To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table otherwise comparable to that provided in his answer of 17 April, Official Report, columns 184–85, to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) showing reductions in payment per year in successive increments of £10 from £0 to £140 for (i) charge payers and (ii) pensioners.

The information requested is given in the table.

Reduction in payment per year Bottom of range £	Charge payers (millions)	Pensioners(millions)
0	1·1	0·1
10	2·5	1·2
20	4·7	2·6
30	1·0	0·2
40	0·9	0·2
50	1·1	0·2
60	1·7	0·3
70	1·6	0·2
80	1·4	0·2
90	1·5	0·3
100	1·2	0·2
110	1·0	0·1
120	0·8	0·1
130	0·8	0·1
140	14·2	1·9

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Londonderry, East of 2 July, how much of the special waste produced in the United Kingdom annually is disposed of by incineration.

My Department's "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics No. 13" published by HMSO in 1991 included in figure 5·3 an estimate that about 5 per cent. of the special waste produced in the United Kingdom in 1988 was disposed of by incineration. This figure is probably typical for any 12-month period in recent years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will issue regulations to effect the release of money held by district councils on account for parish councils to be used by them for parish election expenses.

The treatment of any money held by district councils relating to balances on parish accounts is a matter for the authorities concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on the lastest year's figures available for England and Wales what were the mean, median, longest and shortest lengths of time that were taken to make a decision about whether or not to issue a call-in notice under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, previously section 35 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971, following an article 14 direction.

Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on the latest year's figures available for England and Wales, how many planning applications were subject to an article 14 direction; how many were subsequently the subject of a call-in under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, previously section 35 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971, and what both these figures were as a percentage of the total number of planning applications submitted.

In England in 190–91, a total of 182 article 14 directions were made; 70 planning applications were called in following such directions; a total of 532,000 planning applications were received by local planning authorities. In Wales in the same year, the corresponding figures were 13; 2; 39,000.Planning applications which were the subject of article 14 directions or were called in by my right hon. Friends in 1990–91 were not necessarily received by local planning authorities in the same year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 28 February, Official Report, column 587, if he will set out in detail the formulae for the criteria which are required in assessing the standard spending assessment for a district council.

The formulae for assessing the standard spending assessment for a district council are set out in paragraphs 3.33 to 3.36 and 3.48 to 3.58 of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) as amended by paragraph 9 of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) Report (England). Copies of these documents are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he held an official meeting with Snr. Enrique C. Finol, Minister for the Environment for Venezuela, during his recent visit to the United Kingdom.

A meeting was planned, but did not take place owing to a change in the Venezuelan Minister's programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it is his intention to include a right to buy the freehold for existing long leaseholders in the forthcoming commonhold legislation.

We hope to make a statement on commonhold very shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average rent of local authority homes in the London borough of Tower Hamlets in 1978 and in each subsequent year.

Information on average weekly unrebated rents in April of each year is published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in "Housing Rents Statistics" for those authorities which respond to their annual survey. Copies of this publication for 1978 to 1990 are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new homes were started and completed in the London borough of Tower Hamlets in each year since 1974; and how many of these were local authority or housing association homes for rent.

The London borough of Tower Hamlets has not sent the Department any statistical returns about housebuilding in the area since 1984. The available information as reported by the borough for 1980 onwards is shown in tables 1.1 to 1.5 of "Housebuilding in England by Local Authority Areas 1980 to 1989". Tables 3.1 to 3.6 show housebuilding in Tower Hamlets by the Greater London council. Figures for 1974 to 1979 are shown in tables 5 and 7 of the following issues of "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales": volume numbers 33, 37, 41, 45, 49 and 53, respectively. No completions have been reported of dwellings built specifically for sale by local authority or housing associations in Tower Hamlets.Copies of the above publications are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are taken to ensure that planning inspectors with interests in property development and building firms do not hear appeals concerning major development proposals.

Inspectors are not allocated cases where it is clear that they have a personal involvement or interest that might bring into question their impartiality. If an inspector is allocated a case where he has a personal interest that could conflict with his official duty, he is required to inform the Department. Another inspector will then be appointed in his place.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what register of interests exists for planning inspectors.

