To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools have (a) become committed to hold a ballot on grant-maintained status, (b) voted yes and (i) had the proposals approved, (ii) had the proposal rejected and (iii) await determination of the proposal and (c) voted no; how many in each category were the subject of (1) closure or (2) reorganisation proposals; and whether, for schools in categories (b), (ii) and (c), the proposals have been approved or rejected.

Two hundred and seventy-nine schools have been or are committed to holding a ballot on GM status. There have been 160 votes in favour, 47 votes against and 75 results are still awaited. Four schools have embarked on the process twice and one application lapsed.Of the schools which voted in favour of applying for GM status, 77 applications have been approved and the Secretary of State is minded to approve another. Thirteen have been rejected and 45 have yet to be decided. Applications from a further 24 schools are awaited.The number of schools in each category which have been the subject of closure or reorganisation proposals were:

Proposal date	Decision date	Description	Local education authority
19 March 1984	25 February 1986	Secondary reorganisation	Devon
23 November 1984	12 August 1985	Close two schools and establishment of a new secondary	ILEA
23 November 1984	12 August 1985	Close two schools and establishment of a new secondary	ILEA
9 July 1985	28 July 1986	Establishment Lubavitch House school as a voluntary aided instead of an independent	ILEA
6 December 1985	17 September 1986	Reorganisation in Trafford	Trafford
9 December 1985	7 January 1987	Establishment of a new Church of England primary school	Avon
25 April 1986	24 May 1990	Application for aided status for the Islamia primary school	Brent
15 September 1986	8 May 1987	Closure of St. Albans' Church of England secondary and establishment of secondary school	Birmingham
23 October 1986	5 August 1987	Dudley reorganisation	Dudley
2 January 1987	31 October 1988	Change status of Yesodey Hatorah primary school from independent to voluntary aided	ILEA
15 December 1987	12 May 1988	Close one Roman Catholic infant and one Roman Catholic junior school and establishment of new Roman Catholic primary school	Salford
26 February 1988	14 December 1988	Establish new Church of England (voluntary assisted) first school, Creekmoor, Poole	Dorset
4 March 1988	16 February 1989	Establish St. Julian of Norwich high school in substitution for three Roman Catholic secondary modern schools	Trafford
11 November 1988	1 September 1989	Amalgamate St. Bernard's convent and St. Thomas More high schools and establish a secondary school	Essex
6 January 1989	15 September 1989	Amalgamate St. Mary's and St. Veronica's Roman Catholic primary schools and establish a new Roman Catholic primary school	Lancashire
20 January 1989	13 March 1990	Establish a new Roman Catholic first and middle school in substitution for St. Mary's Roman Catholic primary school	Norfolk

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those applications for voluntary-aided status which have been rejected in the last 10 years, giving in each case the dates of application and rejection and the local education authority affected.

The information since 1985 is provided in the following table. The Department has no readily available record of such applications before then. The list includes proposals for the establishment of schools after amalgamation or reorganisation, as well as proposals for brand new schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what preparatory steps he is taking to collect reports from teachers administering standard assessment tasks to seven-year-olds as to the practical implications of these tasks in their present form.

A range of methods will be used to obtain teachers' views about the standard assessment tasks—SATs—as part of the evaluation of the first national assessments of seven-year-olds. The School Examinations and Assessment Council—SEAC—will be co-ordinating the information, which will include replies to questionnaires sent to two random samples of teachers. SEAC, together with the Department and Her Majesty's inspectorate—HMI—has also arranged a series of conferences which will be attended by teachers of seven-year-olds. The conferences will give teachers an opportunity to put forward their views about a range of aspects of the assessment arrangements, including the SATs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he makes of the proportion of the age group who by their 19th year have achieved (i) five or more GCSE passes at grade C or above, or qualifications at national vocational level 2 and (ii) two or more A-level passes, or qualifications at national vocational level 3.

Information on students' attainments in national vocational qualifications is not held centrally, nor is information collected about GCSE passes gained by students in FE colleges.However, the proportion of all school leavers in England who had gained five or more GCSE passes at grade C or better in the academic year 1988–89 was 31·9 per cent.As a proportion of the 18-year-old age group, 17·4 per cent. of school leavers and home full-time students in FE colleges had gained two or more A/AS passes, with two AS passes counting as one A-level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether he has met members of the British Olympic Association to discuss Manchester's bid for the Olympic games;(2) whether he has had meetings with the representatives of the committee for Manchester's Olympic games bid.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave yesterday, Official Report, column 221, to the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what visits or other engagements were undertaken by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science during his visit to the east Birmingham task force area on 21 December 1989.

The programme included visits to Birmingham Heartlands Ltd., St. Peter's college, the Ocean Video project and Just for Starters Ltd. and meetings with representatives of the Grand Metropolitan Community Trust and the Birmingham training and enterprise council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those bodies currently with agency status within his Department under the "next steps" initiative; and whether he has identified any further candidates for agency status under the initiative within his Department.

There are as yet no agencies within the Department under the "next steps" initiative, but my right hon. and learned Friend has identified the Department's teachers' pensions branch as a candidate for agency status.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the results from his Department's January survey of teacher vacancies.

