To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what United States chemical munitions or components of chemical munitions are (a) stored, (b) transported or (c) deployed within the United Kingdom.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United Kingdom defence contracts have been concluded with Argentina since June 1982; and when export sales organisations of his Department resumed their efforts to promote the sale of military equipment to Argentina.

No United Kingdom defence contracts have been concluded with Argentina since June 1982, and currently there continues to be no promotion of defence equipment sales to that country by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there have been any British nuclear tests in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the annual procurement costs within his Department; and what proportion of this is obtained from (a) Wales and (b) south-east England.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Tuesday 29 November at columns 570-71 and the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 18 April at column 334.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons are employed in the procurement division of his Department who are legally qualified.

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given to the relocation of Ministry of Defence procurement staff away from central London.

Studies are already in hand into how best to rationalise the location of staff in the sea systems controllerate of the Procurement Executive, most of whom already work at sites in the south-west. Initial studies are now being launched into the feasibility of relocating the work of the land and air systems controllerates, which together employ over 3,000 people, the bulk of them in central London. As has already been said, Ministers are currently considering the results of an investment appraisal concerning the future location of the directorate general of defence quality assurance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessments he has made as to the likely effect on (a) his Department's capital building programme and (b) the rent the Department will pay under occupational leases, of implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on value added tax on non-domestic buildings.

Implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on VAT will have no effect on my Department's capital building programme, since compensating adjustments have been made to the relevant expenditure provisions. At this stage, before landlords have decided whether to exercise their option to tax rents, it is not possible to offer meaningful estimates of the effects of the judgment on rental costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many projects were examined in the independent programme audit of the capital works programme at Aldermaston and Burghfield carried out by British Nuclear Fuels; what was the number of staff engaged to carry out this audit; and what was the total cost of the audit.

The BNFL programme audit reviewed four major projects and was carried out by a seven-man team representing 218 man days' effort. It is not the practice to reveal the details of individual contract costs for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long a delay in a Trident-related programme must be before it is considered significant enough to report to the Defence Committee in the course of its annual examination of the Trident programme.

It is the MOD's aim to provide the Select Committee on Defence with information concerning the progress of all significant aspects of the project. In reaching a judgment as to the significance of a projected delay in a part of the programme the MOD will consider aspects such as prospects for recovery and possible consequences of any overruns. Judgments are then made on a case-by-case basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where those elements of the Trident warheads that are purchased from the United States will be serviced and maintained.

Servicing and maintenance of the British warhead for Trident will be undertaken in this country, regardless of the source of any particular elements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the proportion of non-fissile elements in the Trident warhead that will be produced in the United Kingdom.

It has been the policy of successive Governments not to reveal detailed information of this nature, for security reasons. I would, however, refer the hon. Member to the broad indications given in the recent report of the Defence Committee (third report, Session 1987–88, page 22, Q26).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to finish his considerations of the conclusions and recommendations of the report of the defence research study team into the feasibility of establishing the non-nuclear defence research establishments as an executive agency.

Shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends to order a feasibility study into the potential for using the private sector in the work of the Defence Statistics Organisation.

I am still considering what action should be taken on the report on the potential for using the private sector in the Defence Statistics Organisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contractual arrangements his Department makes when placing orders with defence contractors to ensure that deliveries are made on time and up to specification.

[holding answer 6 December 1988] : The Ministry's policy is to negotiate taut contract terms and conditions which define the requirements in terms of specification and delivery and which enable redress to be sought where appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce regulations to control the shedding of stones and gravel from lorries; and if he will make a statement.

Effective legislation for enforcement already exists in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations, as supplemented by the Department's code of practice on the safety of loads on vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children under the age of five years have been killed in traffic accidents in which the vehicle driver was found to be intoxicated with alcohol.

In 1986, two children under the age of five years were killed in accidents where at least one of the drivers involved had a blood or breath alcohol content above the legal limit. In 1987, three children under five years were killed in accidents where a driver involved failed a roadside breath test. The accidents where a driver was killed and found to have a high blood alcohol content have not yet been completely indentified for 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities and serious injuries concerning children under five years travelling in vehicles involved in traffic accidents took place in the years 1980 to 1988; and how many of these children were travelling in car safety seats.

The table shows the numbers of children under five years who suffered fatal or serious injuries in road accidents while they were travelling in cars or other motor vehicles. It also shows the percentage of these child casualties who were recorded as using a child restraint or seat belt.

