To ask the Lord President of the Council how many seats are reserved for staff and advisers for (a) the Government and (b) Opposition parties on the floor of Standing Committees.

Five places are made available for Government staff and advisers in Standing Committees; no such arrangement exists at present for Opposition parties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the adoption by companies in Northern Ireland of the MacBride principles; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 7 December 1989]: I am not aware that any company operating in Northern Ireland has adopted the MacBride principles.Companies in Northern Ireland have to obey Northern Ireland law. They do not have to make available information beyond that which is statutorily required.We are in favour of jobs and of justice and we have therefore consistently opposed the campaign based on the MacBride principles because it could adversely affect existing jobs, cut new investment and hit at the creating of the new jobs and extra employment opportunities that are needed in Northern Ireland.Equality of opportunity in employment is best achieved through Northern Ireland law and effective action.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what pipelines have been agreed to serve oil flow from developments in the North sea over the next four years; and if he will provide an estimate of the length of each pipeline and its tonnage of steel.

The following pipelines have been authorised to serve oil flow from developments in the North sea over the next four years. These pipelines have been laid but are not yet in operation.

Field and pipeline	Approximate length kilometers	Approximate weight tones
Kittiwake
1 × 8 in flowline	2·0	144

To ask the Prime Minister how many representations she has received regarding the methods by which cats and dogs are slaughtered for human consumption in South Korea.The Prime Minister: I have received approximately 950 representations on the subject of human consumption of cats and dogs in South Korea.

To ask the Prime Minister whether any decision was taken at the Strasbourg summit concerning the alteration of the voluntary restraint arrangements in respect of leather footwear imports from eastern Europe.

No. The Strasbourg summit discussions on European Community relations with eastern and central Europe did not cover such specific issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much food aid has been given to Ethiopia in the current year by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

This year under the United Kingdom food aid programme Her Majesty's Government are providing over 27,000 tonnes of food aid to Ethiopia with a value of £6·6 million. In addition, our share of the cost of the 74,000 tonnes of food aid allocated by the European Community to Ethiopia is some £3 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received since 1 August concerning food aid to Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Since 1 August there have been a number of appeals to the donor community to supply food aid for the hungry in Ethiopia. Since that time Her Majesty's Government have agreed to provide 21,700 tonnes of food aid with a value of £4·7 million in response to appeals that they have received from British voluntary agencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any proposals to increase food aid to Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Within the last two weeks I have approved a further 5,000 tonnes of food aid for the hungry in Ethiopia. This brings our total food aid to Ethiopia to over 27,000 tonnes this year. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to widen the types of crime covered by the categories (a) violent crime and (b) assault; and if he will make a statement.

We have no present plans to do so, but we are always ready to consider proposals if the hon. Lady has any particular suggestions to make the law more effective.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases over the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available applications for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom by Pakistani citizens have been (a) granted, (b) refused, (c) followed by an application to enter the United Kingdom as a visitor to be present at the birth of the applicant's child, and (d) that application has been refused on the ground that an application had been made for settlement which had been refused.

The only information available is that in the 12 months ending 30 September 1989, 5,450 applications in Pakistan for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom were granted and 2,010 were refused initially. A total of 9,190 applications for a visit entry clearance were refused in the same period because the applicant did not meet the requirements of immigration rules.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure British prisons comply with recommendation 12(873) of European prison rules and in particular with regard to (a) part II, 10, 2, regarding preparation of reports on every prisoner, (b) part II, 14, 1, on individual cells, (c) part II, 14, 2, on night supervision, (d) part 11, 11,1, on allocation of prisoners with regard to their age, status and medical needs, (e) part II, 11, 4, on detention of young prisoners under conditions which protect them from harmful influences, (f) part III, 52, on training of prison staff, (g) part III, 57, on inclusion of specialist staff, such as psychiatrists and (h) part IV, 100, 2 and 3, on availability of specialised institutions under medical management; and how many British prisons fulfil these conditions.

The recommendation adopted by the Committee of Ministers in respect of the European prison rules states that

"the governments of member states should be guided in their internal legislation and practice by the principles set out in the text of the European Prison Rules … with a view to their progressive implementation".

The Government comply with this recommendation.Every establishment in Her Majety's prison service in England and Wales meets in full all the rules referred to specifically in the question, apart from those aspects of rule 14 which relate to the sharing of accommodation. On the latest available figures for the use of cellular accommodation designed for fewer prisoners than it currently holds over 70 prisons in England and Wales met its requirements. The current building programme provides for progressive reduction of overcrowding. Responsibility for prisons in Scotland rests with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure British prisons comply with article 10 of the international covenant on civil and political rights.

The United Kingdom ratified the International covenant on civil and political rights on 20 May 1976, subject to the reservation that where there is a lack of suitable facilities or where the mixing of adults and juveniles is deemed to be mutually beneficial the Government reserved the right not to apply article 10·2(b) and 10.3 so far as those provisions required juveniles who are detained to be accommodated separately from adults.In England and Wales the statutory rules, and supplementary guidance issued from time to time in the form of standing orders and circular instructions (copies of which are available in the Library), comply with the principles of article 10 subject to that reservation. They are also reflected in the prison service's statement of purpose issued in November 1988.Governors of all prison service establishments have been asked to ensure that a copy of the international convenant is freely available to prisoners and staff in prison libraries.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure British prisons comply with resolution (73) 5 standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners adopted on 19 January 1973, and in particular with the stipulation regarding the medical examination of sick prisoners; and which British prisons fulfil this stipulation.

