To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from head teachers of schools in the Bilborough area of Nottingham; and what reply has been made.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from the head teacher of Warren Hill school, Nottingham; and what reply has been made.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has received any representations about recognition for the Professional Association of Teachers.

The Professioal Association of Teachers has represented to my right hon. Friend that some local education authorities still decline to recognise the association. That is a choice which they can make, but the Government recognise the PAT as one of the six schoolteacher unions with whom they deal. Under delegated budgeting schools governors will acquire more extensive responsibilities for employment matters and will be free to recognise unions not recognised by the local education authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will publish the Government's conclusion on future arrangements for the accreditation of courses of initial teacher training.

My Department and the Welsh Office are publishing today a joint circular on the approval of initial teacher training courses. The circular takes account of the many comments which we received in reply to the consultation document "Future Arrangements for the Accreditation of Courses of Initial Teacher Training" which was published in May of this year.The circular provides for the reconstitution of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education from 1 January and for a revised system of local committees and sets out new criteria for course approval together with a commentary of guidance.A separate circular will be issued in Northern Ireland, where the same new arrangements and criteria will apply to initial teacher training courses. Copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in granting leave for notice to be served to discontinue the Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham schools in Deptford, what decision he has taken in principle on whether to fund one city technology college or a pair of city technology colleges to take the place of the two existing schools in 1991.

The proposal put forward by the Haberdashers' Company was for one funding agreement to be made with my right hon. Friend. In granting leave to the governors of the existing schools to discontinue them and to establish a CTC in succession, my right hon. Friend has proceeded on the basis that a single institution would be established but that single sex provision would continue. Further discussions are being held with the company to determine the detailed institutional and administrative arrangements necessary to achieve this.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there has been any change in the number of persons seeking eye tests in Northern Ireland since changes were introduced.

Reliable information about the effect of the changes introduced from 1 April 1989 on the number of persons seeking eye tests in Northern Ireland is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his Department's role in the radioactivity, research and environment monitoring committee since its inception.

The Northern Ireland interest on the radioactivity research and environmental monitoring committee has been represented since its inception in 1986 by the chief alkali and radiochemical inspector of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, who has played a full part in the committee's work of reviewing and collating the programmes of research and monitoring undertaken by both Government and industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what complaints he has received from residents at Saintfields road and Ivanhoe avenue in connection with the manhole cover at 590 Saintfields road, Castlereagh, relating to the distress arising from the noise caused by traffic travelling over this cover; what steps he has taken over this matter in 1989; and if he will consider the re-location of the manhole and cover so that it is in the centre of the traffic lane.

We received one complaint. We acted to solve the problem. We are pleased to have received a further letter which ends: "I am most grateful to you for having this complaint attended to so quickly and efficiently". I have passed the praise to those who do the work. It would not be feasible to relocate the manhole as this would involve the realignment of the sewer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many non maedi-visna tested sheep were accepted to the Department of Agriculture's sheep improvement scheme, in each year since 1980.

[holding answer 6 November 1989]: We do not know. I will write to the hon. Member about the testing procedure for accreditation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirements must be met before sheep will be accepted on to the Department of Agriculture's Northern Ireland sheep improvement scheme in Northern Ireland.

[holding answer 6 November 1989]: The sheep improvement scheme has two main parts: on-farm recording of lambs and performance testing of ram lambs.To be registered as a recording flock a veterinary surgeon must have certified that all sheep in the flock are free from disease and physical defects. The flock must contain at least 20 ewes, in the case of a flock containing sheep of the blackface breed, and in the case of any other flock, five ewes.Ram lambs accepted for performance testing must be from fully maedi-visna accredited flocks and have been vaccinated for the main clostridial infections and pasturella pneumonia at least four weeks before the commencement of the test. The Department also assesses ram lambs for weight and size for age, quality and soundness to determine suitability for entry to test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the six secondary schools in Northern Ireland which have promotional allowance values which are higher than that appropriate to their group; and why this is the position.

[holding answer 6 November 1989]: The six schools are the following junior high schools:

• Clounagh, Portadown
• Killicomaine, Portadown
• Lurgan Boys
• Lurgan Girls
• St. Mary's Lurgan
• Tandragee

The reason these schools have a promotion allowance value higher than that appropriate to their group is to ensure that they are at no disadvantage in terms of promotion opportunities when compared with other secondary schools of similar size.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy there have been in Northern Ireland to date.

[holding answer 7 November 1989]: Twenty-three.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff midwives employed in hospitals throughout Northern Ireland have been given an F grade in the recent clinical grading exercise; and what percentage this represents of the total staff midwives employed.

