To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received representations concerning the proposed sale by Black and Decker of Bostik of Leicester to Orkem.

I am not aware of having received any such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government are taking to construct satisfactory criteria to be met by all computer codes which may be used as part of the decision-making processes involving public safety.

The Government are particularly concerned to ensure that safety-related systems are constructed to satisfactory standards; the identification and apportionment of risk attributable to software within systems is part of this process. They are actively taking steps to encourage the development of suitable standards and guidelines, at both national and international levels, to be met by all systems incorporating software on which public safety may in some way depend. The work is motivated not by a recognition of particular present dangers; rather by a desire to anticipate and forestall hazards which may arise with the very rapid pace of technical change.Activity is being co-ordinated by a working group of the Interdepartmental Committee on Software Engineering (ICSE) on which all interested Government Departments are represented.The working group, drawing on expertise from outside Government, is currently devising a strategy which includes the development of a requirement for harmonised standards applicable to the civil and defence sectors. The strategy will also embrace research and development, education and training, and the encouragement of technology transfer to equip software producers for the high quality of work to be demanded. The ICSE work on safety-related software is a particular aspect of the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry to encourage

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidelines are followed when allowing firms to advertise within his departmental publication "Single Market News".

[holding answer 3 November 1989]: Advertising is accepted on normal commercial terms and in accordance with the British code of advertising practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give a breakdown of inward investment in the United Kingdom, by standard English regions and for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for each of the years 1979–80 to 1988–89 inclusive showing (a) the total number of investments, (b) the number received as a percentage of the total in each year, (c) the total number of associated jobs both new and safeguarded, (d) the number of jobs as a percentage of the total in each year and (e) the total amount of Government financial assistance provided.

[holding answer 30 October 1989]: The table sets out the number of inward investment decisions known to the invest in Britain bureau for the calendar years 1979–88, together with the value of regional selective assistance offers to foreign-owned companies in England, Scotland and Wales and the financial assistance offered in Northern Ireland to such companies. It is currently not possible to provide all the information requested on a financial year basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are (a) the most recent figures for homelessness by county and metropolitan district in England and (b). as a percentage of the population in county and metropolitan districts in England;(2) what are the most recent figures for homelessness for England and by English regions as a percentage of the population;(3) what are the most recent figures for homelessness for England, with regional breakdowns.

Figures for homelessness for non-metropolitan and metropolitan districts appear in table 7 of "Local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act: England. Results for the second quarter 1989. Supplementary Tables". This table gives the numbers of homeless acceptances and acceptances per 1,000 households for those districts which reported.The latest estimates of households accepted as homeless expressed as numbers and per 1,000 households for England and by regions appear respectively in tables 1(a) and 1(b) of the same publication. Tables 1(a) and 1(b) include estimates for non-responders.A copy of the supplementary tables is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of young people under 18 years of age who are currently homeless; and how these estimates have changed over the last three years.

[holding answer 2 November 1989]: The numbers of young people among the households accepted as homeless are not reported by local authorities and my Department has no estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department has on the length of time taken to respond to letters from hon. Members.

My Department's records of correspondence from hon. Members are stored on a computer system. The system incorporates certain basic data for each case, including the length of time taken to send a reply to each letter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is considering introducing any new schemes to promote the sale of council homes in England.

I shall be considering the experimental schemes recently announced in Scotland and Wales to enable tenants to buy their homes while deferring payment of part of the purchase price.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council homes were sold in 1988; what were the figures for five, 10 and 15 years ago; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses have been sold in the northern region since 1980.

From April 1980 to June 1989 an estimated 74,000 dwellings were sold by local authorities and new towns in the northern region.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the average (a) council home rent, (b) new town development corporation home rent, and (c) housing association rent in England.

The estimated average weekly unrebated rent for local authority dwellings in England in April 1989 was £20·62; for new town dwellings it was £21·20.For housing associations the average rent for fair rent lettings in the first half of 1989 was £26·47. Since January this year most new lettings by housing associations have been on assured tenancies but information about the rents charged under such tenancies is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Housing Corporation has been given permission to issue index-linked housing loan stock to participants in self-build schemes for rent.

The Housing Corporation and the Department are currently examining a proposition of this kind.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which body will make the final decision about the location of the European Environment Agency.

It will be for the Council of Ministers to make the final decision about the location of the European Environment Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of publicly-owned land in the northern region have been sold since 1980; and how many are still held.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Department's land register for public bodies covered by part X of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 records unused and underused land. At 30 September the register shows that in the northern region pubic bodies had disposed of 4,700 acres of such land since 1980; 10,100 acres remained on the register.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the requirements for cargo checks and physical assay of hazardous and toxic waste cargoes imported into the United Kingdom when border deregulation is implemented with the single European Market on 1 January 1993.

