To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent by his Department on advertisements on commercial television in each of the last live years, listed by each television company.

The Department's only spending on television advertising during this period was £20,000 on the Welsh element of the misuse of drugs campaign. Details of spending with individual television companies is commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends the Welsh Office agricultural department to make available to farmers throughout Wales application forms for grants under the farm and conservation grant scheme.

The appropriate forms are now available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the figures for investment by the Welsh Development Agency since its inception.

[holding answer 5 May 1989]: Capital investment on mainstream Welsh Development Agency programmes is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise as a matter of urgency in the current CSCE information forum the recent arrests of dissident publishers in the Soviet Union, and the terms of the new articles of the Soviet penal code published on 11 April.

The two Russians recently arrested for distributing material in Moscow were subsequently released.We are deeply disappointed by the 8 April decree containing amendments to Soviet criminal legislation. We are making this clear to the Soviet authorities both in Moscow and at the London information forum. We hope that the new Supreme Soviet, when constituted, will have the opportunity to alter the decree radically, so as to bring it into line with Soviet public statements and their international commitments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy initiatives he intends to take with regard to the 1990 fourth review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; how many preparatory committee meetings are expected to take place; and where such meetings are to be held.

There are three preparatory committees prior to the NPT review conference. The first took place in New York from 1 to 5 May. The second will be held from 11 to 18 September 1989, and the third from 23 April to 4 May 1990, both in Geneva. As a depositary power, we attach great importance to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and shall be working actively for a constructive and successful review conference.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what United Kingdom representation was present at the first preparatory committee meeting of the fourth review conference of the 1990 nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference; and if he will make a statement on its outcome.

The United Kingdom delegation at the first preparatory committee, held in New York from 1 to 5 May, consisted of four officials and was led by an official from the science, energy and nuclear department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The preparatory committee successfully resolved a number of administrative questions relating to the review conference.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the volume of investment in railways in the United Kingdom, France and West Germany in 1987–88 and 1988–89; and what sum this investment represents per capita in each of these countries.

My Department has no readily available information on railway investment in France and West Germany. The figures for rail investment by British Rail, Northern Ireland Railways and London Regional Transport are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has been approached by any consortium seeking permission to build an airport on either Foulness Island or Maplin Sands; and if he will make a statement.

No. My right hon. Friend has seen only press reports suggesting airport development off the Essex coast.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his long-term policy for airports includes the building of a new international airport in Essex, or offshore from the Essex coast.

The 1985 White Paper "Airports Policy" (Cmnd. 9542) set out the strategy for airport development in the south east to meet demand to the mid-1990s. This strategy did not include a new airport off the Essex coast but foreshadowed a substantial role for Stansted airport. My right hon. Friend is currently awaiting formal advice from the Civil Aviation Authority on the adequacy of airport capacity to 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce his conclusions on the inspector's report into the alterations to the A1 between Wetherby and Dishforth; and when work will commence on these improvements.

The Secretaries of State for Transport and the Environment hope to announce their decision in the summer.It is too early to give a reliable estimate of when works will commence. The date depends upon the time needed to complete the outstanding statutory procedures, which include publication of the compulsory purchase order.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has made of toll motorways on the European continent; and what are the conclusions in relation to their feasibility in the United Kingdom.

The Department keeps in touch with developments and experience in the operation of toll motorways in Europe. We are keen to encourage the private sector to come forward with proposals for privately funded roads. It will be up to promoters to consider the feasibility of such schemes, including any proposals for motorways. The Government will shortly issue a consultation paper on private finance for roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is prepared to take to secure passenger comfort and redress against protracted delays and inconvenience for those travelling on package holidays by air.

