To ask the Attorney-General whether the Government will implement the recommendations contained in the Law Commission's report on landlord and tenant distress for rent (Law Com. 194).

Having considered this report the Lord Chancellor has decided that it would be right to invite views on the conclusions reached by the Law Commission and in particular on the question whether, if the case for abolition is in general made out, the remedy of distress for rent should nevertheless be retained for business tenancies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received concerning his payments to stockbrokers for services rendered in the course of privatisation of the electricity supply industry of England and Wales.

The Secretary of State has received one representation on the payment of selling commissions in respect of the regional electricity companies' share offers. The process of making the relevant payments is under way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what representations he has received to date about the proposed refuse-to-energy plant in Belvedere;(2) if he will institute a public inquiry to investigate the proposed refuse-to-energy plant in Belvedere.

My right hon. Friend has directed Cory Environmental to advertise its application for his consent to construct a waste-fired power station at Belvedere and a period up to 6 June 1991 has been allowed in which objections from the public can be made to him. In addition the local planning authority has until 12 August 1991 by which to make its views on the application known to him.Until he has seen all such objections and has received the views of the local planning authority, it is too early to say whether a public inquiry will be necessary. However, if the local planning authority objects to the application there is a statutory obligation to call for a public inquiry to be held.To date, my Department has registered over 50 objections to the application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on issues discussed and decisions taken at the European Energy Council meeting in Brussels on 31 May.

The Council adopted the directive on transit of gas, concluding the package of proposals introduced by the Commission in July 1989 as a first step towards liberalising the Community's energy market. The United Kingdom fully supports that process and looks forward to the introduction of further measures by the Commission to increase competition and open markets in energy.In the field of energy efficiency, a political agreement was reached on the SAVE programme, which the Commission introduced at the Energy Council in October 1990. SAVE is intended to provide a framework for co-ordinating member states' own programmes of efficient energy use. The way is now clear, once the European Parliament has given its opinion, to adopt the decision.The Council also considered the Commission's proposals on oil crisis measures and contingency oil stocks. The Council recognised that the Community's existing provisions needed review, but did not agree that the Commission's proposals were appropriate, especially in relation to the International Energy Agency. The Commission will reconsider its proposals.The Council also briefly discussed the proposed European energy charter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he published his pamphlet, "Energy, Looking to the Future"; how many copies have been printed; at what cost; and to whom the pamphlet is being distributed.

I published the pamphlet "Energy: Looking to the Future" on 1 May when it was announced via a Department of Energy press release. Initially 1,000 copies were printed at a cost of £1,238. Demand has been such that another 500 copies have been printed at a cost of £658. The pamphlet has been and continues to be distributed to energy and Lobby journalists and to interested parties in the United Kingdom and overseas.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of people claiming (a) one-parent benefit and (b) the widowed mother's allowance who are taxpayers.

In 1991–92 it is estimated that 280,000 taxpayers will claim one-parent benefit and 35,000 taxpayers will claim widowed mother's allowance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further progress has been made to enable Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to operate fully on next steps lines.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 13 February the publication of a framework document for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, and of the first three in the series of executive unit framework documents which describe the responsibilities, freedoms and accountabilities in individual units within the Department—Official Report, columns 480–81. Customs and Excise have now published framework documents for each of the remaining executive units, comprising:

• Accountant and Comptroller General's Office
• Belfast Collection
• Birmingham Collection
• Dover Collection
• East Anglia Collection
• Edinburgh Collection
• Enforcement Divison
• Glasgow Collection
• Information Technology Divisions
• Internal Audit Unit
• Investigation Division
• Leeds Collection
• Liverpool Collection
• London Airports Collection
• London Central Collection
• London North and West Collection
• London Port Collection
• London South Collection
• Northampton Collection
• Northern England Collection
• Reading Collection
• Solicitor's Office
• Southampton Collection

	Gas		Electricity		Liquid fuel
	'000 therms	£'000	'000 kWh	£'000	'000 litres	£'000
Consumption—1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991
Government Offices, Great George Street, London SW1 (311,500 sq ft)	204·0	42·9	3,375	193·0	42·4	8·7
Chessington Computer Centre, Surrey (86,600 sq ft)	—	—	935	42·6	248·0	27·0
Riverwalk House, London SW1 (72,200 sq ft)	68·1	18·1	1,328	81·5	—	—
Consumption-1 January 1989 to 31 December 1989
Government Offices, Great George Street, London SW1 (331,500 sq ft)	169·0	41·6	3,341	189·6	42·0	4·4
Chessington Computer Centre, Surrey (86,600 sq ft)	1·0	0·3	935	42·8	97·0	11·3
Riverwalk House, London SW1 (72,200 sq ft)	57·0	14·8	1,449	79·0	—	—

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the extra yield in a full year if income tax were unified with national insurance contribution at a rate of 34 per cent. assuming (a) no change to higher rate income tax and (b) higher rate income tax at 49 per cent.

