To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report those local education authorities which do not provide a school meals service other than for pupils of families on family income support.

In January 1990, the latest date for which information is available, all local education authorities in England recorded that there were pupils who had had a paid meal at school. Detailed information on school meal arrangements will be published in "Statistics of Education Schools 1990".

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether local management of schools system schools will be able to decide whether to provide a hot school meals service for at least the winter months.

Every local education authority with an approved scheme for local management of schools is continuing with the arrangements for the provision of school meals that were in operation before the introduction of LMS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what financial incentives exist under the local management of schools system for schools to recruit pupils who are aged under five years at the start of the school year; what guidance his Department offers to local education authorities on education provision for rising-fives; and if he will make a statement.

The admission of four-year-olds to school is a matter for the schools and their local education authorities in the light of local needs and circumstances. The Department offers no guidance to local education authorities on provision for rising-fives. However, under local management of schools, all pupils registered at a school, including those under five years at the start of the school year, are funded through the age-weighted pupil element of the local education authority's resource allocation formula.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on national tests at the ages of seven, 11 and 14 years; and how many children at each such age group are currently in maintained schools.

I refer my hon. Friend to the oral statement that my right hon. Friend made to the House on 18 October at columns 1395–1407.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of gross domestic product is spent on education (a) in the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America, (c) Japan and (d) Germany.

Data are readily available for public expenditure as a percentage of GNP only and are shown in the table:

Total public expenditure on education, 1986
Country	Expenditure as a percentage of GNP
United Kingdom	4·9
United States of America1	4·7
Japan1	4·4
Germany (West)	4·4
1Excludes public expenditure subsidies to private education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those environmental education study centres which (a) were in operation in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and (b) have already closed or face closure within the next 12 months.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his written answer of 15 October, if he will list the dates of visits by Her Majesty's inspectors to grant-maintained schools other than the last date of visit, in those cases where the school has been visited more than once.

Listed below are the dates, other than the last dates, on which HMI visited these GM schools up to June 1990. The other schools listed in my reply of 15 October have each been visited once only.

	Date
Queensbury School, Bedfordshire	November 1989
Small Heath School, Birmingham	September 1989
St. James CE School, Bolton	September 1989
	October 1989
	December 1989
Colyton GS, Devon	November 1989
Old Swinford Hospital School, Dudley	November 1989
London Oratory School	September 1989
Wilmington Girls School, Kent	October 1989
Castle Hall School, Kirklees	October 1989
Heckmondwike GS, Kirklees	November 1989
	January 1990
King's School, Grantham	November 1989
Queen Elizabeth GS, Lincolnshire	November 1989
Wilson's School, Sutton	November 1989

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

In 1989–90 the Department spent a total of £88,800 of its administration budget in providing official hospitality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to be able to report the establishment of the city technology college for Bristol.

My right hon. Friend announced on Wednesday 3 October his intention to consult interested parties on proposals which he has before him to establish a city technology college in Bristol. He will announce his

Member	Annual salary and time commitment	Responsibilities
1. Executive Members
Mr. Wilfrid Newton, CBE	£100,000	Chairman and Chief Executive of LT, Chairman of LT Executive Committee;
	full time	Chairman of London Underground Limited; Member of Safety Audit Committee,
		Design Policy Committee, London Transport Property Board and Remuneration Committee.
Mr. John Telford Beasley,	£75,000	Deputy Chief Executive of LT; Member of LT Executive Committee; Chairman of
CBE	full time	London Buses Limited, Docklands Light Railway Limited, LT International Services
		Limited and of London Transport Museum; Member of Safety Audit Committee and Design Policy Committee.
Mr. Michael Marsh	£69,650	Board Member for Finance and Planning; Member of LT Executive Committee and
	full time	LT Property Board; non-executive director of London Underground Limited, London Buses Limited and Docklands Light Railway Limited.
2. Non-executive part-time members
Sir Neil Shields, MC	£22,000	Deputy Chairman of LT; Chairman of LT Property Board; Member of Design Policy
	two days per week	Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Mr. Keith Brown	£8,250	Chairman of Audit Committee; Director in charge of LT Disabled Passengers Unit.
	0·75 days per week
Dr. Stephen Glaister	£8,250	Member of Fares Revenue Committee and LT Property Board; non-executive director
	0·75 days per week	of Victoria Coach Station Limited.
Mr. Oscar Roith	£11,000	Chairman of Safety Audit Committee.
	one day per week
Mrs. Helen Robinson	£8,250	Chairman of Design Policy Committee; Member of Remuneration Committee.
	0·75 days per week
Miss Patricia Steel, OBE	£8,250	Member of Safety Audit Committee; non-executive director of Docklands Light
	0·75 days per week	Railway Limited and of Victoria Coach Station Limited.
Mr. Roy Thomas	£8,250	Member of Audit Committee and of Remuneration Committee.
	0·75 days per week

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what directions he has given to London Transport to improve the training and driving standard of bus drivers.

