To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the discussions with the Department of Health on the future research programme into child sexual abuse to be concluded; and if he will make an announcement.

Discussions are in progress with the Department of Health on that part of the Home Office research and planning unit's programme of research for the financial year 1989–90, which concerns child sexual abuse. The details of the research projects on this topic which the Home Office will undertake will be published in the summer in the Home Office research and planning unit's programme of research. Copies of this publication will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often police have used the power given under the Public Order Act 1986 to impose a limit on the number of people attending a football match.

We are not aware that the Public Order Act has been used for this purpose.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many exclusion orders have been imposed on football supporters under the Public Order Act 1986.

Since 1 August 1987, 1,417 orders have been recorded by the Football Association.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis about the level of complaints against the Haringey police from the Asian community; what steps are being taken to investigate these and improve police-community relations; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the statistics of complaints are extracted from individual files when action on the complaint is complete. He further tells me that in 1987 action was completed on three complaints against the Haringey police involving Asian complainants. Action on six such complaints was completed in 1988.All complaints against officers of the Metropolitan police are investigated in accordance with the procedures laid down in part IX of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the associated regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the number of rapes reported to the police in the administrative county of Suffolk during each of the years1979 to 1988 and the number of convictions obtained after prosecutions.

The number of offences of rape recorded by the police in each police force area is published annually in table S3.1 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables, Volume 3", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The number of offences of rape recorded by the Suffolk constabulary in January to September 1988 was 37. Information held centrally, which may be incomplete, shows five persons convicted of rape in 1979, three in 1983 and three in 1987; provision of corresponding figures for other years would involve disproportionate cost.

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

My Department is represented at meetings arranged under the auspices of the following organisations:

• Anglo-French Policing and Frontier Controls Working Group
• Council of Europe
• Commonwealth
• Comité Technique Internationale de Prevention et d'Extinction du Feu
• Conference Permanente Européenne de la Probation
• European Committee on Standards
• European Community
• European Group on DNA Integration
• European Civil Aviation Conference
• IATA Working Group on Inadmissible Passengers
• Intergovernmental Commission on Channel Tunnel
• International Civil Aviation Organisation Facilitation Committee
• International Maritime Organisation Facilitation Committee
• International Standards Organisation
• International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation
• International Prison Chaplains' Association
• Internationale de Métrologie Légale
• Interpol
• NATO
• United Nations
• Western European Union

In the financial year 1987–88 my Department's subscription to Interpol was £440,000, to the Major Donors' group of the United Nations fund for drug abuse control £162,000 and to the Council of Europe's co-operation group to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking in drugs (the Pompidou group) £34,000. The cost of other commitments could be estimated only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to extend the Data Protection Act to cover paper and card indexes held by the Economic League and similar bodies.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the disqualification of the residents of Caldey Island, Pembrokeshire, from parliamentary and European elections; and what action he proposes to ensure that the residents are refranchised in time to vote in the European elections in June.

Caldey Island is not within the district of south Pembrokeshire. Since 1983 parliamentary constituencies, and hence European parliamentary constituencies, in Wales have been defined by districts and district wards. The jurisdiction of electoral registration officers is also determined by district. It has recently come to light that this removes the right of the residents of the island to be included on the electoral register We are discussing with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, who is responsible for local government areas in Wales, how best to restore the franchise to the residents of Caldey Island.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Kent as to what stage has been reached in police investigations in relation to the Herald of Free Enterprise incident: and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the chief constable of Kent that the police investigation is nearly complete and that a final report will then be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to lay a code of practice under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 before Parliament.

My right hon. Friend has today laid before the House, under section 21 of the Act, a code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures which will be published tomorrow.This code is based upon guidelines published in 1987 jointly by the Royal Society and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. It is a tribute to the excellent and thorough work done by these bodies that little amendment has been needed to convert their guidelines into a code of practice which should command widespread support.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to provide that bodies acting solely as channels for contributions to political bodies shall be disbarred from charitable status.

[holding answer 6 February 1989]: No organisation that acted solely as a channel for contributions to political bodies could lawfully be a charity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cambridgeshire, North-East (Mr. Moss) of 25 January, Official Report, column 575, access to European Investment Bank loans for Cyprus will be permissible for applications deriving directly from the area known as the Turkish republic of north Cyprus.

EIB loans require Government guarantees. Direct access to European Investment bank loans from the Turkish area of Cyprus would therefore not be possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent developments have taken place in efforts to secure the release of John McCarthy.

