To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he is taking to promote the use of recycled materials.

My Department is pursuing an awareness campaign to encourage industry to consider the benefits of using recycled materials in its production processes. We are holding a series of sector conferences in this field and technical advice for industry is provided through our Warren Spring laboratory. Where appropriate further initiatives will be introduced.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the membership of telecom advisory committees is decided.

The chairman and members of the four national advisory committees for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are appointed by the Secretary of State and those of the two specialist committees for the elderly and disabled and for small businesses by the Director General of Telecommunications. In appointing members to the committees the Secretary of State and director general aim to have a balanced membership representing the interests of all telecommunications users and of the special needs of small businesses and the disabled and elderly people.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the role of telecom advisory committees.

The common duty of all the advisory committees is to advise the Director General of Telecommunications on telecommunication matters affecting the interests of people which the committee was established to represent. Matters may either be referred to the committee by the director general or the committee may decide to offer advice on its own initiative. The national committees for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, also have a specific role in handling consumer complaints where the consumer has been unable to resolve the matter directly with the industry.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many telecom advisory committees have been established.

There are six advisory committees on telecommunications in total. These are made up of four national committees—one for each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland—and two specialist committees, one to represent the needs of small businesses and one for the disabled and elderly people.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will name the chairpersons of telecom advisory committees and provide a contact address for each.

The chairmen and contact address of the advisory committees are as follows:

Committee	Address
English Advisory Committee on Telecommunications	Mr. H. R. Hutton, Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1N 2HQ
Welsh Advisory Committee on Telecommunications	Mr. T. D. Lynch, Caradog House, St. Andrews Place, Cardiff CF1 3BE
Scottish Advisory Committee on Telecommunications	Mr. W. K. Begg, Alhambra House, 45 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6AT
Northern Ireland Committee on Telecommunications	Mr. J. J. Eccles, 3rd Floor, Chamber of Commerce House, 22 Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7PU
The Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Disabled and Elderly People (DIEL)	Mr. D. Hobman, Atlantic House Holborn Viaduct London EC1N 2HQ
The Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Small Businesses	Mr. M. Ashton, Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London EC 2HQ

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the result of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade talks in Montreal.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) on 12 December at column 400.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list, for each company or part of company in the aerospace, ship building and motor vehicle businesses privatised since 1979 (a) the annual turnover in the year prior to privatisation, (b) the value of assets in the year prior to privatisation, (c) the number of employers in the year prior to privatisation, (d) the approximate total of Government financial assistance in the five years prior to privatisation, and (e) a breakdown of the public expenditure costs in terms of capital reconstruction, elimination of debt or guarantees, redundancy and other restructuring, any other items and total receipts stating the year in which they arose.

I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible and place a copy in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what he estimates would be the effect on Britain's balance of trade and hence on the balance of payments, of a transfer of the manufacture of the Ford Sierra car from Britain to another country.

Such an estimate would depend on a large number of variables, including projected consumer demand, the incidence of import substitution, dealer incentive programmes and others. I do not think, therefore, that it would be of tangible value.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will allocate funds to offset the loss of local education authority funding to theatre-in-education and other arts education services under sections 33 to 36 of the Education Reform Act.

Circular 7/88, issued on 6 September, a copy of which is available in the Library, makes clear that local education authorities will be free to except from delegation the school-related costs of services such as arts education under schemes of local management. Where authorities exercise this discretion, they will continue to fund arts education services directly. Where authorities choose to delegate the costs to schools, the schools themselves will decide whether they wish to continue to support the services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what Government assistance is being given to establish the private medical laboratory on the Heriot Watt campus at Riccarton in Edinburgh; and which companies are being considered to manage it.

I know of no such proposal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has recieved from the Association of University Teachers regarding pay increases; and what action he intends to take.

My right hon. Friend exchanged correspondence with the Association of University Teachers in August last year, and there has been informal contact since. My right hon. Friend is considering a letter from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals and the Association of University Teachers about the pay of academic staff and technicians in the universities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to alter present Treasury practice which prevents selected university staff in part-time employment who have in the course of the last three years taken a privately funded early retirement scheme from qualifying for reimbursement and redundancy costs if the period of part-time employment exceeds three or four years.

