To ask the Attorney-General what consideration has been given by the Director of Public Prosecutions to initiating proceedings in respect of the publication entitled Holohoax distributed by the Gentile Awareness League.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has received two complaints concerning the publication entitled Holohoax. He has referred these complaints to the Metropolitan police, but at this stage the police are not in a position to submit a file to him for his consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will list major road building projects supported by his Department in the Northern region in each year since 1987, together with the cost of each.

The major trunk schemes completed or under construction for each year since 1987 are as follows:

		Accepted Expenditure £ million	Transport Supplementary Grant (50 percent.) £ million
1987–88
A1068	Ellington Bypass	1·647	0·823
A690	Brancepeth to Scripton	0·998	0·499
A1058	Cradlewell Bypass	7·482	3·741
A695	Ryton Crawcook Bypass	8·192	4·096
Al231	Sunderland Inner Ring Road	7·251	3·625
A179	East of A19	0·576	0·288
A66	South Bank Link Road	4·765	2·383
	Totals	30·911	15·455
1988–89
A692	Redheugh Bridge Southern Approach	2·982	1·491
A117	Durham Road Bypass	7·218	3·609
A688	Canney Hill Bypass	1·225	0·612
A689	Coundon Bypass	2·044	1·022
	Totals	13·469	6·735
1989–90
A181	Wheatley Hill Bypass	3·056	1·528
A171	Guisborough Road Improvement	3·302	1·651
A194	Newcastle Road Improvement	3·580	1·790
A6082	West Central Route	18·939	9·469
	Totals	28·877	14·439
1990–91
A1018	Sunderland Eastern Relief Road	3·750	1·875
A1026	Thornaby Bypass	25430	12·715

		Cost £million
1987
A69	Eighton Lodge Improvement	5·90
A1	Clifton-Stannington Bridge	6·50
		12·40
1988
A69	Horsley-Corbridge Improvement	3·90
Al9	Peterlee Grade Separated Junction Stage I	0·56
		4·46
1989
A19	Downhill Junction	1·30
A19	Tees Viaduct Refurbishment	11·00
		12·30
1990
A1	Newcastle Western Bypass and Blaydon Bridge	88·00
A19	Peterlee Grade Separated Junction Stage II	3·90
A696	Woolsington Bypass	15·00
A66	Stockton Race Course Grade Separated Junction	7·40
		114·30
1991
A66	Bowes to County Boundary(Under Construction)	1·09
		(Current Spend)
		1·09

Local authority projects supported by Department of Transport supplementary grant for each year from 1987 onwards are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon Member for Rugby and Kenilworth of 7 March, if he will give details of the litter collection that has so far taken place on motorways and the number of miles of motorway that have been cleared.

Under present arrangements, litter is cleared from England's 1,600 miles of motorway at least once per year and more often on stretches which are particularly prone to littering. In difficult and dangerous locations such as the central reservation, litter clearance is carried out in association with other maintenance activities, where possible, in order to minimise traffic disruption and delays.In 1989–90 the Department of Transport mounted a £1 million campaign to put an extra effort into clearing motoways and trunk roads to complement the work of the Tidy Britain Group. In the current financial year resources for litter clearing on motorways have been doubled to some £3 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many articulated vehicles plated at a train weight exceeding 31 tonnes and licensed as private light goods are specified as authorised vehicles in standard international licences issued to United Kingdom operators under the Goods Vehicles (Operators' Licences, Qualifications and Fees) Regulation 1984; and if he will make a statement.

Licensing of a heavy goods vehicle at the light goods vehicle rate is permitted when the vehicle is not being used to carry goods for hire or reward or in connection with a trade or business. Operator licensing does not apply to such vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evidence he has of United Kingdom articulated vehicles registered as private/light goods operating for hire or reward at their plated weights in EC member states; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware of the concerns of the Road Haulage Association in this respect.The Department does not collect data on vehicle excise duty paid by United Kingdom vehicles used in other EC member states. Bilateral agreements with other EC states, and the treaty of Rome, provide for exemption from VED for temporarily imported vehicles registered in other EC states.It would be an offence for a vehicle registered in the United Kingdom to operate in this country for hire or reward while licensed at less than the appropriate rate of VED. Spot checks on vehicles returning from abroad are carried out periodically.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in enforcing EC controls on the operation of United Kingdom registered goods vehicles, he will (a) require certificates of private/light goods status for heavy goods vehicles from their operators, (b) make a false declaration of such status an offence and (c) require all articulated vehicles to be registered in accordance with their plated train weight; and if he will make a statement.

Vehicles are licensed in the United Kingdom on the basis of a declaration by the applicant stating the use to which the vehicle will be put. It is an offence knowingly to make a false or materially misleading statement in an application for a vehicle licence. And it is the responsibility of the keeper to relicense the vehicle in the appropriate tax class should the use of the vehicle be changed during the period of a licenceWhen registering a goods vehicle the applicant must state the vehicle's gross weight. If, after registration, this changes the applicant is required to notify the licensing authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many articulated vehicles plated at a train weight exceeding 31 tonnes are registered in the United Kingdom under the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulation 1971 as private/light goods vehicles and thus pay vehicle excise duty at an annual rate of £100 only; and if he will make a statement.

