To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place in the Library a summary of the procedures that are now required to be implemented by employers for the protection of employees working in HIV and hepatitis B virus research laboratories and production facilities in England and Wales.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers are required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees and others who may be affected by their activities. In addition, under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 employers are required to carry out a risk assessment for all activities which are likely to expose any employee to any substance hazardous to health, including pathogenic micro-organisms, and to introduce appropriate precautions commensurate to the risk.

Table 1
Estimates of the number of unemployed in EC countries annual averages
(thousands)
	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Belgium	487	496	463	463	447	390	328	302
Denmark	247	237	199	156	158	184	222	238
Germany	1,921	1,988	2,012	1,796	1,770	1,747	1,603	1,482
Greece	—	—	—	287	286	304	297	281
Spain	—	—	—	2,910	2,917	2,813	2,512	2,407
France	1,912	2,314	2,424	2,474	2,500	2,375	2,265	2,189
Ireland	200	221	239	240	239	230	208	202
Italy	1,970	2,097	2,189	2,420	2,373	2,535	2,498	2,316
Luxembourg	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3
Netherlands	702	711	603	616	651	609	571	535
Portugal	—	—	—	383	321	266	240	224
United Kingdom	2,894	2,954	3,124	3,161	2,908	2,411	2,037	2,033

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the level of unemployment in the original EC Six countries as a whole each year since 1962, in the EC Nine as a whole after 1973, and in the EC Twelve as a whole since 1986, both in numbers and as a percentage of their total work force.

The following two tables provide the extent of the readily available information:

(i) estimates of the annual average numbers of unemployed for the years 1983 to 1990 produced by the Statistical Office of the European Community (SOEC). Comparable estimates of numbers unemployed are not available on a monthly basis;

(i) internationally comparable unemployment rates produced by SOEC from 1983–1990. Similar standardised rates, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are available from 1975. These have been provided for the years 1975 to 1982.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, if he will introduce regulations to require contaminated syringes stored in a primary container in health treatment premises to be placed in a secondary container if leakage is possible during handling, storage, transport or shipping.

My right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State, does not consider it necessary to introduce regulations so specific as to cover this matter. Adequate guidance regarding the handling, storage, transport and shipping of contaminated syringes is provided in the publication "The safe disposal of clinical waste" published by the Health and Safety Commission's Health Services Advisory Committee, which was revised in 1991.This document provides employers in all health care premises with the necessary information for them to comply with their legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (the COSHH regulations) which involve risk assessment and the provision of adequate controls to guard against exposure to infection for both workers and the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his reply at 2 July 1991, Official Report, column 121, if he will make a statement on the likely date of the conclusion of the appeal relating to the severe disability premium awarded to Miss M. Hunt of Perry Barr, Birmingham, Ref 401: 33209.

On 7 January 1992 the Social Security Commissioner gave, with the consent of all interested parties, an interim decision to award the severe disability premium in respect of the period from 11 April 1988 to 8 October 1989. A copy of the decision was issued to all parties on 13 January 1992. The Commissioner has postponed the further decision for the period 9 October 1989 onwards until the House of Lords has given its decision in another case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants in 1991 with a physical or mental disability who received income support were working for (a) more than 24 hours a week, under regulation 6 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 and (b) working for between 16 and 24 hours.

I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether lifetime awards of attendance allowance and mobility allowance will be reconsidered by adjudication officers under the Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Act 1991.

Awards of attendance allowance for people aged under 65 and mobility allowance will be replaced by awards of disability living allowance—DLA—from 6 April 1992. Life awards of DLA and attendance allowance for those aged over 65 will not be reviewed by adjudication officers unless the person expressly applies for a review of the award of either or both components, or, in exceptional circumstances, where information comes to light which gives the adjudication officer reasonable grounds to believe that entitlement is either too low or too high.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate total annual cost to social security claimants of providing medical evidence required by the social security appeals procedures which is not provided under the national health service.

The Department's general policy is to provide medical evidence for Social Security claimants free of charge where this is required by the appeals system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the weather stations which have recorded temperatures triggering cold weather payments in each week in 1992.

The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the costs to British businesses of the European proposal of a 50 mph speed limit on lorries.

