To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the tolls on the Severn bridge from its opening till the present; and if he will make a statement.

The information is as follows:

	Motor cycles	Cars	Small goods/buses	Large goods/buses
September 1966	1s.0d	2s.6d	2s.6d	2s.6d
February 1971	5p	12½p	12½p	12½p
March 1973	5p	12p	12p	12p
August 1979	10p	20p	20p	40p
June 1983	—	50p	50p	£1·00
December 19851	—	20p	20p	40p
January 19872	—	50p	50p	£1·00
December 1989	—	£1·00	£1·00	£2·00
April 1992	—	3£2·80	3£5·60	3£8·40
1 Reduced to 1979 levels following High Court judgement.
2 Reinstated toll levels following House of Lords ruling.
3 One-way toll (westbound)—eastbound is free.

These toll charges reflect the cost of providing and maintaining the Severn bridge. The increases in April 1992 will additionally help to meet the cost of providing a second crossing, which is due to open in 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since 1 November 1991.

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 include questions of opinion. The answer on 5 November 1991 to the hon. Member referred to 69 surveys of all types reported to the Department's survey control unit in 1991. A further 47 have been reported since and I am sending a list of these to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total sum paid out in fees by his Department to management consultants in 1979–80 and in each following year up to and including 1991–92; and what is his estimate for 1992–93.

The latest figures for fees paid by the Department to management consultants are as follows:

	£
1984–85	250,000
1985–86	272,000
1986–87	218,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when it is intended that the draft orders for the M6 to M56 section of the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road be issued.

This summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive a formal application from British Coal for an extra junction on the M6 near Corley Moor to the west of the Corley service station; and if he will make a statement.

It would be for Warwickshire county council as highway authority for local roads to decide to request the Department to include in its programme an extra junction on the M6 near Corley Moor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects the public consultation to take place in respect of (a) the M56 to A580 and (b) the A580 to M66 sections of the Greater Manchester western and northern relief road.

I expect public consultation on the M56 to M62 section of the Greater Manchester northern relief road to start later this year. I cannot yet give a date for consultation on the section between the M62 and M66.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many private and public sector properties are currently vacant in the city of Liverpool; what incentives he will provide to Liverpool city council to introduce homesteading schemes; what penalties he will impose on private and public sector landlords who fail to let properties; what is the estimated annual rent and community charge lost on empty private and public sector properties (a) throughout the United Kingdom and (b) in Liverpool; if he will meet leaders of Liverpool city council to discuss a plan of action; and if he will make a statement.

At 1 April 1991, the number of vacant properties in Liverpool was 5,733 local authority, 843 housing association and 7,908 privately owned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 21 May, Official Report, column 221, by the Minister for Energy, what proposals he has for encouragement of combined heat and power schemes in the renewables sector; and if he will make a statement.

The Energy Efficiency Office—EEO—through its best practice programme, continues to promote the wider application of combined heat and power—CHP—schemes in all appropriate sectors of the United Kingdom economy regardless of the fuel used.Where a CHP plant uses a fuel such as waste it may also benefit from the Government's programme to promote the development of renewable energy sources. This programme is run by the Department of Trade and Industry, which works in close collaboration with the EEO on CHP schemes using alternative fuels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it is his intention that local authorities should have a veto on applications for opencast mining.

No. It is for the mineral planning authority as the elected representatives of the local community in the first instance to decide in any particular case whether planning permission should be granted having regard to all the material considerations, including the potential impact of the development on the environment and local residents. However, it is a fundamental of the land use planning system that the applicant has the right of appeal to the Secretary of State against a mineral planning authority's refusal of an application.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response Her Majesty's Government have made to the environmental action programme 1993–2000 launched by Commissioner Ripa di Meana on 18 March.

