To ask the Prime Minister what is the additional administrative cost to (a) the Treasury, and (b) other Government Departments of each half per cent. change in interest rates.

Little or none; and certainly too small to be identified within the administrative expenditure of Government Departments.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has received any recent representations in opposition to the Daya Bay nuclear plant being built with United Kingdom assistance.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has received any information from the Governor-General in Hong Kong over the outcome of the conference for a nuclear-free Asia-Pacific held in Hong Kong on 8–12 June.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister whether Her Majesty's Government propose to seek international co-operation in undertaking the scientific and medical research recommended in the second report of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, COMARE; and if she will make a statement.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in other governmental and international agencies. The EC radiation research programme in particular already supports relevant work in this field. The COMARE report has been drawn to the attention of relevant international organisations and its recommendations on research will be fed into future discussions of research needs and priorities.

To ask the Prime Minister what approach Her Majesty's Government made to Sir John Harvey Jones about his possible chairmanship of the proposed Universities Funding Council; which Department made the approach; for what reasons Sir John was not appointed to the post; and if she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science on 26 May, at column 238, announced the appointment of Lord Chilver to be the first chairman of the Universities Funding Council. It is not the practice to comment further on public appointments of this kind.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he plans to increase the numbers of refugees accepted for settlement by the United Kingdom following the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong's statement on 15 June that Hong Kong is in greater need of resettlement places now than at any time in the last eight years.

I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on 26 April at column 86.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the criteria used to decide whether to permit foreign nationals needing a visa to enter the United Kingdom to arrive at a port of entry without one and subsequently to gain entry.

Except where a standard waiver applies to transit passengers, the normal course would be to refuse admission to those requiring a valid visa and not possessing one. However, each case is considered on its merits, and such a passenger may be admitted if there are particularly compassionate or compelling circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals needing visas to enter the United Kingdom have been permitted to arrive at a port of entry without one and have been granted entry to the United Kingdom during the past year; and if he will list their country of origin.

No separate total is kept of such arrivals, and the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the United Kingdom will sign the European convention for the protection of pet animals without any reservation on article 10 concerning surgical operations.

This will be decided when our consultations are completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average waiting time for interviews of sponsors living in the United Kingdom in relation to applications from relatives living in the Indian sub-continent after relatives have been interviewed abroad, for each of the offices that conduct such interviews.

I regret that the information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average weekly cost of keeping a male offender in (a) a dispersal prison, (b) a category B training prison, (c) a category C training prison, (d) an open adult prison, (e) a closed youth establishment, and (f) an open youth establishment;(2) what is the average cost weekly cost of keeping a female offender in

The average weekly costs are based on a financial year and in 1986–87, the latest year for which information is available, the average weekly costs were:

Establishment for males	£
Dispersal prisons	467
Category B training prisons	253
Category C training prisons	208
Open adult prisons	171
Closed youth establishments	278
Open youth establishments	332
All female establishments	343

The available information relating to the cost of keeping female prisoners does not distinguish between the different types of establishment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the estimated annual cost of supervising an offender on probation;(2) what is the estimated annual cost of a community service order supervising one offender.

The information requested is published annually in "Probation Statistics, England and Wales" (table 12.3 of the latest issue, for 1986), copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of state for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that adequate levels of staffing are maintained in the magistrates court service.

The numbers of court staff undergoing training to act as court clerks have been increased. As regards pay and conditions of service, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) on 16 June at columns 194–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of current court clerk vacancies within the magistrates court service.

I understand that returns received from 95 of the 105 magistrates courts committees in England and Wales, in a survey conducted by the joint negotiating committee for magistrates courts staff, indicated that there were 76 vacancies for court clerks (including senior, principal and trainee court clerks) on 1 April 1988, the latest date for which information is available, as follows:

	Vacancies
Barking	2
Bedfordshire	2
Berkshire	3
Birmingham	1
Buckinghamshire	1
Cleveland	2
Coventry	1
Cumbria	1
Derbyshire	1
Dorset	1
East Sussex	1
Gloucestershire	1
Hampshire	1
Humberside	1
Isle of Wight	1
Kent	7
Kirklees	1
Lancashire	3
Leeds	1
Leicestershire	4
Lincolnshire	1
Liverpool	3
Merton	1
Newham	1
Norfolk	6
North Tyneside	1
North Yorkshire	1
Nottinghamshire	5
St. Helens	2
Sandwell	2
Sheffield	2
South Tyneside	1
Staffordshire	3
Stockport	2
Sunderland	1
West Sussex	4
Wigan	1
Wiltshire	1

In addition, I understand that the inner London magistrates courts service had 15 vacancies in comparable grades.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list area by area the number of magistrates court days lost through staff shortages in the past 12 months.

