To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will tabulate in the Official Report, for titles I, V, VI and VII of the treaty on European union each article containing reference to (a) the Council, (b) the Commission, (c) the Court and (d) the Parliament of the European Economic Community; and what are the additional powers, responsibilities, or functions provided for each institution in each relevant article.

The information the hon. Member requires may be found in Command Paper 1934 and in the memorandum to the Foreign Affairs Committee entitled "Europe after Maastricht".

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will respond to the submission sent to him by an all-party group from Dail Eireann on 4 March regarding Sellafield and the proposed commissioning of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not received the submission to which the hon. Member refers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many vehicles have been imported free of tax into St. Helena for each of the last 10 years for which records are available; and how many have since been exported.

Records are available from 1987 only. These show the following:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those British embassies abroad where there is a science and technology counsellor; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of such posts.

Five of our embassies—Bonn, Moscow, Paris, Tokyo and Washington—currently have science and technology counsellors. The level of staffing devoted to science and technology-related issues is frequently reviewed in the light of Whitehall reporting requirements and competing demands on FCO resources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the treaty signed between President Yeltsin and the Prime Minister on 9 November 1992 will be laid before this House.

The treaty on the principles of relations between the United Kingdom and Russia is due to be laid before the House and published in the country series on 2 April 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the United Nations regarding the 750 missing Kuwaiti prisoners of war taken by the Iraqis during the Gulf war.

We raise this question at each United Nations Security Council review of sanctions and will continue to do so until Iraq fulfils all its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions.We fully support Kuwait's efforts through the International Committee of the Red Cross to establish the whereabouts of missing Kuwaiti and other citizens.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about recruitment policies at Government Communications Headquarters, and which groups are excluded on grounds of ethnic origin or parents' country of origin.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 February 1993, c. 209]: The second paragraph of my answer was inadvertently omitted. The full version is as follows.No groups are excluded on grounds of ethnic origin. Members of staff at GCHQ must be British citizens, must never have held citizenship other than of the United Kingdom and colonies, and must not hold any nationality or citizenship in addition to British citizenship. As regards parents of applicants, the requirement is that each parent must always have been a Commonwealth citizen as defined by the British Nationality Act 1981.If the applicant was not born—or did not take up residence in infancy—in the United Kingdom, each of the applicant's parents must be, or if deceased have been at the time of their death, a British citizen domiciled in the United Kingdom. These rules are at present under review, but I cannot say when this review will be completed or what its conclusions will be.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the total number of lay magistrates in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

The latest figures available show that there are 2,129 lay magistrates in Wales—930 women and 1,199 men. There are also two stipendiary magistrates in post and another authorised post to be filled. The Lord Chancellor's advisory committees in Wales advise him on the need for new lay magistrates and recommend suitable candidates to him for appointment. The objective is that each bench should broadly reflect the community it serves.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many of the magistrates in Wales have a declared affiliation with a political party; if he will list the numbers who identify themselves with each party; and if he will make a statement.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. When making recommendations for appointment the Lord Chancellor expects his advisory committees to put forward suitable candidates who broadly reflect the community which they will serve. In deciding which suitable candidates to recommend he expects them to take into account political affiliation, or the lack of it, as well as other factors such as gender, geography and occupation.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action he intends to take to ensure that all outstanding legal fees owed to lawyers by the civil legal aid scheme are paid promptly; and if he will make a statement.

Costs in civil legal aid cases do not become due until after they have been taxed by the court or assessed by the Legal Aid Board. The Legal Aid Board is responsible for payment of such costs after taxation or assessment and it is already their aim to pay them as promptly as possible. For the year 1992–93 the board had a target of paying 65 per cent. of solicitors' civil legal aid bills within six weeks of receipt, including assessment when appropriate. In the financial year to date, that is 1 April 1992 to 28 February 1993, this target has been surpassed, with almost 73 per cent. of bills being paid within that time.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the estimated number of take-ups of legal aid offers in each of the next three years.