Casualties (fatal and serious) among children aged 0-4 travelling in motor vehicles: Great Britain: 1980–1987
Year	Vehicle type		Percentage of (a) restrained
	(a) Cars	(b) Other motor vehicles
1980	329	39	6
1981	306	48	9
1982	330	36	11
1983	310	34	15
1984	381	33	19
1985	357	33	15
1986	390	30	19
1987	403	28	20

It is obvious that the numbers are influenced by the spreading family use of cars and the percentage by the growing installation and use of restraints by child passengers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor cycle accidents there have been in each of the last 10 years.

Too many. The trend is downwards.The table attached shows the number of motor cycles involved in accidents in Great Britain between 1977 and 1987. The total number of motor cycle accidents is lower, since some accidents involve more than one motor cycle.

Motor cylce involved in accidents: Great Britain: 1977–1987
Year	All Severities
1977	73,676
1978	71,382
1979	69,173
1980	73,054
1981	70,949

Year	All Severities
1982	73,033
1983	65,962
1984	65,340
1985	57,822
1986	53,562
1987	47,024

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he is considering restricting the power of motor cycles bought for road use in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

There are existing and proposed limitations on the size of motor cycles that some riders may use. Motor cycle importers follow a voluntary maximum limit of 125 bhp for motor cycles brought into this country for use on the road.The 1981 Transport Act restricted learner riders to machines of 125cc. Research indicates that this has reduced learner rider casualties by one quarter. The move up from a 125cc motor cycle to a large high performance machine can be too big a step for newly qualified riders. I therefore announced in February that we propose to introduce a new licence category for motor cycles in excess of 400cc. Progress to these larger machines will be linked to two years riding experience on a full licence. This will bring us into line with the relevant European proposals for harmonisation of driving licences. We have no plans to restrict the power of motor cycles sold in this country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report the locations on motorways and trunk roads of variable message signs, the number of signs currently in use on each road, the costs involved in installing them and details of their running costs; and if he will make a statement about his future intentions to extend the use of this type of sign and give details of the roads on which they will be installed.

The detailed information requested is not readily available. I shall write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure the reinstatement of roads and pavements to their original standard by the utilities following work undertaken by them.

The breaking open and reinstatement of streets by public utilities is regulated by a general code in the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950. Reinstatement is either carried out entirely by the utility, or the highway authority may elect to do all or certain portions of it themselves. In cases where the highway authority does not elect to reinstate a street, the utility is under an obligation to carry out the reinstatement in accordance with any reasonable requirements of the highway authority and to reinstate openings up to the original surface level.We accepted in our response to the Horne report on the review of the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 that new primary legislation is required. It is proposed that utilities should be made entirely responsible for reinstating the highway following their excavation work. They would have to comply with new national specifications for reinstatement and meet objective standards of performance for the repaired road surface. Work to prepare these specifications and standards is well advanced. Utilities would be required to make good, at their expense, any reinstatements which fell outside these standards during a warranty period.Legislation will be introduced as soon as a suitable opportunity can be found.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the talks, involving representatives of his Department and of the United States Government, on the licence applications for Manchester routes by three United States airlines; and if there is any further action he will be taking.

The two sides explored a number of new ideas from which an appropriate basis for agreement may be found. A further round of negotiations will be held this month or early in January. Precise dates are currently being considered.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he is satisfied that the request for extradition of Mr. Patrick Ryan from Belgium was accompanied by the appropriate legal documents prepared properly in accordance with Belgium law; what information he has as to the grounds on which that request was refused; and what steps he is taking to secure the extradition of Mr. Ryan from the Irish Republic.

I am satisfied that the documents were prepared properly to meet the requirements of Belgian law. The advice of the Belgian prosecuting authorities themselves was sought, given and followed in the preparation of the extradition request.The request was refused by the Belgium Government on the grounds that:

To ask the Prime Minister whether she will take action to discourage Ministers from making public statements outside the remit of their own Department.

Ministers will continue to speak on Government policy as appropriate.

To ask the Prime Minister whether the duty of making public statements concerning the safety of agricultural produce for human consumption reposes in Ministers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, or in the Department of Health.

