:To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many 18-year-old students have progressed into higher education in each of the last three academic years, giving figures in numerical and percentage terms and for each standard planning region.

The information is not readily available in the form requested. The figures in the tables relate to all school leavers who intended to proceed to first degree study or teacher training.

Table 1
Numbers of school leavers intending to proceed to first degree study or teacher training
Thousands
	Academic years
	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
North	3·6	3·4	3·5
Yorkshire and Humberside	6·1	5·9	5·8
North West	8·3	8·4	8·6
East Midlands	4·7	4·3	4·6
West Midlands	6·3	6·4	6·2
East Anglia	1·8	1·9	1·8
Greater London	6·8	6·9	5·8
Other South East	15·1	13·9	14·0
South West	5·2	5·3	5·1
England	57·7	56·3	55·4

Table 2
Numbers of school leavers intending to proceed to first degree study or teacher training as a percentage of all school leavers
Percentages
	Academic years
	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87
North	7·1	7·1	7·2
Yorkshire and Humberside	7·6	7·3	7·3
North West	7·9	8·1	8·3
East Midlands	7·3	7·0	7·5
West Midlands	7·2	7·4	7·2
East Anglia	6·1	6·5	6·3
Greater London	7·5	7·9	7·0
Other South East	9·4	8·9	8·9
South West	7·5	8·0	7·5
England	7·8	7·8	7·7

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many fifth-form pupils have moved into full-time further education, in each of the last three academic years giving the figures in numerical and percentage terms and for each standard planning region.

The information is not available in the form requested. The figures in the tables relate to school leavers, irrespective of their year-group, who intended to proceed to a course of further or higher education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been done to rectify the shortcomings outlined by the interim advisory committee on teachers' pay and conditions of (a) statistical information on teachers numbers,(b) the numbers required in particular sectors, (c) areas of specialism and (d) teaching group sizes.

On the provision of statistical information, the Department has commissioned the management consultants Logica to carry out a study of information requirements relating to teachers. My Department's evidence to the Education, Science and Arts Committee sets out tentative projections of future teacher demand by sector and specialism. It is for local education authorities and schools to decide on appropriate group sizes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if the elements on which the desired numbers in service are calculated, which is quoted in annex E(V) of his Department's evidence presented to the Select Committee on Education, Science and Arts are the subject of any discussions with representatives of teaching unions.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans there are to provide guidance to local education authorities on class sizes and maximum class contact time for both primary and secondary teachers.

None. These are matters for decision by schools and local education authorities themselves.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of his Department's employees; what child care provision, for school holiday or after school care, is provided for employees' children aged five years and over; and what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years; and how these are to be funded.

My Department has no child care provision for pre-school age children belonging to its employees or after school care provision for children aged five years and over. The Westminster holiday play scheme, supported by this and other Departments, is available during each of the school holiday periods to employees' children aged between five and 12.The provision of creche facilities is currently under consideration in both the central London and Darlington offices. In London a questionnaire has been sent to all members of staff and the replies are being analysed. In Darlington similar demand investigations are taking place. If there is evidence that creche facilities would be used, they would be established on the basis that after the initial setting-up costs they should be generally self-financing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to publish the 1988 annual report by Her Majesty's inspectors on LEA provision for education and the quality of response in schools and colleges in England, 1987.

The report is to be an annual report on the education service in England from the senior chief inspector to me, based on a full year's work by HMI. The extent to which it deals with LEA provision is for the SCI to determine, on the basis of HMI findings. I understand that the report is being prepared and that it is well on the way to completion. I should, therefore, receive it from the SCI in the very near future and, when I do so, I will publish it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Pembroke on 17 January, what action is taken by his Department to ensure that masters of ferries between Ireland and Great Britain do not permit the maximum number of passengers allowed for any voyage to be exceeded.

For passenger ferries on routes between Great Britain and both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic there is a statutory duty on owners to operate a boarding card system. The purpose of the cards is to ensure that the master has an accurate count of the total number of passengers on board for any voyage, and above all that the number does not exceed that on the passenger ship certificate. The operation of these arrangements is regularly checked on the spot by the Department's marine surveyors. It is an offence to breach the requirements of the boarding card regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement concerning the accidents on and near the Severn bridge on 9 January and 18 January.

The prime reason for all the accidents on 18 January was that drivers were travelling too fast and too close to the vehicle in front, while paying scant regard to either the weather conditions (thick fog in the Severn valley with visibility down to 10 m) or the 30 mph advisory speed limit.The accidents clearly demonstrate the need for better driver behaviour in such conditions.On 19 January a car went through an emergency crossing point in the central reserve into the path of an oncoming heavy goods vehicle. The car driver was killed.There was severe congestion on the M4 on both ways. The motorway was closed between Almondsbury and Newhouse for several hours on 18 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that the Singapore and Malaysian Governments give fair treatment to British air carriers;(2) what steps he has taken to ensure that British air carriers do not face unfair competition from Malaysian and Singapore national air carriers;(3) when his Department last received a request from Singapore Airlines or Malaysian Airline System for greater access to British airports.