Controls over tranfrontier movement of hazardous wastes are based on prior notifications to the waste disposal authority responsible for the intended disposal facility and do not depend on cargo checks or assay at borders. Waste disposal authorities already have wide powers to inspect and take samples, wherever necessary, in the performance of their functions. The European Commission has accepted that after the creation of the single market controls on movements of hazardous waste between member states will still be necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much public money was spent on clearing up pollution and environmental damage resulting from the release of pollutants into the environment by industry, in each of the last 10 years for the United Kingdom as a whole; and how much of this sum was spent in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This information is not collected in the form requested. Some expenditures incurred by public undertakings in dealing with environmental pollution are published for England and Wales in my Department's digest of environmental protection and water statistics but these cover much more than clearing up.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend the community charge legislation in order to exempt from liability to pay the charge all persons who are in receipt of attendance allowance.

No, but my right hon. Friend intends to amend the legislation by order to enable anyone who is in receipt of attendance allowance, or constant attendance allowance, and who is severely mentally impaired to be exempt from the community charge. This will enable people suffering from degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease to qualify for exemption.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the letter dated 6 October from the hon. Member for Surrey, South-West (Mrs. Bottomley) to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Woodgreen relating to the Sixth Report of the Environment Committee, session 1988–89 "Disposal of Low-level Radioactive Waste at Drigg."

Yes. The text of my hon. Friend's letter is as follows:

"I was interested to see your Committee's report on the "Disposal of Low-Level Radioactive Waste at Drigg" which was published in August. I am pleased that the Committee welcomed the progress that has been made by British Nuclear Fuels plc to respond to the Committee's earlier criticisms of the Drigg operation and to implement the Committee's recommendations.

BNFL has made substantial efforts to improve the Drigg site and to reduce any environmental impact. This, and the company's commitment to further improvements, is encouraging news.

I note, however, that the Committee considers there is still some work to be done in reducing the volume of waste being sent to the site. The Department agrees and will continue to press the waste producers to reduce the volume of the waste prior to disposal".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what safeguards there are to ensure that public funds do not go to businesses or activities which cause pollution and environmental damage.

We have a legislative framework which provides systems for controlling pollution across all environmental media. We have strengthened the control of water pollution with the passage of the Water Act 1989. We propose to improve the effectiveness of other control systems with further environmental protection legislation. This framework provides the safeguard, and industrial and other activities, whether supported by public funds or not, must be regulated by these controls.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how payment is to be made to water undertakers for water taken from a public standpipe for domestic use when drought conditions exist.

There is no separate charge to domestic consumers for water taken from public standpipes erected during a period of water shortage.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report details of those sections of his Department which have been relocated in the last five years, indicating the sites to which they have been moved; whether consideration is being given to future relocation of London-based sections of his Department to sites outside London; and whether the central Borders of Scotland has been identified as a suitable area for any future moves.

Around 38 per cent. of the Department of the Environment's staff of approximately 6,000 (excluding the Property Services Agency) are already located outside London, 24 per cent. outside the south-east. The Department's eastern regional office moved from London to Bedford last year. Staff working for the newly-established Historic Royal Palaces Agency have recently moved from central London to Hampton Court palace.Information about the Department's review currently being carried out of the scope for further relocation was given in reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Beverley (Mr. Cran) on 21 July (

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council dwellings were started in England and Wales for 1988; and how many starts have occurred in 1989.

Figures of local authority and new town housebuilding starts in England appear in table 2 of my Department's press release number 577 issued on 2 November 1989, a copy of which is available in the Library.For information on Wales I refer to the hon. Member to the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement in respect of damage in Yorkshire and Humberside to sites of special scientific interest (a) at Thorne, Crowle and Goole Moors (b) Sandall Beat wood and (c) Shirley Pool.

The latest information on these sites is being assembled by the Nature Conservancy Council. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will update the table placed in the Library on 19 July illustrating the impact, in each local authority area, of a system of local government finance based on a local income tax and on a system which combines local income tax with capital value based domestic rates, making the same assumptions but reflecting his estimates of 1990–91 expenditure, standard spending assessments and aggregate external finance.

I have today placed a table in the Library showing the figures requested, consistent with the announcements my right hon. Friend made in his statement today and with the exemplications of his proposals which he has sent to local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the terms for the payment of community charge transitional relief in 1991–92 and 1992–93; and what will be the amount of relief granted.

On 11 October my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State announced in the other place details of the community charge transitional relief scheme. In 1990–91 the estimated cost of relief is £300 million. Transitional relief will be phased out over a three year period. The arrangements for future years are that in 1991–92 the amount of relief granted to an individual in 1990–91 will be reduced by 25p a week and by a further 25p in 1992–93. The cost of relief in 1991–92 is estimated to be £230 million and in 1992–93 £180 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to provide the money to local authorities to ensure that free bus travel passes are available for retired persons.

