Written Answers

Written Answers To Questions

Friday 13 January 1989

Wales

National Curriculum

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has any plans to accommodate history in Wales within the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

I am establishing a History Committee for Wales (HCW) to advise me on the overall curriculum for history in Welsh schools. The history committee will work within the broad framework to be devised by the history working group which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science has announced today.The HCW will take account of the working group's recommendations, and will report to me by April 1990 on the attainment targets and programmes of study for history in Wales. I expect the committee to give weight to the essential core of British history which should be common to all children in England and Wales, as well as covering the history of Wales. The committee will be chaired by Professor Robert Rees Davies, professor of history at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. I will announce the rest of the committee's membership shortly.Terms of reference of the committee are as follows:

Backgound

1. The Education Reform Act 1988 provides for the establishment of a National Curriculum of core and other foundation subjects for pupils of compulsory school age in England and Wales. The Act empowers the Secretary of State to specify, as he considers appropriate for each foundation subject, including history, that there should be clear objectives—attainment targets—for the knowledge, skills and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities should be expected to have acquired by the end of

Year	Section of M4 motorway	Title	Date tenders invited
1980	Coldra to Tredegar Park junctions 24-28	Widening to 3 lanes	7 January 1980
1981	Newhouse to Coldra junctions 22-24	Installation of communications cable	27 July 1981
1981	Lonlas to Pont Abraham junctions 44-49	Renewal of traffic signs	8 September1981
1985	Newhouse to Coldra junctions 22-24	Television surveillance system	18 February 1985
1985	Newhouse to Coldra junctions 22-24	Major resurfacing	14 March 1985
1985	Miskin to Pencoed junctions 34-35	Resurfacing	1 June 1985
1986	Castleton and Llandarcy junctions 29-43	Advance direction signing	1 August 1986
1987	Pontardulais bypass junctions 44-48	Surface dressing	10 March 1987
1987	Newhouse to Pont Abraham junctions 22-49	Signalling and communications maintenance	29 June 1987

National Parks

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the percentages of planning applications were, in each of the welsh national parks, which were (a) allowed,

the academic year in which they reach the ages 7, 11, 14 and 16; and to promote them, programmes of study describing the content, skills and processes which need to be covered during each key stage of compulsory eduction. Taken together, the attainment targets and programmes of study will provide the basis for assessing a pupil's performance, in relation both to expected attainment and to the next steps needed for the pupil's development.

2. Both the objectives (attainment targets) and means of achieving them (programmes of study) should leave scope for teachers to use their professional talents and skills to develop their own schemes of work, within a statutory framework which is known to all. It is the task of the Working Group on History to advise on that framework for history.

3. The History Committee for Wales is asked to liaise closely with the History Working Group and to submit preliminary advice to the Secretary of State by 10 June 1989 outlining:—

i. the contents of Welsh history which should be incorporated into the history curriculum in Wales;

ii. its preliminary views on the extent to which Welsh perspectives should influence the wider study of history.

4. By April 1990 the History Committee for Wales is to submit to the Secretary of State a final report setting out and justifying a balanced and complete curriculum for history in Wales, in the light of the final recommendations of the History Working Group.

Approach

5. In carrying out its task the Committee should consult informally and selectively with relevant interests and have regard to:—
i. the terms of reference, supplementary guidance, ongoing work and Interim and Final Reports of the History Working Group;
ii. the broad framework for assessment and testing announced by the Government on 7 June 1988 and subsequent development of it in the light of advice from the School Examinations and Assessment Council;
iii. the contributions which history can make to learning about other subjects and cross-curricular themes, and which they in turn can make to learning in history; and
iv. best practice and the results of any relevant research and development.

M4 (Tenders)

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each year since 1979 those sections of the M4 for which tenders have been invited specifying the sections and the actual dates.

Since 1979 tenders have been invited for major works on sections of the M4 in Wales as follows:

(b) dismissed, (c) withdrawn and (d) undetermined for each of the last five years for which information is available.

The information requested is as follows:

Planning applications Planning activity within the Welsh National Parks
percentage
	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88
Brecon Beacons National Park
Allowed	70·1	63·7	62·6	54·2	54·2
Dismissed	11·2	13·8	15·2	16·7	16·2
Withdrawn	2·8	4·2	2·6	5·3	3·4
Undetermined	15·9	18·3	19·5	23·8	26·2
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Allowed	67·8	76·1	73·8	75·2	76·1
Dismissed	9·1	7·3	8·9	6·6	12·6
Withdrawn	1·2	1·5	1·1	1·5	2·8
Undetermined	21·9	15·1	16·2	16·7	8·5
Snowdonia National Park
Allowed	65·7	59·0	60·5	n/a	n/a
Dismissed	8·6	12·8	14·3	n/a	n/a
Withdrawn	2·8	6·9	6·8	n/a	n/a
Undetermined	22·8	21·2	18·3	n/a	n/a

The "undetermined" column gives a "snapshot" figure of those applications awaiting decision at the end of March in each financial year.

Figures for the latest two years are not compatible with earlier years, because the definition of "planning applications" used on the WOPS1 and WOPS2 general development control forms has been widened.

Roads

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether a line of route and a date for commencement of work have been agreed for the proposed Robeston Wathen, Pembrokeshire, by-pass; and if he will make a statement.

A route for this scheme has not yet been agreed. Information on its timing will be included in the forthcoming edition of "Roads in Wales".

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to publish the next edition of "Roads in Wales."

Before the end of the current financial year.

Water Act 1973

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 disputes have been submitted to him for determination under the provisions of section 11(4) of that Act; and if he will specify the local authority area in which such disputes have risen.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 4(10) of that Act to the National Water Council; and what was the purpose of each such direction. Mr. Grist: None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 17(5) of that Act to water authorities; and for which estuary each such direction was made.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 5(1) of that Act to water authorities; and for what purpose each such direction was made.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973 he has issued directions under the provisions of section 5(2) of that Act to water authorities; and for what purpose each such direction was made.

None.

Home Department

Channel 5

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received recent representations from the Scottish Trades Union Congress regarding the location of main offices for Channel 5; and if he will make a statement.

No representations have been received. Paragraph 6.21 of the Government White Paper "Broadcasting in the '90s" proposes that Channel 5 licences should be national in their scope. It would be for licencees to decide where to locate their headquarters.

Viraj Mendis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that no action will be taken to deport Viraj Mendis before his Department replies to solicitors' letters dated 21 and 30 December 1988 concerning the changed situation in Sri Lanka.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if there is intention to take any action against Mr. Viraj Mendis in Manchester before all domestic legal remedies have been applied; and if he will make a statement:(2) if it is his intention to reply to the two letters from Mr. Viraj Mendis concerning the situation in Sri Lanka, dated 21 and 30 December 1988 respectively, before any action is taken against him; and if he will make a statement.

The decision to deport Mr. Mendis has been reviewed and endorsed by the independent appellate authorities, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal. His petition for leave to move to the House of Lords has also been rejected. On 28 December, the court rejected a subsequent application for judicial review of my right hon. Friend's refusal to give assurances to his solicitors, first, that no steps would be taken to remove Mr. Mendis pending a substantive response to their representations and, secondly, that no steps would be taken to remove him for at least 48 hours following notification of the response.We are further considering the representations received from Mr. Mendis' solicitors.

New Year Celebrations (Arrests)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made in the Trafalgar square area during new year's eve and new year's day; how many police and members of the public were injured; and what was the estimated size of the gathering.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that a total of 120 arrests were made during the new year celebrations in Trafalgar square. Eleven police officers were injured and 148 injuries to members of the public were reported, of whom 64 were taken to hospital. It is estimated that around 65,000 people were present.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made during new year celebrations on drunk and disorderly grounds in England and Wales; and how many police officers were injured.

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

Reading Rock Festivals

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made at the 1987 and 1988 Reading rock festivals.

I understand from the chief constable of the Thames Valley police that the number of arrests was 146 and 178 respectively.

Prevention Of Terrorism Act

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act since 1 January 1988 have been (a) allowed and (b) refused legal representation during questioning.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what communications he has had with the European Court of Justice concerning the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act since 1 December 1988; what areas of the United Kingdom and other countries they were from; for what period they were held before being charged; and how many were subsequently charged.

Information on the operation of the prevention of terrorism legislation is compiled quarterly and published in Home Office statistical bulletins at the end of the month following the quarter covered, or as soon as possible thereafter. I will reply to the hon. Member when the statistics for the fourth quarter of 1988 have been published.

Independent Television Commission

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the Independent Television Commission will have a statutory duty (a) to draw up a code governing standards and practice of advertising and prescribing the advertisements and methods of advertisements to be prohibited and (b) to secure compliance with the code;(2) whether the Independent Television Commission will be required to draw up television programme guidelines on (i) expression of opinion by programme companies, (ii) legal matters, (iii) promotion and presentation, (iv) sponsorship and indirect advertising, (v) competition and reward shows, (vi) charitable appeals and publicity for charities and (vii) communication with the public;(3) whether the Independent Television Commission will be required to draw up television programme guidelines on

(a) decency and the portrayal of violence, (b) feature films, (c) technical quality, (d) accuracy, (e) privacy and gathering of information, (f) fairness and impartiality, (g) party politics, politicians and programmes and (h) crime, anti-social behaviour, etc.

The general responsibility of the proposed Independent Television Commission for oversight of programme content, advertising and sponsorship was described in paragraph 5 of annex A to the White Paper "Broadcasting in the '90s: Competition, Choice and Quality" (November 1988, Cm. 517). We will bring forward draft legislation in the light of the comments that we have invited on the White Paper.

Ashford Remand Centre

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will outline the nature and extent of catering and canteen services provision at Ashford remand centre; by whom such provision is made; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 16 December 1988]: As my right hon. Friend announced last March, Ashford remand centre has been reopened on a temporary basis to enable prisoners to be moved from police cells.Because of a shortage of trained prison officer caterers, catering for inmates is being provided by a contractor, Sutcliffe Catering South-East, whose contract requires it to provide meals to the standards and dietary scales laid down for the prison service as a whole.

In the light of experience at the two temporary camps closed recently, the inmates canteen is being operated by the NAAFI; the range of stocks is based on those held in other prison canteens.

Education And Science

National Curriculum

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his plans for establishing the complete national curriculum.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are establishing forthwith a working group to make recommendations on attainment targets and programmes of study for history within the national curriculum in England and Wales.The working group's terms of reference are set out in the table. I have also sent supplementary guidance to the group's chairman, a copy of which I have placed in the Library. We are grateful to Commander Saunders Watson, until recently the president of the Historic Houses Association, and currently the chairman of the Heritage Education Trust, for agreeing to chair the history working group. The other members are:

Mr R M Guyver, Wembury primary school, Plymouth;

Mr J Hendy, Director of Education, Stockport;

Mr H Hobhouse, author;

Mr P Livsey, adviser in history and geography, county Durham;

Mrs A Low-Beer, Bristol university;

Dr A Prochaska, secretary and librarian, Institute of Historical Research;

Dr J M Roberts, Merton college, Oxford university;

Mrs C White, Garth Hill comprehensive school, Bracknell; and Dr G Elwyn Jones of University College, Swansea, who will also be a member of the History Committee for Wales announced today by my right hon. Friend.

The group will begin work at once. It will give interim advice by 30 June 1989 and final advice by Christmas 1989. This will enable attainment targets and programmes of study in history to begin to be introduced in schools from the autumn of 1991.

Our outline timetable for the development as appropriate of attainment targets, programmes of study and guidelines in other foundation subjects, and for their implementation in schools, is as follows:

Geography: working group to be established, Easter 1989; implementation to begin in schools—autumn 1991.

Modern foreign languages: working group to be established, July 1989; implementation to begin in schools—autumn 1992 at the latest.

Music, art and physical education: arrangements set up for considering the content of guidelines—June 1990; implementation in schools—autumn 1992.

This timetable will secure that either agreed requirements, or proposals, relating to the full national curriculum are publicly availalbe by mid-1991.