The estimated number of civil legal aid certificates and criminal legal aid orders for each of the next three years is as follows:

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the number of legal aid orders issued in criminal cases in each of the last three years.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 11 March at column 644. Complete figures for 1992 are not yet available.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of offers of legal aid with payment of a contribution fell into arrears of contributions in each of the last three years.

The total number of civil cases where contributions were in arrears in each of the last three years was as follows:

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of offers of legal aid with payment of a contribution failed to be rectified by reassessment of payment or arrears, leading to a discharge of the certificate, in each of the last three years.

The information sought is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to extend the consultation period for his proposals for changes to the legal aid procedure.

I have laid statutory instruments before this House to implement the changes to legal aid eligibility and will shortly be laying instruments to make other changes in relation to fees and payments made to lawyers in criminal legal aid cases.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate he has made of the effect of his new proposals for legal aid eligibility on the level of income to the compensation recovery unit in each of the next three years.

No precise estimate has been made. Details held by the compensation recovery unit do not distinguish between those cases which have the benefit of legal aid and others. It is however likely that the practical effects of the legal aid proposals will be small. A large majority of the amounts recovered so far by the compensation recovery unit relate to employer liability and motor liability cases, and a great many of those will have been supported by trade unions or insurers respectively.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of offers of legal aid with payment of a contribution were not accepted under the current legal aid arrangements, in each of the last three years.

The number of contributory civil legal aid certificates issued and the number of offers of contributory civil legal aid made but not accepted in the last three years are as follows:

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the estimated saving, after allowing for the statutory charge, which will result from the scrapping of the contribution taper for green form advice.

It is difficult to identify separately the effects of each element in the package of changes which has been announced. However, it is likely that the changes to eligibility for green form will save about £11 million by 1995–96.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement about the provision of more contact centres where children can be visited with facilities for supervision.

Contact centres are funded by the voluntary and private sectors with assistance in some cases from local authorities and local area probation services. The Government have no plans to intervene.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement about the extension of the application of the Hague convention to access rights.

The Hague convention on civil aspects of child abduction makes provision for access rights. There are no immediate plans to seek to extend such provision.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is considering to make United Kingdom legal aid available to parents seeking to recover children abducted to countries where such assistance is not available.

The principle behind the legal aid schemes in England and Wales and Northern Ireland is that they assist individuals, regardless of their nationality, to undertake proceedings in the English, Welsh and Northern Irish courts. It would not be appropriate to extend the schemes to cover proceedings in other jurisdictions, many of which will have their own legal aid schemes which provide assistance to United Kingdom citizens on the same basis as for their own citizens. The legal aid scheme in Scotland is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to improve the training of lawyers, magistrates and judges in the areas of child abduction.

Specific responsibility for the training of lawyers lies with the Law Society and the Council for Legal Education. The Judicial Studies Board is responsible for the provision of training for the professional judiciary and advises on the training of lay magistrates. Magistrates have limited powers, in cases of abduction but would be advised by their justices' clerks. The subject is included as part of the general training for those members of the circuit judiciary dealing with family matters. Proceedings to which the Hague convention applies come before experienced family division judges. The board will carefully consider the recommendations made in the report, "Home and Away".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were on remand in prison at (a) 30 June 1991 and (b) 30 June 1992; and what proportion were subsequently not sentenced.

A total of 387 women were held on remand in prison or in police cells on 30 June 1991; 378 women were held on 30 June 1992. Information on the proportions subsequently not sentenced is not available. Estimates from the courts remand data for females remanded in custody during magistrates courts proceedings or on committal to the Crown court are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were in prison on remand in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992; and of that total how many were (i) juveniles, (ii) young adults and (iii) adults.

The average number of women held on remand, subdivided into adults and young persons, including juveniles, is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the. Home Department how many sentenced women were in prison in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992; and of that total, how many were (i) juveniles, (ii) young adults and (iii) adults.

The average number of women prisoners held under sentence, subdivided into adult and young offender, including juveniles, prisoners, is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sentenced women were in prison in (i) 1991 and (ii) 1992, respectively; and of that total, how many were convicted of (a) violence against the person, (b) sexual offences, (c) burglary, (d) robbery, (e) theft, handling, fraud and forgery, (f) drugs offences and (g) other.

