To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools were closed in each of the last five years within the Norfolk local education authority area.

The number of schools which were closed in each of the past five years in the Norfolk local education authority area is as follows:

	Number
1989	12
1988	15
1987	11
1986	14
1985	25

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children took the GCE O-level and CSE examinations in Lancashire in 1989; and what results were achieved.

Information for 1989 is not yet available. Of the 17,500 maintained school leavers in Lancashire in 1988 who had attempted at least one GCSE, O-level or CSE examination, 5,610 achieved five or more results at grade A to C¹ at GCSE (or equivalent), 5,020 achieved between one and four results at grade A to C and 6,760 achieved at least one result at another grade. ¹ Including O-level grade A to C and CSE grade 1.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress being made in dealing with the appeal under section 8(6) of the Education Act 1981 in respect of Katharine Sharkey; and when he expects the appeal to be decided.

The Hounslow local education authority is currently considering a further letter from the parents of Katharine Sharkey in support of their appeal. My right hon. Friend expects to make a decision when he has received the authority's response to that letter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in how many schools the pupil population is in excess of 90 per cent. of any one ethnic minority (a) in the public sector and (b) in the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available centrally, but my right hon. Friend has announced in circular No. 16/89 that ethnic statistics will be collected by local education authorities from schools maintained by them as from September 1990. Aggregated local education authority returns will be submitted to the Department annually from June 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the means by which the national curriculum is to be monitored in private sector schools.

It is for independent schools to decide whether to adopt the national curriculum. Her Majesty's inspectors, in the course of their normal programme of inspecting independent schools, are monitoring the schools' intentions with regard to adopting this and the extent to which they are implementing it. My right hon. Friend is pleased that many are choosing to do so

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many applications were received by the Science and Engineering Research Council in respect of its initiative of March to provide computing equipment to universities and polytechnics incorporating parallel and novel architectures;(2) how many of those applications received by the Science and Engineering Research Council in respect of its initiative of March to provide computing equipment to universities and polytechnics incorporating parallel and novel architectures were alpha-rated;(3) how many of those applications received by the Science and Engineering Research Council in respect of its initiative of March to provide computing equipment to universities and polytechnics incorporating parallel and novel architectures were funded.

There were 75 applications of which 47 were alpha-rated. The number of applications to be funded has not yet been determined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the number of foreign students studying in London this summer without accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available centrally. The accommodation needs of students from abroad, as of home students, are a matter for the institutions they are attending.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the venues south of the River Thames which his Department considered as alternatives to Stratford old town hall for the preliminary meeting of the inquiry into the east London river crossing and London City airport on 9 May; and if he will give the reason why each venue was unsuitable.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the current negotiations on access for United States carriers to Manchester airport to be concluded; and if he will make a statement on the progress of the negotiations.

The current negotiations are being carried forward as speedily as possible, but no timetable has been set for their completion. It would not be appropriate for any further statement to be made now.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of gross national product was allocated to net official development assistance in 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Bradley), of 2 April, Official Report, column 412, if he will announce the figure for the percentage of gross national product pent on official development assistance in 1989.

Net official development assistance in 1989 as a percentage of GNP is provisionally estimated at 0·31 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of gross national product was spent on official development assistance in 1988.

The percentage of gross national product spent on official development assistance in 1988 was 0·32 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he plans to designate further sites to protect birds under the special protection areas scheme or the Ramsar convention; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's aim is to designate those sites which are necessary to meet the conservation objectives of the convention and the directive.My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, with whom rests responsibility for the designation of sites in Scotland, recently announced the designation of four special protection areas, one Ramsar site and three sites with dual designation, bringing the Great Britain totals to 40 special protection areas and 43 Ramsar sites.A number of proposals are currently being considered and the next designation will take place as soon as the necessary consultations have been satisfactorily completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies his Department has made of methods of desalination both for overseas markets and for the United Kingdom; what research funds have been made available; and if he will make a statement.

A study was made by the Water Resources Board and published as "Desalination 1976". This concluded that desalination was not economical in the United Kingdom when other sources could be exploited. My Department has made no further studies and none is planned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the possible need for desalination units in the United Kingdom with the water companies and other interested organisations.

No. It is for the private water companies and interested organisations to determine the potential for desalination units.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to regulate further the use of metal detectors to discover items of historical or archaeological interest; and if he will make a statement.

My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State announced on 13 December 1989, in another place, the Government's intention to amend at a suitable opportunity the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 so as to make it an offence to remove, without consent, any item of historical or archaeological interest from the site of a scheduled ancient monument, and to consider less formal measures relating to finds made on unscheduled sites. The unauthorised use of metal detectors is already prohibited on scheduled sites. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to further regulate the use of metal detectors.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a statement concerning the disposal of captured urban foxes;(2) if he will seek to make it a criminal offence to release foxes captured in urban areas into the countryside; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will give an estimate of the number of foxes captured in urban areas each year and released into the countryside;(4) if he will make it his policy to introduce stiff penalties for persons releasing foxes captured in urban areas into the countryside.

I will write to the hon. and learned Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement concerning his proposals to combat homelessness in the Greater London area.

