To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on United Kingdom participation in international efforts to protect the environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what international initiatives Her Majesty's Government are taking to protect and improve the natural environment; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what initiatives Her Majesty's Government are taking to protect and improve the international environment; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's participation in international efforts to protect the environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what international initiatives Her Majesty's Government are taking to protect and improve the national and international environment; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what role Britain can play in international efforts to protect the environment.

I will write to my hon. Friends.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate the reasons why 5 gm of radioactive tritium imported from the United States of America to the United Kingdom for the use in lighting has gone missing; if he will instruct Her Majesty's chief inspectors of pollution and nuclear installations to produce a report on the disappearance of the tritium; and if he will seek details from the United States Department of Energy on the background to its report on the incident issued in November 1989.

Users of tritium are either registered under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 or, in the case of licensed nuclear installations, licensed under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and are regulated by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution or Her Majesty's nuclear installations inspectorate as appropriate. In all cases the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985, which control the storage and provide for accountancy for all radioactive substances, apply.Officials of the United States Department of Energy met recently with the United Kingdom Department of Energy and with United Kingdom customers for United States tritium to discuss improved measurement and auditing procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why he decided to use 1981 census information about the numbers of persons in households without inside lavatories in setting the all-ages social index for his calculation of standard spending assessments in respect of poll tax.

Decisions on information to use for standard spending assessments were taken after full discussion with the local authority associations. The proportion of persons in private households without exclusive use of a bath or inside WC has been used as one of a number of factors selected to identify those local authorities with relatively inferior living conditions. The information from the 1981 census is the latest available on a consistent basis for each local authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why he has used 1981 census information about the numbers of elderly living alone in calculating standard spending assessments in respect of poll tax.

Decisions on information to use for standard spending assessments were taken after full discussion with the local authority associations. The information from the 1981 census on the number of elderly people living alone is the latest available on a consistent basis for each local authority for which the assessments are made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why he has used 1981 census information in respect of children of lone parents in calculating standard spending assessments in respect of poll tax.

Decisions on information to use for standard spending assessments were taken after Full discussion with the local authority associations. The 1981 census is the most recent source of this information on a consistent basis for each local authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list the caravan sites owned by local authorities which afford permanent housing yet lack a bathroom, indoor lavatory and hot water system; and if he will give the reasons why he decided to withhold permission for the necessary expenditure in these cases.

My Department does not keep detailed records of the standards of facility local authorities provide on caravan sites they own, and councils do not need my permission to spend money on such sites. Grant is available to meet 100 per cent. of the reasonable capital costs of provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the proposals which his Department has received since 1979 for alternative uses for the Palace of Westminster rifle range.

No alternative proposals have been put to my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the standard spending assessments for highway maintenance for each highway authority in England giving, in each case, the actual spending for 1988–89 adjusted for inflation;(2) if he will list the 1990–91 standard spending assessment for

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many prosecutions there have been or are pending as a result of damage caused by agricultural or forestry activities to sites of special scientific interest under part II of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for each year since 1981; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about his investigations into giving basking sharks protection under part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and when he expects to make an announcement.

The Nature Conservancy Council recommended protection for the basking sharks under section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as part

The information requested on SSAs has been placed in the Library. The provisional figures are those underlying the exemplifications in the consultation paper my right hon. Friend issued on 6 November. Outturn expenditure figures for 1988–89 are not yet available for all relevant authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing housing starts in each region to May 1989, showing the percentage change in starts from the same quarter in 1988.

Housebuilding starts for regions in England are now available for the September quarter of 1989, and are given below, together with figures for the corresponding quarter of 1988:of its first statutory quinquennial review of schedules 5 and 8 to that Act. This recommendation is the subject of ongoing consultation with other Government Departments and an announcement will be made when the consultation is complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to research into the status of basking sharks in the United Kingdom; what financial resources have been devoted to this by his Department; when he expects the results of this research be published; and if he will make a statement.

Research on basking sharks populations is being carried out by the Marine Conservation Society with grant aid from the Nature Conservancy Council which also holds the data bank for the project. No date has yet been fixed for the publication of the results.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make a statement on the uniform business rate.

My right hon. Friend told the House on 6 November his provisional view that the non-domestic rating multiplier for 1990–91 would be 36p. The final figure, which will appear in the revenue support grant report to be laid in January, will depend on later information about the non-domestic revaluation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing housing grants in each region to June 1989 showing the percentage change in grants for the same quarters in 1988.

The total number of conversion and improvement, intermediate, repairs and special grants paid in each region in the June quarters of 1988 and 1989 are shown in table 2.19, part C, of "Housing and Construction Statistics, Part 2" No. 38. A copy of the publication is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice the Government have received from the Audit Commission and from the Government Actuary's department about the proposal that in future local authorities should not be allowed to fund fully their obligations to future pensioners, but should be restricted to 75 per cent. of this obligation.

[holding answer 28 November 1989]: The proposals for funding the payment of pensions increases, as well as basic pensions in the local government superannuation scheme, have been developed in full consultation with the Government Actuary's department. They have been the subject of consultation with various bodies, including the Audit Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of re-establishing the link of pensions to the rise in earnings.

In 1988–89 the cost of restoring the link between retirement pension and average earnings would have been £3·58 billion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what are the obstacles to reaching a reciprocal agreement which would allow indexing of British pensions abroad in each of the countries where unindexed pensions are paid;(2) what would be the net cost of providing a reciprocal agreement which would allow the uprating of British pensions abroad in each of the countries where pensions are paid but not currently indexed.

British pensions are payable anywhere in the world, but pension increases are not paid in some 145 countries where British pensioners live. The primary obstacle to paying full British pensions in these countries is the high cost, which would be of the order of an additional £248 million a year at April 1989 rates of benefit and a further £38·2 million at the April 1990 uprating.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the net cost of uprating British pensions in each of the countries with which the United Kingdom has a reciprocal agreement to index pensions.

The current annual cost of British pensions in the 30 countries where pension increases are paid is of the order of £266 million. The cost of uprating these pensions in April 1990 will be about £20·2 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what reduction in civil servant numbers there will be in existing Government Departments presently dealing with the electricity industry after its privatisation.

There will be a reduction in civil servants employed in my Department to deal with the electricity industry after privatisation, but I cannot at this stage say what the full extent of the reduction will be.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the collieries closed or merged since 1979, by British Coal area.

In his reply of 13 May 1987 to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Mr. Stewart), my predecessor gave details of collieries closed between 1960 and March 1987 by British Coal area, at columns 237–54.The following brings the list of colliery closures up to date:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what input Her Majesty's Government had into the energy, environment and local economy conference, held at Wakefield in West Yorkshire on 21 November.

No Minister was invited.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Lancashire.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last reviewed Her Majesty's Government's aid and development embargo on Cambodia.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Mr. Arnold) on 23 November, at col 17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about inter-governmental co-operation and co-ordination with non-governmental organisations, in the light of the situation in the Horn of Africa.

At the European Community Development Council on 21 November I drew attention to the serious threat of famine in northern Ethiopia and urged that all possible diplomatic channels be used to exert pressure on the parties to the conflict to secure free access for food supplies. We are also liaising closely with other donor Governments and international agencies. Similar co-ordination takes place on the situation in Sudan. I meet regularly with the British non-governmental organisations working in the Horn of Africa.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if h has any plans to increase overseas aid to Sri Lanka.

Aid disbursements were £19·2 million in 1988–89, but will be less this year. We have plans for a number of new projects including some in the natural resources sector and further assistance with reconstruction, but some of these have been or are being held up due to civil disturbances in the country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make additional resources available for those African countries implementing animal conservation and anti-poaching measures.

We are already funding a number of wildlife conservation activities in Africa, and are always ready to consider new requests for help. The hon. Gentleman may wish to refer to the list placed in the Library of the House, which was referred to in the answer I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (Mr. Tredinnick) on 6 November, at column 437, as an indication of the sort of assistance we are able to provide.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further emergency assistance he is providing to Ethiopia in the light of reports of impending famine.

I approved on 27 November a further allocation of £2 million of emergency relief aid for Ethiopia. This is in addition to more than £7·5 million already agreed this year. This new money will probably be channelled largely through British voluntary agencies involved in the provision of food to those at risk of famine in Eritrea and Tigray.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate by how long the start of work on the missing link on the M4 motorway between Baglan and Lon Las has been delayed by expenditure on roads in the former county of Pembrokeshire.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on Tuesday 28 November, at column 206.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will make known his plans for local authority capital expenditure for 1990–91.

Following the autumn review of public expenditure, I have decided to issue, in accordance with the new planning total arrangements, capital grant and credit approvals to local authorities in 1990–91 amounting to £414·3 million.In addition, there is no limit being set on the amount district councils can spend on mandatory home renovation grants next year. I have already provided £75 million for this purpose. Additional resources will be made available if local authorities spend beyond this level.My proposals include priority for investment in personal social services and transport; gross provision for both is being increased by 16 per cent. in real terms. The increase in personal social services provision reflects the need for local authorities to provide services for the rising number of the elderly as well as to provide for the shift in the burden of care in the mental health services from the NHS to local authorities. The increase in transport provision allows for three major road schemes to progress.The new arrangements for capital expenditure embodied in part IV of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 enabled local authorities to enhance the spending authorised by grant and credit approvals by the use of capital receipts not required for debt redemption and by an unfettered use of contributions from revenue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what level of funding he is providing to Tai Cymru in 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

I am delighted to announce that I shall be providing for an increase of over £27 million in the funds made available to Tai Cymru in the next financial year. This is an improvement of over 40 per cent. and will result in a major advance in the activities of housing associations within the Principality. The gross programme for Tai Cymru increases to over £102 million.Tai Cymru has been established only since April 1989. It has made an excellent start. I want to see its work develop strongly so that housing associations can provide many more homes for people in housing need in Wales, both now and for the future.The increase in provision is planned to rise further over the period to 1992–93. I shall be reviewing the allocations year by year in the light of Tai Cymru's overall performance, and that of housing associations generally—not least in developing further partnership arrangements with local authorities. But already I expect that as early as 1991–92, and just three years after Tai Cymru's inception, net provision will have increased to nearly double that provided for housing associations in 1988–89.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the country of origin and the destination of all toxic waste imports through the ports (a) Briton Ferry (Neath), (b) Fishguard, (c) Holyhead and (d) Newport for the last three available years., together with the nature of toxic waste in each case.

The information for the period is not available in the detail requested. Since the implementation of the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations in October 1988, more detailed information is being collected, and the first full financial year's data will be available after March 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether there have been any movements of special hazardous waste through Swansea in the last 10 years.

None was reported in the local authority returns for the period to March of this year, but we understand that a consignment of special waste was imported through Swansea in July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of intensive care baby cots available in Wales, the number in each health authority and their locations within each health authority.

Specialist care for new-born babies in Wales, including intensive care, is presently provided in special care baby units, the disposition of which is shown in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to increase the number of intensive care baby cots available in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has recently received the report of the advisory group on perinatal intensive care in Wales which was set up to inform the Department of development requirements. It will be considered carefully in formulating plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what expenditure he has incurred in compensation for farmers as a result of the Chernobyl accident for each year since 1986 in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 27 November, at column 118.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent representations he has received about high interest rates from the Farmers Union of Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I have received two representations in writing and the matter was discussed in my meeting with the union on 23 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many rivers in Wales have protection zone status; and if he will extend the scheme to cover other rivers.

None. It is for the National Rivers Authority or a water undertaker to apply to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State if they consider it necessary to restrict particular activities likely to result in the pollution of water.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will set out his allocation for Welsh roads.

Our proposals for the development of the motorway and trunk road network in Wales are set out in "Roads in Wales 1989". Details of the schemes programmed to start in 1990–91 will be given in the Welsh Office commentary to be published early next year.We have announced today the provision made for local authority programmes. Within the total available, gross provision for local roads is £86·6 million, an increase of 22 per cent. over the provision for the current year. Local authority expenditure accepted for transport grant in 1990–91 is £50·9 million, an increase of 29 per cent. over that for 1989–90. Details of the transport grant settlement for individual county councils in Wales have been sent to each chief executive today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has made to the Polytechnic and Colleges Funding Council and the Universities Funding Council to change the funding of courses and student places in management studies.

My right hon. Friend has made no such proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the number of students involved in (a) degree courses and (b) Higher National Diploma or equivalent courses in management in each of the last three years.

The available information is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table to show, for secondary schools in England (a) how many have been closed, (b) how many have been subject to significant change of character by (i) loss of sixth form and (ii) other means and (c) how many have been subject to significant change of capacity for (i) girls' schools, (ii) boys' schools, (iii) mixed schools, (iv) voluntary schools and (v) county

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of children under the age of five years who are currently receiving nursery education provided by Bolton education authority; and what was the figure 10 years ago.

The number of children under five attending maintained nursery schools and classes in Bolton in January 1989 and January 1979 are as follows:

• January 1989: 2,785.
• January 1979: 1,941.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the safety of school buildings in London, following the death of Richard Cooney at Sir James Barrie primary school, Battersea, on 23 November.

I was greatly saddened to hear of this tragic accident. I understand that the Inner London education authority, which is responsible for the safety of school premises in inner London, is preparing a report on the incident. I am asking the Inner London education authority to make a copy of its report available to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) males and (b) females, aged (i) under 16, (ii) 16 to 18, (iii) 19 to 21, (iv) 22 to 24, schools for the last five years; and if he will indicate in each case how many schools there were in that category at the commencement of the five-year period.

The information is given in the following table; figures are in respect of schools approved for closure in the year in question:(v) 24 to 30 and (vi) 30 years and over were

Breaches of regulations requiring wearing of seat belts are normally fixed penalty offences. The amount of the fixed penalty was £12 during 1987 and 1988, but the motorist could opt instead for court proceedings.The table gives the number of court proceedings and convictions for each month in 1987 and 1988 in England' and Wales and for Billericay petty sessional division; details for the Basildon area are not available. Separate: figures are shown for males and females and an age breakdown is given; no sub-division of those aged 21 and over is available. Data for 1989 are not yet available.In 1987 and 1988, the proportion of those charged who were convicted was 77 per cent. in England and Wales and 90 per cent. in the Billericay petty sessional division. The average fined for those offenders fines were £15 and £16 respectively.