To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise at the first meeting of the conference on the human dimension in Paris the treatment of political prisoners in Ankara central prison by the Turkish Government.

It is open to participants at the Paris human dimension conference to take up any matter of concern to them. It is too early to say precisely which issues Britain will raise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is giving to the United Nations global project to promote the decade of disabled persons; and if he will make a statement.

The Department of Health is the lead Department on domestic issues relating to this project. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has, through the Overseas Development Administration, funded a three-month consultancy at the United Nations office in Vienna to identify projects and funds for the world programme of action for disabled persons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the number of civil servants in his Department whose main task is work related wholly or mainly to the European Economic Community; and what is the gross annual cost of travel and accommodation to and from Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg in connection with this work.

There is a total of 56 staff in the diplomatic and aid wings whose work is related wholly or mainly to the EC, including clerical and secretarial staff. The annual cost of official travel and accommodation to and from Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg on EC work is approximately £34,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the official visit to London of the Secretary General of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I, as well as senior officials in the FCO, including the ODA, and my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, had very useful discussions with Mr. Flecha de Lima during his visit last week. We covered a wide range of international issues including environmental problems, notably the future of the Amazon rainforests. We drew Mr. Flecha de Lima's attention to the strong concern felt in Britain on this issue, but stressed that our overall approach was to work with the Brazilian Government.

To ask the Attorney-General what is the number of civil servants (a) in his office and (b) in the Lord Chancellor's Department whose main task is work related wholly or mainly to the European Economic Community; and what is the gross annual cost of travel and accommodation to and from Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg in connection with this work.

The number of civil servants whose main task is work related wholly or mainly to the European Economic Community is as follows:Law Officers' Department, nine; Lord Chancellor's Department three.The estimated gross annual cost of travel and accommodation to and from Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg for the current financial year is:

To ask the Attorney-General if he proposes to take any steps in the Australian courts to seek to prevent the publication of the book known as "Codebreaker Extraordinary" by retired captain Eric Nave.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set a date by which no new car may be sold in the United Kingdom if it is incapable of using unleaded petrol.

Regulations made in September last year require all new model types from 1 October 1989, and virtually all existing model types from 1 October 1990, to be capable of running on unleaded petrol. Special arrangements for the less than 2 per cent. of new cars which would need major engineering changes will expire on 1 October 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he is giving to the longer-term case for repairing, improving or expanding the capacity of the M4 elevated section on the approach to central London; what forecasts have been prepared of increased traffic volume resulting from the continued expansion of traffic to and from Heathrow airport; and if he will make a statement.

Consultants were appointed last year to develop a strategy for management of the motorway and trunk road network within the M4/A4 corridor from London to Heathrow. The aim is to improve the reliability of journey times by making the best use of the existing system. A report on this study is expected during the summer of next year. It will incorporate all relevant traffic forecasts, including those relating to Heathrow.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the present position concerning the computerisation of the vehicle licensing system.

Vehicles licensed for use on the public road in Great Britain have to be registered on the computer at the driver and vehicle licensing centre. Computerisation there began in 1974 with new vehicles and was gradually extended to older vehicles as they were relicensed or re-registered. Since November 1983 registration marks of older vehicles not on the computer record have only been added in exceptional circumstances. These vehicles are usually given alternative numbers whose history cannot be disputed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the security of on-line computer files in his Department is regularly checked for breaches by unauthorised outside access.

Yes. Procedures too are reviewed regularly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Essex as to (i) the powers of and (ii) the nature of the warrant card required to be carried by special constables employed by Sealink Harbours Ltd. at Parkeston quay and as to which police authority such constables are accountable.

These special constables are employed by Protective Security Systems Ltd. under exclusive contract to Sealink and do not come under the county police authority. The local harbour legislation incorporates a common provision under which persons nominated by the harbour undertaking may be sworn in as special constables for its premises and one mile beyond them. Sealink has stated that these staff will not be used outside port limits, save in emergency and in support of Essex police. They have photocards, issued by Sealink, identifying them as special constables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to which police authority special constables employed by Sealink Harbours Ltd. are accountable in cases where members of the public have recourse to the Police Complaints Commission in connection with the actions of any such constable.

Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 authorities other than police authorities which maintain a body of constables may, with the Home Secretary's approval, make agreements with the Police Complaints Authority, establishing police complaints and discipline procedures similar to those laid down in that Act. There is no such agreement at present between the authority and Sealink, which introduced its new security arrangements on 1 February 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Essex as to whether the special constables employed by Sealink Harbours Ltd. have been trained at district training centres in order that they are able to comply with the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and other legislation to which constables employed in the regular police forces are subject.

I understand that before these staff were sworn in as special constables they took a three-week training course, to which the Essex police contributed, and had to pass a written examination. The security manager and two of his staff formerly belonged to Essex police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider introducing different shaped traffic lights so as to be discernible to colour-blind motorists and pedestrians.

No. The present designs provide for colour blind people by standardising the positions and sequence of the red, amber and green lamps on traffic light signals and on the positions of the red and green people symbols on traffic light signals controlling pedestrians.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to encourage greater use of the railways for the haulage of heavy goods to alleviate the environmental damage caused by heavy commercial lorries.

Grants are available under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 to assist the transport of goods by rail if the environmental benefits of keeping lorries off sensitive roads can be secured at reasonable costs and if the correct commercial decision, in the absence of grant, would be to use road. Since 1974 the Government have awarded 189 such grants totalling £64 million and we estimate that, as a result, about 3 million lorry journeys are removed from unsuitable roads every year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why temporary traffic lights were in operation on Saturday 4 March and Monday 6 March on the island at junction 25 of the M1 motorway.

The temporary traffic signals were installed to cater for increased traffic flow resulting from the temporary closure of the southbound exit slip road at M1 junction 28 for reconstruction works from 4 to 10 March. The signals were installed to prevent queues forming back on to the M1 carriageway. At junction 25 the lights were in continuous operation from 4 to 6 March and then at peak periods only as agreed with the police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what arrangements he has made for the distribution of the annual report of Her Majesty's senior chief inspector of schools "Standards in Education 1987–88", to those within the education service; and whether copies are to be sent to every school;(2) what was the cost of printing the annual report of Her Majesty's senior chief inspector of schools "Standards in Education 1987–88"; and how many copies were printed.

Ten thousand copies of the senior chief inspector's annual report were printed at a total cost of £2,340. The report has been sent to all chief education officers, to major national bodies within the education service, and to a number of other interested parties. The report has never been sent automatically to every school, but any institution or individual asking for a copy of the report will be sent one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what steps he proposes to take to increase the number of qualified teachers of deaf-blind people;(2) what steps he has taken to improve the education of deaf-blind people; and how many qualified teachers for deaf-blind people there are in Britain;(3) what discussions he has had with SENSE, the organisation for deaf-blind people; and if he will meet its officials to discuss funding;(4) if he will conduct a special survey of the educational requirements of deaf-blind adults and children to evaluate their needs and to enable him to make adequate provisions.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 9 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Mr. Hargreaves) at column 604. Officials of the Department have met representatives of SENSE on a number of occasions. They were particularly helpful in assisting the Department prepare its statement on the educational needs of deaf-blind children, a copy of which I have sent to the hon. Member. This is relevant to the points he raises.The funding of provision of services for the deaf-blind is the responsibility of local authorities. The statement does not envisage that the development of services for the deaf-blind should involve significant additional expenditure. However, the Department intends to follow up progress on local education authorities' consideration of the Department's statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the cost at 1988–89 prices of ending parental contributions in respect of student grants.

Approximately £340 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the cost at 1988–89 prices of restoring students to their 1979 grant level.