Requests from Singapore Airlines to operate additional frequencies to the United Kingdom were last discussed between United Kingdom and Singapore civil aviation officials at air services consultations held in London earlier this month. These consultations are expected to resume in March. Similar requests have been received from Malaysian Airline System in recent months and these requests are the subject of discussions between the airlines.In the current discussions with Singapore, and at such time as the Malaysian requests may be the subject of consultations at the Government level, I hope that it will be possible to agree on a broadly balanced expansion of the opportunities for the provision of air services by all the airlines concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that the European Community directives on seat belts and seat belt anchorages make provision for seat belts in minibuses; and if he will make a statement.

We have already secured amendment of the relevant directives to require seat belt fitment on all front seats and those not directly behind another seat. Our regulations implementing this apply to all minibuses and coaches registered on or after 1 October 1988.We are negotiating to extend the European Community directives to all other seats in minibuses and coaches with a view to this being adopted by 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total amount collected since the new method of coin collection was introduced for the Dartford tunnel.

There has been no recent changes in the method of collecting tolls at the Dartfod tunnel. Toll income for the financial year 1987–88 was £21·133 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of the amount collected at the Dartford tunnel is attributed to administrative costs; and what are the comparable figures for other collection arrangements.

The annual accounts for the Dartford tunnel for the financial year 1987–88 show that toll collection costs were £1·073 million (5·1 per cent. of toll income). Comparable figures for other collection arrangements are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications for the central London rail study of a decision to locate the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel in (a) Stratford and (b) King's Cross.

(holding answer 16 January 1989]: The study team has taken account in its work of major developments in London, including those associated with the Channel tunnel. British Rail has also considered the possible effect of the east-west crossrail proposal on the choice between King's Cross and Stratford.Further work will be done in the detailed studies of the options that my right hon. Friend announced on 26 January.

To ask the Attorney-General what steps are being taken by the Lord Chancellor to remedy the imbalance between the number of men and women appointed to judicial offices as disclosed in his answer to the hon. Member for Norwood, Official Report 22 December, columns 418–19.

The Lord Chancellor would like to appoint more women to judicial office and intends to do so as the opportunity offers. However, since his overriding policy is to appoint the best candidate to all available posts, the proportion of women judges will reflect broadly the proportion of women in the legal profession in the relevant age groups. Many more women have joined the legal profession in recent years, and, as they progress, the proportion of women judges is likely to increase.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will estimate what percentage of women who have qualified as barristers have remained in the profession for more than four years in each of the years between 1978 and 1984.

I understand from the general council of the Bar that this information is not available.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will estimate what percentage of those qualifying as barristers in each of the years 1978 to 1988 were women.

I understand from the general council of the Bar that the percentage of those qualifying as barristers in each of the years 1978 to 1988 who were women is as follows:

per cent.
1977–78	24
1978–79	23
1979–80	28
1980–81	27
1981–82	31
1982–83	30
1983–84	32
1984–85	30
1985–86	32
1986–87	37
1987–88	37

To ask the Attorney-General if he will estimate what percentage of women who have qualified as solicitors have remained in the profession for more than four years in each of the years 1978 to 1984.

I regret that I am unable to provide the information that is requested. However, I understand from the Law Society that a career structure survey conducted in 1987 indicated that 56 per cent. of those women who qualified as solicitors in 1977 remained in the profession full-time; 75 per cent. of women who qualified as solicitors in 1982 remained in the profession full-time.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will estimate what percentage of those qualifying as solicitors in each of the years 1978 to 1988 were women.

I understand from the Law Society that the percentage of those qualifying as solicitors in each of the years 1978 to 1988 who were women is as follows:

per cent.
1978	26
1979	27
1980	29
1981	31
1982	35
1983	37
1984	39
1985	41
1986	44
1987	45
1988	45

To ask the Attorney-General whether any changes will be made to the Crown Prosecution Service's cash limit and running costs limit for the year 1988–89.

Yes. The cash limit on class XI vote 10 (The Crown Prosecution Service: administration) will be reduced by £18,373,000 from £111,873,000 to £93,500,000 and the running costs limit by £16,982,000 from £107,873,000 to £90,891,000. This is mainly due to a shortfall in the recruitment of staff.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the future of the export promotion levy, following representations from the woollen industry.

I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 8 December 1988 at columns 262–63. I am still receiving representations about the future of the wool textile industry (export promotion) levy under the consultation process which is due to end on 31 January. I shall ensure that all views received will be taken carefully into account before a decision is taken on the future of this statutory levy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to further the understanding of Her Majesty's Government of the value of space-based remote sensing systems.

There is growing awareness within the United Kingdom (and within other European Governments) of the potential value, for a variety of public uses, of satellite-derived data. The Government are supporting the creation of the earth observation data centre at Farnborough which will play a significant role in processing such data for subsequent use in commercial and public sector applications.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the number of prosecutions in each of the last three years for selling cars on which the car mileage meter has been altered.

