To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contribution he expects the proposals in "Road Users and the Law" to make towards his target for reducing casualties in his policy document, "Road Safety: The Next Steps."

In 1987 we set the target of reducing casualties by one third by the year 2000. That means a reduction of some 100,000 deaths and injuries. Our priority must be the deaths and serious injuries.In 1988 we made good progress towards this. Deaths decreased by 2 per cent. compared with 1987, and were 10 per cent. down compared to the baseline of our target. Serious injuries were down by 1 per cent. compared with 1987, - 15 per cent. compared with the target baseline. This represents good progress, particularly as traffic volumes continue to rise.Publication of the North report, and the White Paper "The Road User and the Law", (Cm. 576) has helped considerably to increase the awareness of the need for action to cut road casualties, and to give such action much higher priority. The proposals in the White Paper are an important part of the Government's overall package of measures which, by changing public attitudes, improving enforcement and adopting improved road engineering techniques are together designed to achieve the target.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on any progress made in implementing some of the non-legislative recommendations of the road traffic law review which he accepted.

The White Paper "The Road User and the Law" sets out the Government's proposals for taking forward the non-legislative recommendations accepted from the road traffic law review.We have received many positive and helpful comments from interested organisations. We will now be discussing with them how best to take forward, jointly, the non-legislative aspects of the White Paper. We shall also be adding a number of projects to our research programme to follow up those aspects of the North report which require further research.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the average weekly amount of rail freight transported over Barnes bridge and its average journey length; and what assessment has been made of the equivalent number of average road freight vehicle miles this represents.

This information is not known to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has given for road building and improvement in Liverpool; and if he will list the Liverpool city council plans it was allocated for, for each of the last five years.

There are no trunk roads in Liverpool. We support expenditure on the city council's more important roads through the transport supplementary grant system. The information requested is:

Year	Amount of TSG given (£ million) (including minor works)
1985–86	12·083
1986–87	2·702
1987–88	2·267
1988–89	1·235
1989–90	1·762
1 (to Merseyside County Council).

Major Schemes accepted for TSG 1985–1990	Years TSG allocated
Liverpool Inner Ring Road	1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
Garston Bypass	1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
Access to Lime Street Station	1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
Great George Street	1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
Everton Valley Improvement	1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about road building and upgrading plans in Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

We have recently received representations about the Park road relief road from the chairman of the Merseyside development corporation and the hon. Member. My right hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Mrs. Chalker) wrote to me about motorway communications on Merseyside and in Liverpool.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement explaining the procedures under which one quarter of all EAGGF commitment appropriations were made available to the Commission in January of recent years when provisional twelfths applied.

[holding answer 19 June 1989]: In 1980, 1985, 1987 and 1988, when provisional twelfths have applied, one quarter of all EAGGF commitment appropriations have been made available to the Commission, on its request, in accordance with article 204 of the Rome treaty and article 8 of the financial regulation. The Commission has used these commitments to meet EAGGF payments, which tend to fall disproportionately in the early part of the year.

To ask the Minister for the Arts how many and what percentage of persons employed in his Department are registered as disabled.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the carbon dioxide emissions recorded for 1987 and 1988 related to public sector energy use, broken down into (a) central Government offices, by individual Departments of State, (b) local government, (c) health authorities and (d) other public sector bodies.

Estimates of carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom have been published in the "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics, Number 11", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. Emissions due to fossil fuel use in the public sector are included in the source category "Commercial/Public Service": in 1987 these amounted to 32 million tonnes of CO₂, which was 5 per cent. of the total United Kingdom annual emissions. Data for 1988 are currently being prepared. It would involve disproportionate cost to provide emission estimates in the categories requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific proposals his Department has put forward for consideration and enactment, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane, since the seminar on the greenhouse effect held by the Prime Minister on 26 April.

[holding answer 26 June 1989]: At the first meeting of parties to the Montreal protocol, held in Helsinki in May, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave the full support of the United Kingdom to the European Community's call for a reduction in the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons by 85 per cent. as soon as possible with a view to phasing them out by the end of the century.At the Council of EC Environment Ministers, held in Luxembourg 9–10 June, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Housing, the Environment and Countryside, successfully pressed for the Commission to report back to Council on measures that can be taken to combat carbon dioxide emission from cars.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration has been given to the payment of compensation for firms whose business will be destroyed by a ban on trade in new ivory.

It is not normal practice to pay compensation to firms whose trade is adversely affected by import restrictions imposed for the purposes of conserving endangered species.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance has been issued to community charge registration officers concerning the obtaining of addresses from telecommunications operators.