The cost of restoring the student maintenance grant in the current academic year to its 1978–79 level would be approximately £125 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the cost at 1988–89 prices of restoring the level of student transport costs to their 1979 level.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 28 November 1988 at column 78.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the cost at 1988–89 prices, of introducing educational maintenance awards for 16 and 17-year-olds in full-time education in schools and colleges at (a) the same rates as income support for young people and (b) the same rates as training allowances paid to 16 and 17-year-olds on YTS.

After deducting child benefit and existing maintenance payments from LEAs, the annual cost of paying maintenance allowances to all 16 and 17-year-olds currently in full-time education in schools and colleges, is estimated to be as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what would be the extra cost in 1988–89 prices of full fee remission for all home students, in respect of part-time degree courses in (a) universities, (b) polytechnics and other colleges and (c) the open university.

Estimates of the extra costs are about £1 million for the universities in Great Britain, £4 million for the polytechnics and colleges in England and £15 million for the open university.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total Government grant both to the polytechnics and other colleges in each of the last 10 years; and if he will express each annual change and the total change since 1979, in real terms with 1979–80 = 100.

Block grant to local authorities is not hypothecated to particular services or institutions.The total allocations from the advanced further education pool plus capital expenditure by local authorities on polytechnics and colleges in England each year since 1979–80,

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total Government grant to the University Grants Committee in each of the last 10 years; and if he will express each annual change and the total change since 1979, in real terms with 1979–80 =100.

Total recurrent and capital grants made to the universities on the advice of the University Grants Committee were set out in my reply to the hon. Member's question on 10 February at column 844. The corresponding real terms figures, as measured by the gross domestic product deflator, are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total Government expenditure (a) per student for all students in full-time higher education, (b) per university student and (c) per student in polytechnics and other colleges in each of the last 10 years; and if he will express each annual change in real terms with 1979–80 = 100.

The available data are as listed. The figures show the expenditure at 1986–87 prices per full-time equivalent student in universities, in polytechnics, and in higher education at other maintained establishments. The 1986–87 real terms figures have been indexed using 1979–80 as the base year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was (a) the capital expenditure funded by the University Grants Committee and (b) the same figures for capital expenditure on polytechnics and other colleges, for each of the last 10 years, expressing each annual change in real terms with 1979–80 =10.

The table shows capital grants made to the universities on the advice of the University Grants Committee and gross capital expenditure on further and higher education by local authorities, together with capital grants to voluntary and direct grant colleges, expressed as indicated in real terms as measured by the gross domestic product deflator.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what information is available to his Department concerning the numbers of incentive allowances paid to teachers in primary, secondary and special schools in or shortly after October 1988, including in particular the numbers of allowances paid on discretionary grounds; whether the numbers of each type of allowance paid in 1987–88 closely matched the numbers advised by his Department as being available to be paid; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will publish a table showing, for each type of incentive allowance payable to teachers in primary, secondary and special schools in September 1988, the total number of allowances available to be paid by employers as advised by his Department and the proportion of these which were available to be paid on discretionary grounds; if he will distinguish between allowances already allocated to individuals and those newly available to be paid on discretionary grounds; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will publish a table showing the required minimum payments of incentive allowances to teachers in primary, secondary and special schools in October 1987 according to type, value and number of the allowances payable

Circulars 8/87 and 3/88 set out the approximate number of incentive allowances the Government wished to see awarded in October 1987 and September 1990 respectively. These were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will make it his policy to review the abatement provisions concerning school teachers' pensions in order to remove any financial disincentive for part-time work in the maintained sector after retirement; and if he will make a statement;

The general principle which applies across all the public service superannuation schemes is that a re-employed pensioner should not be better off as a result of being in receipt of a pension in addition to remuneration from further service than if he or she had not retired. Where the combined pay and pension are greater than the earnings on which the pension was based, the pension is reduced by the excess.Detailed information on re-employed teachers is not available. I understand, however, that in the year ending 31 March 1988, 302 teachers re-employed full-time and 660 teachers re-employed in a part-time capacity were considered by the Paymaster General's office under the abatement provisions.The policy of abatement in all public service schemes is currently being reviewed. I shall write to the hon. Member to let him know the outcome in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to encourage the possible part-time or full-time employment of retired teachers in the maintained sector; what contribution such part-time or full-time employment can make towards filling the shortages of teachers identified by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

The employment and deployment of teachers is a matter for local education authorities and schools. As part of our action programme to remedy teacher shortages we advise authorities to assess their recruitment needs and to develop a strategy for staffing their schools. The re-employment of retired teachers may in some circumstances form part of such a strategy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps his Department is taking to assist training in London docklands with a view to ensuring that jobs go to local people.

