To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions in the current year courts have issued warrants to officials of the European Community to search the offices of companies in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

There have been no instances during the current year of United Kingdom courts granting orders in connection with the search of company premises by officials of the European Community under the EC rules on competition.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list those categories of alleged offence which qualify for international legal aid.

International legal aid is available under the provisions of the European agreement on the transmission of legal aid applications for civil, commercial and administrative cases. This agreement provides for the transfer of legal aid applications between signatory states. The treatment of applications is governed by the rules of the legal aid schemes of the recipient states and varies from state to state.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given in his "Options for Change" review to the amount of low flying carried out by RAF fast jets.

The amount of low flying training carried out by the RAF will continue to reflect operational requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Royal Clarence yard at Gosport.

In common with the rest of the naval estate, the cost effectiveness of the Royal Clarence yard is continually monitored.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act his Department has received; what was his estimate of the number of requests that would be received; what consideration he is giving to the subject access fee charged by his Department as a result; and whether he will make a statement.

A total of 21,985 subject access requests have been received by the major pay and personnel database centres in the Ministry of Defence; all were from current, past and potential employees. The figures so far are considered to be roughly in line with the forecast of between 0.01 and 0.1 per cent. of the target population per annum. The subject access fee charged is not being reconsidered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the date of the conclusion of the Al Yamamah agreement with Saudi Arabia and the dates of the conclusion of subsequent modifications of that agreement.

The original formal understanding and the memorandum of understanding between Her Majesty's Government and the Saudi Arabian Government concerning Project Al Yamamah were concluded, respectively, in 1985 and 1986. A further formal understanding was concluded in 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates and places of meetings about the Al Yamamah agreement with Saudi Arabia and officials or representatives of his Department.

My officials are in constant touch with representatives of the Saudi Arabian Government during which a wide range of issues concerning the Al Yamamah agreement are reviewed and discussed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current agreement under which Menwith Hill base is occupied and controlled by the National Security Agency of America; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, North (Mr. Stewart) gave to the hon. Member on 27 April 1988, Official Report, column 203.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will identify the provisions by which, if under the proposed pay and file system no assessment has been made on a company within the normal six-year time limit, the tax already paid by the company under the pay rules of pay and file will be repayable to it; within what period from the end of such six-year period such tax will have to be repaid; whether interest will be payable on the repayment by the Revenue; and by what legal process the tax-paying company will be able to enforce such payment.

As I explained in Standing Committee E on 21 June, Official Report, column 383, it would not necessarily be appropriate for tax paid by a company under pay and file to be repaid where an assessment was not made within the normal six-year time limit. But where the company was then able to show that no assessment could be made, it would be entitled to claim repayment of the tax and interest would be due on the tax repaid.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the estimated cost to the Treasury in a full year of making the married woman's tax allowance transferable to (a) working husbands and (b) nonworking husbands; and what is his policy on making such a move.

The cost would be a little over £3 billion; some 95 per cent. would result from married women transferring unused personal allowance to husbands in paid employment. These estimates are based on a projection of the 1987–88 survey of personal incomes and are, therefore, provisional.An arrangement of this kind would have some similarity to the system of fully transferable allowances for married couples described in the 1986 Green Paper "The Reform of Personal Taxation". In the light of the response to the Green Paper the Government decided not to go ahead with that proposal, but to introduce the present system of independent taxation incorporating the transferable married couple's allowance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom have pay scales designed to reward proficiency in more than one language.

Although pay scales are not designed to reward foreign language proficiency, Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry can be paid allowances in addition to basic salary, normally for a maximum of two languages but exceptionally for three where one language is Finnish, Greek, Arabic, Hungarian, Turkish, or any Asian or Slavonic language.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom are required to be able to speak foreign languages.

Customs and Excise officers at ports of entry to the United Kingdom are not so required but some are proficient in foreign languages and receive appropriate allowances.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the report on eastern European economics entitled "End of the Cycle" by Morgan Stanley; and if he will make a statement.

At present the Treasury and Cabinet Office library does not hold a copy of the report entitled "End of the Cycle" by Morgan Stanley. The library is trying to obtain a copy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments at 1 April.

On 1 April 1990 there were 562,388 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these 495,233 were non-industrials and 67,155 were classified as being in industrial work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what consultations he has had with Wandsworth borough council regarding parental choice of secondary schools;(2) what representations he has received regarding the closure notices for Chestnut Grove, Walsingham, John Archer and Battersea Park comprehensive schools, issued by Wandsworth borough council;(3) when he or his colleagues last met

As part of a cycle of meetings with the inner London councils to discuss the progress they have made since they took over responsibility for education from ILEA on 1 April, I intend soon to meet representatives of Wandsworth local education authority. That meeting will include discussion of the authority's secondary reorganisation proposals, on which it is to issue a public consultation document. If consultation led to the publication of statutory proposals requiring the determination of the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend would consider these in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science with what persons he will enter into an agreement under section 105 of the Education Reform Act 1988, for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college.

