To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce measures to reduce the noise and pollution resulting from increases in the amount of road traffic.

There is a wide range of measures already in place or planned which will reduce noise and pollution from road traffic. These include the recently adopted European Commission directive 92/93, which will introduce lower noise limits for cars, lorries and coaches by 1995. Lower noise limits for motor cycles are also being considered in the European Community.Tight new emission standards for both cars and lorries throughout the European Community are coming in over the next few years. Since the beginning of this year most new cars have to be fitted with catalytic converters. These reduce harmful emissions by about 80 per cent.The MOT emissions check introduced for cars in November 1991 is helping to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. Since 1 September there has been a metered smoke test in the annual test for heavy diesels.The Government have recently issued a consultative document seeking views on ways of limiting CO

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the chairman of British Rail to discuss the level of spending on maintenance of BR track.

The Secretary of State regularly meets the BR chairman and board members to discuss a wide range of matters relating to the railways. It is for the board to decide on its expenditure on track maintenance within the overall external financing limit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 31 March, Official Report, column 301, what estimate he has made about the number of miles of British Rail track which are, or are likely to be, subject to speed restrictions caused by reduced maintenance resulting from reductions in the planned level of public service obligation grant in 1993–94.

Speed restrictions, for maintenance and other reasons, are constantly changing. It is therefore not possible to give any estimate of such restrictions for 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions he has come to about liability for injuries caused by railway accidents after rail privatisation.

I have concluded that the basis of liability—negligence—should be the same as it is for all transport accidents so as not to disadvantage rail in relation to competing modes of transport. I shall shortly appoint insurance advisers to make recomendations about effective insurance arrangements in the industry, taking into account the position on liability. Operators will be required by licence to have in place adequate insurance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will issue guidance as to the means by which training consultants gather information about their past students, in connection with Government-funded schemes.

Training and enterprise councils, which deliver Government-funded training locally, are private companies and are free to gather information about students in the manner that best suits local circumstances.We have issued a training and enterprise council management information guide, which may be passed on to training providers and specifies when information about past students should be gathered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will bring forward proposals to ban the practice of a training company offering financial rewards to former trainees on an employment training course who inform them that they now have a job.

The Employment Department partly funds training and enterprise councils by payments for trainees who gain jobs after leaving ET. TECs and their training providers are free to use their own methods to gather information about the employment status of former trainees so that they can claim these payments. We do not intend to ban the offer of financial rewards to former trainees as an incentive to provide this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the findings of the recently published evaluation of six forestry projects funded by the Overseas Development Administration and the Commonwealth Development Corporation;(2) if he plans to take action on the basis of conclusions reached in the recent evaluation of British Government-funded forestry projects in developing countries.

A copy of the recently published evaluation synthesis report on six forestry projects, including one co-funded by the Commonwealth Development Corporation, was placed in the Library of the House earlier this year, together with copies of the individual evaluation reports.Independent consultants played major roles in each of the individual project evaluations and in the evaluation synthesis study. The evaluators judged five of the projects to be partially successful and the sixth successful. Large areas of trees were successfully established and the environmental impact was generally positive. But institutional achievements were mixed and rarely sustainable, while there were also some problems with timber utilisation. These projects were started during the 1970s and early 1980s and lessons drawn from the evaluations are being applied to current programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he plans to publish the results of work to expand and revise the World Conservation Monitoring Centre's database on timber tree species of conservation concern.

We have no plans to publish this work, which forms part of a continuing process of developing the World Conservation Monitoring Centre's timber database. I shall place a copy of WCMC's report to ODA in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many environmental impact assessments have been completed in the last 12 months with respect to Overseas Development Administration or CDC-funded forestry projects.

Environmental appraisal is a standard element in the examination of all project proposals following the procedures set out in the Overseas Development Administration's "Manual of Environmental Appraisal", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Full environmental impact assessments have been undertaken on one ODA and one CDC forestry project in the last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the United Kingdom's position with respect to the renegotiation of the international tropical timber agreement.

