To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on the trading position of the Nottingham Playhouse.

I understand that an agreement has been reached between the Arts Council and the local authorities to clear the overall deficit of the Nottingham Playhouse by the end of 1992–93.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the supply of rented accommodation and market rents.

Housing associations are now the main providers of new subsidised rented housing. Planned public expenditure through the Housing Corporation will double to over £1·7 billion by 1992–93; together with the increased scope for associations to use private finance, total output of rented housing by associations and local authorities in England is expected to rise to nearly 40,000 by that year. Council and housing association housing benefits from subsidies which keep rents generally far below market levels, and housing benefit meets up to 100 per cent. of rent for the poorest tenants.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many prosecutions for river pollution have been carried out by the National Rivers Authority.

I understand that since I September last year, when the National Rivers Authority fully assumed its responsibilities under the Water Act 1989, some 870 prosecutions for river pollution offences have been brought by the NRA or are pending.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total advertising and publicity budget for the London Docklands development corporation for each year since its creation; and what is the estimate for the next three years.

The information requested is as follows:

Publicity and promotion expenditure
	£000's
1981–82	961
1982–83	2,464
1983–84	1,857

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the research and development projects currently being undertaken into waste disposal by his Department and related agencies, also giving the cost of each project.

The research projects currently under-taken by the Department of the Environment into waste management are listed, together with the total cost of each project.There are three areas of research:A.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of those waste disposal sites in England known to his Department where mass disposal of tyres has taken place.

Records of sites used for the disposal of waste tyres are not held centrally. However, HMIP knows of some 400 closed or active sites which have been licensed to take scrap rubber, including tyres.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of all former waste disposal sites in England that are known to contain PCBs in drums.

No such information is available. However in waste management paper No. 6 (1976) on the reclamation, treatment and disposal of PCBs, the Department recommends that where recovery is not possible, PCBs should generally be disposed of by high temperature incineration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Chope), to the hon. Member for Gloucester of 4 April, if local authorities are obliged to reveal on request whether they are levying a standard community charge at less than twice the personal community charge.

Where a charging authority has specified a class of property for the purposes of setting a different multiplier from that generally applied, it is required to publish a notice giving details of the exercise of the power in at least one local newspaper within 21 days of making the specification. Authorities are required to give information on their standard community charges in their standard charge demand notices. It follows therefore that they should be able to give details of their classes and multipliers to those who ask for them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the local authorities which would have been placed under capping arrangements under the community charge regulations had he not imposed the qualification on spending levels.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 20 April 1990, Official Report, column 1031.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he proposes to inform directly all those local authorities which have not been subject to capping that he approves the particular community charge which applies in those areas.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement about the community charge liability of seafarers and offshore workers who spend significant parts of the year away from their homes and who have no second homes.

As I explained to my hon. Friend on 21 March Official Report, column 660, and 3 April, Official Report, column 564, it is initially the responsibility of the community charge registration officer to decide whether a person is solely or mainly resident in his area. In this respect offshore workers are no different from any other potential charge payer. It is open to charge payers to appeal to their local valuation and community charge tribunal against their entry on the community charges register.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of people employed full time in each region of England, Scotland and Wales in the collection of the community charge.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money is tied up in banks because of the Government's refusal to allow local authorities to spend capital receipts (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Nottingham city council.

[holding answer 18 April 1990]: Local authority debt in England at March 1989 was some £46 billion, of which Nottingham city council's debt was £424 million. One of the objectives of the new capital finance system provided in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 is that local authorities should use some of their capital receipts to reduce their indebtedness. Accordingly capital receipts are divided into a reserved part to be set aside as provision for credit liabilities and a usable balance.The reserved part may be used at any time to repay debt, to meet liabilities under credit arrangements, or, where a credit approval has been used as authority not to charge expenditure to a revenue account, to meet that expenditure as a substitute for external borrowing.The usable part may be applied at any time and at the discretion of the authority concerned to meet expenditure incurred for capital purposes or as voluntary provision for credit liabilities.There are no capital receipts which, under the legislation now in force, local authorities in England cannot use.My right hon. Friend has no ministerial responsibility for local authority capital finance in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the percentage of water in England and Wales that is lost by avoidable leakage in distribution.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 24 January to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) (Official Report, c. 762).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now issue formal detailed implementation advice for the EC bathing waters directive (76/160/EEC) to the National Rivers Authority.