Public funds are provided to meet universities' expenditure on premature retirement compensation where staff retire fully, but the Government do not consider this appropriate where the change is simply from full-time to part-time employment. The rules of the scheme operated by the University Grants Committee have now been appropriately clarified. Contrary to some institutions' fears, this clarification does not have retrospective effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what are the average annual earnings of (a) primary and (b) secondary state school teachers in each of the European Community countries, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United States of America and the United Kingdom in their (i) first, (ii) fifth, (iii) tenth and (iv) fifteenth working year for 1987 and 1988;(2) what are the comparable average weekly working hours of

Comparable information is not available for 1987 and 1988. Some information on EC teachers' salaries and conditions in 1985 is published in a detailed report, "The Conditions of Service of Teachers in the European Community", published by the European Commission in 1988 (pages 133 to 160 in particular). A copy is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make available copies of the report produced by the National Council for Education Technology on the compatibility of computer hardware and software for local education authorities.

This report was commissioned by the Department to inform the guidance given to local education authorities on microcomputers for educational use in schools. Consideration is being given to how the information contained in the report can be conveyed most effectively to LEAs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report full details of the educational support grants he made to Lancashire county council in 1987 and 1988 for the purchase of micro computers; and if he will show which of these was capable of running MS-DOS software.

My right hon. Friend approved education support grant expenditure by Lancashire LEA on the purchase of microcomputers in 1987–88 and 1988–89 as follows:

Activity	1987–88£ thousands	1988–89 £ thousands
IT in NAFE	63·5	—
Micro equipment for FE students with special educational needs	14·0	—
IT in schools	—	267·4

It is for authorities to decide, in consultation with Her Majesty's Inspectorate as appropriate, what machines and software are best suited to their needs. DES guidance to LEAs is that new computers purchased under the IT in Schools programme should offer access to MS-DOS, but this is not mandatory.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether rates paid in respect of university halls of residence will be reimbursed by the Universities Funding Council, including business rates for university halls of residence, for the financial years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93.

The Universities Funding Council has yet to decide its approach to this and other funding issues for 1990–91 and subsequently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the best information known to him on the availability of AS-level courses in schools and colleges, including the information relating to the variety of courses on offer, and the proportion of A-level students who are also able to follow a course at AS level.

The results of a survey of school pupils and FE college students studying AS-level courses in England from September 1987 and of the courses studied, were published in the Department's statistical bulletin 12/88 last October, a copy of which is available in the Library. 'This shows that about 4 per cent. of first year A-level students in schools were studying AS levels and that about 15 per cent. of schools were offering these courses. It also provides information on the courses on offer. First indications from a similar survey for September

	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
West Glamorgan institute of higher education	—	—	19	36	44
London university institute of education	13	15	13	11	11
Exeter university	12	10	19	20	18

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many (a) pupils in secondary schools, (b) students in colleges of further education, (c) students in polytechnics and (d) students in universities take media studies courses;(2) how many

Readily available information is as follows:

	Number of pupils/students	Number4
Secondary schools	na	na
Colleges of further education1	2,280	53
Polytechnics1	279	5
Universities:
Undergraduates	22124	334
Postgraduates	2708	na
na = not available.
1 England, November 1987. Covers both higher education and further education level courses.
2 Great Britain, 1987–88. Has wider subject coverage than colleges of further education and polytechnic figures.
3 United Kingdom institutions offering first degree courses for October 1989 entry.
4 Institutions with pupils/students on relevant courses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will list the teacher training colleges which offer media studies courses.

In England and Wales the West Glamorgan institute of higher education and London

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if the University Grants Committee-Universities Funding Council will reimburse Scottish universities in 1989–90 for the standard community charge on vacant flats registered with the accommodation service of universities, as against halls of residence.

The Universities Funding Council will reimburse the standard community charge in 1989–90 in respect of vacant property owned by Scottish universities for the purpose of students.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many trainee teachers have taken media studies courses in each of the past five years.

The table gives details, for the past five years, of the number of students recruited to courses of initial teacher training which include media studies.university institute of higher education offer initial teacher training courses with main subject specialisms entitled, respectively, "literature and media studies", and "English and media studies". Exeter university offers "media studies" as a second subject specialism.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the annual expenditure by central and local government on education for the under-fives for each year from 1971 to 1988.

The table below shows annual recurrent spending by local authorities on under-fives since 1976–77. These figures include expenditure supported by grants from central Government which cannot be separately identified. Figures on a comparable basis before 1976–77 are not available.

