents and of individuals from the local community who are committed to the good government of the college, to serve on the governing body. The latter may also include members of the local business and industrial community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if it will be possible for pupils at city technology colleges to study arts and humanities at A-level.

The shape and balance of the city technology college curriculum post-16 will be determined by the college governors in consultation with the principal. It is anticipated that arts and humanities subjects will be available in the post-16 curriculum, although the emphasis overall, and for individual students, will inevitably remain on science and technology.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what provision will be made for pupils with special needs who attend city technology colleges.

City technology colleges will admit students of differing abilities, including some with special educational needs. We expect that CTCs will develop appropriate provision to meet these needs. The building and refurbishment of the premises of the first two CTCs, at Kingshurst and Nottingham, will include adaptations to meet the particular requirements of physically handicapped students.

To ask the Prime Minister what is her assessment of recent diplomatic initiatives to reach a settlement in Angola and of the current situation in Angola.

I have been asked to reply.We welcome current negotiations for peaceful solutions in Angola and Namibia. We support all efforts to secure the withdrawal of Cuban and South African forces and national reconciliation in Angola and to implement the United Nations plan for Namibian independence. We believe that these are essential steps to restore stability in the region.

To ask the Prime Minister whether, pursuant to her reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East on 23 June, her letter to Jacques Delors concerning the proposed takeover of the Rover Group will be covered by the 30-year rule; and if she will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Records will continue to be dealt with in the normal way in accordance with the provisions of the Public Records Acts.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 June.

I have been asked to reply.My right hon. Friend is in Hanover for a meeting of the European Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is, for each year since 1974, the average domestic consumption of electricity (a) per head and (b) per household in the United Kingdom; and what are the comparable figures for France, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy and Denmark.

Average domestic consumption of electricity per head in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy and Denmark for 1975 to 1986 is shown in the table. The table also includes average domestic consumption of electricity per household in the United Kingdom for the same years, and in the other countries for those years for which estimates of the number of households are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next plans to meet the chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board; and what subject will be discussed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next intends meeting the chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board to discuss the privatisation of the industry; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I meet the chairman of the CEGB from time to time to discuss various matters relating to the privatisation of the electricity supply industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the latest developments in his Department's preparations for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry.

Detailed work on preparing the industry for privatisation is continuing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy for what reason anti-radiation potassium iodate tablets have recently been issued to people living and working near the Berkeley nuclear power station; and if he will make a statement.

No potassium iodate tablets have been issued to people living and working near Berkeley nuclear power station. Current arrangements provide for the distribution of tablets by the Gloucestershire constabulary in the unlikely event of an accident having significant offsite radiological effects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his policy towards the international transport and commerce in nuclear explosive materials such as plutonium or highly enriched uranium.

The United Kingdom's policy on the export of nuclear materials remains as set out in the statement by the then Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan on 31 March 1976 at columns 514–16. All movements of nuclear materials are made in compliance with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish the full calculations carried out by his Department's economists and statisticians referred to in his decision letter of 12 March 1987 to the chairman of the Central Electricity Board regarding the board's applications to construct Sizewell B, with particular regard to calculations and their background bases referred to in paragraphs 3.6 and 4.4 of that letter.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 11 May 1988 at columns 111–12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has as to the total numbers of jurors who have been vetted against police records, the number that have failed selection because of the vetting procedure and the reasons why they failed.

None has been so vetted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those community benefit schemes under the community programme in the Glasgow and Clydebank area which (a) do and (b) do not meet the requirements of the programme; and if he will make funds available to enable those schemes listed under (b) to continue.

The Training Commission is currently considering applications from organisations to participate in employment training. It is too early to say how many of the existing community programme schemes will continue under the new programme. I hope that those bodies which have operated successfully under the community programme and have yet to apply will consider adapting to the requirements of employment training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the current members of the Scottish Health Service planning council.

The current members of the Scottish Health Service planning council are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to ensure that all employees will have adequate opportunities to participate in buy-outs of Scottish Bus Group companies.

My right hon. and learned Friend has already told the House that assistance will be given in the form of help with advice and consultancy to management and employees wishing to seek to acquire their employing undertakings. Steps will be taken to ensure that all employees are informed about the opportunities available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Scottish Bus Group companies one purchaser will be allowed to acquire on privatisation.

The detailed basis on which bids for companies will be considered has yet to be decided but in any event will take account of the objective of introducing greater competition into the Scottish bus market.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what safeguards there will be to prevent the regrouping of several Scottish Bus group companies under single ownership, after privatisation.