The National Rivers Authority is the competent authority in England and Wales for the purposes of implementing the EC bathing waters directive (76/160/EEC). The Directive contains details of the standards to be attained at identified bathing waters and the arrangements for monitoring water quality. I have no plans to issue further implementation advice to the National Rivers Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the reason for excluding monitoring for salmonella and enteroviruses from the result of the bathing water survey which is announced to Parliament;(2) if he will give figures for the number of designated beaches which comply with the EC bathing water directive if the parameters for salmonella and enteroviruses are taken into account.

The report that I placed in the Library, as stated in the Official Report, 25 January 1990, column 485, contains the available results for salmonella and enteroviruses.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the reply given to the hon. Member for Gedling (Mr. Mitchele, Official Report, 27 March, columns 117–18, if he will publish in the Official Report the representations from the United Kingdom which were considered at the Environment Council on 22 March during the debate on whether to establish a European environmental agency.

The main terms of the regulation to establish a European Environment Agency were agreed at the Environment Council on 28 November 1989. The Environment Council on 22 March 1990 considered a number of amendments to the regulation put forward by the European Parliament. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment stressed the importance of recognising that the European Parliament had tried hard to produce amendments which would be acceptable to the Council and that the European Parliament's proposal for a review of the agency's tasks after two years made good sense. This view was accepted by the Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he is giving to the introduction of grants to enable people residing near suitable sites to sink wells to extract potable water.

My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to introduce specific grants for this purpose. Grants are available under the Rural Water Supplies and Sewerage Acts towards the cost of first-time connections to mains water supplies in rural areas. In addition, part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, which is expected to come into force on 1 July 1990, provides for a new system of renovation grants. In certain circumstances, a renovation grant may be available to improve the quality of the water supply to a property which does not have an adequate piped supply of wholesome water and is thereby unfit for human habitation. It will be for the local authority concerned to specify what improvements are necessary and to consider any application for a grant towards their cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the quality of drinking water from private wells.

The quality standards in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations made under the Water Act 1989 apply to private drinking water supplies. Local authorities are required to keep themselves informed about the quality of private supplies in their area and have powers under the Water Act to require improvements to be made to unwholesome supplies. An advisory group is currently considering the content of further regulations to be made later this year about the sampling programmes that local authorities will be required to carry out for private supplies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of former waste disposal sites in England on which residential development has taken place without monitoring for possible contaminants transferred to garden vegetables grown on such sites.

No such information is held centrally. Decisions on the monitoring and assessment of former waste disposal sites for further use, including development purposes, are the responsibility of local authorities have relevant duties under town and country planning and public health legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the Housing Corporation; and what was discussed.

My right hon. Friend met the chairman of the Housing Corporation on 8 February and my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning had a further meeting with him on 21 February. A variety of topics of mutual interest were discussed.

to ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the black smoke emitted by road transport reported in his Department's statistical digest No. 12, page 14, is estimated to come from diesel vehicles; what are the relative contributions of diesel smoke and smoke from domestic sources to overall smoke emissions in smoke control areas; and what information he has about the relative soiling effects of diesel smoke in comparison with coal smoke.

It is estimated that 184,000 tonnes of black smoke was emitted by road transport in 1988 and that 92 per cent. of emissions from transport came from diesel vehicles.Information is not available for the relative soiling effects of diesel smoke in comparison with coal smoke, or for the relative contributions of diesel smoke and smoke from domestic sources to overall smoke emissions in smoke control areas. Emissions of black smoke from domestic sources for the United Kingdom as a whole have fallen by approximately 71 per cent. since 1970, while emissions from diesel vehicles have risen by 86 per cent. over the same period.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites of special scientific interest have been (a) denotified and (b) damaged for each year since 1981; and what percentage for each year is related to (i) road building, (ii) forestry, (iii) farming activities, (iv) landfill operations and (v) other reasons.

The information is not available in the form requested. Since I April 1984, information on the numbers of SSSIs damaged is set out in the Nature Conservancy Council's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to eliminate the use of ozone-depleting substances in (a) refrigerants, (b) solvents and (c) foams; and if he will make a statement.

