To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 5 March.

I have been asked to reply.My right honourable Friend the Prime Minister is in Moscow having bilateral discussions with President Gorbachev.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at the Cabinet Office.

The top grades in my Department are normally filled by promotion from within, or by staff on loan from other Departments. The Cabinet Office monitors the ethnic origin of all new entrants to the Department and promotion is solely on merit. If it is necessary to recruit to the top grades from outside the civil service, the Cabinet office turns to the Civil Service Commissioners. They adopt a wide range of good equal opportunity practices to aid recruitment of members of the ethnic minorities, including the monitoring of applicants at every stage of the selection process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to encourage the development of equipment to trace hoax and nuisance telephone calls; and if he will make a statement.

The provision of call tracing facilities is primarily a matter for the network operators. I know that the Director General of Telecommunications, Sir Bryan Carsberg, is keeping the situation under close review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out the increase or decrease in value and volume of manufactured trade to and from the Federal Republic of Germany of (a) United Kingdom, (b) France and (c) the United States of America in each year from 1985 to 1990, together with the balance of total trade and manufactured trade with Germany in each case.

The information is in the tables. Figures for 1990 are not available for the United States of America and France.Data in volume terms are not available for bilateral trade.

Exports of manufactures1to Federal Republic of Germany
From:	USA $B	USA per cent. annual change	France $B	France per cent. annual change	UK $B	UK per cent. annual change
1985	6·8	—	11·0	—	7·4	—
1986	7·9	15·8	14·9	35·7	9·3	25·3
1987	8·6	9·2	18·6	24·7	12·0	28·3
1988	10·7	24·6	20·6	10·8	13·4	11·6
1989	13·2	23·0	21·8	6·0	14·5	8·7
1990	N.A.	—	N.A.	—	19·6	—

Imports of manufacturers from Federal Republic of Germany
To:	USA $B	USA per cent. annual change	France $B	France per cent. annual change	UK $B	UK per cent. annual change
1985	19·8	—	15·9	—	14·9	—
1986	24·5	24·0	22·6	42·4	19·2	29·1
1987	26·5	8·0	28·6	26·7	24·2	26·2
1988	25·0	-5·7	32·1	12·1	29·1	20·3
1989	24·0	-4·1	33·8	5·2	30·5	4·7
1990	N.A.	—	N.A.	—	33·4	—

Crude trade balance2 in manufactures with Federal Republic of Germany
	USA $B	France $B	UK $B
1985	-13·0	-4·9	-7·4
1986	-16·7	-7·7	-9·9
1987	-17·9	-10·1	-12·2
1988	-14·3	-11·5	-15·8
1989	-10·8	-12·0	-16·0
1990	N.A.	N.A.	-13·8

Crude trade balance with Federal Republic of Germany
	USA $B	France $B	UK $B
1985	-12·7	-3·2	-4·8
1986	-16·3	-5·7	-8·3
1987	-17·1	-7·3	-10·6
1988	-13·3	-8·5	-14·8
1989	-9·7	-9·2	-14·8
1990	N.A.	N.A.	-12·0
1 = SITC divisions 5 to 8.
2 The crude trade balance is exports (FOB) less imports (CIF).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to commence provisions of the Companies Act 1989.

On Monday 4 March I signed an order which commences certain provisions of the Act. Sections 126 and 127(3) concerning company records come into force on 1 July. Certain powers to make regulations under part VII of the Act—financial markets and insolvency—are also commenced so as to permit regulations under that part to be made to take effect at the time the substantive provisions come into force, which is expected to be in mid-April. The remaining provisions of section 193 come into force on 1 April 1991. Section 193 inserts section 62a and paragraph 22A of schedule 11 into the Financial Services Act 1986, restricting to private investors the right to bring action for contravention of rules, regulations and so on. I have also made regulations under section 62a of the 1986 Act defining "private investor" and specifying circumstances in which rights are retained by persons other than private investors. These will also come into force on 1 April 1991.I have placed a copy of the order in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish the list of potential purchasers after privatisation of the insurance services group of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

[pursuant to the reply, 4 February 1991, c. 25]: The privatisation of ECGD's short-term business, currently undertaken within the insurance services group, will, as previously announced, be by means of a competition among prospective trade purchasers and consortia.Last July, Samuel Montagu, acting on my behalf, issued a prequalification questionnaire accompanied by a preliminary information memorandum to potential investors who had expressed a written interest in acquiring the business. There was a good response to these documents from a wide range of investors.The Government have now decided on a shortlist of potential bidders for the business. In alphabetical order, these are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children who were killed or injured in road accidents were not wearing seatbelts in (a) 1989 and (b) 1990.