DVLA records show 827 such vehicles licensed in the private and light goods tax class. Application for a vehicle licence is based on a declaration by the keeper as to the intended use of the vehicle. It is an offence knowingly to make a false or materially misleading declaration in an application for a vehicle licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will consult foreign Governments to arrange for information on illegal operations by United Kingdom based goods vehicles operating abroad to be passed on to the licensing authorities in the United Kingdom for any action by them; and if he will make a statement;

EC regulations and the United Kingdom's bilateral agreements with other countries already provide for Governments to notify each other of infringements of laws by the other party's road hauliers.This information is passed to the traffic commissioners, who are responsible for drivers' and operators' licences and who may consider taking disciplinary action in addition to any prosecutions or other action undertaken by the foreign authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to include the details of the anti-fouling paint in use as part of the information which harbour masters are entitled to call for before permitting a ship to dock.

The International Maritime Organisation has recommended that release rates of harmful compounds in anti-fouling paints should be controlled, that standard means of measuring this should be developed and, more generally, that the effectiveness of control measures should be monitored. However, there is no evidence that the anti-fouling paints on ocean-going vessels significantly affect aquatic life and, except in dry-docking operations, no controls are planned at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consideration he has given to the need to make available to new entrants to the industry, sites with an established use for electricity generation which are redundant or no longer in use and which are currently owned by electricity generating companies.

Schedule 3 to the Electricity Act 1989 provides for the compulsory acquisition of land by electricity licence holders for licence-related purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will issue a direction to require generating companies holding land on which are redundant, closed or demolished power stations to release that land where requested to prospective new entrants to the generating industry at a price to be agreed by an independent agency; and if he will make a statement.

I have no such power. The disposal of land held by generating companies is a matter for their commercial judgment, subject to the compulsory purchase provisions in schedule 3 to the Electricity Act 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what is the number and total area in hectares of sites in the ownership of (a) National Power and (b) PowerGen on which electricity generation activity has ceased and which are being retained by those companies;

These are commercial matters for each company.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many closed power station sites there are in Warwickshire; and what is the present ownership and status of each of these sites.

As far as my Department is aware, there is only one former power station site in Warwickshire. Details of the ownership and status of that site are commercial matters for the company concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what recent representations he has recieved from Nuclear Electric relating to the decommissioning of nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement.

My officials have a regular dialogue with Nuclear Electric covering a wide range of matters relating to their operations. I understand that the company is reviewing its decommissioning strategy and is keeping my officials informed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many employees subscribed for shares in the privatisation of the electricity distribution companies.

About 84,000 employees and 21,000 pensioners of the 12 regional electricity companies, the National Grid Company and the Electricity Association applied for and received shares. Between them they were allocated almost 160 million shares, representing about 7·4 per cent. of the total equity of the 12 regional electricity companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the level of charges payable by part-time staff using the Sunbeam day nursery in Croydon; and what is the level of subsidy provided by Government Departments for part-time employees.

Part-time staff using the Sunbeam nursery in Croydon pay £12·50 per day. The level of subsidy provided by Departments for part-time and full-time employees is £5·78 per day.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will provide the latest estimates of the total number of employees who may be eligible to take up the child care services provided by the Sunbeam day nursery in Croydon broken down by (a) gender and (b) part-time or full-time employees.

Information is not available in the form requested. Every civil servant of either sex working full or part-time for one of the Government Departments¹ which have established the Sunbeam nursery in Croydon is eligible to use the child care facilities the nursery provides.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to make a decision regarding the deportation order against Mr. Hazem Ali Hassan, a constituent of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South.

My right hon. Friend has decided not to proceed with deportation action against Mr. Hassan and he was released from detention on 8 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what international co-operation there is on the suppression of racist and anti-semitic literature.

I am not aware of any specific consideration given in any international group to such literature.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, column 647, in what form information concerning prosecutions for speeding offences is kept.

Statistics for offences relating to motor vehicles are published annually in a Home Office statistical bulletin, with more detailed figures given in the companion volume of supplementary tables. The most recent bulletin, issue number 34/90, includes statistics for 1989. A copy of these publications is in the Library.The statistics are broken down into 25 offence groups; speed limit offences are covered by offence group 16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out by rank the annual pay rates of all grades of fire officer and retained fire officer, and what are the arrangements for the payment of pensions.

