To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) women and (b) members of ethnic minorities have been appointed as justices of the peace in Nottinghamshire since 1989.

Since 1989, 151 persons have been appointed as justices of the peace in Nottinghamshire. Of that number there were 74 females and eight members of ethnic minorities—four males and four females.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many statutory instruments were laid before Parliament by his Department in each year since 1980.

The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to continue to decline to hold meetings at ministerial level with the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Glasgow, Hillhead (Mr. Galloway) on 10 February, at column 680.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon installations are contained within his Department's buildings.

Four hundred and thirty nine.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding has been allocated or spent specifically to deal with measures to reduce his Department's consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

The Department has allocated £75,000 in the 1993–94 financial year for absorption chiller plant to reduce its use of CFCs/HCFCs, and £157,000 on high-frequency lighting to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many refrigeration and air conditioning system in the Department are equipped with automatic leak detection systems.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the departmental green Minister has promoted protection of the ozone layer with specific policy measures; which possible measures have been considered and rejected; and on what grounds.

The green Ministers for the Department continue to promote protection of the ozone layer through active FCO involvement in international environmental policy, the planned reduction of energy consumption in the Department and the reduction of use of ozone-depleting substances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which current uses of ozone-depleting chemicals by his Department are considered essential.

The Department is advised that the only ozone-depleting chemicals considered essential are those in inhalants supplied to posts overseas for medicinal purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what date his Department's use of ozone-depleting chemicals will conform to EC regulations on limits on these chemicals.

The Department is advised that it is only the production and supply of new ozone-depleting substances which must conform to EC Regulations. The Department will, however, reduce its use of ozone-depleting substances as soon as practicable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what targets have been set for the recycling of ozone-depleting chemicals within Departmental buildings.

None. Information is currently being compiled to enable targets to be set.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many chlorofluorocarbon domestic fridges are contained within his Department's buildings.

Three hundred and sixty-seven.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many catastrophic leaks of ozone-depleting substances have occurred within his Department's buildings on the last five years.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures have been taken to ensure that ozone-destroying substances in use by his Department identified as controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 do not reach the atmosphere.

Equipment containing ozone-depleting substances is returned to the manufacturers for recycling.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give an undertaking to purchase only ozone-friendly fridges that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons or hydrochlorofluorocarbons for his Department.

The Department does not purchase fridges containing CFCs or HCFCs where acceptable alternatives offering value for money are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance has been sought and received on alternatives or substitutes to the ozone-destroying chemicals in use by his Department.

In 1992, the Department appointed a firm of consultants to carry out a programme of environmental audits of its home estate. A primary purpose of the audits was to seek advice on alternatives or substitutes to the ozone-destroying chemicals in use in the Department. The consultants are due to report shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commowealth Affairs how many portable halon fire extinguishers are contained within Departmental buildings; and what measures are being taken to ensure their recycling and replacement.

One hundred and forty-five. They will be replaced this year and returned to the manufacturers for recycling.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a United Kingdom Government Minister last visited the Indian-controlled area of Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

I am not aware that any official visits have been made by United Kingdom Government Ministers to Kashmir in recent years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussion he has had with the Pakistan Government as to possible aid from Her Majesty's Government to help resettle Kashmiri people who have fled from the Indian-controlled area of Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

We have had no discussion with the Pakistan Government about helping to resettle Kashmiris.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, official Report, column 393, what subheads of what votes will be used to meet the cost of the Birmingham summit; and how these costs were apportioned.

The costs of the Birmingham European summit were met as follows:

	£ million
FCO vote 1, subhead A 1 (1)	2.3
Home Office vote 1, subhead D1. Specific grant at 51 per cent, of the additional policing costs	0.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to open new posts in the independent states of the former Soviet Union and in eastern Europe; and if he will make a statement.

I am pleased to announce that we shall be opening three new embassies in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. They will be in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan; and Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. All of these countries are going through an important and difficult process of political and economic change. We want to be in the best position to help and encourage the development of democratic societies pursuing liberal economic policies and to promote trade and investment. In the case of both Baku and Tashkent, we are responding to direct requests from British industry to open embassies in each place.This decision has been made possible by savings in support areas at home and overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to introduce a no fault compensation scheme for radiation workers employed by or contracted to his Department similar to the scheme adopted by British Nuclear Fuels and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

Consideration is being given to the introduction of radiation compensation arrangements similar in effect to those of the civil nuclear industry. The possibility of my Department's membership of, or association with, the BNFL/AEA scheme is under discussion with the industry and the trade unions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on legal fees for participation in the court case involving the claim for compensation by Mr. Rudi Molinari, a former employee at the royal dockyard at Chatham, against his Department for damage claimed to have been received from radiation exposure at the shipyard.