The information is not available centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the total costs of, and man-hours devoted to, the policing of major industrial disputes in London in the last three years; and what proportion of these costs has been recovered.

The News International dispute at Wapping was the only industrial dispute in the last three years which has required the maintenance of public order on a large scale.I understand that the additional cost to the Metropolitan police of policing the dispute was about £5·75 million and involved over 1,280,000 police man-hours. None of the cost was recoverable.

To ask the Chancellor the Duchy of Lancaster what representations his Department has received regarding lack of response from his Department to phone calls to the 1992 hot line; what is the average time in responding to inquiries made; and if he will make a statement.

A number of callers have experienced delays in receiving a reply from the 1992 hot line. These, however, represent a tiny proportion of the total of over 50,000 calls since the hot line opened in March. the overwhelming proportion of callers receive a response within a few seconds.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will consider authorising the Director General of Telecommunications to designate standards for meters.

My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in exercise of his powers under section 24 of the Telecommunications Act 1984, has decided to authorise the Director General of Telecommunications to designate standards for meters for use within telecommunication systems.This is a further extension of the Director General's powers in the area of standards designation and is in addition to his existing powers to designate standards for telecommunications apparatus.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps will be taken to reassure telephone users that the metering of calls is accurate.

I can announce that I have received advice from the Director General of Telecommunications that I should appoint the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) as an approval authority for the meters within the public telecommunication systems run by British Telecommunications plc or Mercury Communications Ltd.My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has considered this advice and is minded, subject to consultation with the public telecommunications operators concerned, to so appoint BABT under section 25 of the 1984 Telecommunications Act.I welcome this proposed metering approval role for BABT and also the wider steps that the Director General of Telecommunications has in mind to safeguard users' interests in this area. These steps are covered in a parallel announcement by the Director General today, which I am sure will be received with interest by many consumers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects the report of the investigation into his Department's handling of matters relating to the Barlow Clowes Group to be completed and made available.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 June 1988, c. 647]: Sir Godfray Le Quesne has assured me that he will report as soon as is consistent with the completion of a thoroughgoing inquiry. From what he has seen so far he confidently expects to report before Parliament reassembles in the autumn.Subject to there being no legal impediment, either as to content or to timing, I would propose to publish the report as soon as practicable thereafter.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why the radio licence fee of Clwyd fire brigade will increase from £25 per annum to £2,000 per annum in 1988–89, rising to a maximum of £5,000 per annum in 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 23 June 1988]: Until the recent increases, police and fire service requirements had been serviced by the regulatory authorities for nominal fees for more than 34 years. The radio investigation service devotes significant resources to preserving the integrity of radio communications for the emergency services. The increase in licence fees is designed to reduce the losses involved safeguarding the interests of these essential services. The level of future charges will depend on the type of service required and will take the views of users into account.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new teachers in the primary and secondary sector he proposes to urge local education authorities to enrol to meet additional requirements; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend will expect local education authorities to staff their schools broadly within the framework of present planned resources. Firm estimates of demand arising from the new curriculum will depend on reports from the relevant subject working groups. There are likely to be additional demands in some subjects, but not necessarily an increase in numbers of teachers needed overall.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes to encourage the teaching of foreign languages in Wales; if he is satisfied with the current level; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlile) on 24 June at columns 761–62.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for the expansion of the Motherwell project, in view of the present level of unemployment and the prospects for the Ravenscraig hot mill in 1989.

The number unemployed in Motherwell district has fallen by 25 per cent. since January 1987. My right hon. and learned Friend and I have nevertheless indicated to the Scottish Development Agency that we regard Lanarkshire as an area which continues to need its special attention, and I expect the agency to remain active there both through the Motherwell project and other initiatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's National Health Service waiting list initiative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the latest initiatives he has taken to reduce National Health Service hospital waiting lists in Scotland.

I am currently considering the allocation of the £3 million which I have set aside for the current year to reduce waiting lists and waiting times. Health boards have reacted enthusiastically to this initiative and over 180 projects have been submitted for assistance. I hope to make the first allocations to boards very shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional financial support he has given in the current year to livestock farmers.

Under current schemes £85·2 million has so far been paid this year to livestock farmers in Scotland. In addition, sheep producers will benefit this year from a £2·8 million back payment of sheep annual premium.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Confederation of British Industry regarding the proposed new unified business rate.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I have discussed business rates reform with representatives of the CBI in Scotland on a number of occasions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland by what date he now anticipates that there will be in Scotland a business rate uniform with that in the rest of Great Britain.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 January at column 367.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest estimate of the number of students in Scotland who will qualify for the 80 per cent. community charge rebate.