The number of women held under sentence on 30 June 1991 and 30 June 1992 by offence group is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sentenced women were in prison at (a) 30 June 1991 and (b) 30 June 1992; and what proportion of these women were serving (i) sentences up to 18 months, (ii) sentences between 18 months and three years, (iii) sentences between three years and less than life and (iv) life sentences.

The number of women under sentence in prison was 1,148 on 30 June 1991 and 1,170 on 30 June 1992. The percentage breakdowns by sentence length are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults, major and minor, on prison staff have taken place at the Wolds remand centre between April and December 1992.

There was a total of 16 assaults by prisoners on staff between 5 April and 31 December 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of the former Yugoslavia who entered the United Kingdom during 1992 as visitors have, to date, applied for their visit to be extended; and how many such applications have (a) been granted, (b) been refused and (c) are pending.

Available information is given in the table. Full information on the number of applications for extension of stay in this period is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will release Karamjit Singh Chahal from Bedford prison; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 January, at column 255.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will introduce legislation to reform Sunday trading law in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

We are continuing to prepare the various models for reform, in close consultation with the pressure groups, for inclusion in a Government Bill. We shall bring that Bill to the House when the parliamentary timetable allows. I will make available to hon. Members well before the summer recess a fully developed draft Bill together with a text explaining the detailed effect of its provisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet the chairperson of the Stoke-on-Trent police consultative committee to discuss police resources in Staffordshire.

My right hon. and learned Friend has not been asked for such a meeting. If a request were made, it would receive sympathetic consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many uniformed policemen are employed in England and Wales.

There were 128,045 male and female police officers employed by the police service at the end of December 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 15 March, on central European time, what power he has to adopt common European time on an experimental basis only.

The adoption of central European time on an experimental basis would require fresh primary legislation similar to that enacted in 1968 for the purposes of the British standard time experiment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the effect in terms of numbers of (a) lives saved and (b) serious injuries avoided between now and 1995, on present trends, of introducing common European time.

The only such estimates available are those relating to road traffic casualties. Estimates for 1991 are that some 140 deaths and 520 serious injuries could be saved by adopting central European time. Savings in subsequent years are likely to be of the same order.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of sex offenders who have re-offended while on bail in each police authority since 1987.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies he has commissioned into the question of euthanasia.

My right hon. and learned Friend has commissioned no studies into euthanasia and has no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for greater transparency in financial contributions and contributions made in kind to political parties for general election expenses.

We have no such proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to ensure that all animals reused in laboratories have been examined by a qualified veterinary surgeon and deemed fit and well for use in further experimental procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

The licence holder may call upon the advice of the named veterinary surgeon as appropriate. Although there is no general requirement that animals to be reused in scientific procedures must first be examined by a veterinary surgeon, such a requirement may be added as a condition to project licences when this is considered appropriate. There are no present plans to vary these arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many warrants for non-payment of fines etc. were executed by police forces in each calendar year from 1988 to 1992; how many warrants for non-payment relating to television licences were executed by police forces in each calendar year from 1988 to 1992; and what is the estimated cost of the execution of warrants.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to restricting the advertisements and availability of firearms, knives, archery equipment, ammunition, replica weapons and associated services in magazines.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to the oral answer of 11 March Official Report, column 1120, by the Leader of the House, if he will receive a deputation led by the hon. Member for Dumbarton on the publication and distribution of the magazine referred to in relation to public safety;(2) if he will introduce legislation to make it illegal to distribute magazines depicting illegal and offensive weapons.

The Home Office has studied the magazine which was drawn to the Government's attention by the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. McFall). It has been mailed direct from the USA to a number of people in this country and it appears to include several items, the importation or sale of which is prohibited.The publisher's attention is being drawn to the provisions of our law. It is for the police or HM Customs and Excise to consider whether to initiate prosecutions for any apparent infringements. We have no plans to introduce additional legislation of the sort suggested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken to promote No Smoking Day in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

The 10th national No Smoking Day on 10 March was promoted in the Home Office by a newsletter on the subject which was circulated throughout the entire Department. This was reinforced by poster displays, leaflets and other publicity material supplied through the Health Education Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he plans to take to improve the working environment in his Department.

It is the policy of my Department to provide staff with a safe, efficient and clean working environment. Subject to available resources and the need to ensure value for money, improvements are and will continue to be made when justified.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates have been made as to the number of appeals likely to be lodged in (a) Pendle, (b) the north-west and (c) England, after April concerning the valuation of properties for the council tax; and how many people will be employed to process such appeals.

It is impossible to predict the number of appeals that will be made against valuation bandings in particular locations after 1 April 1993 and, hence, the number of people to be employed in the processing of such appeals.However, administrative plans have been made to deal with up to 950,000 initial proposals to alter bandings in England. These plans will be reviewed when a clearer picture of the actual number of proposals emerges after 1 April 1993.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many appointments to the public bodies listed in "Public Bodies" for his Department were made from names supplied by the public appointments unit; and if he will list them.

The public appointments unit is only one of the sources used to identify candidates for appointment to public bodies for which the Chancellor is responsible. No detailed records are kept of how many appointments to those bodies were made solely as a result of nomination by the PAU.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will issue his reply to the second report of the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee, Session 1992–93, on "Banking Supervision and BCCI: The Implications of the Bingham Report".

I have written to the Chairman of the Committee to inform him that, while the Government have read with interest and noted the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee's report, they do not intend to respond to it. The Government have already considered carefully the implications of Sir Thomas Bingham's report into the supervision of BCCI and I have nothing to add to the Government's response to that report, which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced to the House on 22 October 1992, Official Report, columns 576–91.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sites in the countryside with public access arising from inheritance tax conditional exemption agreements will be publicised by the Countryside Commission, the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, before the end of July.

The Countryside Commission is planning to issue a publication this summer which will allow access to land in England which has been secured under inheritance tax conditional exemption and other non-tax schemes without distinguishing the reasons for the access. Discussions are continuing about the scope of this publication.Comparable publications for Wales and Scotland will not be available this summer. Both the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage are considering the best way of providing comparable publications for Wales and Scotland which protect taxpayer confidentiality.Owners are already required to publicise public access to conditionally exempt land and there are already many existing sources of information about the access which is available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals the Government have to extend the requirements to advertise contracts and invite tenders to non-governmental bodies which operate by statutory authority.

The advertisement of contracts is normally required where EC rules apply and is recommended in other cases. Currently there are EC rules on the procurement of supplies and works in both the public sector and the utilities sector—the energy, telecommunications, transport and water sectors. Similar EC rules on the procurement of some types of services will have to be implemented for the public sector by 1 July 1993 and, if adopted as planned, for the utilities by 1 July 1994. At present the EC rules on the procurement of works in the public sector cover some non-departmental public bodies not subject to the rules for supplies contracts. Under a further proposal the coverage of the rules on supplies will be aligned with the coverage for works, probably from 1 January 1995.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual percentage of the economically active population in Northern Ireland in each year since 1988–89 which pays the higher rate of income tax compared with the percentage of the economically active population which pays the higher rate of income tax in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

The available information is given in the table. Husbands and wives were taxed independently for the first time in 1990–91 and each individual subject to higher rate tax is counted as one taxpayer in 1990–91. In the two earlier years, each married couple subject to higher rate tax is counted as one taxpayer.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual per capita tax yield from value added tax in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979-80 compared with the annual per capita tax yield from VAT in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

The per capita yield from VAT in Northern Ireland in 1990–91 is estimated at £423 compared with £543 for Great Britain. It is not possible to provide comparable figures for other years or for England, Scotland and Wales separately.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the timetable and rate for introduction of VAT on the printed word to which the Government are already committed.

In his Budget statement my right hon. Friend did not propose the extension of VAT to books, newspapers and periodicals.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will outline the reasons for the differing value added tax treatment of (a) straw for animal feed and (b) straw for compost, crop protection and livestock bedding.

Animal feed is relieved from VAT under item 2 of group 1 of schedule 5 to the VAT Act 1983. Compost, crop protection and animal bedding material does not fall within this or any other group of the zero rate schedule and is therefore liable to VAT at the standard rate. Customs have recently agreed with the trade new guidelines for the VAT treatment of supplies of straw under each category.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will offer the same arrangements for VAT rates to the greyhound industry as those he indicated in his Budget for racehorse owners.

The memorandum of agreement on VAT registration arrangements announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in his Budget statement refers to the particular circumstances of the horseracing industry and crucially depends upon proposed changes to the rules of racing. Customs and Excise will consider any representations from the greyhound racing industry that the ownership and racing of greyhounds amounts to a business for VAT purposes.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for Her Majesty's Customs to alter the status of (a) the approved clearance point, (b) approved hours for freight delivery and (c) the entry processing unit at Cardiff Wales airport; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 March 1993]: There are no current proposals to alter the status of the entry processing unit covering Cardiff Wales airport. The approved clearance point and the entry processing unit are, for Customs purposes, the same in that the place for lodgement of Customs entries and their clearance is the entry processing unit. Customs entries for Cardiff Wales airport have, since November 1991, been lodged and cleared at Barry docks.Customs place no restriction on the times of delivery of cleared cargo. This is a matter for the approved transit shed operator at Cardiff Wales airport.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a table showing the contribution made by each of the 31 pits in the colliery review process to the annual gross domestic product of the region in which it is located.

[holding answer 16 March 1993]: I regret that statistics are not collected in the form requested.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the next Trial of the Pyx is due to take place; if he will ensure that a selection of new 10p pieces are included in the sample of coins examined; what are the maximum penalties to which he may be subjected if coins are found to be of variable weight or thickness; and if he will make a statement on whether such coins are unsuitable for use in automatic machines.

[holding answer 16 March 1993]: The next Trial of the Pyx will be held in February 1994. The 1993 trial, which took place on 11 February 1993, included a selection of new 10p pieces. In accordance with the Trial of the Pyx (Amendment) Order 1990, one out of every 20,000 10p coins was set aside for trial with the result that almost 60,000 were included in the 1993 trial. The delivery of the verdict is expected on 7 May at Goldsmiths' Hall and will be published in the London Gazette.The Coinage Act 1971 and subsequent proclamations, require coins to be made in accordance with certain standards and permitted variations defined in terms of composition, weight and diameter. The legislation prescribes no penalties for variation from these specifications.The Royal Mint is satisfied, after consultation with machine manufacturers and operators, that the new 10p coins are suitable for use in automatic machines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to the draft guidance on Christianity prepared by the working group set up under the auspices of the National Curriculum Council.

My right hon. Friend supports the work which the National Curriculum Council is undertaking in this area, and looks forward to seeing the results in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made as to the effect of a reduction in school places on parental choice.

The effect of the removal of surplus places will vary from one area to another. My right hon. Friend is currently consulting local education authorities about

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish figures for capital spending on schools for each of the local education authorities for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The table gives the information requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to assist the Institution of Electrical Engineers in helping universities in eastern Europe with the accreditation of university engineering degrees.

None, but the institution is free to apply to participate in the EC's TEMPUS programme of assistance to the higher education systems of the countries of central and eastern Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the development of tourism in Wiltshire.

In 1991 Wiltshire received over a million tourism visits, contributing £83 million to the county's economy. Given the fast-growing popularity of rural tourism, Wiltshire is well placed for growth in its tourism sector, building on projects such as the Wiltshire tourism development action programme, which has received Government support through the tourist boards.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the measures to help the tourist industry contained in the Budget.

The objective of the measures contained in the Budget is to establish a sound basis for economic stability and growth. This will benefit industry in general, including tourism. The help announced for small businesses will be particularly welcome.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what measures he is proposing to promote tourism in the north-west.

My Department supports the work of the British Tourist Authority, the English tourist board and the North West regional tourist board, and next year we shall spend almost £1 billion, much of it on activities which will enhance tourism across the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received from small hoteliers concerning their contribution to tourism.

Since taking up my present appointment, I have met and corresponded with many small hoteliers and representatives from organisations promoting their interests. I am advised by the English tourist board that of the 22,547 listed hotels, motels, inns and guest houses in England over 61 per cent. have 10 bedrooms or fewer. I therefore appreciate that they are an important element in the provision of accommodation in this country.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what level of interest he expects in the forthcoming batch of independent radio franchises which are up for renewal in London.

The Radio Authority is responsible for licensing of radio services and I understand that it expects considerable interest in the London-wide licences.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what powers are available to Her Majesty's Government to prevent the sale of access facilities to pornographic television stations based in the EC.

Section 177 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 enables the Secretary of State, provided certain conditions are satisfied, to make an order proscribing an unacceptable foreign satellite television service. The Secretary of State must first have been notified by the Independent Television Commission that the service is considered unacceptable and should be proscribed. The Secretary of State must then satisfy himself that the making of the order is in the public interest and compatible with any international obligations of the United Kingdom. Those obligations, in the case of a service transmitted from another EC member state, would include obligations under the EC Broadcasting Directive.The making of an order under section 177 attracts to it the criminal offences of supporting a proscribed foreign satellite service detailed in section 178. These include supplying or offering to supply a decoder for a proscribed service.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will seek new powers to ban the transmissions, such of those of the Red Hot Dutch satellite television channel, to the United Kingdom or to prohibit the reception of such transmissions.

I refer to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thanet, North (Mr. Gale) on 19 March, Official Report, column 427.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last met the chairman of the ITC to discuss the workings of the Broadcasting Act 1990.

On 3 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the proposed level of funding for Croydon received from the London Arts Board in 1993.

The London Arts Board has so far made grants for 1993–94 only to those arts organisations in receipt of annual revenue funding. These include a grant of nearly £40,000 to the Croydon Warehouse, an increase of 50 per cent. over 1992–93. Further grants will be made under a wide range of other project-funding programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he plans next to meet the chairman and director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation to discuss the future of public service broadcasting.

I meet the chairman and director general from time to time to discuss matters of common interest. I hope to attend the BBC's annual strategy conference in June, which is likely to be much concerned with the future of public service broadcasting.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last met the chairman of the Sports Council to discuss the funding of sport.

The funding of sport is one of many issues I discussed with the chairman of the Sports Council when I met him earlier this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to meet the chairman of the BBC to discuss rules relating to concessionary television licences; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to meet the chairman of the BBC to discuss the concessionary television licence scheme. As I indicated in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter) on 14 December, Official Report, col. 14, the Government have repeatedly made it clear that we have no plans to amend or extend the regulations governing the concessionary scheme, which were thoroughly overhauled in 1988 after long and careful consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what recent discussions he has had with the BBC regarding rules governing the eligibility for concessionary television licences.

None. We have no plans to change the present concessionary television licence scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received concerning the impact of the National Lottery etc. Bill on lotteries organised by sporting and charitable organisations.

We received a number of representations from football clubs and United Kingdom Charity Lotteries Ltd., expressing their concerns. We have taken these into account. Three important changes have been made to the provisions in the Bill relating to society or local authority lotteries, and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department is considering other issues which were raised in Committee.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make it his policy to ensure that regional museums receive funding from the national lottery.

The National Heritage Memorial Fund will be responsible for distributing lottery money to the heritage. The NHMF already funds projects which are of outstanding regional or local, as well as national, interest. I am confident the trustees will continue to do so, judging grant applications on the basis of quality and priority.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what support has been given by the Government to the 1993 London marathon.

Most Government support for sport is channelled via the Sports Council, which does not provide any grant to the London marathon. I am delighted that agreement has been reached with the organisers of the 1993 marathon for use of the royal parks. No other direct support has been sought or given.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to meet representatives of football clubs from divisions 1, 2 and 3 of the Football League, to discuss finance and ground safety.

I have no plans at present to do so. My officials meet the football authorities regularly to discuss all aspects of Government policy regarding football grounds.