The Secretary of State will enter into an agreement with the Haberdashers' Aske's City Technology College Trust, which has not yet been formed. When it is formed the primary members of the trust will be persons nominated by those organisations including the Haberdashers' Company which intend to sponsor the CTC. Membership will include a nominee of the Secretary of State.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that the United Kingdom participates in the world literacy survey; and if he will make a statement.

No proposal on this has been put to the Government, but I understand that the National Foundation for Educational Research—to which it was put—declined to participate on justified grounds. The national curriculum and the equivalent arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland, should in due course provide a much sounder platform for international comparisons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in relation to each city technology college, what amount of earmarked annual grant or related payments were paid by his Department for the school year 1989–90; and for what purposes each element of earmarked annual grant was paid.

Earmarked grants are the subject of specific bids for the colleges and relate to specific expenditure on:

a. consumables—the purchase, during the start-up period only, of a basic stock of library and text books, courseware, stationery and other consumable materials;

b. school meals—the provision of free meals for pupils who qualify, a subsidy in respect of those pupils who do not, and supervision costs;

c. pupil support—to cover the costs of school uniforms and school transport for disadvantaged pupils;

d. IT development—software and courseware for the incorporation and exploitation of IT throughout the curriculum and in the administration of the college; and

e. staff development—to provide for in-service training and curriculum development needs arising from the curriculum in CTCs.

The total EAG provision for the three colleges in the academic year 1989–90 is as follows:

	£
Kingshurst	143,000
Djanogly, Nottingham	213,000
Macmillan College, Teesside	204,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science in respect of each city technology college what amount of annual per capita grant or related revenue costs were paid by his Department for the school year 1989–90; what unit of cost per pupil was used in calculating the amount of such payments; how this was determined; and what enhancement of annual per capita grant was allowed under the terms of paragraph 11 of the model funding agreement.

The annual per capita grant—APG—for the academic year 1989–90 for the three CTCs that are open is as follows:

	£
Kingshurst	927,000
Djanogly, Nottingham	871,000
Macmillan College, Teesside	852,000

The APG is determined by taking the unit cost for pupils under school leaving age, which for the academic year 1989–90 works out at £1,929, and for pupils over school leaving age, is £3,086. These are determined by the actual expenditure per secondary pupil in a group of 24 LEAs that maintain schools in similar areas to CTCs with an addition for central administration costs. Furthermore, an allowance is made for diseconomies of scale during the start-up period of a CTC while it works up to full pupil capacity. This provides for more teachers in year one than the overall pupil-teacher ratio would justify; more non-teaching staff in year one than the final target complement would imply pro rata; and an additional sum to reflect premises-related diseconomies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the criticisms in the report, "Computerised Management Information Systems in Further Education—A Study of Quality Assurance", of the two major suppliers of these systems.

The Department plans to publish the findings of the project in the early autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations his Department has received from suppliers mentioned in the report "Computerised Management Information Systems in Further Education—A Study of Quality Assurance" seeking to have the report modified or changed before its publication.

Before accepting the completion of the project, the Department sought the suppliers' views on the factual accuracy of the project team's findings. The suppliers' replies highlighted some inaccuracies and indicated how they proposed to respond to the team's findings. These responses will be taken into account in the report due to be published in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when his Department will publish the report entitled "Computerised Management Information Systems in Further Education—A Study of Quality Assurance", which was presented to his Department in December 1989; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) on 10 July 1990, Official Report, column 186.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he expects to be available to him, and what studies have been made and are being undertaken relating to governors of grant-maintained schools and proposed grant-maintained schools.

The views of the governors of grant-maintained schools are sought on a variety of issues. It is clear that they welcome their new status. In particular, governors welcome their greater independence and the freedom to decide their own priorities and to implement policies for achieving their goals. Many governors believe that their increased responsibilities make for a more satisfying and fulfilling role.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the appointment of an independent person, pursuant to paragraph 3(5) of schedule 2 to the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990.

The Student Loans Company will appoint an independent assessor, whose function will be to investigate and report on disputes between the company and borrowers or intending borrowers under the loans scheme. The appointment of the assessor will be subject to my approval. The assessor will operate in accordance with an agreed set of procedures and terms of reference, a copy of which I have placed today in the Library of each House.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animal welfare inspections were made by state veterinary officers in each of 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.

The number of visits to farms specifically to carry out animal welfare inspections in each of these years was:

Year	Inspections
1985	6,064
1986	5,804
1987	5,219
1988	5,670
1989	3,902

The reduction in 1989 was due largely to the need to divert the effort of the state veterinary service to tackling the problems of BSE. However, veterinary officers continued to monitor welfare in the course of their visits to farms for other purposes.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tests for listeria were carried out at the veterinary investigation centre, Polwhele, Truro, in 1987, 1989 and to the most convenient date in 1990; and what percentage of these tests gave a positive response.