Community charge practice note No. 3, published in August last year, gave guidance to registration officers on those bodies from whom they have power to require information. These do not include telecommunications operators.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if any rivers in South Yorkshire are known to be polluted by the use of tributyl tin by boat owners; and if he will make a statement.

The main freshwater rivers affected have been those carrying large numbers of pleasure craft, which were treated with tributyl tin antifouling paints before the Government banned their sale and supply in 1987. The rivers of South Yorkshire do not fall into this category and so have not been monitored.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies have deemed consent to discharge into the River Mersey.

[holding answer 26 June 1989]: I understand from the North West water authority that 27 companies currently have deemed consents under the terms of part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 to discharge effluent into the River Mersey.The number of extant deemed consents is being progressively reduced as they are reviewed by the North West water authority and either revoked or replaced by a positively determined consent. Following privatisation, the National Rivers Authority will take responsibility for this work.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will name the establishment on Merseyside that is exempt from the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

[Holding answer 26 June 1987]: There are no establishments exempt from the provision of part II of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 other than those which are subject to Crown immunity. In such cases, it is the general policy of the Government that the standards of pollution control applied should, wherever possible, be no lower than that for other establishments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the most recent figures and those for five and 10 years ago on the levels of acidification in rainfall (a) in Doncaster, (b) the three counties of Yorkshire and Humberside and (c) nationally.

The data requested are provided only for 1988 in the table. Prior to 1986 no data are available for the region and there are insufficient to calculate a representative United Kingdom average. The Doncaster value has been interpolated from nearby rural stations which may not be representative of an urban area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what grants have been, or are due to be made by the Rural Development Commission, for the county of South Yorkshire during 1989–90; and if he will list them.

Under the 1989 rural development programme for South Yorkshire the Rural Development Commission has agreed in principle to support six projects:

• Rural Development Area Project Officer
• Sports hall extension
• Church Street/Bridge Street infrastructure link
• Resource centre
• Market extension
• Workspace

Bids for other specific projects will also be considered as they arise. Formal approval and timing of projects will depend on the availability of resources and consideration of detailed applications. The commission also offers grants within the rural development area for the conversion of redundant buildings.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which public relations firms his Department has employed and at what cost, for each year since 1979.

Apart from the special circumstances of privatisation work, the consistent practice of successive Governments has been to avoid the use of public relations firms or other firms outside Government for public relations work.Since July 1988 my Department, jointly with the Water Authorities Association, has employed Dewe Rogerson Ltd. as marketing and public relations advisers in connection with the forthcoming privatisation of the water authorities. I am unable to reveal the costs of its work for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the findings of an investigation commissioned by his Department into the extent and effects of dioxin contamination.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 22 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) [at columns 202–3], when I announced publication of pollution paper No. 27, entitled "Dioxins in the Environment". A copy is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the report of his Department's working party on housing co-operatives.

I welcome the report of the committee which has carried out the review of housing co-operatives in England and which has been published today. The committee has responded positively to its terms of reference and confirmed that co-ops and other tenant control arrangements are popular with tenants, are effective, and are able to justify the grant support which has already been provided for them.The committee recommends several important measures to increase the involvement of tenants in the management of their homes, and extra support for tenants' groups to help them form housing co-operatives and the other types of tenant control considered in the review.I am delighted to accept the committee's recommendations and to endorse its view that an expansion of co-operatives and other tenant-led initiatives is now needed. This mirrors the Government's belief that real choices must be available for tenants.This expansion must be accompanied by further work, linked to research recently carried out and soon to be published by the Department, to refine our understanding of the value for money that tenant-led management can offer and to monitor progress. In the meantime, I am happy to announce that:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to publish regulations to deal with the basis of compensation payable under part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

It is hoped that consultations with the relevant bodies will take place towards the end of the year and that proposals will be laid before Parliament thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the future of Brodsworth hall, near Doncaster; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave his agreement on 5 April to English Heritage opening negotiations with the National Heritage Memorial Fund and with the owners of Brodsworth hall on the acquisition of the hall and its contents. No representations have been received since then.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the occasions when his officials had discussions with the developer for the Bradford "west end" scheme for a city grant; and if he will make a statement.

Members of the Department's team of professional appraisers and other officials have had a number of discussions on the proposals for "west end". For reasons of commercial confidentiality it is not our practice to comment on individual city grant proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of private drinking water supplies in England and Wales and the number of people served by those supplies.