The latest estimate of the number of students in Scotland who will qualify for the 80 per cent. reduction in community charge is approximately 96,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent communications he has had with poll tax registration officers on the progress of the poll tax registration process.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 26 May at column 185.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has yet made any assessment of the progress made in the compilation of community charge registers in Scotland.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 25 May at column 307.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to review the disciplinary powers available to health boards in relation to alleged clinical or other misconduct by consultants; and if he will make a statement.

A review of disciplinary procedures for senior hospital and community doctors and dentists was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services on 12 March 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet Mr. John Baker of UK Nirex Ltd.; and what subjects he expects to discuss.

My right hon. and learned Friend met Mr. Baker on 14 June to discuss the progress UK Nirex Ltd. is making with its consultation exercise. He has no plans to meet him again in the near future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many council houses have been sold to sitting tenants in Scotland since May 1979.

The number of local authority houses reported to date as sold to sitting tenants between May 1979 and March 1988 is 83,600.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the mangement of GPT concerning its operations in Kirkcaldy.

My right hon. and learned Friend has been keeping a close watch on developments at Kirkcaldy. I have met Mr. Richard Reynolds, GPT's managing director. In addition, the Scottish Development Agency is working with local management, helping to seek opportunities for alternative products or activities for the plant and its work force. My officials in the industry department are in close touch with the Scottish Development Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the increase in manufacturing productivity in Scotland between 1979 and the present.

Manufacturing productivity in Scotland increased by an average of 5·7 per cent. per annum between 1979 and 1987. This rate of growth was faster than that achieved by the United Kingdom, United States, West Germany, Japan, France, Canada and Italy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received on fish farming development.

Representations have been received from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and other organisations about the procedures operated by the Crown Estate Commissioners in respect of marine fish farm developments. My right hon. and learned Friend is reviewing the operation of the consultation arrangements taking into account those representations.In addition, a number of reports concerning the development of fish farming in Scotland have been received and are being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to improve the quality of service to patients in the National Health Service in Scotland.

The Government have provided substantially more finance, capital investment and qualified staff for the Health Service in Scotland—all of which improve the quality of service. We have given priority to the services for those who have to stay in hospitals for long periods; and since an important element in quality is speedy treatment, we have made reduction in waiting times a priority. We shall also be publishing soon an important report on "Quality Assurance in Nursing" which will help health boards review their approach to quality issues in the nursing service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has now received the full submission from Grampian health board on the future of maternity and neonatal services in Grampian region.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the proportion of local authority revenues in Scotland coming from commercial and business rates in 1988–89.

The estimated proportion of local authority revenues in Scotland met by commercial and business rates in 1988–89 is 29 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a further statement on his proposals for the privatisation of the electricity industry in Scotland.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Buchan).

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with, and what representations he has received from, major industrial users of electricity in Scotland in connection with his proposals for the future of the electricity industry in Scotland.

Representations from a range of organisations were received prior to the announcement of the Government's proposals on 2 March. The CBI (Scotland), the Scottish Council Development and Industry and the Chemical Industries Association have recently been invited to offer views on the regulatory aspects of our proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further steps his Department has taken to establish Scottish Homes; and whether he will make a statement.

The process of preparing for the establishment of Scottish Homes is a continuous task for the Scottish Development Department, which involves a wide variety of preparatory activities. In addition, the Scottish Development Department has, with my agreement, appointed consultants to carry out two specialised commissions. These are to assist with the recruitment of a chief executive and to produce proposals in relation to the task of advising the board and chief executive of Scottish Homes on possible options for its organisational structure and on an implementation and development plan in relation to the action necessary to enable Scottish Homes to establish itself as fully operational.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had on the quality of the road network in north Scotland.

The road network, and in particular the A9 trunk road, were discussed when my right hon. and learned Friend met Caithness chamber of commerce and Caithness district council last week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to complete his review of inshore fishing arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

At this stage, I cannot predict when the review will be completed. Comments on our recent consultation paper on the inshore fishing regime were requested by 3 June. A programme of consultation meetings at various locations around the coast is now under way. Thereafter time will be required for all concerned to consider and discuss the various new ideas which have been advanced. Our intention is to circulate a further consultation document setting out the Government's views on the best way forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from (a) voluntary organisations and (b) public bodies in respect of the Griffiths report and its relevance to Scottish social work activities.

Representations have been received so far from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Independent Hospitals Association and Lothian regional council. Highland health board has indicated that it will be commenting on the report shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the most recent figures of waiting lists for hospitals in Tayside.