The safety of foodstuffs consumed in this country is a matter for Health and Agriculture Ministers acting jointly. By arrangement, the Department of Health leads on matters concerning food hygiene and microbiological contamination of food which are likely to pose public health risks whereas Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food leads on all other food issues and associated health risks. In either case there is close liaison between Health and Agriculture Departments and consultation with relevant outside interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to alter the operation of the Welsh Development Agency; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) on 26 October 1988, at column 224.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress he is making in reducing hospital waiting lists in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for the management of waiting lists in Wales rests with district health authorities within their allocated financial resources which (in terms of recurrent revenue provision and after taking account of inflation) have risen by 34 per cent. in the period 1978–79 to 1988–89. As part of the Department's efforts to reduce waiting times, £1 million of additional moneys have been made available to health authorities in each financial year from 1986–87 to 1988–89 to tackle specific problem lists. In 1988–89 this extra help should generate an estimated additional throughput of 10,300 new out-patients and 1,400 in-patients.The Welsh Office is keeping the activities of DHAs under close scrutiny. In addition to the annual reviews of health authorities' performance, which include their efforts to tackle waiting lists, officials have recently completed a round of meetings with all authorities to discuss their plans for reducing waiting times.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate the date on which he first received grading projections from each health authority on the new clinical structure for nurses, midwives and health visitors.

Provisional returns for Welsh district health authorities were received by the Department during the first two weeks of September 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a breakdown of the new grading structure for nurses, midwives and health visitors broken down by grade, type of hospital including psychiatric, geriatric and acute, by district and region.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Sir R. Gower) on 30 November, at columns 244-46, and 1 December at columns 349-50. Information by area of work is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average time taken by each Welsh health authority to process cervical smear tests and provide the results for the patient and her general practitioner; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 14 June 1988, at column 85, which contains the latest comprehensive information available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to review the free transport limits for school pupils; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has no such plans at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of his Department's staff are classed as disabled.

2·5 per cent. of the Department's staff are registered disabled persons.It is the Department's policy to encourage applications from disabled people. All those who apply with the necessary qualifications, or pass the alternative written test, are invited for an interview.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessments he has made as to the likely effect on (a) his Department's capital building programme and (b) the rent the Department will pay under occupational leases, of implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on value added tax on non-domestic buildings.

Implementation of the European Court of Justice's judgment on VAT will have no effect on my Department's capital building programme, since compensating adjustments have been made to the relevant expenditure provisions. At this stage, before landlords have decided whether to exercise their option to tax rents, it is not possible to offer meaningful estimates of the effects of the judgment on rental costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to the salaries of grades of teachers comparable to those in the United Kingdom in each member state of the European Community.

Some information on European Community teachers' salaries in 1985 is published in a detailed research report "The Conditions of Service of Teachers in the European Community", published by the European Commission in 1988 (pages 133 to 160). A copy is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that the pay of supply teachers takes account of their length of service and experience.

The schools teachers' pay and conditions document 1988 already provides for local education authorities when determining the pay of a supply teacher to have regard to any qualifications or experience which they consider to be of value in the performance of his duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has received the annual report of the Science and Engineering Research Council for 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

The annual report of the Science and Engineering Research Council for 1987–88 has been submitted to me under the requirements of the Science and Technology Act 1965, and a copy is being laid before the House today.I was most interested to study the report on what has obviously been an exciting year for the council in fields ranging from fundamental work in astronomy to areas of great potential for future exploitation. I was particularly encouraged to note:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further progress has been made in the 16 inner-city task forces.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the progress achieved by his Department's inner-city task forces.

Since the task forces first began their work in 1986, they have supported over 1,000 projects, committing over £33 million of Government funds to stimulate the regeneration of their areas.At the last count, as I indicated in my answer to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) on 26 October, task forces projects have been approved that are expected to generate or safeguard at least 4,000 jobs, and to facilitate more than 20,000 training places. Over 400 companies have been involved in the task forces' work.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the progress of the inner-city task forces in the north-west.

The inner-city task forces are central to the Government's action for cities programme. Their objectives are to secure more jobs for local people, to improve their employability, to encourage and facilitate local enterprise and to support environmental and crime prevention initiatives which also contribute to these objectives.All three inner-city task forces in the north-west have made excellent progress towards achieving these aims. To date, the Moss Side and Hulme (Manchester), Preston and Rochdale task forces have supported 141 projects which, among other things, have helped to create or safeguard 214 jobs and 1,315 training places.All three have established development funds in co-operation with private sector institutions to help the start-up or strengthening of small businesses. They have sought to improve residents' employability by, for example, sponsoring courses in English as a second language, with particular reference to job-seeking skills. Training courses in skills relevant to industries such as textile and knitting, construction, computing and the banking and finance sectors have also been established.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the value of takeovers by overseas companies in the United Kingdom for the latest convenient period; and what was the corresponding figure for overseas takeovers by United Kingdom companies.