Local authorities collect and hold information on private supplies in their respective areas. Precise information is not held centrally. However, we estimate that there are 80,000 to 100,000 private supplies in the country serving approximately 1 per cent. of the population.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on (i) the length and nature of the contracts given by North West water authority to (a) Mr. Archie Ramsay and (b) Miss Dora McCabe and (ii) their current responsibilities.

[holding answer 23 June 1989]: Mr. Ramsay has been appointed by the Secretary of State as an executive member of North West water authority on terms similar to those in his original contract with the authority. His present salary is £65,000. Miss McCabe's appointment as an officer remains a matter for the authority. They continue to fill the posts of financial director and corporate affairs manager respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications for development on set-aside land have been submitted since the scheme was launched.

[holding answer 23 June 1989]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 June, at column 68–9.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice has been given by his Department to the Nature Conservancy Council regarding the pursuance of blood sports on land purchased by conservancy bodies with grant-aid.

[holding answer 26 June 1989]: Traditional country rights and uses should be interfered with only where they are in conflict with conservation interests.

To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received about the British Voice publication, "A Few Scientific Statements on Racial Difference," which has been circulated through the post to residents of south-east London, urging prosecution of those responsible for its distribution under section 5a of the Public Order Act; and if he will make a statement.

The Attorney-General has received representations from Greenwich borough council about the publication. The Director of Public Prosecutions has been asked to request the police to make inquiries concerning its publication and distribution. Section 5a of the Public Order Act 1936 has been repealed and replaced by part 3 of the Public Order Act 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a further statement on his proposals for the reform of the Health Service.

Following publication of the White Paper (Cm. 555) and our working papers a large number of responses have been received. These responses, which include a number of generally positive and constructive comments, will be considered before final decisions are taken on the implementation of our proposals for improving the NHS in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money was spent in 1988–89 and in the first quarter of 1989–90 on management consultants brought in from outside the National Health Service.

£192,336 was spent centrally in 1988–89 and £36,595 in the first quarter of 1989–90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each health board the amount spent on consultancy fees in the year 1988–89 and the first quarter of 1989–90.

Information available from the annual accounts of health boards relates to the total of fees paid to management consultants, to legal firms (other than for legal expenses connected with compensation claims) and to work study consultants. The amounts for each health board for 1988–89 are shown in the table.

Health Board	1988–89
	£
Argyll and Clyde	68,429
Ayrshire and Arran	32,084
Borders	15,562

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each year since 1980 the number of emergency call-outs by the Scottish ambulance service both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the 1980 figure.

The information requested is as follows:

Year	Number of emergency calls	Percentage of 1980 total
1980	129,201	100·0
1981	131,219	101·6
1982	132,672	102·7
1983	138,229	107·0
1984	146,302	113·2
1985	145,383	112·5
1986	154,018	119·2
1987	161,822	125·2
1988	165,956	128·4

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish details of Welsh Water's proposals for investment in sewage treatment works in Rhymney valley necessary to ensure compliance with the relevant European directive; and if he will indicate in respect of each works the projected time scale for completion.

There is no European directive concerning the performance of sewage treatment works. However, Welsh Water is engaged upon a programme of improvements to provide for full compliance with discharge consent conditions at poorly performing works.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the precise location of each of the applications for derogation of sewage discharges in Wales advertised by his Department on 21 June; and if he will also list all other derogations currently in force in a similar way.

No applications for derogation of sewage discharges in Wales have been advertised by the Department.Details of the Welsh Water applications for time-limited variations of consent conditions, including the

national grid reference of the location of discharge, were advertised by the authority in the

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state for each sewage discharge derogation site currently approved in Wales or currently under consideration by his Department (a) whether he has approved a programme of works to improve the effluent at each specific site, (b) when each programme of work is due to start and finish and (c) to what level each programme of works is designed to improve the effluent at that point of discharge.

All Welsh Water sewage treatment works for which applications for time-limited consents have been received are included in a programme of capital improvements designed to ensure future compliance. Details of the consent parameters applied for are included in the detailed applications which are available for inspection at the regional rivers division of Welsh Water at St. Mellons, Cardiff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what justification for a request for derogation in respect of a sewage discharge has been given to him by Welsh Water in each case where a derogation is in force in Wales or is currently under consideration by his Department.

In making an application for a time-limited variation to an existing discharge consent, Welsh Water must satisfactorily define its plans for investment to improve the performance of the works.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what monitoring arrangements he has made in respect of each of the derogations of sewage in force in Wales; and what arrangements he will make for each of those currently under consideration by his Department.

There are no derogations of sewage treatment works consent conditions currently in force in the Principality. The water authority is currently responsible for monitoring all its own discharges; subject to enactment of the Water Bill, the National Rivers Authority will assume this duty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 21 June, if he will list the nature and results in terms of judgments and fines, of prosecutions brought against polluters of south Wales rivers over the past 10 years;(2) pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 21 June, if he will list the recorded incidents of pollution of the rivers and streams of south Wales over the past 10 years, on a year-by-year basis, including specific dates, locations, effects and, where known, polluters.

This is a matter for the Welsh water authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 21 June, how the Government intend to enable the National Rivers Authority to prosecute polluters of Welsh rivers, including those companies which release raw sewage into those rivers, after the privatisation of the water authorities.

Under the provisions of the Water Bill the National Rivers Authority will have the power to institute criminal proceedings. How it uses that power will be a matter for the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 21 June, whether the Government intend to allow the Welsh water authority to continue to discharge raw sewage into Welsh rivers after the privatisation of that company.

The consenting of Welsh Water discharges after privatisation will be matter for the National Rivers Authority, subject to enactment of the Water Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements he has made for monitoring by his Department or on behalf of his Department of derogations of water supplies granted by him under article 9 of the EC drinking water directives 80/778/EEC.

Monitoring of the quality of all drinking water supplies within Welsh Water's area is carried out by that authority and regular reports are submitted to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there has been any modernisation of Britain's nuclear depth bomb capability since 1980; and if there are any plans in existence or under consideration to modernise this capability.

There has been no modernisation of Britain's nuclear depth bomb capability since 1980. As part of the studies related to modernising United Kingdom tactical nuclear weapons capability, consideration is being given to the replacement of the full spectrum of United Kingdom tactical nuclear weapons, including sea-based systems. However, no decisions have yet been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been any increase or decrease in Britain's stockpile of nuclear depth charges since 1980; and whether there is any current consideration of increasing the numbers held.

For security reasons it is not our policy to comment on the size of the nuclear stockpile. However, it is the policy of the British Government to maintain the stockpile at the minimum level possible to provide a credible, effective deterrent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been any modernisation of Royal Navy helicopters capable of delivering nuclear depth bombs since 1980; and whether there is any current consideration of modernisation of these helicopters.

Nuclear depth bombs would be deployed from Royal Navy ASW helicopters. These helicopters have been modernised in various ways since 1980, and will continue to be modernised as required. Work carried out to date has not been directly related to the helicopters' nuclear weapon delivery capabilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish in the Official Report a list of those parliamentary constituencies which will benefit from contracts as a result of the Trident programme, detailing for each constituency the name of the contractor and the value and general nature of the contract.

The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he makes of the value which would have been put on the Royal Ordnance factory, Blackburn, when the Royal Ordnance Factory plc was sold to British Aerospace if full account had been taken of the factors listed in the recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Our surveyors took full account of all the significant factors relevant to the existing use and alternative use valuations of each site as at the date of the valuation. There are no additional factors mentioned in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report which would have affected the valuations made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what value was put on the Royal Ordnance factory, Blackburn, when the Royal Ordnance Factory plc was sold to British Aerospace.

As with all the sites owned by Royal Ordnance plc, ROF Blackburn was valued on both an existing use and an alternative use basis, as at 31 December 1985. These valuations were £4,400,000 and £400,000 respectively. Only the higher, existing use, valuations were made available to prospective purchasers of Royal Ordnance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) the potential development value of the site of the Royal Ordnance factory Blackburn, and (b) the proximity of the site to the extension of the M65 motorway to the M6 were included in the value placed upon the factory when Royal Ordnance Factory plc was sold to British Aerospace.

All the significant circumstances relevant to the alternative use valuation of ROF Blackburn as at the date of the valuation were taken into account.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any new proposals to assist preservation of the Brazilian rain forests.

An Overseas Development Administration environmental mission, led by my chief forestry officer and including the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, visited Brazil last month to identify proposals for a new programme of environmental assistance to the Brazilian Government, particularly in rain forest conservation. This mission was very successful and has come back with a number of specific proposals for technical co-operation projects in sustainable forest management, genetic resource exploration and conservation, and environmental monitoring which we hope can be finalised within the next few months. I shall make the details available as soon as they are settled. During my own visit to Brazil next week I hope to be able to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Government to establish the framework for this new environmental programme. I also hope to visit Amazonia and talk to some of the Brazilian bodies actively involved in trying to protect the rain forest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what quantities of depleted uranium owned by (a) British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, (b) United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and (c) foreign customers are currently stored at Sellafield, Chapelcross and Dounreay sites, respectively.

Stocks of civil depleted uranium held under safeguards and resulting from the reprocessing of civil magnox fuel or the operation of enrichment plants by British Nuclear Fuels plc are held at a number of sites. The total quantities are:

	Uranium tonnes
Sellafield	100
Chapelcross	5,000
Dounreay	50

A further 18,400 tonnes u of such material are held at Capenhurst and 6,200 tonnes u at Springfields.Some 20 per cent. of the stocks held at BNFL sites are owned by BNFL and some 5 per cent. by its overseas customers. The BNFL stocks include some 50 tonnes u owned by the authority. Almost all the material held at Dounreay is owned by the UKAEA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give the number of domestic customer disconnections in 1979 and for the latest date in (a) Wales and (b) each electricity board in England and Wales, and the percentage change in each case.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) on 9 December 1988, at column 377, setting out the total figures for disconnections in each of the years 1979–1980 to 1987–88. The number of disconnections in England and Wales in 1988–89 was 75,230.Detailed figures for disconnections in each area board are a matter for the electricity supply industry and I have asked the chairman of the Electricity Council to write to the hon. Member with the requested information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether, following the removal of fuel at Berkeley nuclear power station, the cores will be vented by atmospheric air throughout the period before final dismantling; and if he will make a statement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what targets he has set for the initial 12 months of his public sector energy efficiency campaign launched in January; and if he will make a statement.

Details of the campaign are still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether the office of electricity regulation staff is to be restricted entirely to personnel from the Department of Energy, and the electricity supply industry.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when a witness from his Department is next expected to appear at the Hinkley C nuclear public inquiry; how many support officials will accompany the witness; on what topic he will give evidence; and whether the witness will be permitted to answer questions on the merits of Government policy.

The Department's official witness will return to the inquiry, at the inspector's request, on 20 July to give further evidence on the progress of the Electricity Bill and any other developments in Government policy relevant to the inquiry since the date of his previous appearance. He will be supported by other officials from the Department as necessary. As I told the hon. Member on 27 October 1988, at column 318, it is not customary for an official representative of a Government Department to answer questions as to the merits of Government policy and I continue to see no reason for the Department's witness to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy which public relations firms his Department has employed and at what cost, for each year since 1979.

Apart from the special circumstances of privatisation work, the consistent practice of successive Governments has been to avoid the use of public relations firms or other companies outside Government for public relations work.My Department has used the following companies in connection with privatisation:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress of the United Kingdom's participation in efforts to secure a peaceful and democratic future for Cambodia.

Both through bilateral contacts and through multilateral action in the United Nations' Security Council, and in the run-up to the Paris international conference in August, we are playing our full part in the search for a peaceful and durable settlement to the conflict in Cambodia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date he has had discussions with the ambassador of the People's Republic of China, with regard to the recent troubles in China and their implications for United Kingdom students in China; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr. Adley) on 16 June, at column 560.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Ministers in the Turks and Caicos Government have been convicted of drug offences or corruption since 1984.

Three Turks and Caicos Ministers were convicted on drugs charges in the United States of America in 1985.There have been no further convictions since we suspended ministerial government in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1986. A new constitution came into effect with the return of ministerial government in March 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the availability of Western European Union documents to hon. Members in view of the process of reactivation.

Given the limitations imposed by the fact that most documents produced by the Council of the Western European Union are classified, I am satisfied with their availability to hon. Members. Documents produced by the Assembly of the Western European Union are distributed to all Members of the British delegation to the Assembly, who have not so far asked that they be made more widely available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his latest discussions with the United Kingdom's co-signatories to the Antarctic treaty.

The Antarctic treaty consultative parties met in Paris in May in preparation for the XV Antarctic treaty consultative meeting in October. A full agenda for the ATCM was provisionally adopted. Items for discussion will include comprehensive measures for the protection of the Antarctic environment, marine pollution, promotion of international scientific co-operation, Antarctic tourism, charting of Antarctic waters, and air safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his discussions with Sir Peter Walters, chairman of BP about their mining operation in the Brazilian rain forest.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) of 26 June, at column 287. My officials are in contact with BP on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government are taking to stop (a) BP and (b) other British companies contributing to the destruction of rain forests around the world.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development will be visiting Brazil including the Amazon region from 4–9 July. During his visit he will be discussing with Brazilian Ministers and officials our efforts to identify effective ways of helping them with a wide range of environmental problems including rainforest conservation. He will also be meeting representatives of British companies operating in Brazil with whom he hopes to discuss their role in environmental protection.The hon. Member will he aware of recent media reports alleging involvement by United Kingdom companies in rain forest destruction. We are studying these, but I understand that the companies, including BP, claim that these press reports contain important errors of fact, and that they themselves operate significant environmental protection programmes in their projects in Brazil.More generally, Britain is a leading supporter of the tropical forestry action plan and the International Tropical Timber Organisation which aim to help countries conserve their forests and manage them sustainably.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his officials will attend the congress of the Universal Postal Union in Washington DC in the current year; and what percentage of these would normally be employed in Her Britannic Majesty's embassy at Washington DC.

The British delegation will consist largely of officials from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Post Office. It is anticipated that there will be one representative from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. As this is a major international conference taking place in Washington, we expect that there will be some involvement on the part of embassy staff, depending on requirements as they arise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in the last five years in China.

We have made a number of representations about human rights to the Chinese authorities over the last five years, but the precise information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in the last five years in Brazil.

In November 1988 I discussed allegations in Amnesty International's report entitled "Brazil, Authorized Violence in Rural Areas" with the then Brazilian Justice Minister. I refer to the answer given on this subject by my hon. Friend the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Ms. Walley) on 21 April 1989, at columns 313–14.We have not otherwise made any representations to the Brazilians on human rights since democracy was restored in 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights and the use of torture in the last five years in the United States of America.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement setting out the powers which are available to member states if they consider that the Commission has presented directives which are outside the competence of the Commission and the Community, or if the directive is presented on the basis of majority voting without good reasons; and if he will list the occasions on which Her Majesty's Government have made use of these powers.

Proposals requiring unanimity may be defeated by a single vote against. Those requiring a qualified majority may be defeated by a blocking minority of 23 votes, or amended by unanimity. In addition, member states may challenge measures, after adoption, in the European Court of Justice. The United Kingdom has challenged the Council in the court over treaty base issues for hormone growth producers in animals (1986); minimum standards for battery hens (1986); youth training (1988) and COMETT II (1989).

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is the United Kingdoms Government's intention to accept in the future any of the articles of the Council of Europe's social charter which currently rejects articles 2(1), 4(3), 7(1), 7(4), 7(7), 8(2), 12(2), 12(3) and 12(4).

I have been asked to reply.At the present time the Government have no plans to accept articles 2(1), 4(3), 7(1), 7(4), 7(7), 8(2), 12(2), 12(3) and 12(4) of the Council of Europe's European social charter. However, the situation is kept under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in the Official Report all those programmes or schemes for research, development, co-operation or exchange of information on associated activity for which financial provision is made within the current budget of the European Economic Community, listed under the relevant Department of the United Kingdom Government with official title, or where allocated, an acronym, and showing for each project the date of its inception, the authorisation and amounts of funding and the principal participants or beneficiaries within the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 6 June 1989]: I have been asked to reply.The Community's 1987–91 framework programme for research and development covers several areas of R and D. The Cabinet Office is responsible for overall co-ordination of the United Kingdom's interests in the framework programme, while individual Departments are responsible for United Kingdom interest in specific sub-programmes. I represent Her Majesty's Government at meetings of the Community Council of Ministers (Research) at which the implementation of the framework programme is agreed. A wide range of research co-operation, exchanges of information and associated activity also takes place outside the framework programme. The information requested is therefore not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.A breakdown of R and D programmes within the framework programme is as follows. Of the programmes listed, seven (radiation protection, FLAIR, MAST, DOSES, MONITOR, VALUE and an extension to EUROTRA) were adopted at the most recent Research Council on 20 June. The Council also adopted common positions on a further four programmes (which will probably be formally adopted before the end of the yeas):

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research projects have been initiated by his Department in line with the recommendations in the road traffic law review which he accepted.

The Home Office is undertaking a study of how traffic policing resources are organised and targeted. We hope to undertake a research project on the level of driving while disqualified later this year or early next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which public relations firms his Department has employed and at what cost, for each year since 1979.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that members of the Iranian embassy are not involved in financing or assisting in any way organised violence connected with the campaign centred on the book "The Satanic Verses"; and if he will make a statement.

Iran closed its embassy in London and withdrew all its diplomats on 28 February 1989 at the Government's request, following the threats issued by the Iranian leadership to the lives of Mr. Salmon Rushdie and his publishers. The Government have made it plain that the promotion of organised violence in the United Kingdom will not be tolerated, and all necessary measures will continue to be taken against it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask for a report from the chief constable of West Yorkshire police on the rioting during and following a meeting organised by the Council of Mosques in Bradford on Saturday 17 June, and in particular whether any Iranian students were involved on an organised basis in the disruption, and the level of policing available from the start of the meeting at 11 am, and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the chief constable of West Yorkshire police that around 3,000 Moslems, including, it is believed, a small number of Iranian students, took part in the demonstration. The organisers and stewards co-operated fully with the police and the meeting itself was conducted in an orderly manner. After the meeting some 200 youths ran through the centre of Bradford jostling bystanders and causing some damage to cars and other property. A small number of police officers and members of the public were hurt. At the meeting there were initially six officers present with larger numbers in reserve nearby. During the disturbances lasting around 90 minutes some 200 police officers were deployed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now introduce legislation to repeal the law relating to blasphemy; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to change the law on blasphemy.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many samples of freebase cocaine or crack have been submitted to the forensic science laboratories and the laboratory of the Government chemist in each of the last three years.

In 1986, 1987 and 1988 there were zero, five and 15 samples confirmed as crack submitted to these laboratories. A further 12 samples have been confirmed as crack in the first five months of this year. In addition over the same three-year period five, seven and 13 samples had features of crack with a further 10 identified this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what in each of the last three years for which figures are available, have been the number of deaths in which cocaine in any form has been a cause or contributory factor.

The Home Office collects information on the deaths by overdose of drug misusers. The number of such deaths in which cocaine in any form was recorded as a cause or contributory factor in the three years to 31 December 1987, the latest for which figures are available, is given in the following table:

	Number
1985	1
1986	7
1987	9

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will place a document in the Library listing by name all the medical and scientific authorities on whom he relies for his statements about the harmful effects of crack, the smokeable, base-form of cocaine.

"Drug Misuse—a basic briefing" prepared by the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependency includes, among the harmful effects of cocaine, the following: misusers may develop a strong psychological dependence; misuse can lead to an extreme state of agitation, anxiety, paranoia and perhaps hallucination; continued misuse may cause a state of mind similar to paranoid psychosis; although rare, excessive doses can cause death from respiratory or heart failure. It also states that smoking cocaine is a more potent method of administration than "snorting" and that the effects are felt more immediately. I am placing a copy of the booklet in the Library.Cocaine smoked in the form of crack is a recent phenomenon, but experience from the United States suggests that because crack acts more rapidly it poses a much greater risk of addiction. The ministerial group on the misuse of drugs has instituted a review of the available medical and scientific literature on the effects of crack.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to establish from the European Commission whether the directive on the harmonisation of conditions of residence, as proposed in the Community "Charter for Fundamental Social Rights" Com. 89–248-final, will fall to be presented to the Council on the basis of majority voting.

The voting arrangements for a particular proposal depend on the substance of the proposal and on the specific article(s) of the treaty of Rome, as amended by the Single European Act, appropriate to this. Until a draft proposal is agreed by the Commission it is not possible to know on which article the Commission will be basing its proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has reached his decisions on the recommendations contained in the report of the Police Complaints Authority "Triennial Review 1985–1988.

Yes. I announced on 14 November 1988 that a consultation document on the recommendations was being sent to the police representative bodies, the local authority associations, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police Complaints Authority. The document was also being made available to anyone else on request. I have given further consideration to the recommendations in the light of the comments received.I have decided to accept 11 of the authority's recommendations in whole or in part.Of these 11 recommendations, three have been or will be dealt with by administrative action by my Department as follows:I intend that recommendation (4) should be met by making available to the authority information which chief officers currently supply to Her Majesty's chief inspectorate of constabulary.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultation document on summer time arrangements is to be published.

A Green Paper entitled 'Summer Time—A Consultation Document', Cm. 722, is published by HMSO today. The document seeks views on three options for future summer time arrangements with a closing date for responses of 29 September 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to review the operation of the extended fixed penalty system introduced on 1 October 1986 under the provisions of part III of the Transport Act 1982, now part III of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988; and if he will make a statement.

A working group comprising representatives of the Home Office, Department of Transport, the police service and the courts was formed early in 1988 to review the operation of the extended penalty system. I have received its report, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received the report of the war crimes inquiry; and whether he intends to publish it.

I have received the inquiry's report. I am examining it, first with a view to publication subject to the need to avoid prejudicing the position of individuals or any proceedings which might take place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of pilot schemes for integration between jobcentres and unemployment benefit offices.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 10 May, at column 441.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the changes in the planned figures for his Department's expenditure for 1989–90 and subsequent years in Cm. 607 from the plans for those years in Cm. 288; and for what reasons.

The plans for the years 1989–90 and 1990–91 in Cm. 607 show a decrease of £232 million and £340 million respectively from the plans in Cm. 288. This was mainly because the rapid growth in the economy and fall in unemployment allowed a decrease in planned expenditure on employment and training programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the reasons for any differences between the 1988–89 public expenditure plans for his Department published in Cm. 288 and the latest 1988–89 estimated outturn; and how much of any increase is attributable to use of the Reserve.

The estimated outturn for 1988–89 is 22 per cent. lower than the 1988–89 public expenditure plans published in Cm. 288. This is due mainly to training volumes being lower than planned for adult and youth training because of the rapid growth of the economy and decrease in unemployment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what new commitments have been undertaken which will involve spending by his Department after 1991–92 since the publication of Cm. 288.

Since the publication of Cm. 288 the Department has entered into the following new commitments which will involve spending in the years after 1991–92: Employment training, business growth training, training and enterprise councils, compacts, enterprise in higher education and Seville expo 92. In addition, as announced in the Official Report, 27 October 1988, column 318, from 1 April 1990 the Health and Safety Commission will take over the Department of Energy's responsibility for contracting research programmes related to the safety of established thermal nuclear power stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the guidelines for programmes under the European social fund for the next three years will be available to local authorities.

The European Commission published its guidelines concerning European social fund intervention in respect of action against long-term unemployment and occupational integration of young people in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 24 February 1989. My Department circulated these guidelines, the new European social fund regulations and its own guidance to all past fund applicants and representatives of the local authority associations on 11 April 1989. My Department also circulated to them on 21 June 1989 its own guidance on how to complete the European Commission's form for operational programmes, "Application For Assistance From The European Social Fund".

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of unfilled vacancies and the unemployment figure in Doncaster and Mexborough, for April of each year from 1979 to 1989.

The following is the available information, which is also in the Library. The table shows the number of unfilled vacancies at jobcentres covering the area most closely corresponding to the Doncaster travel-to-work area, together with the number of unemployed claimants in the Doncaster travel-to-work area, for April of each year from 1984 to 1989. Unemployment figures are affected by changes in the coverage of the count. Corresponding figures for 1979 to 1983 are not available.

Unemployment and unfilled vacancies in Doncaster travel-to-work area for April 1984 to 1989
	Number of unemployed claimants	Number of unfilled vacancies
1984	18,555	1156
1985	19,575	1128
1986	21,897	178
1987	20,692	352
1988	17,491	382
1989	13,327	462
1 Number of unfilled vacancies given are for the month of March as April data are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the training schemes sponsored by his Department, the total numbers targeted for those schemes, the actual numbers attending, the costs, and the payments made to trainees in each of the last five years.

Figures for total numbers targeted and payments made to trainees can be calculated only at disproportionate cost.The following table shows the numbers of people in Great Britain who started on an adult or youth training scheme, sponsored by the Training Agency (formerly Training Commission, formerly Manpower Services Commission), for each year from 1984–85 to 1988–89 and the cost.

F/Y ended March	Adult Training (000's)	Cost £ million	YTS (000's)	Cost £ million
1985	183	265·2	397	780·7
1986	328	261·9	406	809·8
1987	534	302·8	420	861·0
1988	619	341·5	398	991·0
11989	640	626·3	397	993·8
1 Starts for 1988–89 are subject to revision and costs figures have not been audited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what response he has made to the Confederation of British Industry industrial trends survey suggesting a shortage of skilled labour;(2) what response he has made to the survey published by the Institute of Directors suggesting nearly half the companies questioned said it had become more difficult to recruit skilled employees.

I am aware of the results of these surveys. The Government are continuing to encourage employers to define and tackle their own skill needs particularly through the introduction of training and enterprise councils and business growth training. The Government are also helping young people and the unemployed to learn new skills through YTS and employment training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will seek to establish from the European Commission whether the directives on a minimum wage, on trade union rights, on employee participation and on holiday entitlement and rest period for part time workers as proposed in the "Community charter for fundamental social rights" Com. 89–248-final, will fall to be presented to the Council on the basis of majority voting.

The voting arrangements for a particular proposal depend on the substance of the proposal and on the specific article(s) of the Treaty of Rome, as amended by the Single European Act, appropriate to this. Until a draft proposal is agreed by the Commission it is not possible to know on which article the Commission will be basing its proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much public money from the Training Agency has been given to the Council for Social Aid, Manchester, and on what dates.

[holding answer 26 June 1989]: Money advanced by the Training Agency to the Council for Social Aid was in accordance with the terms of the council's contract with the Training Agency. The precise terms of this contract are confidential to the parties involved.