To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to introduce further legislation to protect employees made redundant by closure of businesses.

Debts owing to employees whose employers have become insolvent may, within certain limits, be paid by my Department. In the case of statutory redundancy pay, the employee may he paid even where there is no formal insolvency. I have no plans at present for further measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many new businesses have been created in the past five years as a proportion of the number lost; what were the comparable figures for 1974 to 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Between the end of 1984 and the end of 1989, there were an estimated 1,082,000 new registrations for VAT, 29 per cent. greater than the number of deregistrations. Between the end of 1974 and the end of 1979, there were an estimated 809,000 new registrations for VAT, 12 per cent. greater than the number of deregistrations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now bring in regulations which forbid the use of articulated lorries built before 1982 which do not have brake variable sensing units fitted on the trailers.

We are looking at the feasibility of requiring variable sensing units to be fitted to trailers built before 1982. This will involve balancing the technical and cost implications against the likely benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to assist the construction and building industry.

Government policy is to bring inflation under control, to reduce interest rates accordingly and thus to enable the construction industry to take full advantage of market opportunities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next plans to meet representatives of the construction industry to discuss the recession.

The Secretary of State and his Ministers are engaged in a continuing round of discussions with representatives of the construction industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the research conducted on behalf of his Department on the utility of tradeable permits in pollution control.

This research, by the consultants London Economics Ltd., is still continuing.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has from the World Meteorological Organisation's global atmosphere watch about (a) pollution in the global atmosphere as a result of Kuwait oil fires and (b) the effects of Kuwait oil fires in (1) western China, (2) the Himalayas and (3) the Indian sub-continent.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: Only limited data are available at the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva from this programme. Very small concentrations of soot particles have been detected in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, but there are no indications of significant atmospheric pollution on a global scale. Information on the specific regions mentioned is not available at present.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service (1) how many of the 50 executive agency chief executives are Oxbridge graduates;(2) if he will list each executive agency, the chief executive and the subject of first degree possessed by him or her.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much aggregate was dredged from the Goodwin sands last year; and what were the comparable figures for each of the last 10 years.

In 1990 402,084 tonnes of aggregate was dredged from the Goodwin sands. Comparable information from 1980 is as follows:

Year	Quantity dredged
1980	Nil
1981	Nil
1982	Nil

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any changes are proposed in the cash limit and running cost limit for 1991–92 for the Inland Revenue.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised estimate, the cash limit for class XVIII, vote 6 will be reduced by £24,857,000 from £1,568,465,000 to £1,543,608,000. There is no change in the Department's running cost limit. The change in the cash limit arises from an increase in the charges paid by the Department of Social Security to the Inland Revenue in respect of the costs of collecting national insurance contributions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for each available year from 1978 the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency of the Treasury in (a) cash terms and (b) 1990–91 money terms.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: Expenditure on measures to improve energy efficiency are aggregated with maintenance costs and could only be separately identified at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in the Treasury in the past five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: Two energy audits have been carried out in the Department in the last five years. The first, in 1987, concentrated on the lighting efficiency of Treasury buildings. Its main recommendations will be taken on board as part of a major rewiring exercise of the building starting in summer 1991. The second is currently being undertaken in the Great George street building, and its findings are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to order fishery protection vessels; and if he will make a statement.

Fishery protection is undertaken by a variety of ships including mine counter-measures vessels and offshore patrol vessels. We have no current plans to order new vessels specifically for this role, although we plan to place further orders for mine counter-measures vessels. The size and timing of orders has yet to be decided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if public notice of a tender for a fishery protection vessel would need to be inserted in the European Community's Official Journal; and if he will make a statement.

There is no requirement to publish a public notice of a tender in the European Community's Official Journal for those Royal Navy vessels which perform fishery protection duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) of 17 May, Official Report, column 304, what further changes to the Royal Air Force are planned under "Options for Change".

