To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies are currently in arrears in payment of the business rate in 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available. However by 31 December 1990, charging authorities in England had collected 76 per cent. of their estimated non-domestic rate income for 1990–91. My Department, which is responsible for collecting non-domestic rates in respect of hereditaments entered on the central rating list, has now collected the whole of the amount payable for 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the loan charge proportion of each pound of rent charged by each local authority in the last available financial year; and what are the regional and national averages.

I cannot strictly say what proportion of rent is attributable to loan charges because local housing authorities also have other sources of income, particularly that of housing revenue account subsidy. Nevertheless, I have today placed in the Library a copy of a table showing, for each local authority, the proportion of rental income and subsidy spent on loan charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Wakefield metropolitan district council with regard to the difficulties facing the authority in attempting to collect standard community charge payments from individuals who do not have the financial resources to make such payments.

I am not aware of any representations having been made by the council, although officials in my Department meet on a regular basis officers from Wakefield metropolitan district council in the group with which matters of this kind are discussed with the local authority associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when a rents-to-mortgages scheme for the new town tenants at Milton Keynes will come into operation.

Milton Keynes development corporation is today writing to its tenants inviting them to consider buying their homes under rents to mortgages. Sales will be completed before the transfer of the corporation's housing stock to new landlords.I warmly welcome this further opportunity for new town tenants at Milton Keynes to own their homes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average poll tax for 1990–91 in England and Wales; how many people are registered for the poll tax; and how much extra central Government finance would be necessary for the average poll tax to be reduced by (a) 10 per cent., (b) 25 per cent., (c) 50 per cent., (d) 75 per cent. and (e) 100 per cent.

[holding answer 15 March 1991]: In 1990–91 there are 36 million charge payers in England and the average community charge is £357. Authorities have budgeted to raise £10·2 billion from the charge net of community charge benefits and transitional relief grant. This can be reduced without any extra central Government finance if authorities control their expenditure and improve their efficiency.Information for Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report a list of all documents, advertisements, promotion or events undertaken by his Department to publicise elements of his Department's work, showing the cost in each case for each year since 1987, including the budget for 1991–92.

[holding answer 15 March 1991]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Mr. Fisher) on 12 December 1990, Official Report, column 442. The outturn for 1990–91 is not yet available and the budget for 1991–92 has not yet been finalised. A list of each item which has contributed to the publicity programmes could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish a timetable for implementation of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to the reply, 28 November 1990, c. 404]: My right hon. Friend has today laid before the House the Litter Etc (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 1991.These provide that, where an authority has assigned its street cleaning work to its own work force or DSO under part I of the Local Government Act 1988, and it needs to undertake additional work to comply with the duties imposed on it by the Environmental Protection Act, the authority will be able to assign that additional work to the DSO, provided that it is accounted for separately from the work originally assigned to the DSO. If the cost of the additional work carried out between 1 April and 30 September 1991 is more than 20 per cent. of the cost of the work originally assigned to the DSO over that period, the

authority will be required to expose its street cleaning services to further competition in accordance with the following timetable:

Date by which work first had to be exposed to competition	Date by which work has to be retendered
1 August 1989	1 October 1992
1 January 1990	1 January 1992
1 August 1990	1 August 1993

Where an authority has assigned street cleaning services to an independent contractor it will be taken as complying with the duties imposed by the Environmental Protection Act if it can demonstrate that it has used its best endeavours to negotiate any necessary variations in the contract with the contractor concerned, but he is either not prepared to agree such variations or is prepared to do so only on unreasonable terms.The regulations also contain provisions relating to the transfer of highway cleaning responsibilities from county to district councils under the Environmental Protection Act. They allow district councils to assign such work to their DSO, provided that they account for it separately and that they first use their best endeavours to enter into an agreement with any contractor who previously carried out this work under contract with the county council. They also facilitate the making of works contracts between district councils to which this responsibility has been transferred and the authorities who were carrying it out before 1 April 1991.The regulations apply also to Scotland and Wales except that regulations 5 and 6 dealing with the transfer of highway cleaning responsibilities from county to district councils are not applicable in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the community charge figures declared by each district in England for the forthcoming year in ascending values.

[pursuant to the reply, 18 March 1991, Official Report, column 40]: As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer told the House today in his Budget speech, the Government are providing £4·3 billion of extra grant to local authorities in Great Britain in 1991–92 to permit a major reduction in community charges.Accordingly, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales and I shall shortly be introducing a Bill which, on enactment, will mean that the community charges which authorities have set for 1991–92 will be replaced by new lower charges. Each new charge will be £140 lower than the one it replaced, or zero in those cases where the original charge was less than £140. The Bill will suspend the liability of charge payers to pay any 1991–92 charges until a charge bill has been received reflecting the reduced charges.The community charge reduction scheme will continue to help those who would still face large increases over their previous rate bills. Although the total help that will need to be given through this scheme will be much reduced by the lower charges announced today, I expect that, together with the effect of community charge and other benefits, it will mean that the average charge actually paid in England will be less than £170.

To ask the Attorney-General how many court actions relating to mortgage repossessions there were in Cardiff county court in each year since 1979.

The number of mortgage actions for possession entered and orders made for possession in Cardiff county court in each year since 1986, the first year for which figures are available, are shown in the table.

	Number of mortgage possession actions entered	Number of mortgage possession orders made
1986	518	358
1987	750	327
1988	685	262
1989	622	295
1990	973	630

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list, stating size, fuel and ownership, all the independent generating projects of which his Department is aware.

My Department is aware of 20 proposed major independent electricity generating projects which have been made public. The following is the information requested by the hon. Member:

Promoter/Consortium	Location	Estimated output (MW)	Fuel
Barking Power Ltd.	Barking, London	1,000	Gas
East Midlands Electricity plc/British Coal Corporation	Bilsthorpe	150	Coal
Berisford Bristar plc	Brigg, South Humberside	240	Gas
British Nuclear Fuels plc	Calder Hall, Sellafield	160	Gas
Corby Power Ltd.	Corby, South Humberside	350	Gas
Coryton Cogen Ltd.	Coryton, Essex	460	Gas
Deeside Power Development Co. Ltd.	Deeside, Clywd	450	Gas
MetroPower Ltd.	Greenwich, London	370	Gas
Energy Resources Ltd.	Keadby, Humberside	720	Gas
MetroPower Ltd.	Lots Road, Chelsea, London	370	Gas
Forth Energy Ltd.	Newcastle	150	Gas
Texaco Ltd./Mission Energy	Pembroke, Dyfed, (Angle Bay)	1,100–1,280	Gas
Peterborough Power Ltd.	Peterborough	355	Gas
Lakeland Power	Roosecote, Cumbria	235	Gas
Rugby Power Co. Ltd.	Rugby, Warwickshire	380	Gas
Kelt (UK) Ltd.	Ryedale (Claypit Plantation)	50–60	Gas
Sheffield Heat & Power	Sheffield	160	Gas
Shell UK Exploration Ltd.	Shellhaven, Essex	524	Gas
Neptune Consortium	Teesside	1,050	Gas
Tesside Power Ltd.	Wilton, Cleveland	1,725	Gas

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy which of his Ministers has been given responsibility for energy use by his Department; and what is his brief regarding energy efficiency.

I chair the ministerial group on energy efficiency which is composed of a Minister from each major Government Department. My hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) represents the Department of Energy.Each Minister on the group is expected to take forward the energy efficiency campaign on the Government estate and secure 15 per cent. annual savings in their Department's energy bill by 1995–96. In addition, all Ministers on the group have agreed to consider how energy efficiency can be incorporated into their Department's policy and publicity initiatives. The group intends to promote and raise awareness of energy efficiency in all sectors of the economy.My hon. Friend and I also have specific responsibility for the work of the Energy Efficiency Office within the Department of Energy, which has the following main objectives:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what estimates were made, in preparing for privatisation of the electricity generating companies, of the average costs per tonne or equivalent (a) of transporting coal (i) by road and (ii) by rail from ports to power stations, (b) by tranche of coal supplied by British Coal to power stations, (c) of heavy fuel oil supplied to power stations, (d) of orimulsion supplied to power stations and (e) of imported coal by country of origin.

Fuel procurement is a commercial matter for the companies concerned. All material information relating to the companies is included in the prospectus, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (i) what discussions he has had with organisations representing electricity consumers in the United Kingdom concerning the principle of third-party access prior to his negotiations with his EC counterparts on the EC's proposed regulation on electricity cross-border transit;(2) when he next expects to meet his EC counterparts regarding third-party access to electricity grids; and what considerations underlie his policy in these negotiations;(3) what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the regional electricity distribution companies, generating companies and Gridco, regarding the principle of third-party access in negotiations with the European Commission.

The directive on electricity transit was adopted by the Energy Council on 29 October 1990 and is to be implemented by 1 July 1991. Third-party access would go much further in contributing to an open and competitive market in electricity. The Commission has established two consultative committees to advise on third-party access: a member states committee and a parallel professional committee which includes the chairman of NGC and representatives from the generators and large consumers. My right hon. Friend will consider with his colleagues in the Energy Council any proposals which the Commission may bring forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received about the decision of Cumbria county council to restrict parking in the Buttermere valley; and what response he intends to make.

Including those that the hon. Member has sent me, the Department has received 16 separate representations about this matter. I understand that my right hon. Friend Secretary of State for the Environment has received a similar number.As I indicated in my previous reply on 11 March, this is essentially a local highways issue well within the management responsibilities of the county council as the locally elected highway authority.I shall arrange for all representations received to be passed to the county council for its information and action as it considers necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of his Ministers has been given responsibility for energy use by his Department; and what is his brief regarding energy efficiency.

I am the Minister within the Department of Transport responsible for promoting energy efficiency and I represent the Department on the ministerial group on energy efficiency.My brief is to see that the Department meets the Government's target of a 3 per cent. annual saving in energy costs on its estate through to 1995–96, and to ensure that the Department promotes greater energy efficiency in its policy and publicity initiatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) at what point his Department was in a position to warn passengers of the problems they faced in relation to the financial difficulties confronting the International Leisure Group; and if he will make a statement;(2) when his Department became aware of the financial difficulties facing Air Europe; and if he will make a statement.

It is the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority to monitor the financial fitness of air carriers and air travel organisers. The Department of Transport was kept informed of the position as it developed and of the attempts to maintain trading. To have made public statements about the companies' financial affairs while there was still a serious prospect of rescue would simply have precipitated the crisis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has met the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss Air Europe.

The Civil Aviation Authority has kept my right hon. and learned Friend informed of developments concerning Air Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government are currently considering any proposals to make the wearing of crash helmets by cyclists compulsory.

No, but we do advise cyclists to wear safety helmets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics he has regarding the beneficial effects of the wearing of crash helmets by cyclists in the prevention of serious head injuries.

The standard road injury accident report provides no information on cyclist crash helmets, but hospital-based research suggests that if those seriously injured had worn helmets 11 per cent. would have been uninjured and 18 per cent. would have been only slightly injured.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the chairman of British Rail to discuss the performance of British Rail rolling stock during the recent severe weather; and what the results of that meeting were.

Yesterday. British Rail has been carrying out a review of the railway's performance during the recent snow and it plans to announce the results shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in respect of the M54 in Shropshire what was the original cost, the cost of subsequent repairs and the lowest tender for the orginial construction to have been in tarmacadam rather than concrete.

The original construction cost was £26,248,992. Had the lowest tenders for blacktop construction been accepted the extra cost would have been £881,883.Repair costs to date including those programmed for 1990–91 total £5,303,500. The latter includes bridgeworks and covers part of the Staffordshire section for which Shropshire county council is responsible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the names of all standby vessels currently certificated engaged in the offshore oil and gas industries, the year of build and the date of the last survey of each vessel.

I am placing in the Library a list of the names of all standby vessels currently certificated engaged in the offshore oil and gas industries, the year of build and the date of the last survey of each vessel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve lane discipline in motorway driving.

My Department continues to attach high importance to improving standards of motorway driving. As part of the "Safety on the Move" campaign we shall be mounting a fresh publicity initiative later this year about safe motorway driving practice, including lane discipline. This will complement the major police national motorway campaign to be launched in July, aimed at improving motorway driving standards. We have also commissioned research to investigate driver behaviour on motorways to help explore the further scope for improving safety and traffic flows on those roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to warn motorists of the danger of headlight dazzle.