The information available is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the destination and cargo of the British registered coaster MV Breydon when fire broke out earlier this month.

A statement is not appropriate at this stage as the cause of the fire is still being investigated by the marine accident investigation branch. However, I understand that when the fire broke out the vessel was on passage from Great Oakely, near Harwich to Drogheda in Southern Ireland, with a cargo of explosives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origins of its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

The Department completed its latest voluntary survey of the ethnic origins of its staff during January 1991. The Department's response rate following the re-survey is 91 per cent. This information will be kept up to date by asking new entrants to complete an ethnic background questionnaire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of officers in each grade (1–7) and overall in the Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities, respectively.

The numbers and percentages of women and ethnic minority staff employed in the Department at present are:

	Total	Women		Recorded number	Ethnic1 percentage
		Number	Percentage
All grades	15,274	7,005	45·86	644	4·22
Grade 1	1	—	—	—	—
Grade 2	4	—	—	—	—
Grade 3	20	—	—	—	—
Grade 4	18	1	5·50	—	—
Grade 5	107	8	7·47	1	0·93
Grade 6	146	2	1·36	3	2·05
Grade 7	526	58	11·02	16	3·04
Total	822	69	8·38	20	2·43
1 These figures are based on a voluntary confidential survey of staff, the response rate overall and for the grades 1–7, is 91 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at his Department.

The Civil Service Commission is responsible for the recruitment of top grades to all Departments of the civil service. Recruitment and promotion are carried out on the principle of fair and open competition.The Commission is extending links with universities, polytechnics and tertiary colleges to attract more applicants including those from ethnic minorities; ensuring that its recruitment brochures reflect a multi-racial work force; and validating selection procedures to ensure that they are fair and non-discriminatory.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what performance targets he set British Rail for the number of trains which arrive on time during (a) 1989 and (b) 1990; what was the performance against target; and if he will make a statement.

British Rail's current quality of service objectives were set in December 1989 by my right hon. Friend, the member for Hertsmere, to cover a three-year period from April 1990 to March 1993. BR's quality objectives for InterCity and Network SouthEast were set by the Government in October 1986 and covered the period up to the end of March 1990. Quality objectives for regional railways were first set in July 1989. The performance of each sector against their separate objectives is shown in the attached table:

British Rail performance: Punctuality
InterCity
Punctuality	Objective	1989–90	1990–91
	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
+/- 10 minutes	90·0	84·2	86·2

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he could list the amount spent on research and development by British Rail for each year since 1979.

This is a matter for British Rail. The information is not immediately available in my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the detailed recommendations of the regional controllers on the implementation of the review of the auxiliary coastguard service.

It is not normal practice to publish the advice of officials to Ministers. However, I would be willing to discuss the outcome of the review with the hon. Member before reaching decisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a full copy of the review of Her Majesty's coastguard sector organisation and auxiliary coastguard service.

No. But I have made widely available a summary of those points of the review that are likely to be of interest outside the coastguard service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the next stage in the Government's policy of encouraging privately-financed roads infrastructure will be.