Along with other tropical timber-consuming countries, the United Kingdom has proposed focussing the objectives of the new agreementt on the sustainable production of tropical timber. We have also proposed measures to improve the operational performance of the International Tropical Timber Organisation. We aim to enhance its capacity to meet its target for all internationally traded tropical timber to come from sustainable sources by the year 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide details of the funding so far allocated to implement the tropical forestry action plan from loan compared to grant sources.

All the Overseas Development Administration's aid related to the tropical forestry action programme is provided on grant terms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what relationship exists between the Overseas Development Administration project to expand and revise the World Conservation Monitoring Centre's database on threatened timber species and work funded by the Government of Japan into the conservation status of trees species of conservation concern carried out under the auspices of the same organisation.

The work financed by the Overseas Development Administration was undertaken as preparation for the proposed future development of the initial study which was financed by the Government of Japan. The results were considered at a workshop held in Cambridge in March, under the auspices of the International Tropical Timber Organisation, on methodologies for the assessment of the commercial and biological conservation status of tropical timber trees. The future of this work will be discussed at the International Tropical Timber Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur next month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will commit long-term funding to support for monitoring of timber species of conservation concern.

We are considering providing funds for this purpose.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding progress made in Geneva on the renegotiation of the international tropical timber agreement.

Progress is slow. A further meeting will take place from 21 to 25 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the World bank consultative group meeting on El Salvador on 1 April in Paris.

The United Kingdom was not represented at the World Bank consultative group meeting on El Salvador. We understand that representatives pledged their continuing support for El Salvador's peace process and economy recovery, and indicated pledges totalling some $800 million for 1993.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the introduction of market testing throughout the civil service: and what effect this will have on current employees' prospects.

The "Citizen's Charter First Report", Cmd 2101, published in November 1992, set out the Government's programme for market testing in central Government up to September 1993. Rolling programmes for subsequent years are being prepared. Generally, the opportunity to bid will be given to employees currently doing the work concerned. The effect on their employment prospects will depend on the individual circumstances of each market test, including their success in winning the work and, where the work is awarded to outside contractors, to contractors' own plans, as well as the scope for redeployment within the civil service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to counter the use of electronic devices which record and can replicate remote control car unlocking systems; and if he will make a statement.

We are aware that devices which are capable of recording and replicating remote controlled car locking systems have recently been advertised on the British market. We are actively looking into their availability and effectiveness with a view to assessing what action may be required.The motor manufacturers and the vehicle security industry are also aware of the capabilities of these devices and are working to improve the security of their products to counter the threat posed by this technology.It may reassure my hon. Friend to know that it is already an offence under section 25 of the Theft Act 1968 to carry equipment for use in any burglary or theft. This would cover the use of these particular devices by car thieves and, upon conviction, an offender is liable to imprisonment for up to three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish the conclusions of the inquiry his Department has required from Group 4 into escapes from their prison escort services;(2) what conclusions he has drawn from the recent prison escort escapes from those in the custody of Group 4 Security; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the contract with Group 4 to manage the Wolds prison contains any clause prohibiting the employment of convicted criminals; and if he will make a statement;(2) if the prisoner transportation contract with Group 4 contains a clause prohibiting the employment of convicted criminals; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent dangerous prisoners from escaping while on temporary leave from prison; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy regarding the issuing of United Kingdom travel documents to refugees on exceptional leave to remain.

People who have been refused asylum in the United Kingdom but granted exceptional leave to remain, in common with others who are not settled here, have no entitlement to Home Office travel documents. However, it is our practice to look at such applications sympathetically and to issue a certificate of identity to those who can show that they are unable to obtain a passport from their own authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees currently in the United Kingdom have been granted exceptional leave to remain; what proportion of these were issued with brown United Kingdom travel documents in (a) 1990, (bv) 1991 and (c) 1992; and if he will analyse these figures by ethnic origin.

