To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has made of the cost of increasing by 50 per cent. the formula allocation made to grant-maintained schools for equipment and small-scale capital projects for the year 1990–91 and 1991–92.

My right hon. Friend announced on 10 October that the formula allocation paid to grant-maintained schools for equipment and small-scale capital projects would be increased by 50 per cent. for the financial year 1991–92. The cost of this increase in 1991–92 for existing grant-maintained schools and schools approved so far for incorporation as grant-maintained schools by April 1991 is £430,000. There are no additional costs in 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the cost to date of the grant-maintained schools programme.

The cost of the grant-maintained schools programme up to the end of the 1989–90 financial year was £3·5 million. Of this, £2 million was spent on meeting the cost of inherited capital commitments. The £3·5 million does not include annual maintenance grant payments to schools which were recouped in full from local education authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has made of the cost of increasing by 50 per cent. the annual amount of specific grant paid to grant-maintained schools for the year 1990–91 and 1991–92.

My right hon. Friend announced on 10 October that the annual amount of specific grant paid to grant-maintained schools would increase by an average of £10,000 for the financial year 1991–92, a 50 per cent. increase on current plans. This specific grant supports staff development and other preparation for implementing the national curriculum and assessment arrangements. The cost of this increase in 1991–92 for existing grant-maintained schools and schools approved so far for incorporation as grant-maintained schools by April 1991 is £530,000. There are no additional costs in 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest figures, in ranked order, for the percentage of under-fives in nursery schools, nursery classes and primary classes by local education authority in England and Wales.

The percentage of children under five attending maintained nursery schools, nursery classes and infant classes and infant classes in primary schools in each local education authority in England in January 1989 in rank order is given in the following table. Similar information for Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

Percentage of under fives in maintained nursery and primary schools in rank order in each local education authority—January 1989
	All under fives	Nursery schools	Nursery classes	Primary classes
Walsall	91·2	11·1	48·2	32·0
Salford	83·6	14·2	38·2	31·3
South Tyneside	81·0	18·2	31·5	31·3
North Tyneside	80·3	5·6	44·5	30·5
Liverpool	79·9	4·3	43·4	32·3
Sandwell	77·4	2·6	43·4	31·5
Cleveland	74·4	1·0	54·3	19·1
Tameside	71·7	5·5	34·6	31·5
Doncaster2	71·2	0·0	39·6	31·6
Newcastle upon Tyne	70·7	9·6	31·1	30·1
Wakefield	70·7	6·0	43·1	21·6
Manchester	70·6	4·1	50·9	15·6
Wolverhampton	70·0	11·7	43·4	14·9
Oldham2	69·9	0·0	36·2	33·7
Knowsley2	69·2	0·0	40·9	28·4
Durham	68·7	16·6	22·3	29·8
Gateshead	66·9	1·3	32·8	32·8
Barking2	65·8	0·0	33·3	32·5
Merton2	65·1	0·0	43·2	22·0
Ealing	64·3	6·9	30·4	27·0
Hounslow2	64·1	0·0	63·1	1·0
Sefton	63·8	4·5	26·7	32·6
Calderdale2	63·4	0·0	29·1	34·4
Birmingham	63·4	7·8	24·2	31·4
Bolton	63·2	6·1	28·8	28·4
Barnsley	63·0	3·0	43·5	16·4
Sunderland	61·8	10·9	22·3	28·6
Rochdale	61·4	15·4	15·5	30·6
Solihull2	61·0	0·0	29·9	31·1
Brent	60·8	3·8	29·6	27·5
Sheffield	60·8	6·0	36·0	18·8
Wigan	59·9	2·2	24·5	33·2
St. Helens	59·7	1·5	29·1	29·1
Kingston upon Thames	59·2	8·2	22·3	28·7
Haringey	59·0	3·1	31·5	24·4
Newham	58·4	13·5	44·8	0·0
Leeds	58·1	1·3	35·5	21·4
Derbyshire	56·0	5·5	27·9	22·7
Bradford	55·6	3·5	32·8	19·4
Kirklees	55·4	5·6	31·2	18·6
Northumberland	54·2	1·8	24·0	28·3
Rotherham	53·9	5·1	34·4	14·5
Nottinghamshire	53·9	2·3	45·0	6·5
Bury	53·8	3·3	21·6	28·9
Humberside	53·5	4·4	29·1	20·1
Cumbria	52·8	6·6	14·3	31·8
Barnet	52·3	6·4	22·4	23·6
Cheshire	52·2	3·4	17·4	31·4
Hillingdon	51·5	2·0	45·9	3·6
Coventry	51·4	4·9	17·2	29·3
Northamptonshire	51·3	3·9	15·1	32·3
Waltham Forest	49·9	5·3	33·0	11·7
Wirral	49·8	3·2	17·5	29·0
Inner London	48·7	6·8	29·4	12·5
Lancashire	48·6	9·1	7·9	31·6
Enfield2	48·4	0·0	20·0	28·3
Warwickshire	48·0	6·3	10·8	30·9
Hertfordshire	47·1	6·5	23·5	17·1
Harrow2	46·8	0·0	16·6	30·1
Avon	46·4	6·3	9·3	30·8
Dudley	45·3	3·9	28·1	13·3
Stockport	43·7	10·0	5·1	28·7
North Yorkshire	43·7	2·2	16·5	25·0
Staffordshire	43·5	7·1	14·9	21·5
Cornwall1	43·0	0·9	12·9	29·1
Cambridgeshire	41·7	3·9	8·0	29·8
Havering2	39·0	0·0	4·5	34·5
Richmond upon Thames	37·4	1·8	17·6	18·1