[holding answer 7 November 1989]: At the date of regrading (1 April 1988) the number of whole-time equivalent staff midwives in post in Northern Ireland was 779 and of that number 11 posts were given an F grade in the new clinical grading structure. This represents 1·4 per cent. of the total number of staff midwife posts.In Northern Ireland the health and personal social services are fully integrated and the above figures include those staff midwife posts in a community setting as these cannot be identified separately at this time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantity of beef is exported annually to West Germany from Northern Ireland for human consumption.

[holding answer 7 November 1989]: Exports of beef from Northern Ireland to West Germany were:

	Beef Exports (tonnes)
1989 (Jan-Sept.)	853
1988	660
1987	1,104
1986	997

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many fixed penalty fines of £12 were leviéd by Larne traffic wardens during 1989 in respect of parking in the unmarked, unrestricted car park area of Narrow Guage road, Larne, adjacent to the entrance to the Larne shopping complex and Larne Guardian prior to proper restrictive road markings being put down; and how many fixed penalty tickets have been issued in respect of the same area since proper markings to prohibit parking were laid down in 1989; (2) whether he will seek powers to arrange for the £12 fixed penalty fines paid in respect of parking in this formerly non-restricted area, prior to road markings being put down to prohibit parking, to be refunded.

I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if any vehicles belonging to, or used by, the Civil Service run on leaded petrol.

[holding answer 8 November 1989]: I cannot answer for the Civil Service as a whole, but in my Department all vehicles which can be adapted to use unleaded petrol have now been adapted.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give details of any initiatives he has taken in the last year within the Civil Service to adopt environmentally beneficial policies.

[holding answer 8 November 1989]: It is for each Government Department to decide which environmentally beneficial policies it adopts. In my Department we have initiated the use of unleaded petrol and recycled paper, and adopted a number of energy efficiency measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have occurred in the last year on the M1 motorway in the dark on unlit sections that are within one mile of a lit section.

The road accident report form records the light condition at the scene of an accident. The lighting condition of nearby sections of road are not readily available. In 1988, there were 948 accidents on the M1, with 282 occurring during the hours of darkness. For the accidents in darkness, 193 were on lit sections of road, 86 on unlit sections, and three on sections where light conditions were not recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the main findings of the review of the inland transport organisation conducted by his defence planning and emergencies division.

The inland transport organisation is maintained by the Department to provide a control structure for the surface transport industries, should it be necessary, in a time of international crisis or war. The main changes recommended by the review were:

(a) all levels of the organisation should be activated relatively early in crisis to avoid a change in control arrangements during a war;

(b) requests for transport which could not be obtained, during a crisis or war, by normal commercial means, should be fed into the organisation at the district or equivalent level;

(c) the arrangements for the earmarking of road vehicles in peacetime should be improved;

(d) the initial training in civil defence for members of the organisation should be provided by county (or equivalent) emergency planning officers as part of the training they provide to volunteers generally;

(e) regional seminars should no longer be linked with those of the regional port and shipping organisation, and should last no more than half a day.

These recommendations are now being implemented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which option has been chosen from those arising out of the DVIOT division feasibility study into location of road vehicles in an emergency; when he expects arrangements for the location of vehicles in an emergency to be in operation; how much the implementation of these proposals will cost; and if he will make a statement.

The preferred option would allow on-line inquiries of the goods operator licensing database within each traffic area office. It is estimated that development of this option would cost £22,600, with an annual support cost of £14,300 thereafter. No decision has been taken about development.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the number of air traffic controllers (a) recruited in each of the last three years, and (b) who have left the service in the last three years; what are the estimated figures for recruitment and wastage for each of the next three years; and if he will give all these figures for each air traffic control centre in Great Britain.

This is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority and the management of the national air traffic services. I will draw the hon. Member's question to the attention of the authority's chairman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make available to the bereaved families of the crew of the SS Derbyshire the draft report on the sinking of this vessel.

In January 1989 copies of the typescript report of court were distributed to the solicitors to the parties to the formal investigation into the loss of MV Derbyshire. Copies of the supplemental report and order as to costs were distributed to the solicitors last month. At the formal investigation two firms of solicitors acted for dependants of those lost in the Derbyshire tragedy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the cost to date and the estimated final cost of British Rail's publicity consultation process both to those along the rail link route and those in the vicinity of Waterloo and King's Cross main line stations.

I do not have this information. This is a matter for British Rail.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a further announcement on the implementation of those proposals in the White Paper, "Roads to Prosperity", which apply to roads in the Chelmsford area; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend expects to publish a roads report later this year, setting out in a little more detail the schemes in the expanded road programme.We are pressing ahead with the appointment of design agents for our new schemes and studies. We recently announced details of the appointments made so far of consultants and agent authorities to prepare 53 new road schemes and seven new studies. Further announcements on the remaining schemes. including the new motorway scheme from M25 to Chelmsford and the A12 Chelmsford bypass widening, will be made over the next few months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, further to his answer on 6 November, Official Report, column 486, he will make a further statement on the circumstances which led to the discharge of fluid from an aircraft operated by A and AEE Boscombe Down on 25 October.