National Curriculum Working Group on History: Terms of Reference

Background

1. The Education Reform Act 1988 provides for the establishment of a National Curriculum of core and other foundation subjects for pupils of compulsory school age in England and Wales. The Act empowers the Secretary of State to specify, as he considers appropriate for each foundation subject, including history, that there should be clear objectives—attainment targets—for the knowledge, skills, and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities should be expected to have acquired by the end of the academic year in which they reach the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16; and to promote them, programmes of study describing the content, skills and processes which need to be covered during each key stage of compulsory education. Taken together, the attainment targets and programmes of study will provide the basis for assessing a pupil's performance, in relation both to expected attainment and to the next steps needed for the pupil's development.

2. Both the objectives (attainment targets) and means of achieving them (programmes of study) should leave scope for teachers to use their professional talents and skills to develop their own schemes of work, within a statutory framework which is known to all. It is the task of the Working Group on History to advise on that framework for history.

The Task

3. The Working Group is asked to submit an interim report to the Secretaries of State by 30 June 1989 outlining and, as far as possible, exemplifying:
(i) the contribution which history should make to the overall school curriculum and how that will inform the Group's thinking about attainment targets and programmes of study;
(ii) its provisional thinking about the knowledge, skills and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities should be expected to have attained and be able to demonstrate at key ages; and the profile components into which attainment targets should be grouped;
(iii) its thinking about the programmes of study which would be consistent with the attainment targets provisionally identified; and
(iv) the key elements within those programmes of study that it considers to be essential at each key stage for children throughout England and Wales, bearing in mind the need for a balanced history curriculum for all pupils and, in Wales, the need to allow room within that curriculum for appropriate attention to the history of Wales.

4. By Christmas 1989 the Working Group is to submit a final report to the Secretaries of State setting out and justifying its final recommendations on attainment targets and the programmes of study for history.

Approach

5. In carrying out its task the Group should consult informally and selectively with relevant interests and have regard to the work of other subject groups, in particular those on English, Welsh and, in due course, on geography. Additionally the Group should take account of:
(i) the broad framework for assessment and testing announced by the Government on 7 June 1988 and subsequent development of it in the light of advice from the School Examinations and Assessment Council;
(ii) the contributions which history can make to learning about other subjects and cross-curricular themes, and which they in turn can make to learning in history;
(iii) best practice and the results of any relevant research and development;
(iv) the work of the History Committee for Wales (HCW); and
(v) the issues covered in the supplementary guidance to the Group's Chairman.

House Of Commons

Pets

To ask the Lord President of the Council what is his policy towards the admittance of pets to the House of Commons.

Only pets belonging to residents are permitted in the House of Commons area of the Palace of Westminster.In the House of Commons outbuildings, pets are permitted provided that they are kept under proper control and cause no nuisance.

United States Congress (Publications)

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will take steps to arrange for United States Congressional publications to be made available to hon. Members on the same conditions as United Nations publications; and if he will make a statement.

No. Right hon. and hon. Members may apply for United Nations publications on a green demand form because Her Majesty's Stationery Office acts as an agent for this international body. HMSO does not act as an agent for United States congressional publications, nor for any other overseas national body.As the hon. Member will be aware, microfiche copies of the congressional record are held in the Library and printouts of selected passages from these are available on request.

Satellite Television

To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) whether it is his intention to purchase a satellite dish for the Houses of Parliament to receive Sky Channel satellite television;(2) whether a room will be provided for hon. Members to view Sky Channel satellite television after 5 February 1989.

I have no such plans at present. The provision of facilities for the reception and viewing of satellite television programmes has not yet been considered by the relevant Committees of each House. Any request for such consideration should be addressed to the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee.

Prime Minister

Government Ministers (Contracts)

To ask the Prime Minister if she will take steps to introduce a contract of employment for Government Ministers.

No.

H Cabinet Committee

To ask the Prime Minister what the H Cabinet Committee has discussed and what decisions have been reached during the last 12 months; and what decisions have been reached by the H Cabinet Committee in respect of Northern Ireland.

The proceedings of Cabinet committees are confidential.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will describe the workings of the H Cabinet Committee.

No.

Nurses And Midwives

To ask the Prime Minister what increase there has been in the number of nurses and midwives in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom since September 1978.

Between September 1978 and September 1987 the total number of nursing and midwifery staff in the United Kingdom has increased by 69,900 wholetime equivalents (16 per cent.).

British Coal (Legal Dispute)

To ask the Prime Minister if she will instruct the relevant Ministers to use their powers to direct British Coal and the South of Scotland Electricity Board not to use public funds to fight a case in the courts and instead to impose a single arbitrator on them whose decision shall be final.

Contractual negotiations between electricity generating boards and their fuel suppliers are a matter for their commercial judgment. It would not be appropriate for Government Ministers to intervene.

Department Of Social Security Benefit Offices

To ask the Prime Minister how many visits she has made to local Department of Social Security benefit offices since 1979.

I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 15 April at column 245.

Homeless People

To ask the Prime Minister if she intends to visit those who now sleep on the streets in London and other major cities and towns.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Visits

To ask the Prime Minister what considerations are taken into account in deciding whether she should make visits when no invitations as such have been made.

All relevant factors are taken into account when deciding which visits I should undertake.

To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions her Office has made representations to the media that no publicity should occur when she intends to make visits other than strictly personal engagements; and if she will give details accordingly.

My Office makes arrangements for the media as appropriate.

To ask the Prime Minister what is her policy on visiting those in hospital who have been injured in major accidents and tragedies; and whether she has made representations to the broadcasting authorities and newspaper that her visits should be made in private.

I make a practice of visiting those who have been involved in major accidents and tragedies whenever my programme permits. Arrangements made for the media take into account the views of the hospital authorities and the patients.

Northern Ireland

Clinical Grading

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nursing, midwifery and health visting staff from each of the old grades have been assimilated to each of the new grades in the recent clinical grading structure in each Northern Ireland health board.

The new clinical grading structure for nursing, midwifery and health visitor staff—movement from old grades to new grades
Eastern health and social services board Movement to new grades
Title	WTE¹staff in post at 31 October 1988	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
Nursing Assistant	317·27	315·27	2·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nursing Auxiliary	1,096·25	1,051·18	45·07	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hospital Staff (NNEB)	11·00	6·00	5·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Nurse	1,205·81	—	—	641·70	546·91	17·2	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Dist Train	19·31	—	—	—	19·31	—	—	—	—	—
Senior Enrolled	42·73	—	—	7·00	28·73	6·00	1·00	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	2,972·40	—	—	7·00	28·73	6·00	1·00	—	—	—
Staff Midwife	337·80	—	—	—	11·00	323·05	3·75	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	25·28	—	—	—	—	—	24·28	1·00	—	—
Sister II	789·69	—	—	—	—	—	182·78	591·91	15·00	—
Sister II Midwife	147·76	—	—	—	—	—	5·00	139·76	3·00	—
District Nurse Sister II	189·61	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	1·00	—
Sister I	3·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	1·00	—
Sister I Midwife	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Health Visitor	198·82	—	—	—	—	—	—	196·82	2·00	—
Senior Nurse 8	60·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	28·00	32·00
Senior Nurse 8 Midwife	9·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4·00	5·00
Senior Nurse 7	70·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6·00	64·00
Senior Nurse 7 Midwife	6·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6·00
Fieldwork Teacher/Health Visitor	24·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	24·00	—
Practical Work Teacher	23·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23·00	—
Post Basic Students
Enrolled	28·00	—	—	28·00	—	—	—	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	219·00	—	—	—	217·00	2·00	—	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sister II	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Others	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
TOTALS	7,795·73	1,372·45	52·07	676·70	1,631·34	2,465·56	254·51	1,129·10	107·00	107·00
¹ Includes Blood Transfusion and Occupational Health Services Staff.

The new clinical grading structure for nursing, midwifery and health visitor staff—movement from old grades to new grades
Southern health and social services board
Movement to new grades
Title	WTE staff in post at 31 October 1988	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
Nursing Assistant	4·10	4·10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nursing Auxiliary	523·85	515·17	8·68	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hospital Staff (NNEB)	1·00	—	1·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Nurse	510·91	—	—	382·60	128·31	—	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Dist Train	4·00	—	—	—	4·00	—	—	—	—	—
Senior Enrolled	14·00	—	—	—	4·00	10·00	—	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	743·81	—	—	—	133·32	604·65	5·84	—	—	—
Staff Midwife	174·34	—	—	—	9·00	165·34	—	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	23·32	—	—	—	9·00	165·34	—	—	—	—
Sister II	224·75	—	—	—	—	—	79·75	142·00	3·00	—
Sister II Midwife	47·35	—	—	—	—	—	16·35	31·00	—	—
District Nurse Sister II	99·83	—	—	—	—	—	1·00	98·83	—	—
Sister I	2·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	—	—
Sister I Midwife	11·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	11·00	—	—
Health Visitor	85·29	—	—	—	—	—	—	84·29	1·00	—
Senior Nurse 8	11·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	11·00	—
Senior Nurse 8 Midwife	1·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1·00	—
Senior Nurse 7	37·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	19·00	18·00
Senior Nurse 7 Midwife	4·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3·00	1·00
Fieldwork Teacher/Health Visitor	6·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6·00	—
Practical Work Teacher	12·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12·00	—
Post Basic Students

[holding answer 10 January 1989] The information requested is set out in the following tables which show the position at 31 October 1988. While the numbers and grades are continually changing this is the most up to date information held centrally. The numbers shown on scale G include posts which have been identified but which may not yet have been filled by competition.

Title	WTE staff in post at 31 October 1988	A	B	c	D	E	F	G	H	I
Enrolled	13·00	—	—	13·00	—	—	—	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	16·00	—	—	—	14·00	2·00	—	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sister II	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Others	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
TOTALS	2,569·55	519·27	9·68	395·60	292·63	805·31	102·94	369·12	56·00	19·00

The new clinical grading structure for nursing, midwifery and health visitor staff—movement from old grades to new grades
Northern health and social services board
Movement to new grades
Title	WTE staff in post at 31 October 1988	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
Nursing Assistant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nursing Auxiliary	391·34	380·44	10·90	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hospital Staff (NNEB)	0·80	—	0·80	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Nurse	606·79	—	—	424·36	180·77	1·66	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Dist Train	13·56	—	—	—	13·56	—	—	—	—	—
Senior Enrolled	3·00	—	—	—	1·00	2·00	—	—	—	—
Staff Nse	737·46	—	—	—	195·84	495·35	46·27	—	—	—
Staff Midwife	114·87	—	—	—	—	107·57	7·30	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	12·71	—	—	—	—	12·71	—	—	—	—
Sister II	189·05	—	—	—	—	—	73·45	112·60	3·00	—
Sister II Midwife	14·00	—	—	—	—	—	7·00	7·00	—	—
District Nurse Sister II	129·95	—	—	—	—	—	—	128·95	1·00	—
Sister I	2·00	—	—	—	—	—	1·00	1·00	—	—
Sister I Midwife	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Health Visitor	99·71	—	—	—	—	—	—	99·71	—	—
Senior Nurse 8	25·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25·00	—
Senior Nurse 8 Midwife	3·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	1·00
Senior Nurse 7	30·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	28·00
Senior Nurse 7 Midwife	9·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	9·00
Fieldwork Teacher/Health Visitor	8·63	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8·63	—
Practical Work Teacher	7·75	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7·75	—
Post Basic Students
Enrolled	14·00	—	—	14·00	—	—	—	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	16·00	—	—	—	8·00	8·00	—	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sister II	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Others	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
TOTALS	2,428·62	380·44	11·70	438·36	399·17	627·29	135·02	349·26	49·38	38·00

The new clinical grading structure for nursing, midwifery and health visitor staff—movement from old grades to new grades
Western health and social services board
Movement to new grades
Title	WTE staff in post at 31 October 1988	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
Nursing Assistant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nursing Auxiliary	414·75	405·25	9·50	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hospital Staff (NNEB)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Nurse	351·65	—	—	328·55	23·10	—	—	—	—	—
Enrolled Dist Train	2·00	—	—	—	2·00	—	—	—	—	—
Senior Enrolled	7·43	—	—	—	7·00	0·43	—	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	914·09	—	—	—	179·00	723·09	—	12·00	—	—
Staff Midwife	152·00	—	—	—	16·00	136·00	—	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	17·00	—	—	—	—	13·00	4·00	—	—	—
Sister II	243·50	—	—	—	—	1·00	93·50	145·00	2·00	2·00
Sister II Midwife	47·00	—	—	—	—	—	13·00	34·00	—	—
District Nurse Sister II	98·46	—	—	—	—	—	—	94·46	4·00	—
Sister I	2·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	—	—
Sister I Midwife	5·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	5·00	—	—
Health Visitor	68·50	—	—	—	—	—	—	66·50	2·00	—
Senior Nurse 8	3·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	1·00
Senior Nurse 8 Midwife	2·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·00	37·00
Senior Nurse 7	39·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2·	37·00
Senior Nurse 7 Midwife	4·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4·00
Fieldwork Teacher/Health Visitor	3·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3·00	—
Practical Work Teacher	3·00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3·00	—

Title	WTE staff in post at 31 October 1988	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
Post Basic Students
Enrolled	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Staff Nurse	30·00	—	—	—	15·00	15·00	—	—	—	—
Deputy Sister	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sister II	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Others	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
TOTALS	2,407·38	405·25	9·50	328·55	242·10	888·52	110·50	358·96	19·00	45·00

Fair Employment Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the Department of Economic Development has exercised its powers under the Fair Employment Act to require the Fair Employment Agency to supply to his Department information in the agency's possession.