To ask the Attorney-General how many applications have been received under the Public Records Act 1958 for access to information relating to the activities of Odette Churchill in the second world war; and how many have been refused.

Reference Number	Name and address	Development	Decision
P84/1824	Yeartripple Ltd., Rear of 15 Maliphant Street, Hafod	Commercial Garage and Store	Dismissed
P84/1826	Hakbori and Maghsuoi, 608 Mumbles Road, Swansea	Change of use to Restaurant and Takeaway	Allowed
P84/1831	Mr. A. Evans, Rear of 28 Wimmerfield Crescent, Killay	Single dwelling	Dismissed
P84/1836A	Messrs. SRN Homes Ltd., Whitegates Nursing Home, Mayals Road, Mayals	Extension to Nursing Home	Allowed
P84/1877	Gower Road Developments, Rear of 683, 685 and 687 Gower Road, Upper Killay	Three Houses	Dismissed

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy for providing funds for the construction of new schools in areas with surplus places in existing schools.

Most Government financial resources, including educational resources, made available to local authorities are distributed by means of a formula and are not hypothecated to particular services or schemes. It is for local education authorities to determine

Requests for access to information from records that are not open to public inspection are the responsibility of individual Departments. I understand that no information is available about the number of applications that have been made for information relating to Odette Churchill's wartime activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out the programme he intends to follow in providing additional finances to voluntary bodies other than housing associations in Wales (a) in the present financial year, (b) in the 1991–92 financial year and (c) in subsequent financial years in order to ensure adequate availability of appropriate housing to match the requirements of his programme for the implementation of care in the community.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Monday 29 October, c. 360.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy towards surplus places in schools.

This is set out in Welsh Office circular 20/88, entitled "Educational Quality in Wales: The Response to Falling School Rolls", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all the planning appeals he has decided for west Swansea since he became Secretary of State; and in which he found in favour of the developer.

The information is shown in the following table:their needs for new schools, taking account of published policy on the reduction of surplus places, and to decide how these needs can best be met within the resources available to them.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to South Hams.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to a textile factory.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister what steps she has taken to encourage signatories to the treaty of Rome and the Helsinki agreement to disavow territorial claims over their co-signatories.