The available information is that during the years 1986–92 a total of. 29,000 asylum applicants, excluding dependants, not recognised as refugees were granted exceptional leave. Information on the number who have left the United Kingdom, or been granted leave to stay on another basis, is not readily available.Information on the number and nationalities of these cases issued with a certificate of identity is not available. Persons with exceptional leave are not identified separately in the statistics of issues of these certificates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many metropolitan police officers made applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for injuries incurred on duty since 1987; and how much was paid each year;(2) what percentages of total awards made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in each year since 1987 were made to

I regret that the available records do not separately identify applications from, or payments made to, the police or other occupational groups.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many metropolitan police vehicles were damaged beyond repair as a result of chasing suspect vehicles in each year since 1987; and what were the costs of their replacement.

Information is not held in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average number of prisoners being transferred from prison to court and from police station to court in the Greater London area on any day when the courts are sitting;(2) how many prisoners in custody were transferred between police stations and prisons to the London courts in each year since 1988.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners escaped from custody whilst being transferred from police stations and prisons to courts in the Greater London area in each year since 1988.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid from the Metropolitan police fund to members of the public in settlement of civil damages claims for (a) false imprisonment, (b) assault and (c) malicious prosecution in each year since 1987; and for each category how many cases were (i) settled out of court and (ii) settled at trial.

The information is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations have been given in to the safety of the convictions of Sam Kulasingham and Prem Sivalingham; and if he will make a statement.

Following a number of representations about the safety of these convictions, Essex police were asked to make some further inquiries. A report was received last month. It is now being considered, together with all other relevant factors, in order that my right hon. and learned Friend may decide whether grounds exist for a reference back to the Court of Appeal.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how far the application of the British Betting Office Association for membership of the Bookmakers' committee of the levy board has progressed.

The association's request for representation on the Bookmakers committee is under consideration. We will write to the association quite soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was spent per primary school pupil in England in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the comparable figure was in 1978–79, at constant prices.

Figures for expenditure on nursery and primary pupils are not collected separately. In 1990–91, the latest year for which figures on actual spending are available, average spending per pupil in nursery and primary schools in England was £1,437 in 1992–93 prices. This compares to £1,131 for 1978–79 in 1992–93 prices. For 1991–92, it is estimated to rise to £1,467, also in 1992–93 prices. This figure includes estimates of expenditure for six LEAs and is subject to final checking by the Department of the Environment and the Department for Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many children were being educated in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Staffordshire in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the comparable figures were in 1978–79;(2) what was the pupil-teacher ratio in

Information on pupils and pupil: teacher ratios in maintained schools in Staffordshire local education authority in 1979 and 1992 is shown in the table.

Spending per pupil 1992–93 prices
		1978–79		1991–92
	Nursery and primary	Secondary	Nursery and primary	Secondary
ILEA	1,678	2,280	—	—
City	—	—	2,686	0
Camden	—	—	2,011	2,517
Greenwich	—	—	1,894	2,376
Hackney	—	—	n/a	n/a
Hammersmith	—	—	2,119	2,835
Islington	—	—	n/a	n/a

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent by Staffordshire county council on education in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the comparable figure was in 1978–79, at constant prices.

In 1990–91, the latest year for which figures on actual spending are available, spending on education in Staffordshire was £387·382 million, and estimated for 1991–92, £411·589 million at 1992–93 prices. In 1978–79, Staffordshire spent, at 1992–93 prices, £371·209 million on a comparable basis. This figure excludes expenditure on what is now Staffordshire university.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent per secondary school pupil in England in the most recent year for which figures were available; and what the comparable figure was in 1978–79, at constant prices.

In 1990–91, the latest year for which figures on actual spending are available, spending per pupil in secondary schools in England was £2,170 in 1992–93 prices. This compares to £1,742 for 1978–79, in 1992–93 prices. For 1991–92, it is estimated to rise to £2,273, also in 1992–93 prices. This figure includes estimates of expenditure for six LEAs and is subject to final checking by the Department of the Environment and the Department for Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent per (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupil in each of the local education authorities in England and in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the comparable figures were in 1978–79, at constant prices.

Figures for expenditure on nursery and primary pupils are not collected separately. Spending per pupil for each English local education authority in nursery and primary schools combined and in secondary schools in 1978–79 and 1991–92 at 1992–93 prices is as shown in the table. The figures for 1991–92 are subject to final checking by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the cost to date of providing security at the former Fitzherbert school, Brighton; and which security firm has been awarded the contract.