At a conference held by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State last November to analyse air traffic congestion, airport authorities were asked to develop contingency plans to cope with delayed passengers. A number of important initiatives were proposed which were reported to a follow-up conference held by the Civil Aviation Authority in March. These included improved communications and passenger information within airports, additional accommodation and facilities, and the provision of entertainment. Plans are also being developed to provide passengers with advance information about delayed flights.Whether or not holidaymakers who suffer protracted delays are entitled to redress will depend on the terms of their contract with the tour operator and on any scales of compensation the tour operator may publish. It would ultimately be for the civil courts to resolve any disputed claim for compensation in respect of delays in the light of all the circumstances. It is possible for holidaymakers to take out insurance against protracted delays in certain circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire of 3 November, Official Report, column 765, if he has yet received his inspector's report on the public inquiry held in May 1988 on his Department's proposals for the Birmingham northern relief road; and if he is yet able to make a statement.

Yes. It arrived last month and is being considered.

To ask the Attorney-General what changes he proposes in the use of rateable values as indications of jurisdiction in county court cases.

As part of the Government's programme for implementation of the civil justice review, announced on 6 April, the upper financial limit of the county courts' jurisdiction in actions for the recovery of land will be removed. Arrangements will be made for any transitional period there might be between the abolition of the domestic rating system and that of the county court limit, if this proves necessary.In some cases, however, it will still be necessary for the substance of a claim to be quantified, and various options are being considered by the Lord Chancellor.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will set up a study of the operation of the civil procedures related to domestic violence.

No. The Law Commission is carrying out a review of the courts' civil jurisdiction relating to domestic violence, other molestation and rights of occupation of the home. This review will examine both important areas of procedure and the remedies available. The commission hopes to issue a discussion paper later this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what contribution has been made to the Institute for Japanese-European Technology Studies; and over what period contributions will continue to be made.

Neither the Department of Trade and Industry nor the Department of Education and Science has given specific financial support to the Institute for Japanese-European Technology Studies, but my Department welcomes this initiative and is represented on the institute's external advisory committee.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the current level of inward investment in the United Kingdom; and what was the comparable figure for 1978.

The latest available information on the level of inward investment in the United Kingdom is given in table 9·1 of "The United Kingdom Balance of Payments —1988" (the CSO pink book). A copy of this publication is available in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much has been spent by his Department on advertisements on commercial television in each of the last five years, listed by each television company.

I am advised by the Central Office of Information, through which the Department buys such advertising, that the detailed information requested is commercially confidental. The Department's total expenditure on television advertising in the last five years was as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list, in real terms, the size of United Kingdom exports to Iraq for each of the last 10 years.

The value of exports to Iraq for each of the last 10 years is given in the following table. The information is not available in real terms.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received the annual report and accounts of British Shipbuilders for 1987–88.

In accordance with sections 17(9) and 18(6) of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977, I am today laying before each House copies of British Shipbuilders' annual report and accounts for 1987–88.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria govern how the members of the British Overseas Trade Board, listed in the 1987–88 report from pages 32 to 38, treat their commercial interests when taking decisions as members of the British Overseas Trade Board; and whether a register of members interests is compiled and a financial declaration made where relevant.

[holding answer 11 May 1989]: The British Overseas Trade Board advises on overseas trade and the official export promotion programme. The board itself does not take decisions on the provision of services or other forms of assistance to individual businesses and conflicts of interest do not therefore arise. Of the bodies listed in pages 32–38 of the annual report, only the Overseas Project Board considers matters involving official assistance to individual businesses, and members are specifically excluded from advising on cases in which they have an interest. A full register of members' directorships and financial interests is maintained by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the percentage of total pensioners' income in 1988 represented by the state retirement pension; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 2 May 1989]: I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. The 1986 family expenditure survey shows that 59 per cent. of pensioners' average gross income was derived from all social security benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish (a) details of the monitoring he intends to instigate on his reform programmes for the National Health Service, (b) which organisations will be carrying out which pieces of monitoring and (c) the criteria used for measuring success.

Health authorities will be expected to monitor progress on the review locally, and the NHS management executive will monitor progress over the country as a whole. The test of success will be the extent to which reforms help the NHS to provide better quality services for patients.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the extent to which places in refuges for victims of domestic violence are below the level of one family place, namely for a woman and her children, per 10,000 of population.