The Royal Air Force will shortly be implementing two further measures foreshadowed in the statement by my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on "Options for Change" on 25 July at columns 470–73. First, there will be a small reduction in the number of Nimrod aircraft in service at RAF Kinloss and RAF St. Mawgan, from 1 July 1991. One aircraft will be withdrawn from service at RAF ST. Mawgan, and two from RAF Kinloss.Secondly, the Buccaneer operational conversion unit at RAF Lossiemouth will start to disband from 1 October 1991, with residual training requirements met by the Buccaneer squadrons themselves. This is the first step in the programme to replace the Buccaneer force at RAF Lossiemouth with Tornado aircraft equipped with Sea Eagle missiles for the anti-surface warfare role. These changes are not expected to result in any redundancies at the three stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women were deployed to the Gulf; and to which units they were attached.

[holding answer 23 May 1991]: At the beginning of March 1991, nearly 1,100 service women were deployed in the Gulf. The ships and units in which they served were:

• HMS Battleaxe
• HMS Brilliant
• HMS Hecla
• HMS Herald
• RFA Argus
• HQ 1st Armoured Division and Signal Regiment
• HQ British Forces Middle East
• HQ 1st Armoured Brigade
• 2nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery
• 40th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
• 32nd Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery
• 39th Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery
• 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
• 12th Air Defence Regiment Royal Artillery
• 23rd Engineer Regiment
• 54th Engineer Support and Ambulance Squadron
• 14th Topographical Squadron Royal Engineers
• BFME Postal and Courier Service
• 1st Coldstream Guards
• 1st Royal Scots
• 3rd Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
• 1st Armoured Division Transport Regiment
• 4th Armoured Division Transport Regiment
• 27th Regiment Royal Corps of Transport
• 1st Armoured Field Ambulance
• 5th Armoured Field Ambulance
• 24th Field Ambulance Unit
• 22nd Field Hospital
• 32nd Field Hospital
• 33rd Field Hospital
• 205th General Hospital
• Medical Surgical Team "A"
• Medical Surgical Team "B"
• 3rd Ordnance Battalion Group
• 6th Ordnance Battalion Group
• 174th Provost Company
• 203rd Provost Company
• HQ Force Maintenance Area (Gulf)
• Field Records
• Air HQ Riyadh
• RAF Detachment A1 Jubayl
• RAF Detachment Dhahran
• RAF Detachment Khaledap
• RAF Detachment Muharraq
• RAF Detachment Quayssumah
• RAF Detachment Seeb
• Muharraq War Hospital

To ask the Prime Minister what was the total cost of the design, preparation, printing and distribution of the White Papers "Education and Training", Cm. 1536, volumes I and II and "Higher Education", Cm. 1541.

The total cost of the design and preparation of the White Papers "Education and Training", Cm 1536, volumes I and II, and "Higher Education", Cm 1541, was £51,000. This does not include the costs of printing, publishing and distribution, which are borne by HMSO, and which aims to recover its costs from sales revenue.

To ask the Prime Minister what was the total cost of the launch at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre of the White Papers, "Education and Training" and "Higher Education", on 20 May, including the cost of the hire of the centre and other charges.

The total estimated cost of the launch at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre for the White Papers "Education and Training" and "Higher Education", including the hire of the venue, will not exceed £48,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the general district hospitals and trusts that do not have a training officer for cardiac resuscitation employed to train both nurses and doctors on their staff.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total amount spent by his Department in the 1990–91 financial year on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; and if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1990–91, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm, the subject of the assignment and, if appropriate, the executive agency for whom the contract was carried out.

The estimated expenditure in the financial year 1990–91 on management and computer consultancy projects is 13·8 million. A list of consultancy firms and the projects they carried out in 1990–91 has been placed in the Library. None of the projects was carried out for an executive agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those mental health hospitals which closed in 1990.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been brought in respect of powerful breeds of dog, including rottweilers, pit-bull terriers, the Tosa and dobermans, in respect of powers or offences under (a) section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, in respect of a dog owner's recklessness, (b) section 28 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, (c) section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871, (d) section 1 of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, (e) the Animals Act 1971 and (f) the Dangerous Dogs Act 1989 since 1989.

The following information relates to offences in 1989, the latest year for which statistics are available, and covers all types of dog.

	Prosecutions	Convictions	Cautions
Town Police Clauses Act 1847	93	60	71
Dogs Act 1871 and Dangerous Dogs Act 1898	967	166	1,112
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953	466	395	66

No statistics are available for civil cases concerning dogs brought under the Animals Act 1971, or for offences specifically relating to attacks involving dogs under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many convicted criminals are known to have committed additional crimes while on remand pending trial in the latest year for which figures are available;(2) how many people remanded on bail are known to have committed offences while so remanded, in the latest year for which figures are available.