The Government are committed to greater use of the private sector in providing transport infrastructure. I have now decided to seek views on the suitability of the western orbital route for a private finance competition.The scheme has been planned hitherto as a public sector road. But I believe that the private sector should be given the opportunity to play the leading role in designing, planning, building and operating this road and financing it by tolls paid by the motorist. Of course, the Government are concerned to achieve the most cost effective provision of roads, and so will choose the option which offers better value for money. The costs and benefits of private sector proposals for the western orbital route will therefore be compared with those of the public sector alternative.Private sector involvement can provide the opportunity for more and better transport provision, relieving congestion whilst safeguarding the environment. Market disciplines should lead to greater efficiency and innovation. The private sector costs would not be subtracted from total public sector provision.There will be full safeguards for the environment and for local people, if a private sector scheme goes ahead. The Department of Transport will be looking for proposals for a privately financed road on broadly the same route as that already announced.Extensive environmental protection, including sensitive landscaping, would be a dominant feature of the proposed public sector scheme. Any private sector scheme would be required to achieve the same environmental standards, and a full environment assessment carried out.If the privately-funded scheme goes ahead authorisation will be sought under the new procedures proposed under the New Roads and Street Works Bill. This means that those affected by the road would have the same opportunities to voice their opinions as if the road were a public scheme. And the arrangements for compensation of owners of land or property would be exactly the same as if the scheme were publicly-funded.I would aim for a private sector road to be completed at approximately the same time as the public sector scheme, that is towards the end of the 1990s.This is a major new opportunity for the private sector to provide roads, and good news for the west midlands. It shows that the private finance initiative goes from strength to strength. I look forward to seeing an imaginative response from industry to get this road built as quickly as possible.The positive benefits of this scheme are enormous. It would reduce congestion on the existing M5 and M6, and improve access to the western side of the west midlands conurbation, and therefore assist in the economic regeneration of the inner city areas, particularly in the black country.We would ensure that the positive benefits of this route for the west midlands are protected by seeking from bidders a road which achieves the objective of relieving the present M5 and M6 within the conurbation and provides better connections to the national motorway system for Dudley and Wolverhampton.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of officers in each grade (1–7) and overall in the Treasury are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities respectively.

The information requested in respect of grades 1 to 7 is shown in the table. The proportion of Treasury staff who are women is 43 per cent. Ethnic origin data is held for 84 per cent. of Treasury staff and of this total just over 7 per cent. are from ethnic minorities. All figures reflect the position as at 28 February 1991.

	Women		Ethnic minorities
Grade	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.
1A	—	—	—	—
2	1	11	—	—
3	4	13	—	—
4	—	—	—	—
5	11	14	—	—
6	—	—	—	—
7	50	18	3	1

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 December, Official Report, column 111, whether he has completed his consideration

Effects of changes for 1991–92 compared with 1990–91 income tax allowances and thresholds
	Direct revenue cost
	On receipts in 1991–92		In a full year at 1991–92 income levels		Reduction in number of taxpayers
Increase in allowances1by	Compared with 1990–91 allowances (£ billion)	Statutory indexation (£ billion)	Compared with 1990–91 allowances (£ billion)	Statutory indexation (£ billion)	Compared with 1990–91 allowances (millions)	Statutory indexation (millions)
(a) Increase in average earnings2	2·1	-0·3	2·9	-0·3	0·9	-0·1
(b) Change in RPI in year to December 1990	2·4	—	3·2	—	1·0	—
(c) 8 percent.	2·0	-0·4	2·7	-0·5	0·9	-0·1
(d) 5·5 per cent.	1·4	-1·0	1·9	-1·3	0·6	-0·3
1 And basic rate limit.
2 The working assumption used in the autumn statement of 8·5 per cent.

I am still considering the matter.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax units in the United Kingdom had (a) earnings, (b) total incomes per annum and (c) total assets exceeding (i) £70,000, (ii) £100,000, (iii) £250,000, (iv) £500,000 and (v) £1,000,000 in 1990–91; what was the percentage of the total in each category; and what were the comparable figures in 1978–79, adjusted for inflation.

The available information is given in the table:

	Number of individuals (thousands)	Percentage of taxpayers
1990–91
Earnings over £70,000	115	0·4
Total income for income tax purposes over £70,000	170	0·6
1978–79
Earnings over £27,700	20	0·1
Total income for income tax purposes over £27,700	30	0·1

Estimates of the value of assets of the United Kingdom population in 1990–91 are not yet available. Information for 1988 and earlier years is published in

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost in 1991–92 and a full year of increasing all personal allowances by (a) the current increase in average earnings, (b) the inflation rate in December 1990, (c) 8 per cent. and (d) 5·5 per cent.; what would be the impact in each case on the number of people paying tax; and what would be the average gain per person in each case for people on annual incomes of £5,000, £10,000, £15,000, £20,000, £30,000, £40,000 and £50,000 and over.