The Home Office has no formal involvement in fire service pay negotiations; the following information has been obtained from the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades.The annual pay rates of chief fire officers are determined at the discretion of the employing authority, but are normally determined in relation to the population within the brigade area. The following table gives details of population ranges and corresponding salary ranges:

Annual pay rates for Chief Fire Officers by population range.
Population range	Salary range		Higher maximum for metropolitan brigades1
	Minimum £	Maximum £	£
Up to 240,000	34,689	46,854
240,001 to 360,000	35,592	48,741
360,001 to 460,000	36,885	50,631
460,001 to 600,000	38,259	51,909
600,001 to 760,000	39,651	53,754
760,001 to 940,000	41,040	56,067
940,001 to 1,200,000	41,676	57,570	60,186
1,200,001 to 1,700,000	43,713	58,890	61,566
1,700,001 to 2,300,000	45,123	60,654	63,411
2,300,001 and over	46,668	62,421	65,259
London	53,670	71,784	75,048
1 At the discretion of the employing authority.

The annual pay rates for assistant chief officers except those appointed as deputy chief fire officers, are determined in the same way as those for chief fire officers. The salary ranges are set at 75 per cent. of those for chief fire officers for the equivalent population ranges, subject to an underpinning minimum of £34,428. Salary ranges for those appointed as deputy chief fire officers are set at 80 per cent. of those for chief fire officers for the equivalent population ranges, subject to an underpinning minimum of £35,205.The annual rates of whole-time ranks from firefighter up to senior divisional officer are set out in the following table:

Annual pay rates of wholetime ranks: Firefighter up to and including Senior Divisional Officer
Rank	Minimum £	Maximum £
Senior Divisional Officer	26,085	128,143
Divisional Officer I	24,234	125,977
Divisional Officer II	21,942	124,321
Divisional Officer III	20,664	122,152
Assistant Divisional Officer	19,290	121,090
Station Officer	18,300	119,740
Sub-officer	15,777	17,016
Leading firefighter	15,390	16,020
Firefighter	11,313	215,009

To ask the Secretary of St ate for the Home Department what is the average time that an applicant to join the Metropolitan police special constabulary has to wait from the time of application to their acceptance.

It takes on average three months to process such applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqis and other nationals were taken into custody in Scotland in connection with events in the Gulf; and for how long each was detained.

Nineteen Iraqis were served with notices of intention to deport and taken into custody on 17 January in Scotland following the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf. Three were released on 23 January when they made voluntary departure from the United Kingdom. One was released on 7 February, one on 13 February, two on 19 February and 12 on 8 March. No other nationals were detained in Scotland in connection with events in the Gulf.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the future of the probation service in Wales;(2) what plans he has to put parts of the probation service out to tender in Wales.

Decisions on the future organisation of the probation service in England and Wales are being considered in the light of responses to the Green Paper, "Supervision and Punishment in the Community" (Cm. 966) and an announcement will be made as soon as possible. We are consulting the probation service and the independent sector throughout England and Wales about how best they can work together in dealing with offenders in the community, and will make an announcement on these issues in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) 28 February, Official Report, column 571, what is his estimate of the cost of poll tax proceedings in each clerkship in the period 1 April to 31 December 1990; if he will undertake to place such information for each quarter in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, since the cost of proceedings varies from court to court according to local circumstances. It is, however, estimated that community charge enforcement proceedings in the period to 31 December 1990 cost overall in the region of £7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now reviewed the maximum penalties for bomb hoaxes; and if he will make a statement.

A bomb hoax is an irresponsible waste of other people's time and effort, which can cause massive disruption and endanger lives by making it more difficult to identify and to respond to genuine warnings. Eighty-four hoax calls were received in the 24 hours following the Paddington and Victoria bombs on Monday 18 February and 789 by 3 March.We have now concluded the review of maximum penalties for this offence announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State during Report stage of the Criminal Justice Bill,

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom made in each month of 1990, showing the number of applications by country.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Reliable monthly estimates of the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 1990 cannot yet be made, but provisional indications are that the total in 1990 was of the order of 30,000, including associated dependants. This figure does not include applications for upgrading to refugee status by those previously granted exceptional leave.Estimates for 1990 will be published as usual in the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of people who applied for political asylum in 1990; what was the number from each country; what was the number who were new arrivals in the United Kingdom; and what was the number who had already entered the United Kingdom in previous years.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Reliable estimates of the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 1990 by nationality are not yet fully available. However, provisional indications are that the total number was of the order of 30,000, including associated dependants, comprising about 12.000 applications made on entry at ports and an estimated 18,000 applications made after their arrival in the United Kingdom. These figures do not include applications for upgrading to refugee status by those previously granted exceptional leave.Estimates for 1990 by nationality will be published as usual in the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqi nationals have entered the United Kingdom since 1 January; how many have been refused entry; and how many have been deported.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Since 1 January six Iraqi nationals have been removed from the United Kingdom under deportation powers. A further eight Iraqi passengers were removed in January after being refused leave to enter the United Kingdom. Information on admissions since 1 January and on passengers removed since 1 February is not yet available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any Community-wide procedures have yet been adopted for the validation of new animal scientific procedures or the validation of new products.