The cost to date of security at the former Fitzherbert school, Brighton has been some £199,000. Security is provided by Group 4 Total Security Limited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will extend the mandatory grant regulations so as to cover the Law Society finals course; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Government have no present plans to change the scope of the Education Act 1962. That Act requires local education authorities to make mandatory awards only in respect of attendance on designated full-time courses up to first degree level and on designated initial teacher training courses. It also permits authorities to make discretionary awards for other courses, subject to certain exclusions. Where postgraduate law courses are eligible for discretionary awards, the decision whether to make such an award is a matter for the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give details of the final analysis of the information obtained over the two years of the national exclusions reporting system.

Analysis of the returns made to the Department under NERS over the two-year period 1990–92 shows that a total of 6,743 permanent exclusions were reported; there was an increase from 2,910 in year one to 3,833 in year two; exclusions in the primary phase accounted for 13 per cent. of the total in year one and 14 per cent. in year two; pupils with statements of special educational needs accounted for 12·5 per cent. of the total in year one and 15 per cent. in year two; many more boys than girls were excluded—a ratio of 4:1 in year one and 5:1 in year two; 15 was the peak age for exclusions for both boys and girls; Afro-Caribbean pupils appeared to be disproportionately represented within the excluded pupil population—8·1 per cent. of the overall total in year one and 8·5 per cent. in year two; aggression against other pupils and disobedience in various forms were the main reasons for pupils being excluded; decisions taken to exclude a pupil were not often over-turned. Over the two years, 170 decisions taken by heads to exclude pupil permanently were reversed by local education authorities and 160 by governors and 213 parental appeals were lodged, of which 37 were successful; information about the alternative educational provision made for excluded pupils was not always included in the returns. Such information as was made available shows that 45 per cent. of those permanently excluded were said to be receiving home tuition, 30 per cent. had secured a place in another mainstream school, 19 per cent. were in units, and 6 per cent. had gone to a special school or changed special school: there were often lengthy delays in completing exclusion procedures and in securing alternative educational provision for permanently excluded pupils, either by admission to another school or otherwise.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 18 March, Official Report, column 325, why no information on the potential effects of a change of the law on taxing United Kingdom assets of overseas owners is available.

It is not practicable for the Inland Revenue to maintain information on all the very wide range of changes which could, in theory, be made to the tax system.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out responsibilities of each Government Department regarding the import and export of (a) plutonium and (b) other nuclear materials, to and from the United Kingdom.

The Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for the issuing of import and export licences for controlled plutonium and other specified nuclear materials. The controls are implemented under the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939 as amended by the Import and Export Act 1990. The

Item	Tax satisfied	Conditions or wishes	Date of MGC
	(£)		recommendation
Two busts by Rysbrack	418,920	Conditional	24 February 1987 14 August 1987
Land at Nolands Farm	57,600	Unconditional	Not applicable
Portrait by Greenham	8,500	Conditional	11 February 1992
Portrait by Van Dyck	404,544	Conditional	25 September 1991
Portrait by Reynolds
Rembrandt etching and 31 illuminated manuscripts	139,923	Conditional	3 May 1990
Sculpture by Henry Moore	87,500	Conditional	11 February 1992
Painting by Beccafumi with chalk study and two Michaelangelo diagrams	119,000	Wish Beccafumi works to Fitzwilliam and diagrams to the British Museum	26 May 1992
Sheringham Hall chattels	119,119	Conditional	13 July 1989
Charles I silver gilt standing cup and cover	206,015	Unconditional	27 April 1992
Painting by Reni	2,492,875	Conditional	21 June 1991
Corbridge Lanx silver dish	1,832,000	Conditional	No formal recommendation
Chattels at Nostell Priory	30,820	Conditional	21 June 1991
Barrington Archive and a model gun ship	147,000	Unconditional	29 January 1993
		Unconditional	8 September 1992
Two Hepworth-Nicholson sculptures	156,750	Conditional	5 February 1993
Collection of glass	99,975	Conditional	8 September 1992

The total expenditure for the 1992–93 financial year was £6,324,875·13. This includes a further payment for the Statham porcelain collection which was accepted in 1991–92. Of this £4,324,875 was met by access to the reserve.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage whether he will specify the amounts of inheritance tax satisfied in connection with the acceptance of objects and property, which have been covered in the public accounts by means of resort to the reserve in respect current controls are contained in the Import of Goods (Control) Order 1954 and the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1992. HM Customs and Excise are responsible for taking action as necessary under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 to enforce these controls.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the objects and property accepted in satisfaction of inheritance tax during the financial year ended 31 March; and if, in listing these, he will specify (a) the amount of tax satisfied in each case, (b) whether any offers of objects carried conditions as to destination, (c) the dates in each case of the recommendations received by him from the Museums and Galleries Commission for the acceptance of objects, (d) the total for the financial year of the tax thus satisfied and (e) how much of this total was covered in the public accounts by means of resort to the reserve in accordance with Government policy as announced on 26 July 1985, Official Report, column 779.

The information the hon. Member requests is as follows:of each of the three financial years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93; and whether, taking account of the answer of 30 April 1990,

The amount of tax satisfied by means of resort to the Reserve in the last three financial years is as follows. Due to underspends in each financial year on the annual provision of £2 million for the acceptance in lieu of objects and property, the amount actually spent from the reserve was less than the original call. The actual spend from the reserve for 1992–93 was lower as it was partly offset from savings elsewhere in the Department—Official Report, 4 February 1993, columns 250–51 I list the actual money spent from the reserve for the hon. Member's information.

Year	Amount of tax Satisfied/Call on the Reserve £	Amount actually spent from the Reserve £
1990–91	Nil	Nil
1991–92	2,144,172	1,430,445
1992–93	4,324,875	3,281,875
Total	6,469,047	4,712,320

The annual average figure of such resort to the reserve which would arise from the total amount of tax satisfied thus covered during the last eight financial years is £3,881,885·24—tax satisfied—and £3,360,989·74—actually spent.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what offers in lieu of tax have been accepted or allocated since his last announcement of 31 March, Official Report, column 235.

Since my last announcement on 31 March, I am pleased to inform the House of the acceptance of three offers in lieu of taxation. The offers consist of a collection of glass which will satisfy £99,974 tax, two sculptures entitled "Parent" and "Young Girl" by Dame Barbara Hepworth-Nicholson which will satisfy £156,750 tax and a portrait of Lady Rouse Boughton by George Romney which will satisfy £105,000 tax. The collection of glass will be allocated to the Victoria and Albert museum and the sculptures will be allocated to Wakefield district council. Those allocations are in accordance with conditions on which these offers were made. No decision has yet been made on the allocation of the portrait by Romney.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what discussions he has held with Westminster city council on the maintenance of support for the central music library and the music library service both in Westminster and nationally.

The central music library service is a matter for Westminster city council. The Government believe that library authorities themselves are best placed to decide on the detail of their service provision, and my statutory responsibility to ensure that library authorities meet their duty to provide comprehensive and efficient library service does not give me the right to intervene in the day-to-day management of services.Although Westminster city council plans to reduce the opening hours of the central music library and make commensurate staff savings, its service will remain exceptional even when the reductions have been implemented.There are particular problems in relation to the provision of music scores and information in libraries, which it is unreasonable to expect any single local authority to solve. For this reason, we are investigating alternative possibilities.My Department is already jointly funding a study for a library and information plan for music. This study is investigating the provision of music scores and music information across the country, and is expected to be completed this June. It will produce an action plan for improvements in service.One of the current applications for funding from the Department's public library development incentive scheme is for the establishment of a national music lending service, based on the present collections of the Yorkshire and Humberside joint library service and the British Library. A final decision on the application will be taken in September.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards allowing the sale of national lottery tickets in pubs and other licensed premises; and if he will make a statement.