[holding answer 25 February 1991]: The latest estimates are given in the tables.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost of enabling married couples who wish to share the benefits of married couple's allowance equally between them to do so.

[holding answer 25 February 1991]: About £5 million in a full year at 1990–91 levels.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would be obtained if (a) personal tax allowances, (b) age allowance, (c) mortgage interest tax relief and (d) tax relief for occupational and private pensions were restricted to the basic rate in 1991–92 and in a full year.

[holding answer 25 February 1991]: Estimates for 1991–92 are not yet available.The latest estimates of the direct revenue yields in a full year at 1990–91 levels of income from restricting the income tax reliefs and allowances to the basic rate are as follows:

	£ million
Personal tax allowances	1,270
Age allowance1	nil
Mortgage interest relief	470
Relief on contributions to personal pensions2	3130
Relief on employee's contributions to occupational pension schemes	220
1 The extra component of the personal allowance given solely to aged taxpayers.
2 Including relief for retirement annuity premia and free standing additional voluntary contributions.
3 This estimate is subject to a wide margin of error.

The direct revenue yield from restricting all reliefs and allowances to the basic rate is likely to be in the order of £3 billion, somewhat more than the sums of the yields from restricting the reliefs and allowances separately; this is due to the cumulative effect of bringing more people into higher rate tax. About two-thirds of those who would pay more tax as a result of this change are currently liable only at the basic rate. No account is taken of possible behavioural changes or the effect on receipts of capital gains tax.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme in 1989–90 there were in (a) south-east England and (b) the United Kingdom; and what percentage these figures represent of (i) all privately rented property and (ii) all rented property.

[holding answer 25 February 1991]: Provisional estimates for new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme in 1989–90 are as follows:

	New lettings As a percentage of:
	Total number	All privately rented property per cent.	All rented property per cent.
South-east England	1,000	0·18	0·05
United Kingdom	3,000	0·18	0·04

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals are currently receiving mortgage interest tax relief; how many of these are men; and how many of the total are receiving relief at the top rate of tax.

[holding answer 25 February 1991]: There are an estimated 9·4 million single people and married couples with mortgages in 1990–91, of whom about one million receive interest relief at a rate in excess of the basic rate of income tax. A breakdown of the total number of mortgagors is given in the table.

Mortgagors	Million
Single men	1·3
Single women	1·0
Married couples	7·1
Total	9·4

To ask the Minister for the Arts how many and what percentage of officers in each grade (1–7) and overall in the Department are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minorities, respectively.

The number and percentage, of women in grades 2, 5, 6 and 7, and overall in the Office of Arts and Libraries, is as follows. The Department does not employ anyone in grades 1, 3 and 4.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at the Office of Arts and Libraries.

The top grades in my Department are normally filled by promotion from within, or by loans from other Departments. The Cabinet Office records the ethnic origin of all new entrants to the Department, and promotion is solely on merit.

To ask the Minister for the Arts when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origins of its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

The last survey of staff was conducted in 1986. This is kept up to date by information on the ethnic origins of new staff and leavers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origins of its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

The first survey of ethnic origin of staff took place in 1986 and was undertaken on the basis of voluntary self classification. A reminder was sent to all staff for whom the information was not held in November 1988. As a result we now know the ethnic origin of 92·1 per cent of ED group staff. My Department is now considering whether further action is required.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his forecast of changes in employment by industry for the period 1991 to 2000 for Leeds, West for men, women, young persons and ethnic minorities.

The Department does not make forecasts of employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the wages inspectorate has examined rates of pay advertised or paid by Taylorplan Services Ltd. for contract employees in the public or private sector; and if he will make a statement.

The wages inspectorate has no record of Taylorplan Services Ltd. However, in 1986, the wages inspectorate examined rates of pay at Taylorplan Catering Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to undertake new efficiency scrutinies.

I have decided to set up an efficiency scrutiny to examine the industrial tribunal system.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at the time of privatisation, what guidance he gave to water companies with regard to the companies offering consumers alternatives to water metering; and what discussions took place with local authorities on plans to provide alternative systems of valuation in new premises.

