To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will bring forward proposals for a Standing Order to require all commercial interests to be duly declared at oral Question Time.

In the first instance this is a matter for the Select Committee on Members' Interests and the hon. Member should write to the Chairman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the new courses referred to in the Official Report, 15 February, column 464, for which 50,000 students will be eligible for student loans who are not presently eligible for student grants.

Some full-time home students will be eligible for loans but not for mandatory awards. This group will include some students on courses leading to qualifications such as the BTEC higher national certificate, and other qualifications offered by professional institutions and public bodies. The full range of eligible courses is defined by schedule 1 of the Education (Student Loans) Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received a copy of the confidential report on London schools which sets out examination results and subjects taken by children in the Inner London education authoritiy area; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received a copy of the report on the school examination results in inner London for the year 1988.The results are not good. I am sure that the new inner London local education authorities will give a high priority to improving them, and will be assisted in this by the Government's education reforms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children are sent home from schools in Manchester each day because there are no teachers to cover for any absences.

This information is not available to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to reach a decision on the reorganisation of both secondary and primary education in the metropolitan borough of St. Helens.

My right hon. Friend notified St. Helens education authority on 30 November 1989 of his decision to approve the proposals for the reorganisation of the Church of England primary schools in Rainford. He is currently considering proposals for the reorganisation of county secondary schools in St. Helens, and for the significant enlargement of Carmel Roman Catholic sixth form college. Decisions on these proposals will be reached as quickly as is compatible with a full consideration of all the issues involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that the 33 first and 10 middle schools in Bradford continue to receive funding of more than £1·2 million in 1990–91, under the local management scheme to meet special needs and social disadvantages; and if he will make a statement.

The levels of funding to be allocated by LMS formulae with reference to individual factors such as specific needs and social disadvantage are for local determination. Ministerial approval is limited to the criteria and ground rules which govern the distribution of resources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received urging that 33 first schools and 10 middle schools in Bradford continue to receive funding to meet special needs and social disadvantages.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the quality of provision for children under five years old.

The Government welcome the good practice in schools and other centres which Her Majesty's inspectors have documented in recent reports, including "The Education of Children Under Five" a copy of which is in the Library. They believe much more needs to be done. A committee of inquiry under my chairmanship is considering how to achieve improvements in the educational content of all forms of provision for three and four-year-olds.

To ask the Prime Minister what is her policy on the minimum number of United States troops which should be stationed in Europe; what discussions Her Majesty's Government have had with the United States Administration on this policy; and whether she has any plans to revise her policy in the light of recent discussions between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.

The presence of substantial numbers of United States troops in Europe makes an essential contribution to Western security. The United States Government have made it very clear that they intend to maintain this contribution. The agreement at Ottawa between the United States and the Soviet Union, by which the two countries' stationed forces in the central region of Europe would each be subject by the CFE treaty to a ceiling of 195,000, is fully compatible with this.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to the Mid-Staffordshire constituency.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will give the percentage change since 1979 in the cost of the upkeep of No. 10 Downing street.

This information is not readily available for earlier years and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 18 October 1989 at column 128.

To ask the Prime Minister when was the last occasion on which she visited (i) a bed and breakfast hostel for the homeless and (ii) homeless people at other venues.

During my visits to various regions I visit a wide variety of people. I have not recently paid an official visit to a bed and breakfast hostel for the homeless, or held a formal meeting with homeless people.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is taking forward, with urgency, action following our review of the homelessness legislation. This includes the allocation of additional resources to relieve homelessness pressures in London. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Minister for Housing and Planning have had a number of meetings with homeless people in London and with voluntary agencies which work with the homeless.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will request co-operation from employers in Northern Ireland to ensure that employees genuinely delayed in lengthy hold-ups during security searches will not be financially penalised or threatened with loss of employment.

