To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 22 March, Official Report, column 595, if he will describe the circumstances in which he allows the police access to the vehicle registration numbers in his possession in order to trace the owner of a particular vehicle; and if he will make a statement.

Regulation 15 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 requires the Secretary of State to supply to the police, free of charge, such particulars as may be requested of any vehicle contained in the DV LC vehicle register. In practice the police national computer contains a register of vehicles and keepers including much of the information on the DVLC record, from which it is updated on a daily basis. Other vehicles information available to DVLC is provided to the police on request.Regulation 15, which permits the release of this information takes precedence over the Data Protection Act 1984 provisions. Section 34(1) of that Act exempts the data held by this Department which is required to be made available by other enactments. Notwithstanding this exemption the DVLC has registered its computer data under the the Data Protection Act 1984 and adheres closely to the data protection principles.

To ask the Secretary of Transport, pursuant to his answer of 22 March, Official Report, column 595, if he will describe the circumstances in which the police or security services could have access to the vehicle registration numbers collected by Autoguide or similar traffic systems; and if he will make a statement.

The operation of a driver information system which was licensed under the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Bill would have to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984. Sections 27 and 28 of the Act are concerned with national security and with crime and taxation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles in each band of excise duty are registered at addresses in East Sussex.

At the December 1988 census there were 313,279 licensed vehicles registered in East Sussex. These are analysed by tax class groups as follows:

	Number
Private and Light Goods	280,024
Motorcycles, Scooters etc	12,172
Farmers Goods	580

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he proposes to make any additional allocations for 1989–90 in respect of TSG and capital allocations.

The amount of transport supplementary grant payable to local highway authorities for 1989–90 was determined at the time of the annual settlement. It cannot be changed.Capital allocations for roads in 1989–90 have also been settled. However, supplementary capital allocations may be made if any of the resources earmarked for a highway project of national or regional importance, or for other local transport projects, are not in the event needed. It is too soon to say if there are likely to be such supplementary allocations this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the original forecast dates for improvements to trunk roads and local authority roads in connection with the Channel tunnel in Kent and East Sussex; and what is the latest revised forecast completion dates.

It is not the Department's practice generally to give forecast completion dates for trunk road schemes in preparation since they are subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and detailed design. We have the Channel tunnel in mind in our planning and we aim to complete the major improvements in Kent and East Sussex as soon as possible.The Maidstone to Ashford section of the M20 motorway is under construction. It is due for completion by mid-1991.Local authority roads are the responsibility of Kent and East Sussex county councils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been killed and seriously injured on the M25 over the last 12 months.

Too many.Provisional figures for the 12 months December 1987 to November 1988 show that there were 28 people killed and 130 seriously injured on the M25 motorway. More recent figures are not yet available.

To ask the Attorney-General how many and what percentage of officers in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively, and overall in the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Treasury Solicitor's Department respectively, are (a) women and (b) members of ethnic minorities.

The table shows the number and percentage of women in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Treasury Solicitor's Department.

	Lord Chancellor's Department		Treasury Solicitor's Department
Grade	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
1	0	0	0	0
2	0	0	0	0
3	0	0	1	10
4	0	0	0	0
5	2	7·1	3	7·7
6	14	25·5	16	29·6
7	27	21·3	8	20·0

A total of 5·6 per cent. of respondents to a survey of ethnic origins carried out in the Lord Chancellor's Department in 1988 were members of ethnic minority groups; the number of respondents in grades 1 to 7 is insufficient to provide reliable figures.Two officers at grade 6, representing 3·7 per cent., and three officers at grade 7, representing 7·5 per cent. of staff at those grades in the Treasury Solicitor's Department are members of ethnic minority groups.

To ask the Attorney-General when the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Treasury Solicitor's Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origin of its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

	Solicitors' fees	Counsels' fees	Disbursements	Total
	£	£	£	£
1978–79	593,773	334,672	151,142	1,079,587
1979–80	863,589	486,749	219,822	1,570,160
1980–81	1,209,249	659,971	284,143	2,153,363
1981–82	1,091,013	638,138	283,910	2,013,061
1982–83	1,606,005	645,793	389,173	2,640,971
1983–84	2,603,707	1,365,494	646,844	4,616,045
1984–85	2,221,995	1,193,056	608,699	4,023,750
1985–86	2,494,360	1,776,113	772,643	5,043,116
1986–87	2,450,505	1,538,623	756,001	4,745,129
1987–88	2,907,512	1,631,829	799,600	5,338,941
Totals	18,041,708	10,270,438	4,911,977	33,224,123