We do not have any central records of the numbers of family places available in refuges. However, the national voluntary organisation, Women's Aid Federation (England), estimates that there are approximately 1,755 family places in women's refuges in the United Kingdom.This represents one family place per 25,844 of the population aged 16 and over.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental hospitals have been closed in the past year.

[pursuant to his reply 22 March 1989 c. 671]; The information requested is now available and is in the table. It comprises the mental illness hospitals/units which we are aware were approved for total closure in 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for (a) the Yorkshire water authority and (b) the Severn Trent water authority, how many people were employed in the water industry in 1979, 1985 and each subsequent year to date.

The information is published in "Waterfacts 1988," a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Figures for 1989 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the results of stack emission tests carried out by HMIP on industrial plants.

The results of tests carried out by HMIP on emissions to the atmosphere are not generally published because many of them are of an investigative nature rather than routine tests for compliance with emission limit values. Test results are often summarised for individual premises in the district annual reports that are made available locally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will discuss with local authorities ways of increasing the number of refuges for the victims of domestic violence and of providing them with more adequate and secure funding.

It is for individual authorities to assess the local need for refuges and to make, or encourage others to make, appropriate provision. We give support to refuges through the urban programme and housing investment programmes, and the Housing Corporation also funds refuges provided by housing associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of whether the Peak District national park can remain in satisfactory condition within the financial provision currently available; and what further moneys will be made available in the current and succeeding financial years.

In determining the amount of national parks supplementary grant in respect of each national park authority's expenditure, my right hon. Friend takes account of the authorities' detailed functional strategies and the recommendations of the Country-side Commission. NPSG for the Peak District national park for 1989–90 is £2,461,900, an increase of 10·3 per cent. over 1988–89 and 25 per cent. higher in real terms than the park's settlement in 1979. I cannot anticipate future years' settlements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the implications of the European Court decision of September 1988 over implementation of the Euratom treaty article 37 in regard to the Electricité de France nuclear plant at Cattenom for future United Kingdom nuclear plant siting.

There are no implications for the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Hams of 26 April, Official Report, column 937, if he will breakdown the 37,805 acres by ownership and region and if he will give details in each case as to how the land came to be placed on the register.

[holding answer 11 May 1989]: I have placed tables in the Library giving a breakdown by owner and region of land added to the register in 1984–88. There are separate tables for land subsequently removed from the register before the end for 1988 and for land still on the register at the end of 1988.The land was entered on the register because information supplied by the owners indicated that it satisfied the conditions set out in section 95(2) of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the total number of applications for post-graduate certificate of education courses received by Queens' university, Belfast for courses commencing 1986, 1987 and 1988 were for physics, chemistry and mathematics; and what level of qualifications they had already obtained.

Numbers of applications were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the 1989–90 financial allocations to Northern Ireland's education and library boards for YTP schemes; and how much of this has been allocated by each board for special needs provision.

The board's estimates of YTP expenditure for 1989–90 have only recently been received by the Department of Education and are now under consideration. I hope to be able to advise the hon. Gentleman of the allocations approved and the amounts included for special needs provision later this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table showing the latest figure for expenditure per pupil on (a) books and (b) equipment and comparable figures for each year since 1978–79 in (i) primary schools, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) special schools in cash and real terms using an index of 100 for 1978–79.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Prime Minister if she will co-ordinate ministerial action to ensure that victims of domestic violence receive full information regarding the legal, counselling and housing help that is available for them.

Information about the help available to victims of domestic violence is best provided locally. Some statutory and voluntary organisations already issue leaflets. The ministerial group on women's issues is co-ordinating Government action and will consider outstanding needs when it meets on 15 June to discuss the recently published Home Office research on this subject.

To ask the Prime Minister when publication of the official history of British intelligence in the second world war will be completed.

Volumes I, II and III of the official history of British intelligence in the second world war by Professor Sir Harry Hinsley and others have been published; part 2 of volume III was published in February 1988. Volume IV (security and counter-intelligence) by Sir Harry Hinsley and Mr. C. A. G. Simkins and Volume V (strategic deception) by Professor Sir Michael Howard are being prepared for publication towards the end of this year or early next year.