We have not given any guidance to water companies or held discussions with local authorities about methods of charging for water services. Each company has had to decide how to charge customers in new or converted properties, in the light of the abolition of domestic rates from 1 April 1990, and I understand that most companies have decided to meter such properties. The Director General of Water Services is responsible for protecting customers' interests and for ensuring that companies do not show undue preference or discrimination in their charging policies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that British Waterways is carrying out all its statutory obligations under section 105 of the Transport Act 1968 with respect to dredging.

Responsibility for day-to-day waterway operation and maintenance rests with the British Waterways Board. It is for the board to satisfy itself that it is fulfilling its statutory obligations for dredging.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many additional units of accommodation each local authority originally estimated would result from the extra housing investment allocation announced on 27 March 1990; and how many units have been provided to date comprising (a) local authority empty dwellings refurbished, (b) housing association empty dwellings refurbished, (c) hostel places provided by local authorities, (d), hostel spaces provided by housing associations, (e) mobile homes provided by local authorities, (f) homes becoming available through cash incentive payments and (g) other.

The cost of compiling the information in the form requested would be disproportionate. I will write to the hon. Member with the material we already have available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which local authorities have received extra housing investment allocation in 1990–91 to provide additional accommodation for the homeless under its £112 million initiative announced on 27 March 1990; and what additional housing investment allocation each local authority has received.

My Department's news release No. 198 dated 27 March 1990, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House, sets out the information requested by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of his Department's survey into motorists' attitudes to the use of lead-free petrol; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. We expect to have the results of the survey in April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has of the number of households in the London borough of Hackney which are occupied by (a) two or (b) more than two adults.

Information is not available in precisely the form requested. However, projections of married couple, lone parent, one person and other households for 1991 are published in the Department's "1985 based estimates of numbers of households in England, the regions, counties, metropolitan districts and London boroughs 1985–2001", which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest figure for the number of unoccupied council houses and flats in Exeter.

The latest available information on empty council dwellings relates to 1 April 1990 and was provided by Exeter city council in its April 1990 housing investment programme return (HIP1), a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans have been made to provide adapted housing for service personnel permanently disabled in the Gulf; and how these will be financed.

British casualties in the Gulf have, mercifully, been light and no difficulty is expected in providing adapted housing for any of them who may have been permanently disabled. Disabled people may obtain assistance for house adaptations under the house renovation grant system introduced by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his estimate of the total amounts of money to be made available under the community charge reduction scheme to residents in Gedling borough;

No information is yet available on the amount of reduction scheme grant payable to each charging authority. However, if Gedling borough council sets its community charge for 1991–92 at or above £364, a couple who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in a property of average rateable value could look forward to a reduction of £120 between them; a couple living in a property of half average rateable value could get a reduction of £371 between them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take in regard to Redditch borough council under part I of the Local Government Act 1988.

My right hon. Friend has today issued a direction under section 14 of the Local Government Act 1988 requiring Redditch borough council to expose refuse collection work to competitive tendering again by 1 February 1992. He has taken this action because he was not satisfied with the response which Redditch borough council made to the notice served on 18 January 1991 under section 13 of the Act.That notice set out the Secretary of State's view that Redditch borough council had acted contrary to the requirement of section 7(7) of the Act, which is that, in awarding a contract, an authority must not act in a manner having the effect or intended or likely to have the effect of restricting, distorting or preventing competition, in that, in assigning this work to its direct service organisation, it rejected a lower tender from a private contractor without sufficient reasons.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take in relation to those authorities which have now set budgets above the limits implied by the intended capping criteria; and if he will make a statement.

We will not hesitate to use our capping powers to curb those authorities' budgets which we consider excessive or represent an excessive increase over the previous year.As we have made clear on a number of occasions our present intention is to apply the criteria which my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State announced on 31 October 1990. These intended criteria are, however, necessarily provisional since we cannot take our capping decisions until authorities generally have set their budgets. When we do so, we shall take into account all appropriate considerations. But it is clearly a matter of concern that a few authorities have decided to budget at levels which under the intended criteria are excessive or represent an excessive increase: it remains open to such authorities to adopt substitute lower budgets if they so wish.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at what stage in their posting local authorities are able to exempt (a) married and (b) single Gulf service personnel from the poll tax.