I have been asked to reply.The Government's training programmes are designed to ensure that local people are equipped with the skills to meet the growing needs of employers.Under employment training specific steps taken to improve the targeting of training and job opportunities in Docklands include:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of civil servants in his Department whose main task is work related wholly or mainly to the European Economic Community; and what is the gross annual cost of travel and accommodation to and from Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg in connection with this work.

The number of social security staff dealing wholly or mainly with matters relating to the European Community is 88. This figure includes 79 staff at Newcastle central office dealing with payment of benefits/pensions to beneficiaries resident in other EC countries.In addition, there are four members of staff in the legal branch shared with the Department of Health who deal exclusively with EC matters.A small number of these staff attend EC meetings abroad when necessary but I regret that records of costs incurred for travel and subsistence are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Other staff may also be involved in EC work from time to time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the level of expenditure on child benefit in cash and constant 1988–89 prices in each year since 1978.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service (1) if he will ask the Civil Service college to plan a programme of seminars to be available to those hon. Members elected for the first time at the next general election;(2) if he will take steps to discover on what topics sufficient demand exists among hon. Members to arrange briefing seminars at the Civil Service college;(3) what proposals he has to encourage hon. Members to attend Civil Service college courses.

The Civil Service college held briefing seminars on the work of the Civil Service on 2 and 23 March 1988 for hon. Members who first entered the House at the beginning of this Parliament. I hope that these will be repeated after the next general election. I attach great importance to the contribution that the college can make for the benefit of hon. Members, and I am actively considering with officials how this can best be developed further.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service how many staff within the Civil Service in the category politically restricted, as defined by the Civil Service pay and conditions code, have permission to engage in local political activity.

[holding answer 27 February 1989]: A survey of the major employing departments in 1987 showed that, between 28 September 1984 and 1 October 1987, 52 staff in the restricted group requested and were granted permission to engage in local political activity.

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the level of sponsorship for the arts in Nottingham, North.

Figures for Nottingham, North are not available. However, latest figures for the business sponsorship incentive scheme in the east midlands as a whole show that 31 businesses have supported the arts, generating £237,000.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what was the level of Government and private sector funding for the arts in 1979; and what he estimates this will be in 1989, at current values.

Central Government funding for the arts in 1979–80 was £154 million. The provision made for 1989–90 is £439 million. There are no comprehensive figures for private funding of arts activities, which comprises their revenue and trading income together with contributions and support from individuals and organisations of all kinds.The Government's policy is to create the conditions in which the arts can develop by attracting additional funds from private sources, and I welcome the evidence of its success. Thus, since its introduction in 1984, the business sponsorship incentive scheme has brought £22·75 million new money into the arts and attracted 931 new sponsors. Similarly, the receipts of the national museums and galleries from trading and other activities have risen from some £3 million in 1979–80 to an estimated £27 million in 1989–90.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is his Department's policy regarding the promotion of ballet in the regions; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the Adjournment debate on Wednesday 8 March 1989, Official Report, columns 1007–14.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is his Department's policy with regard to the support of working industrial museums.

My Department supports non-national museums through the Museums and Galleries Commission and area museum councils.

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make an official visit to Queen street mill, Burnley, to discuss the case for urgent funding.

I have at present no plans to visit Burnley. I understand that the north-west museum and art gallery service, which is funded by the Museums and Galleries Commission and which provides advice and selective financial assistance to museums, is in contact with Burnley borough council about the mill.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what were the total fees paid out by the Office of Arts and Libraries to management consultants in 1979–80 and each year to date; and what is the estimate for the current year.