After privatisation Scottish Bus Group companies will be in the same position as all other private sector bus companies in the United Kingdom and any proposals for mergers between companies will be a matter, where appropriate, for the Office of Fair Trading to consider in the light of the mergers provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973 and to advise my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry as appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that Scottish Bus Group companies do not become foreign-owned on privatisation;(2) what safeguards there will be on privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group companies to ensure that ownership does not fall into non-Scottish hands.

I am aware of the substantial interest that has already been shown by management and employees in the Scottish Bus Group in acquiring the constituent companies. We shall encourage such buy-outs, as a means of promoting local control.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress is being made towards the implementation of the Registered Establishments (Scotland) Act 1987; and when a date for the completion of implementation will be reached.

Consultations are in progress on the upper limits on fees to be charged by local authorities in connection with registration and inspection. Subject to the outcome, I hope to introduce orders dealing with maximum fees and the commencement of the Act at an early date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions there are to monitor or regulate the environmental effects of pesticides used for the treatment of salmon lice which are licensed under the Medicines Act 1968; and if he will make a statement.

The possible impact on the safety of species other than the target species is taken into account when considering any application under the Medicines Act 1968, where it is proper to do so. Adverse reactions to the use of licensed veterinary medicines are routinely monitored and considered so that, where necessary, appropriate action could be taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions are made routinely to monitor the chemicals, used by fish farmers in the flesh of salmon; who is responsible for such monitoring; where the results of such monitoring are published or available for scrutiny by members of the public; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for ensuring that food for sale to the public is wholesome rests with district and island councils under the terms of the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act 1956. So far as I am aware, no routine monitoring of salmon for chemicals is carried out by local authorities but research work in this area is being carried out at both the Torry research station and marine laboratory. A survey is also being undertaken by the working party on veterinary residues in animal products, a sub-group of the interdepartmental steering group on food surveillance charged by Ministers with the function of keeping food contamination problems under review, assessing the needs for analytical surveys of food and, where appropriate, making arrangements for these surveys to be carried out. The report by the working party on veterinary residues in animal products will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what extra resources are being made available by the river purification boards so that they can perform their statutory duties under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 in relation to the growth of the marine fish farming industry.

The river purification boards are responsible for determining the priorities for action in their areas and for setting the levels of their expenditure accordingly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received any recent representations regarding the decision of the Clyde River Purification Board not to issue consents for fish farms in its area; and if he will make a statement.

No such representations have been received. I shall, however, write to the hon. Member about this matter and arrange to place a copy of the letter in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the number of consents for fish farms issued by each of the river purification boards in each of the past five years.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the statutory provisions on the control of pollution from marine fish farms; if he has any plans to seek to amend this legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Provisions for preventing and controlling water pollution from any source are contained in the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Acts 1951 and 1965, part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. The provisions of part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 are under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the occasions in the last year when someone other than another Minister, hon. Member or civil servant has substituted for a Minister at an invitation issued to him or another Minister.

The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the engagements of Scottish Office Ministers on 21 April.

I attended Cabinet in the morning of 21 April and attended several ministerial meetings later in the day. In the evening I was principal guest at a dinner for the Institute of Civil Engineers.My hon. Friend the Minister of State (Commons) attended both the morning and evening sessions of the Committee on the British Steel Bill and held meetings with ministerial colleagues and officials.My noble Friend the Minister of State (Lords) met the chairman of the Women's Farming Union. Later he attended the Third Reading of the Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Bill.My hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for Home Affairs and the Environment attended the School Boards (Scotland) Bill Committee and later held a meeting with ministerial colleagues and officials.My hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for Education and Health attended the School Boards (Scotland) Bill Committee and later held a meeting with ministerial colleagues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Scottish Information Office issued a press notice about the expected attendance of the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Mr. Lang), at the business success conference at the Scottish money show on 21 April.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his meeting with the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations on 22 June to discuss employment training; and what proposals he has for action.

I met a delegation including representatives from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. We discussed the effect of the change to employment training on the voluntary sector and on community care projects. I invited the voluntary sector to continue to consider adapting its various projects so that they might take advantage of funding under employment training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to publish the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Scotland) discussion document on the Scottish fishing fleet's capacity and on possible changes in the pressure stock licensing system; and what facilities he proposes to offer for negotiation with relevant organisations, and in particular the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the Sea Fish Industry Authority.

We would expect to publish the consultation documents from the Fisheries Departments on capacity and licensing early in July. We will naturally be consulting the main bodies concerned and these will include the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the Sea Fish Industry Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to instigate an investigation, similar to the Elton investigation in England and Wales, into discipline in Scottish schools.