[holding answer 3 November 1989]: The main avenue for Government support for local authority services will be revenue support grant, which is in aid of services generally. It is for local authorities to decide how much to spend on any particular activity, and in particular to decide the extent to which they support concessionary fare schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met Barnsley metropolitan borough council to discuss its housing needs; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 3 November 1989]: My officials met Barnsley metropolitan borough council on 3 October 1989 to discuss the district's housing needs and the council's proposed housing investment programme. The outcome of these discussions will be taken into account when the decisions are taken on the allocation of housing resources to Barnsley for the next financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many right-to-buy applicants in each of the London boroughs were awaiting the determination of appeals to the district valuer at the most recent convenient date.

[holding answer 30 October 1989]: The following table gives the number of right to buy valuation appeals awaiting determination by district valuers at 19 October. It excludes appeals which have not yet passed to district valuers or which have recently been the subject of determination reports to the local authority and the applicant:

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the arrangements that have been made to assist overseas Governments, should they have a major nuclear accident.

The United Kingdom signed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convention on assistance in the case of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency as soon as it was opened for signature in September 1986. As at 28 September 1989 this convention had been signed by 70 states and ratified by 37 states. Copies of this convention are available in the Library (Cm. 566).We undertook, on signature, to act as if bound by the convention pending ratification which is expected to take place early next year.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will set up a special unit in Downing street to deal with the problem of child abuse.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy to announce an increase in the United Kingdom contribution to the United Nations environment programme when she addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 8 November.

I announced in March this year that the United Kingdom will increase its contribution to the United Nations environment programme to £3 million.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will appoint a Minister of the House responsible for policy relating to the textile industry; and if she will make a statement.

I am satisfied with the present arrangements.

To ask the Prime Minister why responsibility for immigration and nationality policy has been passed to a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office; and if she will make a statement.

Responsibility for immigration and nationality policy rests with the Secretary of State for the Home Department. He will be assisted in the discharge of this duty by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Lloyd). They will continue the firm and fair administration of our immigration laws.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the model transitional agreements which he has suggested as viable contractual agreements between British Coal and National Power and Power Gen to take effect after the privatisation of electricity.

Coal contracts are a matter for commercial negotiation between British Coal and the generators.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what date has now been fixed for the sale to the private sector of each component branch of the electricity supply industry; and what level of certainty he attaches to the proposed date of each such sale.

The Government are firmly committed to completing the privatisation of the industry within this Parliament. The area boards will be offered for sale in autumn 1990. The two generating companies will be offered for sale in the first half of 1991. The precise timing for this has yet to be settled.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the likely effects of electricity privatisation on levels of employment in the British coal mining industry.

The coal industry will need to ensure that its future output and prices meet the needs of its main customers including the privatised electricity generators. Employment in the industry will depend both on demand for coal and future productivity gains. It is for British Coal to determine what its manpower requirements are and how it will meet them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report details of those sections of his Department which have been relocated in the last five years, indicating the sites to which they have been moved; whether consideration is being given to future relocation of London-based sections of his Department to sites outside London; and whether the central borders of Scotland has been identified as a suitable area for any future moves.

There are no plans for relocation. As I told the hon. Member for Beverley (Mr. Cran) on 26 July 1989 (col. 720), the position will be reviewed in early 1991 when the Department will have had some 18 months' experience of working in its new headquarters building. No sections of my Department have been relocated in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the energy cost of each Government Department for the past five years.

The Property Services Agency is currently responsible for paying fuel bills on behalf of most Departments. They will be writing to my right hon. Friend giving the precise information within two weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the energy savings of each London borough council for the past five years.

Information on the energy savings of each London borough council is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals there are for changes to the operation of the concessionary fares scheme in Greater London.

I am not aware of any such proposals. Decisions on concessionary fares rest with the London local authorities in negotiation with London Regional Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will amend the law to provide that any fares imposed on users of concessionary travel permits in London will require parliamentary approval.

This is a matter for the London boroughs and the City of London who pay for the concessionary fares scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with British Rail management about reopening to passenger traffic lines now used only for freight traffic, or where the trackbed remains wholly or substantially intact; if he has discussed the case put by the Wealden line campaign for the reopening of the Lewes-Uckfield link; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware of the campaign to re-open the Lewes-Uckfield line. It is for the British Railways Board to decide on the re-opening of freight railway lines to experimental passenger services, as they are empowered to do under the Transport Act 1962 (Amendment) Act 1981, (the "Speller" Act).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assurance he has received from British Rail regarding the availability for use when the tunnel opens of a high-speed rail link to London from the Channel tunnel for passengers and freight.