It is for London Transport to determine what the training needs and the driving standards of its bus drivers should be, in accordance with the appropriate public service vehicle driver licensing legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent information he has received on the reopening of the Nottingham to Mansfield line; and if he will make a statement.

Nottinghamshire county council has recently sent the Department of Transport a video about its proposals to reopen this line, and officials will meet council representatives shortly to discuss the proposals further. More information would be needed before any decision on resources for the project could be taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the remuneration of each of the members of the London Transport board, their hours of work and their individual responsibilities on the board.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received a plan from London Transport regarding the closure of Victoria bus garage; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings he or his officials have had with officials of the West Yorkshire passenger transport authority in the current year to date, to discuss rail electrification between Bradford and Leeds and local services.

The hon. Member was present when the then Minister of State met the West Yorkshire passenger transport authority on 26 April to discuss the scheme and other matters. In addition, officials have had two meetings and several exchanges of correspondence on this scheme with the West Yorkshire passenger transport executive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he expects to announce his decision on loan approval being given to the West Yorkshire passenger transport authority to enable electrification of rail services;(2) whether British Rail has supplied him with information as to what extra costs are incurred each year that the electrification of the Bradford-Leeds railway is deferred; what is his latest estimate of the total cost of such electrification; and when he expects to announce his decision on loan approval for the scheme.

Decisions on credit approvals for local public transport schemes in 1991–92 will be announced after the autumn statement. The most recent cost estimate for this project is about £60 million; we have no information on cost increases if it is deferred. Whether it can go ahead in 1991–92 depends on the availability of physical resources for the necessary signalling work as well as on funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received since the beginning of 1990 concerning the electrification of the Bradford—Leeds railway and local rail services; and if he will list the names of individuals and organisations who have urged electrification take place.

We have this year received almost 300 representations in support of this scheme, some individuals and organisations having written more than once. Representations have also been sent to other Government Departments, and we do not have a complete list available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of civil and traffic engineering staff employed directly by his Department in each regional office in 1989 and 1990 and forecast for 1992; how many of the additional staff engaged for the expanded road programme will be given permanent civil service status; and how many will be given short service contracts.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: Information is not available precisely in the form requested. Engineering staff employed directly by my Department in the regions are as follows:

	11989	21990
South East	61	64
London	52	64
Eastern	45	48
South West	42	48
West Midlands	59	62
East Midlands	45	43

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what difference in function the new construction programme divisions created in 1990 will have from the former road construction unit headquarters offices abolished by his Department in 1981.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: In the construction programme divisions private sector teams will be working alongside civil servants on project management and other specialist functions. In addition the organisational framework is different.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many non-Government public bodies funded by his Department have an interest in environment matters; how many of these have been in existence since October 1988 and how many existed before that date.

Three of the executive non-departmental public bodies (the Countryside Commission, the National Rivers Authority and the Nature Conservancy Council) and two of the advisory bodies (the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and the Royal Commission on environmental pollution) currently sponsored by the Department have major environmental responsibilities. Of these only the National Rivers Authority, created in September 1989, did not exist in October 1988. Many of the other non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department also make significant contributions to restoring, protecting or enhancing the urban or rural environment. All non-departmental public bodies are listed in the annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further studies he has carried out into the contribution of natural nitrous oxide to global warming.

Three research programmes to quantify emissions of nitrous oxide from both natural and managed land have recently been initiated by the Natural Environment Research Council. The Department of the Environment contributes 50 per cent. to the funding of one project which studies nitrous oxide fluxes from forest soils.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has instigated to establish the impact of the presence of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere in respect of global warming.

Sulphur dioxide is not itself a greenhouse gas and so does not contribute to global warming. However, by contributing to sulphate aerosol formation and possibly increasing the reflectivity of clouds, sulphur dioxide may contribute a slight cooling effect. These issues will be studied as part of the Department's climate prediction programme at the Hadley centre.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the rainfall required during the coming months in each of the regions of the United Kingdom if adequate public water supplies are to be ensured in 1991 without prejudicing reservoir and river levels.

The National Rivers Authority estimates for England and Wales that rainfall ranging from below average in Northumbria, to average in the north-west and the midlands to above average in the south and east, in some areas substantially so, would be required in the next six months to ensure adequate public water suplies in 1991 without prejudicing reservoir and river levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of the study by the Natural Environment Research Council into the possible implications for wildlife resulting from the combination of different pesticides.