This case is the subject of continuing legal proceedings and the costs are not yet known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will outline the programme for the procurement of the helicopter carrier ship.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 February, Official Report, column 574.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many statutory instruments were laid before Parliament by his Department in each year since 1980.

The information requested is as follows:

Year	Number
1980	13
1981	7
1982	13
1983	15
1984	6
1985	10
1986	29
1987	11
1988	5
1989	10
1990	7
1991	9
1992	7

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide figures for the reduction in numbers of posts as a result of contracting out since 1979 in his Department and agencies for which he has responsibility.

We estimate that, since 1979, competition for defence support services has resulted in a reduction of 18,000 posts in my Department and in the agencies for which we are responsible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for the regulation of inappropriate sexual behaviour between heterosexual members of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Service personnel are made aware of the standards of behaviour required and that inappropriate sexual behaviour of any kind can lead to administrative or disciplinary action. Inappropriate sexual conduct of a heterosexual nature by members of the armed forces is dealt with under existing service regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will bring forward proposals governing the conduct of British troops serving with homosexual armed forces personnel in combined NATO or UN peacekeeping forces; and if he will make a statement.

British Armed Forces personnel are well aware of the standards of behaviour expected of them and the consequences of any misconduct, heterosexual, homosexual or otherwise. We have no plans, therefore, to introduce regulations specific to those serving with NATO or UN peace-keeping forces alongside homosexual personnel of other armed forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will deploy Royal Navy facilities to raise the MFV Pescado.

The raising of the MFV Pescado is a matter for the civil authorities. Any request for assistance would, however, be given careful consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when consultation on regulations under the Traffic Calming Act 1992 is to start.

Commencing today, the Department of Transport and the Welsh Office are consulting widely on draft regulations with the local authority associations and other interested parties. We aim to draw the consultation to a close before Easter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the reasons for awarding MV Goldeneye a load line exemption certificate; what is the registration of MV Goldeneye; and if he will carry out a port state control inspection of MV Goldeneye.

The owners of the unregistered salvage vessel Goldeneye applied for a load line exemption certificate which was issued after survey by a Department surveyor.The ship is subject to inspection at any time arid arrangements will be made accordingly within the inspection programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of foreign ships inspected in British ports in each of the last five years under the provisions of the 1982 memorandum of understanding to secure compliance of ships with international standards; how many ships were found to have deficiencies; under which flag those ships with deficiencies were sailing and what was the amount of deficiencies per individual country; how many ships were detained pending the correction of deficiencies; and what financial penalties were imposed.

The numbers of foreign flag ships inspected under the provisions of the memorandum of understanding on port state control 1982 and the number found to have at least one deficiency were as follows:

Year	Number	Number with deficiencies
1988	1839	915
1989	1,692	1,003
1990	2,118	1,272
1991	2,500	1,647
1992	12,105	11,439
1 Provisional figure

Deficiencies were found on ships flying the following flags during 1991 and 1992:Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Netherland Antilles, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudia Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey, Tunisia, Tuvalu, USA, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yugoslavia.The average numbers of deficiencies per ship inspection for the port state control region as a whole were:

Year	Number
1988	1·35
1989	1·49
1990	1·62
1991	1·80
1992	1—
1 Not yet available.

Individual figures for the United Kingdom are not readily available; nor are figures for individual flags.The numbers of foreign ships detained were:

Year	Number
1988	37
1989	44
1990	79
1991	116
1992	124

Financial penalties cannot readily be measured, but usually comprise three main elements: the often considerable loss of revenue arising from delays in sailing, the cost of rectifying deficiencies found and the cost of any further inspection to ensure that these deficiencies have been satisfactorily rectified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the date by which comments were sought on his Department's consultative document "Railway Privatisation: A Voice for the Passengers"; and when copies of this document were made available in the Vote Office;(2) how many copies of his Department's consultative document "Railway Privatisation: A Voice for the Passenger" were printed; and how and when these documents were made available to British Rail passengers.

The document was published on 16 December 1992 and 2,000 copies were printed. It was placed in the Vote Office the same day and copies were sent to bodies likely to have an interest in the future of the consultative committees. The availability of the document was publicised in a press notice and copies have been provided free of charge on request. The requested reply date for comments was 22 January 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians have been hit by a motor vehicle while crossing a zebra crossing in England and Wales during the year 1992.

