To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what provision his Department is making for safety and survival courses for offshore workers.

It is for an employer to ensure that his employees are adequately qualified and trained for the duties they are required to undertake. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 places a duty on an employer to provide the necessary instruction, training and supervision to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of his employees.

To ask the Secretary of Statement for Energy (1) what encouragement he is giving to commercial organisations wishing to set up wind electricity generators on Welsh farms;(2) what assistance has been given by the Government to commercial organisations in Wales to install wind energy generating capacity which can be sold to the grid.

My Department has not given any assistance to commercial organisations in Wales to install wind energy generators for the purpose of subsequent sale of electricity to the grid. Such installations will however be eligible for consideration under the non-fossil fuel obligation.We have collaborated with a number of organisations in the design and construction of experimental wind turbine generators at the CEGB's test site at Carmarthen bay, and we are also collaborating with the CEGB in a project to construct an experimental wind farm at Capel Cynon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much money has been spent in Wales on sources of renewable energy over the past three years.

The table includes expenditure by the Department of Energy over the past three years on projects based in Wales such as the 160 kW vertical axis wind turbine at Carmarthen bay, and work undertaken by Welsh contractors, for example, university of Cardiff.

Year	£
1986–87	656,935
1987–88	854,459
1988–89	833,020

Information is not available to say precisely how much of this expenditure was in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will state the numbers of men employed underground in privately owned mines on 3 April 1989 as recorded in the registers which are required to be maintained under the terms of section 2(1) of the 1908 Act.

Daily tallies for the number of men working underground in licensed mines are not collected centrally. British Coal does, however, give a total figure for the end of each financial year in its annual report and accounts, copies of which are in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the average number of hours worked below ground by mineworkers and deputies in 1978 and in 1988.

This is a matter for British Coal. I have asked the chairman of British Coal to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those local authorities which have sold fewer than 10 per cent. of their council house stock.

Of those authorities which have provided a complete record of their sales from April 1979 to March 1989, only two authorities, Oldham and Blackburn, report sales of less than 10 per cent. of their stock. Six authorities —Arun, Bracknell Forest, Bromley, Crawley, Fenland and Havant—report sales of more than 35 per cent. of their stock.There are 12 authorities where an incomplete total of sales between April 1979 and March 1989 shows that less than 10 per cent. of their stock has been sold, but who may have exceeded the 10 per cent. threshold if unreported sales were to be included.I have today laid a table in the Library giving available information up to March 1989. It shows year by year information for each authority since 1984–85, together with cumulative figures since April 1979.Over 1 million local authority dwellings (about a fifth of the England 1979 stock) had been sold by the end of March 1989, the majority to sitting tenants, and sales are continuing at a high level. Information on total year by year sales of local authority houses and flats in England is listed in the following table. The number of flats sold in 1988–89 was greater than in any previous financial year and the number of houses sold was the largest since 1982–83.

Sales of local authority dwellings England1
Year	Houses	Flats
1979–80	52,386	1,162
1980–81	66,946	1,282
1981–82	125,200	2,967
1982–83	175,334	5,902
1983–84	113,613	8,430
1984–85	85,487	5,885
1985–86	76,088	6,230
1986–87	77,677	8,454
21987–88	90,852	16,728
1988–89	116,933	26,895

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to reduce methane being released into the atmosphere.

The sources of methane emissions to the atmosphere are diverse. Some are natural, some man-made. Our understanding of the contribution from different sources and the way methane behaves in the atmosphere require further research, which is now under way. The Department of Energy has a programme to promote the use of landfill methane as an energy source.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the relative impact of (a) methane and (b) chlorofluorocarbon gases on global warming.

The relative importance of all the major greenhouse gases for global warming in the past, at present and in the future is discussed in detail in the booklet "Global Climate Change", published by the Department in association with the Meteorological Office in October. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the factors in the 1989–90 scheme to determine community charge support which are different from or additional to factors used in earlier years to calculate local government support.

There are two main differences. First, the rate support grant system aims to equalise resources between authorities measured in terms of rateable values, whereas the new revenue support grant system equalises resources measured in terms of numbers of community charge payers in an area. Secondly, there has been a major review of the method of distributing grant between authorities and as a result the following additional factors will now be taken into account: the numbers of residents aged 11 or over, aged 65 to 74, aged 75 to 84 and aged 85 or over; the proportion of children aged under 16 years living in private households in rented accommodation; the number of residents aged 65 or over in independent registered residential homes whose primary function is reported as the care of elderly people, elderly people who are mentally infirm and elderly and other people who are handicapped; the number of fire false alarm calls; current expenditure on coast protection.The full extent of the differences can be identified from a comparison of the GRE indicators given in appendix 2 to annex J of the Rate Support Grant Report (England) 1989–90 with those given in annex A to the draft Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) issued on 6 November by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what help will be available under the poll tax transitional relief scheme to students presently living in a hall of residence.

Full-time students will be liable to pay only one fifth of the community charge of the area where they live during term time. Students will be entitled to receive transitional relief, whatever type of accommodation they occupy, provided a comparison between rates and either one or two assumed community charges (depending on the number of community chargepayers in the property) shows an increase of more than £156 a year. Any student entitled to relief will receive it at the rate of one fifth of the normal rate to match the reduced community charge liability.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress there has been on the preparation of the national membership scheme for football specators.

