To ask the Attorney-General what was the annual fee income of the Court of Protection in 1988–89 and 1989–90.

The annual fee income, including fees for receiverships undertaken by the public trustee for the court, was £5,764,111 for the year ended 31 March 1989 and £6,474,982 for the year ended 31 March 1990.

To ask the Attorney-General in how many cases involving juveniles the Crown prosecution service decided not to prosecute on grounds of welfare.

The Crown prosecution service does not collect statistics separately for cases involving juveniles whether as defendants, victims or witnesses. Such information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. It is, however, the policy of the Crown prosecution service to take into account, as one but only one of the relevant factors, the welfare of a juvenile, in deciding whether it is appropriate to institute or continue a prosecution.

To ask the Attorney-General whether he will consider seeking to amend the law in the light of the court decision overruling the wishes of a 12-year-old girl's mother as to whether the daughter should have an abortion; and if he will make a statement.

No. Where a child is a ward of court the High Court assumes parental responsibility including the duty to give or withhold consent to medical procedures. In discharging that duty the court must act as a good parent and treat the welfare of the child as the overriding consideration. The law governing the care and upbringing of children has been recently reformed by the Children Act 1989 which is expected to come into force in October this year. It will not prevent a court from overriding parental wishes in matters relating to children where their welfare is at risk, but it would be premature to make further changes in this area of the law until we have had a chance to see how that Act operates in practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the committee to make recommendations on the future development of environmental provision within further and higher education will be established; and what will be its terms of reference.

My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to announce the membership and terms of reference of this committee within the next few weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will name those schools in Humberside where the governors have used new powers available to them to make extra payments to heads and deputies; and how much was involved in each case.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received over the holding of meetings in primary schools to discuss governors' reports to parents, in particular concerning the level of attendance at such meetings.

The Department has received a number of letters about the low level of attendance at annual parents' meetings held at primary and secondary schools since this requirement was introduced in 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what will be the cost to universities in 1991–92 of the increase in the rate of VAT to 17·5 per cent.

The gross additional cost to the universities of the increase has been estimated at some £30 to £35 million. A significant proportion of this should be recoverable through increased output charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what procedures he adopts for review of lifespan of semi-permanent or temporary school buildings in areas of stable or growing school population.

It is for local education authorities and others directly responsible for the schools to satisfy themselves as to the state of their school buildings. In distributing annual capital guidelines to local education authorities, and in giving capital allocations to the governors of voluntary aided and special agreement schools, my right hon. and learned Friend makes no distinction between permanent, semi-permanent or temporary buildings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his announcement of 11 March regarding funding of the National Coaching Foundation coaching scheme for school children, what is the total number of school children proposed to take part in this scheme expressed (a) numerically and (b) as a percentage of the total number of school children at maintained schools in England; what is the total number of local education authority areas from which children will be selected expressed (1) numerically and (2) as a percentage of the total number of local education authority areas in England; and for what length of time the scheme will last expressed (A) numerically and (B) as a percentage of the standard school term.

The National Coaching Foundation's champion coaching project will involve about 3,600 children in 20 local education authority areas in England. This represents 0·2 per cent. of children aged 11 to 14 in maintained schools and 18 per cent. of LEAs. The aim of this pilot project is to establish examples of good practice for use in other areas. The scheme will last for eight to 10 weeks and will be complementary to the school curriculum. School terms are determined by LEAs or governing bodies for voluntary aided schools. Although all schools are bound to meet certain requirements, the organisation of terms is locally governed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many meetings he has held with the organisers of the British Olympic bid since the British Olympic Association's announcement of Manchester's winning bid; what further plans he has to meet the organisers; and if he will make a statement.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said in his answer on 1 May to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris), I am ready to discuss how best the Government can help to promote the bid. I have already spoken to Robert Scott, the chairman of the Manchester Olympic bid. Arrangements have been made for me to meet both Mr. Scott and the BOA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his written answer to the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde, 7 December 1990, Official Report, column 212, if he will publish a table setting out separately the level of grant in aid to the Sports Council given or proposed for each of the years 1986–87 to 1990–91 and the level of support for sport provided through the urban programme for each of the years 1986–87 to 1990–91 together with the level of grant the Sports Council would have received and the level of support which would have been provided through the urban programme for each of these years had funding been uprated in line with inflation.

The level of grant in aid to the Sports Council and the figures uprated by the GDP index are:

	(£ million)
Year	Sports Council Gram	Uprated by GDP Index
1986–871	37·4	37·4
1987–881	37·1	39·4
1988–891	39·0	42·3
1989–901	41·9	45·0
1990–922	44·7	48·5
1 Outturn.
2 Estimated outturn.

Over the same period the Sports Council has increased its receipts from £5·46 million (outturn) to £10·95 million (estimated outturn). When receipts are added to grant in aid, funds available to the council have increased in line with inflation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the number of (a) school-related and (b) non school-related reports published by Her Majesty's inspectorate in each of the last two years; and if he will indicate the cost of publication.

In 1988–89, 403 inspection reports were published, of which 231 were related to schools. In 1989–90, 358 reports were published, of which 144 were school-related. Her Majesty's inspectorate reports are printed and published by the Department, on behalf of the Secretary of State, and costs are currently not itemised within the Department's total printing budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when he expects to publish a draft order to introduce a short course in geography within key stage 4 of the national curriculum;(2) when he expects to publish proposals to put into effect his policy of permitting pupils to take either history or geography at key stage 4 of the national curriculum.

