To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on British Rail investment for 1991–92, updating the information given in his answer to the right hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Channon) of 22 February, Official Report, column 306.

Since 22 February we have approved the following further specific British Rail investment schemes:

	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Double-deck	335	200	60	5	36	34
Single-deck	—	—	—	—	—	20
Minibuses	3	—	—	—	—	—
Midibuses	—	48	101	89	203	371
Total	338	248	161	94	239	425

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in tabular form for each year since 1985, the number of double-decker, single-decker, minibuses and midibuses, respectively, owned by London

	Age range(years)
Year and type	0–4	4–8	8–12	12–15	15+	Total fleet
1985
Double-deck	1,551	674	331	—	1,939	4,495
Single-deck	—	441	34	—	—	475
Midibuses	8	—	—	—	—	8
1986
Double-deck	1,323	1,197	346	—	1,640	4,506
Single-deck	—	69	381	—	—	450
Midibuses	27	—	—	—	—	27
1987
Double-deck	1,121	1,680	385	—	1,227	4,413
Single-deck	—	69	414	—	—	483
Midibuses	56	2	—	—	—	58
1988
Double-deck	755	1,539	1,055	50	918	4,317
Single-deck	—	69	416	—	—	485
Midibuses	168	2	—	—	—	170
1989
Double-deck	461	1,551	1,337	50	813	4,212
Single-deck	7	—	362	80	—	449
Midibuses	370	2	—	—	—	372

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) applications and (b) grants have been made under section 57 of the Transport Act 1968.

Two and one respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if private organisations looking into railway reopenings are eligible for grants under section 57 of the Transport Act 1968.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new double-decker, single-decker, minibuses and midibuses, respectively, have been bought by London Buses Limited in each year since 1985.

The information is as follows:Buses Limited that were

Information in this form is not available for minibuses. For other bus types, the information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the agreed expenditure for investment in the Northern Line of London Underground which will take place over the next three years.

Only major investment projects which are called in are agreed by Ministers. We have approved the reconstruction of Angel station, at a total cost of £72 million, which will be completed in that period. The hon. Member should approach London Underground for details of other investment on the Northern line. None of it has been called in for approval.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions have been brought against bus companies for (a) drivers' hours violations and (b) vehicle standards violations in each year since 1985.

Since 1985 the Department of Transport enforcement staff have brought the following prosecutions against bus companies for drivers' hours violation:

	Number
1985–86	786
1986–87	369
1987–88	492
1988–89	814
1989–90	116

Prosecutions for drivers' hours and roadworthiness offences are also undertaken by the police, but the statistics are not broken down between individual categories of vehicles.The vehicle inspectorate undertakes roadside checks of passenger carrying vehicles and prohibitions are placed on vehicles which are found to be unroadworthy, banning the further use of the vehicles on a public road until faults have been rectified. The number of checks and rate of prohibitions since 1985 are:

	Vehicles checked	Prohibition rate per cent.
1985–86	12,575	10·7
1986–87	17,767	10·3
1987–88	19,649	11·8
1988–89	17,747	11·6
1989–90	19,495	11·9

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years (a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to date.

The information requested is as follows:

Year	£
1989–90	55,169
1990–91	67,012
11991–92	14,014
1To date.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual number of retirements by civil servants under rule 3.10a of the principal civil service pension scheme since that rule became effective on 1 April 1987.

It is estimated that the number of non-industrial members of the home civil service who have retired early with actuarially reduced pension and lump sum benefits is as follows:

Year	Number
1987–88	632
1988–89	486
1989–90	362

Complete figures for 1990–91 are not yet available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial year 1990–91 and 1991–92 to date.

The titles of the video recordings purchased during 1990–91 are listed in the table. No recordings have been purchased in 1991–92 to date.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider establishing an independent arbitration tribunal to decide on pay award disputes between the Government and the National Union of Civil and Public Servants and other unions representing civil and public employees.

The terms of the long term pay agreement between the Treasury and the NUCPS allow, subject to the agreement of both parties, for differences to be referred to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal— CSAT. Other long-term pay agreements between the Treasury and other unions representing non-industrial civil servants contain similar provisions.The CSAT, which is an independent tribunal established under the provisions of the civil service arbitration agreement, consists of an independent chairman and one member drawn from a panel of persons appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment as representing the Minister for the Civil Service and one member drawn from a panel of persons appointed by the Secretary of State for Employment as representing the trade union side of the national Whitley council.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the range and scope of his current inquiries into the effect of actions by banks on small businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Officials from Her Majesty's Treasury and the Bank of England are looking at the banks' interest rates and charges to businesses, and the way that lending policies are being applied.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ministerial meetings have been held with the National Farmers Union between 1 May 1990 and 30 April 1991; what matters were discussed; and if he will make a statement.

No ministerial meetings were held between Treasury Ministers and the National Farmers Union between those dates.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take action to prevent the establishment of a cartel of clearing banks with regard to the interest rate margins afforded to small businesses.

[holding answer 6 June 1991]: As is well known, the Treasury and the Bank of England are looking at the concerns that have been raised about the interest rates charged to small businesses. If anyone has any evidence of collusion between the banks, they should submit it to the Office of Fair Trading, which will of course consider it.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place a copy of his clause 50 explanatory chart in the Library, after adding a bar for each year to illustrate the financial year for which each annual tax payment satisfied the Revenue.

[holding answer 13 June 1991]: I have placed in the Library a copy of the explanatory chart referred to in the Standing Committee debate on clause 50.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will ask Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools to investigate the long-term consequences of the offer in 1987 by Richmond-upon-Thames borough council of 30 more places to children aged five at Hampton infants school than there was room for and the extent to which the undertaking by the headteacher an employee of the local education authority that this group of children would be funded for all their infant and junior years has been adhered to;(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of local management of schools at Hampton school, particularly relating to the funding of a fourth full-time teacher for the remaining children admitted to Hampton junior school in 1987.

I understand that for the September 1987 intake Richmond education authority decided that 120 places should be offered at the Hampton infant school rather than the normal 90. The authority also gave an undertaking that additional teaching, welfare and capitation resources would be made available to meet the needs of the children in that year group; and that no other children at the school would be disadvantaged because of the larger numbers being admitted.I also understand that the authority is of the view that it has honoured these undertakings by providing additional accommodation at the Hampton infant and junior schools and at the Hampton Hill school; and that it has also provided the additional teaching and welfare resources it promised. Since April 1990, the school has been operating under the authority's scheme for the local management of schools.Under LMS, the Hampton junior school receives a budget based mainly on the number and age of its pupils. It therefore receives additional funding for the extra pupils who were admitted to Hampton infant school in 1987 and who have since transferred to Hampton junior school. This is also the case for those children from that year group who subsequently transferred to the Hampton Hill school.Within the national statutory framework and subject to the conditions in their LEA's scheme, it is a school's governing body which determines how to make best use of their funding to meet the particular educational needs and priorities of the school. Accordingly, it is for the governors of Hampton junior school to determine the level of staffing and the need for a fourth full-time teacher for this particular age group cohort.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect the introduction of local management of schools has on the ability of local education authorities to fulfil undertakings given to provide extra funding for an additional teacher for a cohort of pupils which is more numerous than the other cohorts in the school, due to an original error by the local education authority in allocating children to the school in a particular year; and if he will make a statement.

Under LMS, funds are allocated to schools through a formula on a clear and objective basis. This means that the funding available is distributed fairly: similar schools receive similar budgets which will depend mainly on the numbers and ages of the pupils. As LMS funds pupils, a school with a cohort of pupils which is larger than its other cohorts will receive additional funding on the basis of those extra pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice he has offered through his Department to local education authorities about the implementation of the Children Act 1989; and if he will make a statement.

The Department, in consultation with the Department of Health, is issuing comprehensive guidance

Science group staff
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991 (est)
IACR	803	783	789	774	750	680	557	523	480	477	449	433
IAH	328	311	314	310	299	307	252	283	282	264	292	283
IAPGR	343	330	338	327	326	345	331	270	254	266	337	321
IER	131	129	138	129	124	122	133	123	97	115	115	103
IFR	380	394	420	434	451	447	496	473	450	435	381	245
IGER	431	432	441	425	435	442	388	378	381	364	308	285
IHR	443	430	440	438	452	425	353	323	326	318	(295)	(260)
IPSR	266	282	278	274	282	279	309	373	274	271	234	234
Total	3,125	3,091	3,158	3,111	3,119	3,047	2,819	2,746	2,544	2,510	2,116	1,90

Non scientific staff
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991 (est)
IACR	401	402	411	390	368	323	273	253	229	233	251	246
IAH	451	448	443	440	401	359	321	281	268	237	228	227
IAPGR	338	331	330	326	288	275	258	234	224	219	222	208
IER	240	246	263	257	252	254	237	214	208	205	194	163
IFR	284	290	290	284	284	223	213	211	198	192	171	131
IGER	324	315	329	324	316	302	291	266	260	253	224	209
IHR	359	364	362	361	339	325	304	286	265	269	(269)	(245)
IPSR	159	166	164	160	153	145	140	137	90	93	92	92
Total	2,556	2,562	2,592	2,542	2,401	2,206	2,037	1,182	1,742	1,701	1,382	1,276
											(1,651)	(1,521)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the total numbers for staff employed at each of the AFRC institutes since 1980 and his estimates up until 1993; and, in each case, which are (a) scientists and (b) non-scientist; and if he will make a statement.

Agricultural and Food Research Council-funded institutes were restructured during the period 1985 to 1987. For ease of reference, the figures for staff in post are shown on the basis of the present institutes of research.The figures for actual numbers employed at 1 April in the relevant years to 1990 and an estimate for 1991 are shown in tables 1 and 2.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about progress towards the establishment of a Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

I am pleased to say that the three members of the Pools Promoters Association have now confirmed that they will set up the Foundation for Sport and the Arts. I understand that the pools promoters are now working hard to finalise the trust deed under which the foundation will operate, and will soon be appointing the first trustees. The way is now clear for the Government to make the reduction in pool betting duty announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget speech and new clauses to the Finance Bill have been tabled.

To ask the Prime Minister what agreements there are between the United States of America and United Kingdom Governments concerning the establishment and use of the United States base at Holy Loch.

Details of the agreements between the United Kingdom and United States Governments for the use of the Holy Loch by the United States Navy are confidential between the two Governments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was paid out in hostel deficit grant to housing associations in England in the last five years for which figures are available; and how many units of accommodation were covered by hostel deficit grant in each of the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total number of units of accommodation provided for from hostel deficit grant in each of the past five years.

Hostel deficit grant payments to housing associations in England in each of the last five years were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the Statutory Instruments on local government finance he intends to publish prior to the summer adjournment; and if he will make a statement.

The Department will be laying before Parliament the following statutory instruments before the summer adjournment:

The Non-Domestic Rating (Transitional Period) (Further provision) Regulations

These will make amendments to the transitional arrangements for non-domestic rating in respect of statutory changes of occupier.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place copies in the Library of the responses he has received on his consultation paper on local government finance; and if he will list in the Official Report all those organisations which have expressed opposition to his proposal for seven property bands.

It is the Department's policy to place in the Library a list of all those who have responded to consultation. Copies of the responses themselves are normally deposited in the Department's library, and made available for inspection. We are currently studying the representations which have been received.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement before the summer adjournment on the results of his consultation exercise on local government finance.

We are currently studying the representations which have been received. The next steps will be made clear in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to make an announcement on his proposed outline financial settlement for local authorities for 1992–93.

When he is ready to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he offers to local authorities on the legal processes necessary to enforce the payment of community charges.

The Local Government Finance Act 1988 widened the methods available to local authorities, compared with domestic rates, to recover community charges if a chargepayer does not respond to a reminder, summons or the issue of a liability order. Authorities may now attach the chargepayer's earnings, obtain deductions from income support or distrain and sell goods. Authorities can also, of course, come to an arrangement with the chargepayer for paying off his debt. If these methods fail to produce payment of the debt, an authority can apply for a warrant for committal to prison. If the court decides that a chargepayer's failure to pay was due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect it can impose a prison sentence of up to three months. My Department has issued a practice note and a series of letters which give guidance on all aspects of the operation of the community charge enforcement system.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to establish the local government commission; and if he will make a statement.

We are currently consulting on our proposal to establish a new local government commission. We intend to introduce legislation to establish the commission in the next Session of Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to undertake an assessment of the potential environmental effects on mainland Britain of the proposed power station sited in the River Neb valley, Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement.

I am advised that the proposed power station at Peel in the Isle of Man is small in size—40 MW—and will replace an existing power station on an adjacent site. I am further advised that the Manx Electricity Authority has taken Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution's published guidance into account in formulating its proposals and that there is expected to be an overall environmental improvement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the current water treatment plants in England and Wales producing drinking water, whose aluminium content is above the European Community limits; and by how much each treatment plant is in excess of these limits.

The information is not held centrally. Summary information on aluminium in water supplies throughout England and Wales during 1990 is being collated and will appear in the report of the chief inspector of the drinking water inspectorate, to be published in July.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many days were lost through sickness in local government in the last available year, and what is the number of statutory sick days allowed in each sector.

My Department does not collect information on time off through sickness in local government. The terms and conditions of employment of local authority staff, including time off through sickness, are, by section 112 of the Local Government Act 1972, a question to be settled by each local authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial year 1990–91 and 1991–92 to date.

My Department does not keep central records of such purchases and the information could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the figures for house building in 1990 for each local authority, breaking down the figures into private, local authority, housing association and new town units.

The figures requested are shown in Table I (a) of "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales", No. 97—April 1991—a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish statistics listing the number of homeless applicants and the number of people housed under the homeless persons legislation by each local authority in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which statistics are available.

The available information relates to the number of households on whom inquiries have been completed by local authorities under the homelessness legislation and, of these, the number accepted and found accommodation. This is already published.The reported figures for individual local authorities appear quarterly in "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales". Annual totals for 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 are given in table 9(b) of volume Nos. 82, 86, 90 and 94, respectively. The 1990 totals are not yet published but figures for the four quarters separately are in table 9(a) of No. 94 and in table 9 of Nos. 95 to 97 of the same publication. Copies are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

Information about full-time and part-time public appointments and levels of remuneration for the past five years for which my Department was responsible is given in the annual HMSO publication "Public Bodies" and "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations". Copies of these publications are held in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to produce the "Environmental Action Guide"; and if he will make a statement.

The "Environmental Action Guide" is now being printed and should be published by HMSO, on behalf of the Department of the Environment, in July. Copies will be placed in the Library. The more detailed advisory notes on specific technical and management topics will follow as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial year (a) 1989–90, (b) 1990–91 and (c) 1991–92 to date.

Within my Department responsibility for expenditure on hospitality is delegated to senior managers, subject to detailed rules. No central record is kept of the individual items. Total expenditure for my Department, including the Property Services Agency services, the Building Research Establishment agency, the Historic Royal Palaces agency and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre agency, is as follows:

	£
1989–90	83,500
1990–91	1145,000
1991–92	220,000
1 Provisional.
2 To date.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action would be necessary for a parish or town council in England to be dissolved.

A parish or town council in England can only be dissolved while the parish or town remains as a local government area, if there are fewer than 150 local government electors in the parish or town. In such cases the district council, on the application of the parish meeting, may by order dissolve the council.A district council may review a parish or town and propose that its area should cease to form part of any parish. Such a proposal, if endorsed by the Local Government Boundary Commission and implemented by an order of the Secretary of State, would result in the end of the parish or town as a local government area, and with it the end of the parish or town council.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given for a new title of the present valuation and community charge tribunals once the new council tax comes into effect; if he will be issuing new guidance notes; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's consideration of the council tax appeal arrangements will include the matters mentioned by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether students normally resident in Northern Ireland but who spend approximately nine months of term time attending university in England, Scotland or Wales are required to pay community charge for July, August and September, when residing in their parents' homes in Northern Ireland.

Full-time students in England, Scotland and Wales are treated as having their sole or main residence at the place where they are resident for the purpose of undertaking the course. They are therefore liable to pay the community charge at their term time address from the day the course commences until the day it ceases, including vacations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many (a) self-contained units and (b) bed spaces in housing association rehabilitation schemes received initial project approval for housing association grant in each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91 and are planned for 1991–92 excluding re-improvements to existing properties owned by housing associations or local authorities for (1) Greater London, (2) inner London and (3) each London borough;(2) how many units or bed spaces in housing association rehabilitation schemes received project approval under the Housing Corporation's new programme for rent in each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91 and are planned for 1991–92 excluding re-improvements to existing housing association properties for

These are matters for the Housing Corporation. I have therefore asked the corporation to respond to the hon. Member direct. The subsequent reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals for improved standards of thermal insulation in building regulations in respect of cavity wall insulation; and if he will revise the approved document entitled "Conservation of Fuel and Power" so as to require U values to be calculated on a more realistic basis.

The Building Research Establishment is carrying out a study to see how the higher standards for the conservation of fuel and power in the building regulations, which came into force last year, are working in practice. The results of this study, together with other work, will be used as a basis for considering how the standards in the building regulations can be further strengthened.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the length of time that will be available for public consultation on the draft of a revised mineral plan guidance note 6.

It is not the intention to publish draft guidelines for consultation until the end of this year at the earliest. A decision will be taken at that time over the time length for public consultation but it is expected to be three months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations, including staff and running costs, in 1979–80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990–91 and budget for 1991–92.

Further to the answers which I gave to the hon. Member on 25 and 30 April, Official Report, column 492, and column 137, respectively, the latest estimate of outturn for 1990–91 is £7·7 million and the current budget for 1991–92 is £6·8 million; the latter figure excludes Property Services Agency services and the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre where budgets have not yet been finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures have been taken to secure water supplies in the event of a hot, dry summer; and if he will make a statement.

While skilful resource management and average rainfall last winter restored the levels of most surface water reservoirs, the cumulative effect of two hot, dry summers, and three relatively dry winters has severely reduced the levels of water stored underground in aquifers. In parts of the south-east and east, some groundwater levels are at the lowest recorded for the time of year.The prime responsibility for ensuring the adequacy of water supplies rests with the water companies, under the Water Act 1989. But the National Rivers Authority is responsible for abstraction licenses and for ensuring that water resources are used judiciously. I have therefore been consulting Lord Crickhowell, chairman of the National Rivers Authority, about the measures that have been taken to secure water supplies should we see a return to hot, dry weather this summer. This statement reflects these consultations.Contingency planning to overcome potential difficulties has been carried out, drawing on experience gained over the past two years. Supported by the Government, the NRA has placed particular emphasis on the need for close liaison with the water undertakers and other interested parties, such as the National Farmers Union. A number of ad hoc groups are also in place for assessing the situation and developing plans to alleviate possible difficulties. In accordance with the contingency plans developed in this way, appropriate measures are being phased in as the situation demands.Among the first steps aimed at conserving resources has been the widespread use of publicity campaigns to alert the general pubic, industry and agriculture to possible shortages of water. Such campaigns have been promoted both by the NRA and water supply undertakers through the press, radio, television and also the distribution of leaflets, public meetings and visits to schools. These campaigns are planned to continue throughout the summer in areas at risk and are generally aimed at increasing awareness of the situation and encouraging the wise use of water.Plans to use water resources to best effect are being implemented as necessary by reducing abstractions from sources that are running low, such as aquifers in the south-east, while increasing supplies drawn from rivers and reservoirs. Where appropriate, existing pipeline links have been supplemented by advancing the construction of those planned for the future or by laying temporary pipes. Also, in some cases water companies and the NRA have applied to my right hon. Friend for drought orders authorising increased abstractions or reduced discharges, which has helped to refill reservoirs during the winter and secure additional resources for the summer, and water companies in some areas have been able to develop new bore holes or recommission previously abandoned sources.To reduce demand, water companies have introduced hosepipe or sprinkler bans in the affected areas and these have been shown to produce worthwhile savings. A sprinkler can use in one hour as much water as an average family in one day, or even more; indeed, when demand is high in summer, bans are sometimes necessary because distribution systems cannot cope.In collaboration with the NRA, and in consultation with NFU and others, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has sought improvements in the way that water is applied to crops and the manner in which restrictions should best be imposed. The result is a leaflet on good irrigation practice. Apart from the potential savings in the use of water, the guidance provides for early warning by the NRA of the need to impose restrictions on spray irrigation. It is now being applied in the NRA's Anglian region.In the longer term, the NRA is making plans to ensure that resources are developed to meet demand into the next century. As a first step, the NRA has published a preliminary survey of the prospects for public water supplies to the year 2011, in a report entitled "Demand and Resources of Water Undertakers in England and Wales", copies of which are available in the Library.In addition, the NRA is investigating options for the strategic development of water resources including major new water transfer schemes. It is taking a fresh look at options hitherto considered uneconomic, such as a national grid and desalination, and expects to publish initial results this autumn. These results will then contribute to the NRA's development of a broad national development strategy to meet expected demand from all sources.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what steps he proposes to take to protect the environment, in addition to any schemes of working that may be agreed by local planning authorities, in those areas where (i) a dormant Interim Development Order —IDO—permission is re-activated following registration or (ii) mineral working continues to take place under active IDO permissions, in the period before the introduction of any changes to the powers of local authorities established under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981 as a result of the current review of that Act;(2) when he will publish the findings of the working group currently undertaking the review of local authorities' powers under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981;(3) what steps he proposes to take to compensate property owners who suffer blight as a result of discovering they live in or adjacent to prospective mineral workings following registration of IDO permissions;(4) what plans he has to include environmental and amenity organisations in the working group currently undertaking the review of local authorities' powers under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981; and if he will make a statement;(5) if he will list the members of the working group currently undertaking the review of local authorities' powers under the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981, and if he will state the basis on which members were appointed.

The amendments that the Government introduced in the Planning and Compensation Bill at Report stage on 16 May to deal with IDOs, provide that a dormant IDO permission cannot be reactivated until a scheme of operating and restoration conditions has been approved by the mineral planning authority. In any other case, such a scheme must be submitted for the mineral planning authority's approval within 12 months of the permission being registered.These amendments will ensure that in a relatively short period of time the details of all valid IDO permissions will be known, that the permissions are brought up to acceptable standards and that dormant sites cannot be reactivated without warning or proper conditions.It would not be appropriate to make provision for compensation for property owners who find themselves living adjacent to mineral working sites. However, the proposals in the Planning and Compensation Bill will ensure that all sites operate to acceptable standards. Statutory blight provisions only apply where there is a formal indication that land may need to be acquired by a body possessing compulsory powers. Where nuisance arises from development carried out under statutory powers, legislation is in place to compensate affected landowners for depreciation. Where land is affected by nuisance from private development, it is open to any owner to take action against those causing the nuisance or for him to seek damages through the courts.The amendments we have introduced to deal with 1DOs do not preclude the mineral planning authority from taking action under their existing powers, introduced by the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981. The Government have announced that they are reviewing these powers and this review is being undertaken by officials with the assistance of a small informal working group comprising three representatives of the County Planning Officers Society and three representatives of the minerals industry. The review, which is already under way, is examining the technical details of the provisions. The Government have no plans to change the membership of the working group. However, interested bodies are welcome to submit representations, and any proposed changes arising from the review will be the subject of full public consultation, including environmental and amenity groups, before decisions are taken. I hope that this consultation exercise will take place next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions he has drawn from his recent visit to Heveningham hall.

[holding answer 14 June 1991]: My right hon. Friend visited Heveningham hall on 2 June. His impression was that, while much remains to be done, good progress has been made with the restoration work recently. English Heritage will continue to monitor the situation and keep us informed.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the spreading on land of protein material derived from specified bovine offal.

The specified offals may not be used in human or animal feed, and therefore normal commercial outlets have disappeared for the small quantity of material resulting when these offals are rendered—some 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes per year, out of the rendering industry's total annual output of some 400,000 tonnes of protein material.The Government asked the Tyrrell committee to advise on its possible use as a fertiliser. The committee's view was that it should not be used. The risk of the agent being present or transmitted was remote, but it was better to be super-safe. There were alternative means of disposal — burning, burial or use as fuel. So on balance it would be wise not to use material derived from specified offal as fertiliser.It is therefore intended to make an order under the Animal Health Act to require that the protein material obtained from specified bovine offal should be disposed of either on licenced landfill sites, by incineration, or by such other means as may be licensed by the agriculture Departments.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

The readily available information about the appointments for which the Department is responsible, all of which are part time, is given in "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations" and annually in "Public Bodies", copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the market for the expected harvest of the oil-seed rape crop this year; and what estimates he has made of the likelihood of a surplus.

There is crushing capacity for some 1·5 million tonnes of rape seed in the United Kingdom, and significant quantities of rape seed are also incorporated directly into animal feed. There is an export market for United Kingdom rape seed elsewhere in the European Community. It is too early to predict how the market for the 1991 crop will develop.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence there is that the production of oil-seed rape is injurious to the health of humans or to the ecological interest of the immediate locality.

In common with other agriculturally grown or naturally occurring vegetation, the pollen of oil-seed rape may affect some species, including human beings. However, I am not aware of any conclusive scientific evidence that this crop is injurious to the ecology of the immediate locality. Matters concerning human health are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. Like any other crop, cross-pollinisation can occur and it is quite normal to protect crops by zoning where purity is needed.

Year	Guarantee section1		Guidance section		Other CAP expenditure2		Total expenditure on the CAP1
	mecu	£ million	mecu	£ million	mecu	£ million	mecu	£ million
1985	19,728	11,601	690	406	52	31	20,470	12,037
1986	22,119	14,330	727	471	47	30	22,893	14,831
1987	22,950	16,508	863	621	32	23	23,845	17,152
1988	27,640	18,749	1,142	775	58	39	28,840	19,564
1989	25,849	16,925	1,349	883	49	32	27,247	17,840
1990	26,426	18,416	1,825	1,272	77	54	28,328	19,742
1991	33,326	23,225	2,011	1,401	363	253	35,701	24,879
1992	36,470	25,416	2,704	1,884	364	254	39,538	27,554
1 Figures for 1991 and 1992 include 1,000 mecu monetary reserve (£697 million).
2 Other agricultural expenditure comprises mainly 50 per cent. of set-aside (since 1989) and income aids (since 1991).

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Kent and Essex sea fisheries committee and other fishing interests about proposals for an increase in extraction of marine aggregates in the shallow coastal waters of the Thames estuary; and if he will make a statement.

The Kent and Essex sea fisheries committee and other fishing interests have expressed concern that an increase in extraction of marine aggregate from the outer Thames estuary would harm fisheries.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the area devoted to the cultivation of oil-seed rape this year; and what was the area so used in 1990 and 1989.

The information sought is as follows:

• 1991: 450,000 hectares (estimate)
• 1990: 390,000 hectares
• 1989: 321,000 hectares.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the current level of surplus produce in British intervention stores; and what proposals he has for disposing of them.

Tables showing EC and United Kingdom intervention stock levels are deposited in the Library of the House each month. Any disposal of intervention stocks has to be approved by the European Commission and a number of schemes are currently operating for the commodities held in United Kingdom stores.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give figures for the common agricultural policy budget for each year since 1985, including the amount set for 1992, giving figures separately for (a) the guarantee section and (b) the guidance section.

The information requested is given in the table:The Government's policy is that licences will be granted for extraction of aggregate only where this is possible without unacceptable damage to sea fisheries and the marine environment. The fishing industry will be fully consulted on any application. The Ministry will ensure that any application for a licence will be given a careful scientific scrutiny to ensure the protection of fisheries.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amounts spent by his Department on the Agricultural and Food Research Council for each year since 1979 in (a) cash and (b) real terms.

MAFF commissions with the Agricultural and Food Research Council since 1979–80, in both cash and real terms, are as set out in the table.

Year	cash £ million	1real terms (1979–80=100)
1979–80	30·4	100·0
1980–81	37·4	104·3
1981–82	44·3	114·8
1982–83	48·6	117·4
1983–84	51·3	118·1
1984–85	52·8	114·8
1985–86	51·8	107·6
1986–87	47·9	96·7
1987–88	44·2	84·5
1988–89	46·4	82·6
1989–90	46·0	76·3
1990–91	45·6	69·7
1 Using the GDP deflator.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of his veterinarians have been drafted into (a) the Lincoln veterinary centre and (b) other areas, as a result of blue ear disease; and if he will make a statement.

One veterinarian spent two days on detached duty at the Lincoln veterinary investigation centre and veterinarians have spent a total of 38 man days on detached duty in other areas as a result of blue ear pig disease.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reasons his Department's inspectors gave for persuading Professor Feldberg to use rabbits rather than cats for the experiments detailed in the Medical Research Council report "The Feldberg Inquiry".

Section 5(6) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires special justification for the use of cats, dogs, primates and equidae. Following implementation of the Act, it became standard practice for inspectors to require research workers who were using cats to change, whenever possible, to alternative species. As a result, during the summer of 1989, when Professor Feldberg's research reached a stage when his use of cats was no longer considered essential, the inspector urged Professor Feldberg to change to rabbits, so that his authority to work on cats could be withdrawn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the experiments detailed in Medical Research Council report "The Feldberg Inquiry" were justified under section 5(4) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

In September 1989, Professor Feldberg sought the inspector's permission for a change to his project licence in connection with research he was undertaking into the regulation of blood sugar. He wished to replace a procedure involving the injection of drugs into the brain with one which he considered could produce a similar effect but involved the heating of the abdomen of the rabbit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will seek a report from the chief constable of (a) South Yorkshire and (b) West Yorkshire on the total number of police involved in policing fox hunts during the last 12 months; and if he will give the cost involved;(2) if he will seek a report from the chief constable of

The policing of hunts and the deployment of officers are operational matters entirely for the discretion of the chief officer. I understand that, over the past year, a total of about 25 officers from South Yorkshire Police have at various times attended fox hunts to deal with disorder. The costs involved are not readily available and could not be determined at disproportionate cost. West Yorkshire police has not deployed officers specifically to police fox hunts. Neither force has used video cameras at fox hunts on any occasion.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was responsible for each of the past five years together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.

The readily available information about the appointments of which my Department was responsible in the past five years, including salary details, is given in "Public Bodies" which is published annually and in "Public Appointments: A Handbook for Women's Organisations" which also gives information as to when appointments fall for renewal. Copies of both publications are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he accepts the Medical Research Council's recommendations that (a) the establishment of Home Office inspectors needs to be increased, and (b) their role to be re-examined with a view to their being more involved in the monitoring of the treatment of animals during experiments.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 11 March 1991 to a question from the hon. Member for Glasgow, Pollok (Mr. Dunnachie) at column 335.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-purpose bred animals were supplied to the Charing Cross and Westminster medical schools within the last year; by whom they were supplied; and for what specific experiments they were supplied.

It is not normally our practice to provide such detailed information about individual scientific procedure establishments, but I have the agreement of the medical school to say that no such animals were supplied within the last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to take in order to detect contraventions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 by personal and project licence holders.

The controls to ensure the proper conduct of animal procedures within scientific user establishments operate at a number of levels. Certificate holders for establishments designated under section 6 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are answerable to my right hon. Friend for ensuring that the requirements of the Act are fully observed. In addition, the management of research projects and the control of the application of procedures to animals are achieved through conditions attached to project and personal licences. In many cases, project licences are discussed with inspectors

Table A: Number of deaths in prison by year and by ethnic origin 1 January 1981–14 June 1991
Year	White	West Indian	Indian	Pakistani	African	Arab	Mixed	Total
1981	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	58
1982	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	61
1983	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	64
1984	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	65
1985	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	59
1986	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	58
1987	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	80
1988	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	80
1989	71	3	3	1	—	1	—	180
1990	82	3	—	1	1	—	—	87
19912	27	2	—	—	—	2	1	32
1 Ethnic origin not recorded for one prisoner.
2 To 14 June.

Table B: Deaths in police custody or otherwise with the police 1 January 1981–14 June 1991
Year	Metropolitan Police	Other forces (England and Wales)	Total
1981	27	22	49
1982	27	28	55
1983	18	25	43
1984	15	19	34
1985	14	23	37
1986	15	26	41
1987	28	26	54
1988	30	38	68
1989	37	36	73
1990	20	41	61
19911	8	16	24
1 To June 14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by ethnic group, and by year for the last 10 years, the number of deaths that have occurred whilst a person was held in (a) prison and (b) police custody.

The total number of deaths in prison in each year since 1981 and the number of deaths by ethnic origin since 1989 are shown in table A. Information on ethnic origin for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The total number of deaths in police custody in each year since 1981 is shown in table B. Information on ethnic origin is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners have ever been in care.

The information requested is not recorded centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the Sussex constabulary on the number of hours lost through sick leave by the Sussex police; and if he will make a statement.

In the calendar year 1990, the Sussex police recorded a total of 30,163 days sick leave—based on an eight-hour day. This amounts to 4·4 per cent. of available working days or an average of 10·1 days per officer. Both figures are below the national average.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of days lost through sickness by the police for the last available year, and the number of statutory sick days allowed in each section.

In the calendar year 1990 an average of 11·6 days per officer were lost through sickness in provincial forces and 12·5 days in the Metropolitan police. In line with general legislation, regulation 34 of the Police Regulations 1987 (as amended) provides for officers to take seven days self-certificated leave per year. This is at the discretion of the police authority. Thereafter, a doctor's certificate is required.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury on 7 June, he intends to make any changes to the conditions under which detainees would be held in future in the light of the comments made in the Red Cross report.

Any exceptional detention arrangements which might be necessary in a future emergency would be considered in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the time.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of males aged 15, 20, 25 and 30 years, respectively, have had a serious criminal conviction.

The information is in the table. This information has been produced from a series of cohort studies of persons born in 1953, 1958 and 1963, published in Home Office statistical bulletin 32/89.

Males born in 1953, 1958 and 1963 and convicted of a Standard List1offence.
Convicted before age	Percentage Year of birth
	1953	1958	1963
15	11	11	10
20	23	25	25
25	29	31	2ֵ
30	33	2ֵ	2ֵ
1 All indictable offences plus aggravated assault, assault on a constable and cruelty to a child.
2 Not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been heard and found proved for non-payment of (a) the community charge and (b) the uniform business rate at magistrates' courts in (i) Doncaster, (ii) Kensington and Chelsea and (iii) Wandsworth for the latest date he has available; and if he will show in his Answer what percentage of the population this represents.

The information requested is set out in the table.

	Community Charge		Uniform business rate
		per cent.
Doncaster	9,429	4·3	21
Kensington and Chelsea	8,830	8·3	423
Wandsworth	19,342	9·8	751

The percentages of the population these figures represent, as shown in brackets, are based on the number of persons entered on the relevant community charge registers. The figures for Kensington and Chelsea and Wandsworth cover the period 1 April 1990 to 12 June 1991 while those for Doncaster cover the period 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the indirect ownership of independent local radio stations by local authorities.

Under the provisions of schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1990, local authorities, and any body corporate in which a local authority is a participant with more than 5 per cent. interest, are disqualified from holding an independent local radio licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities have investments in holding companies with shares in independent local radio stations.

It is for the Radio Authority, and not the Government, to enforce the provisions in the Broadcasting Act 1990 relating to ownership of independent local radio stations. It is, therefore, a matter for the authority to monitor investment by local authorities in such stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the training needs of the police in relation to the provisions of the Road Traffic Bill; and what guidance he expects to give on this new legislation.

The Home Office will be issuing guidance to chief officers of police on the provisions of the legislation. The guidance is being prepared in consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers and training needs will be identified in that process.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many companies have been invited to tender for the Wolds remand prison contract.

Nine.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases for the non-payment of poll tax are awaiting trial at Crown courts.

None. Community charge enforcement proceedings in England and Wales are conducted in the magistrates courts and the Crown court has no jurisdiction.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the advice he is giving to local authorities regarding enforcing Sunday trading provisions before the House of Lords' appeal on the European defence is determined.

We have not generally considered it either appropriate or necessary to issue guidance to local authorities about enforcement of the law on Sunday

Principal applications for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality
	1988	11989	1 21990	1*1991
Number of principal applicatiokns excluding dependants
Zaire	150	470	860	2,580
Angola	40	210	630	2,320
Sri Lanka	400	1,780	3,250	1,770
Pakistan	330	230	1,240	1,240
Uganda	410	1,230	1,580	1,000
Ghana	170	320	530	1,000
Turkey	330	2,350	800	960
Somalia	300	1,850	1,480	850
India	290	600	1,360	740
Ethiopia	230	550	1,640	720
Lebanon	150	180	1,080	550
Togo/Ivory Coast	—	10	n.a.	400
Iraq	160	210	940	380
Iran	390	330	340	220
Other African nationalities	230	320	550	3850
Other non-African nationalities	510	730	1,230	1,420
Nationality not yet recorded	—	—	4,500	—
Total—all nationalities	3,950	11,200	22,000	17,000
Total number of applicants including dependants4	5,570	16,400	30,000	n.a.
1 Provisional and estimated figures.
2 The 1990 estimates for specific nationalities are likely to understate because of delays in recording, particularly for African cases. The estimate of cases not yet recorded, and the 1990 total, may also understate.
3 Figures may understate.
4 Includes dependants applying with the principal applicant, and those, to date, arriving subsequently but before the principal application was decided.
* January to April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what specific action he proposes to safeguard the public from breeds of fighting dogs, including the pit bull terrier; and if he will consider banning the importation, breeding and sale of these breeds in the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 20 May 1991]: As the hon. Member will know, the Government have recently introduced the Dangerous Dogs Bill aimed at the control of fighting dogs like the pit bull terrier and Japanese tosa and their eventual elimination from this country. An import ban on these dogs took effect from midnight on 21 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the available statistical information in the origin of asylum seekers and the change in pattern over recent months and years.

[holding answer 7 June 1991]: Information for 1991 is only available for the number of principal applicants excluding dependants. The number of such applications by the main nationalities since 1988 is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants from each Government Department are currently working in the office of the United Kingdom permanent representative to the European Community.

The number of civil servants from each Government Department currently working in the office of the United Kingdom permanent representative to the European Community at Brussels is:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make it his policy to request the United Nations Secretary General to re-establish the office for emergency operations in Africa.

The office for emergency operations in Africa provided excellent inter-agency co-ordination from 1984 to 1986. Since its experiences are reflected in current United Nations working practices, re-establishing it now does not automatically guarantee improved co-ordination. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the German Foreign Minister launched a joint initiative on 9 June to improve and support the way the United Nations responds to humanitarian disasters and emergencies including those in Africa.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his response to the recent proposals to the Foreign Secretary of Libya for the improvement of relations with the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.