[holding answer 12 January 1989]: The information cannot be provided without disproportionate cost to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the past 10 years, how many certificates the Secretary of State has issued under section 42 of the Fair Employment Act 1976.

[holding answer 12 January 1989]: Eighteen certificates have been issued by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1 January 1979 to 31 December 1988.

Employment Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employers in Northern Ireland have currently (i) under 10 employees, (ii) between 10 and 25, (iii) between 25 and 250 and (iv) over 250 employees.

[holding answer 12 January 1989]: At September 1988 approximately 1,140 employers in Northern Ireland employed between 25 and 250 employees and 170 employed more than 250. Information on the number of employers with fewer than 25 employees is not currently available.

Teaching Qualifications

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a list of qualifications to teach which can be obtained in Northern Ireland which will be fully recognised by education authorities in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

I have been asked to reply.Such qualifications are not automatically acceptable for qualified teacher status in England and Wales, individual applications from teachers trained in Northern Ireland fall to be considered by my right hon. Friend under paragraph 2

(b) of schedule 5 to the Education (Teachers) Regulations 1982. Applications are accepted where the course of initial teacher training was comparable to an approved course of initial teacher training for school teachers available in England or Wales at the same time. Qualifications leading to registration as a teacher in Scotland are those recognised by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make the necessary arrangements whereby automatic recognition of teachers qualified to teach and recognised as such in Northern Ireland will occur in England, Scotland and Wales.

I have been asked to reply.I expect shortly to announce details of the proposed reform of qualified teacher status which was the subject of a consultation document issued by my Department in May 1988. When implemented, teachers qualified to teach and recognised as such in Northern Ireland will be eligible for qualified teacher status in England and Wales. Eligibility to teach in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Trade And Industry

Scottish Consumer Council (Report)

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the report made for his Department by the Scottish Consumer Council on the public consultation and decision-making processes associated with forestry development and seabed leases, upon which they consulted Scottish local authorities in 1987; and if he will make a statement.

No such report was made for my Department, although I understand that the Scottish Consumer Council has independently produced a report on how various authorities and organisations thought that communities should be consulted about changes in their local environment and the development of the seabed.

Computers (Japan)

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what responsibilities have been undertaken by his Department in the agreement made with authorities in Japan concerned with the Japanese fifth generation computer project.

The Department has informed interested companies that the Institute for New Generation Computer Technology (ICOT) has agreed to accept up to two United Kingdom researchers from industry on secondment. Any secondee must be nominated by the Department and be acceptable to ICOT.

Newspapers

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many applications have been made to acquire newspapers under the terms of the Fair Trading Act 1973 since July 1977; and how many such applications have been refused.

Since July 1977 decisions have been taken on 60 applications; 58 consents have been given and, of these, two were given conditionally. Three applications are currently being considered by my Department and one other is with the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.A number of applications have also been received which have been withdrawn before any final decision has been taken. Details of these cases since 1977 are not available.

European Community Structural Funds

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list in the Official Report the occasions when discussions have taken place in the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community covering the future of its structural funds, the relevant reports made by him to the House, and the likely future timetable of further discussions prior to final adoption of each legislative instrument.

[holding answer 10 January 1989]: The Foreign Affairs Council discussed the future of the structural fund on the dates listed. My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs reported to the House on those meetings on the dates shown:

Council meetings	Reports to the House	Official Report column numbers
23 to 24 November 1987	25 November 1987	222-224
14 to 15 December 1987	16 December 1987	575
25 January 1988	27 January 1988	240
24 to 25 May 1988	26 May 1988	239-240
13 to 14 June 1988	16 June 1988	217-218
26 September 1988	19 October 1988	876-879
	25 October 1988	158-159
24 to 25 October 1988	27 October 1988	411
21 to 22 November 1988	24 November 1988	11
19 December 1988	21 December 1988	274

In addition, the European Council discussed the subject on 4 to 5 December 1987 and 11 to 12 February 1988. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reported to the House on those meetings on 8 December 1987 and 15 February 1988 at columns 167-178 and 705-717.Debates on Community documents about the reform of the funds were held on 18 November 1987 and 21 December 1988 at columns 1090-1162 and 549-570. They were opened by, respectively, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and me.Five legislative instruments have now been adopted, and entered into force on 1 January 1989

Council regulation (EC) No. 2052/88 of 24 June 1988

Council regulations (EEC) (not yet numbered) adopted in December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing regulations (EEC) No. 2052/88 as regards:
coordination of the activities of the different structural funds between themselves and with the operations of the EIB and the other financial instruments,
the European regional development fund,
the European social fund,
the EAGGF guidance section.

No further general legislative instruments on the funds are in prospect, but article 10 of the new regulation on the EAGGF provides that the Council is to decide by 31 December 1989 on the forms of and conditions for the fund contribution to improve the conditions under which agriculture, forestry and fishing products are processed and marketed. The necessary Commission proposals for this have not yet been made.

Energy

Neighbourhood Energy Action

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how he proposes to continue support for neighbourhood energy action; and if he expects to reverse the recent decline in the number of local projects;(2) how many neighbourhood energy action projects were running in September 1988; how many are running now; and what has been the impact on such energy projects as a result of the change from the community programme to the employment training scheme.

There were some 440 community insulation projects operating on 1 September; on 1 December there were about 300. These numbers are, however, not directly comparable because the transition from community programme to employment training involved a number of projects merging or reforming.Uptake of places for unemployed people on the projects has been slow under employment training. My Department is therefore in discussion with the Training Agency on initiatives to increase the number of filled places.

Energy Conservation

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what advice is given to housing authorities whose tenants have lost the benefits provided by the former Manpower Services Commission schemes on providing draught-proofing and other energy conservation measures; and if he will make a statement.

My energy efficiency office provides a range of advice on how housing authorities can improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Mr Raoul Wallenberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make representations to the Soviet authorities making it a condition of the United Kingdom's support for the proposal of a human rights conference in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1989 that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics make a full statement on the fate of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg;(2) if he will make it his policy to raise the case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg at the proposed human rights conference in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1989; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will seek to obtain from the Government of the United States such information as is in their possession about Mr. Raoul Wallenberg; and if he will make a statement;(4) what information he has of the occasions when the Government of the United States of America raised the case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and if he will make a statement;

(5) if he proposes to raise further the case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg at the CSCE; and if he will make a statement;

(6) if he will make further representations to the Government of Sweden offering assistance from Her Majesty's Government in Sweden's efforts to obtain a full statement from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics about the fate of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg; and if he will make a statement;

(7) if he will make representations to the Swedish Government to request that their official publications about Mr. Raoul Wallenberg are translated into the English language; and if he will make a statement.

(8) if he will seek to obtain the hearings and reports from United States House of Representatives on House joint resolution 220 of the 97th Congress, session one; and if he will make a statement.

We fully share the concerns of the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess) and the Minister of State my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, West (Mr. Waldegrave). will writing shortly.

Nerve Gas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the capability of Libya to manufacture sarin nerve gas.

We have firm evidence that the Rabta plant is close to achieving the capability to produce chemical weapon agents including sarin.

Chemical Weapons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent international conference on chemical weapons in Paris.

We played an active part in this conference to which the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, West (Mr. Waldegrave), led the United Kingdom delegation.We particularly welcome the concluding conference declaration which was adopted by consensus by all 149 States participating. It specifically recognises the important and continuing validity of the 1925 Geneva protocol and contains an undertaking by all not to use CW. It also expresses support for the Geneva negotiations for a global ban on CW, and the role of the UN Secretary-General in investigating allegations of use.The successful outcome of the conference represents a considerable step forward in international efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. We now have to build on this.

Civil Service

Civil Service Pensioners Alliance

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will (a) authorise the repayment of the £35,000 immediately to the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance and (b) compensate the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance for the outlay it made between receiving the payable order and sending a cheque when asked for its repayment; and why he originally sent this organisation a payable order for £35,000 in respect of funds accrued from the underpayment of Civil Service pensions due to a miscalculation in the retail prices index and then asked for the £35,000 to be refunded.

My officials will authorise payment of £35,000 awarded to the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance (CPSA) from the RPI error funds as soon as Parliament approves a supplementary estimate for the funds.My officials have written to the general secretary of the CPSA to explain and apologise for the delay. The withdrawn payable order was issued in the (mistaken) belief that funds could be authorised in advance of parliamentary approval of a supplementary estimate. I regret the disappointment and inconvenience this may have caused, but I cannot compensate the CPSA for the delay.

Health

Salmonella

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inquiries have been made to ensure that salmonella pollution has been eliminated in each country exporting food to the United Kingdom.

Salmonella contamination is recognised as a world-wide problem and the EC Standing Veterinary Committee decided on 7 December 1988 to set up a working group to consider the problem with the European Community.The Imported Food Regulations 1984 together with the Food Act 1984 give the responsible authorities adequate powers to prevent the importation of contaminated food into the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest estimate of the level of salmonella infection in current British egg production.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sir H Miller) on 20 December at columns 246 and 247 respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of (a) outbreaks of salmonella attributable to poultry meat and poultry meat products, (b) people affected in each such outbreak and (c) fatal cases in each of the last 10 years.

The numbers of outbreaks of salmonella associated with poultry meat and poultry meat products formally reported to the public health laboratory service in the years 1979–88 are as follows:

England and Wales
Year	Number of outbreaks
1979	¹55
1980	119
1981	84
1982	49
1983	45
1984	36
1985	21
1986	²29

Year	Number of outbreaks
1987	²41
1988	²34
¹ laboratory reports only.
² provisional data.

Reports of Salmonella Bacteraemias (England and Wales)
Year	Total Salmonella Bacteraemias (Excluding S Typhi/Paratyphi)	S Enteritidis Bacteraemia
	Deaths	Phage Type 4 Deaths	Other Deaths
1983	30	2	3
1984	33	—	3
1985	30	3	2
1986	21	4	1
1987	35	9	6
1988	48	23	3
(to week 43)

Early information is not readily available.There is no direct evidence to link these deaths with the consumption of poultry, but salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 is associated almost exclusively with poultry and eggs and we must assume that some of the deaths shown in the phage type 4 column will have been associated with poultry.

Water Pollution (Camelford)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in providing a small group of independent experts to advise the local health authority on the health consequences of the water pollution in the Camelford area of north Cornwall.

Professor Dame Barbara Clayton from Southampton university medical school, Professor G. A. Rose of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor J. A. Edwardson of the MRC neurochemical pathology unit, Newcastle, and Professor R. F. Packham from the Water Research Centre and Imperial college, London, have agreed to form an expert advisory group. I am most grateful to Dame Barbara Clayton, who will chair the advisory group, and the other members for undertaking this task at such short notice.The group, to be known as the Lowermoor incident health advisory group, will advise the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly district health authority on the implications for the health of the population in the Camelford area following the contamination of their drinking water in July 1988. They will start work as soon as possible, and their report will be available to Ministers and made public.

South Western Regional Health Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of Wednesday 14 December, Official Report, column 606, if he will list those private customers other than health authorities within the south-west region to whom fees have been charged for the use of the region's computer centre and the design service in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total cost of the region's computer centre and design service in each year each represents.

Information on the numbers of people affected in each outbreak is not readily obtainable.