The results of the NERC/Reading university studies on captive partridges were published late last year. They have been drawn to the attention of the advisory committee on pesticides. New studies, building on this work and, in particular, to relate it to what may happen in the wild, are under way or will be started soon. These additional studies are being funded by both NERC and my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's policy with regard to plans to set up a national dog registration scheme.

We are still considering the implications of the vote in another place which would require the Government to set up a dog registration scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the study by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution into the levels of radioactivity in household dust; and if he will make a statement.

The household particulate surveys commissioned by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and carried out by ICI have now been completed. A draft report has been received and is currently being reviewed. The report will be published in due course and copies will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for the future funding of home improvement agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Home improvement agencies have a valuable role to play in helping the elderly, the disabled and those people on low incomes living in poor condition houses to improve their living conditions. The existing experimental scheme which expires on 31 March 1991 is to be replaced by a permanent scheme open to agencies throughout the country. Fifty per cent. of the running costs of approved schemes will be met by Government grant.Each local housing authority will be responsible for identifying the needs of its area and securing the establishment and operation of appropriate schemes. I believe that this fits in very well with the enabling role of such authorities, and provides a fine opportunity for partnership between central and local government and other bodies in the housing field. Payment of the Government's contribution will be subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, and will be made to schemes in accordance with previously agreed budgets.We also intend to provide support for a central co-ordinating body to undertake developmental work, monitor progress and provide help to the individual schemes including training and access to specialist advice. We will be holding discussions with appropriate organisations about the best way of establishing this body, and a further announcement will be made as soon as possible.These arrangements will be closely monitored and will be subject to a full review in four years' time.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent consideration he has given to the criterion which indicates a general presumption against development in the green belt; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: I am considering, in the light of recent court judgments, whether there is a need for some revision of the advice given in planning policy guidance note 2, but I can say now that there will be no fundamental change in the Government's policies for the protection of the green belts. It will remain necessary to demonstrate very special circumstances to justify inappropriate development within a green belt.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans for regulatory or legislative change in relation to technical decision-making involving public safety with regard to new civil engineering structures, new buildings and alterations to existing buildings which involve using computer-based models which are not open to scrutiny by the public in general and the scientific community in particular for commercial or other reasons.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: No. The building regulations lay down requirements relating to the design and construction of buildings which have to be met to ensure public health and safety. Those who have responsibility for enforcing the regulations must satisfy themselves that the requirements have been met. If they are not satisfied, they can seek further information from the designer and they can have the design cross-checked on an alternative computer package.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list for each local social services authority for each of the years 1975, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989 the number of placements made in prison department establishments of juveniles by virtue of the issue of a certificate of unruliness;(2) if he will list for each local social services authority in Wales for each of the years 1975, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989 the number of placements made in prison department establishments of juveniles by virtue of the issue of a certificate of unruliness.

The information requested is not recorded centrally. The only information available relates to juveniles initially received on remand into prison service establishments. An unruliness certificate is required for such juveniles received as untried and for some of those received as convicted unsentenced; it is not required for those committed in custody to the Crown court for sentence under section 37 of the Magistrates Courts Act. The statistics are published annually in "Prison statistics England and Wales" (table 2·7 of the volume for 1989, Cm. 1221), a copy of which is in the Library. Information by area is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted rapists rape again stated as a percentage of the total held in prison at any one time; and what measures other than imprisonment are used in rehabilitation.

The information is not available in the form requested. Recent studies suggest that less than 5 per cent. of men imprisoned for sexual offences are convicted again of a sexual offence within two years of their release. It would be exceptional for an offender convicted of rape not to receive a custodial sentence or disposal under mental health legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of reported cases of rape for the years from 1984 to 1990 and the number of cases in which an arrest and conviction followed.

The numbers of offences of rape recorded by the police from 1984 to 1988 are published in table 2·9 of "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, 1988", Cm 847; for 1989 the information is published in table 6 of Home Office statistical bulletin 10/90; in the first six months of 1990, the police recorded 1,558 rapes. The number of persons found guilty of rape is published annually, and most recently in table S4·1(A) of "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary tables, 1988 Vol. 4". Corresponding information for 1989 and 1990 is not yet available. A detailed analysis of offences of rape was published in Home Office statistical bulletin 4/89, "Statistics of offences of rape 1977–87".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent by his Department on campaigns to secure electoral registration (a) at home and (b) abroad in the past 12 months.

Home Office expenditure on electoral registration advertising campaigns in the past 12 months has been as follows:

	£ (including VAT)
England and Wales	460,683
Overseas	480,189

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people living abroad applied to be included on the 1991 register of electors which has a qualifying date of 10 October 1990 in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of overseas electors registering since the passage of the Representation of the People Act 1989.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (Mr. Kennedy) on 14 June at column 319. Information on the number of applications is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to make an order under section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1990 to give effect to the provisions of that Act; and if he will make a statement.

