To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will last for each year since 1988 the number of pupils in Greater London reaching the minimum school leaving age and the number who entered employment directly, entered a youth training scheme on leaving school, returned for a further period at school, or entered a further education college; and if she will provide such estimates as are available for the same figures for 1993.

The information requested is compiled by United Kingdom heads of careers services on behalf of the careers service. It is given in the table. This information is not yet available for 1992 and 1993. Information for 1988 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Numbers of pupils leaving secondary school at minimum school leaving age in inner and outer London and their destinations for the years 1989–91
	1989	1990	1991
Full-time education	32,790	31,800	38,200
Youth training1	4,050	3,070	2,920
Employment	12,550	9,030	4,520
Not in any2	3,180	4,300	6,260
Unknown3	8,490	6,130	6,050
Total	60,620	54,160	57,950

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many four-year-olds were in classes in infant schools in England, excluding four-year-olds in nursery classes of infant schools or in nursery schools in 1987 and 1991; and what percentage this was of the age group.

The information requested is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) when he intends to complete his consideration of the responses to his consultation letter on the sale of school playing fields;(2) if he will publish a full list of the organisations and individuals to whom his consultation letter on the sale of school playing fields was sent, the date on which the letter was sent to each organisation and individual and the date on which a response from each organisation and individual was received by his Department; and if he will place copies of each response in the Library;(3) how many organisations have not responded to his consultation letter on the sale of school playing fields; what action he has taken to pursue those organisations for responses; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend expects to inform local education authorities and others of his conclusions arising from this exercise shortly.My hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr. Atkins), then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, wrote to the local authority associations on 19 December 1991 asking for their comments on his proposed letter to chief education officers by 28 February 1992. Copies of the consultation letter were also sent on 20 December 1991 to the Sports Council, the Central Council of Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association and the regional councils for sport and recreation for information.Following is a list of the bodies which commented on the consultation letter and the dates of their replies:

	Date
Association of District Councils	26 February 1992
Association of Metropolitan Authorities	February 1992
Association of County Councils	February 1992
Association of London Authorities	24 February 1992
The Sports Council	28 February 1992
National Playing Fields Association	5 March 1992
The Central Council of Physical Recreation	16 January 1992
Chiltern District Council	13 February 1992
Cornwall County Council	25 February 1992
Dorset County Council	26 February 1992
ACRE: The Rural Communities Charity	28 February 1992
Somerset County Council	4 March 1992

It is not our normal practice to place responses to consultations in the Library.No response was received from the London Boroughs Association. My hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble wrote to the chairman of the association, on 19 December 1991, and a further copy of his letter was sent to the association on 6 February 1992. Officials subsequently telephoned the association to ask whether a response would be forthcoming; a representative confirmed that the association did not intend to respond.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a full list of those local education authorities which have actively demonstrated that, in considering whether to retain playing fields released by a school proposed for closure, they have considered whether such playing fields should be retained to make up shortfalls at a neighbouring school, the method by which such consideration has been demonstrated, the total number of schools that have been subject to such consideration, the total number of schools at which the playing field has subsequently been released and the total number of schools at which the playing field has subsequently been retained.

The information requested is not available. Local education authorities are not required to provide such information when submitting proposals for school closure to my right hon. Friend.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 29 April to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman), Official Report, column 508, if the representations he has received supporting the need to use the tax system to help fulfil the Government's Rio commitment have (a) specifically supported the use of value added tax as the instrument to do so, (b) supported the imposition of VAT on standing charges or (c) proposed alternative ways of using the tax system in this regard.

A number of representations my right hon. Friend received specifically supported the use of VAT as an instrument to help fulfil the United Kingdom's Rio commitment. For example, the Friends of the Earth said in its Budget briefing

"Friends of the Earth therefore welcomes the Chancellor's commitment to increasing domestic fuel and power prices over the next two years through the gradual imposition of VAT."

Standing charges were not mentioned in any representations, and alternative ways of using the tax system were proposed in some of the representations received.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to impose value added tax on newspapers, periodicals, books or other publications; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend's plans for VAT changes are set out in the Budget and the Finance (No. 2) Bill and do not extend VAT in this area.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on Inland Revenue rules regarding taxation on those resident in the United Kingdom for more than 183 days a year; and what steps are being taken to deal with evasion.

Under section 336 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, an individual who is present in the United Kingdom for 183 days or more in a tax year is treated as resident for tax purposes for that year. The Inland Revenue reviews the residence status of individuals, where appropriate, as part of its general compliance responsibilities.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his Department's policy in respect of companies cutting basic pay in order to increase the tax-free element through profit-related pay.

The Government's purpose in introducing tax relief for profit-related pay—PRP—was to encourage flexibility in pay determination arrangements. The tax relief, subject to certain limits, is available only for PRP schemes which satisfy certain legislative requirements. Responsibility for the detailed terms of specific employment contracts rests with the parties themselves.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has received from United States Treasury Secretary Bentsen to his representations about unitary taxation.