Despite recent rumours of the imminent release of one or more British hostages, and the efforts made, particularly by Her Majesty's ambassador in Beirut, to follow up these reports, I regret that there have been no substantive developments. We continue to follow up all available information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the final treaty on chemical weapons disarmament and verification, currently being negotiated in Geneva, will require that all old burial and destruction sites of chemical warfare agents will need to be indentified for the purposes of verification; and if he will make a statement.

The question of old chemical weapon burial and destruction sites has been raised in the Geneva negotiations and their coverage under a comprehensive chemical weapons convention is still under discussion. There is general agreement in the negotiations that upon entry into force of such a convention, states would be required to declare their existing chemical weapon stockpiles, accept on-site inspection of such stockpiles and destroy them within 10 years. Production of chemical weapons would cease immediately and production facilities would be dismantled over the 10-year period. Chemical weapon destruction facilities would be declared and progress in the destruction of stocks monitored.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will specify each donation which his Department has made in response to public appeals for financial aid during each financial year since 1979–80.

We can find no trace in our records of any donation made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (diplomatic wing) since 1979 in response to public appeals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the sources of information on which he bases his assessment that the Soviet Union has continued without any break in its nuclear weapons modernisation programme.

It is not our policy to comment on sources of information obtained on subjects of this nature.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the inaccuracies identified by his Department in the Thames Television programme "Death on the Rock."

Our concerns over the broadcast of the programme "Death on the Rock", and the serious and damaging inaccuracies it contains, are set out in a Government press statement of 26 January, and the attached correspondence from officials to Lord Windlesham, which my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces has laid in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on new plans under study by the People's Republic of China to build more nuclear power plants in Guandong, near Hong Kong, in addition to the Daya Bay Plant under construction.

I am aware of no such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1979 permission for emigration to, or travel within, the Soviet Union or other COMECON eastern bloc countries has been denied to applicants formerly employed at the Government communication headquarters at Cheltenham.

We have nothing to add to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 26 January at column 704.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total number of people employed in the offices of the United Kingdom permanent representative to the European Communities; and what is the total annual cost, including salaries, rent, rates, equipment, depreciation, allowances, training, and expenses, for 1988.

The total number of people employed in the offices of the United Kingdom permanent representative to the European Communities is 84, including locally engaged staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost to public funds of the Falkland Islands Government for the latest year for which figures are available, per capita for the permanent population of the islands.

For the financial year 1987–88, our public expenditure in the Falkland Islands was as follows:

Development aid:	£6,780,000
Garrison costs:	£118,000,000
Total:	£124,780,000

For the financial year ending 30 June 1988, public expenditure by the Falkland Islands Government was £15,541,731.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has made to the Turkish authorities regarding continuing reports of systematic and widespread use of torture in places of detention;(2) if he will make representations to the Turkish Government urging them

My right hon. and learned Friend raised the continuing allegations of breaches of human rights when the Turkish ambassador paid an introductory call on him on 1 February. I also did so during his call on me on 2 February. He assured us that his Government were aware that there were areas where further improvement was necessary and were acting to eliminate shortcomings. We welcome that assurance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Turkish authorities regarding the case of Ibraham Acan.

We are aware of the circumstances of Mr. Acan's case. We urge the Turkish Government to ensure that they respect and abide by the terms and conditions of the human rights agreements to which they are signatories.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Turkish authorities on breaches of the European convention for the prevention of torture and request them to make known the steps being taken to end the use of practices condemned therein.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I have both recently made the Turkish ambassador aware of our concern about allegations of breaches of human rights in Turkey. Through him we have reminded the Turkish Government of the need to abide by the international conventions to which they are signatories.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries which have been asked to pay rates arrears for diplomatic properties in London; and if he will make a statement.

We are seeking payment of rates arrears for diplomatic properties in London from the following states:

Burkina	Libya
Costa Rica	Morocco
France	Nigeria
Grenada	Paraguay
Iran	Somalia
Iraq	Sudan
Laos	Uganda

We regularly approach missions which are in arrears to urge them to make payment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to secure the release of Mr. Ian Richter from imprisonment in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

The continuing imprisonment of Mr. Richter remains a source of grave concern to the Government. The sentence passed on him is severe, and we have made numerous appeals for clemency to the Iraqi authorities. We note that Mr. Richter is now the only remaining long-term western prisoner in Iraq. His early release would remove a major obstacle to the improvement of Anglo-Iraqi relations.

To ask the Attorney-General if he is satisfied that the Crown Prosecution service is able to undertake prosecutions involving extensive technical detail, such as serious fraud cases and health and safety at work prosecutions; and if he will make a statement.

