Written Answers

Written Answers To Questions

Friday 11 June 1993

Lord Chancellor's Department

Departmental Buildings

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the buildings currently owned or rented by his Department, together with (a) the estimated value, (b) the annual rent and (c) the annual maintenance cost of each building in the current financial year.

On 1 April 1993, the Lord Chancellor's Department occupied some 512 buildings. These comprise:

Departmental Estate¹		Common User Estate²
Freehold	Leasehold	Freehold	Leasehold
138	95	72	207
¹ Departmental Estate: LCD has full responsibility for maintenance of these buildings and meeting the terms and conditions of any leaseholds, including payment of rent to landlords.
² Common User Estate: The responsibility for meeting the terms and conditions of any leaseholds, including payment of rent to landlords, is with Property Holdings. LCD has some maintenance liability but the extent of this will vary according to the maintenance option appropriate to each building.

Due to the substantial number of buildings occupied, these have not been listed, but a full list is available should the hon. Member require it.Estimated value is not available. To carry out a full valuation would incur disproportionate costs. In common with most other Government Departments, my Department is required to pay annually the full opportunity cost rent to Property Holdings for all properties except those held leasehold on the departmental estate. For the latter, the actual rent due under the terms of the lease is paid direct to landlords. If this is lower than the opportunity cost rent, the balance is payable to Property Holdings. This ensures that we are fully aware of the estimated current market rent of all accommodation occupied. In 1993–94, our opportunity cost rent and actual liability is expected to be some £76 million. We also expect to spend some £l1 million on maintaining our estate.

Education

School Meals

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the level of public expenditure on the school meal service in each year since 1979 in cash and real terms.

Expenditure on school meals by local education authorities in England is given in the table.

LEA expenditure on school meals 1979–80–1991–92
	Expenditure (Cash) (£ million)	Expenditure (1992–93 prices)(£ million)
1979–80	422	1,012
1980–81	397	804
1981–82	396	732
1982–83	411	709
1983–84	426	702
1984–85	428	671
1985–86	436	649
1986–87	457	659
1987–88	443	605
1988–89	376	479
1989–90	379	453
1990–91	384	425
1991–92	407	421

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table showing the latest figures for the number and proportion of children receiving school meals broken down into (a) paid and (b) free in each region of England.

The information requested is shown in the table.

School meal arrangements of day-pupils in maintained schools in the regions of England— January 1992
	Pupils taking school meals		As a percentage of day-pupils on roll
Region	Free	Paid	Free	Paid
North	88,783	175,948	18	35
Yorkshire and Humberside	120,243	270,394	15	35
North West	191,352	297,469	19	29
East Midlands	68,415	185,960	11	30
West Midlands	133,311	230,581	16	28
East Anglia	27,657	71,976	9	25
Greater London	169,787	242,166	18	26
Other South East	134,528	398,334	9	27
South West	68,272	154,970	11	24
England	1,001,968	2,027,798	14	28

Drug And Alcohol Advisers

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many health education co-ordinators advising on drugs and alcohol have been funded by his Department in Cheshire since 1979;(2) how many health education co-ordinators advising on drugs and alcohol have been funded by his Department in the whole of the United Kingdom since 1979.

The Department made education support grant to local education authorities in England for drug education from 1986–87 to 1989–90, and for preventive health education from 1990–91 to 1992–93. During that seven-year period, most LEAs, including Cheshire, used the grant to employ at least one drug or health education co-ordinator.

Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total amount of expenditure on services within the responsibility of his Department in (a) England, (b) Greater London and (c) the south-east, excluding Greater London, for each year since 1982–83 and his estimate for 1992–93, distinguishing between current and capital expenditure and excluding local authority credit approvals/capital allocations.

The information is not wholly available in the form requested. For part (a), table A gives details of central and local government expenditure on education in England since 1982–83. For parts (b) and (c), figures are readily available for local authority expenditure by region only from 1989–90: these are shown in table B. It is not possible to estimate the proportion of central Government expenditure relating to these regions.