The "Highway Code" advises drivers to dip their headlamps when meeting other vehicles or road users and before they dazzle the driver of a vehicle travelling in the same direction in front of them. The code emphasises that badly adjusted headlamps can dazzle road users and lead to accidents.Dazzle is also reduced if headlamps are correctly aimed on the vehicle. As I announced last year, the Department is introducing stricter arrangements for checking that new vehicles come off the production line with correctly aimed headlamps. We are also introducing a stricter check of headlamps aim into the MOT test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress to date on upgrading the A12 from Ipswich to Great Yarmouth including dualling and bypasses.

The proposals to upgrade the A 12 in Norfolk and Suffolk have been split into seven schemes. The Gorleston relief road is the most advanced with construction work scheduled to start on 5 April 1991. A preferred route for the Lowestoft relief road, extending the route southward to the Kessingland bypass, was announced on 9 November 1990 and the normal design and statutory procedures are now in hand. We expect to announce preferred routes for all the remaining schemes by 1993 and anticipate that the whole programme of improvements will be completed by the end of the decade.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) of 21 February, Official Report, column 434, what place is occupied by Camden in the list of authorities with (a) the highest community charge, net of safety net, (b) the worst education results and (c) the largest rent arrears; and if he will make a statement.

After it had been capped, reducing its charge by £34, Camden set a community charge of £500 in 1990–91, the third highest in England. After allowing for the effect of the safety net, Camden's charge after capping is £425, the 27th highest in England.Camden took over responsibility for education in April 1990. Before that it was part of the Inner London education authority which, despite the highest spending per pupil in England, ranked 91st out of 96 local education authorities in terms of education results.As at 31 March 1990, Camden had arrears of rent of £7·45 million, representing approximately 18 per cent. of the rent roll, the 10th highest level in England.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 19 March.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what assessment he has made concerning the availability of books for the national curriculum;(2) how many representations he has received concerning the availability of books for the national curriculum.

The latest report from Her Majesty's senior chief inspector of schools says that most classrooms are adequately provided with books. But some schools will need to offer a wider range of books if they are to meet the full requirements of the national curriculum. That is why the Government are deploying specific grant to support £15 million expenditure on books for the national curriculum in the financial year 1991–92. My right hon. and learned Friend and I meet representatives of the educational publishers from time to time and over the last year have also received six letters about the availability of books from schools and members of the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations he has received concerning primary testing in schools.

Since 1 January this year the Department has received 187 letters from hon. Members and the general public, specifically concerned with the testing of primary school pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidance or undertakings have been issued, in the event of the provisions of section 105(5) of the Education Reform Act 1988 and paragraph 24A(iv) of the model city technology college/Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency funding agreement being brought into operation on termination of a CTC/CCTA funding agreement, with respect to limitations on the percentage of the then market value of the relevant assets to be repaid to him.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on his future plans for the training of school governors.

Legal responsibility for the training of school governors rests with local education authorities, which plan in the light of local needs. This work is encouraged through central grants which will have supported some £17 million of expenditure in the three years to 1992. Grants are expected to continue at least at the same level in 1992–93. The Department will also continue to provide written information and advice to all governors free of charge, including a personal copy of the guide to the law which is regularly updated, and to support and subsidise the production of nationally available training materials.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has carried out any review of the effectiveness of expenditure under the education support grants for training of school governors; and if he will make a statement.

In seeking approval for further instalments of central grant support all LEAs have since 1989 had to report on progress towards their school governor training targets. A survey by the National Foundation for Educational Research in summer 1990 showed that almost all governors had been offered training and over two thirds had attended training sessions. Her Majesty's inspectors of schools published a report in October 1989 on the early experiences of school governor training in a number of LEAs. A further HMI review is now under way and its findings will be published in the early autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to whether the nuclear structure facility will be subject to peer review before any final decision is made on its future.

At its meeting on 13 March, the Science and Engineering Research Council confirmed its decision to close the nuclear structure facility at its Daresbury laboratory, probably at the beginning of 1993. In reaching this decision the council took full account of the views of its Nuclear Physics Board as well as the representations it had received from the scientific community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will be represented at the Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee meeting in Ruthin in the week beginning 18 March in connection with discussion on the future of the nuclear structure facility at Daresbury.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to be represented at this meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many meetings of Birmingham city action team were held in 1990; and how many meetings have been held in the current year.