The aircraft was involved in a routine training exercise during which it was intended to release chemical agent training mixture over troops exercising on the Porton battle run. The agent used was polyethylene glycol 300, which is harmless to humans, plants and animals. The purpose of the exercise was to provide the troops with as realistic as possible a simulation of a chemical attack. Because of technical problems with the aircraft's communications equipment, the pilot was unable to complete the release of the liquid as planned and had to jettison the remaining contents in order to bring the aircraft below the safe maximum landing weight. It was this discharge of liquid which probably caused damage to paintwork on a number of cars in the area.An investigation is under way into this incident. It will include a review of existing procedures.As I have already indicated, the Ministry of Defence will consider claims for compensation from those whose property has been damaged.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was (a) the number of dwellings let by local authorities between 1 April 1988 and 31 March 1989, (b) the number of local authority dwellings taken out of management during that period and not available for letting, (c) the number of local authority dwellings vacant and available for letting on 31 March 1989 in (i) Greater London, (ii) metropolitan areas outside London, (iii) non-metropolitan areas in the south-east, (iv) all non-metropolitan areas and (v) England as a whole;(2) what was

The information for April 1989 is not yet available. I will write to the hon. Member when it becomes available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the annual budget for the cost of removal of guano from the Commons Terrace; and what was the actual cost of this operation in the last complete financial year.

There is no separate annual budget for this task, which is carried out as part of the cleansing contract. The actual cost in 1988–89 for removing guano from the entire Terrace was £4,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the outcome of the meeting held at his Department on 9 November with representatives of the Association of London Authorities and certain London boroughs and with hon. Members in response to their requests for financial assistance in respect of the extra expenditure incurred by authorities in 1989–90 as a result of the recent influx of asylum seekers from Turkey.

At the meeting at which my hon. Friends the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Home Affairs were also present, I announced a scheme of Government grants to help local authorities with substantial unforeseen and unavoidable expenditure incurred this year directly as a result of the influx. Grant will be payable towards eligible expenditure on the basis of claims submitted by local authorities. The scheme will be administered by the Department of the Environment. Proposals for detailed rules will be discussed with the local authority associations.I also said that that we would look at the boroughs' case for meeting extra housing needs in the context of this year's and future housing investment programme rounds, and that the Housing Corporation had indicated that it would take account of bids from housing associations for schemes for housing asylum seekers when making allocations to associations.The association was also told that the Government were reviewing current arrangements for receiving unplanned arrivals and would consult the local authority associations as appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how his Department intends to finance expenditure incurred by the residuary water authorities in relation to any criminal proceedings brought against them.

Substantive provision for this new service will be sought in a winter Supplementary Estimate for class x, vote 9. Pending parliamentary approval of the Estimate, urgent expenditure will be met by repayable advances from the Contingency Fund.

To ask the Lord President of the Council on which dates environmental health officers from Westminster City council have carried out health and safety inspections at the Palace of Westminster over the last five years; which areas were inspected; and if he will place copies of each report in the Library.

At the invitation of the authorities of the House, an environmental health officer from Westminster city council carried out inspections in the House on 12 March, 23 April, 5 and 13 June 1986, 29 January 1987 and June 1988. All inspections were of the Refreshment Department kitchens. A further series of such visits is planned for the end of the year. The reports of environmental health officers are internal management documents but are available to the Catering Sub-Committee.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make arrangements for the public information desk in the Library to be manned from 9 am on working days.

I will ask the Library Sub-Committee of the Select Committee on House of Commons (Services) to consider the opening time of the Library's public information office at its next meeting.

To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will consider equipping and staffing hospitality rooms A and B for use as a crêche for parliamentary staff and members.

No. Planning for a day nursery is being considered in the context of the new parliamentary buildings.

To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will list the number of occasions on which the hospitality rooms A and B have been booked by (a) Labour and (b) Conservative Members during the past two years.

During the past two years Dining Rooms A and B have been reserved on 1,399 occasions by Conservative Members; 167 times by Labour Members; 81 times by Members of other opposition parties; and 57 times by Members of the other place.

To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will list the numbers of outside groups that have used hospitality rooms A and B in the Commons broken down into (a) commercial organisations, (b) voluntary bodies and charities and (c) other groups during the past two years.