The value of cross-border acquisition and mergers by overseas companies in the United Kingdom in the 12 months to September 1988 was £5·8 billion. The corresponding figure for cross-border acquisitions and mergers by United Kingdom companies was £11·7 billion.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next plans to meet the chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to discuss takeover policy.

I have no plans at present to meet the chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to discuss merger policy. The chairman of the Commission meets my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and myself from time to time to discuss matters relevant to the work of the commission.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he is taking to ensure a level playing field for takeover bids within the European Economic Community.

The Government raised the issue of barriers to takeovers in Europe at the Internal Market Council on 18 November.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the current level of company spending on takeovers.

In the 12 months to September 1988 United Kingdom industrial and commercial companies' expenditure on acquisitions of United Kingdom companies was about £20 billion and their expenditure on acquisitions of overseas companies was about £6 billion. Further information is published in Business Monitor MQ7 "Acquisitions and mergers by industrial and commercial companies".

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what he expects the impact of 1992 to be on the trade balance with other European Economic Community countries.

The single European market will create opportunities for increased trade with the European Community as the barriers are removed. Realising the potential gains to the economy, including improved competitiveness against third countries, will depend on the flexibility of United Kingdom firms in responding to the new opportunities and challenges.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what he expects the impact of 1992 to be on the trade balance with other European Economic Community countries.

The single European market will create opportunities for increased trade with the European Community as the barriers are removed. Realising the potential gains to the economy, including improved competitiveness against third countries, will depend on the flexibility of United Kingdom firms in responding to the new opportunities and challenges.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what he is doing to encourage collaboration between universities and industry in the field of information technology research.

The Alvey programme successfully brings together industry and universities in collaborative IT research, and will continue until 1991–92. Support for collaboration between industry and universities will continue through further national and European IT research programmes, particularly Esprit and our new advanced technology programme, launched by my predecessor in July 1988, to which there has already been a most encouraging response.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the level of expenditure by British industry on civil research and development.

Expenditure by United Kingdom industry on industrial research and development amounted to about 1 per cent. of GDP in 1986, just slightly above the proportion for 1985. The economic climate established by Her Majesty's Government should encourage United Kingdom industry to raise its level of R and D expenditure further.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which measures of competitiveness have shown an improvement since 1979; and which have shown a deterioration.

The two main measures of international competitiveness are relative unit labour costs and share of world trade. Compared with our major competitors United Kingdom relative unit labour costs for manufactured goods fell by 5·8 per cent. between 1979 and 1987. Our share of the volume of world trade in manufactures has been broadly stable since 1981, after many years of decline. The signs are that our non-price competitiveness, which covers factors such as quality, reliability and after-sales service has also improved.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will commission Sir Brian Hayes to write the official history of his Department for the period 1985 to 1986.

"Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax", a history of the Department published in 1986, covered the period from 1786 to 1986. A copy was placed in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the Confederation of British Industry; and what matters were discussed.

I last met the CBI on 24 November when I spoke at its conference "Business Opportunities in Urban Regeneration".

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of the headquarters of Britain's top 100 companies are outside the south-east; and if he will give comparable figures for 10 and 20 years ago.

I regret that this information is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with which European Economic Community countries Britain is running a trade deficit.

In the 12 months to October the United Kingdom had deficits on visible trade with Belgium/Luxembourg, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the future of the European Community framework programme of research and development.

There has been welcome progress in implementing specific research programmes within the current framework programme. The Commission is itself conducting a review and is expected to put forward its own ideas for the future of Community research next year. At this stage it is not possible to anticipate what its conclusions may be. The United Kingdom will play an active part in the subsequent discussions. We shall, however, insist that any proposals for revision of existing Community research activity must be fully justified.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of Barlow Clowes investors.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the Barlow Clowes investors.

I met representatives of the Barlow Clowes Investors Group on 24 November.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a further statement on the Barlow Clowes affair.

Copies of Sir Godfray Le Quesne's report were passed to a number of regulatory and professional bodies. Action being taken by the Securities and Investments Board and the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Association was set out in my answer of 10 November at column 261. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has set up a team to examine the work of the auditors involved in the case, which has been asked to report by the end of the year.I understand that the joint liquidators of Barlow Clowes International and Barlow Clowes Gilt Managers continue to make progress on recovery of investors' funds and towards distribution of recovered funds, as described by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in his statement on 20 October.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimates he has made of the growth of the contract industrial research market in the United Kingdom and worldwide.