We propose to make a commencement order early in the next Session of Parliament in order to bring the Representation of the People Act 1990 into force. In order for the Act to take effect, it will also be necessary to make some minor amendments to the Representation of the People Regulations 1986 and the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 1986 and to make an Order in Council in respect of local elections in Northern Ireland. That will be done as soon as is practicable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

In 1989–90, £28,630 was spent by my Department on official hospitality.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to extend the safety at sports grounds legislation to spectator sports grounds other than football grounds.

The Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 (as amended by the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987) provides for designation of sports grounds which have accommodation for more than 10,000 spectators as requiring a safety certificate issued by the local authority. Designation currently extends to all football, rugby union, rugby league and cricket grounds identified as having accommodation for over 10,000 spectators. There are no plans to extend the designation process to other classes of grounds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he has taken to improve the reliability of Government statistics on the economy of Northern Ireland.

The Government recognise the need to ensure that economic indicators are as reliable as possible. To this end, a comprehensive review of Government economic statistics was carried out in 1989. Detailed consideration has been given to the recommendations of the review and an action plan aimed at improving the statistics is currently being drawn up.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on progress on the Ibbs report.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to the similar question which he has tabled to the House of Commons Commission.

To ask the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, when he expects the Commission to consider the Ibbs report.

The review of management and decision-making responsibilities in the House, which is being undertaken at the request of the House of Commons Commission by a team led by Sir Robin Ibbs KBE, is near completion, and Sir Robin is expected to present his main conclusions to the Commission at the end of this month.It will thereafter be for the Commission to decide what action should be taken, and to report to the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning food availability in the Sudan; how much food aid and emergency relief has been supplied by the United Kingdom and by the European Community this year; and whether DG VI of the European Community has purchased food from Sudan this year.

According to the world food programme (WFP), poor rainfall during the current agricultural season has resulted in nearly total crop failure in northern Kordofan and northern Darfur, while prospects are uncertain and dependent on October rainfall in large areas of eastern Sudan. This is causing increasing distress and migration due to lack of water/grazing and food scarcity. Livestock prices are reported to be falling while grain prices have increased to unprecedented levels. We have also had reports of serious crop failure in large areas of southern Sudan, also drought related.Pending a full harvest assessment by FAO to take place in November the GOS appealed to the WFP on 16 October for 75,000 tonnes of grain for immediate delivery to meet the most urgent needs of some of the 2·4 million most severely affected.So far in 1990 the United Kingdom has pledged £3·29 million to the UN Operation Lifeline in Sudan. Additionally we have given £950,000 for refugees and nearly £100,000 for displaced persons through SCF and Oxfam. The European Community has committed 3 mecu (£2·2 million) of emergency aid in 1990 to alleviate the effects of drought in Sudan.Over the period January to July this year DG VI purchased the following food items from Sudan:

Item	Value (ECU)
Oilseed	300,000
Sugar	600,000
Fruit	21,000
Spices	21,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will list the projects approved under the agricultural aid programme for Poland.

A £15 million agricultural development grant has been approved, which will provide loans to private sector business in the Voivodships of Elblag and Bialystok for the purchase of British equipment in the areas of food production, processing and distribution in Poland. Signature of the exchange of notes with the Government of Poland to initiate the grant is awaited. We have also funded an agricultural sector mission to Poland and are financing a visit by senior Polish agriculture experts to follow up the recommendations of the sector mission. In addition, we have spent £50,000 on the training of Polish co-operatives managers; and have recently approved £42,000 for the training of veterinary surgeons and £55,000 for training in the testing of cultivers and seed varieties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what standard of environmental safeguards he applies to disbursements made under the agriculture aid programme for Poland.

All projects funded by the Overseas Development Administration must meet the guidelines set out in the Overseas Development Administration manual of environmental appraisal. Where there are environmental implications for British assistance to agriculture in Poland, they will be carefully monitored.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will list the projects approved since 8 March from the know-how fund for Poland.

I refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 17 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will give details of the places visited and people met during the recent visit by an Overseas Development Administration official to Cambodia;(2) if he will place a copy of the report on the recent visit by an Overseas Development Administration official to Cambodia in the Library.

An Overseas Development Administration official visited Cambodia between 31 August and 6 September. We have no plans to place a copy of his report, which is an internal working document, in the Library. During the visit he met a number of representatives of British non-Government organisations (NGOs) and other agencies and organisations in order to gain a better understanding of present conditions in Cambodia and to monitor the humanitarian aid activities which we are supporting. On 15 October at column 633 I announced details of British humanitarian aid for Cambodia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will authorise an extra £2·5 million for the United Nations emergency appeal for Mozambique; and if he will make a statement.