Table A
Total Expenditure on Education in England (£m) (cash)
	Central Government		Local Government
	Recurrent	Capital	Recurrent	Capital
1982–83	1,588	161	10,279	456
1983–84	1,657	157	10,826	469
1984–85	1,713	170	11,266	501
1985–86	1,784	191	11,642	530
1986–87	1,851	202	12,912	577
1987–88	1,835	206	14,173	604
1988–89	2,007	238	15,212	777
1989–90	3,100	367	15,887	903
1990–91	3,205	394	17,302	813
1991–92	3,065	489	19,850	793
¹1992–93	3,315	513	21,674	940
¹ (estimates)

Notes to Table A

Central Government

1. Figures include grants for universities in Great Britain distributed by the University Grants Committee (up to 1988–89) and the Universities Funding Council. Other figures are for England only.

2. Figures exclude expenditure on mandatory awards and specific grants, which appear in the Local Government column.

Local Government

3. Figures for 1991–92 and 1992–93 are taken from local authority RA returns as submitted in 1991–92.

4. Figures include some spending financed by grants which are the responsibility of other Government Departments-TVEI, work-related FE. Figures also include receipts from PCFC and mandatory awards. Figures for mandatory awards include expenditure in Wales.

5. Figures for 1990–91 exclude £366 million in unspent balances held by schools under LMS schemes.

6. Figures for capital are gross capital spending and include schools, FE and Youth and other educational services.

Table B
Total local authority expenditure on education (£ million) (cash)
	Greater London²		South East (excluding Greater London)
	Recurrent	Capital	Recurrent	Capital
1989–90	2,576	195	3,082	199
1990–91	2,713	192	3,415	177
1991–92¹	3,049	143	3,873	167

Notes to Table B

¹ Figures for recurrent are net recurrent expenditure, which includes total expenditure other than capital financing charges, less income other than from Government grants. Figures are drawn from local authority revenue outturn reports and therefore those for 1991–92 are not directly comparable with the corresponding figures in Table A.

² "Greater London" consists of the 13 inner London LEAs (ILEA for 1989–90) and the 20 outer London LEAs. "South East" consists of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex LEAs.

Education Authority Staff

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) officers and (b) other persons are employed by each education authority in England and Wales.

[pursuant to his reply, 8 June 1993, c. 206.]: Tables showing the number of teachers and lecturers and of other staff employed in the education service of each local authority have been placed in the Library. These have been compiled by the Local Government Management Board from the March 1992 joint staffing watch return, and cover all staff in the LEA-maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector, special and further education, and central administration.

Wales

Welsh Language Board

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the terms of reference, remuneration, length of appointment and working hours of the chairman-designate of the Welsh Language Board.

Subject to Parliament's approval of the Welsh Language Bill, Lord Elis-Thomas will be appointed chairman for a three-year term beginning on the date on which the board is established. His work as chairman will involve a time commitment of two days a week and remuneration of £20,544. I will, in due course, issue the board and its chairman with broad strategic guidance based on the framework which the Welsh Language Bill establishes.

Urban Investment Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all projects in receipt of urban investment grant in each of the past eight quarterly periods, the amount of grant given and the value of the development, the estimated jobs to be created and the business names and addresses of the companies making the application.

A list of all projects in receipt of urban investment grant in the last eight quarterly periods and the amount of grant given is set out in table 1, together with a list in table 2 giving the name of the developer, total amount of grant approved, private sector investment and estimated jobs to be created. The addresses of the applicants have not been included, as it is not the Department's policy to divulge such information.

Table 1
Quarter and project	Grant paid £
April—June 1991
Foundry Road, Hirwaun	5,319
Mount Street, Bangor	5,046
Rhondda Heritage Park Hotel, Trehafod	83,944
Capel Bethlehem, Merthyr Tydfil	33,478
Ystrad Road, Pentre	37,500
Tredegar Town Centre	184,417
Brynteg Chapel, Abertillery	6,865
Helliwell's Factory, Aberdare	340,000
July—September 1991
Capel Bethlehem, Merthyr Tydfil	21,044
Tredegar Town Centre	241,493
Ystrad Road, Pentre	22,500