Figures published in the 1988 annual review of Government-funded research and development show a rising trend of expenditure on extramural contract research and development by United Kingdom industry. In 1985 the figure was £332 million rising from £464 million in 1986. Independent forecasts suggest that this trend is likely to continue and that contract research and development expenditure is growing faster than intramural expenditure, the latter growing appoximately in line with GDP. There are no published worldwide figures.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the private sector is responding to his Department's action for cities campaign; and how he plans to increase its involvement.

The private sector response has been excellent. Our series of seven breakfast presentations, completed in the east midlands on 6 December, has already led to over 300 offers of help or expressions of interest in urban regeneration from local business people. Chambers of commerce are becoming increasingly involved in planning the renewal of their cities. At national level the CBI, Business in the Community and Phoenix have joined in a forum to promote and assist the development of local business leadership. Above all, the growth of activity and investment in inner cities shows that the private sector is taking the business opportunities which action for cities is helping to generate.The £3,000 million that the Government are spending on inner cities this year will do much to encourage more businesses to become involved in the inner cities. We shall also continue to make clear the commercial benefits of doing business in inner cities.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans to meet Sir Gordon Borrie, Director General of Fair Trading to discuss merger policy.

I have no plans at present to meet Sir Gordon Borrie to discuss merger policy. Sir Gordon meets my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and myself from time to time to discuss matters of mutual interest including mergers policy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the figures in constant value of the output in manufacturing industries in the north-west (a) in 1979 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Gross value added, at constant (1980) prices, for manufacturing industry in the north-west is estimated to have been £9,171 million and £7,453 million in 1979 and 1986 repectively.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures for the output of manufacturing industry; and what was the comparable figure one year ago.

In the third quarter of 1988 manufacturing output was at a level of 115·8, based on 1985 equal to 100. This is 7 per cent. higher than the level of 108·3 for third quarter of 1987. Manufacturing output is at its highest ever level.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his forecast for the growth of manufacturing output in 1988.

In his Autumn Statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer forecast that manufacturing output would be 7 per cent. higher in 1988 than in 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if any attempt has been made to monitor the effectiveness of the advertising campaign of 1992 and the completion of the single market.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what monitoring he has undertaken of the level of awareness among business men of the single European market achieved by his Department's Europe Open for Business campaign.

DTI has a substantial evaluation exercise to monitor the effectiveness of the campaign and the level of business response. This includes a detailed survey of 100 different companies each week.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what response there has been to his Department's Europe Open for Business campaign.

The response has been enormous. DTI has received more than 160,000 requests for information since March, including over 105,000 calls to our 1992 hotline. DTI Ministers and officials are speaking at some 500 conferences and seminars on the single market in the second half of this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what response has been made by firms in (a) south Yorkshire and (b) the Doncaster area to the campaign on the single European market; what particular action has been taken by his Department to bring this awareness to firms in south Yorkshire so that this area benefits equally as other parts of Britain; and if he will make a statement.

Since DTI's Europe Open for Business campaign opened in March, we have recorded more than 2,220 individual inquiries from the south Yorkshire area, including 345 from Doncaster. More than 200 senior business representatives attended DTI's regional conference held in Sheffield on 15 November.DTI's regional office is active throughout the Yorkshire and Humberside region in arranging and supporting conferences and seminars. Staff from the regional office have been involved in 16 such events in south Yorkshire since 1 September.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will use his powers under section 11 of the Competition Act 1980 to order an independent investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission of British Coal's accounts with special reference to payments for coalmining subsidence.

The Monopolies and Mergers Commission has recently completed an inquiry under section 11 of the Competition Act 1980 into British Coal's investment programme. I also understand that the recommendations of the Waddilove committee which examined the corporation's subsidence compensation arrangements are still being followed through. I therefore see no present case for a further section II inquiry.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the recent decisions of the European Economic Community to impose levies under its anti-dumping powers; and what representations he has received from United Kingdom firms on the issue.

Since 1 April 1988, six investigations by the European Commission into the alleged injury to Community producers caused by the dumping of goods in the Community have been formally closed with the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties. Provisional anti-dumping duties have been imposed by the Commission in a further six investigations in the same period.Ministers receive representations from time to time both from firms supporting dumping complaints and from those likely to be affected by anti-dumping duties on goods they import.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the latest annual figures of the value of exports to and imports from the USSR.

For the 12 months ended December 1987 exports to the USSR were £491·6 million and imports £875·4 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the estimated cost to industry of the rise in interest rates since 9 May.