Legal aid in civil proceedings
	Solicitors' and Counsels' fees	Disbursements	Total
	£	£	£
1978–79	200,952	49,296	250,248
1979–80	247,740	68,552	316,292
1980–81	388,026	51,338	439,364
1981–82	343,472	112,240	455,712
1982–83	388,300	150,842	539,142
1983–84	468,294	209,513	677,807
1984–85	542,362	228,372	770,734
1985–86	951,040	360,727	1,311,767
1986–87	1,167,262	435,749	1,603,011
1987–88	1,217,467	489,326	1,706,793
TOTALS	5,914,915	2,155,955	8,070,870

The Lord Chancellor's Department and the Treasury Solicitor's Department completed the surveys of the ethnic origin of their employees in 1988, and continue to monitor the ethnic origin of all recruits to the Departments.

To ask the Attorney-General what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Treasury Solicitor's Department.

The Civil Service Commission recruits by fair and open competition all staff graded executive officer and above. Thereafter, promotion is dependent upon performance in the grade and consideration of the officer's ability to perform the duties of the higher grade through Departmental procedures designed to test these criteria. The Civil Service is an equal opportunities employer and the ethnic origin of the officer plays no part in recruitment or promotion procedures.

To ask the Attorney-General how much has been paid each year in Northern Ireland during the past 10 years from the legal aid fund; and how many Queen's counsel, junior counsel and solicitors have received such payments in each year.

The figures for payments out of the legal aid fund for each of the financial years from 1978–79 to 1987–88 for each category of legal aid are as follows:

Legal advice and assistance
	Total
	£
1978–79	30,640
1979–80	96,249
1980–81	170,097
1981–82	214,980
1982–83	312,025
1983–84	384,548
1984–85	477,251
1985–86	732,313
1986–87	806,432
1987–88	1,212,649
TOTAL	4,443,184

To ask the Attorney-General what information he has as to why the Official Solicitor in Northern Ireland refuses to make available copies of the financial records of Frederick Andrews, 1978 No. 516, to his family; and what information he has on the alleged mismanagement of the affairs of mental patient Frederick Andrews, 1978 No. 516, since he was placed under the Care and Protection Office.

I refer the hon. Member to my earlier replies to him about this case on 25 February 1988, at columns 257–59. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this case.

To ask the Attorney-General if he has any plans to arrange for a full investigation into the public interest implications of the case heard recently by Mr. Justice Ward in the family division of the High Court in Leeds relating to the treatment of baby C; and if he will make a statement.

The Lord Chancellor is having inquiries made into the background to these proceedings, including obtaining a copy of any judgment, and will consider what implications there may be.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will call for a report from the Official Solicitor into the public interest implications of the recent handling in the Leeds High Court of the case on behalf of baby C.

It is not part of the Official Solicitor's normal functions to report on the public interest implications of an individual case in which he is involved. The Lord Chancellor is, however, having inquiries made into the background of these proceedings, including obtaining a copy of any judgment, and will consider what implications there may be.

To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions over the last 12 months for which figures are available the medical evidence submitted in proceedings in the High Court in Leeds in cases pertaining to the medical treatment of wards of court has been withheld from the public and the media.

The information requested is not available but generally it is the practice for the courts hearing wardship cases to sit in private.

To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions over the last 12 months for which figures are available proceedings in the High Court in Leeds pertaining to the medical treatment of wards of court have been held in camera.

This information is not available but the general practice of the courts is to hear wardship cases in private.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make it his policy to ensure that the Official Solicitor routinely seeks a second medical opinion when he is acting on behalf of minors who are wards of court in proceedings pertaining to their access to medical treatment.

Where an independent medical report is needed in relation to wardship proceedings in which the Official Solicitor is acting as the ward's guardian ad litem, subject to the court's permission he routinely obtains one.

To ask the Attorney-General if he has any plans to request a report from Mr. Justice Ward of the family division of the Leeds High Court into the public interest implications of his reported decision to instruct doctors to treat a ward of court to die.