I have today published for consultation a draft order with an associated document setting out attainment targets and programmes of study for a short course in geography in the national curriculum for pupils at key stage 4, as I am required to do by section 20(5) of the Education Reform Act 1988. Copies have been placed in the Library.In publishing the initial statutory order and document for geography before Easter, I announced that I would be bringing forward shortly this further draft order, which builds on advice sent to me by the National Curriculum Council last November.I have accepted the basic structure of the course recommended by the council, although I have made changes to reduce its content to make it more manageable and to provide an element of choice within the material relating to physical and human geography.Therefore, in accordance with section 20(5)(a)(ii) of the Education Reform Act 1988, I have published a statement of my reasons for departing from the council's advice. Copies have been placed in the Library with those of the draft order.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has had concerning the practice of drivers on dual carriageways and motorways which have tong queues of slow-moving traffic who leave long gaps in the traffic and decline to close up on the vehicles ahead of them; and whether he will consider proposals to make it illegal because of the delays caused to drivers who wish to turn off the dual carriageways and motorways as part of their normal journey.

Although we have had no formal representations on the particular practice to which my right hon. Friend refers, trials of signing arrangements to encourage traffic to use both lanes on the approaches to road works have been carried out on sections of the A1 north of Doncaster and in North Yorkshire. The police can take action within their current powers against drivers whose vehicles cause unnecessary obstruction of the highway.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of land area of England is (a) currently covered by road and (b) will be covered by roads by the end of the century based on current plans.

A precise figure is not available, but the percentage for 1990 is estimated to be between 1·2 and 1·5 per cent. It is not expected that this percentage will change significantly during the next 10 years.The figure has been arrived at by taking known information on the length of roads in England and multiplying by an estimated average width. The data are as follows:

	Length (miles)	Width (ft)	Area (miles2)
Motorway	1,672	70	22
Trunk	5,083	33	32
Principal	15,439	26	76
B, C, Unclassified	147,456	20	560
			690

The land area of England is 50,363 miles

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to prohibit the transport of spent nuclear fuel into ports in the United Kingdom on roll-on, roll-off ferries.

No. Such cargoes are carried to United Kingdom ports on ro-ro ferries only in limited quantities, in flasks approved to standards set by the International Atomic Energy Authority, when they are engaged on "freight only" voyages. International regulations are under consideration at IMO which would make United Kingdom practice mandatory.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department's review of the arrangements for dealing with severe winter weather will be completed.

My Department's review of the current arrangements for dealing with severe winter weather, which I announced to the House on 10 December, Hansard col 685, has now been completed; I am placing a copy of the report in the Library of the House.The review has included consultation with the French, Dutch, German, Swiss, Danish and Swedish railways, and with highway authorities in France and Denmark, as well as with the Scottish Office Environment Department and in England with the police, with the Department's agents for highway maintenance, and with British Rail.The review finds that in the period of 7 to 9 December serious problems were caused, particularly in the midlands and the north, by a combination of strong winds and heavy, sticky snow which caused power lines and trees to collapse, blocking many roads and railways, and causing widespread power failures. The heavy drifting snow, exacerbated by heavy rain immediately beforehand which washed away much of the salt that had been spread in anticipation, quickly trapped vehicles, blocking roads and hampering ploughing operations. The conditions were exceptional; the Met Office suggest they may occur only once every 15 to 20 years.Over the weekend of 9 and 10 February, temperatures were extremely low and snow was again heavy in several regions. This time the snow was light and dry, which is not common in Britain. Motorways and trunk roads were generally kept open. However, serious problems were experienced on parts of the railway network; the blown powdery snow was able to enter mechanical and electrical equipment, and the low temperatures caused equipment to freeze up. Damage to 455 electric train motors meant that it took three weeks for Network SouthEast services to get back to normal.Our review of European comparisons shows that other countries also suffered severe disruption. On the roads other countries generally fared no better in dealing with similar conditions. For instance, in Belgium traffic was brought to "a virtual standstill" on 12 February in the Brussels and Antwerp regions in particular. In Germany on 15 and 16 February there was "a total breakdown of traffic throughout the Federal Republic", with tailbacks of more than 100 km. And in Holland on 15 February "traffic everywhere was snarled up", with about 13 jams totalling around 90 km.The severe spells also caused considerable immediate disruption to rail services. For example, in Holland there was serious disruption to services on 8 February and their emergency timetable was implemented. In France, powder snow got into the convertors of the RER trains in Paris and caused a complete line to close. In Germany, Frankfurt Main station was virtually cut off on 15 February, and elsewhere delays of up to three hours were quite frequent. In Denmark, there were major problems with the Copenhagen suburban services, with some 300 out of 500 trains being put out of service as a result of traction motor failures.We are acting on the lessons provided by these experiences and what we have learnt from other countries. One lesson is that rail services in other countries visited, apart from Denmark, appear to have got back to normal faster than in Britain on this occasion.A lesson that is common to both roads and railways is the need to improve communications systems and equipment, including an ability to continue functioning through a prolonged power failure. Better communications are needed within the relevant authorities, with travellers who are already on the road or rail system and with intending travellers before they set off.Specific improvements on the roads include a sharpening up of the arrangements to remove broken down vehicles, on which we did well in the February episode; an examination of the operational readiness of equipment; and a review of the levels of manpower and salt available to deal with possible longer spells of extreme conditions. We shall be considering with the emergency services procedures for helping vehicle occupants trapped during severe conditions. It is planned to have these actions substantially complete before the next winter. We shall also review operational procedures in the light of practice overseas, including the rate of spread of salt and the level of selectivity in salting roads; and we shall examine additional sources of manpower and equipment—we found that both France and Denmark make greater use of contractors and farmers than we do.On the railways, operational responsibility lies with British Rail. We found that railways that used sliding doors experienced similar problems to BR; but most European railways use plug doors, and had no problems. BR now intends all the new types of stock to have plug doors. Our study also showed that other railways made more extensive use of point heaters; BR now has a programme to install many more modern point heaters. BR also now intends to test the first production vehicle of all new fleets for temperature extremes, which was the general practice of the railways visited. We also established that diesel fuel can be obtained, at a premium, that can cope with lower temperatures than that presently used by BR—down to minus 22 deg C (Germany), minus 25 deg C (Holland) or even minus 32 deg C (Sweden); BR is now examining the cost-effectiveness of this.Other improvements being examined in the light of what we learnt overseas, to see if they would be cost-effective in this country, include modifications to existing sliding doors, preventing electric motors from failing as a result of powder snow getting into them and using covers on automatic couplers. British Rail is updating its guidance to staff on how to keep equipment working and services running in severe winter weather. It is also preparing emergency service plans, to be published in advance. These will improve communications with the customer. It will also be introducing a pilot real time information system on two routes this summer.I shall continue to monitor progress, and I shall make a further report to the House in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had regarding a Bermuda 3 agreement on aviation matters; and if he will make a statement.