Quarter and project	Grant paid £
Helliwell's Factory, Aberdare	40,000
Mill Street, Tonyrefail	26,528
Foundry Road, Hirwaun	31,915
Rhondda Heritage Park Hotel, Trehafod	172,622
Oaklands Business Park, Ferndale	93,999
Wenallt Park, Treharris	19,250
October—December 1991
Helliwell's Factory, Aberdare	20,000
Tredegar Town Centre	131,276
Rhondda Heritage Park Hotel, Trehafod	188,312
January—March 1992
Capel Bethlehem, Merthyr Tydfil	22,000
Tredegar Town Centre	220,016
Wenallt Park, Treharris	18,983
Goat Mill Road, Dowlais	300,000
Cross Street, Treharris	5,000
Quay West, Swansea	223,197
St. David's Church, Aberdare	23,505
Llewellyn's Quay, Port Talbot	82,873
April—June 1992
Mount Street, Bangor	22,875
Tredegar Town Centre	47,614
Brynteg Chapel, Abertillery	889
Llewellyn's Quay, Port Talbot	12,127
Cross Street, Treharris	5,000
St. David's Church, Aberdare	19,495

Table 2
Project	Developer	Grant £ million	Private investment £ million	Forecast permanent jobs
Foundry road, Hirwaun	Eastbrook Developments	0·250	1·668	—
Mount street, Bangor	Llanrhos Property Company Ltd.	0·066	0·343	—
Rhondda Heritage Park Hotel, Trehafod	Celtic Bay Hotels Ltd.	0·625	1·710	35
Capel Bethleham	Bailey Homes plc	0·220	1·853	—
Ystrad road, Pentre	Checkdial Ltd.	0·150	0·323	45
Tredegar town centre	Amodeo Scott Development Company Ltd.	3·500	6·860	136
Brynteg Chapel, Abertillery	Quality Property Development Company Ltd.	0·025	0·170	—
Helliwell's Factory, Aberdare	Barry Dock Marine Services Ltd.	0·400	1·538	500
Mill street, Tonyrefail	Corlan Housing Association	0·075	0·396	—
Oaklands Business Park, Ferndale	Berkley and Hay Hill plc	0·940	1·475	214
Wenallt park, Treharris	Luteteam Ltd.	0·077	0·567	—
Goat Mill road, Dowlais	Bream valley Estates Ltd.	0·315	0·745	60
Cross street, Treharris	Arrow Builders	0·130	1·066	—
Quay West, Swansea	Quay Parade Ltd.	0·500	4·440	150
St. David's Church, Aberdare	Da vies Brothers	0·043	0·140	15
Llewellyn's Quay, Port Talbot	Comfort House Investments Ltd.	0·175	0·682	120
Old Bus Station, Merthyr Tydfil	Redrow Homes (South Wales) Ltd.	0·250	2·912	—
Warwill's Foundry, Abertillery	Hawkswood Properties Ltd.	0·150	1·319	80
Cardiff road, Aberaman	Beazer Urban Developments (Wales and West)	0·328	1·614	—
Clase road, Morriston	Castle Leisure Ltd.	0·200	2·392	80
Cromwell Service Station, Newport	Sinclair Garages	0·245	1·052	33
King Street, Mold	MPH (North Wales) Ltd. Davies Homes Ltd.	0·070	0·383	16
Gelliwastad Grove, Pontypridd	Investments Ltd.	0·130	0·303	58
Blaenant Business Park	Short Brothers	0·025	0·158	16
Letchworth road, Ebbw Vale	Barakat Property Developers	0·084	1·172	—
Harold Wilson Industrial Estate, Caerphilly	G. A. Spacey (Management Services) Ltd.	0·136	0·545	50

School Transport

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to review safety practices for school transport.