Some information is available on the number of deaths from salmonella bacteraemia formally reported to the public health laboratory service as follows:

The regional design service has provided services almost entirely for district health authorities in South Western region.The regional computer centre's sources of income for 1987–88 are shown in the table. In previous years, the amount of income from sources other than districts in south western region were not significant and records were not kept. Details of the centre's customers and of payments made are matters of commercial confidentiality.

1987–88 Income
	per cent.
Districts in South Western region	84·7
Private sector	4·0
Other NHS regions/districts	6·8
Other state funded systems	4·5

Doctors (Working Hours)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state, or estimate, the number of junior hospital doctors in England and Wales and Scotland who are currently contracted to work in excess of 84 hours and 100 hours, respectively, in the course of a working week.

On 30 September 1987, 12,689 junior hospital doctors in England and Wales were contracted to work or be on call for 89 hours or more in the course of a working week. Included in that figure were 2,528 doctors who were contracted to work or be on call in excess of 100 hours. The information relating to Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland. In 1985, an independent survey showed that junior doctors actually worked an average of 57 hours a week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ascertain the number of cases in coroners courts where a contributory cause of death has been found to be tiredness or length of duty of hospital doctors in each of the years 1985–88.

Junior doctors' rotas are determined locally. I would expect local health authorities to investigate fully any case where a coroner's court were to find that a contributory cause of death was one of the factors described by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secrertary of State for Health what is the average number of hours in any one week required to be worked by a doctor who is working a one in three rota, as envisaged in his letter of recommendation of June 1988 EL(88)P.82 and the likely range of hours worked in any one week.

A doctor who is working a one in three rota will be contracted to work and to be on call on average for a total of 84 hours in a week. The likely range of hours worked in any one week are dictated by local circumstances. They will depend on a number of circumstances including whether the practitioner is contracted for weekend duty in that week. The likely range would be between 40 and 104 hours. Actual weekly hours worked by junior doctors have, on average, fallen from 58·3 to 57 between 1981 and 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the maximum number of hours that can be worked by a junior hospital doctor within a seven-day period and the maximum number of hours that may be worked continuously within the terms of his current recommendations.

We attach great importance to the reduction in hours worked by some junior hospital doctors. Health authorities have been asked to eliminate wherever possible rota commitments worse than one night and one weekend in three. The actual number of hours worked will vary depending upon the speciality and local circumstances.

Locum Doctors

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reduction in the number of available locum doctors, consequent to his request to district health authorities of 25 November 1988, concerning their terms of employment and remuneration.

Health authorities were advised of the maximum rate they should pay to agencies supplying locum doctors for work in hospitals from 12 December 1988. We have no evidence that the advice has led to any significant reduction in the number of available agency locums; but we are consulting widely on guidance to be issued to health authorities on their employment.

Aids

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how may Irish citizens are receiving AIDS treatment in the United Kingdom; and what information he has as to why they are not taking this treatment in the Republic of Ireland.

Such information is not held centrally.

Cigarettes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give an estimate of the number of cigarettes sold illegally to children, and their estimated current value; and if he will make a statement.

The best available source of information on illegal sales of cigarettes to children comes from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys biennial study of smoking among secondary school children. From the 1986 study it can be estimated that children aged 11 to 15 in England and Wales smoked some 880 million cigarettes costing £66 million at a retail price of £1·50 per pack of 20. Not all of these cigarettes will have been sold illegally as some will have been obtained from other people aged over 16. However, in addition children who did not smoke also reported buying cigarettes and therefore it seems likely that total illegal sales are in excess of the estimates given above. We regard this failure to comply with the law as a serious matter and we are considering how the law might be better enforced. The Tobacco Advisory Council is currently engaged in a campaign to raise awareness of the law and to encourage its observance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish any evidence that he has on how consumption of cigarettes, particularly by children, is affected by an increase in price; and if he will make a statement.

Evidence from many studies over a long period shows that an increase in the price of cigarettes reduces consumption, with a 1 per cent. increase in price leading to a reduction in consumption of rather less than 1 per cent. There is no evidence available on the effect of price increases on children's smoking in this country, but a study undertaken in the United States suggests that teenagers' smoking is more responsive to price, with a 1 per cent. increase in price leading to a reduction of more than 1 per cent. in consumption. A list of studies and their principal results is as follows.

Percentage Reduction in Consumption of Cigarettes following a One per cent. Increase in Price
Study	Data	Change in Consumption Following a 1 per cent. Price Increase Percentage
Sumner (1971)	1955–68 (annual and quarterly)	-0·8
Russell (1973)	1946–71 (annual)	-0·5 to -0·6
Atkinson and Skegg		0·0 (men)
(1973)	1951–70 (annual)	-0·35 (women)
Peto (1974)	1951–70 (annual)	-0·37 to -0·64 (men)
McGuinness and	1957–68	-0·99 (short run)
Cowling (1975)	(quarterly)	-0·5 (long run)
Metra (1979)	1958–78	-0·34 to -0·54 (sr)
	(quarterly)	-0·4 to -0·54 (lr)
Witt and Pass (1981)	1955–75 (annual)	-0·32
Radfar (1985)	1965–80	-0·23 (sr)
	(quarterly)	-0·39 (lr)
Lewitt, Coate and Grossman (1981)	Us teenagers	-1·4

Sources:

C. Godfrey and A. Maynard, "Price, Consumption of Tobacco and the Economic Effects of a Taxation Policy Designed to Reduce Consumption", ESCRC Addiction Centre, University of York, 1987. J. Townsend, Tobacco Price and the Smoking Epidemic, WHO Regional Office for Europe, 1988.

Drug Names

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases his Department is aware of where the similarity of some generic drug names have resulted in mistakes with prescriptions.

We do not routinely collect such information. The number of reported serious accidents arising from prescribing mistakes due to apparent confusion over similar names (whether of generic or proprietary medicinal products) is thought to be extremely low—probably not more than one a year on average. Generic medicines marketed in the United Kingdom must be prescribed by their statutory British approved name. These names are devised having regard, among other factors, to the desirability of avoiding confusing similarity with other generic or proprietary names. Lists of names of medicines which look or sound alike are published from time to time in the medical and pharmaceutical press.

Set-Aside Agreements

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many set-aside agreements his Department has finalised by county in England and Wales; what is the total hectarage for each county of same taken out of production by such means; and what is his estimate by county of the total cost of this scheme.

I am not aware of such agreements in respect of agricultural land in the ownership of the NHS in England.

Community Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified social workers are required to meet the demand for community care; how many qualified social workers there are; and if he will make a statement.

Information is collected centrally only on the number of social workers employed by local authorities. At September 1987 the number in post in England was 24,300. We do not have information available on the number who held a professional qualification. Nor does the information held centrally enable us to identify the number of social workers currently engaged, or likely to be required, on community care work.

Social Work Students

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students are taking courses leading to the certificate of qualification in social work; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work that 4,933 students in England were attending courses leading to the award of the certificate of qualification in social work during the 1987–88 academic year. Of those students, 2,639 had commenced their courses during that year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students are taking courses leading to the certificate in social services; what Government help is given to these students; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work that 3,401 students in England were participating in schemes leading to the award of the certificate in social services during the 1987–88 academic year. Of those students, 1,325 had joined schemes during that year. These students are staff of local authorities and the costs therefore fall to their employers.

Artificial Colouring

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of children below the age of 16 years who have become ill as a result of artificial colouring in confectionery in each of the last 10 years.

Information to answer the question is not collected as part of the Department's health statistics system.Occasionally letters are received in the Department attributing various ill effects in children to consumption of artificial food colouring in confectionery.

British Chicken Bureau

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if any prosecutions have been brought against the British Chicken Bureau under section 8 of the Food Act 1984 in each of the last 10 years.

This information is not held centrally.

Private Hospice Patients (Drugs)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements exist for patients in non-National Health Service hospices to obtain necessary drugs under the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 22 December 1988]: General medical practitioners are entitled to prescribe drugs for their patients who have been admitted to independent hospices. This entitlement applies to medical directors of hospices who are also general medical practitioners. In addition, health authorities have discretion to supply drugs to hospices without charge or at reduced rates, or to make financial contributions to the cost of the services they provide. Medical directors of hospices who are also employed by health authorities may, by arrangement with the authorities, prescribe drugs for hospice patients.We are aware that some hospices find current arrangements insufficiently flexible, and the scope for improvements is under consideration.

Missing Persons

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make National Health Service central register records available to the Salvation Army for the forwarding of communications to missing persons on behalf of their families or where other efforts to trace them have failed.

[holding answer 19 December 1988]: The records held on the National Health Service central register are confidential and it is our policy not to disclose them in the way suggested. However, when organisations such as the Salvation Army ask for communications to be forwarded to a missing person, such a request is treated sympathetically in that the communication is usually passed to the relevant family practitioner committee, whose register contains patients' addresses, for onward transmission if they judge it appropriate to do so.

Elderly People (Residential Homes)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by local authority area the number of approved places in: (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) local authority residential homes for the elderly, for each year since 1980.

The information readily available over the period relates to the number of places for elderly and younger physically handicapped people in local authorities own homes and places registered in private and voluntary homes under the Registered Homes Act 1984. The information for the years ending 31 March 1981 to 1986 is published in "Residential Accommodation for Elderly and Younger Physically Handicapped People: All Residents in Local Authority, Voluntary and Private Homes Year Ending 31 March 1981 to Year Ending 31 March 1986 England", a copy of which is available in the Library. The provisional information for year ending 31 March 1987 is given in the table.

Number of places in residential care homes for the elderly and for younger physically handicapped people as at 31 March 1987 (Provisional).
Local authority	Places in local authority homes	Places in voluntary homes¹	Places in private homes¹	Total places in all homes¹
Northern Region	9,297	1,019	4,531	14,847
Cleveland	1,494	104	367	1,965
Cumbria	1,672	127	1,245	3,044
Durham	1,883	137	560	2,580
Northumberland	852	173	564	1,589
Gateshead	649	52	107	808
Newcastle upon Tyne	886	228	393	1,507
North Tyneside	509	63	738	1,310
South Tyneside	511	10	194	715
Sunderland	841	125	363	1,329
Yorkshire/ Humberside	14,465	1,749	9,854	26,068
Humberside	2,325	187	2,625	5,137
North Humberside	2,004	821	2,893	5,718
Barnsley	698	0	243	941
Doncaster	748	77	345	1,170
Rotheham	677	16	73	766
Sheffield	1,813	44	282	2,139
Bradford	1,425	93	1,418	2,936
Calderdale	702	32	438	1,172
Kirklees	1,163	43	534	1,740
Leeds	2,165	382	709	3,256
Wakefield	745	54	294	1,093
North Western Region	17,347	4,673	15,337	37,357
Cheshire	2,134	775	1,083	3,992
Lancashire	3,985	691	6,768	11,444
Bolton	706	74	405	1,185
Bury	462	392	181	1,035
Manchester	1,842	233	700	2,775
Oldham	671	0	528	1,119
Rochdale	608	0	329	937
Salford	831	201	194	1,226
Stockport	637	36	588	1,261
Tameside	459	83	319	861
Trafford	521	122	613	1,256
Wigan	824	16	216	1,056
Knowsley	222	0	63	285
Liverpool	1,441	719	496	2,656
Sefton	705	1,075	1,816	3,596
St. Helens	316	84	92	492
Wirral	983	172	946	2,101