Provisional figures show that on 30 September 1987, 5,851 people were awaiting in-patient treatment at NHS hospitals in Tayside.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the number of non-resident patients admitted to the Glasgow royal maternity hospital in April, including who authorised any such admissions; and if he will make a statement.

Number of prisoners who escaped
Prison	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
Aberdeen	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Barlinnie	3	—	3	—	1	2	—	2	2	3	3
Cornton Vale	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
Dumfries	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Dungavel	—	4	1	1	—	3	2	5	—	1	—
Edinburgh	—	—	—	3	—	3	1	2	1	2	1
Friarton	Young Offenders Institution					Detention Centre			—	2	—
Glenochil			Young Offenders Institution							—	2
Inverness	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—
Low Moss	1	1	3	—	3	5	4	13	—	—	—
Penninghame	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	1	1	2	—
Perth	—	3	2	1	3	—	1	2	—	4	1
Peterhead	—	—	—	—	5	—	—	1	—	—	—
Shotts	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2
Total	4	8	9	5	12	14	9	26	5	14	10

An escape is defined as circumstances where any inmate, convicted or untried, leaves the precincts of an open or closed institution without authority, where this involves overcoming a physical security barrier, or breaking away from a close escort when outside the secure perimeter of a closed institution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners have escaped from police custody in the last 10 years for which information is available; and which police forces they escaped from.

Crimes recorded by the police
Escape and rescue (including escaping from police custody or prison)
	Central	Dumfries and Galloway	Fife	Grampian	Lothian and Borders	Northern	Strathclyde	Tayside	Scotland
1978	14	0	1	13	2	27	249	35	347
1979	10	0	13	13	3	17	199	48	303
1980	22	1	8	15	15	22	209	73	365
1981	28	5	5	12	28	31	246	53	408
1982	20	11	11	21	29	26	334	42	494
1983	15	16	28	16	6	29	321	57	488
1984	34	6	13	35	85	31	385	54	643
1985	32	16	23	36	116	33	357	76	689

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to ensure (a) that all the relevant local authorities in Scotland are financially able to discharge in full their statutory duties under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons (Scotland) Act, and (b) that their duties under the Act are being fully discharged by all local authorities.

I am satisfied that the terms of successive rate support grant settlements have been such as to enable local authorities to discharge their statutory duties. It is for individual authorities to ensure that they comply with obligations imposed by statute.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners have escaped from Scottish prisons in the last 10 years for which information is available; and from which prisons they escaped.

The information is set out in the table.

I regret that this information is not available in the form requested. The table details the number of crimes of escape and rescue recorded by the police in Scotland by police force area. These figures include escaping from police custody or prison.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications for legal advice and assistance under the Scottish legal aid scheme have been granted in the last 10 years for which information is available.

The information is as follows:

	Applications granted
1978–79	65,132
1979–80	81,546
1980–81	95,380
1981–82	111,469
1982–83	120,811
1983–84	131,173
1984–85	140,647
1985–86	154,748
1986–87	170,596
1987–88	1226,760
1 Includes assistance by way of representation, which was introduced by the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many requests he has received from Fife regional council over the past five years for changing an existing speed limit; how many such requests have been granted; and how many have been refused.

The criteria for determining appropriate speed limits apply throughout Great Britain. They are set out in Scottish Development Department circular No. 18/80 and were issued after full consultation with various representative bodies, including the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland).Four requests have been received from Fife regional council in the last five years. Two requests have been approved and two have been turned down. My right hon. and learned Friend has to be satisfied that the relevant criteria are fully met before he can grant approval for a change in speed limits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many police forces in Scotland have drug squads; what is the establishment in each case; and in how many cases the squads are operating below establishment.

Specialist drug units operate in all eight police forces in Scotland. The complement of each drug unit is as follows:

	Complement
Central Scotland	2
Dumfries and Galloway	2
Fife	4
Grampian	9

	Complement
Lothian and Borders	21
Northern	5
Strathclyde	34
Tayside	10
	—
Total	87

None of these posts is currently vacant.In addition, 21 officers attached to the Scottish crime squad are deployed in drug wings based in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give a date for the publication of the staffing review circular, in the light of the commitment in SE/40 that it would be published before the end of the current school year.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) on 24 June at column 752.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received from the people of Moray about the case for retaining local general practitioners' maternity units and for establishing a specialist obstetric unit in Elgin.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I have received 98 representations from people in Moray about the future of maternity services provision there.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have already been undertaken by his Department to implement the recommendations of the second report of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment, COMARE.