To ask the Prime Minister what topics have been covered in the efficiency unit's scrutiny programme in the last financial year.

The 1988–89 programme of scrutinies carried out in association with the efficiency adviser and the efficiency unit are:

• Cabinet Office
• Government economic statistics
• Her Majesty's Customs and Excise
• Administration of the integrated tariff
• Running cost implications of information technology
• British Council
• Inward visits
• Ministry of Defence
• MOD support for military associated functions at schools and universities
• Defence accommodation stores
• Department of Employment
• Inspection rating system (HSE)
• Fraud investigation (with DSS)
• Department of the Environment
• Control of administrative expenditure in non-Departmental public bodies
• Home Office
• Grants made under Section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966
• Magistrates' courts
• Inland Revenue
• Schedule D procedures
• Internal post
• Northern Ireland Office
• Land Registry
• Overseas Development Administration
• Administration of aid-tying rules (with DTI)
• Scottish Office
• Prison buildings
• Department of Social Security
• Fraud investigation (with DE)
• (Under Franchise Programme) Overseas branch (Newcastle central office)
• Department of Trade and Industry
• Administration of aid-tying rules (with ODA)
• DTI economic statistics
• Further topics for scrutinies are being discussed with Departments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of any projects worked in collaboration with Japanese companies.

The Ministry of Defence is involved in no such projects.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will specify the distribution of gains in the Budget from each item where (a) tax or (b) national insurance changes were made other than normal indexation, according to income bands as follows: less than £5,000 per year, £5,000 to £7,500, £7,500 to £10,000, £10,000 to £12,500, £12,500 to £15,000, £15,000 to £20,000, £20,000 to £30,000, £30,000 to £50,000 and above £50,000; and if he will indicate the percentage of total (a) tax and (b) national insurance changes accruing to each group and the percentage of the total numbers of (a) taxpayers and (b) national insurance that each group comprises.

[holding answer 2 May 1989]: The changes in income tax rates and allowances other than those for indexation are the changes to age allowances and withdrawal rate. They will cost about £15 million in 1989–90. About 15 per cent. of this cost will go to taxpayers with income less than £5,000; about half to those with incomes between £5,000 and £10,000 and the rest to those with incomes between £10,000 and £14,000. The total number of taxpayers who will benefit is about half a million; about 2 per cent. of all taxpayers. Further information is not available.The required information for national insurance contribution in the year 1990–91 (the first full year of the proposed NICs structure) is estimated to be as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North, of 25 April, Official Report, column 470, if he will list any rules relating to the holding of Government debt by insurance companies and pension funds.

I still do not know which rules the hon. Gentleman has in mind. If he would care to write to me about this matter, I would be happy to respond.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the numbers of Inland Revenue tax returns issued and received in each year from 1979 to the latest year available.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The approximate numbers of personal tax returns issued at the start of every tax year from 1979–80 onwards are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for 1979 and 1987–88 the number of cases of tax fraud detected for which the amount recovered exceeded (a) £100,000, (b) £500,000 and (c) £1,000,000.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The numbers of settlements in cases of tax fraud, categorised by the amounts recovered, including appropriate interest and penalties, were:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the total number of Inland Revenue staff currently employed in investigating tax fraud, and the number employed in 1979.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: Inland Revenue resources, expressed as units of full-time staff, employed in investigating tax fraud are:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of Inland Revenue tax investigations settled (a) with and (b) without prosecution for tax recovered between (i) £0·1 million and £0·5 million, (ii) £0·5 million and £1·0 million and (c) over £1·0 million from 1979 to the most recent year available.