We pledged 10,000 tonnes of food aid, plus £3·5 million of other relief assistance, in response to the emergency appeal in April of this year. A further £3 million has since been pledged through the UNHCR for Mozambican refugees in neighbouring countries. We are in touch with the Mozambican authorities and interested non-governmental organisations and will continue to watch developments closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make it his policy to publish the report on east coast salmon fisheries in advance of any Government decision on its conclusions.

The outcome of the review of salmon net fisheries from the Ugie to the Humber will be presented to Parliament in the report required by section 39 of the Salmon Act 1986. The report by Fisheries Ministers will be presented as soon as possible and I cannot anticipate its contents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether, in evaluating tenders for services in the health service in Scotland value added tax is taken into account to conform to Treasury guidelines referred to in paragraph 3(b) of appendix 1 attached to the Scottish Home and Health Department circular dated 16 October 1989;(2) if he will identify contracts awarded prior to the circular of 16 October 1989 where value added tax and premature retirement costs were not taken account of in the evaluation process.

Value added tax has been taken into account by health boards in the evaluation process for contracts awarded after 1 December 1989. All evaluations have taken account of premature retirement costs. I would direct the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend the Minister for health gave on 23 November 1989 to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) where he confirmed that VAT would continue to be recoverable for contracts awarded up to 1 December 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

My Department spent £60,173 on official hospitality in 1989–90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last discussed with Sir Bob Reid the improvement of British Rail services between Glasgow and London; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I meet the chairman and other board members and senior management of British Rail and ScotRail from time to time. Discussions at such meetings normally cover a wide range of topics concerning rail services in Scotland and between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people living abroad applied to be included on the 1991 register of electors which has a qualifying date of 10 October 1990 in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland.

Information on the number of applicants from overseas to be included in the 1991 register of electors is not held centrally. The number of overseas electors included in the 1991 register will become known after the register is finalised in February next year and I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the information in the Library as soon as it becomes available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor), Official Report, 24 July, column 221, what aspects of the scrapie programme initiated under the direction of W. B. Martin were subsequently accepted for publication.

The research in question was mainly concerned with the way in which various strains of scrapie agent interact with the host animal. Some work on natural transmissions of infection and the pathology of scrapie in sheep was also done. About 20 scientific publications resulted, the majority in Nature and the Journal of Comparative Pathology.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to publish the report of the child care law review.

I have today published the report of the child care law review and have placed copies in the Library. The report represents a thorough examination of the law which affects arrangements for protecting children at risk and also for caring for children and families in need. I have invited a wide range of organisations to let me have their comments on the recommendations by 14 December.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish in the Official Report statistics for low pay in the Scottish Borders, using samples taken in the Borders;(2) if he will publish separate low pay statistics for the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands and Islands regions.

As there is no accepted definition of low pay no such figures are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the units or project teams responsible for the road system in Scotland, their addresses, directors and deputy directors, and the last prior professional appointment of those directors.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: I have nothing to add to my answer to the hon. Member on 26 July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the legal status and type of immediately preceding placement for each admission to secure accommodation for each of the years 1975, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989 according to the age and sex of young persons so accommodated (a) in respect of each such admission to a unit in Wales and (b) in respect of placements outside Wales from each Welsh local authority area.

The information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what regular tests are undertaken on the sewage outfall into the Menai straits from Pen Rhos Garnedd; on how many occasions those tests were undertaken in each of the past three years; and what results were obtained on each occasion.

The National Rivers Authority is responsible for monitoring the discharge. Prior to 1 September 1989, monitoring was undertaken by the Welsh water authority. The results are kept on a public register maintained by the NRA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

The amount spent on official hospitality in 1989–90 was £38,397·87.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date he received a letter from the right hon. Member for Swansea, West requesting a meeting to discuss the future of the Llywn Mawr site in Swansea; how many telephone calls his office has received requesting the setting of a date for such a meeting; and when he anticipates that a reply will be sent.

I shall be writing to the right hon. Gentleman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has given to health authorities on security at hospitals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place with the hospital authorities about the security arrangements at national health service hospitals; whether any working party exists to study these problems; and whether any circulars have been issued laying down standards of security within the hospital service.

Security arrangements at health service premises are the responsibility of local managers. To assist them in the difficult task of providing proper security arrangements the National Association of Health Authorities published a security manual for the national health service in December 1984, which the Department commended to health authorities as an invaluable source of advice.The manual includes practical guidance on the development of a comprehensive security policy, appointment of security staff, the security of patients, staff and property, the prevention of trespass and intruder detection.

To ask the Secretary of State for HSealth if he will obtain a copy of the report published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency regarding public health and exposure to electromagnetic radiation for his departmental library.

