To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what provision is made for legal aid to be granted to enable a patient to attend a hearing at an appeals unit of a regional health authority when a doctor appeals against a decision by the family health services authority in favour of the patient.

Legal advice and assistance is available under the green form scheme on almost any point of English law. A financially eligible person may seek advice on such a point prior to the hearing.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the key performance targets for Her Majesty's Land Registry and the Public Record Office executive agencies for 1993–94.

The following tables set out the key performance targets that my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor has set for Her Majesty's Land Registry and for the Public Record Office for 1993–94.

Her Majesty's Land Registry Executive Agency Key performance targets 1993–94
Indicator	Target
1. Financial
Return on average capital employed	6 per cent.
2. Efficiency
Progressive reduction in unit costs in real terms	To achieve or better a 13 per cent, improvement over the five year period 1993–94 to 1997–98 of which an improvement of at least 2 per cent, is required in 1993–94.
3. Productivity
Progressive increase in output per post
4. Speed of service
Percentage of pre-completion applications handled in 3 days	96 per cent.
Average handling time for post-completion applications (weeks)	5
5. Quality of service
Percentage of pre-completion applications handled free of error	99·7 per cent.
Percentage of post-completion applications handled free of error	97·65
6. Development of Land Registration
Number of computerised registers	8·30 million

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to review the sentencing guidelines on incest, particularly those referring to mitigating factors; and what training is given to the judiciary to encourage greater insight into the nature of sexual offences.

Sentencing guidelines are issued by the Lord Chief Justice in consultation with any other judges as he thinks fit and any review is entirely in his hands. The Judicial Studies Board distributes the guidelines to all judges, recorders and assistant recorders who sit in the Crown court, the most recent issue being in July 1992. One of those guidelines deals with "Incest and Indecent Assault". Lectures and discussions on the nature of sexual offences are included in training courses for judges who sit in the criminal and the civil and family jurisdictions. Medical consultants, child psychiatrists and other professionals lead these training sessions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each of the last five years the duration, value and nature of contracts awarded by his Department to Arthur Andersen, Kleinwort Benson, Denton, Hall, Begrie and Warren.

In the last five years the contracts awarded are as follows:—

• Arthur Andersen
• No awards
• Kleinworth Benson
• One award, for the period September 1990 to April 1991
• Contract related to Advice to DOT (Ports Division) for privatisation of Trust Ports
• Value £30,000.
• Denton, Hall, Burgin and Warren
• No awards

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the timetable for the completion of the A1-M1 link; and if he will make a statement.

The public inquiry into the draft orders for the M1-A1 link between the M1 south of Leeds and the A1 north-east of Garforth closed on 25 February and the indpendent inspector is now writing his report. Future progress depends on when the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport receive the report and are able to issue their decision. In view of this, and the statutory framework within which these actions take place, it would be inappropriate for me now to anticipate a timetable for the completion of this scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparisons he has made between road maintenance expenditure in the United Kingdom and in other European countries.

Very little comparative information is readily available. I am at present considering the case for a study to obtain more.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to Waveney district council's submission for a third harbour crossing at Lowestoft; and if he will make a statement.

We expect to announce a preferred route for the Pakefield to Kessingland section of the proposed A 12 Lowestoft relief road later this year. Progress beyond that stage on the Lowestoft relief road, which includes a further harbour crossing, will depend on the availability of resources.In the meantime the Department has accepted in principle that a 100 per cent. grant should be made to Suffolk county council for its eastern relief road scheme to relieve congestion in the urban area of Lowestoft. This scheme should be carried out in the current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to be able to give final approval for work to commence on the Jubilee line tube extension into Docklands; and if he will make a statement.

Once the administrators and the parties involved in the financing of Canary Wharf have concluded with LT a satisfactory funding agreement covering the basis of their contribution to the Jubilee line extension, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will be able to authorise the start of construction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals for the provision of roundabouts on the A43 at Stanyon and Corby; and if he will make a statement.

Investigations into these junction arrangements are in hand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the safety implications for motor cyclists of current motorway central reservation barrier designs.

The current safety fences and safety barriers have been designed and tested to contain and safely redirect an errent 1·5 tonne vehicle—that is, a medium to large car—travelling at 113 km/h and impacting at an angle of up to 20 deg. They have been successfully deployed in the central reserves and verges of motorways and other roads.No specific impact testing has been carried out with motor cycles, but over the past 25 years there has been no evidence to suggest that the steel safety fencing or concrete safety barrier is particularly hazardous to this class of vehicle and road user.Clearly, there are inherent dangers should a motor cyclist hit a safety fence and its support posts, but accident records show that it is not very common for motor cyclists to collide with motorway central reserve safety fencing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how he expects Worcester rail services, other than those provided by InterCity, to be grouped for the purpose of inviting franchise bids; and if he will make a statement;(2) when he expects to invite bids for the franchise to operate services, other than those provided by InterCity, between London and Worcester; and if he will make a statement.