In the early years of the tunnel's operation, BR plan to use existing lines, upgraded as necessary, for international passenger and freight services. British Rail and their joint venture partners, Eurorail, are planning to build a new passenger rail link between the Channel tunnel and London to overcome capacity constraints on the existing network. This new line, which is expected to be operational in 1998, will release additional capacity on existing lines for the growth of international freight traffic.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assurance he has received from British Rail regarding the availability of the station facilities required in the Ashford area for the Channel tunnel link at the opening of cross-Channel services.

British Rail and Eurorail have reaffirmed their intention to have an international passenger station at Ashford when the Channel tunnel opens. To this end the board has announced its intention to introduce a private Bill later this month to seek powers to change the proposed location of Ashford IPS in order to fit in with the proposed new Channel tunnel rail link.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what engineering and costing investigations have been made by his Department into the viability of tunnelling the high-speed rail link to King's Cross through south-east London.

Engineering and costing investigations for the Channel tunnel rail link are for British Rail and Eurorail, not the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Official Report, 23 October, columns 371–72, he will state (a) how many of the 1,815 acres of land and buildings not directly or immediately required for airport operations were adjacent to Prestwick airport and (b) what was the value of land not directly or immediately required for airport operations at or adjacent to Prestwick airport at 8 July 1987.

The prospectus issued when BAA plc shares were offered for sale noted that of these 1,815 acres, 938 acres were at BAA's Scottish airports, predominantly at Prestwick. Plans showing this land are in the House Library.The gross current cost valuation of land and buildings at Prestwick, shown in the 1987 BAA company accounts, includes the value of land and buildings not immediately or directly required for airport operation. A separate valuation was not identified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received any proposals from the Soviet Union for its complete unilateral disarmament; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold urgent talks with the West German Government about the level of co-operation available to the Scottish police force investigating the Lockerbie crash.

No such talks are necessary. The close contact which the investigating authorities have enjoyed with their West German colleagues has been an important and productive feature throughout the investigation and will continue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Soviet Government so as to obtain permission for Vladimir Dashevsky of 26 Bakinskich Icomissarov, Moscow, to leave the Soviet Union to travel to Israel together with his wife and three children.

We take every opportunity to press the Soviet authorities on individual refusenik cases such as Vladimir Dashevsky. My right hon. and learned Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised this case most recently when he met Mr. Shevardnadze in New York on 29 September. We shall maintain our pressure until Vladimir Dashevsky is given permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report details of those sections of his Department which have been relocated in the last five years, indicating the sites to which they have been moved; whether consideration is being given to future relocation of London-based sections of his Department to sites outside London; and whether the central Borders of Scotland has been identified as a suitable area for any future moves.

The diplomatic wing has not relocated any jobs in the last five years, but some 250 jobs, (mainly in administration departments) have been identified for relocation from central London to the FCO estate at Hanslope park near Milton Keynes by 1995.In the aid wing, 18 jobs have been relocated to the East Kilbride office in the last five years following the relocation of 427 jobs there in 1981; and some 390 jobs from the Overseas Development Natural Resources Institute are being relocated from London and the Thames Valley to Chatham between 1988 and 1990, most of which have already been transferred. In addition, about 100 further aid wing jobs will move from London, mostly to East Kilbride. The exact number of jobs and timing have yet to be decided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's migration and visa correspondence unit intends to reply to the letter dated 4 September from the hon. Member for Woolwich about the case of Mr. Raghubinder Singh.

The hon. Member's letter has not been received in the MV correspondence unit. I understand that he is sending a duplicate, which will receive prompt attention.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions are taking place between Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government concerning ways of strengthening the missile technology control regime.

We have had frequent discussions of this subject with the American Government at both ministerial and official level. We are agreed that the most effective means of strengthening the regime is to encourage more countries to participate. We hope in the near future to host a meeting of partners to discuss expanding the regime.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications he has received or sent to the Association of South-East Asian Nations countries concerning their nuclear-free policies.

There have been no communications on this issue recently with the member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the claims of the South African Foreign Minister arising from interception of communications of United Kingdom units serving as UNTAG border monitors.

United Nations' investigations have found no evidence to support the South African claims. We have no reason to question this judgment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures he plans to take to increase the number of nursery school places to encourage mothers to return to work; and what representations he has had on this subject.

Nursery education takes place within the hours of the school day and children commonly attend part time. Day care facilities such as day nurseries play a more important part in enabling mothers to return to work. They are the responsibility at Government level of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how he plans to take account of the additional costs for disabled students in his current proposals in the White Paper on top-up loans for students.