[holding answer 8 May 19891:(a). No records are kept of the total amounts of tax recovered from investigations which result in prosecution. However, the numbers of prosecutions categorised by the amounts of tax in respect of the matters brought before the court, were:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the numbers of staff currently in post in the Inland Revenue division dealing with schedule D evasion.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The number of Inland Revenue staff, expressed as full-time units, employed in dealing with Schedule D evasion for the year ended 31 March 1989 is 2,135.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give the number of tax units (a) not liable to income tax, (b) liable to income tax at the basic rate and (c) liable to tax at rates higher than the basic rate in (i) 1978–79, (ii) 1988–89 and 1989–90;(2) if he will give the number of tax units over pensionable age

[holding answers 8 May 1989]: Estimates are given in the tables.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the amount and share of pre-tax income accruing to (a) the top one per cent., (b) the top five per cent., (c) the top ten per cent., (d) the top 25 per cent., (e) the bottom 70 per cent., (f) the bottom five per cent. and (g) all taxpayers in each year 1978–79 to 1988–89 and the amount and share of tax liability for each of these groups.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: Estimates are given in the tables for 1978–79 and 1983–84 to 1988–89. Information for other years could be provided

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report the total amount of tax recovered from tax investigations in each of the individual cases where the recovered amount exceeded £1 million.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The total amount of tax recovered from the 43 investigation cases settled in 1988–89 where in each case the amount recovered exceeded £1 million was £132 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the proportion of gross income paid in income tax, national insurance contributions and value added tax by (a) a married man with a non-earning wife and two children and (b) a married man with an earning wife and two children at one half one and half, two, three, five and 10 times national average earnings in 1989–90; and what were the comparable figures in 1978–79.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The information requested is in the table.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing tax and national insurance contributions less child benefit, where appropriate, for 1989–90, and comparable figures for 1988–89 and 1978–79, with the multiples of average earnings as half, two-thirds, one, five and 10 times for (a) a married couple with part-time working spouse, (b) a married couple plus two children with part-time working spouse and (c) a single person.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The information requested for a single person is given in the table. Figures for married couples with part-time working spouse have not been given, as they will depend on how much the part-time worker earns.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to the Exchequer at the 1989–90 tax rates announced in the Budget of the married man's tax allowance in excess of the corresponding single person's allowance; how much of this cost is attributable to taxpayers aged below 65 years; and what is the weekly value of this extra relief to the married man paying income tax at the standard rate.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: The direct revenue cost, at 1989–90 levels of income, of the married man's allowance in excess of the single person's allowance is estimated at £4·9 billion, of which £4·1 billion is attributable to those aged under 65. The extra relief is worth £7·64 per week to a basic rate taxpayer not entitled to aged allowance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the gain per individual arising from each relevant component of the 1989 Budget, both at current prices and net of indexation for those at one half and three-quarters of average earnings, average earnings, and one and a half, two, five and 10 times average earnings; and if he will provide comparable figures for each budget since 1979.

[holding answer 8 May 1989]: Individuals will benefit directly or indirectly from many Budget measures. These gains will vary according to their specific circumstances, as well as their level of earnings, and it would be impracticable to attempt to estimate the effects of all the measures listed in table 4·1 of the 1989 Financial Statement and Budget Report, let alone for each Budget since 1979. Information on the effects of specific measures may be found in the press notices issued each Budget day by Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that any officers who have applied for medical officer training and are subject to disciplinary action are released as a matter of urgency.

The existence of disciplinary charges against prison officers awaiting transfer to hospital duties does not in itself preclude their posting. If the hon. Member has a specific case in mind, perhaps he could let me know.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested by the police in the United Kingdom in 1988; how many of those arrested were cautioned and how many were charged, and if he will provide a breakdown by police force area.

The available information on arrests is given in the table. Numbers of persons who were cautioned and numbers prosecuted in each police force area for indictable offences are published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", supplementary tables: latest figures are for 1987 (table S3.7(a) for cautions and table S3.3(a) for prosecutions). The coverage of figures on arrests is wider than that of indictable offences, so arrests are not directly related to cautions or prosecutions. An arrest may not result in the arrested person being cautioned or prosecuted.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he last met the chairman of the Prison Officers Association; and what subjects were discussed.

My right hon. Friend last invited the chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA) to meet him on 29 September 1988. Discussion centred on the urgent need for prison officers to end industrial action which was contributing significantly to the unacceptably high number of prisoners—around 1,700—then being held in police cells. A number of more general points were also discussed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the prisons in England and Wales where inmates have gone on to the prison roof during a disturbance within the prison during the last three years;(2) if he will list each prison in England and Wales where there has been a disturbance among inmates for each of the last three years.