At Second Reading and in Committee we indicated that we were minded not to allow the sale of national lottery tickets in pubs. This was primarily to protect the image of the National lottery, and to avoid confusion with other forms of soft gambling which might take place in pubs. I have since received a number of representations on this matter, and I met the Brewers' Society on 23 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what public costs were incurred in his attendance at a meeting at the Redcliffe hotel, Paignton on 16 April.

None, other than the cost of security precautions which are required for all my engagements.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list his official engagements for 16 April.

My official engagements for 16 April comprised visits to Sheepstor church; Buckland abbey; Westcountry Television studio, in order to open it; BBC Radio Devon studios; the Dartington Hall estate; the Plains conservation area, Totnes; and Follaton house for a meeting with South Hams district council.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his response to English Heritage's recent proposals for the transfer of certain conservation responsibilities in London to the boroughs; and if he will make a statement.

I gave my full support to the broad objectives of English Heritage's forward strategy at the time of its publication in October last year. The recent consultation exercise has, I believe, achieved a better general understanding of English Heritage's objectives for London, and a useful refinement of the proposed means of moving forward.In the light of that, I am happy for English Heritage to proceed to the next stage, of direct negotiations with individual boroughs, with a view to defining the scope for flexible authorisation of certain categories of grade II casework from 1994–95. In this initial period, any transfer of responsibiities must be by agreement with the individual boroughs concerned. Similarly, any question of assistance to the boroughs to strengthen their conservation expertise must be a matter for bilateral agreement with English Heritage, which has made clear its willingness to provide support for the boroughs concerned during this stage, for instance through help with training, through funding of conservation posts, and through joint grant schemes and jointly funded conservation studies.English Heritage has stated its intention to review progress in four years' time. Clearly agreements with individual boroughs which by that time are working satisfactorily will continue. The financial impact will vary from borough to borough. Only at the end of the four-year period will it be possible to quantify the long-term costs, as well as the benefits and savings, both to the individual boroughs and to English Heritage.If at that stage English Heritage satisfies my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and myself that we should take the further step of a general and permanent transfer of responsibilities, we shall need to consider, in consultation with the boroughs and their associations, the case for an appropriate transfer of resources to reflect the additional responsibilities which the boroughs would be asked to undertake.

To ask the Attorney-General what has been the cost of the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into BCCI to date.

The cost of the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into BCCI to date has been £6,203,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the average total cost per patient per week of providing in-patient care to residents of long-stay mental handicap hospitals in Scotland;(2) what is the average total cost per patient per week of providing in-patient care to residents of Gogarburn hospital and St. Joseph's hospital in Lothian.

The average cost at 31 March 1992 per patient per week of providing in-patient care to residents of NHS long-stay mental handicap hospitals in Scotland was £527. The corresponding figure for Gogarburn hospital was £448. The cost to Lothian health board per patient per week at St. Joseph's hospital was £286.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further work he is carrying out after taking into account responses made to the consultation document on local government reform.

We are studying carefully the 3,300 responses received. Thereafter we shall come to a decision about the best shape for the single-tier system in Scotland and will announce our conclusions in a White Paper before the summer recess.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking to refine the Touche Ross figures in local government reform costs.

The provisional estimates made by Touche Ross of the financial implications of restructuring are, in a number of specific areas, being examined in the light of the comments received as part of our recent consultation exercise. When we announce our proposed new structure we will set our forecast of the likely cost implications, in the light of this further work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 14 April Official Report, column 590–91, what information he has on the wage rates offered to new employees of companies which also employ staff transferred from employment with health boards.

This information is not held centrally. Wage rates are a matter between the individual employees and the companies concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision has been made for a central fund to pay for early retirement of doctors following implementation of proposals in "Making London Better".

There is no specific central fund for meeting the costs of early retirement of doctors in London. Where early retirements occur as part of the implementation of "Making London Better," providers may be able to claim against the overall resources allocated for implementing the proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the percentage of general practitioner fund holders underspend in 1991–92 resulting from hospitals not operating in the last four months of the financial year.

Nil.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will increase the funds available to community health councils.

Regional health authorities are responsible for ensuring that community health councils are properly resourced.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what public funding is made available to the Brook advisory centres; for what purpose those funds are made available; and if she will make a statement;

The information available is given in the tables. The core grant funding that the Department gives to Brook is a contribution towards the organisation's headquarters administrative costs. It may not be used for any other purpose. All 10 Brook branches receive income from local health authorities on whose behalf they provide clinic and counselling services to young people. Only 5 per cent. of Brook's clients are under 16. They have a key role to play in providing the responsible information and advice that young people need in relation to their sexual health generally, and in helping to achieve the "Health of the Nation" target of reducing the rate of conceptions amongst the under 16s by at least 50 per cent. by the year 2000.

Funding by the Department of Health to Brook Advisory Centres under Section 64 of the Health Service and Public Health Act 1968
Financial year	Department of Health funding1 £	At 1992–93 prices £	Percentage change (+ or -) compared to previous year
1977–78	5,250	16,249	—
1978–79	15,750	43,963	+ 170·6
1979–80	21,000	50,236	+ 14·3
1980–81	21,000	42,456	-15·5
1981–82	30,000	55,308	+ 30·3
1982–83	22,500	38,722	-30·0
1983–84	34,500	56,749	+46·5
1984–85	35,000	54,792	-3·4
1985–86	35,000	51,954	-5·2
1986–87	35,000	50,333	-3·1
1987–88	45,000	61,344	+ 21·9
1988–89	45,000	57,177	-6·8
1989–90	45,000	53,653	-6·2
1990–91	65,000	71,753	+ 33·7
1991–92	65,000	67,275	-6·2
1992–93	68,500	68,500	+ 1·8
1 Since 1987 the Department has also given a total of £105,050 to Brook for specific projects, for example on AIDS, and in connection with "Health of the Nation".

Information about conception rates is available only on a calendar year and England and Wales basis and is therefore not directly comparable with the above table.

Conception rates for England and Wales Per 1,000 women aged 13 to 15
Calendar year	Percentage change in conception rate compared to previous year
1977	-3·8
1978	-1·3
1979	0·0
1980	-5·3
1981	1·4
1982	8·3
1983	6·4

Calendar year	Percentage change in conception rate compared to previous year
1984	3·6
1985	0·0
1986	1·2
1987	5·7
1988	2·2
1989	0·0
1990	6·4

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ask the NHS advisory board to review its 1986 report "Bridges Over Troubled Waters" and to update its recommendations to take account of the changes in the funding and management of care in the community.

The national health service health advisory service is conducting a thematic review of child and adolescent mental health services. This takes into account the changes in funding and management arrangements flowing from both the NHS and community care reforms as well as other relevant developments, such as the "Health of the Nation" intiative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ask the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to pay special attention in its survey of mental illness in Great Britain to the problems of people between the ages of 16 to 25 years with mental illness and the services which are available to them.

The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys will record the age of respondents making it possible to analyse separately the results for people aged 16 to 25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to publish data from the hospital episode system.

A publication containing hospital episode system figures for 1989–90 is in preparation, and is expected to be published in a few weeks. Further publications are planned to follow later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answers of 2 December 1992, to the hon. Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter), Official Report, column 230 and of 3 December 1992, Official Report, column 321, what progress her Department is making in its review of the research units it funds; and when it expects to announce details of its plans for setting up a larger research centre as a pilot project.

A programme of peer review including site visits has now been arranged for all 13 units and should be completed by early 1994. I expect to announce details for setting up a pilot research centre shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cost of the research projects her Department has commissioned for each of the past five years; and what was the total cost of projects undertaken by staff employed by (a) universities and polytechnics, (b) independent research institutes, (c) health authorities, (d) management consultants and (e) other organisations in each of those years.

The total cost of the research projects commissioned under the Department's centrally commissioned programme for health and personal social services research, for each of the last five years is shown in the table:

Year	Total cost of research £ million
1988–89	12·9
1989–90	15·4
1990–91	18·3
1991–92	22·3
1992–93	23·4

The majority of research projects commissioned in this way is undertaken by staff employed by universities. Of this, about 10 per cent. is carried out under the auspices of the Medical Research Council. About 3 per cent. of the research is carried out by independent research institutes, health authorities or management consultants: details of this research are not readily available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether research projects commissioned by her Department from management consultants are subject to peer review in the same way as those commissioned from universities and research institutes.

Most projects commissioned in the centrally commissioned research programme undergo scientific/peer review, irrespective of whether the research is being carried out by management consultants, universities or research institutes.Management consultants are used in many capacities by the Department. When not engaged for research purposes, they are selected by commercial competitive tendering rather than subject to peer review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information disturbed adolescents, who have had their liberty restricted, receive on their rights to judicial review.

The form in which such information is made available is a matter for individual local authorities. A local authority wishing to keep a child in secure accommodation beyond 72 hours must seek the authority of the court. A child is entitled to be legally represented when such applications are considered and has a right to apply for legal aid for such purposes. The Department's guide for children and young people "The Children Act and the Courts" explains the arrangements for placing children in secure accommodation and their right to legal representation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answers of 11 November 1992, Official Report, column 850, 23 November 1992, Official Report, column 503 and 27 November 1992, Official Report, column 875, when she will publish the report of the review of centrally collected NHS statistics which she has commissioned from Touche Ross management consultants; what consultations she has had about its conclusions; which data series it has been decided to discontinue; and if she will place a copy of the report in the Library.

As I stated in my reply on 11 November the study by Touche Ross management consultants was only one component in the current review of the Department's requirements for information from the national health service. For the conclusions of the review, I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan) on 21 April at col. 126.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will update her answer of 22 October 1992, Official Report, columns 369–70, on patients waiting for admission in each six months period since that ended March 1988 to include the figure for the six months period ended September 1992.

Information on the number of patients waiting for admission at 30 September 1992 is given in table 1 of the Department of Health's "Statistical Bulletin" (ISBN 1 85839 083 4) a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consideration was given by the committee on the toxicity of chemicals in food in preparing its recent report on comfrey to studies which have demonstrated a regression of tumours in rodents fed upon comfrey or comfrey extracts; and if she will make a statement;(2) what consideration was given by the committee on the toxicity of chemicals in food in preparing its recent report on comfrey to studies which have demonstrated either no adverse effects or a thriving effect upon the health of populations of rodents fed upon comfrey; and if she will make a statement;(3) what consideration was given by the committee on the toxicity of chemicals in food in preparing its recent report on comfrey to the review of the literature in this area undertaken by the

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research findings he has on the relative toxicity of comfrey tablets and capsules to that of saccharine tablets.

[holding answer 21 April 1993]: The Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment reviewed the available research data on the toxicity of saccharin in 1990 and recommended an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0–5 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day. It advised that provided intakes do not regularly exceed this ADI, saccharin is safe to use. In comparison, when the committee recently reported on its review of comfrey and preparations made from it, it advised that it was not possible to identify an ADI for comfrey nor for its pyrrolizidine alkaloid constituents, some of which research studies have shown to be potentially carcinogenic. The committee therefore recommended that concentrated forms of comfrey such as capsules and tablets should no longer be available.Copies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's analysis of comfrey products, the advice of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment and the Food Advisory Committee together with the draft information note are available in the Library. A list of key studies considered by the committee are included in its advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are in training as student nurses; how many of them come from the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement about job prospects in the nursing profession.

At 19 April there were 2,624 student nurses in training in Northern Ireland of whom 264 came from the Irish Republic.In recent years the nursing workforce in Northern Ireland has stabilised, in part due to to the nurse clinical grading system introduced in April 1988. This improved retention of staff has reduced the employment opportunities for nurses completing their training. Changes in patterns of service and proposals for rationalisation of services will impact on nurse employment in the future. However, until discussions are completed and decisions are taken by the health boards and trusts, it is not possible to assess accurately the scale of change. The management executive of the Department of Health and Social Services is monitoring the situation carefully and is currently discussing with the National Board for Nursing and Midwifery and health boards future requirements for student nurse training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when his Department plans to announce the outcome of its review of simplifying procedures for claiming severe hardship payments.