The number of prosecutions under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 for offences involving the alteration of car odometers, as notified to the Office of Fair Trading, are as follows:

Year	Number of prosecutions
1986	369
1987	401
1988	431

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of the Department's employees: what child care provision, for school holiday or after-school care, is provided for employees' children aged five years and over; and what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years; and how these are to be funded.

The Department of Trade and Industry is considering arrangements for workplace child care for pre-school age children.With other Departments, DTI is contributing pump-priming funds to a pilot play scheme in London for employees' children aged five to 12 years. Future provision will depend on the outcome of the London pilot scheme and on the other discussions. The expectation is that play schemes for children aged over five should become self-financing; nursery schemes might need a continuing subsidy from departmental funds.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the French Government's overriding of the European Commission's objections to the subsidies being given to Renault.

The Commission is examining the issue and we shall be watching developments closely.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received a bid from the institute of technology, Cranfield, for the national engineering laboratory at East Kilbride.

A bid for the laboratory was submitted by Cranfield institute of technology to the Department on 21 July 1988.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if his Department has received the report on security interests in property other than land commissioned from Professor Al Diamond in December 1985.

Yes. The report is published today by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. I would like to record my Department's thanks for Professor Diamond's work.The terms of reference given to Professor Diamond were:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will state the total Government expenditure required to secure the 4,000 jobs he specified in his answer to the hon. Member for Lancashire, West (Mr. Hind) 26 October, Official Report, column 289–90 and the basis upon which the figures given were calculated; and how many of the jobs were in the north Peckham task force area.

[holding answer 26 January 1989]: The information referred to was produced by consultants from

	Period of appointment	Type of employment	Duty undertaken
D. I. Young (now Lord Young)	19 May 1980 to 14 April 1982	Part-time unpaid	Special Adviser
J. Sterling (now Sir Jeffrey Sterling)	7 April 1982 to date	Part-time unpaid	Special Adviser
S. Sherbourne	5 July 1982 to 15 May 1983	Full-time	Political Adviser
M. D. X. Portillo	1 July 1983 to 14 October 1983	Full-time	Political Adviser
M.J. Dobbs	28 October 1983 to 3 September 1985	Part-time secondee	Political Adviser
J.F.L. Whittingdale	15 October 1984 to 20 May 1987	Full-time	Political Adviser
H. James	15 June 1987 to 25 September 1987	Full-time secondee	Political Adviser
J. H. Hill	15 June 1987 to 26 July 1988	Full-time	Political Adviser
P. J. Luff	28 September 1987 to date	Full-time secondee	Political Adviser
C. Hendry	1 September 1988 to date	Full-time	Political Adviser

It is not appropriate to reveal the salaries of individual advisers as they are negotiated in relation to previous outside earnings and conditions and are therefore confidential. Duties are individually defined to provide support for DTI Ministers to carry out their policies.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will ask the EEC Council to discuss the Cairns group proposals for agriculture in the Uruguay round negotiations; and if he will list the main differences between these proposals and those put forward by the EEC.

I have been asked to reply.In preparation for and during the mid-term meeting of the Uruguay round in December, the Council discussed agriculture at length, taking account of all negotiating proposals, including those of the Cairns group. Both the EC and Cairns group proposals include long and short-term measures. For the long term, the Cairns group has proposed the elimination of trade-distorting policies. For the short term, it has proposed a freeze on, followed by reductions in, overall agricultural support and protection, with specific action on administered support prices, export subsidies and import barriers. The EC has proposed for the long term a significant reduction in (but a survey aggregating all task force expenditure arid outputs. The breakdown requested is not available except at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the ministerial advisers appointed in his Department for each year since 1979, the salary each person received, whether paid directly or to another employer, and the duties undertaken, whether solely in his Department or in conjunction with other Departments; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1989, c. 16]: I am now able to reply to the hon. Member's question about the appointment of ministerial advisers to the Department of Trade and Industry since 1979.not elimination of) overall support and protection. For the short term it proposes a freeze and reductions, expressed in terms of an aggregate measure of support and protection, leaving Governments free to choose their own combination of policies to achieve an agreed reduction in aggregate support.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the cash limits for Northern Ireland departmental services and for the Northern Ireland Office for 1988–89.

The cash limit for Northern Ireland departmental services (NIDI) is being increased by £19·6 million for £2,479·3 million to £2,498·9 million. This incorporates the increases to provision announced previously (totaling £29·1 million) in respect of the 1988 Health Service pay review body awards. The cash limit increase is partly offset by savings elsewhere of £9£5 million. This increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what checks are made upon those who subsequently join fascist organisations after enlistment to the Territorial Army; and if he will make a statement.

Whilst not wishing to generalise, any case of a volunteer admitting to membership (or being revealed as a member) of a fascist organisation would need to be investigated on its individual merits. I can assure the hon. Member that any such investigation would be carried out in the most thorough manner possible. Should it eventually be decided that the volunteer in question may continue in service, his, or her, performance will be subjected to the strictest scrutiny and supervision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how frequently medical examinations are carried out on all Territorial Army members with access to weapons; and if he will make a statement.