The Crown Prosecution service is able to undertake prosecutions involving extensive technical detail. In general the most serious fraud cases are conducted by the serious fraud office and health and safety at work prosecutions are conducted by inspectors appointed under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

To ask the Minister for the Arts 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.

Since 1983 when the Office of Arts and Libraries was established, grants have been made to the bodies it sponsors and to many other institutions and projects. Examples of donations to specific appeals include £500,000 to the Royal Academy trust appeal fund launched in 1982, £25,000 to the Dulwich picture gallery appeal in 1985, and £150,000 in response to an appeal by the Carnegie (United Kingdom) trust for the improvement of arts venues for the benefit of disabled people in 1988.

To ask the Minister for the Arts when he will publish a table of (a) the places which and (b) the dates when Mr. Richard Wilding will be visiting to take evidence for his inquiry into the structure of arts administration.

[holding answer 6 February 1989]: Full details of Mr. Wilding's visits have not yet been finalised, but he will be visiting all the English regional arts associations during the course of the review; the dates of those visits are as follows:

Date	Place
2–3 February	South West Arts
16 February	Merseyside Arts
20 February	Yorkshire Arts
21–22 February	Northern Arts
27 February	Southern Arts
1–2 March	East Midland Arts
2–3 March	Lincolnshire and Humberside Arts
7–8 March	North West Arts
9–10 March	West Midland Arts
14 March	Merseyside Arts (second visit)
20 March	South East Arts
21 March	Eastern Arts

To ask the Prime Minister when next she expects to pay an official visit to Bradford, South.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Stretton on Dansmoore, near Rugby.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister what progress is being made in achieving greater value for money within Government Departments; and whether she will make a statement.

The Government attach very high priority to getting better value for money from public expenditure and good progress is being made. Efficiency scrutinies have saved over £1·4 billion on a cumulative basis; and in the current year Departments aim to achieve value-for-money improvements in purchasing and supply totalling some £340 million, while market testing and contracting out is now saving some £40 million a year. The recent Public Expenditure White Paper provides many more examples of value-for-money improvements. Beyond this, we are creating agencies to improve efficiency in Executive activities on which my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Office announced progress on 1 February, at column 237–239. Finally, we are continuing to improve output and performance measurement so that all Departments and managers can be set targets and be judged on the results that they achieve.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Libya.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy to accept any invitation issued to address the freedom of information and official secrets rally at the Albert hall, Nottingham on 8 February.

No

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 7 February.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others including the Spanish Foreign Minister. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today including one with the Soviet Deputy Prime Minister. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those international organisations on which his Department is represented and the total cost of these commitments.

Subscriptions were made during 1987–88 to the following international organisations at a total cost of £18,700:

• Plan Econ
• Institute of International Finance
• Data Resources Incorporated
• Wharton
• International Council for Automatic Data Processing in Government Administration

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the total allowance in cash terms which the developers of the Canary wharf scheme in London's docklands will be eligible to claim under the scheme for 100 per cent. allowances on the capital amount, assuming the scheme is built to completion as set out in the master building agreement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Bow and Popular (Ms. Gordon) on 20 January at column 348.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the report of the court of auditors in relation to the use of accountancy and other devices by the European Economic Community to deal with their overspending in relation to budgetary controls agreed by the European Council; and what steps he will take to prevent such devices being used in the future in the light of the further increase in Community resources agreed in February 1988.

I share the concern of the court of auditors about the use of accountancy devices which camouflage the underlying trend of Community expenditure. The new budget discipline arrangements put in place following the February 1988 Brussels European Council, and especially the legally binding controls on agricultural expenditure, address the fundamental problems which prompted the use of such devices in the past.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of (a) personal incomes, (b) company profits, (c) dividends and interest payments and (d) rents for each year since 1975; and what has been the percentage increase in each during each of these years.

[holding answer 2 February 1989]: This information appears in the 1988 edition of the Central Statistical Office publication "United Kingdom National Accounts" which may be found in the House of Commons Library. The information may also be obtained from the CSO databank which is a collection of macroeconomic time series in computer readable form to which the House of Commons Library has direct access. This databank. includes the latest versions of all series on it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the current in-patient waiting lists for (a) West Glamorgan and (b) Neath and Port Talbot for (i) urgent and (ii) non-urgent cases.

Waiting list information is collected on the basis of the number of people waiting for admission to a particular hospital. Information on waiting lists as at 31 March 1988, the latest available, is given in the following table:

	In-patient Waiting List
	Urgent	Non-Urgent
West Glamorgan	172	5,151
Neath and Port Talbot Hospitals	43	1,344

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the current waiting lists for first time out-patient appointments, specialty by specialty, in (a) West Glamorgan, and (b) Neath and Port Talbot; and what are the average waiting periods for each specialty.