No. The exercise of the wardship jurisdiction is a judicial function and it would not therefore be appropriate for any member of the Government to ask a judge to report to him on any aspect of his decision in an individual case. The Lord Chancellor is, however, having inquiries made into the background to these proceedings, including obtaining a copy of any judgment, and will consider what implications there may be.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement setting out the reasons why he did not previously refer the House of Fraser report to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

[holding answer 10 April 1989]: As my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has indicated in another place, in his view there are no public interest grounds for such a reference.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will assess the likely implications for the transmission by Channel 4 of public service broadcasts emanating from his Department of the White Paper, "Broadcasting in the 90s: Competition, Choice and Quality".

There is no reason to suppose that the proposals in the White Paper will alter the present arrangements whereby public service messages are broadcast by Channel 4. The arrangements for paid Government advertising on television will not be affected by the proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to ensure a long-term supply contract for Yorkshire coal between British Coal and the Central Electricity Generating Board for export and to other outlets; and if he will make a statement.

I have already made it clear that, while the new generating companies are likely to wish to buy a significant proportion of their coal needs on a contractual basis, the proportion of coal sold on contract and the length of the contracts is a matter for commercial negotiation, as in other sectors of the coal market.

To ask the Prime Minister whether Her Majesty's Government propose to change their current policy of prohibiting the export to Iraq of any weapon which could enhance its offensive capability, or will agree to granting export licences for the supply of weaponry to Iraq, to accommodate United Kingdom exhibitors at the first Baghdad international exhibition for military procurement; and if she will make a statement.

The Government have not changed their policy on defence sales to Iraq. Applications for export licences continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis, according to the guidelines as announced in the House by the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary on 29 October 1985 at column 454, and in the light of developments in the peace negotiations with Iran.

To ask the Prime Minister what are her criteria for deciding whether to give priority engagements at home or abroad over being present to answer questions in the House on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I am present in the House to answer questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays as often as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to consult the parents, pupils and staff of Sylvan high school about the proposal by the London borough of Croydon to close the school.

Any local authority wishing to close a school must follow the statutory procedures laid down by the Education Acts. Under section 12 of the Education Act 1980, authorities must publish their proposals and submit a copy to my right hon. Friend. There follows a two-month period during which statutory objections can be submitted to the local education authority. Proposals concerning county schools fall to my right hon. Friend to decide if statutory objections have been submitted or if he exercises his power to call them in. In making his decision on proposals which fall to him to decide, my right hon. Friend weighs carefully the views expressed by those who support or oppose the proposals. My right hon. Friend expects the local education authority concerned—in this case, the London borough of Croydon—to have carried out appropriate consultation with those affected before publishing proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is his policy, in relation to the proposed circular on statutory approval of qualifications under the Education Reform Act, on approving the continuation for 1989–90 of existing two-year courses; whether he intends to approve all existing courses for 1989–90 in order to enable pupils to complete courses they have already started; and if he will make a statement;(2) what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the arrangements made by his Department and the Schools Examination and Assessment Council to draw up a complete list of existing two-year courses for the purpose of enabling their completion by pupils before August 1990; what arrangements he proposes to make regarding

I shall exercise my powers under section 5 of the Education Reform Act 1988 to approve qualifications on the advice of the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC). I expect shortly to receive the council's advice about qualifications for certification in July 1990 and July 1991. In considering that advice, I shall naturally have careful regard to the implications for pupils and schools. I expect to reach decisions next month. Those decisions will be made public and my Department will simultaneously issue a circular describing the basis on which they were arrived at and the procedures for implementation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the overall cost to his Department, the Schools Examination and Assessment Council, local education authorities and schools of the recent draft circular on statutory approval of qualifications; what proportion of this overall cost relates to the list A compilation of courses which are to be given temporary approval for 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.

A number of staff in my Department, the School Examinations and Assessment Council, local education authorities and schools have contributed to drawing up and responding to the draft circular on the approval of qualifications. That work in the great majority of cases represents a negligible addition to the duties of those at each level in the education system responsible for the administration of examinations. It would therefore not be meaningful to assess additional costs associated with that work, still less with any particular aspect of it; and to seek to do so would itself involve the Department and others in disproportionate cost. The cost of printing the draft circular was £3,410.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received representations concerning the increase in responsibilities placed upon school governors.

There have been some representations on this point. But the successful recruitment of thousands of new governors last year suggests that they are not daunted by their new responsibilities. The Government are working to ensure that school governors get the support and training that they need to carry out their role effectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he proposes to review the method of assessing potential income from disposal of assets when making future capital allocations.