Functions organised in accordance with the banqueting regulations are the responsibility of the sponsoring Member. It is therefore the practice of the Catering Sub-Committe not to divulge the information requested.

To ask the Prime Minister what guidance she issues about when advisers (a) should and (b) should not speak in public.

All civil servants are subject to rules of conduct which are set out in the Civil Service pay and conditions of service code. Similar rules apply to other advisers. General guidance on the application of those rules to the question of speaking in public is given in chapter 6 of the personnel management handbook, copies of which are available in the House Libraries.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she is satisfied that no involvement of Iraqi business men in chemical-defence and communication industries in the United Kingdom exists which compromises national interests.

We use all information and legal powers available to us to control illegal or improper procurement activities in this country. The export of chemical, nuclear and defence and other sensitive goods is subject to strict export licensing regimes. In addition, supplies of British defence equipment to Iraq and Iran continue to be governed by the guidelines introduced in 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison staff have been either suspended or disciplined since 1986 for the alleged or actual possession or importation of an unlawful drug into a prison establishment in England or Wales.

Since January 1986 11 members of staff have been prosecuted or subjected to disciplinary proceedings for drug-related offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to relocate his Department's offices to the north-west of England; and if he will make a statement.

There are already several Home Office establishments in the north-west. I am at present considering the possible relocation from the London area of a number of Home Office functions, but decisions have not yet been reached either in principle or on the areas to which relocation might take place.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is proposed to make it a criminal offence to organise a party for over 500 people for which admission is charged without a licence.

It is already an offence under the London Government Act 1963, the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 or the Private Places of Entertainment (Licensing) Act 1967 to provide music and dancing without a licence if it is for the public entertainment or at a private entertainment promoted for private gain. We are considering whether penalties under these Acts need to be increased; and whether steps should be taken to confiscate profits where an event is in breach of entertainment licensing law.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of inmates who were put on report in prisons in England and Wales during the last 12 months for being in unlawful possession of drugs.

Information is not available in the form requested. But some 1,974 charges of possession of a controlled drug were dealt with by governors or boards of visitors in prison service establishments in 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of (a) men and (b) women being held as category A prisoners and who are over 65 years of age in prisons in England and Wales.

According to information available centrally, which is approximate, two men and no women aged 65 and over were held in security category A in prison service establishments in England and Wales on 30 September 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of United Kingdom citizens now living abroad who are wanted by police in the United Kingdom for suspected drug-related offences; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available. No separate record is kept of the number of wanted persons thought to be living abroad who are suspected of drug-related offences. The police work closely with their colleagues abroad to identify wanted persons and to take action were possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of (a) men and (b) women being held on rule 43 in prisons in England and Wales on 1 November.

The latest readily available information is given in the table.

Prisoners held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under Prison Rule 43 and Young Offender Institution Rule 46: by type of segregation, age group and sex, 30 June 1989
	Own protection	Good order or discipline
Aged under 21
males	200	40
females	6	2
Adults
males	1,970	189
females	33	6

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of registered drug addicts in prisons in England and Wales on 1 November.

There is no system of registration of addicts. The number of addicts in prison service establishments at any one time is not known. During 1988, 1,644 addicts were notified to the chief medical officer at the Home Office by prison medical officers in the United Kingdom. An addict may be notified more than once during a year and counting addicts at their first notification in 1988, 1,311 were first notified by prison medical officers, as shown in table 10a of Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue 13/89, "Statistics of Drug Addicts Notified to the Home Office, United Kingdom, 1988", a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the replies by the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) to the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid), Official Report, 26 October at columns 1032–33, from which month in 1986 the period covered by the Assistant Chief Constable of Yorkshire's inquiry commences; and whether the inquiry will look at material collected by the Devon and Cornwall police in the course of their investigations into the conviction of those found guilty of the Birmingham pub bombing.

The investigation being carried out by the Assistant Chief Constable from West Yorkshire into the work and practices of the West Midlands serious crime squad will concentrate on the period since 1 January 1986. However, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) indicated in his reply on 26 October, if the inquiry were to give rise to doubt about earlier cases, any convictions which arose from those cases would be examined.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the present work projects being undertaken at Wandsworth prison; and if he will list them and the money that has been allocated for each project.

The following major building projects are in hand at Her Majesty's Prison Wandsworth:

Project	Latest available estimate of cost £
General security upgrade	865,000
Improve drainage	1,690,000
New reception building	2,282,000
Improve perimeter security	220,000

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of prisons in England and Wales where there is only a slopping-out toilet system for inmates.

There are at present 36 establishments where prisoners have no access to night sanitation and 31 where not all prisoners have such access.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the considerations that led to the decision being taken that the scenarios for the regional civil defence exercises in the United Kingdom should be built around periods of international tension or conventional war.

