To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy (a) to make her answers at Prime Minister's Question Time more brief and (b) to seek to make greater use of statements at 3.30 pm

It is not always appropriate to provide brief answers to some of the questions which are asked.

To ask the Prime Minister how many representations she has received, and from whom, calling for the separation of a Ministry of Food from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; and if she will make a statement.

I have received representations calling for the separation of a Ministry of Food from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as well as representations in favour of maintaining a single Department.I do not believe that the interests of the consumer and industry would be best served by such a separation. The present arrangements ensure that ministerial responsibility for the food chain is covered from the point of production to the point of sale to the consumer. I said at the Royal show last year that I do not propose to dismember the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This remains my view.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she will conduct a review of emergency procedures in the event of an accident at a nuclear power station in northern France, and the subsequent radioactive contamination of the United Kingdom population, food supplies and the environment; and if she will make a statement.

The United Kingdom's emergency procedures for dealing with a nuclear accident overseas were thoroughly reviewed after the Chernobyl incident in April 1986. I reported the first results of that review to the House on 18 December 1986, Official Report, columns 612-13. I reported again on 30 June 1987, Official Report, columns 65-67. The contingency arrangements now in place would be implemented in the event of an accident at a nuclear power station in northern France or elsewhere which could have consequences for the United Kingdom. In the unlikely event of any such accident there would be, in accordance with normal practice following any emergency, a further review of our contingency arrangements in the light of experience gained.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number and proportion of offences triable only on indictment which attracted non-custodial sentences in each of the last three years.

Information for 1986 to 1988 is given in the table.Data for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.

Persons given non-custodial sentences for offences triable only on indictment 1986 to 1988
England and Wales
Year	Total sentenced	Number given non-custodial sentences	Per cent.
1986	9,679	2,520	26
1987	10,163	2,498	25
1988	10,464	2,752	26

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether animal experiments conducted under LD50 tests are still being licensed.

Yes. The latest available information is published in table 14 of the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 1988" (Cm. 743).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider providing pensioners, the disabled and those without incomes with grants to enable the installation at their homes of personal security systems.

No. There are many examples of lock fitting schemes being conducted without a need for an individual householder's grant. These have often been carried out with valuable private sector support, and our safer cities programme already includes projects of this kind. Local authorities may also have access to urban programme and estate action resources for such purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many tonnes per annum of (a) nitrates, (b) phosphates, (c) cadmium, (d) zinc, (e) lead, (f) copper, (g) mercury and (h) liquid low level radioactive wastes in each case from United Kingdom sources are discharged or dumped into the North sea.

Recent information on United Kingdom inputs of contaminants to the North sea via rivers, coastal discharges and dumping from ships is included in the 1990 interim report on the quality status of the North sea prepared for the third North sea conference in the Hague on 7 and 8 March. I am placing a copy in the Library together with the ministerial declaration and the implementation report on the action taken by North sea states since the London conference to reduce these discharges still further.Some of the figures quoted in the interim quality status report have been compiled using differing methodologies, particularly in the case of river inputs and are, therefore, not directly comparable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to take steps to ensure that volunteer carers who are employed by individual disabled people and who have not been introduced to that person by an independent charitable organisation will be exempt from the community charge, provided that they meet the other exemption criteria.

The criteria for the exemption of care workers require, inter alia, that the individual is employed to provide care or support to another person and that the employer is either a public authority, a body established for charitable purposes only, or the person receiving care. In this last circumstance I regard it as helpful that the regulations enable a community charges registration officer to have confirmation of the position of the claimant from an independent charitable organisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total net spending and relevant applicable community charge, to levels of spending at standard spending assessment, 10 per cent. and 20 per cent. above standard spending assessment, and the increase or decrease in each case against the currently approved community charge for each charging local authority.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Hayward) on 19 March 1990, Official Report, column 478.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for how many local authorities the poll tax is higher than the notional figure used in setting the level which income support beneficiaries are required to pay; what is the median amount by which they are higher; and what is the number and names of those which are lower.

The Government do not set a level of community charge which income support beneficiaries are required to pay.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy when he publishes the poll tax figures for each English district council to publish for each district the amount per capital also due to (a) that district, (b) the county, (c) the amount of each of these offseet by Government grants, (d) the safety net figure per capita plus or minus, (e) the amount per capita that poll tax would have been had

	Percentage change adjusted GRE to SSA Per cent.	Cash change adjusted GRE to SSA £ million	Proportion of population in urban areas Per cent.
Berkshire	12·8	42·696	92·5
Bedfordshire	12·3	30·271	87·1
Oxfordshire	11·7	26·322	77·7

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the estimated total amounts of spending in 1989–90 and in 1990–91, and the percentage increase for (a) each English shire county and (b) each shire district within Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Wiltshire.

I intend to place a summary of the information returned from local authorities in the Library of the House after information has been received from all authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to introduce regulations which ensure that a carer who resides part-time in his or her home and the remainder of the time in the home of the person being cared for pays only one poll tax liability; and if he will make a statement.

The Community Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Regulations 1989 came into force on 28 December 1989. Regulations 62 of the regulations provides that no standard community charge will be payable on a property where the owner has moved to live in another place for the purpose of giving personal care and the property has been unoccupied for less than 12 months. Charging authorities have the discretion to extend the period of relief.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the conditions for the imposition of the standard community charge on a former home which the owner has not be able to sell within the present three-month limit.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham (Mr. Couchman) on 21 March 1990, Official Report, columns 658-59.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, in order of percentage loss or gain, the grant-related expenditure for 1989–90 against the standard spending assessment for 1990–91 for all English counties; what is the cost change between the two; and if he will list for each the proportion of the population living in urban areas.

The information requested is shown in the table. The proportion of the population living in urban areas is calculated from data in the 1981 Census publication "Key Statistics for Urban Areas" which contains a definition of urban areas. Similar data are not readily available for district councils or London boroughs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 19 March, how he calculates the figures of (a) £28 and (b) £2.

The figures are calculated by applying the appropriate monetary weights given in paragraph 3.32 of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) to the values of the specified indicators for Humberside, multiplying the result by the appropriate national scaling factor for highway maintenance and expressing the result as an amount per relevant adult (rounded to the nearest £1).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of (a) the number of second homes, (b) the relationship of the standard charge to the poll tax and (c) the extra revenue accruing from this for each local authority in England; what are his proposals for taking this into account in faxing next year's expenditure targets; and if he will make a statement.

Detailed information on the number of people registered as subject to the standard community charge, or on the multipliers being set by charging authorities is not yet available to the Department. Income from the standard charge is not taken into account in determining English local authorities' revenue-raising capacity for the purposes of grant distribution.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment with reference to his Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), annex A, V, highway maintenance, what was the basis on which the multipliers for road type weighting factors were arrived at.

Road lengths of different types are weighted in the following proportions:

	Weighted
Principal roads in built-up areas	6
Principal roads in non-built-up areas	3
Other roads in built-up areas	2
Other roads in non-built-up areas	1

These weightings assume that the average cost of maintaining principal roads is three times that of maintaining non-principal roads and that the cost of maintaining built-up roads is double that of maintaining non-built-up roads. The 3:1 relative cost weighting between principal and non-principal roads is based on analysis of expenditure data for the two types of road from maintenance outturn forms returned to the Department of Transport. The 2:1 ratio between built-up and non-built-up roads is based on evidence from sparsely populated counties provided by the Association of County Councils in the early 1980s.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to require councils to reduce their community charge level next year by the amount contained in this year's charge for their contribution to the safety net.

No, although I hope that councils will do so voluntarily. Community charge bills in 1990–91 show safety net contributions as a separate item. In following years bills for authorities that formerly contributed to the safety net will show a straightforward comparison between the amount needed to provide a standard level of service and authorities' actual spending plans. It will be for authorities to justify to their chargepayers any excess of the latter over the former. For authorities receiving area protection grant, which replaces the safety net after 1990–91, this will appear as a separate item on community charge bills.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much funding has been provided by the Government for derelict land reclamation in Lancashire in each of the last three years.

The information requested is as follows:

£ million
Grant Programme	Actual 1987–88	Actual 1988–89	Forecast 1989–90
Derelict land grant	4·102	3·278	4·047
Urban Programme1	0·372	0·166	0·264
Urban development grant 12	3·941	2·665	3·535
Urban regeneration grant 12	3·941	2·665	3·535
City grant 12	3·941	2·665	3·535
1 Includes expenditure on unused or waste land as well as derelict land.
2 Information does not relate solely to the costs of reclamation since grant is based on the total project costs including those of reclamation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new towns tenants have bought their homes since the right to buy was introduced; and if he will show the percentages for each new town in England and Wales.

Some 28,300 tenants have bought their homes from English new town corporations since October 1980, of which 9,400 were bought under the terms of the right-to-buy legislation. This does not include the number of tenants who have bought their homes after the transfer of new town stock to various local authorities and housing associations during the period; these sales cannot be distinguished from other sales by local authorities and housing associations.The table gives the estimated percentage of stock sold by individual new towns to tenants between October 1980 and the date of transfer to local authorities and-or housing associations.

	Date of transfer	Percentage of stock sold to sitting tenants
Basildon	—	32
Central Lancashire	July 1985	4
Milton Keynes	—	26
Northampton	April 1985	12
Peterborough	November 1989–January 1990	42
Redditch	April 1985	12
Runcorn	December 1989	23

	Date of transfer	Percentage of stock sold to sitting tenants
Skelmersdale	April 1985	15
Telford	—	47
Warrington	—	21
Washington	January 1986	10

For information about Welsh new towns I refer my hon. Friend to the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what action is being taken to remedy the design fault in Cleethorpes long sea outfall pipe;(2) what action is being taken to stop designated bathing beaches at Bridlington, Cleethorpes, Hornsea and Withernsea being polluted by raw sewage from storm overflow pipes;(3) what action is being taken to stop sewage discharges from Grimsby, Paull and Hull being deposited on beaches in the Cleethorpes area.

These are matters for the National Rivers Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated percentage of properties in each Cornwall district with radon concentration above the new action level.

The estimated proportion of houses exceeding the new action level in each Cornwall district is as follows:

	per cent.
Caradon	20
Carrick	15
Kerrier	30
North Cornwall	25
Penwith	30
Restormel	20

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what account is taken in providing grants for new housing associations of the assets or funding available to them in the allocation of resources for 1990–91.

Housing Corporation circulars HC31/88 and HC74/89 set out the financial viability criteria that the corporation applies where registered housing associations seek housing association grant. They cover associations' property assets and reserves, and also their management competence. The corporation has discretion to vary the criteria for small or new associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average rent payable by a disabled person living in special needs accommodation provided by housing associations operating on Merseyside.

The Department does not have this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the levels of grants payable to housing associations on Merseyside providing accommodation for people with special needs.

None, other than the hon. Member's letter of 16 March to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about a proposed housing association development at Fazakerley, to which I shall be replying shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department keeps an index of housing costs for those living in rented accommodation.

The Department does not maintain such an index. There are separate indices for rent and other items of housing expenditure within the general index of retail prices (RPI), which is published monthly by the Central Statistical Office. The RPI, of course, reflects the expenditure patterns of the majority of households and not just those in rented accommodation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average fine imposed by magistrates courts in 1988 for river and harbour pollution.

Information collected by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department shows that for cases brought under sections 31 or 32 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 the average fine imposed by magistrates courts in 1988 for water pollution offences was £560. The maximum fine available is £2,000 and up to three months' imprisonment. On indictment in the Crown Court there is no limit on the fine that may be imposed and terms of imprisonment can be up to two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the progress of the Local Government Boundary Commission's proposals for the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border.

The Commission's programme is a matter for it to determine within the statutory requirement that it should complete the review of English county boundaries by 31 March 1992. I understand that the commission is actively considering the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire boundary in the light of responses to its draft proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make it his policy to introduce a duty of disclosure to oblige landlords to disclose (a) details of outstanding charges against the property at the start of a lease and (b) whether the lender has granted permission for the property to be let;(2) if he will make it his policy to oblige mortgage lenders to obtain from borrowers an annual confirmation of occupiers of mortgaged property; and if he will make a statement;

I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has had any consultations with local authority associations on the main provision of part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 since January 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Following the announcement on 22 February to defer implementation of part VIII of the 1989 Act until 1 July, the local authority associations have been consulted on the draft regulations for the test of "resources" for owner occupiers and tenants. They have subsequently been consulted on a draft direction and associated guidance on the test of resources for landlords. Once their comments have been received and considered we will finalise the regulations and circulars relating to part VIII for issue as soon as possible thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on how many dwellings each local authority has sold under the right-to-buy legislation or voluntarily since April 1979; and what percentage of the total local authority stock they represent.

I have placed in the Library a table giving available information on local authority sales up to December 1989. It shows year by year information for each authority since 1984–85 together with cumulative figures since April 1979 and the proportion of their stock sold since April 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the volume of irradiated material and the scale of pollution from radioactive discharges which entered British coastal waters from the nuclear power stations on or near the northern coast of France during 1989.

A programme of regular and extensive monitoring of the marine environment around the United Kingdom coastline is carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It is not possible to estimate the amount of irradiated material from overseas nuclear installations within the low levels of radioactivity measured in United Kingdom coastal waters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much is being spent by Nirex in the current financial year on research into the safe disposal of nuclear waste; and how much money is being spent (a) in the United States and (b) Sweden on similar work in this financial year.

I understand that Nirex's estimated expenditure for this financial year on research and development work towards a deep disposal facility for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste is £13·9 million. The Department does not have any information about expenditure on such research in the United States or Sweden.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the projected timetable for intermediate-level waste encapsulation at Sellafield for each of the encapsulation plants.

There are three intermediate-level waste encapsulation plants currently under construction at Sellafield. One will be operational later this year; the others are expected to be commissioned in 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the level of expenditure by his Department on research into the safety of (a) intermediate and (b) low-level nuclear waste disposal for each year from 1970 to 1990, inclusive; and what are the projected figures to 1999;(2) what was the level of expenditure by his Department on research into the safety of high-level nuclear waste disposal for each year from 1970 to 1990, inclusive; and what are the projected figures to 1999.

My Department announced in 1977 that it would be assuming overall responsibility for radioactive waste management policy and in 1978–79 a full programme of research commenced under DOE control. Our wide-ranging research programme produces long-term benefits for the safe disposal of all levels of radioactive waste. It is not therefore practicable to divide the costs in the way requested. The level of expenditure by my Department on radioactive waste management research at actual prices for each financial year has been as follows:

	£million
1978–79	3·3
1979–80	5·1
1980–81	9·7
1981–82	8·5
1982–83	9·8
1983–84	8·5
1984–85	9·6
1985–86	10·6
1986–87	11·4
1987–88	10·2
1988–89	8·8
1989–90	10·8

It is envisaged that current levels of expenditure are likely to be maintained broadly until the end of the century.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether there are any plans to build a nuclear waste repository under the seabed.

The United Kingdom has no such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment why the table 3.2b on pages 3 to 11 of the United Kingdom radioactive waste inventory (DOE/RW 188.061) entitled "Conditioned Waste Volumes Classed According to Waste Category: Waste from Committed Sources" includes waste arising from British Nuclear Fuels plc. from uncommitted reactors which are not currently in existence, under construction or required in future for currently approved programmes.

The uncommitted arisings are from the operations of the THORP plant at Sellafield following major maintenance after its first 10 years or so of operation. At the time the inventory was compiled, these were included with the committed arisings on the basis that THORP itself was committed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to meet building society representatives and other mortgage lending institutions to discuss their approaches to rescheduling loans and repossession.

Ministers and officials at the Department of the Environment frequently meet representatives from mortgage lending institutions and discuss a range of issues, including mortgage arrears and possessions. I have met recently with representatives of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, whose members include all building societies of any size and many other mortgage lending institutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department keeps an index of housing costs for those living in rented accommodation.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Chope) to the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who are the consultants who have been employed to assist with the Chatham and Medway docks redevelopment project.

I have been asked to reply.This is a matter for the boards of English Estates and the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average weekly household income in £ sterling as a percentage of total household income for the Yorkshire and Humberside region for 1979, 1983, 1987 and the most recent year; and if he will make a statement.

Estimates of gross average weekly household income for the United Kingdom and the Yorkshire and Humberside region are published in table 58 of the 1979 family expenditure survey report and in table 31 of the 1983, 1987 and 1988 reports, copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the United Kingdom gross and net contribution to the European Community for each of the years for which figures are available at standard prices (a) for all contributions and (b) for contributions towards agricultural spending.

The United Kingdom's total gross and net contributions, in constant 1989 prices, are set out in the table. The United Kingdom's contribution to the EC budget is towards the cost of total EC expenditure and not towards any particular element such as agriculture.

Gross and net payments to the EC budget
£million1
Year	Gross (before receipts and refunds or abatements)	Net (after receipts and refunds or abatements)
1973	909	512
1974	784	127
1975	1,177	-193
1976	1,385	499
1977	1,932	968
1978	3,177	1,937
1979	3,306	1,949
1980	3,044	1,216
1981	3,365	614
1982	4,116	871
1983	4,061	883
1984	4,178	856
1985	4,866	2,233
1986	5,361	683
1987	5,916	1,957
1988	5,484	1,454
1989	5,533	1,966
1 Constant prices have been constructed using the GDP deflator at market prices.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of European Community spending was on agriculture in each of the last 10 years.

For the years 1980 to 1988 the information requested is given in table 16 of successive reports by the Court of Auditors. In 1989 and 1990, provision for agricultural guarantee expenditure accounted for 59·6 and 56·6 per cent. respectively of the total budget.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has anything to add to his answer of 16 February, Official Report, column 423, concerning companies forced into receivership by Customs and Excise action, in respect of the Natural Beauty Products Company of Bridgend.

The company was not put into receivership by Customs and Excise action. The administrative receiver appointed by the debenture holder for Natural Beauty Products of Bridgend is trying to sell the company as a going concern.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the subject of the internal audit report that was drawn to the attention of a Minister in his Department in 1989.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: The subject of the audit report concerned trade statistics in respect of diamond imports and exports.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the nature of the expenditure and income covered by the £4,727 million deficit dealt with in the page of statistics entitled transfers on the balance of payments figures issued by the Central Statistical Office on 13 March.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: The coverages of the various categories of expenditure and income are explained on page 39 of the 1989 edition of "United Kingdom Balance of Payments", a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the size of British investment in Hong Kong expressed as a percentage of national gross domestic product at factor cost.

[holding answer 21 March 1990]: Information is available only on the book value of United Kingdom direct investment in Hong Kong which, at £1,924 million at end-1987, represented 0·5 per cent. of United Kingdom gross domestic product at factor cost (in current prices) in 1987. Direct investment is only one aspect of the United Kingdom's extensive commercial involvement in Hong Kong. The total value of the United Kingdom stake in Hong Kong is likely to be substantially greater than the figure for direct investment alone.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new full driving licences have been issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in each of the last three years, exclusive of heavy goods vehicle licences and public service vehicle licences.

The number of new full driving licences issued by the driver and vehicle licensing centre in the last three years, are as follows:

	New licences
1987	991,769
1988	1,000,611
1989	1,004,358

These figures do not include replacement, duplicate and exchange licences issued to people who have already held a full British driving licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the current traffic flows, by volume, density and mix, on the M40 at Gerrards Cross.

The latest annual average daily traffic flows recorded, for 1988, were:

	Vehicles	Per cent
Cars	63,000	84
Buses	600	1
Light Goods Vehicles	5,400	7
Heavy Goods Vehicles	6,000	8
Total	75,000	100

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the total amount of gross compensation paid under the Land Compensation Act 1973 in connection with the construction of the Gerrards Cross bypass (M40).

Payments under part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 for this length of M40 total £1·259 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further representations he has received regarding the Channel tunnel and midland main line railway; and if he will make a statement.

I have received a number of representations about the Channel tunnel and the midland mainline. The extent to which this line is used for Channel tunnel rail services is a matter for BR's commercial judgment. It is also for British Rail in the first instance to decide whether it is in its commercial interest to propose electrification of this or any other line. The board's proposals for an international station at King's Cross would provide excellent interchange facilities with inter-city services on the midland mainline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to publish the Northern Ireland public expenditure commentary; and if he will make a statement.

The "Northern Ireland Commentary on Public Expenditure Plans 1990–91 to 1992–93" was published today and copies are available in the Vote Office. This is the third Northern Ireland commentary and it aims to improve the information available to Parliament, and the public, by amplifying the material in the Northern Ireland chapter of the 1990 public expenditure White Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students from the Irish Republic are at (a) universities and (b) other higher education establishments in Northern Ireland; and what have been the numbers for each of the last four years.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: Provisional information for the 1989–90 academic year is

(a). at universities—1,478

(b). at other higher education establishments—24

Comparable information for each of the last four years is:

	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89
(a) at universities	436	613	931	1,219
(b) at other higher education establishments	14	16	14	20

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of new building units which will be built in 1990–91 in (a) the private sector and (b) the public sector.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: It is estimated that during 1990–91 building will commence on the following units:

	Units
(a) The private sector (including housing associations)	7,000
(b) The public sector (Northern Ireland Housing Executive)	1,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long the dealer licensing scheme for the purchase of Atlantic salmon has been in operation in Northern Ireland.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: The system, which was first provided for in the Fisheries Act (NI) 1928, has operated in its present form since the introduction of the Fisheries Act (NI) 1966.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether a cost benefit analysis was carried out by the Department of Agriculture (a) before an undertaking to operate the research vessel Lough Foyle was entered into, (b) before or (c) after a decision was taken to seek funding for the vessel; and what are the benefits which justified the commitment.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: Yes to (a) and (b).The benefits will derive from improved long-term management of exploitable marine stocks with the objective of providing enhanced yields in order to sustain a viable Northern Ireland sea fishing industry. Additional R and D will enhance scientific knowledge of complex interactions in the marine ecosystem and environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) part-time and (b) short term contract scientific staff have been appointed to new scientific posts created to work on the research vessel Lough Foyle.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: No part-time or short-term contract scientific staff have yet been appointed. A total of 13 non-scientific staff for crewing the vessel are being employed through an agency agreement with the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many permanent staff have been appointed to the new scientific posts created to work on the research vessel Lough Foyle.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: In 1989–90 one scientist, at grade 6, was appointed. A further 11 permanent and one temporary scientific staff are currently being recruited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what analysis of the costs of berthing the research vessel Lough Foyle was carried out; whether (a) Coleraine port and (b) Londonderry port were considered and costed; what are the financial benefits per year in favour of Belfast since the vessel came into service; and what are the projections for the next three years.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: Berthing costs are insignificant in terms of the overall costs of the vessel. The overriding factor is the cost of fuel to reach the target sea areas requiring R and D and monitoring. Londonderry and Coleraine are, therefore, not appropriate ports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any estimate has been made of the replacement cost of the research vessel Lough Foyle; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 20 March 1990]: Replacement of the vessel has not yet been considered. A review will take place when appropriate taking into consideration policy and scientific needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to assess whether Freddie Andrews enjoys the standard of living intended by his father and benefits appropriately from his properties disposed of by the Official Solicitor to John Laing Developments Ltd.

I have been asked to reply.As I said in my most recent reply to the hon. Member for Antrim, East (Mr. Beggs),

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest position regarding getting relief supplies to those who need them in Ethiopia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in the light of serious famine forecast for April, he has proposals to grant further food aid to Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Following my visit to Ethiopia on 9 and 10 March, I announced a further £8·5 million contribution of food and other emergency aid. Following the effective closure of the port of Massawa to relief operations, it is now unlikely that famine can be wholly averted.The agreement on the movement of relief supplies into northern Welo and Tigray along the so-called southern line from the port of Assab was a most welcome development. President Mengistu assured me that the Government would not hinder this operation and the rebel side has also agreed to it.The first convoys moved across the lines on 20 and 21 March and reached the distribution centre of Kobo in northern Welo the following day.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the financial aspects of the agreement with Brazil on rain forest issues, arranged during the visit of the right hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Patten).

Our programme of rain forest and other environmental assistance to Brazil will represent additional aid for that country, financed from the new £100 million for ODA's tropical forestry activities announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at the United Nations last November.The level of assistance for Brazil is not fixed and will depend on the number of projects which can be agreed. The first project agreed under the memorandum of understanding, for climate-related research, is expected to cost some £2·5 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about how British aid to Namibia is to be spent.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Corby on 21 March, Official Report, column 612.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how much bilateral and multilateral aid he has given in the last two years to assist Namibians in English language teaching and training inside and outside Namibia;(2) what steps he has taken to assist in the establishment of English as the lingua franca of Namibia;(3) whether he is planning to aid the Namibian Academy in its English language teaching projects.

Over the last two years we have provided over £1 million in bilateral aid to assist Namibians in English language teaching and training. Most of this has been for training awards in Britain for Namibian teachers of English and for assistance to exile education institutions including the United Nations Institute for Namibia in Lusaka. It has included the preparation of teaching materials in English for use in Namibia's schools. Figures are not readily available for our share of multilateral aid for this purpose.Under article three of Namibia's constitution, English is declared the official language of Namibia. We are already financing an English language adviser to the Minister of Education in Windhoek and will provide the course director for the first English language teaching course at the proposed National Institute of Languages. VSO will provide three teachers for this course. A British consultant arrived in Namibia today to advise on Namibia's education system. It is too early to say whether we will provide assistance to English language teaching projects run by the academy; much will depend on the Government's decisions on the academy's future role.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the total publicity and advertising expenditure of his Department and the Lord Chancellor's Department and public bodies for which his Department has responsibility in (a) 1979 and (b) 1989.

No publicity or advertising expenditure was incurred by my Department in 1979. At that time the Crown prosecution service and the Serious Fraud Office did not exist. In 1989–90, expenditure of £36,443 on publicity and £1,217 on advertising was incurred by the Treasury Solicitor's department. In that period, the Crown prosecution service incurred expenditure of £144,466 on publicity and £268,857 on advertising, and the Serious Fraud Office incurred an expenditure of £9,782 on advertising.The estimated figures for the Lord Chancellor's Department and for the public bodies for which it has responsibility for 1989–90, excluding staff costs are as follows:

	Publicity £	Advertising £
LCD (and Associated Offices)	39,021	16,541
Legal Aid Board	105,000	25,000

The amounts spent for 1979 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Attorney-General what discussions he has had on the public relations representation in the United Kingdom for Bophuthatswana; and if he will make a statement.

An allegation made in April 1986 on behalf of the Government of Bophuthatswana that funds had been misappropriated from a bank account belonging to the Bophuthatswana National Commercial Corporation Limited was referred to the metropolitan and city fraud squad. Following a police investigation, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office concluded in April 1988 that insufficient evidence was available to justify the institution of proceedings against any person. I had no discussion on the matter but was notified of that decision.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make it his policy to investigate the feasibility of enabling private tenants of mortgaged property the right to register an interest on the Land Registry.

In its third report on land registration (Law Commission No. 158) the Law Commission, having extensively reviewed the matter, recommended no change to the existing requirement that only leases for a term exceeding 21 years should be capable of being noted on registered titles. The Government are considering this recommendation together with others listed in the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the community charge for 1990–91 of (a) each district council and (b) each county council in Wales; and if he will show the relationship to the standard spending assessment for each of those councils.

Local authorities in Wales are in the process of submitting information to the Welsh Office relating to community charges. I shall write to my hon. Friend with the information he has requested when all the returns have been received and checked.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide the rate that would have had to have been levied as the equivalent of the community charge for 1990– 91 of (a) each district council and (b) each county council in Wales; and if he will show the increase each of those rates are over the rates for those same councils for 1989–90.

I shall write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total amount collected in business rates (a) in Wales and (b) in each local authority in Wales in 1988–89; what is the amount projected to be collected in 1989–90; and what are the estimates for 1990–91 to 1994–95.

Estimates of business rate yield by local authority are available centrally only for 1990–91 as shown in the table. Information is not available for 1991–92 to 1994–95.

Non-domestic rate yield1
Local authority	1988–89 £million	1989–90 £ million	1990–91 £million
Alyn and Deeside	—	—	12
Colwyn	—	—	5
Delyn	—	—	6
Glyndwr	—	—	4
Rhuddlan	—	—	7
Wrexham Maelor	—	—	17
Carmarthen	—	—	5
Ceredigion	—	—	5
Dinefwr	—	—	2
Llanelli	—	—	8
Preseli Pembrokeshire	—	—	8
South Pembrokeshire	—	—	8

Local authority	1988–89 £million	1989–90 £ million	1990–91 £million
Blaenau Gwent	—	—	7
Islwyn	—	—	5
Monmouth	—	—	8
Newport	—	—	27
Torfaen	—	—	13
Aberconwy	—	—	6
Arfon	—	—	6
Dwyfor	—	—	3
Meirionnydd	—	—	3
Ynys Mon	—	—	6
Cynon Valley	—	—	6
Merthyr Tydfil	—	—	6
Ogwr	—	—	15
Rhondda	—	—	5
Rhymney Valley	—	—	9
Taff Ely	—	—	15
Brecknock	—	—	3
Montgomeryshire	—	—	5
Radnor	—	—	2
Cardiff	—	—	48
Vale of Glamorgan	—	—	11
Port Talbot	—	—	17
Lliw Valley	—	—	6
Neath	—	—	9
Swansea	—	—	26
Central list2	—	—	80
Government contribution in lieu of rates	—	—	27
Total Wales	368	414	461
1 Amount estimated to be collected.
2 Amount payable by Welsh central list ratepayers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what minimum residence period in a financial year has been established by the community charge registration officer for the payment of poll tax in each local authority for people with a residence but who normally work abroad for most of the year.

A person is subject to a charging authority's personal community charge on a given day if he or she has their sole or main residence in the charging authority's area on that day. The decision as to whether, on any day, a residence constitutes a sole or main residence is a matter for each community charges registration officer (CCRO) to decide on the facts of the individual case. Information about community charges registration officers's decisions is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to limit council house rents; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many home improvement grants have been given (a) in general and (b) specifically to households in order to replace lead plumbing in each district, borough and city council area for each year since 1985.

The total number of completed home improvement grants is given in the table. Data on the number of grants specifically given in order to replace lead plumbing is not collected centrally.

Number of home improvement grants completed by district, 1985–89
	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Aberconwy	204	155	134	212	179
Alyn and Deeside	131	134	184	200	158
Arfon	413	480	434	437	390
Blaenau Gwent	529	414	844	659	398
Brecknock	136	143	213	332	397
Cardiff	2,456	2,572	2,847	2,720	3,221
Carmarthen	358	518	450	428	402
Ceredigion	348	336	202	160	265
Colwyn	58	310	166	257	310
Cynon Valley	271	549	1,258	1,488	1,098
Delyn	150	179	233	193	165
Dinefwr	146	197	159	127	133
Dwyfor	125	186	131	113	173
Glyndwr	170	130	151	174	187
Islwyn	1,109	1,162	1,214	1,464	1,559
Llanelli	398	324	545	471	1,024
Lliw Valley	257	416	453	508	499
Meirionnydd	547	241	154	90	120
Merthyr Tydfil	374	456	590	733	773
Monmouth	223	362	207	454	158
Montgomeryshire	142	158	187	153	204
Neath	284	506	683	661	419
Newport	486	822	501	543	544
Ogwr	859	855	808	924	965
Port Talbot (Afan)	186	317	437	548	443
Preseli Pembrokeshire	232	335	372	377	524
Radnorshire	142	102	129	105	110
Rhondda	1,973	2,066	1,405	1,742	1,535
Rhuddlan	34	63	70	52	47
Rhymney Valley	433	518	876	801	965
South Pembrokeshire	388	405	438	355	382
Swansea	1,974	1,474	1,151	1,130	1,013
Taff-Ely	536	555	396	408	520
Torfaen	327	373	381	437	274
Vale of Glamorgan	328	460	369	400	372
Wrexham Maelor	112	90	72	83	65
Ynys Mon	313	208	253	248	218
Wales Total	17,152	18,571	19,097	20,187	20,209

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many households in each district, borough and city council area in Wales have tap water which is above (a) 100 micrograms of lead per litre concentration and (b) 50 micrograms per litre; and what were the figures for each year from 1985 to 1989.

This information is not available. However, Dwr Cymru has confirmed that the water that it supplies complies with the lead standard in the EC directive relating to the quality of water for human consumption (80/778/EEC).

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many tests were carried out on tap water standards in district, borough and city council area in Wales to locate the (a) lead, (b) aluminium, (c) pesticides, (d) nitrates and (e) trihalomenthanes in each year from 1985 to 1989.

This information is not held centrally and I refer the hon. Gentleman to the chairman of the respective water undertakers and to the environmental health officers of local authorities.The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989 No. 1147) contain requirements about the frequency of sampling by water undertakers. So far as local authorities are concerned, sampling frequencies relating to public supplies are a matter for the authorities' discretion. Advice on the frequency of sampling by authorities of private supplies is contained in WO circular 51/84.Water undertakers are required by regulation 29(1)(f) and 30(1) to maintain a public register of the results of all analyses. Regulation 31 requires that all undertakers prepare and publish an annual report of water quality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest figures for levels of lead in tap water in drinking water at hospitals in Wales.

Information about levels of lead in tap water in drinking water at hospitals is not collected by the Welsh Office or by district health authorities.Almost without exception, hospitals in Wales use water supplied by water undertakers. It is, in the first instance, for the companies themselves to ensure that the water they supply for domestic purposes—including supplies to hospitals—is wholesome. The sampling regime to be followed by the companies is prescribed by the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989, No. 1147).Local authorities also are under a duty to monitor public supplies and are required to ensure that private water supplies in their areas are wholesome.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what steps have been taken to clean up the oil spilled into the river Severn on 1 March 1990; and if he will make a statement;(2) what impact the oil spilled into the river Severn on 1 March 1990 will have on the surrounding environment and wildlife, especially migratory birds returning to Wales for the summer; and if he will make a statement.

We are advised by the National Rivers Authority that the majority of the oil spilled was contained on site and removed by the company concerned. Inspections of the river Severn have shown only very minor contamination and there were no adverse effects on water quality. There has been some contamination of vegetation on the river banks. The spillage occurred before the return of migratory birds, but the authority has taken steps to minimise any effect on endemic and migratory wildlife.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will undertake a full investigation into the side-effects on patients in Wales resulting from the use of myodil; and if he will make a statement.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is planned to continue the Royal Air Force long-distance air-sea rescue capability when the Nimrod fleet is phased out.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on visits by hon. Members to atomic weapons establishments; if the normal facilities are provided for such visits to establishments in hon. Members' constituencies or where constituents are employed; and if he will make a statement.

All visits to defence establishments, including the atomic weapons establishment, by Members of Parliament are subject to prior approval by Ministers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been any assessment of the economic and industrial implications of a reduction in the declared production of 250 European fighter aircraft.

No. As I said in my reply to the hon. Gentleman on 15 January 1990 at column 125, there has been no change in the United Kingdom's declared production offtake of 250 aircraft. It is too early to forecast with certainty the eventual size of the United Kingdom purchase of EFA.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the budget of his Department for 1989–90; what are the principal items on which it is spent; and how many staff are employed.

The estimated cost of my private office in the year 1989–90 is £56,342. The principal items of expenditure are salaries for the one and a half staff employed in my office, and provision of a secure Government car service.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if the plans for the new parliamentary building in Bridge street include a creche.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will take urgent steps to establish a workplace nursery in the House of Commons for use by staff working for Members of the House.