Data are not yet available for 1992. There were 1,673 pedestrians injured by motor vehicles on zebra crossings in 1991 in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what immediate steps he proposes to take to improve safety regulations on oil tankers within British waters.

[holding answer 12 February 1993]: Regulations governing tankers are under constant review within the International Maritime Organisation. The Department is at the forefront of these discussions and developments.In addition, an initiative has been taken by national and international organisations concerned with tanker operations to develop a voluntary code with regard to tanker routeing around the United Kingdom coast. They have also given an undertaking to re-emphasise to masters the need to pay greater attention to passage planning and to provide early advice to coastal states when tankers are experiencing problems which affect their navigation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since 1 January 1988 Ministers and officials of his Department have taken part in meetings of the International Maritime Organisation or its committees to discuss the subject of fitting radio transponders on vessels.

[holding answer 16 February 1993]: Department officials have taken part in four meetings of the sub-committee on safety of navigation and one meeting of the sub-committee on radiocommunications at the International Maritime Organisation since 1 January 1988 with regard to developing radio transponders for use on vessels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many port state inspections of vessels have been undertaken by officials of his Department at (a) Sullom Voe and (b) Flotta in each year since 1990 and in January 1993; and what percentage of vessels visiting these respective ports the numbers constitute.

[holding answer 16 February 1993: The directors of marine at Sullom Voe and Flotta carry out their own vetting procedure of visiting ships and alert the Department if they are concerned by the condition of a visiting ship.In addition the number of port state control inspections undertaken at Sullom Voe and Flotta for the years in question is given in the table.

Number of Inspections
Year	Sullom Voe	Flotta
1990	15	Nil
1991	9	3
1992	4	1
January 1993	Nil	Nil

These inspections constituted the following percentages of individual foreign ships which visited these ports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances he would take steps to prevent political organisations of other countries from maintaining offices in the United Kingdom.

People in this country are free to engage in what political activities they like, including working for foreign political organisations, provided of course that their activities remain within the law.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, column 439, how many recruits began service with the Devon and Cornwall constabulary on 7 December 1992.

Sixteen recruits began service with the Devon and Cornwall constabulary on 7 December 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the report of the Royal Commission on criminal justice is due to be completed; and when he expects to publish it.

The Royal Commission on criminal justice hopes to complete its report by the end of June. The report will be published as soon thereafter as printing schedules allow.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Council for Europe convention on data protection provides a framework for harmonisation of European Community data protection laws.

The Council of Europe convention for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data prescribes the basic principles which have to be observed in handling personal data within states party to the convention. Accession to the convention by all European Community member states, and the enactment of the necessary domestic legislation to give effect to the convention's requirements, would thus provide for a consistent data protection regime within the Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (I) if he will introduce legislation to give United Kingdom courts jurisdiction to try British nationals and residents for sexual offences against children abroad; and if he will make a statement;(2) what measures the British Government are taking to comply with article 34 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child.

The Government wholly support the principles set out in the United Nations convention on the rights of the child, which we ratified in 1991. Our law against the sexual abuse and exploitation of children is rightly severe.We have no plans, however, to extend the largely territorial jurisdiction of our courts to deal with offences committed abroad against children; nor is there any requirement for us to do so in order to fulfil our obligations under article 34 of the convention. Where such offences have been committed abroad it is for the country concerned to enforce its own law. We are always ready, however, to assist through extradition and by giving legal assistance under the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the British Government have taken to discourage the promotion of sex tourism through holiday brochures, magazines and other forms of mass communications in this country.

While the Government have no power to ban or censor publications, anyone publishing brochures promoting sex tourism could risk prosecution under the Obscene Publications Act 1959, or for an offence of conspiracy to corrupt public morals at common law. It would, however, be for the courts to decide whether an offence had been committed in any individual case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of notifiableoffences were cleared up in (a) 1990, (b) 1991 and (c) July 1991 to June 1992, in each offence category and for each police force region.

The requested information for 1990 is published in table 2·22 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1990," a copy of which is available in the Library. Information for 1991 is published in the table. Information for the 12 months to June 1992 is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the police manpower levels, crime statistics and clear-up rates of police forces in (a) England and Wales and (h) other EC countries.