Yes, though I understand that the report in question will not be published until the end of this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice is given for local health authorities to advise clients about the possibility of earlier operations and treatment for hip replacements or other ailments in other local health authorities.

Health authorities are encouraged to make available to local general practitioners, and to those in neighbouring areas, information about waiting times in their hospitals. The appropriate nature and spread of such information depends upon the specialty and upon the circumstances of the area in question and is left to the judgment of the authorities concerned, in consultation with GPs. Such information is widely found to be helpful by GPs and patients alike.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average general practitioner list size in Hampstead health authority in 1984 and in the latest year for which figures are available.

At 1 October 1984, the average list size of general practitioners in Camden and Islington family health services authority's area was 2,053. At 1 October 1989 (the latest year for which figures are available) the figure was 1,865. Figures are not available for the Hampstead area alone.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses and midwives, (b) hospital doctors, (c) general practitioners, (d) general practitioners' support staff and (e) dentists were employed by Hampstead health authority in 1984 and in the latest year for which figures are available.

The information which is available is shown in the table.

Hampstead health authority
	September 1984	September 1989
Nurses and midwifery staff1	2,191·6	32,188·9
Hospital/community medical staff1	277·5	270·8
Hospital/community dental staff1	5·4	6·2

Camden and Islington family health services authority
	October 1984	October 1989
General medical practitioners2	194	209
General medical practitioners' support staff1	159·8	231·1
General dental practitioners2	209	195
1 Whole-time equivalent.
2 Numbers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) in-patients, (b) out-patients and (c) day cases were treated by Hampstead health authority in 1984 and the latest year for which figures are available.

The information requested is as follows:

	1984	1989–90
Finished in-patient episodes	31,100	31,200
Day case admissions	2,500	2,500
New out-patients	41,900	44,600
Total out-patient attendances	205,300	201,400

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the legal status and type of immediately preceding placement for each admission to secure accommodation for each of the years 1975, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989 according to the age and sex of young persons so accommodated.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

Approximately £147,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce codes of practice governing outdoor catering activities based upon the guidance notes prepared by the Institution of Environmental Health Officers, the National Outdoor Events Association and the Mobile and Outdoor Catering Association.

The Government wish to encourage self-regulation in the catering industry. I am therefore pleased that the National Outdoor Events Association and the Mobile and Outdoor Catering Association are promoting the use of the Institution of Environmental Health Officers' guidelines by their members.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a further statement about the future of the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research.

I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 23 July at column 79.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all those local education authorities (a) that have been given permission to provide free milk for under-fives under the Welfare Foods Regulations 1988 and (b) whose applications are under consideration.

To date, the following 44 local education authorities have been approved to participate in the scheme to receive reimbursement of costs for the supply of milk to children under five in nursery schools and classes:

• Avon county council
• Bedfordshire county council
• London borough of Bexley
• London borough of Brent
• Metropolitan borough of Calderdale
• Cleveland county council
• Cornwall county council
• Cumbria county council
• Derbyshire county council
• Doncaster metropolitan council
• Dudley metropolitan borough council
• Durham county council
• Gateshead metropolitan borough council
• London borough of Greenwich
• London borough of Hackney
• London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• London borough of Hounslow
• Humberside county council
• London borough of Islington
• Kirklees metropolitan council
• London borough of Lambeth
• Leicestershire county council
• London borough of Lewisham
• Liverpool city council
• City of London education authority
• Manchester city council
• London borough of Merton
• City of Newcastle upon Tyne
• North Tyneside council
• North Yorkshire county council
• Oldham metropolitan borough council
• Rotherham metropolitan borough council
• St. Helen's metropolitan borough council
• Sandwell metropolitan borough council
• Metropolitan district of Sefton
• Sheffield city council
• Solihull metropolitan borough council
• London borough of Southwark
• Staffordshire county council
• London borough of Sutton
• Wakefield metropolitan district council
• Wandsworth borough council
• Westminster city council
• Metropolitan borough of Wirral

In addition, the following 10 local education authorities have been issued with the appropriate forms for registration under the regulations, and their responses are awaited:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department has given to the London borough of Bromley regarding the privatisation of the management of four aged persons homes.

No specific advice on the homes in question has been sought by or given to the London borough of Bromley.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any proposals for enhancing and extending the consideration of the Budget by the House.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has no present plans to alter the Budget procedures.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his best estimate of the additional money that would have to be found by charitable organisations in England and Wales in the event of harmonisation of value added tax leading to the removal of zero rating at present in force, in order for such organisations to avoid a reduction in their work or grant-giving.

The Government estimate that United Kingdom charitable organisations would pay £300 million to 400 million per year in additional VAT if the current zero rates were removed and replaced by significantly higher rates of VAT in the single market. But the Government will oppose any tax approximation proposals which further restricts our ability to use zero rates.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on behalf of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for the continuation of value added zero tax rating on lifeboats; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: My right hon. Friend has received more than 100 representations on behalf of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The Government are very conscious of the dedication and heroic service of this organisation and see no reasons why the existing zero rates for this and other charitable bodies—and all other United Kingdom zero rates—should not remain after 1992. EC decisions in tax matters require the unanimous agreement of all member states and there is no question of any unwelcome proposals on VAT approximation being forced upon us.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a Treasury Minister, or person appointed by the Government, or any Treasury official had any contact with any member of the board of either Barclays bank, Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Salomon Brothers specifically, or any other bank, in the 36 hours prior to the announcement of ERM entry on 5 October; and if he will make a statement.

Treasury Ministers, persons appointed by the Government, and Treasury officials have frequent contacts with board members of British and overseas banks. We do not generally publish details of such meetings. I have no evidence that any such contacts led to premature disclosure of the Government's intention that sterling should join the exchange rate mechanism. If the hon. Member has any such evidence, he should present it forthwith to the appropriate authorities.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many volunteers driving over 4,000 miles per year for social car schemes are covered by the fixed profit car scheme in respect of mileage rates.

The present fixed profit car scheme arrangements for taxing any profit element in mileage allowances apply only to allowances received by employees and officeholders who use their own cars in the course of their work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the closure of the YT scheme by the Nottingham information technology centre.

The decision to close the YT scheme at Nottingham ITEC was taken by the organisations which run the ITEC, after discussions with local staff of my Department. All trainees affected by the closure have been found suitable training places with other local youth training providers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

The total expenditure by the Department of Employment group on official hospitality in 1989–90 was £97,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he intends making changes in the way he answers parliamentary questions on labour market statistics.

From the start of next Session, any parliamentary question asking for more than 10 figures, and for which all of the required statistical data are on the NOMIS database, will be answered by referring the questioner to NOMIS—which can be accessed on-line by House of Commons Library staff. It seems sensible for the established principle of referring to published sources to be extended to cover the computer databases on which some of the more detailed labour market statistics are held. It is good resource management to refer to information which is publicly available when the effort has already been made to provide an easily accessible, up-to-date and accurate computer database. I know that NOMIS fully meets these criteria, not least by the use that Members of Parliament have made of it since access from the Library was introduced in July 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the increase in money terms and in real terms in the state retirement pension since 1979.

The state retirement pension rose in money terms from £23–30 in November 1979 to £46–90 in April 1990. The average real value of the basic state pension was over 5 per cent. higher during the 12 months to April 1990 than it was in the 12 months to November 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what monthly retail prices index figure will be used to calculate the increase in retirement pensions next April; and if he will make a statement.

The figure for September 1990 will be used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those countries where retired British citizens receive annual increases in retirement pensions and indicate those where arrangements for increase have been made since 1988 and those where discussions about such increases are currently taking place.

Under the European Community regulations, annual pension increases are paid to British pensioners in all the member states.Outside the European Community, reciprocal arrangements enable increases in pensions to be paid to our pensioners in the following countries:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he plans to take to implement the recommendation made by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council in its report, "Occupational Deafness", Cm. 817 to include work in ships' engine rooms in the list of prescribed occupations; and if he will make a statement.

A further report has been commissioned from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on the administration and operation of provision for occupational deafness. This will be published very shortly. The council has asked the Department to evaluate the feasibility of the report's recommendations within six months. It will then be easier to determine whether there are orderly ways in which to extend provision for this disease to the industries and occupations proposed in Cm. 817.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the likely additional costs to his departmental budget during the current financial year of local authorities passing the management or ownership of residential care homes into the hands of not-for-profit trusts, charitable organisations, housing associations or private companies.

Information on the number of people living in transferred homes and claiming income support is not available centrally. Accordingly, it is not possible to make an estimate of any additional costs that may have arisen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is taking in response to the conclusions of recent surveys into the funding of the costs of private residential care undertaken by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, the care management advisory services and the National Federation of Housing Associations, copies of which have been sent to his Department.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State takes account of the numerous submissions that he receives from interested bodies and individuals in his annual review of the income support limits for people in independent homes. He will be making an announcement about his review shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security why his Department intends not to make public the conclusions of the Price Waterhouse survey on the costs of residential care.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has given an undertaking to the Social Services Committee of the House that the conclusions of the survey would be published. He will make a statement shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any proposals to alter the existing arrangements for the payment of means-tested benefits to residents of care homes which have been transferred out of the ownership of local authorities.

We have made no such proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions his Department has had with the Anchor housing association regarding the association's decision to abandon most of its housing-with-care building programme.

None. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has arranged to meet in November with representatives of the National Federation of Housing Associations, of which organisation Anchor housing association is a member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in 1989–90.

The total expenditure on official hospitality by the Department of Social Security in 1989–90 was £25,477.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will consider the payment of a war widows' pension to widows of ex-service men who die as a result of disease or injury contracted during the war.

A war widows' pension is awarded where the husband's death is due to or substantially hastened by service in the armed forces, irrespective of whether service was during war or peacetime.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of applications for community care grants were refused in 1988–89, 1989–90 and the first half of 1990–91 in the London borough of Newham.

The table shows the percentage of community care grant applications refused in the local offices at Canning Town, Plaistow and Woodgrange Park in the periods April 1988 to March 1989, April 1989 to March 1990 and April 1990 to September 1990.

Percentage of Community Care Grant applications refused
	1988–89	1989–90	1990
Canning Town	13	49	64
Plaistow	53	59	57
Woodgrange Park	42	52	56

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families in the London borough of Newham are currently in receipt of family credit; and what percentage that is of families estimated to be eligible.

The latest available information is that there are 1,025 families receiving family credit who were living in the London borough of Newham at the time their awards were made. Information about the total number of families eligible for family credit can be obtained only for Great Britain as a whole, and only retrospectively, from family expenditure survey data.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Huggy Bear safety information project will be visiting the Isle of Wight.

No. The venues for the Huggy Bear toy safety tour were chosen because the local authority had asked for the visit and local activities were planned to derive the most benefit out of the publicity generated by this campaign. There were no requests from the Isle of Wight, although leaflets and posters have been sent to Medina borough council and the trading standards department in Newport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give details of the action he has taken concerning the Korean Government's recent announcement of proposed taxation changes which will place Scotch whisky at a disadvantage as against Korean whisky.

We have made formal representations to the Korean Government that the liquor tax rate on Scotch whisky, even after the proposed reduction to 150 per cent. in 1991, remains far too high and continues to restrict access to the Korean market for Scotch whisky producers. We will continue to take every opportunity, both bilaterally and through the European Community, to persuade the Korean Government to take the necessary action to end this and other discriminatory measures which hold back the sales of Scotch whisky and other competitive United Kingdom products in Korea. We will continue to argue strongly that such measures are inconsistent with Korea's present status as an important exporting nation and major beneficiary of open world markets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations have been made by the Government about other countries' taxation policies in relation to Scotch whisky.

The Government keep in close touch with Scotch whisky producers, through the Scotch Whisky Association, regarding the taxation of Scotch whisky in export markets. Every suitable opportunity is taken to raise matters of concern in this area with the Governments concerned, both bilaterally and through the Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will list on what occasions Ministers in his Department met directors or non-executive directors of banks between Monday 1 October and 10 am on Thursday 4 October inclusive.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether a member of his Department or any official of his Department had any contact with any member of the board of either Barclays bank, Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Salomon Brothers specifically, or any other bank, in the 36 hours prior to the announcement of ERM entry on 5 October; and if he will make a statement.

DTI Ministers, persons appointed by the Government, and DTI officials have frequent contacts with board members of British and overseas banks. The Department does not generally publish details of such meetings. I have no evidence that any such contacts led to premature disclosure of the Government's intention that sterling should join the exchange rate mechanism. If the hon. Member has any such evidence, he should present it forthwith to the appropriate authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to ban the import of wild birds into the United Kingdom for the purpose of being kept as domestic pets; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 17 October 1990]: The import of wild birds is already strictly controlled by conservation legislation. The United Kingdom is party to the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) under which trade in certain species is closely monitored whilst commercial trade in the most endangered species is completely banned. The import of many non-CITES species into the United Kingdom is also controlled under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976.I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is currently looking at ways of improving and extending the controls on the import of species which are unlikely to survive in captivity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has received any inquiries from Germany or the Soviet Union for assistance, through his environmental management options scheme (DEMOS), for the conversion of redundant tanks and other military equipment to commercial reuse; and if he will make a statement on the availability of DEMOS support finance to assist eastern European states to modernise industrial facilities and to dispose of toxic materials.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: DEMOS is a national programme designed to encourage United Kingdom businesses to adopt environmental best practice and improved technology. Assistance for eastern Europe is provided in other ways; I refer to the answer given on 3 May by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Forth).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department's environmental programme was established; how many civil servants are devoted to supporting the programme; what achievements have been made to date by the programme; how many individual or business callers have contacted his Department's free advice environmental helpline since its inception; what proportion of inquirers have not received the assistance requested; and if he will publish the freefone number of the environmental helpline in the Official Report.

[holding answer 18 October 1990]: DTI's environmental programme was launched in May 1989. Forty-four officials are directly employed within the Department's environment unit to support the programme.