Recommendations 1, 2 and 4(d) of the second report relate specifically to Scotland: their implementation was covered in my reply of 8 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker). United Kingdom Health Departments are collectively considering how to implement recommendations 3, 6, 7 and 8.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to announce a decision on the future of Peterhead prison.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on 27 January at column 285. My right hon. and learned Friend will announce a decision when he has completed his consideration of the complex factors involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will announce the publication date of the report on the quality of Scottish bathing waters mentioned in his written answer on 5 May, Official Report, column 536.

The Scottish Development Department published today the report "Bathing Water in Scotland, Results of Monitoring: 1986 and 1987."I should emphasise that the report deals with the quality of the 23 waters in Scotland identified in terms of the EC bathing waters directive. It does not deal with the condition of beaches nor with the provision of facilities such as changing accommodation, toilets and catering.The report describes the main provisions of the EC directive and the way in which the 23 Scottish waters were identified in 1987. It goes on to tabulate and discuss the results of monitoring by the river purification boards in the 1986 and 1987 bathing seasons.In 1987, the first full season of monitoring, 19 of the 23 waters met the directives quality standards. In addition, the failure at Turnberry was the result of temporary circumstances and is being followed up by the river purification board; and further monitoring is required at Ayr to establish whether improvements to the sewerage system are necessary. There is no doubt, however, that the waters at Irvine and Girvan do not meet the directive's standards and that Strathclyde regional council will have to improve the sewerage systems in order to comply with the standards of the directive.A success rate of over 80 per cent. in identified bathing waters is nevertheless encouraging. The general standard of Scottish coastal and estuarial waters is excellent, including those bathing waters which are not identified under the directive. We can look forward to the improvement of problem areas through further investment by industry, and by the regional councils which have plans for expenditure of £60 million on sewerage schemes over the next five years.I wish to pay tribute to the work of the river purification boards. Their efforts have contributed greatly to the improvement of water quality generally over the years, and their independent status means that we have reliable information on bathing waters and the rest of the aquatic environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional resources he made available to Lothian health board for the upgrading of the Bruntsfield hospital following his predecessor's decision in 1985 to keep the hospital open.

Special allocations to cover backlog maintenance of the National Health Service estate are made annually to health boards. It is for individual boards to decide, in the light of competing priorities, on which schemes the resources should be used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has on the per capital amount, in pounds sterling, spent on overseas aid by each member state of the EEC, the USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Japan, in the most recent financial year for which information is available;(2) what information he has regarding the percentage of gross national product spent on overseas aid by each member state of the EEC, the USA, Canada, Sweden. Norway and Japan in the most recent financial year for which information is available.

Comparative figures are available only on a calendar year basis and, in so far as member states of the European Community are concerned, in respect of the eight EC countries which belong to the OECD's development assistance committee (DAC). The information for 1987 is as follows:

Net official development assistance 1987
	1Per capita 2£ sterling	As a percentage of GNP
Belgium	43	0·49
Canada	45	0·46
Denmark	102	0·88
France	73	0·75
Germany	44	0·39
Ireland	9	0·20
Italy	26	0·32
Japan	37	0·31
Netherlands	88	0·98
Norway	130	1·10
Sweden	97	0·85
United Kingdom	20	0·28
United States of America	22	0·20
1 The population figures used are those for 1986, as given in the DAC 1987 Development Corporation Report.
2 OECD figures are published in dollars and have been converted to sterling at the 1987 annual average exchange rate of $1 =£0·6102.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to increase European awareness in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Recognising the need for a real awareness of the European dimension in education, the Department is supporting a pilot project designed to encourage selected local education authorities to develop cohesive and comprehensive policies on this throughout their areas, in co-operation with surrounding authorities. The dissemination of the outcomes of the pilot will contribute towards the implementation of the resolution on this subject adopted by the EC Education Ministers' Council on 24 May. There will be scope, under our proposals for the national curriculum, for topics such as European awareness to be taught through the relevant foundation subjects, where appropriate, or among the non-foundation subjects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much grant aid was given in the financial year 1987–88 to (a) the Trades Union Congress to cover trade union training and (b) non-Trades Union Congress affiliated unions to cover trade union training; and whether he will list those non-Trades Union Congress affiliated unions that have claimed grant aid in 1987–88.

The position on grant aid for trades union education and training which took place in the financial year 1987–88 is as follows:

	£
a. Unions Affiliated to the Trades Union Congress
i. grant paid	457,653·42
ii. claims under consideration	1,257,790·57
iii. balance of grant available and yet to be claimed	£33,55601
Total	£1,749,000·00
b. Unions not affiliated to the TUC
i. grant paid	38,439·71
ii. claims under consideration	61,016·82
Total	99,456·53

The following unions not affiliated to the TUC have claimed grant for education and training courses held during 1987–88:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any evidence of dissatisfaction among (a) heads and (b) other teachers leading to early retirement or transfer to other careers.