[holding answer 4 March 1991]: There is no exemption for people serving in the Gulf. It is for community charge registration officers to decide when the law requires a person to be removed from the register, thus ending liability to the charge. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 19 February that it is our intention that those serving in the Gulf should not have to pay the charge during that period. We are currently considering what steps need to be taken to realise this objective.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now place in the Library detailed maps of those parts of the country vulnerable to acid rain pollution from sulphur dioxide emissions from electricity generating stations.

I have placed in the Library copies of two reports to my Department by the United Kingdom critical loads advisory group. These include maps of the United Kingdom in respect of soils, and of Scotland in respect of freshwaters, showing "critical loads" for sulphur—the levels of deposition in excess of which damage may be caused to ecosystems—and the places in which those loads are currently exceeded as a result of emissions of sulphur dioxide from all sources, not merely from electricity generating stations. The maps have been produced to inform discussions in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe which are intended to lead to agreement of a new protocol on the abatement of sulphur dioxide emissions. They represent the latest available scientific assessment of the current position, and are not indications of policy. The United Kingdom is already committed, under the EC large combustion plants directive, to secure reductions of 60 per cent. in sulphur dioxide emissions from existing large combustion plant by 2003, compared with 1980 levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what actions have been taken since the appointment of a Minister in his Department to consider the environmental implications of his Department's policies; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 1 March 1991]:: My Department has been active in implementing the commitments made in the Environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance", since its publication in September. Our departmental report, published on 13 February, recorded progress with a wide range of initiatives, reflecting the White Paper's comprehensive review of policy affecting the environment. These included a 20 per cent. increase in funding for environmental research over the next three years, increased staffing for Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and a £60 million pilot energy efficiency programme for local authority housing.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will issue a circular to local authorities on clearing snow from pavements in built-up areas.

I have been asked to reply.I have no plans to issue a circular, but I shall be happy to consider any specific representations which the hon. Member has about snow clearing by local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his Department's policy to adopt specific annual targets for energy conservation and efficiency.

Decisions on investment in energy efficiency measures are a matter for individual consumers and it would be inappropriate for the Government to set specific national targets for annual improvements.However, my energy efficiency office offers a range of programmes and other initiatives designed to encourage the adoption of cost effective energy efficiency measures. Measures of performance for each of these programmes are published annually, most recently in February 1991 in "The Government's Expenditure Plans Within the Energy Sector 1991–92 to 1993–94" (Cm 1505), copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on progress on the renewable non-fossil fuel obligation 1991 bidding round.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy has informed the House of our intention to make a further Renewables Order in the autumn of this year. The procedure that has been adopted by the regional electricity companies (RECs) to select the projects to be contracted under the order has been widely publicised, and was the subject of a seminar for renewables operators, jointly hosted by the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency Ltd. and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER), last month. That procedure is now in hand. It involves an initial scrutiny of the tenders, against the requirements of the legislation, by OFFER; a review period for unsuccessful tenderers; and a competitive bidding procedure for successful tenderers. My right hon. Friend will then determine the level of the obligation and the technology bands to be included within it, in the light of the advice of the Director General of Electricity Supply as to the available field and in consultation with the regional electricity companies. The RECs will then conclude contracts, to the required level of capacity, with the most economic projects in each band.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what financial contribution he will make to the Price Waterhouse critical path with analysis for the 1991 round of tendering for the non-fossil fuel renewables tranche; and if he will make a statement.

None. Price Waterhouse are advisers on the non-fossil fuel obligation to the regional electricity companies, and this is therefore a matter for the RECs and their agent the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the potential for wind, wave and other intermittent renewable energy services taking part successfully in the 1991 round of bidding for the non-fossil fuel obligation renewables tranche.

In answer to a parliamentary question on 19 December, at columns 162–63, my right hon. Friend gave an initial indication of the likely sizes of bands which might be included in the 1991 Renewables Order. However, it is for the regional electricity companies (RECs) to submit the projects that apply for inclusion in the 1991 renewables non-fossil fuel obligation (NFFO) to the Director-General of Electricity Supply (DGES), and for the DGES to assess the projects against the requirements of the legislation. We will then consult the DGES and the RECs before eventually setting the level of the obligation for the 1991 order.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he had with the Director-General of the Office of Electricity Regulation between 18 and 20 February.

