To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will state the hourly rates for all types of legal aid over each of the last 20 years and also give the figures in real terms.

The available figures are as follows. Prescribed hourly rates for solicitors undertaking criminal legal aid work in the magistrates courts and the Crown court were introduced in October 1982. The paying authority has the power to allow fees higher than the prescribed hourly rates where these rates would not reflect

Criminal legal aid hourly rates (£) 1982–1992
Type of work	Year
	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992
(a) magistrates' court proceedings
Preparation	24.00	25.00	26.00	27.00	28.50	32.50	34.50	36.50	39.25	42.00	43.25
Advocacy	29.00	30.00	32.00	33.00	35.00	40.50	43.00	46.00	49.50	53.00	54.50
Attendance at court where counsel assigned	15.00	16.50	17.00	18.00	19.00	21.50	23.00	24.50	26.25	28.50	29.50
Travelling and waiting	16.00	16.50	17.00	17.00	18.00	19.00	19.50	20.50	22.00	23.50	24.25
(b) Crown Court and Court of Appeal proceedings
Preparation:
Senior solicitor	29.00	30.00	30.00	31.00	33.00	38.00	40.00	42.50	46.00	50.00	51.50
Solicitor/legal executive/fee-earner of equivalent experience	23.00	24.00	26.00	27.00	28.50	32.50	34.50	36.50	39.50	42.25	43.50
Articled clerk/fee-earner of equivalent experience	14.00	15.00	17.00	18.00	19.00	21.50	22.50	24.00	26.00	28.00	28.75
Advocacy:
Senior solicitor	31.00	32.00	32.00	33.00	35.00	40.50	50.00	53.00	57.00	61.00	62.50
Solicitor	27.00	28.00	32.00	33.00	35.00	40.50	43.00	46.00	49.50	53.00	54.50
Attendance at court where counsel assigned:
Senior solicitor	26.00	26.00	26.00	27.00	28.00	31.00	33.00	35.00	37.50	40.00	41.25
Solicitor/legal executive/fee-earner of equivalent experience	20.00	20.00	20.00	21.00	22.00	24.50	26.00	27.50	29.50	32.00	33.00
Articled clerk/fee-earner of equivalent experience	12.00	12.00	12.00	13.00	14.00	15.50	16.00	17.00	18.25	19.50	20.00
Travelling and waiting:
Senior solicitor	18.00	18.00	17.00	17.00	18.00	19.00	19.50	20.50	22.00	23.50	24.25
Solicitor/legal executive/fee-earner of equivalent experience	13.00	13.00	17.00	17.00	18.00	19.00	19.50	20.50	22.00	23.50	24.25
Articled clerk/fee-earner of equivalent experience	8.00	8.00	8.00	9.00	9.00	9.50	9.75	10.25	11.00	11.75	12.00

Criminal legal aid hourly rales (£) 1982–1992 expressed at 1992–1993 prices
Type of Work	Year
	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992
(a) magistrates' court proceedings
Preparation	41.87	41.68	41.29	40.63	41.52	44.91	44.46	44.13	43.88	43.78	43.25
Advocacy	50.60	50.02	50.81	49.66	50.99	55.97	55.42	55.62	55.34	55.25	54.50
Attendance at court where counsel assigned	26.17	27.51	27.00	27.09	27.68	29.71	29.64	29.62	29.35	29.71	29.50
Travelling and waiting	27.91	27.51	27.00	25.58	26.23	26.26	25.13	24.79	24.60	24.50	24.25

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what investigations he has made into the numbers and proportions of solicitors' firms that accept legal aid work; and if he will state the findings of such investigations.

No statistics are available on the number of firms of solicitors undertaking legal aid work at any one time. The Legal Aid Board does, however, publish a figure showing the number of offices receiving payment. For the last five years these were as follows:

Year	Number
1987–88	11,617
1988–89	11,558
1989–90	11,455
1990–91	11,125
1991–92	11,060

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what provision he intends to make in the legal aid fee structures for listening to tape recordings of police interviews with suspects.

Listening to tape recordings of police interviews forms part of the preparation of a criminal case, and is remunerated as such under the present arrangements. Under the proposed system of standard fees for solicitors' criminal legal aid work in the magistrates' courts, it is intended that payment for listening to tape recordings should be included in the standard fee, since it forms part of the normal preparation of a case.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what account he has taken of representations made to him by the Law Society concerning the question of fixed fees for legal aid.

