To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria will be used to select representatives of British local government to sit on the EC Committee of the Regions.

No final decisions have yet been taken, but clearly United Kingdom members on the Committee of the Regions should have a broad range of expertise in order to deal with the issues which the committee will address.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a précis of the non-proliferation treaty agreement covering the Korean peninsula; and if he will make a statement.

Under the terms of the non-proliferation treaty both North and South Korea undertake not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons. The text of the separate joint North/South Korean declaration for a non-nuclear Korean peninsula has been deposited in the Library of the House. This declaration has not yet been implemented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether Team Spirit manoeuvres how being carried out in South Korea run counter to the spirit of the non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Team Spirit is a routine defence training exercise, normally held annually, involving United States and Republic of Korea forces. It is misleading to try to link such exercises to the non-proliferation treaty and obligations arising therefrom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor), 16 March, Official Report, columns 127–28, what were the voting figures recorded in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council held on 8 March.

There were no votes at the Foreign Affairs Council on 8 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British staff are employed in diplomatic posts in each of the member states of the European Community, with a separate number for each post.

The numbers of United Kingdom based staff are as follows:

	Number
Germany
Bonn	58
Berlin	27
Dusseldorf	11
Frankfurt	3
Hamburg	3
Munich	7
Stuttgart	1
Total	110
Greece
Athens	28
Total	28
Irish Republic
Dublin	21
Total	21
Luxembourg
Luxembourg	6
Total	6
Portugal
Lisbon	18
Oporto	1
Total	19
Belgium
Brussels Embassy	24
Brussels Joint Management Office	4
Brussels UK Representative to EC	64
Brussels UK Delegation to NATO	41
Total	133
Denmark
Copenhagen Embassy	20
Total	20
France
Paris Embassy	72
Paris OECD	7
Bordeaux	1
Lille	1
Lyons	1
Marseilles	1
Strasbourg	5
Total	88
Italy
Rome Embassy	37
Rome FAO	1
Holy See	2
Florence	1
Milan	6
Naples	2
Total	49
Netherlands
The Hague Embassy	21
Amsterdam	3
Total	24
Spain
Madrid Embassy	31
Barcelona	2

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations HM embassy in Egpt has made recently to the Egyptian authorities regarding the experiences in Egypt of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels.

[holding answer 19 March 1993]: Her Majesty's ambassador discussed the affairs of WENA Hotels with the Egyptian Minister of Tourism on 27 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he proposes to take to safeguard the interests in Egypt of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels.

[holding answer, 19 March 1993]: We understand that WENA Hotels is taking its dispute with the Egyptian Hotels Company to arbitration. We are in close touch with WENA Hotels, its Egyptian lawyer and the US embassy in Cairo, and will be in touch with the Egyptian authorities as necessary should WENA Hotels experience further difficulties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the United States Government the experiences in Egypt of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels and the interests of its British and American shareholders; and if he will make joint representations with the United States Government to the Egyptian Government.

[holding answer 19 March 1993]: We are in close touch with the US Embassy in Cairo on this matter. We understand that WENA Hotels is taking its dispute with the Egyptian Hotels Company to arbitration. We will be in touch with the Egyptian authorities as necessary, should WENA Hotels experience further difficulties.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 March, Official Report, column 576, how many outside contractors have been used for functions at 11 Downing street since 1987; if he will list them; and whether the contracts were put out to public tender.

Information going back to 1987 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The contractors engaged to provide catering services for official functions at 11 Downing street are selected from an approved list of contractors who have the necessary security clearance. For security reasons, these contracts are not usually put out to public tender.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many farms have been placed in each council tax band in each of the local authority areas of Wales.

The information is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated number of smokers in the United Kingdom; and what are the total projected tax revenues from each tax applied to tobacco products in 1992–93.

Estimates for the numbers of smokers in Great Britain in 1990 indicate that there were around 15 million smokers.Our latest estimate for total receipts from tobacco duties in 1992–93 is £6·1 billion. Within this total, the likely yield from cigarette duties (specific and ad valorem) is £5·6 billion; from cigars is £0·1 billion; from hand-rolling tobacco is £0·3 billion; and from other smoking and chewing tobacco is £0·£1 billion. Latest consumers' expenditure data suggest that the VAT yield from tobacco products is likely to be around £1·5 billion in 1992–93.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he expects to raise from value added tax in each year from 1992–93 to 1995–96 levied on (a) industry's fuel costs, (b) domestic electricity supply, (c) domestic gas sales and (d) other domestic fuels.