Continuing terrorist activity requires the police and armed forces to take measures for the protection of life and property and the police and Army do their utmost to keep any resulting delay and inconvenience to a minimum. The Government hope that all law-abiding citizens will understand the need for these measures and co-operate with them since they are taken for the benefit of the community at large.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was (a) the district rate and (b) the regional rate for the last three years in percentage and financial terms; and if he will make a statement.

The figures for the last three years for the average district rate and the regional rate are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to improve public confidence in the security forces.

Securing and maintaining confidence in both the fairness and effectiveness of the security forces is a major Government objective. To this end careful and constant attention is being given to ways of improving relations between the security forces and all parts of the community in Northern Ireland. A number of measures have been taken; others are in hand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantities of explosives have been recovered by the security forces in Northern Ireland in each year since 1968.

[holding answer 21 February 1990]: Readily available information on explosives found is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list all the firms which have been investigated by the Fair Employment Agency from its inception until the latest available date.

[holding answer 21 February 1990]: The organisations listed are those which have been investigated by the Fair Employment Agency (now renamed the Fair Employment Commission) for which reports have been published. It is not the commission's policy to reveal the names of organisations which are under investigation or where investigations are complete but reports are still unpublished.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many specific cases of claims of religious discrimination have been upheld by the Fair Employment Agency in each year from its inception until the latest available date; and of these how many were of (1) Protestants being the victims of discrimination and (2) Roman Catholics being the victims of discrimination.

[holding answer 21 February 1990]: Information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made by the Stevens inquiry into allegations that members of the security forces are leaking information to paramilitary groups; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 12 February 1990]: The investigation by Mr. Stevens and his team still continues. I understand, however, that he expects to submit a full report to the Chief Constable of the RUC in the near future. Thereafter the Government will address expeditiously any implications of the report that are for them, and will consider whether any further measures are needed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys-based adult population figures were replaced as a basis for the underlying data for calculating revenue support grant by information from the community charge register; if he will publish a table giving for each local authority the difference between the two and the financial effect of this on that authority's standard spending assessment; and if he will make a statement on the accuracy of these measures.

We announced our intention to base certain revenue support grant calculations on information from the community charges register in July 1989, following representations from the local authority associations and individual authorities that this was the most appropriate basis. OPCS-based estimates were used for illustrative exemplifications of the effects of our proposals when we issued a consultation paper in November last year because they were then the only population data available. I have placed in the Library a table showing for each charging authority the difference between OPCS-based estimates and those derived from community charges registers. Apart from one minor aspect, standard spending assessments are based on estimates of the whole population and the number falling within certain age bands and are therefore calculated using OPCS estimates rather than community charges registers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report the information placed in the Library with his written reply dated 14 February, Official Report, column 222, concerning the amount of poll tax payable in 1990–91 per adult in each region etc.

Where tables relating to local government finance run to more than about a page of A4 it is our practice to place the tables in the Library rather than publishing the figures in the Official Report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Government will provide for a national referendum on the poll tax.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those chemicals or chemical compounds that are classed as toxic waste in England and Wales.

Waste which is dangerous or difficult to dispose of is classed as "special waste" and the substances used in its definition are listed in regulation 2 and schedule 1 to the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980 (SI 1980 No. 1709). On 25 January we published a consultation paper reviewing the 1980 regulations and proposing a new definition of special waste. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those firms that are licensed to import toxic waste into England and Wales.

United Kingdom firms do not require a licence to import toxic waste. However, the waste must go to suitably licensed waste disposal facilities and the shipment must be notified under the Transfrontier Shipment of Hazardous Waste Regulations 1988 or the Control of Pollution (Special Waste) Regulations 1980, as appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much lower or higher on average the determinations of the district valuer are on council house sales in the London borough of Camden for the past three years than the price quoted by Camden; and if he will make a statement.