From April 1990 the proposed new system of local authority capital finance, as outlined in the Local Government and Housing Bill, will allow Ministers, when determining annual capital guidelines and corresponding credit approvals, to take into account the ability of individual authorities to spend from their capital receipts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish his response to the Amnesty International report entitled, "Brazil, Authorised Violence in Rural Areas"; and if he will make a statement.

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth

United Kingdom contributions to the United Nations regular budget and the specialised agencies from 1985–88
(£ million)1
Year	United Nations regular budget	United Nations agencies regular budgets	United Nations separate peacekeeping forces (UNDOF, UNIFIL and UNFICYP)2	United Nations agencies voluntary contributions	Total
1985	24·63	35·57	31·49	62·26	153·95
1986	23·62	27·11	31·41	60·34	4142·49
1987	21·50	29·23	29·23	81·57	161·52
1988	19·36	31·72	332·26	81·73	165·07
1 Because of different accounting periods of Her Majesty's Government and United Nations Bodies, exchange rate fluctuations and extraordinary items, such as donations to appeals following natural disasters, these figures, although a best estimate, should not be taken as definitive.
2 United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), Syria/Israel.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
3 Includes United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG) contribution. UNIIMOG commenced operation on 9 August 1988.
4 Apparent decrease due to sharp decline in United States dollar.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the names of the United Kingdom representatives attending the plenary session of the Economic Commission for Europe in 1989.

The United Kingdom representatives attending the annual session (including the plenary and sessional committee) of the Economic Commission for Europe in 1989 are:

• Mr. J. A. Sankey CMG, the United Kingdom permanent representative to the office of the United Nations at Geneva.
• Mr. G. W. Hewitt, deputy permanent representative to the office of the United Nations at Geneva.
• Mr. J. R. McCulloch, first secretary at the United Kingdom mission to the office of the United Nations at Geneva.
• Mr. S. Wall, second secretary at the United Kingdom mission to the office of the United Nations at Geneva.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the United Kingdom's contributions to the United Nations Organisation, and to its agencies, in each of the years from 1979 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Until 1987 no central record was kept of Her Majesty's Government's contributions through various Government Departments to the United Nations and its agencies. Since then the figures have been centrally collated and are set out in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the measures being taken to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State will represent the Government at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 5 May 1989. I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) on 14 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government are taking to help Hong Kong cope with the problem of Vietnamese refugees in the territory.

I am very conscious of the financial burden that has been imposed on the territory by Vietnamese boat people. I have, therefore, decided that the Government should make a contribution of up to £6 million in response to an international appeal which UNHCR will shortly launch for funds to meet the capital costs of Pillar Point, a new refugee centre which the Hong Kong Government are constructing in the territory for refugees awaiting resettlement. This underlines our firm intention to help Hong Kong deal with this immensely difficult humanitarian problem in every way we can.

Table 1
Appeals to county court	Total	Settled out of court	Findings upheld	Findings overturned	Result unknown	Withdrawn
Appeals by respondent under section 28(2)	37	20	6	8	3	—
Appeals by complainant under section 28(3)	22	3	6	1	11	1

Table 2
Appeals by respondents against FEA findings of discrimination under section 28(2) of The Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976
Date appeals lodged	Organisation involved	Outcome of appeal (findings upheld or overturned)
November 1977	Civil Service Commission	Overturned
December 1978	Craigavon Borough Council	1Overturned
January 1979	Newry and Mourne District Council	Overturned
May 1979	Craigavon Borough Council	Overturned
September 1981	Armagh District Council	2Upheld
November 1981	Lisburn Borough Council	Upheld
December 1984	Southern Health and Social Services	Overturned
April 1985	Derry City Council	Overturned
April 1985	Northern Ireland Electricity	3Overturned
February 1986	Department of Environment (NI)	Overturned
August 1986	Southern Health and Social Services Board	Upheld
November 1986	The Village Inn	Upheld
May 1987	Ministry of Defence	Upheld
1 Original FEA findings upheld by Court of Appeal.
2 Original FEA findings overturned by Court of Appeal.
3 FEA appeal pending at Court of Appeal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the employers in Northern Ireland the Fair Employment Agency has (a) chosen or (b) had discussions with to revoke or modify directions previously given under subsection 2(i) or 2(ii) under part II, section 13(5)(a) or (b) of the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 1976 to date.

Following is the information requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list (a) the number and type of cases referred under the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 1976 to the county court, the number and (b) type of findings upheld or overturned by the court and the employers concerned; and if he will place in the Library copies of the judgments in each case.