The veterinary investigation service does not routinely carry out tests specifically for listeria. As a disease of animals, listeriosis is considered as a differential diagnosis when pathological material is submitted to a veterinary investigation centre by a practising veterinary surgeon.In the period 1987 to 9 July 1990 the following diagnoses of listeriosis were made at Truro VIC either by microbiological examination or pathological examination or both:

	1987	1988	1989	11990
Cattle	3	17	14	9
Sheep	7	6	8	10
1 To 9 July 1990.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many possible BSE samples were examined at the veterinary investigation centre, Polwhele, Truro, in each of the years 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date; and what percentage of these cases proved positive.

There are two stages in the examination of brain material for BSE carried out in veterinary investigation centres.

(i) The removal of brain material for examination.

(ii) The histopathological preparation and miscroscopic examination of the selected tissues.

In respect of (ii) the VI centre at Polwhele acts as one of 11 designated centres for this purpose and as such the numbers examined do not necessary reflect the situation.In 1987 to 9 July 1990 the VI centre at Truro carried out the following procedures:

	1987	1988	1989	11990
(i) Removal of brain tissue	44	364.00	611.00	620.00
(ii) Histopathological examination	44	437.00	537.00	730.00
Percentage histopathological examination +ve	100	90.16	89.57	89.18
1To 9 July 1990.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many veterinary investigation centres are currently operated by his Department; and how many of these are currently under review as to their future retention.

There are 19 veterinary investigation centres in England and Wales. The review of the veterinary investigation service was commissioned by the Minister with a view to improving the quality, efficiency and the cost effectiveness of the services provided by VI centres. As such the review considered the service as a whole. The report of this review has been submitted to Ministers but as yet no decision has been reached on any of the recommendations within the report.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the north-east salmon review has been completed; and when he expects to publish the report.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) on 29 June, Official Report, column 388.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any plans to change the arrangements for fishery protection at sea.

Yes. In order to maintain the patrol capability at the level I consider necessary to achieve effective deterrence and proper compliance with United Kingdom and Economic Community fisheries regulations, the Department has arranged to charter the Southella to carry out fishery enforcement duties within British fishery limits. The charter will run from the middle of this month. The ship is already converted for this work, having previously carried out similar duties for the Falkland Islands Government and the Commission of the European Communities. It will supplement the forces of the Royal Navy's fishery protection squadron.Like the ships of the fishery protection squadron, Southella will operate under the direction of the Ministry's sea fisheries inspectorate. She will carry a team of experienced inspectors who will carry out enforcement checks on both British and foreign fishing boats, mainly though not exclusively in the south-west approaches.This civilian addition to the fishery enforcement capability is necessary because of a current shortfall in the availability of suitable naval ships this year. The requirements for next year will be reviewed in the light of the availability of Royal Navy vessels.I commend the fishery protection squadron for the invaluable service it has given and continues to give in carrying out the fishery enforcement duties for the protection of fisheries and the ultimate benefit of all fishermen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 11 July to the hon. Member for Newport, West, Official Report, column 199, what was (a) the percentage of polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated material, and (b) the tonnage of other toxic materials that were imported into Newport via the River Usk during the period 1 April 1989 to 31 March.

Of the 1,314 tonnes of hazardous waste recorded as imported into Newport via facilities on the River Usk, 479 tonnes or 36.45 per cent. was polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated material, and 835 tonnes was other material.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he anticipates receiving a report on the cause of the salmonella outbreak at Ely hospital, Cardiff;(2) when he next expects to meet the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority to discuss the salmonella outbreak at the Ely hospital, Cardiff.

Officials at the Welsh Office have already received a preliminary report from the health authority concerning the investigation and control of the salmonella outbreak at Ely hospital and further progress reports are awaited. At the present time my right hon. Friend has no plans to meet the chairman of South Glamorgan health authority to discuss this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to institute better anti-salmonella preventive measures in hospitals and other institutions in Wales.

The Food Safety Bill, which applies to hospitals and other institutions in Wales, will require higher standards in relation to the preparation and handling of food including the requirement for food handlers to receive a minimum level of training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the value of national health service drugs administered in Wales (a) in total and (b) in hospitals in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

The net ingredient cost of all drugs and dressing administered by the NHS in Wales during 1988–89 was £160,154,164 of which the cost of drugs and dressing administered by district health authorities was £22,618,505 and £3,556,682 respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received for the provision of a secure unit for young offenders below the age normally committed to prison; over what time span these representations have been made; and if he will make a statement.

We have not received any representations which call for the provision of a secure unit for young offenders. However, we have received representations which draw attention to the availability of secure accommodation in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the arrangements for paying new housing capital grants.

New housing capital grants were introduced by part VIII of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The approval of Parliament for expenditure on these new grants is being sought in the main supply estimates for class XVI, vote 6—housing, other environmental services and welfare food, Wales. Pending that approval urgent expenditure, estimated at £22,733 million, will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will announce his proposals arising out of the Government's recent review of the operation of the new system of local government finance in Wales.