In addition to undergoing pre-enlistment medical examinations, all members of the Territorial Army are subjected to further examinations within eight weeks of the following birthdays: 30, 35, 40, 43, 46, 48 and 50. Those volunteers continuing in service beyond age 50 must undergo annual checks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is his policy with regard to immunity exemption from liability in respect of any injury suffered by a member of the armed forces while on duty or on land or premises being used for the purposes of the Crown;(2) when he last made use of powers given to him by section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947.

Since the repeal of section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 on 15 May 1987, it has been open to a member of the armed forces or his-her dependants to pursue a claim for damages in respect of injury, illness or death arising from incidents on or after 15 May 1987 which are believed to have been caused by the negligence of other members of the armed forces whilst on duty, or of the Ministry of Defence or the Crown. Claims in respect of death, injury or illness suffered before 15 May 1987 remain barred by section 10 and the Secretary of State has no discretion to waive these provisions. Exceptionally, however, valid claims arising in respect of incidents between the date of announcement on 8 December 1986 of the intention to repeal section 10 and the actual date of repeal, are considered on an ex-gratia basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (I) if pilots of jet aircraft, other than Royal Air Force Jaguars, using the United Kingdom low flying system, are required to report to their commanding officers any use of reheat at heights below 1,000 ft;(2) if he will list the number of reported occasions on which military jet aircraft have used reheat in the United Kingdom low flying system at heights less than recommended in the United Kingdom military low flying handbook;(3) if pilots of Royal Air Force Jaguars using the United Kingdom low flying system are required to report to their commanding officers any use of reheat at heights below 500 ft.

[holding answer 23 January 1989]: It is standard procedure for aircrew to debrief, normally to their authorising officer, on all aspects of a training sortie in order to confirm that the requirements of a sortie have been met. The debrief provides the opportunity for the aircrew to report any difficulties encountered during the sortie. Central records of occasions on which military jet aircraft have used reheat in the United Kingdom low flying system are not held.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the conditions under which low-flying military aircraft may penetrate military air traffic zones during low-level training sorties.

[holding answer 16 December 1988]: Low flying military aircraft are permitted to penetrate a military air traffic zone only with clearance from the controlling authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications by (a) established registered firearms dealers and (b) the holders of section one firearms' certificates have been refunded since 1 August 1987 to 31 December 1988 or to the latest available date; and how many in each of the categories were granted.

The latest information is published in tables 5 and I of Home Office statistical bulletin 33/88 "Statistics on the operation of the Firearms Act 1968, England and Wales 1987", a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held under rule 43 on the last date for which figures are available; and what change has there been in numbers since the introductions of fresh start.

Fresh start was implemented at most prison service establishments during the second half of 1987. On 30 June 1988 (the latest date for which figures are readily available) 2,011 adult male prisoners were segregated under prison rule 43 for their own protection. The number so segregated on 31 December 1987 was 1,814.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with chief constables about football hooligans; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office is in regular contact with the Association of Chief Police Officers about this matter. The association was represented on the Minister for Sport's working party and will continue to be involved in discussions on the implementation of the Football Spectators Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department will maintain, or have access to, lists of football supporters after the introduction of the proposed identity card scheme.

The details of the national football membership scheme will be drawn up by the proposed football membership authority, which will be responsible for holding membership records. I do not envisage any need for my Department to have access or to replicate these records.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will order an inquiry into delays in the attendance of general practitioners employed as part-time police surgeons attending to victims of rape and violent crime.

No. Police surgeons are appointed by police authorities and it is for each police authority and chief constable to ensure that suitable arrangements are made to secure the necessary coverage by police surgeons within the force area. If the hon. Member has a particular problem in mind, he should in the first instance take it up with the chief constable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, Official Report, 15 November 1988, column 551, how his Department monitors the standard of prison kitchen inspections; whose advice is sought on whether or not they are at a standard equivalent to those carried out by local authority environmental health officers; who carries out the inspections of prison kitchens; what are their qualifications, experience and expertise in food hygiene; how frequent are inspections; in what circumstances the advice of local authority officers is sought; how often advice has been sought; and in how many cases it was to take preventive action rather than to cope with a food poisoning or other problem.

Home Office health and safety officers and supply and transport branch headquarters catering managers carry out formal hygiene inspections of prison catering facilities. Each establishment receives at least an annual inspection by one of these officers. Some are inspected more regularly. All the inspecting officers have received appropriate training and hold the diploma in food hygiene of the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene. All the inspecting catering managers have extensive knowledge and experience of the food hygiene problems associated with large-scale catering operations. The health and safety officers are specialist full-time personnel who have wide-ranging background training and experience in health and safety matters. Inspections are carried out to a predetermined format which ensures that all aspects of hygiene are checked and assessed.A number of random validation inspections are carried out by an environmental health officer from the Department of Health. These inspections assist in monitoring the efficacy of the main inspection arrangements. Local authority environmental health officers are called in to provide assistance and expertise in tracing the source of an outbreak of food poisoning. This recognises the need for additional special skills and experience under these circumstances. Prison medical officers are also authorised to seek their advice when it is considered to be appropriate.More generally, guidance has recently been issued to governors and medical officers encouraging them to establish a working relationship with local authority environmental health officers. This may include visits to prisons in an informal advisory capacity. Records of the number of visits by local authority officers to prisons, and the purposes of those visits, are not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, Official Report, 15 November 1988, column 551, what progress has been made regarding an improvement in the standards of the 13 of the 21 prison kitchens inspected by the Institution of Environmental Health Officers which had standards of hygiene so low as to warrant prosecution were it riot for Crown immunity.