The tables provide details of cases heard by the county court. It is not normal practice to place judgments in the Library but they may be obtained on request from the county court, Courthouse, Crumlin road, Belfast.

Table 3
Appeals by complainants against FEA findings of no discrimination under section 28(3) of The Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976
Date appeal lodged	Respondent organisation	Outcome of appeal (findings upheld or overturned)
June 1979	Department of Health and Social Services	Upheld
July 1984	Department of the Environment	Upheld
October 1984	F. A. Wellworth Co. Ltd.	Upheld
January 1985	Anglo Irish Meats	Overturned
November 1985	Short Brothers Pic	Upheld
April 1986	NI Postal and Telecommunications Board	Upheld
June 1988	Belfast City Council	Upheld

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which employers have made a compensatory payment to a complainant under the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 1976; and what were the sums involved in each case, the original date of each settlement and the eventual date of payment, from 1976 to the present time.

This is a matter for the chairman of the Fair Employment Agency. I understand that there have been 41 cases, the details of which are in the following table. It would not be in the best interests of the work of the agency to release the names of parties involved in the cases under section 24 of the Act.

Respondent	Date of settlement	Date of Payment	Amount
Food, Drink and Tobacco	22 September 1980	7 October 1980	780·00
Textile and Clothing	14 January 1982	3 March 1982	750·00
Construction	6 June 1981	10 March 1982	500·00
Manufacturing	11 June 1982	18 July 1982	5,500·00
Local Authority	6 August 1982	26 August 1982	1,000·00
Other Employer	14 September 1982	16 September 1982	550·00
Health and Social Services Board	27 August 1982	22 September 1982	4,350·00
Local Authority	30 November 1982	22 December 1982	3,000·00
Other Public Body	19 October 1983	14 November 1983	1,500·00
Food, Drink and Tobacco	25 October 1983	17 November 1983	1,500·00
Local Authority	20 October 1983	2 December 1983	1,500·00
Other Public Body	24 October 1983	22 December 1983	2,500·00
Health and Social Services Board	25 January 1984	9 March 1984	1,400·00
Vocational Organisation	7 March 1984	3 May 1984	10,000·00
Education and Library Board	8 June 1984	12 October 1984	1,500·00
Vocational Organisation	26 October 1984	15 November 1984	250·00
Vocational Organisation	26 October 1984	15 November 1984	250·00
Vocational Organisation	26 October 1984	15 November 1984	250·00
Distributive	6 December 1984	14 December 1984	350·00
Other Employer	1 May 1985	2 May 1985	1,000·00
Food, Drink and Tobacco	8 November 1985	20 December 1985	2,100·00
Education and Library Board	not available	11 April 1986	2,000·00
Engineering	not available	15 October 1986	507·50
Engineering	not available	15 October 1986	510·00
Other Employer	not available	30 October 1986	4,900·00
Education and Library Board	not available	18 November 1986	4,7590·4
Education and Library Board	not available	12 May 1987	3,279·48
Local Authority	13 May 1987	17 June 1987	1,500·00
Other Employer	13 May 1987	23 June 1987	1,892·28
Education and Library Board	not available	13 October 1987	2,035·26
Local Authority	not available	12 November 1987	3,425·75
Manufacturing	16 November 1987	19 November 1987	2,350·00
Manufacturing	not available	28 November 1987	5,000·00
Construction	not available	22 December 1987	3,500·00
Engineering	5 January 1988	5 January 1988	2,000·00
Health and Social Services Board	not available	3 February 1988	1,673·80
Health and Social Services Board	not available	29 March 1988	4,000·00
Other Employer	not available	8 April 1988	1,000·00
Education and Library Board	not available	14 April 1988	3,541·09
Education and Library Board	not available	17 October 1988	2,397·29
Local Authority	not available	3 April 1989	19,319·57

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints under section 24 of the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 1976, of unlawful discrimination the Fair Employment Agency has declined to pursue; and what reasons have been given in each case.

I understand from the chairman of the Fair Employment Agency that the agency has declined to pursue 137 complaints under section 24 of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976 for the reasons specified:

	Number
(1) Adjudged Frivolous	35
(2) Outside the time limits	71
(3) Outside the Scope of the Legislation	15
(4) Considered by another Statutory Body	1
(5) Failure by Complainant to provide sufficient information	15

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints under section 24 of the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 1976, have been made against (a) public bodies, and (b) private employers; and what has been the outcome in each case.