Preliminary discussions have taken place with the United States about possibilities for further liberalisation of transatlantic air services. Talks will be resumed later in the year. No timetable has been set for their completion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the final cost for building the Ilminster bypass (A303).

The cost of the construction works was £21·23 million. Compensation for land acquisition and other property matters is estimated to cost a further £1·5 million at 1991 prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is for the cost of dualling the Ilminster bypass.

Preliminary estimates range from about £20 million to over £30 million depending on the manner in which the dualling might be carried out.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce his findings with regard to the provision of a channel tunnel high-speed rail link from Mailing, Kent, to central London termini; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) on 9 May, Vol. 190, col 545.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the contingency plans to deal with the foundering of an oil tanker in the Minch; if he will place a copy of the plans in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

The foundering of a tanker in the Minch would be dealt with in the same way as it would anywhere in United Kingdom waters and the response would have to be tailored to the particular circumstances of the incident. The marine pollution control unit MPCU is responsible for dealing with pollution at sea. Coastal local authorities are responsible for preparing detailed clean-up contingency plans for their particular coastlines and for dealing with pollution that comes ashore, supported by the MPCU as necessary.MPCU resources, full details of which are already available in the House of Commons Library, are pre-positioned at strategic locations in the United Kingdom to permit rapid response to any part of the coast and there are no plans related to specific areas. MPCU remote-sensing and dispersant-spraying aircraft are based at Inverness and would be immediately reinforced by the MPCU remote-sensing and dispersant-spraying aircraft based at Coventry in the event of a major incident in the Minch. MPCU at sea oil recovery equipment, nearest at Aberdeen, and specialist beach cleaning equipment, nearest at Stirling, would be mobilised and further resources obtained as necessary from MPCU stockpiles, United Kingdom commercial sources and from other North sea countries under the terms of the Bonn Agreement.The Western Isles island council and the Highland regional council are responsible for the coastline in the immediate area of the Minch and have each prepared detailed oil spill contingency plans for dealing with pollution which comes ashore on their beaches. It is for them to determine the availability of their plans.These MPCU and local authority arrangements for responding to major pollution incidents in the Minch were successfully tested in the MPCU live counter-pollution exercise MINCHEX which was carried out on 4 and 5 May 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to protect public safety by ensuring that taxi licences are granted only to fit and proper persons.

Outside London district councils license taxi drivers and it is for those councils to undertake what measures they consider appropriate to ensure that licences arc granted only to fit and proper persons.In London, where the licensing of taxi drivers is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport, the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, who licenses taxi drivers on his behalf, carries out the checks that he considers necessary to satisfy himself that the applicant is of good character and fit to act as a taxi driver; these include a medical check and a check of any past criminal convictions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will have discussions with the Audit Commission about ways of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of relevant activities which fall within the responsibility of his Department with a view to securing better value for money; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 15 May 1991]: I welcome the studies which the Audit Commission has carried out in areas for which the Department of Transport has policy responsibility and the Department will co-operate fully with future studies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on how many occasions consideration has been given to whether conflicts of interest have arisen in the case of persons appointed to the post of marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects;(2) what is the fee paid per day to N. A. Batchelor for acting as a marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects;(3) what steps were taken to ensure that civil service guidelines were fully complied with in the appointment of N. A. Batchelor as a marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects;(4) what is his policy on delegating responsibility to the Property Services Agency's chief executive and accounting officer of responsibility for the appointment of all marketing consultants to Property Services Agency projects;(5) when N. A. Batchelor was appointed as a marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects;(6) what outside advice he took before N. A. Batchelor was appointed to the post of marketing consultant to Property Services Agency projects;(7) what representations he has received as to the appointment of persons to the post of marketing consultants to Property Services Agency projects;(8) what steps he took to ensure that there was no family connection between the Property Services Agency projects marketing manager and any marketing consultants to Property Services Agency projects.