Separate forecasts of value added tax yield from industrial fuel costs, domestic electricity supply, domestic gas sales and other fuels are not available. "The Financial Statement and Budget Report 1993–94" shows the estimated yield from applying value added tax to domestic fuel and power as zero in 1993–94, £950 million in 1994–95 and £2,300 million in 1995–96. There is no current estimate of revenue raised from applying value added tax to industrial fuel costs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to implement article 27 of the Council directive 92/50/EEC.

The Government intend to implement Council directive 92/50/EEC as a whole by 1 July 1993, together with Council directive 89/665/EEC insofar as it is relevant, by means of legislation under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance (No. 2) Bill will be published.

The Finance (No. 2) Bill will be published on Wednesday 14 April.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide for each county (a) a figure for gross domestic product per head and (b) a purchasing power standard per head compared with the EC average.

[holding answer 22 March 1993]: The latest available information relating to gross domestic product by county for 1989 was published in the November 1991 issue of "Economic Trends". Eurostat, in its "Rapid Reports" series on the regions, publishes estimates on purchasing power standards. The latest report to appear showing detail below regional level for 1989 was published in 1991. Copies of both publications are available in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the annual figures for spending by the Northern Ireland Office on commissioning research from the higher education sector for each year from 1989–90 to 1993–94.

The figures requested are as follows:

	£
1989–90	366,642
1990–91	759,123
1991–92	1,079,305
1992–93	11,015,527
1993–94	1597,469
1Estimate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland.

£25,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights.

Monitoring of the religious affiliation of Northern Ireland civil service employees of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights is undertaken centrally by the equal opportunities unit in the Department of Finance and Personnel. I therefore refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 23 March.The cost of monitoring home civil service employees is negligible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland.

I am informed by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland that, at current costs and based on current practice, it estimates, to the nearest £500, the annual cost to the board representing the input of staff to monitoring work in relation to religious affiliation, gender and disability, to be £4,500. The board is not able to disaggregate the respective proportions of the total accounted for by these three components.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the main proposals of the report commissioned from Coopers and Lybrand in 1986 into the operation of the Department of Education in Northern Ireland; what actions have been taken by the Department in light of its recommendations; and if he will publish the report.

The internal top structure review of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland, carried out in 1986 by Coopers and Lybrand, recommended that: a "top management" support group be established; the finance and personnel functions of the Department be grouped into a single Division; a separate policy planning division be established; and the divisional structure of the Department should reflect the regional structure of education administration in Northern Ireland rather than the functional areas of educational activity.All but the last of these recommendations were accepted and implemented.The report was an internal administration document and will not be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to complete the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

It is the Government's intention to proceed straight away with the necessary preparations to allow Northern Ireland Electricity to be floated in the early summer.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the procedure for complaints to the civil appeals office; and how these complaints are dealt with.

The chief clerk at the civil appeals office generally replies to formal complaints about the cavil appeals office.More complex matters are referred to the court administrator at the royal courts of justice to investigate.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many complaints there have been in the last three years to the civil appeals office about erroneous advice given to members of the public.

Four complaints have been made to the civil appeals office in the last three years about erroneous advice given to members of the public.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many complaints there were in 1990, 1991 and 1992 about the civil apeals office; and what was the subject matter of the complaints in each year.

There were 36 complaints about the civil appeals office in 1990, 32 in 1991, and 49 in 1992. The categories of subject matter were:

	1990	1991	1992
Listing	6	7	12
Judicial decision	14	11	18
Staff error	12	12	11
Erroneous advice	2	—	2
Other	2	2	6
	36	32	49

Of these, three were found to be justified in 1990, three in 1991 and five in 1992.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans there are to change the cash limit for class X, vote 1—Administration of Justice: England and Wales.