Regional civil defence exercises are designed to test local authority plans. The local authorities involved have agreed that it would be sensible for the first series of such exercises to concentrate on the initial phase of a possible war crisis, covering a period of international tension. In due course, consideration will be given to whether these exercises should be extended to include a period of possible hostilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the reasons for the renaming of the Civil Defence college at Easingwold.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 5 June at columns 514–15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by region, all the civil defence exercises planned for the remainder of 1989 and for the whole of 1990.

Civil defence exercises are held by a number of organisations, and a comprehensive list is not maintained centrally. In England and Wales, regional civil defence exercises to be held jointly by local authorities and the Home Office are planned for region 3 (East Midlands) and region 4 (Eastern) in November this year, and for region 2 (North East) in 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those items of exercise-related expenditure eligible for civil defence grant from his Department.

All expenditure incurred by local and police authorities in connection with their participation in civil defence exercises is eligible for grant, provided that the conditions of the Civil Defence (Grant) Regulations 1953 (S.I. No. 1953/1777) (as amended) are met.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will update the arrangements his Department has made towards competitive tendering for civil defence in (a) wartime emergencies and (b) peacetime emergencies.

Home Office procurement policy is to place contracts with competent suppliers which represent, as far as possible, the best overall value for money after inviting firms to submit tenders in competition.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources were made available for policing and security at the 1989 (a) Labour party conference at Brighton, and (b) Conservative party conference at Blackpool; and what were the costs.

I understand from the chief officers of the forces concerned that the additional costs of policing the 1989 party conferences were estimated as follows:

Conference	Force	Additional cost (£)
Labour	Sussex	4,000
Conservative	Lancashire	1,080,000

The level of resources provided for the policing of party conferences is an operational matter for the chief officer of police in the light of all the circumstances, including an assessment of the threat of terrorist attack and a recognition that there is a serious threat to members of the Government.The additional costs of policing will be met by the Sussex and Lancashire police authorities. Under the normal funding arrangements, the Government contribute both directly through police grant—which is at 51 per cent.—and indirectly through block grant.The parties themselves also incur costs on specific security measures at their conferences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requests he has received for increases in the manpower of the South Yorkshire police in each year since 1979.

Applications have been made in the years set out in the following table:

Year	Posts applied for	Posts approved
1980–81	278	120
1983–84	154	—
1985–86	9	—
1986–87	213	9
1987–88	52	50
1988–89	50	20
1989–90	50	27
1990–91	50	2—
1 Letter from the Chief Constable rather than from the police authority.
2 Not yet decided.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to review the minimum age limit for persons wishing to become hon. Members.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of prosecutions of pedal cyclists for riding without proper lights on the cycle in each of the last three years.

Information held centrally for 1986 to 1988 is given in the table.

Persons proceeded against for lighting and reflector offences on pedal cycles1
England and Wales
Year	Total proceeded against
1986	2,751
1987	1,732
1988	1,593
1Offence under section 74 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 and RVL Regulations 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions his Department has commissioned an independent inquiry or investigation into the privatisation of the Tote; who conducted the inquiry; and what were the conclusions.

The only independent inquiry into the feasibility of privatising the Tote has been conducted by Lloyd's Merchant bank; its conclusions were submitted in confidence to the Government in April and are still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received a report from Merseyside police into allegations by Mr. John Kamara of wrongful conviction; and whether he will make a statement.

No. Mr. Kamara has submitted further representations about his case which require investigation. Once the inquiries are complete and we have received the report, we will decide whether there are grounds to justify our intervention.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Jamacian citizens were initially refused leave to enter the United Kingdom as not being genuine vistors (a) between January and October 1988, inclusive and (b) between January and October 1989 inclusive;(2) how many overseas visitors were initially refused leave to enter and were removed from the United

Kingdom

[holding answer 3 November 1989]: The total numbers of passengers by nationality who were refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom between January and August of 1988 and 1989 are given in the table; figures for September and October 1989 are not yet available. It is not possible from the information available centrally to ascertain how many sought entry as visitors.Of the 258 Jamaican citizens removed between January and August 1988 and the 561 removed between January and August 1989, 191 and 484 respectively failed to satisfy the immigration officer that they qualified as genuine visitors under paragraph 22 of the rules. Some of the remainder may also have sought entry as visitors and, if so, would have been refused for other reasons.

Passengers refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom
	Number
Nationality	January to August 1988	January to August 1989
Europe	3,050	3,652
Austria	53	85
Belgium	21	1
Bulgaria	8	12
Cyprus	142	131
Czechoslovakia	11	12
Denmark	3	7
Finland	26	56
France	89	31
Germany (Democratic Republic)	2	4
Germany (Federal Republic)	52	16
Greece	7	4
Hungary	10	16
Italy	41	9
Luxembourg	—	1
Malta	11	15
Netherlands	40	15
Norway	42	64
Poland	56	96
Portugal	434	117
Romania	7	11
Spain	340	112
Sweden	86	129
Switzerland	71	60
Turkey	1,159	1,930
USSR	15	35
Yugoslavia	324	683
Americas	1,960	2,695
Argentina	45	48
Barbados	5	21
Brazil	288	474
Canada	61	68
Chile	62	61
Colombia	376	418
Cuba	—	1
Guyana	16	28
Jamaica	258	561
Mexico	60	98
Peru	40	71
Trinidad and Tobago	19	49
United States of America	712	766
Uruguay	5	11
Venezuela	13	20
Africa	3,968	5,123
Algeria	1,363	1,768
Egypt	14	23
Ethiopia	8	13
Ghana	242	296
Kenya	86	107

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by location, for the last 12 months, where the 24-hour duty solicitor scheme has been withdrawn.

I have been asked to reply.In the last 12 months local 24-hour duty solicitor schemes have ceased in the areas covered by the St. Albans and Tunbridge Wells committees (four police stations in all).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to review payment to solicitors who carry out the 24-hour duty solicitor arrangement.

I have been asked to eply.Payments to solicitors who carry out the 24-hour duty solicitor arrangements are reviewed annually as part of the discussions on legal aid rates between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Society.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what information he has on the work of the independent agency commissioned to explore the impact of the increased maximum period of disqualification on decisions about leaving or taking work as well as the effects on the circumstances of those who are disqualified;(2) if he will report on the results of a survey conducted by his Department in the first three months of the current year into the effects of increasing to 26 weeks the maximum period of disqualification for unemployment benefit.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) on 8 November 1989 at columns 672–73.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are receiving benefits from his Department in the parliamentary constituency of Stockton, South; and what is the total cost of such benefits.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the reduction in spending on family credit in 1989–90 if child benefit was increased in line with inflation.

Estimates based on the current caseload are that family credit spending in 1989–90 will be £16 million more than if child benefit had been increased in April 1989 in line with inflation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of elderly persons who are (a) residents of independent sector residential nursing homes and (b) in receipt of benefit and unable to meet the full costs of that accommodation and are being subsidised by relatives to the extent of 0–£10 weekly; £.10–£20 weekly and above £20 weekly, and if he will make a statement.

Information in the form requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would have been the cost of increasing child benefit in line with earnings in each of the last two years.

The cost (net of savings on other benefits) would have been about £260 million in 1988–89 and a further £320 million in 1989–90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people served by the social security offices in (a) Doncaster and (b) Wath-on-Dearne have been refused loans by officers of the social fund since its inception on the grounds that the applicants lacked sufficient income to repay such loans.

From April 1988 to September 1989, on 58 occasions in the Doncaster East local office area, 146 in the Doncaster West local office area and 27 in the Wath-on-Dearne local office area, the social fund officer refused a loan application giving as a reason the applicants' inability to repay. This represents 0·8 per cent., 2 per cent. and 0·6 per cent. of the applications processed for these areas respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the figures for (a) applications and (b) the take-up of the special hardship allowance for under 18-year-olds with no YTS.

In the period 12 September 1988 to 3 November 1989 a total of 17,996 applications were considered for a direction by the Secretary of State under the severe hardship provision. In 11,902 cases (66 per cent.) a direction was given to enable payment of income support to be made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many EOs-LO1 s currently work in the London pay area; and how many will be required following the implementation of the operational strategy.

In October 1989 there were 3,257 EOs-LO1 s employed in the London pay areas.It is not possible to give an answer as to how many EOs-LO1s will be required after the implementation of the operational strategy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many higher executive officers in his Department's offices will be surplus to requirements in the London pay area following the changes brought about by the operational strategy.

It is not possible to give an answer as to how many, if any, HEOs will be surplus to requirements after the implementation of the operational strategy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many EOs-LO1 s in the London pay area have fitted for promotion markings.

EOs-LO1s' fitness for promotion is assessed only if they apply for a promotion exercise. In the most recent competitions for promotion to higher executive officer in the Department's London regions and headquarters, there were 780 applications from EO-LO1s in the London pay area who were assessed by their line managers as being fitted for promotion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he is planning to give help to the charity Crisis at Christmas towards the cost of its work for homeless people over the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement.

The Government are well aware of the valuable work being done by Crisis at Christmas but they have not approached my right hon. Friend for assistance this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for Walsall, North on 6 March, Official Report, column 465, what percentage of single pensioners in 1986 had a total income of less than £50 at today's prices.