Following the decision of the Property Services Agency projects board to establish a separate sales organisation to help secure the commercial future of the business, immediate advice was required on organisational and other issues. Mr. N. A. Batchelor, who is the husband of the Property Services Agency projects marketing manager, had previously approached Property Services Agency projects' management to offer his services as a marketing consultant. He was appointed at the end of January to produce a report and to carry out some supplementary follow-up work. The commission, which has now been completed, amounted to 19 days in total and he was paid £400 per day.The chief executive and accounting officer for Property Services Agency services is responsible for the appointment of all consultants. He in turn delegates responsibility to his top management in each of the businesses. Although the Department's normal practice is to appoint consultants after competition, single tender action was taken to appoint Mr. Batchelor, but this was only because the requirement was seen as urgent.It is not the Department's general practice to seek outside advice when making such appointments and none was sought on this occasion.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors underlay the change in the level of domestic rate rebates between 1987–88 and 1989–90; and what figure he has assumed in calculating rebates on the amount of council tax.

Many factors underlay the changed levels of domestic rate rebates between 1987–88 and 1989–90. These include the reforms of the benefits system introduced in April 1988, the introduction of the community charge in Scotland from 1989, and the change in the actual level of rate bills resulting from spending decisions of local authorities.

Table 1
Local authority sales to sitting tenants (full ownership) 1989–90
	Numbers of sales		Discounted selling	Market price		Average discount
Region	houses	flats	price (houses + flats)	houses	flats	(houses + flats) per cent.
North (inc Cumbria)	12,600	600	10,200	21,600	19,200	51
Yorks/Humberside	19,100	800	11,100	22,300	19,000	50
East Midlands	9,700	800	15,700	32,200	26,900	50
East Anglia	2,300	500	23,900	51,600	45,600	53
London	7,900	19,200	25,800	67,900	55,500	57
South East	13,800	5,100	27,500	60,800	49,900	53
South West	7,500	1,700	21,900	47,900	40,100	53
West Midlands	16,600	1,700	15,000	31,500	24,600	51
North West	16,000	700	11,500	23,300	19,500	50
England	105,500	31,100	18,100	35,300	48,900	53

Table 2
Local authority sales to sitting tenants (full ownership) 1990–91
	Numbers of sales		Discounted selling	Market price		Average discount
Region	houses	flats	price (houses + flats)	houses	flats	(houses + flats) per cent.
North (inc Cumbria)	8,900	600	n.a.	25,400	22,200	n.a.
Yorks/Humberside	9,700	900	n.a.	27,900	22,200	n.a.
East Midlands	4,000	600	n.a.	36,300	28,200	n.a.
East Anglia	1,300	300	n.a.	49,200	44,800	n.a.
London	4,700	14,000	n.a.	72,300	62,000	n.a.
South East	6,600	2,600	n.a.	62,900	52,100	n.a.
South West	2,800	800	n.a.	52,400	41,300	n.a.
West Midlands	8,600	1,700	n.a.	35,700	25,500	n.a.
North West	10,900	900	n.a.	26,400	22,600	n.a.
England	57,500	22,300	n.a.	38,000	52,600	n.a.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about the proposed 25 per cent. reduction in the council tax for people living alone; and if he will consider increasing it to 50 per cent. when he brings forward legislation.

[holding answer 13 May 1991]: We have received a number of representations on aspects of the council tax, including the level of the discount. The basic council tax bill for a couple represents half property, half personal element. The Government take the view that this is the appropriate balance between the two elements. Increasing the personal discount to 50 per cent. would mean that, if an empty property attracted two personal discounts, as we propose, it would not be liable for any council tax.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the number of (i) freehold and (ii) leasehold homes sold by local authorities to sitting tenants in 1989 and 1990 nationally and regionally; what was the average selling price and the average discount on the market place; and if he will give separate figures for flats and other dwellings;(2) what is the average selling prices of council flats and semi-detached houses to sitting tenants in each English region, Scotland and Wales, and what are the corresponding average market values.

The available information is given in the table. I refer the hon. Member to the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales for Scottish and Welsh data.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the land area of England is now covered by national parks, areas of

	1980		1991
	Area (ha2)	Percentage area of England	Area (ha2)	Percentage area of England
National parks	942,900	7·20	942,900	7·20
The Broads	0	0·00	28,800	0·20
Areas of outstanding natural beauty	1,430,700	11·00	1,898,200	14·50
Sites of special scientific interest	648,198	5·00	760,210	6·00
Green belt	1720,000	5·50	1,520,000	12·00
National nature reserves	28,674	0·20	41,312	0·30
Special protection areas	0	0·00	109,194	0·80
Ramsar sites	18,803	0·15	115,463	0·90
1 Figures for 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many designated sites of special scientific interest are in existence currently; and how many there were in 1980.

On 28 February 1991, there were 5,649 sites of special scientific interest. On 28 March 1980, there were 3,826 notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. These sites have, for the most part, been re-notified under the terms of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has had any discussions with the water regulator regarding enabling people on low incomes to spread the cost of water meter installation in domestic premises; and if he will make a statement.

The director general's consultation paper "Paying for Water" suggests companies should be prepared to offer customers a facility for meeting the costs of voluntary domestic meter installation over a period of years. OFWAT is currently analysing responses to the consultation paper and the director general intends to issue guidelines to water companies towards the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the response of Her Majesty's Government to their consultation document entitled "Environmental Assessment and Private Bill Procedures", published on 26 February; and if he will make a statement.