In the three years up to 9 May, incidents involving a substantial number of inmates acting in concert and leading to significant damage occurred at the following prisons and remand centres:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will consult police chief constables about the value of appointing domestic violence liaison officers in every division;(2) if he will request police forces to have available an information leaflet on sources of help for victims of domestic violence and to offer it when appropriate.

We shall be exploring with chief officers the scope for fresh guidance to the police about these and other issues identified in the recent Home Office research study on domestic violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protection is available to victims of domestic violence if the case goes to court and the assailant is released before the court hearing; and if he has any plans to increase protection.

A defendant may be released on bail subject to any conditions which are considered necessary to prevent his interfering with witnesses or committing offences. If he breaches the conditions of bail, he may be re-arrested. The police also have discretion to provide suitable protection to the victims or witnesses of alleged offences where they consider it necessary. We have no plans to increase the existing protection provided by the police and courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many areas the police are involved in a multi-agency approach to the problem of domestic violence; and if he will take steps to encourage such development.

Comprehensive information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, but I understand that the majority of police forces have arrangements which include helping victims of domestic violence to contact other agencies which can provide help and support. We shall be considering with the police whether anything more needs to be done.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will request police chief constables to record domestic violence incidents separately and to ensure that a note is taken of whether violence is used or threatened;

We shall include the collection and use of records of domestic violence in discussions with chief officers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a comprehensive national survey, backed up by local surveys, of domestic violence so as to provide improved information on its prevalence, nature, causes, handling by the authorities, and effect on the victim and enable the identification of more effective preventative measures.

The ministerial group on women's issues will consider the need for further research when it meets next month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he has given to the police to use when assessing which cases of domestic violence are passed to the Crown prosecution service for its decision on prosecution.

None. The criteria to be applied when considering whether charges should be brought in cases involving domestic violence are the same as for any other offence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a research study to investigate whether there is any difference in the likelihood of a police arrest when violence is domestic rather than non-domestic.

My right hon. Friend will consider the possibility of research in the context of discussions with chief officers about domestic violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any information on the proportion of requests for assistance from the police that are due to a domestic dispute.

No. Home Office records relate only to recorded crime, and not to all incidents to which the police are called.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is planning to reduce the escalation of domestic violence in the light of the finding in his Department's research study, "Domestic Violence", that domestic violence escalates over time.

I would refer the right hon. Member to the reply given yesterday to a question from the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has regarding the percentage of cases of spousal homicide in which there had been earlier requests to the police for assistance.

None. The information routinely collected on homicide cases does not enable us to establish whether the homicide was preceded by previous calls for police help.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the police force has received training in the handling of domestic violence; who has the responsibility for providing the training; who advises on its content; and who monitors how successful it is.

All new entrants to the police service in England and Wales receive a basic training in dealing with offences of domestic violence as part of their initial training at district training centres. For more senior ranks, there is a session on domestic violence in the inspectors' management development course. These courses will be monitored by the central planning and training unit and the forces themselves.The provision of further training in forces is a matter for chief officers to decide. They will devise and update any training on the basis of their analysis of operational and training needs in their force area. Chief officers may invite other agencies—such as victim support schemes—to participate in in-force training if they consider that this would make a constructive contribution to the quality of training provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek information from the Tottenham police force regarding the effectiveness of its multi-agency approach to tackling domestic violence.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Tottenham unit is primarily a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. We shall, however, be seeking further information about the specialist units set up by the Metropolitan police, and about initiatives in other force areas, as part of our review of procedures to deal with domestic violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the Metropolitan police for a report on the effects of their 1987 guidelines which called for domestic violence to be treated as seriously as assaults occurring in the street.

Implementation of force orders within the Metropolitan police district is the responsibility of the Commissioner. I understand from the Commissioner that the force order relating to domestic violence is currently the subject of a full evaluation which is due to be completed by the autumn. My right hon. Friend is asking to be advised of the outcome.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there have been any police deaths when police have been called to assist with alleged domestic violence.