No. We commissioned the Scottish Council for Research in Education in October to carry out a major study aimed at identifying effective practical strategies for maintaining discipline in schools and classrooms. We do not consider that a further independent inquiry in Scotland at this time is warranted; but we shall study the Elton report, when it is received, for any implications it may have for Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he took, prior to the announcement of his approval for further planting by the Forestry Commission in Caithness and Sutherland, on the environmental effects of this planting other than from the Nature Conservancy Council; on what grounds he overruled the Nature Conservancy Council's advice; and whether he will place in the Library maps showing the areas approved.

In addition to advice from the Nature Conservancy Council, my right hon. and learned Friend had the benefit of the views of the Scottish Development's ecological adviser and the Forestry Commission's wildlife and conservation officer, who had inspected the five sites concerned. His decision to allow planting to take place on 1,059 hectares out of the total area of 2,485 hectares was a carefully balanced one which took account not only of nature conservation needs but also of the desirability of the Forestry Commission maintaining its planting programme and thus providing continued employment for its local work force.I shall arrange for maps showing the areas to be planted and those to be left unplanted to be placed in the Library as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the health boards in which the cytology laboratories post directly to women the results of cervical smear tests that are (a) positive and (b) negative.

Both laboratories in Tayside health board send the results of positive and negative cervical smear tests directly to women. The laboratories in the following boards send results to the source of the smear, whether general medical practitioner, well-woman clinic or other clinic:

• Health board
• Argyll and Clyde
• Ayrshire and Arran
• Dumfries and Galloway
• Fife
• Forth Valley
• Grampian
• Greater Glasgow
• Highland
• Lanarkshire
• Lothian

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many sheltered homes are located within the grounds of hospitals in Scotland; and of these how many are (a) entered in the rating roll as separate domestic hereditaments and (b) treated for rating purposes as a part of the hospital.

The information held by the Scottish Home and Health Department indicates that there are no sheltered homes on hospital land owned by my right hon. and learned Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what routine monitoring of public water supplies for radioactivity has been done in Scotland since the Chernobyl accident; and if he will make a full statement.

A programme of routine monitoring was begun in February 1987. A total of 98 samples from 42 public water supply sources throughout Scotland has been analysed over a period of 14 months, some supplies being sampled at regular monthly intervals and others less frequently. In every case the levels of radioactivity found were within the guideline values recommended by the World Health Organisation, below which water can be considered potable without further radiological examination. The analyses also covered numerous individual radionuclides and only three samples showed isolated values slightly above the limit of detection. These did not recur in later samples. A further monitoring programme is now in progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in the last 12 months the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Mr. Lang), met officials of the East Kilbride development corporation; and what was discussed on each of those occasions.

[holding answer 24 June 1988]: I have visited East Kilbride on a considerable number of occasions in the last 12 months and invariably met development corporation officials on these visits, when we discussed a range of issues. Discussions have mainly focused on the continuing success of the development corporation in attracting new industries and employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he is now in a position to announce his decision on the public planning inquiry held on 12 January at Penllergaer regarding Penfedw Farm riding school, Rhydypandy, Morriston, Swansea.

No. My right hon. Friend is aware of the need to reach speedy decisions on all planning matters which come before him. I hope that it will be possible to make progress on this complex enforcement notice appeal in the near future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales to what extent the cultural effects, and in particular the possible effect on the Welsh language, are a material factor in his determination of a planning application.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Gentleman on 24 November 1987 at column 112.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if his Department has undertaken any study as to the effect of holiday housing developments on the Welsh language in the surrounding localities; and if he has any evidence indicating the causes of any decline in Welsh language speakers.

The Department has not undertaken any specific research, but is aware that the Welsh language is affected by many factors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to ensure the use of Welsh on all appropriate Cadw publicity material, in particular for letter headings.

It is already policy that Cadw publicity material should use Welsh where appropriate and practical. In particular, Cadw's letterheadings are already bilingual.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the number of disabled unemployed people and (b) the number of places available on assessment and rehabilitation courses for unemployed, disabled people in Wales.

At 8 April 1988, there were 4,216 unemployed people in Wales whose prospects of finding and/or keeping jobs were recorded as restricted by health or disability; of these, 1,901 had elected to register as a disabled person under the Disabled Persons Employment Act 1944. Between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989 the Training Commission proposes to make 1,816 assessment course places and 860 rehabilitation course places available in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the total grants to the Council of Museums in Wales for every year since 1978–79 up to and including that planned for 1988–89.

Grants to the Council of Museums in Wales were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the total, and list the schools, of vacant head teacher posts; and if he will make a statement.

No statistics are collected centrally of vacant head teacher posts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he is taking steps to ensure that head teachers and governors are adequately trained for their expanded duties under the Education Reform Bill; and if he will make a statement.