The European standard minimum rules have been superseded by European prison rules adopted by the Council of Europe on 12 February 1987. The rules are not legally binding on member countries, but the prison service in England and Wales aims to reflect them in its policies and practice. Copies of the rules were sent to governors in 1988. There is no reasons to believe that any prison is failing to conform with the principles of prison rule 30(1) as regards the care of prisoners who fall sick.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the Gallup media survey conducted among right hon. and hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received recent representations from the British Polio Fellowship calling for changes pursuant to the White Paper "Broadcasting in the 1990s", to benefit the disabled; and if he will make a statement.

I have received representations from a number of members of the British Polio Fellowship about programme quality and diversity in relation to commercial television. The provisions in the Broadcasting Bill relating to Channels 3, 4 and 5 give the Independent Television Commission the necessary powers to ensure the maintenance of proper standards in these areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mrs. Saeeda Begum, date of birth 15 May 1968 ref. Imm/95359, the wife of Mr. Mohammed Jehangir, of Bradford, will be told by the post in Islamabad whether she is to be issued with a visa to join her husband.

I have been asked to reply.In accordance with the recent guidelines on the handling of representations by Members of Parliament in immigration cases, issued to Members on 14 December 1988, I have referred the question to the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The honourable Member will receive a reply from the unit as soon as possible.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to assess the risk to consumers of using microwaves for primary heating of food products.

The research results which we announced on 4 December have already led to improvements in instructions given by microwave oven manufacturers. These will lead in turn to improved evenness of cooking, irrespective of whether the oven is used for re-heating cook-chill foods or for cooking from raw. The potential risks of cooking from raw are less because the longer cooking time (including standing time) allows for greater conduction of heat through the food. When cooking from raw, consumers will in any case apply the tests normal in any kind of cooking to see whether food is cooked.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly, of 6 December, Official Report, column 248, on what grounds the veterinary products committee recommended refusal of porcine somatotropin.

The veterinary products committee recommendation was based on its consideration of the data available at the time and submitted by the company. These did not show that the porcine somatotropin product concerned met the criteria for the issue of an animal test certificate.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly of 6 December, Official Report, column 248, whether he accepted the recommendations of the veterinary products committee in respect of porcine somatotropin; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. In the event, the applicant company chose not to pursue the matter and withdrew its application.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the proportion of (a) turkeys and (b) chickens sold this Christmas that will have been contaminated by salmonella.

The results of a survey carried out by the Public Health Laboratory in 1987 were that salmonella was isolated from 65 out of 101 samples (64·4 per cent.) of frozen whole chickens. No later figures are available.The advice given to local authorities on the identification and rejection of carcases showing signs of salmonella enteritidis infection and the 19 measures which I announced to combat salmonella earlier this year should reduce the incidence of infection in poultrymeat. Thorough cooking and proper handling of poultrymeat should remove any risk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement regarding the most recent Government figures for teacher shortages.

The most recent Government figures are those for January 1989 which I gave in my reply to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 24 October 1989 at column 394. The Department's September survey, which provided a broad indication of the start of term staffing situation, indicated that the position had not worsened since January. The Government will continue to take measures to attract teachers and reduce shortages.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the outcome of the meeting of the European Community Education Ministers in Brussels on 14 December; and if he will make a statement.

I represented the United Kingdom at the Education Council in Brussels on 14 December.The Council agreed the extension of the European community action scheme for the mobility of university students—the ERASMUS programme—for a further five years from 1990–94, at an estimated cost of 192 million ecu (about £140 million) for the first three years of the new phase.Education Ministers also discussed co-operation with the countries of eastern Europe, and, in particular, with Poland and Hungary. We had the benefit of a prior discussion with the Education Ministers from Poland and Hungary. We recognised the importance of assistance in the field of education and training and agreed urgently to pursue proposals for the establishment of a European training foundation and the development of exchange and other programmes in these areas.The Council also discussed technical and vocational education. We agreed conclusions inviting the Commission to review existing Community programmes in this area and to prepare proposals for further measures that might be desirable at Community level having regard to the principle of subsidiarity and the need to secure value for money.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many contracts over £92,500 have been let by his Department in the 1988–89 financial year and in the current financial year to date; how many of these were (a) automatically renewed and (b) open to competition through advertisement throughout the European Community.

The number of contracts awarded by the Department and covered by the provisions of the EC supplies directive, for which the current threshold is £92,000, was three in the 1988–89 financial year and one in the current financial year to date. Of these, two were awarded following advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Communities and two were considered to be exempt from advertising and may have been awarded to the previous supplier.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps his Department is taking to encourage the recruitment of part-time teachers; and if he will make a statement.

The employment and deployment of teachers is the responsibility of local education authorities and schools. It is for them to decide whether to employ part-time staff. Our proposed education support grant programme for 1990–91 includes support for expenditure of over £2 million on local recruitment measures to attract back more former teachers and to recruit mature entrants. The invitation to bid suggested that LEA recruitment models might include the establishment of supporting and flexible working practices such as part-time work and job share.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have now approached his Department seeking advice on the possibility of obtaining grant-maintained status.

To date 79 schools have embarked on the process of applying for grant-maintained status and parents at 51 of them have voted in favour of proceeding with an application. My right hon. Friend has approved 32 and rejected nine applications for grant-maintained status. Decisions on the remaining applications will be taken on their merits in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the teacher-to-pupil ratio in the Durham area in each year since 1979.

The overall pupil-teacher ration in maintained schools in Durham local education authority area each year between 1979 and 1989 was as follows:

January each year
	Ration
1979	18·7
1980	18·7
1981	18·5
1982	18·3
1983	18·6
1984	18·5
1985	18·5
1986	18·6
1987	18·7
1988	18·3
1989	18·3

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on consultations held between Durham university and Teesside polytechnic about the formation of a joint board to supervise medical studies at the new college of Durham university on Teesside.

We are aware of the local discussions about the University of Durham's proposal to develop a new college of the University of Durham on Teesside, including most recently the development of an institute of health studies. However, no formal proposal has yet been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress of the Medical Research Council/INSERM trial of zidovudine; and what information he has as to progress on the similar trial undertaken in the United States of America.

The latest available information is contained in the Medical Research Council's press notice of 20 October, a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will update the figures of participants in the Medical Research Council/INSERM trial of zidovudine given in reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe on 6 June, Official Report, column 21.

The number of participants enrolled in the MRC/INSERM trial of zidovudine up to 13 December 1989 was 659 in the United Kingdom and 618 in France.

To ask the Secretry of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the extent to which students whose parents are classified as semi-skilled would be unlikely to undertake higher education following the introduction of the Government's student loan scheme; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's proposals have been designed to apply to students in a variety of circumstances. Top-up loans mean more money for students. The Government are confident that the increase in resources will make higher education more attractive to students from all backgounds.

To ask the Secretry of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to set up an educational trust to promote the formation of grammar schools.

The Government's policy is not to impose any particular pattern of secondary school provision on LEAs. It would therefore not be appropriate to set up a trust to promote the formation of grammar schools. Any statutory proposals put forward by local education authorities for the formation of grammar schools would be considered on their merits.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total tax benefit due to offsetting capital losses against capital gains tax (a) for industry as a whole and (b) for privatised industry, for each of the last 10 years at constant prices.

I regret that the information requested is not available centrally.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total tax benefit due to unclaimed capital allowances (a) for industry as a whole and (b) for privatised industries, for each of the last 10 years at constant prices.

I regret that data at this level of detail are not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of withholding tax deducted from overseas entertainers for each of the years 1987–88, 1988–89 and estimated for 1989–90, for (a) the music industry, (b) the film industry, (c) sport and (d) other; and if he will make a statement.

The special scheme for deducting tax at source from payments to non-resident entertainers and sportsmen yielded £6·9 million net (after repayments) in the period 1 May 1987 (when it took effect) to 31 March 1988, £12·4 million net in 1988–89 and £8·7 million net for the eight months to 30 November 1989. A breakdown of these figures into the categories specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to eliminate inefficiency in Government advertising campaigns; and if he will make a statement.

The National Audit Office reported to Parliament on 5 December on publicity services for Government Departments and the Select Committee on Public Accounts examined witnesses on 11 December. I await the report from the Select Committee and in the meantime officials are examining the recommendations of the National Audit Office.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have for valuation services; and if he will make a statement.

In the light of studies carried out by an interdepartmental group of officials, the Government have taken the following decisions affecting the Government's valuation services and the management of Government property.First, a project team under Treasury leadership will investigate how best to set up consistent and compatible databases for each of the Government's main property estates, to be used both for purposes of capital asset management and for assessment of Government contributions in lieu of rates. The team will begin work shortly.Secondly, Departments will by April 1991 be "untied" for valuation work which does not need to be undertaken in-house. Such work will be considered for market testing and contracting-out. Valuations for the purposes of assessing liability to business rates and other taxes will continue to be done in-house.Thirdly, in general valuation services provided by Government valuers, whether to Government Departments or to other bodies, should be charged for. The aim is to introduce charging from April 1991.Finally, the deployment of Government valuers will continue broadly as now, except that the Inland Revenue will take over from April 1991 responsibilities for valuation of the Government's estates for rating purposes from the Treasury's rating of Government property department, which will cease to exist from that date. Consideration will be given to establishing parts of the Government's valuation services as executive agencies.

To ask the Attorney-General if the Lord Chancellor will consider bringing forward an amendment to the Courts and Legal Services Bill [Lords] to establish a family courts system.

No, the Government hope to make further progress on family matters in the Courts and Legal Services Bill, but improvements in the procedure and jurisdictional arrangements for family proceedings can be achieved only in step with reform of the substantive law. It would not be feasible to set up a family court until the substantive law has been unified. The Children Act marked the first step in an ordered programme of reform.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will indicate for each of the last three years the numbers of persons who have received legal aid in Northern Ireland.

The number of persons who have received legal aid certificates in each of the last three financial years is as follows:

Financial year	Legal aid certificates civil proceedings	Legal aid certificates criminal proceedings	Total
1986–87	13,108	27,685	40,793
1987–88	15,283	25,802	41,085
1988–89	14,099	22,520	36,619

To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show by reference to each council area in Northern Ireland, or similar geographical area the number of persons who received legal aid in each of the last three years.

Information regarding persons in receipt of legal aid is held on a Northern Ireland basis and cannot be provided in any other format.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show for each of the last three years the sums paid in legal aid to (a) solicitors and (b) barristers by each council area in Northern Ireland.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 28 November at column 179. All information concerning sums paid out in legal aid fees to solicitors and barristers is held on a Northern Ireland basis and cannot be provided in any other format.

To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of 1 December, Official Report, column 451, what delay is anticipated as a result of the Director of Public Prosecutions taking over the Camelford water pollution case; and if he will make a statement.

The proceedings for public nuisance instituted by the Director of Public Prosecutions are returnable at Bodmin magistrates court on 9 January 1990 and on that date the proceedings instituted on behalf of the Bodmin Angling Association will also be before the court. Decisions about subsequent adjournments and the length thereof comprise part of the judicial functions of the magistrates and it would be inappropriate for me to speculate.