Fixed fees have not been proposed. The consultation period on the proposed standard fee system for solicitors' criminal legal aid work in the magistrates courts is planned to continue until the end of October.Discussions with the Law Society on standard fees began in July 1991. As a result, the Lord Chancellor has made several changes to his proposals. These include a fee structure based on the amount of work done, rather than hearing time as originally suggested, and allowing waiting time to be claimed separately.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the current backlog of appeals for (a) the immigration tribunal and (b) the immigration appeal tribunal in each of the appeal centres.

As of this month 23,000 cases were outstanding before immigration adjudicators and 322 before the immigration appeals tribunal. In order to break down the first figure regionally it is necessary to consider cases listed, cases awaiting instructions from one of the parties and the balance which, alone, is in the control of the administration/judiciary and to employ some apportionment. This approach produces the following figures:

	Numbers
Thanet House	13,730
Birmingham	2,230
Leeds	1,010
Harmonsworth	3,510
Manchester	1,860
Glasgow	660

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the rates have been for green form legal advice for each of the last 10 years; and if he will give the figures in real terms.

Before 1989, solicitors' bills for legal advice and assistance were assessed by the Law Society. The hourly guideline rates from 1982 to 1988 were:

Year	Rate	Rate expressed at 1992–93 prices
1982	24.00	41.89
1983	25.00	41.70
1984	26.00	41.31
1985	27.00	40.65
11986	28.50	41.54
21986	30.50	44.46
1987	32.50	44.93
1988	34.50	44.48
1April
2 October

Since 1989 the rate paid to solicitors for legal advice and assistance is the same as that for work in criminal proceedings in the magistrates court. The prescribed hourly rates since 1989 have been:

Year	Rate	Rate expressed at 1992–93 prices
1989	36.50	44.15
1990	39.25	43.89
1991	42.00	43.98
1992	43.25

Figures have been uprated to 1992–93 prices using the

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action he has taken and intends to take to increase the proportion of blacks and Asians in the judiciary.

The Lord Chancellor's policy is to appoint to judicial office those best qualified, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, political affiliation or religion. Without prejudice to this overriding principle, the Lord Chancellor has stressed publicly, and will continue to do so, that he would like more black and Asian practitioners who are suitably qualified to be appointed to the judiciary. A major factor has been the lack of such candidates in the legal profession in the relevant age groups. There are now more ethnic minority practitioners within the legal profession who the Lord Chancellor hopes will come forward for consideration. To encourage this, he has made the booklet on the judicial appointments system widely available to ethnic minority practitioners and representative groups. Particular consideration is given to reviewing ethnic minority candidates in the field for particular appointments and ethnic recording arrangements were introduced for applications for judicial appointment made after 1 October 1991. The Lord Chancellor and his officials also have periodical meetings with groups representing the interests of black and Asian practitioners where matters relating to the judicial appointments system are discussed.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what amount of central Government funding has been given to law centres for each of the last 20 years; and if he will give the figures in real terms.

The information is as follows:

Year	Grant £'000	At 1992–93 prices
1974–75	50	254
1975–76	100	405
1976–77	150	535
1977–78	225	706
1978–79	273	773
1979–80	381	923
1980–81	445	911
1981–82	535	1,000
1982–83	583	1,017
1983–84	618	1,030
1984–85	649	1,031
1985–86	675	1,016
1986–87	695	1,013
1987–88	712	984
1988–89	730	941
1989–90	768	929
1990–91	822	919
1991–92	841	877

This Department made no grants to law centres before 1974–75. The figures from then to date are set out in the table. At various times during the past 20 years some law centres have received central Government funding from sources other than the Lord Chancellor's Department. These figures do not include income from the Legal Aid Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement in respect of the governor of Hong Kong's emergency meeting held on 25 September, in connection with threats to the colony's marine police officers by Chinese security officials in the colony's waters.

On 25 September, a Hong Kong fishing vessel was boarded by Chinese security officers within Hong Kong territorial waters. This was a serious incident and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised it with the Chinese Foreign Minister on the same day. On 29 September, Chinese officials made clear to the Hong Kong Government that the action of the Chinese officers concerned had been incorrect, and offered apologies for the incident. This response underlines the shared interest of Hong Kong and China in effective cooperation to combat smuggling.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out in the Official Report the main points he made in his speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations in September; and what was the response he received from his counterparts.