The position as at 31 March 1989 is shown in the following table:

	Private Sector	Public Sector	Trade Unions
Total Number of Complaints	391	432	3
Unlawful Discrimination	26	32	1
No Discrimination	190	208	2
Section 42	1	26	—
Section 52	—	1	—
Withdrawn or not pursued	103	112	—
Outstanding	71	53	—

The agency's annual reports, which are available in the Library, contain an account of investigations under section 24 of the Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints by year under the Fair Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 1976 have been discontinued by virtue of section 42 of the Act, listing the employing body in each case and the religious affiliation of the complainant.

The recorded number of section 42 certificates signed by Northern Ireland Office Ministers in each year since 1976 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many subscribers there have been in Northern Ireland to the register for equal opportunity employers and organisations for each quarter since 30 April 1988; and how many of such subscribers have been removed from the register each quarter since since this date.

The number of subscribers at the end of each quarter is as follows:

Quarter ended	Number of sub-scribers
31 July 1988	9,630
31 October 1988	9,817
31 January 1989	10,024
31 March 1989 (two month period only)	10,181

No subscribers have been removed from the register in this period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the most recent unemployment rates by Belfast local government district wards in percentage and numerical terms.

The numbers unemployed in each ward, within the Belfast district council area, at 9 March 1989, are as follows. Unemployment rates are available only for travel-to-work areas.

Numbers unemployed in Belfast district council area, by ward, at 9 March 1989
Ward	Number
Sydenham	332
Island	507
Ballymacarret	648
Bloomfield	346
Ballyhackamore	317
Belmont	296
Stormont	136
Cherryvalley	238
Knock	248
Orangefield	206
The Mount	652

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the level of investment by (a) United States companies, (b) the European Economic Community and regional development agencies and (c) other public sector sources since 1980, indicating the numbers employed in each case.

The level of investment and the numbers of jobs assisted since 1980 are:

Investment	Jobs assisted
(a) United Stales companies£397·5 million	21,253
(b) European Economic Community and Regional Development AgenciesEEC £55·60 million	30,630
Department of Commerce/IDB £723·9 million	111,056
LEDU £144·887 million	33,256
(c) Other Public Sector Sources DED Assistance to Harland & Wolff and Shorts£533·1 million	12,371

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by country of origin the firms in receipt of Government assistance that have opened or closed in Northern Ireland for the period for which details are available and the date of their opening and closure.

The following list shows firms by country of origin which have opened since 1972 with assistance from the Industrial Development Board or its predecessor, the Department of Commerce. Those marked by ' subsequently closed. The dates of opening and closure are not readily available and to identify them would involve disproportionate cost.In addition, since 1979, the local enterprise development unit has assisted 4,011 small firms to begin operating. These were almost exclusively of Northern Ireland origin, and in many cases one-man businesses. Identification of these firms individually would entail disproportionate cost. Information on LEDU-assisted firms which closed in the period is not available.COMPANIES WHICH HAVE OPENED IN NORTHERN IRELAND SINCE 1972 SHOWING COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list and identify the medium, large and small companies who received Government assistance and which have defaulted on their loans; and how much in each case has had to be written off as bad debts for the period for which data is available, identifying in each case whether the company was supported by LEDU, the Industrial Development Board or its predecessor the Department of Commerce.

Information about individual companies which have defaulted on loans from Government agencies is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The cumulative value of Government loans written off as irrecoverable by the agencies concerned is as follows. The local enterprise development unit, Northern Ireland's small business agency, has written off £2·5 million since it was formed in 1971. A total of approximately £37·5 million owed to the former Northern Ireland development agency and its predecessor, the Northern Ireland Finance Corporation, was written off between 1972 and 1982, comprising both share capital and loan investments. Since 1966, loans issued by the former Department of Commerce totalling £16,482,572 have been written off, as has £207,660 relating to loans issued by its successor, the Industrial Development Board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the average cost per job in Short Bros. and Harland and Wolff by year for the period for which data is available; and what will be the average cost per job to transfer these companies into the private sector over keeping them in the public domain.