Local authority	Places in local authority homes	Places in voluntary homes¹	Places in private homes¹	Total places in all homes¹
West Midlands Region	11,768	2,289	9,483	23,540
Hereford and Worcester	1,207	417	2,131	3,755
Shropshire	1,128	31	1,360	2,519
Staffordshire	2,147	370	1,740	4,257
Warwickshire	918	372	885	2,175
Birmingham	2,509	747	1,358	4,614
Coventry	677	45	601	1,323
Dudley	563	42	581	1,186
Sandwell	909	0	158	1,067
Solihull	324	166	82	572
Walsall	697	0	261	958
Wolverhampton	689	99	326	1,114
East Midlands Region	9,210	1,732	6,652	17,594
Derbyshire	2,116	431	1,717	4,264
Leicstershire	2,159	423	1,066	3,648
Lincolnshire	1,437	203	1,778	3,418
Northampton	1,309	337	1,004	2,650
Nottinghamshire	2,189	338	1,087	3,614
Thames/Anglia Region	14,426	5,344	11,791	31,561
Bedfordshire	1,145	172	754	2,071
Berkshire	1,158	635	1,060	2,853
Buckinghamshire	1,029	874	507	2,410
Cambridgeshire	1,378	316	942	2,636
Essex	3,389	1,168	2,565	7,122
Hertfordshire	1,753	826	1,318	3,897
Norfolk	1,896	514	2,738	5,148
Oxfordshire	1,183	340	476	1,999
Suffolk	1,495	499	1,431	3,425
Inner London Region	6,785	2,173	874	9,832
Camden	578	206	71	855
Greenwich	560	0	109	669
Hackney	523	137	0	660
Hammersmith	461	106	16	583
Islington	651	58	32	741
Kensington	300	249	51	600
Lambeth	702	302	172	1,176
Lewisham	790	18	237	1,045
Southwark	682	300	0	982
Tower Hamlets	441	125	0	566
Wandsworth	568	636	186	1,390
Westminster	529	36	0	565
City of London	0	0	0	0
Outer London Region	9,156	4,392	4,655	18,203
Barking	379	0	38	417
Barnet	544	1,003	534	2,081
Bexley	437	5	45	487
Brent	437	159	72	668
Bromley	475	646	330	1,451
Croydon	608	320	698	1,626
Ealing	599	389	302	1,290
Enfield	550	56	354	960
Haringey	457	360	140	957
Harrow	412	134	396	942
Havering	514	0	303	817
Hillingdon	505	96	57	658
Hounslow	473	136	5	614
Kingston upon Thames	253	18	370	641
Merton	262	165	165	592
Newham	616	109	24	749
Redbridge	481	174	231	886
Richmond upon Thames	353	434	85	872
Sutton	338	176	299	813
Waltham Forest	463	12	207	682

Local authority	Places in local authority homes	Places in voluntary homes¹	Places in private homes¹	Total places in all homes¹
Southern Region	13,658	7,759	26,655	48,072
Dorset	1,380	673	4,256	6,309
Hampshire	2,854	962	5,850	9,666
Isle of Wight	316	126	1,253	1,695
Kent	2,807	1,226	2,525	6,558
Surrey	2,016	1,845	1,962	5,823
East Sussex	1,491	1,527	5,465	8,483
West Sussex	1,602	1,135	4,086	6,823
Wiltshire	1,192	265	1,258	2,715
South Western Region	8,077	2,844	16,276	27,197
Avon	2,538	829	2,295	5,662
Cornwall	1,044	251	2,621	3,916
Devon	2,217	1,035	8,929	12,181
Gloucestershire	1,164	480	1,058	2,702
Somerset	1,114	249	1,373	2,736
England Total	114,189	33,974	106,108	254,271
¹ Includes homes exempt from registration under Section 1(5)(j) of the Registered Homes Act 1984.

Social Security

Unemployment Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people had their unemployment benefit stopped because they were considered not to be available for work during the period January to October 1988 in (a) Burnley; (b) Pendle; (c) Hyndburn and (d) Rossendale and Darwen.

I regret that information is not available in respect of the specific localities requested. Statistics on adjudication officers' decisions are not kept below sector level; Blackburn sector adjudication office covers the area specified, in addition to others. Nor do records differentiate between availability decisions reached during the currency of a claim and those that start before any benefit has been paid.

Transitional Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security why transitional payments due to Mrs. Rhoda Thompson of 17 Manton avenue, Whinney Banks, Middlesbrough, have not been paid since 31 October 1988.

There was a delay in sending out one payment to Mrs. Thompson. This delay was due to an error on the computer disc which contained the payment details. The error has been rectified and all payments due have been issued.

Industrial Injuries Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people will be involved in the changes of the payment of benefit from the special hardship allowances under the industrial injuries scheme to the new reduced earnings allowance included in the Social Security Act 1988; and if he will make a statement.

The Social Security Act 1988 introduced a new benefit—retirement allowance—to replace reduced earnings allowance (formerly known as special hardship allowance) for those people of pension age who retire on or after 10 April this year. We estimate that between 4,500 and 5,000 beneficiaries will reach pension age each year, and the change will affect them as and when they retire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish in full the views of the people who responded to the consultation paper issued in December 1985 on the proposed changes to the industrial injuries scheme; and if he will make a statement.

It is not our practice to publish the responses made by individuals or organisations to consultation papers. When we announced the changes proposed following this consultation paper, we reported on the balance of respondents' views on each of the proposals.

Family Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families are now receiving family credit; and how many claims are awaiting determination.

At the end of December, approximately 255,400 families were receiving family credit. A further 47,800 claims were awaiting determination. Both figures were depressed by a reduction in activity during the latter part of the month.

Defence

Armenia (Relief Supplies)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why Royal Air Force transport aircraft were not made available to facilitate the transportation of relief supplies from the United Kingdom to Armenia following the recent earthquake; and if he will make a statement.

Royal Air Force transport aircraft were available if required, but no formal request for their use was received.

Racial Discrimination

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many service men in the armed forces have instituted a complaint of racial discrimination or abuse under (a) the Race Relations Act 1976 and (b) revelant sections of the Service discipline Acts; and if he will publish the details of such cases;(2) how many service men in the armed forces have instituted a complaint of racial discrimination or abuse under the grievance procedures provided in the Service discipline Acts; and if he will publish the details of such cases.

Section 75(8) of the Race Relations Act 1976 provides that complaints of racial discrimination made by members of the armed forces shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions for the redress of complaints set out in the service discipline Acts. Submissions for redress of complaint may be dealt with by commanding officers or at any of the higher levels of command up to, and including, the service boards of the Defence Council.

No central records are kept of the total number of submissions made. However, of submissions considered by the service boards since the Race Relations Act 1976 came into force in 1977, none was concerned with alleged racial discrimination or abuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on how many occasions since the Race Relations Act 1976 became law has the special investigations branch investigated allegations of racial discrimination or abuse; and if he will publish the details of such cases;(2) on how many occasions since the Race Relations Act 1968 became law have incidences of racial discrimination or abuse, whether actual, reported or alleged, been brought to the attention of the special investigations branch, senior regimental officers or the authorities of his Department; and if he will publish the details of such cases.

Records are not maintained in a form which enables this information to be provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what circumstances led the Commission for Racial Equality to make representations to his Department about ways of dealing with racial discrimination; what has been his Department's reponse to these representations; and what arrangements are in force or planned within the armed services to prevent racial abuse or provocation and to improve awareness of dangers of racial discrimination.

My Department has received no recent representations but has had a number of discussions with the Commission for Racial Equality both directly and in the forum of the Home Secretary's Advisory Council on Race Relations. The CRE has been helpful, for example, in the drafting of terms of reference for a study by independent consultants following the results of the first year of ethnic monitoring of applicants and recruits to the armed forces. The aim of the study, for which invitations to tender have now been issued, is to attract more young people from the ethnic minorities to careers in the armed forces.Measures to discourage racial discrimination were set out in the memorandum from the Ministry of Defence to the House of Commons Defence Committee which was published in the First Report from the Defence Committee, Session 1987–88 (HC 391) and I refer the right hon. Member to pages 4 to 9 of that report. More recently instructions have been issued to recruiting staff, further Defence Council instructions have been issued and some 65,000 copies of the leaflet "The Armed Forces—Your Rights and Responsibilities" have been distributed, primarily to recruits. This leaflet sets out in summary form the armed forces' policy of equal opportunity and the procedures for any complaints of injustice or ill-treatment.

Rubble Dumping (Pirbright)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Property Services Agency is taking to prevent unauthorised dumping of rubble on Ministry of Defence land in the vicinity of School lane, Pirbright, details of which have been sent to the Department.

I shall write to my right hon. Friend shortly.

Personnel (Duties)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give an estimate (i) as to the numbers of military personnel whose duties include (a) part time and (b) full time, the care of horses owned privately by officers and (ii) the cost to public funds; and if he will make a statement.

Privately owned horses are permitted to be stabled in Army stables only on the basis that there are no additional costs (including manpower costs) to public funds and that their owners meet the costs incurred.

Chieftain Tank Replacement

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, further to his statement on 20 December 1988 on the Chieftain tank replacement, a contract has now been signed with Vickers.

Negotiations on the detailed terms and conditions of the contract are in hand and it is hoped that the contract will be signed shortly.

Neutron Beam Detectors

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research is being commissioned in relation to the use of neutron beam detector systems for use in security at Royal Air Force bases; what level of funding is being allocated to this area; and if he will make a statement.

MOD is assisting the Department of Transport in its work aimed at improving airport security. The results of such work could be of benefit to the RAF. I am sure that the hon. Member will appreciate that it would be inadvisable on security grounds to comment on particular technologies.

Cinder (Aldermaston)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will define the role, task and training of CINDER at AWRE, Aldermaston; and if he will make a statement about its composition.

I assume my hon. Friend is referring to recent articles in the press about the Government's counter-terrorist arrangements. Contingency plans exist to deal with a number of potential terrorist threats. It would not, however, be in the public interest to discuss specific plans.

Scotland

Teacher Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by subject (a) the number of students in Scotland currently enrolled on teacher training courses and (b) the number of available places on teacher training courses in Scotland for the current academic year and the projected number for the forthcoming academic year; and if he will make a statement on any shortfall in particular subject areas of students enrolling for teacher training courses in Scotland.

My right hon. and learned Friend prescribes the overall number of places to be provided for each teacher training course in the colleges of education, but does not determine limits for subject specialism which may be offered within postgraduate secondary courses. The balance of subject specialisms is determined by individual colleges of education in consultation with their local education authorities.The information requested is set out in the table below. There is no shortfall in the numbers enrolled for this

	Students enrolled¹1988–89	Places available 1988–89	²Provisional places available 1989–90
Primary
4-year BEd	2,070 (503 in year 1)	500	850
Postgraduate course	201	200	300
Secondary³
4-year BEd in Physical education	277 (80 in year 1)	80	90
Music⁴	53 (36 in year 1)	55	70
Technology⁴	61 (39 in year 1)	80	80
3-year Diploma in music⁵	14 (year 3)	—	—
4-year Diploma in speech and drama⁵	15 (years 3 and 4)	—	—
Postgraduate course	418	400	600
English	40	—	—
History	13	—	—
Geography	12	—	—
Modern studies	11	—	—
French	20	—	—
German	3	—	—
Gaelic	2	—	—
Computing	25	—	—
Mathematics	61	—	—
Biology	26	—	—
Chemistry	34	—	—
Physics	41	—	—
Art	23	—	—
Business studies	29	—	—
Home economics	18	—	—
Technology	19	—	—
Music	10	—	—
Drama	5	—	—
Religious education	26	—	—
¹ Figures correct at 17 October 1988.
² These figures are at present the subject of consultation.
³ It is also possible to undertake teacher training as part of an undergraduate degree course at the university of Stirling. By agreement with the University Grants Committee, the university is restricted to producing a maximum of 50 secondary teachers annually.
⁴ Entry to these courses began in 1987–88.
⁵ The final intake to these courses was in 1986–87.

Loch Katrine

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the fluoride levels both natural and artefact of Loch Katrine water; and if he will make a statement.

The natural fluoride content of Loch Katrine water is negligible and remains consistently below 0·05 milligrammes per litre. The water supply authority does not add fluoride.

Health Service (Grading)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received recent representations from trades unions regarding nurses' regrading in Lothian's National Health Service hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

I have received no recent representations from trades unions on this matter.

academic session for the primary courses, the postgraduate secondary courses and the bachelor of education in physical education course. Recruitment to the new bachelor of education courses in music and in technology has not matched the places available. A Government publicity leaflet about technology teaching has been sent to every school and further education college, and I understand that access courses for both degrees are being planned.

Football

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list Scottish League clubs together with the following information for each of them during the 1987–88 season: the number of matches played at their grounds, the total season's attendance, the total arrests in association with such matches, the average attendance per match, the average number of arrests per match and the arrests as a proportion of the attendance; and if he will make a statement about the numbers of charges and convictions which have arisen from such arrests.