A further exchange of letters has taken place between the prison department and the Institution of Environmental Health Officers. Relevant background details of the institution's survey have not yet been released to the prison department. A considered response to the institution's survey will be made as soon as relevant background material is made available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether food prepared in the normal prison kitchen is served in prison hospitals.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current budget for maintaining and improving hygiene in prison kitchens; and what has been the budget in each of the last five years.

The cost of maintaining and improving hygiene in prison kitchens is subsumed within the total running costs of the prison service. It is not practicable to extract information on the level of funding dedicated specifically to hygiene in prison kitchens.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the letter and enclosure of 7 November 1988, sent by the hon. Member for Basildon to his Department regarding Mr. Raoul Wallenberg; and if he will make a statement.

I have placed a copy of the letter and enclosure by Professor Elie Wiesel in the Library, with a copy of my reply to which I have nothing to add.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outbreaks of food poisoning in prisons have there been in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Six confirmed outbreaks of salmonella food poisoning have been reported and investigated since 1984. There have been no known cases of other outbreaks of food poisoning.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently in prison hospitals; what proportion this is of the prison population; and how many suffer from (a) AIDS, (b) tuberculosis and (c) other serious long-term illnesses.

The number of prisoners in hospital is not known centrally. In the year ended 31 March 1988 the average daily number of patients in prison hospitals was 1,923 representing 3.9 per cent. of the average population for that year. The available information about the incidence of physical diseases of special interest in that yar is contained in appendix 5 to the report on the work of the prison service April 1987-March 1988 (Cm. 516). The only current figures available centrally relate to cases of HIV infection including AIDS. On 26 January 1989 the number of reported HIV antibody positive prisoners was 58. There was no reported case of AIDS.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is required by his Department from prison governors regarding safety and hygiene in prisons.

Prison governors must provide a health and safety policy statement covering the entire establishment. This statement will be reviewed annually. Governors are also required to report the completion of an annual safety audit.In addition, action plans must be submitted in response to recommendations made following hygiene inspections of catering facilities and full health and safety inspections.Medical officers are required to submit six-monthly reports on health and hygiene standards throughout their establishment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make it his policy to commend the relevant staff of Wormwood Scrubs prison on their decision to invite the environmental health officer to inspect the prison hospital and on the decision to close it pending improvement.

The decision to close a temporary in-patient facility at the prison was taken by the principal medical officer on 12 January, following environmental deterioration caused by defective sanitary installations in adjacent areas of the building. An environmental health officer visited the prison later that day at the request of the principal medical officer to see and advise on conditions in the affected accommodation. Both the closure action and the subsequent decision to seek the environmental health officer's advice are fully supported by the director of prison medical services. I gladly endorse his commendation of the principal medical officer for her prompt response to a situation which in her professional judgment had become unacceptable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make funds available to ensure Wormwood Scrubs prison hospital is brought up to the standard necessary to reopen it.

Repairs have already been made to enable the hospital to reopen for out-patient use and contracts previously let for refurbishment at the prison incorporate upgrading of the hospital. The proposed longer-term redevelopment of Wormwood Scrubs includes the construction of a new hospital.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will advise all prison governors to invite an environmental health officer to inspect their premises.

Advice has recently been issued to all prison governors and medical officers encouraging them to liaise with local authority environmental health officers. The liaison may include informal visits to prisons by environmental health officers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration has been given to making it a criminal offence for a person who knows that they are HIV positive to act in such a way that makes it possible that they will infect another.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Butler).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many citizens of other countries have each year since 1979 been denied entry into the United Kingdom or deported from the United Kingdom because of their suspected connection with terrorist organisations of other countries;

The available information refers to the total number of exclusions under section 13(5) of the Immigration Act 1971 and to deportations under section 15(3) of the Act.

	Exclusion	Deportation
1979–83	n/a	Nil
1984	27	21
1985	40	17
1986	47	25
1987	14	5
1988	27	1

It is not our practice to give names of persons against whom action is taken under the Immigration Act or in matters of a security nature, although we are ready to confirm details of decisions which are already in the public domain.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards members of terrorists organisations or self-proclaimed liberation movements meeting and conspiring in the United Kingdom to further their objectives in their own countries.