The Department does not keep a register of inspectors' interests. It does however, maintain a list of areas in which inspectors will not be allocated work. This list normally includes the local authority area in which an inspector lives, or has been recently employed, and any other area where he has interests that could conflict with his official duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since his answer of 20 December, Official Report, columns 273–74.

The following surveys carried out by my Department since 20 December 1990, include questions to individuals about their opinions:

• Survey of Single Homelessness.
• Survey of Housing Association Tenants.
• Study of Under-Occupation in the Social Rented Sector.
• Evaluation of the Impact of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
• Study of Conversions of Houses into Flats in London.
• Evaluating the Impact of Block Action.
• Appraisal of assisted Agency Services.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he held an official meeting with Dr. Tomasz Zylicz, economics adviser to the Polish Minister for the Environment during his recent visit to London.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he had an official meeting with Dr. Yusuf Ahmad of the United Nations environment programme executive directorate during his recent visit to London.

Dr. Ahmad is a frequent visitor to the Department. My officials keep in touch with him on a number of international environmental issues on which he has much valued expertise.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the international biotechnology workshop held at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre on 17–19 June.

Further to my reply of 14 May to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell), the workshop was mounted under the auspices of the United Conference on Environment and Development—UNCED—and attended by some 50 senior international experts from about 30 countries. My Department contributed $80,000—£44,700—towards its cost.Under the chairmanship of Dr. Nay Htun of the UNCED secretariat, the workshop considered a wide range of factors affecting the assessment and management of risks in biotechnology. The expert advice given will form the basis of proposals to be presented to the UNCED preparatory committee at its third session in Geneva next month.The encouraging progress made at the workshop augurs well for the consideration of the environmentally sound management of biotechnology at the UNCED "Earth summit," to be held in Brazil in 1992. The United Kingdom will continue to work hard to prepare the ground for the agreement of a set of principles for risk assessment and management as a basis for the development of international guidelines on biotechnology safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Thorne moor has been designated under the Ramsar convention.

[holding answer 5 July 1991]: No. The former Nature Conservancy Council identified Thorne—and Hatfield—moor as a potential Ramsar site but the Government have not received any formal recommendations from English Nature.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he is considering for the storage of compressed carbon dioxide waste gases from coal gasification in depleted gas fields, as part of the programme for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.

I have been asked to reply.The Department of Energy's Chief Scientist's Group at the Energy Technology Support Unit is evaluating, in collaboration with industry, a number of options for the recovery of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion and, inter alia, its disposal in disused natural gas fields. My Department is also seeking collaboration, under International Energy Agency auspices, with up to 14 other countries in an assessment of the feasibility of removing, utilising, transporting and disposing of carbon dioxide produced in fossil fuel power generation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table of the total grants given by each local authority social services department in England to voluntary organisations for the last year for which the information is available;

[holding answer 5 July 1991]: I have been asked to reply.The latest year for which information is available is 1988–89. The information is given in the table.

Local Authority Contributions to Voluntary Organisations in 1988–89
	£000
Metropolitan Borough Councils
Bolton	80
Bury	166
Manchester	0
Oldham	177
Rochdale	407
Salford	85
Stockport	101
Tameside	133
Trafford	0
Wigan	196
Knowsley	415
Liverpool	924
St. Helens	0
Sefton	25
Wirral	366
Barnsley	10
Doncaster	214
Rotherham	27
Sheffield	1,460
Gateshead	371
Newcastle	1,503
North Tyneside	19

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Government of the People's Republic of China with regard to the detention of the Right Reverend Joseph Fan Zhongliang.

We have made no specific representations about the detention of Bishop Fan Zhongliang.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in clarifying technical disputes regarding the CFE treaty; and if he will make a statement.

At an extraordinary conference of the CFE signatories in Vienna on 14 June, the Soviet Union made a statement regarding the treatment of equipment in coastal defence, naval infantry and strategic rocket force units. The extraordinary conference concluded that a satisfactory basis existed for proceeding toward ratification and implementation of the CFE treaty. The agreement reached will ensure that the Soviet Union will in practice comply with the limits, including zonal and active unit sublimits, established by the treaty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since his answer of 17 December, Official Report, column 71.