The police forces of England and Wales provide monthly statistical returns of strength for police officers and civilian support staff. Information on notifiable offences recorded by the police and clear-up rates is collected on a regular basis and the statistics are published half-yearly in a Home Office statistical bulletin and annually in the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics: England and Wales".Comparable statistical data on police service complementing or crime rates for member states of the EC are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 5 February to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Dr. Spink) Official Report, column 350, if he will indicate the precise terms in which he is currently consulting about the subject of obscenity; if he will make it his policy to include an invitation to comment on the provisions of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 as distinct from the means of its enforcement; and if he will make a statement.

I have asked my officials to consider, in consultation with other parties, whether improvements might be made in the enforcement of the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964, and other legislation relating to obscenity. I have not asked them to invite wider comment on the provisions of the Obscene Publications Act 1959, although as I indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point, 1 am receiving representations relating to the Act, which I keep under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have died from the use of the drug Ecstasy; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to alert businesses to the threat of ram raiding.

In areas where ram raiding is a problem, the local police are able to alert businesses to the risks and, drawing on their own experience and the expertise of the Home Office crime prevention centre at Stafford, they are always ready to give specialist advice on what measures the owners can take to protect their premises against this type of offence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees from Bosnia have arrived in each EC country; and how many are expected in the next six months.

In the period January 1992 to January 1993 inclusive around 5,900 nationals of the former Yugoslavia, excluding dependants, have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. The large majority of these applications are still under consideration and the applicants are being allowed to stay in the meantime. More detailed data on the origin of the applicants are not available.In addition, as I announced to the House on 30 November 1992, we are willing to accept 1,000 ex-detainees from Bosnia and other parts of the former Yugoslavia, together with their dependants, totalling perhaps 4,000 in all. The first two groups have already arrived.The available information on applicants to other EC member states is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take on the suggestion in the report of the Ashworth special hospital inquiry 1992, chaired by Sir Louis Blom Cooper, that the Government should make a modest contribution annually to the organisation Inquest to allow it to represent those who die in legal custody.

[holding answer 15 February 1993]: The Government have no plans to contribute to the funding of the organisation Inquest.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the expenditure on (a) the second framework research and development programme 1987 to 1991 and (b) the third framework research and development programme from 1990 to1994 in total and broken down by programme area; what is the share of spend in each programme by the United Kingdom and Germany in total and for each programme area; and if he will express the figures in pound sterling and in ecus.

The second EC framework programme, adopted on 28 September 1987, amounted to 5·396 billion ecu—£4·088 billion at current exchange rates—and was distributed between the main programme areas as set out in table A.The third EC framework programme, adopted on 23 April 1990, amounted to 5·7 billion ecu—£4·318 billion —and the Council reached a common orientation for a supplement of 900 million ecu—£682 million—on 31 December 1992. The funds will be allocated between the main areas of research as set out in table B.EC research programmes under the overlapping frameworks are managed mainly by directorates general XII and XIII of the European Commission. Information on the share of funds awarded to research organisations in member states, in the form of shared cost contracts, has been derived from Commission statistics for the period 1987–1991. For this purpose the Commission has grouped the specific research programmes of the second framework programme in the same format as the third framework programme, and its analysis includes all contracts awarded after 1986, including some made under the first framework programme of 1984–87.The difference between total contract expenditure of 3,038·78 million ecu in table C and the overall amount agreed for the second framework programme of 5,396 million ecu in table A includes expenditure on other mechanisms for developing Community research, such as concerted actions, conferences, workshops, publications, direct research activities at the joint research centre, fusion research, and sums yet to be committed.The funds under the first and second framework programmes awarded to United Kingdom and German research organisations between 1987–1991 are summarised by programme, according to Commission statistics, in table C. A full statistical table showing funds awarded to all member states will be placed in the Library.Because of delays in implementation, only preliminary statistics are available for the third framework programme. These are set out in table D.

Table A
Second framework programme of community activities on research and development (1987–1991)
Breakdown of the amount deemed necessary between the various activities
	(million ecu)	(£million)
Health	80	61
Radiation protection	34	26
Environment	261	198
Information technologies	1,600	1,212

Table B
Third framework programme of community activities on research and development 1990–94
Breakdown of the amount deemed necessary between the various activities
	Previous breakdown of FP3		Breakdown of supplement		Revised sums
	Million ecu	£ million	Million ecu	£ million	Million mecu	£ million
Information technology	1,352	1,024	180	136	1,532	1,161
Communication technology	489	370	65	49	554	420
Telematics	380	288	50	39	430	326
Industrial and materials	748	567	100	76	848	642
Measurement and testing	140	106	19	14	159	120
Environment	414	314	55	42	469	355
Marine sciences and technology	104	79	14	11	118	89
Biotechnology	164	124	22	17	186	141
Agri and agro-industrial	333	252	44	33	377	286
Biomedicine and health	133	101	18	14	151	114
Life sciences for development	111	84	15	II	126	95
Non-nuclear energies	157	119	60	45	217	164
Nuclear fission	199	151	29	22	228	173
Fusion	458	347	110	83	568	430
Human capital and mobility	518	392	69	52	587	445
TOTAL	5,700	4,318	1900	1682	16,600	15,000
1 50 mecu in reserve with priority for non-nuclear energy: conversion from ecu to £ sterling =1·32:1 (sterling figures rounded to nearest £ million).

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will provide figures for the reduction in number of posts as a result of contracting out since 1979 in his Department and agencies for which he has responsibility.

This information is not available except at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has recently received about the release of specific retained documents by the Public Record Office; and if he will make a statement.

In response to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy's invitation to historians in June 1992 to inform him of blocks of closed records that should now be considered for release, he has received more than 50 representations relating to the release of such records.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will name the brands of apple juice containing high levels of patulin which have been on sale in the United Kingdom.

It is not the Department's general policy to publish details of the brands of products examined in the course of food surveillance unless there is a particular need to do so. In this case I believe it would not be helpful to publish the brands involved. The evidence we have is that, as with any naturally occurring toxicant, there is likely to be a good deal of variation in contamination levels between batches of apple juice regardless of the producer. Furthermore, the manufacturers involved have now taken steps to avoid a recurrence of the problem.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the danger of (a) cancer and (b) birth defects resulting from consumption of apple juice containing high levels of patulin.

There is no evidence linking the consumption of apple juice containing patulin with any cases of cancer or birth defects. However, the Department of Health has advised me that patulin has been shown to be a mutagen in both in vitro and in vivo studies in animals and should be regarded as a potential carcinogen. The Department's committee on toxicity has therefore advised that patulin levels in food should be reduced to the lowest level that is technologically achievable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will require each local authority to publish annually the level of salary and the total remuneration package, including pension arrangements, payable to the authority's chief executive and directors.

There is a strong case for local authorities to publish details of the pay of their senior staff in broadly the same way as companies are required to publish details of the pay of their senior employees. However, I am also keen to keep new obligations on local authorities under control.My Department will consider what information it would be appropriate for local authorities to publish and the best way for the local authorities to be encouraged to make that information public. Of course, no new stipulations would be introduced without consultation with the local authority associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the initial three-year budget of his Department's environmental technology innovation scheme launched in October 1990; and how much has been spent to date.

The initial budget for the environmental technology innovation scheme—ETIS—was £12 million divided equally between my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry. Of the £4·6 million so far committed by the DOE on approved projects, £1·25 million has been spent to date. These two figures include grants to projects initially submitted under DOE's predecessor scheme which was subsumed into ETIS in October 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to finalise the environmental technology innovation scheme budget for the next financial year.

Provision for my Department's expenditure on grants under the scheme will be included in the main supply estimates which will be published next month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates his Department has made of the level of noise pollution generated by seismic survey activity; and what studies his Department has made of the effect of noise pollution on marine life in United Kingdom coastal water.

Seismic survey activity is usually undertaken to support oil and gas exploration and is therefore a matter for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. My Department has recently established a working group on acoustic disturbance to small cetaceans, under the chairmanship of the Natural Environment Research Council's sea mammals research unit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress was made during the United Kingdom presidency of the EC in regulating transfrontier shipments of waste.

The Environment Council reached agreement on the waste shipments regulation and on a decision on the conclusion, by the Community and its member states, of the United Nations Environment Programme's Basel convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal.I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms. Walley) on 27 October 1992,

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the increase from 1991–92 to 1992–93 for the energy efficiency office as listed at figures 8 and 20 of his Department's annual report 1993, Cm. 2207; and if he will make a statement on the effects upon the office of transfer to his Department.

A breakdown of expenditure by the Energy Efficiency Office by programme area is given in figure 20 of the Department's annual report. This lists annual expenditure and future plans for the period 1987–88 to 1995–96.The Government remain fully committed to the work of the EEO, which was transferred to the Department of the Environment in view of the environmental importance of energy efficiency. The EEO continues to offer and develop a wide range of programmes designed to encourage cost-effective improvements in energy efficiency in industry, commerce and the public sector and in the home.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the draft regional planning guidance for the south-east will be published.

My Department expects to publish new draft regional planning guidance for the south-east shortly.