Recurrent local authority spending on under fives
	Spending £ million cash	Index from 1976–77
1976–77	127	100·0
1977–78	128	100·8
1978–79	146	115·0
1979–80	177	139·4
1980–81	222	174·8
1981–82	241	189·8
1982–83	274	215·7
1983–84	296	233·1
1984–85	331	260·6
1985–86	350	275·6
1986–87	397	312·6

	Spending £ million cash	Index from 1976–77
1987–881	443	348·8
1988–891	495	389·8
1 Provisional outturn figures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many full-time scientific, administrative and other staff were employed at the Institute of Terrestial Ecology research station at Bangor and at the research vessel support service at Barry in each of the years 1979 to 1988; and what figures are projected for 1989.

The information on staffing is as follows:

ITE Bangor—staff
	Science	Administration	Part-time
1979	32	12	(1)
1980	33	10	(1)
1981	32	11	(2)
1982	31	11	(2)
1983	33	10	(2)
1984	33	10	(2)
1985	33	9	(2)
1986	34	9	(2)
1987	27	9	(1)
1988	27	7	(1)
1989	1 21	5	(1)
1 Five staff transferred to ITE Monks Wood

RVS Barry—staff
	Science	Administration	Ships crew	Other	Total
1981	32	17·0	128	29·0	206·0
1982	32	17·0	132	29·0	210·0
1983	34	16·0	116	30·5	196·5
1984	32	15·5	127	31·5	206·0
1985	30	14·5	98	28·0	170·5
1986	34	1·0	104	26·0	165·0
1987	31	4·0	106	29·0	170·0
1988	29	3·0	106	27·0	165·0
1 1989
1No significant change expected.

A breakdown of full- and part-time staff, and separate figures for Barry before 1981, are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what budget his Department has allocated (a) in cash terms and (b) adjusted to today's prices to the Institute of Terrestial Ecology research station at Bangor for each of the years 1979 to 1988; and what figure is projected for 1989.

Information in the form requested is not immediately available and I shall write o to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what factors he has taken into account in considering the budget to the Natural Environment Research Council for 1989; and what indications he has given to that council of the purpose of any budget increase.

In considering the level of grant-in-aid to the Natural Environment Research Council in 1989, my right hon. Friend will take account of advice from the council, the Advisory Board for Research Councils, and other representations that he has received. A detailed announcement will be made shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what he estimates to be the cost of a major refit for the Natural Environment Research Council vessel Discovery at today's prices; what allowance he has made for funding such a refit in whole or in part in the coming financial year; and when he anticipates that refit may commence.

The total cost of a major refit for the RRS Discovery was estimated by the Advisory Board for the Research Councils in their advice published in July 1988 as about £10 million at current prices. Details of the grant-in-aid to the Natural Environment Research Council for the period 1989–90 to 1991–92 will be announced shortly. It will be for the NERC to determine its priorities, both in 1989 and later years, in the light of the available resources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the stated increase in the Natural Environment Research Council's budget for 1989 has been allocated to the Antarctic survey based in the Falklands.

My right hon. Friend announced on 8 November (Official Report, columns 134–5) an additional ·10 million allocation to the British Antarctic survey in 1989–90 for a new BAS airstrip and rebuilding the Halley station. Details of the overall grant-in-aid to the Natural Environment Research Council will be announced shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what facilities currently exist at Southampton for the support of environmental research vessels; and how many staff are employed there.

Southampton has a deep-water port that is well suited to environment research vessels. I understand that support facilities and staff for their proposed oceanographic centre would be organised by the Natural Environment Research Council.

To ask the Lord President of the Council on how many days each of the motions tabled by the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) entitled (a) Procedure, (b) Sittings of the House and (c) Members' Facilities has appeared in the Remaining Orders of the Day and Notices of Motions during the parliamentary Sessions (i) 1987–88 and (ii) 1988–89.

The information requested is as follows:

Session 1987–88
	Number
(a) Procedure	69
(b) Sittings	69

Session 1988–89
	Number
(a) Procedure	33
(b) Sittings	33
(c) Facilities	25

UP to and including 3 February 1989.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the current daily cost of printing on the Remaining Orders of the Day and Notices of Motions the motions in the name of the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) entitled (a) Procedure, (b) Sittings of the House and (c) Members' Facilities.

Her Majesty's Stationery Office estimates that the current daily printing cost of the three motions totals £145.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times since 1959 each signatory to the European convention on human rights has been found to be in violation of the convention by (a) the European Court of Human Rights and (b) the Committee of Ministers.

I shall be writing to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy on holding briefings for hon. Members planning to visit the Soviet Union.