The cash limit on class X, vote 1 will be reduced by £11,885,000 from £756,376,000 to £744,491,000. This reflects provision for current and capital grants to local authorities for magistrates courts which will not be required, largely because audited claims for the balance of 1991–92 expenditure, which are submitted and paid during 1992–93, have proved to be lower than expected.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what target his Department has set for reducing the rate of growth in the unit cost of legal aid cases.

The rapid rise in the unit cost of legal aid cases in recent years is a major cause for concern. Reducing the rate of growth in unit cost is one of my Department's top priorities. Our target is to contain the unit cost growth in legal aid remuneration so that by March 1996 it does not exceed the rate of inflation.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer, of 9 March, Official Report, column 517, if he will list the number and names of outside contractors used by the Government hospitality fund for official functions; how many and which caterers were used at official functions other than those arranged by the Government hospitality fund; and, in each case, whether the contract was put out to tender.

There are three caterers (Crown Catering Group, Leiths Good Food and Ring and Brymer) employed by the Government hospitality fund for functions at 10 Downing street. Only one caterer (Lady Blennerhassett) is employed for official functions other than those arranged by the Government hospitality fund. For every GHF function at 10 Downing street, quotations are called for from the approved caterers.

To ask the Prime Minister which clauses of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill affect the royal prerogative; and if he will list the extent to which each of those clauses limits the current extent of the royal prerogative.

[holding answer 22 March 1993]: As appears from the Order Paper, the Queen's consent to the Bill is to be signified on Third Reading. Her Majesty's consent has been sought because of clause 2 of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill. That clause limits the exercise of the royal prerogative in foreign affairs by preventing the United Kingdom from moving to the third stage of economic and monetary union until the move has been approved by Act of Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to provide that when sales of paving stones take place to a dealer the vehicle registration number and driver's name and address are required to be recorded with other details of the transaction and that such records are available for police inspection; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and leaned Friend has no plans to do so. If the hon. Member is aware of any particular problem, my right hon. and learned Friend would be grateful if he would bring it to his attention.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions of airlines under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 have taken place in each year since its entry into force.

The Act creates no criminal offence, and therefore could not give rise to prosecutions. Proceedings against four carriers for the recovery of charges under the Act were initiated in the civil courts in 1990. The cases were settled out of court.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made in the membership of the Police Complaints Authority.

Brigadier John Pownall will be retiring from his post as deputy chairman of the Police Complaints Authority on 31 July this year, having accepted my invitation to delay his departure for three months beyond his current term of appointment. I wish to take this opportunity to thank him for his service to the authority. As the last of its original members, Brigadier Pownall has made a distinguished contribution to the establishment of the authority as an accepted part of the police complaints system.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had regarding the Criminal Justice Act 1991 in relation to the ability of the courts to take into account all previous convictions when sentencing a defendant.

A substantial number of representations have been received from right hon. and hon. Members, sentencers, practitioners and members of the public about the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, many of them concentrating on section 29.All representations will receive careful consideration, and my right hon. and learned Friend made clear to this House on 2 March in column 147, that he is prepared to re-examine the 1991 Act in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the levels of car crime; what were the figures for such crimes in each of the last four quarters for which figures are available; what conclusions he has drawn from the most recent monthly figures; and if he will make a statement.

We continue to receive many representations about car crime, which is rightly a matter of continuing concern to the public. The latest period for which recorded car crime statistics have been published is April–June 1992, and these figures are as follows, together with those for the three preceding quarters:

	Theft from	Theft of	Total Car Crime
3rd Quarter 1991	220,536	141,324	361,860
4th Quarter 1991	235,411	145,333	380,744
1st Quarter 1992	240,399	147,840	388,239
2nd Quarter 1992	234,912	137,734	372,646
Total	931,258	572,231	1,503,489

The figures for April–June 1992 show a reduction in car crime of some 2 per cent. on the corresponding quarter of 1991. Looking at the change over a longer period, car crime rose by 7 per cent. in the 12 months to June 1992 compared with the previous 12 months, whereas in 12 months to June 1991 it had risen by 23 per cent. The figures therefore suggest that car crime is rising at a significantly lower rate than before.The themes of Car Crime Prevention Year continue to play a significant part in encouraging action to combat car crime. The advisory committee which I have set up to further inform policy development in this area recently met for the second time. In addition, we are actively promoting schemes such as the secured car parks initiative.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the report on drugs and health education in schools from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

We hope to publish the report, which is entitled "Drug Education in Schools: the Need for New Impetus", in June.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders in the Metropolitan police district were (a) cautioned by the police and (b) prosecuted; and what orders were made in respect of them in the last three available years.