My right hon. Friend and I had a helpful meeting with the president of the Football League and the chairman of the Football Association on 14 November. They made it clear that it was still their wish that the football authorities should have first refusal to form the company that will be appointed as the Football Membership Authority. We confirmed that it was our hope and expectation that they would do so on the basis which had been agreed—that the Secretary of State would approve the composition of the authority; that the body appointed was willing and able to produce a scheme which he could approve and which satisfied the requirements of the legislation and that he was satisfied about the implementation timetable.We propose to hold further discussions shortly with the football authorities about the membership of the FMA. The FMA will be appointed following parliamentary approval of the commencement order bringing section 3 of the Football Spectators Act 1989 into operation. We intend that the commencement order should be laid and debated in the new year, after the publication of Lord Justice Taylor's final report on the Hillsborough inquiry.I welcome the progress which the working party set up by the football authorities has made in its preparations for the national membership scheme. I understand that it has now issued an invitation to tender to the seven companies and consortia which are bidding for the contract to operate the scheme.I share the hope of the football authorities that it will be possible, from a wide range of financial options, to meet the requirements of the national membership scheme, on a self-financing basis, at no direct cost to football clubs. If the clubs adopt a positive approach to promoting the scheme among their supporters, there is every prospect that this approach will be pursued successfully. The Government have provided a share of the costs incurred on the preparation of the scheme in advance of Royal Assent to the Football Spectators Act. The full funding of its implementation will be football's responsibility.It will be for the Football Membership Authority, in conjunction with the chosen supplier, to come forward with an acceptable timetable for the implementation of the scheme. The Government want the scheme to be in place as soon as practicable. We will approve its introduction when we are satisfied that it will be effective, workable and safe. Before that can happen, both the Football Membership Authority and the Football Licensing Authority will need to be confident, among other considerations: that the technology has been tested properly; that the flow of spectators through the turnstiles will proceed smoothly; that the implications for the stewarding and policing of designated football matches have been fully assessed including the methodology for handling invalid cards, and that any structural alterations which may be needed at individual grounds have been made. The Football Licensing Authority will not license a ground to hold a designated match unless the requirements of the national membership scheme have been complied with and they are fully satisfied on safety requirements.I look forward to continuing co-operation between the Government and the football authorities in preparing for the implementation of the scheme and to the major contribution which the scheme will make to break the link between football and hooliganism.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning appeals have been made in each of the last three years; if he will express these figures in terms of percentage increase; how many planning appeal inspectors have been in post in each of the last three years; and what percentage of appeals within the last 12 months have been heard within the time limit prescribed by the relevant legislation.

The information requested is as follows:

Planning Appeals
Year	Planning appeals received	Percentage increase over previous year
		Per cent.
1986–87	19,856	11·3
1987–88	22,482	13·2
1988–89	28,659	27·4

Salaried inspectors in post as at 31 December
	Number
1987	166
1988	173
11989	190
1 As at 30 November 1989.

A total of 1,424 planning appeals have so far been processed under the Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1988 and the Town and Country Planning (Determination by Inspectors) (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1988. In 724 cases (50·8 per cent. of the total) the inquiry was held within the timetable set out in the rules.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that local authority districts in which a large part of the income comes from tourism are not penalised for this in the revenue support grant calculations for 1990–91.

In the proposals for revenue support grant for 1990–91, no account is taken of income from tourism in calculating individual authorities' standard spending assessments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to exempt from the community charge elderly people who are being looked after in private homes and who would otherwise require residential or nursing care at public expense.

No. Any elderly person being looked after in the community will be eligible for community charge benefit in their own right if they meet the income and capital requirements of the benefit scheme. Benefit can cover up to 80 per cent. of the community charge bill, and any elderly person receiving income support will have included in it an amount reflecting the fact that they have to pay the other 20 per cent. Thus, there should be no financial incentive for people caring for elderly relatives to seek to place them in residential or nursing care. We have recently announced changes in the regulations to ensure that people being cared for in the community will receive the same relief from the standard community charge as those in residential care homes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which planning rules apply to the erection of satellite television dishes on blocks of flats; whether he ha .s any intention to change these rules; and if he will make a statement.

Part 25 of the General Developmen.t Order 1988 gives permission for up to two satellite antennae up to 90 cm in diameter on blocks of flats over 15 m high, provided the antennae are sited to minimise their visual effect. That permission does not apply in conservation areas, national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty or the Broads. My right hon. Friend hopes to issue a consultation paper on planning controls over satellite antennas and other telecommunications development within the next 2 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he intends to give to local authorities on the control of noise pollution; and whether he will make a statement.

My Department is currently consulting local authorities about the adequacy of their powers to control noise nuisance under the Control Pollution Act 1974, with particular reference to acid house and similar parties. We have already received helpful responses from the Association of District Councils, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities and the London Boroughs Association. Together with other Government Departments, we shall take whatever action is necessary to strengthen the law in relation to noise nuisance generally. We will also give clear guidance to local authorities about exercising their powers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has authorised the erection of the double-decker media hut on the green opposite the Palace of Westminster; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had, concerning the erection of temporary huts on College green; and if he will make a statement.

Permission was given to ITV and Channel 4 to put up the hut for broadcasting purposes associated with the state opening of Parliament and the experimental televising of the House of Commons. Further permission was given for the hut to remain in place until after the election for the leadership of the Conservative party. It will be dismantled and removed on Thursday 7 December. It is usual to allow the media to put temporary facilities on Abingdon street gardens to cover important events.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the United Kingdom will participate in the proposed European Environment Agency; whether United Kingdom statistics on environmental damage would be made available to East European countries through such an agency and vice versa; and if he will make a statement.