None. No machinery has been established for considering such questions under the Helsinki final act. The European Communities have no competence in this area.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the issue of the size of food mountains in the EEC.

Decisions on what issues to raise at the next European Council in December will best be made nearer the time. At the meeting on 27–28 October I emphasised to my colleagues the importance of the Community playing a more constructive part in the current GATT negotiations over reducing support for agriculture.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will establish a Government inquiry into the financial prospects of the Scottish fishing industry.

No. The industry's earnings this year have increased, despite reduced volumes of fish being landed.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will meet lobbyists to Parliament from IPMS and other trade unions to discuss the funding of the heritage, on 31 October.

I am advised that the meeting has been cancelled. My right honourable Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment set out the Government's approach to the preservation and enhancement of our heritage in the White Paper "This Common Inheritance" (Cm. 1200).

To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has had on the availability of desert-related spare parts for tanks and armoured vehicles to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in the middle east.

I am not aware of any such representations. Sufficient spare parts and major assemblies are available to meet anticipated requirements.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 30 October.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 30 October.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 30 October.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 30 October.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 30 October.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an Audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what additional resources are being provided by his Department to help improve Britain's coastal defences.

Increased funding for coast and tidal defence works was announced following the 1988 and 1989 public expenditure surveys. By 1992–93 the provision for this work will have increased to £43 million compared with £33 million in the current financial year. The grant supplement paid on sea and tidal defence work was also increased in the last survey from 15 to 20 per cent. In addition, in response to the storms of last winter, increased supplementary credit approval of £2·3 million is to be made available for local authority schemes during the remainder of the current financial year.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are being taken by his Ministry to approve treatments of varroa for use in the United Kingdom.

Any company wishing to seek approval to market a suitable treatment can apply to the veterinary medicines directorate at Weybridge for a product licence under Medicines Act procedures.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are his latest proposals in the European Economic Community negotiations on the question of the export of live horses from the United Kingdom for slaughter and consumption on the continent; if it is still his policy that this trade will not be permitted; and if he will make a statement.

There have been no recent negotiations in the Community on this subject. It remains firm Government policy to press for the retention of controls designed to prevent the export of live horses for slaughter.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what organisations and sections within his Department presently housed in London are being considered for dispersal to provincial areas.

My right hon. Friend and I are currently considering relocating some of the Department's headquarters functions away from London. The areas under consideration include work on pesticides and plant health, some of our statistical services and sections of our personnel, management and common services.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields of 25 October, about products released from intervention, if he will list the countries which bought the produce listed and the quantities in each case.

Exporters who take products from intervention are not required to sell to particular countries but are free to find markets outside the European Community. Community arrangements allow exporters up to one year to supply proof of export. Consequently, information about the destinations of the products released from intervention in the 12 months to 30 September 1990 is not available.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to restructure his priorities board for research and development.

The membership of the priorities board for research and development in agriculture and food was expanded in June this year to include two more independent members. It now comprises an independent chairman, six independent members, MAFF's chief scientific adviser, a DAFS scientific adviser and the secretary to the AFRC. The full membership of the board is as follows:—

• Dr. N. Brian Smith CBE
• Professor T. L. Blundell FRS (with effect from 1 January 1991)
• Mr. S. G. Metcalfe
• Mr. J. G. Rymer
• Dr. P. J. Bunyan FRSC
• Dr. T. W. Hegarty
• Mr. I. Howie FBIM
• Mr. G. E. G. Harvey
• Professor C. J. Leaver FRS
• Mrs. B. M. Kelly

With the exception of the chairman, each independent board member chairs one of six advisory sectoral groups (ASGs). These provide the board with support and advice on what R and D is being sponsored within Government and industry. They have replaced the 18 occasional research consultative committees which previously reported to the board. The ASGs cover:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has published his response to the food safety and applied nutrition research consultative committee report to the priorities board of November 1989; and if he will make a statement.