I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn) on 8 May at column 15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much his Department expects to spend on management and computer consultancy contracts in 1990–91.

[holding answer 13 June 1990]: My Department's current budget (including Property Services Agency services) for management and computer consultancies in 1990–91 is £27·3 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans or studies have been made or commissioned by his Department to assess measures that would have to be taken in the event of contamination by airborne plutonium resulting from a nuclear weapons accident aboard a Royal Navy ship docked at Greenwich.

[holding answer 12 June 1990]: This is a matter for the Ministry of Defence and I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 12 June at column 142.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost of advertisements for the community charge; in which daily and Sunday newspapers have advertisements been placed; and if he will list papers and cost of advertisements placed in each newspaper.

[holding answer 13 June 1990]: No advertisements for the community charge have been placed by the Department. We did, however, sponsor a campaign in January and February designed to inform people of the availability of community charge benefit and transitional relief. The total cost of the advertisements in this campaign in various media was just under £4 million. Of this the cost (excluding VAT) of placing advertisements in daily newspapers was just under £1·05 million, made up as follows:

Daily Mirror	338·3
The Sun	325·0
Daily Star	58·2
Daily Mail	61·5
Daily Express	40£0
Today	18·4
The Times	36·0
The Independent	33·7
The Guardian	36·6
The Daily Telegraph	99·0

In addition, design costs were incurred, but these are not easily separable from the design costs of the advertisements in other media. No advertisements were placed in Sunday newspapers.The Department of Social Security has subsequently taken newspaper advertisements publishing the increased savings limits for community charge benefit announced in the Budget, and reminding people of the time limit for making backdated claims for benefit and of the level of income likely to entitle people to benefit.

To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of Filipino wives of British subjects seeking admission to the United Kingdom whose applications were submitted to the Immigration Appellate Authorities up to the end of March are still outstanding; when the application of Mrs. Nancy Barrera Sanderson will be decided; what are the reasons for the delay in processing such applications; and whether he will take urgent steps to end the distress caused by the delays to lawfully married couples.

The information requested in the first part of the question is not available, as the Immigration Appellate Authorities (IAA) does not record information separately about appeals from Filipino citizens.The IAA has now sent the case papers of Mrs. Nancy Barrera Sanderson's appeal to her representatives in the United Kingdom. When the representatives indicate to the IAA that they are ready to proceed to the hearing before the independent adjudicator, a hearing will be set down within four to six weeks.Delays in processing appeals at the IAA have been caused by the unexpectedly high rise in the volume of appeals in 1988 and 1989. There was a 60 per cent. rise in 1988; a 30 per cent. rise in 1989; and a further 40 per cent. rise is expected over the next 18 months.Significant additional resources were provided to the IAA last year, which resulted in a 50 per cent. rise in disposal rates. However, the increased workload has been so great that the backlog of appeals still remains high, but the situation is being kept under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will tabulate, in the Official Report, the amount of precept levied by the Metropolitan police on each of the local authorities within its area, distinguishing those wholly within the Greater London area, for the years 1989–90 and 1990–91 respectively, together with their respective adult populations for each year and the amount contributed per head for both years, together with the percentage increase or decrease in the two per capita contributions.

The funding arrangements for local authorities which came into operation this year mean that it is not meaningful to compare on a per capita basis the amounts levied by precept by the receiver for the Metropolitan police in 1989–90 and in 1990–91. This is because the precept in 1989–90 was not a per capita charge, but expressed as so many pence in the pound of rateable value; because it included rates on commercial properties in the area concerned, while moneys raised through the new uniform business rates are redistributed to local authorities on a national basis; and it did not include block grant, which is paid to the receiver directly, while revenue support grant which replaces block grant is paid into the collection funds on which the precept is levied.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what stage has been reached in making appointments to the Football Licensing Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Appointments to the Football Licensing Authority are still under consideration. My right hon. and noble Friend has already written to the hon. Member to tell him that the Government intend to appoint the authority as soon as possible. He has also written to the Football League to make clear the Government's view that it is not necessary for football clubs to wait for the authority to be set up before starting to make the improvements to football grounds which were recommended in Lord Justice Taylor's final report on the Hillsborough tragedy.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were held in police cells in England and Wales on 4 June.

On Monday 4 June there were 1,080 prisoners, all of them male, held in police stations in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report on what factors were responsible for the escape of a category A prisoner, from Astley Bridge police station, Bolton.

An investigation into the escape of Alan Lord, a category B prisoner, from Astley Bridge police station, Bolton, is being undertaken by Greater Manchester police. I will write to the hon. Member when the investigation is completed. Alan Lord was recaptured at around 11 o'clock last night in Liverpool.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of building Astley Bridge police station, Bolton.

The final cost is not yet available but is expected to be about £1,295,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category A prisoners are held (a) in prisons and (b) in police stations; what instructions are given about the secure holding of prisoners held in police stations; and, if he has any plans for changes.

At present 418 prisoners are confirmed as category A and all are held in prison accommodation.Steps taken by the police to ensure the security of prisoners held in their custody are a matter for the chief officer of police. Reciprocal arrangements exist between the prison service and the police for the exchange of information relevant to the custody of prisoners who are transferred from the one to the other. Such arrangements are subject to review in the light of particular incidents.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total cost of the newspaper and other advertising campaign about overseas voting registration (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in other countries; and if he will make a statement.

