To ask the Attorney-General how many referrals under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 have been made on the basis of alleged lenient sentences.

Since February 1989, when this part of the Criminal Justice Act came into force, I have sought the leave of the Court of Appeal to refer 69 cases, including five from Northern Ireland, in which the sentence passed appeared to me to be unduly lenient. Of these, in 36 cases the sentence was increased, seven cases were withdrawn by me, in a further 10 cases the sentence was not changed, in one case the sentence was lowered, and 15 cases remain outstanding.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish the number of applications for registration of title for land currently being dealt with by the Swansea district land registry; and if he will separately distinguish the number of those applications that have already been at the district registry in Swansea for (a) up to three months, (b) between three and six months, (c) between six and nine months, (d) between nine months and one year, (e) between one year and 15 months and (f) over 15 months.

The Swansea district land registry processes more than 58,600 applications a quarter for registration of title and currently it is holding 47,879 applications of which more than 15,000 are awaiting the results of surveys or replies to correspondence raised by the registry with applicants.The numbers within the categories of the question are as follows:

To ask the Attorney-General if he wil abolish the facility to pay an extra charge for faster registration of title to land at district land registry offices.

No. The facility referred to is a very long-standing element of the Land Registry's service to applicants. In the great majority of cases application for the registration of dealings in land are completed under the normal arrangements well before the applicant resells or otherwise deals with the land again. However, the special expedition service is needed to allow applications to be expedited in a relatively small number of cases of urgency, where the normal registration process might otherwise give rise to unacceptable delays in the conveyancing process. The fee for the special expedition service, currently a minimum of £35, is described by the Land Registration Fees Order 1991 and is required to offset the additional cost to the Land Registry of providing the service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those treaties to which the United Kingdom is a signatory which are concerned with protection of the environment giving, where appropriate, dates of signature, ratification, accession and entry into force.

The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office treaty index contains details of 12,000 treaties, agreements and protocols, many of which have environmental implications. The United Nations environment programme has 152 major treaties and other agreements recorded as being directly concerned with the environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 11 February, Official Report, column 446, what further document was requested by the British high commission when Qaiser Khan was interviewed in Islamabad.

The further document requested by the British high commission at Islamabad when the family were interviewed on 22 February 1990 was the marriage certificate of the parents of Qaiser Khan. This is still awaited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Iranian ambassador or a representative of the Iranian Government to discuss the case of Mr. Salman Rushdie.

We have raised the plight of Mr. Rushdie with the Iranian Government on many occasions and will continue to do so. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the matter with the Iranian Foreign Minister when they met in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1991. More recently, my hon. and learned Friend, the Minister of State made clear our continued concern during a call made by the Iranian charge, at his own request.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government has made to the Government of India following the publication of the report by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs supporting India's right to retain nuclear weapons capability.

We are unaware of the publication of any such report by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. However, the Indian Government are in no doubt about the importance we attach to nuclear nonproliferation. We take every opportunity to raise these issues with the Indians and encourage them to accede to the NPT, most recently when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited India in January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 17 February, if he has raised the reports of breaches of the arms embargo in (a) Serbia and (b) Croatia with his European Community partners; and what action he is taking to ensure such breaches do not take place.

Reports of violations of the arms embargo are discussed in the United Nations. When possible, we have also raised the most disquieting reports bilaterally with the authorities of the country in which they are alleged to have occurred.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, upon what principles he will base his policy towards Bosnia-Herzegovina after its proposed referendum on 28 February.

The policy will be based on the guidelines adopted by EC Ministers on 16 December 1991 and the circumstances prevailing after the referendum. The guidelines require that the state to be recognised should respect the United Nations charter; guarantee the rights of minorities; respect the inviolability of frontiers except by peaceful agreement; accept commitments on disarmament, non-proliferation, security and regional stability; and promise to settle by agreement questions of state succession and regional disputes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his European Community partners about the implications for peace in Yugoslavia and in Europe generally of the decision to hold a referendum on independence by Bosnia-Herzegovina and on how this might affect the deployment of British personnel within a United Nations peace-keeping force.

We and our European partners are in regular contact about all aspects of Yugoslavia. These issues including the question of the referendum in Bosnia-Herzegovina were discussed most recently at a meeting of European Community Foreign Ministers on 17 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 17 February, who is currently responsible for the protection of Slovenian and Croatian citizens visiting or residing in the United Kingdom.

In the absence of diplomatic or consular representation, neither the Slovenian nor the Croatian Government have appointed any third government to protect their interests in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to publish in each week a record of decisions taken at the United Nations General Assembly and its constituent committees, together with an estimate of the cost to the United Kingdom of implementing such decisions that involve United Kingdom financial commitments.

Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and its constituent committees are published as United Nations documents. Copies are placed in the Library of the House as a matter of course. The budgetary implications of each UNGA resolution are also published in UN documents. We are arranging to have these too placed in the Library as a matter of course. The United Kingdom bears 5·02 per cent. of the costs of all activities financed from the regular UN budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to make a statement on his Department's trials into new pedestrian facilties at traffic-signalled junctions including the use of infra-red devices to detect the presence and movement of pedestrians.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on Friday 14 February 1992, at column 672.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he proposes to review the discount scheme for tolls on the Severn bridge.

Following the introduction of the tolling arrangements provided for in the Severn Bridges Act 1992, the discounts for advance payment of tolls will remain at the current rates of 20 per cent. for cars, motor caravans, light vans and minibuses, and 10 per cent. for buses and goods vehicles. The detailed administration of the discount scheme will be a matter for the concessionaire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those public local inquiries into trunk road schemes for which no ministerial decision has yet been announced, with the concluding date for each of those inquiries and, where appropriate, the date on which the inspector's report and recommendations were submitted to the Secretary of State.

The following schemes in the national roads programme for England are awaiting a decision following a public inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he proposes to take in order to counter the increased level of carbon dioxide emissions from catalyst equipped motor vehicles.

Catalyst equipped vehicles are unlikely to be able to achieve the same levels of fuel economy and, hence, carbon dioxide emissions as the same vehicles without catalysts. The fitment of catalysts does, however, provide a reduction of approximately 90 per cent. in emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce the level of carbon dioxide emissions from road transport.

The Government are committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from road transport as part of the target of stabilising these emissions at 1990 levels by 2005. We have been considering, with the motor industry, the various ways in which fuel efficiency, and hence carbon dioxide emissions, might be improved by better vehicle design for all types of vehicle. The Government are considering how best to provide the necessary stimulus to improve fuel efficiency, whether through fiscal measures or regulation. At the European level, the Government are pressing the European Commission to propose a directive to control carbon dioxide emissions from the whole European car fleet using a system of tradeable credits as an alternative to direct regulation. This system is designed to improve fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide reduction, whilst allowing manufacturers the maximum flexibility to choose the technology that will best suit their individual commercial constraints.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, column 508, if he will indicate the fees, benefits in kind and receipts other than salary paid to (a) the chairman and (b) board members of London Transport for (1) 1990–91 and (2) 1991–92.

The total emoluments received in 1990–91 by the Chairman and Members of the Board, including salaries, fees, pensions and other benefits, are shown in London Transport's annual report for that year. A copy of the report has been placed in the House Library. The corresponding figures for 1991–92 will appear in that year's annual report which will be published later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport upon what date it was reported to his regional office in Nottingham that official 50 mph signs had been erected in the village of South Luffenham, Rutland; why they have since been removed; what has been the cost to public funds; and whether he will order a departmental inquiry into the procedures involved in erecting speed limits.

[holding answer 18 February 1992]: My Department was not aware that 50 mph speed limit signs had been erected and subsequently removed; nor is it aware of the costs incurred. The A6121, which runs through South Luffenham is a local road and, as such, is not the responsibility of my Department. The Secretary of State's involvement is confined to giving consent to any speed limit promoted by the local highway authority, Leicestershire county council. No consent has been granted in this case.The system for implementing speed limits is clearly laid down and I do not consider that an inquiry into the procedures involved in erecting speed limit signs is necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the results of the public inquiry into the proposed Ham Street bypass in the county of Kent.

[holding answer 13 February 1992]: The Secretary of State expects to publish the inspector's report of the public inquiries into the proposed Ham Street bypass by mid-March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will revise the standard spending assessment formula in accordance with representations received from county councils;

In each of the last two years changes to the SSA formulae have been made in response to representations from the local authority associations, including the Association of County Councils.The calculation of standard spending assessments for 1992–93, as set out in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) (No. 2) Report (England), was approved by the House on 4 February. All representations from individual local authorities including those made by Warwickshire were carefully considered prior to this.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, column 226–27, about the historic monument Leigh Barton, near Kingsbridge in Devon; how many days Leigh Barton has been open to the public since English Heritage took over its guardianship in 1984; what is the admission charged to the public; how many members of the public have been admitted in each of the last three years; and what is the estimated cost of maintenance and repair to complete the project.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 11 February, Official Report, column 429. Two supervised group visits, for which no charge was made, have taken place in the last three years; no requests for such visits have been refused. The cost of completing repairs at the property is estimated at £250,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table describing the apportionment of housing revenue account subsidy between (a) rent rebate subsidy and (b) general housing subsidy on an outturn and estimated outturn basis for financial years 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1994–95, stating the assumptions employed to produce such figures; and if he will publish a table showing a similar apportionment, if the total cost of rent rebates was met by rent rebate subsidy.

The information requested is shown in the table. The actual figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95 will depend on annual determinations of subsidy yet to be made. The table assumes that guideline rents and management and maintenance allowances for those years will be increased in line with inflation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost of capital renewal to the water supply and sewage currently under way in Cleveland.

This is a matter for Northumbrian Water, but I understand that in the year to 31 March 1992 capital investment in the Teesside area, which includes Cleveland, is expected to total £18·2 million. A further £1 million is being spent on other sewerage schemes by third parties —for example. Teesside development corporation—under Northumbrian Water supervision.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the introduction of a general licensing system to control the shooting of bird pest species will be delayed until the European Parliamentary Environmental Group and the European Commission have decided whether or how the European birds directive is to be changed.

Should such a system be introduced, it would take full account of any changes that may be made to the EC birds directive, and the need to maintain arrangements for sensible and practicable control of pest bird species where necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what work his Department is carrying out on preparing for the introduction of a closed season for bird pest species; and if he will make a statement.

There are no proposals for introducing a closed season for pest bird species.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the general rules that should be adhered to by the bidders for city challenge; what is the procedure for awarding city challenge; and how much Government money is available for bids for this year's city challenge.

The general rules and procedure relating to city challenge bids and information about available resources are contained in the documents "City Challenge Bidding Guidance 1993–94" and "City Challenge Financial Guidance Note No. 1" revision No. 2, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on his discussions with mortgage lenders and insurance companies on mortgage repossessions; and when he intends to introduce a scheme.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 19 December that agreement had been reached with mortgage lenders on a package of measures. The package included pledges by lenders of £750 million for rescue schemes to help borrowers in difficulty, with the expectation that up to £1 billion would be available if necessary.Lenders are now coming forward with details of schemes. Six lenders have so far announced schemes—Halifax building society, Nationwide building society, Leeds Permanent building society, Bradford and Bingley building society, National Westminster Home Loans and the Mortgage Corporation. Others are expected to follow soon. Lenders are also introducing improved counselling arrangements for borrowers and have given a commitment that no action will be taken to repossess properties while borrowers are making significant regular payments.The Chancellor also announced that the Government would introduce legislation for the temporary suspension of stamp duty on transactions up to £250,000 and for the direct payment to lenders of sums allowed for mortgage interest in income support. Both these measures have now passed their Commons stages.The combined effect of these measures is expected significantly to reduce the number of repossessions this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what effect Her Majesty's Government current policy on stabilising carbon dioxide emissions is forecast to have on the concentration levels of carbon dioxide in the atmoshere.

The stabilisation of emissions of carbon dioxide, if applied globally, will slow the rate of increase of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. The impact of the United Kingdom acting alone would be negligible. We therefore strongly support concerted international action to control carbon dioxide emissions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the results of his Department's inquiry concerning Holcombe moor; and if he will make a statement on the proposed future use of the land in question.

The inspector's report of the inquiry was made available to interested parties on 16 July 1991, along with details of the new condition proposed by the Ministry of Defence for limiting its use of the land for training. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes shortly to be able to say how he proposes to take matters forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the total level of local authority debt; from which sources the greatest proportions are borrowed; and what percentages mature in the short, medium and long term.

Local authority loan debt, ie debt incurred for capital purposes, in England at 31 March 1990 is estimated at £49 billion. This figure includes both internal and external debt.The chief sources of borrowing were the Public Works Loan Board—75 per cent.—and internal reserves and balances—20 per cent. Of the external debt, some 5 per cent was due to be repaid within one year, 20 per cent. in over one year but within five years, and 75 per cent. in over five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he will take in response to the failure of the London borough of Camden to make the statutory rate of return on its building maintenance work in 1989–90.

My right hon. Friend has given careful consideration to the response which the London borough of Camden has made to the notice served on the authority on 1 July 1991, and has today given a direction under section 19B of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 in respect of building maintenance work. The effect of this direction is to preclude the council from assigning housing repair and mintenance work in three of the five districts of the borough to its direct labour organisation without the express consent of the Secretary of State.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the review of the royal parks.

I am pleased to welcome today the publication of the report of the royal parks review group.The review group's report is a key part of our strategy aimed at fundamental changes and improvements in the royal parks and how we run them. We are aiming for excellence in the way the parks are kept, quality in what the parks offer and better management and value for money.We are grateful to Dame Jennifer Jenkins and her team for their efforts and their expertise. They have produced a stimulating report of interesting proposals.The group's proposals will be discussed by local amenity groups, professionals and everyday park users at a conference on 5 March. We will produce a full response to the report once we have heard what they have to say.Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee regarding the transportation of humming birds and other nectar-feeding birds; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 12 November 1991]: The Joint Nature Conservation Committee has not made any representations about the transportation of these birds. It has, however, advised that some of these species are difficult to keep in captivity. The committee is consulted about all individual applications to import these birds and and their sensitivity is taken into account in determining the applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will be considering the national shooting and farming organisations before introducing a licensing system to control the shooting of bird pest species.

Should any such licensing system be introduced, my right hon. Friend would be required to make an order to amend schedule 2 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Before making such an order, he would be required by the Act to give any local authority, or any other person affected, an opportunity to submit objections or representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he intends to accept the recornmendation of the European Commission on the protection of the dignity of women and men at work of 27 November 1991.

By means of the Council declaration of 19 December 1991 the United Kindom Government endorse the general objective of the Commission recommendation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what consideration Her Majesty's Government have given to acceding to the European convention on the legal status of migrant workers;(2) what consideration Her Majesty's Government have given to acceding to the international convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and their families.

We have considered both conventions carefully, but we are unable to sign either. The conventions go beyond this country's existing international commitments on access to labour markets and what is necessary to secure the interests of migrants working here, who already enjoy the protection of the same laws and regulations as British workers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the areas and sub-areas which compose the travel to work area of Barnstaple/Ilfracombe and South Molton, together with the number of adults and of young people included in each of them.

Barnstaple/Ilfracombe travel-to-work area—TTWA—consists of ward numbers 1 to 11 and 13 to 22 in North Devon local authority district—LAD. South Moulton TWA consists of ward numbers 24 to 29 in North Devon LAD, Taw Vale ward in Mid Devon LAD and Exmoor ward in West Somerset LAD.The latest data on age distribution of residents for wards are available from the 1981 census of population and can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Similar data from the 1991 census of population should be available towards the latter half of 1992.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the achievements of Her Majesty's Government in Hackney since 1979.

The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Teignbridge (Mr. Nicholls) on 16 December at columns

To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the information bulletin on the activities of the United Kingdom delegation to the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe and the assembly of the Western European Union, which has been sent to him.

I have done so today.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 20 February.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will give the date and location of his national seminar with planners, conservationists and farmers; if he will list the organisations, both government and non-government, which are to be invited to attend; if he will also give the same information for each of the local seminars being organised around the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 February 1992]: A national conference "The Countryside and the Rural Economy" is being held to promote the role of the planning system in balancing the needs to diversify the rural economy and to conserve and enhance the rural environment. It is being organised jointly by the Department of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and will be held on 16 March at the Royal Agricultural Society of England.More than 200 invitations have been sent to individual farmers and planners, representatives of conservation, farming, planning and other organisations with an interest in rural development, planning consultants and academics. DoE and MAFF propose to follow up this conference with a series of regional seminars, inviting people and organisations with a similar range of interests and concentrating on issues of particular concern in each area.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effect £15·2 million of grant aid to the successful applicants under European Community Regulation 866/90 will have upon the relative competitive position of companies whose projects will not be supported.

This is an EC-funded scheme and the question facing the Government was whether to allow some United Kingdom applicants to benefit or whether to allow all the money to be spent on helping their competitors in other member states. Given the impact of the internal market in 1993 the effect on unsuccessful companies of United Kingdom participation is likely to be minimal, but the overall effect of United Kingdom participation on the competitiveness of the United Kingdom industry will be to show a significant benefit. All companies submitting projects are told clearly that they have no guarantee of success given the limited resources available.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total estimated expenditure of all applications under European Community Regulation 866/90 (a) received by the MAFF and (b) recommended by the MAFF to Brussels for the latest round of grant awards.

The total amount of grant aid sought in applications submitted to MAFF in respect of projects in England for the latest round of awards under EC regulation 866/90 was £27·3 million. Of these, projects seeking a total of £6·8 million in grant were recommended to the Commission.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications under European Community Regulation 866/90 were received by his Department; and how many were subsequently recommended to Brussels for the latest round of awards.

The total number of eligible applications for grant received by MAFF for projects in England for the latest round of awards under EC regulation 866/90 was 93. Of these, 20 were recommended to the EC Commission.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the extent to which FEOGA grants militate against the creation of a level playing field for fair trade in food within the EC.

European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund grants are paid in all EC countries, and are made according to clearly defined social and economic criteria.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what criteria were applied in assessing United Kingdom applications for grant aid in the latest round of awards under EC regulations 866/90.

In order to decide which projects to put forward to Brussels under this scheme we have to apply a range of criteria derived from the appropriate EC legislation, in particular EC regulation 866/90 and Commission decision 90/342/EEC. All projects must demonstrate direct benefits to primary producers and special priority is given to projects which improve marketing structures, assist the marketing of high value products, involve substantial technological innovation, reduce the seasonality of supply or cut the costs of prepared products, the recycling of waste or use of organic produce.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications were received in each of the Community countries for grant in the latest round of awards under EC regulations 866/90; how many were successful in each country and what was the value of awards in each member country.

The information we have through our involvement in the European Commission's management committee under which this grant scheme is administered is shown in the table.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what basis it is decided to grant aid to industries which have structural problems due to over capacity.

Our overall approach has been to target sectors where there is a need for new investment. This would generally be as a result of market opportunities, but can also arise where there is a need for modernisation to improve the technical efficiency of the United Kingdom industry to enable it to compete with that in other member states.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the location of European Community intervention stores within the United Kingdom and in each case which products they contain.

Since the question concerns matters which are the direct responsibility of the chief executive of the Intervention Board executive agency, I am asking him to write directly to the hon. Member.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the further changes he intends to make to the North Pennines environmentally sensitive area.

In drawing up the Pennine Dales environmentally sensitive area scheme, which I announced on 15 January, I consulted farmers, conservationists and other bodies. I have continued to work closely with local interests, and as a result, I have concluded that further changes are needed. I will announce the details as soon as possible.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what was the total amount paid from public funds since 1980 to lenders of works of art and heritage objects to museums, galleries, libraries and public exhibitions in respect of claims satisfied under the indemnification powers given in section 16 of the National Heritage Act 1980; and if he will list the amounts paid in each year since 1980.

Central records have been maintained only since 1985. The total amount paid under the Government indemnity scheme from then to the present time is £149,000. The amounts paid in each year are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current level of funding to the Sports Council for Wales; what proportion it represents of total Welsh Office expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

Grant-in-aid to the Sports Council for Wales for the current financial year is £5·2 million. This represents just under 0·1 per cent. of the forecast outturn—£5,286 million—for total Welsh Office expenditure as published in Cm. 1916.Welsh Office support is also given to other bodies in respect of specific sports-related projects under the urban programme, rural initiative and PRNI—projects of regional and national importance—and SP—special projects—schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to develop Welsh medium education in Abergavenny; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for Gwent county council as the responsible local education authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many sites of special scientific interest are currently designated in Wales; what means exist to monitor loss and damage to sites of special scientific interest in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

A total of 827 sites of special scientific interest have so far been designated in Wales. The Countryside Council for Wales monitors these sites through its site integrity monitoring programme. 'This process involves undertaking a rolling programme of visits and collecting and examining relevant photographic evidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to claw back financial assistance given under the European Community's Leader programme from the moneys allocated to the Development Board for Rural Wales and the Welsh Development Agency for the forthcoming financial year.

The likely level of EC receipts arising from the Leader initiative was taken into account in arriving at the grant in aid settlements for the respective agencies for 1992–93.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish figures showing the average number of NHS general practitioner consultations in Wales per person, per year from 1977 to 1991 according to each age category.

Information is readily available only for the years shown in the table.:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money his Department is making available to local housing authorities in Wales to deal specifically with problems of condensation and dampness in council housing stock; what is his assessment of the extent of the problem in Wales; and what are the prospects of achieving a solution.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 5 February. The results of the 1986 Welsh house condition survey indicated serious problems of dampness in 0·3 per cent. of the local authority stock.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the projected number of single-person elderly households in Wales for each year from 1986 to 2001; and how many are estimated to be (a) male and (b) female.

The most recently published estimates of single person elderly households are those in table 3 of the "1989-Based Household Projections for Counties of Wales" a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Comparable figures for 1986 are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) private, (b) voluntary, (c) local authority and (d) long-stay national health service places were made available for elderly people in Wales in each year from 1977 onwards.

The available information concerning beds and places is given in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will publish figures for in-patient bed days per 1,000 population in non-psychiatric hospitals in Wales in each year from 1979, broken down into age categories;(2) how many in-patient admissions per 1,000 population into non-psychiatric hospitals have occurred in Wales in each year since 1979; and if he will publish the figures according to age category.

Information is collected on the basis of in-patient discharges, including deaths, from hospital rather than admissions to NHS hospitals in Wales.Bed days and in-patient deaths and discharges per 1,000 population in non-psychiatric NHS hospitals in Wales, by age of patient on discharge, are given in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the six highest and the six lowest numbers of electors in parliamentary constituencies in Wales; and what is the average constituency electorate in Wales.

The six parliamentary constituencies with the highest number of electors and the six parliamentary constituencies with the lowest number of electors in Wales at 1991 are as follows. The average electorate of a parliamentary constituency in Wales was 58,086.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the acreage of each of the, six geographically largest parliamentary constituencies in Wales.

The six geographically largest parliamentary constituencies in Wales are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give figures for the number of people accepted by local authorities in Wales as homeless under part III of the Housing Act 1985 between January and December 1991, by district, compared with the previous year.

The information is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients from within Gwent with kidney disorder are treated by dialysis at centres outside Gwent; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not collected centrally. The hon. Gentleman may wish to approach Gwent district health authority about this.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce his decision on current planning applications for golf courses in the Wye valley area of outstanding natural beauty; and if he will make a statement.

Planning applications for golf courses at Porthcasseg farm, St. Aryan's Chepstow and at Croes Bleddyn farm, Itton, Chepstow were called in for my determination on 7 February. Following receipt of documents from Monmouth borough council, consideration is now being given to holding public local inquiries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines are issued to local authority planning departments with regard to development in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Planning guidance on development in areas of outstanding natural beauty may be found in the following planning policy guidance—PPG—and minerals planning guidance—MPG—notes issued jointly by the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office:

• PPG7 "The Countryside and Rural Economy" (paras: 3.8–3.11);
• MPGI "General Considerations and the Development Plan System" (para: 43);
• MPG2 "Applications, Permissions and Conditions" (para: 39);
• MPG3 "Opencast Coal Mining" (para: 14); and
• MPG6 "Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in England and Wales" (para: 20).

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of all the visits made by Her Majesty's inspectors of education to schools in the Monmouth constituency since September 1990.

All secondary schools and over 70 per cent. of the primary schools in the Monmouth constituency have been visited by Her Majesty's inspectors of schools since September 1990. In secondary schools these visits have included surveys of mathematics, science and music; in primary schools they have included two full inspections and surveys of music, Welsh, history, geography, school-industry links and arrangements for teacher appraisal. The monitoring of the implementation of the national curriculum has received priority in the routine visits to schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what announcements he has made regarding the reduction in standard spending assessment for Monmouth borough council for 1992–93 since it was first announced; and what was the reason for the reduction.

The final local authority standard spending assessments were set out in the settlement reports laid before the House on 10 February and debated and approved by Parliament on 12 February. Recalculation of the provisional SSAs laid before the House on 20 January took account of the increase in resources for teachers' pay. To achieve consistency, it was also necessary to take account of other data changes. These altered the relativity of individual district authority SSAs within the overall amount of total standard spending allocated to district authorities which was unchanged.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research is available to him regarding (a) the incidence and (b) the effects of hydatid disease on animals and humans in Gwent; and if he will make a statement.

Information on the incidence of human hydatid disease in Gwent for the period 1974 to 1983 is contained within the published report "The Changing Incidence of Human Hydatid Disease in England and Wales" by S. R. Palmer and Ann H. B. Biffen. The communicable disease surveillance centre (Wales) is currently working on an updated survey covering the period 1984 to 1990. This survey will again include data for Gwent. The results are expected later this year.A considerable body of research exists into the effects of hydatid disease in humans, though none specific to Gwent.As far as farm animals are concerned hydatidosis is not a notifiable disease, and there are no official statistics available on incidence. The disease causes little discomfort in farm animals affected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has for a renal dialysis unit for Gwent health authority; and what is the estimated cost of such a unit.

This is a matter for Gwent district health authority. No proposals have been made by the authority to the Welsh Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the number of staff graded as general or senior managers in the health service in Wales on 1 January 1986; and what was the corresponding number on 1 September 1991;(2) what was the number of administrative and clerical staff in the health service in Wales on 1 January 1986; and what is the corresponding figure for 1 September 1991.

[holding answer 14 February 1992]: On 31 January 1986 there were 6,805 whole-time equivalent administrative and clerical staff employed by the health service in Wales, including staff employed by district health authorities, by the Welsh Health Common Services Authority, and by certain family health services authorities which share the payroll system from which this information is derived, but excluding information for other FHSAs. The figure for 30 September 1991 was 8,733.Of the September 1991 figure, 693 whole-time equivalents were graded as general or senior managers, including "second tranche" senior managers reporting to general managers or management board/teams. Due to changes in the grading structure of managerial staff between 1986 and 1989, a comparable figure for 1986 is not available.Administrative and clerical staff costs as a proportion of the National Health Service pay bill in Wales have fallen from 12·2 per cent. in 1979 to 10·9 per cent. in 1991. Authorities often differ in their approach to coding jobs for record purposes. Advice is to be issued shortly to ensure that staff figures are derived on a common basis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table showing, by range of total income, for those (a) under and (b) over 65 years, the number of increases to the tax yield and estimated average rates of income tax payable in 1990–91, broken down by bands of £1,000s to £10,000, £2,000s to £20,000, £5,000s to £50,000 and £50,000s to £500,000, distinguishing between single persons, married and single persons qualifying for married allowance and other married persons.

The available information on average rates of tax is in the tables. Estimates of increases in tax yield could be made only by reference to an alternative tax regime.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the loss of revenue from taxation of investment income at (a) standard rate and (b) higher rates as a result of independent taxation of men and women; and how much of this loss results from the transfer of taxable assets for husbands to wives.

An estimate of the total direct revenue cost of independent taxation was given in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1988–89". The further analysis requested is not readily available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will bring up to date, for 1990–91, his answer of 19 October 1988, Official Report, columns 921–24, concerning investment income, replacing the categories for married couples with and without earned income with (a) married and other persons qualifying for a married allowance and (b) married persons entitled only to a single allowance.