United States Secretary Bentsen has explained the United States Adminstration's position. He and his colleagues recognise the importance the British Government attach to this issue, the strength of feeling in the United Kingdom and the risk of retaliatory action by the United Kingdom if a satisfactory solution is not forthcoming. He has assured me that the Administration are very keen to find a solution to this problem that is acceptable. I have said that the Government are ready to discuss how an acceptable solution could best be achieved. But I have informed him that the Government will have to take retaliatory measures in relation to United States based companies if there is not a satisfactory resolution of the problem of the internationally opposed unitary tax on foreign-owned companies in California by the end of this year. Meanwhile, I have instructed the Inland Revenue to obtain information from California-based companies in the United Kingdom on the probable impact of such retaliatory measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in which year his Department first became aware of the hum noise complaint relating to low frequency noise; if he will make a statement concerning the action by his Department since that time to investigate this complaint: and what results were obtained.

My Department first became aware of the problem of low frequency noise in the late 1970s. The independent noise review conducted for my Department in 1990 observed that this was a difficult area in terms of measurement, individual sensitivity and identification of sources. It recommended full support for the programme of research being conducted for the Department by the Building Research Establishment which is due to be completed early next year. Complaints about low frequency noise are investigated by local authorities under part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in the same way as other noise complaints.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he is taking to account for the losses incurred by the Merseyside development corporation in subsidising the Fanfare for a New World concert.

The Department has asked Merseyside development corporation's auditors, in their examination of the accounts for last year, to look specifically at the issue of the corporation's sponsorship of the concert; we await the outcome of this examination.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to restructure the Merseyside development corporation.

In 1991 a financial management and policy review—FMPR—was carried out at Merseyside development corporation, as part of the Department's role in sponsoring non-departmental public bodies. The FMPR was based on four studies covering management, staffing, audit and pay and conditions. As the FMPR resulted in changes within the MDC's structure, there are no further proposals for any more changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish an audit of the finances of the Merseyside development corporation.

Merseyside development corporation is subject to an annual audit by independent external auditors, appointed by the Secretary of State. The auditors' report is published in the corporation's annual report. A full copy of the financial statements is available from the corporation on request.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new housing starts there were for the first three months of 1993 and for the corresponding period in 1992.

Provisional figures show that there were 43,900 housebuilding starts in Great Britain during the first three months of 1993 compared with 41,100 starts during the corresponding period of 1992.This increase is an expression of growing confidence by the building industry in the market for new houses. Taken with recent evidence of rising house prices and increased activity by estate agents, there are now signs of a recovery in the housing market.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has received from the Association of Environmental Consultants on its new code of practice.

My officials have received a copy of the code of practice. I welcome this example of self-regulation by a group of prominent companies and I am sure that it will help to encourage public confidence in their work.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when and where World Health Organisation air quality guidelines for ozone levels have been exceeded since 1987.

[holding answer 10 May 1993]: There are two World Health Organisation Guidelines for the protection of human health, a one-hour guideline of 76–100ppb and an eight-hour guideline of 50ppb. There are two guidelines for the protection of plants and crops, a daily mean of 33ppb and a growing season mean of 30ppb.Ozone monitoring has been carried out since 1987 at 16 United Kingdom sites in the Department's network. Between 1987 and 1991 the guidelines were exceeded on at least one occasion at each site. Ozone levels in the United Kingdom are, however, among the lowest in Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response the Government have made to the proposals for policy objectives on affordable rented housing put forward by the Churches National Housing Coalition in its document circulated to hon. Members.

[holding answer 10 May 1993]: The Government have noted with interest the points made by the Churches National Housing Coalition. The coalition's proposals concerned supply and choice of housing; homelessness and targeting resources. In all these areas we are already making significant progress.The Government's aim is to ensure that a decent home is within the reach of every family.We have taken steps to increase the supply of low-cost housing where it is needed. The housing market measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the autumn statement mean that the public resources available to housing associations, the main providers of new social housing, increased from £935 million in 1989–90 to £1·8 billion in 1993–94, making some 54,500 new homes available. In addition, the temporary relaxation of the rules governing local authority receipts, for the period November 1992 to December 1993, gives local authorities greatly increased spending power for projects such as the renovation of their housing stock.Greater choice and efficiency are key elements of Government policy. We have taken measures to encourage the revival of the private rented sector; to give public sector tenants greater control over the management of their homes; to encourage more efficient management in the social sector; as well as promoting home ownership.Under the rough sleepers initiative, £96 million was made available from 1990–91 to 1992–93 to provide additional hostel and longer-term accommodation in central London, where the problem is most acute. A further £86 million is available over three financial years, from April 1993–94 to 1995–96 build on the success of this initiative.We believe that it is a more efficient use of resources to target subsidy towards people rather than simply into "bricks and mortar", so that the public subsidy reaches those individuals who need it most. Our policies on spending in the social sector reflect that.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to publish an account of progress in the implementation of recommendations made after major disasters recommended in the Hayes report on river safety.