[holding answer, 13 March 1989]: The Office of Arts and Libraries was established in July 1983. No management consultants have been employed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he proposes to have enforced in Northern Ireland similar action as is taken in Great Britain by the Department of Trade and Industry in respect of illegal cordless telephones on sale to the public.

I have been asked to reply.The Wireless Telegraphy (Cordless Telephone Apparatus (Restriction) Order (SI No. 774)) makes it unlawful to import, sell, manufacture or have in one's custody cordless telephone apparatus not meeting the Department's specification. The order applies and is enforced in Northern Ireland as in Great Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give his Department's expected expenditure in cash terms on information campaigns in 1989–90 which is covered by class XVI Scotland Supply Estimates in 1988–89 and the comparable figure he expects to spend in 1989–90.

Proposed provision for expenditure by the Scottish Office on information campaigns in 1989–90 is £2·9 million. The estimated expenditure for 1988–89 is £2·1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has regarding the effects of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic radiation on plant, animal and human life.

The National Radiological Protection Board is currently reviewing the results of extensive work on possible effects on human and animal health of electromagnetic radiation. The Government will consider the board's advice when it becomes available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what capital allocations were made to housing associations in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole for (i) new building and (ii) renovation in each year since 1979;(2) what capital allocations to housing associations in

Such information is not held by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State, in making his annual allocation to the Housing Corporation in Scotland for housing association purposes, requires the corporation to operate within a development programme approved by him each year. This programme is on the basis of specified categories of need. Subsequent allocations to particular associations and particular areas, and decisions on the means of provision are then the responsibility of the Housing Corporation.Similar procedures will operate for future years when Scottish Homes will take over from the Housing Corporation, responsibility for the funding of housing associations in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest unadjusted figures for unemployment in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole; and if he will give the equivalent figures for 1979 on the most nearly comparable basis.

The numbers of unemployed claimants for these areas on 12 January 1989 (the latest date for which information is available) are provided in the table, together with corresponding figures for January 1979. (Unemployment statistics for Greenock and Port Glasgow parliamentary constituency prior to June 1983 are not available and due to changes in the coverage and compilation of the count the latest unemployment figures and those available for 1979 are not directly comparable.)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to provide a national ski-ing development policy for Scotland.

The Government published national planning guidelines for skiing development in 1984. These guidelines set the framework within which we would expect to see development take place and continue to form the basis of Government policy for the development of skiing and for considering individual development proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the Green Paper on the Legal profession in Scotland to be published.

My right hon. and learned Friend's consultation paper "The Legal Profession in Scotland" was published on 13 March. Copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will bring forward legislation to outlaw rape in marriage.

In its 1984 report on sexual offences, the criminal law revision committee set out the arguments for and against extending the offence of rape to all married couples. By a narrow majority the committee decided not to recommend such an extension, although it did unanimously favour extending the offence to couples who were no longer cohabiting if a satisfactory definition could be found. The principal arguments which swayed the committee against recommending extending the offence to married couples generally were that within marriage the act would be of different character, there would be grave difficulties in investigation and prosecution, and a husband who had intercourse with his wife without her consent could be charged with other offences.The Government recognises the difficulties in this matter and have no present plans for legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what precautions his Department has taken to safeguard sensitive material transmitted by computer from being accessed or obtained by third parties;(2) whether the security of computer files on Home Department issues is regularly checked for breaches by internal or external unauthorised access;(3) what is his Department's policy on the implication for security of continued departmental computerisation.

A large number of computer systems operate within the Department. The security counter-measures appropriate to each system are considered at the design stage in the light of the assessed risk, and are kept under continuing review. It would not be in the interests of security to disclose the nature and extent of those measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information he has on whether computerised border control and passport control records are susceptible to electronic invasion;(2) what measures he has taken to prevent breaches of computerised border and passport control records by electronic invasion.