Attendance figures for season 1987–88 are summarised in the following table. Figures are not collected centrally for European cup ties, friendly matches and regional competitions. The police forces have advised that the total number of arrests within the grounds at these matches was 845. Charges were prepared in all these cases. Information as to whether such charges resulted in criminal convictions is not held centrally.

Attendances at Matches played in Season 1987–88 in the Fine Fare league championship and in the Skol Cup and the Scottish Football Association Cup competitions
	Total attendances	Number of matches	Average attendance per match
Premier Division
Aberdeen	349,207	26	13,431
Celtic	796,261	25	31,850
Dundee	259,753	27	9,620
Dundee United	253,278	24	10,553
Dunfermline Athletic	249,271	25	9,970
Falkirk	160,321	23	6,970
Heart of Midlothian	422,443	26	16,247
Hibernian	275,898	26	10,611
Morton	110,432	23	4,801
Motherwell	168,303	26	6,473
Rangers	924,557	24	38,523
St. Mirren	172,148	24	1,172
First Division
Airdrieonians	37,843	23	1,645
Clyde	24,085	23	1,047
Clydebank	28,794	23	1,251
Dumbarton	34,260	24	1,427
East Fife	23,054	23	1,002
Forfar Athletic	17,600	23	765
Hamilton Academical	55,380	24	2,307
Kilmarnock	48,201	23	2,095
Meadowbank Thistle	19,398	24	808
Partick Thistle	68,385	25	2,735
Queen of the South	32,449	24	1,352
Raith Rovers	63,734	25	2,549
Second Division
Albion Rovers	7,342	20	367
Alloa	11,393	20	569
Arbroath	17,298	21	823
Ayr United	67,215	21	3,200
Berwick Rangers	9,429	21	449
Brechin City	12,577	21	598
Cowdenbeath	6,617	22	300
East Stirlingshire	10,847	21	516
Montrose	7,988	19	420
Queen's Park	13,613	21	648
St. Johnstone	47,782	22	2,171
Stenhousemuir	7,203	20	360
Stirling Albion	26,945	21	1,283
Stranraer	9,757	20	487
Cup Semi-Final Ties	191,588	6	31,931
Cup Final Ties	140,034	2	70,017
Grand Totals	5,182,701	881

Community Charge

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the estimated number of second homes liable for the standard community charge by local authority areas.

The estimated number of second homes for each district and islands council area as at 30 June 1986 is set out in the following table. The figures have been derived from information supplied by local authorities.

District/Island Authorities	Second homes
Berwickshire	184
Ettrick and Lauderdale	257
Roxburgh	313
Tweeddale	200
Clackmannan	37
Falkirk	125
Stirling	162
Annandale and Eskdale	171

District/Island Authorities	Second homes
Nithsdale	283
Stewartry	478
Wigtown	331
Dunfermline	68
Kirkaldy	126
North East Fife	801
Aberdeen City	312
Banff and Buchan	393
Gordon	355
Kincardine and Deeside	293
Moray	515
Badenoch and Strathspey	565
Caithness	205
Inverness	304
Lochaber	374
Nairn	55
Ross and Cromarty	663
Skye and Lochalsh	527
Sutherland	428
East Lothian	564
Edinburgh City	726
Midlothian	44
West Lothian	44
Argyle and Bute	2,763
Bearsden and Milngavie	3
Clydebank	35
Clydesdale	155
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	27
Cumnock and Doon Valley	38
Cunninghame	1,884
Dumbarton	311
East Kilbride	42
Eastwood	16
Glasgow City	674
Hamilton	51
Inverclyde	84
Kilmarnock and Louden	70
Kyle and Carrick	539
Monklands	65
Motherwell	16
Renfrew	141
Strathkelvin	38
Angus	599
Dundee City	208
Perth and Kinross	994
Orkney	166
Shetland	166
Western Isles	460
SCOTLAND TOTAL	19,446

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been fined for not registering for the poll tax to date; how many people have been placed on the register despite not having registered; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for compiling community charges registers rests with individual community charges registration officers and information of the kind requested is not held centrally.

Lockerbie Air Disaster

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the emergency arrangements of British Nuclear Fuels for Chapelcross nuclear power station if the Pan American airliner had crashed there or any part of it had fallen on Chapelcross; what discussions he has had with British Nuclear Fuels following the crash; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 12 January 1989]: The emergency arrangements at Chapelcross are prepared by the operators, British Nuclear Fuels plc, and approved by Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate (NII) of the Health and Safety Executive, under the terms of the site licence, on a basis similar to that used at all other civil nuclear power stations in Great Britain. I am advised that the NII regards the probability of a direct strike by an aircraft or significant part of one leading to an uncontrolled release of radiation as extremely low and considers that no change in current emergency arrangements to cater specifically for aircraft crashes would be appropriate.

Environment

Housing Co-Operatives (Funding)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment further to his reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, East (Mr. Knowles) Official Report, 14 December, column 629, how much of the funding made available to the Housing Corporation in the next three years he expects to be spent on housing co-ops, showing separately the amount he expects to be spent on tenant management co-ops and transferred ownership co-ops.

This information is not held by the Department. The Housing Corporation is responsible for allocating its capital programme to housing associations, including housing co-operatives, within the broad framework agreed by my right hon. Friend. I have therefore asked the chairman of the Housing Corporation to respond to the hon. Member direct. The hon. Member may care to note that, with effect from April, the Housing Corporation's responsibilities will relate to associations in England only.

Rating Reform

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, what is (a) the amount and (b) the proportion of net income after rebates, adjusted for family size, households' pay in domestic rates in 1988–89, broken down into decile groups; and what is his estimate of what the equivalent figures would be if the community charge was being paid.

The analysis is not available in the form requested.I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) by my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) on Thursday 12 January 1989,

Official Report, columns 742-4. This provides figures by equivalent income bands.

Vocational Skill Training

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange to modify the funding criteria under the urban programme to enable vocational skill training, such as that offered by the Bradford Contact Club, to receive funding; and if he will make a statement.

No change is required. Schemes to improve the skills and employability of inner city residents are an important part of the urban programme and they will continue to be funded according to the individual merits of each application. Such schemes should be seen as complementary to those administered by the Department of Employment.

Energy Conservation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice and assistance he offers to housing authorities on energy conservation; and if he will make a statement.

The homes insulation scheme, administered by housing authorities and funded by the DOE, provides 90 per cent. grants for loft insulation in qualifying dwellings where householders are recipients of income support, family credit or housing benefit. A DOE booklet for scheme applicants, distributed to all authorities, includes detailed guidance to those who wish to carry out the work themselves.Estate Action provides advice and financial assistance to local authorities based on the Department's publication "Energy Efficient Renovation of Housing", and research at the Building Research Establishment. In addition advice is available to housing authorities from BRE through its newly launched technical consultancy arid through seminars, workshops and its many publications. These include information papers, defect action sheets and digests as well as reports such as the planned design guides on cavity wall insulation and LPS buildings and the BRE video on the remedies for condensation and mould. Housing authorities can also use BREDEM BRE's domestic energy model) to evaluate all aspects of energy conservation, including insulation, heating, ventilation and the likely behaviour of householders.

Housing Action Trusts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has discussed with any local authorities the possibility of alterations in capital spending restrictions following the establishment of a housing action trust in their area; and if he will make a statement.

Section 74 of the Housing Act 1988 provides that any money received by an authority following transfer of property to a HAT will be treated as a capital receipt under whatever capital finance system is in place. I have had no discussions with any local authorities about altering this provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has had discussions with local authorities other than Leeds, Sunderland, Sandwell, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Lambeth regarding the establishment of housing action trusts; and if he will make a statement.

I discuss all kinds of housing issues which authorities choose to raise when I come in contact with them. And I discussed housing action trusts with representatives of the local authority associations at the Housing Consultative Council on 25 November 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals to alter the current criteria for establishment of housing action trusts so that higher quality public sector stock can be included in one.

Section 60 of the Housing Act 1988 lists matters to which the Secretary of State may have regard in deciding whether to include a particular area of land in an order designating a housing action trust area. We have no plans to amend this section.

National Rivers Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether a decision has been reached on the location of the headquarters of the National Rivers Authority.

The great majority of National Rivers Authority staff will be based in the regions where the authority's main activities will take place. But we have concluded that, at least for an initial period, the small central policy unit of not more than 60 people should occupy the same London offices as the National Rivers Authority advisory committee. This will ensure continuity between the advisory committee and the NRA itself in the busy period up to vesting and flotation. Other headquarters support functions of the NRA, such as computers, payroll, and information technology work, will be located in the regions from the establishment of the NRA. We shall keep under review the scope for further regionalisation of these London-based staff.

Home Loss Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make an order to increase the level of home loss payments.

My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales have today laid before Parliament the Home Loss Payments Order 1989, under which a home loss payment will be 10 times the rateable value of the dwelling concerned subject to a minimum of £1,200 and a maximum of £1,500. The order will come into effect on Monday 16 January.These changes will result in a substantial increase in the average value of home loss payments: at present the minimum payment is £150 and the multiplier is three times rateable value.This is an interim provision. Further provision will be necessary as a consequence of the abolition of domestic rateable values on 1 April 1990. My Department and the Welsh Office will shortly be publishing a consultation paper on land compensation issues which will refer to this matter.

Employment Training: Filled Places by Area Office
Area Office	Filled Places as at:
	30 September 1988	28 October 1988	25 November 1988	16 December 1988
South East Region
Berkshire and Oxfordshire	223	372	483	563
Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire	623	853	1,001	1,110
Essex	455	642	772	1,006
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	1,005	1,315	1,523	1,730
Kent	760	1,068	1,365	1,521
Surrey	146	200	267	289
Sussex	587	714	842	928
London Region
Inner London north	1,280	2,258	3,043	3,484
Inner London south	956	1,268	1,698	1,936
London east	832	1,098	1,421	1,593
London north	897	1,271	1,813	2,100

Rating Reform

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what the average community charge would be if it were in place in 1988–89 for income support claimants.

[holding answer 15 December 1988]: No information is available for income support claimants which enables the hon. Member's question to be answered in the form requested. However, based on data contained in the family expenditure survey and the illustrative community charge figures published on 23 June 1988, I estimate that the average community charge, after rebates, payable by people entitled to income support in England would have been about £1 per week in 1988–89. This assumes that those entitled to claim income support will in fact claim it. This sum would be fully covered by the specific increases in income support to cover community charge payments, which have already been announced.

Employment

Employment Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of places so far filled on employment training schemes in each area manpower board area; what was the target number of places to be filled at this time in each area; and how many of these places in each area were filled by transfers from the community programme.

Information on the number of filled places in each area manpower board area is not readily available but the following table gives this information for each training agency area office area. I am not able to supply information on the Training Agency's estimated profile of filled places as this figure is for internal management purposes only and is not normally published.I am afraid that I cannot give reliable information on the number of places in each area filled by those people transferring from the community programme. However, in September and October a national total of about 6,000 people transferred from the community programme to employment training, so the numbers in any area are not likely to be large.

Area Office	Filled Places as at:
	30 September 1988	28 October 1988	25 November 1988	16 November 1988
London south	389	431	614	613
London west	248	431	631	758
South West Region
Avon	484	642	1,037	1,230
Devon and Cornwall	1,627	2,209	2,939	3,535
Dorset and Somerset	598	876	1,058	1,273
Gloucester and Wiltshire	278	539	708	797
West Midlands Region
Birmingham and Solihull	1,228	2,086	2,998	3,555
Coventry and Warwickshire	551	838	1,134	1,280
Dudley and Sandwell	926	1,231	1,410	1,589
Staffordshire	769	1,296	1,748	2,051
The Marches, Hereford/Worcester	616	980	1,279	1,590
Wolverhampton and Walsall	863	1,263	1,672	1,874
East Midlands and Eastern Region
Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire	309	489	835	1,035
Derbyshire	726	1,154	1,520	1,702
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire	707	1,015	1,352	1,530
Lincolnshire	428	540	673	802
Norfolk and Suffolk	755	1,188	1,404	1,786
Nottinghamshire	973	1,318	1,785	1,929
Yorkshire and Humberside Region
Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees	1,400	1,676	2,506	2,925
Humberside	2,016	2,662	3,267	3,542
North Yorkshire and Leeds	907	1,424	2,154	2,474
Sheffield and Rotherham	1,490	2,294	3,024	3,461
Wakefield, Doncaster and Barnsley	1,561	2,126	2,913	3,389
North West Region
Cheshire	850	1,298	1,699	1,958
Cumbria	235	382	600	773
Lancashire	1,465	1,865	2,420	2,773
Central Manchester	1,346	1,809	2,372	2,500
Greater Manchester north	714	1,103	1,469	1,677
Greater Manchester east	848	1,224	1,589	1,747
Merseyside	1,210	2,197	3,264	3,889
Northern Region
Cleveland	1,520	2,247	2,984	3,444
County Durham	898	1,629	2,259	2,538
Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle	954	1,130	1,538	2,022
Sunderland, South Tyneside and Gateshead	1,053	2,063	2,886	3,538
Wales
Dyfed and West Glamorgan	944	1,518	1,943	2,283
Gwent	198	621	868	1,051
Gwynned, Clwyd and Powys	436	993	1,251	1,582
Mid and South Glamorgan	735	1,305	1,934	2,351
Scotland
Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway	451	700	1,060	1,408
Central and Fife	753	974	1,267	1,567
Glasgow City	836	1,201	1,621	2,052
Grampian and Tayside	739	1,078	1,256	1,409
Highlands and Islands	161	214	287	340
Lanarkshire	406	748	1,104	1,311
Lothian and Borders	490	992	1,558	2,005
Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll	525	701	942	1,197

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria are being used in assessing the quality of employment training programmes.