I have been asked to reply.The European Community has no standard validation procedures for new animal scientific procedures. It has adopted animal scientific procedures for the testing of chemical substances which have been validated under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Community's National Coordination Committee for testing methods oversees all testing methods.The sixth amendment to the European Community's dangerous substances directive established a notification scheme for new chemical substances which entails the collection and scrutiny of data on such substances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent per pupil in the Northern region in (a) current expenditure and (b) capital in 1980 and 1990.

In 1979–80 local education authorities in the Northern region spent an average of £530 per pupil on current school-based expenditure and £40 per pupil on capital expenditure. These figures were £1,380 and £55 per pupil respectively in 1988–89, the latest year for which data are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance and advice he gives to local education authorities on the provision of free school meals in primary and secondary maintained schools; and if he plans any changes in such guidance and advice.

My right hon. and learned Friend has issued no guidance on the provision of free school meals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money has been paid to local education authorities to reimburse them for expenditure on vacation hardship allowances; and how many students have benefited in each of the last five years including the current year to date.

Local education authorities in England and Wales currently have a discretionary power under the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1990 to pay a means-tested allowance of up to £53·50 a week during a vacation to students on designated courses who would, in the authority's opinion, otherwise suffer undue hardship. Since 1 April 1990, authorities' expenditure on mandatory awards has been reimbursed by 100 per cent. grant from my right hon. and learned Friend. Lower rates applied in earlier years.Authorities' expenditure on the allowance and the number of students in receipt of it from 1986–87 onwards are given in the table. Figures are not yet available for either 1989–90 or the current year and, in the latter case, are likely to be affected by the improved arrangements for student support.

Academic year	Number of students	Value of allowances (£)
1988–89	305	40,837
1987–88	322	47,706
1986–87	288	36,425

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what resources will be available for the access funds in 1991–92.

The sum of £25–8 million will be available for the access funds in Great Britain for the 1991–92 academic year.My Department's share will be £23·01 million. This sum is being allocated between the three funds as shown in the table.

	£ million
Undergraduate fund	13·10
Postgraduate fund	5·74
Further Education fund	4·17

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of beneficiaries who received (a) attendance allowance, (b) invalid care allowance, (c) severe disablement allowance, (d) mobility allowance, (e) income support, (f) one-parent benefit, (g) family credit, (h) housing benefit, (i) community care grant, (j) budget loans and (k) crisis loans during the year 1989–90.

The average numbers receiving these benefits at any one time during the year 1989–90 was as follows:

	Number
Attendance Allowance	31,600
Invalid Care Allowance	7,000
Severe Disablement Allowance	12,900
Mobility Allowance	14,100
Income Support	188,800
One-Parent Benefit	22,600
Family Credit	14,700
Housing Benefit
Rent Rebate	108,000
Rent Allowance	21,000
Rates Rebate	107,100

In addition there were 52,066 budgeting loans, 21,057 crisis loans and 28,883 community care grants from the social fund.

To ask the Secrertary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of beneficiaries who received (a) unemployment benefit, (b) sickness benefit, (c) statutory sick pay, (d) invalidity benefit, (e) industrial disablement benefit, (f) industrial death benefit and (g) non-contributory retirement benefit during the year 1989–90.

The average numbers receiving these benefits at any one time during the year 1989–90 was as follows:

	Numbers
Unemployment Benefit	17,100
Sickness Benefit	9,600
Invalidity Benefit	49,100
Industrial Disablement Benefit	5,700
Industrial Death Benefit	1,000
Non-contributory Retirement Benefit	3,200

Statutory sick pay is paid by employers and no information is available about number of recipients.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Northern Ireland citizens were in receipt of old-age pension during January and February; and how many such pensioners received cold weather payments during these months.

At 31 March 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, 215,604 people were receiving retirement pension and non-contributory retirement pension. Up to 28 February 1991, 30,897 cold weather payments were made in respect of the period 1 to 14 February to people getting income support including pensioners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the percentage of gross domestic product spent on arms by countries who are recipients of aid from the United Kingdom.

The information requested by the hon. Member is not available in a comprehensive or consistent form. The hon. Member will be aware of the work of the Swedish International Peace Research Institute and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and may wish to refer to the latter's publication, "The Military Balance 1989–90", which is available from the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 28 February, Official Report, column 582–83, from which departmental budget the £8·1 million of assistance via the EC will be paid; and from which budget the £3 million of aid referred to in the answer to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn), Official Report, 18 February, column 54, will be paid.

The £8·1 million assistance provided through the European Community will be attributed to the overseas aid programme.Of the £3 million emergency assistance, £2·5 million was contributed to the International Committee of the Red Cross from class II, vote 2, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (other external relations), and £0.5 million to the United Nations Disaster Relief Organisation from the Overseas Development Agency's 1990–91 humanitarian assistance budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to give humanitarian assistance to Iraq and Kuwait, and from which budget this will be paid; and what plans he has to give reconstruction aid to Kuwait and from which budget this will be paid.