Any person legitimately in this country may engage in activities which are within the law. If there was clear evidence of a crime having been committed here by such a person either in the form of a substantive offence or a conspiracy to commit an offence elsewhere which gave rise to an offence under United Kingdom law, it would be a matter for the police to take action.In addition and when appropriate I would not hesitate to use my powers under the Immigration Act to exclude or deport from this country such a person whose presence here was considered to be not conducive to the public good.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (I) what definition of terrorism he uses in formulating his policy in response to terrorism;(2) what definition of the term international terrorism he uses in formulating his policy in response to terrorism.

There is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism. For practical purposes we rest on the definition in the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984 and in the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Bill currently before the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list those countries with which the United Kingdom has signed a formal agreement with regard to combating terrorism;(2) if he will list those countries with which the United Kingdom has come to an informal understanding with regard to combating terrorism;(3) if he will make a statement on the measures taken by the Government since 1979 to combat international terrorism; and what assessment he has made of the success of these measures;

We are totally committed to the fight against terrorism and to the need for international co-operation to prevent and combat it. We have taken, and will continue to take, an active role in the relevant international bodies, such as Trevi, to secure a common, firm policy about international terrorism and practical measures to deter and defeat the terrorist.The first aim of Governments must be to prevent acts of terrorism; if prevention fails, the aim must be to resolve incidents with the minimum loss of life and to bring terrorists to justice. Underlying this policy is the fundamental principle that there should be no substantive concessions to terrorists demands.We will continue to pursue this policy vigorously in multilateral fora and in our bilateral links with our Community partners and with other like-minded third countries who share our resolve and commitment on tills topic. In addition to multilateral agreements and co-operation, some countries like to have more formalised bilateral agreements to give additional political impetus to co-operation on the topic. I have signed such agreements with Morocco, Egypt and Italy.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has had any discussions with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the independent establishment of vigilante groups on the London Underground; and if he will make a statement.

No. Policing the London Underground is the responsibility of the British Transport police. About 80 police officers from the Metropolitan and City of London police forces are to be loaned to the British Transport police L Division for the next 12 months. If the Guardian Angels or any other group act unlawfully or engage in conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace, they cannot expect to be exempt from the ordinary processes of the law. But these would be operational issues for the police to consider.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Institute of Civil Defence Emergency 88 conference held in London last November; and whether some financial support will be given towards the cost of this initiative.

"Emergency 88" was a privately organised occasion, and it was made clear at the outset that support from official funds would not be available. That remains the position, but officials will continue to offer the organisers advice on how they might meet their costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to make any changes to the 1988–89 cash limits within his responsibilities and to his Department's running costs limit.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit on class XI, vote 2, prisons, England and Wales, will be increased by £109,100,000 from £801,578,000 to £910,678,000. This increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.The additional provision is necessary because of the rise in the prison population. The elements of the extra costs are the emergency package of measures which I announced in March last, the costs of additional prison staff recruited for extra accommodation coming into use in 1988–89, and the cost, in the meantime, of accommodating prisoners in police cells.The Home Office running cost limit will be increased by £21,296,000 from £807,799,000 to £829,095,000. This takes account of changes in provision on both class I, votes 2 and 3. The running cost provision in class XI, vote 2 will be increased by £23,300,000 from £594,658,000 to £617,958,000 which takes account of the surrender of £433,000 as a consequence of the overspend of the running cost limit for 1987–88. The running cost provision on class XI vote 3, central administration, miscellaneous and community services and civil defence, England and Wales will be reduced by:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how he proposes to respond to the representations by health board chairmen on making their remuneration more equitable compared with that of the chairmen of health authorities in England.

My right hon. and learned Friend accepts that the remuneration of health board chairmen should be amended to reflect more adequately the extent of their responsibilities, particularly in comparison with the chairmen of health authorities in England. He has therefore decided on the following levels of remuneration for chairmen with effect from 1 April 1989.

Health Board	Remuneration
Greater Glasgow	17,709
Lothian	15,928
Grampian	14,148
Tayside
Lanarkshire	12,368
Argyll and Clyde
Ayrshire and Arran	10,310
Fife
Forth Valley
Highland

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table indicating the total expenditure by his Department on (a) flood prevention and (b) compensation or ex-gratia payments to persons or corporate bodies in Wales who have suffered the effects of floods.

The Department's expenditure, which is in the form of grant aid, is given in the table:

Year	Expenditure £
1978–79	1,158,266
1979–80	1,017,848
1980–81	3,099,315
1981–82	2,198,016
1982–83	2,870,039
1983–84	2,988,827
1984–85	2,109,302
1985–86	1,457,807
1986–87	833,782
1987–88	951,811

With regard to compensation or ex-gratia payments for those affected by flooding, the answer is none.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the expenditure on flood prevention work for each district council area in Wales in each year since 1975.

The information requested is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has now reached decisions about the allocation of resources for hospital and community health services in Wales for 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.