[holding answer 11 May 1993]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport gave on 11 May, Official Report, column 380.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he is making of the legal liability resulting from transboundary environmental damage.

[holding answer 12 May 1993]: This matter is considered whenever it is raised in the development, application or revision of the relevant international environmental legal instruments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will use the next appropriate legislative opportunity to give the Crown Estate Commissioners a statutory duty to further the conservation of the terrestrial and maritime environment.

I have been asked to reply.The Government have no plans to introduce such legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Crown Estate Commissioners are subject to the environmental provisions of section 11 of the Countryside Act 1968; and whether those provisions extend to their functions below the low water mark.

I have been asked to reply.The Crown Estate Commissioners' environmental and conservation policy applies the provisions of section 11 of the Countryside Act 1968 to their ownership both of land and of the sea bed below the low water mark.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning the overstepping of maximum charges for bands in the transitional reduction scheme of the council tax; and what proposals he has to prevent such occurrence.

I have received a number of representations from MPs and members of the public about the difference between the actual council tax, set by local authorities, and the adjusted council tax used by local authorities to calculate entitlement to transitional reduction.The sole purpose of the transitional reduction scheme is to moderate increases in local tax bills arising as a consequence of the change in tax system and it is not intended to protect taxpayers from increases arising for other reasons. The level of adjusted council tax used to determine relief is calculated according to a prescribed formula. This formula takes account of what each local authority might need to spend on services in 1993–94 but makes no allowance for past deficits and assumes a council tax collection level of 98 per cent. Where local authorities budget responsibly and have good records of tax collection, the actual and adjusted taxes should be very close to each other and may be identical. This is the case in a number of areas in Scotland. Where this is not the case, taxpayers may wish to ask their local authority for an explanation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to waive or curtail the operation of the planning processes relating to planning and development proposals from Highland regional council in respect of work to be carried out in the Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin areas as a result of the building of the Skye bridge; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans to alter the planning processes in respect of Highland regional council's proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans there are to privatise the Scottish Transport Group; what estimate of asset proceeds he has made; and if he will make a statement.

The disposal programme covering the undertakings of the Scottish Transport Group was published on 6 February 1990. The major part of this programme, the disposal of the 10 former subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group, has been successfully completed. My reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 2 December 1991, Official Report, columns 45–46, gave details of the proceeds from the sale of the Scottish Bus Group. The Scottish Transport Group will be wound up in due course after the disposal of its remaining property assets and the winding up of its pension funds. Estimates of likely proceeds from the remaining assets are commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 20 April, Official Report, columns 89–90, whether any additional person or persons have attended or are expected to attend any meeting of the forestry review group.

Members of the forestry review group may be represented by alternates from their Departments. No persons other than members or their alternates have attended meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of people employed in (a) onshore and (b) offshore oil and gas-related activity in (i) 1991 and (ii) 1992; and what is his estimate of the total at the latest available date.

[holding answer 10 May 1993]: The latest available information on the number of people employed offshore in the oil and gas sector in the northern North sea is for September 1991 when it was estimated at between 26,400 and 27,950.There are no estimates of oil and gas related employment for onshore workers alone for either 1991 or 1992. The latest information available relating to the number of people employed onshore and offshore in companies with turnover in excess of 80 per cent. related to oil and gas sector is for June 1992. On that basis, the estimate was 82,800, compared to 83,400 in June 1990.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has received on the trading activities of Seaconsar Far East Ltd. of Hong Kong in relation to British exports to Iran.

Information supplied to my Department about the trading activities of companies is treated as commercially confidential.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the European Community Council of Industry Ministers held on 4 May.

I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of European Community Industry Ministers held in Brussels on 4 May.The most important item on the agenda was restructuring of the EC steel industry where I underlined the importance of keeping up the momentum of the discussions with industry to ensure that a definitive programme of capacity reductions is in place before the 30 September deadline set by the Industry Council in February. I emphasised that a successful restructuring plan is dependent on strict control of state aids to the industry, a point with which Vice-President Van Miert fully agreed. With support from a number of other member states, I argued for the European Coal and Steel Community levy to be phased out rapidly and the Danish presidency hoped that decisions could be taken by the end of the year.The Council agreed in principle to extend the provisions of the seventh directive on aid to the shipbuilding industry to the end of 1994.There was discussion of measures to support small and medium enterprises with a decision that a single programme should commence in July this year, subject to agreement on the detail of the text.The Commission, at the United Kingdom's instigation, made a presentation of the progress towards accomplishing the tasks set out in the Council resolution on administrative simplification agreed during the United Kingdom presidency. The United Kingdom had placed this important topic on the agenda to keep up the momentum of the Commission's work in this area. The Commission's action should help to ensure that burdens on British business are minimised.We also tabled a paper, which was supported by a number of other member states, outlining our concern about the damage to the United Kingdom's recycling industry caused by German packaging waste legislation. The Danish presidency hoped that progress could be made at the June Environment Council on the packaging waste directive as a Community solution to some aspects of this problem.The Council also held a wide-ranging debate on the link between industrial competitiveness and environmental protection. We consider this link to be important and will continue to work with the Commission and other member states so that the relationship between industrial competitiveness and environmental protection is taken into account when formulating policies.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the role of the BNFL office in South Korea; and what reassessment has been undertaken of its role in the context of discussions on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