Bank base rates fell from 8 per cent. to 7½ per cent. on 18 May and have since risen in stages. The cost to industrial and commercial companies to date compared with the cost if base rates had remained at 8 per cent. since 9 May is estimated at about £700 million. The hon. Member should bear in mind that a 1 per cent. interest rate increase, even if sustained for a full year, costs industrial and commercial companies far less than a one percentage point increase in pay settlements.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any proposals to change the criteria upon which takeover bids and mergers are referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

No. As recently as March this year we published the results of a thorough review of mergers policy and we have no plans for a further review. We concluded that the potential effect on competition should remain the chief criterion for referring mergers and proposed mergers to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with the aerospace industry about Hotol.

My Department has continuing contacts with industry on this issue.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress being made towards the reform of the Japanese liquor tax system as it affects the Scotch whisky industry.

The intentions of the Japanese authorities to introduce a single rate of tax for all whiskies is well on course for implementation on 1 April 1989.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his Department's policy on dispersing staff to the regions; and what proportion of his staff now work outside London.

The Government's policy is that Civil Service work should be located where it can be done most cost-effectively and provide the best service to the public. The Government's urban and regional policies are taken into account at an early stage when considering each possible relocation, in consultation with territorial departments and my Department's regional offices.The Department has some 12,550 staff in post and about half of them will be working outside central London when the laboratory of the Government chemist completes the move to Teddington which is currently in hand.We have taken decisions on moving about a thousand more jobs out of central London. We are also carrying out a thorough review to assess the extent to which other units of the Department may operate more cost-effectively out of London.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the chairman of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and what subjects were discussed.

My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State and I met the chairman of the commission in the course of the year and have discussed matters relevant to the work of the commission.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he will take to stop companies who make bids which are referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission buying further shares in the market.

My right hon. and noble Friend has already made clear that in future cases, where mergers are referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and in the past he would have sought undertakings regarding further share purchases, voting or other matters, he proposes to safeguard the conduct of the inquiry by making an appropriate order to come into effect when the reference is announced.However, this entails making a new order on each occasion. As the prohibition on further purchases of shares by the bidder is to apply in all appropriate cases, it is proposed to put the prohibition on a permanent footing. It is therefore our intention to include such a prohibition among the provisions relating to mergers in the forthcoming companies legislation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next expects to meet the Trades Union Congress to discuss the future of the British steel industry; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans at present for such a meeting.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he has recently taken to promote trade between the United Kingdom and Latin America and the Caribbean; and if he will make a statement.

We should like to see a substantial increase of trade with the region and my Department's full range of export services is available to help United Kingdom companies to export there. In the past 12 months we have supported 23 outward trade missions to, three inward trade missions from and seven exhibitions in, the area. We also give financial support to the Latin American trade advisory group and the Caribbean trade advisory group, which are two of the Department's area advisory groups and do valuable work in promoting United Kingdom exports to Latin America and the Caribbean.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many new small businesses have started up in each of the past five years; how many people they employ in (a) Ealing and (b) in total; and if he will make a statement.

The latest available estimates provided by the Department of Employment in respect of the numbers of new businesses first registered for VAT are:

Year	United Kingdom	Ealing
1983	180,000	929
1984	182,000	1,090
1985	182,000	1,057
1986	191,000	1,131
1987	205,000	1,311

Although most of the new businesses are likely to be small the numbers of people they employ is not recorded. Over the period the total numbers of businesses registered in the United Kingdom increased by 11 per cent., while for those registered in Ealing the increase was 38 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans for seeking to extend consumer protection.

Part III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 comes into force on 1 March 1989 making it an offence to give misleading price indications. We shall be making regulations under part III governing price indications at bureaux de change and the resale of electricity and gas by landlords. An order will be introduced under the Prices Act 1974 to implement EC directives on unit pricing and price marking of food and non-food products.We plan to amend the law on the sale and supply of goods following the Law Commission's report and to amend the Consumer Credit Act and related legislation as detailed in the recent White Paper "Releasing Enterprise" (Cm 512). We shall also introduce revised regulations on pyramid selling.In the field of consumer safety, we shall soon be introducing regulations with strict requirements for domestic gas cookers. Regulations on toy safety are being prepared to implement and EC directive. Safety standards for a wide range of consumer products are being updated for the purposes of the general safety requirement in the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the change in the United Kingdom share of the British car market so far in 1988.

In the first 11 months of 1988 the United Kingdom share of the British car market was 43 per cent., compared with 48 per cent. in the same period of 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the role and extent of foreign investment in the economy of the north-west.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Butler) in the House on 13 July this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the latest figure for the balance of trade in manufactured goods; and what was the comparable figure in 1979.

