To ask the Attorney-General when he expects the Devon and Cornwall police to complete their investigations into the Birmingham pub bombings case; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that police inquiries are far advanced and continue to be conducted with maximum speed consistent with thoroughness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further informal ion he has about the death of Mr. Jonathan Moyle in Chile; and if he will make a statement as to the cause and nature of his death.

We have no further information. The investigation by the Chilean authorities into the tragic death of Mr. Jonathan Moyle is still in progress. The inquest opened by Her Majesty's coroner for Exeter and East Devon has been adjourned until 31 January 1991. We cannot anticipate the outcome of either inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now reopen the British embassy in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans at present to reopen our embassy in Kabul.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Swiss Government concerning the circumstances of, and investigation into, the assassination of Professor Kazem Rajavi.

This is a matter for the Swiss authorities which are continuing their investigations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will pay an official visit to London Underground stations during the rush hour.

Both my right hon. Friend and I visit the underground regularly, during the rush hour and at other times.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investigations he has initiated (a) into the possibility of reducing freight traffic on the M62 by transferring a proportion of such to the railways and (b) into improving the rail network to facilitate the carriage of more goods.

The practical opportunities for transferring goods to rail from the M62, as with all roads, are likely to be very limited. We are encouraging BR to build on its strengths in the freight market which are primarily for trainload movements. Where there are sound commercial prospects we are backing new investment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to have the results of the trans-Pennine study currently being undertaken by consultants on his behalf, and when he expects to publish the findings.

The consultants' report is due next spring. We shall make an announcement after assessing its findings and recommendations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the policies set out in the Government's White Paper "This Common Inheritance" will affect his Department's national road traffic forecasts and the appraisal of trunk road schemes.

The national road traffic forecasts published in 1989 provide a broad range of future levels of road traffic demand, which remains the best available view. The forecasts clearly might be affected by future changes in, for example, regulations or taxation; but there is no reason to change them at this stage, since they are broad enough to cover the general effect of the policies in "This Common Inheritance". The forecasts do not represent a target. The Government's policy is not to meet all demand in all circumstances, but only where to do so is justified, taking into account economic and environmental considerations.The recent meeting of the second world climate conference discussed the need for countries to control their emissions of greenhouse gases. "This Common Inheritance" refers to the Government's willingness, if other countries take similar action, to set themselves the target of returning CO

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the chemicals involved in the accident that resulted in the closure of the M1 on Tuesday 23 October.

The only chemical involved was hydrobromic acid solution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any signs were placed at motorway junctions to advise motorists joining the southbound carriageway that the M1 was closed at junction 11 during the aftermath of the accident on 23 October referred to in his answer of 30 October, Official Report, column 466, whether any signs were placed on the hard shoulder or central reservations advising motorists to expect long delays; and whether any signs were placed at junctions, on the hard shoulder or central reservation advising motorists to leave the motorway before junction 11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulations apply to the use in the United Kingdom of radio scanners; what are the main requirements of such regulations; whether he proposes to extend such regulations or to alter the requirements of existing regulations; and if he will make a statement.

The use of radio scanners to listen to private messages is an offence under section 5(b) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 if done otherwise than under the authority of the Secretary of State or in the course of duty as a servant of the Crown. The Broadcasting Act 1990 will amend the Wireless Telegraphy Act so that scanners may be ordered forfeit by the court under section 14 upon conviction. There are no other proposals to extend or alter section 5(b).

Remote signs to advise drivers of major incidents ahead are currently provided on our motorways only for major roadworks.The primary source of information about unforeseen events is radio reports.The Department is investigating means of improving driver information in such circumstances and I will write to my hon. Friend with more details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether nuclear waste will be permitted to be carried through the channel tunnel.

Eurotunnel has announced that it does not intend to permit the transport of nuclear waste through the tunnel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those legal firms that have been criticised by his Department's inspectors since June 1979.

Seven reports of inspectors appointed under the Companies Act and published since June 1979 have contained criticisms of firms of solicitors. The extent of criticism varies in degree and reference should be made to individual reports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of heritage properties in public ownership which are open to view; and what incentives his Department makes available to private owners of properties to make their properties open to view.

English Heritage owns, or manages on behalf of the Crown, over 400 historic properties, monuments and sites to which there is public access. The Historic Royal Palaces Agency has responsibility for six unoccupied royal palaces in London to which there is also public access. Both bodies are funded by the Department. In addition, a number of individual Government Departments and local authorities are responsible for other historic property, some of which is in use as office accommodation and to some of which there is public access. There is, however, no centrally held record of access arrangements to such properties.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list for each local education authority and for both the standard spending assessment element of (a) other education and (b) under-fives education the changes in these elements in both total sums and percentage caused by reducing the additional educational needs index from 70 to 50 per cent.;(2) if he will list for each local education authority the results of changing the proportion of the standard spending assessment elements for

I have today placed in the Library a table showing the effect on the provisional 1991–92 standard spending assessments for other education and for the under-fives of the proposed reduction in the proportion of these elements to be distributed on the basis of the additional educational needs (A EN) index from 70 per cent. to 50 per cent. The table shows the effects of the change in £s million and percentage terms for each local education authortity in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (a) the total standard spending assessment for education for each local education authority, (b) the standard spending assessment element for under-fives for each local education authority, (c) the standard spending assessment element for primary education for each local education authority, (d) the standard spending assessment element for secondary education for each local education authority, (e) the standard spending assessment element for post-16 education for each local education authority and (f) the standard spending assessment element for other education for each local education authority.

I have today placed in the Library a table showing the information required.

To ask the Secretary of State far the Environment if he will list (a) for each local education authority the adjustments to the indicator of student numbers within the post-16 education standard spending assessment in those areas expected to participate in the training credits pilot scheme for each local education authority involved and (b) the exemplification of changes in standard spending assessment for the post-16 education standard spending assessment for each local education authority involved.

The figures requested are shown in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for I he Environment what representations he has received about compensation due to Metropolitan Water Board "B" stockholders since 1958; and if he will make a statement.

Two inquiries have been made on behalf of stockholders, one in 1987 and the other this year. When the Metropolitan Water Board was abolished in 1974, Thames water authority took over responsibility for Metropolitan Water stocks: under the Water Act 1989 any outstanding liabilities were passed to Thames Water plc, and are a matter between that company and those persons who have an interest as stockholders.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will issue advice to poll tax officials on the powers in the Local Government Finance Act that allow an electoral registration officer to inspect the registers.

Detailed guidance on the responsibilities of community charge registration officers is contained in the community charge practice notes, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. The Home Office also issued guidance on 10 August 1990 which advises electoral registration officers on their right of access to the community charges register.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been distributed to London boroughs by the London residuary body since the abolition of the Greater London council.

A total of £486 million in capital receipts and £184 million in revenue balances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the basic credit approvals for local authorities for 1991–92 classified by (a) specific service and (b) individual local authorities.

Basic credit approvals for individual local authorities for 1991–92 will be announced in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who submitted the original complaint of anti-competitive behaviour against Redditch borough council to his Department and when; and if he will make a statement.

It is our policy not to reveal the identity of the originators of complaints about failures by local authorities to comply with the requirements of part I of the Local Government Act 1988. I can confirm, however, that my Department first wrote to Redditch borough council on the matter of the refuse and other cleansing contract in July 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he has received from local authorities to his decision to postpone competitive tendering deadlines to enable the authorities affected to let their street cleaning contracts on the basis of the proposed code of practice on litter; and what consideration he has given to this response.

We have received a number of submissions from local authorities about our decision to extend competition deadlines for street cleaning. In particular, it has been drawn to our attention that authorities whose work has until 1 April 1991 fallen outside the provisions of the Local Government Act 1988 because expenditure incurred has fallen below £100,000 per annum are in a similar position to those authorities mentioned in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor) on 20 July which have already been granted an extension. I therefore intend to substitute a later deadline of 1 August 1991 for all authorities whose street cleaning work is required to be submitted to competition by 1 April 1991. I shall make an order giving effect to this intention. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will make similar arrangements for Scottish and Welsh authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people are in employment (a) full time and (b) part time in each local authority; what percentage of that authority's population each figure represents; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 14 November 1990]: I have today placed the available information based on local authority staffing figures for March 1990 in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met local authority representatives to discuss the effects of cuts in direct subsidies for community charge/housing benefits on the level of community charges for 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.

To ask the Minister for the Arts if there have been any items accepted in lieu of tax or allocated since an announcement was last made on the subject to the House.

Since my announcement on 31 October at column 575, I am pleased to announce that a painting by W. R. Sickert, entitled "Girl at a Window, Little Rachel" has been accepted in satisfaction of £84,000 tax. No decision on the allocation of this offer has yet to be taken.I would also like to inform the House of two refunds my Department has received of moneys originally paid to the Inland Revenue for items accepted in lieu of tax. These receipts have arisen because of reassessment of the position on the estates concerned. The first relates to the acceptance of a series of 20 watercolour illustrations by J. M. W. Turner announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 13 January 1988 at column

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the terms on which civil servants are relocated.

As the House was informed on 17 January 1990 at columns 288–89 departmental Ministers have already announced decisions to relocate a substantial number of civil service posts away from London and the south-east over the next two to three years. These transfers of work not only represent good value for money for the taxpayer but also give advantages to staff and management, plus important benefits to the new locations, nearly all of which are the focus of the Government's regional or inner-city policies.The moves need careful planning. Many jobs which are being relocated will be filled by local recruitment, but sufficient numbers of experienced and mobile staff will need to move with their jobs so that continuity is maintained and essential work is not put at risk. Accordingly Departments ensure that their staff and the civil service unions are consulted. Departments make every effort to ensure that, wherever possible, even staff with a mobility obligation move on a voluntary basis, and, of course, they already have a number of measures available to them for assisting mobile staff to meet the costs of transfers that are in the public interest.These measures include advances of up to six months' salary for house purchase, reimbursement of the actual costs of moving, special arrangements for meeting additional costs where the move is into a more expensive housing area, meeting the interest costs of any necessary bridging loans, payment of additional travel costs as an alternative to moving home, and, for moves out of London, payments over five years of amounts up to the level of London weighting. This range of measures compares very favourably with those offered by private sector employers.Most of these measures are intended for staff who decide to transfer their family home to the new location. Surveys of public and private sector relocations have shown that certain staff are reluctant to relocate for fear of damaging a spouse's career or disrupting their children's education at a key stage. Like other employers the Government take account of such concerns in the terms offered to staff relocating to a new area.The range of relocation assistance available to Departments is therefore being widened to include the discretion to offer, where it is cost-effective to do so, an alternative to existing permanent transfer terms to mobile staff who, for domestic reasons, are reluctant to move the family home. The additional discretion will enable relevant staff to take accommodation at the new location without prejudice to their existing family home. The assistance offered will comprise an advance of up to six months' salary to secure the new accommodation, to be repaid over seven years, help with some of the setting-up costs, assistance with legal costs and a tapering allowance for up to 10 years to meet part of the mortgage costs. Such assistance will be conditional on agreement to arrangements for sharing between the individual and the Government the proceeds of disposal when he or she moves again and the new accommodation is sold. In addition all such assistance will be taxable.The costs of these measures, which are expected to fall below the costs of existing transfer terms, will be contained within agreed running costs limits, and will be recovered from savings generated by the relocation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in drawing up his proposals on a hard ecu for the forthcoming intergovernmental conference, whether he intends to propose any restrictions on the use of the hard ecu within the domestic economy.

The hard ecu would be used to the extent that the Government, companies and individuals chose to do so.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has (a) been recouped from pension funds and (b) returned to the employers in each of the last 10 years.

[holding answer 14 November 1990]: Information is not available in the form requested. The table below gives information derived from pension funds reports to the Inland Revenue on action which they propose to take to remove surpluses, following the provisions of the Finance Act 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Overseas Development Administration has on British Gas's proposals for development in the Ecuador rain forest.

We have been informed of British Gas's exploration activities in Ecuador but have no information about any proposals for development.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to give a substantive reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 19 July about the application of Nunnykirk Hall school, Northumberland, for non-maintained status, and to the application made by the school to the Department on 9 February; and whether he will make a statement as to the reason for the delay.

The preparation of a substantive reply to the letter received from the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed has required detailed research, but I shall reply shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what reports he has received providing information about damage caused to Bradford schools by fire; if he will consider making a supplementary allocation to Bradford local education authority to meet any shortfall between insurance payments made and the full cost of replacing school accommodation destroyed by fire; and if he will make a statement.

Bradford local education authority has been in touch with the Department about the damage caused by fires over the weekend of 3 and 4 November at Gregory middle school and Tyersal first school in Bradford. The resources required for reinstatement of the damaged accommodation at these schools are a matter for negotiation in the first instance between the Bradford local education authority and its insurers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of gross national product was spent on education in each of the OECD countries in 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available; and what was per capita spending on education in each OECD country in the same years.

The readily available data are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many of those who have registered an interest in electricity privatisation are from households where more than one member has registered an interest.

The number of persons registered for the sale will be disclosed in the prospectus to be published on 21 November. It would be inappropriate to anticipate its publication or to go beyond what will be set out in that document.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will summarise the nuclear reprocessing deal between the German Nukem company and the Atomic Energy Authority; what amount of nuclear material is expected to be transported to the United Kingdom under this deal; where it will be reprocessed; what arrangements have been made for its transportation; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what reports, including from the European Commission, he has on nuclear fusion power and its potentially serious environmental problems; if he will summarise the problems referred to; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has lately seen the Fusion Programme Evaluation Board report prepared for the Commission of the European Communities and published in July 1990 and the report of the Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy, published in the USA in September 1989. These reports concur in finding that fusion potentially has significant safety and environmental advantages over alternative methods of large-scale electricity generation, but that the realisation of this potential in a practical system requires solutions to a number of challenging problems. These problems concern the development of materials, the use of tritium, and the maintainability of the reactor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how he arrived at the salary to be paid to Sir Trevor Holdsworth at National Power.

The salary for the National Power chairmanship was determined as being appropriate for the post.

To ask the Prime Minister whether the role of the security services has been reviewed in the wake of improved relations with much of eastern Europe; whether any reviews are planned; whether any savings have been ascertained; and if she will make a statement.

It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence and security matters.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 November.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today, including one with Chief Buthelezi.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will set out the process that is followed prior to the appointment of an adviser to him including details of the authorisation at (a) official and (b) ministerial level that is required;(2) what is the total cost to public funds, on a full-year basis, of appointing Mr. Rod Richards as his personal adviser.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on Tuesday 13 November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department assesses to be the pupil capacity of Sketty primary school; and what are actual pupil numbers.

As at January 1990 there were 407 pupils on roll at Sketty primary school. The Department has made no estimate of pupil capacity at the school but I understand that the West Glamorgan education authority operates to an overall maximum figure of 420, as estimated in accordance with Welsh Office circular 20/88.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will extend the deadline for West Glamorgan county council to implement his direction for the Llwyn Mawr site in Swansea.

My right hon. Friend is currently considering all the representations he has received following the issue of the direction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what alternative sites for a new school will exist within the same catchment area when the sale of the Llwyn Mawr takes place.

It is for the local education authority to make decisions on school provision and to determine the suitability of individual sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many items of equipment of types to be limited by the CFE treaty have been sold or given to other nations by the United Kingdom; and at what cost.

It is not the practice of this, or previous, Administrations to comment on individual defence sales transactions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether he has taken a decision on the replacement of the WE177 with an air-to-surface missile;(2) if he will make a statement on possible co-operation with France on a replacement for the WE177 free-fall bomb.

We are looking at both French and United States systems as possible replacements for our WE177 free-fall bomb. However, no decision has been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will state the purpose for which service personnel are on loan service in (a) Bahrain, (b) Brunei, (c) Jordan, (d) Oman, (e) Qatar, (f) Sudi Arabia and (g) the United Arab Emirates;(2) if he will state the purpose for which service personnel are on loan service in

Loan service personnel are employed on a variety of military assistance tasks for overseas Governments. Details are normally confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the country concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he hopes to come to a conclusion about a no-fault compensation scheme for service-related personnel who have been exposed to nuclear radiation; and if he will make a statement.

I am considering the possibility of introducing a no-fault compensation scheme for MOD personnel. I hope to come to a conclusion on the merits of such a scheme early next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment and monitoring he has undertaken of the report by Dr. Miles in 1983, undertaken by his Department, the Nature Conservancy Council and the Natural Environment Research Council on the management of the ecology and sea bird life of the Falklands.

The 1984 report by Dr. Miles, which was an ecological impact assessment of the construction of Mount Pleasant airfield and associated developments, recommended inter alia the establishment of monitoring arrangements to assess the effects. The recommendations of the report have all been actioned and there has been no significant change in the ecology as a result of the construction of the airfield. More generally, the Ministry of Defence remains conscious of its responsibilities in assisting the Falkland Island Government in their management of the ecology of the islands.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the percentage reduction in real terms from current defence expenditure if all of the proposals outlined in "Options for Change" are implemented.

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State indicated in his statement to the House in July, the "Options" proposals will bring savings and a reduction in the share of GDP taken by defence. The plans for the defence budget which were announced in the autumn statement envisage that on current inflation assumptions provision for 1993–94 will be 6 per cent. lower in real terms than the estimated outturn for 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the target date for the achievement of the force reductions outlined in "Options for Change".

I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to the answer which I gave on 30 October to the hon. Member for Gateshead, East (Ms. Quin) at column 501.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much of the expenditure on the refitting of HMS Warspite was incurred after the discovery of a fault in its reactor;(2) what is the total cost to date of the refitting of HMS Warspite.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount of money has been spent to date on the refit of (a) HMS Warspite and (b) HMS Churchill.

The cost of the refits on HMS Warspite and HMS Churchill is still being negotiated with the contractors. Such costs are in any case commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the factors which led to the decision to scrap HMS Warspite.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what influence the "Options for Change" study has had on the decision to decommission HMS Warspite.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence's announcement on 25 July at column 470 envisaged a reduction in the submarine fleet to around 16 boats, about three quarters of which would be nuclear-powered. This reduction in force levels is to be achieved by decommissioning older, less capable boats, such as HMS Warspite, while retaining the more modern ones in service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many submarines in service and of what class have the same type of reactor as HMS Warspite.

It is not our practice to comment on matters relating to the design of nuclear-powered submarines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the date of commencement of the refitting of HMS Warspite.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the date on which (a) HMS Warspite and (b) HMS Churchill started their refit programmes.

The refit of HMS Warspite commenced in 1988 and that of HMS Churchill in 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the fault was discovered in the reactor of HMS Warspite.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what faults have been discovered in the course of the refit of HMS Warspite with the submarine's nuclear reactor and its associated systems.

It is not our practice to comment on specific events or features relating to the refits of the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered submarines or on matters relating to nuclear submarine design.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what part the reactor fault played in the decision to scrap HMS Warspite.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what influence technical defects discovered in the course of the refit of HMS Warspite has had on the decision to decommission the submarine.

A range of factors were taken into account before deciding which submarines to decommission to achieve the lower force level of about 16 boats, including age, capability, material state and cost of maintenance and operation. All of these factors are relevant in the case of HMS Warspite.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to ascertain whether any other submarines in service have similar reactor faults to that found in HMS Warspite.

A programme of inspections of all the Royal Navy's in-service nuclear-powered submarines is in progress following the discovery of a technical defect in one of the submarines during refit. It is not our practice to comment on specific aspects of nuclear-powered submarines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the date on which a decision was taken to scrap HMS Warspite.

The decision to reduce the submarine force level to around 16 was announced to the House on 25 July at column 471. The consequential decision to decommission HMS Warspite was taken in early September this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes to the maritime threat to the United Kingdom have occurred in the last two years; and what effect these changes have had on the decision to decommission HMS Warspite.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, on 25 July at column 470, which outlined the major changes which are taking place in the international scene.Against that background, we aim to maintain the force levels envisaged in that statement with the more modern and capable assets in service or under construction; older platforms, such as HMS Warspite, are therefore being decommissioned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if ministerial approval is required for any decision to scrap Royal Navy vessels.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will arrange for reduced rate postage for parcel post by air to service personnel serving in the general area of the Persian Gulf.

Forces concessionary postage rates for service personnel serving in the Gulf were introduced on 12 September. The forces concessionary scheme normally provides for letters to be sent by air and parcels up to 10kg by sea at postage rates generally in line with the United Kingdom inland postage rate. At present all mail to the Gulf is being carried by RAF aircraft with a transit time of about five days for letters and 10 days for parcels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the disposal of his Department's houses on and adjacent to Royal Navy armaments depot Milford Haven.

Once the disposal of the main site has been arranged, occupied houses will be offered for sale to sitting tenants and vacant houses will be sold on the open market.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many announcements of submarine decommissioning have been made since 25 July.

The decommissioning of HMS Churchill was announced on 29 October at column 414; and that of HMS Warspite on 1 November at column 770. In addition, on 31 July and MOD press release was issued in which it was stated that Her Majesty's ships Onslaught, Odin and Conqueror are to be decommissioned.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement concerning the Government's policies towards proposals to legislate to allow the patenting of living beings and the implications for farming and research in this country.

Discussions are continuing on the European Community proposal for a directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. United Kingdom patent law does not permit the patenting of any variety of animal or plant or any essentially biological process; neither does the draft directive propose to do so. However, under present United Kingdom law and the proposed directive, microbiological processes (such as might be used in genetic engineering techniques) and their products can be patented. I expect farming and research in the United Kingdom to benefit from new developments in biotechnology, as it has benefited from other new technology.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations he has received concerning the live export of racing greyhounds to Europe; and if he will make a statement.

I have received a number of letters expressing concern about a trade in greyhounds from the Irish Republic to Spain. That is a matter for the authorities in the Irish Republic. There is no comparable trade from the United Kingdom.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what account was taken of the verdict in the legal action initiated by the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations on his previous decision on the Hague preference in his latest decision in that case.

The terms of the understanding reached with the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations were borne in mind in the decision-making process in 1990.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what account he took of the views of the Grimsby industry in allocating 3,255 tonnes of North sea haddock to Scotland after his consultation document of 8 August.

Fisheries Ministers took careful account of all the views received from the industry, including those of Grimsby.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the cost criteria used in deciding to allocate extra fish gained as a result of the Hague preference to north Britain; what is the area he has defined as north Britain; and what is the basis of his definition.

Fisheries Ministers decided on the definition of Bridlington and northwards as best meeting the needs of fishing communities given the circumstances which applied in 1990.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the loss of fish in tonnes to Grimsby, Fleetwood and Hull as a result of his decisions on the Hague preference.

Fisheries Ministers considered a range of options when deciding how to allocate west of Scotland whiting and North sea haddock in 1990. Some of those options involved allocating fish to Grimsby, Hull and Fleetwood. The total quantities involved in the allocation of these stocks were small.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the communities he has defined as communities in north Britain dependent on fishing.

For the purposes of the allocation of "Hague preference" North sea haddock and west of Scotland whiting in 1990 the local communities, particularly dependent on fishing and allied industries were defined as Bridlington and northwards, on the basis of all relevant information available to Fisheries Ministers.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail what measures are being taken by his Ministry actively to encourage the United Kingdom food industry to provide comprehensive nutrition information; and if he will make a statement on how the effectiveness of these measures is being monitored and evaluated.

My officials have written to interested parties enclosing a copy of the EC nutrition labelling (rules) directive adopted on 24 September, and summarising its main provisions. This supplements existing guidance to the industry and encourages manufacturers and retailers to provide comprehensive nutrition declarations in accordance with the directive. I shall consider further action in the light of surveys conducted on the extent of nutrition labelling and the level of consumer understanding.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the latest figures for (a) suspected cases and (b) confirmed cases of BSE on a county-by-county basis in England, Wales and Scotland.

The information up to 9 November 1990 is as follows:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the titles of the jobs of people he employs to visit farms and check details of grant and subsidy payments; how many of them he employs, on a region-by-region basis; and if he will make a statement.

The verification visits to farms on grant and subsidy schemes are generally undertaken, among other duties, by staff in the executive officer (field) grade. The number of EOs (field) currently employed in the Ministry's regional offices are as follows:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what has been the cost of the tuberculosis eradication scheme for badgers for each of the last 10 years, including 1990–91; what he estimates future expenditure for the next three years to be; and if he will make a statement;(2) what has been the cost of the tuberculosis eradication scheme for each of the last 10 years, including 1990–91; what he estimates future expenditure to be for the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

A total of £0·4 million was spent on the badger control strategy in 1989. Comparable figures are not available for other years. The annual cost of the bovine tuberculosis eradication scheme (which relates to action taken in respect of tuberculosis in cattle, badgers and latterly deer) is:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers meetings to reach a common Community negotiating position for the general agreement on tariffs and trade talks and the measure to be recommended so as to ensure a properly managed and incremental change in the present system.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (Mr. Stewart) on 8 November at column 8.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has as to the average price of (a) beef per kilo and (b) lamb per kilo received by British farmers and the average retail price at which it is sold in British shops.

The average market price for all clean cattle for the week commencing 29 October 1990 was 102·52p per kg liveweight.Average retail prices for the same week range form £5·94 per kg for topside, to £14·45 per kg for fillet steak and £3·41 per kg for best mince.The average market price for lamb for the week commencing 29 October was 143·3p per kg. Average retail prices for the main cuts of home-killed lamb in the same week were:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes he proposes to make to the conditions attached to fishing licences, in the light of the judgments of the European Court of Justice in the Agegate and Jaderow cases.

The Agegate and Jaderow proceedings were originally commenced against the Department in 1986 in order to challenge the validity of the fish licensing conditions designed to procure the proper implementation of the quota system under the common fisheries policy. In the course of those proceedings our courts referred certain legal questions to the European Court of Justice. The European Court of Justice delivered its judgments on 14 December 1989 and the matter is to return to the English divisional court.The ECJ judgments cast doubt on the validity of the crewing condition in its present form but upheld our right to have an operating condition provided that certain rights were respected. We have been considering what changes need to be made to our licence conditions in the light of these judgments. At present we are minded to tighten up the operating conditions in order to improve compliance

and to make enforcement easier. This will probably entail conditions such as the following applying to all vessels which do not land at least half their annual catch in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the locations within the three counties of Yorkshire and Humberside that are affected with heracleum montegazzianum; and what advice has been issued in these counties to warn public of the dangers of coming into contact with heracleum montegazzianum.

I have been asked to reply.My Department has no detailed information on this subject but my advice from the Nature Conservancy Council is that the species is scarce in these areas. I am not aware that any advice has been issued about the dangers to the public of coming into contact with it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are currently on all local health authority waiting lists for neurology operations in England and Wales; and how long patients have to wait for their operations in this department.