We actively encourage hon. Members to contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before and after their overseas visits. We welcome the opportunity to offer written and oral briefing when hon. Members would find this useful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the light of the recent study by Coopers and Lybrand of the development of the offshore financial sectors in the Turks and Caicos Islands, there is any intention to extend this scrutiny to other dependent territories in the Caribbean.

After consultation with the dependent territory Governments concerned, Coopers and Lybrand, acting as financial consultants to Her Majesty's Government, have been appointed to carry out a review covering the regulation of the offshore financial sectors in Anguilla, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The terms of reference for this consultancy will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of assaults on prison officers in each of the last three years.

The information requested is not available. The table shows the number of offences of gross personal violence to a prison officer, or of assault on a prison officer, or of attempts to commit such offences, of which inmates were found guilty on adjudication in each of the years 1985–87. Figures for 1988 are not yet available.

	1985	1986	1987
Gross personal violence	17	12	10
Attempt to commit gross personal violence	125	37	17
Assault	1,216	1,221	1,149
Attempted assault	117	158	151

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals were used in experiments either for medicine or cosmetics in each of the last three years.

The latest available information is published in "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 1987" (Cm. 515). Information for medicine for 1985 to 1987 is given in table 20 and for cosmetics for 1987 in table 3. Information on experiments for cosmetics for earlier years is contained in table 15 of "Statistics of Experiments on Living Animals Great Britain 1986" (Cm. 187). Copies of these publications are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in finalising his plans for broadcasting in the 1990s, he will make it his policy to take full account of the resolution of the Scottish Association for the Deaf, of which he will have a copy.

Careful account will be taken of all the comments we receive on the broadcasting White Paper (Cm. 517) including all representations made on behalf of those with impaired hearing.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many area probation committees employ a public relations consultant; and what is the cost of providing this service.

This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish details of the number of port refusals made at each of the major ports of entry, by week for the months of October, November and December 1988 and the first three weeks of January 1989.

The figures for those initially refused entry at the major ports are given in the table:

Refusals at the Major Ports
	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Terminal 3	Terminal 4	Gatwick South	Gatwick North	Dover	Total
Week ending
8 October 1988	37	88	69	76	47	27	99	443
15 October 1988	44	86	72	87	73	22	73	457
22 October 1988	41	71	51	65	53	21	73	375
29 October 1988	34	93	61	72	34	28	61	383
5 November 1988	40	83	49	57	48	25	75	377
12 November 1988	31	82	88	53	56	30	58	398
19 November 1988	35	86	61	52	45	24	45	348
26 November 1988	27	78	57	69	49	30	55	365
3 December 1988	33	74	82	48	45	26	39	347
10 December 1988	39	86	58	63	50	35	44	375
17 December 1988	46	88	70	42	46	32	62	386
Fortnight ending
Week ending
31 December 1988	113	224	143	131	175	82	198	1,066
7 January 1989	51	72	54	26	62	31	46	342
14 January 1989	28	88	37	25	63	41	46	328
21 January 1989	26	87	48	22	59	28	46	316
Total	625	1,386	1,000	888	905	482	1,020	6,306

To ask the Secretary of State for the' Home Department whether he will publish details of (a)the number of deferrals of removal requested by hon. Members of this House and (b) the number granted, by week for the months of October, November and December 1988, and the first three weeks of January

Details of the number of deferrals of removal granted in the months of October, November and December 1988 are as follows:

	Number
October	175
November	153
December	150

Weekly totals for this period are not readily available. There are no central records of the number of deferrals of removal requested by hon. Members during this period.As to the number of requests for deferral of removal in the first three weeks of January 1989, I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 16 January to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) at column 6.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost of issuing passports in each of the past 10 years; and what was the annual revenue received in each of these years.

The table below shows the available information for the financial years 1981–82—1988–89 covering;

(a)the cost of issuing standard United Kingdom passports in the United Kingdom and at United Kingdom consular posts overseas, and;

(b)the cost of issuing British visitor's passports, mainly at Crown post offices in Great Britain,

together with the revenue accruing from the issue of such passports.Information for earlier years is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has as to the cost of establishing and maintaining a national identity card system for every British citizen aged 12 years or over.

The cost would depend on the administrative details of the system and the checks required before an identity card was issued. If a similar system was operated to that used for issuing passports the unit costs could be about £7.50. The costs (excluding initial capital costs) of issuing identity cards to all British citizens aged 12 or over would then be around £350 million. The annual running cost would depend upon the number of new card holders applying each year, the frequency with which cards had to be renewed, and whether card holders had to notify changes of address. It would probably be between £50 million and £100 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to introduce legislation to extend the period of eligibility for voting rights for United Kingdom citizens living abroad.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) on 2 February 1989, at column 383.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions searches of premises have been authorised by a superintendent of police under the provisions of paragraph 4(4) of schedule 3 to the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984, and the similar provisions in the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 and 1976.