[holding answer 4 June 1991]: At 1991–92 income levels, it is estimated that the net yield of increasing the basic rate of income tax to 34 per cent. and of abolishing national insurance contributions for employees and the self-employed would be about £0·8 billion. This yield would increase to about £3·8 billion if

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for each available year from 1978 the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by the Treasury, 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]: The hon. Member was given the consumption figures for 1989 in cash terms in the answer of my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Norfolk (Mr. Ryder) on 14 May 1990, in column 274. The information at 1990–91 prices, which covers major offices only, is as follows:the higher rate of income tax were increased to 49 per cent. These estimates ignore any behavioural effects which might result from such changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 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 which the contract was carried out.

Expenditure in the financial year 1990–91 was £3·055 million. Contracts awarded were as follows:

JMP Consulting	Routine Maintenance Management System data capture device
WS Atkins	CHART/DEFLEC/CHAPS programme maintenance
CACI Ltd	NIS training
EASAMS Ltd	NIS maintenance
TPA	ARCADY/OSCADY programme maintenance
TPA	ROADWAY programme maintenance
Wootton Jeffreys	COBA9/QUADRO2 programme maintenance
SIA Ltd	NIS core data
BIS Applied Systems Ltd	NIS scheme monitoring
CACI Ltd	NIS IHMS2/3
KPMG	RMMS logical maintenance
Mott MacDonald	HRM maintenance
Dunsmore Data and Information	PANDEF programme development
PA Consulting Services	NIS distribution study
PA Consulting Services	NIS stage 1 + PIR
LOGSYS	QIS programme development
P&P Corporate Sytems	Consultancies on LANs
Hoskyns/RAL	Capacity planning at DVOIT
SERCO Systems	Automatic Core Traffic Census software conversion
Wootton Jeffreys Consultants Ltd	London Area Transport survey
Pinpoint	LATS Address Coding Office
Quantime	NTS tabulation
Forvus	NTS editing
Quantime	NTS parameterisation and patching
DMR Group	Aviation reservation consultancy
Caltronic Systems	Feasibility study
Sapphire	DataEase consultancy
WordPerfect UK	Review of agencies WP facilities
SWK Pavement Engineering	Pavement design
PA Consulting Services	Review of Project M
PA Consulting Services	Project management Seq 1
PA Consulting Services	PGT practice review
WS Atkins	Preparation of 7th edition of "Specification for Highway Works" and associated documents
Howard Humphreys and Partners	Highway construction details
Andrew G. Blyth	To establish suitable parameters for defining characteristics of craft of lightweight construction
ARUP Economic Consultants	International comparison of city environments
Mindworks	Call-off contract for business analysis support
MSG Business Systems	Software advice
PA Consulting Services	Support on "Choice" review
Science and Engineering Research Council	Office systems consultancy
Comshare	Fault analysis—Agency DSA
KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock	Updating the Management Account Model—Agency DSA
KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock	Writing new accounting procedures—Agency DSA
Walker International	Designing financial software—Agency DSA
IBM	Technical advice and support—Agency DVLA

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he plans any new initiatives to combat evasion of road tax; and if he will make a statement.

With the co-operation of the police, the Department has recently run successful campaigns against road tax evaders in the London and Strathclyde areas. In June, a regional blitz has been launched covering the north-east of England and more are planned during 1991. Such action is very effective both in deterring potential evaders and in catching offenders who have failed to heed the warnings given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many accidents there have been involving motor vehicles at railway crossings with barriers (a) in Wales and (b) in Britain in each year since 1985–86;(2) how many accidents there have been involving motor vehicles at open railway crossings

The information requested in respect of Britain as a whole for the years 1985–89 is set out in the table. Details for 1990 are not yet available, but will be published in the Health and Safety Executive's annual report on railway safety later in the year. Separate information for Welsh crossings is not readily available.

Crossings with barriers
Year	Number of accidents
1985	11
1986	10
1987	6
1988	8
1989	3

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the approximate capital cost and annual service costs for installing and running crossings with barriers.

Installation costs range between £100,000 and £135,000, depending on the type of crossing. Annual running costs for crossings with automatic half barriers are about £12,000. Running costs for manually controlled crossings depend on the level of manning.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress being made in introducing barriers at open railway crossings.

Following the accident at an automatic open crossing at Lockington in 1986, Professor P. F. Stott was appointed to carry out a review of safety at this type of crossing. He recommended that safety at some crossings might be improved either by providing half-barriers or by a reduction in the speed at which the train approaches the crossings.All proposed speed reductions at crossings have now been implemented. Under the Stott recommendations 126 crossings were to be converted to half-barriers. Of these, 38 crossings have been converted to standard automatic half-barrier protection and six have been converted to automatic barrier crossings locally monitored by the train driver.BR's target for completion of this work is late 1992. The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate is keeping the programme under review and regularly monitors progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many railway crossings are open crossings and how many have barriers (a) in Wales and (b) in Britain.