Waiting list information is collected on the basis of the number of people waiting for a first time

	West Glamorgan		Neath and Port Talbot Hospitals
	Waiting list	Notional waiting time1 (days)	Waiting list	Notional waiting time1 (days)
General Medicine	266	20	100	27
Paediatrics	156	30	73	44
Chest Diseases	29	25	10	46
Dermatology	1,578	133	445	126
Neurology	476	115	82	146
Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation	29	26	—	—
Rheumatology	392	145	101	171
General Surgery	1,679	73	399	37
Ear, Nose and Throat	2,969	187	1,430	287
Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery	1,871	58	709	59
Ophthalmology	1,766	125	462	171
Radiotherapy	4	1	—	—
Urology	1,153	481	—	—
Dental Surgery	52	6	49	40
Orthodontics	114	36	—	—
Neurosurgery	37	35	—	—
Gynaecology	653	43	62	14
Psychiatric Children	23	23	—	—
Mental Illness	45	13	—	—
Haematology	16	4	—	—
1 The notional time to clear a waiting list (given in days) is obtained by dividing the total waiting list at 31 March by the average daily number of new out-patients seen during the previous twelve months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report(a) the total extent, in hectares, of each environmentally sensitive area, (b) the extent of agricultural land within each environmentally sensitive area, (c) the number of farmers eligible to enter

Cambrian mountains (designated 1 March 1987)	Cambrian mountains extension (designated 1 January 1988)	Lleyn peninsula (designated 1 January 1988)
(a) 72,800 hectares	80,200 hectares	39,750 hectares
(b)1 53,900 hectares	58,050 hectares	39,280 hectares
(c)2 200	350	960
(d)3 108	51	97
(e)3 13,179·40 hectares	1,777·20 hectares	4,439·31 hectares
Notes:
1 Figures cover semi-natural rough grazings and improved agricultural land but exclude woodlands.
2 Estimated
3 As at 3 February 1989

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what opportunities he foresees for (a) Wales and (b) west Wales as a result of the construction of the Channel tunnel; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 6 February 1989]: The Government have revitalised the economy of Wales: industry is now more diverse and competitive and overall economic performance and activity have improved. Wales is thus well placed to take full advantage of the trading opportunities which the tunnel will afford in terms of better access to Europe.

The information requested is as follows:West Wales will share in these benefits and, in particular, the improved facilities at Milford Haven and Pembroke dock put the area in a strong position to take advantage of all the opportunities for increased levels of trade with Europe.Welsh industry is already involved with the construction phase of the tunnel. To date several Welsh firms have been successful in attracting work worth over £7 million. I am sure that Welsh concerns will continue to play a valuable role during construction.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all those water supplies in England which currently fail to meet the standards set out in the European Economic Community directives on the quality of drinking water and whether or not these are subject to derogations; how and when it is proposed for each of these water supplies to meet the standards laid down; and what the latest estimated cost of complying with the standards is in each case.

Drinking water supplies to the following areas in England regularly exceed one or more of the standards set in the EC drinking water directive. Under the terms of the directive the Department has granted derogations (exemptions) for non-toxic parameters provided that the situation is due to the nature and structure of the ground and there is no public health risk. We have also applied to the Commission under article 20 for a longer period in which to meet the directive in certain cases and have submitted programmes of improvement. Implementation of the remedial programmes would mean that most supplies should comply with the directive by 1990. Most of the derogated supplies should comply by 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the waste disposal authorities and sites for which copies of site licences under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 have been requested by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and not supplied

Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has not asked waste disposal authorities to provide copies of all their waste disposal licences. The information, from the registers of waste disposal licences maintained by the waste disposal authorities, and to form it into a computer data base. This is periodically up-dated.Waste disposal authorities have occasionally been requested by HMIP to provide copies of specific licences or samples of licences. In general such requests have been met. There have been a few occasions when such a request has not been acted on Without a search of all correspondence files it is not possible to give a list of such occasions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley and for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) on 12 December 1988, Official Report, columns 402–3, in which locations the 1987 sediment monitoring results by Yorkshire water authority show an increase of mercury concentration and the 1986 sediment monitoring results by Yorkshire water authority show an increase of cadmium over the previous year.

The two locations are the river Humber at Stone creek in respect of mercury, and the river Rother at Canklow in respect of cadmium.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham), Official Report, 12 January, column 742, if he will make a statement on the performance targets set for the chairman of Yorkshire water authority in 1987–88, and if he will specify the annual bonus received by the chairman of the Yorkshire water authority in each of the last four years.