In England, in January 1991 there were 3,400 full-time vacancies in maintained nursery and primary schools and 2,200 full-time vacancies in secondary schools. These figures are equivalent to 2·0 per cent. of teachers in service in nursery and primary schools and 1·2 per cent. of teachers in service in secondary schools. The overall total of 5,600 vacancies is equivalent to 1·6 per cent. of full-time teachers in service. These vacancy rates compare with 2·1 per cent. for nursery and primary, 1·5 per cent. for secondary and 1·8 per cent. overall last year, an improvement of around 14 per cent. These figures are most encouraging, especially for London, where the improvement on last year is of the order of 33 per cent. The full published details of the survey have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Attorney-General for what reasons the Home Office's amplified grounds of appeal were not placed before the chairman of the immigration appeals tribunal when he reached a decision on 28 February; when the amplified grounds were placed before the chairman of the IAT; and if he will arrange for the chairman's decision to be expedited in view of the compassionate circumstances of the case.

The Home Office's amplified grounds of appeal in the case of Mr. Liwa Uddin were not placed before the chairman of the immigration appeals tribunal—IAT—when he reached a decision on 28 February because of an administrative error on the part of the immigration appellate authorities which resulted in the amplified grounds of appeal not being linked to Mr. Uddin's case file.The grounds of appeal were subsequently placed before the chairman of the IAT on 17 April 1991, who dismissed the Home Office appeal in his determination of 7 May 1991.

To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions and on what basis he has been asked to authorise a grant of immunity to a civil servant from prosecution under the Official Secrets Act 1911 as part of inquiries into the leak of law officers' letters to Secretaries of State and other private individuals.

I have never been asked to authorise a grant of immunity from prosecution in such circumstances. The hon. Member will recall that my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) informed the House on 23 January 1986, Official Report, column 451, that my predecessor had authorised the then head of the civil service to tell an official that he had my predecessor's authority to say that, provided that the head of the civil service received full co-operation in his inquiry into the disclosure of parts of a letter written by me, the official concerned would not be prosecuted in respect of anything said during the course of the inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy in regard to providing aid for the governments of countries where human rights are openly violated and where there is evidence that traffic in drugs intended for export to the outside world is permitted.

A country's human rights record and its attitude towards illicit drugs production and trafficking are among the factors taken into account in allocating aid programme assistance among countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries currently receiving British economic aid.

I refer the right hon. Member to the list of developing country recipients of gross bilateral aid in "British Aid Statistics 1985–89", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.The following countries of eastern Europe have received assistance from the know-how fund: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Soviet Union.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the policy of denying aid to the Government of Burma, other than humanitarian aid to the refugees on the Thai-Burmese border, has yet had any effect on the repressive policies of the Burmese Government; and if he will make a statement.

Despite widespread international condemnation, there is still no evidence that the Burmese authorities intend to transfer power to the democratically elected representatives of the Burmese people or to put an end to their repressive human rights policies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the environmental implications of subsidised beef imports from Botswana into the EC under the Lomé trade agreement in terms of (a) the livestock stocking policy and (b) the veterinary fencing policy under EC disease control regulations.

No official assessment has been made. This is a matter for the Government of Botswana in the first instance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning the use of levies returned to Botswana in subsidies for beef imports into the EC under the Lomé trade agreement.

Under the preferential import quota scheme for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries including Botswana, beef imported into the Community is subject only to 10 per cent. of the normal import levy. No portion of this levy is reimbursed to the exporting industry.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will now make it his policy to answer questions relating to special forces.

No.

To ask the Prime Minister when the promised White Paper on 16 to 19-year-olds' education and training will be published; and which Department is taking the lead on this.

The White Paper on education and training will be published shortly. It is being produced jointly by my right hon. and learned Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Science and for Employment and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. A White Paper on education and training in Scotland will also be published shortly by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

To ask the Prime Minister if he has any plans to meet representatives of the British Olympic Association and the Manchester Olympic Committee.

It is for my hon. Friend the Minister of Sport to discuss with those concerned how best the Government can help to promote Manchester's bid for the 2000 Olympic games. The Government wish Manchester every success.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing the amount of benefit expenditure on lone parents recovered from relatives liable to pay maintenance, for each year from 1978 to the latest available date.

The first year for which complete data are available is 1980–81. The data cover all payments received from liable relatives and include a small amount of maintenance paid for other families besides lone parents. The information is in the table.

	£ million (1989–90 prices)
1980–81	175·6
1981–82	207·0
1982–83	209·0
1983–84	197·6
1984–85	186·2
1985–86	197·6
1986–87	—1
1987–88	181·2
1988–89	176·6
1989–90	205·6
1 Data not available as, no annual statistical inquiry, which collects the bulk of the required information, was undertaken during 1986–87 because of a change in the collection arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide the information given in his answer of 3 May, Official Report, columns 349–51, at constant 1989–90 prices.

The information requested is in the table.

	£ million (1989–90 prices)
	Council rents (rent rebates)	Community charge benefit and rate rebates
1983–84	2,732	1,681
1984–85	2,817	1,778
1985–86	2,860	1,842
1986–87	2,913	1,968
1987–88	2,864	1,944
1988–89	2,851	1,460
1989–90	2,856	1,460
1990–91	2,951	2,109

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for review by a social fund inspector were outstanding for more than one month on 28 February and 31 March.

The information requested is in the table.

• 28 February 1991—616 cases outstanding for more than one month.
• 31 March 1991—1,013 cases outstanding for more than one month.
• Additional inspectors have been recruited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures showing the amounts by which child benefit could be increased at no extra cost, if (a) the proposed extra £2 for first children were distributed evenly between all children and (b) third and subsequent children received £1 a week more than first and second children.

[holding answer 22 April 1991]: The £1 increase in April 1991 for the eldest eligible child is estimated to cost some £250 million. The full-year cost of increasing that rate by a further £1 in October will be some £355 million. If this £605 million were redistributed in the ways suggested, without carrying them through into income-related benefits, the rate for (a) all children would be £8·60 compared with £9·25 for the eldest eligible child and £7·50 for all other children from October, and (b) that for first and second children would be £8·45 and for third and subsequent children, £9·45.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the financial costs to his Department in commissioning and publishing the research document "Competitive Tendering for Local Authority Services—Initial Experiences"; and if he will indicate the future costs of any further research into compulsory competitive tendering that his Department is planning.