I, my Ministerial colleagues and officials are in regular contact with the Director-General of Electricity Supply and OFFER on regulatory matters concerning electricity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what extent the 1st Armoured Division has been dependent on assistance from United Kingdom helicopters during the Gulf conflict.

A force of Lynx anti-tank and Gazelle observation/general purpose helicopters operate as an integral part of the 1st Armoured Division. The division is supported by Royal Air Force Chinook and Puma helicopters, together with Royal Navy Sea Kings, which provide rapid airlift for both personnel and materiel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were employed by his Department in the chief executive dockyard section (a) prior to the closure of Portsmouth and Chatham royal dockyards and (b) prior to the introduction of commercial management at Devonport and Rosyth; and how many people are now employed in the directorate general for ships repair.

Chief Executive Dockyards (CED) HQ staff (excluding Dockyard stall) were 344 in April 1982 prior to the closure of Chatham Dockyard and the conversion of Portsmouth Dockyard to the Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation which were completed in 1984. In April 1985, when commercial management of the Dockyards was proposed, there were 255 CED HQ staff; building up to 439 Directorate General Ship Refitting and transitional CED HQ staff in April 1987 when commercial management was introduced. There are currently 346 HQ staff in DGSR excluding the Superintendent Ships organisation in the dockyards. It should be noted, however, that DGSR now includes staff performing contracting, accounting, estimating and pricing functions which were not part of CED's responsibility.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to ensure that British standards relating to the use of veal crates are adopted by the European Community.

Community proposals on the welfare of calves are already under discussion in the Council. We are pressing for our standards to be adopted throughout the Community from the earliest possible date.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to improve the monitoring of Chinese cotton seed imported for use as animal feed; and if he will make a statement.

The Department is currently working with the feed industry on a survey on the contamination of raw materials of vegetable origin, including cotton seed. The results of the survey will be carefully studied to see whether any further action will be necessary on any of these materials.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to introduce labelling requirements for clean animal feeds.

It is already an offence to sell animal feeds containing ingredients which are deleterious to animals. Manufacturers are required to label detailed information on nutritional quality and from next January they will also have to declare the ingredients of their feeds.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether it is the policy of his Department to mark property with an indelible mark or similar means of identification.

It is not the policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to mark property with an indelible mark or similar means of identification. Most high-value items have registered numbers and these are recorded in stock registers. An annual stocktake is carried out. To mark items would be highly labour-intensive and not cost-effective.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to abandon his policy of compulsory slaughter of egg-laying flocks infected with salmonella enteritidis.

We have no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the most recent enrolment figures for primary and secondary schools in the Crewe and Nantwich area.

Information for areas within local education authorities is not available centrally.The number of new admissions to maintained primary and secondary schools in Cheshire as at January 1990 is:

Schools	Number of new admissions
Primary1	12,171
Secondary2	11,575
1 Children aged 4 and 5 admitted in September 1989 and January 1990. Excludes admissions to nursery classes.
2 Number of pupils admitted in September 1989. Includes admissions to sixth form colleges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has received a copy of "New Directions" published by the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

My hon. Friend Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Howarth) was formally presented with a copy of "New Directions" on 31 October 1990. He welcomed the report and acknowledged it as a major contribution by the RNIB to advance the interests of visually impaired children and adults in this country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to review the work of agencies involved in the care of multi-disabled, visually impaired children.

This Department does not at present have any plans to review the work of these agencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the United Kingdom population achieved higher education qualifications in the latest period for which figures are available; and what comparable information he has for France and Germany.

The requested information is given in the table.

Country	Year of Data	Higher education1qualifications awarded per 100 of relevant age group2
	1988	33
United Kingdom3	1987	33
France4	1987	37
Germany	1987	22

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice he took in amending the National Curriculum Council's consultation report, to produce the draft order for geography.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen (Mr. Fields) on 13 February at column 464.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has gathered when considering the geography national curriculum about the ways in which geography teachers have studied the Gulf and explored the issues involved.