The security of the immigration and nationality department's computerised information systems is considered at an early stage in the design of new systems, and the security measures taken are reviewed in the light of changing threats to existing systems. It would not be in the interests of security to disclose the nature and extent of those measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following illegal extraction of files from the police computer, what steps he has taken to increase protection to ensure that no future penetration occurs.

I am satisfied that the monitoring and auditing systems for users of the police national computer are adequate. Additional measures are, however, being considered in planning the replacement police national computer system due to be introduced next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the percentage detection rate for crimes in Dorset for each of the last two years;(2) what was the total number of reported crimes in Dorset for each of the last two years.

The information is published annually, and most recently in tables 2.4 and 2.18 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1987", Cmd. 498. It is planned to publish recorded crime figures for 1988 later this month in a statistical bulletin, and clear-up rates for 1988 will be included in the annual Command Paper in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will obtain from the chief constables of Yorkshire. Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria, a list of the charges made for the policing of first and second division rugby league matches.

I understand that the charges (exclusive of VAT) to individual rugby league clubs in the areas mentioned from the beginning of the current season to Saturday, 25 February 1989 have been as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has for each of the last four years for each police force of the number of women police officers who have submitted formal grievances because they consider they have suffered from sexist behaviour or language.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report columns 540–41, how many of those who committed suicide in the prison department establishments referred to therein were known to have had a history of mental disturbance; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available, but it is known that 30 per cent. of inmates who committed suicide in prison department establishments in 1987 had undergone psychiatric assessment or treatment before coming into custody.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the criteria that the immigration service is instructed to use in order to determine whether a Member of Parliament is putting forward compelling reasons when requesting a deferral of removal in order to make representations;(2) what checks are made of the consistency with which the immigration service is applying the criteria to determine whether or not a Member of Parliament shall be allowed to intervene in a port refusal case;(3) how many individuals have been refused entry to Britain since the new guidelines on Members' representations became effective; and in how many of these refusals an hon. Member, lawyer or advice agency, sought to intervene;(4) how many times hon. Members have sought to intervene in port refusals since the introduction of new guidelines for hon. Members' representations; and in how many cases removal directions have been delayed in order that representations could be made.

The criteria are exemplified in paragraph 10 of the guidelines introduced on 3 January and sent to right hon. and hon. Members under cover of my letter of 14 December. Instructions to immigration officers emphasise that the examples of circumstances given in the guidelines are not exclusive but are illustrative of the sort of circumstances which would justify deferment of removal. Under the guidelines a right hon. or hon. Member may contact my Private Office (or, out of working hours, the Home Office duty officer) after speaking to the relevant port, in any case where he believes that the immigration service has wrongly refused to defer removal on the basis of exceptional and compelling circumstances. In the first two months of 1989 some 2,700 persons were initially refused entry at the major ports and airports. Comprehensive figures for interventions are not centrally available, but during the first eight weeks of operation of the new guidelines, I understand that at the major ports and airports some 160 calls were received asking for deferments, and removal was deferred in about 14 cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Tamils (a) have applied for political asylum in the United Kingdom, (b) are on temporary admission, (c) have been granted exceptional leave to remain and (d) have been returned to Sri Lanka in the last 15 months.

No distinction is made in statistical records between Tamils and other Sri Lankans. During the 15 months up to 30 September 1988, which is the most recent date for which these statistics are available, 341 Sri Lankans. applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. During the same period 257 Sri Lankans were granted exceptional leave to remain. There are no central records of numbers temporarily admitted, but at any one time only a small minority of those with outstanding asylum applications are detained. Removals and deportations of failed asylum seekers are not normally recorded separately. However, it is known that 45 Sri Lankans who sought asylum at ports have been removed since 1 January 1988. Additionally in the same period 26 Sri Lankans have been removed as illegal entrants and seven have been deported: most of these applied for asylum and were refused, after consideration of their applications.Annual information, by nationality, on applications for asylum and decisions taken is published in a statistical bulletin. The 1988 bulletin will be published during the summer of 1989. Information on passengers refused entry and removed, on illegal entry and on deportation is published annually in "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom". The 1988 volume will also be published in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there has been any monitoring by Her Majesty's Government of the safety of Tamils forcibly returned to Sri Lanka since the beginning of 1988; and if he will make a statement.