Records for the years 1977 to 1987 show that 24 police officers were victims of homicide and that none of them died as a result of being called to incidents of alleged domestic violence. Records for 1988 and 1989 are not yet available.Information about earlier homicides could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the last year for which figures are available, what percentage of incidents involving non-domestic violence are eventually recorded as (a) crime reports and (b) incident reports; and what are the corresponding figures for domestic violence.

I regret the information requested is not available. Some information about the incidence, reporting and recording of domestic violence is published in Home Office research study 107, "Domestic Violence: an overview of the literature".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the last period for which figures are available, in how many homicides was there (a) a female

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the last year for which figures are available, how many court orders were made under the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978 to protect wives and children from violence; in what proportion of the cases a power of arrest was granted; and how many arrests were subsequently made.

The available information relates to the number of orders made under sections 16(2), 16(3), 16(6)and 18 of the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978 in England and Wales. The latest figures are for 1987 and can be found in "Home Office Statistical Bulletin 20/88", a copy of which is in the Library. Information is not collected centrally on the number of subsequent arrests.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his estimate of the prevalence of assault arising from domestic dispute;(2) what is his estimate, for the last year for which figures are available, of the proportion of the four types of assault, namely common assault, actual bodily harm, malicious wounding and grievous bodily harm, which arose from domestic disputes;(3) if he will seek to improve the statistics about the prevalence of domestic violence by requesting a sample of chief constables to provide information on the total of all reports of domestic violence in a set period using all forms of police records;(4) if he will take steps to enable the amount of violence that is domestic to be separately identified in the publication "Criminal Statistics".

An estimate of the national prevalence of domestic violence is not available. An ad hoc survey of offences of violence recorded by the police, identifying those offences which were domestic, was carried out in 1988 and it is hoped to publish estimates based on it later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics he has on the number and percentage of times that allegedly assaulted women subsequently withdrew their complaints.

Information on victims of homicide and their relationship to the subject is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (Chapter 4 of the latest issue, Cm. 498), a copy of which is in the Library. The table gives the figures requested for the years 1982–87.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of domestic violence have been pursued by the Crown prosecution service since the service started operating; and what were the comparable figures of prosecutions by the police over the period immediately before the Crown prosecution service came into operation.

It is not possible from the information held centrally by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Home Office to identify prosecutions in this category.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will recommend to chief constables that unless there are exceptional circumstances there should be an arrest in all cases of life-threatening domestic violence.

My right hon. Friend is confident that the police make full use of their powers of arrest where people's lives are at stake. It will, however, be one of the issues covered in discussions with chief officers about domestic violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the Hetherington/Chalmers report on war crimes; when he expects to publish the report; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. and learned Member to the replies given to questions from the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 11 May 1989 and my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, North (Mr. Gorst) on 18 April 1989 at column 92.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that Antanas Geicas does not leave the juridiction of United Kingdom courts; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has no powers to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Mr. Beaumont Dark) of 28 April, Official Report, column 702, what steps he is taking to reimburse the South Yorkshire police authority for the costs arising from the public inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster.

A meeting is to be held between Home Office officials and officers of the South Yorkshire police authority shortly to discuss the representations made by the authority over the costs of the inquiries being undertaken by the West Midlands police.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are his reasons for retaining Aujeszky's disease in category 3 rather than moving it to category 1.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 2 May to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Sir J. Farr) at column 81.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by how much the European Commission has subsidised the London Food Commission's research into European consumers' demand for quality food; whether the questionnaire on 1992, "Consumers and Food Policy" is part of that research; and if he will make a statement.

The Commission of the European Communities has awarded the London Food Commission a contract to study and report on product differentiation in the European Community which involves issues of food standards, food quality and consumer choice. Although the EC Commission has also awarded a grant to meet the costs of this project, I have no precise information regarding its value. The 1992 questionnaire to which my hon. Friend refers is not part of this study and was circulated independently by the London Food Commission before the contract was awarded.