The numbers of automatic open railway crossings and automatic crossings with barriers are as follows:

	auto open crossings	auto barrier crossings
(a) In Wales	29	10
(b) In Britain	190	370

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been killed in each year since 1985–86 in accidents involving (a) open railway crossings and (b) crossings with barriers.

The information for 1985–89 is as follows; that for 1990 is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the approximate capital cost and annual service costs for installing and running open railway crossings.

For automatic open level crossings the average installation cost is £73,000 and the annual running costs are about £12,000. Figures for open crossings with no lights are not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current cost of a motor cycle licence; when it was last increased; and what was the cost before the increase.

The information requested is:

	Current £	Previous £
Motorcycles not over 150cc	15	10
Over 150cc up to 250cc	30	20
All other motorcycles	50	40

The last increase was in 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made a decision on extending the life of the Decca navigation system; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend is considering a revised offer put forward by Racal Electronics plc to extend the life of the Decca navigator system into the next century. He expects to reach a decision shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will list the organisations which have shown reasonable cause as outlined in section 15(1) of the Road Vehicle (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 to receive personal data from the DVLA; whether he has discussed the DVLA's disclosure procedures with the Data Protection Registrar; and if he will make a statement.

Regulation 15 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 requires the Secretary of State to provide, free of charge from the vehicle register, names and addresses of vehicle keepers to the police and local authorities for use in connection with an offence. The information must also be made available to others who can show reasonable cause for their inquiry. There is no list of organisations which have shown reasonable cause as each request is dealt with on its merits when it is received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Rail to discuss fatal accidents concerning train doors.

After I have received the report of the study now being carried out by the Health and Safety Executive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on what action is to be taken by the railways inspectorate following the examination of a door which revealed a fault in its slam-shut locking mechanism during an investigation into the death of a passenger who fell from the Birmingham to London InterCity train on 3 December 1990.

At the coroner's inquest into this fatality at Carpenders park, an open verdict was returned. No evidence was available to show from which door, or in what circumstances, the deceased had fallen from the train. I understand that when BR examined the train later, a hinge on one door was found to be faulty, but not unsafe.The Health and Safety Commission announced on 3 May that Her Majesty's railway inspectorate, and other specialist resources within the Health and Safety Executive, will undertake an investigation into the pattern of falls from passenger trains and whether, or the extent to which, they could be attributable to the design of doors or locks. The results of the investigation, which is now under way, will be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission to discuss the inquiry into fatal falls from British Rail trains.

My right hon. and learned Friend has not met the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission to discuss the current investigation into train doors. He plans to meet Dr. Cullen shortly to discuss railway safety generally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional resources he is making available to support his policy proposals on transport announced on 28 May.

Any additional resources needed for transport will be discussed in the public expenditure survey in the usual way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for the creation of a rail bridge across the Dornoch firth.

None. It would be for British Rail to bring forward any such proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now introduce regulations to revise the orange badge scheme for disabled drivers in conformity with the views of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and other disabled person's organisations.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam) on 21 March at column 212.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North regarding investment criteria governing rail electrification in Scotland.

I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 3 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the annual volume of freight traffic to be transferred from rail to road if the closure of Speedlink is proceeded with.

British Rail is still in consultation with customers about the alternative rail options for Speedlink traffic and it is not possible to estimate exactly how much freight traffic will transfer from rail to road when the Speedlink network closes on 8 July.I understand that British Rail expects to retain well over half the 3 million tonnes of domestic freight currently carried. Wagonload traffic lost to rail is likely to amount to some 1 per cent. of total rail freight.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will issue directions to British Rail that the Speedlink rail freight service should continue to operate.

No. The Speedlink wagonload network has losses of well over £30 million a year on a turnover of £45 million. To compete with road, rail has to be efficient, competitive and commercial. British Rail plans to develop train load freight services rather than individual wagon services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has discussed further orders of BREL network turbo trains for regional British Rail lines with the chairman of British Rail.

Six such vehicles have been ordered for the Oxford-Worcester service to complement the order for 59 vehicles for Paddington services, which my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State approved on 28 March. The chairman has made no further proposals on other routes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans for the introduction of continental gauge track for the carriage of freight between the United Kingdom and the continent.

British Rail has no such plans. Its commercial judgment is that low-platform wagons offer the most cost-effective means of conveying continental-size containers and swap bodies on the British rail network.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the incidents involving potential safety risks reported to his Department since the introduction of class 158 trains; and if he will make a statement.