No. Asylum applicants are returned to their own country only after it has been decided that they are not refugees under the 1951 convention and that it would not be right to grant them exceptional leave. In such circumstances, as with any person in breach of immigration control whose departure we enforce, their safety becomes a matter for their own Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to implement changes in the prison disciplinary system.

My right hon. Friend has laid before the House revised prison rules and revised young offender institution rules which will implement from 1 April important reforms in the disciplinary systems governing the conduct of prisoners.The rules introduce a new code of offences which will be simpler and clearer than the present code. New offences have been created to deal specifically with serious offences such as hostage-taking, barricading and arson. At the same time, the offences of making a false and malicious allegation against an officer and repeatedly making groundless complaints have been abolished. The maximum punishment on a single charge which is available to boards of visitors has been reduced from 180 days' loss of remission to 120 days in adult establishments, and will be 90 days for young offenders. The maximum loss of remission on consecutive punishments arising from a single incident will be 180 days and 135 days respectively. The procedures for referring more serious charges to the board of visitors have been simplified. An extensive programme of training in the new rules is being carried through, and the recent issue of a completely revised guidance manual on the conduct of adjudications will also assist boards of visitors and governors in carrying out this vital function. The manual will be available in a published edition shortly and is in any event made accessible to all prisoners. In addition, the prison Standing Order governing adjudications is being revised and will also be published.I believe that these changes represent a substantial improvement to the prison disciplinary system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings he, his Ministers and his Department's officials have had with representatives of the tobacco industry since 1 January 1988; and if he will list the dates, venues and purpose of each meeting.

The table lists the meetings which Ministers have had with representatives of the tobacco industry or individual tobacco companies. Officials have had several meetings with representatives of individual tobacco companies and expert medical and scientific advisers which are covered by commercial confidentiality. I am not therefore at liberty to disclose details of these meetings. Officials have contact from time to time with representatives of the tobacco industry, notably as a consequence of the work of the committee for monitoring agreements on tobacco advertising and sponsorship.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public money has been directed towards research into the sudden infant death syndrome or related projects in each year since 1979, expressed (a) in cash terms, (b) in real terms on the 1979 amount and (c) as a percentage increase or decrease on the previous year.

The following readily available information about research into sudden infant death syndrome and related projects refers to projects funded by the Medical Research Council, the main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the incidence of stomach cancer in (a) each of the districts of the Mersey region and (b) the rest of the United Kingdom.

This information is shown in the table. The latest available data are for 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance or directions he gives to health authorities and hospital managers about the taking of regular bacteriological tests on air conditioning and hot water systems.

In 1987, guidance based on expert advice recommended against routine sampling to detect the presence of Legionella pneumophila in both wet-spray cooling systems and hot and cold water services, unless it was suspected that they were the source of hospital-acquired infection. The application of this guidance to wet-spray cooling systems is currently under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to review the capital works programme for hospital building within the National Health Service.

I am content to leave the review of the programme to the health authorities responsible for its management in the knowledge that our increased capital allocations will permit investment in the modernisation of the National Health Service to be sustained at record levels. Capital expenditure on the hospital and community health services in 1989–90 is planned to reach £1·2 billion, an increase in real terms of 41 per cent. over the 1978–79 level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of equipment is raised for National Health Service hospitals by charity appeals.

I regret that information on the percentage of National Health Service hospitals equipment expenditure met from funds raised by charity appeals is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent action he has taken to encourage Waltham Forest district health authority to provide a genito-urinary clinic.

Planning of health services within a particular area is a matter for the health authority concerned, which is best able to judge the priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (i) deaf-blind adults and (ii) deaf-blind children there are in Britain; and how long it is since the last survey was made.