No further public opinion surveys have been carried out by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since my answer of 17 December 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 July, Official Report, column 24, if he will list the commencement date and duration of the publicity campaign to which he refers.

The publicity campaign aimed at British travellers abroad is a continuous one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the advertising, promotional or public relations companies employed by, or on behalf of, his Department who are involved in the campaigns given in his answer of 1 July, Official Report, column 24.

No such companies are employed or involved in these campaigns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his most recent assessment of the dangers faced by the refugee Shias in southern Iraq.

We are very disturbed by recent United Nations evidence of renewed Iraqi action against those Iraqi Shia who have taken refuge in the marsh area of southern Iraq. We have made our concerns known to the head of the Iraqi interests section in London and to the Iraqi permanent representative at the United Nations and have urged the Iraqis to allow humanitarian relief into the area quickly.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what powers executive agencies have to change their financial regime without first amending their framework document.

Agency chief executives keep their financial and other management regimes under review, with the aim of developing the framework best suited to their business needs. Significant changes in an agency's financial regime would require the agreement of the responsible Minister and the Treasury. In many cases, there will be sufficient flexibility in the framework document to allow for changes, so no further amendment is required. But where such changes are not covered the framework document will need to be revised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the agreed expenditure for investment on the Circle line of London Underground over the next three years; and whether he has any plans to increase it.

The Government do not set levels of investment for individual Underground lines. However, London Underground is in the process of refurbishing the entire fleet of Circle line trains. It is also looking at ways of improving the line's service reliability by combining its running with that of the Hammersmith and City line.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he is having with the Health and Safety Executive in connection with each of the short and long-term recommendations listed in sections 7 and 8 of the May 1991 independent report by consulting engineers on the gantry accident of 4 September 1990 on the Severn bridge.

The recommendations are under discussion within the Department. The Health and Safety Executive will be consulted before final decisions are reached.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the final price paid to the construction company involved in the A6 Chapel bypass as compared to the original contract price.

The original tender sum for the contract was £17·031 million. The total contractor's account was settled at £43·703 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Leyton of 3 July, on the M11 link road, if he will list those standards established in the case of the M40, referred to by the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) in the debate on the New Roads and Street Works Bill in Standing Committee E on 14 March, Official Report, column 25, which can be applied to urban roads such as the M11 link road.

As is made clear in the answer to which the hon. Member refers, the measures taken to mitigate any evironmental impact of a new road depend on the individual nature of each project.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to let a contract for the widening of the M20 Maidstone bypass; and what completion date will be specified.

The contract for the widening of the Maidstone bypass section of the M20 between junctions 5 and 8 was let on 4 July to Balfour Beatty Ltd. Work will begin before the end of July for completion by the spring of 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since his answer of 17 December, Official Report, columns 59–60.

My Department regularly commissions surveys. A list of all surveys is maintained but it is not possible to identify easily from this list those surveys which have included questions of opinion. My hon. Friend's answer of 20 December 1990 referred to 370 surveys of all types reported in the years 1985 to 1989. A further 101 surveys were reported in 1990 and I am sending a list of these to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if there are any plans to change British Rail's quality of service objectives to take account of the case for manning of rail stations in London by British Rail staff during the hours that such stations are timetabled to receive trains, and the provision at all stations of security cameras and emergency telephones.

[holding answer 1 July 1991]: The staffing of stations is a matter for the BR board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many assaults have taken place at unmanned British Rail stations in the past five years, and how many such stations had no security cameras and no emergency telephones.

[holding answer 1 July 1991]: In 1989 and 1990 four assaults, of which one was serious, occurred at unmanned stations in the Greater London area. Figures for previous years and other areas are not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many blocks of the United Kingdom continental shelf have been licensed for oil and gas exploration within the past 10 years despite sustained objections from the Nature Conservancy Council.

The Nature Conservancy Council has registered concerns about a number of blocks offered for oil and gas licensing in the past 10 years. These concerns have been met by applying conditions and restrictions to activity under the licences or by not offering the relevant blocks. In this period, the Nature Conservancy Council has objected to the offer for licensing of six blocks or pairs of blocks. Three of these were offered in the 10th round, but not subsequently licensed; three were licensed in the 12th round of offshore licensing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether radioactive wastes contaminated with plutonium arising from the reprocessing of foreign spent fuel at (a) Sellafield and (b) Dounreay are covered by existing nuclear safeguards agreements.

All civil nuclear material is subject to Euratom safeguards and to the terms of the United Kingdom-Euratom-International Atomic Energy Authority safeguards agreement. The UK-Euratom-IAEA safeguards agreement provides, however, that safeguards shall be terminated when the material has been diluted to the point at which it is practicably irrecoverable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy for what reason he prevented Nuclear Electric from launching a publicity and advertising campaign in July.

The decision to postpone a proposed advertising campaign was taken by Nuclear Electric plc.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) when he last discussed directors' pay with Nuclear Electric;

I last discussed pay with members of the board of Nuclear Electric on 4 June 1991. Our approach in respect of all publicly owned companies is to pay salaries sufficient to recruit, retain and motivate the manpower the company needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy on how many occasions paper for the printing of share certificates for the flotation at the electricity distribution companies was returned to the paper suppliers; whether any financial loss occurred to the Department as a result; and if he will make a statement.

None. All the paper ordered for the printing of interim share certificates required in the regional electricity companies share offers was either used, returned to the supplier at no cost, or sold to a third party without loss.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next intends to meet his opposite numbers in other European Community countries; and what will be discussed.

I expect to meet my opposite numbers at the next Energy Council, on 29 October, when we will discuss a number of energy-related subjects.I also hope to have separate meetings later this year with the German Minister for Economic Affairs, the Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs and the Portuguese Minister for Industry and Energy. In each case, European energy matters will form the basis for discussion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the advertising, promotional or public relations companies employed by, or on behalf of, his Department who are involved in the campaigns given in his answer of 1 July, Official Report, column 39.

The only advertising agency currently employed in any of the campaigns listed in my earlier answer is Laing Henry for the United Kingdom offshore supplies industry. My Department does not usually retain companies in a purely promotional or public relations role.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the cost, and the benefits, of his Department's exhibit on renewable energy resources at the recent exhibition on the environment, wildlife and conservation at Olympia.

The total cost of the Department of Energy's participation in this exhibition is expected to be £24,000. This event forms part of the programme for promoting renewable energy, including the raising of public awareness and the involvement of industry in the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies. An analysis of inquiries will be carried out to assess the effectiveness of the material provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since his answer of 17 December, Official Report, column 13.

I shall write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer of 1 July, Official Report, column 39, if he will list the commencement date and duration of each publicity campaign.

The energy efficiency, offshore supplies industry and renewable energy campaigns are ongoing, and have been running for a number of years. The joint campaign with the Department of the Environment is expected to commence in the autumn of 1991 and continue until 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the response to the fourth landward licensing round.

The fourth landward licensing round which closed at noon on 20 June attracted 35 applications for exploration licences from 39 companies or groups of companies. I will now be considering all the applications on their merits. The new licences resulting from this round, which I hope to announce towards the end of the summer, should help to maintain the momentum of exploration onshore in Britain.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the public opinion surveys conducted by, for or on behalf of, the Lord Chancellor's Department or the Law Officers since his answer of 17 December, Official Report, column 1, giving the date and purpose of each survey.

No national public opinion survey has been conducted by, for or on behalf of the Lord Chancellor's Department or any of the Departments for which I am responsible since 17 December 1990. No records are held centrally of any local surveys that may have been conducted by area staff of the Crown prosecution service, and such information could be acquired only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annualised percentage growth of bank and building society lending was, seasonally adjusted, over the six months to (a) May 1991 and (b) June 1991.

For the six months to the end of May 1991 the banks' and building societies' lending to the M4 private sector annualised growth rate was 7·1 per cent. (seasonally adjusted).The June 1991 figure is not available yet. It will be given in line 23 of table A of the Bank of England's monetary statistics notice, due for publicaton on 29 July 1991.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his reasons for refusing to refer the pay dispute with the National Union of Civil and Public Servants to the Civil Service Arbitration tribunal; and if he will now reconsider that decision.

Under the terms of the long-term pay agreement with the NUCPS, arbitration is an option only if both parties agree. Arbritration was rejected because pay should reflect what is needed to recruit, retain and motivate staff within what can be afforded. The offer took these factors into account and is within the parameters of the pay agreement.The NUCPS has now accepted the offer.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet building society representatives to discuss the Government response to the Woolwich judicial review result.

I have no plans to do so. The Building Societies Association has not asked for such a meeting.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many imported publications deemed to be obscene have been seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the past five years; how many persons have been prosecuted for this trade; and what punishments were imposed.

In the five years 1986 to 1991 a total of 157,689 publications deemed to be indecent or obscene were seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. 373 persons were prosecuted leading to a total of 36 years 9 months imprisonment (including 18 years 1 month suspended sentences), seven years probation and fines and costs totalling £183,171.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about the Government's policy of abating the pensions of public servants who are re-employed in the public service after retirement.

The Government have completed their review of the current abatement policy.My hon. Friend the then Economic Secretary announced on 21 December 1989 at col

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the numbers, locations and departments of all civil servants employed in Gwent and Glamorgan.

[holding answer 9 July 1991]: At 1 April 1991 the number of non-industrial civil servants employed in Gwent and Glamorgan was 22,165. Analyses by location and by department are given in tables 1 and 2 respectively. No figures are held centrally of the number of industrial civil servants employed in Gwent and Glamorgan.

Table 1
Numbers of non-industrial civil servants in Gwent and Glamorgan Staff in post at 1 April 1991
Location	Headcount
Gwent	3,304
of which:
Blaenau Gwent	203
Islwyn	104
Monmouth	443
Newport	2,149
Torfaen	405
Glamorgan	18,861
of which:
Cynon Valley	234
Merthyr Tydfil	349
Ogwr	384
Rhondda	166
Rhymney Valley	247
Taff Ely	930
Cardiff	9,354
Vale of Glamorgan	621
Afan	262
Lliw Valley	5
Neath	154
Swansea	6,155

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria his Department's Overseas Development Administration uses to judge appropriate time horizons when considering the funding of environmental aid projects.

Consistent with the principles of sustainable development, we aim to take a long term view of every environmental impact of projects we finance, and pay special attention to any possible irreversible effects. No generally agreed criteria exist for judging appropriate specific time horizons and qualitative judgments are often needed especially where it is not possible fully to quantify environmental costs and benefits. We have financed work by the Overseas Development Institute, published last month as a book "Values for the Environment: A Guide to Economic Appraisal" by J. T. Winpenny, which will provide guidance on these issues to ODA economists and others. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the sums committed by Her Majesty's Government in humanitarian assistance to Iraq (a) for relief operations for refugees and (b) in total.

Since 4 April 1991, the Government have committed £61·5 million for Iraqi refugees. The Government also committed £18·37 million during 1990–91 for humanitarian assistance to refugees in the Gulf crisis area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation of human rights in Malawi.

Observance of human rights in Malawi is showing welcome improvement. A total of 88 detainees have been released so far this year. The Malawi Government have told us that all remaining cases of detention without trial are under review. We seek an end to detention without trial in Malawi as elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make it his policy to assist in the widespread distribution in the United Kingdom of the forthcoming annual world development report of the World Bank on environmental and development matters.

The 1991 World development report, "The Challenge of Development", was published by the World Bank on 8 July. I endorse its main thesis that successful development requires the public and private sectors each to play an appropriate role, and to do so effectively. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library of the House.The 1992 report will deal with development and the environment and will be published next April.World development reports deserve to be widely distributed and the World Bank already has machinery in place to achieve this.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance in regard to contraceptive advice and infant health care is made available by Her Majesty's Government to nations covered by the Lomé convention in the Pacific, Caribbean and Africa.

A specific focus on population and demography is included for the first time in the fourth Lomé convention signed in December 1989, although under earlier conventions the EC financed a number of projects in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in the health sector. The Commission is now preparing projects reflecting the new focus in co-operation with Governments of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are being made by the United Kingdom Government either individually or in conjunction with the international community to meet the humanitarian requirements of the Shi'ite population in southern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

The relief programmes of the United Nations and the Red Cross and Red Crescent provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people throughout Iraq. Britain has so far contributed US$16 million to the UN appeal launched in May and £2·5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross. A UN mission is currently in Iraq to assess the situation particularly in the southern part of the country. We shall give its report our full consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the amendments made to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1989; and if he has any plans to make any further amendments.

Seven amendment orders to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1989 have been made:

• Amendment No. 1 came into force 14 February 1990
• Amendment No. 2 came into force 30 April 1990
• Amendment No. 3 came into force 15 April 1990
• Amendment No. 4 came into force 11 August 1990
• Amendment No. 5 came into force 31 August 1990
• Amendment No. 6 came into force 21 December 1990
• Amendment No. 7 came into force 10 July 1991

It is planned to introduce a consolidated order incorporating these amendments later this year. Additional amendments to export controls reflecting agreement reached in various international regimes of which the United Kingdom is a member are anticipated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he intends to take to ensure that the coverage of the Association of British Insurance code of practice guidelines for general insurance selling are (a) complete and (b) enforced and whether he has any plans to refer this matter to the Director General of Fair Trading.

All Association of British Insurance members agree to adhere to the provisions of the code. Its operation is overseen by an independent monitoring committee on which my Department is represented. I believe that the code is working satisfactorily, but the monitoring committee will be undertaking a full review next year. Any evidence to the contrary should be sent to the monitoring committee. I have no plans to refer the code to the Director General of Fair Trading.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about alleged unfair terms in maintenance contracts for office and industrial equipment, excluding photocopier leasing agreements.

My Department has received three complaints over the last three months alleging unfair terms in maintenance contracts for office equipment other than photocopiers. All three complaints have been about maintenance and leasing agreements for facsimile equipment.I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave him on 18 March 1991,

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to bring forward proposals to place a duty on auditors to report fraud, or suspicion of fraud.

As the Government made clear in their response to the report of the Trade and Industry Select Committee on company investigations, we do not believe that a statutory duty should be imposed on auditors to report fraud, or suspicions of fraud, to the authorities. We believe that the action to be taken by auditors in respect of fraud is best left to professional guidance and we welcome the profession's initiative in publishing last year the auditing guideline on the auditor's responsibilities in respect of fraud, other irregularities and errors, which all auditors are expected to follow.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether export licences are required for the sale by British companies of (a) technology, (b) engineering design and (c) building design blueprints or plans, where the development of such blueprints or plans involves military equipment or premises.

[holding answer 8 July 1991]: In 1989 the export controls covering military equipment to certain countries were extended to include all products involving the combination and construction of metallic or non-metallic materials specially designed to provide ballistic protection for military systems. Similarly, all technology engineering design and building design blueprints or plans relating to these products now require a licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he proposes to initiate legislation for the reform of friendly societies.

I have been asked to reply.I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Morris) on 3 June 1991,

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of fire engines and average populations served by each fire brigade station in London for each year since 1979.

The number of front-line pumping appliances based at each fire station in the London fire brigade for each year from 1979 to 1991 is shown in the table. Information about the population served by each

Front line pumping appliances based at London fire stations, 1979–1991
Fire Station	Year 1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991
Acton	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Addington	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Barbican	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Barking	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Barnet	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Battersea	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Beckenham	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Belsize	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Bethnal Green	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Bexley	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Biggin Hill	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Bow	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Brixton	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Bromley	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Cannon Street	2	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Chelsea	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Chingford	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Chiswick	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Clapham	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Clerkenwell	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Croydon	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Dagenham	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Deptford	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Dockhead	2	1	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Dowgate	—	—	—	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Downham	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Ealing	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
East Greenwich	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
East Ham	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Edmonton	2	1	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Eltham	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Enfield	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Erith	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Euston	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Feltham	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Finchley	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Forest Hill	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Fulham	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Greenwich	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hainault	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Hammersmith	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hayes	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Harrow	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Hendon	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Heston	2	1	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hillingdon	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Holloway	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Homerton	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hornchurch	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hornsey	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Ilford	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Islington	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Kensington	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Kentish Town	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Kingsland	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Kingston	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Knightsbridge	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Lambeth	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1
Lambeth River	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	—	—	—	—	—
Lee Green	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Lewisham	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1
Leyton	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Leytonstone	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Manchester Square	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Mill Hill	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Millwall	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Mitcham	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
New Cross	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
New Malden	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Norbury	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
North Kensington	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2