The Railways (Notice of Accidents) Order 1986 (SI 1986 No. 2187) categorises accident types and specifies the circumstances in which accidents should be reported. The following list shows all accidents, together with causes, involving class 158 trains since their introduction which have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate in accordance with the order. The details for 1991 should be regarded as provisional:

21 January 1990
Upper Leigh/Newton	Unit struck animal on track
24 November 1990
Aberdeen (Clay Hills)	Buffer collision in sidings
24 November 1990
Balloch	Unit struck animal on track
26 November 1990
Falkirk High	Small fire on DMU
29 November 1990
Portlethen	Unit struck animal on track
3 December 1990
Edinburgh Waverley	Coupling failure
8 December 1990
Glasgow Queen Street	Coupling failure
13 December 1990
Cadder	Unit struck trespasser—fatality

	Electricity KWh (millions)	Gas Therms (millions)	Liquid fuel Litres (thousands)	Solid fuel Tonnes
1985–86
(a) £ thousands at cash prices	1,832	588	624	11
(b) £ thousands at 1990–91 prices	2,459	789	838	15
(c) Units of consumption	39	2	3,599	171
1986–87
(a) £ thousands at cash prices	1,906	616	410	12
(b) £ thousands at 1990–91 prices	2,472	799	532	16
(c) Units of consumption	41	2	3,865	187
1987–88
(a) £ thousands at cash prices	1,773	623	138	11
(b) £ thousands at 1990–91 prices	2,183	767	170	14
(c) Units of consumption	39	2	1,440	176
1988–89
(a) £ thousands at cash prices	1,761	496	76	6
(b) £ thousands at 1990–91 prices	2,018	568	87	7
(c) Units of consumption	33	2	660	108
1989–90
(a) £ thousands at cash prices	1,865	525	81	7
(b) £ thousands at 1990–91 prices	2,010	566	87	8
(c) Units of consumption	35	2	701	126

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects direct passenger services to operate between Scotland and the channel tunnel.

British Rail awaits proposals from the manufacturers on the delivery and cost of trains for through day services between places north of London and the continent, and do not expect these trains to be ready before 1994. British Rail still plans to run through night services from the opening of the channel tunnel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 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 Monday 3 June 1991]: Energy consumption figures for the Department of Transport are set out in the following table. These show that between 1985–86 and 1990–91 total annual expenditure at constant prices has been reduced by approximately £1·4 million. During this period the Department of Transport estate remained broadly constant in size. In 1990–91 the Department occupied 3·66 million sq ft of accommodation.

To ask the chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what was the total number of staff of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in 1961, 1970, 1980 and 1990; and how many were qualified accountants in each of those years.

The number of staff employed by the Exchequer and Audit Department and its successor body, the National Audit Office, are shown below together with the numbers of qualified accountants. It should be noted that the role and responsibilities of the National Audit Office as set out in the National Audit Act 1983 are significantly enhanced from those of the Exchequer and Audit Department.

	Total staff	Trained Accountants	Qualified Accountants
1961	536	364	3
1970	585	383	5
1980	689	398	15
1990	911	161	278

Before 1975, all recruits to the audit grades has to pass external examinations following a three-year training programme specially designed to meet the Department's needs but not leading to a recognised accountancy qualification. Since 1975, all audit staff recruits have been required either to possess a recognised accountancy qualification or to study for one.In addition, at 31 December 1990, 240 staff were at various stages of training towards a professional qualification.

To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements exist between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Trade and Industry for conducting trials for military and defence contracts for foreign sales.

In the case of technical or operational trials of defence equipment, arrangements for trials are normally made between the customer country and the United Kingdom company involved. On occasion, the Minister of Defence can assist in such trials on a repayment basis. If the conduct of a trial requires equipment to be taken overseas, the DTI would consider any application for an export licence in the normal way.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will now list his Cabinet committees and sub-committees and specify any changes made in Cabinet organisation and committee structure since November 1990.

There continue to be four standing committees of the Cabinet: a defence and overseas policy committee and an economic affairs committee under my chairmanship; a home and social affairs committee under the chairmanship of my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal; and a legislation committee under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council. Sub-committees of the standing committees will be continued or established as appropriate. Membership and terms of reference of the standing committees and their sub-committees will remain confidential.

To ask the Prime Minister what matters he discussed during his meeting with the President of Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe and I discussed the situation in South Africa and the prospects for the October Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting as well as developments in Zimbabwe, including the structural adjustment programme for Zimbabwean economy.

To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the middle east arms control and non-proliferation initiative announced by President Bush on 29 May; and whether Her Majesty's Government have made any response to the United States Government on the initiative.

We warmly welcome President Bush's imaginative initiative to combat proliferation and the unrestrained spread of conventional weapons in the middle east. We look forward to taking his proposals forward, together with our own ideas, at the forthcoming meeting of the five leading arms exporters in Paris, and thereafter at the London economic summit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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 which the contract was carried out.

The total spent by my Department, excluding PSAS, on management and computer consultancies was £9·1 million.The contracts let were:

Consultant and Project
Action Based Learning	Teamworking/leadership course
Action Resource Centre	Private Sector secondments to City Action Teams
Allan Jones Associates	Representations to Cheshire Structure Plan
Allot and Lomax	European Construction Code
Almondhall Computer Staff	Business Model: Planning Inspectorate
BDO Binder Hamlyn	Grant Redemption Fund
BIS Applied Systems	North Sea Database
Blackwater Valley Training	Stress Management
Bradshaw, Buckton and Ton	European Construction Codes
Building Construction Information Service	Tender price indices
Centre for Transport Studies	Review of transport [Building Research Establishment]
Chapman Hendy	Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust
Computer People (St. Albans)	Bookshop system [BRE]
Comshare	Local authority statistics
Consultants in Environmental Sciences	Cleaning agents; coastal discharges
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte	PSA privatisation
Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte	Uniface
Debenham, Tewson and Chinnocks	Regents Park Zoo
Denis Mills Associates	BSI building code
Denis Walker Associates	Human resources development [Historic Royal Palaces Agency]
Develin and Ptnrs	Positive resource management [BRE]
Edmond Shipway and Partners	City grant monitoring
Electoral Reform Society	Hull shadow Housing Action Trust
Elmcroft Consulting	Accounting support: Property Holdings
Elvendon Press	Wood preservatives
Ernst and Young	Local authority and housing association management and maintenance grant
Flint Neill Partners	BSI building code
Food Service Associates	Office restaurant
Hanlon Computer Systems	Inter-departmental urban database
Healey and Baker	Disposal of New Town assets
Hull City Council	Housing Action Trust team
ICL	Estates database
Imperial War Museum	Staff inspection of the Royal Armouries
Infodoc	BSI building code
Infologistix	Translation service; software evaluation
ISMA Consultants	Computer risk analysis
Jonathan Coates and Associates	Time management course
John Knapton Engineers	BSI building code
Kermon Management Consultants	Network infrastructure project
Kidson Impey	Local authority waste disposal companies
King's College, London	Design improvement controlled experiment
KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock	Recruitment of professional staff to HMIP

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to encourage an increase in the availability of rented accommodation suitable for older people.

The Housing Corporation is now the major provider of new subsidised housing for rent. Its capital programme is set to rise significantly—from £1·1 billion in 1990–91 to over £2 billion in 1993–94.Both the housing needs indicator, by which the Housing Corporation distributes resources to housing associations, and the generalised needs indicator, by which the annual local authority housing investment programme allocations are made, take into account the housing needs of the elderly.My Department has recently commissioned an independent study of the housing needs of the elderly, to help review the provision of subsidised specialised housing for elderly people.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what reports he has made, under section 7 of the Disabled Persons Act 1981, on improvements of access provision for people with disabilities, since the Act was first introduced.

No such reports have been made.As an alternative to implementing section 6 of the Disabled Persons Act 1981, new building regulations were laid before Parliament on 2 April 1985. These became operational in August 1985. They required that new offices, shops, single-storey factories, educational and public buildings should be made accessible to disabled people.Further building regulations were laid before Parliament on 20 August 1987 recasting these requirements into functional form. At the same time, an approved document giving practical solutions for meeting the access requirements was published.Public consultation took place earlier this year on proposals to widen the application of access requirements to all storeys in new non-domestic buildings, to certain alterations and extensions, and to introduce provisions aimed at reducing risks to people with impaired sight and helping those with impaired hearing. The results of the consultation exercise are being considered by my Department and the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. It is proposed to lay regulations before Parliament later this year, which will aim further to improve access requirements for disabled people.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to meet representatives of the RSPCA to discuss a national registration scheme for dogs.

We have regular discussions with the Joint Advisory Committee on Pets in Society, which includes RSPCA representatives, on matters relating to responsible dog ownership and to the implementation of the package of dog control measures contained in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. We will introduce the dog control measures next year. They include a duty on local authorities to enforce the requirement that dogs wear a collar and identification tag when in a public place and to ensure that stray dogs are collected up. We believe that the measures will provide a practical and effective solution to the problems caused by irresponsible owners. We remain of the view that registration would be bureaucratic, expensive to operate and ineffective.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received any representations from British Rail about provisions for clearing litter under the Environmental Protection Act.

My Department had a number of meetings to discuss the litter provisions with British Rail, during the passage of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 through Parliament. British Rail was represented on the advisory group which drew up the code of practice on litter and refuse. My Department was also in frequent con tact with British Rail during the formulation of the Litter (Statutory Undertakers) (Designation and Relevant Land) Order 1991, made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under subsections (6) and (8) of section 86 of the Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies have been undertaken by his Department concerning the evaluation of nuisance caused by noise.

During the past five years the following studies have formed part of my Department's environmental noise research programme:

Survey of numbers and types of complaints made to environmental health officers about noise from domestic premises.

Survey of types of noises heard by people in their homes.

Survey of satisfaction with sound insulation in converted flats.

Studies currently taking place within the programme are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his current policy on the ivory trade.

The Government remain fully committed to maintaining the current ban on commercial trade in ivory for as long as it is necessary to ensure the survival and recovery of elephant populations. We would not support any proposals to permit trade to recommence unless we were fully satisfied that the conditions for a resumption of trade, drawn up at the seventh conference of the parties to the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) had been met.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the preparation of the guidance to Departments on incorporation of environmental considerations in their policy-making process.

The guide will be published later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the housing needs of elderly people in the north-west.

Both my Department and the Housing Corporation take account of regional needs in their distribution of resources to housing associations and local authorities.The housing needs indicator, on which the regional distribution of the Housing Corporation's capital funds is based, and the generalised needs index, which the Department uses in making housing investment programme allocations, are statistical indexes of relative housing need made up of a number of indicators, one of which is concerned with "elderly needs". These indexes are regularly reviewed.On a national basis, we have recently commissioned an independent study of the housing needs of elderly people to help review the provision of subsidised specialised housing for this group. This will provide representative estimates of unmet need on a regional basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to make an announcement on who will receive funding under the new environmental grant fund.

Offers of funding totalling £650,000 have today been made to 36 voluntary organisations for projects which will help take forward the policies set out in our White Paper "This Common Inheritance".There was an overwhelming response to the new fund. I would like to thank all those who applied for getting this first year of the fund off to such a good start and wish those who were unsuccessful this time well for next year when a total of £1 million will be available.I am especially glad that the new fund is supporting innovative projects and groups new to environmental work, ranging from a Law Centres Federation project to promote awareness of environmental law, through work on environmental awareness among young people organised by the Girl Guides in the south-west, to a project from the Bat Conservation Trust to help Church authorities with the guests in their belfries.I am also pleased that we have been able to support projects throughout England, including ways of resolving disputes over domestic noise in Bristol; work with the handicapped in Staffordshire; community projects in east London; and environmental networks in the west midlands and Merseyside.A list of the groups which have been offered support is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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]: Information on my Department's investment in improving energy efficiency prior to 1989–90 is not available. Expenditure on energy efficiency measures for 1989–90 is estimated to have totalled £120,000 which in 1990–91 money terms is £130,000. Expenditure for 1990–91 is estimated to be £140,000. These figures exclude energy conservation work carried out by Property Holdings on behalf of other Government Departments.

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

[holding answer 3 June 1991]: A total of eight energy audits of offices and specialised sites in London and the regions carried out by external consultants have been initiated in my Department within the five-year period ending March 1990. Since then the Department's energy management unit has carried out five short in-house energy audits in specialised sites and three lighting surveys have been carried out in regional offices. The majority of recommendations resulting from both major and minor audits have recommended various no-cost or low-cost energy conservation measures. These have been, or are in the process of being, implemented where practicable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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]: My Department's energy management unit is staffed by four officials whose total effort on energy management represents an approximate total of 1·5 person years. An additional 0·4 person years is dedicated to energy management in the Building Research Establishment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much grant aid has been provided for Nicaragua since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The available figures are:

Year	Total grant aid	Disaster relief	of which Technical cooperation	United Kingdom's attributable share of EC aid
1979	236	93	142	—
1980	1,757	66	61	1,630
1981	1,201	7	84	1,110
1982	1,139	13	36	1,090
1983	1,114	34	30	1,050
1984	2,549	—	9	2,540
1985	2,196	100	16	2,080
1986	1,286	83	3	1,200
1987	1,780	—	—	1,780
1988	2,740	180	—	2,560
1989	61	61	—	—

In addition, grant expenditure under the joint funding scheme—available only by United Kingdom financial year—was:

	£thousand
Up to 1985–86	162
1986–87	24
1987–88	58
1988–89	39
1989–90	89
1990–91	223

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what intentions Her Majesty's Government have to aid the Nicaraguan Government in their attempt to strengthen the country's educational system; and if he will make a statement.

We are looking into the possibility of providing English language training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed at the European Development Council on 27 May.

We discussed a number of important issues, including human rights, democracy and development and tropical forests. We adopted resolutions on non-governmental organisations and counterpart funds. We also reviewed the special programme of food aid to Africa, during which I announced an additional 60.000 tonnes of food aid for Africa at an estimated cost of £ 16·5 million. This was widely welcomed by my fellow Ministers and by the Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to fulfil the commitment given in the White Paper, "This Common Inheritance", in September 1990 to do more to conserve biological diversity in developing countries.

On 5 June—World Environment Day —I published "Biological Diversity and Developing Countries: Issues and Options", which summarises the ODA strategic studies announced in "This Common Inheritance". The document sets out a range of further measures which we will take. I have placed copies of the document in the Libraries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government intend to re-establish the British Council in Managua, Nicaragua; and if he will make a statement.

The British Council has no plans to open an office in Managua.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to improve diplomatic relations with the Nicaraguan Government; and if he will make a statement.

We enjoy close and friendly relations with the Government of Nicaragua. I received Sr. Enrique Dreyfus, the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister, when he visited the United Kingdom last December and we held further talks in March when I visited Nicaragua to attend the San Jose VII meeting of EC and central American Foreign Ministers. The visit also enabled me to visit some of the projects carried out under our bilateral aid programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government plans to establish diplomatic relations with the Somaliland Republic.

We have no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what moneys are being made available by the United Kingdom and channelled through the PHARE—Poland and Hungary Assistance for Economic Restructuring—programme for the purpose of sending specialist advisers selected and approved by the west to provide information, advice and technical assistance to eastern European countries;(2) how much money is being devoted under the PHARE programme for direct use in the creation of an infrastructure to support the development of democracy.

The EC's PHARE programme committed some 500 mecu in 1990 and is worth 850 mecu in 1991 and 1 billion ecu in 1992. Our contribution is some 18 per cent., or approximately £63 million, £107 million and £126 million respectively. The PHARE programme promotes economic restructuring in the countries of central and eastern Europe thereby underpinning the newly created democracies. The programme includes the financing of western specialist advisers in these countries, and training in member states.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what restrictions the United Kingdom Government impose on the use of moneys under the PHARE programme in terms of the type of end use to which resources can be applied or as to locations from which services can be brought in.

The operation of the PHARE programme is governed by European Community regulations. The British Government are represented on a management committee which oversees disbursements and considers the Commission's proposals. The regulations stipulate that only EC member states and the countries of central and eastern Europe may tender to provide services for projects wholly financed by the PHARE programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the status of the Algerian nuclear programme.

Algeria possesses one working nuclear research reactor which has been placed under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. We understand that with Chinese co-operation Algeria is building a second reactor at Ain Oussera. At a press conference on 29 April a spokesman for the Algerian Ministry of Scientific Research said that this second reactor was for research purposes and the production of radio-isotopes, and Algeria intended to submit it to IAEA inspection. Chinese spokesmen have publicly confirmed this. We welcome these assurances, and hope the Algerian Government will invite the IAEA to inspect the facility as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the most recent visit to the United Kingdom of Soviet military inspectors under the intermediate nuclear forces agreement verification protocols; and what has been the cost to date of implementation of the 1987 intermediate nuclear forces agreement in the United Kingdom.

The most recent visit to the United Kingdom by soviet inspectors under the intermediate nuclear forces treaty took place on 28 May 1991; RAF Greenham Common and RAF Molesworth were inspected. Treaty implementation costs in addition to the normal operating costs of the MOD are estimated to have been less than £40,000 since the treaty came into force.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation the United Kingdom had at the United Nations conference on disarmament issues; and whether his Department will be assisting in the distribution of material arising from the conference.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the United Nations conference on disarmament issues which took place in Kyoto, Japan from 27–30 May. A senior official of the Ministry of Defence attended, in a personal capacity. We have taken careful note of his report of the discussions at the conference. The public distribution of material arising out of the conference is a matter for the United Nations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to provide help to Sierra Leone in dealing with intruders along its frontiers.

The Sierra Leone Government have made a non-specific request for military aid to deal with intruders from Liberia to which we are responding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will provide details of the Sierra Leone request for aid in dealing with Liberian intruders along its frontiers.

We are supplying a quantity of non-lethal defence equipment to the Sierra Leone army.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his reply of 23 May, Official Report, column 579, to the hon. Member for Newport. West on the meeting of 14 May with non-government organisations, if he will list the matters raised in rank order to the proportion of time spent on them, without making direct reference to those parties who initiated the discussions.

The discussions at this meeting were off the record. It would not be appropriate to specify how much time was devoted to each of the many topics raised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to refer Marina Services to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

The Secretary of State and I are concerned about the allegations we have heard of possible anti-competitive practices in marinas on the south coast. We have asked the Director General of Fair Trading to look into the allegations and see what the evidence shows. We are still considering this matter.The Secretary of State has powers to refer the supply of marina services to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and would use these powers if evidence emerged which justified a reference. Any evidence of monopoly abuse or anti-competitive practices to provide the basis for a reference should be brought to the attention of the Director General.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to ensure a comprehensive emergency telephone service under the Government's policy for telecommunications.

All public telecommunications operators including BT, Mercury Communications and the two cellular operators, Cellnet and Racal-Vodafone, are obliged under their respective operating licences to provide an emergency call service to the public free of charge—the "999" service—enabling them to notify emergency organisations (police, fire and ambulance services) of' emergencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1)) further to his answer of 13 May, Official Report, column 39, on exit strategies, if he will list how much of the £1 million annually for the support of projects is for (a) salaries and (b) administration in each of the task forces;(2) if the £1 million is for capital projects or is minus the salaries, rent and administration of the task forces themselves.

[holding answer 5 June 1991]: The quoted figure of about £1 million per annum refers to project expenditure alone; this may be capital expenditure, project running costs (including salaries and administration), or both.The task forces' own running costs of salaries, rent, administration and associated expenditure are not included.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to include all children's clothing in legislation covering fire retardant materials in the same degree as presently covers furniture; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 5 June 1991]: No. It would not be reasonable for clothing to meet fire resistance requirements to the same degree applicable to the covers of upholstered furniture. Such fire resistant treatments are not suitable for most of the lightweight fabrics used in summerwear, and in the limited range of fabrics where it might be possible the comfort of the garment would be severely affected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to extend existing regulations under consumer protection legislation to include shell suits and similar fashion wear in respect of fire resistant materials; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 5 June 1991]: We have no present plans to extend the scope of the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations to daywear garments for children. However, section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, the general safety requirement, makes it an offence to supply consumer goods, including articles of clothing, that are not reasonably safe having regard to all the circumstances.My Department has recently advised the British Standards Institution of its support for the development of a flammability specification that could be applied to children's daywear garments. In the interim, the Department is supporting the enforcement authorities in their discussions with the clothing industry on a voluntary scheme for flammability labelling of childrenswear. We shall continue to monitor developments closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many universities have applied to be renamed as polytechnics.

None, yet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when he expects the Universities Funding Council to announce a decision on capital grants to veterinary schools;(2) what representations he has received from veterinary schools for capital grants to develop the student facilities; and if he will discuss such grants with the Universities Funding Council.

The Universities Funding Council's capital allocations for 1991–92 were set out in circular letter 7/91, a copy of which is in the Library. My right hon. and learned Friend has not received any representations from veterinary schools on the allocations; nor would he expect to do so since, under the Education Reform Act 1988, it is for the UFC to determine the distribution of funding between individual institutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools there are in the United Kingdom; what proportion have computers used for administrative purposes; what steps he has taken to satisify himself about the propriety of personal data held by the governors, head teachers and parent teachers' associations on these computers; whether he has held meetings with local authority associations about the cost of registration of schools under the Data Protection Act; and if he will make a statement.

The number of schools in the United Kingdom is 34,958. Information is not available on the number of schools with computers used for administrative purposes. The control and use of personal data by data users is a matter for the office of the Data Protection Registrar. No meetings have so far been held with local authority associations specifically to discuss the cost of registration, but draft guidance for schools on data protection was circulated widely to the associations and others at the end of October 1990. Discussions are still taking place with the office of the Data Protection Registrar on the scope of registration by schools and guidance will be issued when these are complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the personal information associated with List 99 is not kept on computer; and if he will make a statement.

The information held in relation to a decision by my right hon. and learned Friend to exclude a person from teaching or work with children or young persons on grounds of misconduct and add his or her name to List 99 could not easily be converted to a computer record.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many persons aged 19 years have followed non-advanced education courses in schools and colleges in the last five years.

The number of full or part-time students aged 19 years in schools and on further education courses in publicly funded colleges is as follows:

Thousands
	Schools	Further education	Total
1985–86	13	89	92
1986–87	3	88	90
1987–88	3	83	85

Secondary Reorganisation proposals involving the establishment of Tertiary Colleges
Proposal Date	LEA	Decision Made	Decision Date
13 July 1984	Staffordshire	Approved	15 February 1985
15 November 1984	Gloucestershire	Rejected	24 March 1986
30 November 1984(also Sixth Form College)	Gloucestershire	Rejected	24 March 1986
9 January 1985(also Sixth Form College)	Wolverhampton	Rejected	25 November 1985
22 April 1985	Bury	Approved	15 April 1986
6 September 1985	Oxfordshire	Approved	17 September 1986
30 September 1985	Sunderland	Approved1	3 November 1986
14 October 1985	South Tyneside	Approved	9 October 1986
24 October 1985	Sheffield	Approved1	23 December 1986
16 May 1986	Essex	Approved	27 October 1987
30 May 1986	Avon	Rejected	27 January 1987
23 October 1986	Dudley	Rejected	5 August 1987
22 January 1987	ILEA	Rejected	27 November 1987
23 January 1987	Derbyshire	Approved1	30 November 1987
5 March 1987	Northamptonshire	Approved	3 December 1987
23 September 1987	Gloucestershire	Rejected	20 May 1988
18 March 1988	Shropshire	Approved	22 March 1989
6 April 1988	Cornwall	Approved1	25 May 1989
13 April 1988	Rochdale	Approved1	28 July 1989
29 April 1988	Essex	Approved1	23 October 1989
29 April 1988	Essex	Approved1	30 January 1990
5 May 1988	Wirral	Rejected	21 December 1988
I June 1988	Knowsley	Approved1	16 June 1989
9 June 1988	Sefton	Approved1	10 May 1989
17 June 1988	Derbyshire	Approved1	13 October 1989
15 July 1988	Derbyshire	Approved	25 August 1989
7 April 1989	Barnsley	Approved1	7 December 1989

Secondary Reorganisation proposals involving the establishment of Sixth Form Colleges
Proposal Date	LEA	Decision Made	Decision Date
5 April 1984	Essex	Approved	4 April 1985
10 September 1984	Avon	Rejected	9 May 1986
14 September 1984	Waltham Forest	Approved	28 June 1985
19 April 1985	Cumbria	Rejected	25 February 1986
30 January 1986	Stockport	Approved	2 December 1986
6 February 1986	St Helens	Approved	22 October 1986
24 April 1986	Hampshire	Approved	6 November 1986
29 October 1986	Wirral	Approved	14 September 1987
12 February 1987	Cheshire	Rejected	19 January 1988