I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of a consultation paper which has been produced as a result of the review. The paper, which I shall be distributing shortly to interested bodies and individuals, sets out proposals with respect to the standard community charge, and certain other matters. Views are being sought on a number of changes which we are proposing to make in Wales. Similar consultations will also take place in England and Scotland. Comments on the proposals are invited by 28 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who will be representing Her Majesty's Government at the second United Nations conference on the least-developed countries to be held in Paris in September; and if he will make a statement.

I hope to lead the United Kingdom delegation to the second United Nations conference on the least-developed countries in Paris.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that no further British Government aid will be provided for the Rihand power station project in India, involving British companies, unless flue gas desulphurisation technology is installed.

A thorough appraisal of the project, including its environmental impact, is a condition for the provision of British aid to the second stage of the Rihand power station in India. The appraisal will examine the impact on the Indian environment of the level of sulphur dioxide emissions from the plant and assess the environmental and economic costs and benefits of flue gas desulphurisation. Because of the low sulphur content of Indian coal, the level of sulphur dioxide emissions would be relatively small. In the light of the appraisal, we will ensure adequate environmental safeguards are taken in consultation with the Government of India.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to increase support for the least developed countries.

The British aid programme is focused on the poorest, including those classified as least developed. Within an aid programme that is planned to grow in real terms, the Government will increasingly support least developed countries which are well governed and implement sound economic policies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the proportion of gross national product given in overseas aid for each year from 1980 to 1989 to (a) the original 31 least developed countries and (b) the current 42 least developed countries.

The proportion of GNP given as official development assistance to the 31 countries classified as least developed at the time of the first UN conference on the least developed, and the 42 countries currently classified as least developed from 1980 to 1989 was as follows:

Proportion of GNP given as official development assistance to LLDCs from 1980 to 1989
Year	31 original countries Total per cent.	42 current countries Total per cent.
1980	0.09	n/a
1981	0.12	n/a
1982	0.10	0.11
1983	0.09	0.14
1984	0.09	0.11
1985	0.10	0.11
1986	0.08	0.09
1987	0.08	0.10
1988	n/a	0.10
1989	n/a	n/a

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accesses were made to each index of the police national computer over the last year; and how many of the access requests could search more than one index.

The total number of accesses to each of the indices of the police national computer in the year to 30 June 1990 was as follows:

Index	Number of Accesses
1. Stolen and Suspect Vehicles	21,370,168
2. Vehicle Owners
3. Chassis/Engine Numbers	508,710
4. Fingerprints	200,917
5. Fingerprints (Scene of Crime)	13,658
6. Criminal Names	1,094,072
7. Wanted/Missing Persons	2,134,554
8. Disqualified Drivers	765,081
9. Convictions	902,277
10. Major Investigations	5,921
11. Crime Pattern Analysis	279,711

There have also been the following joint accesses:

	Number
To indices 6 and 91	1,996,349
To indices 6, 7 and 9	1,687,245
To indices 6, 7, 8 and 9	8,265,989
To indices 4, 6 and 9	652,426
1 All accesses to the criminal names index will in addition automatically generate information from the convictions application.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the number of accesses made to the police national computer by each constabulary over the last year; and what was the proportion of access requests made to the vehicle indexes of the police national computer.

The information is as follows:

Force	Numbers of transactions for the year up to June 1990	Proportion of transactions made to vehicle indices
Avon and Somerset	928,045	60.5
Bedfordshire	376,446	66.9
British Transport Police	141,988	42.1
Cambridgeshire	375,627	60.7
Central	141,178	51.6
Cheshire	436,687	62.1
City of London	101,987	58.8
Cleveland	331,288	55.8
Cumbria	366,151	62.9
Derbyshire	448,074	61.1
Devon and Cornwall	730,000	55.6
Dorset	457,665	59.6
Dumfries and Galloway	106,837	59.0
Durham	350,553	53.1
Dyfed-Powys	241,976	48.3
Essex	892,740	60.1
Fife	137,425	56.4
Gloucestershire	359,446	68.0
Grampian	265,928	49.4
Greater Manchester	2,271,199	57.3
Guernsey	19,249	10.5
Gwent	187,118	46.3
Hampshire	877,175	59.4
Hertfordshire	463,569	46.5
Humberside	529,245	60.2
Isle of Man	20,547	52.9
Jersey	33,476	10.1
Kent	1,198,384	60.7
Lancashire	1,126,272	58.4
Leicestershire	397,810	55.4
Lincolnshire	267,208	61.3
Lothian and Borders	610,533	59.4
Merseyside	932,268	55.6
Metropolitan	7,597,182	48.4

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current size of each category found in the stolen and suspect vehicle index of the police national computer; and what was the minimum and maximum size of each category in the index over the year.