In 1989–90 the Government propose to extend the national priority areas for head teachers;' management training to include training to implement local education authority schemes of financial delegation to schools. The Government also propose that education support grant should be made available for the training of governors. Grant is expected to be available to support expenditure of £420,000 in 1989–90 to enable LEAs to develop their training strategies and materials for school and college governors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales to what extent he proposes to impose tests in Wales at the age of seven years; if the results will be published; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretaries of State for Wales and for Education and Science have decided, in the light of the favourable reception to the recommendations of the task group on assessment and testing, and after subsequent consultations, to adopt the main principles, including the setting of attainment targets for seven-year olds, and for performance in relation to those targets to be assessed and reported on. In Wales, pupils receiving instruction in the medium of Welsh will be assessed in Welsh.It is not intended that individual's results will be published, but aggregated results at the ages of 11, 14 and 16 should be, so that the wider public can make informed judgments about attainment in a school or LEA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to transfer employees from the Welsh Office agriculture department, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, to the Cardiff office: and if he will make a statement.

My Department proposes to transfer one middle management post from the agriculture office, Aberystwyth to Cardiff and to delete two more junior posts from the staff complement at Aberystwyth. No redundancies would be involved. In parallel, the head of division post in Aberystwyth is being substantively filled, and I envisage a substantial departmental presence in the area for the foreseeable future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are currently employed at the Welsh Office Agricultural Department in Aberystwyth Ceredigion; and what were the corresponding figures for 1974, 1978, 1982, and 1987.

[holding answer 27 June 1988]: My Department assumed responsibility for agriculture in Wales in 1978, since when the number of Welsh Office staff in post at Aberystwyth and Trawsgoed at the other dates requested was as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the underspend on local authority capital expenditure returns for 1987–88.

[holding answer 23 June 1988]: Capital provision was not underspent.

To ask the Minister for the Arts how many and what percentage of officers in each grade and overall in his Department are women and from ethnic minorities, respectively.

The number, and percentage of women officers in each grade, and overall, in the Department are given in the table:

To ask the Minister for the Arts by how much the Arts Council grant has increased in real terms since 1979.

The grant has increased from £61·476 million in 1979–80 to £150 million in 1988–89, including a sum in part replacement for arts funding by the metropolitan counties. This represents an increase of some 33 per cent. in real terms.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the United Kingdom's net payments to the EEC in 1987; and what were the net figures for the first quarter of 1988 at an annualised rate.

The United Kingdom's net contribution to the Community budget in 1987 was £1,713 million. The provisional figure for the first quarter of 1988 at an annual rate was £1,683 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to introduce value added tax on new construction at a rate equal to the current rate of stamp duty.

No. The hon. Member's proposal would not be lawful under the sixth VAT directive. I refer him to my statement on 21 June at column 957.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the current state of relations between the Crown employer and the Civil Service trades unions.

Pay settlements for 1988 have recently been reached with the two largest Civil Service unions, the CPSA and NUCPS, and discussions have begun with both unions on longer-term arrangements for settling pay, with a view to reaching agreement by the end of this year. Formal agreements on long-term pay arrangements have already been concluded with other Civil Service unions. Discussions and negotiations with the unions continue in accordance with normal arrangements on a range of other matters.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many employees have opted to make charitable donations through the payroll deduction scheme;(2) if he will make a statement on the progress of the payroll deduction scheme for tax-free donations to charity since April 1987.

Since the scheme started in 1987, a total of 17 charity agencies have been approved to run it and more than 2,700 individual schemes have been set up. By April 1988, some 40,000 employees had joined. The number of employers and employees taking part in the scheme is increasing all the time.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to monitor the progress of profit-related pay.

The Inland Revenue reports to me on particular points as they arise. I receive statistical and monthly reports from the Revenue. These show that to the end of May, 694 schemes covering 103,000 employees had been registered by the profit-related pay office in Cumbernauld. This is satisfactory progress. Now that PRP is becoming established, I have decided to supplement these reports with a study which I have commissioned from IFF Research Limited. The terms of reference for the study are being placed in the House Library. This will be an early stage of a continuing programme of monitoring. It will seek information about the way employers view and use PRP.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on the