Searches have been authorised under these provisions on nine occasions in England and Wales. I understand from my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State that such searches have been authorised on five occasions in Scotland and on no occasion in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a report from the Viscount Colville of Culross QC on the operation in 1988 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions Act) 1984.

I have received the report from Viscount Colville on the operation in 1988 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984 and placed copies in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences are recorded as having occurred on the streets in each of the Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham and Wimbledon Metropolitan police districts in each of the weeks since 1 August 1987.

[holding answer 31 January 1989]: The available information relates to offences of street robbery of personal property and theft from the person (snatches) and is given in the following table.

Street robbery of personal property and theft from the person (snatches) recorded by the police in certain areas of the Metropolitan police district
Number of offences
	Chelsea	Fulham	Tottenham	Wimbledon
1987
August	12	17	108	7
September	16	24	96	8
October	13	18	114	11
November	3	12	64	9
December	12	12	79	12
1988
January	6	6	54	10
February	12	10	1	10
March	19	5	129	13
April	8	14	64	6
May	4	8	2	11
June	2	13	138	14
July	6	9	54	10
August	11	10	99	8
September	6	31	59	12
October	19	20	2	11
November	6	6	102	17

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total value of projects aided by his Department to encourage crop substitution in the fight against the illegal trade in drugs.

We are currently financing projects to encourage crop substitution to a value of about £7 million. In addition, we provide training and other support for drugs control organisations in developing countries and we contribute to several multilateral aid agencies whose programmes include projects which help diversify income-earning opportunities in drug-producing areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest figure for the development and aid budget, expressed as a percentage of gross national product.

The latest available figure for United Kingdom net official development assistance expressed as a percentage of gross national product is 0·28 per cent. in 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will increase governmental contributions to UNICEF's general resource funding to £12·5 million; and if he will make a statement.

I propose to increase Her Majesty's Government's contribution to UNICEF's general resources to £8 million in the next financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the terms of reference of the exercise undertaken on gathering information in relation to possible assistance with the privatisation of nationalised industries in the developing world.

Diplomatic missions were asked to try to identify possible opportunities for assisting developing countries with their promotion of private sector development, including privatisation. They were also asked to look for chances of co-operating on such projects with USAID.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many poultry have been killed. and how many eggs have been destroyed, following the recent publicity about salmonella diseases since 1 December 1988; what has been the cost of compensation to producers in Northern Ireland; if the scheme for compensation is being continued; and if he will make a statement about the present state of the poultry and egg industries and their future prospects.

Under the Slaughter of Hens (Northern Ireland) Scheme and the Egg Industry (Northern Ireland) Scheme 50,663 hens have been slaughtered and 10,230,120 eggs had been destroyed in Northern Ireland up to 26 January at a compensation cost of £333,837. Slaughtering of hens has been completed. Eggs for which applications were submitted by 17 January, the closing date, are still being destroyed. The Government have no plans to extend either scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what applications have been made for fish farming developments around the Antrim coast; what approvals have been given; and if he will make a statement.

There have been three applications; two have been granted consent to discharge under the Water Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 of which one has also been given a fish culture licence under the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966. The most recent application is still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has had concerning fish farming developments, and their impact on Glenarm and Red bay.

Besides representation by the developers a total of 24 letters and submissions from 13 different groups and individuals have been received. The Northern Ireland Ministers for Agriculture and Environment jointly met a delegation comprising most of the parties who have made representations against these salmon farming developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve were killed as a result of road traffic accidents during 1988; and how many were killed by terrorists in the same period.

During 1988 11 members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and its reserve were killed in road traffic accidents and six were killed by terrorists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are currently being held in each prison in the province, and in total; and how many prison officers are currently in each prison in the Province, and in total.

As at 1 February 1989, there was a total of 1,780 prisoners in prison establishments in Northern Ireland, including 272 untried prisoners. The following is a breakdown by establishment:

	Number
Her Majesty's Prison, Belfast	1 521
Her Majesty's Prison, Maghaberry	2253
Her Majesty's Prison, Magilligan	285
Her Majesty's Prison, Maze	578
Her Majesty's Young Offenders Centre	143
1 Includes 264 untried prisoners.
2 Includes eight untried prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much from the total budget was allocated to special branch for each year from 1979 to the current date.