We have received 35 responses to the consultation paper, most of which welcome, and none of which object to, the principle of requiring environmental assessment for private Bills for works projects. A list of responses has been sent to the Libraries of both Houses and copies of the responses have been placed in the Department of the Environment library at Marsham street.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will lay before the House a draft order under section 104 of the Local Government (Finance) Act 1988 setting out his decisions on the final caps of the authorities which he designated for capping.

I have today laid before the House a draft order, under section 104 of the 1988 Act, setting out my decisions on the final caps of the eight authorities which did not accept the caps that I proposed for them and put forward alternative amounts. Six authorities—Greenwich, Langbaurgh, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Reading and Somerset—accepted and I have in each case confirmed the caps for these authorities at the level originally proposed.For the authorities in the draft order I have decided, after taking account of all the relevant information, including the new information which has been made available since I made my initial decisions, to confirm the caps for Basildon, Ipswich, Norwich and Stoke-on-Trent at the level which I initially proposed. I have decided to increase Bristol's cap by £1·5 million, Lambeth's by £3·9 million, Warwickshire's by £2·8 million and Wirral's by £3·2 million. I am satisfied that the caps I have now decided are in all cases reasonable, appropriate and achievable. The caps for each of the designated authorities and the resulting reduction in charges are as follows:

r
Authority	Final Cap £ million	Reduction in charge £
Basildon	22·1	39
Bristol	54·9	15
Greenwich	213·0	16
Ipswich	16·0	15
Lambeth	311·17	25
Langbaurgh	15·6	6
Middlesbrough	20·2	7
Milton Keynes	20·2	16
Norwich	15·0	16
Reading	17·7	10
Somerset	272·5	6
Stoke-on-Trent	25·8	11
Warwickshire	275·1	9
Wirral	238·3	32

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to introduce stronger powers to curb the abuse through trespass and damage to property and public land by itinerants.

I have been asked to reply.Anyone who causes damage to property can be prosecuted under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 it is an offence, punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment, or life in the case of arson, to destroy or damage recklessly or intentionally any property belonging to another person without lawful excuse. Under section 3 of the Act it is an offence to possess anything with the intent to destroy or damage property. The police have the power to arrest any person whom they reasonably suspect has committed or is about to commit an offence of criminal damage. Simple trespass is a civil matter, but in certain circumstances, where trespass is accompanied by aggravating factors, including damage to property on the land, section 39 of the Public Order Act 1986 applies. The Government have recently reviewed section 39 and will announce their conclusions very soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will allocate additional new funds for emergency relief in Africa.

On 22 April I announced in the House a new pledge of £33 million emergency relief assistance for Africa, col. 299. I am currently discussing the detailed allocation of these funds with British and international relief agencies.Since September 1990 Britain has provided £90 million emergency relief assistance for African countries, including 158,000 tonnes of food aid. We intend to continue to respond speedily and effectively to the needs of famine-affected countries in Africa.I assured the House on 14 May, col.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of resources, and what consideration, he has given to the implementation of sport-as-aid packages as part of development aid to disadvantaged groups and for developing the sports infrastructure of recipient countries; if he will make it his policy to develop further such packages; and if he will make a statement.

The provision of sports infrastructure has not featured significantly in our bilateral aid programme. We have found that neither poor people nor their Governments give high priority to using aid for such purposes, although they can be part of health or education projects. Our basic priority is to use aid to increase the productive capabilities of people in developing countries and we do not expect any change in this.We have occasionally funded small contributions to sports and other cultural developments through the heads of mission gift scheme, however. A recent gift was for South African black townships. We are also providing aid to match contributions by local people for sports equipment within slum improvement projects in India.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library the progress reports submitted by each district health authority to his Department on their reviews of the community dental services.

I have placed in the Library of the House copies of progress reports produced by Welsh health authorities on their reviews of the community dental services as presented for the Department's annual review of performance in 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he intends to introduce proposals to make the full courses in history and geography alternatives in key stage 4;(2) when he will publish a draft order to introduce a reduced course for geography in the national curriculum at key stage 4.

I have published today a draft supplementary order with an associated document setting out attainment targets and programmes of study for a reduced course in geography in the national curriculum at key stage 4. Copies of the documents have been placed in the Library of the House.I am consulting widely on the draft as required by section 21(3) of the Education Reform Act 1988. The period for consultation will end on 31 July 1991. I intend to make the final order in October 1991 to allow ample time for the planning of syllabuses and courses. The statutory requirements for geography in the national curriculum in key stage 4 take effect from autumn 1994. I have also published today proposals to give effect to my intention that the full courses for history and geography in the national curriculum are alternatives at key stage 4. Consultation upon the proposals is the first stage in the procedure set out in section 21 of the Education Reform Act to make regulations under section 17 of that Act. Copies of the proposals have been placed in the Library of the House.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science will be publishing separately a draft order to introduce a reduced course for geography in England and his proposals in respect of history and geography in key stage 4.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any further plans to increase the police establishment in Leicestershire.

My right hon. Friend has approved an increase of 13 posts for the Leicestershire constabulary with effect from 1 October 1991. The police authority has also made an application for a further 27 police officers in 1992–93 which, with the advice of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, is being considered along with applications from other police authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he received for a referendum from the Isle of Wight county council.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next intends to meet representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers to discuss making available the criminal records of taxi licence applicants to district councils.