Following the announcement of the first franchises on 2 February, we hope to make a further announcement later this year about how and when the rest of the network will be prepared for franchising.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when formal applications to bid for the franchise to operate Great Western main line InterCity services will be sought; and when he expects to award the franchise.

It is too early to say.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning regulations affecting the use of American automobiles in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has received many letters from owners of cars manufactured for use in America.The scope of checks on lighting equipment in the MOT test was extended with effect from 1 January 1993, increasing the level of enforcement of certain existing requirements of the lighting regulations. These new checks have highlighted the fact that most American cars do not comply with the requirement, in existence since 1 September 1965 for all vehicles manufactured after that date, that indicators should be amber.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report, column 407, what provision he will make for an on site resident engineer to inspect, monitor and certify the quality of constructional steel fabricated by Construzione Cimolai Armando at its factory in Pordenone for use as part of the second Severn crossing in line with the system of inspection, monitoring and certification for constructional steel for United Kingdom highway structure fabricated within the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 27 April 1993]: The second Severn crossing is being financed and constructed under the terms of a concession agreement between the Government and a concession company, Severn River Crossing plc.To ensure that SRC and its contractor, the Laing-GTM joint venture, satisfy their responsibilities under the concession agreement, an independent firm of consulting engineers has been appointed as the Government's agent. The agent is responsible for the monitoring of design and construction of the works to see that they comply fully with laid down British or equivalent standards and specifications. SRC's quality assurance system will be audited and monitored.In carrying out these duties, the Government agent has access to all locations where materials are being manufactured for the works, for the purposes of general inspection and of amending any test or investigations being carried out.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the closure of the Mount Banking Corporation Ltd.

On 19 October 1992 the directors of Mount Bank petitioned for and obtained an administration order under the Insolvency Act 1986.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the closure of the Al Baraka bank.

Albaraka International Bank Ltd. announced on 31 March that after extensive discussions with the Bank of England about possible changes in its ownership structure, it had decided to discontinue providing deposit facilities within the United Kingdom and to repay all depositors starting on 1 April 1993. The announcement said that the intended surrender of the bank's authorisation had arisen as a result of the new Basle supervisory requirements and not as a result of financial deficiency or its existence as an Islamic bank.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the banks that have had their licences revoked by the Bank of England since 9 April; and if he will give the reasons for each of the closures.

Under section 17(2) of the Banking Act 1987 the Bank of England makes available monthly a list of the institutions authorised under part I of that Act. The bank's lists conventionally record separately those institutions which have ceased to be authorised during the intervening period. There are, however, a number of ways in which an institution may cease to be authorised and information concerning the reasons for the cessation of any particular authorisation is covered by the restrictions on disclosure in part V of the Act.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the closure of the Roxburghe Bank.

On 8 April 1993 the directors of Roxburghe bank petitioned for and obtained an administration order under the Insolvency Act 1986.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Bank of England about the closure of (i) the Mount Banking Corporation Ltd; (ii) the Roxburghe bank and (iii) the Al Baraka bank.

Meetings are held from time to time between the Governor and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and between Bank and Treasury officials, at which banking supervision issues are discussed. It is not the practice to make public whether or not a particular institution is mentioned at these meetings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average value in 1979 and 1990, at 1990 prices, of (a) NHS benefits in kind, (b) other benefits in kind and (c) all benefits in kind, received only by households with children by quintile groups of households, ranked within all households ranked by equivalised disposable income.

The figures are available only at current prices. They are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average equivalised disposable income, and the average disposable income per equivalent adult, by (a) quintile and (b) decile groups of households, at 1990 prices, for 1979 and 1990.

The information is not available in the precise form requested because the equivalence scale used is based on households rather than adults. In addition, the figures are available only at current prices. The figures are given in the table:

Equivalised disposable income by decile groups of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income.
	Bottom	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	Top	All
Using the McClements equivalence scale with a household of a married couple =1
1979	1,689	2,179	2,534	2,964	3,416	3,897	4,438	5,129	6,043	8,664	4,095
1990	3,596	5,161	6,120	7,435	9,081	10,884	13,012	15,580	19,598	34,467	12,494
Using the McClements equivalence scale re-scaled so that a household of one adult = 1
1979	1,030	1,329	1,545	1,808	2,084	2,377	2,707	3,128	3,686	5,285	2,498
1990	2,194	3,148	3,733	4,535	5,540	6,639	7,937	9,504	11,955	21,025	7,621

These figures are not strictly comparable over time because of changes in classification of both income and taxation and because of changes in the Family Expenditure Survey.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has as to the number of drilling projects in the North sea which have been cancelled since his Budget statement.