It is the responsibility of school authorities to satisfy themselves that the school transport operatives with whom they contract maintain and operate

Quarter and project	Grant paid £
July—September 1992
Cross Street, Treharris	10,000
Tredegar Town Centre	105,887
Quay West, Swansea	57,361
Wenallt Park, Treharris	19,250
October—December 1992
Tredegar Town Centre	62,546
Old Bus Station, Merthyr Tydfil	58,608
Quay West, Swansea	80,176
Warwill's Foundry, Abertillery	112,805
Cardiff Road, Aberaman	56,015
January—March 1993
Clase Road, Morriston	159,695
Old Bus Station, Merthyr Tydfil	23,573
Cardiff Road, Aberaman	82,739
Cromwell Service Station, Newport	169,286
King Street, Mold	56,828
Tredegar Town Centre	48,432
Gelliwastad Grove, Pontypridd	68,365
Quay West, Swansea	89,267
Warwill's Foundry, Abertillery	37,195
Blaenant Business Park	25,000
Brynteg Chapel, Abertillery	1,837
Letchworth Road, Ebbw Vale	18,000
Harold Wilson Industrial Estate, Caerphilly	90,924
Wenallt Park, Treharris	11,550

their vehicles safely. Nevertheless, the Government are concerned to improve the safety of children travelling on school transport and continually seeks ways to ensure their safety. In particular, regulations are to be introduced shortly to require certain buses, carrying children to and from school, to display a distinctive warning sign. In addition, the Government are pressing the European Community to require seat belts to be fitted to all seats on new coaches and minibuses.

Social Security

Child Support

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many maintenance assessment forms have been issued by the Child Support Agency since 5 April; how many completed forms have been returned to the agency; and how many maintenance assessments have been calculated and put into operation.

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Mrs. Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Barry Jones, dated 10 June 1993:

As Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many maintenance assessment forms have been issued by the Agency since 5 April, how many completed forms have been returned to the Agency and how many maintenance assessments have been calculated and put into action.

It is as yet very early days in the setting up of the Agency but we do have reliable figures for the month of April which, allowing for the Easter break, covered the Agency's first 17 working days. For that period, from 5 April to 30 April, more than 45,000 Maintenance Application Forms were issued and over 19,000 completed forms were returned. Twenty-five maintenance assessments were calculated and the parents notified.

The process of assessing maintenance under the Child Support Act of its nature takes some time, as it involves first the parent with care completing a form (the Maintenance Assessment Form) to enable the absent parent to be traced and sent a second form (the Maintenance Enquiry Form) for completion. Both forms need to be checked for accuracy before a computer assessment can be made.

In a straightforward case, when both parents reply quickly and fully and supply all the necessary information, we have estimated that it will take 6–8 weeks from the date of application to assess the maintenance which is payable. Many cases are not straightforward, however, and further enquiries are necessary from either or both parents. This lengthens clearance times but I am confident the Agency has got off to a successful start.

I hope this reply is useful. It will be published in the Official Record and a copy placed in the Library.

Social Security Tribunal

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give his reasons for exercising his power under regulation 37 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 not to carry out a decision of the social security tribunal in the case of a Woolwich constituent, NI. No. NA 46 48 05 A.

The administration of family credit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. John Austin-Walker, dated 11 June 1993:

As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking if he will give his reasons for exercising his power under Regulation 37 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 not to carry out a decision of the Social Security Tribunal in the case of a Woolwich constituent, NI No. NA 46 48 05 A.

As you will be aware, your constituent made a claim to Family Credit on 25 February 1992 which was subsequently disallowed by the Adjudication Officer, and was the subject of three independent tribunal hearings between 29 July 1992 and 7 April 1993; the result of which was that the Tribunal ruled that your constituent was to be treated as an agent of the Post Office. This was contrary to a Commissioner's Decision (RFC 1/93) which ruled that sub-postmasters are to be treated as employees of the Post Office. The Adjudication Officer considered that the Tribunal had erred in law by not taking account of the Commissioner's decision and therefore exercised his right under Regulation 37 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 by seeking further advice from the office of the Central Adjudication Services with a view to ascertaining if any aspects of the Tribunal decision could give rise to a further appeal to the Commissioner. In this case however, the Central Adjudication Services (CAS) considered that the Tribunal had erred in law, but that the circumstances of the case were the same as the existing Commissioner's Decision and there was therefore no need to seek further leave to appeal, and the Tribunal decision is to be implemented. I shall write to you separately and in greater detail about this matter.

I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

Disability Working Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will provide a breakdown by number and percentage of the total number of (a) initial and (b) renewal claims for disability working allowance received by his Department that were refused on the grounds that (i) the claimant was not in remunerative work, (ii) the claimant's income was above the limit, (iii) the claimant was not in receipt of a qualifying benefit, (iv) the claimant was receiving family credit, (v) the joint income of the claimant and his or her partner exceeded the limit, (vi) the claimant was working less than 16 hours a week and (vii) for other reasons;(2) how many people are currently getting the disability working allowance; and if he will break this total down by

(a) average age, (b) sex, (c) marital status, (d) average hourly earnings, (e) average hours worked, (f) householder status and (g) qualifying benefit.

The administration of disability working allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 11 June 1993:

As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking (1) if he will provide a breakdown by number and percentage of the total number of (a) initial and (b) renewal claims for disability working allowance received by his Department that were refused on the grounds that (i) the claimant was not in remunerative work, (ii) the claimant's income was above the limit, (iii) the claimant was not in receipt of a qualifying benefit, (iv) the claimant was receiving family credit, (v) the joint income of the claimant and his or her partner exceeded the limit, (vi) the claimant was working less than 16 hours a week and (vii) for other reasons; and (2) how many people are currently getting the disability working allowance; and if he will break this total down by (a) average age, (b) sex, (c) marital status, (d) average hourly earnings, (e) average hours worked, (f) householder status and (g) qualifying benefit.

In answer to your first question the majority of the information is routinely placed in the Library with the exception of that relating to persons receiving Family Credit (FC) which is detailed below.

	Total of disallowed applications to Disability Working Allowance (DWA)	Number disallowed because customer receiving Family Credit (FC) expressed as percentage of total
New claims	21,375	583 (2·7)
Renewals	325	0
Others	938	11 (1·2)
All figures are as at 26 March 1993.

In answer to your second question the information is as follows with the exception of householder status which is not routinely recorded.

^* Average age = 37
^* Sex (i) Male =1,557, (ii) Female = 1,150
^* Marital Status (i) Couples = 1,048, (ii) Single = 1,659
^* Average hourly earnings =£2–84
^* Average hours worked = 29
^* Qualifying Benefit:

Higher Rate Disability Living Allowance (DLA)/ Analogous Benefits = 1,508
Lower Rate DLA = 359
Invalidity Benefit =446
Severe Disablement Allowance= 146
Disability Premium in Income Support = 196
Disability Premium in Housing Benefit = 13
Disability Premium in Community Charge Benefit = 39 All cases = 2,707

All figures are as at 30 April 1993.

I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many staff have been allocated to the home visiting service; and how many home visits have been made to date by Benefits Agency staff in connection with claims for disability living allowance or attendance allowance received on or after 3 February 1992 by each disability benefit centre and in total;(2) how many people who claimed disability living allowance or attendance allowance on or after 3 February 1992 had still not heard the outcome of their claim by 1 April.

The administration of disability living allowance and attendance allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 11 June 1993:

As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking (i) how many staff have been allocated to the Home Visiting Service; and how many visits have been made to date by Benefits Agency staff in connection with claims for disability living allowance or attendance allowance received on or after 3 February 1992 by each disability benefit centre and in total, and (ii) how many people who claimed disability living allowance or attendance allowance on or after the 3 February had still not heard the outcome of their claim by 1 April.

Firstly, I should explain that the staff on the Customer Service Sections in the Disability Benefit Centres (DBCs) are involved in general duties to help customers, including forms completion work for both benefits. This may involve telephoning the customer to help in completing a claim form or it may involve a visit. Currently there are around 170 staff working on the Customer Service sections in the DBCs. Since February 1992 to date 5,085 home visits have been made to assist in the completion of claim forms. We are unable to provide a breakdown between DLA and AA65 +. The breakdown between DBCs is shown in Annex 1.