To ask the Attorney-General what posts in Government and the senior Civil Service are reserved to barristers.

The duties of the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General require that they be members of the Bar.The only post in the Civil Service at present reserves to barristers is that of Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. However the Courts and Legal Services Bill introduced in the House of Lords on 6 December would also enable solicitors and members of the Lord Chancellor's Department of the prescribed standing to be appointed to that post.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the availability of influenza vaccine in Wales.

In the advice issued to all family practitioner committees and district health authorities in September, general vaccination to control the spread of influenza was not recommended. However, it was advised that persons at special risk (for example, those with chronic pulmonary, heart or renal disease) should be considered for vaccination.There are at present adequate supplies of the vaccine already in Wales, or available from the stocks held centrally by the manufacturers, to ensure that all individuals in the special risk category are vaccinated if they wish.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the current levels of influenza attacks in Wales.

An increase in influenza reports from general practitioners was noted in the second week of November. The first practices to report large numbers of cases were in East Dyfed, Mid Glamorgan and West Glamorgan. Practices in Clwyd, Gwent, Gwynedd and South Glamorgan began to report increased numbers of cases by the beginning of December.The pattern of reporting has been firstly an increase in cases in children followed within two weeks by an increase in adult cases. The rates in children in practices in Mid Glamorgan and West Glamorgan declined in the past week but the incidence in adults has yet to show a reduction.If the current outbreak behaves as did the smaller outbreak which affected south Wales in 1988–89 it would be expected that the incidence in children will substantially decline by the end of December. In adults, however, the outbreak is developing more slowly and its course is therefore difficult to predict.Data supplied from the public health laboratories at Cardiff, Swansea and Rhyl indicate the main virus responsible for this outbreak is influenza A, although there are other viruses circulating among young children. Many adults would be expected to have a degree of immunity to the strain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the district veterinary officers for every district in Wales.

Mr. D. R. Williams is the regional veterinary officer (RVO) for Wales and Mr. D. Summers is the deputy regional veterinary officer (DRVO). The Welsh Office Agriculture Department is divided into five agricultural divisions. The following is a list of divisional veterinary officers (DV0s) in Wales:

• Mr. M. E. T. Watts DVO
• WOAD Animal Health Division
• Llanishen
• Cardiff CF4 5ZB
• Mr. G. B. Rees DVO
• WOAD Animal Health Division
• Bolero Camp
• Park Road
• Ruthin
• Clwyd LL15 1NP
• Mr. E. M. Davies DVO
• WOAD Animal Health Division
• Picton Terrace
• Carmarthen
• Dyfed SA31 3BT
• Mr. H. T. Morris DVO
• WOAD Animal Health Division
• Crown Buildings
• Penrhallt
• Caernarfon
• Gwynedd LL55 1EP
• Mr. D. L. Pugh Acting DVO
• WOAD Animal Health Division
• Government Office
• Spa Road East
• Llandrindod Wells
• Powys LD1 5HA

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report tables showing the proportion of all part-time employees who are (a) manual and (b) non-manual earning less than (i) £4·16, (ii) £4·32, (iii) £3·12 and (iv) £2·80 per hour for (1) men, (2) women and (3) all part-time employees, excluding overtime shift and payment-by-results premia, for Wales and in each county in Wales.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the proposals of the Development Board for Rural Wales to spend £12 million on developing new factories and business skills.

The Development Board for Rural Wales' outline plans for 1990–91 will be announced in the public expenditure White Paper next January. Detailed final figures will be published in the Supply Estimates when they are presented to Parliament in March.The allocation of provision between individual activities is largely a matter for the board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assistance is given to rural country authorites in the allocation of central Government grant to take account of the increased cost of providing schools in sparsely populated areas.

Rate support grant is distributed to county and district councils in accordance with formulae which are agreed with the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance. Account is taken of the additional costs associated with the provision of services in sparsely populated areas by rural local authorities. Revenue support grant will be distributed taking account of similar considerations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning additional support from central Government for rural local education authorities in the provision of school transport; and if he will make a statement about present levels of support.

None. As with other services provided by county councils, expenditure is supported through the revenue support grant mechanism.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide statistics showing the number of (a) fatalities and (b) other accidents involving serious injury in schools in Wales in each of the years 1979 to date; if he has any proposals to require teachers to attend first aid courses; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 4 December]: The data requested are not available for years before 1981.The Health and Safety Executive has since then received reports under statutory regulations which indicate that in the period covered there have been four fatal incidents—one to an employee in 1984 and three to pupils, one in each of 1981, 1984 and in 1986–87. Changes in the regulations in 1985 resulted in data becoming available in respect of major incidents not involving death and they indicate that in 1986–87 and 1987–88 some 31 and 59 employees and 195 and 318 pupils in those years respectively were involved in reportable incidents. The increase resulted from declarations following the issue of guidance on uniform reporting standards issued to all local education authorities by the education services advisory committee.The guidance note "Arrangements for First Aid Provision in Schools and Colleges" prepared by the Department of Education and Science and the Welsh Office in consultation with interested bodies was issued to chief education officers in England and Wales in September 1987. This gave guidance to establish information reporting standards.First aid facilities are looked at by Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools as part of its normal process of inspection of schools, and I know that it will have regard to the findings of a recent report on this matter.All LEAs offer first aid training. The great majority of teachers have some basic knowledge of first aid. Specialist teachers of all practical subjects will have received first aid training and physical education teachers in particular will have received substantial training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the information he has on the dates of free general elections currently agreed or expected in the Warsaw pact countries.

Democratic elections are expected in the German Democratic Republic on 6 May 1990 and in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria by June 1990. The Soviet Union held multi-candidate elections in March 1989. In Poland semi-democratic elections were held in June 1989. The round table agreements provide for full democratic elections in four years' time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the recent application to his Department by the European proliferation information centre for financial support.

The Department has recently written to the European proliferation information centre (EPIC) agreeing to a meeting to discuss financial support and suggesting that EPIC prepare a detailed funding application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to encourage additional countries to join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and what information he has concerning attempts by the United States of America and the Soviet Union to convince additional states to join the treaty.

We regularly raise the question of accession to the treaty with non-parties at various levels. The three depositary powers of the treaty, (the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) attach importance to the wisest possible adherence to the treaty, and frequently discuss with each other their efforts towards this end.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has formed any policy in response to the call by the parliamentary assembly of the Western European Union on 7 December to reduce restrictions on high-technology exports to Comecon countries.

COCOM's role is the protection of the strategic interests of the members of the broader Western alliance. It is not an economic embargo. With our COCOM partners, Her Majesty's Government will continue to base export licensing decisions on strategic assessments which take account of geo-political and technological realities. This means assessing whether a potential export could make a significant contribution to the military capability of the proscribed destinations and their production of modern armaments.We will also fully contribute to the continuous review of the COCOM export control lists to ensure that items of genuine relevance to Western security are controlled (not necessarily prevented from export) and those that are not are amended or deleted from the lists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are taking to assist in resolving the ongoing military conflict in Ethiopia between the Addis Ababa regime and its opposition; and if he will make a statement.

We have been in contact with the parties to the conflict to urge them to negotiate a peaceful settlement. We have also taken diplomatic action with our EC partners, the USA and the USSR.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what diplomatic representations Her Majesty's Government are making to the Chinese Government about granting fair trials to those jailed for their political ideology; and if he will make a statement.

At the Madrid European Council we and our EC partners called on the Chinese authorities to admit independent observers to attend the trials of those arrested for their part in the democracy movement. The Presidency, on behalf of the Twelve, has made subsequent representations to the Chinese authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the release of political prisoners in China; and if he will make a statement.

Since the events of June, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has received 19 letters from hon. Members and 69 letters from the public about the release of political prisoners in China. Of these, 12 letters from hon. Members and 50 letters from the public were related to a specific detainee in Tibet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is (a) the cost to date to the Revenue of the forced removal of the Vietnamese boat people from Hong Kong and (b) the estimated cost of removal of all the boat people.

There has been no forced removal of any boat people from Hong Kong. The cost to Her Majesty's Government of the first repatriation operation was approximately £30,000. It is impossible at this stage to estimate the cost of removing from Hong Kong all boat people screened out as non-refugees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report the terms of any motion of the House, together with its date and context, which contained words giving specific assent to the principle of economic and monetary union within the European Community.

The terms of all motions of this House are printed in the Official Report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has undertaken, funded or is aware of any research to discover if human breast milk has been effected by radioactive contamination in the United Kingdom following the Chernobyl accident.

The continuing precautionary measures taken by the Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food following the Chernobyl reactor accident are designed to ensure that radioactively contaminated food does not enter the food chain. In additiona, a programme of whole-body monitoring tests commissioned by Government has shown that the levels of radioactivity taken up by people in the areas most affected by fallout from Chernobyl were very low and of minimal radiological significance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) at what stage there will be consultation with (a) staff, (b) users and (c) the wider community regarding his decision to allow the North Middlesex hospital to opt out of the National Health Service;(2) if he will take steps to ensure that residents of Tottenham will continue to get a service from the North Middlesex hospital after it has opted out;(3) what estimate he has made of the knock-on effect when the North Middlesex hospital opts out of the National Health Service on the resources to be allocated to St. Ann's hospital;(4) what information he has as to the policy of Haringey health authority on self-governing status for its hospitals;(5) what is his policy with regard to the entertaining of applications for self-governing status from hospitals within district health authorities which have voted against the promotion of such applications;(6) whether he has received any indications of interest in self-governing status for the North Middlesex hospital.

One hundred and eighty-eight units, including North Middlesex hospital, have expressed interest in National Health Service trust status. There is no question of any hospital "opting out" of the National Health Service. Haringey health authority will be responsible for planning and securing a comprehensive range of services to meet the health care needs of its resident population. In doing this it will contract with a range of service providers, including National Health Service trusts. The revenue funding of individual hospitals such as North Middlesex and St. Ann's will be determined in the main by the service contracts they secure with health authorities.The decision on whether to submit a formal application for National Health Service trust status, when Parliament has approved the necessary legislation, is a matter for the sponsors of the expression of interest in the unit concerned. We have had no representations from Haringey health authority. When formal applications are prepared, regional health authorities will ensure that they are given local publicity and will seek the views of all those with an interest, including health authorities, staff, patients, general practitioners, community health councils and the local community. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State will consider these views alongside the application, before deciding whether to approve it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many midwives are currently practising in the National Health Service;

At 30 September 1988 there were 19,600 wholetime equivalent qualified midwives employed in the National Health Service in England. Information for September 1989 is not yet available, therefore it is not possible to give the number of midwives in post paid on grade E and G. The numbers of newlyqualified midwives in England added to the register held by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in each of the last five years are:

Year ended 31 March	Number
1985	2,106
1986	2,599
1987	3,820
1988	2,523
1989	2,432

The figure for 1987 includes some midwives who registered their midwifery qualification for the first time in 1987 although they obtained it in a previous year. The figure is not therefore comparable with those for the other years.Information on vacancy levels is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for each year since 1980 the total number of doctors employed by the National Health Service and express this as a percentage of the 1980 figure.