We do not have access to any unpublished information on this matter.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to monitor the compliance of contractors on Government contracts with clauses requiring payments of subcontractors within 30 days; and how he will report the results of this monitoring to Parliament.

Where a prime contractor for a Government Department fails to comply with the provision for making prompt payment in his sub-contract, the sub-contractor will have a remedy through the courts in the normal way. Where there is evidence of poor performance by a prime contractor, which may include the

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to ensure that all Government contracts contain a clause requiring payment of subcontractors within 30 days.

Guidance containing a model clause for inclusion in Government contracts was issued to Departments on 14 April 1992. Government Departments have confirmed that they have introduced clauses in all their contracts, where special circumstances do not apply, which require the supplier or contractor to pay its suppliers or sub-contractors promptly, normally within 30 days.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the next revaluation of commercial premises to be completed; and on what date the rental values will be based.

The next revaluation of commercial premises will be completed to enable new rating lists to be compiled on 1 April 1995. Rental values will be based on a valuation date of 1 April 1993.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current premium bond prize-fund rate; and how many readjustments in the prize-fund rate have been made since 1963.

[holding answer 27 April 1993]: The current prize fund rate is 5 per cent. per annum. The rate when the scheme began in 1956 was 4 per cent. There have been 12 changes since then.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the total net receipts to the Treasury arising from the sale of premium bonds since their introduction; and how much is currently held in unclaimed prize money.

[holding answer 27 April 1993]: The balance outstanding at the end of March 1993 was £2·659 billion. The value of unclaimed prizes is £10·8 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on the release of information on his Department's study of alternative technologies for testing nuclear warheads.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid) on 2 November 1992, Official Report, column 53. Release of information on alternative technologies must have regard to the requirements of national security, and our non-proliferation obligations and concerns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's personnel are currently involved in studying alternative technologies for testing nuclear warheads.

It has not been the policy of this or previous Governments to reveal details of the staffing levels required for nuclear warhead research programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 23 October 1992, to the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid), Official Report, column 403, how much expenditure was incurred in 1992–93 on studying alternative technologies for testing nuclear warheads.

It has not been the policy of this or previous Governments to reveal costs associated with the nuclear warhead research programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations he has had with (a) his United States and (b) his French counterparts relating to the development of alternative technologies for testing nuclear warheads; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has recently had meetings with both Secretary Aspin and Mr. Leotard, at which a range of subjects of mutual interest was discussed. We are in close touch with the United States and French authorities on nuclear testing and associated issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to utilise the facilities used by the search and rescue service at RAF Leuchars when the service at the base is closed; and if he will make a statement.

Search and rescue flying from RAF Leuchars ceased on 1 April. The Aberdeen, Dundee and St. Andrews University Air Squadron will use the facilities vacated by the SAR flight.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates he has of the cost reductions or increases that will be made with the reorganisation of the RAF search and rescue service; and if he will make a statement.

The changes in the deployment of the RAF search and rescue force will reduce operating costs by approximately £6·5 million per annum at today's prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the locations where students of the University air squadron are entitled to have training and flying lessons free of charge; and if he will make a statement.

Training and flying lessons take place at the following locations: RAF Leuchars; RAF Cosford; Colerne; Cambridge; RAF Turnhouse; RAF Newton; Glasgow International; RAF Woodvale; RAF Leeming; RAF Benson; Belfast City; RAF Boscombe Down; RAF St. Athan; RAF Finningley and the Royal Military College, Shrivenham. My Department does not raise charges against members of the University air squadron, but individual universities may do.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have been seconded to organisations concerned with outdoor pursuits and adventure travelling, including Operation Raleigh, in each of the last five years; and if he will list the organisations concerned; and if he will make a statement.

None has been seconded. A number of personnel from the three services have, however, participated in expeditions organised by Operation Raleigh, now Raleigh International, and the British Schools Exploring Society. Their participation was authorised as adventurous training and they were regarded as being on duty. According to our records, the number of service personnel involved was as follows:

	Number of service personel
Year	Raleigh International	British Schools Exploring Society
1992–93	68	18
1991–92	77	8
1990–91	35	11
1989–90	68	7
1988–89	62	11
Total	310	55

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give (a) the amount of land sold by his Ministry and(b) the amount raised from the sale, in each of the last five years in each region of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report, column 508, which organisation paid the salaries of the RAF personnel seconded to British Aerospace; and if he will make a statement.

British Aerospace.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flights have been made since January 1992 by aircraft of the Royal Air Force in pursuance of humanitarian purposes; and how many aircrew have been involved in this activity.

Since 1 January 1992, the RAF has flown over 770 sorties to provide humanitarian aid in Bosnia, Somalia, the Bahamas and Guatemala. In addition, four sorties were flown to evacuate British and other nationals from Angola and Palestinian deportees from Israel; and 10 sorties were mounted to assist with fire fighting in the Lebanon. Also, the RAF has so far mounted over 3,000 sorties in support of the air exclusion zones in northern and southern Iraq and over 500 sorties in support of the various military operations in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. These operations have involved a significant number of aircrew, but precise details are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of the new office development planned at Abbey Wood in north Bristol.

The estimated major works cost of the new procurement executive headquarters at Abbey Wood, North Bristol, inclusive of site acquisition, construction, fitting out, professional works management and VAT is £255·4 million at 1993–94 prices.

To ask the Attorney-General what monitoring is undertaken of the number of cases where racial motivations have been raised by the Crown prosecution service during court proceedings.

The Crown prosecution service is monitoring both the number of cases identified by the police as containing an element or allegation of racial motivation and the decisions taken by Crown prosecutors resulting from their review of those cases.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what sources of funding the Government have made available to develop the marketing potential of producer groups; what is the forecast value of expenditure on producer marketing grants by 1992 and for each of the next three years; and by what means producer groups qualify for funding.

The current scheme for developing the marketing potential of producer groups is the group marketing grant introduced in April 1992. Expenditure is continuing under the closed agricultural and horticultural co-operation scheme and EC regulation 1035/72 aid to producer groups.Awards under the group marketing grant worth £552,000 were made during the first financial year, 1992–93, of the scheme. Expenditure in 1992–93 and provision for the following three years are as follows:

£'000
Financial year		Group marketing grant	Expenditure under closed schemes
1992–93 expenditure		21	1,232
1993–94	provision	1,720	859
1994–95		2,938	280
1995–96		3,544	179

The conditions attached to the group marketing grant are set out in the brochure, copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what are his plans for implementing the EC Agri-Environment Regulation (2078/92); and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 26 March 1993, columns 729–30]: I am today issuing for public consultation proposals for the introduction of up to 30 new nitrate sensitive areas forming the seventh and final element of my proposals for implementing the EC Agri-Environment Regulation in England.The new scheme will build upon and extend the NSA approach introduced by the pilot nitrate scheme in 1990. It will encourage changes in farming practices which are designed to reduce nitrate leaching losses. The scheme will be targeted on areas around boreholes where such changes will help protect groundwater sources affected by rising nitrate levels.The areas have been selected on the basis of advice from the National Rivers Authority taking a wide range of criteria into account. My officials will be consulting locally later this year on the boundaries of each of the proposed new NSAs.Detailed arrangements for the new scheme will be finalised after the results of the consultation have been analysed. It is envisaged, however, that it will open for applications in the first half of 1994.I am making copies of the consultation document available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which EC member states have taken the necessary legal steps to implement the EC directive on the protection of animals during transport (91/628/EEC).

Monitoring the implementation of EC directives by the member states is carried out by the Commission. It has not yet indicated what action has been taken on directive 91/628.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Luxemburg on 26 and 27 April.

The meeting of the Agriculture Council of 26 and 27 April, at which I represented the United Kingdom, again considered the Commission's proposals for farm prices and related measures for 1993–94 but reached no conclusion and will resume its discussions at its May meeting. I stressed the overriding need for the Council's decisions to keep within the tight constraints on Community expenditure.During the discussion I urged the Commission to come forward as soon as possible with a proposal for non-rotational set-aside of arable land and it undertook to do so in time for the Council's next meeting.The Council formally adopted a decision, agreed in principle at its March meeting, to end the milk co-responsibility levy from 1 April 1993.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice his Ministry gives to farmers and landowners about the maintenance of rights of way over land which is subject to the different types of set-aside payments; and if he will make a statement.

The fact that land has been set aside does not affect the farmer's responsibilities as regards rights of way over that land. These are explained in the general guidance on the Rights of Way Act 1990, which has been sent to all farmers.