[holding answer 22 December 1988]: The criteria used in assessing quality on employment training have been published by the Training Agency in "Achieving Quality—Approved Status Criteria". Copies of the publications for both training managers and training agents have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what provision has been made for ensuring the quality of placements with employers sub-contracted by training managers.

[holding answer 22 December 1988]: All training managers are required to include provisions in their contracts with sub-contractors which require those sub-contractors to meet satisfactory standards. The criteria which a training manager will have to meet to secure approved status includes a number of requirements in relation to the role of the sub-contractors they use. In addition Training Agency staff have right of access to all employment training providers and officials are already monitoring standards including those of subcontractors.

Employees in part-time¹ employment as a percentage of economically active by industry sector, sex and age
Great Britain, Spring 1979, 1983 and 1987
per cent.
	Men					Women
Industry sector	16 to 29	30 to 44	45 to 59	60 plus	All ages	16 to 29	30 to 44	45 to 59	60 plus	All ages
1979
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	³—	³—	³—	³—	2·5	³—	51·4	33·8	³—	39·4
Production	³—	³—	³—	10·2	1·0	8·6	37·2	31·9	58·1	25·9
Construction	³—	³—	³—	³—	0·8	³—	54·4	40·6	³—	37·1
Services	2·2	³—	0·9	21·1	2·8	17·1	54·4	51·9	65·1	42·3
All sectors²	1·2	0·3	0·5	15·2	1·8	13·7	48·8	45·6	62·0	36·6
1983
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	³—	³—	³—	³—	3·0	³—	38·0	43·0	³—	36·1
Production	³—	³—	³—	9·0	4·0	6·6	30·1	6·0	50·6	20·8
Construction	³—	³—	³—	³—	0·7	³—	51·8	45·4	³—	34·6
Services	5·8	0·9	1·7	17·2	3·9	19·3	49·2	49·3	62·1	39·9
All sectors²	2·9	0·5	1·0	12·7	2·3	15·2	44·0	43·5	58·8	34·4
1987
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	³—	³—	³—	³—	3·0	³—	41·0	28·4	³—	34·5
Production	1·6	³—	³—	9·0	1·3	8·2	28·7	26·3	60·7	20·3
Construction	³—	³—	³—	³—	0·7	³—	49·8	44·4	³—	36·9
Services	8·4	1·4	2·3	18·7	5·2	23·7	51·5	51·4	67·0	42·4
All sectors2	4·8	0·9	1·4	13·8	3·2	19·6	46·1	45·5	64·5	37·0
¹ The definition of part-time is based on the respondent's own assessment, not on the numbers of hours usually wrked.
² Includes those who did not state current or previous industry.
³ Less than 10,000 in cell, percentage based on this estimate not shown.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment in the Barnsley, East constituency.

The information is in the Library. In November 1988, the latest available date, there were 4,039 unemployed claimants in the Barnsley, East parliamentary constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people under the age of 21 years are currently unemployed in Barnsley, East.

Following is the available information, which is also in the Library. Unemployment figures are not available for the requested age group. However, in October 1988, the latest available date, the number of unemployed claimants aged under 20 in the Barnsley, East parliamentary constituency was 433.

Training And Enterprise Councils

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the budget for training and enterprise councils would come from (a) Government funds, (b) private sector contributions and (c) others.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the total percentage of the economically active population employed, in a part-time capacity, in each sector of the economy, set out by age and gender, for the years 1979, 1983 and the latest available date.

Estimates from the 1979, 1983 and 1987 labour force survey of employees in part-time employment as a percentage of the economically active in Great Britain, by industry sector, age and sex, are presented in the following table:

Training and enterprise councils (TECs) will receive substantial funding from the Government through the Training Agency. They will also be encouraged to stimulte private sector investment in training and enterprise. It is too early to gauge what proportion of TEC's funding will come from non-Government sources.

Training (Agriculture)

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many trainees under YTS and ET are currently in training in agriculture.

At the end of November 1988 there were 427,900 young people in training on YTS. Of these, 18,600 were training in agriculture and related occupations. Information on the number of ET trainees training in agriculture is not available.

Youth Training Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people in south Yorkshire are currently on YTS.

At 31 December 1988, there were 14,806 young people in training on YTS in south Yorkshire.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Subsidies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much subsidy has been paid to farmers in the Nottingham, North constituency on each of the categories for which subsidy is available for the last year for which figures are available.

None. So far as my Department is aware there are no farms in the Nottingham, North constituency.

Salmonella Enteriditis

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest estimate of the extent of salmonella enteritidis infection in the national laying flock.

The reporting of isolations of salmonella in food producing animals is required under the Zoonoses Order 1975. During 1988 there were 20 reports of the isolation of salmonella enteritidis in commercial table egg producing flocks.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the current level of egg consumption; and what was the level of consumption on 1 December 1988.

Based on reports from retailers, egg packers and producers, I estimate that overall demand for eggs fell below normal levels for the time of year by under 10 per cent. in the week ending 3 December, by about 30 per cent in the week ending 10 December and by about 50 per cent. in the week ending 17 December. I estimate that overall demand is now about 10-20 per cent. below normal levels.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries arid Food what is his estimate of the number of hens still within the laying cycle that have been culled weekly since 1 December 1988; and what is the total number of hens culled for which compensation has been claimed since the inauguration of the scheme to date.

I am aware that producers have been culling hens earlier in the laying cycle, but I have no firm information on the number involved. Culling under the slaughter of hens scheme commenced this week. By Wednesday evening 11 January, 54,000 hens had been slaughtered.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received any representations concerning compensation for laying hens culled before his announcement of the compensation scheme on 19 December.

Yes. Only applications submitted under the scheme, over which proper financial control can be exercised, may be considered for assistance.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many inspections were carried out by his officials of (a) feed processing plants, (b) feed processing plants producing chicken food and (c) egg-producing farms in each of the last five years; how many were found to be sub-standard, for each of the last five years; and how many prosecutions there were for each category in each of the last five years.

Details of inspections carried out at processing plants producing animal protein for incorporation into animal feedingstuffs, including for chickens, and the samplings found to be salmonella postive over the last five years are as follows:

	Inspections	Number of first and subsequent postive samples
1984	240	80
1985	217	52
1986	122	26
1987	181	26
1988¹	140	19
¹ Provisional.

If sampling of a plant's production reveals salmonella contamination a notice is served requiring compliance with the bacteriological standard within a time limit. Failure to comply without lawful authority or excuse constitutes an offence. In the cases where resampling still revealed contamination this was not considered to be wilful failure and was therefore not appropriate to bring prosecutions.Regarding egg producing farms, since there is currently no simple, rapid and sensitive test available for salmonella there is no routine monitoring carried out. However, the recently issued code of practice for commerical layers sets out routine procedures for bacteriological monitoring of birds and hygienic production of eggs.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what procedures are currently being followed to test for salmonella in the egg-laying flock.

Since there is currently no simple, rapid and sensitive test available for salmonella there is no routine monitoring of laying flocks carried out by officials.The recently issued code of practice for commerical laying flocks, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, sets out routine procedures for the bacteriological monitoring of birds and hygienic production of eggs.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether it is his intention to review the specification for salmonella contamination in eggs and poultry.

There is no specification for salmonella contamination in eggs and poultry. The reporting of isolations of salmonella in food producing animals is required under the Zoonoses Order 1975.

Marine Fish Farming

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the potential for the expansion of marine fish farming off the coast of England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Ongoing assessments are made of the feasibility of farming species of marine fish and shellfish in the coastal waters of England and Wales. For the foreseeable future, it is likely that salmon, sea-reared trout and certain shellfish will continue to offer the best prospects for commercial development.

Raspberry Flavouring

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish his Department's definitions of (a) raspberry flavour and (b) raspberry flavoured.

"Raspberry flavoured" can be used to describe a food only if its flavour comes wholly or mainly from real raspberries. "Raspberry flavour" may be used if the food tastes of raspberries but the flavour does not come mainly from raspberries. The relevant provisions can be found in schedule 7 of the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 and are explained in our free booklet "Look at the Label".

Food (Water Content)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish a table showing the maximum permitted levels of water that can be added to (a) bread, (b) ham, (c) poultry, (d) bacon and (e) pork.

There are no statutory maximum permitted levels of added water for these products. However, the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 require that where added water comprises more than 5 per cent. of the finished product, water shall be declared in its appropriate place in the list of ingredients given on the label. In addition, the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations 1984 require that any added water in cooked cured meat products (ham) and any added water in excess of 10 per cent. in uncooked cured meat products (bacon) shall be declared on the label in close proximity to the name of the food; this declaration is to be given in multiples of 5 per cent. By virtue of European Community legislation, wet-chilled and dry-chilled frozen chickens may absorb up to 7·4 per cent. and 2·9 per cent. added water respectively before any declaration of added water needs to be made.

Food (Children)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to restrict the use of non-nutritive additives in confectionery and other foods intended for young children.

The Food Advisory Committee is in process of sending me further advice on the use of colouring matter in food in the light of public comments on its published report on this matter. I shall be making an announcement of my conclusions on this in due course. The committee is also currently examining the use of additives in food specially prepared for babies and young children and will report to me when that review is concluded.

Pesticides

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the number of instances of fruit and vegetables polluted by pesticides in each of the past 10 years.

As part of the Government's controls on pesticides, samples of a range of foods and agricultural products are monitored for pesticide residues. The results of this monitoring are published periodically in the reports of the working party on pesticide residues. Copies of the reports covering the period 1977 to mid-1985 (food surveillance papers 9 and 16) are available from HMSO. A third report covering the period 1985 to 1988 will be published shortly.Analytical methods for detecting pesticides are extremely sensitive and small traces can be identified. Such residues as are found in food in the United Kingdom are, in virtually all instances, well below internationally agreed maximum limits, which are themselves designed to incorporate a large margin of safety.

Milk

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the findings of the National Audit Office report on subsidised Common Market milk and milk products; and if he will end the imbalance whereby pupils in independent schools are receiving an average of three times as much subsidised milk as state schools.

The Department's accounting officer was examined by the Public Accounts Committee on 7 December 1988 on the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on implementation of the common agricultural policy in Great Britain, and the Ministry now awaits the views of that Committee.The school milk subsidy scheme makes no distinction between different types of school; it is for each independent school or local education authority to decide whether or not to take advantage of the scheme. Nevertheless, steps have already been taken to identify those local education authority areas where uptake under the scheme is low in order that greater use of the subsidy may be encouraged.

Water

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many occasions since the coming into force of the Water Act 1973, he has issued directions under the provisions of section 5(1) of that Act to water authorities; and for what purpose each such direction was made.

The power has never been used.

Transport

Gatwick Airport (Night Flying)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what use has been made of the night-time quota period at Gatwick airport in the summer of the 1988 season, 1 April to 23 October; how many movements were carried out in this period (a) under quota and (b) by dispensation; and whether he will place on record details of the airlines and aircraft type concerned, and the reason for dispensation in each case.