The priorities board for R and D in agriculture and food took account of the food safety and applied nutrition research consultative committee report in preparing its 1990 report to agriculture Ministers and the chairman of the AFRC. The board's advice was accepted and is being implemented.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he intends to take to stop the dumping of foodstuffs from eastern Europe at uneconomic prices in European Community countries via eastern Germany.

Foodstuffs imported duty-free into East Germany from eastern Europe during the transitional period following German unification must not exceed traditional trade flows and may be used only on the territory of the former German Democratic Republic. The Commission's "end-use relief" system of control is designed to ensure that these products do not leak into the rest of the EC. It requires permits specifying the "end use" of a product to be issued on import and allows customs authorities to make the necessary checks during processing and trading to monitor stated "end uses". Any other foodstuffs entering East Germany will be subject to normal Community duties and levies.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the prices of agri-chemicals in the United Kingdom.

No. Pricing is a matter for the market to determine.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek powers to reinstate grants for liming land.

Farmers taking out improvement plans under the Farm and Conservation Grant Regulations are already eligible for grant aid towards the cost of liming land where this is part of a programme of reseeding and regeneration. In the less-favoured areas lime treatment alone is eligible for grant where it can be demonstrated to be genuine restoration and not routine treatment. I have no plans to extend the grant aid to application of lime in other circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give a regional breakdown in percentage terms of the number of the unemployed in each region who have been out of work for over one year on the most recently available figures.

The information is available in the Library. Unemployment figures by duration are produced quarterly. The table shows the percentage of unemployed claimants who have been unemployed for 12 months or more for each region in July 1990, the latest available date.

Region	1Percentage
South East (excluding Greater London)	19·4
East Anglia	21·1
Greater London	28·9
South West	23·2
West Midlands	32·8
East Midlands	27·8
Yorkshire and Humberside	32·2
NorthWest	35·7
Northern	34·0
Wales	27·7
Scotland	35·8
Northern Ireland	51·3
United Kingdom	31·6
1 Percentage of unemployed claimants who have been unemployed for 12 months or more in each region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the five travel-to-work areas with the highest percentage of employment in manufacturing and their respective figures.

The most recent estimates of employment in travel-to-work areas are taken from the September 1987 census of employment. They cover employees in employment and exclude the self-employed. The five travel-to-work areas with the highest percentage of employment in manufacturing industry were:

	1Percentage
Haverill	56·0
Pendle	55·4
Barrow-in-Furness	54·6
Hawick	53·6
Accrington and Rossendale	48·9
1 Employees in Divisions 2 to 4 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980, as a percentage of all employees in the travel-to-work area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many were employed in the (a) agricultural industry, (b) coal mining industry, (c) shipbuilding and ship-repair industries and (d) the steel industry as at June of 1988 and 1989.

The information is given in the table:

Employees in employment Great Britain
Thousands
Industries (SIC 1980)	June 1988	June 1989
Agriculture and horticulture (Class 01)	276·4	262·5
Coal extraction and solid fuels (Group 111)	121·0	101·8
Iron and steel (Group 221)	45·7	36·2
Shipbuilding and ship repairing (Group 361)	52·8	43·7

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to retain the training and enterprise council structure to enable small businesses to have a say in their local organisations.

Training and enterprise councils are required to include at least one executive on their board who has first-hand experience of running a small business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to aid the establishment of small firm investment companies to provide equity and loan licensing for small businesses.

I have at present no plans to do so. I am, however, always ready to consider suggestions for new ways of helping small firms if there is clear evidence of a gap in market provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to establish an industrial development advisory service to provide advice and assistance to small firms and the self-employed.

Last year my Department's small firms service provided 50,000 counselling sessions for small firms and answered over 300,000 inquiries. Responsibility for small firms advice is, of course, being transferred to the emerging network of training and enterprise councils. In the training and enterprise council area that encompasses Southport the corporate and business plans are still under development. It is recognised locally that a full and comprehensive service to the small business sector will be necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on investigations into the explosion and fire that occurred recently during construction of the channel tunnel.

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive are still investigating the circumstances of the fire at the channel tunnel site on 22 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been lost in the textile and clothing industries in each of the last 12 months.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 October 1990, c. 240]: I regret that my reply of 24 October 1990 contained two incorrect figures. The correct information is set out hereafter.

Employers in textile and clothing industries Textiles and clothing excluding footwear (Great Britain)
	Net monthly change (thousands)
1989
August	5·8
September	0·2
October	-1·1

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration he has given to the employment and training needs of deaf-blind people.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: My Department provides a service for all people with disabilities treating each as an individual and identifying the most appropriate action. People who are deaf-blind can use the full range of Employment Department services available to anyone with a disability including those services offered by the network of employment rehabilitation centres and ASSET centres. Through them we have been able to refer some deaf-blind people for specialist help through the close links maintained with organisations such as RNIB and SENSE. As outlined in the consultative document, "Employment and Training for People with Disabilities", we are intending to expand access to specialist help further by increasingly providing employment rehabilitation through agents such as voluntary bodies. We are also intending to strengthen the training given to disablement resettlement officers and the disablement advisory service with a view to providing a more professional and effective service.In training we try to encourage integrated provision although there is specialist help available mainly through the residential providers which cater for the particular needs of deaf-blind trainees. Training and enterprise councils now have responsibility for co-ordinating training locally and they will address the particular needs of their local community which may include developing provision for deaf-blind trainees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether hearing and sight impaired communication equipment is available to deaf-blind people through the disablement advisory service.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the Agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the numbers of those employed in the footwear and textile industries per month, by industry, using the latest figures available, since April 1990; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: The numbers of employees in the footwear and textile industries are supplied in the table:

Employees in footwear and textile industries (Standard Industrial Classification 1980) Great Britain
Thousands
	Footwear SIC Group 451	Textiles SIC Class 43
1990
April	44·7	208·6
May	44·0	207·7
June	44·6	207·1
July	44·9	207·7
August	45·0	207·2

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the results or progress of any investigations into (a) Caird Development Ltd. and (b) Cleveland Fuels Ltd. in respect of recent acquisitions or any other matters.

I cannot discuss the affairs of individual companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will be seeking any assurances on democracy and openness from the organisations applying for supervisory body status under the Companies Act 1989.

In general these are matters to be determined by the constitution of the body and by its membership. However, under the Companies Act 1989 the Secretary of State can recognise a supervisory body only if it appears to him that its rules and practices relating to membership, eligibility as a company auditor and discipline are fair and reasonable and include adequate provision for appeals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to exempt any auditing firms from the monitoring and compliance rules in accordance with schedule 11 (10) of Companies Act 1989.

Under paragraph 10 of schedule 11 of the Companies Act 1989 anybody seeking recognition as a supervisory body under part II of the Act must have adequate arrangements and resources for the effective monitoring and enforcement of compliance with its rules. The Secretary of State must be satisfied that an applicant's proposals meet this requirement before he can recognise the body.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will provide a list of the disciplinary cases he has asked the accountancy profession to investigate.

Since 1988 my Department has referred 15 cases where members' conduct was thought to warrant consideration by their professional body.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to require that before any organisation is granted supervisory status in audit or accountancy, its rules should include disclosure of partners' fees, and partnership donations for political or charitable purposes.

The Secretary of State has no power to refuse recognition on these grounds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations his Department has made in the years 1989 and 1990 to (a) CCAB Ltd. and (b) the Auditing Practices Committee; what topics those representations covered; and whether he will place the text of all such representations in the Library.

My Department discusses matters of concern as necessary with representatives of the CCAB. It also participates fully in the work of the Auditing Practices Committee through its non-voting membership of the committee, and it comments on the committee's exposure drafts. Copies of responses to exposure drafts are available in the libraries of the CCAB bodies, and I have placed in the Library a copy of the Department's written comments made since January last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his policy on any organisation granted supervisory status in audit or accountancy having rules to prevent auditors from having the beneficial ownership of shares in the companies they audit.

Under the Companies Act 1989, the Secretary of State cannot recognise a supervisory body unless it appears to him to have adequate rules and practices in respect of professional integrity and independence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what indications he now has as to the work programme of the Accounting Standards Board.

As has been indicated in its public bulletins, the Accounting Standards Board has adopted the statements of standard accounting practice extant at 1 August, formulated a policy on statements of recommended accounting practice, and dealt with a number of procedural matters. It is currently engaged in consideration of a number of basic issues of principle as a precursor to work on individual accounting standards.

Table 1

Government expenditure on regional preferential assistance to industry at current prices1

£ million

Region

1978–79

1979–80

1980–81

1981–82

1982–83

1983–84

1984–85

1985–86

1986–87

1987–88

1988–89

1989–90

Northern

158·9

147·8

145·4

176·6

158·5

129·0

122·6

94·6

136·4

109·2

133·7

117·0

Yorkshire and Humberside

37·4

32·1

52·2

61·6

52·9

35·6

42·5

35·4

41·4

38·6

49·8

32·4

East Midlands3

3·4

4·1

4·6

8·6

13·7

16·9

10·2

8·3

10·5

9·4

8·9

9·5

South West

9·6

10·7

11·5

14·8

16·4

11·9

14·2

12·0

22·7

14·7

14·6

10·6

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek to ensure that all employees of public limited companies receive a short version of the companies' accounts and a notice telling them where the long version may be consulted.

No. It is for companies to decide how best to communicate with those of its employees who are not shareholders in the company.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many public limited liability companies the position of chairperson and chief executive are combined.

This information is not available from Government sources. Information relating to appointments in individual companies is, however, open to public inspection at Companies house.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to reduce import penetration.

The Department's policies aim to foster the competitiveness of British industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met the Director General of Fair Trading to discuss the developing structure of the brewing industry.

I met the Director General of Fair Trading on 22 August to discuss a wide variety of competition issues. My Department keeps in close touch with the Office of Fair Trading, which is monitoring developments in the brewing industry in the light of the 1989 MMC report on the supply of beer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report the amount of regional preferential assistance paid to each standard region of England, Scotland and Wales in each year from 1978–79 to the most recent available date in (a) cash and (b) constant prices and with an annual index.

The requested information with regard to regional preferential assistance from 1978–79 to the most recent year is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the number of (a) Scottish registered public limited companies, (b) Scottish companies quoted on the unlisted securities market and (c) what has been the change in Scottish quoted companies, in percentage terms, between 1979 and 1989.

At 19 October there were 531 Scottish registered public limited companies.The number of Scottish companies quoted on the unlisted securities market is a matter for the International Stock Exchange, as therefore is the change in percentage terms between 1979 and 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the amount of textiles (a) imported and (b) exported by the United Kingdom in each year since 1979.

Figures showing the total value of United Kingdom imports and exports of textiles (SITC division 65) are published in the annual editions of Overseas Trade Statistics, which can be consulted in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the guidelines from his Department to insolvency practitioners as to the requirements for prosecution of a case for disqualification of a company director reported by a liquidator to be unfit to hold the position; and if he will make a statement on any proposed changes to such guidelines.

My Department issues written guidance notes to insolvency practitioners on the completion of statutory returns and reports on the conduct of directors of insolvent companies. The notes, which were last revised in March 1987, are in the process of revision to take into consideration the general attitude of the courts to disqualification applications, recently decided cases and the views of official receivers and insolvency practitioners.The insolvency service also communicates with insolvency practitioners on disqualification matters through the insolvency practitioners' joint liaison committee, which represents insolvency practitioners and members of five of the recognised professional bodies on technical matters, and through a series of "Dear IP" letters. Members of the disqualification unit also visit insolvency practitioners frequently to discuss disqualification work.I have placed copies of the guidance notes in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline the terms of remit of the Office of Fair Trading inquiry into agency recognition requirements for all media; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that officials of the Director General of Fair Trading are in discussion with various associations of publishers concerning the terms of their agency recognition agreements in relation to the provisions of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976.

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

As part of its regular programme of efficiency studies of nationalised industries, the commission has been asked to look into the service provided by London Underground Ltd. The formal reference was made today. It asks the M MC to look at whether LUL could improve its quality of service through greater efficiency and at whether cost savings could be made without affecting quality of service or the programme of safety improvements which LUL is already undertaking. The Commission will report in six months. A copy of the reference has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which accountancy bodies have applied under the Companies Act 1989 for recognition of their professional qualification.

To date, the following bodies have applied for recognition:

(i) The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales,

(ii) The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland,

(iii) The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

I have placed a copy of each application in the Library of the House. Certain material submitted in confidence has been excluded from the copy placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what independent advice he proposes to seek in evaluating whether the Chartered Institute of Accountants in England and Wales is a fit body to exercise supervisory powers under the Companies Act 1989.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: My right hon. Friend will carry out such consultation as he thinks necessary to enable him to reach a view on any application for recognition as a supervisory body under the Companies Act 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when companies will be required to identify the amount of non-audit fees paid to directors.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the power in section 390B of the Companies Act 1985, inserted into that Act by section 121 of the Companies Act 1989, to make regulations requiring the disclosure of non-audit fees paid to auditors or their associates. The Department is currently consulting interested parties on the drafting of the regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he, or officials of his Department, have been invited to participate in the conference on environmental opportunities and market forecast organised by the Environment Council in London on 15–16 November.

[holding answer 22 October 1990]: I am pleased to report that a speaker from my Department's research agency, Warren Spring Laboratory, will be present at this conference.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is considering extending the enterprise initiative to companies with more than 50 employees.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: The consultancy initiatives are already available to independent firms and members of groups of under 500 employees. There are no plans to extend the small firms merit award for research and technology (SMART) to firms of over 50 employees, but the number of awards has been increased this year from 150 to 180.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is considering extending the length of the enterprise initiative.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 9 October, the consultancy initiatives are to be extended for a final three years from 1 April 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission with a view to developing new schemes of assistance for industry.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: I have had no discussions with the European Commission on this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give details of any proposed new schemes for the financial support of single company research projects; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: I have reviewed recently our support of research and development for small and medium-sized enterprises. As a result we plan to announce, early in the new year, a scheme to provide support for single companies for product and process development. At present, I am unable to give further details as the operation of the scheme has still to be agreed and European Commission approval obtained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to improve links between business and the academic community.

[holding answer 29 October 1990]: My Department actively promotes links between business and academia by providing advice and financial support, and funding up to half the eligible costs of approved collaborative research projects between academic institutions and industry under schemes such as LINK, the advanced technology programmes, and general industrial collaborative projects.We also support such links through the teaching company scheme which enables graduates to work in industry under joint supervision of a company and an academic; through the national electronics research initiative, which encourages secondment of employees to centres of research excellence at universities and Government research establishments; and through

Number of inward investment decisions: Regional breakdown
	Scotland				Wales				Northern Ireland				North East
	Number of projects	New jobs	Safeguarded jobs	Total jobs	Number of projects	New jobs	Safeguarded jobs	Total jobs	Number of projects	New jobs	Safeguarded jobs	Total jobs	Number of projects	New jobs	Safeguarded jobs	Total jobs
1979	28	2,757	1—	2,757	18	854	1—	854	18	2,794	1	2,794	21	1,466	1—	1,466
	(15·3)	(19·3)	1—	(19·3)	(9·8)	(6·0)	1—	(6·0)	(9·8)	(19·5)	1—	(19·5)	(11·5)	(10·2)	1—	(10·2)
1980	31	4,474	1—	4,474	16	3,332	1—	3,332	20	2,760	1—	2,760	19	2,923	1—	2,923
	(20·0)	(24·0)	1—	(24·0)	(10·3)	(17·9)	1—	(47·9)	(12·9)	(14·8)	1—	(14·8)	(12·3)	(15·7)	1—	(15·7)
1981	28	5,756	1—	5,756	20	1,986	1—	1,986	15	2,429	1—	2,429	14	1,021	1—	1,021
	(21·0)	(35·1)	1—	(35·1)	(15·0)	(12·1)	1—	(12·1)	(11·3)	(14·8)	1—	(14·8)	(10·5)	(6·2)	1—	(6·2)
1982	28	2,258	1—	2,258	17	901	1—	901	6	1,893	1—	1,893	15	539	1—	539
	(21·0)	(21·4)	1—	(21·4)	(12·8)	(8·6)	1—	(8·6)	(4·5)	(18·0)	1—	(18·0)	(11·3)	(5·1)	1—	(5·1)
1983	49	5,135	3,432	8,567	31	2,116	1,913	4,029	11	548	1,192	1,740	20	1,066	720	1,786
	(20·8)	(33·0)	(22·5)	(27·8)	(13·1)	(13·6)	(12·5)	(13·1)	(4·7)	(3·5)	(7·8)	(5·6)	(8·5)	(6·9)	(4·7)	(5·8)
1984	74	8,761	1,463	10,224	42	3,958	5,015	8,973	27	2,256	2,876	5,132	29	4,589	230	4,819
	(22·6)	(32·3)	(7·6)	(22·0)	(12·8)	(14·6)	(26·0)	(19·3)	(8·2)	(8·3)	(14·9)	(11·1)	(8·8)	(16·9)	(1·2)	(10·4)
1985	57	4,971	2,922	7,893	45	2,416	1,350	3,766	22	771	1,424	2,195	26	1,987	1,572	3,559
	(15·2)	(19·4)	(15·6)	(17·8)	(12·0)	(9·4)	(7·2)	(8·5)	(5·9)	(3·0)	(7·6)	(5·0)	(6·9)	(7·8)	(8·4)	(8·0)
1986	36	1,881	607	2,488	49	2,364	2,232	4,596	18	693	1,722	2,415	30	1,581	1,158	2,739
	(10·6)	(11·6)	(5·6)	(9·2)	(14·5)	(14·5)	(20·7)	(17·0)	(5·3)	(4·3)	(16·0)	(8·9)	(8·8)	(9·7)	(10·8)	(10·1)
1987	31	3,704	2,061	5,765	58	4,054	877	4,931	17	1,135	1,341	2,486	31	3,491	852	4,343
	(9·5)	(17·1)	(10·2)	(13·7)	(17·8)	(18·7)	(4·3)	(11·8)	(5·2)	(5·2)	(6·6)	(5·9)	(9·5)	(16·1)	(4·2)	(10·4)
1988	58	5,429	1,978	7,407	56	6,006	2,085	8,091	22	2,610	916	3,526	22	2,041	31	2,072
	(16·5)	(19·6)	(10·4)	(15·3)	(15·9)	(21·7)	(11·0)	(17·4)	(6·3)	(9·4)	(5·0)	(7·7)	(6·3)	(7·4)	(0·2)	(4·4)
1989	34	4,551	645	5,196	42	3,564	2,050	5,614	17	1,187	8,558	9,745	46	4,495	1,438	5,933
	(10·4)	(14·8)	(2·4)	(9·0)	(12·7)	(11·6)	(7·2)	(7·0)	(5·2)	(3·9)	(32·0)	(17·0)	(14·1)	(14·6)	(5·4)	(10·3)
1 Not available.