The figure is £83,000. This was the first part of a three-year study, the remainder of which is estimated to cost £98,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, as part of his programme to promote environmental education, he will make available resources for the distribution to schools, colleges and other similar bodies of copies of relevant environmental publications.

Copies of the Department's "Environment in Trust" leaflets were circulated to all secondary schools in England and Wales on publication. These leaflets and other publications, including the recent "Wake Up" leaflet, are available to anyone on application. The Department also supports the preparation and distribution of educational materials by our grant-in-aid environmental bodies, and by those organisations which receive funds from the special grants programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 9 May, Official Report, column 551, what assessment Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has made of the security with which the toxic waste held at Wath Recycling since June 1989 is contained.

Contaminated copper hydroxide sludge was delivered to the Wath site during the week commencing 5 June 1989. After discussions between the South Yorkshire hazardous waste unit, the Health and Safety Executive, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, the company and the producer of the material, it was agreed that the sludge should be repacked in steel drums and stored in a safe place on site, pending a decision on its final destination. The statutory control authority for waste storage and disposal is the SYHWA. HMIP has no statutory duties in respect of this matter and has had no further involvement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made on the initiative to provide accommodation for people sleeping rough in central London.

I am glad to be able to report that there has been significant progress on this initiative.The Housing Corporation is announcing today the allocation of over £50 million to more than 50 housing associations in London, to provide some 1,400 bedspaces in permanent homes for people sleeping rough or in hostels in central London. This allocation is part of the total provision of £96 million over three years which my Department has made for rough sleepers in central London.Today's allocations will bring to more than 2,300 the number of places in move-on housing for rough sleepers being provided this year and next. In addition, some 1,000 additional places in direct access hostels should be in place within the next few months. So far, about 1,000 places are available, in a mixture of move-on housing, hostels and short-term shelters.The first Department of Health hostel for homeless mentally ill people was opened last month. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health is today announcing proposed additional revenue funding of £2·7 million over three years, of which his Department will provide £1·5 million and the Mental Health Foundation will endeavour to raise £1·2 million from private sources. This will provide further psychiatric support for people sleeping rough and in hostels in London.The initiative is beginning to have a significant effect on the numbers of people sleeping rough in central London. The voluntary groups estimated in January that there were about 1,000 people sleeping rough in seven main areas in central London. Last month, the estimate was that numbers in these areas had come down to about 500.I hope that this progress will continue as more accommodation becomes available. I am very grateful for the very positive way in which the voluntary groups, the housing associations and the London boroughs have responded to the initiative. Our aim remains to make it unnecessary for anyone to sleep rough in central London.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to issue a code of conduct for bailiffs attached to magistrates courts.

We intend to issue best practice guidance shortly on the use of bailiffs by magistrates courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of individuals accepted by the immigration authorities for permanent settlement in the United Kingdom for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many individuals came from the Indian sub-continent and from Africa.

The available information for 1986 to 1988 is published in table 15 of the Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 1989", Cm. 1124, and for 1989 and 1990 in table 1 of the Home Office statistical bulletin 3/91 "Control of Immigration: Statistics—Third and Fourth Quarters and Year 1990". A copy of each publication is held in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of convictions of coach drivers for speeding offences in each of the last five years.

The motoring offences information collected centrally does not include the details of the type of vehicle involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding has been provided to the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association in the last five years; and what funding is proposed for 1991–92.

Prior to 1990–91, no contribution from central funds was made to the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association. In the financial year 1990–91, a contribution of £40,000 was made by the Home Office to the association. Provision is available for a contribution of £40,000 in the current financial year, of which £10,000 has so far been paid to the association.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role is played in the provision of advice to his Department by (a) the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association and (b) the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council.

The Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council is constituted under section 29 of the Fire Services Act 1947 to advise my right hon. Friend on matters as to which he is required by the Act to consult it, or on any other matters arising in connection with the operation of the Act which the council has taken into consideration, apart from matters relating to conditions of service and the maintenance of discipline. My right hon. Friend is responsible for appointing the members of the council, who include representatives of the interests of fire authorities and of persons employed as members of fire brigades. The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association is one member of the council. The association is also represented on the joint committees which report to the council and to the Scottish Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council. Apart from its role in submitting advice to my right hon. Friend through the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association has no special role in the provision of advice to the Home Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is considering final proposals for financial compensation for each of the Birmingham Six; and if he will make a statement.

On the advice of the independent assessor, my right hon. Friend has made interim payments of compensation to each of the six men.The solicitors representing the men have been asked to supply any information which they wish the assessor to take into account when determining the final sum. It is for the assessor to decide what the amount should be and when he has the information he needs to reach a decision. In accordance with the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, my right hon. Friend will accept the assessor's recommendation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the Royal Commission on the criminal justice system will consider the retirement age of those dispensing justice;(2) whether the Royal Commission on the criminal justice system will consider the work of the Crown forensic service;

The Royal Commission on criminal justice has been given very wide terms of reference, and it is for the commission to determine the way in which it will carry out its task and to report accordingly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are proposed to allow hon. Members to give evidence to the royal commission on the Criminal Justice System.