Unanimous political agreement was reached at the Environment Council which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State attended in Brussels on 28 November. There is a firm commitment that the United Kingdom will participate in the agency's work.The EC regulation, endorsed at the Environment Council, makes specific reference to participation of non-EC countries, such as EFTA and the eastern bloc, in the work of the agency. Participation will be based on agreements drawn up between individual third countries and the agency, requiring unanimous agreement by the Council. Such agreements should allow for United Kingdom statistics on environment damage to be made available to east European countries through the agency and vice versa.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the Forestry Industry Committee of Great Britain; and what matters were discussed.

My right hon. Friend has not held any meetings with the committee, but I have received a copy of its report on "Options for British forestry 1989–1990"; and the recommendations in this are being considered by the Forestry Commission and other relevant Departments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reply to the Mersey tunnel's case for Government assistance which has recently been sent to him.

[holding answer 4 December 1989]: I have been asked to reply.We are considering Merseytravel's request for Government financial assistance. A decision on the case it has presented will be made as soon as we have considered it fully.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received about the merger of the Arts Council and the Crafts Council; and if he will take steps to ensure that the balance of funds available to the Arts Council and the Crafts Council will remain the same.

I have received many representations on this issue. No decision will be taken until the new year, but I have already given indicative figures of the level of support for the crafts for the next three years, in my grant announcement of 15 November.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when serious misdeclaration penalty and default interest for value added tax will be introduced; and if he will make a statement.

Customs and Excise has been publicising, and traders have been preparing for, the introduction of the final phase of the Keith civil penalty regime from 1 January 1990. In the light of the recent consultation exercise of the VAT (Accounting and Records) Regulations, and of the technical arrangements for introducing the new regime, I have been giving further careful consideration to the timing.The regulations, incorporating important changes beneficial to business, have been laid before the House today and will come into force as planned on 1 January 1990. As part of the procedures, traders will have the opportunity to make separate voluntary disclosure of their larger errors to Customs, thereby avoiding penalty, rather than, as at present, including them on their VAT returns or adjusting their VAT accounts. In order that all traders may become familiar with the new regime, I have decided that serious misdeclaration penalty and default interest will not be introduced until 1 April 1990.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the provisions for encouraging employee share ownership in the United Kingdom and in other member states of the European Community.

Major legislation providing tax reliefs to encourage the spread of employee share ownership in the United Kingdom was introduced in the Finance Acts of 1978, 1980, 1984 and 1989. These provisions have been improved or extended in most of the intervening years. By March 1988, they had resulted in more than 1·75 million employees receiving shares or interests in shares with an initial market value of £4 billion. The available information in other European Community countries is limited, but we are aware that Belgium, Denmark, France, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands also provide fiscal incentives to promote employee share ownership.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons are employed in Civil Service duties in Southend-on-Sea; and what was the comparable figure 10 years ago.

At 1 April 1989, there were 3,875 non-industrial civil servants (full-time equivalents) serving in Southend-on-Sea. This compares with a total of 4,924 at 1 April 1979.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total tax burden (including value added tax and indirect taxes) on the average family at the present time; and what was the burden in 1979.

The total tax burden (excluding rates) on a married man with two children on average male earnings is estimated to be about 33 per cent. of gross earnings in 1989–90, compared with around 32 per cent. in 1978–79. The corresponding figures for a married man with no children on average male earnings are about 38½ and 39½ per cent. respectively. If real earnings had remained at their 1978–79 levels, both family types would now be paying a considerably lower proportion of their earnings in tax than in 1978–79: down to 29½ per cent. for the married man with two children, and down to 36½ per cent. for the married man with no children.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to review inequalities in occupational pension levels among retired public servants of the same grade or rank who retired in different years.

None.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he estimates that the increase in interest rates and the exchange rate will have on incomes in the banking sector and in industries wholly or mainly engaged in producing importable and exportable goods.

I have no sectoral estimates of the type requested.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provisions he has made in the married couple's allowance to be introduced in April 1990 for those couples who choose to maintain independent financial affairs in marriage.

[holding answer 4 December 1989]: Under independent taxation, husbands and wives will be treated as individual taxpayers, and their incomes and gains will be taxed independently. The arrangements for giving the married couple's allowance enable couples to maintain independent financial affairs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the European Community countries which do not include (a) mortgage interest rates and (b) house rent payments in the calculations for their retail prices indices.

[holding answer 4 December 1989]: Of European Community countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Greece do not include mortgage interest payments in their calculation of the retail prices index. Only Portugal does not include house rent payments.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what items have been (a) taken out and (b) incorporated into the calculations in the retail prices index, for each year since 1979.

[holding answer 4 December 1989]: Only minor changes have been made to the coverage of the retail prices index since 1979 the most important of which took place at the beginning of 1987 when, following recommendations of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee, the index was restructured to incorporate a number of items on which expenditure was relatively small and which had previously been excluded. The items in question were:

fees paid by households for educational and recreational courses;

subscriptions to trade unions and professional associations;

non-food expenditure on pets;

fees for medical, dental and optical treatment and the provision of spectacles;

premiums for house contents insurance;

expenditure on hobbies not covered by any other section of the index.