A multi-agency United Nations mission is currently in Iraq to assess humanitarian needs. It will make recommendations to the Secretary-General on emergency actions the United Nations might take. We will consider responding to any subsequent appeal for funding launched by the Secretary-General.We have no plans at present to provide humanitarian assistance for Kuwait, but we do expect to assist in the process of reconstruction. Financing it will be a matter for the Government of Kuwait.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning the United Nations programme for humanitarian relief in Angola; and what representations he has made to the Government of Angola, and to United Nations' representatives regarding the resumption of the United Nations special relief programme for Angola.

The United Nations special relief programme was suspended by the Angolan Government on 21 December. We urged the Angolan Government to reinstate the programme without delay and welcome their announcement on 11 March that it is to restart.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date he intends to introduce regulations to allow local authorities to meet in full their obligations to pay widowers' pensions.

Draft regulations, including new widowers' benefits and other proposals, were circulated on 28 December 1990 to local authorities in England and Wales and to other interested parties. The consultation period ended on 15 February and consideration is now being given to the responses. Subject to the necessary parliamentary procedures, the regulations will come into force as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the programmes prepared by his Department to help local authorities who have schemes to regenerate decaying areas of their authority commencing in the year 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

My Department supports a wide range of programmes promoting the regeneration of inner-city areas and treatment of dereliction. These are:

	1991–92 resources1 £ million
Urban Programme2	243·2
City Grants	66·0
Derelict Land Grant2	75·5
Urban Development Corporations	473·1
City Action Teams	8·1
Estate Action Programme2	268·0
1 Central Government provision.
2 Resourced jointly with local authorities.

Housing renewal programmes, enterprise zones, garden festivals and the Department's inner cities and urban land research programmes also contribute to regeneration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to local authorities who wish to invest capital receipts in a regeneration programme; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities are free to invest the usable part of their capital receipts as they wish, including in projects to promote regeneration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals have been lodged in the north-west area against the uniform business rate.

The 12 valuation offices in the north-west have received 68,316 proposals by ratepayers to alter their 1990 rating assessments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many London boroughs have failed to produce audited accounts since April 1985; and for which years.

The information requested is listed in the table.The latest year for which audited accounts could be available is 1989–90.The reasons for late completion of audited accounts vary and may not be within the control of the borough concerned.

Authority	Audits outstanding from stated year to date
Hackney	1984–85
Brent	1985–86
Islington	1985–86
Haringey	1985–86
Lambeth	1985–86
Southwark	1985–86
Hammersmith	1986–87
Hounslow	1986–87
Richmond	1986–87
Waltham Forest	1986–87
Camden	1987–88
Greenwich	1987–88
Lewisham	1987–88
Westminster	1987–88
Bromley	1988–89
Bexley	1988–89
Croydon	11988–89
Ealing	1988–89
Merton	1988–89
Newham	1988–89
Kensington	1988–89
Redbridge	1988–89
Sutton	1988–89
Tower Hamlets	1988–89
Barnet	1989–90
Harrow	1989–90
Kingston	1989–90
1Only.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent by his Department in revitalising the urban and inner-city areas of the Northern region since June 1987.

The total sum spent by my Department from 1987–88 to 1990–91 in the nine designated urban areas of the Northern region is almost £396 million. This significant level of assistance has been provided via a range of initiatives geared to regenerate the inner cities and includes expenditure incurred by the Tyne and Wear and Teesside urban development corporations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress made on the drafting of the planning policy guidance on waste disposal since his response to the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale (Sir F. Montgomery) on 30 January, Official Report, column 1087; and when he expects publication.

I have nothing to add at this stage to what my hon. Friend said on 30 January; new guidance will be issued in draft for public consultation later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he currently gives local planning authorities on the siting of municipal waste incinerators; and if he has any plans to change this advice.

The Government have not issued any planning guidance on the siting of municipal waste incinerators. However, work is in hand on the preparation of a planning policy guidance note on pollution and waste management which we plan to issue in draft for public consultation later this year. One of the issues on which we shall consult is the need for guidance on the siting of incinerators.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of Government grant per poll tax payer for 1991–92 in (a) Newcastle-upon-Tyne,

Government grants, consisting of revenue support grant, special grants, specific grants in aggregate external finance, community charge benefit grant and transitional relief grant, are per head of relevant population in 1990–91, £579 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, £415 in Gateshead, and £677 in Wandsworth.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of Government grant for 1990–91 per head of population in (a) the London borough of Wandsworth, (b) Bolsover district council and (c) North-East Derbyshire district council.

Government grants, consisting of revenue support grant, special grants, specific grants in aggregate external finance, community charge benefit grant and transitional relief grant, are per head of relevant population in 1990–91, £667 in Wandsworth, £196 in Bolsover, and £197 in North-East Derbyshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much Government grant per poll tax payer will be received by (a) Wolverhampton and (b) Wandsworth for 1991–92.