[holding answer 1 February 1989]: The allocation of expenditure on special branch activities is a matter for the Chief Constable. In the particular operational circumstances of Northern Ireland this information is confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will indicate the approximate sums and the hours of police time it has taken to provide protection for the Sinn Fein councillors at meetings of Lisburn district council in 1988.

[holding answer 17 January 1989]: No. During 1988 police were not detailed to protect individual councillors or specific groups within Lisburn district council.

To ask the Prime Minister what are the implications for the Government's privatisation proposals of the European Commission's decision of 21 December 1988 to initiate proceedings against the Government over the infringement of competition policy in the case of the flotation of Rolls-Royce.

None. There is no parallel with the Government's proposals for water and electricity privatisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients in Wales suffering from schizophrenia and discharged from hospital in 1986 and 1987 after a second or subsequent admission went (a) to their own homes, (b) to local authority residential accommodation, (c) to live with a relative elsewhere, (d) to private residential accommodation, (e) to residential accommodation provided by voluntary bodies and (f) to other accommodation.

Information in the form requested is not available. Details of after-care arrangements for discharged patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are as follows:

Discharges, after a second or subsequent admission
	1986	1987
Local authority residential accommodation	18	20
Psychiatric hospitals	87	87
Non-psychiatric hospitals	20	24
Mental nursing homes	—	2
Convalescent or after-care home	18	23
Other forms of after-care1	1,460	1,511
Total	1,603	1,667
1 Including for example, that provided by GP's, out-patient departments and those not requiring further treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients suffering from schizophrenia and discharged from Welsh hospitals in 1986 and 1987 after a first admission went (a) to their own homes, (b) to local authority residential accommodation, (c) to live in with a relative elsewhere, (d) to private residential accommodation, (e) to residential accommodation provided by voluntary bodies and (f) to other accommodation.

County	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	11988
Clwyd	365	334	364	343	336	320
Dyfed	1,021	1,065	1,088	1,087	1,048	993
Gwent	335	93	139	151	220	204
Gwynedd	482	477	466	414	462	415
Powys	497	492	490	487	479	456
Mid Glamorgan	107	84	34	32	60	89
South Glamorgan	109	96	48	55	90	103
West Glamorgan	138	103	64	53	115	111
Total	3,054	2,744	2,693	2,622	2,810	2,691
1Provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many abattoirs there are in each county in Wales.

The number of abattoirs by county is as follows:

	Number
Clwyd	16
Dyfed	12
Gwent	4
Gwynedd	9
Mid Glamorgan	5
Powys	11
South Glamorgan	—
West Glamorgan	6

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many group practices there are in Wales, by region.

The information is given in the following table:

:Information in the form requested is not available Details of after-care arrangements for dischared patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are shown in the following table:

Discharges, after first admission
	1986	198 7
Local authority residential accommodation	—	—
Psychiatric hospitals	14	9
Non-psychiatric hospitals	1	—
Mental nursing homes	—	—
Convalescent or after-care home	1	2
Other forms of after-care1	201	153
Total	217	164
1 Including, for example, that provided by GPs, out-patient departments, and those not requiring further treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many bee keepers there are in each county in Wales; and what was the number of bee keepers during each of the last five years.

The information is as follows:

Group practices as at 1 October 1987
Family practitionercommittee	Number
Clwyd	37
Dyfed	44
Gwent	44
Gwynedd	35
Mid Glamorgan	47
Powys	15
South Glamorgan	47
West Glamorgan	42

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of National Health Service general practitioners in Wales for each year from 1979 to 1988.

The number of general medical practitioners in Wales is given in the table. Figures for 1988 are not yet available.

Unrestricted principals as at 1 October
	Number
1979	1,339
1980	1,372
1981	1,397
1982	1,431

	Number
1983	1,465
1984	1,492
1985	1,523
1986	1,549
1987	1,587

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the services provided by the Welsh regional health authorities.

There are no regional health authorities in Wales. However, certain services which to be clinically effective and economically viable need to be provided to a population which is greater than that of a health district are designated as regional services by the Welsh Office. The responsibility for planning their capacity and location and for the funding of approved developments rests with my right hon. Friend, whilst the district health authorities which host the regional services are responsible for their operational management.The services presently designated as regional are:Assay servicesBlood transfusion serviceBone marrow transplantationBurns, plastic and maxillo-facial surgeryInvasive cardiology and cardiac surgeryMedical geneticsPerinatel intensive carePharmaceutical quality control servicesPoisons information serviceRadiotherapy and medical oncologyForensic psychiatryRenal dialysis for end-stage renal failureRenal transplantationSpinal injury rehabilitationThoracic surgeryWelsh Hearing InstituteThe catchment areas of these services vary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the hospitals in each Welsh district health authority with 250 beds or more.