We have no evidence to suggest that dissatisfaction with their work is leading greater numbers of heads or other teachers to retire early from teaching or to take up other careers. The number of premature retirements each year has not varied substantially over the last five years. Evidence presented to the interim advisory committee on school teachers' pay and conditions by the local authorities conditions of service advisory board indicate that only a very small proportion of wastage in the teacher force related to teachers leaving to take up other employment—equivalent to about 0·4 per cent. of primary teachers and 1 per cent. of secondary teachers in the financial year 1985–86.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further representations he has had on the expanded roles of school governors; what assessment he has made of the extent to which suitable people are likely to come forward as governors; and if he will make a statement.

A number of letters received by my right hon. Friend have commented upon school governors' new roles and responsibilities. The Government believe that many people will be attracted by this expanded role; and, in order to ensure that potential governors are aware of the new opportunities, we are giving greater publicity to the functions of school governors and the means of becoming a governor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what further representations he has received asking him to seek discussions with British Coal regarding the reinstatement of miners sacked during the 1984–85 coal strike; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the answer given by my right hon. Friend on 28 March 1988 column 293.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now issue a direction to British Coal instructing it to maintain long-standing contracts with British cloth manufacturers for the production of coats and jackets used in the mining industry.

No. This is a matter for British Coal management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy from which countries Britain has imported coal in the last 12 months; how many tonnes have been imported from each respective country; and what information he has on the price per tonne from each country listed at the latest available date.

The latest information on imports of coal by country is as follows. For the data on price of coal per tonne I would refer the hon. Member to my answer of today's date.

1987
Country (of origin)	Quantity thousand tonnes
Australia	3,459
USA	2,890
Poland	1,083
Netherlands	664
Canada	362
Colombia	319
FR Germany	256
Belgium	192
South Africa	188

Country (of origin)	Quantity thousand tonnes
China	146
USSR	89
Others	131
Total	19,781
1 Rounded total.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list information available to him on the price per tonne of coal for each country from which Britain has imported coal in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and at the latest available date.

The information requested is as follows:

Average value per tonne £
Country (of origin)	1984	1985	1986	1987
Australia	45·41	46·30	39·00	33·28
USA	47·89	52·73	38·98	36·41
Poland	50·71	53·90	41·13	37·88
Netherlands	59·39	57·18	39·76	35·24
Canada	49·83	47·78	36·68	32·48
Colombia	—	36·05	37·31	37·53
FR Germany	91·73	97·77	101·25	100·13
Belgium	82·65	80·88	44·01	44·49
South Africa	62·35	54·29	38·28	36·60
China	113·08	106·29	75·83	74·83
USSR	98·09	89·81	39·37	22·90
Others countries	67·81	52·74	41·74	44·09

NB Average value of imports are on a cost insurance and freight basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now issue a direction to British Coal instructing it to make back payments to members of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1 November 1987; and if he will make a statement.

No. This is a matter for the management of British Coal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now issue a direction to British Coal instructing it to seek amendments to the concessionary coal and smokless fuel agreements to provide benefit for mineworkers who, with at least 20 years' service, have been declared redundant and are not in full-time employment.

No. Concessionary fuel is a matter for British Coal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what studies are being undertaken or sponsored by his Department to investigate the likely changes in the event of a Severn barrage being constructed, in tidal regime, sediment deposition and area of intertidal silts exposed by the tide at Bridgwater bay and the upper Severn.

Studies on tidal regime, sediment deposition, and area of intertidal silts exposed by the tide, are currently being carried out by the Severn tidal power group as part of the £4·26 million Severn barrage study jointly funded by the Severn tidal power group, the Central Electricity Generating Board and my Department.In addition, we are commissioning a computer modelling generic study of intertidal and flat areas with Hydraulics Research Ltd. at Wallingford.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the annual amount of electricity that would be generated by the most favoured tidal barrage scheme currently being proposed for the Severn estuary; and if he will express this as a percentage of the electricity demand forecast for England and Wales in (a) 1987 and (b) 2000.

The Severn tidal power group estimates that the most favoured barrage proposed for the Severn estuary on the line seaward of Cardiff to Weston-super-Mare would produce about 14·4 Terawatt hours per year, or 6 per cent. of current electricity demand for England and Wales. The percentage in the year 2000 will depend on the growth in demand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what studies have been undertaken by his Department as to the impact upon bulk users of electricity in the United Kingdom of any increase in electricity prices; whether he will take special account of the position of bulk users when considering representations about the level of any such increases; and if he will make a statement.

I am fully aware of the impact of bulk users of increases in electricity prices. The contracted load schemes and the qualifying industrial consumers scheme operated by the electricity supply industry continue to provide significant reductions in the price of electricity to bulk users.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the estimated replacement cost at current prices of the Dinorwig pumped storage facility.

I am advised by the Central Electricity Generating Board, that the estimated current replacement cost of the Dinorwig pumped storage station is £840 million in 1987–88 prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those hon. and right hon. Members and Members of the House of Lords other than Government Ministers who are entitled to use his Department's secretarial facilities and stationery.

These facilities are occasionally made available to Parliamentary Private Secretaries when doing work on behalf of departmental Ministers, and to my noble Friend, Lord Crickhowell, as chairman of the National Rivers Authority advisory committee, has his secretarial facilities and stationery provided by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for each standard planning region of England (a) the number of employees of his Department, (b) the amount spent in wages and salaries and (c) the proportion of total expenditure in each region by his Department which is represented by personnel costs.

The information is not readily available in the format requested. The latest numbers and approximate salary costs of employees in my Department (including the Property Services Agency) broken down by DOE(C) and PSA administrative regions are as follows:

	Number of staff as at 1 June 1988	1988–89 forecast salaries expenditure1 £ million
DOE(CO) regions
Northern	120	1·7
Yorkshire and Humberside	138	1·9
North West	263	3·6
East Midlands	102	1·4
West Midlands	124	1·7
Eastern	883	12·2
South West	826	11·4
London and South East	4,406	61·0
PSA regions
North East	1,670	19·2
North West	1,177	12·8
Midlands	2,437	18·1
East	2,437	22·0
South East	2,584	30·5
South	1,737	20·4
South West	2,573	35·0
London	7,260	109·9
1 For DOE(C) these figures are based on average Departmental Salary costs rather than a grade and geographical analysis.

The requested analysis of salaries compared with total Departmental expenditure in each region is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to what proportion of local authority audits is undertaken by the district audit service and what proportion is contracted out to private firms of accountants.

In its annual report for 1987–88 the Audit Commission recorded that the district audit service carried out some 70 per cent. of local authority audit work and that the remaining 30 per cent. was carried out by private firms. I understand that these figures relate to the proportion by value of work done.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for each local authority area in England the total number of people (a) registered as homeless, and (b) in bed and breakfast accommodation.

The number of households which authorities reported accepting as homeless in January to March and the numbers temporarily in bed and breakfast accommodation at the end of March, appear in table 7 of "Local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act: England. Results for the first quarter of 1988 Supplementary Tables", which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much, to whom and by which mechanisms he intends to allocate additional resources in this and the next financial year with regard to work preparatory to the introduction of the community charge.

The findings of the Price Waterhouse report indicate that authorities have been provided with sufficient resources for 1988–89. Charging authorities will be provided with resources for preparation costs in 1989–90 through the RSG settlement and capital allocations. Final announcements on the actual provision will follow the usual consultation with local authority associations on RSG and in the specification for capital allocations following the Chancellor's autumn statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish immediately the report prepared by Her Majesty's pollution inspectorate on waste tip gas explosion dangers; and if he will make a statement on the scale of danger of methane gas explosions and waste tips and the remedial measures he proposes to take.

Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is analysing the replies from waste disposal authorities to its letter of December 1987 on landfill gas. It will report their conclusions to the Secretary of State in due course. It plans to issue advice in the autumn on the remedial action to be taken in cases where the disposal authority identifies a risk.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what negotiations he intends to introduce to enforce a higher standard of safety of rubbish tips generating a build up of methane gas; and if he will make a statement.

The Control of Pollution Act 1974 places a duty on waste disposal authorities to license disposal facilities so that operations do not present a risk to public health. This enables waste disposal authorities to take whatever action is necessary to ensure the generation of landfill gas is fully controlled. However, further advice is being prepared as a matter of urgency to guide the disposal authorities in licensing the management of landfill gas. This will be published in the form of a waste management paper in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions the Government have reached following the public consultation exercise on waste disposal law amendment.