The information is as follows:

Category	Current	Minimum	Maximum
Confirmed lost or obtained by deception	397,420	307,408	397,420
Lost or Stolen	406,337	406,337	411,018
Obtained by deception	88	78	88
Found	28,284	28,284	28,572
Removed	13,035	12,980	14,063
Street to Street	121	121	162
Repossessed by Finance Company	0	0	0
Suspect	128	122	128
Police Vehicle	3,621	3,621	3,704
Blocked	6,328	6,323	6,410
Information	16,752	16,327	16,877
Seen	7,490	7,348	8,357

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current size of each index of the police national computer; and what was the minimum and maximum size of each index over the last year.

The information is as follows:

Index	Current	Minimum	Maximum
Vehicle owners	43,846,016	41,386,599	43,846,016
Stolen vehicles	489,162	469,874	489,162
Chassis-engine numbers	823,393	791,850	823,393
Wanted/Missing persons	117,805	112,011	117,805
Cross reference	983,949	964,898	985,202
Disqualified drivers	375,708	367,864	377,057
Convictions	3,249,407	2,929,865	3,249,407
Criminal names	5,582,320	5,457,187	5,582,320
Fingerprints	4,094,626	4,004,441	4,094,626
Crime pattern analysis	110,214	103,149	110,214
Extremists crime index	1,202	1,118	1,202
Major investigations	328,426	326,360	328,426

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current size of each category found in the wanted and missing persons index of the police national computer; and the minimum and maximum size of each category in the index over the year.

:The information is as follows:

Category	Current
Wanted	33,031
Fails to Appear	33,083
Suspect	215
Impending Prosecution	49
Deserter	1,552
Locate	42,299
Missing	2,513
Found	13
Absconder—from care	574
—from hospital	66
—from detention	2
—from youth custody	134
—from prison	934
—from remand	5
—from school	47
Recall—from detention	0
—from youth custody	1
—from prison	320

A record of the minimum and maximum size of each category over the past year has not been maintained and the information is therefore not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy in respect of compensation for damage done to private property by convicted criminals who abscond from Her Majesty's penal establishments; what factors underlay his refusal to make payments to Mr. D. J. Burrows of Lakenheath, Suffolk, in respect of the damage done to his boat in October 1989 by two persons who had escaped from Hollesley Bay remand centre in Suffolk, and were convicted of breaking-in offences; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office does not accept general responsibility for loss or damage caused by absconders from penal establishments. The courts have upheld that Home Office liability applies only where an escape takes place which is attributable to the negligence of staff, when they are under a duty to take steps to prevent an escape. There must be some failure to take proper care on the part of the authorities. In the case of Mr. Burrows there was no evidence of negligence by the staff involved at Hollesley Bay colony and the Department cannot therefore accept any legal liability for the damage to his yacht.In certain circumstances ex-gratia payments may be made to owners of property stolen or damaged. This ex-gratia scheme is operated regardless of whether the abscond was due to any fault on the part of the staff of the establishment concerned. It simply accepts that in some establishments the conditions are such as to permit absconding if the inmate is so minded and in these circumstances compensation has been paid, for the sake of good will, to members of the public particularly at risk when they suffer loss. The Department makes such payments only where the loss or damage is not covered by insurance.Mr. Burrows' boat was covered by an insurance policy, but the insurance company declined to meet his claim because, in breach of a policy condition, he failed to notify it until several months after the incident. The Department could have considered an ex-gratia payment to cover uninsured losses, such as an excess charge on the claim or a loss of no claims discount; but not to cover insured losses which Mr. Burrows has had to bear because of his failure to make a timely claim. Mr. Burrows was advised orally of the position on more than one occasion before he finally claimed from the insurance company. I am reviewing the case however to see whether the Department's actions contributed in any way to Mr. Burrows' delay in making a formal claim to his insurance company; and I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act his Department has received; what was his estimate of the number of requests that would be received; what consideration he is giving to the subject access fee charged by his Department as a result; and whether he will make a statement.

During the period 11 November 1987 to 16 July 1990 the Department received 35 requests for subject access. It was not judged possible, at the time when the provisions came into operation, to make any firm advance estimate of likely take-up, but there was an indication, on the basis of experience in other European countries, that requests might be in the range 0.1 to 1 per cent. per annum of records held—that is, between 5,400 and 54,000 requests per year to be addressed to the Home Office. I have no plans to reconsider the subject access fees charged by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals and of which nationality have been granted asylum in the United Kingdom since 1 April.

This information is not yet available. Provisional figures for grants of refugee status in the second quarter of 1990 will shortly be provided to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a copy will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations have been received in connection with the failure of the Isle of Man bank.

Since the collapse of the Savings and Investment Bank in the Isle of Man in 1982, a total of 52 representations have been received from, or on behalf of, 18 former investors with the bank. They have been informed that the matter is a domestic one within the jurisdiction of the Isle of Man.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report of the internal police inquiries into Greater Manchester police (a) following the collapse of the court proceedings against Kevin Taylor and (b) following the collapse of the court proceedings against Gerard Corley; and if he intends to publish the report.