I announced on 21 December that, subject to parliamentary approval, I propose to provide £953 million in 1989–90 for the hospital and community health services in Wales. However, following a further review of other programme requirements, I am now pleased to amend the figure to £954.7 million. Excluding the costs of the artificial limb and appliance service (which is administered on my behalf by the Welsh health common services authority) £880.1 million will be provided for current purposes and £69.1 million for capital spending.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list by local education authority arid parliamentary constituency, the number and percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Wales which currently provide Welsh tuition for some of their pupils;(2) if he will list by local education authority and parliamentary constituency, the number and percentage of

[holding answer 20 January 1989]: The information for each local education authority as at September 1987 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each Welsh local education authority provided Welsh tuition for (a) all their pupils and (b) some of their pupils in 1965, 1970, 1974, 1979 and 1985, respectively.

The percentage of schools providing Welsh tuition
Percentage
	1979				1985
	Primary		Secondary1		Primary		Secondary1
	All pupils	Some pupils	All pupils	Some pupils	All pupils	Some pupils	All pupils	Some pupils
Clwyd	87·5	12·5	14·7	82·4	88·8	10·4	6·1	87·9
Dyfed	8·23	7·3	20·0	77·1	83·9	6·1	29·4	64·7
Gwent	—	1·1	—	25·0	—	2·5	—	25·7
Gwynedd	99·0	1·0	57·1	42·9	99·0	1·0	87·5	12·5
Mid Glamorgan	61·6	28·1	4·9	90·2	72·1	19·2	7·1	88·1
Powys	46·6	35·9	—	91·7	65·0	29·1	—	92·3
South Glamorgan	30·9	36·5	3·3	86·7	21·3	40·0	3·4	86·2
West Glamorgan	40·9	31·8	3·8	92·3	46·5	33·7	11·1	88·9
1 Based on forms i-v only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what estimates he has as to the number of teachers employed in each Welsh local education authority who are, (a) qualified to teach Welsh and (b) teach Welsh.

The information for each local education authority is as follows:

Qualifications in Welsh held by teachers1
	Primary Schools	2Secondary Schools3
Clwyd	484	220
Dyfed	605	258
Gwent	39	34
Gwynedd	626	331
Mid Glamorgan	N/A	246
Powys	104	60
South Glamorgan	138	113
West Glamorgan	342	170
1 Any post A level qualification with Welsh as the main or subsidiary subject of study.
2 As at Spring term, 1987.
3 As at Spring term, 1984.

Secondary School teachers teaching Welsh1
	Numbers
Clwyd	180
Dyfed	232
Gwent	25
Gwynedd	289
Mid Glamorgan	167
Powys	71
South Glamorgan	81
West Glamorgan	117

Information in respect of 1965, 1970 and 1974 is not available centrally. The information in respect of 1979 and 1985 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1988 reported by the National Museum of Wales, including its outstations, with the percentage change on the attendance figures for 1987.

:[pursuant to his reply, 21 December 1988, c. 294]: A total of 838,820 people visited the National Museum of Wales during 1988–19 per cent. less than in 1987-but this reflected the immense success of the dinosaur exhibition in 1987. The 1988 figures show an 18 per cent. increase on 1986.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated full-year revenue effect of applying mortgage interest tax relief to the residence rather than the individual; and what is the estimated effect on the mortgage interest tax relief ceiling if the change is revenue neutral in 1988–89 and 1989–90.

For loans taken out from 1 August 1988, mortgage interest tax relief is limited to the interest on £30,000 per residence regardless of the number of borrowers. Estimates of the yield arising from this measure were given in table 4.1 of the 1988–89 Financial Statement and Budget Report. The direct revenue cost of an increase of £1,000 in the ceiling for mortgage interest relief would exceed the yield from this measure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing by range of income estimates for 1988–89 and 1989–90 the number of tax units receiving mortgage interest tax relief, the average value per mortgagor and the total cost of the relief.

Latest estimates for 1988–89 are given in the table. These are based on projections to 1988–89 of information in the 1986–87 survey of personal incomes and the 1986 family expenditure survey and are provisional. The estimates include mortgages formerly under the option mortgage sheme which are now subsumed within MIRAS. The estimate of the cost of mortgage interest relief in 1988–89 takes account of the recently announced increases in the mortgage interest rate. It would be premature to provide estimates for 1989–90, since the cost of the relief will depend on the amounts of mortgage lending, interest rates and the 1989–90 income tax rates arid bands.

Tax units1 receiving mortgage interest relief by range of total income 1988–89
Range of total income	Numbers receiving mortgage interest relief (Thousands)	Average value of relief to mortgagor (£)	Total cost of relief (£ million)
Under £5,000	690	400	270
£ 5,000 to £10,000	1,830	510	930
£10,000 to £15,000	2,530	560	1,410
£15,000 to £20,000	1,740	590	1,020
£20,000 to £25,000	1,040	650	670
£25,000 to £30,000	480	810	390
Over £30,000	790	1,020	810
Total	9,100	600	5,500
1 Single persons and married couples.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of multiple mortgage interest relief at source claims have been detected in each year since the inception of the scheme; and what amounts of money were involved.

It is tentatively estimated that about 500,000 single people are involved in multiple borrower mortgages. Figures on the total size of these loans are not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amounts of money on (a) a national and (b) a regional basis have been paid in mortgage interest relief at source in each of the last five years and in respect of what number of properties and persons.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the annual cost to the Treasury of mortgage interest tax relief; and if he will publish a table breaking down this figure by county and by region.