Government support for Harland and Wolff and Short Bros. takes various forms, some of which cannot be quantified in cost per job terms.However, based on the external funding requirement (loans and Government grants) for both companies the average cost per job figures in each of the last five years has been:

	Harland and Wolff	Short Bros.
	£	£
1983–84	7,286	3,000
1984–85	7,360	1,000
1985–86	7,494	4,100
1986–87	13,063	5,500
1987–88	14,342	16,300

Transferring both companies to the private sector will result in a decrease and not an increase in the level of future Government support to Harland and Wolff and Short Bros.It is anticipated that there will be a cost to Government on a one-off basis in transferring each company to the private sector; thereafter each company will be regarded as eligible for Government support in line with other private sector companies in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish in the Official Report a table giving the amounts in the fiscal years 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89 of payments made to (a) civilians under the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, (b) members of the security forces (Royal Ulster Constabulary, Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve, British Army and Ulster Defence Regiment) under the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, (c) compensation payments made under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 and (d) compensation payments under the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 and subsequent legislation.

For the years 1985–88, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 4 November 1988 at column .826. The corresponding figures for 1988–89 are as follows:

	1998–89 £
Compensation payments to civilians under the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (NI) Order 1977	111,632,823
Compensation payments to members of the security forces under the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (NI) Order 1977	23,298,305
Compensation payments under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978	1,258,294
Compensation payments under the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (NI) Order 1977 and earlier legislation3	20,606,264
1 Includes £7,770 paid under the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (NI) Order 1988.

	October 1988	November 1988	December 1988	January 1989	February 1989
Number of searches
Total number of searches carried out	20	32	36	22	28
Total number of inmates searched	14	22	23	19	23
Number of prisoners searched once	8	14	14	16	19
Number of prisoners searched twice	6	7	7	3	3
Number of prisoners searched more than twice	—	1	2	—	1
		(4 times)	(4 times)		(3 times)
Reasons for search
First admission on remand/awaiting trial	4	10	6	11	9
First' admission on sentence/final discharge	12	16	13	7	17
Attending remand court	1	—	—	—	—
Attending trial	—	—	—	—	—
Inter-prison visits	—	—	1	—	—
Pre-release home leave	2	6	16	4	—
Visits to outside hospital	1	—	—	—	1
Returning from bail application	—	—	—	—	1

No prohibited article was found during these searches. On one occasion a prisoner refused to co-operate in a full reception search or talk to any member of staff. A full search was then carried out by two officers; the prisoner did not assist or resist as it was taking place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of farms, number of sheep and number of acres subject to post-Chernobyl restrictions as at February; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches were made on female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Maghaberry, in each month from October 1988 to February 1989; if he will give the number of persons involved and the number of times each person was searched; whether any prison contraband, smuggled item or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search, indicating which items; in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being conducted; and if he will indicate the reasons for the search, namely, making a remand appearance at court, attending trial, inter-prison visit or other reasons.

The information requested is as follows:

[holding answer 20 April 1989]: The following is the information:

• Number of farms—123
• Number of sheep—21,000
• Area of land—21,612 acres

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a list of the land and site values referred to in paragraph 2·7 of the health White Paper.

I understand that the hon. Member is referring to paragraph 2.7 of Scottish working paper 5 "Capital Charging", rather than to the White Paper Cm. 555. As indicated in paragraph 4.1 of that working paper, health boards are expected to record their capital assets and to value them on a provisional basis during 1989–90 and to refine these values during 1990–91. There are no plans to publish details of individual landholdings and site values of health board properites.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.

The ECOFIN Council met in Luxembourg on 17 April. I represented the United Kingdom.The council reached agreement with a delegation of the European Parliament, under the conciliation procedure, on the regulations required to implement the new own resources decision of June 1989 which include measures to tighten controls against fraud.The council had a further discussion of the Commission's proposals on taxation of savings, of direct tax measures to encourage cross-border co-operation between enterprises, and of the proposed 18th VAT directive.The council discussed indirect tax approximation, stressing the need to consider alternative approaches for the abolition of fiscal frontiers.The council heard a presentation from the Commission on the revised proposal for a second banking co-ordination directive.The council adopted a common position on the proposed directive on own funds of credit institutions.The President of the Commission outlined the main features of the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Union which is to be discussed further by the council. I made it clear that, while supporting practical steps within the framework of the existing treaty designed to improve economic and monetary co-operation, the United Kingdom cannot accept the transfer of sovereignty implied by the proposals for full economic and monetary union contained in the Delors report.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the total value at the latest available full year of public sector contracts in each of the European Community countries other than the United Kingdom of a character which will make them open to Community-wide bidding as part of the creation of the internal market.