Both these investigations are being carried out under the terms of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The reports will be submitted to the Police Complaints Authority and copied to the chief constable of Greater Manchester.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to magistrates in deciding whether young offenders under 17 years of age should be confined in Her Majesty's prisons.

The only juveniles under 17 who may be remanded to prison department establishments are 15 and 16-year-old boys who have been refused bail and certified by a court as being too unruly to be safely remanded to local authority care. The criteria governing the issue of unruliness certificates are laid down in the Certificates of Unruly Character (Conditions) Order 1977. The use of the sentence of detention in a young offender institution, which is available for some juveniles, is governed by the criteria in section 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982. Guidance to courts on the use of their powers is given from time to time by the Court of Appeal.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings the responsible Minister has held in the last 12 months with members of the minority communities; how many of these meetings were with young people; and if he will make a statement.

Since 1 July 1989, I have held 30 meetings with individuals and groups from the minority communities, of which 14 have been with young people. The meetings have taken place not only in the Home Office but also in areas such as Birmingham, Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham.In addition, I have attended two meetings of the Home Secretary's advisory council on race relations, the formal interdepartmental committee on which individual members of the minority communities can advise the Government on all aspects of race relations in Britain.All these meetings have been an invaluable opportunity for me to learn about the issues that concern our minority communities. I have also been able to discuss ways of developing Britain as an integrated, multiracial society in which the minority communities can participate fully and freely without fear of prejudice and discrimination.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce the results of his consideration of the report of the working party on forensic pathology in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I have now carefully considered the report of the working party which had been examining the provision of forensic pathology services to police forces and coroners in England and Wales together with the comments which I have received on it from 23 interested individuals and representative bodies. Without exception, those consulted have endorsed the report's principal findings and recommendations, particularly in relation to funding, accreditation, training and research, and have urged me to implement these urgently in order to reverse the recent decline of the service and ensure an adequate supply of forensic specialists in the future.The main proposal of the report is that the supply of forensic pathology services should be regulated through the market—that is, the main users of these services, police forces, should contract with the suppliers, the pathologists, for the services they need at prices and on conditions to be agreed between them. The role of the Home Office would be to maintain the high quality of the service through new arrangements for accreditation, training and research.I have decided to accept the working party's proposals and to introduce the new arrangements straight away, including the establishment of a policy advisory board to oversee the development of this vital part of our criminal justice system.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the youngest (a) boy and (b) girl being held in a prison in England and Wales on 9 July.

According to the records held centrally on 31 May 1990, the latest date for which information is readily available, the youngest boy and girl held in a prison or remand centre were aged 15. Both had been sentenced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what extra financial allowance and additional days' leave were given to prison officers from prisons in England and Wales who were sent to Strangeways prison during the recent riot at that prison; and if he will make a statement.

Prison officers sent to Her Majesty's prison Manchester during the recent emergency received an ex-gratia payment of £8 per hour in respect of additional hours worked. All staff involved in control and restraint deployment received five days' special leave with pay. Governors were asked also to grant a discretionary five days' special leave to any other staff who suffered particular stress at Manchester.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will be charged the costs of supplying prison officers from prisons in England and Wales for duty at Strangeways prison during the recent riot at that prison; what was the total cost; and if he will make a statement.

The costs of supplying prison officers for duty at Her Majesty's prison Manchester during the recent riot there are borne on the prisons vote—(class XI, 2).The salaries of prison officers sent to Manchester are already paid by the prison service. The only additional salary costs are payments for additional hours worked in connection with the disturbance. These costs, together with transport and subsistence expenses, amounted to £545,094.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support is given and by whom, to women prison officers now working in male prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Guidance to line managers in the prison service emphasises the importance of effective induction for staff who are new to an establishment, and line managers at all levels are expected to encourage and support their staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the police clear-up rates for (a) all murders and (b) murders of gay men for the two most recent years for which he has figures.

In cases of homicide it is not possible in the absence of a court decision to distinguish between offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide. In England and Wales in 1988 and 1989 the ratio of offences of homicide cleared up to offences of homicide recorded in the same years was 96 and 92 per cent. respectively. Some offences are recorded and cleared up in different years. Statistics of homicide recorded and cleared up in 1988 are published in table 2.8 "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1988"—Cm. 847—and for 1989 in table 6 of "Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/90". Records available centrally on the sexual status of homicide victims are incomplete. The available information shows six homosexual men to have been victims of homicide in 1988 and 1989; all these cases were cleared up.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list each of the reported serious incidents that have taken place in prisons in England and Wales between 1 January and 9 July.

The following numbers of incidents between 1 January and 9 July 1990 are recorded as having been reported by prison service establishments under the broad headings shown, excluding incidents under headings categorised as minor.