The main purpose of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' speech, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House, was to offer a response, on behalf of the European Community and its member states, to the Secretary-General's report "An Agenda for Peace". In the subsequent debate in the general assembly there was widespread agreement that the report was welcome, and that it provided a quarry of ideas to be followed up on a case-by-case basis and in the relevant UN bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to discuss with his French counterpart the resumption of multilateral nuclear test ban treaty talks.

We have regular discussions with the French Government on a range of nuclear defence issues, including nuclear testing. We have always accepted a comprehensive test ban as a long-term goal, but we continue to believe that nuclear testing is the best means of ensuring the safety and credibility of our nuclear deterrent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current backlog in each of the queues at the following posts (a) Bombay, (b) New Delhi, (c) Islamabad, (d) Karachi, (e) Dhak, (f) Nairobi and (g) Dar-es-Salaam; and what is the average length of time in each queue from application to interview.

As at 31 August the number of people waiting for interviews for entry clearance were:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Bombay	0	163	424	205	792
New Delhi	0	297	295	134	726
Islamabad	3	166	52	465	686
Karachi	5	108	34	8	155
Dhaka	350	1,679	212	277	2,518

There are no queues in Nairobi or Dar-el-Salaam. The estimated waiting times, in months, are:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Bombay	—	4	9	10
New Delhi	—	3	7	10
Islamabad	3	3	6	10
Karachi	2	2	3	7
Dhaka	3	6	7	9

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 19 October Official Report, columns 34–35, on war crimes in former Yugoslavia, if Her Majesty's Government will consider submitting information to the United Nations on the actions of Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic in connection with crimes against humanity; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave to him on 19 October, at columns 34–35.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage whether he will introduce legislation to ban the possession of the drug Clenbuterol for sporting purposes.

The Government have no plans at present to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage by what date the pound-for-pound business sports sponsorship incentive scheme announced on 19 December 1991 will be established; how much funding will be allocated to the scheme; over what time scale it will operate; and if he will make a statement.

The Government remain firmly committed to Sportsmatch. I shall soon make an announcement on its launch date and funding. It will be to the benefit of the scheme and all those involved in it if Sportsmatch can he launched with a secure future. No time scale has been set for the operation of the scheme. This will depend very largely on its success.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the approximate costs arising in his Department from the direct administration of grant-maintained schools for the year 1992, or 1991–92, and the estimated costs he expects to arise either in 1993, or the financial year 1993–94, stating the actual or expected number of schools in respect of each period.

The running costs of staff employed on the direct administration of GM schools and associated policy were £706,000 in 1991–92. Estimated outturn for 1992–93 is £1,450,000. Budgets for 1993–94 have not yet been set. In March 1992 there were 143 GM schools operating. There are currently 278 GM schools operating, with 30 more approved or minded to approve.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements he has made for allocating costs of the national fund for in-service training of teachers in grant-maintained schools for the year 1992–93; and what is the approximate expenditure for this purpose which he expects to allocate in the year 1993–94, expressed as an aggregate sum, and as the amount per teacher eligible for such training.

In 1992–93 each grant-maintained school is eligible for a special purpose grant (development) allocated at the rate of £42.50 per pupil. Schools are expected to spend at least half of this grant on staff training and development. Grant-maintained schools may also meet such costs out of their annual maintenance grant. Decisions have not yet been taken about special purpose grant (development) allocations for 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of gross domestic product is devoted to research in universities; and what information he had for the comparative figures in other EC countries.

Data in the 1992 annual review of Government-funded research and development indicate that in 1990 0.3 per cent. of United Kingdom GDP was spent on research and development in higher education, compared with 0.4 per cent. in Germany, 0.3 per cent. in France and 0.25 per cent. in Italy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of research in British universities is funded by charities; and what information he has on the comparable figures in other European countries.

United Kingdom charities provided 22.3 per cent. of the income from research grants and contracts of United Kingdom universities in 1990–91. Comparable information for other countries is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure comparability in the rates of pay and conditions of work of the clerical staff of universities; and if he will make a statement.

The pay of clerical staff employed by the universities is entirely a matter for their employers. The Government have no intention of becoming involved in the negotiating arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of Government-funded research in British universities is devoted to defence issues.

Data in the 1992 annual review of Government-funded research and development show that in 1990–91 research and development spending by the Ministry of Defence accounted for 6.5 per cent. of all specific Government funding for research and development in higher education institutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what role the trade unions will have in the operation of new pay structures for university staff at university and college levels.

The Government expect employers in higher education to settle their own future negotiating arrangements including any arrangements for trade union involvement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from St. Vincents school for blind and partially sighted children in Liverpool in respect of the consultative paper on special educational needs; what his response has been; and if he will make a statement on the future of such non-maintained special schools.

I have replied to several Members about the future of non-maintained special schools under our proposed legislation. Schools such as St. Vincent's should continue to offer high-quality special education. Their future is not threatened by our legislative proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the relative positions of each member state of the European Community in respect of the provision of child care and nursery education.

It is not possible to offer comprehensive comparisons across the European Community but statistical comparisons of educational and group day care provision in a majority of EC states are available for 1987. Figures for participation in public and private sector provision in that year are as follows:

Percentages1
	Education		Day Care
	3–4	3–5	3–4	3–5
Belgium	96	97	5—	5—
France	98	99	5—	5—
Germany	56	66	5—	5—
Ireland	30	354	n/a	14
Italy (Estimated)	78	81	5—	5—
Luxembourg (Estimated)	49	65	6n/a	6n/a
Netherlands	51	67	25	417
Spain	53	70	5—	5—
United Kingdom	45	64	241	227
1Percentages of population, aged at 1 January.
2Estimated (avoiding double counting with education).
3For 1985.
4For 1983.
5—nil or negligible.
6n/a not available.

Only the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have compulsory full-time education from the age of five; in the other countries quoted this begins at six.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what surveys or investigations he has made concerning the location, capacity, and management of bus stands in central London after the proposed deregulation and privatisation of its bus services.

This is a matter for which the London Bus Executive will be responsible. The Government do not anticipate that deregulation will cause any significant changes in the provision and usage of bus stands. However, this is a point which can be considered further by the Department's consultative forum, whose first meeting I announced on 13 May, as part of its remit to advise on the practical aspects of implementing deregulation in London.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations in the report on the collision of 8 January 1991 at Cannon Street station that legislation should be introduced making it an offence for railway employees with safety responsibilities to be impaired by the consumption of alcohol or drugs.

The Transport and Works Act, which received Royal Assent on 16 March 1992, contains new comprehensive provisions to deal with drink and drugs offences on the railways. The offences, penalties and police testing powers are similar to those under the Road Traffic Act. The new provisions will come into force on 7 December 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request the British Railways Board to report on the practicality of introducing a rail service between Clapham and Willesden junctions on the west London line, calling at appropriate intermediate stations, subsequent on the completion of its electrification.

This is being examined by a working group of officials representing British Railways, London Transport, the Department of Transport, four London boroughs, and the local business community. I expect its report shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has received from his Japanese counterpart in regard to safety and security arrangements made for the voyage of the Akatsuki Maru carrier-ship between Japan, La Hague in France and Sellafield transporting plutonium.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fee was ageeed by Mercer Management Consulting to advise his Department and British Rail on the sale of British Rail's freight operations; and if he will make a statement.

This information is commercially confidential.

s: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to take external advice on the privatisation of British Rail's freight operations.

The Department of Transport and the British Railways Board have jointly commissioned Mercer Management Consulting to provide detailed advice on structural options for the transfer to the private sector of British Rail's domestic and international freight services, including the rail express systems parcel business. Work on the study commenced on 28 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the expected average rate of return from the £31 million transport supplementary grant earmarked for local safety schemes in the financial year 1991–92.

Returns provided by local authorities indicate that the sum earmarked for local safety schemes in the transport supplementary grant settlement for 1991–92 produced an average first year rate of return of 76 per cent., and over the first three years a rate of return of 213 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of staff changes in each of the National Rivers Authority regions as a result of the proposed environment agency; and if he will make a statement.

The number and distribution of staff within the environment agency will be matters for its management.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to ensure that the United Kingdom meets its recycling target of 25 per cent. of household waste by 2000.

We are undertaking a wide range of measures to ensure that we reach our recycling target. In particular, we are setting a legislative and economic framework designed to make recycling the preferred choice when it is the best environmental option.The Environmental Protection Act 1990 introduces the most favourable legal framework for recycling ever provided in this country. To help authorities in England to implement their recycling strategies, we have introduced a programme of supplementary credit approvals. In order to assist industry to overcome technical and market barriers to recycling, the Government provides funding for research and development through the ETIS scheme, operated jointly by my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry, and the DEMOS and EUROEN VI RON schemes, administered by the Department of Trade and Industry. We have introduced an economic incentive in the form of recycling credits; my noble Friend Lord Strathclyde announced on 30 September that the value of credits will double from 1 April 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning the continued production of ozone-destroying chemicals.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has received many representations on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the quantity of (a) chlorofluorocarbons, (b) halons and (c) methyl chloroform produced in (i) 1990–91, (ii) 1991–92 and (iii) proposed for 1992–93.

An estimated 681 kilotonnes of CFCs were produced world-wide in 1991. Figures are not yet available for 1992, but are expected to show a sharp decline. Figures are not available for world-wide production of halons or methyl chloroform.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultation he has undertaken with industry prior to the Montreal protocol renegotiation in Copenhagen from 17 to 25 November.

Officials from this Department and the Department of Trade and Industry meet representatives from the relevant industry sectors on a regular basis to discuss issues related to the Montreal protocol.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultation he has undertaken with environmental groups prior to the Montreal protocol renegotiation in Copenhagen from 17 to 25 November.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State receives many communications from such groups. He met representatives of Greenpeace on 21 September when the Montreal protocol, together with various other environmental issues, was discussed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for an increase in the production of the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons as transitional substances.

The United Kingdom Government support the tightest possible limits on the use of HCFCs consistent with achieving the fastest possible elimination of the consumption of CFCs. The details of these controls will be worked out with other Montreal protocol parties in Copenhagen.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement relating to the effect on the environment of continued production of HCFCs and other chemicals.

In the forthcoming revision of the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer we will promote provisions to ensure the HCFCs are used only in those applications where they are the only practicable alternative to use of the much more damaging CFCs. The use of HCFCs instead of CFCs in these applications will be beneficial for the ozone layer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what communications he has had with the Federal German Environment Ministry as regards to the acceptability to Germany of implementing the radiological equivalence plan for the return of radioactive wastes arising from reprocessing as announced to Parliament on 2 May 1986, Official Report, column 500.

The question of the substitution of radioactive wastes remains under consideration. The views of the German government on any proposals made by British Nuclear Fuels plc will be a matter to be taken up as appropriate with the German Government by BNFL's customers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment pursuant to his reply of 14 July, Official Report, columns 643–4, if he has now received from the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee its views on the implementation of the radiological equivalence proposals for the return of radioactive wastes after reprocessing.

Yes, and I am considering the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether planning permission is required for a mainly probation hostel to switch to a mainly bail hostel.

The conversion of a building used mainly as a probation hostel to one used mainly as a bail hostel would probably not require planning permission, unless the building were enlarged or the exterior substantially altered.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assumption he proposes to apply in respect of the maximum increase in guidelines rents to take effect from April 1993, under the housing revenue account subsidy determinations.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State will consult local authorities and other interested organisations in November on the proposed HRA subsidy determinations for 1993–94, including the proposed maximum increase in rent guidelines. His final decisions will be announced in December.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the place, manner or mode in which he has placed restrictions on the expenditure of local authorities on new municipal housing from funds accrued by them from sales of residential premises, together with the statutory basis of such restriction, and the approximate total sums of such funds now available for such building; and if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government concerning the future use of these funds.

Under part IV of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, local authorities may use 25 per cent. of their capital receipts from the sale of council houses, and 50 per cent. of most other receipts, to finance new capital expenditure on any service. They are required to set aside the balance as provision to meet credit liabilities. The total of the amounts set aside under the present capital finance system, including receipts from council house sales, was about £5.5 billion at 31 March 1991. If authorities were allowed to spend a larger proportion of their capital receipts, their net indebtedness would rise and the total of spending by the public sector and the public sector borrowing requirement would be increased. The present system has also enabled a greater proportion of capital receipts to be recycled in the form of new credit approvals to those authorities where needs are greatest. We therefore have no plans to change these arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions and meetings he has had concerning Municipal Mutual Insurance and local government insurance.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has so far been awarded under the city challenge programme.

Subject to satisfactory performance by pacemakers and the approval of authorities' action plans for round 2, city challenge expenditure on pacemakers and round 2 winners will be £82.5 million and £150 million per annum respectively for five years. No decisions on future rounds of city challenge have yet been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the next round of the city challenge awards is to be announced.

Twenty local authorities, with their partners, bid successfully in the second round of city challenge and are currently preparing five year action plans for ministerial approval with a view to implementation from April 1993. They have been asked to submit their completed plans by 31 December 1992 and it is intended that approval decisions will be announced in February 1993. A decision about subsequent rounds of city challenge will be made in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much extra Government grant he has determined he will need to provide to compensate for the fact that average house prices are lower than the Government estimated for the council tax valuation.

The provision for Government grant each year depends on a large number of factors. These include the Government's view of the appropriate total of revenue spending by local authorities, the estimated amount of non-domestic rates, the implications for local taxes and what the country can afford. Average house prices are not a material consideration, either under the present system or under the forthcoming council tax.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies he has carried out into the costs or savings of compulsory competitive tendering.

The Department has commissioned two studies by the Institute of Local Government Studies at the university of Birmingham to evaluate the effects of the competitive tendering provisions in the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 and the Local Government Act 1988 on local authorities' direct service organisations. The studies include consideration of the costs and savings.A report summarising the initial findings of the evaluation of the 1988 Act was published in February 1991. Copies are available in the House Library. I anticipate that final reports for both studies will be published in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the long-term future of Letchworth garden city corporation.

The Corporation was established as a statutory body under the Letchworth Garden City Corporation Act 1962 to manage the garden city estate. The Department recently invited the corporation to consider how best to undertake its functions within the private sector, while retaining the fundamental aims and objectives of the garden city movement.The corporation has indicated that it intends to place a Bill before Parliament this November to transfer the assets, liabilities and activities of the corporation to a new charitable organisation to be called the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. The corporation is currently undertaking a consultation exercise on its proposals.The Department supports the corporation's proposed way forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide the total and a breakdown of the costs so far of the implementation of the poll tax.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) on 15 July 1992, Official Report, column 1132.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total expenditure so far by his Department on publicising the poll tax and related information.

Since enactment, my Department has produced, distributed, and maintained a series of leaflets on the community charge system. At various times advertising was taken to draw the attention of the public to these leaflets and to the availability of community charge benefit and transitional relief and how to claim them. The costs to date are £5,710,500.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all funds paid to Tarmac Construction in connection with its takeover of the Property Services Agency; and if he will give a statement of how these sums were arrived at.

No funds have been paid to Tarmac Construction as yet. The amounts to be paid over in connection with Tarmac's purchase of PSA Projects were determined by open competition and will depend on the numbers of staff choosing to transfer on sale with the business, the completion audit and thereafter on the numbers of any redundancies should there he insufficient work in the future to sustain employment levels as planned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proposals he has to amend the passage in mineral planning guidance 3 of 1988 on opencast which says that it is in the national interest to maximise coal production;(2) if he will withdraw mineral planning guidance 3 on opencast and let local councils decide whether they want opencast in their area.

I announced on 15 July that the guidelines will be revised. My Department expects to bring forward a draft for public consultation next year. I hope that the hon. Member will appreciate that I cannot pre-empt what the revised guidelines will say.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what consideration he will give to the level of overall coal production in taking the decision on whether an opencast site should be allowed at Baddesley Ensor in Warwickshire;(2) when he expects to announce his decision on the application for an opencast site at Baddesley Ensor in Warwickshire.

I shall take account of all considerations which are material to the planning decision. The decision will be announced as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what planning applications for sludge incinerators are currently being considered by planning authorities in England and Wales; and if he will name those which he has called in for public inquiry.

There is no mechanism whereby the Secretary of State for the Environment or the Secretary of State for Wales are automatically informed of all planning applications for sewerage sludge incinerators, as planning applications are primarily a matter for the local planning authorities. However the Town and Country Planning (Development Plans and Consultation) Directions 1992 require local planning authorities to notify the Secretaries of State of development proposals which would significantly prejudice implementation of a development plan. We are therefore aware of only two applications currently before local planning authorities. These are Thames Water's incinerator proposals at Crossness in the London borough of Bexley and at Beckton in the London borough of Newham. Neither of these applications has been called in. There may be other applications of which we are unaware.In addition to these current applications, Northumbrian Water and International Technology Europe Ltd. have appealed to the Secretary of State in respect of their incinerator proposals at East Howden in North Tyneside and at Portrach in Stockton-on-Tees; a public inquiry has been held and the Secretary of State is considering the inspector's report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies he has conducted or intends to conduct into the relative costs of two-tier and single-tier structures for local government.

The Local Government Commission will assess the costs and benefits of changes to local government structure in the shire counties as it carries out its reviews area by area. In 1984 we estimated that some £100 million long-term savings per annum resulting from staff reductions should follow abolition of the Greater London council and the metropolitan county councils. We later estimated that some 6,300 posts had been saved immediately on abolition.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) apprenticeships and (b) trainee posts in manufacturing industry were available in Wales in each year from 1979 onwards.

Estimates from the Employment Department's short-term employment surveys are given in the table. Welsh data from this source are available only from 1981 up to 1990 after which this inquiry was discontinued. The labour force survey sample in Wales does not allow for reliable estimates of manufacturing apprentice numbers for Wales, but the 1992 results showed that an estimated 206,000 people of working age across all industries in Wales had received a job-related training in the four weeks prior to the survey compared with a figure of 95,000 in 1984, when this information was first recorded.

Manufacturing industries
Year	Number of apprentices (thousands)	Number of other trainees (thousands)
1981	6.0	1.9
1982	4.7	1.8
1983	3.6	1.2
1984	3.1	1.4
1985	2.8	0.9
1986	2.3	1.1
1987	2.3	1.4
1988	2.4	1.3
1989	2.2	1.3
1990	2.2	1.7

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of all jobs that have transferred from companies in Wales to companies operating in other EC countries in the last four years including dates, company names and totals of jobs lost to Wales.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many prosecutions of DWR Cymru have been made since September 1991; and what pollution incidents were involved.

Information regarding prosecutions brought by the National Rivers Authority against pollution incidents occurring in its Welsh region during 1991 is contained in the authority's report "Water Pollution Incidents in 1991" published in September 1992, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. This is the second report. which is updated annually.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will grant special funds to Clwyd health authority for the establishment of a paediatric occupational therapy service in Clwyd.

Clwyd health authority is required to formulate a local strategy for health jointly with the family health services authority and to use the resources which it has at its disposal for the health care needs of its resident population in accordance with its own locally determined priorities. If it wishes to see a new service offered by service providers in Clwyd, it should explore with those providers and local GP fund holders the viability of developing such a service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many paediatric occupational therapy services there are in each of the health authorities of Wales.

The requested information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he is taking concerning the assessment and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

The Welsh Office, in common with other Government health Departments, accepts myalgic encephalomyelitis—ME—as a debilitating and distressing condition.The protocol for investment in health gain, pain, discomfort and palliative care, launched by the Department earlier this month, recognises ME as a cause of pain and discomfort, and acknowledges the need for research on the nature and pattern of this illness, and on possible treatments.The protocol was developed by the Welsh Health Planning Forum mainly to assist health authorities in developing their local strategies for health. ME will, therefore, be considered by all health authorities as they devise individual strategies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the incidence of myalgic encephalomyelitis in Wales.

Information on the incidence of myalgic encephalomyelitis in Wales is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of public expenditure in those areas which have assisted area status for each of the years since 1980.

The information is not available in the form requested. To produce the data in this format would involve disproportionate time and cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many orthoptic patients were treated outside the Clwyd health authority area because of lack of staff or facilities in the past 12 months; and what is his estimate of the figures for the next 12 months.

The requested information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives he intends to take to improve waiting time for treatment in orthoptic departments in (a) Clwyd health authority and (b) Wales.

Funding is not made available specifically for improving orthoptic waiting lists as the setting of priorities is a matter for health authorities. However, central funding has been provided which will assist authorities in the reduction of overall waiting times.A total of £1 million has already been allocated to Welsh health authorities under this year's waiting times initiative: Clwyd received £140,300. Funding is not aimed at specific specialities, but at those people who have been waiting more than two years for non-urgent treatment; 18 months for hip or knee replacement or cataract operations and one month for urgent treatment.Central funding of £2.1 million has been made available to Welsh health authorities under the treatment centre initiative: provision for Clwyd health authority has been made for 110 cataract operations at the ophthalmic treatment centre in Bangor at a cost of £91,630.The authority has also received £164,806, from £1.6 million set aside to assist health authorities in developing their day surgery facilities; £12,500 of this allocation is being used to improve the provision of ophthalmic day case facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet representatives of Alyn and Deeside district council to discuss the provision of specific additional funding for the refurbishment of the houses of Terring crescent, Buckley; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to do so. It must be for the district council to decide what priority to give the refurbishment of these homes within the resources avaialble to it.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in each county in each month since June.

The information as requested for Great Britain is as follows—some of these confirmed cases will have a date of clinical onset and date of report before 30 May 1992.