The ozone layer can be protectd only by international action. The Montreal protocol is due for revision in June. We are pressing for rapid cuts in the supply of CFCs, halons and carbon tetrachloride, with their elimination by the year 2000. Methyl chloroform must also be cut substantially. If the revised protocol is not strong enough, we will press for further restrictions within the European Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has made an assessment of the impact on populations of wild birds of exposure to pesticide cocktails; and if he will make a statement.

The Advisory Committee on Pesticides set up by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food assesses the environmental implication of all pesticides before their use is approved. Approval requires the consent of six Departments, including that of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. As part of its work, the advisory committee will be considering the findings of a recent study by Reading university and the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology into the effect on partridges of concurrent exposure to fungicides and pesticides.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to eliminate illegal poisoning of birds of prey; and if he will make a statement.

Strict controls are already in place to deter the illegal use of pesticides against birds of prey. Severe penalties are available for such offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, and incidents of abuse are pursued vigorously through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food wildlife incident investigations scheme. In addition, the Nature Conservancy Council is currently reviewing the matter of illegal poisoning.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) of 2 April, Official Report, column 478, who will determine whether sewage discharges subjected to primary treatment have an adverse environmental effect.

It is for the National Rivers Authority to consent applications for discharges to controlled waters taking into account the provisions of any relevant EEC directives, and any directions from my right hon. Friends.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has made an assessment of the implications for coastal areas of an increase in global warming; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom is contributing to the work of the coastal zone management sub-group of the inter-governmental panel on climate change which is assessing the impact of global warming on coastal areas worldwide. Coastal defence in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the estimated population in England of (a) barn owls and (b) tawny owls; and what steps he is taking to protect owl populations;(2) what is the estimated annual death toll of

The current British populations of barn owls and tawny owls are estimated at 4,400 and 50,000–100,000 breeding pairs, respectively. Overall annual mortality rates cannot be estimated, but of those birds reported as found dead 30 per cent. of both species had died from collisions with traffic.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what checks have been undertaken to establish atmospheric levels of krypton 85 in the vicinity of Sellafield; and if he will make a statement.

Krypton 85 is an inert gas and cannot concentrate in the environment. Checks undertaken in the late 1970s demonstrated that levels of krypton 85 in the environment around Sellafield were consistent with those calculated from measured Sellafield discharges using standard aerial dispersion modelling techniques. No further checks have been carried out.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what have been the discharge levels of radioactivity to the air in TBq from Sellafield for each year from 1975 to 1989, inclusive.

Data on the radioactive atmospheric discharges from BNFL's Sellafield works are included in my Department's annual "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Information for the period 1975–88 is as follows:

Sellafield Aerial Discharges 1975 to 1988
Year	Discharges (TBq/Yr)
	Argon-41	Tritium	Kryplon-85
1975	1,110	444	44,400
1976	799	444	44,400
1977	962	296	29,600
1978	1,070	222	25,900
1979	1,150	280	34,800
1980	1,110	252	31,100
1981	1,300	459	51,800
1982	1,320	360	44,000
1983	1,340	268	41,800
1984	1,352	349	37,100
1985	2,800	268	23,800
1986	2,590	171	53,300
1987	2,400	783	34,000
1988	2,420	186	39,700

Other radionuclides, of which carbon-14 is the main component, do not exceed 10 TBq per year.Information for 1989 is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who represented Her Majesty's Government at the conference on African elephants in Paris on 5 and 6 April; and how much was offered by Her Majesty's Government for elephant conservation.

The Government were represented at the conference by officials from the Department of the Environment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, accompanied by the officer of the Nature Conservancy Council. The British delegation explained to the conference that the Government are already making very substantial efforts to support wildlife conservation in Africa. We are providing some £3 million in aid for a wide variety of projects, a number of which will have major benefits for the African elephant, and are always ready to consider new requests from African Governments seeking help with the sustainable management and conservation of their wildlife resources.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has regarding ivory imported into the United Kingdom by Mr. Shivaz Virji of Ealing and currently held at ports of entry.

The information held by the Department relates to an application for a CITES re-export licence. Information contained in licence applications is regarded by the Department as confidential and cannot be released.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has regarding ivory currently held at United Kingdom ports of entry which is not accompanied by CITES documentation.