[holding answer 23 March 1993]: The information available centrally is given in the table.

Persons aged under 21 cautioned, prosecuted and sentenced1 by type of sentence or order for all offences, excluding summary motoring in the Metropolitan police district2, 1989 to 1991
	1989	1990	1991
Cautioned
10–13	2,661	3,061	2,777
14–16	7,231	8,756	8,048
17–20	12,110	12,934	11,500
Prosecuted
10–13	707	638	561
14–16	5,946	5,018	1,789
17–20	26,803	24,676	23,519
Sentenced1 by type of sentence or order
Discharge
10–13	228	194	157
14–16	1,179	1,047	971
17–20	3,340	3,149	3,405
Fine
10–13	64	55	52
14–16	1,094	782	595
17–20	12,165	10,359	8,091
Community penalty3
10–13	129	99	85
14–16	1,239	1,120	1,077
17–20	3,892	3,883	4,031
Detention in a young offender institution
10–13	—	—	—
14–16	319	194	200
17–20	2,226	1,730	1,701
Otherwise dealt with
10–13	43	21	23
14–16	257	191	154
17–20	530	457	458
All sentences or orders
10–13	464	369	317
14–16	4,088	3,334	2,997
17–20	22,153	19,578	17,686
1Includes persons sentenced at the Crown court.
2Includes the City of London.
3Attendance centre orders, community service order, probation order or supervision order.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for receiving and investigating complaints against police doctors.

[holding answer 22 March 1993]: Complaints against police surgeons are normally made to the chief officer of the force concerned in the first instance. Where the complaint relates to specific matters of professional misconduct, it may be referred to the General Medical Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received seeking an amendment to schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, chapter 13, to allow lip-reading classes to be funded by the further education funding councils; and how he has responded.

My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about the arrangements under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 for the provision of lip-reading classes for adults. Schedule 2 to the Act specifies the scope of the duty on the Further Education Funding Councils to secure further education for adults, including courses in lip reading and other communication skills. Under section 11 of the Act, LEAs' duty is to secure the availability of such provision where it does not fall within schedule 2. The requirement on both the funding councils and LEAs is to ensure that adequate provision is available, in their respective spheres of responsibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he intends to increase mandatory student grants to take account of the additional expenditure on gas and electricity bills due to the imposition of value added tax on domestic fuel.

It is my right hon. Friend's policy to review annually the overall level of mandatory support available to students through the basic grant and loan, in the light of forecast cost movements. Any increase is applied only to the loans element and to the supplementary allowances within the award, leaving the basic grant fixed at its present cash level. The rates for the 1993–94 academic year will be announced in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of each education authority's budget is spent on teachers' salaries.

[pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 15 March, c. 19–20]: The table referring to the percentage of local education authorities' budgets spent on teachers' salaries should have included a figure of 56 per cent. for 1990–91 for Hereford and Worcester and not for Herefordshire as stated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list details of funds expended per pupil in each local education authority in 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 9 March, c. 520–21]: The table referring to unit costs in local education authorities should have included a figure of £1,520 for 1990–91 for Hereford and Worcester and not for Herefordshire as stated.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the annual total costs of the four largest European science and social science research projects.

Several of the largest European collaborative science organisations fund a variety of projects and programmes from within a single core budget. Available information on specific projects, covering 1993 in-year capital and research costs, indicates that the largest research projects will be four European Space Agency programmes, as follows:

1993 expenditure
Programme	£million
Columbus
European element for International Space Station; development of Columbus Polar Platform; studies for future European Space Station	330
Ariane
Satellite Launcher	643
Hermes
Manned space flight study	159
ERS
European Remote Sensing Satellite	115

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all the local authorities in England and Wales which operate concessionary fare schemes for travel on the railways, indicating which of them operate schemes for (a) the elderly, (b) the disabled, (c) the blind and (d) young people.

I am placing the information in the Library of the House, and I have sent the hon. Gentleman a copy direct.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes in design or alignment he expects over those sections of the newly proposed fast rail route from London to the channel tunnel following an alignment and design already announced; and if he will give the reason for each such change.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport made a statement on the rail link on 22 March. Details of the route for consultation, the changes made in refining the route and the reasons for the changes are contained in the Union Railways report and other material deposited in the Vote Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the approximate capital sum, at 1993 prices, which he expects will be required to construct the fast channel rail link from St. Pancras to Cheritan; and by what means he expects a return on such sums to be achieved.

The estimated cost of the link is about £2·5 billion, towards which some Government support will be available in respect of domestic passenger benefits. Main sources of income will be fares, track charges and ancillary revenues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what means he expects private capital invested into the London crossrail project to make a return comparable to that obtainable from other forms of lending.

The re-examination announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement of 16 March will be directed particularly at means to make the project attractive to the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on rail bridge strengthening; when the programme will be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that the British Railways Board does not currently have any specific programme of rail bridge strengthening.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what progress has been made on the road bridge strengthening programme; when it will be completed; and if he will make a statement;(2) what progress has been made by local authorities in their road bridge strengthening programme; when the programme will be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Heavier lorries, of 40 tonnes gross weight and 11·5 tonnes drive axle, will be allowed on roads in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1999. On trunk roads and motorways in England, some 8,000 structures are being assessed to determine whether they can safely carry this additional load. Strengthening is being carried out where necessary as part of a co-ordinated and cost-effective programme of road and bridge improvements.Good progress is being made. All assessments are planned to be completed by the end of 1995, at a total cost of about £50 million. All strengthening is planned to be completed by the end of 1998, at a total cost of about £200 million.Local highway authorities in England are being encouraged, through the transport supplementary grant system, to undertake a similar programme on structures for which they are responsible and they will be asked to include a progress report in this year's transport policies and programme submissions.Arrangements are also being made for a programme of inspection and strengthening of road bridges owned by British Rail and other transport undertakings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made with plans for the link road from the M57 to the A565; and if he will make a statement.

This is Sefton metropolitan borough council's scheme, and its progress is a matter for the council. I understand that a public inquiry was held recently into the council's planning application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to upgrade the A570 Ormskirk to Southport road; and if he will make a statement.

We have two schemes in the national programme; the A570 Ormskirk bypass and the A570 Scarisbrick-Pinfold bypass. We expect to consult the public about possible route options later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what road schemes are (a) under construction and (b) planned but not under construction in the north-west; and if he will make a statement.

The major (over £1 million) schemes in our trunk roads programme are as follows:Schemes on non-trunk roads are the responsibility of the region's 18 local highway authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the rules for assessing compensation for property compulsory purchased for road schemes; what allowance is made for negative equity; in how many cases in the last two years compulsory purchase orders have been made in respect of property which is subject to negative equity; and what advice is given to owners of such property by his Department.

The long-standing principle of the statutory compensation code is that the owner of property subject to compulsory purchase is compensated on the basis of its current value on the open market, discounting any depreciation or enhancement attributable to the scheme for which the property is needed. Residential owner-occupiers normally qualify in addition for a home loss payment of 10 per cent. of market value, up to a maximum of £15,000.I am aware of, and fully understand, the concern that in current housing market conditions there could be cases where compensation offered fell short of the mortgage debt. No such cases have arisen. However, where people fear they may be affected in this way in future as a consequence of forthcoming schemes, we are inviting them to write to us with full details of their situation. This will help me, my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning, who has the main responsibility for the compensation code, to assess the position and consider what action might be needed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has made of the different effectiveness of catalytic converters in reducing emissions as between long journeys and the short journeys more typical of urban travel; and with what result.

The Transport Research Laboratory, the Warren Spring laboratory and the Motor Industry Research Association have all been studying emission rates from in-service vehicles equipped with catalysts, and their final report is expected by mid-1993. Preliminary data indicate that a catalyst has very little effect for the first kilometre. For longer journeys, however, average emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon dioxide are reduced by:

(a) for trips of 4 km, 62, 65, 58 and 15 per cent. respectively against journeys of 1km; and

(b) for trips of 11 km, 76, 85, 62 and 37 per cent. respectively.

For trips beyond 11 km, further reductions are minimal.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what savings are expected as a result of the fitting of infra-red detectors in the Palace of Westminster; and how such savings have been calculated.

This is a matter for the Serjeant at Arms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) of 11 January, Official Report, columns 633–34, if he will break down the figures for vacant residential properties owned by his Department by county; and if he will make a statement.

As at 31 December 1992, MOD owned 9,253 vacant properties, of which 9,087 were Service married quarters and 166 were MOD civilian houses. The married quarters were broken down by county as follows:

	Number
England
Avon	38
Bedfordshire	48
Berkshire	212
Buckinghamshire	80
Cambridgeshire	249
Cheshire	135
Cleveland	4
Cornwall	277
Cumbria	28
Derbyshire	0
Devon	296
Dorset	248
Durham	1

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Her Majesty's Government have decided to co-operate with European partners in a new anti-tank missile programme.

The United Kingdom is continuing to participate in the development of third generation anti-tank guided missile programmes, known as TRIGAT, in collaboration with European partners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements were made by his Department concerning the interests of Polly Peck plc and the Turkish Government, in relation to shipping movements in the Mediterranean in the years 1981 to 1989.

I am unaware of any such arrangements. If the hon. Gentleman provides more details, I shall be happy to investigate further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has regarding the Britannia royal naval college in Dartmouth.

The Britannia royal naval college, Dartmouth, provides new entry naval officers with a broad view of the naval profession, preparing them for further training in the fleet or elsewhere. While a study is under way examining the future of all seven naval training establishments, there are no current plans to alter the role of the college.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen), on 15 March, Official Report, column 50, if he will set out those matters relating to British Nuclear Fuels' operations and Sellafield which he does not regard as being matters for the company in respect of answers to parliamentary questions.

In broad terms, questions directly relating to Government policy are matters upon which Ministers answer in Parliament, while questions relating to the day-to-day affairs of a particular company are for that company. Questions are considered individually as they arise. Those about the functions of particular buildings at Sellafield should normally be addressed to the company.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the consequences for an area which loses assisted area status with regard to objective 2 status and therefore access to European regional development fund and European social fund funding from the European Community.

There are no necessary consequences. Eligibility for objective 2 of the structural funds does not depend on national assisted area status.The eligibility of areas for objective 2 will be reviewed after revised structural funds regulations have been adopted by the Council of Ministers, probably this summer.Most European social fund assistance is available without geographical restriction.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by the British representative on the International Atomic Energy Authority's meeting in Vienna in February; and if he will make a statement.

Proceedings of the board of governors meeting in February were held in private, as set out in the rules of procedure of the board of governors.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was his Department's expenditure on aerospace research in the last financial year; what is the planned expenditure for the current and next three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Expenditure on civil aerospace research and technology demonstration was £16·4 million during financial year 1991–1992 and during the current year expenditure is forecast at £19·2 million. Information on expenditure planned for the coming three financial years is published in "The Government's Expenditure Plans", a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will set out the aerospace programmes that have received launch aid payments in the last five years; the value of the launch aid in each case; and if he will make a statement on the Government's future plans for aerospace launch aid.

The following aerospace programmes have received launch aid over the last five years:

Programme	Launch aid made available £ million	Total launch aid paid to date £ million
Airbus A320	249·3	249·3
EH101	60·0	57·4
Airbus A330/340	447·1	447·1

The Government will consider any future application for launch aid on its merits.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he plans to publish his Department's aviation committee's report, "The National Strategic Technology Acquisition Plan;" and if he will make a statement.

The DTI aviation committee's national strategic technology acquisition plan for aeronautics contains commercially sensitive information and is, therefore, not available for publication.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information is available on the comparative costs of electricity produced from (a) opencast coal, (b) deep mined coal, (c) oil, (d) gas, (e) wind power, (f) wave power, (g) tidal barrages, (h) hydro-power, (i) nuclear power and (j) imported coal.

Evidence on comparative generation costs, received by the coal review, has been placed in the Library of the House. Additionally the report of the renewable energy advisory group, published by my Department last December as energy paper No. 60, contains estimates of costs for a number of renewable sources of generation.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on current auditing procedures and practices in the United Kingdom.

I refer the hon. Member to the first annual reports of the five recognised supervisory bodies and the Auditing Practices Board's first review of its activities, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he is giving to the establishment of a Government regulatory body to ensure adequate standards of auditing and compliance to United Kingdom and European law by accounting practices operating in the United Kingdom.

The new regulatory regime for company auditors in part II of the Companies Act 1989, which came into force on 1 October 1991, places responsibility for the supervision of auditors upon the five recognised supervisory bodies. I have no plans to alter those arrangements.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of dividends repatriated by Japanese companies operating in the United Kingdom to Japan in the last 10 years.

I have been asked to reply.The value of dividends remitted to Japan by Japanese companies operating in the United Kingdom is given in the table for the latest 10 years for which information is available.

Dividends remitted by Japanese companies operating in the United Kingdom
Year	£ million
1980	3·2
1981	3·5
1982	3·1
1983	7·5
1984	6·1
1985	6·3
1986	10·0
1987	22·9
1988	30·1
1989	23·2
1990	45·8

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role her Department has played in the decisions relating to the consequences of the overspend at Leighton hospital, Crewe; and if she will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have been held with the chairman of Merseyside regional health authority about the overspend for Leighton hospital, Crewe.

Discussions have taken place between the Mid Cheshire hospitals trust, the National Health Service Management Executive and Mersey regional health authority. The trust will meet its financial obligations at the end of this year. The trust is discussing with Crewe health authority the possibility of additional funding to enhance existing services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement upon the effect of the new general practitioner regime on the promotion of cervical screening.

There has been no change in the arrangements for target payments to general practitioners for cervical cytology. GPs receive target payments for reaching either 50 per cent. coverage of women in the target population (the lower target) or 80 per cent. coverage (the higher target).Over 90 per cent. of GPs in England and Wales are achieving the targets and over 70 per cent. the higher target.

Vacant hospital consultant posts by specified specialties and as a percentage of all posts in these specialties England (whole-time equivalent) 30 September 1991
	All vacant posts	All vacant posts as percentage of all posts	Posts wholly unoccupied by locums	Posts wholly unoccupied by locums as percentage of all posts
Mental illness	74·3	6·7	25·6	2·3
Child and adolscent psychiatry	17·2	5·2	14·6	4·4
Forensic psychiatry	2·0	3·0	1·0	1·5
Mental handicap	20·2	11·6	11·0	6·3
Old age psychiatry	20·0	16·4	7·0	5·7
Psychotherapy	4·3	5·6	1·5	2·0

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant posts in (a) mental illness, (b) child and adolescent psychiatry, (c) forensic psychiatry, (d) mental handicap, (e) old age psychiatry and (f) psychotherapy, have been vacant for (i) longer than one year and (ii) longer than two years.

The available information is shown in the table.

Consultant posts vacant for more than one year England (whole-time equivalent) 30 September 1991
	All vacant posts	Vacant posts unoccupied by locums
Mental illness	26·1	7·4
Child and adoloscent psychiatry	9·1	6·4
Forensic psychiatry	0·0	0·0
Mental handicap	9·7	5·6
Old age psychiatry	12·0	4·9
Psychotherapy	0·5	0·0

Teenage births and abortions
	1990		21991
	Number	Rate 1	Number	Rate1
Scotland
Therapeutic Abortions	6,814	38·8	6,564	39·5
Births (Live and still)	5,631	32·1	5,559	33·5
Northern Ireland
Births (Live and still)	1,871	29·5	1,794	28·9
1Based on the population of women aged 15–19.
21991 data for Northern Ireland are provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total amount spent on the publicity campaign on solvent abuse prevention in February 1992, and the pilot campaign in October 1992 aimed at raising adult awareness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of vacant consultant posts in (a) mental illness, (b) child and adolescent psychiatry, (c) forensic psychiatry, (d) mental handiap, (e) old age psychiatry and (f) psychotherapy, and give the number of vacant posts as a percentage of all posts in these specialties.

The information is shown in the table.The number of posts vacant for longer than two years is not available centrally.