The cost is £750,000 this year, of which £136,400 is being spent on advertising in the United Kingdom (including advertising in publications which also have some overseas circulation) and £510,700 on various forms of advertising or publicity overseas. The remaining £102,900 is for leaflets, posters and production costs, or has not yet been allocated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received any recent representations on the export of cat skins to West Germany; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received a number of letters referring to the export of cat skins from the United Kingdom. Several of these letters have mentioned West Germany as a destination for these exports.My Department is aware of a limited trade in cat skins from the United Kingdom which is legitimately carried out by a small number of companies. Cat skins are not subject to export controls, and, because of the limited level of trade, cat skin exports are not recorded under a separate heading in the Customs tariff.The worrying issue of cat thefts is for the Home Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase spending on debt advice work.

None. My Department does not specifically fund debt advice much of which is provided by citizens advice bureaux, as part of their general service. DTI grant in aid to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and Citizens Advice Scotland, which provide the support services for individual citizens advice bureaux, will amount to more than £11 million in 1990–91, compared with some £10 million last year. Individual bureaux are funded mainly by local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the poll tax on the workload of the citizens advice bureaux and other advice-giving agencies.

No such assessment has been made. Independent advice on matters related to the community charge will be given by local citizens advice bureaux which are primarily funded by local authorities. My Department provides funding to the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) and Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), which provide support services to individual citizens advice bureaux including training and information materials. The Department of the Environment has agreed to provide £36,000 to NACAB this year to help with the costs involved in providing training for bureaux workers on the community charge and the Scottish Office has given CAS £36,000 over the last two years for the same purpose.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funds his Department makes available for research into desalination both for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) overseas markets.

I launched my Department's "Wealth from the Oceans" advanced technology programme in April 1989 with a budget of £9,000,000 to encourage firms to carry out more pre-competitive collaborative research into the ocean technologies, including desalination. Some £6,000,000 remains uncommitted and is available to match those sums advanced by industrial consortia whose proposals for longer-term research in this area satisfy the programme's rules.Alternatively, firms wishing to collaborate with companies located in one or more of 18 other countries in Europe to investigate desalination can apply for EUREKA status and support, which is made available on a case-by-case basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he intends to make a further reference of a public sector body to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under section 11 of the Competition Act 1980.

A reference has today been sent to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to investigate the efficiency and costs of, and the service provided by, Northern Ireland Railways Ltd. and its subsidiaries in providing passenger, freight and other services. A copy of the reference has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the studies conducted inside his Department by management consultants over the last 10 years, naming the consultancy, the cost, the subject and the outcome in each instance.

The information from 1985 onwards is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will list the major nuclear research projects being undertaken by the Atomic Energy Authority, together with the dates they commenced and the objectives of each project at the time they were originally initiated;(2) if he will list the major nuclear research projects being paid for by his Department together with the dates they commenced and the objectives of each project at the time they were originally initiated.

The objectives of the nuclear R and D programmes currently funded by the Department and carried out by UKAEA are described in chapter 5 of the

Scenarios of future United Kingdom generation by fuel type (TWh)
	1990		2005		2020
	CL	CH	CL	CH	CL	CH
Coal	209	208	205	230	62	358
Oil	8	8	10	10	10	10
Gas	0	0	105	58	399	86
Nuclear	66	66	77	77	43	43
Hydro	3	3	3	3	3	3
Imports	13	13	4	13	4	13
Renewables	0	0	0	4	5	8
Total	299	298	405	397	525	520

Scenarios of future United Kingdom capacity by fuel type (GW)
	1990		2005		2020
	CL	CH	CL	CH	CL	CH
Coal	43	43	37	37	12	55
Oil	14	14	16	16	9	9
Gas	0	0	21	19	82	38
Nuclear	12	12	13	13	7	7
Hydro	1	1	1	1	1	1
Imports	2	2	2	2	2	2
Renewables	0	0	0	1	1	1
Total	72	72	91	89	114	114
Notes: CL = Central growth, low price scenario.
CH = Central growth, high price scenario.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give for both coal-fired and nuclear plant, in GW, TWh and Mtoe, the assumed gross loss of old plant and the assumed gross gain in new plant, during both 1990 to 2005 and 2005 to 2020 assumed in tables 4.10 and 4.11 of his Department's "Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions".

The gross gains and losses of coal and nuclear capacity underlying tables 4.10 and 4.11 in energy paper No. 58 are shown in the table. Comparisons are meaningful only on this GW basis. The figures relate to purely illustrative scenarios which used International Energy Agency fuel price assumptions.

Capacity retired and new capacity built (GW)
	1990 to 2005		2005 to 2020
	CL	CH	CL	CH
Coal
Capacity lost	6	6	28	46
New capacity	0	0	3	46
Net change	-6	-6	-25	+18

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give for each type of plant the assumed GW and TWh of generation in 1990, 2005 and 2020 in the central growth, low and high price scenarios set out in table 4.10 and 4.11 of his Department's "Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions".

Capacity and generation for 1990, 2005 and 2020 underlying the central growth with low and high price scenarios of energy paper No. 58 are given in the table. The figures relate to purely illustrative scenarios which used IEA fuel price assumptions.

	1990 to 2005		2005 to 2020
	CL	CH	CL	CH
Nuclear
Capacity lost	4	4	6	6
New capacity	5	5	0	0
Net change	+ 1	+ 1	-6	-6
CL = Central growth, low price scenario.
CH = Central growth, high price scenario.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy on what grounds the baseline scenarios in his Department's "Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions", assume an annual rate of reduction in the energy ratio of between 0·5 per cent. and 0·8 per cent. compared with an average annual rate of 1·9 per cent. between 1978 and 1988.

The baseline scenarios in energy paper No. 58 represent projections of demand equations, estimated on past behaviour, and do not contain explicit assumptions about energy efficiency per se. The projected changes in the energy ratio reflect the assumed economic background and, in particular, the energy price scenarios, which were provided by the International Energy Agency.

To ask the Prime Minister, further to her reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of Tuesday 12 June, if she will list the members of the interdepartmental group on child sexual abuse.

The interdepartmental group on child abuse is chaired by an under-secretary in the Department of Health and comprises senior officials and professional staff from that Department's social services inspectorate and medical, nursing and research management divisions; senior officials from the Department of Education and Science and a member of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools; senior officials representing the police and probation departments at the Home Office and senior officials from the Scottish Education Department, the Welsh Office and the Department of Health and Social Services (Northern Ireland). Additional members are co-opted to discuss specific issues as necessary.

To ask the Prime Minister, further to her reply of Tuesday 12 June to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North, if she will set out in tabular form the actions taken by the Government as a result of the deliberations of the interdepartmental group on child sexual abuse.

The role of the interdepartmental group on child abuse is to facilitate the exchange of information about the work undertaken by various

	Mr. Brooke	Mr. Cope	Lord Skelmersdale	Dr. Mawhinney	Mr. Needham	Mr. Bottomley
September 1989	10	10	18	6	3	14
October 1989	9	8	14	6	9	11
November 1989	10	12	15	5	7	12
December 1989	10	10	15	7	5	7
January 1990	4	13	17	13	8	8
February 1990	9	10	12	9	8	10
March 1990	10	13	16	8	5	9
April 1990	4	4	16	6	7	7
May 1990	8	12	13	9	9	9

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his reply of 11 June, relating to Graeme Stewart and John Allan Milligan, what criteria are used to decide whether to institute proceedings under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Dumbarton of 11 June relating to Graeme Stewart and John Allan Milligan, what criteria are used when deciding whether to prosecute under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911.

[holding answer 14 June 1990]: When deciding whether or not to institute criminal proceedings in any case reported to him, the public Government Departments in the field of child protection and to develop consistent policies across the range of Government responsibilities. Examples of issues in respect of which officials have taken account of the group's discussions in advising Ministers include:

(i) guidance on child protection which was issued to all agencies in July 1988 as part of the Government's response to the Butler-Sloss report;

(ii) training;

(iii) implications of the Children Act;

(iv) research, and

(v) management and treatment of perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

To ask the Prime Minister what plans the Government have to provide aid to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

We are already offering bilateral technical assistance to the Soviet Union in areas such as management, banking, and agriculture. Such help can make a significant contribution to the process of economic reform.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nights each of the Ministers of the Northern Ireland Office spent in Northern Ireland during the months of September, October, November and December 1989 and the months of January, February, March, April and May 1990.

The information requested is in the table:prosecutor in Scotland considers

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of planning appeal decisions (a) allowed, (b) dismissed, (c) withdrawn and (d) undetermined in each of the Welsh national parks in each of the last two years for which figures are available; and if he will express the numbers allowed and dismissed as a percentage of those determined.

National Park	Year	Allowed	Per cent.	Dismissed	Per cent.	Withdrawn	Undetermined
Snowdonia	1989	9	36	16	64	3	4
	11990	4	21	15	79	1	13
Brecon Beacons	1989	4	27	11	73	5	1
	11990	4	19	17	81	3	20
Pembrokeshire Coast	1989	6	35	11	65	3	4
	11990	3	19	13	81	2	19
1 January 1990 to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he is now able to make of the number of people in Wales who are complaining of side-effects and after-effects arising from the use of the drug Myodil.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Thursday 14 June 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average pupil-teacher ratio at secondary schools in Wales of (a) fewer than 100 pupils, (b) 100 to 200 pupils and (c) 200 plus pupils, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

The information as at September 1989¹ is as follows:

	Pupil-teacher ratio3
100 to 200 pupils2	10·6
200 plus pupils	15·3

There are no secondary schools in Wales with fewer than 100 pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average pupil-teacher ratio at primary schools in Wales of (a) fewer than 100 pupils, (b) 100 to 200 pupils and (c) 200 plus pupils, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

The table sets out the information relating to 1989, the first year for which separate records were kept, and to the period from January 1990 to date:

The information as at September 1989¹ is as follows:

	Pupil-teacher ratio2
Fewer than 100 pupils	18·2
100–200 pupils	22·1
200 pupils	23·6
1 Provisional data.
2 Based on teachers within schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether membership of (a) health authorites, (b) family practitioner committees, and (c) community health councils, has been extended; and if he will make a statement.

Those members of district health authorities whose periods of office were due to terminate on 31 July 1990 have been invited to serve until 31 July 1991. Members of family practitioner committees are due to serve until 31 March 1991 or later. In both cases the membership will cease at an earlier date should Royal Assent be obtained to the National Health Service and Community Care Bill. The periods of office of some of those members of community health councils appointed by the Secretary of State are due to expire on 30 June 1990 and invitations in respect of those positions have recently been issued.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the implementation of local financial management of schools in Wales, and how it affects (a) schools of fewer than 100 pupils and (b) schools of 100 pupils or more.

Schemes for the local management of schools have been approved for each of the local education authorities in Wales and they came into force on 1 April. Accordingly all primary and secondary schools are being formula-funded subject to LEAs' transitional arrangements. The delegation to secondary and larger primary schools of responsibility for managing their budgets is being phased in over the next three years.The position of small schools was carefully considered before formal approval to the schemes was given. The budgets of schools with fewer than 100 pupils and of the majority of primary schools with 100 pupils or more may benefit from additional LEA funding to protect them against disproportionately high salary costs and to ensure that the requirements of the national curriculum can be met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what change there has been in the pupil-teacher ratio in Wales since implementation of local financial management; what were the comparable figures for the previous three years; and if he will make a statement.

Schemes for local management of schools were introduced by local education authorities in April 1990. No information on pupils or teacher numbers has been collected since that date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how it is proposed that the level of funds made available to local authorities in respect of community care services will take into account the proposed closure of hospitals for patients with mental handicap and mental illness.

Local authority expenditure on community care will continue to be funded in the same way as other local authority expenditure. Additional funds are made available to local authorities by district health authorities as a result of local agreements to support mentally handicapped and mentally ill patients discharged from hospital to live in the community. A specific grant is proposed to facilitate community care for people with a mental illness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women have children between the ages of five and 16 years; and how many of these women work (a) part time and (b) full time.

Table 1 shows that in 1987, the latest year for which these data are available, 22 per cent. of all women of working age had at least one child aged five to 15 years. Table 2 gives the percentages of these women who were going out to work full time and part time. The data are taken from the general household survey, which obtains information from a sample of private households, and are therefore subject to sampling error.

Table 1 Great Britain
	1987 (per cent.)
Percentage of women with child(ren) aged 5–15 years	22
Base = 100 per cent, (women aged 16–59)	7,656

Table 2 Great Britain
	1987 (per cent.)
Percentage of women, with children aged 5–15 years, who went out to work:
Full time	21
Part time	47
Total going out to work1	68
Base = 100 per cent, (women aged 16–59 with child(ren) aged 5–15)	1,694
1 Includes a few cases for which hours of work were not given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress has been made on child sexual abuse since the statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 15 May 1989, Official Report, columns 145–48;(2) if he will provide a table of recent, current and proposed research funded by each Government Department relevant to child sexual abuse in each of the years since 1979, listing

The information requested has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of Slate for Health, pursuant to the answer of 2 May, Official Report, column 548, whether all local authorities in England have now incorporated the recommendations of the Butler-Sloss report in the guidelines they issue to those of their social workers involved in cases of alleged child abuse.

The Department does not routinely see all local guidance issued to social workers. However, the social services inspectorate as part of its inspection work looks at social work practice and local guidance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will be responsible for paying for drug addicts to attend drug dependency units when general practitioners have their own budgets.

The National Health Service and Community Care Bill provides for GP practices which volunteer to do so, and which meet the eligibility criteria, to run their own practice funds. From 1 April 1991, practice funds will enable GPs to purchase a specified range of hospital services for their patients. The practice funding arrangements will cover all initial out-patient referrals made by GPs—but not those made by other health professionals—and certain in-patient or day case procedures, primarily in the area of elective surgery. The cost of treating patients referred by GP fund holders to drug depedency units on an out-patient basis will be met from the practice fund, whereas the cost of referrals by other agencies (such as social services), self-referrals and of in-patient care will not be a charge on the fund. These patients will be covered (as will the patients of non-fund holders) by the contracts which district health authorities place on behalf of their resident population.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with glaucoma and diabetes received free eye tests in each district health authority area in England (a) in each quarter in 1988–89 and (b) in each quarter in 1989–90.

Statistics prior to 1 April 1989 were not broken down by patient group. Since then family practitioner committees have collected data on sight tests paid for under the general ophthalmic services on a six-monthly basis. District health authorities do not collect such information. The table gives estimated numbers by patient group and regional health authority for the period in question.

NHS sight tests paid for during April–September 1989:
RHA	Diabetics/Glaucoma sufferers
Northern	5,410
Yorkshire	8,900
Trent	15,660
East Anglia	3,200
North West Thames	6,700
North East Thames	9,700
South East Thames	11,900
South West Thames	6,450
Wessex	8,290
Oxford	5,250
South Western	8,750
West Midlands	10,200
Mersey	3,940
North Western	9,830

These figures are based on a 2 per cent. sample of national health service sight test application forms processed by family practitioner committees. They do not take into account sight tests paid for after 1 April 1989 but conducted before that period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions officials of his Department have undertaken about the possibility of any part of the health service in the Greenwich district opting for self-governing status.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether his Department has been involved in any discussions about the establishment of a new district general hospital at the Memorial hospital, Woolwich; (2) what discussions or correspondence his Department has had with officers of the Greenwich health authority about the future of acute services in Greenwich during the past 12 months.

The Department has not been involved with these issues in the past 12 months. Greenwich health authority is to produce a strategy document for acute services for consideration which should address all options.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department first became aware that high dosages of steroids had serious and lasting side-effects; and what action was taken to make this information known to general practitioners and hospitals.

A number of serious diseases require long-term treatment with steroids. The side-effects of long-term treatment have been well known for many years, and the British National Formulary sent to all prescribers by the Department free of charge, has carried warnings to this effect since 1966. Licensing of medicinal products under the Medicines Act started in 1971, and companies promoting medicines to doctors are required to provide individual product data sheets which include appropriate information on warnings, contraindications and side-effects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further proposals he has to eliminate the spread of AIDS through (a) blood transfusions, (b) dirty syringes and (c) sexual transmission; and if he will make a statement.

We are firmly committed to taking effective action to minimise the spread of HIV infection.All blood donations are tested for HIV antibody and people who may have been exposed to HIV are asked not to donate blood. As a consequence, the risks of infection with HIV through blood transfusion in this country have been reduced to the lowest level currently possible.We recognise the grave potential for spreading HIV through the use of infected injecting equipment by drug users. To counter this threat we have asked agencies working with drug users to maximise the number of users they are in contact with and to make HIV prevention activities a key part of their work. Advice has been issued on the establishment of syringe and needle exchange schemes, and on cleaning injecting equipment. We are also considering the role pharmacists have to play in the provision of injecting equipment in the light of the recent report of the addiction research unit, a copy of which is in the Library.Sexual transmission of HIV remains the major threat: national and local action has been set in hand to meet that threat. Nationally, the Health Education Authority runs mass media campaigns and back-up activities aimed at the general public, with targeted work directed at groups at particular risk. Locally, health authorities have been asked to develop HIV prevention initiatives, in collaboration with local authorities and voluntary bodies, paying particular attention to HIV prevention services in genito-urinary medicine clinics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department monitors the number of persons who show serious side-effects after a long period of drug therapy; and what action is taken both in informing manufacturers and advising the medical profession.

The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) carefully monitors all issues of drug safety. Suspected adverse reactions to medical products are reported on a voluntary basis by doctors and dentists under the yellow card scheme, and there is a statutory requirement for pharmaceutical companies to submit reports. This applies to patients receiving treatment over short and long periods. The CSM recommends that manufacturers carry out post marketing surveillance studies for new drugs likely to be used for widespread long-term use, in order to identify any side-effects associated with treatment. In addition the CSM closely monitors worldwide epidemiological studies investigating the long-term effects of medicines.Information on potential problems is sent regularly to all prescribers by means of CSM's "Current Problems" bulletin; in the case of major drug safety hazards the professions are alerted by means of a letter from the chairman. Drug prescribing information and guidance is also available from a number of other sources, for example the British National Formulary, which the Department issues free to all doctors twice yearly.The pharmaceutical industry is regularly supplied with information on adverse reactions received by the CSM. In addition it is involved in receiving and providing information in relation to drug safety problems for its licensed products.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the costs of operating the blood transfusion service in each national health service region for the latest available year; and if he will express those costs in terms of cash, cash per head, and cash per litre of blood product supplied.

[holding answer 23 May 1990]: The revenue costs of operating the blood transfusion service for 1988–89 (the latest year available) are shown in the table along with the cost per head of population resident in each regional transfusion centre's area. Information is not held centrally to calculate the cost per litre of blood product supplied.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the correlation coefficient between the incidence of HIV infection and the incidence of tuberculosis in England over the period 1980 to 1990.

[holding answer 7 June 1990]: The reported number of people with HIV infection has increased during the 1980s in England and Wales and in a small proportion of those who have progressed to develop AIDS, tuberculosis has occurred. However, no evidence of a correlation between the HIV epidemic and the overall incidence of tuberculosis has been identified so far in England and Wales.Tuberculosis incidence, as measured by notifications, has been declining by approximately 5 per cent. per year in recent decades, but the rate of decline varies from year to year. Total notifications for England and Wales in 1988 (5,161) were 1·5 per cent. higher than the total in 1987 (5,086), but such small annual increases have been seen from time to time (in 1973, 1975, 1978 and 19860 with a subsequent resumption of the downward trend. The small increase that was seen in 1988 occurred mainly in the younger females and the elderly age group.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the organisations in receipt of funds from his Department that provide post detoxification residential care, indicating the amount received and the number of beds provided.

[holding answer 11 June 1990]: There is no central register of the number of beds provided for detoxification, nor of the funding specifically used for the provision of these facilities.The Department does not allocate earmarked moneys for the provision of post detoxification residential care for alcohol misusers. The Department does, however, make available to regional health authorities earmarked funding, which this year totals £15·5 million, for the provision of drug services locally. Post detoxification residential care may be funded from these allocations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to the Minister of State's answer of 7 June, Official Report, columns 674–75, when COMARE originally recommended a study of any possible health effects on the offspring of parents occupationally exposed to radiation; for what reason the recommendation was not then adopted; and when the studies will commence.

The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE)'s original recommendation for epidemiological studies to consider any possible health effects on the offspring of parents occupationally exposed to radiation was made in COMARE's second report (June 1988). The Government accepted this recommendation and research proposals were invited. COMARE subsequently broadened the scope of this recommendation in its third report (June 1989). The Government also accepted this recommendation and, following consultations with COMARE, have invited more detailed proposals. These proposals are currently undergoing the usual refereeing procedure and research should be commissioned later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the earnings disregards are for all single or married income support claimants who are required to be available for work; what earnings received by a claimant are not counted for income support purposes; what expenses can an income support claimant deduct from their gross earnings when calculating their benefit; and if he will make a statement.

The main disregards and provisions in income support for people with weekly earnings who are required to be available for work are:

• Couples aged under 60 years who have been continuously in receipt of income support for two years or more—£15 per couple.
• Couples receiving, or with underlying title to, the disability premium—£15 per couple.
• All other couples—£5 each member.
• Single people—£5

Earnings from employment which ceased before the claim for income support was made are ignored, with the exception of royalties and, for people below pension age, holiday pay, pay in lieu of notice or remuneration, and retainer fees.Deductions are made from gross earnings in respect of income tax, social security contributions and one half of any contribution towards an occupational or personal pension scheme. In addition, where earnings are from self-employment deductions may be made for certain expenses wholly and exclusively defrayed for the purposes of that employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single-pensioner households in Scotland are in receipt of income support or have been in receipt of income support or supplementary benefit for each of the past five years, expressed as a percentage of all single-pensioner households and as a numerical total.

[pursuant to her reply, 1 March 1990, c. 318–20]: I regret that the information given was incorrect. The corrected figures, which relate to single people aged 60 and over, are in the table. The information requested is not available for single-pensioner households.

Number of "Single" people in Scotland
Thousands
	1983	1984	1986	1987	1988
a. Aged 60 and over	482	483	483	484	484
b. In receipt of Income Support aged 60 and over	131	138	135	150	149
c. Percentage in receipt of Income Support	27·2	28·6	28	31	30·8

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the 1988–89 cost of providing the national insurance retirement pension (a) including spouse additions and (b) excluding spouse additions to category A retirement pensioners (1) in total, (2) for males and (3) for females.

The costs¹ as requested are as follows:

Including Adult Dependency Additions (ADAs)2
	£ million
Total Costs	12,240
To men	7,840
To women	4,400
Excluding ADAs
Total Costs	12,090
To men	7,690
To women	4,400
1 Source Government Actuary Department.
2 It is impossible to tell from Government statistics whether the ADA is paid for a spouse or a person having care of children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his best estimate of the number of (a) male and (b) female claimants who receive a spouse addition for non-contributory benefits for the latest available year.

The latest available figures show that 4,966 male and 487 female claimants receive increases of non-contributory benefits in respect of adult dependants. It is not possible to separate those cases where the increase is payable in respect of a spouse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 11 June on the cost of spouse additions, what percentage of the £800 million and £4 million relate to the retirement pension.

On male contribution records approximately 20 per cent. of the estimated £800 million figure relates to retirement pension. On female contribution records the percentage is negligible. (Note: The figures of £800 million and £4 million in the earlier answer were the estimated cost in 1988–89 of adult dependency additions, which include a small number of adult dependants other than spouses who have care of a child or children. It is not possible to give separate figures solely for spouse additions although the amounts involved are unlikely to be significantly different.)

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, column 323, regarding the woman's half-test, what information is available.

A woman who was affected by the married woman's half-test would not have received any pension (not even a reduced one) based only on her own contributions. However, that test was abolished on 22 December 1984 for all women regardless of when they reached pension age and as a result some women became entitled to a reduced pension based on their own contributions.At March 1989 there were some 0·6 million women in receipt of a reduced category A pension (that is one based on their own contributions), but it is not possible to say how many of these were women who became entitled to that pension as a result of the abolition of the test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single-pensioner households in Scotland are in receipt or have been in receipt of housing benefit for each of the past five years, expressed as a percentage of all single-pensioner households and as a numerical total.

[pursuant to her reply, 7 March 1990, c. 679]: I regret that a correction is necessary.The estimate for 1988 of 250,000 single people in Scotland aged 60 or over in receipt of housing benefit represents 51·7 per cent. of the total number of Scots in this group and not 11·3 per cent. as shown in the published reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, column 323, regarding pension ages, in what form the information is available.

Such information as is available is set out in my answer to the hon. Member's earlier question.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bodies established under the law of Scotland or managed or controlled wholly or mainly in, or from, Scotland are presently recognised by the Inland Revenue as charitable for tax purposes and are eligible for relief under section 505 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

The Inland Revenue is in the process of transferring to computer information about bodies in Scotland which have been recognised as charities for tax purposes. The task is not yet complete, but it is estimated there may be about 15,000.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his reply of 6 March, Official Report, column 595, if he will now make provision for writing down against tax liabilities the increases in mortgage debts of individuals which were incurred because of the rise in interest rates.

Increases in mortgate interest payable as a result of changes in interest rates qualify for mortgage interest relief in accordance with the normal rules. Relief is allowed for the actual interest paid on qualifying loans up to the statutory limit.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from the budget of which Department the United Kingdom's contribution to the European bank for reconstruction and development will be paid.

The United Kingdom's contribution to the European bank for reconstruction and development will be paid through the Overseas Development Administration. The contributions for the years up to 1993–94 will be additional to ODA's existing provisions. Provisions for contributions in the years after 1993–94 will be considered in future public expenditure surveys.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the Society of Chartered Accountants; and what was discussed.

[holding answer 14 June 1990]: I have no knowledge of any organisation by this name.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the status of a BSE-free herd will be affected by (a) the purchase of calves or young stock from a herd with BSE and (b) the purchase of calves or young stock from a herd that subsequently develops BSE; and, in the second case, how the authorities and the purchasing owner will be guaranteed information of the change in circumstance.

Since there is no test for BSE in the live animal it is not possible to certify that any herd is BSE free.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the report on the future of the east coast salmon fishery.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) on 26 April at column 317.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest figures for the incidences of spongiform encephalopathy in domestic pets.

Thirteen cats' brains have been examined at the central veterinary laboratory at Weybridge, of which three have been confirmed as having a spongiform encephalopathy. There are no confirmed cases involving dogs.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the result of the rabies tests carried out on an eight-month-old border collie, which died in Walthamstow, east London on 15 May; and if he will make a statement.

The rabies tests were all negative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the process of disarmament.

In common with our NATO allies, the United Kingdom has continued to give strong support to current arms control negotiations, and to work actively in those in which we are involved. We are now making important progress in achieveing our long-standing aim of enhancing security and stability in Europe at the lowest possible levels of forces consistent with our security needs. We intend to maintain this policy, which has proved such a success.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has about the proposed sitings of tactical air-to-surface missiles.

The question of the detailed sitings of tactical air-to-surface missiles has not arisen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about sea-launched cruise missiles.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 5 April at column 832.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he envisages in Britain's defence policy as a result of the two-plus-four talks on the reunification of Germany.

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State informed the House on 6 February, we are examining options for change in the structure and deployment of our armed forces in the light of changing international circumstances. We will also be playing a full part in the forthcoming review of NATO strategy. It is still too early to indicate any specific changes, but we will continue to maintain our commitment to NATO which provides the best guarantee of peace and security in Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current state of the CFE negotiations and their possible effect on future military aircraft procurement for the RAF.

The negotiations continue to make good progress and there are hopes that an agreement may be reached later this year. There has, as yet, been no agreement on either the definition or number of combat aircraft which might be covered by a CFE treaty. It is, therefore, not possible to speculate on the likely effects on future procurement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tests of nuclear weapons have taken place in the last five years; whether they have been to test the effectiveness of the weapons or in connection with modernisation; where such tests took place; and what notification was given to any international bodies.

The following joint UK-US nuclear tests have been held in the last five years:

• Kinibito—5 December 1985
• Darwin—25 June 1986
• Midland—16 July 1987
• Barnwell—8 December 1989

All were conducted at the Nevada test site. Such tests are carried out in order to maintain the effectiveness of the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons capability. In line with standard practice, all were simultaneously announced in London and Washington 30 minutes after shot time; no specific notifications were given to any international body.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by year for the last 10 years to date, the number of times the United States U2 spy aircraft has used the facilities of RAF Akrotiri; and if he will make a statement.

The USAF U2 aircraft has been permanently stationed at RAF Akrotiri since 1974 in support of middle east peacekeeping arrangements. It operates with the knowledge of all Governments directly involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has obtained for his departmental library a copy of the United States Department of Defense 1986 publication, "Biological Defense Programme"; and if he will make a statement.

No. A copy is, however, on order by the relevant departmental library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement in respect of the proposed plan to create a trilateral British, United States and West German air force, based primarily in the United Kingdom.

We have received no proposals for a trilateral British, United States and West German air force based primarily in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the procedure for ensuring that the non-military potential applications of work carried out with genetically modified organisms are identified and subsequently exploited; and if he will make a statement.

Scientific work leading to the development of defensive measures against chemical and biological warfare, including the limited amount of work on genetically manipulated organisms, often has nonmilitary potential. It is identified by the scientists in the course of their experiments and reviewed by the independent medical, physical sciences and life sciences committees.Where possible, the work is then exploited through contacts between the MOD's scientific staff and industry and scientific research organisations. The greater part of the work not disseminated in this way is published in open literature.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) of 25 April, Official Report, column 208, on how many occasions full charges were carried on low-flying training exercises in 1989 and 1990 to date; and what forms of charges were involved.