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration has been given to the insurance industry of the value added tax extensions proposed by the European Economic Community Commission in its case before the European Court under the sixth directive; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 21 June 1988]: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement on the European Court's judgment on 21 June at columns 957–58. The measures which I announced to mitigate the effects of the judgment mean that the increase in the VAT borne by the insurance sector should be in the region of £75 million in a full year at 1988–89 prices. Without this mitigation the increase would have been about £200 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for each of the top (a) 1 percent., (b) 5 per cent., (c) 10 per cent. and (d) the remaining 90 percent. of taxpayers (i) the total amount of income before tax and (ii) the total amount of income after tax for each of the years 1978–79 to 1987–88.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 April 1988, c. 66]: I regret that the tables provided with the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 12 April 1988 at columns 65–68 contained factual errors. The correct figures are in the following tables.Estimates are given in the tables for 1978–79 and 1983–84 to 1987–88. Information for other years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All estimates are based on information reported to tax offices and collected through the annual surveys of personal incomes. For years before 1985–86, estimates exclude employees' contributions to occupational pension schemes and some investment income on which tax is deducted at source.introduction of a workfare scheme, along the lines of those introduced in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to introduce a workfare scheme. With the continuing fall in unemployment and some 70,000 unfilled jobs vacancies in the economy, the priority must be to ensure that unemployed people have the appropriate skills to take up the jobs which are available to them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his best estimate of the net cost of the employment training scheme taking into account the cost of benefits which would otherwise have to have been paid.

In the seven months of the current financial year in which employment training is to operate, the estimated expenditure of the programme is £491 million. Of this, the estimated cost of training allowances, including premiums over and above benefit levels, is £228 million. Expenditure in a full year will of course be substantially more.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has held discussions with trade unions or others with a view to making participation on the community programme compulsory; whether he intends to increase the financial inducements of participation; and if he will make a statement.

The community programme will be replaced by employment training from 5 September. There are no plans to change the financial arrangements relating to the programme before then or to make it compulsory. There have been no discussions with trade unions or others on these matters recently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he has taken to encourage the participation of voluntary organisations in the community programme; and whether he will seek means of further encouraging such participation.

The community programme will be replaced by the new adult training programme, employment training, from 5 September 1988. The voluntary sector has played an important part in the success of the community programme and I hope that most existing managing agents and sponsors will move forward into employment training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what schemes currently exist to provide jobs for unemployed people over 50 years of age; and whether he will bring forward proposals to increase the help available for this age group.

The community programme provides temporary jobs for unemployed people, including people over 50 years of age. From 5 September, a new training programme, employment training, will replace the community programme and other programmes for unemployed adults. Employment training, which will also be open to people over 50 years of age, will offer high-quality training to meet individual needs and to help all participants compete more effectively for the increasing number of jobs now becoming available. In addition, the Department and the Training Commission have a wide range of services and programmes which are available to people aged over 50.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions have resulted from the Health and Safety Executive's campaigns on construction sites in 1988.

The information requested is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to encourage the spread of information concerning the opportunities provided by venture capital through the small firms service; and if he will make a statement.

Small firms service counsellors are always willing to advise their clients on venture capital, on which a number of counsellors have specialist expertise. Counsellors keep up to date with developments in this field and bring them to the attention of clients seeking funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will consider introducing legislation to provide travel time payments to workers who have long distances to travel back and forth to their workplace; and if he will make a statement.

No. To do so would put an unacceptable burden on employers and discourage the creation of new jobs. This is a matter for employers and employees to settle on a voluntary basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now instruct the Health and Safety Executive to undertake research regarding the health damage caused by humidity levels and high temperatures to mineworkers working at great depth; and if he will consider introducing legislation to safeguard men working under such conditions.

A research project on working in hot conditions in mining has already been undertaken on behalf of HSE by the Institute of Occupational Medicine. A report will be published later this year and its conclusions will be taken into account in the course of the revision of existing mining legislation. Section 55(3) of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 currently requires that

"the manager of a mine shall have regard … to securing … the maintenance in the mine of working conditions that are reasonable so far as regards the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere."

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the answer of 27 May, Official Report, column 392, when he expects to be in a position to lay before Parliament the first sets of regulations designed to replace the Mines and Quarries Act 1954; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to receive very soon from the Health and Safety Commission the first two sets of regulations which they have approved in the programme to renew the safety legislation relating to mines and quarries. They deal respectively with safety of exit from mines and the use of explosives at quarries. He hopes to bring them before Parliament shortly thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the number of YTS places designated for September; and if he will make a statement.

The Training Commission plans to have some 345,000 places available for the 269,000 young people who they expect to begin their YTS training between April and September this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons are currently working in his Department; how many were recruited in the current year; and what percentage of both totals relate to people with disabilities.

The staff in post as at 7 June 1988 were 61,605. Included in this figure are 1,525 registered disabled staff, equivalent to 2·48 per cent. of all staff. The number recruited between 1 January 1988 and 31 May 1988 was 453, of whom 10 were registered disabled people—2·2 per cent.