	SIC (1980)1	1987	1991	Thousands Change
Manufacturing	Div 2–4	62·3	57·4	-4·9
Mining	AH 1113& 1114	11·6	3·4	-8·2
All services2	Div 6–9	92·0	101·9	+9·8

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the total amount of financial support given to angling (a) by his Department and (b) by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts in 1991–92 and 1992–93.

[holding answer 26 April 1993]: Most of my Department's funding for sport is made through the Sports Council. In 1991–92 it paid grant of £71,749 to angling's governing bodies, including £20,660 to the National Angling Council, which was disbanded at the end of that year. In 1992–93 grant paid by the Sports Council to angling's remaining governing bodies was £46,800.The Foundation for Sport and the Arts is independent of Government and its grants are made at the absolute discretion of the trustees. I understand that the trustees do not consider angling to be eligible for support on the ground that it is not an athletic sport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will permit those organisations and agencies answerable to him to draw up plans to assist small companies owed money by Leyland-DAF; and if he will make a statement.

A wide range of services exists in Wales to assist all companies to enhance their business. The WDA and other agencies stand ready to offer whatever help is possible if approached by any of the companies affected by the Leyland-DAF situation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the unemployment figures, in each county, at April in each year since 1989.

All available unemployment figures can be accessed on line by House of Commons Library staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of jobs lost (a) in manufacturing, (b) in mining, (c) in private services and (d) in the public sector in the areas covered by the valleys initiative during the last five years.

While comprehensive information on total jobs lost is not available, the numbers of employees employed in the valleys initiative area are given in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral statement of 1 April, Official Report, column 513, whether he will list the companies and projects which have created the 24,000 jobs in the areas covered by the valleys initiative during the last five years.

I will write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what amounts were received by the local authorities within the area covered by the valleys initiative through urban development programmes, and an urban investment grant in 1992–93; and what will be those amounts for each of the next five years.

In 1992–93 nearly £20·6 million was approved from the urban programme. This includes supplementary approvals made throughout the year. In 1993–94 a total of £17 million has so far been approved for areas covered by the valleys programme. It is not possible to forecast the corresponding figures for the next four years.In 1992–93 urban investment grant awards to the valleys totalled £1·5 million. The amounts in future years will depend on the take-up of the scheme, but provision for 1993–94 has been increased by 40 per cent. Urban investment grant is specifically aimed at supporting private sector development and is not available to local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements he has made for the Further Education Funding Council to provide funding for the teaching of communication skills to adults with severe learning difficulties.

Schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 lists the courses of further education which the Further Education Funding Council for Wales is expected to secure. This includes courses to teach independent living and communication skills to persons having learning difficulties and which prepare them for entry to further courses of study within schedule 2.In his letter of guidance to the chairman of the funding council, my right hon. Friend drew attention to the council's specific duty to have regard to the requirements of students with all types of disability. The council should aim to ensure, so far as is consistent with its duties under the Act, that learning difficulties are no bar to access to further education.In allocating resources to further education providers, the council has drawn specific attention to the requirement to have regard to the interests of adults who have basic educational needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his statement on 1 April, Official Report, column 513, whether he will break down the £1,000 million announced for the valleys initiative into appropriate public expenditure categories for each of the next five years.

Total public expenditure under the programme for the valleys over the next five years will be well over £1 billion. I will publish shortly details of the breakdown of programme expenditure for 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will visit the company headquarters of B. Dixon-Bate Ltd. in Clwyd.

I have no present plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 20 October 1992, Official Report, columns 283–84, what progress he has made in allocating the £2·8 million under the European regional development fund; how much of the expenditure has already been announced and for what purposes; and on what the residual amount will be spent.

I made it clear in my answer on 20 October 1992, Official Report, columns 283–84, that the £2·8 million to which the hon. Gentleman refers represents resources additional to the very substantial allocations already available from the European regional development fund under the industrial South Wales and RECHAR structural funds programmes. £1·61 million ERDF has already been committed to projects in the Betws and Taff Merthyr areas and the monitoring committees responsible for implementing these programmes will be asked to approve further projects to take up the whole of the available resources by the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales: what plans he has to introduce paramedics to rural and urban ambulance services in Wales.

The ambulance services in Wales are to provide at least one fully trained paramedic on each front-line ambulance no later than the end of 1996. This target applies equally to all the ambulance service classifications—that is, urban, rural and sparsely populated—across Wales. The provision of paramedics is currently ahead of schedule, and the Welsh Office will continue to financially support this training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average age of each ambulance fleet in Wales.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the number of junior hospital doctors in Welsh health authorities and trust hospitals working over the prescribed 83 hours per week maximum; and if he will make a statement.

Health authorities and NHS trusts have confirmed that no junior doctor in Wales is contracted to work more than a maximum average of 83 hours per week with effect from 1 April 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what targets he has set for Cadw, Welsh Historic Monuments executive agency for 1993–94.

Cadw has been set the following key targets for 1993–94:

(i) To complete 90 per cent. of the approved conservation maintenance programme.

(ii) To promote the preservation of historic buildings and ancient monuments by completing 20 resurvey lists and 90 scheduling actions, of which at least 60 per cent. involve additional protection.

(iii) To resolve 75 per cent. of statutory cases within the target periods (28 days for listed building consent cases, 90 days for scheduled monument consent cases and 120 days for ad hoc listings).

(iv) To resolve 80 per cent. of grant applications within the target periods (17 weeks for Historic Buildings Council cases, six weeks for Ancient Monuments cases and 10 weeks for Civic Initiatives (Heritage) Grant Scheme cases); and to pay 90 per cent. of properly presented claims within five weeks of receipt.

(v) To maintain Cadw's market share of the number of visitors to the top twenty heritage sites in Wales at 63 per cent.

(vi) To increase the average spend per visitor to 188 pence.

(vii) To operate within allocated programme and running cost budgets.

(viii) To achieve an efficiency saving of 2–0 per cent. on gross running costs.

Full details of Cadw's performance against its targets for 1992–93 will be published in the agency's annual report.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will visit Queensferry post office sorting office.

I have no plans at present to visit Queensferry post office sorting office.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much money has been guaranteed to cover loan guarantee schemes during the last two years.

Gross expenditure on the loan guarantee scheme in the past two years has been:

	£ million
1991–92	31·6
1992–93	22·4

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many loan guarantee schemes have been started within the last two years.

The number of loans guaranteed under the loan guarantee scheme in the past two years has been:

	Number
1991–92	2,936
1992–93	2,335

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will bring forward proposals for an ombudsman to oversee the cost of the installation of telephone lines by telephone companies.

I have no plans to do so.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many applications he has received under the Retex programme; when he expects to make a decision on these applications; and if he will make a statement.

Sixty-seven applications have been received. The projects will be considered by the Retex programme monitoring committee after the United Kingdom programme is agreed with the Commission.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the review of the funding and fee charging policy of the insolvency service has been completed.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith) on 16 February, Official Report, column 136.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many copies of the booklet, "The Prospects for Coal: Summary of the Coal Review White Paper", have been produced; how many have been sent to correspon-dents by post; and at what total cost.

A total of 115,000 copies of the booklet have been produced and, so far, approximately 109,500 copies have been distributed. The total cost of production and distribution is approximately £40,000.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to review insolvency law.

Officials in the insolvency service continue to monitor the operation of insolvency law, but I have no plans for a general review.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the letter sent by his Department to the Public Relations Consultants Association on 1 March about the collapse of Corporate Communications plc.

No.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to prevent individuals who have presided over the collapse of their companies, of which they have been directors, from setting up similar new businesses with similar customers having failed to honour the debts of their former companies.

The insolvency legislation already provides that directors whose conduct shows that they are unfit to manage companies may be disqualified from holding office. I have no plans to change the legislation in this regard.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the volume of steel production in the first quarter of 1991, 1992 and 1993; and if he will make a statement.

The information is as follows:

• 1991 Q1 4·1 million tones
• 1992 Q1 4·2 million tonnes
• 1993 Q1 4·2 million toness (provisional)

Source: British Iron and Steel Producers' Association.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made as to the reliability of the volume of steel production as an indicator of economic vitality.

The output of one industry cannot by itself be an adequate indicator of the state of the whole economy.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EC Internal Market Council meeting held in Luxembourg on 5 April.

I attended the second Internal Market Council of the Danish Presidency in Luxembourg on 5 April. The Council had a relatively substantial agenda. We managed to make progress on, and defend, a number of significant United Kingdom interests.The Council adopted directives covering explosives, doctors' diplomas and motorcyle brakes. We succeeded in postponing a decision on a proposal to establish a 100 bhp maximum power limit for motor cycles until at least the June Council. We do not consider that the limit is justified on safety grounds.Common positions were reached on directives covering public supply contracts, unauthorised use and statutory markings of motor cycles, and cable and satellite broadcasting. This last measure together with discussion of a proposed directive on the harmonisation on the term of copyright protection, allowed us to reach agreement on a text on film authorship which protects United Kingdom interests, notably those of film producers.I emphasised our opposition to important elements of the European company statutory proposal. We continue to oppose the proposed worker participation directive; the legal base of the measures; and certain important technical aspects of the regulation.Unfortunately, most other member states wish to continue work on the proposals.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the rate of small firm formation by standard planning region for each of the last three years.

[holding answer 22 April 1993]:: The best indicator of regional trends in small business start-ups is given by figures on VAT registrations. Registration rates for the three most recent years are given in the table.

Registration rates1 (per cent.)
Region	1989	1990	1991
South East	17	16	13
East Anglia	14	12	11
South West	14	12	11
West Midlands	15	13	11
East Midlands	15	13	12
Yorkshire and Humberside	15	13	12
North West	16	15	13
North	15	13	11
Wales	13	12	10
Scotland	14	14	12
Northern Ireland	8	8	7
United Kingdom	15	14	12
1 New registrations as a percentage of the stock of VAT registered businesses at the start of the year.

Other estimates of regional start-ups are produced by Barclays Bank.Their regions do not correspond to standard planning regions.

Estimates of business start-ups produced by Barclays Bank plc
Region1	Starts in 1991	Starts in 1992
Greater London	101,000	98,000
Rest of South East	95,000	91,000
East Anglia	25,000	23,000
Midlands	63,000	58,000
South West	39,000	32,000
North and Yorkshire	43,000	44,000
North West	54,000	51,000
Wales	31,000	28,000
Scotland	34,000	30,000
Total	482,000	456,000
1 Regions do not correspond to standard planning regions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parents rang the grant-maintained schools' helpline during its pilot period; and whether it is to be established on a permanent basis.

The grant-maintained helpline received 2,650 calls during the six week pilot period, of which 2,040 were from parents. The Department is currently

LEA	School	Approval date
Avon	Beechen Cliff school	15 September 1989
Barnet	Hendon school	11 April 1989
Bedfordshire	Queensbury school	11 April 1989
Berkshire	Southlands school	6 December 1989
Bolton	St. James' CE school	28 February 1989
Brent	Copland community school	2 December 1991
Calderdale	The North Halifax high school	21 May 1990
	The Crossley Heath school	21 May 1990
Cambridgeshire	Gamlingay GM Village college	21 November 1991
Cheshire	Bankfield high school (GM)	2 June 1989
	Kettleshulme primary school	23 January 1992
Cumbria	Queen Elizabeth grammar school	14 October 1991
	Trinity school, Carlisle	18 February 1992
	St. Aidan's county high school	24 February 1992
Derbyshire	Netherthorpe school	30 June 1989
Ealing	Greenford high school	28 January 1992
	Brentside high school	28 January 1992
	Drayton Manor high school	4 February 1992
	Wood End first school	25 September 1992
	Ellen Wilkinson school for girls	4 February 1992
	Wood End middle school	25 September 1992
	Northolt high school	4 February 1992
Gloucestershire	Ribston Hall high school	15 September 1989
Hampshire	Calmore GM middle school	28 January 1993
	Testwood school	9 November 1992
	Abbotswood GM middle school	19 November 1992
Hertfordshire	Francis Bacon school	21 May 1990
Kensington	Cardinal Vaughan memorial school	30 November 1989
Kent	Oakwood Park grammar school	20 February 1992
	Wilmington grammar school for boys	28 January 1991
	Grammar school for girls, Wilmington	20 April 1989
	Thamesview school	5 July 1991
Leicestershire	Long Field GM high school	25 August 1989
Newham	Stratford school	21 May 1990
Northamptonshire	Southfield school for girls	24 November 1989
Nottinghamshire	Ravensdale middle school	14 February 1992
Sandwell	Manor high school, Sandwell	30 May 1991
Sheffield	Clifford CE GM school	24 April 1992
Southwark	London Nautical school	30 June 1989

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list by local education authority those schools which were subject to reorganisation proposals which he subsequently approved for grant-maintained status and the dates on which such approvals were given.

A list of schools which were subject to closure or reorganisation proposals under section 12 or 13 of the Education Act 1980 when they applied for self-governing (GM) status is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many surplus school places were removed from the education system in each school year from 1984–85.

The number of surplus school places that have been removed since 1984–85 are as follows:

	'000s
1984–85	135
1985–86	128
1986–87	106
1987–88	109
1988–89	118
1989–90	93
1990–91	99
1991–92	n/a

In view of the new national survey of the capacity of schools carried out in 1991 separate figures have not been collected on the number of places removed from the education system in the school year 1991–92 onwards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the local education authorities which have applied since the beginning of the year for lap-top computers for children with special learning difficulties; and what response was made to such applications.

I announced in January a major pilot study to assess the educational impact of using portable computers in schools. The following local education authorities (LEAs) have submitted project bids in respect of children with special learning difficulties:

LEAs	Manchester
Camden	Salford
Greenwich	Stockport
Hackney	Barnsley
Islington	Rotherham
Lambeth	Sheffield
Lewisham	Leeds
Barking	Avon
Barnet	Berkshire
Brent	Cleveland
Bromley	Derbyshire
Croydon	East Sussex
Haringey	Hertfordshire
Hounslow	Humberside
Kingston-upon-Thames	Lancashire
Merton	Leicestershire
Birmingham	Norfolk
Coventry	Somerset
Liverpool	Suffolk
Sefton	Surrev

All project bids are currently being assessed and evaluated; decisions will be announced shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children with special learning difficulties have been statemented during the past 12 months; what funding is made available for such children in state, voluntary sector and grant-maintained schools; and what steps he takes to ensure quality control and adequate provision for statemented children.

Information on the number of children for whom statements of special educational needs were made for the first time in the last 12 months is not yet available. The latest collated information indicates that statements were made in respect of 30,699 children for the first time during the calendar year 1991.Any additional funding for the provision specified in a pupil's statement is the responsibility of the local education authority which maintains the statement, irrespective of the type of school the pupil attends.Quality control and ensuring that adequate provision is made for children with statements are similarly matters for local education authorities. Paragraph 5 of part III of schedule 1 to the Education Act 1981 requires authorities to review statements at least annually.The Education Bill currently before Parliament makes similar provision—at clause 162—for statements to be reviewed at least annually and provides, for the first time, for the necessary regulations governing the manner in which those reviews are to be conducted. I anticipate that the new code of practice to be made under clause 149 of the Bill will offer guidance on the contents of statements and the manner of their review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans she has to investigate the political impartiality of music teaching in Sheffield; and what actions are open to parents in this matter.

Certain conditions must be met before my right hon. Friend can take action on a complaint of a breach of the law relating to the school curriculum.Section 44 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 requires local education authorities, head teachers and school governing bodies to forbid the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject. Section 45 of the Act requires them to do as much as they reasonably can to see that any presentation of political issues to pupils is balanced and takes account of opposing views.Parents who wish to complain about any apparent breach of curriculum law can do so under the arrangements established by all local education authorities under section 23 of the Education Reform Act 1988 for dealing with curriculum complaints. Schools must make details of these arrangements available on request. The Secretary of State cannot consider a curriculum complaint until it has been disposed of locally by the governors, the local education authority, or both, as appropriate. He has received no complaint about music teaching in Sheffield.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed by the offices of the industrial tribunals and the fair employment tribunals; and how many are (a) Protestants and (b) Roman Catholics.

The Office of Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal is staffed by 26 civil servants.Disclosure of information on the religious affiliation of Northern Ireland civil service staff is governed by a code of practice which stipulates that no statistical summaries will be produced which fall outside the categories of analyses agreed with staff representatives. The most recent analyses were published in the "Fourth Report of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Equal Opportunities Unit", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the new fish pass at Toome to be fully in operation.

The new fish pass at Toome has been substantially complete since December. However, operation has been delayed pending the completion of some additional features requested by fisheries interests. Completion of these works is dependent on low downstream levels in the River Bann, but it is intended that the fish pass will be fully operational by early June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the manufacturing output or productivity in Northern Ireland for each year since 1989.

Northern Ireland indices of production and productivity for the years in question are as follows:

	1989	1990	1991	1992
Index of Production1	111	114	112	114
Index of Productivity1	112	114	116	123
1 1985 =100

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time mature students within the meaning of the grants regulations were in attendance at the University of Ulster and Queen's university, Belfast, each year since 1988.

The information is as follows:

Academic year	University of Ulster	University Belfast
1988–89	320	283
1980–90	332	315
1990–91	360	308

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the latest level of unemployment in the Belfast travel-to-work area.

At 11 March 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 52,773 unemployed claimants in the Belfast travel-to-work area, representing 12·8 per cent. of the work force in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were unemployed in the Province (a) at the latest date for which figures are available; and (b) in May 1990; and what is (b) as a percentage of (a).

At 11 March 1993 there were 106,016 unemployed claimants in Northern Ireland. The number of unemployed claimants in May 1990 was 96,064, which represents 90·6 per cent. of the March 1993 figure.