	Number
Escapes	53
Attempted escapes	7
Escapes from escort	46
Attempted escapes from escort	3
Recapture/surrender of escaped inmates	50
Assaults—on staff	48
—on inmates	77
—on other	8
Deaths of inmates, believed to be suicide	21
Other deaths of inmates	20
Deaths of staff	3
Fires causing personal injury, or serious and/or extensive damage to property	11
Acts of concerted indiscipline	60
Barricade incidents	7
Rooftop demonstrations	26
Food refusals	39
Key/lock compromises	7
Hostage incidents	11
Bomb threats/explosions	24
Dirty protest	1
Other miscellaneous incidents	38

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he plans to meet the chairman of the British Film Institute to discuss increased investment in regional film theatres.

I regularly meet the chairman of the British Film Institute to discuss current issues.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what controls he intends to place on the resale of works of art by those who have purchased under the new regulations recently announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

The Government have never had the power to control the sale of privately owned works of art. On 4 May, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced that, if an owner does not accept an offer from a private individual, the existence of that offer will be taken into account in deciding on the export licence application. If either the original owner, having rejected all offers to purchase, or a new owner, subsequently offer the item for resale, no conditions can be imposed on that sale. Should a resale result in an application for an export licence, the normal procedures for considering it would operate.

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will publish the response he has made to the letter from Dr. Peter Jung and expert colleagues in foraminifera, ammonites and mammals of the naturhistorische museum in Basel about whether a major collection can be actively cared for under proposals such as those for the natural history museum in respect of expert staff; and what action he proposes to take to discharge obligations, in respect of scientists' work in building up collections to the benefit of smaller museums, throughout the world.

I have placed a copy of my correspondence with Dr. Peter Jung in the Library of the House. I have asked the Government's chief scientific adviser, who is in discussion with the natural history museum, to keep me informed of the museum's position in relation to the United Kingdom science base. I shall be meeting the chairman and director of the museum to discuss these and other issues.

To ask the Minister for the Arts how many reader seats were provided in the £2.3 million first phase conversion of the Corn Merchant's Store at the British Library, Boston Spa; and whether the second phase of this conversion has been approved.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: None. Approval has not been sought for a second phase.

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will make it his policy to move little used material to stores outside London so that readers may use most of the St. Pancras building.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: This is a matter for the British Library Board.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the cost of repairs at the India Office library and records; and whether the British Library is to use the section vacated some years ago by the Ministry of Defence.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The refurbishment at Orbit house by the British Library includes the area vacated by the Ministry of Defence and the costs are estimated to be £1.1 million excluding VAT.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on details of published surveys relating to readers' characteristics and needs in planning the new building at St. Pancras.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The "Report of the National Libraries Committee" Cm 4028 included several surveys. Further surveys have been undertaken by the British Library for use in planning the new building and have been reported to its advisory committees.

To ask the Minister for the Arts when readers may inspect plans of the collection allocations and visit the site of the St. Pancras building.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The detailed collection allocations have not been finalised by the British Library although broad plans are being prepared. They will not be available for consideration before the end of this year. A user and staff communication programme has already commenced including a video and the production of leaflets. It is intended to institute site visits for readers towards the new year subject to safety considerations.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the percentage of shelving in phase I of the new St. Pancras building housing science and technology publications.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: Over 40,000 m of shelving, representing 13.8 per cent. of the shelving in the first stage of construction, are destined for science and technology publications. This compares with 27,000 m in the present Holborn and Aldwych buildings. A further 6,500 m are planned for the completion phase.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what are the total costs of the development of the radiation polymer preservation programme and the number of books which have been preserved by this process.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The development costs incurred by the British Library for the polymer preservation programme total £540,000. During the research period which has recently ended the process has been applied to sample volumes only.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the revenue from commercial sales of the British Library archivist book copier.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: Royalties from commercial sales so far total £15,000.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what area in phase I of the new St. Pancras building is to be allocated for book preservation.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: An area of over 1,500 sq m is assigned to book preservation functions in the first stage of construction, in addition to the environmentally controlled storage and consultation facilities and associated plant.

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will itemise total investment by the British Library in compact disc with read-only memory.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: This information is not readily obtainable. Increasingly, the British Library's various operations employ equipment which makes some use of CD-ROM technology.

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will take steps to ensure that stools, work surfaces and trolleys are part of the brief for the science and technology reading rooms at St. Pancras.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: Work surfaces, chairs and trolleys are included in the brief for the science and technology reading rooms at St. Pancras. Stools are not included.

To ask the Minister for the Arts how it is proposed to manage phase I of the new St. Pancras building so it provides a national centre for reference, study and other information in relation to scientific and technological matters.

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The whole of the British Library's London-based scientific, technological and business services currently spread over three buildings will be brought together at the same time at St. Pancras and will provide reference, study and information services in response to users' needs.

To ask the Prime Minister if Her Majesty's Government have any proposals to modify or change the legal procedures concerning the evidence of children on commission in criminal proceedings; and if she will make a statement.