Discussions between the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers on this, and other questions of disclosure from criminal record, will take place as part of the formal consideration of the recommendations of the scrutiny of criminal records which reported at the end of April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to respond to the report "Non-Disclosure of Criminal Convictions", issued by the Association of District Councils, with respect to the granting of taxi licences to persons with criminal records; and if he will make a statement.

Home Office officials have written to the Association of District Councils. We are considering the question of access to criminal records in connection with the licensing of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers in the context of the response to the scrutiny of criminal recors which reported in April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal offences have been committed by taxi drivers against their passengers in each of the last three years.

It is not possible from the information held centrally to identify the number of offences committed by taxi drivers against their passengers.

Establishment	Date	Incident	Outcome
1. Threats to security entailing a full search
(a) Closed Prisons
Birmingham	25 February 1991	Firearms alert	Nothing found
Bristol	11 December 1990	Bomb threat and firearm alert	Nothing found
Bristol	18 January 1991	Bomb threat	Nothing found
Brixton	7 August 1990	Loss of security key	Key not found—locks changed
Canterbury	1 December 1990	Firearm alert	Nothing found
Cardiff	18 November 1990	Firearm alert	Nothing found

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to enable district councils to have access to police records when considering applications for taxi licences.

We are considering this issue in the context of the response to the scrutiny of criminal records which reported in April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for taxi licences have been prosecuted for not declaring criminal records.

It is not possible from the information held centrally to identify the number of applicants for taxi licences who have been prosecuted for not declaring criminal records.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where in his Department the files Y24263, B459500 and K385506 are currently held; if he will release the passports of Mr. Sadaf Hussain (date of birth 15-2-1969, passport No. L682432F) and his wife; and if he will make a statement.

These files are presently held in the asylum division of the immigration and nationality department. The subjects of these files were granted exceptional leave to remain on 7 May and their passports were returned to their legal representatives on that day. The passports of Mr. Sadaf Hussain—subject of file reference H354158—and his wife were returned to their legal representatives on 13 May. Mrs. Hussain has been granted indefinite leave to remain.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list for the last 12 months the dates on which each of Her Majesty's closed prison establishments were put on maximum security alert; for what reasons; and what were the results obtained;(2) if he will list for the last 12 months the dates on which each of Her Majesty's open prison establishments were put on maximum security alert; for what reasons; and what were the results obtained.

The term "maximum security alert" is not one used in prisons. Incidents recorded centrally between 9 May 1990 and 8 May 1991 which (1) involved a full search of the prison, or (2) presented a significant threat to control, were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in gaols in England and Wales were transferred in the interests of good order and discipline under the provisions of C.I. 10/74 and its successor C.I. 37/90 in each of the last five years; and how many of those prisoners were placed in segregation or solitary confinement.

The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases since 1986 his Department has received written or oral representations from Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi directly or indirectly through the West Middlesex Immigration Service Ltd. in respect of applications for political asylum or applications concerning immigration; and if he will make a statement.

Statistics of individual cases and representations by individual agents are not recorded. The information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the reports he has received from the Metropolitan police about Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi and West Middlesex Immigration Service Ltd.; when reports were received; and if he will make a statement.

Since 26 November 1990 the police investigating the activities of Mr. Bedi and West Middlesex Immigration Service Ltd. have been in close and regular contact with the Home Office. Most of these exchanges have involved requests by the police for information, evidence and witness statements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has information about any staff, or former staff, of the immigration and nationality

I am not aware of any present or former member of the department's staff being so retained. If the hon. Member has information indicating that a member of the Home Office staff has been retained by this organisation, I should be grateful if he would bring it to my attention.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many official contacts there have been between his Department and Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi, (i) individually, (ii) representing the West Middlesex Immigration Service Ltd. or (iii) representing any other organisation.

Statistics of contact with individuals, individual agents, organisations or representatives are not recorded. The information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines have been issued to officials in the immigration and nationality department about Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi and West Middlesex Immigration Services Ltd.

No general guidelines have been issued. But certain officials have been instructed to give the fullest co-operation to the Metropolitan and City police company fraud department in the conduct of their investigation into the activities of Mr. Bedi and this company.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many police forces in England and Wales juvenile liaison panels are operating.

Juvenile liaison panels are operating successfully in a number of police forces, but comprehensive information as to their precise distribution is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for the release of Mr. Karamjit Singh Chahal from Bedford prison.

I am satisfied that a decision to release Mr. Chahal cannot be justified at the present time.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning Mr. Karamjit Singh Chahal; and if he will make a statement.

Representations on Mr. Chahal's behalf have been received from several hon. Members, his legal representatives, concerned members of the Sikh community, Amnesty International and other concerned individuals. The representations have concerned the reasons for the decision to make a deportation order on grounds of national security; the decision to detain Mr. Chahal; and his claim to political asylum. Mr. Chahal has indicated that he wishes to make representations to the three advisers, and I shall ensure that all representations made to the Home Office are brought to their attention. My right hon. Friend shall, of course, review the case fully in the light of the advisers' recommendations, the available evidence and any representations made on Mr. Chahal's behalf.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for Mr. Karamjit Singh Chahal to be able to appeal, with legal representation, against refusal to grant him asylum in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Chahal has no statutory entitlement to appeal to the independent appellate authorities against the decision to refuse him political asylum. He does, however, have an entitlement to appeal against any directions set for his removal from the United Kingdom. In addition, he has asked to make representations to the three advisers about my right hon. Friend's decision to deport him for reasons of national security. Any request for him to be legally represented before the three advisers is a matter for their consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in relation to his policy for the disclosure of criminal background of those with access to children, what progress he has made in developing separate arrangements for those working with voluntary organisations, as envisaged in paragraph 1 of Home Office circular 102/88.

Three pilot schemes have been operational since early 1990 and are now being evaluated. They have enabled criminal records to be disclosed to certain voluntary organisations under the terms of Home Office circular 58/1989. Proposals for the future will be drawn up in the light of the evaluation report and the recommendations of the Home Office scrutiny of criminal records which reported at the end of April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific categories of armament are required to be included in the Iraqi Government's inventory of nuclear materials in Iraq under United Nations Security Council resolution 687.

UN Security Council resolution 687 required Iraq to submit to the Secretary General and the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency a declaration of the locations, amounts and types of nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons usable material, subsystems, components and any related research, development, support or manufacturing facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West, Official Report, 26 April, column 600, whether any meetings of the nuclear suppliers group were sought between 1978 and 1991.

A number of informal discussions took place between 1978 and 1991 about the possibility of further meetings of states adhering to the nuclear suppliers group guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz), Official Report, 30 April, column 140, about the volume of correspondence received by the Foreign Office Members of Parliament correspondence unit, if he will make it his policy to institute arrangements to enable him to answer substantively such questions in future.

Detailed statistics about the volume of correspondence received are not readily available, and at present could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, we are considering the results of a scrutiny of ministerial correspondence by the Cabinet Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been offered by the British embassy in Japan to British Nuclear Fuels plc in obtaining contracts from Japanese Electrical Utilities for mixed oxide nuclear fuel.

British Nuclear Fuels plc has no mixed oxide nuclear fuel contracts with Japanese customers at present. The British embassy provides British companies, including BNFL, with commercial assistance as well as advice on the political background in Japan. There is a counsellor (atomic energy) on the staff of the embassy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning Mr. Karamjit Singh Chahal; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what directions he has given to PowerGen and National Power regarding the level of expenditure by each company on electrostatic dust precipitators; and if he will make a statement.

Regulatory control of emissions from the electricity supply industry is the responsibility of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.Expenditure on maintenance of electrostatic precipitators is part of normal pollution control necessary to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements for the control of emissions. It is, therefore, a matter for the companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the cost per kilowatt hour of the most widely used (a) wet-dry, (b) wet and (c) dry flue gas desulphurisation processes.

The cost per kilowatt hour of sulphur dioxide abatement varies considerably depending not only on the choice of process but on a number of other factors including the level of abatement required, fuel quality, plant size, load factor, accounting practices and

Percentage of electricity production in 1989
	Conventional thermal1
	Coal2	Petroleum products	Gas	Other3	Nuclear	Hydroelectric	Geothermal
Belgium	22	3	12	1	61	2	—
Denmark	92	5	1	—	—	2	—
West Germany	48	2	10	1	34	5	—
Greece	72	21	—	—	—	7	—
Spain	40	6	1	—	39	14	—
France	8	3	2	—	75	13	—
Ireland	457	5	31	—	—	8	—
Italy	13	48	18	—	—	19	1
Luxembourg	—	2	35	3	—	61	—
Netherlands	30	4	58	1	5	—	—
Portugal	28	45	—	3	—	24	—
United Kingdom	65	10	2	—	22	2	—

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of total United Kingdom industrial investment is accounted for by capital investment in the North sea.

Capital investment in the North sea accounted for 16 per cent. of total United Kingdom industrial investment in 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the level of expenditure in each EC country on fitting flue gas desulphurisation over the past five years.

This information is not available. For the United Kingdom, expenditure on the installation of FGD equipment at Drax power station to end 1990 was £165 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a table showing the percentage of electricity derived from (a) coal, (b) coal plant using flue gas desulphurisation, (c) oil, (d) gas, (e) hydro and (f) other renewable sources in each European Community member state.

The breakdown of electricity production which can be provided is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information his Department holds on interruptions of supply to domestic consumers of each electricity company in England and Wales from each year since 1985–86 up to and including 1990–91.

Under regulation 35 of the Electricity Supply Regulations 1988, every supplier is required to give notice to my Department of supply failures where two days' prior notice to consumers has not been given.The figures for supply interruptions to all consumers, on a company basis, during the period 1987–88 to 1990–91 are as follows:

Electricity company	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91
London	7	5	13	16
Seeboard	2	15	19	7
Southern	5	7	20	9
South West	7	12	12	7
Eastern	14	16	25	14
East Midlands	3	9	9	9
Midlands	5	8	19	11
South Wales	2	4	6	2
Manweb	2	0	0	2
Yorkshire	5	4	2	8
Northern	6	0	13	17
Norweb	4	7	7	4
TOTAL	62	87	145	106

The figures do not distinguish between domestic consumers and others. Earlier figures are not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all current commercial agreements with Iraq that his Department has sanctioned.

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has set performance targets for the National Weights and Measures Laboratory executive agency for 1991–92.

Yes. I have set the agency the following targets:

Target	1991–92
Total number of new patterns examined	80
Total number of pattern variants examined	360
Total number of calibration certificates issued	590
Percentage of examinations completed in 18 weeks from registration	75 per cent.
Percentage of certificates published in 12 weeks	80 per cent.
Target annual fee increase	1 per cent. less than inflation
Target increase in cost of calibration of particular weight set	1 per cent. less than inflation

In working towards achieving these targets the National Weights and Measures Laboratory is again planning to offer a higher quality of service to customers at a lower real unit cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish the draft regulations to permit the introduction of uncertificated shares.

In July 1990 I published a consultative paper entitled "Electronic Recording and Transfer of Shares". Many comments were received, and in the light of them and of extensive discussion with the stock exchange to establish how it wishes the system to work in legal terms, my Department has now prepared draft regulations. These regulations, to be made under section 207 of the Companies Act 1989, will provide the essential legal and regulatory framework for TAURUS.I have today published the draft regulations in the form of a consultative document entitled "The Uncertificated Securities Regulations". Comments are invited by 16 August. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now respond to the report on standards of cross-media promotion, submitted to him by Mr. John Sadler.

I announced on 13 March that I welcomed the publication of the Sadler report, and that I would be willing, during a period of six weeks, to hear the views of interested parties before making any final decisions. I am grateful to those who responded, both to me and to the Home Secretary, with whom I have discussed the way ahead.

To ask the Prime Minister what instructions or requests have been made by him or any Government Department to any office, agency, or publicly owned service or authority to use the word customers in respect of users of public services; and if he will make a statement on his policy on the use of this word in respect of British Railways, London Transport, the Benefits Agency, and schools.

No such instructions have been issued.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the study by Sir Angus Fraser of the relationship between Government Departments and the "next steps" agencies.

Since my predecessor's announcement of the "next steps" initiative on 18 February 1988, 50 agencies have been set up, and nearly half of all civil servants will soon be operating under "next steps" principles. This is already leading to the real improvements in the quality of service to the public and better value for money which the changes are designed to secure.In the light of these developments Sir Angus Fraser was asked to examine the relationship between Departments and agencies and how Departments should be adapting their structure, size and methods of working. In his report to me, Sir Angus records the general agreement that "next steps" is going well. There is genuine enthusiasm and energy throughout the civil service for the changes that are taking place, with fresh ideas and increased commitment to improving value for money and quality of service, for the benefit both of the customer and the taxpayer. Running alongside this is a strong conviction that there is scope for more progress.The report contains a number of ideas for developing the roles of both Departments and agencies in support of Ministers. The objective is that both sides of the relationship between Ministers and chief executives—which lies at the heart of "next steps"—should be strengthened.For their part, Departments must provide well-informed and authoritative support to Ministers in order that Ministers can give agencies clear strategic direction firmly related to the Government's policy objectives; determine the financial resources to be made available: select and set suitably robust and meaningful targets covering quality of service, financial performance and efficiency; and call chief executives to account for the performance. This means strategic advice and direction, geared to the relationship between each Minister and agency, not day-to-day involvement. As a result, the number of people at the centres of Departments can be reduced.On the other side, chief executives will need increased personal responsibility and authority for running their organisations in order to achieve the progressive improvements in performance, quality of service and value for money that are required. The Government believe that agencies' delegations and flexibilities can be enlarged as their track record of performance is established, provided that essential controls on public expenditure are not jeopardised.It is on the basis of these principles that I have asked the head of the home civil service to set in train arrangements to ensure that the ideas in this report are taken forward in each Department and agency in ways which fit each particular activity. The next steps project manager has been instructed to work with the Treasury and Departments to achieve this, reporting to me through the head of the home civil service. I look forward to seeing further improvements in the management of the civil service resulting from this process.I am grateful to Sir Angus Fraser and his team for their report. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House and is being published by HMSO today.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 16 May.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total public expenditure so far on the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.

This information is not available. Expenditure on the assessment, consultation and representation aspects of the Act is included in fieldwork and administration costs, while service expenditure attributable to the Act cannot be separated from service expenditure that might otherwise have occurred.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will order an inquiry into staffing levels and the level of patient care at Goodmayes hospital, Redbridge; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many break-ins there have been in the case of Goodmayes hospital, Redbridge, over the last 12 months; what security arrangements exist in the hospital to deter breaches of the law; and what lighting arrangements exist in the hospital grounds and property for reasons of security and personal protection.

Security arrangements at health service premises are the responsibility of local managers. They are best placed to determine the appropriate security arrangements for the protection of both patients and staff in the light of their knowledge of their premises and the degree of access necessary for patients and their visitors.The hon. Member may wish to write to Miss Delva Patman, chairman of Redbridge district health authority, for details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what use has been made of bank nurses by Goodmayes hospital for night time cover in the last 12 months.

This information is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may wish to write to Miss Delva Patman, chairman of Redbridge health authority, for details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the funding of Goodmayes hospital.

None. Funding of all national health service provider units now depends on their success at securing contracts from purchasing authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will issue guidelines to health authorities and NHS trusts in order for them to comply with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 with regard to the disposal of clinical waste, amputated limbs, soiled bandages, drugs and syringes;(2) if there has been a Government survey of the hospitals that do not now comply with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as it applies to the disposal of clinical waste;(3) if he will list the hospitals which are currently negotiating for temporary exemption from the Environmental Protection Act 1990 with regard to the disposal of clinical waste;(4) if there will be negotiations with individual hospitals concerning temporary exemption from the Environmental Protection Act 1990 with regard to the disposal of clinical waste.