Figures for trade in manufactures on a balance of payments basis and seasonally adjusted are:

£ billion
	Exports	Imports	Balance
12 months to October 1988	64·5	78·3	-13·8
1979 Year	30·9	28·3	+2·7

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what examination has been undertaken of the Post Office monopoly on the delivery of letters; and if he will make a statement.

The last public review of the future of the Post Office monopoly on the delivery of letters took place in 1980 and resulted in the suspension of the monopoly until 2006 in respect of letters carried for a charge of not less than £1. We naturally keep the issue of the letter monopoly under review but have no present plans for further change.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on his policy towards the formulation in the European Economic Community of merger directives.

The Government have reserved their position with regard to the EC Commission's proposals for a merger control regulation. The United Kingdom continues to participate constructively in discussions on the proposal.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many overseas companies have set up operations in Britain; and what is his estimate of how many jobs such overseas investment has created and is sustaining.

Since my Department's Invest in Britain Bureau started formally recording individual investment projects in 1979, there have been 2,463. These include the establishment of a new business, the expansion or acquisition of an existing business, and involvement in joint venture. Altogether, from the information provided by the companies themselves, these have been responsible for the creation of over 185,000 jobs and, since 1983, are known to have safeguarded some 95,000 others.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress is being made in the Council of Ministers of the European Community in determining and then implementing a common policy towards monopolies, mergers and restrictive practices.

A European policy towards monopolies and restrictive practices is already in place. Discussions on the European Community Commission's proposals for a European merger control regulation were held at the Internal Market Council on 18 November. Some progress was made, but much still remains to be decided. Further discussions will be held at the Internal Market Council on 21 December.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plan to review his decision that the Kuwait Investment Office should sell its shares in British Petroleum, which amount to more than 9·9 per cent. of the company, within 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

The report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission recommended that the Government of Kuwait should be required to reduce their shareholding in British Petroleum over a period of some 12 months. However, in order to promote an orderly disposal of the shareholding, the report also recommended that this period should be subject to some flexibility in the light of market conditions. My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State accordingly asked the Director General of Fair Trading to consult the Kuwait Investment Office on this basis with a view to obtaining undertakings to reduce the shareholding in British Petroleum to not more than 9·9 per cent. and to advise him further on the appropriate time scale for divestment.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of the Department of Trade and Industry's staff are classed as disabled.

The percentage of the Department's staff who are known to be disabled is 1·7 per cent. This figure includes both registered and unregistered disabled officers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why members of his Department are on the interdepartmental group looking at the workings of the Data Protection Act; and whether he will define the concerns of his Department in respect of the Data Protection Act.

The Department of Trade and Industry's several concerns in the Data Protection Act are reflected by including in the group reviewing its working officials from the market division for the information technology industry, the division responsible for the protection of consumer interests in domestic and trade policy, and the enterprise and deregulation unit which co-ordinates action across Government to remove unnecessary burdens on business.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Messrs. Lewis and Tucker of 16 Hanover square, London W1.

I am not aware of any Companies Act offences committed by Lewis and Tucker but I shall consider any information the hon. Member may have.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Wisland Investment Group Ltd.;(2) what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Bestwood Property Ltd.;(3) what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Chelwood Holdings Ltd.

Wisland Property Group Ltd., Bestwood Property Ltd. and Chelwood Holdings Ltd., are overseas registered companies and not subject to United Kingdom company law.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Royel Investments.

When Royel Investments Ltd. was incorporated in the style of Growish Ltd. it used the trading name Royel Investments and I refer the hon. Member to my reply yesterday to his question about Growish Ltd.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Platemede Ltd.

There is no United Kingdom company registered as Platemede Ltd., but I will consider any information the hon. Member may have.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Cemetery Assets UK.

I assume the hon. Member refers to Cemetery Assets UK Ltd. which is currently in default in filing annual accounts and returns. The Registrar of Companies is taking action to strike the company off the register.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made on investigations into alleged offences under the Companies Act 1985 in respect of Clive Warren Lewis of Lewis and Tucker, 16 Hanover square, London W1.

I am not aware of any Companies Act offences committed by Mr. Clive Warren Lewis but I shall consider any information the hon. Member may have.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress is being made in the negotiations to renew the bilateral trade agreement with China under the terms of the multi-fibre arrangement; and if he will make a statement.

Negotiations were still in progress in Brussels this morning. They may conclude this afternoon.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will hold urgent talks with his Spanish counterpart concerning delays at the docks in Spain affecting imports of United Kingdom manufactured Nissan motor vehicles.