The numbers of adults and children in England who were registered with local authorities as blind with an additional handicap of deafness are recorded in "Registered Blind and Partially Sighted Persons at 31 March 1986—England". A copy of this publication is in the Library. The most recent collection of these statistics related to 31 March 1988 and will be published in due course.Registration of disability is a voluntary process. The numbers of deaf-blind adults and children in the population are believed to be considerably greater than the numbers who register but no reliable estimate is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will arrange urgently for appropriate accommodation to be provided for the 15-year-old who has twice been remanded to an adult prison from Crewe juvenile court; and what secure accommodation is available for young people in the north-west.

The provision of appropriate accommodation for children in care is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. I understand that Cheshire county council has been unable to find a secure vacancy in a community home for the boy referred to, although it continues to make urgent inquiries.There are currently 294 approved secure places provided by local authorities in England, to which all local authorities have access. Local authorities in the north-west provide 65 of these places.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ban all imports of elephant ivory.

Imports of ivory are controlled under EC Regulation 3626/82 which implements CITES in the Community. The European Commission has suggested measures to encourage African states to comply with the existing strict controls and to develop management programmes. These proposals were welcomed by the Council of Ministers on 2 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (i) all the bodies concerned with research on pollution in water and (ii) the research projects funded or sponsored by Her Majesty's Government.

A list of the bodies known to the Department to be concerned with research on pollution in water has been placed in the Library of each House together with a list of research projects that the Department is funding or sponsoring, excluding research on radioactive waste disposal and drinking water quality. I do not have the information on research projects for other Government Departments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the current annual total of sponsorship of sports by tobacco companies; if he will list these individually and in relation to other commercial sponsorship; and if he will make a statement.

The total expenditure on sports sponsorship by tobacco companies in 1987–88, the latest year for which figures are available, was £5,911,000. No information is held centrally on expenditure by individual companies. The Sports Council estimates that in 1987 sports sponsorship by non-tobacco companies was some £158 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make it his policy to write off the loan debt of the present water authorities in England prior to implementation of the Water Bill.

My right hon. Friend has no powers at present to write off any of the debts of the water authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the present levels of cleanliness of Southampton Water and the Solent, respectively; and how those levels match up to European Economic Community standards.

The relevant standards are those set in Directive 79/923/EEC, on the quality of water for shellfish, and in Directive 76/160/EEC on the quality of bathing water. There are five designated shellfish waters in Southampton Water and the Solent. All meet the directive's standards.I announced on 21 February 1989 at column 572 the results of the 1988 survey of bathing water in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The results for identified bathing waters in the Southampton Water and Solent area are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present level of cleanliness of the principal rivers in Hampshire; and to what extent they meet European Economic Community standards.

The principal rivers in Hampshire are classified as good quality (class 1A or 1B) for virtually all their length. These are the highest quality classifications, indicating waters which are suitable for potable supply, generally support game fisheries and have high amenity value.Significant stretches of these rivers and their main tributaries, are designated under EEC Directive 78/659/EEC on the quality of freshwater needed to support fish life. All are reported to be meeting the directive's standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to the disposal of operational land surplus to requirements other than by public tender by the regional water authorities, the Central Electricity Generating Board, and the British Railways Board, respectively; and in what circumstances each of these categories of body may dispose of such land without the publication of either the purchase price or name of the purchaser;(2) what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government concerning the publication of the names or organisations or individuals who are successful in public tenders for land, goods, or premises being sold by central Government, local Government, and statutory bodies, respectively.

All public bodies are expected to offer surplus land and property for sale as soon as practicable. The method of sale may differ between Departments, local authorities and other bodies, depending on the nature of the asset to be sold, any relevant legal requirements, the application of the Crichel Down rules, the need to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable and other market and commercial factors.It is for individual public bodies to decide what information to make available about individual land transactions, having regard to any legal requirements, and to any constraints which may apply by reason of commercial confidentiality or security.