Government grants, consisting of revenue support grant, special grants, specific grants in aggregate external finance, community charge benefit grant and transitional relief grant, are per head of relevant population in 1990–91 £609 in Wolverhampton and £677 in Wandsworth.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment upon what dates since April 1988 inspectors from the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission visited Stocken hall, Rutland, to inspect the condition of the buildings; what similar visits have been paid by officials from his Department since April 1989; and what action has subsequently been taken.

An inspector from the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission last visited Stocken hall in January 1990. No visits have been made by officials from my Department since April 1989.The hall was sold in October 1990 and the owner subsequently received planning permission to convert it into offices, subject to an agreement with Rutland district council which will ensure the complete restoration of the hall. As work has started and the future of the building is secure no action has been taken by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list each of the orders relating to the administration of the community charge which were laid before the House between 1 January 1990 and 31 March 1990 for implementation during April 1990; and if he will state the date when each of these instruments became effective.

The following statutory instruments were laid before the House of Commons between 1 January 1990 and 31 March 1990:The Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) Regulations 1990 No. 2 [Came into force 21 January 1990]The Relevant Population (England) Regulations 1990 No. 68 [Came into force 24 January 1990]The Charging Authorities (Notification of Population to Precepting Authorities) (England) Regulations 1990 No. 69 [Came into force 24 January 1990]The Levying Bodies (General) Regulations 1990 No. 70 [Came into force 24 January 1990]The Internal Drainage Boards (Finance) Regulations 1990 No. 72 [Came into force 24 January 1990]The Standard Community Charge (Multipliers) Order 1990 No. 129 [Came into force 26 January 1990]The Community Charges (Co-owners) Regulations 1990 No. 146 [Came into force 26 February 1990]The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 1990 No. 156 [Came into force 7 February 1990]The Standard Community Charge and Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Domestic Property) Order 1990 No. 162 [Came into force 2 March 1990]The Wimbledon and Putney Commons (Special Levies) Regulations 1990 No. 201 [Came into force 7 February 1990]The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990 No. 366 [Came into force 2 March 1990]The Community Charges and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (City of London) Regulations 1990 No. 369 [Came into force 7 March 1990]The Personal Community Charge (Relief) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 1990 No. 402 [Came into force 26 March 1990]The Personal Community Charge (Exemption for the Severely Mentally Impaired) Order 1990 No. 462 [Came into force 1 April 1990]The Community Charges (Deductions from Income Support) (No. 2) Regulations 1990 No. 545 [Came into force 1 April 1990]The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 1990 No. 711 [Came into force 1 April 1990]The Personal Community Charge (Qualifying Courses of Education) Regulations 1990 No. 712 [Came into force 1 April 1990]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many different instruments of legisla-tion concerning the administration of the community charge were introduced less than four months before the beginning of the present financial year; and what assessment he has made of the impact on the responsible local authority of the late issue of regulations.

Seventeen statutory instruments were introduced in the three months preceding the beginning of the present financial year. Substantial effort was put into informing local authorities of forthcoming measures including the sending of circular letters and draft regulations where appropriate. The local authority associations were kept informed of progress through regular meetings with my officials.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when work on the Leeds development corporation's proposed Centre Gate development at the junction of Meadow lane and Great Wilson street, Leeds will commence.

The developers of the Centre Gate site, Hyperion Properties plc, are working on scheme details. The timetable for implementing the development is dependent on a range of factors including finalising site assembly, stopping up of existing roads and detailed planning permission. A commencement date for work to begin on site is therefore not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the policies adopted by the Leeds development corporation towards further office development in the Leeds city centre area.

Leeds development corporation is working with Leeds city council and Leeds City Development Company on a range of schemes which will further the role of Leeds as a business and financial centre. There are particular opportunities for new office development between Leeds city station and the junction of the M1/M621 motorways and on other land adjacent to the Leeds waterways.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the city grants schemes supported by the Leeds development corporation.

Leeds development corporation is supporting the following schemes with city grant assistance:

Consultant Development Engineering Ltd., Hunslet provision of new factory and offices.

Yorkshire Design Services Ltd., The Malt House, Chadwick Street—conversion to offices.

A Way of Life Ltd., 42 The Calls—conversion to hotel and conference facilities.

Fletcher Properties Ltd., 53 The Calls—conversion to offices.

Speciality Shops Development Ltd., The White Cloth Hall, Crown Street—conversion to retail and cafe/restaurant space.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by value (a) the site and property improvement grants, (b) community sponsorship grants and (c) environmental improvement grants issued by the Leeds development corporation.

Leeds development corporation has approved for grant payment the following amounts under these programmes:

(a) Site and property improvement grants—£127,000.

(b) Community sponsorship grants—£23,000.

(c) Environmental improvement grants—£158,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to approve the disposal of the Greening street, SE2 playing field by the London residuary body to the London borough of Greenwich.

[holding answer 8 March 1991]:After the information being sought from the London residuary body has been received.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the current level of bank borrowing by Lambeth council which is for the purpose of financing current expenditure.