[holding answer 5 May 1993]: It is for BNFL to decide on its commercial representation overseas. The Republic of Korea is a state party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and has concluded a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Any business undertaken by BNFL will take place in accordance with the United Kingdom's obligations under the treaty.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the impact on the number of areas in London eligible for assisted status if each London borough were treated as a travel-to-work area.

Designating assisted areas depends on the criteria set out in the consultation paper issued in June 1992. These criteria will be considered for all travel-to-work areas. For very large travel-to-work areas, including London, the situation in their constituent parts is also being considered.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals his Department has submitted to the European Commission for a new assisted areas map; and when he plans to submit further proposals.

[holding answer 12 May 1993]: The Government's full proposals for the new assisted areas map will be submitted to the European Commission shortly. Proposals for enhanced assisted area status for the Barnsley, Doncaster and Mansfield travel-to-work areas, which formed part of the package of support measures for coal closure areas announced by my right hon. Friend last October, were cleared with the European Commission beforehand. Additionally, my statement about Swan Hunter on 12 May indicated that the Newcastle and South Tyneside travel-to-work areas would remain as development areas, subject to European Commission approval: discussion with the Commission on this point is now under way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the non-governmental public bodies operational in Wales indicating (a) the total number of Government appointees, (b) the number of Welsh-speaking appointees, (c) the total number of staff employed, (d) the number of

Non-departmental public body (NDPB)	Number of staff	Number of Welsh speaking staff	Number of staff received paid leave to learn Welsh (1992–93)
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation	86·5	4	21
Countryside Council for Wales	299·0	75	81
Curriculum Council for Wales	26·0	10	4
Development Board for Rural Wales	124·0	36	115
Higher and Further Education Funding Councils	42·0	8	0
Housing for Wales	75·0	20	12
Land Authority for Wales	43·0	Not known	0
National Library of Wales	215·0	199	3
National Museum of Wales	499·0	157	21
Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales	35·0	10	6
Sports Council for Wales	147·0	27	0
Wales Tourist Board	109·0	46	3
Wales Youth Agency	10·0	4	2—
Welsh Development Agency	442·0	40	37
Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting	31·0	5	0
1 In-house tuition also provided.
2 Private tutor visits office weekly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 29 April, Official Report, column 523, what conclusions he has now drawn about travel times from the specified communities to Bridgend and Barry, following his discussions on 23 April.

The length of time taken for residents of these communities to reach Bridgend and Barry would vary according to such things as the route taken and the means of transport used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to establish a national housing needs assessment mechanism in Wales.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to make his Department's housing needs assessment research in Wales available for public scrutiny.

The Housing Management Advisory Panel for Wales has just published "Taking Stock: A Guide to Local Housing Assessment".

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 23 March 1993 at columns 549–50, listing the public bodies to which I make appointments. As some people hold more than one appointment, the number of appointees is 960. Of these, 129 have indicated on their nomination form that they speak Welsh. However, this information is not provided in all cases. Only executive non-departmental public bodies employ staff, and the information requested is shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he intends to take following the recent seminars on epilepsy in Wales regarding (a) dissemination of the conclusions of the report, "Epilepsy, in Wales—a Study of the Needs of People with Epilepsy, Current Services and of Potential Developments", (b) the identification of potential strategies for development of support services and (c) the current and potential roles and responsibilities of voluntary, statutory and professional agencies.

The seminars were paid for by the Welsh Office as part of our further consultations to assist consideration of this matter. The report of the seminars has only recently been received and is being carefully studied.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by local education authority the number of (a) teachers, (b) nursery nurses and (c) teachers' aides employed who are disabled.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of babies were immunised and vaccinated in each family health service authority area in the last year for which statistics are available and the two previous years; and if he will provide a similar list for those children receiving their booster vaccination and immunisation injections.