[holding answer 23 January 1989]: The table shows the latest estimates of the cost of mortgage interest relief in the United Kingdom— including relief given outside the MIRAS system-and the number of tax units benefiting from this relief in each of the years 1984–85 to 1988–89. It is tentatively estimated that about 500,000 single people are involved in multiple borrower mortgages in respect of around 250,000 properties.

	Cost of mortgage interest relief (£ million)	Number of tax1 units with mortgage interest relief (thousands)
1984–85	3,580	7,800
1985–86	4,750	8,100
1986–87	4,670	8,450
1987–88	24,800	28,750
1988–89	15,500	29,100
1 Singles and married couples.
2 Provisional.

Following the introduction of MIRAS in April 1983, regional information on the cost of mortgage interest relief cannot be extracted from Inland Revenue records. The regional distribution can be estimated from the family expenditure survey (FES) but, as the sample size for the FES is relatively small, it is not possible to provide robust estimates of regional trends for the period after 1982–83. Accordingly the table provides an estimate of the regional distribution of mortgage interest relief based on FES data from 1984 to 1986. Information on the distribution of relief by county is not available.

Regional share of mortgage interest relief based on FES data for 1984 to 1986
	Percentage
Northern	3·8
Yorkshire and Humberside	7·2
North West	9·3
East Midlands	6·3
West Midlands	7·8
East Anglia	3·5
Greater London	14·1
Other South East	26·6
South West	8·5
Wales	4·2
Scotland	7·4
Northern Ireland	1·3
United Kingdom	100·0

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which categories of individuals and families are paying a higher real level of total taxation now than in 1979.

People with the same level of real income as in 1978–79 will pay a lower proportion of their income in tax than in 1978–79 at all levels of income arid for all household types for which estimates can be made.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost of administering the tax collection system in 1978–79 and 1987–88, in 1978–79 prices.

The current expenditure costs incurred by Inland Revenue and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on administering taxes were £524 million in 1978–79 and £566 million in 1987–88 (in 1978–79 prices, deflated by the GDP deflator).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of composite rate tax revenue comes from non-taxpayers who are (a) male, aged above 65 years and (b) female, aged above 60 years.

Inland Revenue receipts (current prices)
(£ billion)
Five year average	Total revenue	Income tax	Corporation tax	Capital gains tax	Capital transfer tax (Inheritance tax)	Stamp duties	Petroleum revenue tax	Other receipts
1963–64 to 1967–68	4·6	3·3	0·5	0·0	—	0·0	—	0·4
1968–69 to 1972–73	8·1	5·6	1·5	0·1	—	0·1	—	0·7
1973–74 to 1977–78	17·1	13·4	2·6	0·4	0·1	0·3	—	0·4
1978–79 to 1982–83	33·9	24·5	4·8	0·5	0·4	0·7	1·9	0·6
1983–84 to 1987–88	54·6	35·8	10·9	1·0	0·8	1·5	4·6	0·0

Customs and Excise receipts (current prices1)
( £ billion)
Five year average	Total revenue	VAT (Purchase tax)	Car tax	Hydro-carbon oil	Tobacco	Alcohol duties	Other receipts
1963–64 to 1967–68	3·5	0·6	—	0·8	1·0	0·6	0·4
1968–69 to 1972–73	5·1	1·2	—	1·4	1·1	0·9	0·5
1973–74 to 1977–78	9·2	3·2	0·1	1·8	1·6	1·6	0·9
1978–79 to 1982–83	21·4	9·9	0·5	3·8	2·9	3·0	1·6
1983–84 to 1987–88	38·0	19·7	0·9	6·7	4·4	4·6	2·2
1 Prices prevailing at the time.

Other tax receipts (current prices1)
(£ billion)
Five year average	Vehicle Excise duty	National Insurance contributions
1963–64 to 1967–68	0·2	1·7
1968–69 to 1972–73	0·4	2·7
1973–74 to 1977–78	0·8	7·1
1978–79 to 1982–83	1·4	14·4
1983–84 to 1987–88	2·4	24·9
1 Prices prevailing at the time.

Inland Revenue receipts as a percentage of gross domestic product
(Percentage of gross domestic product)
Five year average	Total revenue	Income tax	Corporation tax	Capital gains tax	Capital transfer tax (Inheritance tax)	Stamp duties	Petroleum revenue tax	Other receipts
1963–64 to 1967–68	12·7	10·6	1·2	0·0	—	0·0	—	1·2
1968–69 to 1972–73	15·0	10·2	2·8	0·0	—	0·0	—	1·2
1973–74 to 1977–78	15·4	12·1	2·4	0·0	0·0	0·0	—	0·4
1978–79 to 1982–83	14·6	10·6	2·1	0·0	0·0	0·0	0·1	0·2
1983–84 to 1987–88	15·1	9·9	3·0	0·0	0·0	0·0	1·3	0·0