The Government are giving careful consideration to the recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission in its recent report on the evidence of children and other potentially vulnerable witnesses; and, for England and Wales, to the comments received on the report of Judge Pigot's advisory group on video evidence. We shall announce our proposals as soon as possible.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to Westwood hospital, Bradford.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has received any views from member states since the Dublin meeting of the European Council on the United Kingdom proposals to be submitted to the intergovernmental conference on monetary union.

The Government's proposals have been welcomed as a constructive contribution to the debate on EMU and are being considered further in ECOFIN and other appropriate bodies.

To ask the Prime Minister when she last met in an official capacity the director of education of Wandsworth borough council.

My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Education and Science are in regular contact with representatives of all local authorities in England.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she will place in the Library a copy of the correspondence received from the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate about the information bulletin on the activities of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of the Western European Union.

I have done so today.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will obtain for her office library a copy of the report on eastern European economics entitled "End of the Cycle" by Morgan Stanley.

The Government are obtaining a copy of that report.

To ask the Prime Minister which east European countries have not taken up the credit which is available to them; how much is still available; and if she will make a statement.

Export Credits Guarantee Department cover, subject to varying security requirements, is available for short-term credits for all markets of eastern Europe. Cover for medium-term export credits—that is, credits in excess of two years—is available to Czechoslovakia, GDR, Hungary and the USSR. The position on the availability of ECGD medium-term credit for other countries is under active review.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will hold meetings to discuss the national characteristics of peoples of countries other than Germany.

I have nothing further to add to the replies given to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Sparkbrook (Mr. Hattersley) on 17 July, Official Report, column 859.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meeting on 24 March which discussed what were considered to be the characteristics of Germans.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 July.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I also participated in the deputation from the House which attended on Her Majesty the Queen Mother.In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent in 1989–90, expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product; and what comparable information he has on the Japanese Ministry of International Trade.

Expenditure by the DTI last year was one quarter per cent. of GDP whereas general expenditure by Japan's Ministry of International Trade proportionate to GDP was one third lower, even though its responsibilities are wider.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has plans to amend the Fair Trading Act 1974 to include car park operations; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans to do so at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what compensation his Department has so far paid out to investors due to the early release of the price-sensitive Kingfisher-Dixon takeover report.

All claims which are received before the end of the month will be considered for compensation. No payments have yet been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will hold a public hearing before granting supervisory status to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

No. But we intend, in considering applications for recognition as a supervisory body, to take account of any views or representations we receive from third parties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has introduced since 1982 to protect investors in the unlisted securities market; and if he will make a statement.

Since 1 July 1985, the issue of shares other than those to be included on the official list of the stock exchange has been regulated under part III of the Companies Act 1985. Prior to that Act, such issues were primarily regulated by provisions of the Companies Act 1948 of which the 1985 Act provisions are a consolidation. Shares may be offered to the public only by public limited companies, and there must be a prospectus which complies with the requirements set out in schedule 3 to the Act. My Department has recently issued a consultative document on part V of the Financial Services Act 1986 which will complete the replacement of the provisions of the Companies Act relating to the public offers of securities.The stock exchange, of which the unlisted securities market is part, has been a recognised investment exchange—RIE—within the terms of the Financial Services Act 1986 since the main provisions of that Act came into force in April 1988. Prior to this, the stock exchange was a recognised stock exchange under the terms of the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958. Responsibility for RIEs has been transferred to the Securities and Investments Board, including ensuring their compliance with schedule 4 to the 1986 Act, which sets out the safeguards for investors which RIEs must provide.Since April 1988 those carrying on investment business in the United Kingdom, including advising investors and dealing or arranging deals in securities for them, have had to be authorised or exempt under the terms of the Financial Services Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the dates and places of meetings about the Al Yamamah agreement with Saudi Arabia that involved officials or representatives of his Department or the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

Departmental and Export Credits Guarantee Department officials participate when necessary in interdepartmental meetings on the Al Yamamah project. Listing the dates and places of such meetings, which date back to 1985, would involve disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will refer the practice of selling cars with free insurance, known as insurance bundling, to the Director General of Fair Trading; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the Office of Fair Trading is already examining this practice, following a recent complaint.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to his reply of 18 December 1989, Official Report, columns 23–24, what conclusions have been reached on the future of the Export Credits Guarantee Department, after separation of the insurance services group.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has agreed that ECGD will continue as a separate Government Department, with the chief executive reporting directly to the Minister for Trade and me.The immediate priority of ECGD's management is to prepare, subject to enabling legislation, for the separation and sale of the insurance services group.The work of the remaining part of ECGD is essentially an executive function of the Government, and as such falls within the scope of the Prime Minister's statement of February 1988 launching the "next steps" project. The ECGD is engaged in redefining its financial objectives and developing a more consistent methodology for market assessment and underwriting decisions. This is compatible with the "next steps" approach, and agency status will be further considered when we have experience of how the new arrangements are working.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the import content, other than fuel, of United Kingdom manufactures other than food and fuel in 1973, 1979, 1985 and 1989.