Information relating to children immunised is collected by health authorities. The percentage of children resident at the end of the year in question and who had been immunised by their second birthday is given in the tables.Information on the number of booster vaccinations is not collected in such a manner that would enable the Department to calculate a percentage of children vaccinated by a given birthday. However, the tables show the number of children aged four and under who received booster/reinforcing doses in each of the last three years, based on the district in which the dose was given rather than the district in which the child was resident. These figures do not represent the number of children who had received a booster/reinforcing dose by the age of four and under, as a child would be included in the figures only for the year in which the dose was given.

Percentage of children immunised by their 2nd birthday
	Diphtheria	Tetanus	Pertussis	Polio	Measles
1989–90
Clwyd	91·8	91·8	79·2	91·9	85·0
East Dyfed	90·8	90·9	67·6	90·8	83·1
Gwent	90·4	90·4	69·9	90·6	82·1
Gwynedd	94·4	94·5	73·1	94·6	87·1
Mid Glamorgan	89·0	89·1	65·4	89·3	76·9
Pembrokeshire	93·8	93·9	82·1	93·6	86·5
Powys	95·0	95·3	78·3	95·2	91·1
South Glamorgan	86·6	86·6	72·4	86·5	75·2
West Glamorgan	90·7	90·7	69·5	90·9	81·7
1990–91
Clwyd	93·9	93·9	85·0	94·0	88·2
East Dyfed	94·3	94·3	75·3	94·1	88·0
Gwent	92·2	92·2	75·5	92·4	85·9
Gwynedd	94·9	94·9	80·0	95·0	88·3
Mid Glamorgan	92·1	92·2	75·0	92·2	82·6
Pembrokeshire	95·4	95·4	86·9	95·5	91·8
Powys	96·6	96·7	85·8	96·9	92·2
South Glamorgan	90·6	90·7	77·9	90·6	83·7
West Glamorgan	91·3	91·3	76·9	91·2	83·6
1991–92
Clwyd	94·8	94·8	89·1	94·8	90·5
East Dyfed	95·0	95·0	81·6	95·1	91·5
Gwent	91·1	91·1	78·5	92·4	86·9
Gwynedd	96·1	96·2	86·6	96·2	92·4
Mid Glamorgan	93·0	93·1	80·5	93·3	86·6
Pembrokeshire	95·2	95·2	89·2	96·1	92·0
Powys	96·1	96·1	89·6	96·1	92·3
South Glamorgan	93·0	93·0	84·9	94·4	88·3
West Glamorgan	93·1	93·1	83·2	94·4	89·0

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new initiatives the Welsh tourist board will be embarking on in the summer of 1993 to attract visitors to Wales.

The WTB has launched a major new £2·5 million advertising and promotional campaign for 1993–94 as part of its ongoing marketing strategy to support the tourism industry in Wales. This includes television advertisements, campaign posters, direct mailing/response advertising for the autumn, main and spring seasons. In addition to this, the WTB has earmarked nearly £800,000 for campaigns in selected overseas target markets with a much greater emphasis on European database marketing activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on how many people over the age of 65 years live alone in Wales; and how many people aged 65 years or more living alone have suffered from dementia in each of the last five years.

The 1991 census recorded that there were 174,049 persons of pensionable age living alone in Wales. Information on those over the age of 65 years living alone is not available. Information on the number of people aged 65 years or more living alone who have suffered from dementia is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many copies of his Department's report on polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins and furans in the Pontypool environment—the Panteg monitoring project —have been printed; and to whom it has been distributed.

Two hundred. Copies were provided for local Members of Parliament; the Chairman of the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs; the EEC; the regulatory authorities; ReChem International Ltd; Torfaen borough council; property holders in the Panteg area on whose land significant testing had been carried out and the secretary of Mothers and Children against Toxic Waste.The Welsh Office is also making the report available to other interested parties at £25 each.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list all those non-departmental public bodies in Wales, for which he advises on the membership; and if he will list the members so appointed;(2) if he will list the members of all the non-departmental public bodies for which he has responsibility.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 23 March 1993 at columns 549–50, listing current appointments I have made to public bodies in Wales. Information on appointments made by other Government Ministers is contained in "Public Bodies 1992" available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to the report by the Social Security Consortium entitled "The Social Fund: Failing the Poorest", a copy of which has been sent to him; what action he will be taking; and if he will make a statement on the findings of the report.

We have noted the report, which is based on the research we commissioned from York university's social policy research unit—SPRU. We are carefully considering the operation of the social fund in response to the SPRU research, along with a number of other authoritative reports and our own close monitoring of the fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to introduce financial inducements to pensioners and other benefit recipients to obtain their benefits through banks rather than post offices.

We have no such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table listing the number of severe hardship claims made and awards granted for each of the last 12 quarters in each district.

The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the latest available figures for (a) income support recipients, (b) those in receipt of a family premium and (c) those in receipt of lone-parent premiums in the district council areas of Derbyshire.

The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the latest available figures for (a) claimants, (b) adult dependants who are in receipt of income support and (c) the number of children in such households in the district council areas of Derbyshire.