In addition housing subsidies, which used to be partly included in the calculation of the retail prices index, were excluded from 1987. At the begining of 1989, the coverage of fees was extended to take account of new charges for eye tests and dental checks, and in April 1989 community charge payments were brought into the retail prices index in respect of Scotland in place of domestic rates.The methods by which the retail prices index has been compiled have remained essentially unchanged. Price changes are obtained for a selection of goods and services and this selection is continually updated in order to maintain the index as a reliable and representative measure of the change in prices across all the goods and services commonly bought by consumers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the extent of United Kingdom manufacturing companies' investment in research and development; and how this has changed since 1979.

[holding answer 4 December 1989]: Figures for United Kingdom manufacturing companies' investment in research and development from 1978 to 1987 are included in the relevant aggregates of intramural expenditure on research and development carried out in United Kingdom industry which were published in British Business on 3 February 1989, a copy of which is available in the Library.Figures for 1979 are not available. 1987 is the latest year for which figures are published.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution is made by the annual wealth tax on housing in West Germany and by domestic rates in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available; and what would be the yield of a wealth tax in (a) housing and (b) other assets in the United Kingdom at the rate charged in West Germany.

[holding answer 30 November 1989]: The latest figures for receipts from the annual taxes on immovable property and on net wealth in West Germany are available in "Revenue Statistics of OECD Member Countries 1965–1988". The net payments of domestic rates in the United Kingdom were £7,553 million in 1987–88.An estimate of the yield of a wealth tax applied to assets in the United Kingdom using the West German tax rate and system of allowances, exemptions, reliefs and valuation rules could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he is making to the European Economic Community on the future of duty-free allowances for travellers within the European Economic Community; what studies have been carried out by his Department of the costs of benefits of (a) increase and (b) abolition; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 30 November 1989]: The Commission recently proposed transitional increases in the travellers' allowances for goods obtained duty and tax-paid in another EC country. Between 1990 and 1992 limits would rise in three stages from 300 to 600 cigarettes, 1·5 to 3 litres of spirits and from £250 to about £1,000 for goods subject only to VAT.The Government welcome these proposals and would indeed prefer to see a single early increase rather than three stages; but decisions have not yet been taken by the Council. An immediate increase to the levels proposed would cost about £17 million a year.The Commission has made no proposals affecting allowances for passengers arriving from outside the EC, where the Government would also like to see higher limits. Nor have proposals been made affecting goods obtained duty—and tax-free within the EC, but the Commission's assumption is that duty-free shopping for intra-EC travel will cease after 1992.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why two letters, dated 30 August and 23 October, from the American Privacy Foundation in Washington DC to the Campaign for Freedom of Information in London, on the subject of the Official Secrets Act and the interception of communications, have been opened for inspection by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

[holding answer 1 December 1989]: Her Majesty's Customs and Excise have powers to require the opening by the Post Office of any postal packet or letter arriving in the United Kingdom. These powers are used only in the pursuit of contraband and especially drugs which are frequently discovered in the mail. Drugs such as heroin, cocaine and LSD are often concealed in flat, apparently innocent, letters and packages.Detection in these circumstances is extremely difficult and is made no easier by the possibility that packets containing certain drugs may contaminate other mail. Innocent letters and packages may be opened for internal examination, but will be resealed immediately if it is apparent that no contraband is present.The size of the drug threat in the mail may be judged from the fact that 2,000 seizures of drugs have been made in a single year at one postal depot alone. Attempts to evade customs controls have led drug smugglers to use ingenious and sophisticated methods. They have been known to address a letter or package to a famous or highly respected person or organisation in the hope that it will not be examined, arrangements having been made for it to be extracted from the mail before delivery.No letters are opened for examination at Customs' request for any other reasons than to discover goods prohibited by law.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what gain in revenue arises by virtue of the termination under the poll tax rules of the right of self-employed people to claim their rates liability income tax; and what is the estimated average loss to the self-employed.

[holding answer 1 December 1989]: The introduction of the community charge will not affect the income tax treatment of business rates payable on non-domestic property. These rates will continue to be deductible in computing profits for tax purposes. No deduction will, however, be available in respect of the personal community charge payable by persons who use their homes partly for business purposes, because the charge is not a business expense but is personal to the individual concerned. Information is not available centrally upon which to base an estimate of the additional income tax which may be payable in consequence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland are currently in receipt of family credit; and, of these, how many were advised in writing to return their books to central benefits branch because of the new regulations issued in October.

The number of families receiving family credit at 23 November 1989 was 14,131.No family credit recipients were asked to return their order books because of the Family Credit, Housing Benefit and Income Support (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989 which came into force on 1 October 1989 or because of the guidance from the chief adjudication officer issued recently on the interpretation of provisions in the main regulations on the treatment of expenses incurred in self-employed cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the new regulations in respect of family credit applications which came into effect from 1 October, with reference to self-employed persons; and if he will make a copy available in the Library.

The Family Credit, Housing Benefit and Income Support (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989 which came into force on 1 October 1989 have been published and a copy is available in the Library. The regulations, which provide for payments of allowances to adopters under approved schemes to be disregarded in the calculation of income, cover but do not specifically refer to self-employed persons. Recent guidance for adjudication officers on the interpretation of provisions in the main regulations which deal specifically with self-employed cases has also been published and a copy is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the new regulations formulated in respect of family credit; and, of those whose books were requested for adjustment, how many received (a) an increase and (b) a decrease in allowance.

The Family Credit, Housing Benefit and Income Support (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989, which came into operation on 1 October 1989, provide for payments of

Persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974, 1976, 1984 and 1989
	19741	1975	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	19892
Number of persons detained	0	8	908	938	1,309	1,459	1,717	843
Held for under 48 hours	0	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	868	1,077	1,248	624
Held for over 48 hours and under 5 days	0	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	350	295	394	197
Held over 5 days	0	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	91	87	75	22
Charged under 48 hours3	0	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	215	205	192	61
Charged over 48 hours and under 5 days3	0	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	108	97	138	73
Charged over 5 days3	0	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	35	41	43	13
Notes:
n.a.—Not available.
1 The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 came into force on 29 November 1974.
2 Information up to 30 June 1989.
3 Persons charged—not necessarily with scheduled offences.

Comprehensive figures on the operation of the emergency provisions Acts are not available before 1975. Between 1984 and 31 March 1989, 3,589 individuals were arrested by the police using powers under section 11 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 and detained for a maximum of 72 hours; 18 individuals were arrested by the police under section 13 of the Act; and 638 people were arrested by members of Her Majesty's forces under section 14 of the Act and held for a maximum of four hours (a number of whom were subsequently re-arrested under the PTA). In total, 655 individuals were charged with scheduled offences during the period as a result of these arrests. The powers under section 11 of the EPA were repealed in 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to lay before Parliament the draft codes of practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.

Draft codes of practice under article 65 of the PACE (NI) Order 1989 dealing with the exercise of police powers, and the detention, treatment, questioning and identification of persons in custody, were laid before both Houses of Parliament today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been held under the Emergency Provisions Act and the Prevention of Terrorism Act, respectively, in Northern Ireland (a) between 1970 and 1975 and (b) between 1984 and 1989 for periods of less than 48 hours, for periods of between 48 hours and five days and for periods in excess of five days; and of those persons held, how many were subsequently charged with scheduled offences permitting trial before a non-jury court.

Readily available information is as follows:An order bringing the codes into operation on 1 January 1990 will be laid shortly.It had been the Government's intention to lay at the same time a draft of the code of practice on the tape-recording of police interviews with suspects; but this code will not now be laid in draft until the steering committee set up to implement and monitor the procedures has had an opportunity to evaluate the tape-recording pilot schemes which will get under way in the new year and to assess and consider the arrangements which would be appropriate for Northern Ireland.When this has been completed the draft code of practice 'on tape-recording will be laid before Parliament and thereafter an appropriate order will be made placing (subject to parliamentary approval) the Royal Ulster Constabulary under a duty to tape-record interviews with suspects in accordance with the code.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will list the number of cases (a) of applications made and (b) in which compensation was paid to persons who tripped on a footpath in each of the last three years in each council district, or if more convenient each housing executive district;

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will state the number of (a) Royal Ulster Constabulary patrols, (b) Regular Army patrols, (c) Ulster Defence Regiment patrols as a percentage of the total number of patrols carried out by the security forces, for each month since November 1985 and (d) Ulster Defence Regiment patrols which were accompanied by the Royal Ulster Constabulary, as a percentage of the total number of patrols conducted by the regiment, for each month since November 1985 and the dates by which he intends to ensure that (i) 70 per cent., (ii) 80 per cent., (iii) 90 per cent., (iv) 100 per cent. of Ulster Defence Regiment patrols will be accompanied by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

[holding answer 4 December 1989]: As I told the hon. Member on 23 October at column 305, information is not regularly collected in the form

[holding answers 28 November 1989]: Information is not available in the precise form requested. The following table sets out the number of claims made for personal injury and compensation paid out in each of the three years requested.requested and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost. The Government are committed to increasing the present level of RUC accompaniment of military patrols, especially those which are likely to come into direct contact with members of the community. But the question whether or not a particular patrol should be accompanied by the RUC is an operational matter, and it would not therefore be appropriate for the Secretary of State to lay down firm timetables of the kind envisaged in the hon. Member's question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will show for the latest available date, the number of vehicles passing along (a) the Ballyrobin road, (b) the Killead road and (c) the Oldstone road per 24 hour period; and if he will indicate the maximum and minimum hourly traffic flows.

Latest traffic survey figures are:

To ask the Attorney-General what criteria the Crown prosecution service applies when undertaking the independent legal review of charges brought by police for alleged excess alcohol offences arising from breath tests administered to motorists stopped at random.

The CPS applies the criteria set out in the code for crown prosecutors. Accordingly, crown prosecutors must be satisfied that there is admissible evidence sufficient to allow a realistic prospect of a conviction before authorising continuance of the criminal proceedings. For this purpose the matters which it will take into account include the following:

(i) It is lawful for a police officer in uniform acting in the execution of his duty to require the driver of any vehicle on a road to stop.

(ii) A police officer who stops a vehicle on a road with the purpose of investigating whether its driver has alcohol in his body is acting in the execution of his duty.

(iii) It is accordingly lawful for a police officer in uniform to stop vehicles at random with that purpose, provided there is no malpractice such as oppression or capricious conduct on the part of the officer.

(iv) It is lawful for a police officer in uniform to require a driver who has been stopped in such circumstances to provde a specimen of breath for a breath test, provided that the officer has reasonable cause to suspect that the driver has alcohol in his body.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) at what stage pupils with special educational needs will be tested;(2) whether special educational needs will be tested at seven, 11 and 16 years regardless of the level or attainment target they are working on at the time.

The national curriculum and its assessment arrangements will apply equally to all but the very small minority of pupils in respect of whom a statement provides otherwise or a statutory exception has been made.The attainment targets, programmes of study and assessment arrangements are being designed to bring out positive achievement at all levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if (a) special schools will be expected to publish results and (b) schools will be expected to publish results of pupils with special educational needs.

Regulations under section 22 of the Education Reform Act concerning the publication of information about aggregate pupils' achievements under the national curriculum will be made in due course. My right hon. Friend will consider nearer the time whether special provision is appropriate for pupils with special educational needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will allow more time to be given for preparation of individual programmes for pupils with special educational needs within the national curriculum framework;(2) if he will consider giving extra time for the disapplication procedures for special educational needs children;(3) what consideration he has given to the problems of those SEN pupils who require developmental curriculums as opposed to academic ones.

The national curriculum requirements will not apply to pupils with statements of special educational needs until August 1990, one year later than for other pupils. This will allow time for statements to modify or disapply national curriculum requirements and for individual programmes to be prepared. We have no plans to extend the year's delay beyond August 1990.Under section 18 of the Education Reform Act, a statement may modify or disapply any or all of the requirements of the national curriculum. My right hon. Friend expects statements containing modifications or disapplications to set out the alternative provision to be made. However, where exceptions have been made, maintained schools are still under a duty to ensure that the curricula they offer pupils are balanced and broadly based, in accordance with the requirements of section 1 of the ERA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will consider a dispensation from the national curriculum for special educational needs children with severe learning difficulties and speech problems from taking a foreign language.

Section 18 of the Education Reform Act already makes provision for the national curriculum requirements to be lifted or modified for pupils with statements of special educational needs. This could include exemption from the modern foreign language requirements; but my right hon. Friend expects the benefits of learning a modern foreign language to be made available to as many children as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what extra resources he is prepared to give to schools to help in teaching the national curriculum to pupils with special educational needs;(2) what plans he has to allocate extra resources to mainstream schools to enable special needs children to have maximum access to the national curriculum;(3) what plans he has to allocate extra resources to special schools in order to equip them to offer a broad, balanced curriculum to all children.

The cost of implementing the national curriculum will be met largely from the redirection of existing resources. However, we are giving local education authorities specific grant support for the introduction of the national curriculum. This financial year there will be support for over £100 million expenditure. It is for authorities to decide how much to spend to enable pupils with special educational needs, whether in mainstream or special schools, to have maximum access to the national curriculum and a broad, balanced curriculum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to ensure that when local education authority centrally retained funds are reduced from 10 to 7 per cent. the services provided by the local education authority to special needs children will not be adversely affected.

Under LMS, LEAs will retain the statutory duty to ensure that the requirements of statements of special educational need are fulfilled for those children who have such statements. A number of LEAs believe that the needs of statemented pupils can best be met by delegating resources to schools and have made appropriate proposals in their submitted LMS schemes. Others have indicated that they wish to retain central control of such resources. As LEAs move towards the target of reducing the proportion of funds retained centrally, it will remain for individual LEAs to judge whether the needs of pupils can best be met by delegating or retaining central control over resources and services for those with special needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if national priority training money will be made available to provide national curriculum training for all teachers to enable the most effective response to be made to the needs of children with significant learning difficulties.

Substantial support for training teachers to implement the national curriculum is available through the LEA training grants scheme. This support includes training in respect of national curriculum requirements as they relate to pupils with special educational needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent he proposes to make additional resources available to meet the extra demands made on educational psychologists in advising on modifications of the national curriculum for some children.

Modification to and disapplications of the national curriculum for children with statements of special educational needs are expected to occur only in exceptional cases. Advice in this area should not place any significant extra demands upon the schools psychological service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he intends to take to ensure that the demands of statutory work on educational psychologists do not reduce the amount of time available to deal with the psychological interests of children who have the specific learning difficulties in dyslexia.

Local education authorities are responsible for the employment of educational psychologists in the maintained sector of education, and it is for them to ensure that adequate numbers are employed to meet local needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science under local management of schools what action he will be taking to ensure that psychological services continue to be available to all children and their families.

Under LMS, LEAs may choose whether to continue to manage centrally the provision of educational psychology services or to delegate the responsibility and resources for such provision to schools. LEAs will continue to have the statutory duty to secure the advice of educational psychologists when assessing children for the purposes of statements of special educational needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the setting up of a committee of inquiry into teachers' pay and conditions; and what has been his response.

The Professional Association of Teachers has recently suggested to my right hon. Friend that a committee of inquiry into teachers' pay and conditions should be established. My right hon. Friend, in reply, has made it clear that in his view this would not be appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many salary allowances to teachers have been awarded to teachers for good classroom practice without the acceptance of additional responsibilities since 1986.

The Government have stressed from their introduction in 1987 the importance they attach to incentive allowances being used to reward teachers who demonstrate outstanding ability in the classroom. There is some evidence in the 1988 secondary school staffing survey that, in the first year of operation, a significant number of allowances were awarded to teachers for reasons other than the taking on of extra responsibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his Department's policy towards the recruitment of PhD students into research; and how the proposed changes in the funding of research departments will support this policy.

The main objective of the Department's expenditure on the support of postgraduate research students is to secure an adequate supply of very highly qualified manpower for research in industry and academic institutions. This expenditure is administered by the research councils and the British Academy, which are best placed, in consultation with academic institutions and employers, to assess national needs for PhDs and to maintain the quality of postgraduate education and training.The new funding arrangements to be introduced through the Universities Funding Council will help to improve management of resources for both teaching and research in universities. This will benefit all students, including PhD students.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to remove the requirement under the Education Reform Act for every primary school to compile comprehensive statistics and replace it with a sampling method.

The recent HMI report "The Implementation of the National Curriculum in Primary Schools" pointed to the need for primary schools to pay more attention to the overall planning of time. The annual curriculum return (schedule 1 to the Education (School Curriculum and Related Information) Regulations 1989) will serve as a useful framework for schools in planning their curriculum provision and will also provide information about schools' use of time for local and national monitoring.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many visits his officials have made to Bradford during the past year, to date, to discuss magnet schools; and if he will list the names and designation of officials and the dates on which visits were made and the names of Bradford council elected members and officials they met.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the names of Ministers, Bradford council members, Bradford council officers and officials of his Department who met on 28 September to discuss Bradford's proposal for development support funding for magnet schools; where the meeting took place; what documents were passed to Ministers by Bradford council members; and if he will place copies of all such documents in the Library.

I met Councillor Eric Pickles and Councillor Mike Gaunt at the Department's headquarters in London. It is not accepted practice to name officials of the Department, three of whom were also present. A copy of the document "Magnet Schools: Promoting Quality and Diversity in Bradford" was passed to me, and has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what response he has made to the proposal for development support funding for magnet schools in Bradford outlined in documents passed to his Minister of State by members of Bradford council on 28 September; and if he will make a statement.

At my meeting on 28 September, I noted with interest the plans being developed by Bradford council for a magnet schools initiative. The council subsequently submitted bids for specific grant and capital funding to support the initiative. The Government's response to these bids is set out in the reply that I have given today to a separate question from the hon. Member on the same subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what supplementary bid for local authority training grants scheme support in connection with magnet schools he has received for Bradford council; what is the total amount of this bid; when he expects to reach his decision on this bid; what other bids under other programes, linked to magnet schools, he has received from Bradford council; what is the total amount of all such bids; and if he will make a statement.

A supplementary bid amounting to £204,000 in 1990–91 has been received from Bradford for funds to enable the local education authority to carry out further training of its staff in preparation for the introduction of a magnet schools programme. The maxima of expenditure by local education authorities that will be supported by grant under the LEA training grants scheme in 1990–91 will be announced shortly. Bradford has already been informed that there was no prospect of the supplementary funds it was seeking being made available as this could only be done at the expense of another authority.Bids under the education support grant programme for 1990–91 totalling about £1·25 million have also been received from Bradford in respect of the magnet schools programme. These are currently being considered: my right hon. Friend expects to announce ESG allocations for 1990–91 around the end of this year. In addition, Bradford's capital expenditure plans for 1990–91 include £1.5 million for school improvements related to a magnet schools programme. The annual capital guidelines for 1990–91 will be announced shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many jobs are likely to be lost as a result of the rationalisation of earth sciences, departments; where these are expected to occur; and if he will make a statement.

Nationally, the rationalisation exercise will result in the creation of some 45 new posts. Implementation is a matter for the Universities Funding Council, in collaboration with the institutions concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the brief provided to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for the study of child care needs; and how long he anticipates the research to take before it is completed.

The survey being carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is designed to obtain a detailed picture of the arrangements parents make for the care of children under eight. The pattern of attendance at day nurseries, nursery schools and classes, primary schools and playgroups will be covered as will the use of child minders, relatives and friends to look after the children, inside and outside the home. Parents will be asked to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the arrangements and to say whether the arrangements represent their first choice. The survey will also collect information about the stability of arrangements. Questions will also be asked about attendance at clubs, etc. a fter school and arrangements made during school holidays.The pilot survey work was carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in October; the main fieldwork stage is planned for October-December 1990, in order to obtain accurate and recent data about the summer holidays. The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys expects to have completed the main part of the analysis about a year after the main fieldwork stage.I would be happy to give the hon. Member further details, if she considers that would be helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks or monitoring his Department carries out on radiation levels in food imported from eastern European countries, either direct or via other European Community countries, following the accident at Chernobyl; and if he will make a statement.

Port health authorities are continuing to monitor radiation levels in food imports from countries outside the European Community in accordance with the latest European Council regulation (EC 3955/87 of 22 December 1987).

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the names of the hospitals in south Yorkshire which have shown an interest in opting out.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) on 29 November at columns 297–300. There is, of course, no question of any hospital "opting-out" of the NHS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on links between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and meningitis.

There are no known links between bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle and meningitis in humans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of district health authorities that will be cutting beds and operation lists before the end of the financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of district health authorities that will be cutting beds and operation lists before the end of the financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of district health authorities that will be cutting beds and operating lists before the end of the financial year.

We do not hold the information requested centrally. The provision of local health services is the responsibility of local health authorities subject to local needs and priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will add catheters to the list of items exempt from prescription charges.

The present exemptions from prescription charges are for particular groups of people. They do not include exemptions for individual drugs or appliances, other than for contraceptive substances and listed contraceptive appliances. We have no plans to change these arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were removed from the child abuse register in London in 1987–88.

Information from the survey of child protection registers in the year ending 31 March 1988 is published in "Survey of Children and Young Persons on Child Protection Registers Year ended 31 March 1988". Copies are available in the Library.The number of recorded deregistrations in Greater London in 1987–88 (excluding Greenwich and Westminster) was 2,905.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if each area covered by a social services department maintains a central register of children in the area who have been abused or are at risk from abuse.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will break down the £7 million which is used for training of social services staff on child abuse.

The £7 million provided for the training of local authority staff working with children has been allocated as follows: £100,000—to fund the central training group on child sexual abuse, national workshops and other development and review work; £2,140,000—flat rate allocation of £20,000 to all local authorities in England, except the City of London and Isles of Scilly, for improvements in their training infrastructure; £4,760,000—allocations to all local authorities in England based on the number of staff working with children. Details of allocations to individual local authorities have been placed in the Library.Training programmes submitted by local authorities indicate that £4·6 million will be spent on general training and £2·3 million on training in child protection work including child sexual abuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce special assessment teams, composed of local authority health authority and police officials, to deal with the problem of child abuse.

It is for the local authority, health authority and local police force jointly to consider the introduction of specialist assessment teams. The Department's guidance document "Working Together" (1988), copies of which are available in the Library, commends agencies to consider carefully the conclusions and recommendations of the report of the inquiry on child abuse in Cleveland 1987 on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet voluntary organisations concerned with children to discuss the setting up of a national register list of aid for children.

The Department regularly meets voluntary organisations with responsibilities in the child care field. I refer the hon. Member to my previous response to her of 15 November at column 338.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are available to a child or family removed from the child abuse register.

Children removed from the child protection register and their families are eligible for the full range of services provided by local authority social services departments and health authorities. Paragraph 5.29 of the Department's guidance document, "Working Together" (1988), copies of which are available in the Library, states:

"removal of a child's name from the register should not lead to an automatic withdrawal or reduction in services. The risk of child abuse may have been eliminated or reduced but a variety of services may still be needed by the child and family, and in some cases the child will he in the care of the local authority either on a voluntary or compulsory basis".

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment is being made of the results of the Open university training package for training in recognition of child abuse.

As the training pack has only been on the market since the end of March, it is too early to provide a full assessment of its impact. Sales of the training pack have been very encouraging; from the end of March 1989 to September 1989, 2,319 student packs and 620 tutor packs were sold. The training pack included an assessment module, and 1,000 students have so far registered to take part in the assessment exercise. Early results indicate that students' knowledge of child abuse is increased substantially after having completed the course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the number of local authorities providing day nurseries, play groups, child minding, family aides, family centres and other facilities which can support and advise and aid in the prevention of child abuse within families.

Statistical information is collected annually from each local authority about day nurseries, play groups and child minders provided by the local authority. Information is sought about the number of premises/persons, the number of places and, for day nurseries and playgroups, the numbers on the register. Information is also sought about the number of children in voluntary or private play groups or day nurseries or with child minders who are placed and paid for by the local authority. This information is published, together with some details of private and voluntary provision. The most recent publication is "Children's Day Care Facilities at 31 March 1988; England" a copy of which is available in the Library.Details of expenditure are also collected for each authority; these details cover expenditure on family centres as well as day nurseries, playgroups and child minders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many area child protection committees investigating child abuse there were in 1988.

In July 1988, the Department published a guidance document, "Working Together" and an accompanying circular (LAC(88)10/HC(88)38), copies of which are available in the Library, which called for the redesignation of area review committees as area child protection committees covering one local authority area. The process of redesignation continued into 1989, and involved the reorganisation of some larger area review committees into area child protection committees which were conterminous with local authority boundaries. There are currently 108 area child protection committees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next intends to visit Bradford to meet the chairman of the district health authority.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has no plans at present to visit Bradford to meet the chairman of the health authority. I hope to visit Bradford in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the rate of increase of costs in the National Health Service in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

Costs in the National Health Service increased by an estimated 7·9 per cent. in 1987–88 and by 10·1 per cent. in 1988–89. An estimate of increased costs in 1989–90 will not be available until after the current financial year has ended.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that before the implementation of section 42 of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill, there will have been the full implementation of sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Disabled Persons (Consultation, Representation and Services) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement.

We have always made it clear that further implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 could take place only if the necessary resources were available without jeopardising high priority social services. We are currently considering action to identify the resources which would be required to implement sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set up a statutory committee of voluntary organisations involved in the provision of care services to disabled people, of which disabled people themselves would be members.

Although we have no plans to set up such a statutory committee, we will continue to consult the relevant voluntary organisations as and when appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has visited any ambulance station to talk to ambulance personnel since the beginning of the dispute (a) at West Bridgford ambulance station, (b) in Nottingham and (c) nationally.

Neither I nor my colleagues have visited any ambulant t stations since the beginning of the dispute. I have talked with staff from West Bridgford ambulance station at my constituency office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the representations on the White Paper from patients and doctors by the Nottingham health authority.

We cannot identify separately from the information we hold the number of representations received from people living within each individual authority area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give an estimate for the income generated by each district health authority from commercial activities following the provisions of section 4 of the Health and Medicines Act.

Section 7 of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 gives health authorities the power to generate additional income.In the current year, we expect £28 million to be generated by the NHS in England. The average amount generated by each district will be about £140,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often meetings are held between Ministers and officials from different Government Departments to co-ordinate Government policy on aging and related issues.

Meetings are not held regularly but as and when necessary and in order to consider issues which arise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what information the latest statistical forecast of high inward migration to Devon was based.

Estimates of population for local and health authorities in England have been extrapolated forward from 1988 to 1989 and 1990. It has been assumed that recent average changes in each area arising from births, deaths, and migration will be maintained, subject to constraints set by the latest (1988-based) national population projections for England made by the Government Actuary's department. Past estimates of migration have been derived from re-registrations on the National Health Service central register as people move from a doctor's list in one family practitioner committee area to a list in another such area (migration within the United Kingdom), and from results of the international passenger survey (international migration). The net inwards migration levels assumed for 1988–89 and 1989–90 on this basis are less than the levels estimated for each of the previous four years.