In the year ending 31 December 1989, the district valuer made 440 determinations of value under section 128 of the Housing Act 1985 on the application of tenants of the London borough of Camden. The value determined was lower than the borough's in 321 cases by an average of £11,201 or 11·03 per cent., higher in 19 cases and the same in 100 cases.In the year ending 31 December 1988, the equivalent figures were 287 determinations, 258 reductions (by an average of £12,665 or 13·4 per cent.), no increased valuations and 29 unchanged valuations. In the year ending 31 December 1987, there were 26 determinations, 24 reductions (by an average of f 10,812 or 10·83 per cent.), no increased valuations and two unchanged valuations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has received any requests from water authorities to help finance a system of charges for water services following the abolition of domestic rates, other than by meters; and if he will make a statement;(2) if the Director General of Water Services has requested financial assistance to help with research into any alternative to charging for water services following the abolition of domestic rates, other than by water meters; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of 9 January, Official Report, column 592, what was the cost of all works associated with the erection of railings at the Whitehall end of Downing street that did not involve security matters.

[holding answer 22 February 1990]: The sole purpose of these railings is to enhance the security of Downing street and all works were directed to achieve that objective.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provision is made for public scrutiny of expenditure on No. 10 Downing street.

[holding answer 22 February 1990]: Vote expenditure by the Property Services Agency at No. 10 Downing street is subject to the same arrangements for public scrutiny as apply to all such expenditure by the agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) by how much levels of traffic in London would rise if the public transport proposals suggested in the London assessment studies were adopted in isolation and the road building options were not;(2) by how much levels of traffic in London would rise if the road proposals suggested in the London assessment studies were adopted in isolation and the public transport options were not.

Tests carried out for the London assessment studies of the way road and rail traffic levels would change if either major roads or major railways were to be built without the other indicate Londonwide differences of only 1 to 2 per cent. Changes would be greater locally, depending upon the schemes tested. Further work would be needed to assess traffic levels should any of the options, which comprise both road and public transport schemes, be taken forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will update the number of responses he has so far received to the London assessment studies consultations; and if he will list in percentage form how many of the total are (a) in support of and (b) in objection to the proposals.

No. Interim counts would involve disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many incidents have been reported of tube doors opening in between stations on each line on the London Underground for each of the last 12 months; and what measures exist to prevent this happening;(2) how many incidents have been reported of tube doors opening on the wrong side of the platform on each line on the London Underground for each of the last 12 months; and what measures exist to prevent this happening.

No incident in either category was reported during 1989, although there was one case of a train leaving Piccadilly Circus station with two doors open, due to malicious tampering with a valve. This good record is attributable to the training undertaken by London Underground Limited staff, the design of the equipment and the methods by which the doors are operated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times passengers have been asked to detrain on each line on the London Underground, for each of the last 12 months; and what were the reasons for these decisions.

This is a matter within London Underground's management responsibility, for which it should answer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times tube services have been interrupted for more than 20 minutes on each of the lines on the London Underground, for each of the last 12 months; and what were the reasons for these delays.

This is an operational matter for London Underground Limited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much additional funding his Department will make available to British Rail for the implementation of the safety measures mentioned in the Hidden report.

BR is currently assessing the costs of implementing the Hidden report, and will include them in its 1990 corporate plan. We will continue to ensure that BR has adequate funds for safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to alter the A12 in the vicinity of Brentwood to a six-lane highway; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to widen the existing A12 near Brentwood. The proposed new motorway between the M25 and Chelmsford provides the best solution to relieving not only that section of A12 but the M25, in terms of both economics and advantages to road users.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger lines of electrified track have been closed by British Rail since 1970; and what was the mileage of these lines.

Since 1970, British Rail has closed four electrified passenger lines of approximately 34 miles in total.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what provisions were made for full consultations when the reviews of the goods vehicles operators' licensing provisions was undertaken in 1986 and 1989; and if he will make a statement;(2) what representations he received from individuals or organisations on the review of the goods vehicle operators' licensing provisions in 1986 and 1989; and if he will make a statement.