The Birmingham city action team meets approximately once a month. It had 10 meetings in 1990 and has had four meetings in the first three months of 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the spending for each local education authority in ranking order for the provision of nursery school places for the last year that figures are available.

[holding answer 18 March 1991]: The last year for which expenditure on nursery schools was collected separately was 1986–87. For later years, authorities' returns of expenditure do not identify separate figures for nursery and primary schools.The table shows school-based recurrent spending on nursery schools. The figures do not include expenditure on nursery classes in primary schools.

Net institutional expenditure1 in nursery schools 1986–872
LEA	£000
ILEA	7,623
Lancashire	2,481
Birmingham	1,987
Durham	1,917
Staffordshire	1,676
Avon	1,628
Berkshire	1,516
Humberside	1,481
Hertfordshire	1,337
Salford	1,166
Bedfordshire	1,021
Derbyshire	938
Manchester	929
Newcastle upon Tyne	862
Sheffield	744
Sunderland	715
Rochdale	666
Stockport	633
Bradford	611
Cumbria	591
Cambridgeshire	554
Liverpool	548
Walsall	541
Cheshire	525
Nottinghamshire	514
Ealing	512
Brent	491
South Tyneside	475
Warwickshire	456
Wolverhampton	438
Dudley	435
Bolton	434
Kirklees	422
Northamptonshire	386
Oxfordshire	385
Surrey	355
Coventry	345
Barnet	344
Wakefield	341
Croydon	339
Tameside	327
Buckinghamshire	325
Waltham Forest	290
North Yorkshire	243
Norfolk	244
Lincolnshire	240
West Sussex	230
Wirral	230
Rotherham	230
North Tyneside	219

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the number of nursery school places made available by each local education authority in ranking order for the last year for which figures are available.

[holding answer 18 March 1991]: Information on the number of nursery places is not available centrally. The number of pupils in maintained nursery schools in each local education authority in rank order as at January 1990 is given in the table. This excludes pupils in nursery classes in maintained primary schools.

Number of pupils in maintained nursery schools in rank order January 1990
	Number on roll
1. Inner London	4,187
2. Lancashire	3,397
3. Durham	2,519
4. Birmingham	2,371

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the required level of value added tax if the amount of tax levied through the community charge were collected through the VAT system.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 13 March at columns 553–54.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the additional revenue that would be generated by raising to 25 per cent. the VAT rate on those products which were historically subject to a 25 per cent. purchase tax levy.

Around £5 billion at 1990–91 levels of expenditure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the basis of environmental considerations concerning the cost of subsidies by the Exchequer towards the costs of company cars; and if he will make a statement.

I have received a number of such representations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a table showing for each year from 1979 to 1991 to date, the average real short-term interest rate in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the Group of Seven as a whole, measuring the real United Kingdom interest rate in each case on the basis of the underlying rate of inflation.

Following is the information:

Per cent.
Year	United Kingdom	G7
1979	1·2	0·0
1980	-0·1	0·1
1981	2·1	3·6
1982	3·6	4·5
1983	4·9	4·6
1984	5·3	5·0
1985	6·9	4·6
1986	7·4	4·9
1987	6·0	3·8
1988	5·7	3·8
1989	7·8	4·5
1990	7·1	4·3

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a table for each year from 1970 to 1990 inclusive, showing (a) the average underlying rate of inflation in the United Kingdom, (b) the average rate of inflation in the United States and (c) the amount by which underlying United Kingdom inflation exceeds United States inflation.

There are various ways of measuring underlying inflation. The following table shows the United Kingdom figures as measured by the RPI excluding mortgage interest payments and the community charge/rates. These figures are available only from 1976.