Information about Government controls on the Yorkshire water authority, including performance aims and achievement against them, is set out in the authority's annual report and accounts for 1987–88 on pages 59–62. A copy is available in the Library.Water authority chairmen and executive board members were first eligible for performance bonuses in respect of 1986–87. The chairman of the Yorkshire water authority received a bonus of 11–5 per cent. of his annual salary for that year and 13 per cent. for 1987–88.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines he proposes to issue in respect of the poll tax to women who have no independent source of income; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have no plans to introduce a poll tax. Nor does it plan to issue guidelines to individuals on this aspect of the community charge. Anyone with no independent source of income may have a spouse or partner who is jointly liable for the community charge. Where this is not the case, and the person has no income or capital, he or she is likely to be eligible for both income support and community charge benefit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many local authorities have Spooner style houses; and if he will make a statement;(2) what representations his Department has received regarding Spooner houses; and if he will make a statement.

Eighteen local authorities in England have reported ownership of Spooner houses built between 1945 and 1951; and six have reported ownership of the later, and different, Spooner-Caspon house. My Department has received some inquiries about both house types, and has explained that on the evidence available, designation under the housing defects legislation is unlikely to be appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those types of properties covered by the Housing Defects Act.

The following property types are designated nationally in England, under the housing defects legislation:

• Airey
• Boot
• Boswell
• Cornish Unit
• Dorran
• Dyke
• Gergory
• Myton
• Newland
• Orlit
• Parkinson
• Reema Hollow Panel
• Schindler and Hawksley SGS
• Smith
• Stent
• Stonecrete
• Tarran
• Underdown
• Unity and Butterley
• Waller
• Wates
• Wessex
• Winget
• Woolaway

Local designations are in force for Smith-type houses with additional foundation defects at Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell and Nuneaton and Bedworth; and also for certain other properties in Dudley with a foundation defect.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those types of properties for which proposals for designation under the Housing Defects Act have been submitted but which have not been so designated.

My Department receives various inquiries concerning designation under the housing defects legislation. Since 1984, formal requests for designation in England have been considered, but not accepted, in respect of the following types:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the facilities for studying wildlife which have been provided at Top Hill Low reservoir in north Yorkshire will be maintained should privatisation take place; why a permit charge has recently been levied; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that Yorkshire water authority has no plans to reduce the facilities at Tophill reservoir now or after privatisation. Facilities at the reservoir are controlled by the Tophill wildlife group which, since 1 January 1988, has paid a nominal annual permit fee of £25 to the authority for the facilities. I understand that the group levies a charge on members to cover the permit fee and to give them a working income.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the membership and remuneration of the board of the Warrington and Runcorn new town development corporation.

The membership and remuneration of the board of Warrington and Runcorn development corporation is as follows:

	Annual salary with effect from 1 October 1988 £
Professor A. Mercer (Chairman) MA PhD	16,354
Mr. A. Dean Smith (Deputy Chairman) FRICS JP Members:	7,432
Councillor J. H. Collins OBE BSc JP DL	3,355
Councillor S. H. Cussons FCA
Mr. J. E. H. Davies
Councillor J. S. Gartside BSc B.Phil JP
Mrs. P. M. Gillet BA AIMS
W Mrs. R. Gorton
Mr. R. N. Hodge B.Eng
Mr. M. Macaskill MA ACIS FCBSI
Mr. N. J. Macleod FCIB
Councillor D. A. Nunn C.Eng MI Mech E

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total number of repossessions by building societies in each year from 1979 to 1988.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 2 February at column 353.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what quantities of radioactive barium sulphate residues remain at Amersham International sites; what is their total curie content; and what present plans exist for the final disposal of these radioactive wastes.

A total of 1·5 gigabequerels (approximately 40 millicuries) of radioactive barium sulphate residues remain at the Amersham International site at Amersham. No such residues are stored on any other Amersham International site.The residues are sludges contaminated with radium-226 resulting from the treatment of radioactive effluent prior to discharge from the site. Residues are stored safely in the site effluent treatment plant. When the plant is de-commissioned, the waste sludges will be disposed of safely under the terms of an authorisation issued by HMIP.Some radioactive barium sulphate residues arising from work on radium-226 in the 1940s and 1950s were at that time buried on the Amersham site. These burials were excavated in the late 1960s and the radioactive waste was disposed of by burial at the British Nuclear Fuels disposal site at Drigg in Cumbria.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals to offer council houses free to tenants who have lived in them for many years.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will publish tables showing (a) the planning applications for out of town retail developments which have been referred to him on appeal in each of the past five years, (b) their date of referral, (c) their size in square feet, (d) the outcome of each appeal, and (e) the local planning authority concerned;(2) whether he will publish tables showing

Information on appeals involving retail development is not readily available in the form requested. It could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish tables showing (a) the planning applications for leisure development which have been referred to him on appeal in each of the last five years, (b) the date of referral, (c) the local planning authority concerned, (d) their size in square feet and (e) the outcome of each appeal.