The Department sought views from the road haulage industry, traffic commissioners, the transport tribunal, local authorities, parish councils, the police, trade unions, environmental interest groups and a number of private individuals who had expressed an interest.Both reviews attracted wide-ranging and evenly balanced opinion. Overall reactions suggest that our approach is about right.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether, in the light of the recent failure of a scheduled service airline, he has any plans to introduce a compensation scheme similar to that which applies to charter airlines under the air tour operators licence scheme; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans to introduce such a scheme at present. However, the International Air Transport Association, of which most international scheduled service airlines are members, has guidelines to protect passengers in these circumstances. Passengers holding tickets for flights with an airline providing scheduled services which ceases trading but which is a member of the association should be able to transfer at no extra cost to a flight of another airline which is also a member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek powers to enable him to commit public funds to ensure the early completion of the Channel tunnel.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many permissions, and on what dates since the United Kingdom joined the European Community, the United Kingdom has sought from the European Commission through Euratom, for the right to export civil plutonium created in the United Kingdom and allocated to the European Community under Euratom treaty article 86 to (a) the United States of America, (b) Japan and (c) any other state outside the European Economic Community.

In accordance with articles 59 and 62 of the Euratom treaty producers must seek the authorisation of the Commission for exports outside the Community of special fissile material produced within a member country and kept under safeguards. Since 1979 such authorisation has been applied for and granted only once. This covered an export to Canada in 1983.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) whether he has undertaken a comparative cost-benefit analysis of proceeding with the construction of the Sizewell B pressurised water reactor nuclear power station and an enhanced programme of investment in energy conservation and efficiency.(2) whether he will undertake a comparative assessment of the costs of continuing the construction of the Sizewell B pressurised water reactor with an expanded programme of investment in energy conservation and efficiency.

Sizewell B will maintain the PWR technology as an option for the future, contribute to diversity and security of supply, and help to reduce fossil fuel emissions. For these reasons the Government attach the highest importance to the completion and operation of the station.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the number of accountants seconded to his Department by accountancy firms during 1988 and 1989.

The numbers were as follows:

• 1988: 7
• 1989: 4

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the organisations which have or will be seeking recognition as qualifying bodies under the Companies Act 1989.

Formal applications cannot yet be made. The following bodies have inquired about the procedures for seeking recognition of a professional qualification under part II of the Act:

• The Association of International Accountants.
• The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.
• The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's ban on new investment in South Africa.

We have made clear our view that the steps President de Klerk has taken have transformed the political climate in South Africa. He has opened the way to a peaceful end to apartheid through negotiation. This deserves a constructive response from the international community.In 1986 European Community Foreign Ministers and, separately, Heads of Government participating at the Commonwealth review meeting agreed to impose a number of measures against South Africa, including a ban on new investment in South Africa. The then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced the implementation in the United Kingdom of the ban on new investment in a written answer to a parliamentary question on 30 October 1986, Vol. 103, column

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions in each of the last three years and in respect of which items of trade the United Kingdom Government has invoked article 36 to restrict imports into the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 22 February 1990]: Under article 36 of the treaty of Rome my Department operates longstanding restrictions on imports from Community members of firearms and ammunition and certain fissile materials. My Department has not, over the last three years, used article 36 to introduce new measures on Community products. Other Government Departments operate similar longstanding restrictions on such products as drugs, explosives and indecent or obscene articles for reasons of health, safety or public policy.

To ask the Attorney-General whether, further to his reply of 21 December 1989, to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby, Official Report, column 455, any person with a professional accountancy qualification is being prosecuted for offences under section 47(2) of the Financial Services Act 1986.

No person with a professional accountancy qualification is at present being prosecuted for offences under section 47(2) of the Financial Services Act 1986.

To ask the Attorney-General when the protection division of the Public Trustee Office will complete its consideration of the application relating to Miss L. Ritchie and the estate of the late Rita Dennison, deceased.

There is currently no outstanding application in either the Court of Protection or the protection division of the Public Trust Office to consider.There is, however, an application in Warrington county court under the Law of Property Act 1925 and this application will be considered when the parties apply to the court for the matter to be set down for trial.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list all the county courts in England and Wales and the current level of unopened correspondence in each of them.