[holding answer 11 March 1991]: The Department has no information on bank borrowing by Lambeth for the purpose of financing current expenditure. However, according to the latest return provided by Lambeth to the Department, the authority had no outstanding temporary borrowing from the banking sector as at 31 December 1990. Temporary borrowing is the only form of borrowing by which current expenditure may be financed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of privately-owned rented houses in 1979 and 1989, respectively.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Information about the number of dwellings rented privately, or with a job or business, as at December 1979 and December 1989 is shown in table 9.3 of "Housing and Construction Statistics 1979–1989". A copy of this publication is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest figure for the number of houses sold under the right-to-buy scheme.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Between October 1980 and December 1990 over 1 million tenants purchased their homes from local authorities in England under the right-to-buy legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of households in council housing in 1979 and 1990, respectively; and what was the number of owner-occupied homes in 1979 and 1990, respectively.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: The information derived from the general household survey is as follows:

England: households (million)
	LA/NT tenants	Owner-occupied
1979	5·4	9·1 (9·9)
1989	4·2	12·5 (13·0)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria are taken into consideration and what procedures are followed in the designation of new sites of special scientific interest.

[pursuant to the answer, 20 February 1991, Official Report, column 171]: I have today published a consultation paper on planning controls over sites of special scientific interest with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.The Government are firmly committed to the conservation of the natural heritage. Sites of special scientific interest are a key part of the nature conservation framework, and we wish to ensure that their value is taken fully into account in the operation of the town and country planning system.The paper proposes the following additional safeguards for sites of special scientific interest in England and Wales:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what capping criteria he will adopt; which authorities will be designated by these criteria; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State announced on 31 October 1990 the provisional capping criteria which he intended to adopt. He made clear that authorities should not assume that there would be a de minimis proviso allowing authorities whose budgets were excessive by only a small amount not to be designated. On the information available to us it appears that the following 17 authorities have set budgets which would be excessive, or represent an excessive increase over the previous year, under those criteria:

Barnsley, Basildon, Berkshire, Bristol, Doncaster, Greenwich, Ipswich, Lambeth, Lanbaurgh-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Reading, Somerset, Stoke-on-Trent, Warwickshire and Wirral.

As I said in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 5 March at columns

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will ensure that in any restructuring of the Arts Council or the regional arts boards the fullest consultation takes place with all sections of the organisation and in particular the employees and that a minimum of 14 days' consultation period is provided in all cases.

[holding answer 11 March 1991]: The Arts Council and the regional funding bodies are responsible for their own arrangements for consultation on matters affecting staff interests. I understand that all the funding bodies have well-established general arrangements which comfortably exceed the minimum period suggested by my hon. Friend for consultation on the staffing implications of the restructuring of arts funding.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what future arrangements for the funding of the arts have been made; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 11 March 1991]: I announced my decisions on the future direction of the structural reforms of arts funding to the House on 19 December 1990, Official Report, columns 300–11.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement about the interdepartmental review of residual functions set up by the Prime Minister's efficiency unit to look at what responsibilities will be left for Departments once the "next steps" proposals are fully implemented.

[holding answer 7 March 1991]: The terms of reference of the efficiency unit's interdepartmental study into the relationships between Departments and their agencies were published in the Governments's response (Cm1263) to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's most recent report on the "next steps" initiative. The unit is due to complete its work in the course of this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has concerning the number of badgers and the current number of active badger setts in Wales; how many such setts have been destroyed during the last three years; and for what reasons.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Environment and Countryside on 7 March, column 242–43.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken during the last five years to ensure the protection of the badger population and active badger setts in Wales from damaging forestry operations.

Badger setts are not on the whole vulnerable to damage from forestry operations, since they are characteristically large, subterranean and in well-drained soils. The Forestry Commission nevertheless endeavours to locate all the badger setts on its land so that they can be protected from any possible damage. It has also published forest nature conservation guidelines, for use by its own forest managers and those in the private sector, which emphasise the importance of good management in protecting animal populations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he is proposing to introduce charges in respect of food samples submitted by local authorities to the public health laboratory service for analysis; and if he will make a statement.

At present laboratories of the public health laboratory service in Wales analyse a limited number of food samples for local authorities free of charge. There are plans to put this arrangement on to a contractual basis, with contracts specifying charges for any work which may be required above an agreed minimum. Such charges will reflect the costs to the laboratories of undertaking work above the agreed level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what further steps he intends to take to help small and medium-sized businesses in Wales.

Small and medium-sized businesses will be further assisted in Wales by a range of enterprise support policies and initiatives. Last month, I was pleased to launch three new schemes. These were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of workplaces for civil servants in his Department; what proportion of the total number have an on-site nursery facility; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide a holiday play scheme; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide after-school child care facilities; what charges are made for use of any facility; what the net cost has been for the provision of these facilities; and what estimate he can make of any future expenditure.

Civil servants in my Department work in 30 separate locations, with the majority of workplaces in Cardiff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to reduce unemployment in Cardiganshire and Dyfed; and if he will make a statement.