The following hospitals had 250 beds or more on 30 September 1988.Health authority/hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which Welsh hospitals are involved in the resource management initiative and whether any will be joining the initiative in the next year.

Acute hospitals in the Clwyd North unit will be piloting a resource management system based on an order communications network, following initial work in West Glamorgan health authority. Acute hospitals in West Glamorgan are also still involved in the medical records, diagnosis related group (DRG) coding, and organisational development aspects of the initiative; and the authority is currently considering the possibility of testing a "bolt-together" resource management system along the lines of those currently being piloted at various sites in England. Other Welsh authorities have expressed interest in acquiring a resource management capability at the earliest opportunity; and the Government's intention, as noted in the White Paper "Working for Patients", is to ensure that the requisite information systems are in place throughout Wales by 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much undeveloped land is owned by the National Health Service in Wales; and if he will list those sites of 10 acres or more.

The information is not recorded in the form requested. Currently the NHS in Wales owns some 358·5 acres of land which it no longer needs. This land, which will be sold at the best possible price for the benefit of health care in Wales, includes plots of 10 acres or more at the following sites:—

Aberdare general hospital, Aberdare

Bronllys hospital, Brecon

Bryn-y-Neuadd hospital, Llanfairfechan

Mid Wales hospital, Talgarth

Parc Beck nurses home, Swansea

St. Cadoc's hospital, Caerleon

Whitchurch hospital, Cardiff

William Nicholl home, Cardiff

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much land has been sold, and for how much in 1987–88 prices, by the National Health Service in Wales, in each year from 1979 to 1988.

The information is given in the following table:

Financial year	Acreage sold	Proceeds of sale (1987–88 prices) £000
1979–80	10·1	0·33
1980–81	148·5	1·02
1981–82	205·8	0·28
1982–83	740·9	1·77
1983–84	52·5	0·95
1984–85	11·1	1·55
1985–86	28·0	1·78
1986–87	76·4	2·88
1987–88	9·4	1·73

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from Gwent county council concerning damage caused to the M4 following storm damage to manhole covers; and when he proposes to carry out the remedial work necessary to repair the damage.

No damage has been caused to the M4 motorway by the existing drainage system although there have been isolated instances of manhole covers becoming dislodged in exceptionally heavy rainfall conditions.A scheme to remove the manholes from the M4 carriageway to prevent further incidents has been designed in conjunction with Gwent county council and, subject to the availability of finance, work is planned to start in 1989–90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) farmers and (b) farmworkers were employed in each county in Wales in June 1988.

Information for June 1988 is not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman when the county figures are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what exploration activity for oil and gas has taken place in the firth of Clyde in each of the past 10 years; if he is able to state the conclusions reached on the commercial potential of any finds; and if he will make a statement on the latest position.

Exploration for oil and gas in the firth of Clyde had been limited to the acquisition of seismic data in 1981, 1982, 1984 and 1985, but no wells have been drilled to date in the firth of Clyde.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the total value of North sea oil revenues to the United Kingdom Treasury in the period 1978 to 1988.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 24 January to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) at column 488.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list those international organisations on which his Department is represented and the total cost of these commitments.

In the 1987–88 financial year, the most recent for which full figures are available, the Department of Energy represented Her Majesty's Government on the following international organisation:

	Contribution £
International Energy Agency	524,000
International Atomic Energy Agency	4,527,000
Nuclear Energy Agency	270,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the total funding of the current publicity campaign by the nuclear electricity information group; and what contribution is being made to that campaign from his Department's budget.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority contributes to the nuclear electricity information group's costs using funds provided by my Department through the public information programme letter. I understand that the authority's contribution to the current nuclear electricity information group advertising campaign is £42,500. The total level of funding of this campaign is a matter for the nuclear electricity information group.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has made any representations to British Nuclear Fuels concerning inaccuracies in its recent publicity material.

My right hon. Friend and I have made no such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give (a) the original design rating, (b) the cumulative average load factor and (c) the present actual annual load factor of each nuclear power station operated by the Central Electricity Generating Board; and if he will project the efficiency of Sizewell B in the same terms on the basis of the actual performance of the board's existing nuclear plant.