I am informed that there is no unopened correspondence at any of the 275 county courts in England and Wales and I refer the hon. Member to my previous reply on 21 February 1990.

To ask the Attorney-General when he intends to complete his review of the report concerning Leicestershire police and the book "The Blooding".

Two reports have been received from the police which are being considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions. He expects to reach a decision concerning criminal proceedings in the near future.

To ask the Attorney-General when he last met the Director of Public Prosecutions; and whether he discussed the Director of Public Prosecution's evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on relations between police forces and the Crown prosecution service.

I last met the Director of Public Prosecutions on Wednesday 14 February when we discussed matters of departmental interest. It is not my practice to particularise these.

To ask the Attorney-General whether any changes will be made to the Lord Chancellor's Department's cash limit and running costs for 1989–90.

Pursuant to the answer which I gave my hon. Friend on 29 January, column 28, arid subject to parliamentary approval of the revised supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Lord Chancellor's Department, class XI, vote 5, will be further increased by £4,000,000 from £260,278,000 to £264,278,000. This increase is necessary to maintain progress on the court building programme and will be charged to the Reserve.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is (a) the weekly benefit entitlement when not working of a single parent with one child aged 15 years and (b) the weekly income of a single parent with one child aged 15 years with earnings of (a) £10, (b) £15, (c) £20, (d) £30, (e) £40 and (f) £50.

The information requested is set out in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners aged over 75 years have been awarded the new additional pension introduced by the Government.

Around 2·5 million pensioners who were already entitled to income support or housing benefit will have benefited automatically from the premium changes introduced in October 1989. This includes pensioners aged 75 or over and disabled pensioners aged 60 or over.Information is not yet available on which to estimate the number of pensioners who newly qualified for benefit from October as a result of the changes. However, over the five months from the start of the publicity campaign in July 1989 until the end of November 1989 there were 232,000 successful income support claims from pensioners. This compares with 82,000 successful claims over the previous five months.Information on new claims for housing benefit is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many additional (a) families and (b) children in families will be eligible for income related benefits as a result of the freeze in child benefit (i) since April 1987 and (ii) since April 1989.

[holding answer 9 February 1990]: It is impossible to give any meaningful estimate of the number of people who have or will become dependent on income-related benefits as a direct consequence of not uprating child benefit in April 1988, 1989 and 1990 because the effects cannot be viewed in isolation. It is important to remember that eligible populations and their constituents for all the income-related benefits change constantly as family incomes and circumstances change. Gross earnings have risen, and our policies to reduce tax and national insurance contributions have succeeded in enabling families with children to keep more of their earnings. In addition, we have channelled extra help to families with children through the income-related benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish tables employing the assumptions in his answer to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 22 June 1988, Official Report, columns 575–80, but using expenditure and benefit figures appropriate for families in Greenock and Port Glasgow, together with a column showing the extent of the difference resulting from the April 1988 social security changes.

[holding answer 12 February 1990]: I regret that the information requested is not available for Greenock and Port Glasgow. Moreover, the passage of time and subsequent changes to the benefit system have rendered increasingly meaningless any attempt to make hypothetical comparisons between what people get now and what they might have got under a system which was almost universally recognised as being riddled with anomalies and failing to target help sensibly. With this in mind, the Government do not intend to publish tables making such comparisons any longer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund applications are currently outstanding in offices covering the London borough of Newham.

The latest information available is for January 1990. For the offices serving the London borough of Newham 306 applications were brought forward as uncleared from December 1989. These were made up of 234 loan and 72 grant applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current level of refusals for social fund community care grants in London social security offices.

The number of refusals can be derived from the information on applications processed and awarded which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of income support recipients are now having deductions made from benefit as a result of paying back social fund loans (a) nationally, (b) regionally and (c) in each local Department of Social Security office area.

[holding answer 19 February 1990]: The information requested is in the tables. The percentages have been calculated by referring to provisional data on the number of loans being recovered at the end of January 1990 compared with the number of income support recipients.