None. The cost would not be justified. Information is available from European Commission studies on the size of the procurement market in various industrial sectors in other member states but the value of the contracts to be opened to Community-wide bidding will depend on the coverage of the proposed directives and the threshold above which they will apply. The Commission is investigating the effect of setting the threshold at various levels.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor) Official Report, 8 November 1988, column 112, what was the net payment made to the European Community by the United Kingdom for each year since 1979; and what was in each case the net payment to European Economic Community institutions as a percentage of gross domestic product.

The information requested is set out in the table.

Total net payments to European Community institutions'
	£ million	Percentage of money GDP
1979–80	841	0·4
1980–81	168	0·1
1981–82	117	0·1
1982–83	589	0·2
1983–84	836	0·3
1984–85	974	0·3
1985–86	822	0·2
1986–87	1,079	0·3
1987–88	1,664	0·4
1988–89	950	0·2
1 Excluding overseas aid: for domestic public expenditure planning purposes, part of the United Kingdom's contribution to the Community budget is attributed to the overseas aid programme.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of persons holding 21/2 per cent. Treasury stock 1975 issued in 1946–47; and what is the size of the average holding.

There are approximately 12,300 registered holders of 21 per cent. Treasury stock 1975 or after with an average size holding of £38,700. It is impossible without undue cost to distinguish between personal and corporate holdings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of redemption of 21/2 per cent Treasury stock 1975.

The cost of redemption of 2± per cent Treasury stock 1975 or after would be £475 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to redeem 21/2 per cent Treasury stock 1975.

None.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to increase the duty free limit on personal imports of gifts into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The travellers' allowances for goods purchased duty free for importation as personal gifts are provided for under European Community legislation. The Government has long supported the Commission's proposals to increase substantially the £32 allowance for goods other than tobacco, spirits, wines and so on, but it has not so far been possible to obtain the necessary agreement of all member states.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the practice of reverse auctioning of Government debt began; and how it is regulated.

The first reverse auction was held in January 1989, and was carried out by the Bank of England.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which financial institutions or sectors have participated in buying Government debt through reverse auctioning.

Only the Bank of England buys Government debt through reverse auctions. Figures are not available for the institutions or sectors selling stock, because many of the offers will be channelled through gilt edged market makers.Figures showing transactions in Government stock by various sectors in 1989 Q I (the quarter in which the first reverse auction took place) will be published in the May

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Government debt has been reverse auctioned over each of the last 30 years for which records are available.

Only one reverse auction has been held so far and this took place in January 1989. This reverse auction was for £500 million nominal of stock.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of properties owned by Her Majesty's

Net Public Sector Debt (End Year)
	Current prices		1988–89 prices
	£ billion	Change on previous year	£ billion	Change on previous year
1974–75	59·5	—	234·0	—
1975–76	71·8	12·3	224·9	-90
1976–77	81·3	9·4	224·6	-0·3
1977–78	87·9	6·6	213·5	-11·1
1978–79	95·3	7·4	208·8	-4·7
1979–80	102·1	6·8	191·7	-17·1
1980–81	116·5	14·4	184·6	-7·2
1981–82	127·2	10·7	183·7	-0·9
1982–83	135·0	7·8	182·0	-1·6
1983–84	147·3	12·3	189·8	7·8
1984–85	160·7	13·4	197·4	7·6
1985–86	166·8	6·1	194·2	-3·2
1986–87	171·1	4·3	192·7	-1·5
1987–88	171·3	0·2	183·7	-9·0
1988–89 (forecast)	157·0	-14·3	157·0	-26·7

[holding answer 20 April 1989]: (i ) Nil; (ii) Nil.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the consequences on village halls of the extension of value added tax on the construction of new buildings, fuel and power, water and sewerage supplies.

[holding answer 20 April 1989]: Where village halls are engaged in business activities, VAT will he due on supplies to them of construction services and fuel and power. Water and sewerage services will, however, remain zero-rated. The imposition of tax on supplies of construction services and fuel and power is a consequence of the unwelcome European Court of Justice ruling published on 21 June last year. Business is defined widely in EC VAT law and could include the hiring out of village halls to local groups and other users.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state for each year from 1970–71 to 1987–88, and estimate for 1988–89 (i) the public sector net debt outstanding at current and 1988 prices, (ii) the net change from the previous year at current and 1988 prices and (iii) the components of the public sector net debt including assets such as foreign exchange reserves for each year both at current and 1988 prices.

[holding answer 17 April 1989]: The available information is as follows: