To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has received any representations on reported incidents between fishing boats and submarines; and if he will make a statement.

Letters have been received from fishermen's organisations and other interested individuals about a number of incidents in which submarines are alleged to have been involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances he is prepared to release details of the whereabouts of United Kingdom or allies' submarines on operational duty.

It would not be in the national interest, or in the interests of our allies, to disclose such information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement on his proposals for the development and deployment of an attack helicopter for the armed forces.

I have nothing to add to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Stroud on 7 February 1989 at column 669.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all exercises involving operations of B52 aircraft from bases in the United Kingdom that have taken place, or are scheduled to take place, during 1989, including exercise names, duration of each exercise, bases used and which units the aircraft are from.

So far this year, the United States Air Force B52 aircraft have deployed to stations in the United Kingdom as follows:

Date	Exercise	Station	Unit
17–21 April	Busy Warrior	RAF Fairford	42 Bomb Wing, Loring AFB, Maine.
21–30 June	Joint Maritime Course	RAF Mildenhall	42, Bomb Wing, Loring AFB, Maine.

A further deployment to RAF Fairford of B52 aircraft participating in a Busy Warrior exercise is planned to take place from 31 August to 20 September 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list those aircraft types that are currently in operational service with the United States Air Force at bases in the United Kingdom which are not classed as combat aircraft;(2) if he will list those aircraft types that are currently in operational service with the United States Air Force at bases in the United Kingdom which are classed as combat aircraft;(3) if he will list those aircraft types that are currently in operational service with the Royal Air Force which are classed as combat aircraft;(4) what assessment he has made of the effect on the Royal Air Force of the proposed reductions in the number of land-based combat aircraft in the Atlantic-to-Urals zone announced at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit of 29–30 May if dual-capable aircraft were not included;(5) what assessment he has made of the effect on the Royal Air Force and the Army Air Corps of the proposed reductions in the numbers of helicopters and land-based combat aircraft in the Atlantic-to-Urals zone announced at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit of 29–30 May.

Details of numbers and types of combat aircraft belonging to NATO and Warsaw pact forces will be found on paper 27–28 of NATO's publication "Conventional Forces in Europe: The Facts", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. NATO is now in the process of refining this information for use in the conventional armed forces in Europe (CFE) negotiations in Vienna. It is too early to say what might be the effect on the United Kingdom's armed forces of any reductions in combat aircraft and helicopters agreed at the CFE talks. The national contributions towards such reductions, in these as in other areas, would be a matter for collective NATO decisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the exercise of F111 aircraft of the United States Air Force, normally based at Cannon air force base, New Mexico, at Boscombe Down airfield, Wiltshire, including exercise name, duration, number of aircraft involved and details of similar exercises in 1980, 1983 and 1986.

The exercise referred to is Coronet Diamond. I will write to the hon. Member with the further details that he requests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his answers regarding deterioration of safety margins and reduced manoeuvrability of F111 aircraft on take off from RAF Upper Heyford apply to the EF-111 aircraft stationed there.

Concern about declining safety margins which led to the change of flight paths at RAF Upper Heyford in June 1988 arose in relation to the Fl11E aircraft stationed at the base. However, for reasons of safety and air traffic control, all aircraft at the base now use the modified take-off pattern.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the current locations of the reactor and the reactor compartment from HMS Dreadnought; and how long they have been at their present locations.

The de-fuelled reactor of Dreadnought is inside the reactor compartment, which remains an integral part of the submarine. Dreadnought has been berthed at Rosyth naval base since 1983.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide his latest estimate for the total cost of the improved United Kingdom air defence ground environment when completed.

The estimated cost of the complete IUKADGE programme at current prices is £500 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the current IUKADGE/ICCS will be able to fully integrate the RAF's link 16 requirement; and if he will make a statement.

All the indications to date suggest that it will be possible to achieve full integration of link 16 into IUKADGE to meet the RAF's requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department had about the possibility of purchasing intellectual property rights associated with the improved United Kingdom air defence ground environment; and if he will summarise the details of these discussions including the price asked for those rights by their current holders.

It is not our practice to reveal details of commercially confidential negotiations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current assumption of the date upon which the improved United Kingdom air defence ground environment will be fully operational in service.

We expect that the IUKADGE will be fully operational in the early 1990s.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest estimate of the likely annual software maintenance costs in relation to IUKADGE.

The latest estimate of the likely annual software maintenance cost of IUKADGE, when the system is fully operational, is £5 million to £6 million. Much of the maintenance of this software will be carried out by the Royal Air Force using in-service resources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any decision has been made to go ahead with either TRIAD or a deep integration solution in respect of IUKADGE-ICCS; and if he will make a statement.

Studies into alternative ways of integrating new data-link systems into IUKADGE are not yet complete. Once the final results have been received they will require extensive evaluation before decisions can be taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) the Hughes Corporation, (b) Plessey, (c) Marconi, (d) IUKADGE Systems Ltd. or (e) any other private interest retains intellectual property rights in connection with IUKADGE; and if he will make a statement.

Information concerning ownership of IPR associated with IUKADGE is commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the reply of 13 June, Official Report, column 400, what was the date of the first correspondence from Her Majesty's Government dealing with the Malaysian arms sales package that also mentioned overseas aid.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence first wrote to the Malaysian Finance Minister on 28 June 1988 advising him that it would not be acceptable to Her Majesty's Government to link overseas aid to the arms package.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated cost of answering each of the questions from the hon. Member for Coventry South-East, due for answer on 17 May and not given a substantive answer on 3 July, Official Report, column 31; if he will outline the detailed investigations undertaken; what was the cost of answering each of the previous questions from the hon. Member for Coventry South-East of a similar nature to those at column 31; and if he will make a statement.

This question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to seek arrangements with the Soviet Union for the reciprocal friendly visit of United Kingdom and Soviet nuclear-capable ships to each other's ports, following a similar arrangement between the United States navy and the Soviet navy.

The Government welcome exchange visits by Royal Navy and Soviet warships as part of an increasing programme of United Kingdom-Soviet contacts. The choice of vessel must, however, depend upon a number of factors, in particular ship availability at the time of any projected visit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women aged 60 years currently have been excluded from receiving a full retirement pension because their years of work between the ages of 14 and 16 were not taken into account; and if he will make a statement.

It is not possible to identify whether there are any women who would have received a full basic retirement pension if they had paid national insurance contributions between 14 and 16 years of age. Prior to 1948, under the National Health Insurance and Contributory Pensions Acts, the earliest date from which an employee could be compulsorily insured for pension purposes was from the date of his/her 16th birthday. Prior to age 16, contributions were payable only for medical cover.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what basis he estimates that 9,000,000 people will be eligible to receive poll tax rebates; what action he intends for a take-up campaign to encourage those who believe they are eligible for rebates to apply; and how the campaign will be funded.

The estimates of the numbers of people expected to receive community charge rebate that were published last summer were based on the benefit rates then current and the then most recent forecasts of community charge levels, and took account of the best demographic and financial information available at the time. Revised estimates will be published in due course when more up-to-date information is available. The Government have already made available publicity on rebates in the form of free leaflets and booklets, and are taking every opportunity to publicise the need to claim. The need for additional publicity is being kept under close review. The normal arrangements for the funding of Government information apply. In addition, it is expected that publicity campaigns will be mounted by local authorities and by certain other bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is taking to inform people that the onus is on the individuals who believe they are eligible for poll tax rebates to apply for rebates; and in what languages this advice will be issued.

Local authorities in England and Wales will be able to treat people who are already receiving housing benefit as having claimed community charge benefit. The Department will write to everyone on income support who has not claimed housing benefit with a community charge benefit claim form. The Government are issuing publicity material, in English, drawing attention to the need to claim community charge benefit. In Wales this publicity material is being issued also in Welsh. The leaflet "Which Benefit?", which refers to community charge rebates in Scotland and to community charge benefit, is now being translated into seven Asian languages,and these will be available soon. The pamphlets and leaflets issued by the Department of the Environment, which include advice on claiming community charge benefit, are also being translated into other languages. Local authorities are also expected to publicise the need to claim community charge benefit, and are well placed to assess the need in their area for publicity material in languages other than English.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has any plans to change the rule that attendance allowance is to be disregarded by local authorities when assessing a person's ability to pay home help charges, as stated in DHSS circular 53/71.

I have been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the additional powers which the proposed financial regulation (10449/88) proposes to give to the European Commission.

[holding answer 19 June 1989]: The Commission's proposed reform of the financial regulation incorporates revisions which allow the Commission to

(i) decide all transfers of differentiated payment appropriations in the Commission's section of the budget;

(ii) decide transfers between chapters 29 (export refunds in connection with food aid) and 92 (food aid) of part IIIB of the budget;

(iii) implement all of the Community's rights and obligations in ecu;

(iv) prescribe implementing rules to impose penalties, in the form of interest payments, following advances and other payments from the Community Budget which fall to be repaid; and take decisions on the reuse of such advances;

(v) reuse the proceeds of the sale of buildings;

(vi) decide, under implementing rules and after consulting all other institutions, on various monetary amounts connected with contracts (amounts hitherto specified in the financial regulation);

(vii) prescribe implementing rules for the use of electronic management and accounting systems;

(viii) prescribe implementing rules applicable to the accounting officer and assistant accounting officers;

(ix) prescribe implementing rules relating to the award of contracts, the keeping of inventories, the system of accounts and imprest accounting, all in connection with Community staff serving outside the Community.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement explaining the operation of the proposals made by the European Commission to empower offices of the Commission to impose penalties on member states for the misuse of EEC funds; and if Her Majesty's Government will seek to secure a procedure of independent appeal to consider complaints against such decisions taken and such fines imposed by the Commission.

[holding answer 19 June 1989]: The Commission already has powers under which it can reclaim from member states certain payments which have been incorrectly made. If my hon. Friend has in mind a particular legislative proposal involving the imposition of penalties by the Commission, I should be happy to provide, or arrange for, a more specific answer.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the publicly available sources of information on the exchange equalisation account.

The exchange equalisation account holds the United Kingdom's official reserves, figures for which are published in table 17.1 of the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin and in table 10.3 of Financial Statistics. Information on reserves changes is also published each month by the Treasury as part of the reserves press notice. Historical material relating to the exchange equalisation account is released in accordance with the Public Records Acts 1958 and 1967.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when an order will be laid bringing into effect his proposal to increase from £100 to £150 the maximum monthly savings limit on an individual employee's contributions under an approved savings-related share option scheme.

I propose that the Treasury Order should be laid as soon as possible after Royal Assent to the Finance Bill and should bring into force the new £150 limit from 1 September 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to reply to the letter from Mr. Brian Hosie, a prisoner in Her Majesty's prison, Shotts, dated 8 March.

A reply was sent to him on 6 July. I regret that Mr. Hosie has had to wait so long for a reply to his representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the introduction of Business Watch crime prevention schemes; and if he will make a statement.

None. We are pleased that local busines communities are now joining the police and other local agencies to help make business premises and industrial estates less vulnerable to crime. We are quite sure that visible efforts to reduce crime can help bring back confidence and create a climate sympathetic to enterprise.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received any representations on the length of time it takes to process the applications of prison officers to buy the homes provided with their service.

In the two years since prison officers have been able to buy their homes under the prison service discount scheme, more than 4,000 applications have been received and nearly 3,000 properties have been sold. Although extra staff were provided to deal with these applications, the sheer volume caused some delays, particularly in the conveyancing of the properties, and a number of representations have been received about these.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of inmates in Wandsworth prison on 29 June.

A total of 1,548 prisoners were unlocked at Her Majesty's prison Wandsworth on that day.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 13 June, Official Report, columns 367–8, to the hon. Member for Woolwich, when he will have finished considering the report of the efficiency scrutiny of the section 11 grant scheme under the Local Government Act 1986; and when he will be publishing the report.

The report of the scrutiny into grants under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 was published on 3 July. Copies of the report were placed in the Library.The report contains a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of section 11 grant. We are considering further those recommendations with a view to improving the important service that the grant provides in enabling Britain's ethnic minorities to overcome barriers to their full involvement in the mainstream of national life.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to establish a passport office to serve all the needs of the whole of Wales.

There are no present plans to do so. As I indicated on 14 June in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, North-West (Dr. Hampson) at column 462, we shall be reviewing the location and number of the regional passport offices later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will take a decision on the application made by Mrs. Sakina Jan, passport No. C813895, visa No. A/G106164, Heathrow reference JE/289/632 on 25 September 1987 to be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom; and why applications for permanent stay made by her representative dated 25 September 1987, 20 December 1988 and 19 May 1989 have, to date, not been answered.

I regret that owing to administrative errors, the correspondence relating to Mrs. Sakina Jan's application was misfiled and action was not taken. The correspondence has now been traced and the immigration department is writing to Mrs. Jan's solicitors. The case will be given priority and dealt with as quickly as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of his Department towards allowing the wives and children of the Chinese students now studying in the United Kingdom to be granted a visa to join them during their studies; and if he will make a statement.

Under the immigration rules the wife and children under 18 of a student should be given leave to enter for the period of his authorised stay if they can be maintained and accommodated without recourse to public funds. Applications should be made overseas for prior entry clearance, and each case will be looked at in the light of its particular circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to grant to Chinese students who obtain extension of stay in the United Kingdom temporary work permits to enable them to support themselves and any dependants.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 26 June to the question from the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) at column 324.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the cost of his present publicity campaign in the schools against vandalism.

In March 1989, the Department launched the video "Schoolwatch". Total costs to the Department, up to the end of June 1989, to make, distribute and market the video were £75,600. Municipal Mutual Insurance contributed a further £40,000 to this joint venture.There is an additional ongoing cost to the Department in meeting the cost of CFL Vision making the video available to borrowers on a free loan basis. To the end of June 1989 the cost of financing free borrowings of the video was £6,300.On 6 July 1989, Building Bulletin 69 "Crime prevention in schools: specification, installation and maintenance of intruder alarm systems" was published by HMSO. The cost to the Department of buying in copies to distribute to local education authorities is £2,100.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions his Department had with the teachers' unions on how information as to attainment targets within the national curriculum are to be made available to teachers responsible for the implementation of the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has distributed free copies of the statutory orders for mathematics, science and English in sufficient numbers to allow one for each teacher in primary and special schools, and for each subject specialist in secondary schools. LEAs were invited to estimate the numbers they required on this basis. An advance instalment was sent direct to each school; the remaining copies were delivered to LEAs for them to arrange distribution to schools. There was no need to discuss these arrangements with the teachers' unions; they were publicised well in advance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information regarding the national curriculum is to be made available on computer disk; and if he will make a statement.

The attainment targets and programmes of study for mathematics and science are already on the national educational resources information service computer system (NERIS), which is available direct to schools or as part of other systems. The attainment targets and programmes of study for English key stage 1 are being put on NERIS now. Additionally, the data is available on a compact disk (a CD-ROM) and NERIS is looking at the possibility of making the data available in other computer disk formats. It is also possible for schools to transfer the material, a key stage at a time, on to their own floppy disks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements have been made to scrutinise overseas applicants for teaching jobs in Britain; and what measures are being taken to ensure that such applicants have not been found guilty of child abuse in their own country.

Applications for qualified teacher status in England and Wales from teachers trained overseas are at present considered by the Department under paragraph 2(b) of schedule 5 to the Education (Teachers) Regulations 1982. Status is accorded in those cases where the course of initial teacher training undertaken was comparable to an approved course of initial teacher training for school teachers available in England and Wales at the same time. Beyond that the question of a person's suitability for appointment is a matter for the local education authority and/or the governing body of the school or establishment concerned, and there are no separate arrangements for scrutinising the background of overseas applicants.The employment of teachers in Scotland and in Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when his Department will give approval to the application for the provision of nursery education at St. Paul's Roman Catholic primary school, Greenfields, Birkenhead.

My right hon. Friend approved the proposal on 30 June 1989.

To ask the Attorney-General how many immigration appeals are currently waiting to be heard in Scotland.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 4 July at column 113.

To ask the Attorney-General what measures he is taking to ensure that current delays in respect of immigration appeal hearings in Scotland are minimised.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 4 July at column 113.

To ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what plans there are to provide a summer uniform for the House's Doorkeepers; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for the Serjeant at Arms and I have asked him to consider this proposal.

To ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission has considered the document, "Working for a Healthier Future—an Employers' Guide to the Look After Your Heart Campaign", a copy of which has been sent to him; and what action is being taken to implement its recommendations in the Palace of Westminster.

The Commission has not yet had an opportunity to consider the document, but it has an obvious continuing interest in maintaining healthy standards in the House for Members and all staff. In that respect it has approved several projects such as a medical surveillance scheme for Members; the appointment of a nursing sister; the retention on a part-time basis of a medical consultant; the retention of a nutritional adviser by the Refreshment Department; the introduction of a

Scheme	Statute	Objectives	Total grant £
Mental Handicap Strategy	NHS Act 1977 s23	Promote/develop support services for independent living	240,803
Regional Service Development	NHS Act 1977 s23	Encourage organ donation	18,234
Miscellaneous Central Supplies	NHS Act 1977 s23	Mountain Rescue voluntary organisations equipment	4,041
Joint Finance/Care in the Community	NHS Act 1977 s28A	Collaboration between Health and Local Authorities and voluntary organisations	197,870
Elderly Initiative	NHS Act 1977 ss28A & 28B & Health Services & Public Health Act 1968 s64	Demonstation projects to develop care of the elderly	5,682
Regional Service Development	Health Services & Public Health Act 1968 s64	Disabled driver assessment	3,008
Drug & Alcohol Misuse	Health Services & Public Health Act 1968 s64	Initiatives for prevention education and training	103,801

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many eye tests have taken place in Wales (a) in total and (b) for pensioners in each of the years 1986, 1987, 1988 and to the latest available date; and if he will make a statement.

The numbers of National Health Service sight tests paid for by family practitioner committees in Wales are given in the table. Information on tests paid for privately and on sight tests for pensioners is not available centrally.

Period	Number of tests
1986	623,088
1987	651,175
11988	522,963
1 (First three quarters only).

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those voluntary bodies, organisations and projects assisted by his Department with grant aid in the financial year 1987–88, together with the amount and the statutory provision under which the grant was allocated.

I regret that full details of all voluntary bodies, organisations and projects receiving grant aid could be extracted from records of major schemes only at disporportionate cost, but the table shows the total grant paid to the voluntary sector under each scheme and relevant statute.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will publish the document "Social Progress: the United Kingdom's Record", which was circulated at the Madrid conference.

Copies of the document were made available to members of the press at the time of the conference and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library.

To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost to public funds of producing the document, "Social Progress: the United Kingdom's Record", which was circulated at the Madrid conference.

So far, 1,000 copies of the document have been printed at a cost of £1,430.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the 148 European Community directives which have not been implemented by Her Majesty's Government.

The Commission has been asked to provide a list. When this is available it will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has been making to the Government of China on the subject of human rights.

We have made a number of representations about human rights in China in recent years. As regards the most recent events, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said in his statement to the House on 6 June that he had summoned the Chinese chargé d'affaires on 5 June to make it clear to him that the British Government and people deeply deplored the action of the Chinese authorities in suppressing the democratic aspirations of the Chinese people. Representations have also been made on behalf of all EC members.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received regarding the admission of Hong Kong British passport holders to Britain.

We have received many such representations, both here and in Hong Kong, including during the recent visit by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet or exchange views with Mr. Jonas Savimbi of UNITA.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans to meet Mr. Savimbi at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received calling for Her Majesty's Government to protest to the Government of China about the repression of Tibetan nationals; and if he will make a statement.

Among the many representations we have received about China since the recent appalling events there, some have focused on the situation in Tibet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to seek to ensure that schools, including United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools in the West Bank and Gaza strip, are reopened and educational activity allowed to resume unhindered.

We have repeatedly made clear our view that Israel's security concerns do not justify the closure of schools. We have called on the Israeli authorities, most recently in the European Council declaration on the middle east on 27 June, to allow the schools to reopen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the financial assistance available to (a) Palestinian and (b) Israeli students who wish to study in the United Kingdom; and what numbers of students are involved.

Both Israeli students and Palestinian students from the occupied territories are eligible for financial support to study in the United Kingdom under the following award schemes which we fund:

(i) the FCO scholarships and awards scheme (FCOSAS);

(ii) the overseas research students awards scheme (ORSAS) funded by the Department of Education and Science; and

(iii) the British Council's fellowships programme.

In addition, Palestinian students are also supported under the ODA's technical co-operation and training programme (TCTP).In 1988–89 a total of 63 Israelis and 94 Palestinians from the occupied territories were studying in the United Kingdom and sponsored by us.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Spanish presidency of the European Community.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in her statement on 29 June on the European Council, we congratulate the Spanish Government on their presidency, during which a record 68 single market measures were agreed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what ways Her Majesty's Government are encouraging the countries of central America to resolve their problems within the framework of the Esquipulas II peace process.

We have consistently supported efforts to promote a peaceful negotiated settlement to the various conflicts in central America, and in all our bilateral and multilateral contacts with the Governments involved we urge the need for full implementation of the Esquipulas II and subsequent agreements. We also take an active part in the efforts of the Twelve to encourage dialogue and regional integration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements exist between Her Majesty's Government and Israel for the exchange of nuclear technology.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on the future of Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has received no recent representations about the future of Gibraltar. Our consideration of Gibraltar's future is governed by the commitment, renewed by successive Governments, that we would never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to meet the Spanish Foreign Secretary.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs regularly meets the Spanish Foreign Minister at a variety of European Community, NATO and other multilateral meetings. In addition, the two Foreign Ministers meet bilaterally from time to time and hold an annual meeting to discuss Gibraltar-related issues, as part of the Brussels process. The next such meeting is due to take place in Madrid before the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is able to give details of (a) disaster management training programmes for staff within the Overseas Development Administration and (b) the numbers of staff now qualified in these areas.

With the exception of a new staff member, the other three staff in the Overseas Development Administration's disaster unit are widely experienced in disaster response administration. We have recently increased practical and on-the-job training including short, working attachments to the office of the United Nations disaster relief co-ordinator in Geneva and to the United States office of emergency disaster assistance in Washington. The scope for external training is under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of plantation developments funded by the Overseas Development Administration.

The information is not readily available. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development will write to the hon. Member shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of redundancies in the shipbuilding and ship repair industries in Northern Ireland since 1 January 1984.

The total number of redundancies during this period at Harland and Wolff was some 2,600.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, whether any recent surveys have been undertaken or funded by the Government on the relationship between the unemployment rate and the suicide rate.

None has been undertaken by or for my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any evidence of a causal link between unemployment and suicide.

No.