A gross income of £50 at April 1989 prices was equivalent to a gross income of £42·79 at 1986 prices. In 1986 9 per cent. of single pensioners had a gross income below £42·79 per week. Source: Family Expenditure Survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of the cost of each of the 10 immediate improvements in benefits for disabled people and their carers, announced in his uprating statement on 25 October, Official Report, columns 841 to 854.

The costs of each measure in the first full year (1991–92 unless otherwise stated) are set out as follows:

1. Increase in the adult disability premium: £18 million.

2. Alignment of disabled child premium with adult rate: £8 million.

3. Carer's Premium: £15 million.

4. Abolition of Attendance Allowance six month waiting period for the terminally ill: £26 million.

5. Attendance Allowance for children under two years old: £5 million.

6. Extension of Invalid Care Allowance to many carers as a result of 4 and 5 above: £3 million.

7. Extension of Mobility Allowance to the deaf-blind: £5 million.

8 and 9. Increases in the Invalid Care Allowance earnings rule and in the incapacity benefits Therapeutic Earnings Limit together with the extension of Invalidity Benefit to those on Employment Rehabilitation Courses: less than £1 million.

10. Additional funds for the Independent Living Fund (1990–91): £19 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of the cost of the extra £70 million he is spending on families with children by each measure announced in his uprating statement on 25 October, Official Report, columns 841 to 854.

The cost of extra measures to help least well-off families with children in the first full year (1991–92) will be as follows:

• Addition of 50p to family premium in Income Support —£34 million.
• Addition of £1 to adult credit in Family Credit—£16 million.
• Addition of £1·10 to lone parent premium in Housing Benefit and Community Charge Benefit—£2 million.
• Raising of Housing Benefit disregard on earnings to £25for lone parents—£11 million.
• Raising Social Fund Maternity Grant from £85 to £100 —£3 million.
• Two other measures will extend further help to less well off families:
• Raising Disabled Child Premium to level of adult Disability Premium—£8 million.
• That part of the cost of extending Attendance Allowance for children under 2 which will benefit families in Income Support—£1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of (a) families with children and (b) children which would not be brought into income-related benefits if child benefit were increased in line with inflation in 1990–91.

The effects of not increasing child benefit should not be viewed in isolation. For example, it is important to have regard to the extra help which will be made available to families with children. However, in very broad terms, the decision not to uprate child benefit this year is expected to increase the family credit caseload by up to 5,000 in 1990–91; by a few thousand for income support; and by an even smaller number for housing benefit. It is estimated that these families may include up to 16,000 children overall.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of uprating child benefit in line with inflation in 1990–91.

To increase the rate of child benefit in line with the increase of 7·6 per cent. in the retail prices index between September 1988 and September 1989 would cost around £250 million net of savings on other benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the budget for the social fund will be in 1990, broken down into community care grants, budgeting loans and crisis loans, in both gross and net terms.

The information requested is as follows:

£ million
	Community care grants	Budgeting and crisis loans
Gross	61	144
Net	61	39

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date he expects section 7 of the Disabled Persons Act 1986 to be implemented.

I have been asked to reply.We have received proposed guidelines from a disability organisation for the implementation of section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. The Government's position on the implementation of section 7 will be made clear in the White Paper on Community Care which will be published shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date he expects to publish the first report to Parliament on the development of community care services under section 11 of the 1986 Disabled Persons Act.

I have been asked to reply.The first report will be laid before Parliament before the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet representatives of Scottish local authorities to discuss the new arrangements regarding Department of Social Security payments to local authorities for domiciliary care, to be introduced in April 1991

I met the social work committee of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about the Government's proposals for community care on 8 September and agreed that further discussions would be arranged, as appropriate, after publication of the Government's detailed proposals in a White Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make it his policy to include in the plans for Scottish Enterprise a body to ensure that no funds from Scottish Enterprise go to businesses or activities which are likely to increase pollution or to endanger the environment;(2) what requirements will be included in the plans for Scottish Enterprise to ensure that no funds from Scottish Enterprise go to businesses or activities which are likely to increase pollution or to endanger the environment.

We intend that Scottish Enterprise will promote economic development and training in lowland Scotland, and further the improvement of the environment. There is already a range of statutory and other safeguards designed to prevent businesses from causing unacceptable pollution or damage to the environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the requirement to provide the ages of those included on the poll tax register; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of representations on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the age and condition of X-ray equipment at Roodlands hospital, Haddington; and what steps are taken to ensure that the equipment complies with required standards for the examination of patients.

Information about the equipment at Roodlands hospital is a matter for Lothian health board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the numbers of (a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds who stayed on at school, non-advanced further education or higher education in the current year; and what percentage these totals represented of the estimated total population in these age groups in Scotland in 1989.

	1986				1987
	16-year-olds		17-year-olds		16-year-olds		17-year-olds
Activity at autumn	number	per cent.	number	per cent.	number	per cent.	number	per cent.
Full-time education:
School	48,600	59	19,200	23	48,600	61	19,400	24
Non-advanced FE (excluding YTS)	3,600	4	5,200	6	3,100	4	4,500	5
Higher education	—	—	3,500	4	100	—	3,400	4
Youth training scheme	17,100	21	13,700	16	16,500	21	19,700	24
Unemployed and claiming benefit	7,700	9	15,400	18	7,100	9	11,800	14
Other (including employment)	5,300	6	26,800	32	4,200	5	23,300	28
Total population	82,400	100	83,800	100	79,600	100	82,000	100

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the number of the Department of Trade and Industry report into House of Fraser Holdings which was leaked to Lonrho/The Observer; whether this numbered copy is or was in the possession of the fraud squad; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Investigations into the leak of the report are continuing and I cannot comment on the matters to which the hon. Member refers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what tax is levied on cars imported from Japan; and what tax is levied on British cars exported to Japan.

Cars imported into the United Kingdom from Japan are subject to an import duty of 10 per cent. Like all other cars they are also subject to a car tax of 10 per cent. and, at point of sale, VAT of 15 per cent. No import duty is levied on cars imported into Japan; however, all new cars are subject to consumption tax of 6 per cent. and acquisition tax of 5 per cent. Each time a car is sold secondhand in Japan, it is subject to consumption tax of 3 per cent.

[holding answer 9 November 1989]: The information for 1989 and in the form requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers and age group percentages of (a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds (i) continuing in school education, (ii) entering non-advanced further education, (iii) entering higher education, (iv) entering YTS, (v) entering employment, in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

[holding answer 9 November 1989]: The information requested is not available in the form requested since young people may enter the various categories of education and employment more than once in a year. Information on the educational and economic activity of 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland at autumn 1986 and 1987 is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the exact time on the afternoon of Tuesday 31 October at which he informed the board of Jaguar of his decision to relinquish the Government's golden share.

Sir John Egan was informed at 11.45 on the morning of Tuesday 31 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is his estimate of the import content of heavy commercial motor vehicles exported from the United Kingdom in 1988 and 1989 to date having regard to their provenance; what was the corresponding figure in 1959, 1972 and 1979; and what effect free trade with the EEC has had on the United Kingdom content and on output and employment in the United Kingdom heavy commercial vehicle industry;(2) what is his estimate of the import content of motor cars exported from the United Kingdom in 1988 and in 1989 to date having regard to their provenance; what was the corresponding figure in 1959, 1972 and 1979; and what effect free trade with the EEC hs had on the United Kingdom content and on output and employment in the United Kingdom motor car industry;

[holding answer 9 November 1989]: The information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the years 1963, 1968, 1974, 1979, 1984 and 1989 to date the ratio of imports to output of (a) textiles and clothing and (b) chemicals, and man-made fibres, together with the relevant weights in the index of manufacturing output;(2) whether he will publish in the

[holding answer 9 November 1989]: The readily available information is:

	Textiles and clothing1	Chemicals and man-made fibres2	Metals3	Rubber and plastics4
Imports as percentage of output
1975	22·8	20·2	30·9	13·3
1979	33·6	26·9	28·7	17·7
1984	48·1	35·5	41·1	26·1
51988–89	55·9	38·7	50·0	27·7
Weights in index of manufacturing output6 (Parts per thousand)
1963	89·2	95·1	64·3	26·3
1970	77·5	87·8	63·9	33·2
1975	74·1	89·3	56·5	34·6
1980	58·8	91·9	34·3	38·3
1985	57·7	103·6	37·8	38·1
1 For 1963–75 defined as order XIII and order XV plus part MLH 473 less MLH 411, 429/1 and 450 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1968 (SIC 68). For 1979–1989 defined as class 43 plus group 453 and 455 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980 (SIC 80).
2For 1963–75 defined as order V plus MLH 411 of the SIC 68. For 1979–89 defined as class 25 and 26 of the SIC 80.
3 For 1963–75 defined as order VI less MLH 313 of the SIC 68. For 1979–89 defined as class 22 of the SIC 80.
4"For 1963–75 defined as MLH 491,492 and 496 of the SIC 68. For 1979–89 defined as class 48 of the SIC 80.
5Latest available 12-month period (quarter 2 1988 to quarter 1 1989).
6For 1963–75 manufacturing is defined as order 111 to order XIX of the SIC 68. For 1980–85 defined as division 2–4 of the SIC 80.