To ask the Attorney-General if he will list those cases taken over by the Director of Public Prosecutions since 1987.

Statistics concerning private prosecutions are not collected. The CPS has identified 28 private prosecutions conducted by private individuals or bodies which have been taken over by the Crown prosecution service since 1987. I will write to the hon. Gentleman listing the cases.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he is now in a position to give a date when the High Court will hear his application for a fresh inquest into the death of the late Petty Officer John Black, RN, in Sabinillas, Spain, in December 1983.

No. The case is in the Crown list, but no hearing date has yet been fixed by the court.

To ask the Attorney-General what is the estimated cost of implementing the Courts and Legal Services Bill [Lords].

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 7 December 1989 at column 316, and to the explanatory and financial memorandum prefacing the Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will direct British Rail to consider ways in which cyclists can more easily use rail services.

British Rail has regular contact with the cycling organisations and is aware of their needs. I understand that BR's policy is to welcome cyclists and to convey bicycles whenever possible, for an appropriate charge, provided that this will not unduly inconvenience other passengers, or displace other revenue-earning traffic such as parcels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which motoring organisations he or his predecessor met over the last year; and on which dates.

During 1989 Transport Ministers met representatives of motoring organisations as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many flights have been diverted to Prestwick since 1 November.

The Civil Aviation Authority has not yet published figures for this period. Preliminary information from Prestwick Airport Limited indicates that, from 1 November to 31 December 1989, the airport handled 144 air transport movements diverted from other airports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which building surveyors, land agents or chartered surveyors were used by his Department or by the British Airports Authority, or by his or their advisers, to value land at Prestwick airport, including land not required for airport operations, when assessing the assets of the British Airports Authority for privatisation.

Page 58 of the prospectus offering shares in BAA for sale records that Debenham Tewson and Chinnocks Limited, international property advisers, valued the land at the BAA airports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement following the Anglo-French intergovernmental commission announcement that passengers will not leave their cars and coaches when travelling through the Channel tunnel with particular regard to safety aspects in the tunnel.

No. The intergovernmental commission was established by the Channel fixed link treaty to supervise, in the name and on behalf of the two Governments, all matters concerning the construction and operation of the fixed link. On safety matters, it is advised by the independent binational safety authority, also established by the treaty. Parliament has accepted that the safety authority is the right body to oversee tunnel safety standards. I believe that the safety authority will shortly be publishing a report which sets out the information on which its unanimous recommendation to the commission is based.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the make-up and terms of reference for his Department's working group on the assessment of the impact of railway noise with regard to the Channel tunnel link.

The aim will be to establish for new railway lines a noise standard at a level which equitably relates to the standard set by regulation for new highways. I hope to make an announcement shortly about the establishment of a departmental committee to carry out this task.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is yet in a position to announce safety and quality of service objectives for London Regional Transport.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 December 1989, c. 280]: Following is a fuller text of my letter to the chairman of London Regional Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in favour of electing an executive separately from Parliament.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the subject of a written constitution.

The Government receive representations from time to time advocating a written constitution. These could be enumerated only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received seeking the establishment of a democratically elected second chamber.

The Government receive representations from time to time advocating abolition or reform of the House of Lords. They could be enumerated only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were awaiting transfer to Thorp Arch from Durham at the end of the months August through to November.

At the end of the four months for which information has been requested, the numbers of prisoners held at Her Majesty's prison Durham awaiting transfer to Her Majesty's prison Thorp Arch were as follows:

	Number
August 1989	38
September 1989	43
October 1989	48
November 1989	54

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Shamim Ayaz, Ref. H 162359; Imm/15031, is to be issued with a passport to join his father in the United Kingdom; when the post in Islamabad was instructed by him to issue a visa to Shamim Ayaz; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Shamim Ayaz's application for entry clearance to settle in the United Kingdom as the dependent son of Mr. Muzaffar Hussain has been referred by the entry clearance officer in Islamabad to the immigration department of the Home Office for consideration under paragraph 56 of the immigration rules and the concession announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) on 14 June 1989 at column 463. The papers arrived on 1 December and a decision will be taken as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will specify the criteria under which political refugees are now admitted to the United Kingdom.

Applications for asylum on arrival at United Kingdom ports are considered under the criteria of the 1951 United Nations convention and 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. Article 1 of the convention defines a refugee as inter alia someone who

"owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country".

If the person has arrived from a safe third country he or she may be returned to that country to pursue an application there. A refugee who has already found protection in another country may be admitted to the United Kingdom if this is a more appropriate country of refuge.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the under or over-capacity of Thorp Arch and Durham prisons at the end of the months August to November.

The details requested are set out in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the application by Staffordshire county council for section 11 money in respect of Brownhills and Heywood high schools; and if he will make a statement.

Additional information submitted by the authority on 8 December is being considered. We hope to be in a position to take a decision on the application shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to change the law to promote and encourage non and low-alcohol consumption by young people.

We very much welcome the introduction, by my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton (Sir Peter Emery) of the Licensing (Low Alcohol Drinks) Bill, which seeks to amend the definition of intoxicating liquor in the Licensing Act 1964 and of alcoholic liquor in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will supply statistics of robberies, and attempted robberies involving the confrontation of counter staff in the betting office, banking and building society industries over the past three years.

Information is not available in the form requested. The total numbers of notifiable offences of robbery are published annually, and most recently in table 2.10 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1988" (Cm. 847). Information on the location of notifiable offences of robbery in which firearms were reported to have been used is given in table 3.8 of the same publication. A copy of this publication is available in the Library. Offences of attempted robbery are included in the robbery category and are not separately identified in the figures collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visitors there have been to the United Kingdom from Hong Kong, arriving in each of the last 36 months for which he has figures.

The latest available information is given in the table for British dependent territories citizens from Hong Kong. Reliable figures of admissions of stateless persons from Hong Kong are not available.

Hong Kong British Dependent Territory Citizens admitted to the United Kingdom as ordinary or business visitors, November 1986 to October 1989
Number of persons
Month	1986	1987	1988	11989
January	—	1,890	1,280	1,510
February	—	2,230	3,360	3,870
March	—	1,570	1,650	2,280
April	—	2,010	2,060	1,950
May	—	2,640	2,280	2,600
June	—	3,560	3,380	4,490
July	—	5,370	4,990	5,440
August	—	5,280	4,540	5,760
September	—	3,210	3,520	3,960
October	—	2,850	2,890	3,100
November	1,260	1,760	1,610	n.y.a.
December	1,750	1,980	1,840	n.y.a.
Annual total	27,100	34,400	33,400	n.y.a.
1 Provisional.

n.y.a. = Not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the expected savings to the Metropolitan police following the erection of railings in Downing street.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of police man hours employed in ambulance duties per police authority, to date.

The readily available information is that up to 31 December police forces had provided approximately the number of man hours shown in the table in assisting the ambulance service in their areas.

Approximate number of man hours
	Hours
Bedfordshire	17,700
Derbyshire	6,900
Dorset	9,500
Hampshire	5,100
Hertfordshire	31,600
Lincolnshire	2,600
South Yorkshire	27,300
Staffordshire	1,750
Surrey	850
Warwickshire	460
West Mercia	6,100
West Midlands	35,500
West Yorkshire	20,700

I understand that in the Metropolitan police district about 460 officers are usually employed in each 24-hour period assisting the ambulance service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost per police man hour of deploying the police on ambulance duties (a) outside London and (b) in London.

The charge that is made by the Metropolitan police to the regional health authority for police officers who assist the London ambulance service is £16·20 per hour of normal duty time worked. Information about the charges made outside London is not available centrally; the level of charge is determined by the relevant police authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are waiting for interview in queues 1,2,3 and 4 at each British post on the Indian sub-continent, and if he will give comparable figures for 1988, 1987 and 1986.

[holding answer 18 December 1989]: The information requested is given in the table.

Estimated numbers of applicants in the Indian sub—continent awaiting their first interview for entry to the United Kingdom
Number of persons
Post1	Category3
	Queue 1	Queue 2	Queue 3	Queue 4
Dhaka
End September
1986	640	1,900	130	2,700
1987	400	1,800	140	2,600
1988	230	1,600	150	2,100
1989	120	650	120	1,400
New Delhi4
End September
1986	70	210	460	180
1987	40	320	600	90
1988	—	300	400	110
1989	—	260	330	90
Bombay
End September
1986	120	450	480	130
1987	560	460	40	140
1988	30	350	480	50
1989	—	420	530	90
Madras5
End September
1987	1—	10	1—	6—
1988	—	—	—	—
1989	—	20	10	6—
Islamabad
End September
1986	880	610	2,100	740
1987	790	970	2,300	850
1988	1,200	1,600	2,400	1,000
1989	250	2,300	1,700	940
Karachi
End September
1986	20	60	100	1—
1987	10	80	190	10
1988	10	180	210	4—
1989	1—	30	20	1—
Total Indian sub—continent
End September
1986	1,700	3,200	3,300	3,800
1987	1,800	3,600	3,300	3,600
1988	1,500	4,100	3,600	3,300
1989	370	3,600	2,700	2,500
1 5 or fewer
2 There were no applicants awaiting for interview in Calcutta.
3 Queue 1: Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years old, and special compassionate cases (first—time applicants for settlement).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have applied over the past year for visas to visit the United Kingdom from British posts on the Indian sub-continent; how many were (a) granted and (b) refused; and what was the average waiting time for (i) interview and (ii) secured interview.

[holding answer 18 December 1989]: In the 12 months ending 30 September 1989, 176,500 persons in the Indian sub-continent applied for a visa to visit the United Kingdom; during the same period 151,800 such applications were granted, including those granted on appeal, and 19,400 were refused initially. Visit applications were considered within 24 hours.Those applicants who then required a detailed interview were usually seen within the 24-hour period except in Madras and Islamabad where the waiting time for applicants interviewed at the end of October 1989 was two to three and eight days respectively. The average waiting time over the latest 12 months is not available centrally because of incomplete information.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount of civil defence grant aid for (a) staff costs, (b) building work and (c) other costs in the financial years from 1983–84 to 1988–89 and projected for 1989–90, received by each London borough.

[holding answer 14 December 1989]: The information requested in respect of financial years 1985–86 onwards is shown in the table. Comparable figures for 1983–84 and 1984–85 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Civil defence grant aid received by London boroughs 1985–86
Borough	Staff £	Building £	Other £
Barking and Dagenham	1,892	—	3,349
Barnet	—	0—	3,300
Bexley	—	3,692	2,765
Brent	—	—	1,822
Bromley	3,694	—	4,838
Camden	—	—	1,956
City of London	—	—	12,321
Croydon	—	—	2,014
Ealing	1,061	—	—
Enfield	—	—	57
Greenwich	286	—	1,718
Hackney	—	—	1,530
Hammersmith and Fulham	—	—	2,361
Haringey	—	—	2,301
Harrow	—	—	1,409
Havering	1,562	—	—
Hillingdon	—	—	5,651
Hounslow	1,158	—	1,461
Islington	—	—	1,404
Kensington and Chelsea	680	—	2,218
Kingston	—	—	2,337
Lambeth	—	—	7,105

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outside accountancy firms are employed by his Department; whether such employment is subject to any guidelines; and whether he takes steps before employing an accountancy firm to discover whether that firm has been censured by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors in their inquiries under the Companies Act.

[holding answer 14 December 1989]: The Home Office is currently employing four accountancy firms. Contracts are awarded which provide value for money from competent firms, after consultations as necessary and where appropriate, in the light of advice given by Her Majesty's Treasury.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure was made by his Department on (a) the arts and (b) design in the last financial year.

[holding answer 21 December 1989]: A number of items of my Department's expenditure—for example, the provision and maintenance of prisons and programmes for prisoners, and the production of various publications—contain elements that could be classified as expenditure on arts and—or design, but in general it is not practicable to separate and cost those elements.All prison education departments provide courses in art and craft work, but, because these courses are part of the total education provision, it is not possible to identify separately expenditure on them. Expenditure on the annual Koestler Trust exhibition of prisoners' art and craft is estimated to have been £20,000 in 1988–89.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy at what point plutonium created in civil reactors under safeguards becomes no longer subject to safeguards when distributed in plutonium-contaminated wastes at Sellafield.

Detailed discussions are continuing with the international safeguards authorities on the safeguards to be applied to waste containing civil nuclear material.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has received a copy of the 1988–89 Euratom annual safeguards report from the European Commission.

The Secretary of State has received no such report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy from what percentage of projects in England and Wales Neighbourhood Energy Action has received statistical returns.

In the latest two quarters for which information is available (April to June and July to September 1989) the response rates of projects in England and Wales providing statistical returns to Neighbourhood Energy Action were both over 99 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will itemise the progress made by the Energy Efficiency Office in developing quality indicators for Neighbourhood Energy Action projects.

All community insulation projects operating under employment training are contracted to undertake a "standard job" to a specification provided by Neighbourhood Energy Action. In addition, that organisation with the support of the Energy Efficiency Office, is continuing to develop certified training for the benefit of both project staff and trainees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list all the schemes for gas-fired power stations which are known to his Department giving in each case details of the progress of applications for consent to build and operate them and the names of the organisations concerned.

Not all gas-fired projects known to my Department are in the public domain, and I must respect the wish for commercial confidentiality where it exists. The projects that have been made public, and the consents that I have so far given are:

Company	Project	Consents received
Lakeland Power	Roosecote	Gas burn consent
Thames Power	Barking	Gas burn consent
Hawker Siddeley	Corby	Gas burn consent
	Peterborough	Gas burn consent
Lasmo/Ranger	South Denes	Gas burn consent
British Sugar	Brigg	—
Shell	Shellhaven	—
ICl/Enron	Wilton	—
Sheffield Heat & Power	Sheffield	—
CEGB	Killingholme (A)	Gas burn consent
	Little Barford	Gas burn consent
	Killingholme(PowerGen)	Gas burn consent
	Rye House	Gas burn consent

The stations planned by the CEGB would require capital investment approval in addition to consents from me under section 2 of the Electric Lighting Act 1909. I shall reach decisions in due course. I cannot comment on the position on other consents or authorisations which may be required for these stations from other authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on employment in the mining industry of the proposed gas-fired power station at Killingholme.

It will be for the British Coal Corporation to assess the implications for its manpower requirements of changes in fuel purchasing arrangements within the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what effect the European Community directive prohibiting the use of national gas for power generation is likely to have on gas-fired power station proposals in the United Kingdom.

The use of gas for power generation is not prohibited by EEC directive 75/404; rather, its use has to meet certain criteria. The Government assess gas-powered generation project proposals against the criteria in the directive, such as the thermal efficiency and environmental impact of the plant.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate his Department has made of the likely impact of gas-fired power stations on the consumption of coal in power stations.

My Department makes no such estimates; decisions on fossil fuel choice are matters for the industry. Mechanistic scenarios, which are not to be construed as estimates, illustrating the technical options which may be available to curtail emissions of the greenhouse gases from the United Kingdom are however contained in my Department's paper "An evaluation of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and measures to ameliorate them", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Section 2 of chapter 5 deals with alternative fossil-fuelled power generation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is his Department's estimate of the likely increase in gas-fired generating capacity in the United Kingdom in each year to 1995;(2) what is his Department's estimate of the likely percentage of electricity to be generated by gas-fired power stations in each year to 1995.

This depends on the growth of demand and on decisions to be taken by the electricity industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, when he expects to announce his decision on the application to build a gas-fired power station at Killingholme.

The CEGB has submitted two applications for my consent under section 2 of the Electric Lighting Act 1909 to construct combined cycle gas turbine power stations at Killingholme. My officials are currently discussing a number of points relevant to my consideration of the applications with the CEGB, the relevant local planning authorities and other Government Departments. I will announce my decisions on the two applications when I am ready to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what financial resources will be made available to the Director General of Electricity Supply to promote energy efficiency and electricity conservation measures.

The Office of Electricity Regulation will be financed by vote with its costs covered through licence fees. It will be for the director general to assess the resources he needs and to manage those resources in the most appropriate way to meet his statutory duties.Close links are being established between his office and the Energy Efficiency Office to ensure that they both complement and reinforce one another's work in the important area of energy efficiency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will amend the draft licence for electricity suppliers to allow cost-pass-through for energy conservation measures.

I am reviewing the conditions in all the electricity licences with a view to publishing revised versions of the licences shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Oxford, East, Official Report, 18 December, columns 36–40, if he will publish the numbers of students on which his calculations are based for each year from 1990 to 2027.

The table gives estimates of the numbers of students eligible for loans from 1990–91 to 2000–01 inclusive. The basis is the United Kingdom. The figures in annex E of the White Paper rest on a series of assumptions, one being that numbers remain constant after the end of the century. This assumption also applies to the revised estimates of costs and savings.

United Kingdom numbers eligible for loans
Year	(000s)
1990	569·2
1991	582·2
1992	584·6

Calendar Year	1985	1986	1987	1988	11989
Number of maintained secondary schools approved for closure	106	117	107	92	94
(i) girls' schools	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	7	9
(ii) boys' schools	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	9	7
(iii) mixed schools	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	76	78
(iv) voluntary schools	18	33	23	18	7
(v) county schools	88	84	84	74	87
Number of maintained secondary schools for which proposals were approved for significant change of character	31	75	18	35	37
(i) girls' schools	1	—	—	2	3
(ii) boys' schools	1	1	3	1	2
(iii) mixed schools	29	74	15	32	32

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to revise the guidelines to local education authorities concerning administration of the disabled students allowance; and if he will make a statement.

As I indicated in the reply that I gave to my right hon. Friend on 19 December 1989 at columns 219–20, guidance is normally issued to local education authorities following the revision of the mandatory awards regulations. My right hon. Friend will consider later this year what if any new guidance is needed on the disabled students' allowance, after he has reviewed the contents of the regulations in the light of representations received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether students who become disabled during their course will continue to receive loans.

An eligible student who becomes disabled will remain eligible for loans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Epping Forest of 29 November, Official Report, columns 261–2, if he will break down the information in (a) and (b) on closures and significant changes of character of secondary schools by the categories (i) to (v) which he has applied in the case of enlarged schools under (c).

The information is given in the table. Figures in respect of school closures are for the total number of schools approved for closure in a given year; the equivalent figures in my answer of 29 November were net of new schools established as a result of amalgamations. Disaggregated figures by gender before 1988 are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list by gender of pupils and name single-sex schools which have been closed since 1985.

The names of the single sex maintained and non-maintained schools that have closed in 1985 and onwards are given in the table. The table includes maintained schools that have been closed following the approval of statutory proposals; in some cases for the purpose of amalgamation.The table is not fully up to date as some replies from local education authorities are still awaited confirming closures in 1989.Independent schools are shown in the education authority in which they are situated.

Local education authority	School name
Girls Schools Closed since 1985
Barnet	Southaw Girls
Bexley	Sidcup Girls School
Bromley	Ravensbourne School for Girls
	Rock Hill School for Girls
	Beckenham Convent School
Croydon	Lady Edridge Girls High
	Selhurst Girls High School
	Purley Girls High School
Ealing	St. Annes Convent School
Harrow	White Gate Senior School for Girls
Newham	London School of Islamics
Waltham Forest	Connaught High School for Girls
	Leyton Manor High School for Girls
	Warwick High School for Girls
	Leyton Senior High Schools for Girls
	Walthamstow Senior High School for Girls
Birmingham	Erdington School
	Longmeadow School
Coventry	Cardinal Wiseman Roman Catholic Secondary School for Girls
Wolverhampton	Ely House Girls School
Knowsley	Knowsley St. Gregorys Roman Catholic Girls Comprehensive
Liverpool	St. Teresas Roman Catholic Junior Girls
	Stanley Park Girls County Comprehensive
	Aigburth Vale Girls County Comprehensive
	Childwall Valley Girls County Comprehensive
	Liverpool Institute Girls High School
	Queen Marys Girls County Comprehensive
	Allerton Priory
St. Helens	Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School
	Notre Dame Roman Catholic High