It is for the royal commission to determine the way in which it will carry out its task, but I understand that an announcement will be made shortly about the arrangements for the submission of evidence to the commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give figures for (a) total crime and offences, (b) total crimes, (c) total offences, (d) serious assaults and (e) housebreaking for each year since 1979 inclusive; if he will give the percentage increase or decrease for each year compared with the figure for the previous year together with the total increase or decrease since 1979; and what was the percentage clear-up rate for crimes in each of the years since 1979 inclusive.

The information for England and Wales is published annually in tables 2.1 and 2.18 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" and tables A and D of Home Office statistical bulletin 4/91, copies of which are available in the Library.Corresponding information for Scotland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what are the organisations and individuals which he has consulted on extending mandatory all-seated accommodation to sports grounds other than football grounds designated under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975; what are the methods by which and the dates on which such consultations will take place; and if he will make a statement;(2) what are the organisations and individuals which he plans to consult on extending mandatory all-seated accommodation to sports grounds other than football grounds designated under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975; what are the methods by which and the dates on which such consultations will take place; when the consultation period will be completed; and if he will make a statement.

During the course of last year Home Office officials held separate discussions with members of the executive committee of the rugby league, with officials of the rugby football union and, together with colleagues from the Welsh Office, with officials of the Welsh rugby football union. We have consulted and are currently awaiting the views of the Association of Chief Police Officers on the extension of mandatory all seated accommodation to these sports. My right hon. Friend will make a statement in due course. No consultations have been held with the cricket authorities because most designated cricket grounds are already wholly or substantially all seated. The designation of sports grounds under the 1975 Act is confined to grounds used for association football, rugby league, rugby union and cricket.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission; and when he proposes to bring forward legislation as recommended by the Calcutt commission.

My right hon. Friend and I met the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission on 14March. The legislation recommended by the Calcutt committee is still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the numbers of (a) asylum applications granted and (b) cases in which exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom was granted in (i) 1988, (ii) 1989 and (iii) 1990.

The latest available information is given in the table:

Grants of asylum and exceptional leave to remain, 1988–891
Year	Grants of asylum	2Grants of exceptional leave to remain
1988	968	2,263
1989	3,045	5,680
21990	1,600	3,900
1 Includes associated dependants.
2 Provisional estimates which probably understate the true levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list (a) the number of individual applications for asylum in the United Kingdom and (b) the number of dependants of the principal applicants for asylum received in (i) 1988, (ii) 1989, (iii) 1990 and (iv) January to March in the current year;(2) how many claims for asylum were outstanding as at

I will reply as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average it takes his Department to reply to letters from hon. Members about constituency cases involving naturalisation.

During March the average time taken to reply to enquiries from hon. Members on nationality matters, including those referring to naturalisation, was 22 days.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Newbury may expect a reply to his letter of 18 February.

I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those bodies currently with agency status within his Department under the "next steps" initiative; and whether he has identified any further candidates for agency status under the initiative within his Department.

The Passport Agency and the Forensic Science Service Agency were established this April. The Fire Service college is a firm candidate for agency status, with a proposed launch date of 1 April 1992. Other parts of the Department are also being considered as candidates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals serving a sentence of imprisonment in England and Wales have been transferred to complete their sentence in their country of origin in each of the last five years.

[holding answer 14 May 1991]: The information requested is as follows:

Transfers of foreign inmates under the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984
	Number
1986	10
1987	6
1988	7
1989	11
1990	13

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in the north-east region have successfully applied for enterprise initiative consultancies since the inception of the scheme.

From the inception of the scheme in January 1988 to 14 May 1991, 3,926 applications for enterprise initiative consultancies have been received in the north-east. These have resulted in 3,883 approved projects, of which 1,283 projects have been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the annual rate of remuneration of (a) chairmen of health authorities, (b) members of health authorities, (c) chairmen of health trusts and (d) members of health trusts as at 1 April 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Details of the remuneration paid to health authority chairmen and members in 1988, 1989 and 1990 are set out in the tables. The rates for 1991 are still under consideration.

Chairmen of Health Authorities Regional Health Authorities
	£
1 April 1988	11,709
1 April 1989	12,462
1 April 1990	18,921

District Health Authorities
	£
1 April 1988	11,709
1 April 1989	12,462
1 April 1990
Band 1	17,437
Band 2	15,503
Band 3	13,674

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the cost of treating AIDS patients in the national health service for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will give the figures separately for men and women.

The Government have made available the following sums of earmarked money to regional health authorities as a contribution towards the costs incurred in helping prevent the spread of HIV infection and providing treatment, counselling and support for those affected by HIV and AIDS.

	£ million
1987–88	25·1
1988–89	61·7
1989–90	122·5
1990–91	129·5
1991–92	137·3

Separate figures for the costs of treatment of men and women are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patients who have grievances regarding their treatment by hospital trusts will be able to have them referred to the health service ombudsman in the same way as patients treated in directly managed hospitals.

Yes. Schedule 9, paragraph 18(10) of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 provides for trusts to be subject to investigation by the health service commissioner.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses (a) in Doncaster and (b) in England and Wales had regrading appeals outstanding at 31 March.

A total of 22 appeals on behalf of nurses employed by Doncaster district health authority were outstanding at regional level at 31 March 1991. None was outstanding at national level.The information available on appeals outstanding at regional and national level in England up to 31 March 1991 is shown in the table:

Appeals outstanding (England)
	Number
Regional	15,359
National	476

Information on district level appeals is not held centrally.Questions on clinical grading appeals in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Minister for Health will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden of 28 February.

My hon. Friend replied on 16 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the initiative to provide accommodation and psychiatric care for mentally ill people sleeping rough in central London.

I was pleased to be able to open formally last month the first of the specialist hostels to be funded under the Department of Health's programme. Work is continuing on a further five hostel schemes, all of which are expected to open before the end of this financial year. New community-based psychiatric teams, along with an evaluation team, have been set up in the three Thames health regions concerned, and are already working with mentally ill people on the streets.Today I can announce that, in collaboration with the Mental Health Foundation, we expect to make available further revenue funding totalling about £2·7 million over the next three years. The Department of Health will provide £1·5 million, and the Mental Health Foundation will he endeavouring to raise the remaining £1·2 million from private sources, subject to detailed consideration of the projects.This extra money will give central London's health and social services authorities the opportunity to expand their community psychiatric teams, to enable them to provide support for mentally ill people within the new direct access hostels being established by the Department of the Environment under its rough sleepers initiative. Progress on the latter initiative is the subject of an announcement today by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the results of the Medical Research Council's anonymised HIV surveys will be available.

We are today publishing the first results of the Government funded Medical Research Council's anonymised HIV surveys. These surveys involved testing blood from a wide selection of patients who have had blood taken for other purposes. Great care must be taken in interpreting these preliminary results because the samples were small. Nevertheless they show that the priority we have given to public education campaigns is justified.The first results show that the overall prevalance of HIV infection in women attending certain ante-natal clinics in inner London is one in 500. These figures show a fivefold range from about one in 200 to more than one in 1,000 in the inner London clinics surveyed.In the small number of clinics surveys in outer London and the south-east there was a wide range from about one in 300 to one in 2,500, but half these clinics had no positive results.In other parts of the country, only one test in 16,000 in ante-natal clinics was positive.Among heterosexual women attending certain sexually transmitted diseases clinics in inner London the prevalence rate was one in 500; however, it was one in 100 for heterosexual men. Among homosexual and bisexual men attending the same clinics there is evidence of continuing transmission. The current prevalence rate is one in five.These initial results, though preliminary, provide valuable information to help us target our response to the epidemic. We intend to establish and lead an AIDS action group to reinforce action in areas with high prevalence rates. The group will address issues such as access to local services, local prevention and education initiatives and how to reach particular groups such as women, children and ethnic minorities. It will draw on the experience of local service providers and include within its membership representatives from health and local authorities, voluntary organisations and local communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated by South Derbyshire district health authority for the latest year for which figures are available and the previous year.

The table lists the number of in-patients, out-patients and day cases treated by Southern Derbyshire health authority for 1988–89 and 1989–90—the last year for which figures are available.

	1988–89	1989–90	Percentage increase
In-patients1	55,673	61,608	10·7
Out-patients	314,990	324,962	3·2
Day cases	4,977	5,255	5·6
1The inpatient figures represent Finished Consultant Episodes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about the proposed designation of Strangford lough as a marine nature reserve from Strangford lough advisory co-ordinating council, Strangford lough nature conservation association, local farming organisations and others; and if he will make a statement.

Since the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland announced its recommendation that Strangford lough should be designated as a marine nature reserve, the Department has received representations from a wide range of bodies including those referred to by the hon. Gentleman. Many of these representations have centred round the future management of the lough, rather than the designation of the marine nature reserve itself.The Department will be issuing a consultative paper at the beginning of June setting out its thinking on the future management structure for the lough and on a marine nature reserve. The consultation paper will be circulated widely and officials will be arranging meetings at which they will further explain the proposals. The district councils, the Strangford lough advisory and co-ordinating committee, the Strangford Lough Nature Conservation Association, farming organisations and other relevant bodies will be included in the consultation process. I hope all those interested will take the opportunity to express their views in as positive a way as possible. Following consultation the Department will produce a document containing policies and proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount of factory space available for letting from the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland and the Local Enterprise Development Unit at 30 September 1990 analysed by parliamentary constituency.

Factory space and workspace accommodation available for letting at 30 September 1990 was as follows:

Constituency	IDB—Available lettable space sq ft	LEDU—Available workspace sq ft
Belfast East	Nil	Nil
Belfast North	Nil	65,165
Belfast South	16,140	Nil
Belfast West	8,178	15,960
East Antrim	Nil	1,194
East Londonderry	3,228	1,942
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	3,228	26,668
Foyle	16,140	20,204
Lagan Valley	Nil	652
Mid Ulster	41,426	10,802
Newry and Armagh	41,125	26,642
North Antrim	35,336	14,454
North Down	Nil	Nil
South Antrim	31,204	Nil
South Down	17,007	7,172
Strangford	Nil	Nil
Upper Bann	29,246	26,950
Total	242,258	217,805

Although the Local Enterprise Development Unit does not own or let factory space it funds the local enterprise programme which aims to establish a network of local enterprise agencies throughout Northern Ireland. Local enterprise agencies provide managed workspace accommodation for new and existing small businesses in units of various sizes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the names of the companies assisted by the Industrial Development Board who located factories in each of the district council areas in Northern Ireland from 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991.

During the period from 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 there were nine new inward investment projects for which offers of assistance were accepted. To date two of these projects—Keith Prowse Holdings Ltd. in Belfast city council area and Webtech (NI) Ltd. in Fermanagh district council area—have been made public. The remaining seven projects, which have not yet been announced, will be located in the following district council areas: Antrim, Ballymena, Belfast (two), Magherafelt, Newry and Mourne, and Newtownabbey.In addition, four other inward investments for which no selective financial assistance was offered were secured. Two of these have been made public—Inland Revenue in the Belfast city council area and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the Newry and Mourne district council area. The other two projects, as yet unannounced, will be located in the Antrim and Belfast council areas.Desmond and Sons Ltd., an existing Northern Ireland company, located a new factory in the Dungannon district council area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the special development initiative led by the Industrial Development Board entails for the constituency of South Down.