The following were the total number of quota movements made by aircraft in each night noise category at Gatwick during the period 1 April 1988 to 23 October 1988. Movement information broken down by aircraft type is not readily available.

Aircraft night noise category
	NN/A (delayed)	NN/B	NN/C
Quota	60	3,300	1,130
Usage	57	3,300	1,130

The NN/B and NN/C usage figures include 176 movements unavoidably delayed into the night period because of runway resurfacing works.The quota movements were used by individual airline operators as follows:

Airline	NN/A (delayed)	NN/B	NN/C
Air Europe	1	55	334
Air Malta	—	23	—
Athiaca	—	8	—
American Transair	—	4	—
ATI	—	65	—
Anglo Cargo	—	3	—
Aviogenex	—	3	—
Austrian Airlines	—	7	1
BCal/Cal Air	18	317	7
British Air Ferries	—	86	—
British Island Airways	7	303	99
Britannia	1	369	314
BAL Air	—	8	—
British Airways	—	1,035	18
Cathay Pacific	—	74	—
Continental Airlines	—	4	—
Dan Air	19	633	52
Delta Airlines	—	10	—
Hispania	—	8	—
Inex Adria	—	3	—
JAT	—	3	—
Monarch	—	108	237
Nation Air	—	4	—
North West Airlines	—	2	—
Orion	1	113	65
Philippines	—	4	—
TAP	—	—	1
TWA	—	6	2
Tunis Air	—	29	—
Uganda Airlines	—	2	—
Virgin Atlantic	—	2	—
Ward Air	—	3	—
Yemen Airways	—	2	—
ZAS	—	4	—
Other Airlines (Pool)	10	—	—
Total	57	3,300	1,130

During the course of the last summer season widespread and prolonged air traffic disruption affected operations at the airport. Gatwick Airport Ltd. (GAL) used its powers under the Civil Aviation Act 1982, S78 to disregard 1,581 movements delayed into the night period as a result of this disruption. Dispensations may also be granted for delays to aircraft which are likely to lead to serious congestion at the airport or serious hardship or suffering to passengers or animals. A further 13 dispensations were granted under this category. The numbers of movements disregarded by GAL, grouped by night noise category and airline were as follows:

Aircraft night noise category
Airline	NN/A	NN/B	NN/C	Total
Air Europe	2	18	314	334
Britannia	0	56	37	93
BIA	30	119	57	206
BA/BCal/Cal Air	0	205	0	205
Monarch	1	5	242	248
Orion	0	61	149	210
Dan Air	104	163	26	293
ATI	0	5	0	5
				1,594

All movement statistics have been supplied by Gatwick Airport Ltd.

British Rail Rolling Stock

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request the British Railways Board to ensure that the future withdrawal of older but proven passenger coaching stock from service, other than for reasons of safety, will not prejudice the running of timetabled services to maximum passenger capacity.

The Government have set British Rail standards which cover overcrowding. It is for British Rail to decide how best to meet the quality standards most cost effectively.

Company Cars

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he possesses concerning the current or past estimated proportions of car-miles travelled on roads in Greater London whose costs are met by sources other than the taxed income of the drivers.

Information in this form is not available. Limited data on car journeys for which employer's assistance was given were included in the Greater London travel survey (1981). The Department has recently commissioned research to provide a better understanding of the nature and extent of travel assistance in the London area.

Greater London (Traffic Management)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regular meetings take place and at what intervals, between representatives of his Department and those of all London boroughs concerned with traffic management and the avoidance of congestion; if representatives of the Metropolitan police are present; if agendas, minutes, or reports of any such meetings are sent to any elected persons in Greater London; and if he will place any such documents relating to the year 1988 in the Library.

All London borough councils are invited to send an elected member and an official to the annual meeting of the London advisory consultative committee. This meeting provides a forum for all the London local authorities to discuss specific traffic and highway issues of concern to the capital. Representatives of the Metropolitan police are not present at these meetings. An agenda is circulated prior to the meeting and councils are invited to suggest appropriate items for discussion. A note of the meeting is prepared and sent to the borough representatives. I will arrange for a copy of the note of the meeting held on 2 February to be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he possesses concerning the incidence of major traffic congestion in Greater London; what information he receives from the Metropolitan police, London Regional Transport, or other statutory bodies or services; and what is the approximate proportion of major incidents of congestion that have as their principal or contributory cause (a) demonstrations, (b) official events, (c) accidents, (d) vehicle breakdowns, (e) roadworks, (f) illegal parking, (g) traffic light failure, and (h) shed loads.

Records are not maintained of the incidence and causes of individual traffic jams in London. Day-to-day traffic control is a matter for the Metropolitan police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what information is available to him, hon. Members and the public, respectively, concerning traffic flows, measured in pcus per hour for varied periods in each day along principal vehicular thoroughfares in Greater London; at how many locations measurements of such flows are regularly made; and what public body is currently responsible for such measurements, and for their collation and publication; (2) what sets of figures or maps are available to him which show the maximum design flow in pcu per hour of each of the major traffic thoroughfares in Greater London, as limited by key intersections; and if he will place any such figures or maps in the Library.

The information on design flow held centrally is incomplete and could only be made available at disproportionate cost.The Department of Transport conducts a range of traffic surveys to monitor road traffic conditions in London, and undertakes analysis and distribution of results. Estimates of vehicle flow are made for each length of major road between intersections and with other class A or motorway standard roads. There are about 1,600 individual links in all.Summary information in the form of maps for the Strategic London Road Network of trunk and designated roads is published in "Transport Statistics Great Britain

Passenger Traffic in Greater London (millions)
	LRT Bus Passenger Journeys¹	LRT Underground		BR Central Stations²
		Passenger Journeys	Passenger Miles	Passengers Arriving	Passengers Departing
1983	1,090	563	2,700	162	157
1984	—	—	—	165	159
1984–85	1,160	672	3,340	—	—
1985	—	—	—	169	166
1985–86	1,153	732	3,710	—	—
1986	—	—	—	180	177
1986–87	1,165	769	3,862	—	—
1987	—	—	—	194	188
1987–88	1,286	798	3,888	—	—
¹ Includes some journeys outside the Greater London area.
² Includes some Inter-City passengers.

Further information on passenger traffic in London is given in "Transport Statistics for London" published yesterday. A copy is available in the Library.

1976–1986" and for major roads in the vicinity of the M25 in "Transport Statistics Great Britain 1977–1987". Copies are in the Library.

Estimates for individual links are based upon a small sample and therefore subject to appreciable margins of error. A standard one-page report is produced for each link, available on request from the Department of Transport, STC5, room A6.29, Romney house, 43 Marsham street, London. A charge is made to cover handling and computer retrieval costs. Where appropriate the results can be provided on microfiche or other media.

The report gives estimates of annual average flows for weekdays between 7 am and 7 pm, weekdays between 6 am and 10 pm, weekdays for the 24-hour day, and for the full week 24-hour day.

Separate estimates of flow are given for pedal cycles, motor cycles, cars, and taxis, buses and coaches, light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, and all motor vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles are further classified as rigids or articulated and by the numbers of axles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library any map or diagram in his possession which shows the current approximate flows in persons per hour, at the peak evening or morning hour, of all passenger-carrying railways in Greater London, or wider area.

Information of the kind requested will be included in the report of the central London rail study, which is to be published shortly. I will then send the hon. Member a copy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a table to show the estimated or actual level of passenger traffic within the Greater London area for each year from 1983 to 1988 which shall include for each year (a) passenger journeys by bus services operated under the auspices of London Regional Transport, (b) passengers carried and passenger miles. respectively, travelled on railways currently operated by London Underground Limited, and (c) the number of passengers arriving and departing at (i) central London stations of the British Railways Board and (ii) through other stations within the Greater London, or similar area.

Estimates are as follows:

To ask th Secretary of State for Transport what information he possesses concerning the current number of (a) work and (b) non-work journeys made on a normal weekday within the Greater London area and the approximate proportion of each made principally by (i) car, (ii) bus or coach and (iii) rail.

Estimates from the 1985–86 national travel survey are as follows:

Average number of journeys made in London on a weekday
	Work Journeys		Non-work Journeys¹
	Number (millions)	per. cent.	Number (millions)	per. cent.
Car	3·0	42	5·3	35
Bus/Coach	0·7	10	1·6	11
Rail	1·5	22	0·6	4
Walk²	1·2	17	7·1	47
Other	0·6	9	0·5	3
Total	7·0	100	15·1	100
¹ Non-work journeys by London residents only.
² Excluding walk journeys of less than 50 yards.

Classification Societies

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if any further moves are anticipated to increase the role of classification societies in inspectorate work; and if he will make a statement.

The survey and certification of submersible craft and their associated handling systems, and the approval of the intact stability on mobile offshore drilling units, are shortly to be delegated to the classification societies. There are no present plans to increase the role of the classification societies in other statutory surveys, but a review of the working relationship between the Department and the classification societies is being undertaken and when this is completed the possibility of further delegation will be considered. In addition my Department is planning a pilot study to test the possibility of transferring to other organisations some of the work connected with the re-survey of small passenger ships carrying no more than 50 passengers.

Mhari (Sinking)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding the sinking of the Mhari following the publication of his inspector's report in December 1985; and whether he will now consider the possibility of raising the wreck for further examination.

Representations have been received from relatives of those lost with this vessel, from hon. Members and from members of the public.The Department has no responsibility for the removal of wrecks and does not plan to raise that of the Mhari for examination.

Uk-Singapore Air Route

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has discussed with British Airways the question of increased capacity on the United Kingdom-Singapore route; and if he will make a statement.

Discussions were held in London this week between United Kingdom and Singapore civil aviation officials on arrangements for the provision of air services between the United Kingdom and Singapore. The discussions made useful progress and they are expected to continue in Singapore within the next two months.

Channel Tunnel

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what capital expenditure he expects to be necessary to modify the railway route south of King's Cross, currently used by the Thameslink services, to enable it to carry rolling stock of standard loading gauge to and from the Channel tunnel.

Such a proposal would need to be costed by the British Railways Board.

British Rail Engineering Limited

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decisions have been reached about the sale of British Rail Engineering Limited.

The Railways Board has decided to select a consortium of the management and employees of British Rail Engineering Limited. Trafalgar House plc and Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. as preferred bidder for the purchase of its engineering subsidiary BREL (1988) Ltd. Government consent to the sale will ultimately be required and the British Rail chairman has asked for our agreement in principle to the board's decision. My right hon. Friend is considering this and a statement will be made as soon as possible.

Volume 144: debated on Friday 13 January 1989

Written Answers To Questions

Wales

National Curriculum

National Parks

M4 (Tenders)

Roads

Water Act 1973

Home Department

Channel 5

Viraj Mendis

New Year Celebrations (Arrests)

Reading Rock Festivals

Prevention Of Terrorism Act

Independent Television Commission

Ashford Remand Centre

Education And Science

National Curriculum

House Of Commons

Pets

United States Congress (Publications)

Satellite Television

Prime Minister

Government Ministers (Contracts)

H Cabinet Committee

Nurses And Midwives

British Coal (Legal Dispute)

Department Of Social Security Benefit Offices

Homeless People

Visits

Northern Ireland

Clinical Grading

Fair Employment Agency

Employment Statistics

Teaching Qualifications

Trade And Industry

Scottish Consumer Council (Report)

Computers (Japan)

Newspapers

European Community Structural Funds

Energy

Neighbourhood Energy Action

Energy Conservation

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Mr Raoul Wallenberg

Nerve Gas

Chemical Weapons

Civil Service

Civil Service Pensioners Alliance

Health

Salmonella

Water Pollution (Camelford)

South Western Regional Health Authority

Doctors (Working Hours)

Locum Doctors

Aids

Cigarettes

Drug Names

Set-Aside Agreements

Community Care

Social Work Students

Artificial Colouring

British Chicken Bureau

Private Hospice Patients (Drugs)

Missing Persons

Elderly People (Residential Homes)

Social Security

Unemployment Benefit

Transitional Payments

Industrial Injuries Scheme

Family Credit

Defence

Armenia (Relief Supplies)

Racial Discrimination

Rubble Dumping (Pirbright)

Personnel (Duties)

Chieftain Tank Replacement

Neutron Beam Detectors

Cinder (Aldermaston)