My Department and the Welsh Office have announced today the Government's conclusions on the amendment of waste disposal law in the light of comments received on the public consultation paper issued on 15 September 1986. Copies of those comments whose authors agreed to publication are being placed in the Library of the House, together with copies of the 1986 consultation paper, a detailed statement of the two Departments' conclusions and a compliance cost assessment estimating the costs of these measures for industry.The Government intend to enact all the main proposals set out in the 1986 consultation paper.A statutory duty of care will be imposed on both producers and holders of waste. Guidance on the duty will be set out in a code of practice.Carriers of waste will be obliged to register with a waste disposal authority, and there will be provision for the revocation or refusal of registration to persons with unspent convictions for relevant offences.I will be able to make regulations empowering waste disposal authorities to refuse, revoke, suspend, or refuse the transfer of waste disposal licences to unfit persons. The regulations will be able to specify, as grounds for judging fitness, an applicant's previous unspent convictions, financial resources or technical competence (once a suitable certificate of competence has been introduced in the industry).Goods vehicle operator licensing authorities will be enabled to take account of convictions of relevant pollution offences in operator licensing.Waste disposal authorities will be empowered to impose conditions requiring pollution control measures at licensed waste disposal sites to continue as long as may be necessary to make each site safe. Licence holders will no longer be able to surrender a licence until they have satisfied the authority that their site is safe.Other amendments will be made to the Control of Pollution Act 974 to enable prosecutions for the breach of any waste disposal licence conditions, to permit the licensing of mobile plant, to provide for appeals against delay by authorities in modifying licences and to empower me to direct the disposal of particular waste.The Government will introduce nationally prescribed charges by waste disposal authorities for the issue of site

Women
Grade	Number	Percentage of staff in grade	Ethnic minorities1
			Ethnic Number2	Percentage of staff in grade
Grade 1	0	0	—	—
Grade 1a	1	25	—	—
Grade 2	0	0	—	—
Grade 3	2	10	—	—
Grade 4	0	0	—	—
Grade 5	9	13	—	—
Grade 6	0	0	—	—
Grade 7	39	15	*	0·3
SEO	24	11	*	0·9
SSO	1	20	*	20·0
SIO	1	33	—	—
Senior Librarian	1	100	—	—
HEO(D)	2	22	—	—
Senior Economic Assistant	1	7	—	—
Senior Assistant Statistician	4	100	—	—
HEO	93	35	10	3·4
Librarian	3	46	—	—
HSO	1	100	—	—
AT	3	33	—	—
Economic Assistant	1	7	—	—
EO	150	43	15	3·5
Assistant Librarian	6	100	—	—

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the report of the working group considering the information needs of waste disposal authorities, the setting up of which was announced on 10 December 1985.

I have today placed copies of the report in the Library of the House.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of officers in each grade and overall in his Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities.

The information is as follows:

Women
Grade	Number	Percentage of staff in grade	Ethnic minorities1
			Ethnic Number2	Percentage of staff in grade
AO	296	63	50	10·4
AA	133	78	20	10·0
SPS	15	100	—	—
PS	106	100	5	3·9
Typing Manager	10	100	*	10·0
Typist	108	98	15	11·8
Trainee Typist	2	100	—	—
Office Keeper	2	40	—	—
Senior Messenger	17	68	*	4·0
Messenger	37	65	5	5·3
Senior Paperkeeper	5	100	—	—
Paperkeeper	19	75	—	—
Security Officer	3	3	5	3·1
Reprographic Officer	12	100	—	—
Catering Manager	49	31	—	—
Industrial staff3	9	1	N/A	—
Total for Department	1,165	36	115	4·54
1 Information on ethnic origins was provided on a voluntary basis. The figures here are based on a response rate of 75 per cent.
2 In accordance with the Departments Code of Practice governing the use of ethnic data, figures for ethnic minorities have been rounded to the nearest 5 to preserve confidentiality; an asterisk denotes less than 3. The percentages have been calculated on the basis of unrounded data.
3 Equivalent information on ethnic origins of industrial staff is not available.
4 Because of 3 above, the percentage quoted is based on the figure for non-industrial staff only.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest estimated receipts in 1987–88 and

	1987–88 £ million1			1988–89 £ million2
	Excise Duties	VAT	Total Receipts	Excise Duties	VAT	Total Receipts
Spirits	1,570	550	2,120	1,560	570	2,130
Beer	2,020	1,200	3,220	2,100	1,240	3,340
Wine	660	400	1,060	680	410	1,090
Made Wine	65	40	105	70	45	115
Cider and Perry	55	85	140	60	90	150
TOTALS	4,370	2,275	6,645	4,470	2,355	6,825
1 Latest estimates.
2 Forecasts.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service why, in the "Civil Service Year Book" for 1988, the title of Sir Michael Quinlan KCB was given only as grade 1, in the Department of Employment; whether he was the senior civil servant in that Department; and whether Sir Michael had no other description or title.

[holding answer 27 June 1988]: Revised grading classifications for senior posts were introduced in 1984. Permanent Secretary—the senior Civil Service post, became grade 1 and this title has been used in the "Civil Service Year Book". Sir Michael Quinlan was the senior civil servant in the Department of Employment. The titles "Permanent Secretary" and "Head of Department" are sometimes used in other documents.