To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the budget of the South Yorkshire fire service (a) in the current financial year and (b) for 1993–94; and what estimate he has made of the effect of compliance with the capping requirement.

The South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority's revenue budget for the financial year 1992–93 is £31.614 million. The authority has yet to set a budget for the financial year 1993–94. In doing so, it must have regard to the intended designation criteria for council tax capping announced on 26 November 1992 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, to the nationally recommended minimum standards of fire cover, and to its statutory duties under the Fire Services Act 1947.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the establishment level of the South Yorkshire fire service; and what the forecast actual manning level is for March 1994.

The establishment scheme notified to me on 26 February 1992 by the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority provided for a whole-time establishment for the South Yorkshire fire service on 1 January 1992 of 1,084 posts, and for a retained establishment on that date of 192 posts. The authority has not yet notified me of the establishment scheme for 1 January 1993. Any forecasts of actual staffing levels in the future are a matter for the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he expects to make in the procedures related to application for naturalisation to become British citizens consequent to the implementation of the treaty on European union; and what information he has on the principal differences in the procedures adopted from those of other member states.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to amend the requirements for naturalisation. He is aware of the broad principles governing naturalisation in member states of the European Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the rights and obligations of (a) a Danish citizen resident in the United Kingdom and (b) a United Kingdom citizen resident in Denmark occasioned by implementation of the inter-governmental decision agreed at Edinburgh and how they differ from those currently obtaining.

When the treaty on European union enters into force, Danish nationals resident in the United Kingdom—like other European Community nationals—will, in addition to the existing rights of free movement and residence as provided in the treaty of Rome and in measures adopted to give it effect, gain the rights to vote and stand in local and in European parliamentary elections, to petition the European Parliament and to apply to a European ombudsman.United Kingdom and other European Community nationals resident in Denmark already enjoy the right to vote in local elections.The Edinburgh decision does not affect this position but makes clear that union citizenship does not replace national citizenship and the rights and obligations accruing from it, which will continue to be decided by reference to the national law of the member state concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilian staff there were in each police force in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991; and what percentage of total employees these figures represented in each year.

The information requested is set out in the table:

Civilian strength in England and Wales as at 31 December
Force	1981	1991
Avon and Somerset	711	909
Bedfordshire	291	387
Cambridgeshire	309	451
Cheshire	419	510
Cleveland	258	434
Cumbria	259	403
Derbyshire	701	487
Devon and Cornwall	808	1,038
Dorset	309	557
Durham	480	532
Dyfed Powys	197	250
Essex	721	1,055
Gloucestershire	231	367
Greater Manchester	1,507	2,259
Gwent	214	304
Hampshire	725	1,039
Hertfordshire	379	551
Humberside	511	676
Kent	871	1,018
Lancashire	881	1,095
Leicestershire	430	676
Lincolnshire	334	457
Merseyside	1,036	1,569
Norfolk	267	442
Northamptonshire	258	420
Northumbria	835	1,193
North Wales	323	444
North Yorkshire	335	439
Nottinghamshire	581	706
South Wales	847	1,079
South Yorkshire	637	892
Staffordshire	623	749
Suffolk	337	500
Surrey	359	565
Sussex	717	932
Thames Valley	975	1,410
Warwickshire	187	323
West Mercia	541	843

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police force in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991 the number and percentage of entrants who were over the age of (a) 30 years and (b) 40 years.

The information requested is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total cost of training for the judiciary for each year since 1979.

The Judicial Studies Board, which is responsible for training the judiciary, was established in 1979. Until 1987 it had no separate budget and expenditure on training for the judiciary in that period cannot be discretely identified. Since 1987–88 the Judicial Studies Board has had its own budget. Annual expenditure has been as follows:

	£
1987–88	604,330
1988–89	601,100
1989–90	977,909
1990–91	1,535,720
1991–92	1,765,460
1992–93	11,800,000
1 Estimate.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many days training per year were undertaken by the judiciary in (a) the Court of Appeal, (b) the High Court and (c) the circuit bench for each year since 1987.

Training for the judiciary is organised by the Judicial Studies Board. The numbers of judges trained at courses and seminars arranged by the Judicial Studies Board since January 1987 were as follows:

	Days
(a) 1987
Circuit judges	300
(b) 1988
Court of appeal judges	4
High court judges	34

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the names of those judges who have not undertaken any training (a) since their appointment to the bench, (b) in the last five years and (c) in the last 12 months.

The information required is not available. Each year conferences are arranged on each Circuit for all circuit judges. Recorders and assistant recorders and also for district judges and deputy district judges. In addition a wide range of training is available through the Judicial Studies Board in the form of courses, seminars and other training events. When they are appointed all assistant recorders and deputy district judges attend induction courses and thereafter attend refresher seminars. If the hon. Member has a more specific question I invite him to write to me.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the composition of the advisory committee for the appointment of JPs in the Mansfield area.

The membership of the Mansfield advisory sub-committee of the Nottinghamshire advisory committee is:

• J. Archer Esq JP
• Mrs. J. Dennis JP
• Mrs. C. M. Gaster JP
• Mrs. M. Harper JP
• E. Higham Esq JP
• T. King Esq JP
• P. R. Marsh Esq JP
• Mrs. K. Winson

The membership of the Nottinghamshire advisory committee is:

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) women, (b) trade union members and (c) members of ethnic minorities have been appointed as JPs in the last five years.

During the five-year period ending 31 December 1992 a total of 9,823 persons were appointed to the magistracy, of whom 4,832 were women. Figures for appointment of members of ethnic minorities have been collected only since January 1989 since when a total of 375 persons has been appointed. No records are kept of trade union membership.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list, for each local education authority, the latest available figures for the numbers of pupils attending (a) schools which have grant-maintained status, (b) schools which have had proposals to acquire grant-maintained status approved and (c) the total of (a) and (b).

The numbers of pupils in schools currently operating as grant-maintained and in schools which have had proposals to acquire grant-maintained status formally approved and the total for each LEA in England are given in the table. Authorities with no such schools are left blank. Pupil numbers shown relate to January 1992, the latest date for which information is available.

Pupils in schools operating as grant-maintained or in schools with proposals approved in England.
LEA	GM schools operating	Schools with proposals approved	Total
City	—	—	—
Camden	—	—	—
Greenwich	—	—	—
Hackney	—	—	—
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,197	—	1,197
Islington	—	—	—
Kensington and Chelsea	622	—	622
Lambeth	838	877	1,715
Lewisham	198	—	198
Southwark	389	413	802
Tower Hamlets	879	—	879
Wandsworth	4,605	—	4,605
Westminster	—	—	—
Barking	—	—	—
Barnet	3,117	—	3,117
Bexley	448	—	448
Brent	1,891	—	1,891
Bromley	11,065	—	11,065
Croydon	958	1,047	2,005
Ealing	5,301	—	5,301
Enfield	—	—	—
Haringey	—	—	—
Harrow	—	—	—
Havering	—	—	—
Hillingdon	9,176	—	9,176
Hounslow	—	—	—
Kingston upon Thames	894	—	894
Merton	—	—	—

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the most recent figures for revenue spending by each local education authority in England and Wales per full-time student aged 16 to 19 years at (a) further education colleges, (b) sixth-form colleges and (c) sixth forms in secondary schools.

This information is not collected centrally for local education authorities in England. Expenditure returns from LEAs contain information about their total spending on all secondary education, including sixth-form education, and on further education, but this information cannot be disaggregated between particular age ranges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the available facilities for pupils with dyslexia problems in the London boroughs.

Comprehensive information about such facilities is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will tabulate the number of reported signal failures on the railways of (a) the British Railways Board and (b) London Underground Ltd., giving the number of reported wrong side failures of signals for each year since 1981; and what steps have been taken to reduce their numbers.

The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate began recording reported wrong side failures in 1990, following recommendations in Sir Anthony Hidden's report of the investigation into the Clapham junction accident.The figures available are:

	Figures
1990
BR	1,298
LUL	0
1991–92
BR	698
LUL	4

Of those, only one in 1990 and five in 1991–92 led to reportable accidents. Also, of the respective years' totals, 847 and 277 incidents involved failures of position light signals which are usually located in yards and sidings not used by passenger trains, and where speeds are low.The reduction is due largely to BR's total quality campaign whereby a systematic approach to quality is closely aligned with safety management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the railways inspectorate to publish its requirements for level crossing of railway lines by footpaths and bridleways.

The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate expects this section of its revised requirements to be published shortly. The full title will be "Railway Construction and Operation Requirements, Part F Level Crossings, Protection of Footpath and Bridleway Level Crossings (Section 18)" (ISBN 0–11–882115–6).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of total car mileage is shown by the national travel survey to be accounted for by company cars; and what proportion of company car mileage is shown to be for commuting and other personal, as against business, purposes.

In 1985–86, the national travel survey showed that 20 per cent of total car mileage was by company-owned cars, of which 57 per cent. was for commuting and other personal purposes as against 43 per cent. for business purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research or evidence his Department has commissioned on the casualty reduction consequences of restrictions on driving on the display of "P" or "R" plates by newly qualified drivers in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

We are considering the available evidence on the effectiveness of probationary driving schemes in Northern Ireland and overseas. The Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) has commissioned a study by Queen's university, Belfast into the working of the "R" plate system in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out details of his calculations for the numbers of staff required in the offices of the rail regulatory and the franchising director respectively under the Railways Bill; and what estimate he has made of the changes in personnel (a) required in the railway section of the Department of Transport and (b) to occur in the British Railways board and combined new companies relative to those currently employed by the board.

The number of staff estimated for the offices of the rail regulator and the franchising director reflects their expected workloads and is broadly comparable with the numbers working in other regulators' offices. Once the new regime for the railways is established, we expect there to be a small saving in the number of departmental staff concerned with the railway industry. It is not possible to predict with any accuracy future employment levels within the railway industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will tabulate the number of people entitled to concessionary travel from British Rail in total and categorised as (a) employees, (b) pensioners, (c) employees' dependants and offspring, (d) former employees of British Transport Docks Board, (e) former employees of British Transport Hotels, (f) former employees of Sealink, (g) former employees of Wightlink, (h) British Transport police and (i) pensioners of British Transport police; and what estimate he has of the cost in each of the last 10 years.

I understand that the number of people entitled to concessionary travel, as at 9 January, totals 561,922, made up as follows:

	Numbers
(a) Employees	137,488
(b) Pensioners	262,825
(c) Employees dependants and offspring	150,669
(d) Former employees of British Transport Docks Board	3,611
(e) Former employees of British Transport hotels	431
(f) Former employees of Sealink	2,340
(g) Former employees of Wightlink	Nil
(h) British Transport police	1,677
(i) BTP pensioners	2,881

The extra costs to British Rail of providing concessionary travel arrangements are not quantifiable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is currently undertaken by his Department to promote the production and use of biodiesel in the United Kingdom.

The Government are sponsoring a number of research projects looking at a wide range of alternative fuels, including biodiesel.Although biodiesel offers the possibility of reduced carbon dioxide emissions through the growth of plant feedstock, available evidence regarding exhaust emissions and other environmental impacts suggests that the case for its use is not obvious. Current technology biodiesel is also some two and a half to three times as expensive as conventional diesel. It would therefore be premature to encourage its widespread use. Further study is needed.To improve our understanding of this fuel the Department is carrying out emissions tests on one of the vehicles being used in the Reading Buses biodiesel fuel trial. The results will be made available when testing is complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to increase the marking of cycle priority routes in London.

There are no cycle priority routes in London. My hon. Friend may be referring to the proposed 1,000-mile strategic cycle network. Provision of cycle routes falls to the Department on trunk roads and the London borough councils on local roads. The traffic director for London is responsible for approving cycling facilities which may be contained in local plans for priority red routes. There are no current plans to change marking requirements for cycle routes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that his proposals for bus deregulation will give priority to tendering for existing services by the private sector.

London Transport will be offering at least a further 5 per cent. of London's bus routes to competitive tender this year. We have also announced plans to begin privatisation of all London Buses Ltd. subsidiaries by the end of the year. All bus routes will therefore be operated by private operators competing on level terms before deregulation of the London bus market.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy, under the Government's policy with regard to the additionality of funding of projects by the EC, that offers of funding from EC sources for the electrification of railway lines will not be netted off from other funds earmarked by the Government for transport projects; and if he will make a statement.

The policy for the treatment of European regional development fund grants remains that which was announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to the House on 17 February 1992, Official Report, columns 22–37.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the policy which was adopted by Her Majesty's Government towards the suggested EC funding for the electrification of the north Wales railway line from Crewe to Holyhead; and if he will make a statement.

It would be for British Rail, in conjunction with local authorities as appropriate, to apply for European funding of any electrification of the Crewe to Holyhead line. British Rail is upgrading the line to allow 90 mph running and is financing this itself. It has no plans at present for electrifying the line.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions he has used trains for his official duties since being appointed to his present position.

I have travelled by train for my official duties on several occasions since becoming Secretary of State for Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will publish the maintenance and upkeep costs of (a) the Tay rail bridge and (b) the Forth rail bridge in each year since 1980;(2) if he publish the number of safety checks carried out, and their cost, on

The Department does not hold this information. These are matters for British Rail.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to extradite to Peru known members of the Shining Path terrorist organisation.

I am not aware of any extradition request from Peru. Any such request would have to satisfy the conditions set out in schedule 1 of the Extradition Act 1989 and the terms of the UK/Peru extradition treaty of 1904.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the status of the European convention on human rights in each signatory state.

The European convention on human rights has been incorporated into domestic law in all signatory states except Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to revise the Hong Kong Emergency Regulations Ordinance.

The Hong Kong Government have no immediate plans to revise the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, but it is examining its provisions to ensure that there is no conflict with the Bill of Rights Ordinance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Radio Television Hong Kong to become an incorporated company.

The corporation of Radio Television Hong Kong remains under consideration by the Hong Kong Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to repeal the broadcasting authority ordinance in Hong Kong before the handover of the colony in 1997.

The Hong Kong Government have no immediate plans to repeal the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance. They are, however, reviewing all aspects of the law relevant to freedom of information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the major international events in the United Kingdom and overseas in which Her Majesty's Government will participate in 1993; and which Minister will attend in each case.

On present plans, in 1993, we will participate in the following major international events overseas:

(a) two Western European Union ministerial meetings attended by the Foreign Secretary;

(b) two North Atlantic Council meetings attended by the Foreign Secretary;

(c) two European Council meetings attended by the Prime Minister accompanied by the Foreign Secretary;

(d) the G7 economic summit attended by the Prime Minister accompanied by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary;

(e) the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting attended by the Prime Minister accompanied by the Foreign Secretary;

(f) the United Nations General Assembly attended by the Foreign Secretary.

We have no current plans to participate in any major international events in the United Kingdom in 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been decided by the EC Council of Ministers on establishing an ad hoc war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; what action has been taken by the French and Italian Governments on drafting a statute for the tribunal; what action has been taken by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

EC Foreign Ministers expressed their readiness on 13 January to support the creation of an international criminal court at the United Nations to deal with war crimes in former Yugoslavia. We understand that, separately, the French and Italian Governments have tasked committees of national legal experts to examine options to bring those responsible to justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will establish a committee of United Kingdom experts to draft the statute for an ad hoc war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

No. A United Kingdom initiative along these lines would unnecessarily duplicate work being done by Ambassador Corell, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe human rights rapporteur, and in other forums on a draft statute.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what funding the mastitis research centre at Compton, Berkshire receives from sources other than the Government.

As well as receiving Government funding from the Office of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the milking and mastitis centre has recently received a three-year grant of £140,000 from commercial sources.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many non-departmental public bodies are currently in existence; and when the annual list of such bodies will be published.

On 1 April 1992 there were 369 executive bodies, six fewer than in 1991; 846 advisory bodies, 28 fewer than in 1991, 66 tribunals, two more than in 1991; and 131 boards of visitors, the same as in 1991. In total there are 1,412 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)—a fall of 32 over 1991. Details can be found in "Public Bodies 1992" published today. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.Details are also included of the number of appointments to boards and tribunals which are held by women. The figures show that at 1 September 1992, 26 per cent. of such appointments were held by women.Included for the first time are details of the number of public appointments held by members of the ethnic minorities. Ethnic monitoring of all public appointees has now been introduced and statistics will be published each year. The first figures show that, at 1 September 1992, 2 per cent. of all appointments were held by members of the minority groups.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will publish a table of annual income and expenditure for each training and enterprise council since its inception.

The information requested from these accounts is not recorded by the Department and the cost of doing so would be disproportionate to the information supplied.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many members of the public in training and enterprise council areas are informed about TEC's spending priorities and projects.

A summary of the TEC's business plan and a full copy of the corporate plan are available at the TEC's business premises and can be accessed by any member of the public. Over and above this, every TEC is required to hold a public meeting once a year to explain their plans and activities and to produce an annual report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will provide a table showing the total allocation to training and enterprise councils for 1993–94 for each programme or activity and the allocation for each programme or activity to each TEC.

The information that the hon. Member has requested is not yet available. We are currently in negotiations with TECs on targets and funding for 1993–94 and have not yet agreed TEC 1993–94 budgets.

To ask the Attorney-General for what reasons he has decided that he will not publish the papers relating to the investigations into the wrongful imprisonment of Stefan Kiszko; and if he will make it his policy to place the papers in the Library.

I have taken no such decision. Police inquiries into the events that led to the prosecution and conviction of Mr. Kiszko are continuing and a report is shortly to be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.Such reports are by their nature confidential and should not therefore be placed in the Library of the house.

To ask the Attorney-General how many local government (a) councillors and (b) employees have been convicted of corruption in connection with their council duties in each year since 1979.

My Department does not keep records sought by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration his Department has given to the financial consequences for the United Kingdom of the climate change convention agreed at the Earth summit; and if he will make a statement.

The cost of complying with the convention's commitments on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases will depend on what measures the Government decide to take—the Government issued a consultation paper on possible measures to limit carbon dioxide emissions last month. The United Kingdom will also be expected to contribute to the costs of the bodies established to administer the convention and towards the costs that developing countries incur in complying with their commitments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 3 December, Official Report, column 317, what assessment he has made of the research carried out by the world conservation monitoring centre for the International Tropical Timber Organisation on the conservation status of African and Asian tropical timber species threatened by trade; and if he will make a statement.

We expect to assess all relevant scientific information on tropical timber later this year, when deciding whether to propose further species for listing in the appendices to the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES). Our proposal at the last CITES conference to list Pericopsis elata in appendix II was based on a report undertaken for the European Commission by the world conservation monitoring centre. It is the first significantly traded tropical timber species to be listed in this appendix.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action is being undertaken by his Department to secure test baseline data collected by the United Kingdom for the first conference of the parties to the climate convention distinguishing between naturally occurring and anthropogenic changes.

The United Kingdom is making a major contribution to the second assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change which is scheduled to be produced in 1995. This will include the latest information on the extent and impact of naturally occurring and human-induced climate change.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to make representations to the first conference of the parties to the climate convention to secure the establishment of an independent body of experts under the statutory body for implementation in order to (a) review the implementation of the convention and (b) devise an effective greenhouse gas monitoring regime.

The Government believe that effective procedures for reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the convention are vital. Consideration of the precise mechanisms for achieving this is still at an early stage, but we will be pressing for these matters to be resolved at the first conference of the parties.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to make representations to the first conference of the parties to the climate convention to secure that a new baseline date is established for collecting information on emission levels.

The framework convention on climate change includes a requirement for all parties to develop and periodically update national inventories of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as sinks for their removal. Developed countries will be required to take steps aimed at returning emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2000, so 1990 is in effect the initial baseline date for the inventories. The conference of the parties will decide how frequently inventories should be updated in the future.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make representations to the first conference of the parties to the climate convention to secure that greenhouse gas emissions are categorised according to sector.

In the United Kingdom emissions are already categorised by sector, and we will be encouraging others to adopt a similar approach.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on the EC proposal Com 92 508 final, 14 December 1992 for all EC nations to ratify the climate change convention simultaneously before 30 June; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom is committed, with our G7 partners, to seeking to ratify the convention by the end of 1993. We would hope to do so alongside our Community partners, and are currently discussing with them what the earliest practicable date might be.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to announce a cut-off date for imports of toxic waste into the United Kingdom.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 9 November 1992, Official Report, column 570.The Government are also intending to use powers under the EC waste shipments regulation to reduce the amount of waste imported for disposal in the United Kingdom particulary from developed countries. Potential imports from developing countries will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the potential pollution of water supplies to Sunderland and the River Wear resulting from ceasing pumping operations at Easington and Vane Tempest collieries.

None. It is for British Coal and the National Rivers Authority in the first place to assess any environmental effects of pit closures in the north-east. This will allow the water companies to assess any consequences for water supplies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the infrastructure charges currently imposed on builders of new developments.

Responsibility for water and sewerage infrastructure charges rests with the Director General of Water Services. He is aware of concern over the level of these charges, and has announced his intention to undertake a fundamental review as part of the overall review of water company charges in 1994. He will shortly be issuing a consultation paper which will set out the options for change to the basis of infrastructure charges. The results of this review will be reflected in infrastructure charges payable from 1 April 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many additional purchases of properties from the private sector by housing associations have so far taken place using the additional funding announced in the autumn statement.

Of the £750 million announced in the autumn statement to boost the housing market in the United Kingdom, £577 million went to the Housing Corporation to enable housing associations to purchase new, empty and repossessed properties in England. The latest figures from the corporation show that by 22 January approvals had been granted for the purchase of 11,812 properties: 11,746 of these are for purchases from the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to offer statutory protection to all remaining areas of ancient forest and woodland in the United Kingdom.

Adequate statutory provision is already available.My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, the Member for Dumfries (Sir Hector Monro), has today set out the operation by the Forestry Commission of the felling licence provisions of the Forestry Act 1967 in an answer to the hon. Member.The felling of woodland associated with development proposed under the planning system is exempt from felling licensing arrangements and is dealt with under normal planning procedures.Where appropriate, specific protection can be afforded to individual woodlands under the provisions of conservation legislation. Such woodlands can be designated by the relevant agencies as sites of special scientific interest, protecting them against damaging operations of all types: some are also declared and managed as national nature reserves. In addition local authorities have powers to safeguard woods of amenity value by the making of tree preservation orders.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he issues to community charge registration officers and other relevant local authority officials, with regard to the distribution of registration forms and related explanatory leaflets in languages other than English; whether similar provisions are intended in respect of the council tax; and if he will make a statement.

There is no statutory requirement for community charge registration forms in England, and we do not issue guidance about the language in which they should be written. There will be no registration for the council tax.We leave the design of forms and local information material to local authorities, which are best placed to identify the needs of their own areas. Questions relating to the production of such material should therefore be addressed to them.The Department of the Environment is producing a series of general information leaflets about the council tax. These are being translated into 11 ethnic minority languages, as well as Braille, large print and audio tape.

Numbers employed in local authorities in Northamptonshire At June of each year
	1983		1984		1985		1986		1987
Authority	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time	Part-time
Northamptonshire County	11,784	9,751	11,832	9,735	11,857	10,254	11,890	10,934	11,594	11,223
Corby	527	122	550	112	582	108	572	141	583	170
Daventry	268	48	268	43	275	53	287	54	298	59

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reasons his Department has decided not to ask EASOE—the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment—to research any assessment of northern hemisphere ozone loss this year; and if he will make a statement.

My Department supports the decision of the EC/EFTA task group on stratospheric ozone research that the results of the 1991–92 EASOE experimental campaign should be fully analysed before mounting a further campaign in 1993–94. Monitoring of northern hemisphere stratospheric ozone will continue by the participating EASOE groups, including important contributions by scientists funded by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what arrangements the fire services are charged for the use of water from hydrants; to whom payments are made; and what levels of payment have been in force for each of the last four years.

Under section 147 of the Water Industry Act 1991 no charge may be made by a water undertaker for water used by a fire authority for extinguishing fires or any other emergency purpose. But under section 57 of the Act, the expenses incurred by a water undertaker in providing and maintaining fire hydrants requested by a fire authority are chargeable to the fire authority concerned. Information on the level of these charges is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans Her Majesty's Government have to exempt land owned by British Rail from the register of contaminated land.

There is no power under section 143 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to exempt sites from registers of land subject to contaminative uses on the basis of their ownership.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time in local government in Northamptonshire in each year since 1983.

The information is given in the table for each authority in Northamptonshire. Totals have not been given because data for some authorities are not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the voluntary organisations and associations which he consulted before reducing urban programme funding from the planned totals announced in February 1992.

It became clear only at a very late stage of the public expenditure negotiations for 1993–94 that changes to the urban programme were necessary. Because of the timing of the decisions and the fact that the new arrangements for the urban programme formed part of the autumn statement, consultation was not possible. However, since then, I have met representatives of the voluntary sector to discuss the impact of these changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been given under the urban programme to projects aimed at the ethnic minorities for each of the last three years.

The information requested is as follows:

	£ million
1990–91	27
1991–92	25
1992–93	28

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of urban programme schemes run by the voluntary sector were (a) capital projects and (b) revenue projects for the past three years.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library the urban programme standard output measures for each authority for each of the last three years.

It is not our policy to publish output data for each individual authority under the urban programme. However, national output data for the urban programme are available in the Department's annual reports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much the standard spending assessment for the London borough of Tower Hamlets in 1993–94 has been reduced as a result of the reduction in population density due to the borough assuming responsibility for the whole of Victoria park; and if he will make a statement.

There has been no reduction in the standard spending assessment for Tower Hamlets for 1993–94 due to that authority assuming responsibility for the whole of Victoria park. The boundary change giving effect to the change in responsibility is not intended to take place before 1 April 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what information the estimate of population numbers for the calculation of standard spending assessments is based.