Such information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what analysis has been carried out to establish levels of dissolved radon in drinking water; and if he will make a statement.

Radon in water results from the structure of the ground from which the supply emanates. It is believed to be confined to a few areas. Where radon is likely to be present in a water source, a specific analysis is carried out and the water company may treat the water to remove it, seeking advice on levels from the National Radiological Protection Board. No standard is set for radon in the EC drinking water directive or the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations which incorporate the provisions of the directive. We are currently reviewing the matter of radiological standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the presence of carbon tetrachloride in water sources.

Carbon tetrachloride is a list I substance under directive 76/464/EEC on discharges of dangerous substances, and its concentrations in surface waters near to the point of discharge may not exceed 12 ug/l (annual average). Direct discharges to ground water are banned. There are no specific requirements for carbon tetrachloride in water sources because directive 75/440/EEC on the quality of surface waters abstracted for drinking water does not lay down standards for this substance. However, regulations under the Water Act 1989 require that concentrations in public or private drinking water supplies may not exceed 3 ug/l (annual average).Carbon tetrachloride is not a common problem in water sources; in the known few occurrences where it has been found in excessive quantities appropriate action has been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all future environmental (a) conferences, (b) seminars and (c) meetings which Ministers in his Department have been invited to attend (i) in the United Kingdom, (ii) in the European Community, and (iii) elsewhere; and if he will list the dates of these events.

Over the next two months Ministers are to attend the following conferences, seminars and meetings in:

(a) the United Kingdom
Date
23 April	DOE/HSE Conference on the Regulation of Bio-technology
	Financial Times Conference on Industry and the Environment
	Waste Producers Conference
5 May	West Sussex County Conference on Recycling
14 May	Conference at Lancashire College of Agriculture
15 May	Brunel University Symposium on Landfill
17 May	National Parks Conference, Newcastle
6 June	CBI Conference on Green Audits
20 June	Institution of Civil Engineers Annual Conference

(b) Overseas
Date
21 to 23 April	Informal EC Council (West of Ireland)
8 to 16 May	Ministerial follow-up to Brundtland Report (Bergen)
7 June	EC Environment Council (Luxembourg)
16 June	EC Ministerial meeting with East Europe (Dublin)
20 to 29 June	2nd meeting of Montreal Protocol Parties (London)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated population of foxes in England; and what comparable figures he has for earlier years.

I am not aware of any population estimates for foxes in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the numbers of caravans which can be accommodated on permanent sites provided under the Caravan Sites Act in each of the London boroughs.

[holding answer 5 April 1990]: London boroughs have made provision for the following numbers of authorised caravan pitches on which the following number of caravans were parked as at January 1990:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the terms on which the recently announced Government initiative on homelessness in the south-east is to operate; whether any additional grant is to be payable to councils with approved schemes; whether any subsidy is payable by Government on the revenue or capital costs of approved projects; and whether councils' housing revenue accounts will need to cover (a) initial and (b) consequential expenditure on the projects from rent income.

[holding answer 18 April 1990]: We will allocate to local authorities in London and the south-east supplementary credit approvals in respect of capital expenditure they incur on approved schemes in 1990–91. Initial and consequential costs of those schemes which involve property held within the housing revenue account (HRA) or certain types of payments to tenants of such property will fall to be charged to the HRA of the authority concerned. Such approved schemes will include repair of empty council property, hostels held under part II of the Housing Act 1985 and cash incentives to tenants. To the extent that costs are chargeable to the HRA, the normal rules for all HRA schemes will apply in determining the extent to which they attract subsidy and the extent to which costs are met from rent income. The Housing Corporation will pay revenue grant to local authority-funded housing association schemes as appropriate under the normal funding arrangements. No additional grant, however, will be directly payable to any local authority for such schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many tower blocks in use as domestic accommodation have steelwork coated with any form of asbestos; and where they are located.

[holding answer 20 April 1990]: The Department is aware of only three public sector high-rise blocks using this form of construction. Two are located on the Elgin estate, Westminster; and one at Watney Street market, Tower Hamlets.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the level of static electricity within the House.

The level of antistatic electricity at any time depends on the level of atmospheric humidity. This is true both within the House and outside.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will specify for each sewage sludge dump off the coasts of England and Wales the timing between now and 1998 for each dump being terminated for use.

I have been asked to reply.This information is not yet available. Following the announcement on 5 March that the dumping of sewage sludge at sea would not be permitted after the end of 1998 holders of licences are beginning now to draw up their plans for termination of dumping.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he intends to introduce to enable United Kingdom shipping companies to maintain their merchant fleets and crews, replace their aging tonnage and improve their rates of return.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 5 April 1990, Official Report, c. 717–18.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) of 5 April, Official Report, column 718, what is his estimate of (a) the current rate of return on investment in a large container ship and (b) the rate of return if he reinstated 100 per cent. ship allowance, against investment in new and second hand ships.

The answer to these two questions depends critically on assumptions about a number of factors, including the earnings of the vessel over its life and the eventual proceeds from its sale (perhaps in 10 or 20 years' time). The rate of return on any investment in machinery or plant—whether it is a ship or any other asset—will increase if an Exchequer subsidy is given. However, my right hon. Friend has no plans to change the present capital allowances regime for ships, which already offers more generous deductions than commercial depreciation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) of 12 March, Official Report, column 10, the announcement of 26 July 1985 that the figure of £10 million was an estimate and was not either a target or a limit remains Government policy.

I confirm that the announcement made on 26 July 1985 (Official Report, House of Lords column, 1539–40) by the then Minister for the Arts still represents Government policy.

To ask the Prime Minister when the European Council next plans to discuss the issue of monetary union; and if she will make a statement on the progress made to date on this issue by the Council.

Agenda for the European Council are not formally set but the issue of economic and monetary union is next likely to arise at the meeting on 25–26 June. The European Council last discussed EMU at its meeting in Strasbourg on 8–9 December the results of which I reported to the House on 12 December at column 857.

To ask the Prime Minister which Government Departments have responsibilities for child care and family responsibilities; what they are; what mechanisms there are for co-ordination in these matters; and if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on child care.

While the Department of Health has a lead responsibility on child care almost all Government Departments have policies which affect child care and family life. Each Minister is responsible for policies within his own sphere. Co-ordination is achieved through the normal and well-established process of inter-departmental liaison, and additional collaborative arrangements exist in the form of the inter-departmental committees, such as the ministerial group on women's issues, the inter-departmental group on day care and the inter-departmental group on child abuse. Government policy on child care is reflected in the Children Act 1989.

To ask the Prime Minister what are the guidelines relevant to the approval of the release of Law Officers' letters.

Legal opinions or advice given by the Law Officers, either individually or collectively, must not be disclosed outside Government without their express approval.

To ask the Prime Minister on what date she received the first indication that there was a problem regarding the export of forgings from Walter Somers and Company to Iraq.

Earlier this month.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Linlithgow on 18 April (1) if she will make a statement on the circumstances in which Mr. Powell met in any official capacity the proprietor of The Daily Telegraph;

I have nothing further to add to the reply that I gave the hon. Member on 18 April at column 932.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is his estimate of the cost of preparation for the inclusion in the national curriculum of those subjects which he has recently removed from this arrangement as far as primary schools are concerned;(2) what is his estimate of the total number of man hours which have been devoted by officials of his Department, by local authority officers and by teachers, to the preparation for inclusion in the national curriculum of those subjects which have now been removed from this arrangement.

No core or foundation subject has been removed from the national curriculum. My right hon. Friend did, however, announce in a published letter to the chairman of the School Examinations and Assessment Council on 9 April that the arrangements for statutorily assessing seven-year-olds in technology, history and geography should be kept simple and that, accordingly, he and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales had reached the provisional conclusion that it would be right not to impose a statutory requirement to administer standard assessment tasks (SATs) to seven-year-olds in these subjects. Prior to that announcement, no work involving schools or LEAs had been undertaken on the development of SATs in these subjects for seven-year-olds. The preparatory work undertaken by schools and LEAs to date has mainly been directed towards the first statutory assessments of seven-year-olds in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science in 1991. My right hon. Friend confirmed in his letter to SEAC that these assessments would be based on a combination of teacher assessment and statutory SATs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will list, for the previous and current year, the youth organisations for which his Department provides funding, indicating the amount in each case allocated for project funding and the amount allocated for core funding;(2) how he intends to ensure that there is a national forum for the interchange of views of young people;(3) what discussions he has had with the British Youth Council on its 1990–91 funding applications;(4) what plans he has to ensure that youth bodies receive core as well as project funding in the light of the report on the efficiency scrutiny of Government funding of the voluntary sector;(5) what he intends should be the basis for representations from participating youth bodies on his proposed national youth agency;(6) what discussions he has had or will have with youth organisations on the report on the efficiency scrutiny of Government funding of the voluntary sector;

The Department provides funding to a number of youth service bodies for the completion of specific programmes of work which are recognised as contributing to the effective and efficient implementation of ministerial objectives to improve the quality of youth service work on a national basis through, for example, the development of curriculum and training materials.In the 1989–90 financial year this funding takes into account the level of expenditure by the bodies on staffing and administration which the Department considers appropriate for them efficiently to complete the agreed programmes of work.

	£
British Youth Council (BYC)	30,000
Council for Education and Training in Youth and Community Work (CETYCW)	278,094
National Association of Young People's Counselling and Advisory Services (NAYPCAS)	53,000
National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS)	127,893
National Youth Bureau (NYB)	557,210

For the 1990–91 financial year, offers of programme funding of £46,265 have been made to NAYPCAS, and of £571,140 to NYB.The level of programme funding which might be offered this year to CETYCW and NCVYS is under discussion with the bodies. BYC applied for funding for 1990–91 as a national voluntary youth organisation (NVYO), but discussion is necessary before the level of any programme funding under this scheme can be determined.To determine the organisation of such funding in future, we commissioned an independent report, which took account of the views of the bodies concerned. In the light of this and of the Home Office efficiency scrutiny of Government funding of the voluntary sector, which also draws on the views of voluntary bodies, we have determined to focus future programme funding for support of youth service work at national level on a single national youth agency, rather than on the existing four youth service bodies or an amalgam of them. The agency will be managed by an executive committee, whose composition will be discussed with the main interests involved in and with experience of the functions the agency is to undertake. It is from these interests that the committee members will be drawn, rather than nominated as representatives of particular bodies or organisations.BYC, NAYPCAS and NCVYS, which also have representative functions, which we would expect their members to finance may, if they decide to continue, compete for funding from the Department, under the NVYO scheme, for agreed programmes of support work which the national youth agency is not being funded to pursue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he has taken to prevent the closure of St. Leonard's home, located in Warrenpoint in South Down.

As I indicated in my reply to the hon. Gentleman on 19 March, Official Report, columns 448–49, the Southern health and social services board is continuing to explore the possibilities of providing more suitable accommodation for the residents of St. Leonard's. No decision has been taken on the future of the home.

To ask the Attorney-General how many applications for legal aid have been received from parents of brain-damaged children who wish to pursue a claim for medical negligence; and what percentage of the applications have been successful.

The Legal Aid Board receives in the order of 400,000 applications each year. The board's case information system identifies only the broad category of "medical negligence" and does not identify particular types of damage within that category. Further, the system identifies applicants only as male or female, defendants or plaintiffs and not whether or not they are children or parents or next friends on behalf of children.It would, therefore, not be practicable to extract the information requested.

To ask the Attorney-General if he is considering any further changes to the current tort-based system, particularly with reference to parents who wish to sue for compensation for their brain-damaged children.

My noble and learned Friend is considering the feasibility of a no-fault compensation scheme, restricted to less serious road accidents and financed by private insurance. No other changes to the tort-based system are being considered.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement about the number of schemes settling the future of redundant churches which were confirmed during each of the past five years.

In the last five calendar years, the future of 253 redundant churches was settled by Pastoral Measure schemes, 50 in 1985, 62 in 1986, 50 in 1987, 47 in 1988 and 44 in 1989.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, what funding the Church Commissioners provide in respect of the salary and administration of the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Commissioners pay the stipend of the archbishop and meet the costs of his supporting staff and their equipment.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, how much the Church Commissioners contributed to the stipends of archbishops, bishops and clergy in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement.

Out of their investment income the Commissioners contributed to clergy stipends £38·7 million in 1987, £42·5 million in 1988 and an estimated £50 million in 1989. These figures represent about 35 per cent. of the Commissioners' investment income in each year and met some 40 per cent. of the clergy stipends bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of prisoners including remand prisoners who participated in riots inside prisons from late March; and if he will provide his estimate of the costs of damage at each prison where riots or disturbances occurred.

A total of more than 1,000 inmates (including those on remand) were present—although not necessarily participating—in the particular parts of prisons where disturbances began during the period 1–9 April. Until police investigations are concluded it will not be possible to distinguish the number of active participants from others.The most serious damage occurred at Manchester, Bristol and Dartmoor prisons. It will not be possible to estimate costs at Manchester until the incident there is concluded. In addition to repairing the damage at Bristol and Dartmoor our intention is to upgrade the accommodation there, to provide integral sanitation and

Table 1
Procedure
	1986	1987	1988	1989
Appeals received	52	53	60	56
Appeals withdrawn before decision reached	6	7	9	8
Appeals determined	46	46	51	48
Referred to a tribunal	34	33	46	43
Not referred to a tribunal	12	13	5	5

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the violence in Manchester's Strangeways prison.

Since my right hon. and learned Friend last reported to the House on 5 April about the position at Manchester prison, 15 men have surrendered to the authorities, but seven inmates, whom we believe we have identified by name, remain in the prison. Negotiations are continuing with the aim of resolving the disturbance without further injury to staff or inmates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a serving prisoner's application for and consideration of parole can be affected by the fact that his appeal against either conviction or sentence is still awaiting determination by the Court of Appeal or other appellate tribunals.

Neither a prisoner's eligibility for parole nor consideration of the case is affected by an outstanding appeal against conviction or sentence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list separately for each of the last four years for which figures are available (a) the number of appeals from police disciplinary hearings he received, (b) the number of such appeals he referred to an appeal tribunal under the 1975 criteria, (c) the number he referred to an appeal tribunal other than under the 1975 criteria, (d) the number dealt with other than by reference to an appeal tribunal, (e) the total and percentage where the original finding was (i) upheld and (ii) reversed, and (f) the total and percentage where the original punishment was (i) upheld and (ii) reversed; and if he will make a statement.

Appeals to the Secretary of State against police disciplinary decisions are made under section 37 of the Police Act 1964, as amended by section 103 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.Available figures for the years 1986 to 1989 are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each of the last four years for which figures are available, the number of complaints made against the police in England and Wales falling within each disciplinary offence contained in the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985; how many of those were substantiated and how many were unsubstantiated; and if he will make a statement.

The numbers of complaints against the police, the numbers substantiated and the numbers unsubstantiated are published annually in the reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, copies of which are available in the Library. Complaints are not categorised under the same headings as offences against the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) of 2 April, Official Report, column 434, when he expects to make available his evaluation of the outcome of the trials of electronic tagging.

I expect the evaluation to be completed in the summer. Its results will then be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has regarding the number of Metropolitan police person hours and the cost arising from the recent ambulance dispute.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the Metropolitan police

Issue of police firearms for incidents involving criminal or other persons known or believed to be armed
	1982	11983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Avon and Somerset	30	28	17	25	13	9	19	27
Bedfordshire	55	22	10	19	22	12	24	16
Cambridgeshire	9	10	8	11	9	13	19	31
Cheshire	18	11	13	6	6	13	31	16

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation he is prepared to grant Mr. David Owen of the firm Elizabeth the Chef of Leamington Spa for his out-of-pocket costs involved in preparing to defend a case brought by the Commission for Racial Equality where the complainant withdrew her allegation two days before the hearing.

The question of costs in industrial tribunal cases is a matter for the tribunal. The complaint here was not brought by the Commission for Racial Equality, but by an individual, the commission exercising its role of providing for advice or assistance, in this case through a firm of solicitors. The Secretary of State has no responsibility in law in these matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the work force in Hong Kong, as categorised and sub-categorised in the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill, selection for citizenship: explanatory note, will be eligible for British passports.

Approximately 22·5 per cent of people employed in Hong Kong work in the eligible occupations mentioned in the explanatory note; others may be able to apply in due course in the residual category of the general allocation section. It is not possible to say at this stage what proportion of those mentioned above will meet the eligibility criteria set out in paragraph 4(1) of schedule 1 to the Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many issues of arms there have been to each police force, and in total, in each year since 1979.

The readily available information is set out in the table.