My right hon. and noble Friend is pursuing this matter vigorously with the European Commission and the Spanish Minister concerned. We are determined to see the rules of the treaty respected.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he proposes any changes to the law on disclosure of interests in shares following the recent consultation by the Government.

The Government intend to make two major changes to the law on disclosure of interests in shares, which will be included in this Session's Companies Bill. The level at which interests in shares of companies have to be disclosed will be reduced from 5 per cent. to 3 per cent. The deadline for such disclosure will be shortened from five days to two days.I believe that the changes we propose to make will significantly improve market transparency, and will in particular give investors an early indication when a potential offeror purchases a large interest in a company. The Government's policy is to leave merger decisions to the market unless they raise overriding issues of public interest. It is, therefore, important that adequate information should be publicly available as a basis for the market's assessments and decisions. The changes will enable the market to make a fully informed assessment, especially during the vital period prior to the launching of a formal offer. The Government believe that relying on the operation of the market mechanism to assess the merits of takeovers is in the best interests of industry. It is no part of our policy to afford extra protection to the management of companies which are the subjects of takeover offers.A further improvement to disclosure would be a change to certain stock exchange rules. These rules limit the ability of companies to restrict the rights of shares when inquiries into share ownership are frustrated. Our consultation has shown that there is significant support for a relaxation of the constraints in this respect that the stock exchange places upon listed companies. I am in sympathy with that view. I, therefore, welcome the fact that the stock exchange has agreed to consider changing its rules. The exchange has assured me that it will make an announcement as soon as it has completed its own consultations with interested parties.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received concerning interference with independent local radio broadcasts by pirate radio operators; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 6 December 1988] : Several recent representations have been received concerning interference to one independent local radio broadcast station in London.My Department's radio investigation service has already acted to remove the source of interference causing a particular problem and it will continue to act vigorously to clear the radio frequencies of unlicensed broadcasters that cause interference, though they always give first priority to dealing with interference to radio systems upon which emergency services depend.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many non-departmental bodies are currently in existence; and when the annual list of such bodies will be published.

On 1 April 1988 there were 1,648 non-departmental public bodies. This represents a net increase of five over the previous year, although there are 519 bodies fewer than in 1979. The bodies are listed in "Public Bodies 1988" published today. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.As the Prime Minister announced on 28 January 1988 at column 313-14, the Government will continue to resist proposals for new non-departmental public bodies unless it can be clearly demonstrated that they are the most appropriate and cost-effective solution, and will keep existing bodies under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for family credit have now been granted since the inception of the scheme; and how many applications are currently awaiting determination.

By 2 December, 280,986 claims for family credit had resulted in awards and a further 47,925 claims were awaiting determination. In addition, 206,279 family income supplement recipients were awarded family credit without having to make a claim.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals claim family credit from each of his Department's offices in Nottingham; and how many individuals are entitled to claim family credit in Nottingham.

Family credit claims are dealt with centrally and information is not available on a local basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of time it takes to process a family credit claim from a self-employed applicant.

[holding answer 2 December]: Just under 34 working days in respect of self-employed cases cleared during November. Of this, less than 11 working days was for work within the family credit branch. The other 23 days were taken up by waiting for responses to inquiries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many social fund officers he has nominated under section 32(10) of the Social Security Act 1986; and for what areas;(2) what matters relating to the social fund he has specified as matters about which the social fund officer nominated for an area may issue general guidance to other social fund officers in the area.

A total of 454 officers have been nominated under this section. These are the managers or temporary managers of local offices, excluding national insurance offices, who are authorised to issue guidance to other social fund officers on the nature, extent and urgency of the needs in the areas served by their local offices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to abolish the earnings rule for retirement pensions.

None.

	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
Widow's allowance
Average number of beneficiaries (thousands)	36	37	34	34	33	32	31	30	30
Expenditure (£ million)	65	75	80	84	80	83	84	84	87
Widowed mother's allowance
Average number of beneficiaries (thousands)	123	119	117	114	110	105	100	93	88
Expenditure (£ million)	156	165	188	207 (including £1 million AP)2	215 (including £3 million AP)2	222 (including £5 million AP)2	219 (including £8 million AP)2	215 (including £11 million AP)2	214 (including £13 million AP)2
Death grant (by calendar year)
Awards (thousands)	583	593	593	591	597	600	1600	601	1600
Expenditure (£ million)	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	18	18
Maternity grant
Awards (thousands)	622	659	654	1640	653	662	1700	694	1560
Expenditure (£ million)	16	16	16	16	16	17	18	17	14
1 Estimates.
2 Records of expenditure on widowed mothers allowance include amounts of additional Pension payable.