This is an operational matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board and I have asked the chairman of the board to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will specify each donation made by his Department in response to public appeals for financial aid during each financial year since 1979–80.

The Department of Energy has made one donation in response to public appeals for financial aid since financial year 1979–80. This was a donation of £1 million to the Piper Alpha disaster fund in 1988–89.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what are the latest estimates for natural gas reserves in the United Kingdom.

The latest estimates for remaining recoverable natural gas reserves within the United Kingdom and its continental shelf were published in the 1988 Brown Book (my Department's report to Parliament on the development of United Kingdom oil and gas resources) and lay in the range 644 to 1,950 billion cubic metres.The figures for remaining recoverable gas reserves for end 1988 will be published in the 1989 Brown Book in April; they are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects flue gas desulphurisation equipment to be fitted at Fiddlers Ferry power station.

The Central Electricity Generating Board and its successors will decide the order in which large coal-fired power stations should be retrofitted with flue gas desulphurisation equipment in order to meet their share of the United Kingdom's commitment to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions. I expect to receive a planning application for the next plant shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the most up-to-date cost in the present and next financial year of the cost of privatisation of the electricity supply industry to each of the 12 area boards and the Central Electricity Generating Board.

Expenditure incurred in preparing for privatisation is a matter for the individual boards concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has yet fully assessed the financial implications of the squeeze on British Coal's trading margins discussed in the recent Public Expenditure White Paper, Cm. 606.

The projections set out in Cm. 606 assumed breakeven in 1988–89 and steadily growing profitability thereafter. External finance requirements were set as follows:

	£ million
1988–89	750
1989–90	560
1990–91	385
1991–92	273

However, subsequent negotiations with the CEGB and other major customers have resulted in a price freeze. This, together with the effect of higher cost inflation than expected, loss of output due both to geological difficulties and to industrial relations problems, mainly in Yorkshire, and the reduction in sales caused by the recent mild weather have caused the industry's trading position to deteriorate. As a consequence the corporation's operating profit in 1988–89 is likely to be reduced by some £50 million to about £450 million.The corporation is responding firmly to these pressures by accelerating the restructuring of its operations into 1988–89 and the first half of 1989–90, by shedding unprofitable business in non-core markets, and by further reduction of its capital requirements over the period to 1991–92. While these actions should lead to a more profitable industry in the future, there is nevertheless an adverse short-term effect on the corporation's bottom line result because of additional restructuring costs and terminal depreciation. This together with the lower operating profits and a higher interest charge will lead to an overall loss for 1988–89 of around £100 million. The adverse market factors which have affected operating profit and the bottom line in the current year will have an even greater effect on British Coal's outlook for 1989–90. The industry is planning at least to sustain the level of operating profit in 1989–90; however, after taking account of significantly higher restructuring and terminal depreciation costs, and interest charges, a further overall loss is expected.The corporation's external finance requirements are now projected as follows:

	£ million
1988–89	850
1989–90	720
1990–91	335
1991–92	223

I am accordingly raising the corporation's external financing limits for 1988–89 and 1989–90 to £850 million and £720 million respectively. These increases will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure. The capital allocations for 1988–89 and 1989–90 are being reduced from £650 million and £575 million to £600 million and £550 million respectively. British Coal's temporary borrowing limit is being increased from £1,800 million to £2,050 million immediately and further increased to £2,500 million from the beginning of 1989–90. A Supplementary Estimate for additional voted loans to meet the extra financing requirements in 1988–89 will shortly be laid before the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what percentage of coal mining face-workers are mechanically transported underground from the shaft to the coal face;

These are matters for British Coal and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to assist with child care costs recipients of income support who wish to take employment.

None. Such costs are not disregarded in housing benefit and family credit. It would be inequitable to allow a concession for those in part-time work when none is available to those in full-time work. We have said that we will monitor the new earnings rule in income support and consider what changes, if any, are necessary in the light of its operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he is considering restoring the index link between pensions and earnings.

We have no plans to restore the link between pensions and earnings. The key factor in considering pensioners' incomes is the total net income available. Our policies of protecting basic pension against price increases, ensuring that income from savings keeps its value, and encouraging the growth of occupational pensions have resulted in a 23 per cent. real terms increase in pensioners average total net incomes between 1979 and 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how much has been saved by abolishing the earnings link in pensions and linking it to the cost of living.

The additional public expenditure that would he needed in 1988–89 to uprate retirement pensions in line with earnings would be £3·7 billion.