The Government played a full part in discussions leading to the adoption, at the Environment Council on 26 May, of preliminary conclusions concerning the environmental action programme "Towards Sustainability". The Council welcomed the presentation by the European Commission of the programme and undertook to ensure that the programme will be discussed so that it can become operative by 1 January 1993 following the adoption of a resolution by the Council. Preparation of the resolution will fall to the United Kingdom presidency of the Council.The Government have set out their initial views on the programme in an explanatory memorandum which will be presented to the Select Committee on European Legislation when the Committee is reconstituted. Copies of the explanatory memorandum have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what action is being taken following the recommendation by the House of Commons Environment Committee concerning the harmonisation of planning control above and below low watermark;(2) if he will consider extending local authority planning control to the 12-nautical mile limit of territorial waters.

In its second report of last Session, the Environment Select Committee made several recommendations on the issue of harmonising landward planning control and seaward regulations as far as the 12-nautical mile limit of territorial waters. We are considering the report and will respond in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Contaminated Land Registry with particular reference to its timing, its implications on planning and liabilities on owners of land on the register.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 14 May, at column 198.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Environment Council on 26 May.

My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside and I represented the United Kingdom at the Environment Council on 26 May.The Council approved a new directive on air pollution by ozone. The directive requires the monitoring of atmospheric concentrations of ozone throughout the Community on a consistent basis; the sharing of selected monitoring information between member states and the Commission; and the issuing of information and of precautionary health warnings to the public in the event of ozone concentrations exceeding specific thresholds. It also requires the Commission, four years after entry into force of the directive, to put a report to the Council on the monitoring data collected by member states, with proposals on the control of air pollition by ozone.The Council adopted conclusions on the framework convention on climate change and agreed that the convention constituted a significant first step in tackling this global problem. They urged all countries to sign the convention during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and to ratify it as soon as possible, and agreed that the Community should also sign it. The Council also supported the continuation of the climate change negotiations to begin in autumn 1992 and stressed the readiness of the Community to contribute actively to this work.The Commission gave a brief presentation on the state of their preparations to present to the Council proposals for a strategy for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, which would include proposals for a carbon/energy tax.In advance of UNCED, the Council adopted preliminary conclusions welcoming the presentation by the Commission of the fifth environmental action programme, entitled "Towards Sustainability". It noted the contents of the programme and undertook to accord the highest priority to consideration of the programme in the light of UNCED and the opinions of the European Parliament and the economic and social committee, so that, following the adoption of a resolution by the Council, the programme can become operative by 1 January 1993.The Council discussed informally the state of preparations for UNCED.The Council discussed at length a draft Council regulation on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community. The regulation is intended to update existing Community legislation on the control of transboundary movements of waste and to enable member states to ratify the United Nations Environment Programme convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. Much progress was made towards the achievement of a common position, but owing to continuing differences of view on the question of national self-sufficiency in the disposal of waste, the Council was unable to reach agreement on this occasion.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will issue guidance to the local government commission and announce its work programme.

I have today issued to the local authority associations and other organisations with an interest the policy guidance I intend to issue to the new local government commission. It takes account of the comments we received on the draft guidance issued last November. I have also today issued draft procedure guidance for the local government commission. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library of the House and additional copies are available in the Vote Office.I intend to direct the local government commission to undertake a rolling programme of reviews of the shire counties of England, area by area. Review will be carried out in five tranches. The areas to be covered in each tranche are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to draw advances from the Contingencies Fund in 1992–93.

Yes. In February my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that the Government would be providing £55 million of Government support towards Manchester's bid to host the 2000 Olympic games. Most of this funding will be used to provide sports facilities, but £2 million is to be used to help the Manchester Olympics bid committee fund the bid itself. Funding of the work on the bid will form a new service and parliamentary approval to it will be sought in a summer supplementary estimate for the urban aid and derelict land reclamation vote—class VIII, vote 3. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £900,000 will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.In addition, I shall be taking a further advance from the Contingencies Fund to meet the immediate administration and project development costs of the Birmingham Heartlands urban development corporation. Parliament approved the statutory order establishing this corporation on 10 March 1992 and Parliament's approval of the associated new expenditure will be sought in a supplementary estimate also for the urban aid and derelict land reclamation vote—class VIII, vote 3. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £300,000 will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has made any changes to the Building Regulations 1991, or the guidance in the associated draft approved documents, which came into force on 1 June; and if he will make a statement.

The Building Regulations 1991 were laid before Parliament on 10 December 1991 and, subject to certain transitional provisions, came into force on 1 June 1992.The main technical changes brought about by the regulations relate to regulation 7 (materials and workmanship), part A (structure), part B (fire safety), part C (site preparation and resistance to moisture), part E (resistance to the passage of sound), part G (hygiene), part K (stairs, ramps and guards) and part M (access and facilities for disabled people) and a new part N (glazing —materials and protection).In conjunction with the coming into effect of the new regulations, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has approved, for the purpose of giving practical guidance on ways of meeting the amended technical requirements of the regulations, the "approved documents" which were also published in December. To bring the statutory guidance fully up to date, HMSO has published an amendments document—"The Building Regulations 1991: Amendments 1992"—which contains corrections, clarifications and revisions to both the new approved documents and those existing editions which will remain approved for the purposes of the 1991 regulations —parts 3 (toxic substances), F (ventilation), H (drainage and waste disposal), J (heat producing applications) and L (conservation of fuel and power). A copy of the amendments document will be placed in the Library of the House.The new statutory guidance on the requirements for means of escape in case of fire—approved document B (fire safety)—will now have the practical effect of requiring that smoke detectors are fitted in all new and converted dwellings. As a result of this change, the provisions of the Smoke Detectors Act 1991 are unnecessary, and we have therefore decided, on the advice of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, not to bring that Act into force.The Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations, which were laid before Parliament on 28 May, make a minor preocedural amendment to regulation 13 of the Building Regulations 1991, which is necessary to remove an unnecessary administrative burden on builders and developers that was inadvertently introduced in those regulations. The amendment ensures that extra copies of fire safety plans are not required to be deposited where the work relates to a dwelling-house or flat, and comes into effect on 26 June 1992.The Department has issued a joint circular with the Welsh Office—DOE circular 13/92, Welsh Office circular 29/92—to all building control authorities in England and Wales, and approved inspectors, giving general guidance on the main procedural changes which will arise on the coming into effect of the new regulations, and other administrative matters arising as a consequence. The circular also contains details of all the approved documents. A copy of the circular has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to ensure that all lists of candidates for public appointments contain equal numbers of men and women.

All appointments to public bodies are made on the basis of aptitude and merit. It is Government policy for all shortlists prepared for Ministers' consideration to include the names of women or for good reasons to be given for the absence of such names.

To ask the Prime Minister what steps he will take to ensure that there is a permanent ban on all commercial whaling in United Kingdom and EC waters.

Whaling within United Kingdom fishery limits is already banned and the sale and purchase of whale products by EC member states are prohibited through the Community implementation of the convention on international trade in endangered species.

To ask the Prime Minister how often the ministerial committee on the environment has met since 10 April; when the next meeting is planned; what will be on the agenda of the next meeting; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Austin-Walker) on 2 June, at column 394.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will now make it his policy to disclose how many files on (a) individuals and (b) organisations are kept by (i) the Security Service and (ii) the Secret Intelligence Service; what is his policy on the destruction of files held by these services; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the conclusions of the Security Service Commissioner who said in his report for 1991 that he found the Security Service's general policy on retention of records acceptable.

To ask the Prime Minister which Government Department will be responsible for overseeing the application of nuclear safeguards and the transmission of safeguards data to the Euratom and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards directorates on United Kingdom facilities following the closure of the Department of Energy.

The Department of Trade and Industry.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to raise the issue of nuclear warhead testing and the prospects for a global halt during his next meeting with President Bush.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 12 May, at column 90.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his discussions in Prague with President Havel, in relation to the theft of Bohemian ecclesiastical wood carvings, and their subsequent sale in the West.

[holding answer 2 June 1992]: I raised this issue with a senior colleague of President Havel. I have instructed our ambassador to follow up that discussion in greater detail.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will give separate figures for the spending by the Cabinet Office on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979–80 and in each following year up to and including 1991–92; and what is his latest estimate for 1992–93.

[holding answer 2 June 1992]: The information requested is not available for the years before 1987–88. For the years from 1987–88 the information is as follows:

Year	Television £	Radio £	Newspaper £	Other £
1987–88	Nil	Nil	Nil	19,306
1988–89	Nil	Nil	Nil	9,500
1989–90	Nil	Nil	Nil	14,833
1990–91	Nil	Nil	Nil	876
1 1991–92	Nil	Nil	Nil	10,478
1 1992–93	Nil	Nil	Nil	1,000
1 Estimated figures.

In addition, there was estimated expenditure in 1991–92 on advertising associated with the citizens charter of £811,911 on newspaper advertising and £202,134 on other advertising. Similar expenditure in 1992–93 is provisionally estimated at £165,000 on television advertising, £495,000 on newspaper advertising and £621,000 on other advertising.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations he has received regarding funding and staffing of UKIAS; and if he will make a statement;

Notifiable offences recorded by the police per 100,000 population
	Offences per 100,000 population					Offences per 100,000 population, index 1987 = 100
Police force area	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991
Avon and Somerset	7,225	6,996	7,087	8,987	10,582	100	97	98	124	146
Bedfordshire	7,814	7,505	7,704	10,110	10,667	100	96	99	129	137
Cambridgeshire	5,368	5,279	5,668	6,803	8,753	100	98	106	127	163
Cheshire	5,428	5,152	5,016	5,786	6,913	100	95	92	107	127
Cleveland	10,803	10,546	10,984	13,363	14,137	100	98	102	124	131
Cumbria	5,889	5,597	5,762	6,782	9,162	100	95	98	115	156
Derbyshire	5,096	4,703	5,284	6,501	8,106	100	92	104	128	159
Devon and Cornwall	5,148	4,994	5,196	6,167	7,224	100	97	101	120	140
Dorset	6,058	5,534	6,077	7,294	7,831	100	91	100	120	129
Durham	7,509	7,413	7,723	9,114	10,881	100	99	103	121	145

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 18 May 1992 at column 10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent advice he has received from the Firearms Consultative Committee concerning replica firearms; and if he will make a statement.

The Firearms Consultative Committee advised the then Home Secretary that neither a ban nor licensing controls on replica firearms would be either feasible or effective. The committee recommended extending the range of offences which apply to the misuse of replicas. This recommendation is under consideration with the prosecuting authorities and the police service. The committee also recommended that warning labels about the heavy penalties which apply to misuse should be incorporated on the packaging of imitation firearms. Consultations have been held with the trade whose views are being carefully considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review his policy of reducing the number of dispersal prisons.

My predecessor announced in 1989 that the number of disperal prisons would be reduced from eight to six. There are at present no plans to vary this number.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the number of incidents recorded (a) per uniformed officer and (b) per head of population in each police authority area in Britain over the last five years including 1991–92 and an index of the increase in each area with year one as the base.

The available information relates to the number of offences recorded by the police per officer and per 100,000 population for the years 1987 to 1991 and is contained in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms and shotgun certificates have been issued on Merseyside in each of the years 1986 to 1991; and what information he has about the numbers of firearms and shotguns stolen in the county during the same period.

The number of applications for new firearm and shotgun certificates granted and the number of certificates renewed by the Merseyside police force in each year from 1986 to 1990, are shown in tables 2 and 4 of Home Office statistical bulletin Nos. 2/88, 33/88, 18/89, 26/90 and 23/91. Copies of these bulletins are in the Library.The total number of offences of burglary and theft recorded by Merseyside police force in which one or more firearms were reported as stolen and the number of these in which the principal weapon stolen was a shotgun is shown in the table for each year between 1986 and 1990.

Burglaries and thefts reported by the police in which firearms were reported to have been stolen
Merseyside police force area		Number of offences1
Year	Total	Number where shotgun the principal weapon
1986	104	13
1987	103	10
1988	71	7
1989	64	11
1990	59	7
1 More than one firearm may have been stolen in each offence.

Figures for 1991 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the desirability of amending the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 in the light of the recent acquittal in the case involving the death of a 36-week unborn child.

I understand that the acquittal referred to by the hon. Member concerned a charge of manslaughter, of which a person may be convicted if it can be proved that the victim was born alive and subsequently died as the result of injuries received whilst in the womb. Neither the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, which makes it an offence intentionally to destroy the life of an unborn child capable of being born alive, nor the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, which disapplied the 1929 Act from abortions carried out in accordance with the conditions of the Abortion Act 1967, is therefore directly relevant to this case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were referred to the Court of Appeal criminal division on a point of law under section 17(1) of the Criminal Appeals Act 1968 by his predecessors in each year since 1981.

Two: one in 1990 and one in 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the requirement for visas for Polish nationals who visit the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Since the beginning of last year, about 160 representations have been received from right hon. and hon. Members and about 75 letters from members of the public.After a further review of the need for a visa requirement for Polish nationals, the Prime Minister decided to lift it with effect from 1 July.The position will be reviewed after two years in the light of experience of the effects of this change.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bail hostels in England and Wales have been sited in villages.

There are currently 28 bail and 81 probation/bail hostels in England and Wales. Of these, three bail and 12 probation/bail hostels are located in smaller communities outside urban areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will set out the statutory procedures, step by step, which are required prior to a decision for siting a bail hostel being made.

Hostels are established under powers given by section 49 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973. The procedure is for the relevant area probation or voluntary management committee to decide upon the exact location of a hostel and to obtain the necessary planning consent locally.Apart from obtaining planning permission from the relevant planning authority, there are no statutory procedures laid down for the siting of bail hostels.The Home Office is now producing guidance on developing new hostels which will include matters concerning local consultation when a particular site is being considered. In future probation and voluntary committees will have to follow this guidance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the case of John Kamara, details of whom have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside.

Representations about Mr. Kamara's case have been considered in the light of inquiries made, but we have concluded that the information currently available does not provide sufficient grounds to justify any intervention in this conviction.I have written to the hon. Member in more detail about the case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to amend the criminal law relating to the possession or use of offensive weapons; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has no plans to amend the law in this area.Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence in England and Wales to possess in public a bladed or sharply pointed article with the onus on the carrier to show that he has good reason. This measure supplemented the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 which makes it an offence for a person to have an offensive weapon in a public place without reasonable excuse or lawful authority.The courts have available and use severe penalties to deal with offenders whose crimes involve the use of offensive weapons. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 will enhance the power of the courts to protect the public from serious harm from a violent offender.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the revenues which have accrued to the Exchequer through domestic sales of Irish whiskey in each of the past 10 years.

The only available information is in respect of VAT and excise duty accruing from domestic sales of all whisky produced in the United Kingdom for which I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Moray (Mrs. Ewing) on 20 May 1992, at column 181.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to include a gender impact statement as an integral part of future Budget and Financial Statements.

No.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will encourage British banks to compete within the EC.

The United Kingdom has been in the forefront of those arguing in Brussels for measures that will create a single market in banking in the EC. The second banking directive, together with a series of directives harmonising prudential rules across the EC, will come into force in January 1993. This will result in the removal of barriers to cross-border expansion and improved competitive opportunities for British banks wishing to do business throughout the Community.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken to implement the EC money laundering directive.

The Treasury has issued a consultation paper on the implementation of this directive. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the method of calculating and presenting Britain's balance of payments figures will be altered after the establishment of the European single market in January 1993.

Yes. The changes stem from the abolition of most Customs controls on intra-Community trade. Customs declarations, the current source of the statistics of visible trade, will no longer be available. Instead, a new system of monthly returns, linked to VAT returns, has been devised. Known as Intrastat, it is governed by Council regulation (EEC) No. 3330/91 of 7 November 1991. Further details have been deposited in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he expects in the role and duties of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise after the establishment of a European single market in January 1993.

With the creation of the single market, fiscal frontiers between member states will disappear. As from 1 January 1993, there will be no routine or systematic customs formalities and goods will move freely across internal EC frontiers. The collection of VAT, excise duty and statistics on intra-EC trade at the frontier will be replaced by arrangements based on the provision of periodic returns by companies controlled at their own premises and linked to the domestic VAT and excise systems. As a result there will be a major shift of resource and effort from frontier to inland locations.There will be no restrictions on tax and duty-paid goods purchased for personal use in the single market. The use of the red and green channels will also cease. Although duty-free allowances will continue for the time being, control will be exercised on the vendor rather than passengers at the point of entry into the United Kingdom.Customs currently operate a wide range of controls at the frontier which are carried out on behalf of other Government Departments, for example health checks on intra-EC traffic in animals and plants. The single market will mean that routine regulatory controls of this kind at internal EC borders will cease. The restrictions that remain will be controlled inland, with any documentary checks divorced from the physical movement of the goods.However, anti-smuggling spot checks will continue particularly to combat illicit drug trafficking in respect of traffic from inside as well as outside the EC after 1 January 1993. Customs are creating a more flexible, mobile, better targeted and highly selective system of checks for this purpose, operating on the basis of risk assessment, intelligence and profiling which will result in far less obtrusive controls. Customs activity at the frontier will continue to form part of a national integrated law enforcement effort against illicit goods.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what documents, in addition to the formal draft statute, he will base his formal consultation exercise in regard to the draft European co-operative statute; and if he will place copies of all such documents and any circulars on the topic in the Library.

The combined consultative document will be based on all three draft "social economy" statutes, along with the accompanying employee participation directives. In drafting this consultative document, due notice will be taken of the consultation exercise carried out by the DTI in January 1992, in respect of the European company statute, on which many of the provisions of the "social economy" statutes are based. Copies of the draft statutes and directives are already in the Library and a copy of the consultative document will be placed there in due course.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Bank of England will respond to the second report of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee of Session 1991–92, "Banking Supervision and BCCI: The Role of Local Authorities and Money Brokers".

I understand that the Bank of England has now responded to the second report of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee in Session 1991–92, "Banking Supervision and BCCI: The Role of Local Authorities and Money Brokers". A copy of this response has been placed in the Library, together with the revised edition of the London code of conduct for principals and broking firms in the wholesale markets, which was issued by the bank on 29 May.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conditionality has been applied over the funding of a stabilisation fund for the Russian rouble; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the communiqués issued by the G7 and G10 on 26 and 27 April 1992 respectively, which are being placed in the Library of the House.At meetings in Washington on 26 and 27 April, the G7 and G10 supported the intention to establish a rouble stabilisation fund provided appropriate conditions were met. The fund, which would operate in conjunction with a comprehensive IMF programme, would be intended to help stabilise the rouble, facilitate convertibility of the currency, and promote confidence in the Russian reform effort.The exact conditions that will need to be satisfied before funding is made available for a stabilisation fund will be determined by the IMF and G10 in consultation with the Russian authorities. These conditions will include the implementation of an agreed IMF programme. It is clear that a stabilisation fund would be effective only once a significant tightening of monetary policies had taken place, an appropriate exchange rate regime had, in the opinion of the IMF, been established, and an effective agreement had been reached on the management of monetary policy across the rouble area.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent the individual policies of economic management pursued by each of the CIS republics will be able to influence the success of a rouble stabilisation fund for Russia.

A rouble stabilisation fund could be successful only once effective agreements had been reached on the management of monetary policy across the rouble area. Before a rouble stabilisation fund is put in place the IMF will need to satisfy itself that appropriately tight monetary policies are being followed in Russia and all other states which use the rouble.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if moneys being allocated for a rouble stabilisation fund, if drawn on, will be subject to repayment by any of those countries that comprise the Commonwealth of Independent States.

G10 Finance Ministers, meeting in Washington on 27 April, agreed that a rouble stabilisation fund could be financed by the IMF which would provide Russia with enhanced access to its resources, which in turn would be replenished through lending to the IMF by participating countries under the general arrangements to borrow—GAB. Such a stabilisation fund would be put in place only if Russia agreed a programme with the IMF. National contributions to the IMF under the GAB would be matched by the acquisition of claims on the IMF. All funds made available by the IMF to Russia, either through an IMF standby arrangement or a rouble stabilisation fund, would be fully repaid in accordance with criteria established by the IMF.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the nature of the G7 package of support for the Commonwealth of Independent States as a whole and each of its constituent republics; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the communiqués issued by the G7 and G10 on 26 and 27 April 1992 respectively, which are being placed in the Library of the House.The G7 has expressed its commitment to support Russia's reform effort during the difficult period of transition by providing the recently announced !24 billion multilateral financial assistance package within the context of an agreed IMF programme. To this end, the G7 is prepared to provide up to !18 billion through substantial bilateral assistance, together with other countries, and through supporting significant financial resources from the international financial institutions. In addition, the G10 has supported the intention to establish a !6 billion rouble stabilisation fund.No similar package has been announced for the other states of the former Soviet Union.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give separate figures for the spending by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979–80 and in each following year up to and including 1991–92; and what is his latest estimate for 1992–93.

[holding answer 2 June 1992]: The expenditure by Her Majesty's Treasury—excluding the BT share offer—on advertising and other promotional material is as follows.The expenditure for 1988–89 was £49,310, that for 1989–90 was £52,486, that for 1990–91 £43,581 and that for 1991–92 was £104,602—none of which was on television or radio. The estimate for 1992–93 is £72,500. Comparable figures for earlier years are unavailable because of machinery of government changes and could only be given at disproportionate cost.BT share offer advertising costs were £20,000,000 for 1991–92.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total sum paid out in fees by his Department to management consultants in 1979–80 and in each following year up to and including 1991–92; and what is his estimate for 1992–93.

[holding answer 2 June 1992]: The expenditure by Her Majesty's Treasury, excluding the BT share offer, on fees for management consultants is as follows:The expenditure for 1990–91 was £2,715,831, that for 1991–92 was £3,203,727 and estimate for 1992–93 is £3,697,304. For figures for earlier years I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 1 May 1991, at column

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since 1 November 1991.

[holding answer 2 June 1992]: The following public opinion surveys have been carried out on behalf of the Treasury since 1 November:

• January—February NOP Share Ownership Survey.

The following surveys were also carried out on behalf of the Treasury but in relation to the BT share offer:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress was made at ECOFIN on 19 May with discussions on the draft capital adequacy directive; and when he expects the directive next to be discussed and a common position to be reached.

[holding answer 2 June 1992]: I refer my hon. Friend to the report by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the ECOFIN on 19 May, at columns 279–82. The next meeting of the ECOFIN takes place on 9 June when the CAD is likely to be discussed further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost to public funds for a tattoo to be removed.

This information is not available centrally. The cost will vary according to such factors as the size and type of tattoo to be removed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tattoos have been removed under the national health service for each of the most recent years for which figures are available.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will issue advice to tattooists on the advice to give potential customers about the ease with which tattoos can be removed.

The decision to have a tattoo is a matter for individual freedom of choice. We would expect that tattooists inform customers of the ease of removal as part of normal good practice. The Department has issued model byelaws which enable local authorities to satisfy themselves that any premises offering skin piercing procedures are safe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each health authority in England and Wales the number of patients waiting for operations; and of those how many are waiting for the removal of tattoos.