The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals living in the Falkland Islands are currently in receipt of a British state retirement pension; what would be the additional cost of granting them inflation-proofed pensions; and if he will seek to conclude as soon as possible a reciprocal agreement in respect of the Falkland Islands.

[holding answer 5 May 1993]: In December 1991, the latest date for which figures are currently available, 14 people resident in the Falkland Islands were receiving United Kingdom retirement pensions. The additional cost of paying them inflation-proofed pensions would be approximately £11,000 per year, at 1992 rates. However, any concession on indexation for the Falklands would lead inevitably to pressure to treat pensioners living in other countries in the same way. To inflation-proof United Kingdom pensions worldwide, for the 355,000 British pensioners who do not receive index-linked payments, would cost some £275 million a year. We therefore have no plans to conclude a reciprocal agreement with the Falkland Islands.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to revise the legal provisions and the inspections practice of Her Majesty's Customs to keep rabies and other notifiable diseases out of the United Kingdom following the opening of the channel tunnel; and if he will make a statement.

An order will shortly be presented to the House which will provide the legal backing for policing and frontier controls in respect of the channel tunnel. The order will not introduce any new rabies control measures, but will adapt our current procedures at ports of entry around the United Kingdom to the unique physical circumstances of the channel tunnel. Animal health controls at the channel tunnel and its terminals will be just as strict as those presently in force at sea ports and airports. In addition, the channel tunnel concessionaires have established a number of preventive measures to prevent animals entering the tunnel, and more will be put in place once the tunnel is operational.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been commissioned by the Government on the implications of the depletion of the ozone layer for agriculture in the United Kingdom.

The Government will be spending over £0·5 million in 1993–94 on research to examine the effects of ultra-violet-B—UV-B—radiation on agricultural crops. The project sponsors, titles, contractors and estimated costs for 1993–94 are as follows:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether foot and mouth disease was present in any of the countries from which the imported cattle, currently subject to his Ministry's attempts to trace those which have been vaccinated, have originated; how many of the animals imported into the United Kingdom have not yet been traced; and what factors are responsible for the time it is taking to locate the remaining suspect animals.

There have been no confirmed reports of the presence of foot and mouth disease in either the Czech Republic or in Poland in recent years.The vast majority of Czech cattle, for which the tracing exercise began first, have now been located and good progress is being made in tracing the Polish cattle.Some difficulties have been experienced in tracing those animals which have passed through the hands of several owners since they were originally imported. Tracing has also been made more difficult by the keeping of poor movement records by some owners and some retagging of livestock following change of ownership.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date the last consignment of livestock suspected of having been vaccinated against foot and mouth disease was received into the United Kingdom; and after what period of time there is no risk of a latent carrier of the disease transmitting that disease to other animals.

The last consignment of livestock suspected of having been vaccinated against foot and mouth disease—FMD—arrived in this country on 25 March 1993. All imported FMD-seropositive animals have been inspected by the State Veterinary Service. There is no evidence of clinical disease in any of the animals or suggestion that any of the animals are carriers. Studies elsewhere have shown that carrier animals may be the source of subsequent disease outbreaks up to two and a half years after the carrier animal was first infected.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to ensure that any animal slaughtered because of vaccination for foot and mouth will be destroyed and not allowed to enter the food chain.

All animals found to be vaccinated against FMD will be either re-exported or slaughtered. There is no risk to public health from vaccinated animals entering the food chain.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to ensure that farmers who came to be in possession of vaccinated cattle are not made responsible for meeting the direct losses incurred.

The resolution of the problem is a commercial matter and it is for the current owners and importers to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement with the exporter in the country of origin for the animals' re-export or slaughter.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects the working party on naturally occurring toxicants in food to complete its study of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in milk and in herbal remedies; whether the report of that study will be published; and what pyrrolizidine alkaloids the study has so far found in milk samples.

The working party on naturally occurring toxicants in food has completed its study of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in milk. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids were not detected in any of the milk samples taken. A project to study the metabolism of pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in herbal ingredients has recently commenced and is due for completion in 1995. The results of all these studies will be published. Data on pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the herbal remedy comfrey have already been published.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list all payments made to individuals by Government Departments, Government agencies and local authorities which are subject to a means test.

The information requested is not available centrally. The main source of income-related payments is the social security system which provides benefits administered by the Benefits Agency and local authorities. These benefits include income support, family credit, disability working allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit.A number of Departments operate income-related assistance for a variety of special purposes. For example:

To ask the Prime Minister what consideration has been given to the confidentiality guidelines set out in the advice to Ministers manual in relation to the submission by the right hon. Alan Clark, former Minister of State for Defence Procurement, of his diaries to the Cabinet Office for review prior to publication.

Paragraph 19 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" requires former Ministers to submit their memoirs to the Secretary of the Cabinet before publication and to conform to the principles set out in the Radcliffe report of 1976 (Cmnd 6386). In offering comments, the Secretary of the Cabinet takes account of the recommendations in the Radcliffe report about the protection of confidential relationships within Government.

To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to monitor the incidence of kwashiakor, marasmus and malaria in Iraq; and by what mechanism Her Majesty's Government monitor the condition of the Iraqi people.

The United Nations conducted an assessment mission to Iraq in March 1993 which included a survey of the health of the population. As a result, WHO and UNICEF have included programmes to help relieve the situation in the United Nations plan of action. As well as official United Nations reports we also receive independent reports from non-governmental organisations working in Iraq.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 13 May.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 13 May.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the average time to elapse between the offence and the completion of proceedings at magistrates courts for an indictable offence for each of the last 10 years.

I have been asked to reply.Information on the average time taken for indictable cases from offence to completion has been collected centrally only since 1985. Data are published at regular intervals in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin series; issue Nos. 24/89 and 8/93 cover the years 1985 to 1992. Copies are available from the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement as to the sentencing powers of the courts in respect of persistent 10 to 14-year-old offenders.

Courts currently do not have the power to sentence persistent juvenile offenders to custody. I propose to remedy this as soon as possible by introducing a secure training order for 12 to 15-year-olds.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what view he has formed of the effectiveness of current measures to deal with persistent juvenile offenders.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the current measures to deal with persistent juvenile offenders.

I do not consider that the measures currently available to the courts when they have to deal with persistent juvenile offenders are satisfactory. That is why I announced new proposals in my statement to the House on 2 March 1993, at columns 139 to 42.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the numbers of juvenile offenders who come from single-parent families.

I regret that information currently available does not enable that particular assessment to be made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the operation of juvenile attendance centres.

The operation of attendance centres is kept under constant review. We are, however, currently preparing a new national standard which will cover objectives and regimes, revised attendance centre rules and fresh detailed administrative guidance for officers in charge of centres, all of which will be subject to an appropriate process of consultation before they are issued.Home Office circular 72/1992 issued on 28 July 1992 described some of the new arrangements for dealing with young offenders following the full implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, and reminded courts of their powers to make attendance centre orders where young people have defaulted in the payment of fines. This circular listed all the centres available in England and Wales.My Department also produces a periodical publication called "Attendance Centre News" which is circulated to, among others, the officers in charge of the centres, probation and social services and the courts. The most recent edition which was produced in a more accessible and informative style than previous versions was published in September last year. It included articles about the activities undertaken at the centres. A copy of it is available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made as to any link between crime and the economic situation in the United Kingdom.

Work on this subject was covered in the Home Office research study "Trends in crime and their interpretation" published in 1990 and I have no current plans for fresh research into this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made by Devon and Cornwall police in raising the MSV Pescado.

The salvage company contracted to raise the Pescado on behalf of the Devon and Cornwall constabulary hopes to raise the vessel in the very near future.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners of Libyan nationality are now serving life sentences in United Kingdom prisons.

Five prisoners of Libyan nationality are now serving life sentences in United Kingdom prisons.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria will be used by him to select the chairpersons of the new police authorities.

We want businesslike, efficiently run police authorities which are able to monitor police performance locally, to help establish local policing needs and to ensure the delivery of local and national policing objectives. This will require leadership from the police authority. I will select from the overall membership the person who is best able to give that lead.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which five police forces have the highest clear-up rates in England and Wales.

Dyfed-Powys cleared up 53 per cent. in 1992 followed by Gwent with 44 per cent., Merseyside with 42 per cent. and Suffolk and Lincolnshire with 39 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the action taken by his Department to deal with lenient sentences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on legislation relating to appeals against lenient sentences; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply given earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Spring).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he intends to take to increase the numbers of police officers on the streets.

We have increased numbers by 16,500 since 1979. Increasing police strength is not, though, the only way to increase the number of front-line officers. We encourage police authorities to civilianise posts which do not need to be done by police officers, and to ensure that their officers are deployed as effectively as possible. This will allow more police officers to be released for operational duties, rather than having to undertake administrative tasks which can be done by others.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the workings of the Criminal Justice Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

Arrangements were made in advance of the implementation of the Act on 1 October 1991 for its effects to be carefully monitored and evaluated. This process is still ongoing, but my right hon. and learned Friend has already said that it will be necessary to make some changes to the sentencing provisions in part I of the Act and in the arrangements under which the courts operate the unit fine system.

To ask the Secretary of State For the Home Department what steps he is taking to review the workings of the unit fine system; and if he will make a statement.

We have been keeping the operation of the unit fine system under close review since it came into operation on 1 October 1992. We have also received representations about it, most recently from the Magistrates Association of England and Wales. Following its meeting with us on 4 May, the association has issued a bulletin to its members encouraging magistrates to make full use of the discretion already available to them under the system, in setting fine levels. But we have recognised that it will also be necessary to make some changes by way of legislation in areas such as the mechanism for determining unit values, in order to ensure that the scheme operates fairly and in accordance with the original intention. These changes will be introduced as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his assessment of the effectiveness of improved street lighting to combat crime.

Research for the Home Office has shown that improved lighting can reduce crime when introduced as part of a package of crime prevention measures. By itself, better street lighting appears to have no direct effect on crime levels, but it is helpful in reducing the fear of crime and making people feel safer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking to reduce car crime.

Persons bailed by the police, magistrates' courts or Crown court who failed to appear 1981–1991
England and Wales
Thousands and percentages
	Police		Magistrates' courts		Crown Court1
	Number failing to appear	Proportion of those bailed	Number failing to appear	Proportion of those bailed	Number failing to appear	Proportion of those bailed
	Thousands	Per cent.	Thousands	Per cent.	Thousands	Per cent.
1981	22·5	4	13·2	5	3·0	4
1982	22·1	5	13·8	4	3·0	4
1983	25·1	4	12·7	4	2·3	3
1984	18·6	3	14·7	4	3·1	4
1985	17·1	3	15·0	4	3·9	5
1986	18·9	4	15·4	5	4·5	6
1987	25·5	5	18·7	5	5·4	7
1988	28·6	5	21·7	6	6·4	7
1989	32·8	5	22·5	6	6·6	8
1990	39·9	6	31·6	7	7·4	8
1991	42·6	7	32·8	7	8·4	9
1 Includes those bailed by magistrates' on committal who failed to appear at the Crown Court.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier to the hon. Member for Colchester, South and Maldon (Mr. Whittingdale).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made by the Metropolitan police in the latest year for which figures are available for offences arising out of the Obscene Publications Acts.

None. The Obscene Publications Act does not provide the police with a power of arrest.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review laws under which licences are issued for people to hold guns where objections are made to the authorities by next of kin of the applicant; and if he will make a statement.

The Firearms Acts 1968 to 1992 require the chief officer of police to satisfy himself that an applicant for a firearm or shotgun certificate can be permitted to possess a firearm or shotgun without danger to public safety or to the peace. The chief officer may take account of any objections from the applicant's next of kin or anybody else when considering such an application. We have no plans to review this aspect of the law.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many, and what percentage, of defendants bailed by (a) the police, (b) magistrates and (c) the Crown court failed to appear for the last 10 years.

The information requested is given in the table, and published annually in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales", chapter 8.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes were recorded by the police in England and Wales in (a) 1979 and (b) 1992; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many

The requested information is published in table 2.17 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1989" and in table 6 of Home Office statistical bulletin 9/93; copies of both publications are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was (a) the percentage clear-up rate for crime, (b) the authorised police establishment and (c) the total number of crimes reported for each police force in England and Wales for 1992.

[holding answer 29 April 1993]: Information on percentage clear-up rates and the number of recorded offences by police force area for 1992 is contained in tables 4 and 2 respectively of Home Office statistical bulletin 9/93, a copy of which is available in the Library. Figures for the authorised police establishment for 31 December 1992 are contained in the table:

Authorised police establishment as at 31 December 1992
England and Wales 1992
Police force area	Authorised establishment
Avon and Somerset	3,087
Bedfordshire	1,178
Cambridgeshire	1,241
Cheshire	1,920
Cleveland	1,502
Cumbria	1,187
Derbyshire	1,850
Devon and Cornwall	2,928
Dorset	1,302
Durham	1,389
Essex	2,950
Gloucestershire	1,184
Greater Manchester	7,077
Hampshire	3,269
Hertfordshire	1,684
Humberside	2,034
Kent	3,096
Lancashire	3,229
Leicestershire	1,853
Lincolnshire	1,206
London, City of	798
Merseyside	4,706
Metropolitan Police District	28,240
Norfolk	1,446
Northamptonshire	1,190
Northumbria	3,613
North Yorkshire	1,418
Nottinghamshire	2,344
South Yorkshire	3,031
Staffordshire	2,215
Suffolk	1,233
Surrey	1,673
Sussex	3,014
Thames Valley	3,812
Warwickshire	1,020
West Mercia	2,053
West Midlands	6,977

Police force area	Authorised establishment
West Yorkshire	5,295
Wiltshire	1,181
Dyfed-Powys	969
Gwent	1,010
North Wales	1,369
South Wales	3,168
England and Wales	126,941

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will undertake a detailed study of the present and future roles of the police.

My right hon. and learned Friend is currently awaiting the report from Sir Patrick Sheehy, chairman of the inquiry into police responsibilities and rewards. In reaching its recommendations, the inquiry has been considering and taking into account, the results of fact-finding studies into the roles and responsibilities of police officers.