I regret that the information requested is not available. However, Home Office statistical bulletin 30/90, "Reasons for refusing unconditional bail, January to February 1989", estimates that 19 per cent. of those remanded in custody had previously reoffended on bail. A copy of this bulletin is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the recent attempt by French demonstrators to enter England through the channel tunnel; what measures were taken to resist this incursion; and what measures are to be taken to restrict access to the channel tunnel to authorised persons only.

On the night of 16 May, an organised group of men gained unauthorised access to the channel tunnel in an apparent attempt to walk to the United Kingdom. They turned back at the ventilation fan station, where the way had been blocked by TML, the construction contractors. They used no violence and caused no damage. On leaving the tunnel at the French end, they were interviewed by French police but not detained. The French and United Kingdom authorities were in close contact throughout the incident.The access control arrangements for the United Kingdom and French terminals have been approved by the channel tunnel intergovernmental commission as appropriate to the tunnel's current status as a private construction site. All security arrangements relating to the tunnel are subject to the approval of the United Kingdom and French Governments and are kept under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list statistics for each year from 1980 to 1990 showing; (a) the number of persons aged 18 to 25 years convicted of theft, (b) the number of persons aged 16 to 17 years convicted of theft, (c) the number of persons aged 18 to 25 years convicted of soliciting, (d) the number of persons aged 16 to 17 years convicted of soliciting, (e) the number of persons aged 18 to 25 years convicted of begging and (f) the number of persons aged 16 to 17 years convicted of begging.

Information for the years 1980, 1983, 1986 and 1989 is given in the following table. To produce further information for the other years requested would involve disproportionate cost.

Number of persons convicted of theft, soliciting and begging by age group for the years 1980, 1983, 1986 and 1989 England and Wales
Age groups	1980	1983	1986	1989
Theft
16–17	30,266	27,721	22,609	11,888
18–25	70,165	73,411	66,648	49,496
Soliciting
16–17	18	3	11	15
18–25	242	164	152	122
Begging
16–17	10	25	2	60
18–201	32	43	38	214
1 For the summary offence of begging it is not required to record the age of the offender if over the age of 21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of (a) pit bull terriers and (b) rottweilers in Wales.

Estimates have been given to us that there are up to 10,000 pit bull terriers and about 100,000 rottweilers in Great Britain. We have no estimates for Wales.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what plans he has to conduct the trial to cover the proposals in the second report of the Procedure Committee for Session 1990–91 to deal with the documents required for Commons consideration of amendments from the Lords to Bills when they are considered by the House.

Following the successful completion of a non-operational trial by the Public Bill Office, I intend to initiate an operational trial using the Criminal Justice Bill when it returns from the Lords. The arrangements involve the production of a conflated paper containing Lords amendments and Commons notices on white paper on the day of consideration within the criteria and cut-off time set out in paragraphs 26 and 28 to 32 of the report. I hope that all Members will co-operate in this trial and that they will pass their comments to the Public Bill Office, so that a full assessment of the trial may be made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list, for each research council, for the latest available year (a) the amount of money allocated to each research council and spent in Wales and (b) the proportion of public money allocated to each research council that was spent in Wales.

In 1990–91, the research council's expenditure in Wales from the science budget and the proportion as a percentage of the total were as follows:

	Expenditure in Wales derived from the science budget(£ million)	Percentage of science budget to council
AFRC	2·6	2·9
ESRC	0·6	1·6
MRC1	1·1	0·6
NERC	10·9	8·1
SERC	6·7	1·5
1 1989–90 figures.

Details of research council expenditure in Wales from all sources of public money are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has given any indication to the Advisory Board for the Research Councils of his view of the future and the future use of its flexibility margin.

My right hon. and learned Friend announced to the House on 22 May 1991 at column 500 his acceptance of the ABRC's advice on the allocation of the flexibility margin.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received any representations on the ethical standards of the Science and Engineering Research Council.

My right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of representations about the review by the Science and Engineering Research Council of its forward programme. I am not aware of any which refer to the council's ethical standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he plans to review the future of the Science and Engineering Research Council.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to review the future of the Science and Engineering Research Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to lay before the House the new student loans regulations; and if he will make a statement.

The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1991 were laid today to come into force on 1 August. They are modelled closely on the current regulations. They employ the new loan rates announced on 22 May at columns 499–500 and include improvements introduced in the light of experience over the past year. The regulations will ensure that the scheme continues to operate efficiently and to the advantage of all borrowers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the individual appointments excluding casual vacancies he is scheduled to make to quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992, indicating in each case the title of the post, the salary if any and the duration of the appointment.

[pursuant to the reply, 7 May 1991, column 392–396]: Contrary to the information given in my earlier answer, the chairman of the National Council for Educational Technology is unpaid. Eight, rather than nine, new appointments were made in 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's industrial strategy.

I gave a comprehensive statement of the Government's industrial policy in my speech to the Institute of Directors in Birmingham on 30 April. A copy of the speech has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he has taken or plans to take to avert the closure of Cammell Laird shipyard.

The future of Cammell Laird is a matter For the commercial judgment of VSEL, its parent company. It is actively seeking a buyer for the yard and the Government will continue to do all they can to assist VSEL's efforts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the general agreement on tariffs and trade negotiations.

A successful conclusion to the GATT Uruguay round negotiations remains a top priority for the United Kingdom. Now that the United States Administration has obtained an extension of its fast-track negotiating mandate, we hope that all parties will redouble their efforts to bring the talks to a successful conclusion no later than the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will next meet representatives of the north-west regional Confederation of British Industry to discuss the recession in industry.

I have no present plans to meet representatives of the NW regional CBI, although my officials do so regularly. I met the presidential committee of the CBI on 24 April and the CBI's national president on 15 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has recently received from British industry about the recession.

I continue to receive representations from British industry supporting the Government's determination to defeat inflation, thereby creating the conditions for a resumption of sustainable economic growth.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any proposals to privatise further industries.

Bills before Parliament will enable privatisation of the British Technology Group and the Insurance Services business of the ECGD. I intend to privatise the National Engineering Laboratory, but have set no timetable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the number of companies that have been returned to the private sector since 1979.

The privatisations undertaken by my Department were listed in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Grocott) on 20 December 1990 at column 340.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on prospects for the car industry.

The current success in export markets has enabled the United Kingdom car industry to maintain production despite the downturn in the domestic market. Medium and long-term prospects for the United Kingdom car industry are excellent, with annual production likely to reach 2 million units by the mid to late 1990s.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the increase in British car production that is expected to follow the investments being made in this country by Japanese car companies.

The investment projects currently being undertaken in the United Kingdom by Nissan, Toyota and Honda will bring at least 500,000 units of new production capacity to the United Kingdom by the mid to late 1990s.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next intends to meet the Local Authorities Committee on Trading Standards to discuss consumer contracts.

Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have current plans to meet with the Local Authorities Committee on Trading Standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next intends to meet the Local Authorities Committee on Trading Standards to discuss product safety.

I have met trading standards officers and members of their representative organisations on several occasions at which product safety was one of the issues discussed. Also, officials of my Department have regular contact with the Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards Officers to discuss product safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next intends to meet the Local Authorities Committee on Trading Standards to discuss product safety.

I have met trading standards officers and members of their representative organisations on several occasions at which product safety was one of the issues discussed. Also, officials of my Department have regular contact with the Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards and individual trading standards officers to discuss product safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the level of inward investment into Cumbria.

In recent years, the main source of inward investment into Cumbria has been through developments by existing companies in the area. However, in conjunction with INWARD, the North West regional development organisation, we are working closely with local agencies to ensure that Cumbria's attractions are presented effectively to new potential inward investors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on Britain's recent record in attracting inward investment from the Federal Republic of Germany.

According to the Federal Ministry of Economics in Bonn, German direct investment in the United Kingdom at the end of 1989 totalled DM 16·5 billion, an increase of 320 per cent. since 1983. Despite growing international competition, particularly from the former GDR, outward investment figures for the first six months of last year published by the Institut de deutschen Wirtschaft indicate that 1990 will be a record year for the United Kingdom in attracting investment from Germany.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the takeover of Square D by the French firm Schneider.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's main consideration in deciding whether or not to refer a merger to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for investigation remains its effect on competition as it affects the United Kingdom consumer. In addition, as my right hon. Friend announced on 26 July 1990, in deciding whether to make such a reference he will in future pay particularly close attention to the degree of state control, if any, of the acquiring company. It would not be appropriate to comment further on the acquisition by Schneider SA of the Square D company in advance of my right hon. Friend's announcement of his decision on whether to refer this merger to the Commission or not. My right hon. Friend will take all relevant considerations into account when reaching his decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with the major companies in the aerospace industry about current problems facing the industry.

The Secretary of State met British Aerospace in December and Rolls-Royce in March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to boost manufacturing output.

Manufacturing output will be helped by our policies of fostering and extending the competitive environment, encouraging innovation and controlling inflation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the privatisation of Royal Mail Parcels and Operation Danill.

We have no present plans to privatise Royal Mail Parcelforce.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total amount spent by his Department in the 1990–91 financial year on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; and if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1990–91, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm, the subject of the assignment and, if appropriate, the executive agency for whom the contract was carried out.

My Department's expenditure on consultants engaged in the financial year 1990–91 is estimated to be £5,576,000 of which £3,492,000 is for consultancy contracts excluding hardware and software purchases. These figures do not include expenditure by DTI executive agencies, information on which is not held centrally. The chief executives of the agencies have been asked to reply direct to the hon. Gentleman with the relevant information. Copies of their answers will be placed in the House of Commons Library. The following lists the management or computer consultancy contracts awarded for the financial year 1990–91:

Firm	Subject of Assignment
A T and T Islet Ltd	Inside UK Enterprise
Derwent Business Systems	Aircraft engines emissions study
General technology systems limited	Support to BNSC limited
Communications Studies and Planning Limited	BNSC directory of UK space capabilities '91
Business Briefings Limited	Electronic component seminar
Touche Ross	Support DTI in international environmental negotiations study
PA Consulting Group	Study of washing machines: Drafting spec for ECO labelling
Children's Research Unit	Children and Fireworks research
Association for Consumer research	Survey on trader awareness of misleading prices regime
CIMTECH	Companies House imaging project
Price Waterhouse	Development of Companies House's commercial accounting systems
NERA	Enquiry into standards of cross media promotion
Coopers and Lybrand Deloittes	Local Government regulation of business
Coopers and Lybrand Deloittes	Revision of managing into the 90s newsletter
Text Matters	Managing into the 90s: Recasting of purchasing and supply booklets
PA Consulting	Successful Purchaser/Suppliers relationships studies portfolio
Segal Quince Wickstead	Integrated graduate degree pilot study
BHRA	New approach study collaborative technology
ACWI	Woodworking machinery manufacturing industry
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte	Financial viability of the management charter initiative
Peat Marwick McLintock	Engineering and technology programme pilot study
Eadie Baxter	Evaluation of DTI support on aeroengine noise reduction research

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in any future restatement of his Department's objectives, he will include a statement of his policy to work for fair trading conditions world wide and for strengthened General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade rules and disciplines, as well as for trade liberalisation.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently published revised departmental objectives. These include the objective of working for trade liberalisation worldwide. The Government's top priority in this field at present is the early successful conclusion of the GATT Uruguay round of trade negotiations. This will produce a strengthened framework of rules and disciplines for international trade and fairer and more open trading conditions for all participants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been received from the United Kingdom textile and clothing industries about subsidies by the French Government to the VEV group of textile companies; and if he will press the European Commission to investigate subsidies of French textile companies.

I have received representations about these alleged subsidies from representatives of the industry. The European Commission has been made aware of the United Kingdom's interest in seeing this matter properly investigated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet representatives of the textile and clothing industry to discuss the effect of the recession.

I have no present plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to improve the speed of action possible by trading standards officers in banning the sale of imported children's clothing which proves on testing to be a fire hazard; and if he will make a statement.

Trading standards officers already have powers under section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 to issue suspension notices immediately prohibiting for up to six months the supply of goods where they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that they contravene any safety provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the current status of the multi-fibre arrangement, the Government's position on it, and other measures that the Government are taking to protect the British textiles industry from unfair competition.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Lee) on 4 June at column 170. The question of unfair competition is being addressed in the substantive textiles negotiations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what obligations debt collecting agencies are under to ensure that the information upon which they act is accurate and true; and what responsibilities are held by companies employing debt collecting agencies on their behalf.

Debt collecting is a licenseable activity under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The licensing system is administered by the Director General of Fair Trading and he has the power to refuse or revoke a licence if he believes that a business is not fit to engage in the activities covered by the licence. In reaching his decision, he will take account of any business practices which appear to him to be deceitful or oppressive or otherwise unfair or improper, whether unlawful or not. I will ask the director general to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which projects involving European Community funding in the Cleveland county area since 1987 have involved additionality costs to the United Kingdom Exchequer.

In setting the Government's public expenditure programmes, account is taken of expected receipts from the European Community. This enables the programmes to be larger than they otherwise would be.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on London Underground Ltd. will be published.

The report is published today. The Commission were asked to conduct a wide ranging inquiry into the efficiency and costs of and the service provided by London Underground Ltd. The Commission recognizes that there are serious constraints on the ability of London Underground to improve efficiency and quality of service. The underground is an old system, which suffers from many years of neglect of its basic infrastructure. The Commission gives due credit to London Underground management for achievements in many areas, notably in the field of safety. However, they conclude that the efficiency with which London Underground uses its present resources still leaves much to be desired.The report concludes that there is significant scope for improving efficiency and reducing costs, without affecting safety or service standards. The Commission recognises the need for LUL to have a stable investment programme funded partly by the Government and partly by improvements in efficiency but also takes the view that there will have to be an enhanced contribution from real increases in fares. They recognise there has been substantial investment in recent years.Reflecting the breadth of the inquiry, the Commission has made over 100 recommendations aimed at assisting LUL to improve its performance, giving particular priority collectively to six matters: control of cash against the external financing limit set by the Government management information systems; utilisation of manpower; fares policy and levels; management of investment programme and projects; and renewal and maintenance of the network. In these and other areas, the Commission has set target dates for the implementation of their recommendations.LUL will be producing a preliminary response to the Commission's findings within three to four months, in the light of which my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the number of dedicated energy managers in his Department and the number of person-years devoted to energy management in the latest year.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: Thirty-one members of staff are designated energy managers as part of their duties. The Department devoted approximately four man years to energy mangement in 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give for each available year from 1978 the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency of his Department in (a) cash terms and (b) 1990–91 money terms.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: Until recently, responsibility for such investment has been divided between the Property Services Agency and the Department, with the result that this information for past years could only be assembled at disproportionate cost. In 1989–90, £236,000 (£221,000 in 1990–91 terms) was spent on the installation and replacement of equipment and fabric in projects which had a significant energy saving content in their specification. Figures have not yet been fully compiled for 1990–91 but will be rather higher.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give for each available year from 1978, the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, expressing the figures in (a) cash terms, (b) 1990–91 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes; and if he will give the square footage of accommodation to which these figures relate.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: I am sorry that information is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in his Department in the last five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: One full energy audit has recently been carried out which indicated potential saving of over £20,000 a year for a capital outlay of £45,000. Measures are in hand to implement the recommendations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the Christmas bonus payable to senior citizens in 1972 in (a) cash terms and (b) at 1991 prices.

The Christmas bonus payable to senior citizens in 1972 in cash terms was £10, and which at April 1991 prices would be worth £59·17. The cost at this rate would be about £700 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the total staff of the Contributions Agency are on secondment from Government Departments.

The Contributions Agency, along with other DSS executive agencies, is a part of the DSS. Accordingly it is staffed by departmental civil servants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total amount spent by his Department in the 1990–91 financial year on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; and if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1990–91, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm, the subject of the assignment and, if appropriate, the executive agency for whom the contract was carried out.

The total expenditure on management and computer consultancy contracts in the financial year 1990–91, excluding software and hardware purchases, is £69·75 million.Details of the individual contracts awarded in the 1990–91 financial year are given in the table.

Consultancy firm	Subject and agency
Addenbrookes hospital, Cambridge	HQ Relocation
Admiral Management Services Ltd.	Quality Management System Pilot Project—Agency ITSA
ACE Datasystems Ltd.	Staff Suggestions Unit Consultancy