Since 1985–86, 1,473 appeals of this type have been determined of which 742 were allowed. The size and nature of the proposals varies widely. I regret that the other details requested could he obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps have been taken to ensure that as far as is reasonably possible the caterers chosen to supply food for the conference sponsored by Her Majesty's Government to be held in March on the depletion of the ozone layer and chlorofluorocarbons will be using (a) refrigerant units not needing chlorouorocarbons and (b) food packaging not including chlorofluorocarbons; and if he will make a statement.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said on 25 January at col 567–68, Government Departments have been asked to review their policies, specifications and practices with a view to reducing the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons to the maximum possible extent. In addition, the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre and the Government hospitality fund, which will be catering for the conference, have been specifically asked to ensure that use of products and equipment containing CFCs is avoided as far as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his policy on the sale of local authority freeholds to industrial leasehold tenants on local authority industrial estates.

It is for each local authority to adopt its own policy on this question. In general we consider that, where industrial estates are sold, the tenants should have a fair chance to purchase the freehold.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he proposes to complete his review of the process by which the structure plans are prepared;(2) what role he is planning to give county councils in preparing future structure plans.

A White Paper on the future of development plans (CM 569) was published on Monday 30 January. The White Paper proposes the abolition of structure plans, but envisages that county councils should continue to have a key role in the planning process, both in relation to the preparation of regional planning guidance, and in the formulation of planning policies on issues which need to be considered on a county-wide basis. Each county will be required to prepare a statement of county planning policies on a defined range of subjects. They will also be required to prepare a separate minerals development plan. In England, development control responsibility for minerals and waste disposal will remain with the county councils.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to place a statutory ban on building closer than 250 m to dangerous tips in respect of the methane gas hazard associated with rubbish tips; and if he will make a statement.

No, but it is proposed to issue to local authorities shortly a circular about the use of their planning powers in relation to landfill sites which may generate methane gas, and this will refer to the circumstances of development near such sites. A draft of the circular was issued for comment on 12 December.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the financing of safety measures at former dumps; and if he will make a statement.

Such measures are the responsibility of those, including local authorities, with relevant rights to the land.Local authorities will assess the requirements in the light of surveys currently being conducted and will determine their priorities accordingly. Capital allocations for 1989–90 allow for such work, with a sum of £5 million held in reserve for urgent work on landfill gas remedial measures for which no other resources are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources are being made available under the derelict land programme in 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.

The resources available for derelict land reclamation under the derelict land programme will be £67·182 million in 1989–90, we expect that about 900 hectares of land will be reclaimed by the programme in 1989–90 thus maintaining the momentum of the programme which, since 1979, has funded the reclamation of more than 11,000 hectares of derelict land. In addition, urban development corporations are now tackling some of the most extensive areas of dereliction and city grant is also helping redevelop derelict sites in inner city areas.As in previous years more than 90 per cent. of derelict land grant will be spent in the northern and midlands regions. We have given particular priority to Yorkshire and Humberside and the west midlands. We are providing £12 million to the Yorkshire and Humberside region to increase the attack on persistent dereliction. £13 million is allocated to the west midlands and of this £6 million is intended to continue the investigative and remedial work on old limestone workings in the black country. Overall the allocations include more than £12 million for coal mining and related dereliction, a further increase on last year's record expenditure.We are approving a new rolling programme for the joint local authority initiative in the Dearne valley in south Yorkshire. Existing rolling programme status for the lower Don valley (Sheffield) and Preston docks is to cease. We are also introducing triennial reviews for all rolling programmes and major projects and under these arrangements the present programmes in Wigan, north-east Lancashire, Wirral, Normanby park, Corby and the black country will be examined with the local authorities in the course of 1989 and targets set for completion of their work. Total expenditure on the 13 local authority rolling programmes approved for 1989–90 will be nearly £19 million.The allocations will permit completion of work on the major reclamation of the Consett steelworks and the 1990 Gateshead garden festival site. Progress will be maintained in Corby, Wigan and the black country and on the exciting private sector Meadowhall development in Sheffield. A start should be made on the BICC site in Knowsley.In general, priorities for derelict land reclamation remain as set out in the department's circular 28/85, "Reclamation and Reuse of Derelict Land". This stressed the importance of schemes designed to reclaim urban, especially inner city, land for housing and industrial and commercial uses. These priorities will be reflected in the schemes that will be supported in 1989–90.However, as I announced on 20 July 1988, I have undertaken to review priorities for derelict land reclamation in the light of the findings of the 1988 derelict land survey. In doing so we shall also have regard to the recent report of the National Audit Office on derelict land grant and to the forthcoming report of the Public Accounts Committee. Officials are already engaged on the review with terms of reference