Action plans completed by ET training agents: September 1988 to May 1989
	Agreed action plans
	September 1988	October 1988	November 1988	December 1988	January 1989	February 1989	March 1989	April 1989	May 1989
GREAT BRITAIN	30,836	41,824	47,531	39,186	47,511	51,846	53,338	43,831	38,943
South East Region
Berkshire and Oxfordshire	242	798	0	922	514	450	418	394	289
Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire	219	294	763	411	429	520	500	523	431
Essex	227	550	525	1,051	632	748	989	811	555
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	411	487	679	409	717	670	772	690	538
Kent	32	610	1,159	488	714	652	596	509	484
Surrey	102	223	174	615	190	0	196	188	169
Sussex	0	682	900	470	555	652	695	603	525
London Region
Inner London North	505	1,196	1,545	1,606	1,651	1,799	2,090	1,626	1,595
Inner London South	510	655	616	539	645	718	736	498	420
London East	793	735	805	670	972	1,117	1,092	734	743
London North	732	857	935	846	858	970	996	820	726
London South	280	320	479	340	423	542	543	417	406
London West	591	867	811	676	900	912	952	383	365
South West Region
Avon	238	361	411	327	453	506	489	550	432
Devon & Cornwall	665	692	1,244	795	1,294	615	1,192	930	861
Dorset and Somerset	418	478	386	332	342	516	471	367	307
Gloucester & Wiltshire	357	546	560	433	390	479	536	480	442
West Midlands Region
Birmingham & Solihull	935	1,026	1,201	756	1,553	1,685	1,382	1,471	1,177
Coventry & Warwickshire	378	617	576	322	638	812	748	661	524
Dudley & Sandwell	818	769	899	1,021	978	1,059	1,416	729	631
Staffordshire	541	906	434	1,145	1,128	929	1,192	764	594
The Marches, Hereford/Worcester	0	710	677	954	406	613	1,330	740	577
Wolverhampton & Walsall	0	1,055	1,913	308	706	821	754	552	463
East Midlands & Eastern Region
Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire	502	484	520	331	400	426	362	403	317
Derbyshire	704	742	743	501	582	677	743	679	531
Leicestershire & Northamptonshire	499	607	604	551	718	719	736	711	598
Lincolnshire	192	251	267	154	296	359	313	303	240
Norfolk & Suffolk	586	625	652	426	753	641	961	549	530
Nottinghamshire	602	909	853	669	937	923	851	955	786

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his reply of 22 June, Official Report, column 232, concerning trainees who have left the employment training programme, what information is available about the qualifications they obtained on their courses.

[holding answer 4 July 1989]: Information is collected by Training Agency area offices from training managers about qualifications being studied for, and those achieved. The information is presently being used for the monitoring of individual schemes, and is not aggregated to area office or national level. Comprehensive information (including results received after the trainee has left the programme) will be available in due course at national and local level from a follow-up survey of trainees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many agreed action plans have been drawn up at ET training agents on a monthly basis (a) nationally and (b) by training agency area, since September 1988.

[holding answer 3 July 1989]: The information requested is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many starts have been undertaken at ET training managers on a monthly basis (a) nationally and(b) by training agency area, since September 1988.

Starts with ET training managers: September 1988 to May 1989
	Sept. 1988	Oct. 1988	Nov. 1988	Dec. 1988	Jan. 1989	Feb. 1989	March 1989	April 1989	May 1989
Great Britain	21,462	31,083	35,213	28,867	36,698	43,946	42,157	36,313	29,953
South East Region
Berkshire and Oxfordshire	106	207	156	182	320	360	277	304	155
Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire	230	308	243	224	300	323	332	384	170
Essex	155	246	326	286	355	432	372	377	280
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	444	488	457	423	444	427	388	470	360
Kent	259	429	475	336	503	498	365	322	273
Surrey	121	131	106	68	125	88	71	113	73
Sussex	218	241	224	188	259	343	316	370	260
London Region
Inner London North	820	1,159	948	712	1,314	1,090	1,115	927	770
Inner London South	404	491	540	454	639	572	756	675	456
London East	268	382	432	329	488	453	487	381	339
London North	730	565	602	533	655	664	848	566	583
London South	116	202	216	179	404	390	295	360	216
London West	16S	258	372	198	302	263	283	177	187
South West Region
Avon	156	329	385	339	437	480	506	502	394
Devon and Cornwall	494	783	1,003	833	1,178	1,269	1,139	842	714
Dorset and Somerset	193	355	326	363	259	372	375	343	265

[holding answer 3 July 1989]: The information requested is given in the table: