Written Answers

                    The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.
                

Written Answers To Questions

Wednesday 21 October 1992

Northern Ireland

Water Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what were the standard costs of mains water and sewerage installation in the constituency of South Down from 1 April 1980 to 31 March 1992;(2) what are the current standard costs of mains water and sewerage installation in respect of domestic properties in the constituency of South Down.

The tables show the Department of the Environment's tariffs for connections to public water mains and sewers from 1980 to 1992. The tariffs are the same for all areas of Northern Ireland and cover the cost of time taken and fittings supplied by the Department for the connection between the two pipes.Since 1988, where the connecting pipe to a water main is over 25 mm in diameter or, in the case of a sewer over 150 mm in diameter, the charge levied is the actual cost to the Department in carrying out the connection.

	Connection to Water Main			Connection to Sewer
Year	15mm diameter pipe	22mm diameter pipe	28mm diameter pipe	100mm diameter pipe	150mm diameter pipe
1980	38	42.00	49	21.00	28
1981	42	46.00	50	24.00	32
1982	42	46.00	50	26.00	35
1983	42	46.00	50	26.00	35
1984	38	42.00	45	29.00	38
1985	42	46.00	50	36.00	48
1986	50	55.00	60	38.00	50
1987	52	58.00	63	42.00	55
Pipe not exceeding 25mm diameter				Pipe not exceeding 150mm diameter
1988		70.00		55.00
1989		77.50		66.50
1990		83.50		67.50
1991		95.00		85.00
1992		105.00		90.00

Hospital Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the numbers of patients waiting for out-patient treatment on 31 March for each individual health authority (a) in total and (b) by main speciality for periods (i) under 12 months, (ii) 12 to 24 months and (iii) over 24 months.

Information on waiting times for first out-patients appointments is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the numbers of patients waiting for in-patient treatment on 31 March for each individual health authority (a) in total and (b) by main specialty for periods (i) under 12 months, (ii) 12 to 24 months and (iii) over 24 months.

The information requested is given in the tables.

(a) Total of patients waiting for in-patient treatment in each Health and Social Services Board area at 31 March 1992
Board	Number
Eastern	18,922
Northern	2,113
Southern	1,627
Western	3,905

(b) Patients waiting for in-patient treatment in main specialties by months waiting at 31 March 1992
Main specialty	0–11 months	12–23 months	24+ months
Eastern Board
General Surgery	2,001	317	601
Urology	672	267	376
Trauma &Orthopaedic	2,354	555	22
ENT	1,720	102	21
Opthalmology	2,721	694	224
Oral Surgery	285	75	7
Plastic Surgery	874	249	572
Gynaecology	1,434	17	3
Other	1,723	443	593
Northern Board
General Surgery	681	18	4
ENT	657	296	8
Gynaecology	442	5	—
Other	2	—	—
Southern Board
General Surgery	606	13	—
ENT	675	4	—
Gynaecology	312	2	—
Other	15	—	—
Western Board
General Surgery	451	83	236
Trauma & Orthopaedic	359	158	159
ENT	986	4	—
Opthalmology	654	122	25
Oral Surgery	252	—	—
Gynaecology	412	—	—
Other	4	—	—

Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the number of Housing Executive properties (a) demolished and (b) replaced in each of the Province's local authority catchment areas for each year since and including 1979.

This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I have been advised by the chief executive that the information which is readily available is as follows:

Housing executive properties demolished
District Council Area	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
Antrim	36	—	6	323	13
Ards	110	14	—	50	45
Armagh	1	2	24	10	3
Ballymena	—	—	5	13	29
Ballymoney	4	—	4	—	—
Banbridge	14	36	21	41	2
Belfast	1,372	1,321	911	734	645
Carrickfergus	5	34	1	—	6
Castlereagh	—	—	—	1	2
Coleraine	16	6	3	2	8
Cookstown	2	3	—	—	17
Craigavon	314	117	139	145	16
Derry	93	38	123	52	14
Down	4	10	10	32	1
Dungannon	6	5	13	2	10
Fermanagh	54	13	—	—	—
Larne	14	1	—	4	—
Limavady	—	—	—	1	—
Lisburn	1	7	2	2	—
Magherafelt	—	—	—	—	—
Moyle	4	1	1	—	1
Newry and Mourne	45	60	61	31	8
Newtownabbey	27	3	43	16	95
North Down	1	—	—	—	—
Omagh	4	6	—	—	—
Strabane	—	1	19	7	13

Note (1) The total number of Housing Executive properties demolished from 1982–83 to 1986–87 was 12,239; information on demolitions by Council area did not become available until 1987 when the executive's database was computerised.

(2) Information prior to 1982–83 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Executive Properties Replaced
	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
Antrim	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Ards	81	19	44	38	40	28	—	32	11	—	61	31	61
Armagh	30	9	6	30	20	22	8	19	29	5	12	31	—
Ballymena	49	63	20	41	30	4	18	13	—	—	—	—	—
Ballymoney	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	4	—	4	—	—
Banbridge	6	4	17	13	3	12	—	31	17	17	32	18	30
Belfast	280	704	926	1,740	1,455	1,276	1,385	936	952	754	726	591	370
Carrickfergus	5	—	—	—	—	24	9	—	—	—	18	26	—
Castlereagh	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12	14	—	—
Coleraine	—	10	14	—	34	26	—	22	8	6	—	5	2
Cookstown	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	—	—	—
Craigavon	79	—	22	69	21	16	39	2	40	—	24	14	32
Derry	90	31	47	70	95	44	37	18	61	95	24	27	—
Down	17	47	4	41	30	32	8	31	—	16	—	14	8
Dungannon	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12
Fermanagh	—	—	—	29	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Larne	28	15	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	15	—	—	—
Limavady	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Lisburn	52	—	—	92	44	50	—	—	—	—	—	—	5
Magherafelt	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8	13	—	—	—	9
Moyle	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	—	—	9	1
Newry and Mourne	36	6	—	74	49	7	51	5	17	67	78	30	8
Newtownabbey	—	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	10	10	—	—	—
North Down	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	16	—	—	—	—	—
Omagh	—	—	—	—	6	—	—	14	—	—	4	6	—
Strabane	19	27	19	7	12	31	31	5	17	14	4	6	2

Note (1) This does not cover the Housing Executive's total new build programme but relates mainly to the replacement of dwellings in redevelopment areas and of unfit dwellings in housing action areas. It also includes replacement dwellings for the demolition of obsolete purpose-built stock such as Orlit dwellings, aluminium bungalows and rural cottages.

Anaesthetists

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by regional health board the current establishment requirement for anaesthetists; and what is the number in post.

No establishment requirement figure is set by the Department. The table gives the number of consultant anaesthetists, expressed in the form of "whole-time equivalent", for each health and social services board as at 30 June 1992, the latest date for which figures are available.

Health and Social Services Board	Consultant Anaesthetists
Eastern	59.68
Northern	11.00
Southern	13.00
Western	13.00

Newtownbreda Bomb

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes were damaged as a result of the terrorist bomb explosion at Newtownbreda on Wednesday 23 September; which public services were present in Belvoir estate on Thursday 24 September to assist those who had suffered damages; what arrangements have been made to either rehouse house owners or repair the homes of house owners; and if he will arrange for immediate interim compensation payments to those who have experienced loss as a result of this bomb.

The number of homes damaged at Newtownbreda is estimated to be 1,002 of which approximately 10 per cent. were seriously damaged, 40 per cent. were moderately damaged and 50 per cent. suffered minor damage.Officials from the following public services were present on 24 September:

1. The Compensation Agency

2. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive

3. The Social Security Agency

4. The Eastern Health and Social Services Board

5. The South-Eastern Education and Library Board

6. The Royal Ulster Constabulary

7. Castlereagh Borough Council

8. Northern Ireland Fire Authority

9. The Department of the Environment.

In addition, 500 meals were provided by Purdysburn and Belvoir Park hospitals on 24 September.

Twenty-four houseowners were rendered homeless as a result of the explosion; three of these have been found temporary accommodation in the Belvoir/Cregagh area, and 11 have been allocated mobile homes sited in the area until such times as the repairs to their own homes are completed. The remaining houseowners have made their own arrangements. Eighteen families in Housing Executive properties were similarly affected and have either made their own arrangements or been found alternative accommodation by the executive.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive carried out first-aid repairs to approximately 300 owner-occupied houses and to 574 of its own houses. The executive is currently carrying out permanent repairs to its own houses and estimates that all its houses will have been repaired by Christmas. In addition, the executive has been authorised to carry out permanent repairs to private houses, under the special arrangements announced by the Secretary of State, if requested by the owners.

Following the explosion, the Compensation Agency had an incident team of eight people together with a team of 18 loss adjusters working on site by midday on 24 September. The agency has manned an information point in Belvoir activity centre until 15 October and loss adjusters remain on site to assist the public in furthering their claims. As at 14 October 890 notifications to claim compensation have been received and the agency has advanced £30,714 as interim payments. Everything possible continues to be done to ensure that interim payments are made speedily to those in need.

Eye Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have been on the waiting list for eye operations at the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast in each of the past five years.

The numbers of persons waiting for in-patient treatment in ophthalmology at the Royal Victoria hospital in each of the last five years were as follows:

Position at 31 March	Numbers Waiting
1988	1,610
1989	2,572
1990	3,083
1991	3,752
1992	3,639

Exact numbers waiting for eye operations are not available.

Lord Chancellor's Department

Civil Servants' Shareholdings

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what guidance, other than the civil service pay and conditions of service code and the establishment officers' guide, his Department provides relating to civil servants' shareholdings; if he will list the number of occasions within the past five years on which civil servants have reported shareholdings to establishment officers in his Department; what regulations apply to the staff of the next steps agencies within his Department; what mechanisms are in place to prevent potential conflicts of interest; and if he will make a statement.

The Lord Chancellor's Department's guidance is contained in the departmental personnel management manual which is based on the code and guide. There have been no reports of shareholdings to establishment officers in the last five years.The code and guide regulations apply to the next steps agencies as to the rest of the Department.The personnel management manual and next steps agency regulations require all staff to consult personnel if a shareholding might raise a question of possible conflict.

Transport

Railway Investment

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing state investment in national railway networks in each of the 12 Community countries in each of the past 10 years.

The information requested is not readily available.

Traffic Accidents

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each of the past five years the numbers of people (a) killed and (b) sustaining serious injury, where excessive vehicle speed has been a contributory factor; and if he will provide a breakdown of those figures according to the number of incidents involving motor cycles and each other convenient type of vehicle.

This information is not collected by the Department, but we estimate that about one third of all serious accidents are caused by excessive speed.

Environmental Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the initiatives relating to environmental protection taken by his Department since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development; and what further proposals he plans for 1992–93.

Speed limiters for new heavy goods vehicles were introduced on 1 August. Certain existing vehicles over 16 tonnes will be required to have speed limiters from 1 August 1993. These measures will improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions.On 1 September a metered smoke test was introduced into the annual roadworthiness test for heavy goods vehicles. A similar test will be introduced for diesel engined cars and light vans from 1 January 1993.From the end of this year most new cars will require catalytic converters to meet tighter EC emissions standards. The United Kingdom Government continue to press for even tighter emissions and noise standards for vehicles and to discuss with other member states and the Commission measures to improve the fuel efficiency of new cars.We are working on a number of other initiatives for 1992–93, including the publication of an updated manual of environmental appraisal. The White Paper "This Common Inheritance—The Second Year Report" gives further information about our work to reduce the impact of transport on the environment.

Bus Deregulation

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to consult on the consequences of bus deregulation.

I am reviewing the operation of bus deregulation to see whether some minor modifications to the system might be appropriate. A consultation paper will be issued in due course.

Leicester Roads

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the origin/destination surveys were carried out on the A47, A6 and A46 on vehicles approaching Leicester; what were the results; and if further surveys will be carried out at a later date.

The most recent origin and destination surveys on the A47, A6 and A46 were carried out in 1988. The surveys showed that through journeys on each of these routes were relatively low. Further surveys will be carried out.

Home Department

Prisoners (Citizens Charter)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the citizen's charter applies to the rights of prisoners and, in particular, their dietary requirements.

Yes. The principles of the citizen's charter fully extend to all those held in custody. A code of standards will be published by the end of 1993 and will include a range of standards relating to dietary requirements.

Muslim Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in what circumstances any prisoner who is a Muslim is entitled to have halal meat at any meal; what alternatives are available; and if he will make a statement;(2) for what reasons Muslim prisoners at Armley prison cannot obtain halal meat at weekday meals; what plans exist to change this situation; and whether the current instruction is consistent with the prison dietary scale.

Prison service standing orders provide that prisoners are entitled to a diet which accords with the requirements of their religion as agreed between a relevant religious body and prison service headquarters. The directory and guide on religious practices in the prison service sets out the permitted observances and facilities for Muslim prisoners, as agreed with the Islamic Cultural Centre. This provides that prison establishments should seek to provide halal meat on a number of days each week. Where halal meat is not available and other meat is not acceptable, a vegetarian diet should be provided. The arrangements at Her Majesty's prison, Leeds accord with these requirements. Halal meat is provided at the weekends; otherwise a vegetarian diet is available in accordance with the dietary scales.

British National Party

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer of 13 July, Official Report, column 497, if he will make available in the Library copies of those documents seized by the Metropolitan police from the headquarters of the British National party.

The documents which were seized by the Metropolitan police are with the police at Bexleyheath awaiting collection by the British National party.The documents consist of samples of a large number of different British National party publications which are available from the British National party bookshop. The Home Office has no copies of the documents to make available to the Library.

Carl Bridgewater

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to complete his consideration of the Carl Bridgewater convictions; and if he will make a statement.

This complex case is being considered with every care and expedition and I hope to be in a position to reach a decision soon.

Racially Inflammatory Publications

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to seek to amend the Public Order Act 1986 to increase its effectiveness in dealing with racially inflammatory publications.

The Government deplore any actions and publications which are likely or intended to stir up racial hatred. We believe that part III of the Public Order Act 1986 has played an important part in deterring them, but it is for the police and prosecuting authorities to decide whether proceedings should be taken in any particular case. We shall continue to keep the legislation and its operation under review, but we have no present plans for amending it.

Fire Brigades (Fleet Maintenance)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement outlining the procedures to he followed in the event of a company which had gained a tender for the fleet management of fire brigade vehicles subsequently getting into financial difficulties and having its assets seized while still maintaining the tender.

Compulsory competitive tendering for maintaining fire brigade vehicles remains under review, but there are no plans to require tendering for fleet management.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received concerning the implementation of compulsory competitive tendering in the fire service; and how many of these representations have called for the upkeep of fire engines to be made exempt from compulsory tendering arrangements.

With the exception of Hertfordshire fire authority, all fire authorities and other fire service representative bodies in England and Wales have expressed opposition to compulsory competitive tendering for the maintenance of their vehicle fleets.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will outline the direct fleet maintenance costs for fire brigade vehicles in each fire brigade authority in Wales; and if he will outline the comparable direct costs for each fire brigade authority area which has put tenders out to external companies in England.

Information about costs of brigade vehicle fleet maintenance is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the fire brigades in Wales which are currently able to identify unit costs throughout their fleet management organisations.

Of the eight brigades in Wales, four are currently able to identify their brigade vehicle fleet unit costs, one will have identifiable costs by April 1993 and three are within their local authority costing schemes.

Disabled People

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff employed by his Department currently specialise on electoral issues: of those staff members how many are responsible for accessibility to the electoral process for disabled people; and what plans he has to increase staff numbers in this area.

There are currently four members of staff who spend all or most of their time on electoral matters. All include voting rights for disabled people among their responsibilities. There are no plans to increase staffing levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to undertake regular consultation with representative groups and organisations concerning the accessibility of the electoral process for disabled people.

We already consult some groups representing disabled people on matters in which they have an interest. We would welcome an approach from any others who wish to bring their particular concerns to our attention, or to offer their special expertise.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to conduct sample surveys on the accessibility of polling stations before, during and after each round of local, general and European elections.

No. Sample surveys would not be an effective use of our resources in this area, which are better directed to providing financial support. It is our long-term aim to have all polling stations capable of easy access by disabled electors, and we issue regular reminders to district and London borough councils of their obligation to designate as polling places, so far as is reasonable and practicable, only places which are accessible to the disabled.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to review the implementation of schedule 4 to the amended Representation of the People Act 1985, concerning the accessibility of polling stations.

We keep all electoral law and practice under regular review. We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review in the light of experience at the general election in April.

Remand Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations of the Woolf report on remand prisoners.

Progress has been as follows:

(a) The assisted prison visits scheme was extended from 1 April 1991 to apply to the families of unconvicted prisoners from the date of the prisoner's reception into custody.

(b) Guidance on visits by relatives and friends of unconvicted prisoners on the lines recommended in the Woolf report was issued to governors in May 1991.

(c) A statement of principle on unconvicted prisoners has been adopted, as announced on 15 July in the reply I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) at column 783.

(d) Bail information schemes are now in operation at 18 local prisons and remand centres and are under consideration at a similar number. The aim is to have schemes at all such establishments by 1995.

(e) The particular needs of unconvicted prisoners are covered

(i) in a model regime for local prisons and remand centres, which is about to be issued as a framework for planning enhanced regimes, and

(ii) in guidance to be issued shortly on the management of reception and induction arrangements.

Action is in hand on other aspects of the Woolf report relating to unconvicted prisoners, as indicated in the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department holds about the number of remand prisoners in the United Kingdom currently being held in the same cells as convicted prisoners.

Information on the number of remand prisoners sharing cells with convicted prisoners is not collected centrally. The prison service seeks to keep unconvicted and convicted prisoners separate but the two classes of prisoner are held in the same wings, and occasionally even share cells, where the alternative would be to increase the overcrowding of part of the prisons or lead to prisoners being held in police cells. In particular, prisoners being segregated for their own protection may be mixed in this way because of limited accommodation.

Murder Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average period served in custody by those convicted for murder in the latest convenient

Receptions into Prison Service establishments under an immediate custodial sentence by sex and previous convictions, 1987–90
			Number with previous convictions
Sex and year of reception	Total number of receptions	Not recorded		Recorded		Percentage with 0 previous convictions as a percentage of total with previous convictions recorded
			Total	0	1 or more
Males
1987	64,551	16,370	48,181	2,923	45,258	6
1988	62,206	18,369	43,837	3,948	39,889	9
1989	56,795	21,637	35,158	3,363	31,795	10
1990	48,736	21,723	27,013	3,579	23,434	13
Females
1987	3,084	1,236	1,848	313	1,535	17
1988	2,813	1,058	1,755	377	1,378	21
1989	2,650	1,347	1,303	288	1,015	22
1990	2,115	1,090	1,025	162	863	16

House Fires

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to reduce to risks of death or injury through fire in the home, in particular among elderly people.

The Home Office provides multi-media publicity on fire safety in the home which is targeted at various age groups. Part of that material is specifically for the elderly age group and provides general guidance on fire prevention and fire safety in the home.The Home Office targeted its 1990–91 and 1991–92 national television advertising campaigns on smoke alarms primarily at elderly people and their carers. The elderly are the group most at risk from fire and among the least likely to purchase alarms. Fire brigades make the maximum use of the available material in their own localities.There is legislation in place in respect of residential care homes for elderly people which, among other things, makes provision for fire precautions. Such legislation is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

period for which figures are available and in respect of whom there is no recommendation for a minimum period of detention.

According to the records held centrally, which are approximate, the average time served under sentence in prison service establishments by murderers first released on licence in 1991 was 11.8 years. This figure excludes one prisoner who was the subject of a formal minimum recommendation under section 1(2) of the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965.

Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by (a) sex and (b) year for the last four years, the percentage of prisoners sentenced to prison who have had no previous convictions.

The information requested is not available for 1991. Information for 1987 to 1990 is given in the table. This is based on figures published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales"—tables 3.11, 4.9 and 5.9 of the 1990 issue, Cm 1800.

Escaped Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by (a) category, (b) sex and (c) length of time at large, the number of escaped prisoners that are currently on the run; and what are the corresponding figures for 12 months ago.

The available information relates to prisoners who escaped between 20 June 1988 and 31 August 1992. During this period 1,461 prisoners escaped from prison or prison custody. By 31 August 1992, 1,348 had been recaptured or returned to custody and three were known to be dead, leaving only 110 either at large or unaccounted for. The average time that the 1,348 who were recaptured spent at large was 29.5 days. Of the 110 still at large, 101 are male and nine female; two were remand prisoners provisionally regarded as category A; 10 category B; 53 category C; two category D; and 43 were not categorised, being either remand prisoners, convicted young offenders or women who were not category A or civil prisoners. Corresponding figures for 12 months ago are not available.

Religious Discrimination

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to prevent religious discrimination in employment due to certain unavailability for work due to religious observation.

The Commission for Racial Equality's second review of the Race Relations Act 1976, presented to the Government on 9 September, recommended that legislation against religious discrimination be given further consideration. We will be looking carefully at the recommendations contained in that review, but the Government have no plans at present to introduce such legislation.The Government believe that it is for employers to agree with employees arrangements for meeting religious needs. For example, employers might consider whether they can vary or adapt working patterns or facilities to help meet such needs. The Government encourage this voluntary approach, for example, through the guidance

Total prisoner nights by police force, April to September 1992
Police Force	April	May	June	July	August	September
Avon and Somerset	1,187	1,208	1,214	1,288	1,127	746
Bedfordshire	651	695	658	549	199	113
Cambridgeshire	537	605	575	612	331	39
Cheshire	1,414	1,213	1,200	1,237	1,220	1,075
Cleveland	886	708	140	112	17	0
Cumbria	799	750	612	666	498	349
Derbyshire	732	414	347	723	407	454
Devon and Cornwall	607	790	596	321	414	117
Dorset	95	0	0	2	0	0
Durham	867	710	405	268	266	170
Dyfed and Powys	274	573	544	482	246	40
Essex	546	451	998	888	39	85
Gloucestershire	0	129	251	232	245	260
Greater Manchester	7,581	7,212	7,213	7,596	7,101	7,572
Gwent	583	585	561	561	301	155
Hampshire	698	431	407	431	283	394
Hertfordshire	607	587	648	453	0	0
Humberside	994	875	810	802	673	648
Kent	54	11	87	0	1	158
Lancashire	3,111	3,223	2,205	2,182	1,988	1,707
Leicestershire	854	713	609	901	794	152
Lincolnshire	420	313	254	218	136	0
City of London	6	0	0	8	136	0
Merseyside	2,827	2,476	2,304	2,656	2,183	2,382
Metropolitan	5,579	4,421	2,034	3,771	1,667	1,499
Norfolk	532	280	0	0	136	0
North Wales	406	406	364	158	393	270
North Yorkshire	737	639	567	579	632	380
Northamptonshire	727	871	751	751	342	0
Northambria	2,780	2,215	1,688	1,945	2,224	1,585
Nottinghamshire	992	891	704	609	475	65
South Wales	1,590	1,887	1,596	1,711	983	684
South Yorkshire	1,779	1,571	1,171	908	953	325
Staffordshire	563	443	241	375	467	341
Suffolk	488	671	702	427	100	0
Surrey	416	308	365	334	499	340
Sussex	53	37	136	541	808	640
Thames Valley	1,162	712	751	507	314	0
Warwickshire	315	320	265	199	136	0
West Mercia	1,843	1,704	1,291	1,243	1,142	1,041
West Midlands	1,431	1,533	1,266	1,057	996	510
West Yorkshire	3,778	4,026	2,344	2,056	739	712
Wiltshire	507	583	185	253	359	304

Payments made to police forces since 1 April 1992
Police Force	£ paid since 1 April 1992	Paid up until
Avon and Somerset	1,897,490.34	31 August 1992
Bedfordshire	515,263.68	31 August 1992
Cambridgeshire	675,856.99	31 July 1992

pack published recently by the Employment Department and entitled "Equal Opportunities—Ten Point Plan for Employers".

Police Cells

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much his Department paid each police force for holding people in police cells in the first six months of the current financial year;(2) how many individual prisoners were held in police cells in each police authority area in England and Wales in each of the first six months of the current financial year who would normally be held in prison accommodation;(3) how many prisoner-nights in police cells were covered in each police force area in England and Wales on each of the first six months of the current financial year.

The available information is given in the tables. Information on individual prisoners is not collected centrally.

Police Force	£ paid since 1 April 1992	Paid up until
Cheshire	1,356,102.75	30 June 1992
Cleveland	no payment	—
Cumbria	453,438.42	13 June 1992
Derbyshire	550,510.58	31 July 1992

Police Force	£ paid since 1 April 1992	Paid up until
Devon and Cornwall	226,067.94	31 May 1992
Dorset	no payment	—
Durham	539,676.71	31 July 1992
Dyfed and Powys	540,341.61	15 June 1992
Essex	540,955.46	31 July 1992
Gloucestershire	114,808.79	30 June 1992
Greater Manchester	6,927,811.00	26 July 1992
Gwent	642,142.94	30 June 1992
Hampshire	no payment	—
Hertfordshire	1,025,701.81	29 July 1992
Humberside	824,690.81	8 August 1992
Kent	no payment	—
Lancashire	2,038,819.56	30 June 1992
Leicestershire	1,135,458.70	30 June 1992
Lincolnshire	no payment	—
City of London	no payment	—
Merseyside	741,494.56	31 May 1992
Metropolitan	3,205,757.89	21 June 1992
Norfolk	369,758.52	26 May 1992
North Wales	236,042.28	30 June 1992
North Yorkshire	no payment	—
Northamptonshire	525,799.33	30 June 1992
Northumbria	1,311,585.70	24 May 1992
Nottinghamshire	519,602.00	30 June 1992
South Wales	1,429,598.37	31 July 1992

Force	Authorised establishment 1992–93	Strength 31 March 1992¹	Strength 31 July 1992
Avon and Somerset	3,087	3,081	3,061
Bedfordshire	1,178	1,093	1,107
Cambridgeshire	1,241	1,250	1,245
Cheshire	1,920	1,874	1,865
Cleveland	1,502	1,477	1,498
Cumbria	1,187	1,179	1,190
Derbyshire	1,850	1,706	1,768
Devon and Cornwall	2,928	2,898	2,901
Dorset	1,302	1,289	1,299
Durham	1,389	1,389	1,380
Dyfed Powys	969	947	963
Essex	2,950	2,898	2,920
Gloucestershire	1,184	1,174	1,174
Greater Manchester	7,077	7,061	7,064
Gwent	1,010	1,009	1,000
Hampshire	3,269	3,211	3,245
Hertfordshire	1,684	1,695	1,681
Humberside	2,034	2,026	2,029
Kent	²3,136	3,074	3,080
Lancashire	3,229	3,198	3,198
Leicestershire	1,853	1,845	1,833
Lincolnshire	1,206	1,196	1,194
Merseyside	4,706	4,621	4,681
Norfolk	1,446	1,414	1,423
Northamtonshire	1,190	1,158	1,182
Northumbria	3,613	3,464	3,500
North Wales	1,369	1,347	1,354
North Yorkshire	1,418	1,398	1,398
Nottinghamshire	2,344	2,331	2,337
South Wales	3,168	3,168	3,158
South Yorkshire	3,031	3,008	3,011
Staffordshire	2,215	2,176	2,195
Suffolk	1,233	1,218	1,213
Surrey	1,673	1,706	1,700
Sussex	3,014	2,984	3,005
Thames Valley	3,812	3,772	3,839
Warwickshire	1,020	990	990
West Mercia	2,053	2,034	2,045
West Midlands	6,977	6,941	6,930
West Yorkshire	5,295	5,087	5,078
Wiltshire	1,181	1,221	1,230
City of London	798	808	798
Metropolitan	28,279	28,381	28,113
TOTAL	127,020	125,797	125,875

Police Force	£ paid since 1 April 1992	Paid up until
South Yorkshire	494,178.30	30 April 1992
Staffordshire	no payment	—
Suffolk	130,004.00	17 May 1992
Surrey	294,330.48	31 July 1992
Sussex	239,420.97	31 August 1992
Thames Valley	601,228.47	21 June 1992
Warwickshire	311,166.77	30 June 1992
West Mercia	609,643.62	6 June 1992
West Midlands	507,823.11	17 May 1992
West Yorkshire	3,205,530.50	28 August 1992
Wiltshire	no payment	—

Police Forces

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the authorised establishment figure for each police force in England and Wales for 1992–93; what was the actual strength on 1 April; and what was the actual strength on the last day for which figures are available.

The information requested is set out in the table.

¹ Figures for I April are not available, 31 March has therefore been provided.

² Includes 40 posts with effect from 1 January 1993.

Prisoners (Clothes)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prisoners will be allowed to wear their own clothes.

The White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice, the Way Ahead for the Prison Service in England and Wales" announced that the Government aim progressively to allow convicted male prisoners to wear their own clothes if they wish; female prisoners and unconvicted male prisoners are already allowed to wear their own clothes. Prisoners at HMP Belmarsh have been allowed to wear their own clothes since the prison opened last year, and similar arrangements will apply at High Down and Woodhill prisons when they open this year. Formal trials are being set up in HMP Wellingborough and in Huntercombe and Finnamore Wood young offender institutions to assess the implications of a more general move towards prisoners wearing their own clothes.The White Paper also announced that the Prison Service would consider the scope for permitting prisoners to wear specified items of their own clothing, in particular, underwear, socks and shoes, in advance of extending the arrangements to prisoners' outerwear. Prisoners in category C and D establishments, including open young offender institutions, will, where adequate laundering or exchange arrangements can be made locally, be allowed to wear their own socks and underwear. Prisoners in these establishments will also he allowed to have one pair of their own shoes in addition to a prison issued pair.The scope for further relaxations will be considered in the light of the trials.

Convictions (Safety)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further information he has received concerning the safety of the conviction of Sam Kulasingham and Prem Sivalingham; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: No information about the safety of these convictions has been received since I answered a question from the hon. Member on 8 June, at column 4. We will give further consideration to this matter as soon as we receive the report from the Essex police to which I then referred.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received into the safety of the conviction of Robert Maynard; if he proposes to refer the case to the Court of Appeal; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: Representations about the case have been received from solicitors acting for Mr. Maynard—and Mr. Dudley who was convicted with him—and from a number of individuals. As I explained in my reply to a question from the hon. Member on 19 October, at column 59, these representations and the material supplied in support of them are still being examined.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to help secure the release of the 800 individuals removed from Kuwait to Iraq in 1990 and still believed to be held by the Iraqi authorities; and if he will make a statement.

We are maintaining pressure on Iraq to fulfil all its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions, including the return of Kuwaiti and other nationals still missing in Iraq.We fully support Kuwait's efforts through the International Committee of the Red Cross to establish the whereabouts of its missing citizens, of whom some 800 are believed to be in Iraq.We raise this question at each Security Council review of sanctions and will continue to do so until Iraq meets its obligations.

Lorry Blockade, France

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he intends to take to seek compensation from the French Government for British businesses and tourists who suffered financial loss during the recent French lorry drivers' dispute.

I have been asked to reply.We made it clear to the French Government in July that British hauliers would be lodging claims for compensation with the French Government and that we supported these claims. Other countries acted similarly. Regrettably, the French Government have said that they do not intend to pay compensation, though they have not yet responded to all the claims submitted.

Maastricht Treaty

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated cost to the United Kingdom of implementing title XII on trans-European networks proposed under the Maastricht treaty.

I have been asked to reply. The Maastricht treaty does not specify any particular level of expenditure for trans-European networks. The European Community's spending plans for the next few years are presently being considered on the basis of the Commission's proposal in document COM(92)2000; however, decisions have yet to be taken.

Defence

Raf Wattisham

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of RAF Wattisham; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has been looking at possible defence uses for RAF Wattisham after the withdrawal of the Phantom force by mid-1993. I have now decided that two regiments of the Army Air Corps should be based at Wattisham. There are currently two Army Air Corps regiments based in the United Kingdom, at Netheravon and Dishforth. Under "Options for Change", this will increase to four regiments on the redeployment of two of the three regiments currently based in Germany. RAF Wattisham has been identified as the most cost-effective option for an operational base for the two regiments returning from Germany and their support units. The units co-locating at RAF Wattisham will be 3 and 4 Regiments AAC, 71 Aircraft Workshops and 2 Aircraft Support Unit. In addition, two RAF search and rescue Sea King helicopters will move to Wattisham in 1994. It is too early to say what the detailed implications will be for the staff at RAF Wattisham. Full consultation will take place with the trades unions concerned in accordance with agreed procedures. There will also be some other rationalisation moves within United Kingdom: one squadron from 7 Regiment at Netheravon will join 9 Regiment at Dishforth and will be replaced by one of the three new TA flights being formed in 1993. The other two TA flights will be based at RAF Shawbury and RAF Turnhouse.

Raf Search And Rescue

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what conclusions he has reached on the future basing structure of the RAF search and rescue force; and if he will make a statement.

I have given careful consideration to the future deployment of the RAF SAR force in the light of the reduction in military flying flowing from the conclusions of "Britain's Defence for the Nineties" and the civil helicopter coverage criteria agreed by the helicopter coverage group in 1986. These proposals have been discussed with colleagues at the Department of Transport who have agreed my proposed way forward.The size of the RAF SAR helicopter force, which is funded from the defence budget, is based on the wartime requirement. Taking all the relevant factors into account I have confirmed that the RAF now requires an all Sea King SAR fleet of a minimum of 25 aircraft to meet the war requirement in the United Kingdom. The intention to order an additional six Sea Kings was announced by the then Minister of State for Defence Procurement in the House on 19 February,

Official Report, column 332.

The RAF Sea King force makes an important contribution to the civil SAR services for which the Department of Transport and others are responsible. SA R helicopters are also provided by both the Royal Navy and Her Majesty's coastguard, through a contractor. All these elements combine to provide the Great Britain civil SAR helicopter service.

In order to maximise the flexibility of response to SAR incidents in Great Britain, the practice of basing two aircraft at each flight to provide back-up will be continued. This approach allows flights to respond to concurrent incidents, and in the case of major rescues, to maintain area SAR cover while several SAR helicopters are deployed to assist. It also represents the most cost-effective means of providing area SAR cover. In accordance with the criteria agreed by the helicopter coverage group, during the day one helicopter will continue to be at 15 minutes notice and a second at 60 minutes notice at each station. At night one helicopter will continue to be at 45 minutes notice. As at present, the very great majority of our territorial waters can be covered within this time scale.

The new basing structure is based primarily, as now, on both the areas of high-intensity military flying and the established civil SAR criteria. The RAF assets will be deployed so far as possible to maximise the military contribution to the civil SAR response which is the responsibility of the Department of Transport. This will involve some new arrangements; a new SAR flight will be established at RAF Wattisham, while RAF Chivenor and Valley will benefit by upgrading of their flights with Sea Kings. RAF Leconfield, Lossiemouth and Boulmer will retain their Sea King flights. The flights at RAF Brawdy, Coltishall, Manston and Leuchars will be withdrawn or transferred. This deployment will ensure that the RAF continues to make virtually the same contribution to meeting the criteria laid down by the helicopter coverage group as at present. The flights at RAF Brawdy and Manston will not be withdrawn until April 1994 and mid-1994 respectively, shortly before the RNLI's planned deployment of new, more capable, fast all-weather boats to south-west Wales and Kent later that year.

Complete details of the changes and an explanation of the reasoning behind them are set out in an open government document entitled "The Future Provision of RAF SAR Helicopters", copies of which I have placed in the Library of the House.

The move to an all Sea King SAR helicopter force represents a significant improvement by making this highly capable aircraft more widely available throughout Britain for civil and military missions. Without compromising its military effectiveness, the RAF has sought to deploy these assets in a way which maximises their effectiveness for civil and military SAR operations. The future force will therefore continue to make a very substantial contribution to civil SAR in and around Great Britain.

My Department is also considering the future arrangements for the co-ordination of the military response to SAR incidents by means of the rescue co-ordination centres. Once I have reached my conclusions on this issue I shall inform the House.

The Ministry of Defence and the Department of Transport believe that with the military and the Department of Transport helicopters, the RNLI and HM coastguard a good SAR service will continue to be provided to meet the requirements of the civil community.

Dismounted Public Duties

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the review of dismounted public duties was completed; and with what results.

After consultation with the royal household, the Metropolitan police and other Departments, a number of measures have been identified which will reduce requirements for the employment of Foot Guards manpower on public duties while maintaining essential security and appropriate ceremonial. Her Majesty the Queen has graciously agreed to these measures and they will be implemented between now and 1994. A document providing the full details is being placed in the Library of the House.

Airborne Warning And Communication System

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the defence contracts placed by United States purchasing authorities as part of the offset for the AWACS early warning contract placed with Boeing; what is the value of each contract and the total value; and to what extent this achieves the target for offsetting contracts agreed between the United States and the United Kingdom Governments.

As I announced in the House on 20 May, Hansard, volume 208, column 190, Boeing has now met its obligation under its industrial participation agreement with my Department. The agreement required Boeing and its subcontractors to offer competitive bidding opportunities to British defence companies, and United States purchasing authorities were not parties to it. Details of individual contracts remain commercially confidential.

Environment

Energy Efficiency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homes have been treated and what amount has been spent under the home energy efficiency scheme in each network installer area in Scotland since 1 January 1991.

The figures are as follows:

Network installer area	Homes treated	Amount spent in £
1 Borders/Lothian	2,259	240,635
2 West Lothian/Edinburgh	3,413	385,948
3 Dumfries/Strathclyde	714	97,330
4 Strathclyde	1,533	279,655
5 Strathclyde West	4,157	533,451
6 Strathclyde East	8,265	772,086
7 Strathclyde/Glasgow North	4,392	472,284
8 Strathclyde/Glasgow East	4,787	539,975
9 Strathclyde/Glasgow South	1,224	136,331
10 Strathclyde Central	1,939	205,350
11 Fife	4,260	468.691
12 Tayside	3,641	379.517
13 Grampian	3,447	378,435
14 Grampian Highlands	1,429	157,025
15 Shetland Islands	—	—
16 Orkney Islands	145	31,085
17 Western Islands	—	—
Total	45,605	5,077,798

The original area 14 was divided into four on 14 December 1991. No suitable bid for registration as a network installer for the Western Isles has since been received. A network installer was registered for Shetland islands in April this year.

Housing (Pregnant Women)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many pregnant women were successfully prosecuted in 1991 for fraudulent attempts to gain priority status on housing waiting lists in the London borough of Camden.

Such information is not held centrally.

Sssis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total number of sites of special scientific interest in England and the number of these that have been (a) partially or (b) wholly damaged.

[holding answer 20 October 1992]: At 31 March 1992, a total of 3,621 SSSIs had been notified in England under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The latest available information on damage to SSSIs is contained in the 17th and final report of the former Nature Conservancy Council, a copy of which is in the Library. Information in respect of the year ending 31 March 1992 is currently being gathered by English Nature and will be published in its first anniversary report to be presented to Parliament later in the year.

Employment

Deregulation

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what financial provisions, and how much, she has made within her Department in order to look at the potential for deregulation of each of the regulatory measures for which she has responsibility.

The Employment Department has two central departmental deregulation units—DDUs—one for the Health and Safety Executive and one which deals with the rest of the Department. Staff costs for the DDUs, including economic support is estimated at £57,245.In addition, all staff in the Department are fully aware of the need to ensure that regulations should not impose unnecessary and costly burdens on businesses, causing damage to competitiveness and job prospects. Ensuring that proposals for new regulations are assessed thoroughly for the costs they will impose on businesses and reviewing existing regulations are an everyday part of the activities of policy sections.

Health

Cycling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department is carrying out or sponsoring into the health benefits of cycling.

The health benefits of safe physical activity are well established. The Allied Dunbar national fitness survey, published in June, includes comprehensive research data on the whole area of safe physical activity. The survey notes that cycling is a good aerobic exercise.The "Health of the Nation" White Paper commits the Government, in consultation with others, to develop physical activity strategies in the light of the survey results. Work on this is already taking place.

Prime Minister

Yugoslavia

To ask the Prime Minister what is the total, to date, of the financial assistance given by Her Majesty's Government to fund the cost of maintaining refugees from the former states of Yugoslavia; what is the total, to date, of financial assistance given by Her Majesty's Government to fund humanitarian relief in the former states of Yugoslavia; and what proposals Her Majesty's Government have for increasing the United Kingdom contribution.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: I announced yesterday an additional bilateral British contribution of £15 million in the light of reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This brings Britain's total commitment of humanitarian aid for victims of the conflict in former Yugoslavia to over £70 million; of this, £29.5 million is bilateral aid and £41 million our share of European Community actions.

National Finance

European Currency Unit

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest ecu/sterling exchange rate.

The market ecu: sterling exchange rate at the London close on 20 October was 1.2497 ecu per pound.

Bank Of England Governor

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates he met the Governor of the Bank of England during the period 12 to 18 September; and if he will make a statement.

Throughout the period from 12 to 18 September I was in regular contact with the Governor of the Bank of England.

Currency Intervention

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which spending programmes he estimates will be affected by the expenditure involved in currency intervention in the period 14 to 18 September.

None. The use of foreign currency reserves for intervention purposes involves an exchange of assets and is, therefore, not public expenditure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the reasons for the Government's practice of not revealing the amount of intervention, gains and losses arising from currency support to the United Kingdom Exchequer.

It has been the long-standing convention of successive Governments not to reveal the extent of intervention. It would not be in the national interest to do so, because the information is market sensitive.

European Central Bank

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what privileges and immunities Her Majesty's Government have assessed to be necessary for the performance of the tasks of the European central bank in the territories of the member states under article 40 of the protocol to the Maastricht treaty on European central banks.

The relevant privileges and immunities are set out in the protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities annexed to the treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities—sometimes known as the merger treaty. This is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, No. 152, 13 July 1967, and reproduced in the full edition of "Treaties establishing the European Communities" published by the office for official publications of the European Communities. In addition, the protocol amending the protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities annexed to the treaty on European union would exempt the European central bank from liability to tax on increases in its capital and from liability to turnover tax.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sanctions exist to ensure the compliance of national central banks with the instructions of the European central bank under article 14.3 of the protocol to the Maastricht treaty on European central banks.

If the European central bank were to consider that a national central bank has failed to fulfil an obligation under the statute, it may bring the matter before the European Court of Justice under the procedure in article 35.6.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to article 15 of the protocol to the Maastricht treaty on European central banks, what (a) efforts have been made to ensure the harmonisation of national central banks' accounting practices and (b) what estimates have been made of the cost of article 15.4.

Article 26.4 of the protocol on the statute of the European system of central banks and of the European central bank—ECB—provides for the governing council of the ECB to establish the necessary rules for standardising the accounting and reporting of national central bank operations.It is not possible to estimate the cost to the ECB of issuing reports under article 15.4.

Mr Peter Clowes

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 9 June, Official Report, column 82, what is the current position of repayment made in respect of the court order for interim payment of damages of £6 million made on 13 April against Mr. and Mrs. Clowes; and if he will make a statement.

On 21 September 1992 the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Clowes's appeal against the judgment of the court given on 18 March 1992. It also dismissed Mr. Clowes's appeal against the order of the court, made on 13 April 1992, for an interim payment of damages of £6 million.

Currency Speculation

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake an analysis of the impact of clearing banks not speculating against the pound but merely dealing for customers with genuine international trading requirements.

I have no plans to do so.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking against British banks which speculated against the pound in the period 14 to 17 September; and if he will make a statement.

It would not be appropriate to take any such steps. It is for banks and other financial institutions to make decisions about the deployment of funds within their control, subject to the framework of law within which they operate, including prudential regulations.

Economists

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many economists are employed in the Treasury; and what is their total remuneration.

There are currently 87 staff working as economists in the Treasury. Their total annual remuneration is about £2,500,000 based on current pay rates.

	Amounts invested			Cost of income tax relief
	Total	of which investment in private rented housing		Total	of which in respect of investment in private rented housing
	£ million	amount (£ million)	per cent.	(£ million)	(£ million)
1983–84	105	—	—	50	—
1984–85	148	—	—	75	—
1985–86	157	—	—	85	—
1986–87	169	—	—	95	—
1987–88	201	—	—	120	—
1988–89	421	368	87	150	130
1989–90¹	216	162	75	75	55
1990–91¹	323	283	88	120	105
1991–92¹	450	420	93	160	150
1 Provisional estimates.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme in 1989–90 there were in (a) south-east England and (b) the United Kingdom; and what percentage these figures represent of (i) all privately rented property and (ii) all rented property.

Provisional estimates for new lettings from investments under the business expansion scheme in 1989–90 are as follows:

New tellings
		As a percentage of:
	Total number	All privately rented property Per cent.	All rented property Per cent.
South-east England	1,100	0.20	0.05
United Kingdom	3,100	0.18	0.04

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the (a) total amount invested in the business expansion

Companies receiving BES Investments
	1989–90		1990–91
Industry	Number of companies	Amount of investment	Number of companies	Amount of investment
		£ million		£ million
Agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fishing	23	2	7	1
Minerals, chemicals and manufacture of metals	21	2	26	1
Mechanical engineering	11	2	9	—
Electrical and electronic engineering	25	2	14	2

Business Expansion Scheme

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the (a) total amount invested in the business expansion scheme, (b) amount invested in private rented housing, (c) total cost of tax relief and (d) amount of tax relief in respect of investment in private rented housing for each year from 1987–88 to 1990–91; and for each year of the existence of the business expansion scheme what were the percentage and amounts of BES money invested in residential and assured tenancy schemes and associated revenue forgone by the Exchequer.

The business expansion scheme was extended to include investment in private rented housing in 1988–89. The latest estimates are as follows.scheme, what was

(a) the regional distribution of BES funds and the associated cost to the Exchequer, (b) the distribution of BES investments by two-digit standard industrial classification and (c) the average size of investments.

Information on the companies receiving investments through the business expansion scheme is published in chapter 7 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1991". Further information that is readily available is as follows:

	1989–90		1990–91
Industry	Number of companies	Amount of investment	Number of companies	Amount of investment
		£ million		£ million
Manufacture of transport equipment	14	2	22	3
Instrument engineering	9	1	11	1
Food and drink industry	7	—	10	1
Textile, clothing, footwear industry	6	—	4	—
Manufacture of paper and paper products	32	2	26	2
Other manufacturing iustries	30	2	28	2
Construction	7	—	14	1
Wholesale distribution	46	3	48	3
Retail distibution	37	3	29	3
Distribution and repair of motor vehicles	13	1	7	1
Hotels and catering	51	8	34	5
Transport and storage services	24	10	18	2
Business, professional and technical services	70	6	66	8
Medical, educational and social services	33	4	32	4
Recreational, hairdressing and personal services	32	2	34	2
Private rented housing	483	162	446	283
Total	974	216	885	323

The average size of investment per company is as follows;

	£ Thousand
1983–84	147
1984–85	183
1985–86	224
1986–87	221
1987–88	245
1988–89	167
1989–90¹	222
1990–91¹	365
¹ Provisional.

Coal Mining

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the loss in all tax revenues because of the recent announcement of job losses in the coal mining industry and the knock-on effects in other industries.

The effect of job losses on tax revenues depends on a large number of factors and cannot reliably be estimated.

Tobacco

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the total receipts from taxes on tobacco products in the last financial year for which figures are available; and what estimate he can make of the level of such receipts in the current year.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: Revenue from excise duties on tobacco products in 1991–92 was £6,288 million. The estimate provided in this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report for these receipts in 1992–93 is £6.6 billion. A more up-to-date estimate will be available after the autumn statement has been published.

Interest Rates

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how many points United Kingdom interest rates have been reduced (a) since leaving the exchange rate mechanism and (b) between joining the ERM and August 1992.

[pursuant to his reply, 19 October 1992, c. 188]: On the level of United Kingdom bank base rates, bank base rates were reduced by a further 1 per cent. to 8 per cent. on 16 October.

Overseas Development

Southern Africa

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community, to press the international community to fund the entire $854 million requested in the United Nations and Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference appeal.

We have already committed more than £51 million of bilateral aid in response to the drought in southern Africa. From the outset we have played a leading role in urging EC and other donors to contribute generously and we will continue to do so.

Food Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community to press for the structural adjustment programme to include methods of achieving food security.

We hope that the EC Development Council on 18 November, which will be chaired by my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development, will agree on a statement of development co-operation policy for the 1990s. This will set out how the EC's development policy, including assistance for structural adjustment programmes, can best contribute to sustainable development and the relief of poverty, and thus to improving security of access to food for people in developing countries.

Pakistan (Floods)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department is taking to help alleviate the suffering caused by the recent floods in Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

Britain was the first donor country to provide assistance and, having committed over £475,000, is second only to Japan in the size of its bilateral response to the current flooding. On 12 September we made an initial contribution of $200,000 before any needs assessment had been carried out. When actual needs became clearer, we arranged a charter flight to Lahore delivering tents, blankets, antibiotics and oral rehydra.tion salts—£227,320. Since then we have arranged to deliver further locally available relief supplies in Sindh province through Pakistan non-governmental organisations—£80,000—and made grants available to the following UK non-governmental organisations:

	£
CAFOD
500 tents for Sindh Province	23,768
Adventist Development and Relief Agency
Medicines for Sindh and Punjab	40,000

We continue to monitor the situation and we are actively considering what further assistance we can provide.

Malawi

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the Malawi Government about political and religious rights in that country.

We made representations with our EC partners reflecting these concerns in December 1991, March and April 1992. These issues were also addressed in bilateral discussions with Malawian Ministers in May and June this year. Further representations are currently being made to the Malawi Government urging them to respond positively to the call from the religious community and other bodies for democratic reform and to lift the ban on the Catholic bishops' pastoral letter.

World Bank Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if human rights issues are taken into account by Her Majesty's Government when considering World bank loans.

The United Kingdom judges all World bank loans on their economic and technical merits, in line with the provisions of the bank's articles of agreement.

Global Environment Facility

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom contribution to the global environment facility will continue to be additional to the overseas aid budget in 1993–94.

The United Kingdom contribution to the global environment facility has been separate from and additional to aid to developing countries and will continue to be so. The amount of resources which we shall provide in 1993–94 has not yet been decided. This will depend on the outcome of talks with the World bank and other donors.

Somalia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid the Overseas Development Administration has given this year to Somalia; and what plans there are to increase it.

Since January the Government have pledged £26 million in humanitarian aid for Somalia. This includes our share of EC aid and a new pledge of £7.5 million which my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development announced on 15 September. The major constraint to the relief effort in Somalia is the volatile security situation, particularly in the centre and south of the country, which are the regions most affected by famine.

Yugoslavia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part British aid has played in the provision of relief to the former Yugoslavia.

To date Her Majesty's Government have committed over £70 million in humanitarian aid for the former Yugoslavia, including the £15 million the Prime Minister announced yesterday. Of this, £29.5 million is bilateral aid and £41 million aid attributable through the European Community.The £29.5 million bilateral aid is being channelled through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other United Nation Agencies; Red Cross; British charities, including CARE and Feed the Children; and Overseas Development Administration direct actions.Direct actions taken so far by the ODA include the provision of 21 British trucks, based in Split as part of UNHCR road delivery operation, running two or three convoys a week to Sarajevo—during the suspension of the airlift, these trucks were Sarajevo's lifeline—five British logisticians seconded to the United Nations; a British road engineer who undertook an assessment for UNHCR of the state of convoy routes in winter; delivery of £1,130,000 of medical supplies to the World Health Organisation in Zagreb following assessment by British medical team which were then distributed throughout Bosnia, including Sarajevo and Gorazde; support to UNHCR and WHO with anaesthetics, computer equipment and specialist advice; funding of two pharmacists and one computer expert working with WHO and one logistics expert assisting WHO with new consignment of medical supplies; a shelter team to identify where the ODA could best help with the "winterisation" of collective centres in central Bosnia—funding for the activities identified will be provided from the £7.5 million which my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development announced on 24 September to allow rapid implementation of the teams recommendations—and mining and power teams for UNHCR to provide assessment of current position and detailed plans for the emergency provision and distribution of fuel for heating during winter months.In addition, the ODA is in the process of providing a further 22 trucks plus all support staff and vehicles, the first convoy of which is due to leave the United Kingdom on 26 October; all equipment and staff to run one relief warehouse; a further £1 million of medical supplies for

Somalia: Food aid: 1992
Donor	Commitments	Value	Deliveries	Value
	(Tonnes)	(£ million)	(Tonnes)	(£ million)
United Kingdom	34,100	5.8	19,100	2.7
EC	206,386	36.7	105,000	18.7

Madagascar

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Disaster and Natural Resources Institute has received the recommendations of the Food and Agricultural Organisation's locust consultant in relation to Madagascar; and what action he is taking.

[holding answer 20 October 1992]: The Natural Resources Institute has received the recommendations of the Food and Agricultural Organisation's locust consultant and has now passed these on to ODA's disaster unit for consideration. We have recently agreed to support a field trial of insect growth regulators—IGR—in collaboration with the FAO. The trial is expected to produce specific recommendations on the use of IGRs in controlling locust populations which can then be implemented within months. We are currently addressing the specific short-term recommendations of the FAO consultant and will make decisions on further United Kingdom support very shortly.

Scotland

Governance

17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further stock he has taken about the future governance of Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to announce the results of the Government's taking stock exercise with respect to the governance of Scotland.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Wallace) earlier today.

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on holding a multi-option referendum on the future government of Scotland.

Since the general election I have received 54 representations calling for a multi-option referendum on the future government of Scotland.

WHO, the initial consignment of which will travel with the first truck convoy; 10 Land-Rovers for UNHCR; and 10 extra staff—logisticians/radio operators—for UNHCR.

Somalia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what quantity and value of food aid has been promised to Somalia by the United Kingdom and EC in the current year; and what quantity and value of food aid has been actually delivered.

[holding answer 20 October 1992]: Relevant figures for United Kingdom and EC food aid to Somalia are set out in the table.

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effect of the implementation of article 3b of the treaty of European union on the governance of Scotland.

The proposed new article 3b of the EC treaty refers specifically and exclusively to the relations between the Community and individual member states. It is up to individual member states to order their own constitutional affairs at the national and sub-national level.

Cashmere And Woollen Garments

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the value of cashmere and woollen garments sold annually out of Scotland; and what percentage is exported from the United Kingdom.

I can best answer my hon. Friend's question by referring to the estimate of the Textile Statistics Bureau that, in 1991, exports of woollen and fine animal hair garments from the United Kingdom were in the region of £472 million. Separate figures are not available for Scotland.

Romanian Orphanages

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the work done in Romanian orphanages by Scottish charities; and if he will make a statement.

Detailed information on the work done in Romanian orphanages by Scottish charities is not held centrally. A number of Scottish-based organisations have provided and continue to provide valuable aid of various kinds to Romania.

Sub-Standard Housing

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses there are in Scotland which are classed as being below tolerable standard.

Local authorities estimated that just over 81,100 houses in Scotland fall into this category.

School Management

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what response he received to the consultation paper "School Management: The Way Ahead".

The Scottish Office education department has received about 1,200 responses to the consultation paper. We will announce our conclusions shortly.

Local Government Finance

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss local government finance.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Paisley, South (Mr. McMaster).

Local Government

32.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet with representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss local government services; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Paisley, South (Mr. McMaster).

Assured Tenancies

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many assured tenancies exist within Scottish Homes.

There are no assured tenancies within Scottish Homes housing stock; in common with other public sector landlords, Scottish Homes' tenants hold secured tenancies.

Scottish Council (Development And Industry)

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet representatives of the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) to discuss the Scottish economy; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend expects to meet representatives of the Scottish Council at Gleneagles on 30 October when he will be addressing the Council's international forum.

Grampian Healthcare

27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on national health service trust status for Grampian Healthcare.

Grampian Healthcare is one of 14 units in Scotland which have applied for national health service trust status in April 1993. The applications are at various stages of public consultation and my right hon. Friend will be announcing his decisions in due course, following careful consideration of comments received.

Youth Training

28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he intends to take to assist young people in Glasgow which are unable to obtain a place on a youth training scheme.

The delivery of youth training in Glasgow is the responsibility of Scottish Enterprise and the Glasgow development agency, which have assured me that sufficient places are being made available to cater for those young people in Glasgow who wish to enter the programme. A financial safety net is in place, via the income support severe hardship provision, for those who need financial help while waiting for a start on a youth training place.

Roads, Ayrshire

30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of the roads programme in Ayrshire.

Many improvements are planned to both trunk and local roads in Ayrshire. So far as the trunk road programme is concerned, the upgrading of the A77 between Glasgow and Ayr to motorway or near motorway standard is one of the Government's top priorities. The programme of improvement of local roads within Ayrshire is a matter for Strathclyde regional council, as the local roads authority, to determine. Work is under way on the local authority's section of the Ayr road route between the existing M77 and the Glasgow city boundary. Work on the trunk road section immediately to the south is planned to allow the two sections to open at the same time. The first of the two schemes to upgrade the remainder of the route has been announced for a start in the next three years.The Government are also pursuing a programme of smaller schemes on other routes within Ayrshire to ensure that they can continue to provide safe and reliable links to the A77 and other strategic trunk roads.

Fishing Policy

31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet representatives of the west coast fishing industry to discuss fishing policy.

I regularly meet leaders of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation which speaks for many west coast fishermen. It is my intention to continue to meet fishermen's leaders from all parts of Scotland to hear their concerns.

Gp Fund Holders

33.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many general practitioner practices in Scotland have applied to become fund holders; and how many already are fund holders.

Currently there are 10 operational fund-holding practices in Scotland. In addition, 12 practices are involved in a small practice pilot scheme but are not full fund holders.Latest returns from health boards indicate that 67 practices have applied, and are likely to be approved by boards to become fund-holding practices in 1993, although not all of these will commence fund holding on 1 April. A number of other practices are likely to follow up their expressions of interest and apply to become full fund holders during 1993. It is therefore expected that up to 90 practices will be fund holders by the end of the 1993–94 financial year.

Skye Bridge

34.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on progress with regard to the Skye bridge construction project.

Since construction began at the beginning of July, the contractor has made good progress. It is planned that the caissons for the bridge, which have been constructed at the Kishorn dry dock, will be floated out and sunk at the main pier positions within the Kyle in two to three weeks' time. The precise timing is subject to the prevailing weather and tidal conditions. This will be a very significant step towards the eventual completion of the project programmed for the summer of 1995.

Ec Presidency

35.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for promoting Scotland during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community.

The holding of the European Council in Edinburgh in December offers a tremendous opportunity for promoting Scotland on a world stage. The Scottish Office is working with a number of other organisations to ensure that the most is made of that opportunity. A co-ordinated media strategy is in place, which includes a programme of visits to Scotland by foreign journalists. Scotland is also playing a major role in the programme of presidency special events, of which over 25 have or will take place in Scotland.

Poverty

36.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans the Government have to eradicate poverty in Scotland.

The Government's economic policies are designed to sustain long-term growth which will have benefits for all members of society and the defeat of inflation is essential if this is to be achieved. Monetary and fiscal policies will continue to be dedicated to this objective.A number of Government programmes are designed to address the complex problems of poverty, including the four Scottish Office-led urban partnership initiatives and the urban programme. This has a budget of £81 million in 1992–93—up from £76 million in 1991–92—and provides 75 per cent. central Government support to projects, in all urban areas of exceptional need, which aim to address problems of poverty and disadvantage.

Investment

37.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to meet the Scottish local authorities to discuss European-funded investment.

The Secretary of State meets the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on a regular basis to discuss local government finance in Scotland. At the last three such meetings, the latest of which was held on 5 October, the subject of European-funded investment was discussed. The next meeting has yet to be arranged but it is likely to take place early in the new year.

Cambuslang

38.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for a special industrial and economic agency for Cambuslang.

My right hon. Friend has no such plans. Responsibility for the industrial and economic development of Cambuslang, as for other parts of its area, rests with the local enterprise company, Glasgow development agency. The enterprise company is free to determine the priorities and resources available to it and which, in the current financial year, amount to more than £58 million.

Council House Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what response he has received to his consultative document on the future of council house management.

The closing date for responses to our consultation paper "Competing for Quality in Housing in Scotland" was 18 September. Around 100 responses have so far been received, and these are currently under consideration.

Hospital Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers of patients waiting for in-patient treatment on 31 March for each individual health authority (a) in total and (b) by main speciality for periods (i) under 12 months, (ii) 12 to 24 months and (iii) over 24 months.

This information is set out in the NHS "Patient Treatment and Waiting Time Bulletin" for 31 March 1992, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers of patients waiting for out-patient treatment on 31 March for each individual health authority (a) in total and (b) by main speciality for periods (i) under 12 months, (ii) 12 to 24 months and (iii) over 24 months.

This information is not centrally available.

Water Disconnections

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he plans to continue the policy of not allowing domestic disconnections from the water supply in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to change the present policy that domestic water supplies provided by water authorities are not subject to disconnection except for operational reasons. My right hon. Friend will shortly be publishing a consultation paper on the future structure of water and sewerage services.

Water And Sewerage Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what will be the timetable for consultation on alternative forms of organisation for water and sewerage services in Scotland; what steps he intends to take to ensure maximum possible participation by the general public; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend will shortly publish a consultation paper on the future organisation of water and sewerage services in Scotland. The paper will be made available to all interested parties, including the media and the general public.

Railway Viaduct, Kirkcudbright

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what grounds the Big Water of Fleet railway viaduct near Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbright was removed from the register of listed structures; and if he will make a statement.

Big Water of Fleet viaduct was removed from the statutory list of buildings of special historic or architectural interest in 1990–91 in the course of the national re-survey. It was assessed as not meeting the standard required to justify its retention on the list because of the extensive use of brick in strengthening the viaduct.Although it is no longer a listed structure, the viaduct has been recognised by Dumfries and Galloway regional council in the regional structure plan as an important industrial archaeological site. The council also recognises the contribution made by the impressive span of the structure to the high visual and amenity quality of the locality.

Church Commissioners

Church Fees

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will estimate what would be the additional revenue for the Church Commissioners if the current fees charged for marriage, funerals and baptisms were doubled.

Government expenditure on regional financial assistance to industry at current prices¹												£ million		Table 1
Region	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
Northern	158.8	151.2	150.8	178.3	159.7	130.2	125.5	96.6	137.3	109.3	134.1	117.0	85.0	63.8
Yorkshire and Humberside	37.4	34.1	52.4	62.1	53.5	36.3	44.3	36.4	41.9	38.8	50.2	32.4	29.4	18.2
East Midlands	3.4	4.4	4.7	8.7	13.8	17.5	11.4	8.8	10.7	9.4	8.8	9.5	5.5	2.6
South West	9.6	11.1	12.5	14.9	16.6	12.1	14.6	12.3	23.0	14.8	14.7	10.7	9.0	8.3
West Midlands ^{2 3}	0.2	0.1	0.1	—	—	—	—	7.1	10.6	19.3	26.2	19.9	18.0	8.7
North West	⁵14.1	⁵96.1	⁵36.5	⁵174.9	⁵124.8	⁵104.2	106.4	87.5	129.6	79.0	82.3	74.3	57.5	49.5
England	323.5	297.0	357.0	438.9	368.4	300.3	302.2	248.7	353.1	270.6	316.3	263.8	204.4	151.1
Wales	132.1	112.9	175.3	197.5	182.1	120.0	147.5	138.4	150.7	132.4	148.2	131.7	133.7	153.9
Scotland	156.1	135.2	194.5	232.5	369.4	228.6	187.1	197.0	242.4	153.2	151.2	144.6	159.1	135.4
Great Britain	611.7	545.1	726.8	868.9	919.9	648.9	636.8	584.1	746.2	556.2	615.7	540.1	497.2	440.4

Fees for marriages and funerals—they are not charged for baptisms—are paid to the officiating minister and the parochial church council, not to the commissioners.Total fee income for the year to 31 March 1991 was about £13 million. An increase of 15 per cent. in most fees was implemented from 1 January 1992. It is difficult to know whether a doubling of the fees would result in a pro-rata increase—that is, to about £30 million—because there could be a slackening of demand.

Trade And Industry

Advisory Committee On Business And The Environment

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he received the second progress report of his advisory committee on business and the environment; what response he has made; and if he will list those recommendations in the first ACBE report on which his Department has taken action to date.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on Monday 19 October, Official Report, column 227.

Wind Power

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's assessment of the proportion of United Kingdom energy requirements that could be supplied by wind power; and what he is doing to ensure that maximum use is made of this renewable energy source.

[holding answer 20 October 1992]:I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave her on 19 October, Official Report, column 236.

Regional Preferential Assistance

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the amount of regional preferential assistance paid to each standard region of England, Scotland and Wales in each year from 1978–79 in (a) cash and (b) constant prices and with an annual index.

Information on regional preferential assistance in each standard region of England, Scotland and Wales from 1978–79 at cash and 1991–92 prices with an annual index is set out in the tables. The expenditure is gross of recoveries. Regional information on a net basis is not readily available.

Government expenditure on regional financial assistance to industry at 1991–92 prices^{1 4}												£ million		Table 2
Region	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92
Northern	430.4	350.8	296.3	319.0	266.6	208.0	190.7	139.2	191.5	144.6	165.6	135.4	90.0	63.8
Yorkshire and Humberside	101.4	79.1	102.9	111.1	89.3	58.0	67.3	52.4	58.4	51.3	62.0	37.5	31.4	18.2
East Midlands	9.2	10.2	9.2	15.6	23.0	28.0	17.3	12.7	14.9	12.4	10.9	11.0	5.9	2.6
South West	26.0	25.8	24.6	26.7	27.7	19.3	22.2	17.7	32.1	19.6	18.1	124	9.6	8.3
West Midlands ^{2 3}	0.5	0.2	—	—	—	—	—	10.2	14.8	25.5	32.3	23.0	19.3	8.7
North West	⁵309.2	⁵223.0	⁵268.2	⁵312.9	⁵208.3	⁵166.5	161.7	126.1	180.8	104.5	101.6	86.0	61.5	49.5
England	876.7	689.1	701.2	785.3	614.9	479.8	459.2	358.3	492.5	357.9	390.5	305.3	218.6	151.1
Wales	358.0	261.9	344.4	353.3	304.0	191.7	224.2	199.4	210.2	175.1	183.0	152.4	143.0	153.9
Scotland	423.0	313.7	382.1	415.9	616.7	365.2	284.3	283.9	338.1	202.6	186.7	167.4	170.2	135.4
Great Britain	1,657.7	1,264.7	1,427.7	1,554.5	1,535.6	1,036.7	967.7	841.6	1,040.8	735.6	760.2	625.1	531.8	440.4

Notes to tables 1, 2 and 3:

¹ All figures are gross and include payments to nationalised industries.

² Includes some minor expenditure in West Midlands in respect of Oswestry TTWA which ceased to be an assisted area in 1982–83.

³ Certain TTWAs in the West Midlands were designated as assisted areas on 29 November 1984.

⁴ Expenditure on a 1991–92 price basis for each year is calculated by applying the appropriate deflator to expenditure at current prices.

⁵ Includes expenditure in Cumbria, otherwise shown within the totals for Northern region.

The items included in the expenditure are regional development grants, regional selective assistance and regional enterprise grants; expenditure on Land and factories by the English Industrial Estates Corporation, the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies, the Development Board for Rural Wales, and the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

Table 3
Index	1991–92 prices
1978–79	36.9
1979–80	43.1
1980–81	50.9
1981–82	55.9
1982–83	59.9
1983–84	62.6
1984–85	65.8
1985–86	69.4
1986–87	71.7
1987–88	75.6
1988–89	81.0
1989–90	86.4
1990–91	93.5
1991–92	100.0

Energy Requirements

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what approximate proportions of national energy requirements, excluding transport, have been supplied by (a) coal, (b) domestically produced petroleum, (c) imported petroleum, (d) domestic natural gas and (e) renewable sources, for each of the past five years; what proportions he expects those sources to supply in the next five years, consequent on the published plans of the bodies concerned; and if he will give the net costs for past years using the actual exchange rates, and, for future years, a range of possible exchange costs likely to be incurred.

[holding answer 19 October 1992.]: Data on final energy consumption in the United Kingdom are published in table 8 of the annual "Digest of United

£ million
	Coal¹	Petroleum	Natural gas	Renewable sources	Other fuels²
1987	1,060	1,880	6,870	440	12,410
1988	975	1,625	6,635	460	13,125
1989	855	1,730	6,670	490	14,310
1990	840	1,985	7,210	525	14,745
1991	900	1,960	8,280	570	16,295
¹ Excluding other solid fuels.
² Includes solid fuels other than coal, coke oven gas and electricity produced from non-renewable sources.

My Department does not produce forecasts of future range of energy requirements However, an indication of the likely

Kingdom Energy Statistic". The shares of final energy consumption by the transport sector, met by coal, petroleum, natural gas and renewable sources during the period 1987 t0 1991 are set out in the table.

	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991
Coal¹	10.3	9.5	8.6	7.8	7.9
Petroleum	15.3	17.3	15.7	15.2	15.4
Natural gas	46.3	45.0	45.7	47.1	48.1
Renewable sources	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8
Percentage share other fuels²	27.3	27.4	29.2	29.0	27.8
¹ Excluding other solid fuels.
² Includes solid fuels other than coal, coke oven gas and electricity produced from non-renewable sources.

In 1991, approximately 10.1 million tonnes, or 13.6 per cent. of the consumption of petroleum products in the United Kingdom, including that by the transport sector, was met by imported petroleum products. During the same period, exports of petroleum products amounted to approximately 19.4 million tonnes. These figures and data for earlier years are published in tables 33 and A8 of the annual "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics".

In 1991, approximately 89 per cent. of natural gas consumption was domestically produced. This figure and data for earlier years can be derived from table A10 of the annual "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics".

The estimated expenditure on energy by final consumers is published in table 9 of the annual "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics". Figures consistent with the previous table—that is, excluding the transport sector—are set out in the following table.

range of energy requirements in some possible future energy scenarios can be obtained from Energy Paper No.

59, which was recently published by this Department. A copy of this paper has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Imported Coal

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the main fluctuations in the price—cif—in pounds per tonne, or energy equivalent and an indexed figure" of coal of power station quality available for import into the United Kingdom over the past eight years, the current price and his estimate of trends in future prices in a situation of European or world economic recovery.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: The annual average prices for imports of steam coal over the last eight years were:

	£ per tonne (cif)
1984	56.6
1985	47.5
1986	37.2
1987	35.0
1988	36.5
1989	39.0
1990	37.6
1991	33.9
¹1992	31.2
¹ January to August.

Source: Central Statistical Office.

During this period, monthly average prices have fluctuated between £27.6 per tonne in July 1992 and £69.8 in February 1985, while the price in August 1992, the most recent available was £28.4 per tonne, cif.

My Department does not make forecasts of future fuel prices. However, an indication of the likely range of coal prices in some possible future energy scenarios can be obtained from Energy Paper No. 59, which was recently published by this Department. A copy of this paper has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has of the proportion of coal imports into the United Kingdom for 1991 and the first six months of 1992, respectively, that were carried to the United Kingdom in ships other than those owned or registered in the United Kingdom, stating the approximate non-sterling costs incurred thereby, and his estimate of the range of such transport costs likely to be incurred in 1994 and thereafter.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: Imports of coal, coke and briquettes to the United Kingdom both in 1991 and in the first six months of 1992 carried by ships registered outside the United Kingdom amounted to 64 per cent. of the total of these imports. From the information available we are not able to provide a reliable estimate of the non-sterling costs involved.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the tonnes of coal imported into the United Kingdom in the first six months of 1992, and his estimate of the quantities likely in 1993, stating broadly the proportion or quantities from each of the main supplying areas or states.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: The breakdown of coal imported into the United Kingdom in the first six months of 1992 by country of origin is as follows:

Country of origin	Quantity (thousand tonnes)	Percentage
United States of America	4,367	39
Australia	2,418	21
Colombia	2,038	18
Former USSR	472	4
Canada	407	4
Poland	469	4
South Africa	403	4
Others	709	6
TOTAL	11,284

Source: Customs and Excise.

The Government do not produce estimates of future coal imports.

Coal Prices

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current price per gigajoule of deep-mined coal sold by British Coal to the main electricity generating undertakings, and the price at 1992 prices expected to be charged following implementation of its plans for pit closures.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: The prices paid by the electricity industry to individual coal suppliers are confidential to the companies concerned. The average price of all coal purchased by the major United Kingdom electricity generating companies is however published in table 26 of "Energy Trends", the Department's monthly statistical bulletin. In the second quarter of 1992 the average price was £1.81 per gigajoule.Equivalent prices for the second quarter of next year will not be known until the necessary returns have been made, but the prices are likely to be substantially lower.

Electricity Generating Plants

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is, in pence per unit, and as a percentage of the domestic price, the approximate cost of (a) capital cost of generation, (b) fuel and its safe disposal, (c) transmission and distribution and (d) other costs, respectively, of each of the main fuel categories of power available for installation.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: The average price of electricity used in domestic premises this year is expected to be approximately 8p/kwh. Of this, around half is attributable to generation costs and around one third to transmission and distribution, with the remainder accounted for by supply costs and the fossil fuel levy.

Trade In Energy

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what overall assessment he has made since assuming office of the trends in the balance of payments of the United Kingdom trade in energy—including the channel link—other than in oil; and where such assessments are published, what distinction he draws between his responsibilities for attaining a balance or surplus of trade in this commodity, as compared to any other.

[holding answer 19 October 1992]: The balance of payments deficit for United Kingdom trade in energy, other than in oil, in 1991 was £1,260 million, broadly the same as in the last five years. Data are published by the Central Statistical Office in the 1992 Pink Book, "UK Balance of Payments".The Department does not aim to maintain a trading surplus in any particular commodity or fuel but rather to ensure that overall the United Kingdom remains competitive with the other trading nations of the world.

Inmos

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his oral answer of 11 May, Official Report, column 361, if he will make a statement on plans to intervene to ensure that the production of semi-conductors by Inmos Ltd. continues at Newport, Gwent.

I have been asked to reply.Following extensive discussion, the European Commission ruled out United Kingdom Government assistance at the exceptionally high level sought by this company to develop its operation at Newport. We have made it clear that the Government remain ready to explore further with the company whether there is any alternative basis on which assistance might be provided.

Social Security

Disability Allowances

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library statistics relating to the performance of disability living allowance and disability working allowance.

I am pleased to announce that from this month such statistical information will be placed in the Library each month. We will aim to make the information available within seven working days of the end of the previous month.

Unemployment Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he has made of the estimated cost to his budget of the recent announcement of job losses in the coal mining industry and their knock-on effects in other industries.

The characteristics of individual claims will vary widely and entitlement to benefit will be affected by redundancy and/or compensation payments. However, the effect on expenditure of a variation of 100,000 in the numbers of unemployed people is given in figure 25, page 18, of the second departmental report of the Department of Social Security, Cm 1914, published in February 1992, a copy of which is in the Library.

Social Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the number and percentage of total applications which were refused for (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans for each of the years of the social fund's operation; and if he will provide a breakdown by (i) region and (ii) local DSS office.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 June 1992, c. 596] Some of the information requested was inadvertently omitted. The missing tables have now been placed in the Library.

Wales

Special Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of children in special schools in Wales do not have a statement of needs.

Information provided by schools indicates that, at September 1991, 4 per cent. of children in special schools did not have a statement of special educational needs. However, many of these were in assessment centres and in the process of having their needs assessed prior to a possible statement.

University Hospital Of Wales

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning a proposed grade-separated cross-over road access from Eastern avenue to the University hospital of Wales, the Heath, Cardiff.

My right hon. Friend has received 15 representations, including one from the Allensbank Permanent Allotment Association. Those making representations have expressed concern about environmental matters, the possible loss of allotment land, and traffic.

Infrastructure Projects

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much is currently allocated by his Department to (a) road and (b) rail infrastructure projects in Clwyd; and if he will publish an estimated figure for expenditure by his Department in Clwyd in 1993–94 and 1994–95 indicating in each case the principal projects allocated moneys.

In 1992–93, some £16.7 million has been directly allocated to road projects in Clwyd. This includes expenditure on the recently opened Mold bypass and the county council's transport grant settlement. Additional expenditure is incurred by Clwyd county council using credit approvals and revenue support grant provided by the Welsh Office. The Department does not directly provide funds for British Rail infrastructure projects. Expenditure decisions for 1993–94 and 1994–95 will be announced following the annual public expenditure surveys.

Volume 212: debated on Wednesday 21 October 1992

Written Answers To Questions

Northern Ireland

Water Services

Hospital Waiting Lists

Housing

Anaesthetists

Newtownbreda Bomb

Eye Operations

Lord Chancellor's Department

Civil Servants' Shareholdings

Transport

Railway Investment

Traffic Accidents

Environmental Protection

Bus Deregulation

Leicester Roads

Home Department

Prisoners (Citizens Charter)

Muslim Prisoners

British National Party

Carl Bridgewater

Racially Inflammatory Publications

Fire Brigades (Fleet Maintenance)

Disabled People

Remand Prisoners

Murder Statistics

House Fires

Prisoners

Escaped Prisoners

Religious Discrimination

Police Cells

Police Forces

Prisoners (Clothes)

Convictions (Safety)

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Iraq

Lorry Blockade, France

Maastricht Treaty

Defence

Raf Wattisham

Raf Search And Rescue

Dismounted Public Duties

Airborne Warning And Communication System

Environment

Energy Efficiency

Housing (Pregnant Women)

Sssis

Employment

Deregulation

Health

Cycling

Prime Minister

Yugoslavia

National Finance

European Currency Unit

Bank Of England Governor

Currency Intervention

European Central Bank

Mr Peter Clowes

Currency Speculation

Economists

Business Expansion Scheme

Coal Mining

Tobacco

Interest Rates

Overseas Development

Southern Africa

Food Security

Pakistan (Floods)

Malawi

World Bank Loans

Global Environment Facility

Somalia

Yugoslavia

Madagascar

Scotland

Governance

Somalia