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to publish the results of his monitoring of progress in the implementation of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1985.

[holding answer 6 February 1989]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 3 February at column 43.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the number and location of breaches of the maximum admissible concentration of single and mixed pesticides in water reported by the Anglian water authority.

Last year sample analyses indicated that there had been some breaches of the precautionary standard for pesticides in drinking water in some supplies provided by the Anglian water authority. However, all were within levels considered acceptable by medical advisers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to reply to the letter of 22 December 1988 from the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury relating to clause 7(5) of the Water Bill.

I have sent the hon. Member a reply today.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, following the recommendations of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, he will amend the method of funding of the Agricultural and Food Research Council so as to distinguish between the funding of food research in the public interest and work of direct benefit to industry; and if he will direct the Agricultural and Food Research Council to ensure that its Bristol laboratory remains open and intact.

The Government have made their position clear on the removal of public support for near market research and that is already reflected in the commissions which my Department places with the Agriculture and Food Research Council. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science is responsible in this House for matters directly affecting the research councils.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food 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.

It is not usual for my Ministry to make donations to public appeals for financial aid but the Ministry has on occasion been prepared to sponsor projects within the purview of such appeals. The most recent example has been a £50K sponsorship of a project within the ambit of the British Food and Farming 1989 appeal. Identification of examples for the period back to 1979–80 could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he has made to proposals by the European Commission for revised nutritional labelling; and if he will make it his policy to resist any extension of the four principal nutrients now recommended for use in the United Kingdom and specified in Codex Alimentarious.

The European Commission's proposals on nutrition labelling are currently under discussion at Council working group level. I am aware of the food industry's view that nutrition labelling should be restricted to energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat with optional declarations of other nutrients, as recommended by the Codex Alimentarius.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to complete his review of potato marketing policy; and if he will ensure that in relation to any proposals he makes for change in the existing arrangements, producers, users and consumers will be brought together to develop a strategy which ensures that the market need is met.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering and evaluating the responses to the consultation document in September 1988, including comments on the suggestion that non-producer interests should be represented in market management decisions. We are not yet in a position to say when this process will be completed, but a decision will not be unduly delayed.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give, for each year since its introduction (a) the total amount of conservation grants paid under the environmentally sensitive areas scheme and (b) the total amount of funding received from the European Economic Community for conservation grants under the environmentally sensitive areas scheme.

In the financial year 1987–88 the payments made under the ESA schemes in England amounted to £2·944 million. Our estimate of expenditure in the current financial year is £8·3 million. Information on funding received from the European Economic Community towards the ESA expenditure in 1987 is not yet available.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list in the Official Report (a) the total extent in hectares, of each environmentally sensitive area, (b) the extent of agricultural land within each environmentally sensitive area, (c) the number of farmers eligible to enter into management agreements on each environmentally sensitive areas, (d) of the number of agreements concluded with farmers in each environmentally sensitive area and (e) the total area of land covered by agreements in each environmentally sensitive area.

The total area in hectares of each environmentally sensitive area in England is as follows:

	Hectares
Broads	29,870
Somerset Levels and Moors	26,970
South Downs	53,340

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated annual rate of soil loss by erosion in Norfolk.

While information is available in respect of areas known to be particularly susceptible, this is not representative of the whole country. Figures are not available for individual counties. The basic principles of soil erosion and measures to minimise its risk are well understood and have been incorporated in ADAS advice to farmers for many years. ADAS has published advisory leaflets on water erosion and on wind erosion and will advise farmers on techniques to minimise erosion risks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information his Department has about the role, in France, of the Fondation de la France in routing corporate charitable donations to schools and higher education institutions, thereby exempting such donations from value added tax under the 6th directive on value added tax and whether he has plans to encourage donations in the United Kingdom by such a method.