The information is given in the table:

	Total Doctors	Expressed as a percentage of base year: 1980
1980	63,130	—
1981	64,612	102·3
1982	65,591	103·9
1983	66,910	106·0
1984	67,282	106·6
1985	68,194	108·0
1986	68,839	109·0
1987	69,532	110·10
1988	70,866	112·3

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners were practising on the Isle of Wight in 1979 and 1989; and what was the ratio of patients to doctors in 1979 and 1989.

The number of unrestricted principals practising on the Isle of Wight at 1 October 1979 was 56, compared with 69 at 1 October 1988 (the latest date for which information is available). The respective ratios of patients to doctors were 2,134:1 in 1979 and 1,889:1 in 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the resident population of a health district is assessed; and whether the student population, where substantial, is included in the resident population.

The estimated population of a health district includes all those usually resident there, whatever their nationality; students are taken to be resident at their term-time address and members of Her Majesty's and non-United Kingdom armed forces in England and Wales are included at their station. The current series of estimates is derived from the 1981 census of population and then updated annually to allow for subsequent births, deaths, and migration (including students). In addition, annual adjustments are also made for changes in the numbers of stationed armed forces and their dependents, and boarding school children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list in the Official Report the scales of pay for ambulance staff in the categories (a) ambulanceman/ woman, (b) qualified ambulanceman/woman, (c) leading ambulanceman/woman under (i) the current rates of pay and (ii) those now offered by the management side on 5 December and effective from 1 April.

The information is given in the table:

	Current rate	New rates from 1 April 1989
		Basic	Extended trained3
	£	£	£
1. Outside London
Leading ambulanceman/woman	10,888	11,868	12,368
Qualified ambulanceman/woman	10,093	11,001	11,501
Ambulanceman/woman	7,340	8,001	—
2. London Ambulance Service
Leading ambulanceman/woman	10,888
	+ 981 LW1	213,305	213,805
Qualified ambulanceman/woman	10,093
	+ 981 LW1	212,384	212,884
Ambulanceman/woman	7,340
	+ 981 LW1	29,232	—
1 London weighting (LW) is currently paid separately and does not count for overtime purposes.
2 New all-inclusive London salary to count in its entirety for all purposes including the calculation of payments for overtime worked.
3 Extended trained (to National Health Service training authority standard).

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the annual savings made across the National Health Service in England and Wales since competitive tendering was introduced for catering, cleaning and laundry services; and if he will express this as a percentage of the total cost of these services.

Overall annual saving arising from the competitive tendering initiative for National Health Service catering, cleaning and laundry services in England amount to some £110 million—around 17 per cent. of previous costs.Information about Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has analysed dry nuts imported from Greece and Turkey to check them for radioactivity at levels above those advised by the European Commission as tolerable for consumption.

In the interests of the consumer, port health authorities are continuing to monitor certain imported food (including dry nuts) for radioactive contamination caused by the Chernobyl nuclear accident. United Kingdom monitoring has not detected excess contamination levels in dry nuts over the last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what actions are being taken by his Department to evaluate the reports by G. Lubec, C. H. R. Wolf and B. Bartosch, of the paediatrics department of the university of Vienna, concerning aminoacid insomerisation and microwave exposure as reported in The Lancet of 9 December, a copy of which has been sent to him: and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food gave to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) on 13 December at column 698. The views expressed are held jointly by the Ministry and this Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the expenditure incurred by Bassetlaw health authority in the last 12 months on newspaper advertising for public relations purposes and other official publications primarily to promote the idea of a self-governing trust for the health authority and Bassetlaw hospital.

This is a matter for the local health authority and the hon. Member may like to write to the chairman of Bassetlaw health authority for the information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of the legal advice sought by Bassetlaw health authority following its refusal to pay Mr. James Butler an early pension following his redundancy; and what advice was given.

This is a matter for the local health authority and the hon. Member may like to write to the chairman of Bassetlaw health authority about it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what allowances are being granted to hospitals throughout the country to compensate for the difference between the Government forecast of and the actual inflation rate in the National Health Service: and if he will make a statement.

Health authorities operate under the cash planning system and are expected to meet all pay and price increases and develop services within the total resources available to them. Additional funds are not normally provided to take account of higher than expected inflation or other unforeseen demands. This year alone we have provided an additional £1 billion for hospital and community services (HCHS) compared with 1980–89. They have also benefited from the effect of reduced superannuation contributions and new cost improvemens. Next year the total resources available to the HCHS will increase by over £1£3 billion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has on the amount of charity donations used by health authorities towards Health Service funding.

NHS trust funds may be used for any purpose relating to the Health Service subject to the specific terms of individual trusts. The 1988–89 summarised account of trust funds held by regional and district health authorities and special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals and special trustees record total expenditure of £122·6 million excluding transfers to reserve (subject to audit). This sum includes some expenditure which would not have been appropriate for Exchequer funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to finance the Great Ormond Street children's hospital.

The Hospitals for Sick Children special health authority, of which Great Ormond Street children's hospital is part, received an initial revenue cash limit for 1989–90 of some £44·0 million. Subsequent additions to this have included £0·4 million to help meet the costs of the review body awards for doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and the professions allied to medicine, and £0·1 million towards the costs of implementing the NHS review. The overall revenue allocation for the London postgraduate special health authorities for 1990–91 will increase by 2·27 per cent. in real terms. Detailed initial revenue cash limits for individual special health authorities will be issued in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations cover the use by health authorities of charity donations for Health Service funding.

The management and use of NHS trust funds is a matter for the appointed trustees in accordance with general trust and charity law. Health authorities have powers under sections 90 to 96 of the National Health Service Act 1977 (as amended) to accept, hold and administer any property on trust for all or any purposes relating to the Health Service and to engage in fund-raising activities for providing or improving any services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will itemise the draft European Community directives currently under consideration relating to alternative and complementary medicine; what representations he is making in Brussels to ensure their acceptability; and what consultations are taking place and with which representatives of United Kingdom bodies likely to be affected by such directives.

The services of the commission have under consideration proposals relating to the harmonisation of requirements for the marketing of homeopathic products. These have been the subject of preliminary discussion with member states. United Kingdom interests will have the opportunity to comment on any proposals for draft directives following their formal publication by the commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will itemise the expenditure on research funding and other financial support allocated to alternative and complementary medicine; and what percentage this represents of total funding by his Department on the medical research budget.

As far as research is concerned I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh) on 27 November at column 102. The Department has given a grant of £60,000 over two years to the Research Council for Complementary Medicine towards the council's central adminstrative expenses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what increased role he anticipates for alternative and complementary medicine resulting from the pending structural reforms in the National Health Service;(2) what is his assessment of the impact of his proposed reforms in the National Health Service on a wider availability of alternative and complementary therapies, for patients within the National Health Service.

We have no proposals to make alternative and complementary therapies more widely available within the NHS.Medical treatment provided under the NHS must by law be prescribed by a medical practitioner. Such practitioners can offer to use alternative or complementary therapies in their treatment of patients, but the wider use of such methods within the NHS depends upon those who use them persuading more of their fellow practitioners of the benefits and effectiveness of such treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution he is prepared to make to the costs of voluntary hospices.

There will be a substantial increase in funds to health authorities next year, so that they can contribute more to the voluntary hospice movement. We are allocating £8 million to health authorities in 1990–91, specifically earmarked for terminal care provided by voluntary organisations. This will bring the total contribution from public funds up to nearly £20 million a 70 per cent. increase over the 1988–89 figure. Health authorities will use this money to increase the contribution they already make to voluntary hospices and similar organisations which provide palliative care and support for patients with terminal illnesses and their families.These extra funds are a clear mark of the Government's strong support for the hospice movement. They are also an important step towards creating a closer partnership between the NHS and the movement. The Government's objective is to work towards a position in which the contribution from public funds available to voluntary hospices and similar organisations matches that of voluntary giving. This will provide a clear basis on which to plan ahead.We are deeply appreciative of the high standard of continuing care that has been developed and provided by the independent hospice movement and welcome its growing partnership with the National Health Service in caring for people who are terminally ill and their families.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the conclusions drawn from the expert symposium jointly organised by the health departments and the Health Education Authority on 24 November.

The Health Departments and the Health Education Authority organised an expert symposium on 24 November to assess the current and future spread of HIV and AIDS in the United Kingdom. The proceedings will be published early in the new year. The clear conclusion of the symposium was that AIDS is a major threat throughout the world. There are three major modes of HIV transmission, all of which are now well-established in the United Kingdom. These are:

sexual intercourse, between men and between a man and woman.

sharing of infected needles and syringes during injecting drug misuse.

transmission from mother to unborn child.

Complacency must be avoided in our efforts to combat HIV and AIDS. There is still much to discover, but the long incubation period when a person is infectious with no obvious sign of illness, together with the usually fatal outcome of the disease, mean that it would be foolhardy to depart from a precautionary approach. We must establish the facts, we must plan, and we must educate.In the light of this the Government remain committed to providing a framework for response which encourages effective and responsible action among statutory and voluntary bodies, and individuals. The five main aims of our strategy are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated proportion of adverse reactions that are reported through the yellow card system.

[holding answer 14 December 1989]: Doctors are asked to report all suspected adverse reactions to new drugs but only serious reactions to established drugs. Exact reporting rates are not known but a number of studies and questionnaires have indicated that they rarely exceed 10 to 15 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about United Kingdom support for the international Peto institute.

I have been asked to reply.We continue to value conductive education as practised at the Peto institute in Budapest and welcome the Hungarian Government's plans to build a new international institute in response to increasing demand from a number of countries as well as the United Kingdom.We recognise that there is a wide and effective range of services for disabled children in this country and we believe that increased availability of conductive education would be a valuable addition to those services.Conductive education is an educational system based on a whole person approach, which aims to develop children with a motor disability to enable them to participate fully in mainstream education. The professional input comes from one individual, the conductor, who takes the child through the whole range of processes connected with development. The conductor's role integrates some of the knowledge and skills of a number of separate professional groups, for example, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, teachers and nurses. Close and active parental involvement is an important feature of the system.We have concluded that the best way forward is to enter into an agreement with the Hungarian Government that in return for a financial contribution towards the capital costs of the new institute the United Kingdom would have guaranteed access to a proportion commensurate with our contribution of the available places both for children to receive conductive education and for trainees to be trained as conductors. In this way we would secure the continuing availability of conductive education for United Kingdom children in Budapest while building up a nucleus of trained conductors to provide this service in the United Kingdom.We have therefore agreed to provide a total of £5 million from Government funds over the next four financial years towards the capital costs of the new institute subject to conclusion of a satisfactory agreement covering access for the children and trainee conductors, and to satisfactory progress with construction. In addition, we will be seeking to stimulate interest in the private and voluntary sectors with a view to supplementing the Government contribution by a similar amount raised from these sources. Officials will be taking forward the detailed negotiations with the Hungarian authorities early in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (a) applications were made, (b) allowances were granted, (c) reviews undertaken and (d) allowances were reviewed and then withdrawn with respect to the attendance allowance in each of the years 1985 to 1989.

The information is in the table.

Attendance allowance: Number of new claims, awards reviews and allowances withdrawn 1985 to 1989
Year	New claims	Awards	Reviews	Allowances withdrawn
1985	277,017	184,599	41,995	22,985
1986	286,889	174,064	42,648	23,701
1987	319,667	208,693	58,273	22,717
1988	361,720	207,863	56,087	25,141
11989	276,981	176,346	51,731	20,563
1 To 30 September 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what new guidance has been issued in the last two years regarding eligibility for attendance allowance;

	1 April 1979	1 April 1980	1 April 1981	1 April 1982	1 April 1983	1 April 1984	1 April 1985	1 April 1986	1 April 1987	1 April 1988
1. Unemployment Benefit—Standard personal benefit rate1	£15·75	£18·50	£20·65	£22·50	£25·00	£27·05	£28·45	£30·45	£30·80	£31·45
2. Value of 1. in real terms taking 100 as the base for 1 April 1979	100·0	96·5	96·1	95·7	102·2	105·2	103·5	107·5	104·3	102·5
3. Supplementary Benefit—single non-householder aged over 18; ordinary scale rate plus the standard non-householder rent addition	£13·90	£16·35	£19·20	£21·2015	£23·65	£24·55	£25·75	£27·50	2£23·85	2£24·35
4. Value of 3. in real terms, taking 100 as the base for 1 April 19794	100·0	96·6	101·3	101·9	109·6	108·7	108·3	112·7	94·6	93·1
5. Supplementary Benefit—single householder Ordinary scale rate3	£15·55	£18·30	£21·30	£23·25	£25·70	£26·80	£28·05	£29·50	£29·80	£30·40
6. Value of 5. in real terms, taking 100 as the base for 1 April 19794	100·0	96·7	100·4	100·2	106·5	106·0	105·5	108·1	105·7	103·9
1 Excludes any earnings-related supplement. This was phased out in June 1982.
2 The non-householder rent addition was no longer applicable to claimants under aged 25.
3 Excludes housing costs. Actual housing costs were added into the benefit calculation until 1982–83 after which they were met via housing

Guidance about the eligibility criteria for attendance allowance and about the review of decisions is issued by the independent attendance allowance board in its "Handbook for Delegated Medical Practitioners". Copies of the handbook published in July 1988, and copies of a revised version issued to delegated medical practitioners in October 1989, are in the Library. The published edition took account of the changes introduced by the Social Security Act 1988 for people whose disabilities pose a risk of substantial danger at night, and the 1989 version incorporates new or revised guidance about thalassaemia in children, cystic fibrosis, the assessment of substantial danger, claimants who are at risk of falling and those who refuse to undergo medical examination.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much a single man aged 22 years (a) living with parents and (b) living in a council flat received in unemployment benefit and supplementary benefit with or without income support if he was unemployed on 1 April in each year between 1979 and the current year; and if he will express these payments in real terms taking 100 as the base for 1 April 1979.

The information is in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each of his Department's benefit offices based in (a) each local authority and (b) each constituency indicating which are (i) national insurance offices, (ii) income support area offices, (iii) integrated local officers and (iv) caller offices.

I regret that the information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the eight local offices participating in "Delivery of Service in the 90s".

The offices are:—

• Blackpool South
• Cowdenbeath
• Ealing
• East Kilbride
• Glasgow (Maryhill)
• Glasgow (Rutherglen)
• St. Helens
• Southampton

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish his latest estimate of the savings, in cash and staff terms, from the computerisation programme for each year to and including 1995.

The latest estimate of cumulative staff savings resulting from the computerisation of social security benefits is shown below. The figures (at 1988–89) prices are for both this Department and the Department of Employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give gross spending for his Department (a) in cash terms and (b) in real terms using April 1979 as 100 both (i) as a percentage of gross domestic product and (ii) per 100,000 of the population for each year from 1978 to 1989, inclusive.

The information requested is set out in the table.

	£ million	Posts
1989–90	42	4,000
1990–91	80	7,500
1991–92	160	15,000
1992–93	195	18,000
1993–94	220	20,000
1994–95	220	20,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security to what extent his Department's (a) budget and (b) staffing level has been cut for the year 1990–91 in the light of savings achieved through computerisation.

The Department's administration budget for 1990–91 was settled during the recent public expenditure survey. Details will be published early in the new year in the public expenditure White Paper.The provision for 1990–91 reflects the wide range of the Department's activities, including our major computerisation programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what (a) manually held and (b) computer-held information on individual claimants his Department's officers and officials are (a) required and (b) permitted to pass to a third party; and to whom it is passed.

Information passed to third named in legislation is limited to that which is necessary for carrying out statutory functions such as the collection of contributions, payment of benefit, operation of the occupational pension scheme, registration and payment of, and awarding benefit in respect of, the community charge and operation of the housing benefit rebate scheme.In other circumstances, where there is no statutory function, requests for information from social security records made by other Government Departments are considered only if the information would prevent the duplication of public funds, would help the prosecution of a serious crime, would meet the welfare needs of the individual concerned or would be in the public interest.