Average annual increase in consumer prices
	United Kingdom1 Per cent.	United States of America Per cent.	Difference Per cent.
1976	16·9	5·7	11·2
1977	16·0	6·5	9·5
1978	8·5	7·6	0·9
1979	12·5	11·3	1·2
1980	16·7	13·5	3·2
1981	11·7	10·3	1·4
1982	8·3	6·1	2·2
1983	5·1	3·2	1·9
1984	4·4	4·3	0·1
1985	5·0	3·5	1·5
1986	3·3	1·9	1·4
1987	3·5	3·7	-0·2
1988	4·4	4·1	0·3
1989	5·7	4·8	0·9
1990	7·2	5·4	1·8
1 All items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments and community charge/rates.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average annual underlying rate of United Kingdom inflation for the periods (a) from July 1983 to October 1989 inclusive, (b) from July 1984 to October 1990 inclusive, (c) from July 1985 to October 1991 inclusive, using as a proxy for October 1991 the forecast for the fourth quarter of 1991 published in the 1991 FSBR, adjusted to provide a forecast for the underlying rate, and (d) from July 1985 to the latest available month, inclusive.

The average the RPI excluding mortgage interest community charge was:

(i) 4·4 per cent. between July 198 inclusive;

(ii) 4·4 per cent. between July 198 inclusive;

(iii) 4·8 per cent. between July 1985 and January 1991 inclusive.

No forecast is published for underlying inflation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total public sector borrowing requirement for (a) the period from June 1979 to June 1983 inclusive, (b) the period from July 1983 to October 1989 inclusive and (c) the period from November 1989 to the latest available month, inclusive.

The figures are as follows:

	£ million
(a) June 1979 to June 1983	40·5
(b) July 1983 to October 1989	4·6
(c) November 1989 to February 1991	-8·3

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how the weighting accorded to the number of statemented pupils on the rolls of special schools is expected to influence the integration of pupils with special educational needs into ordinary schools.

The Education Act 1981 places a duty on local education authorities to secure that children with statements are educated in ordinary schools, subject to certain conditions. Wherever a child with a statement is placed, it is the responsibility of the LEA to ensure that the special educational provision specified in the statement is made and to allocate resources accordingly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the ports in Wales currently registered for the import of toxic waste and the amount of such waste imported, by port, for the last available year; and if he will make a statement.

There is no requirement for ports to be registered for the importation of waste. The following amounts of hazardous waste were imported through ports in Wales for the year to March 1991: 156 tonnes through Holyhead, 1,346 tonnes through Newport and 5 tonnes through Swansea.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the perinatal mortality rate for the years 1986–87 to the present for (1) West Wales general hospital, Carmarthen, (2) Withybush hospital, Haverfordwest., (3) Singleton hospital, Swansea, (4) Morriston hospital and (5) Wales; and what information he has on comparable figures for Great Britain.

Perinatal mortality rates on a hospital basis are not available centrally.Data from the registration system which are routinely published on an area of residence basis are reproduced in the following table with equivalent rates for Great Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of officers in each grade, 1 to 7, and overall in his Department are women.

I refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) on 7 March 1991 at columns 233–34.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to operate air pollution monitoring sites in Wales on behalf of the Government in respect of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, atmospheric hydrocarbon, trace germs, atmospheric chemistry and multi-element sites; and if he will list other monitoring by independent organisations.

The coverage and density of the United Kingdom monitoring networks for airborne pollutants is kept under continual review. We are now planning to expand the network, as announced in the White Paper, "This Common Inheritance". As a first step we propose an improved urban system which will monitor carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and a range of atmospheric hydrocarbons, and will include a site in Wales.There is no centrally maintained list of monitoring by independent organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many draft reports by HACAS in respect of Corlan Housing Association were presented to Tai Cymru before the final version; and what was the final fee paid to HACAS.

I will ask the chairman of Tai Cymru to write to the hon. Gentleman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Health Common Services health auhority regarding (a) waiting lists, (b) funding requirements and (c) the method of transfer payment appropriate from 1 April, for rehabilitation seating provided by the rehabilitation engineering unit at Rookwood hospital.

None. Management and financial responsibility for the rehabilitation engineering unit rests with the South Glamorgan health authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what consideration he gave, prior to his approval of South Glamorgan health authority's proposals to transfer services provided at Glan Ely hospital to the Prince of Wales hospital at Rhydlafar to (a) the capacity of the foul drains at the Prince of Wales hospital to accept sluicings from the disposable bed pan mashing equipment currently used at Glan Ely hospital and (b) the cross-infection risk between geriatric and non-geriatric patients in physiotherapy and occupational therapy departments;(2) what consideration he gave, prior to his approval of South Glamorgan health authority's proposals to transfer services provided at the children's ENT hospital, Ely, to the University Hospital of Wales, to (i) the recent medical audit report on the relative costs of children's ENT operations at the children's ENT hospital, Ely, and (ii) the involuntary departures of the unit general manager, chief nursing officer, chief finance officer and chief personnel officer from the University Hospital of Wales.

The considerations given to the authority's proposals are set out in the decision letter issued on 7 March.Changes in senior personnel at University Hospital of Wales are a matter for South Glamorgan health authority, which advises that a number of staff are moving as part of an agreed programme to strengthen financial and clinical management as the authority prepares for the NHS changes in April.I regret that the hon. Gentleman has used parliamentary privilege to make careless, unfounded insinuations against public officials. I hope that in future he will ensure that any statements he makes have been verified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit Glan Ely hospital and St. David's hospital, Cardiff.

At present, neither my right hon. Friend nor I have any plans to visit these hospitals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit the children's ward at Prince of Wales hospital, Rhydlafar.

I visited the ward on 15 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the cost per annum of Britain's current maternity provision; and what this figure is as a percentage of the national payroll.

The total estimated cost of financial provision for maternity in the 1990–91 year is £395 million made up as follows:

	£million
Statutory Maternity Pay	340
State Maternity Allowance	34
Social Fund Maternity payments	21

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to increase the £35 disregard in income from occupational pensions above which unemployment benefit is reduced for people over the age of 55 years.

We have no plans to increase the disregard.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the real-term value of the £35 disregard on income from occupational pensions above which unemployment benefit is abated for people over the age of 55 years in relation to its level in 1981.

If the disregard had been increased in line with the RPI at January 1991 it would be £61·50.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will give details of the functions to be assessed by the functional test on the disability working allowance; and which disability organisations he has consulted regarding the details of the test;(2) whether his Department has drafted details of the functional test on the disability working allowance.

The test of functional disability for the disability working allowance—DWA—will be based upon the method of assessing disability developed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for its survey of disabled people in Great Britain. Research is currently under way to ensure that the test, which will use claimants' own assessment of their abilities, works satisfactorily. Very early indications are that a large majority of disabled people are happy to complete a self-assessment form similar to the one we have in mind for DWA. The research should be completed in April 1991.Our proposals were developed in the light of discussions between officials and representatives of a number of disability organisations and other experts in the field.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to reach a social security agreement with Caribbean countries to enable those retiring there to receive annual increments to their old age pension.

The United Kingdom has a reciprocal social security agreement with Jamaica which provides for the payment of annual pension increases. Negotiations for an agreement with Barbados are nearly complete. This will provide for future pension increases to be paid after the agreement comes into force. We have no plans to negotiate agreements with any of the other Caribbean countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those countries which have a reciprocal agreement with Britain which ensures that retired people who are entitled to a British pension receive an annual increase.

The United Kingdom has reciprocal social security agreements, providing for the payment of annual pension increases, with the following countries:

Austria	Jamaica
Belgium	Jersey
Bermuda	Luxembourg
Cyprus	Malta
Finland	Mauritius
France	Netherlands
Germany	Philippines
Gibraltar	Portugal
Guernsey	Spain
Iceland	Sweden
Ireland	Switzerland
Isle of Man	Turkey
Israel	United States of America
Italy	Yugoslavia

Pension increases are also paid to pensioners living in Sark by virtue of a provision of the Social Security (Persons Abroad) Regulations 1975.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the visit by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), to Darnley housing estate in Glasgow on 1 March and on the conditions and problems he encountered there.

The Darnley housing estate was one of a number of locations visited within the catchment area of the Glasgow Southside social security office. These brief visits provided a useful insight into the social and economic conditions being faced by those receiving various forms of benefits from this well-run local office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance he has given to local adjudication officers dealing with claims for income support to enable them to determine whether or not a local authority has placed the claimants in a care home trust.

Eligibility for income support is defined by regulations and is available in respect of fees, up to certain limits, to residents of registered residential care homes and in certain other types of homes. Independent ajudication officers receive guidance on the interpretation of the regulations by the chief adjudication officer in the "Adjudication Officers Guide", a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 12 February concerning Mr. Walker.

I have replied to the hon. Member today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the 1991–92 discretionary social fund budget, giving details of the allocations that will be made to each of the district offices.

The 1991–92 gross budget for the discretionary part of the social fund will be £227·7 million, comprising £160 million for loans and £67·7 million for community care grants. In accordance with the Department's published commitment to move to a formal cash limit on the discretionary part of the fund, agreement has been reached with the Treasury that, with effect from the start of the financial year, it will be subject to a formal cash limit of £100 million net. I have placed a list of all district office allocations in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many payments were made from the social fund in 1988–89 and 1989–90 analysed by type of payment.

[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1991, c. 124]: I regret that the answer given was incomplete. The full answer should have been: Payments were as follows:

thousands
	1988–89	1989–90
Maternity payments	170	175
Funeral payments	40	45
Community care grants	155	230
Budget loans	505	580
Crisis loans	380	450
Cold weather payments	1	45

It should be noted that the figures for payments in 1988–89 given in the recent social security departmental report—Cm. 1514—were incorrect; the figures given above should be substituted. Arrangements have been made for a correction slip to be produced. This will be inserted in remaining HMSO stocks of the departmental report and sent to all known purchasers. Copies will also be sent to the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the EC directive on transfrontier broadcasting will be incorporated into the United Kingdom law.

Article 25 of the directive requires member states to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to implement its provisions not later than 3 October 1991. We shall comply with this requirement. To the extent that new statutory powers are necessary for this purpose these were included in the Broadcasting Act 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held with the Advertising Standards Authority regarding the EC directive on transfrontier broadcasting.

The Home Office consulted a wide range of advertising interests about the relevant provisions of the EC directive while it was under negotiation, but since television advertising is not within the remit of the Advertising Standards Authority it was not appropriate to include the authority in these consultations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to introduce legislation concerning the treatment of animals in circuses.

Circus animals are protected by the Protection of Animals Act 1911 as well as the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925. These Acts together provide for, among other things, the registration of trainers, the inspection of premises by local authorities and the prosecution of anyone who causes any animal unnecessary suffering. This gives circus animals both general and specific protection and we have no plans for further legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of his Department's inspectorate of scientific procedures on living animals on 31 December 1990 were based in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

These figures are routinely given in the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain"—table 28 in 1989: Cm. 1152. On 31 December 1990, there were 19 members of the Home Office animals (scientific procedures) inspectorate in post. Sixteen inspectors were based in London and the regional offices in England; and three in the office in Scotland. There is no office in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to publish annually the number of designated places for scientific procedures on living animals in each of (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

Statistics on the number of certificates of designation issued each year under section 6 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and of the number of such certificates in force in Great Britain, are published annually in the "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals"—table 29 in 1989: Cm 1152—and in chapter 2 of the annual reports of the Animal Procedures Committee. There are no plans to disaggregate this information on a more localised basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if his Department has evaluated or will evaluate the number of additional animals, by species, that will be used in medical research in order to meet the regulatory requirements for the licensing of new human medical products imposed by EC draft directive (III 9026/90/Rev 1) if implemented;(2) if his Department has evaluated or will evaluate the number of additional animals, by species, that will be used in medical research in order to meet the regulatory requirements for the licensing of new veterinary products imposed by EC draft directive (III 9026/90/Rev 1) if implemented.

The task of the Home Office is to license and regulate scientific procedures on living animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. My right hon. Friend is not in a position to estimate in advance the number of project licences which may be sought, or the number of procedures authorised by those licences which may be carried out, for any particular purpose.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals about the case for new legislation to prevent those convicted of cruelty to animals being able lawfully to own domestic pets.

We have recently received a letter giving notice that the society will be seeking a mandatory ban on keeping animals in future for those convicted of certain types of offences of cruelty to animals. I understand that such a ban might well go beyond disqualifying offenders from keeping domestic pets.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of United Kingdom involvement in the Trevi Group in each of the last three years.

The information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Trevi Group will produce a policy paper for public discussion on the interpretation of police practices in the EC.

There are no such proposals. The purpose of Trevi is to develop practical police co-operation among European Community member states. A range of measures currently under consideration in Trevi is outlined in the programme of action approved in Dublin on 15 June 1990, a copy of which is in the Library.