My Department and other Government agencies operate a wide range of measures

Number of children admitted to care during 12 months ended 31 March
	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Clwyd	244	268	190	243	198	146	150	178	189	204	190	218
Dyfed	189	168	170	140	125	110	115	150	140	146	174	191
Gwent	358	352	377	377	379	315	276	314	346	382	358	396
Gwynedd	124	135	136	145	147	99	99	117	115	133	147	120
Mid Glamorgan	447	392	341	436	404	328	305	322	329	396	351	435
Powys	20	49	33	39	62	55	48	38	44	40	41	40
South Glamorgan	368	398	354	360	342	320	367	366	340	317	342	313
West Glamorgan	244	239	234	221	188	189	166	221	244	288	215	239
WALES	1,994	2,001	1,835	1,961	1,845	1,562	1,526	1,706	1,747	1,906	1,818	1,952

Number of children in care at 31 March
	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Clwyd	581	594	523	510	464	414	381	400	397	400	372	384
Dyfed	356	339	334	327	298	292	293	261	252	258	273	275
Gwent	739	717	701	715	694	649	612	583	579	581	615	644
Gwynedd	313	302	272	278	295	301	280	269	258	248	245	230
Mid Glamorgan	1,082	1,075	1,030	1,047	1,014	950	873	816	788	745	725	757
Powys	76	86	94	106	112	88	80	75	74	75	87	75
South Glamorgan	1,044	1,036	975	937	879	787	736	699	679	686	566	548
West Glamorgan	691	712	699	655	631	563	497	490	454	445	380	365
WALES	4,882	4,861	4,628	4,575	4,387	4,044	3,752	3,593	3,481	3,438	3,263	3,278

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list on a county basis in Wales the location of incinerators used for the disposal of BSE cows; if he will list those counties where there are no such facilities; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will list on a county basis in Wales the number of BSE confirmed cows which were

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which hospitals in Wales have now expressed an interest in trust status; and if he will make a statement.

Following the submission of its expression of interest, Pembrokeshire health authority has been invited to prepare an application to become an NHS trust. Over the coming months I expect that other health service units in Wales will similarly express their interest in self-governing status.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children in each of the Welsh counties were taken into care in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The information is shown in the following tables:

The movement of carcases of suspect BSE cattle for incineration or burial is carried out on an England and Wales basis; it is not restricted by county boundaries. There are at present two incinerators in Wales used to handle such carcases, in Clwyd and Dyfed. During 1990, 1,268 carcases were incinerated in Wales and five were buried. Figures for the first quarter of 1991 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the failures of his Department since 1987.

[holding answer 8 March 1991]: I am satisfied that my Department has made good progress in pursuit of all its major objectives and I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd, North-West (Sir A. Meyer) today.

Estimated Average Domestic Rate Bill Required to Yield Community Charge Income 1990–91
	1989–90 Averagel Rate Bill per Domestic Ratepayer	1990–91 Average Personal Community Charge £	Domestic Rate Increase to Raise the Same Revenuses as in 1990–91 Per cent.	Consequent Average Rate Bill Per Ratepayer £
Alyn and Deeside	429	262	21	518
Colwyn	404	261	17	471
Delyn	416	268	30	539
Glyndwr	343	281	47	503
Rhuddlan	399	280	35	539
Wrexham Maelor	378	270	35	512
Carmarthen	265	196	43	379
Ceredigion	280	196	29	360
Dinefwr	233	197	58	367
Llanelli	283	224	44	408
Preseli Pembrokeshire	255	195	41	359
South Pembrokeshire	309	188	20	370
Blaenau Gwent	234	233	77	415
Islwyn	265	218	53	404
Monmouth	386	220	12	432
Newport	381	239	17	444
Torfaen	323	226	26	406
Aberconwy	363	220	8	392
Arfon	254	215	42	359
Dwyfor	282	226	44	405
Meirionnydd	278	223	48	411
Ynys Mon	323	245	35	436
Cynon Valley	213	219	84	392
Merthyr Tydfil	248	213	52	378
Ogwr	332	224	31	434
Rhondda	174	216	126	393
Rhymney Valley	294	229	45	427
Taff Ely	321	217	25	403
Brecknock	320	190	17	374
Montgomeryshire	261	170	24	324
Radnor	253	175	29	327
Cardiff	387	253	20	466
Vale of Glamorgan	365	211	6	388
Port Talbot	284	247	59	453
Lliw Valley	296	241	49	442
Neath	298	248	54	460
Swansea	421	265	12	473
Total Wales	327	232	31	430

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the principal achievements of the Government in Wales since June 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the average domestic rate bill in each local authority in Wales which would be necessary to yield the same revenue as his estimated net yield of the community charge in 1990–91 and 1991–92.

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: The estimated average domestic rate bill for each Welsh district authority required to give the same yield as the community charge in 1990–91 is given in the following table.Information about community charges set and the consequent yield for 1991–92 is not yet available to the Department.

[holding answer 6 March 1991]:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has any plans to allocate further funds to local office social fund budgets.