The costs for some vehicle operators would have been substantial. In the event the Transport Council decided upon a speed limiter setting of 90 km/h—56 mph—for heavy goods vehicles. This will increase some journey times, although there will be offsetting fuel savings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has taken place into accidents on motorways caused by motorists falling momentarily asleep.

Research has been carried out by the university of Loughborough in this country and by various institutions overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contact his Department has with his opposite numbers in the European Community and the United States of America on research into motorists falling momentarily asleep whilst driving on motorways.

My Department has regular contact with other countries to discuss all aspects of road safety and research.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake to review the criteria for Transport supplementary grant funding of bus priority schemes.

Consultations will shortly begin with the local authority associations about the transport policies and plans circular for 1992–93. The references in the circular to bus priority schemes and their eligibility for transport supplementary grant and credit approval will be covered in these consultations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has had concerning the funding of bus priority schemes.

I recently chaired a working group comprising the Bus and Coach Council, the local authority associations, the police, bus manufacturers and the National Federation of Bus Users during which the funding of bus priority schemes was discussed. The group endorsed the statement I made on 16 December announcing the provision of at least £10 million over the next two years to fund specific local authority bus schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to monitor the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1990 with respect to the condition of pavements.

On 31 December 1991 my Department wrote to local authority associations and other interested organisations to consult them about draft regulations and a draft non-statutory code of practice on various aspects of the arrangements for inspection of undertakers' street works. The draft code of practice was prepared by a joint committee of local authorities' and undertakers' representatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has had with representatives of local authorities concerning procedures for carrying out the inspection of utilities' street works.

I assume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the street works provisions of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. These provide, in sections 71 and 139, for reinstatements of the street, including pavements, following street works to comply with prescribed specifications of materials and standards of workmanship. The Government have commissioned consultants to advise on appropriate arrangements for monitoring the effects of the Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to issue revised advice on the criteria to be applied for road speed limits in villages and semi-rural areas.

Consultation with interested bodies on revisions to the criteria for setting speed limits will take place within the next week few weeks, with a view to issuing the revised criteria as soon as possible thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his assessment of the effect of drying out of a length of self-healing cable on its usefulness to the railways inspectorate inquiry into the Severn tunnel accident on 7 December.

The cable in question was stored at British Rail's laboratory at Reading for as long as was necessary to arrange a programme of tests, which would identify possible faults without causing further damage or concealing evidence of other problems. Storage of the cable for any length of time in laboratory conditions could cause the latex-like insulation on the individual wires in the cable to reseal, so tests were conducted as soon as possible with both British Rail and HM railway inspectorate engineers being present. The tests have now been successfully completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct the railways inspectorate to make available immediately to (a) the British Rail national inquiry and (b) independent inspection the length of self-healing cable from signal box 164 suspected to be part of the cause of the signalling failure which may have led to the accident in the Severn tunnel on 7 December.

The accident is being investigated both internally by British Rail and independently by the Health and Safety Executive's HM railway inspectorate. The cable in question has now been examined in detail by engineers from both organisations working together in a British railways laboratory.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) pursuant to his reply to the right lion. Member for Tonbridge and Mailing on 19 December, Official Report, column 239, when he expects the individual objectives for all 15 of the Network SouthEast route groups to be set under the British Rail passengers charter; and who will be the judge and against what criteria as to whether the service delivered falls significantly short of published standards.(2) whether he has set the new performance standards for the Kent coastal services in 1992 that his hon. Friend the Minister for Public Transport said in the House on 12 December,

The individual performance targets for each of the 15 route groups of Network SouthEast and the related compensation arrangements will be set out in the BR passengers charter shortly. Monitoring of performance already occurs and the targets will apply from January 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what circumstances his Department is willing to pay reasonable travelling expenses for applicants to attend job or recruitment board interviews; and if he will make a statement.

My Department pays reasonable travelling expenses to applicants for many jobs in the Department. For clerical and secretarial posts, recruitment tends to be from the local area, with less need to pay travelling expenses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in ordering the trains for the north of London daytime passenger services through the channel tunnel.

The seven train sets needed for the north of London daytime channel tunnel services were ordered by the railways on 18 December 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the implementation report of the 1990 efficiency scrutiny of vehicle excise duty enforcement will be available.

I have today placed copies of the scrutiny implementation report in the Libraries of both Houses. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has made good progress in putting into practice the 28 main recommendations. The number of VED evaders caught and penalised through out-of-court settlements has increased by more than 30 per cent. over the past two years and 420,000 offenders will be brought to book in the present financial year. Further efficiency benefits currently under development will be included in a follow up report to be produced in 12 months' time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he will be issuing for consultation the criteria he proposes to use in exercising his discretionary power under section 62 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 to acquire property which is seriously affected by his Department's road schemes; and whether he expects to make the criteria public before the end of 1991.

[pursuant to his reply, 21 November 1991,c. 237.]: My right hon. Friend will use the new power of earlier and wider acquisition to alleviate hardship by buying off-line property which in his opinion is suffering from serious "blight by proximity". Until now property not likely to be needed for a scheme could be acquired only if conditions during construction or after road opening would be intolerable. Acquisition will be from as early as the announcement of the preferred route. Each case will be considered on its merits, but as a guideline we would normally expect qualifying properties to lie within about 100 m of the centre of the road.The other guidelines are as follows:

To ask the Prime Minister when he last visited Oxleas Wood, south-east London; and if he will make a statement.

I have not visited Oxleas Wood.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 470, concerning the inclusion in the draft treaty of European union of a reference to the role and significance of European parties, when he expects to receive a draft formulation from the presidency; when he expects to lay this before Parliament; and what is the objective of the provision.

The Portuguese presidency has proposed the following draft treaty article:

"Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union".

Discussion is continuing in Brussels as to where this article should appear in the treaty. This is one of a number of technical points which will be settled before signature in early February. The text of the treaty will be published in the normal way after signature.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the current members of the Advisory Council on Science and Technology; if he will give the date of their original appointment; and what is the date on which their current term of office will end.

The current members of the advisory Council on Science and Technology are as listed. In addition, the chief scientific adviser, Cabinet Office, Professor William Stewart, attends council meetings. Departmental chief scientists/scientific advisers are also invited to attend most meetings.

Name	Date of original appointment	Appointment ends
Sir Robin Nicholson (Chairman) Executive Director, Pilkington plc	July 1990	July 1993
Professor Roy Anderson Department of Pure & Applied Biology Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine	July 1989	July 1992
Professor Sir Michael Atiyah President, The Royal Society	July 1991	July 1994
Professor Michael Brady Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford	July 1990	July 1993
Lord Chilver Chairman, Universities Funding Council	May 1989	1n/a
Dr. Peter Doyle Director of Research and Technology, Imperial Chemical Industries plc	July 1989	July 1992
Mr. Ian Harvey Chief Executive, British Technology Group	July 1989	July 1992
Mr. Keith Henry Chief Executive, Brown and Root Ltd	July 1991	July 1994
Sir Graham Hills Past Principal of University of Strathclyde	July 1987	2 July 1993
Dr. Nigel Home Head of IT Practice, KPMG Management Consulting	July 1990	July 1993
Professor Christopher Llewellyn Smith, Chairman of Physics, University of Oxford	July 1989	July 1992
Professor Leonard Maunder Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	July 1987	July 19932
Professor Sir David Phillips Chairman, Advisory Board for the Research Councils	July 1987	1n/a
Professor Gareth Roberts Vice Chancellor, University of Sheffield	July 1989	July 1992
Sir Alfred Shepperd Former Chairman and Chief Executive, Wellcome plc	July 1989	July 1992
Dr. David Smith Consultant	July 1987	2 July 1993
Dr. William Wilkinson Deputy Chief Executive, British Nuclear Fuels plc	July 1990	July 1993
Sir Martin Wood Deputy Chairman, Oxford Instruments Group plc	July 1990	July 1993
1 Lord Chilver and Professor Sir David Phillips are ex-officio members in their capacities as chairman of the Universities Funding

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the number of those employed in his office, their position and the salary range in each case, excluding secretarial and clerical staff.

The number of those currently employed in my office excluding Secretarial and clerical staff and paid from public funds are:—

Positions Held	Grade
1 Principal Private Secretary	Grade 2
1 Private Secretary—Overseas Affairs	Grade 3
1 Private Secretary—Economic Affairs	Grade 5
1 Private Secretary—Parliamentary Affairs	Grade 7
1 Private Secretary—Home Affairs	Grade 7
1 Secretary for Appointments	Grade 5
1 Chief Press Officer	Grade 3
1 Deputy Chief Press Officer	Grade 5
1 Policy Adviser	Grade 3
1 Policy Adviser	Grade 5
1 Security Co-ordinator	Grade 7
2 Assistant Private Secretaries	SEO
1 Parliamentary Clerk	HEO
5 Special Advisers	—
3 Senior Information Officers	—
4 Higher Executive Officers	—
11 Executive Officers	—

It is not our practice to reveal the salaries of individual advisers as they are individually negotiated in relation to previous outside earnings and are therefore confidential. The rest are paid in accordance with the civil service pay scales.

To ask the Prime Minister how many television sets there are at 10 Downing street; and how many television licences are held for 10 Downing street.

Nineteen television sets are currently in use at 10 Downing Street. No licence fees are payable for television sets on Crown property used for Government purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the current members of (a) the Medical Research Council, (b) the Science and Engineering Research Council, (c) the Economic and Social Research Council, (d) the Natural Environment Research Council, (e) the Agriculture and Food Research Council and (f) the Advisory Board for the Research Councils; if he will give the date of their original appointment; and if he will detail the date on which their current terms of office will end.

The information is as follows:

Medical Research Council
Members	Date of original appointment	Date term of office ends
Sir David Plastow (Chairman)	October 1990	September 1994
Dr. D. A. Rees FRS	October 1987	July 1995
Professor I. V. Allen	August 1989	July 1993
Professor D. T. Baird	September 1989	July 1993
Mr. R. Bauman	November 1990	July 1994
Professor C. L. Berry	August 1990	July 1994
Professor M. Bobrow	November 1988	July 1994
Dr. K. C. Caiman	January 1989	—1
Sir Michael Carlisle	November 1991	July 1995
Dr. J. T. Carter	July 1983	July 1995
Dr. P. Doyle	August 1990	July 1994
Professor C. R. W. Edwards	August 1991	July 1995
Professor J. G. Evans	January 1992	July 1995
Professor R. E. Kendell	October 1991	—1
Sir Aaron Klug FRS	August 1990	July 1994
Emma Nicholson MP	August 1991	July 1995
Professor M. Peckham	January 1991	—1
Professor G. K. Radda FRS	November 1988	July 1992
Professor Sir Michael Rutter CBE FRS	August 1991	July 1995
Professor Sir Joseph Smith	November 1988	July 1992

Science and Engineering Research Council
Members	Date of original appointment	Date term of office ends
Sir Mark Richmond FRS (Chairman)	October 1990	September 1995
Professor P. Burke FRS	August 1989	July 1993
Dr. R. F. Coleman CB	June 1987	July 1994
Dr. D. A. Davis	August 1989	July 1993
Professor A. Donnachie	August 1989	July 1993
Mr. G. Fairtlough	August 1989	July 1993
Dr. K. W. Gray CBE	September 1991	July 1995
Professor R. E. Hester	July 1990	July 1994
Sir Gordon Higginson FEng	August 1989	July 1993
Professor C. Humphreys	August 1988	July 1992
Dr. S. D. Iverson	September 1991	July 1995
Dr. A. Ledwith	February 1990	July 1993
Dr. J. S. Mason	July 1990	July 1994
Mr. D. P. Nash	August 1988	July 1992
Professor R. Oxburgh FRS	September 1988	July 1992
Professor J. T. Stuart FRS	August 1989	July 1993
Dr. J. O. Thomas FRS	July 1990	July 1994
Professor D. J. Wallace FRS	August 1990	July 1994
Professor A. W. Wolfendale FRS	August 1988	July 1992

Economic and Social Research Council
Members	Date of original appointment	Date term of office ends
Professor H. J. Newby (Chairman)	October 1988	September 1992
Dr. D. Anderson	September 1989	July 1993
Professor M. Anderson	August 1990	July 1993
Professor J. M. Ashworth	September 1989	July 1993
Professor J. Beaumont	September 1989	July 1993
Mr. M. Bichard	September 1989	July 1992
Mrs. E. J. Filkin	August 1990	July 1994
Nigel Forman MP	August 1991	August 1995
Mr. J. Fox	August 1990	July 1994
Miss C. Hancock	August 1991	August 1995
Professor D. Hargreaves	August 1991	August 1995
Professor A. Hay	August 1990	July 1994
Professor L. C. Hunter CBE	September 1989	July 1992
Professor D. Kavanagh	August 1991	July 1995
Mr. H. Liesner	December 1989	July 1992
Professor S. J. Nickell	August 1990	July 1994
Mr. G. T. Pepper	December 1989	July 1993
Professor D. K. Stout	March 1989	July 1992
Mrs. M. Tuck CBE	August 1990	July 1994
Professor P. Warr	September 1989	July 1992

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to inform drugs education co-ordinators and teachers about ecstasy, its symptoms and its harmful effects.

We believe that health (formerly drugs) education co-ordinators are generally well-informed about the nature and effects of ecstasy, and are briefing teachers as necessary. It is not the Department's normal practice to distribute information on particular drugs, but we should be prepared to consider doing so if a need became apparent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those he has consulted regarding (a) changes to GCSE coursework requirements, (b) the plans for further education in the Further and Higher Education Bill, (c) the plans for the schools inspectorate in the Education (Schools) Bill and (d) the plans for higher education in the Further and Higher Education Bill.

My right hon. Friend consulted the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC), which has access to the advice of examining bodies and teachers, on changes to GCSE coursework requirements.The plans for further education underlying part I of the Further and Higher Education Bill were set out in the White Paper "Education and Training for the 21st Century" (Cm 1536). This contained an open invitation to interested parties to comment.The plans for school inspection were set out in the parents charter, which also contained an open invitation to comment. In addition, the Department of Education and Science wrote to local education authorities and relevant national bodies inviting comments on the inspection proposals. A full list is attached to the Department's letter of 2 October, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.The plans for higher education underlying part II of the Further and Higher Education Bill were set out in the White Paper "Higher Education: a New Framework" (Cm. 1541). Although the White Paper did not itself invite comments, the Government have since consulted higher education institutions and their representatives on various aspects of the new framework, as foreshadowed by the White Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the purpose of his recent visit to Mexico; who accompanied him in any official capacity; and what was the total cost to the Exchequer for him and those with him.

My visit was in response to an invitation from the Mexican Government. The Mexican Government are giving very high priority to the modernisation of their education system and they wished to share our experience of education reform particularly our policies to raise standards and improve efficiency in post-school education and training. I was also able to assist British suppliers of educational goods and services to benefit from this expanding market. I had meetings with President Salinas and with the Foreign Secretary and the Education Secretary of the Mexican Government and with several state governors.I was accompanied by a departmental private secretary and a senior official of my department. The breakdown of our costs for the visit is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current number of staff employed by the Great Britain Sports Council; and what additional numbers of staff over this number he has assumed in proposing a separate Sports Council for England and the United Kingdom Sports Commission.

A total of 542 staff are currently employed by the GB Sports Council. I see no case for additional staff to be employed as a result of its re-structuring.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table setting out the present functions of the Great Britain Sports Council, together with an indication of (a) which of these functions will be carried out solely by the proposed United Kingdom Sports Commission, (b) which of these functions will be carried out solely by the proposed Sports Council for England, (c) which of these functions will be jointly carried out by the proposed United Kingdom Sports Commission and the proposed Sports Council for England and (d) which functions of the proposed United Kingdom Sports Commission and the proposed Sports Council for England are not currently undertaken by the Great Britain Sports Council.

The functions of the Great Britain Sports Council are set out in general terms in its Royal Charter. Annexes A and B of "Sport and Active Recreation" published in December set out the functions of the United Kingdom Sports Commission and the Sports Council for England respectively. These are based on the functions of the Great Britain Sports Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 455, if he will make it his policy to request and consider responses to his consultation letter on the disposal of school playing fields from the Sports Council, the Central Council of Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association and the regional councils for sport and recreation before announcing the conclusions of his consultation exercise on this matter.

All these organisations have been sent copies of the consultation letter for information and are free to comment before any announcement is made on the conclusions of this consultation exercise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his written answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 454, and the publication of his review of Government sports policy, what calculations he made as to the likely cost of the additional offices required for a separate United Kingdom sports commission.

As I made clear in my written answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 454, the United Kingdom Sports Commission and the Sports Council for England will be funded from within the provision made available for the Great Britain Sports Council. The size and location of offices required as a result of this re-structuring will be a matter for discussion with the Great Britain Sports Council and its successor bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date he received the report from Professor Alexander, Mr. Rose and Mr. Woodhead on primary education.

My right hon. and learned Friend expects shortly to receive the report he commissioned from Professor Alexander, Mr. Rose and Mr. Woodhead. When it is published it will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will pulish a list of all HIV and hepatitis B virus research laboratories and production facilities in England and Wales.

The main Government agency for funding medical research in this country is the Medical Research Council. Its latest handbook for 1991 gives details of the location of the research which it supports. A copy has been placed in the Library.Publicly funded medical research is also conducted in universities and through the health authorities and health Departments. Information on such research and on research undertaken by companies and the medical research charities is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of Stale for Education and Science what senior appointments he expects to make to the Further Education Funding Council for England and the Higher Education Funding Council for England to be established under the Further and Higher Education Bill [Lords].

Subject to the passage of the Further and Higher Education Bill, we intend to make the following appointments.For the Further Education Funding Council for England:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration is given in allocating funds to the Open university, to the teaching and learning difficulties encountered in remote and scattered rural areas.

The Government recognise the special role of the Open university in serving those living at a distance from other higher education institutions. The Government continue to support the Open university and has funded 3,000 additional undergraduate places at the university in 1992.The funds given to the Open university are not earmarked to particular areas. However, the university has a commitment to make its services available to those living in all parts of the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to provide an equal level of funding for each school pupil; and if he will make a statement.

The schools component of standard spending assessments (SSAs) is already largely based on pupil numbers, but with an allowance, equivalent to about 20 per cent. of standard spending for schools, for the additional cost of educating pupils in areas of relative deprivation and for the relatively high labour costs of London and the south east. Authorities are not bound by SSAs, but are free to make their own decisions about total spending on schools and the distribution of funding between schools and between pupils, subject to the current LMS requirement that at least 75 per cent. of funds delegated to schools must be distributed with reference to pupil numbers. My right hon. Friend welcomes indications that LEAs are beginning to take action to narrow the gap between spending levels per pupil in the primary and secondary phases.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the pupil/teacher ratio in primary schools in Staffordshire in each of the past three years.

The "within school" pupil:teacher ratio (PTR) in primary schools in Staffordshire Local Education Authority, for each of the past three years, is given in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish the information relating to the attainment of children in key stage one tests in English, mathematics and science, and in all three subjects combined, ranking local authorities by attainment in their area at level three.

The following table ranks LEAs' combined English, mathematics and science results of the 1991 tests of seven-year-olds by the proportion of pupils attaining level three. The other information requested can be derived from the tables at annex B of the full report placed in the Library of the House on 19 December.

Key Stage 1 Assessment
LEA Ranking
LEA	Percentage at Level 3
Bromley	26
Haringey	26
Harrow	24
Richmond upon Thames	24
Merton	23
Barnet	22
Camden	22
Hackney	21
Sutton	21
West Sussex	21
Wirral	21
Gloucestershire	20
Hertfordshire	20
Isle of Wight	20
Rotherham	20
Surrey	20
Hillingdon	19
Kensington and Chelsea	19
Kirklees	19
Lewisham	19
Redbridge	19
Solihull	19
Westminster	19
Brent	18
Buckinghamshire	18
East Sussex	18
Enfield	18
Hampshire	18
North Yorkshire	18
Nottinghamshire	18
Wandsworth	18
Avon	17
Cheshire	17
Newcastle upon Tyne	17
Shropshire	17
Waltham Forest	17
Warwickshire	17
Wiltshire	17
Bedfordshire	16

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of housing stock has loft insulation.

It is estimated that over 90 per cent. of the dwellings in Great Britain with accessible lofts have loft insulation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimate of the annual costs of the local government commission when it is fully operational.

Provisional expenditure figures for the Local Government Commission will be published shortly in the departmental report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with Nottingham city council regarding the use of housing tribunals or housing courts to process actions against bad neighbours and neighbour nuisance; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has any plans to consider the issue of human settlement in the preparatory work undertaken by his Department for the forthcoming United Nations conference on environment and development;(2) what proposals Her Majesty's Government has for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development for addressing the issue of urbanisation and human settlement generally.

Early United Nations meetings concerned with drawing up the agenda for UNCED took little account of urban development and human settlements. However the United Kingdom and the other member states of the EC successfully argued that the subject should be dealt with as a major cross-sectoral issue. The secretariat's proposals to be presented to the final preparatory committee in March are expected to reflect the views put forward by the EC.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what initial screening of companies seeking to tender for the maintenance of any of the royal parks took place on grounds of a horticultural quality threshold or the company's financial position;(2) what account he has taken of the experience of individual local councils who have awarded horticultural contracts to a prospective tendering company, in drawing up short lists for maintenance of the royal parks.

[holding answer 16 January 1992]: Companies wishing to tender for garden and landscape maintenance work in the royal parks were asked to complete a pre-tender questionnaire providing details of their company finances and their contracts. This information, together with assessments of the horticultural quality of their current work by site visits and the financial viability of each company, was then considered in drawing up a short list of tenderers for each park. The experience of individual local authorities has been a relevant factor in drawing up these short lists of tenderers for garden and landscape work in the royal parks.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will disqualify any contractors proposing staffing levels signficantly below the minimum staffing levels for maintenance recommended in the 1989 consultants' report from bidding for the maintenance contract of St. James's park.

[holding answer 16 January 1992]: No. But my Department has satisfied itself that the chosen contractor will employ enough skilled and unskilled operatives to tend the gardens and grounds to our high standards—and indeed to improve on our present standards in certain respects.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution he made towards the "Manual of Environmental Policy: The EC and Britain."

[holding answer 16 January 1992]: This Department contributed £12,000 towards the Institute for European Environmental Policy's costs in researching the material for this publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to his Department of administering the national health service low income scheme for health benefits.

The NHS low income scheme is administered by the Department of Social Security on behalf of the Department of Health, on a repayment basis. Figures are available only for the three years 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92. The repayments for those years have been £8·107 million, £7·180 million and £5·137 million respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will present to Parliament the report of the Committee on the Ethics of Gene Therapy; and if he will make a statement.

The Government yesterday laid before the House the report of the Committee on the Ethics of Gene Therapy (Cm. 1788).The Committee was chaired by Sir Cecil Clothier KCB, QC. The Government are grateful to Sir Cecil and the members of this eminent committee for producing a clear and comprehensive report on a scientifically complex subject.The committee's main conclusions and recommendations are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue a definitive circular on fluoridation.

The fluoridation of water supplies is a matter for local decision. Procedural guidance was issued to health authorities in 1987, HC(87)18, a copy of which is available in the Library. There are no plans to issue any further guidance at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines the chief medical officer has issued to consultants and general practitioners on how best to treat those suffering from the use of ecstasy and similar drugs;(2) what advice has been given to general practitioners on how best to warn patients on their lists of the risks of illness and death from ecstasy and similar drugs.

The Department has recently published updated "Guidelines on Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence", a copy of which is available in the Library. These are being circulated to every doctor in England, Scotland and Wales. The guidelines include information for doctors on the problems associated with use of ecstasy and similar drugs and recommend a range of treatments for these problems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he is funding into the medical and psychological effects of use of ecstasy and similar drugs.

Exploratory work is being undertaken by a group of doctors at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley hospital to determine the possible adverse effects of ecstasy. The Department is keeping a watching brief on this and is aware of some interest in this area among other drug researchers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of illness due to use of ecstasy and similar drugs have been reported by month during 1990 and 1991.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will introduce legislation to require surgeons and dental surgeons to wear masks in combination with eye protection devices whenever splashes, spray, spatter or droplets of blood or other potentially infectious materials may be generated and eye, nose or mouth contamination can be reasonably anticipated;(2) if he will place in the Library a summary of those requirements that employers are required to meet to protect their employees who work in hospital premises from being infected with blood or other potentially infectious materials;(3) if he will introduce legislation to increase protection for employees working in health premises who have contact with laundry contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials;(4) if he will introduce legislation to ensure that all health employees who carry out phlebotomies at volunteer blood donation centres are required to wear gloves when

Legislation on health and safety at work is the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the results of energy management schemes in the national health service over the last 10 years; and what energy efficiency targets have been set for the next five years.

The National Health Service is currently saving £68 million a year through improved energy management. The cumulative savings from this source released to improved patient care in the past 10 years amounts to £379 million. The NHS is committed to achieving further savings of 15 per cent. over the five years from April 1991 as part of the Government's continuing energy efficiency campaign.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an immediate announcement on the declarations of interest in trust status submitted by the Churchill hospital and the acute services in Oxford.

I am currently considering a number of possible configurations for trusts in Oxford. My decision will be made public in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will announce a freeze on pending trust applications until after the general election.