The Department of the Environment is co-ordinating the involvement of various Government Departments in progressing the Downpatrick regeneration strategy. Within this framework IDB is exploring the availability of a number of sites which might be suitable for industrial development purposes. IDB is also associated with the Department of Economic Development-led Newry initiative which, although primarily aimed at the Newry urban area, is likely to be of benefit to neighbouring areas.IDB officials have recently met Down district council to discuss industrial development in the area and IDB's United States-based overseas representatives have also met a local group to discuss the establishment of links between South Down and Chicago. Some 70 companies in the South Down area will be provided with information about an IDB trade mission to Chicago in October 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will name the organisations or concerns which have so far expressed an interest in purchasing power stations in Northern Ireland or investing in Northern Ireland Electricity.

No organisation or concern has yet formally registered an interest in purchasing the power stations or in acquiring shares in NIE's successor company. All such expressions of interest would in any event represent commercially confidential information and would not normally be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he or his officials have had with the chairman of the Northern Ireland electricity service concerning the drafting of the minute relating to the decision of the Northern Ireland electricity service not to renew the contract of its chief executive.

The drafting of the minutes of the board of Northern Ireland Electricity is a matter for the chairman and company secretary.The chairman of NIE meets Ministers and officials on a regular basis, and advised the Department of Economic Development of the discussions at the meeting of the board on 3 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many covers on control boxes of electric columns in Millisle, County Down have been removed this year; what proposals he has to make these covers more secure; and if he will make a statement on the inherent danger to children and the public in Millisle by these exposed electrical installations.

No covers have been removed this year. Arrangements exist for repairing and securing any control boxes which may be damaged.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide a footway at Moss road, Millisle, from the Orange hall as far as the car park on the opposite side of Moss road; and if he will make a statement.

A scheme to extend the existing footway on the south side of the Moss road, Millisle from the Orange hall to the A2 junction is planned for the next financial year subject to finance being available. There are no proposals to provide a footway on the opposite side of the road.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what services and support local district councils provide for secondary schools and further education colleges in respect of rates payments.

[holding answer 14 May 1991]: There are two rates in Northern Ireland, the regional rate determined by the Department of Finance and Personnel, which funds regional services, including education, and the district rate struck by each district council to meet the costs of district services which include the provision of leisure facilities—playing fields, leisure centres, swimming pools, and so on—and environmental services—refuse collection and disposal, street cleansing and litter control, building control, environmental health enforcement and so on. District services are provided for secondary schools and further education colleges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time speech therapists are currently employed by each Welsh health district board; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Number of staff in post as at 30 April 1991
District health authority	Full-time	Part-time
Pembrokeshire	4	3
Clwyd	18	10
East Dyfed	12	3
Gwent	16	5
Gwynedd	9	3
Mid Glamorgan	19	4
Powys	6	3
South Glamorgan	26	10
West Glamorgan	8	5

There has been a significant and welcomed increase in the number of speech therapists employed by district health authorities in Wales since this Government took office. Since 1979 the number of whole-time equivalent speech therapists employed has increased from 65 to 154, an increase of 137 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the quality of training provided for people from Brymbo steelworks who were recently made redundant; and if he will make a statement.

Training for those recently made redundant at the Brymbo steelworks is provided under the iron and steel employees' readaptation benefits scheme which is jointly funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Commission. In the course of administering the scheme the Department of Trade and Industry has discussed the quality of training, both with trainees and with training providers, and has drawn apparent deficiencies to the attention of the providers. That Department is continuing to monitor the situation closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will require that local companies and jobs will be given priority when considering supply and service contracts for the John Laing-GTM second Severn crossing joint venture.

The concession company for the second Severn crossing scheme will be required to comply with the normal competitive rules for sub-contracting. It will not therefore be allowed to discriminate on the grounds of nationality or location in its selection of sub-contractors. But I hope that local firms and individuals will bid for the work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which authorities are responsible for determining the charges or tolls for the carriage of freight traffic through the channel tunnel for those portions of the journey (a) on the continent (b) within the United Kingdom and (c) between Frethun and Cheriton; and if the payer of such moneys can be made aware of the components of any combined charge for any class or quantity of traffic attributable to each part of the journey.

Charging for international rail freight services through the channel tunnel will be a commercial matter for British Rail and SNCF, who have a commercial agreement with Eurotunnel for the use of the tunnel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assistance is being provided out of public funds, other than that for grants toward the costs of private railway sidings, for the development or equipment of freight terminals for cross-channel rail traffic on the basis of (a) general desirability and (b) reduction in road congestion.

Investment in terminals for channel tunnel freight services is a commercial matter for British Rail and, where appropriate, its private sector partners. British Rail is prohibited under section 42 of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987 from receiving Government grants for international rail services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is British Rail's target date for signing a contract for building the main fleet of international trains for the channel tunnel route; and if he will make a statement;(2) when British Rail will order the fleet of 18-coach Euro-express trains; and if he will make a statement.

British Rail, SNCF and SNCB signed the contract for the 30 inter-capital trainsets in December 1989. British Rail are still discussing with the manufacturers the design of and terms for the specially modified trainsets needed for north of London services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to increase the capital allocation to Essex county council for road construction in this or following financial years; and if he will make a statement.

The allocation of transport supplementary grant, annual capital guideline and supplementary credit approval for local authority expenditure on roads in 1991–92 was announced last December. The resources available were fully distributed among the 108 authorities and none held back for later allotment.The allocations are decided in the light of information in authorities' annual transport policies and programme documents, which have to be submitted to the Secretary of State by the end of July each year. The allocations for Essex county council for 1992–93 will be considered on this basis, taking into account the competing bids from other highway authorities and the total resources available. It is not therefore possible to anticipate the outcome.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how long the underpass from Waterloo bridge to Kingsway has been closed to traffic; when it will be re-opened and how much is the estimated cost of the work.

Westminster city council, which is the highway authority for the underpass, closed it on 18 January 1989. I understand that it is to re-open within the next few weeks and that the estimated cost of refurbishment is £4 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the Waltham Forest environmental health officer with regard to his Department's property at 24 Claremont road, E11; and what action he proposes to take on it.

Yes; I have placed in the Library a copy of the environmental health officer's report about 24 Claremont road, E11 dated 27 June 1990. This property has been acquired in connection with A12 Hackney-M11 link road and is temporarily occupied by tenants of the Department.The Department has offered alternative accommodation to the tenants in order to vacate the property. They have turned the offer down. Since the report, essential repairs have been carried out. It is our intention to demolish the property after the tenancy agreement expires in November 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines are laid down for investigations by the British Transport Police in cases of sudden death.

The guidelines for investigations by the British Transport police in cases of sudden death are the same as those for Home Department forces. Investigations are conducted on behalf of Her Majesty's coroners of the areas in which such deaths occur. In apropriate cases, the facts are brought to the attention of the Crown prosecution service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what statutory bases the British Transport Police is required to investigate and submit reports to Her Majesty's coroners in cases of sudden death involving British Rail trains.

The British Transport police in its present form is established by section 69 of the Transport Act 1962 and its jurisdiction stems from section 53 of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 as amended. Constables are appointed in accordance with the provisions of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 as amended by section 70 of the Transport Act 1962, section 43 of the British Transport Commission Act 1962 and section 25 of the British Railways Act 1978. Parallel provisions apply in Scotland. BTP constables have the same powers and duties as any other constable in England, Wales and Scotland while acting within their jurisdiction. Within that jurisdiction, investigations into sudden deaths are conducted on behalf of Her Majesty's coroners in the same way as those conducted by other police forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what facilities of a technical and engineering nature are available to the British Transport police when investigating cases of sudden death suspected of having being caused by mechanical failure.

The British Transport police has full access to the forensic science service, Home Office pathologists, the Metropolitan police forensic laboratory, and the Laboratory of the Government Chemist. In addition, it can use each and every technical and engineering facility avialable within British Rail. Should independent advice not available from these organisations be necessary, the force is free to obtain that advice from the most appropriate source, including the Health and Safety Executive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the practice of the British Transport police with regard to making use of engineering and mechanical reports in the control and possession of British Rail when submitting reports to Her Majesty's coroners in cases of sudden death.

The practice of the British Transport police is the same as that of any Home Department police force when investigating sudden deaths. If any relevant report is held by British Rail, it will be sought and, if obtained, disclosed to Her Majesty's coroner. If such a report is not disclosed by British Rail, Her Majesty's coroner will be informed of its believed existence enabling him to exercise his power to order the appearance of witnesses to give evidence on the contents at the inquest should he deem it necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there is a complaints procedure similar to the police complaints procedure in respect of the activities of the British Transport police.

Arrangements for dealing with public complaints concerning the British Transport police are identical to those for Home Department police forces in England and Wales, except that the final appellate authority in respect of the police disciplinary appeals is the Secretary of State for Transport and not the Home Secretary. Arrangements in Scotland are identical to those operating in other Scottish police forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether he will list the present members of the British Transport police committee, indicating which members are employed full time and part time;(2) what are the primary duties and function of the British Transport police committee;(3) which members of the British Transport police committee are now, or have been, employees of the British Railways Board.

The present membership of the British Transport police committee is as follows:

• Mr. J. C. P. Edmonds (Chairman)
• Mr. D. Tunnicliffe
• Mr. C. J. D. Driver
• Mr. A. P. Watkinson
• Dr. J. D. C. Prideaux
• Sir Lawrence Byford CBE, QPM, DL, LLD

All the above mentioned members are current full-time members or employees of the British Railways Board except for Mr. Tunnicliffe and Sir Lawrence Byford. Membership of the committee is not, however, a full-time responsibility.The principal duties and function of the committee are set out in paragraph 4

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish regulations requiring speed limiters to be fitted to heavy goods vehicles; and whether he will extend the requirement to vehicles already in service.

A major consultation exercise earlier this year has shown that there is overwhelming support for fitting speed limiters to new vehicles. This measure should significantly reduce both the number and severity of accidents involving speeding HGVs. I am therefore pleased to confirm that draft regulations are being published today, and they will require all new HGVs over 7·5 tonnes gross vehicle weight to be fitted with speed limiters as from 1 August 1992.I am also proposing today to bring forward regulations which would require speed limiters to be fitted to at least the biggest and heaviest articulated vehicles first registered after 1 August 1988. There was firm support for this in the consultation exercise.Speed limiters would pay for themselves in terms of fuel savings in just a few years and there would be environmental benefits, too.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will complete his consultations on the 1988 report of the Joint Committee on Private Bill Procedure (HL Paper 97, HC625) insofar as it relates to transport matters.

We have completed our consideration of the responses to the Government's consultation document "Private Bills and New Procedures" (HMSO ref Cm. 1110) which set out proposals for a new order-making procedure to replace private Bills as the method by which railway, rapid transit and a wider range of harbour works would in future be authorised, as the Joint Committee recommended. Over 100 bodies or individuals responded and the majority supported the principle of the proposed reform, which would relieve Parliament of a significant, and growing, volume of private business relating to works projects.The Government are persuaded, in the light of the generally favourable reaction to the proposals, that legislation should be introduced at the earliest opportunity to establish new order-making powers for railway, tramway and other rapid transit systems, and inland waterway works, and to extend the range of harbour orders. The procedures will be broadly similar to those outlined in paragraphs 14 and 15 and 23 to 29 of the consultation document except in regard to two important aspects.For schemes of national significance we now propose that Parliament should have a role earlier in the procedure; issues of policy and principle would be considered by Parliament separately and in advance of public inquiries. This change will enable Parliament to debate and establish the principle of the very biggest schemes so that the subsequent public inquiry would be limited to considerations of more local and detailed aspects for which it is better suited. We see this as a more satisfactory arrangement. If Parliament does not like the scheme in principle neither promoters nor objectors would be put to the expense of a public inquiry. Moreover, public inquiries into schemes of national significance undertaken before the principle has been settled could become unmanageable and extremely long. Finally we were persuaded by the argument of some consultees that the rejection of a project by Parliament after a public inquiry might serve to undermine the public inquiry system.Parliamentary consideration would take the form of a debate on a resolution moved by the Government in both Houses. Parliament would, of course, require sufficient information to make a decision. We expect that the draft order, including an assessment of the impact on the environment, would be available before a debate took place. This would provide the basis for justifying the project in broad terms.Secondly, the Government have concluded that the proposal for local authorities to deal with a first tier of schemes of essentially local significance should be dropped. These schemes would instead be decided by Ministers or be delegated to persons appointed by the Secretary of State. Only a small number of respondents to the consultation document expressed enthusiasm for this proposal and we consider that too few schemes would be suitable for decisions by local authorities to warrant establishing a separate procedure to handle them.The proposal to allow safety to be one of the factors in determining whether footpaths and bridleways should be stopped up or diverted—paragraphs 37 to 40 of the consultation document—will, in the light of the responses, be limited in the Bill to rights of way crossing railways.The recommendation that other works projects which require a private Bill should also be dealt with by orders has been well received. We are still considering ways in which this might best be achieved, but we agree in principle that they should be dealt with outside Parliament.The Government will continue to consult those directly affected by these proposals as detailed procedures are worked up. They are also in contact with a range of environmental and other interests who will wish to express views on these matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current rate of unemployment in (a) the Cambridgeshire travel-to-work-area, (b) the Eastern region and (c) the United Kingdom.

Only unadjusted unemployment figures are available down to travel-to-work-areas. In April 1991, the latest available date, the unadjusted unemployment rate was 3·7 per cent. in the Cambridge travel-to-work-area, 5·7 per cent. in the East Anglia region and 7·7 per cent. in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the outcome of consultations between his Department and Berkshire county council with regard to the future of the careers service in Berkshire.

My Department has received a response from the education committee of Berkshire county council to my consultation paper on the future of the careers service. I welcome the response. It is being considered prior to any decision being taken on the future of the careers service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress his Department has made in its consultation with local education authorities on the future of the careers service; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received a very high response from local education authorities to the consultation on the future of the careers service. All responses are being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the job club provisions in the area covered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise as at 1 April.

Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on how much money his Department has contributed to retraining, training and employment schemes and job clubs and all other projects to reduce unemployment in Waveney in each of the past 10 years; and what his forward plans are for the next three years.

[holding answer 14 May 1991]: The information is not available in the form requested. However, in the last 10 years the Employment Department has provided a range of opportunities to assist the unemployed in the Waveney area, including youth training, community programme, employment training, advisory services to jobseekers and job clubs. Although, because of changes to the content and collation of statistics, comparable figures are not available for previous years, in the last two financial years, 1989–90 and 1990–91, my Department has allocated a total of £842,735 million to the east midlands and eastern region to assist training and unemployment measures.The Government are determined to ensure that unemployed people have the best possible advice and support to help them to find jobs and to provide special help where it is needed. On training, this year Government are spending more than two and half times in real terms the amount spent in 1978–79.In the future training and enterprise provision will be delivered by the training and enterprise councils. Norfolk and Waveney TEC has been allocated a budget of £20 million in 1991–92 to enable it to plan and deliver training and enterprise provision in its area. The TEC will be paying particular attention to the needs of the unemployed.Employment service offices in Waveney offer a full range of programmes and services to help unemployed people back to work, including advisory interviews, job club, job interview guarantee, travel to interview scheme, Restart courses and jobsearch seminars. The employment service Norfolk and Suffolk area office has a programme budget of £549,400 in 1991–92.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of bombs dropped by United Kingdom forces in the Gulf conflict were cluster bombs.

About 7 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to commission a study into the transportation of nuclear weapons through urban areas in the United Kingdom.

No; I am fully satisfied with our arrangements for the transport of nuclear weapons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations of facilities of United Kingdom-based defence procurement contractors paid £5 million or more for equipment by the Ministry of Defence in 1988–89.

This information is a matter for the companies concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reassessment he has made of the work of (a) the co-ordinating committee on export controls or (b) the missile technology control regime following the conflict in the Gulf.

The Gulf conflict has underlined the importance of the work of the missile technology control regime in preventing the proliferation of ballistic missiles. As to the co-ordinating committee for multinational export controls, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 March 1991, at column 571.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to the possibility of chartering civil aircraft to transport Sea King helicopters to Bangladesh.

RFA Fort Grange was considered by the Overseas Development Administration to represent the most cost-effective way of deploying and operating RN Sea King helicopters in aid of Bangladesh. The Fort Grange will provide a highly flexible operating base for both the Sea Kings and the six Royal Marine rigid raider boats which she is also carrying.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the "Options for Change; study will have any further effects on the RAF beyond those announced on 10 May.

Yes.