The Department has no information on the Fondation de la France or its methods of routing charitable donations. We welcome charitable donations to schools and higher education institutions but their United Kingdom tax treatment is and must remain in line with the 6th directive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information his Department has about the effect on the LINK programme of charging value added tax on the value of donations of computer equipment, software and services made by companies to schools and higher education institutions.

None. LINK provides a framework for collaborative research involving industry and the science base; donations play no part in the funding arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department has had consultations on seeking a method of removing from companies wishing to make donations in kind to schools and higher education institutions the disincentive of having value added tax levied on the value of such donations.

The arrangements for value added tax are a matter for HM Customs and Excise. I understand that there are no plans to change the present arrangements which are in line with the EC 6th directive on VAT.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to issue the consultative document on the keeping and disclosure of further education student records and to make the regulations on the keeping and disclosure of pupil records.

My right hon. Friend hopes to do so within the next few months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science 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.

This information is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the current position with regard to the extent to which business and commercial subjects are taught in schools, the extent to which such subjects were taught in schools five and 10 years previously and the extent to which he envisages such subjects being taught in schools over the next 10 years.

Estimates from the 1977 and 1984 secondary school staffing surveys show the following:

Tuition in business studies (I) as a percentage of all tuition received in maintained secondary schools
	1977 (England and Wales)	1984 (England)
Year groups 1–3	*	*
4–5	3·7	3·3
6th form	4·6	4·7
All year groups	1·7	1·6

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, pursuant to the reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, on 25 January, Official Report, column 596, he will publish in the Official Report the protocol of the medical research trial on the benefits of zidovudine for healthy people who are HIV positive; how many people are involved; and when the results of the trial will be available.

Planned numbers to be involved in the trial are 1,000 in the United Kingdom and 1,000 in France, as set out in the relevant M RC press notice earlier placed in the Library. Results are expected to be available by the end of 1992, and will be published as soon as is practicable after that. The protocol is extremely lengthy and a copy has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to receive the report of the interim advisory committee on teachers' pay; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement.

I have asked the interim advisory committee to submit its report by mid-February at the latest. I will be arranging for its early publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the total Natural Environment Research Council budget was allocated by that council to (a) the Institute of Terrestial Ecology research station at Bangor and (b) the research vessel support service at Barry in each of the years 1979 to 1988; and what figure is projected for 1989 in each case.

The information is as follows:

(a) Year from 1 April	(b) Bangor per cent.	Barry per cent.
1979	0·69	7·44
1980	0·59	7·10
1981	0·55	7·78
1982	0·59	8·20
1983	0·59	6·32
1984	0·64	7·02
1985	0·66	6·57
1986	0·62	8·05
1987	0·69	8·24
1988	0·54	5·88
1989–90	1	5·31
1 Not vet available.

Figures are gross proportion of NERC gross total expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the projected costs of creating facilities at Southampton in the event of moving the environmental research vessel support base from Barry.

I understand that the Natural Environment Research Council estimates the capital cost of creating the relevant new facilities in Southampton for the research vessel services from Barry and the Deacon laboratory from Wormley at about £21 million over four years at 1988–89 prices. Offsetting savings from land sale receipts and expenditure on work otherwise needing to be committed will total some £11 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what budget his Department has allocated in (a) cash terms and (b) adjusted to 1989 prices to the research vessels support service base at Barry for each of the years 1979 to 1988; and what figure is projected for 1989.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many jobs he estimates will be shed at Natural Environment Research Council establishments and vessels during 1989; where these job losses will be located; where any new posts are to be located; and how many of the deleted posts he estimates will be vacated by (a) redundancy and (b) relocation.

The Natural Environment Research Council identified 160 posts, the majority of which were in marine sciences, to be shed during the financial year to 31 March 1989. In consequence, 38 staff will be made compulsorily redundant, the remainder of the posts having been shed through voluntary redundancy. I understand that in 1989–90 further posts will have to be lost; it is hoped to limit these to 60, through voluntary redundancy. The locations of the posts concerned are not yet known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the distribution of the science budget for 1989–90.

I have considered the recommendations of the advisory board for the research councils and have decided that the science budget for 1989–90 should, subject to approval by parliament of the Estimates in due course, be allocated as follows:

	£ million
Agricultural and Food Research Council	74·57
Economic and Social Research Council	32·02
Medical Research Council	176·34
Natural Environment Research Council	123·46
Science and Engineering Research Council	404·96
The Royal Society	11·64
The Fellowship of Engineering	0·97
Science Policy Studies (ABRC)	0·22
Centre for Exploitation of Science and Technology	0·08

I am publishing the board's advice today. Copies are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses.