To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the amount of merchant ship tonnage in British yards (a) under construction and (b) already ordered., in 1979 and at the latest available date.

The information is as follows:

	Under construction	thousand gross tonnes already ordered
1979	508	264
1 1990	275	387
1 End of 3rd quarter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department's arrangements for housing the NATO central supplies agency have been completed; and what is the estimated cost of setting up, activating and operating the United Kingdom base for the central supplies agency.

A site has been identified for the location of the eastern branch of the NATO Central Supplies Agency. this site is presently occupied by a civilian organisation which will give it up on short notice if it is required to house the CSA during crisis or war. Until the site is required to house the CSA, the peacetime occupier will bear the rental and maintenance costs. It is not possible to say at this time what the costs of setting up and operating the agency in crisis or war might be. The cost of operating the agency in such cirmcumstances would fall to NATO.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will order an investigation into whether the practices of large bookmaking companies include the rigging or fixing of odds on United Kingdom racecourses and tracks.

The practice of "laying-off" of bets is not illegal under the gaming legislation. During its investigation of the Grand Metropolitan/William Hill merger in 1989, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission looked at the practice in this context. They found that there was little evidence that the bookmakers had acted other than defensively in laying-off bets, in order that the odds should reflect the weight of money placed off-course. It therefore concluded that the merger did not operate against the public interest. In the light of the Channel 4 programme "Dispatches" shown on 12 December, the Office of Fair Trading is considering whether any new issues are raised which warrant further action.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the most recent date on which his Department's export licence unit manual of instructions was revised, in particular in respect of the export of strategic materials and weaponry.

The manual is amended on a continuous basis in the light of changing circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government about the tax discrimination made by the Chilean Government against Scotch whisky.

The Government are continuing to press for elimination of the tax discrimination against exports of Scotch whisky to Chile both on its bilateral contacts with the Chilean authorities and through the Commission of the European Communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will take steps to expedite the publication of his Department's annual report under section 729 of the Companies Act 1985.

The most recent report was published on 7 November 1990. The publication date is determined mainly by the time needed to compile the comprehensive statistical information contained in the report. It is always published as soon as possible after the material is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his policy relating to accountancy firm mergers.

The Government's policy on mergers in the accountancy profession is the same as for any other mergers. Each case is considered on its individual merits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any of Britain's top 300 companies are audited by firms criticised by his Department's inspectors.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 26 October 1990 Official Report, column 330.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will propose legislation under which company auditors would be banned from recruiting directors of their client companies.

I see no reason to do so. Ethical guidance issued by the professional accountancy bodies states that no one should take part in the audit of a company if he has, during the period on which the report is to be made or at any time in the two years prior to the first day of that period, been an officer, other than auditor, or employee of that company. Under part II of the Companies Act 1989, recognised supervisory bodies are required to have adequate rules and practices as to professional integrity and independence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will propose legislation under which shareholders would be given a copy of the auditors' letter of weakness.

No. The value of a letter of weakness stems from the fact that it is a confidential communication from the auditors to the management of a company. It must be for management, in consultation with the auditors, to decide which third parties, if any, need to be aware of its contents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the accountants criticised in the Euroflame report are still permitted to carry out company audits.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many trading standards prosecutions were brought in 1990 by each local authority to whom such prosecutions are delegated, whether he is satisfied that similar standards of inspection and prosecution are being applied nationally; and if he will make a statement.

The table gives the numbers of prosecutions brought by local authority trading standards departments in Great Britain in the year 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990. This is the latest period for which such information is available. Each local weights and measures authority is responsible for enforcing trading standards legislation in its area. The local authority associations have set up the Local Authority Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards whose functions include co-ordinating operational practice.

Number of prosecutions under all consumer protection statutes brought by local authority trading standards departments 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1990
Authority	Number of prosecutions
	Summary	Indictment	Total
England:
County Councils
Avon	95	1	96
Bedfordshire	78	0	78
Berkshire	63	3	66
Buckinghamshire	72	0	72
Cambridgeshire	141	0	141
Cheshire	168	9	177
Cleveland	75	0	75
Cornwall	49	2	51
Cumbria	34	0	34
Derbyshire	142	0	142
Devon	889	1	890
Dorset	58	0	58
Durham	63	0	63
East Sussex	38	2	40
Essex	320	4	324
Hampshire	167	4	171
Hereford and Worcester	76	0	76
Hertfordshire	33	2	35
Humberside	302	12	314
Isle of Wight	3	0	3

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any proposals to reduce the danger of purchasers being defrauded by the practice of car clocking; and if he will make a statement.

Clocking is a criminal offence under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Trading standards officers of local authorities have the appropriate powers to investigate cases and to prosecute offenders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the precise purpose for which the machine tools to be exported by Matrix Churchill were to be used according to form C5 filled in by the exporter.

I believe that the hon. Member is referring to information requested at C6 of the export licence application form. It had been the practice of successive Governments not to discuss information concerning individual export licences.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will list the services which his Department has purchased from the Levitt Group.

I am aware of none.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will place a copy of the FIMBRA report on the Levitt Group in the Library.

No. The report is a matter for FIMBRA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the findings of the recent investigation into the operation of the scheme introduced by the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 whereby public funds are available for sequestration in Scotland; and what reform of the scheme is proposed.

The policy evaluation is not yet complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for each year since inception, what was the number of sequestrations awarded under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 where the total debts have not exceeded £2,000.

Comprehensive statistics are not available but the accountant in bankruptcy estimates, on the basis of a sampling exercise, that the percentage of sequestrations awarded annually where the total debts did not exceed £2,000 were as follows:

	per cent.
1986	2·9
1987	1·2
1988	2·8
1989	6·9

The figure for 1989 is based on the information available on the total debts when the sampling exercise was undertaken and is provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in cases of voluntary sequestration or sequestration, pursuant to a trust deed under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, what monitoring is applied to identify the payer of the pre-sequestration expenses such as legal fees and out-lays in connection with the petition; and what steps are taken to establish whether these expenses are paid by the trustee subsequently appointed or by a partner of the trustee or anyone associated with the trustee.

A trust deed is an entirely private arrangement between truster and trustee and is not subject to supervision by the court. There is no provision in the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 requiring or empowering the accountant in bankruptcy to identify the source of payment of pre-sequestration expenses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the countries with whom he has had discussions about their export of uranium enrichment centrifuge or military sensitive equipment to Iraq.

No. The export of such goods would require an export licence. The established practice is not to publish information about export licence applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the Export Credits Guarantee Department's portfolio management system.

In his answer of 18 December 1989 to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart), my predecessor announced that the Government had decided that ECGD should continue to provide export credit and financing support for United Kingdom project exports, but that, in order to reduce the costs of such support, radical new methods for the management of ECGD's political risk portfolio would be introduced.The Government continue to attach great importance to United Kingdom project and capital goods exports and to maintaining a viable and stable framework of ECGD support. However, the international debt crisis, and more recently the events in the Gulf, have shown the risks which are assumed by ECGD to be potentially very significant. Since the onset of the debt crisis ECGD has accumulated a deficit with the Exchequer of over £2·5 billion as a result of claims paid under its guarantees. This deficit has had to be financed by the taxpayer, and further substantial claims payments estimated at around £2·5 billion are expected over the next few years. It is important that future risks are underwritten on a prudent basis.Against this background, the ECGD has now introduced a portfolio management system—PMS—for its underwriting of project and capital goods exports. The purpose of PMS is to provide a more disciplined and prudent framework for taking decisions about ECGD support for such exports. PMS will allow Ministers better to weigh the national interest reasons for giving such support against the risks to the ECGD and the taxpayer that premium income will not be able to cover underwriting losses.With regard to PMS, the Government have now taken decisions on the availability of ECGD cover for a number of important overseas markets. It is not the ECGD's policy to disclose details of the amount of cover available for individual markets; exporters should contact the ECGD to ascertain the cover position in respect of contracts they are currently processing.Under PMS, the ECGD will also be introducing a new premium rating system for its guarantees in respect of project exports. The Government intend to press in international fora for other export credit agencies to charge more economic premium rates for export credit support, but, in the meantime, ECGD will be adopting new premium rates which will be matched more closely to risk. This will mean that rates for higher risk markets will rise, but there will be some reductions in the better risk markets. The new premium system will be introduced in 1991–92. Export contracts which are concluded in 1990–91 will attract premium rates under the current system. The ECGD will announce details of the new system in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all the companies in the Levitt Group, the regulatory body each company is a member of and the date of the last accounts of each company filed at Companies House.

[holding answer 18 December 1990]: My information is as follows:

	Date of last accounts 1988
The Levitt Group (Holdings) plc	31 December
The Levitt Group Ltd.—member of FIMBRA	31 December
R J Levitt Pension Consultants Ltd.	31 December
R J Levitt Insurance Consultants Ltd.	31 December
Devonshire House Ltd.	31 December
Levitt & Co Ltd.	31 December
Olympic Gold Financial Services Ltd.	31 December
The Levitt Group (Mortgage Services) Ltd.	31 December
The Levitt Group (Financial Services) Ltd.	31 December
The Mortgage Collection Ltd.	31 December
Devonshire General Insurance Consultants Ltd.	31 December
Deansway Developments Ltd.	31 December
Levitt Insurance Brokers Ltd.	31 December
Chambers & Newman Financial Services Ltd.	31 December
Chambers & Newman (European) Ltd.	31 December
Chambers, Newman & Walters Ltd.	31 December
Gyrobond Ltd.	31 December
Chambers & Newman (Holdings) Ltd.	31 December
Levitt Group (Nominees) Ltd.	31 December
Levitt Group (Leasing) Ltd.	31 December
Zohar Pictures Ltd.	31 December
Property Acumen plc	31 December
Knight, Ellis & Co Ltd.	31 December
The Levitt Group (Commercial Finance) Ltd.	1—
Newforce Properties Ltd.	1—
Faith Corporation Ltd	2—
Levitt Sports & Entertainment Ltd.	2—
The Levitt Group Investment Management Ltd.	2—
Levitt Securities Ltd.	2—
Christchurch Consultancy Management Services Ltd.	2—
Levitt Promotions Ltd.	2—
Levitt Financial Planning Ltd.	2—
Levitt Film, Finance & Insurance Services Ltd.	2—
CLP—Levitt Ltd.	2—
The Levitt Group (International Holdings) Ltd.	2—
Frank Maloney Promotions & Management Ltd.	2—
The Levitt Group Holdings Inc.	3—
The Levitt Group Inc.	3—
The Levitt Group Financial Services Inc	3—
Levitt (Ingeniene Financiere) S A	3—
The Levitt Group Ltd is a member of FIMBRA. Levitt Insurance Brokers Ltd. and Chambers & Newman Financial Services Ltd are members of IBRC.
1 No accounts filed since incorporation
2 Accounts not yet required
3 Companies not registered in the United Kingdom

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions have taken place between his Department and the British Standards Institute over the development by the British Standards Institute of a new standard on environmental management practice in production industry.

[holding answer 20 December 1990]: My officials have had general discussions with a number of organisations, including the British Standards Institute, about possible approaches to encouraging improved standards of environmental management by companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he will give Grain and Feed Trade Association members regarding the provision of credit facilities for United Kingdom cereal exports to non EC countries in the light of the recent Russian decision not to trade unless credit facilities are made available.

I have been asked to reply. In response to the credit needs of the Soviet Union, the European Council has agreed to introduce credit guarantees for Community exporters of food to that market. The details of the guarantees have yet to be worked out but they may be available to cereal exporters. For other non-EC markets, United Kingdom cereal exporters who need credit facilities may wish to seek them from banks or from the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement setting out the arrangements for a realignment of sterling within the ERM; and if this is a decision which the United Kingdom can make alone.

Adjustments to central rates between ERM member currencies are subject to mutual agreement by a common procedure which comprises all countries participating in the ERM. Any member state wishing to propose a realignment may do so. If necessary, a conference of finance Ministers, and Central Bank governors is held to consider any proposed realignment. The United Kingdom has no intention of seeking a realignment of sterling within the ERM.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what representations he has had from the chairman of National Power regarding its future levels of capital investment and its preferred financing methods for that capital investment;(2) what consultations he has had with the chairman of National Power regarding the proposed debt level to be injected into its balance sheet; and if he will make a statement;(3) what representations he has had from the chairman of National Power regarding the expected level of profits to be declared for the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Consultations with the chairman of National Power are confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the number of applications for each of the 12 regional electricity companies that were made on (a) employee forms and (b) pensioner priority forms.

The numbers of applications for shares in the 12 regional electricity companies made on (a) employee forms and (b) pensioner priority forms are as set out in the table. A number of employees were eligible for and applied under both the discount and priority offer and the free and matching offer.

	Number of applications on employee forms1	Number of applications on pensioner forms
Eastern Electricity	13,350	2,377
East Midlands Electricity	10,320	1,560
London Electricity	8,707	2,163
Manweb	7,173	1,180
Midlands Electricity	10,524	2,048
Northern Electricity	7,197	1,052
NORWEB	11,197	1,907
SEEBOARD	8,289	1,981
Southern Electric	10,873	2,287
South Wales Electricity	5,068	1,007
South Western Electricity	8,030	1,566
Yorkshire Electricity	9,748	1,743
1 Provisional figures.

These figures exclude 10,639 applications from employees of NGC and EASL for collections of shares.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has any plans to seek a further reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions during negotiations on the new European protocol.

The United Kingdom will play a positive part in the current discussions on the revision of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe protocol of sulphur dioxide emissions. All sources of sulphur dioxide emissions will be covered in the negotiations including those not already subject to separate ceilings. It is the Government's view that the new agreement should be based on the critical loads approach. It is too early to predict the outcome of these discussions.

To ask the Attorney-General when he expects a date to be set for the appeal of the Birmingham Six; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Attorney-General when he expects a date to be set for the appeal of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.

To ask the Attorney-General when he expects a date to be set for the appeal of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings; and if he will make a statement.

I refer to my earlier answer to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin).

To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received calling for the establishment of a complaints procedure against private bailiffs.

The National Consumer Council has recently published a report which recommends that the Lord Chancellor's Department should advertise a central address and telephone number to receive complaints against private bailiffs. The Government are considering the recommendations of this report.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the prosecution of persons sending racist and anti-Semitic literature through the post.

Such people may commit offences under part III of the Public Order Act 1986, or under the Malicious Communications Act 1988. I am aware of 16 separate police investigations arising out of the distribution of allegedly anti-Semitic material through the post.

To ask the Attorney-General how many vacancies for professionally qualified staff exist currently in (a) the Crown prosecution service and (b) the Serious Fraud Office; and if he will make a statement.

The Crown prosecution service currently has 366·5 vacancies for lawyers, within a total requirement for lawyers of 2,053. In the past 12 months the number of lawyers in post has increased from 1,580 to 1,686·5, an average net gain of 10·5 per month. There are no vacancies for lawyers or accountants in the Serious Fraud Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will increase aid to Vietnam.

The Government are providing financial support to British non-governmental organisations for projects in Vietnam. We have no immediate plans to begin a direct aid programme, but we are keeping this question under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much support has been given to preserving the rain forests of Zaire (a) in the last year, (b) five years ago and (c) 10 years ago; and if he will make a statement.

Our technical co-operation programme for Zaire is limited to training and assistance for English language teaching. But European Community commitments to forestry between 1987 and 1989 amounted to £10·7 million, and our share of these came to about £1·8 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding United Kingdom aid to India.

Aid to India continues to be the largest British bilateral aid programme amounting to over £500 million in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what prospects Her Majesty's Government see of relieving the threat of famine in Sudan and Ethiopia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what prospects the Overseas Development Administration sees of relieving the threat of famine for the people of Sudan and Ethiopia.

As I told the House on 19 December, effective relief machinery is in place in Ethiopia. Massawa port is open. Government and rebel groups are co-operating on relief. If this holds and the international community gives generously, we may be able to avert the worst effects of famine.The outlook for Sudan is very much worse. Given the scale of the crisis and the lack of Sudanese Government co-operation, it is hard to help, but we shall do what we can to alleviate hardship.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on bilateral aid agreements with Brazil on environmental matters.

We have agreed four projects at a total cost to Her Majesty's Government of £4·6 million. All four are now under way. We expect to approve shortly a further four projects costing £4 million. A number of other project proposals are under discussion and awaiting the approval of the Brazilian authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has put forward any proposals to the World Bank to reduce the burden of debt on third world countries.

Britain has taken the lead in international efforts to provide debt relief for the poorest and most heavily indebted countries. In Trinidad last September, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, put forward proposals for increasing the relief available under earlier schemes. He proposed a reduction of two thirds in the official bilateral debt of eligible countries, with the remainder rescheduled over 25 years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors underlie the difference between the figure given by the Minister for Overseas Development, concerning the percentage of British aid that is tied, Official Report, 14 December, column 1298, and the figures for united British aid on table 32, page 220, of the OECD's 1990 report "Development and Co-operation".

The figure I gave in the House was based on gross public expenditure on overseas bilateral aid in 1989. The figure in the OECD report is based on new commitments of bilateral official development assistance in 1988. The two figures thus relate to different years and to different measures of aid flows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the offer of aid and trade provision aid to support phase 2 of the Rihand power station in India has expired; and whether it will be renewed.

An offer of aid for stage II of the Rihand power station in India was made on 23 September 1988 subject to appraisal and approval of the project by the Overseas Development Administration. In subsequent exchanges with the Government of India, we have confirmed our interest and emphasised that approval of any aid funding would be subject to our satisfaction with the environmental, technical, financial and economic aspects of the project.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will show, in table form (a) the level of United Kingdom official development assistance in 1979 and 1989, in current and in constant 1989 prices, (b) the size of the aid budget in 1979, and 1990, in current and in constant 1990 prices and (c) the total gross public expenditure on overseas aid in 1979 and 1989 in current and in constant 1989 prices in all cases showing the percentage change.

The information is as follows:

	1979 £ million	1989 £ million	Percentage change on 1979
1. Net Official Development Assistance
Current prices	1,016	1,578	+ 55·3
Constant 1989 prices	2,099	1,578	-24·8
2. Net Aid Programme
Current Prices	825	1,562	+ 89·3
Constant 1989 prices	1,705	1,562	- 8·4
3. Gross Public Expenditure
Current prices	939	1,788	+ 90·4
Constant 1989 prices	1,940	1,788	- 7·8

Figures for 1990 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid money or other support has been given to the Indian co-ordinating group, CIOCA, in the Brazilian Amazon.

We are not aware of the organisation referred to by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many grants of less than £500,000 have been paid or allocated from the aid programme in 1989 and 1990; how many grants of less than £100,000 have been paid or allocated from the aid programme in 1989 and 1990; and how many of these have been for projects in the Amazon region.

Information is not available in the form requested by the hon. Lady. The relevant information that is readily available is as follows:Forty-nine new financial aid commitments of less than £500,000 were made in 1989—comparable information for 1990 is not yet available—of which 19 were less than £100,000. None was for the Amazon region. Technical co-operation projects and projects under the joint funding scheme are not included in these totals; but all technical co-operation projects in that region so far entered into during 1990 under the memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Government are in excess of £500,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on guarantees on European investment bank lending entered into under the Lomé conventions and on the procedures for notifying Parliament of these guarantees.

I have today laid before the House a minute giving details of such guarantees, and the procedure for notifying Parliament of them in the future. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's contribution to (a) the ISIS particle accelerator and (b) the Institut Laue-Langevin at Grenoble.

In the financial year 1990–91, the United Kingdom will contribute £10·4 million to ISIS, and £9·9 million to the Institut Laue-Langevin.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what provision is made within the core curriculum for preparation for marriage and adult relationships.

Within the core curriculum, the national curriculum science order requires that pupils should know about the physical and emotional changes during adolescence and understand the need for responsible attitudes to sexual behaviour; the processes of human conception; and the factors necessary for the well-being of young children in the early stages of their development. More broadly, the National Curriculum Council has offered guidance to schools on the incorporation of such topics into the curriculum in its publications on cross-curricular themes: "Curriculum Guidance 5: Health Education" and "Curriculum Guidance 8: Education for Citizenship".

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to increase the tuition on marriage guidance counselling included in medical training courses.

The content of the undergraduate medical curriculum is a matter for individual institutions in the light of recommendations from the education committee of the General Medical Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total amount of moneys that his Department is allocating to Bedfordshire county council for the maintenance and repair of school buildings for the year 1991–92; what is the amount allocated in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Bedfordshire local education authority is to receive an annual capital guideline of £1·974 million in 1991–92, of which £1·833 million is related to schools, and an allocation of £0·6 million for projects at voluntary aided and special agreement schools. In the current year, Bedfordshire has received an ACG of £2·409 million—£2·309 million is related to schools—and an allocation for VA and SA schools of £15,000. The authority can also use capital receipts and other sources such of funding, including its revenue budget, to support capital expenditure. However, the Government do not allocate to LEAs separately identified recurrent funds for repairs and maintenance: it is for each authority, and, under local management, its schools, to determine what proportion of the total recurrent funds available to them to allocate for that purpose.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the funding of the rural schools project.

Since 1985 the Government have supported through education support grant expenditure totalling about £7·5 million on projects to improve the range and quality of the curriculum in rural schools in 14 local education authorities. In common with all education support grant programmes, support is limited to a finite period for these pilot projects. Support in 13 of the 14 local education authorities will have ceased by the end of the 1990–91 financial year. Because of a later start, support for Northumberland LEA will end in 1991–92. The programme is being evaluated by Leicester university with the aim of issuing to LEAs a report with recommendations by the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to establish an independent soccer commissioner to oversee the workings of the existing football authorities.

The administration of association football is a matter for the football authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what additional (a) loan sanction and (b) grant has been granted to Nottinghamshire county council for education purposes for the next financial year; and if he will make a statement.

The annual capital guideline for education for Nottinghamshire in 1991–92 is £5·167 million. The authority's credit approval, which sets the limit for its borrowing for the year, is calculated for all services and is £15·891 million. The proposed revenue support grant for the charging authorities within the area of the authority for 1991–92 is £146·8 million. As this is paid in support of all services, it is not possible to specify how much supports education expenditure. In addition to this general support, over £7 million of Nottinghamshire's education expenditure is to be supported through specific grants from the programme of grants for education support and training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science on the latest available figures, if he will set out for each local education authority (a) the level of expenditure on the youth service and (b) the standard spending assessment for the youth service.

The latest year for which outturn expenditure is available is 1988–89. Table 1 shows the actual recurrent expenditure of each local education authority on youth and community services in 1988–89, with the exception of three authorities which failed to make a return. The standard spending assessment does not include a block of expenditure dedicated to the youth service alone, but makes allowance for this expenditure within the "other education services" block, which also allows for adult education. Table 2 shows the amount for each local education authority of the "other education services" block of the standard spending assessment for 1990–91.

Table 1
Expenditure by LEAs on the Youth Service, 1988–89
LEA	£ million
Barking	0·697
Barnet	0·966
Bexley	0·758
Brent	2·377
Bromley	0·894
Croydon	1·054
Ealing	1·804
Enfield	0·796
Haringey	n/a
Harrow	0·648
Havering	0·845
Hillingdon	1·018
Hounslow	0·737
Kingston-upon-Thames	0·580
Merton	0·459
Newham	1·104
Redbridge	1·078
Richmond-upon-Thames	0·514
Sutton	0·517
Waltham Forest	1·336
ILEA	35·377
Birmingham	4·396
Coventry	1·095
Dudley	0·983
Sandwell	0·736
Solihull	0·430