The number of DLA and AA claims outstanding at 31 March 1993 is shown below. This information also includes special Rules claims. I have also included the number of DLA and AA claims outstanding at 31 May 1993, which you may find helpful.

	31 March	31 May
DLA New Claims	32,662	28,050
DLA Top Up Claims	9,615	1,869
AA New Claims	38,725	29,657
Total	¹81,002	59,576
¹This figure represents approximately 4 weeks intake of DLA and AA claims

I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.

DBC	Number of visit
Edinburgh and Glasgow	215
Newcastle	429
Leeds	817
Manchester	144
Bootle	1,375
Birmingham	940
Bristol	165
Cardiff	37
Wembley	344
Sutton	619
Total	5,085

Figures supplied by Edinburgh DBC include visits carried out by Glasgow DBC which was established at the end of January 1993.

Occupational Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average value of an occupational pension in 1979 and in the latest year for which figures are available.

It is estimated that, at 1989 prices, the average value of occupational pensions was, £37·50 per week in 1979, and £55 per week in 1989, the latest year for which figures are available. The estimates are based on the 1979 and 1989 family expenditure surveys.

Family Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress is being made with the review of the provisions governing family credit claims by self-employed persons; and if he will make a statement.

The social policy research unit expects to publish its report on the assessment of self-employed earnings for the purpose of family credit claims in the summer.

Northern Ireland

Population Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the latest estimates of those aged 17 years and over, plus 63 per cent. of those aged 16 years and over, for each district council area and parliamentary

District Council area	Column 1 Estimated population aged 17 and over plus 63 per cent. of 16 year olds¹	Column 2 Registered electors²	Column 2 as a percentage of Column 1
Antrim	33,559	30,227	90·1
Ards	49,489	49,089	99·2
Armagh	37,242	36,222	97·3
Ballymena	42,833	42,091	98·3
Ballymoney	17,897	17,610	98·4
Banbridge	24,910	24,891	99·9
Belfast	218,276	209,126	95·8
Carrickfergus	25,131	24,527	97·6
Castlereagh	45,241	47,505	105·0
Coleraine	38,757	37,138	95·8
Cookstown	21,628	21,637	100·0
Craigavon	55,330	54,520	98·5
Derry	66,013	63,309	95·9
Down	42,460	40,656	95·8
Dungannon	31,986	32,354	101·2
Fermanagh	39,121	39,112	99·9
Larne	22,769	22,318	98·0
Limavedy	20,903	19,282	92·2
Lisburn	73,949	69,472	93·4
Magherafelt	25,477	25,611	100·5
Moyle	10,822	10,509	97·1
Newry and Mourne	58,212	58,207	99·9
Newtownabbey	56,638	55,155	97·4
North Down	56,257	54,464	96·8
Omagh	32,430	30,973	95·5
Strabane	25,044	25,319	101·1
TOTAL	1,172,374	1,141,324	97·4
¹Derived from provisional 1991 mid-year estimates.
² 1992–93 Register, qualifying date 15 September 1991.

Rural Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will refer to the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and to education and library boards the research review, "Small Rural Primary Schools", which was commissioned by the Rural Development Council; and if the Department of Education, Northern Ireland will be making a formal and considered response.

Copies of the report have been received by the Department and by the education and library boards. The Department is examining the report and will take it into account as part of its wider review of the pattern of school provision.

School Pupils

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many pupils are at each of (a) the primary and (b) the secondary schools in the constituency, together in each case with the equivalent year's electoral registration figures, also expressed as a percentage of these population figures.

The information requested, in respect of district council areas, is set out in the table. Final mid-year population estimates for 1991 and 1992 will be available in the autumn. Mid-year population estimates provide information only to district council level. It is not possible to provide corresponding information at parliamentary constituency level.constituency of Newry and Armagh in (i) the maintained, (ii) the controlled and (iii) the integrated sectors of education in respect of the year 1992–93;(2) how many pupils are at each of

(a) the primary and (b) the secondary schools in the constituency of Strangford in (i) the maintained, (ii) the controlled and (iii) the integrated sectors of education in respect of the year 1992–93.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my letter to him dated 4 June 1993 which contains the latest information available on schools enrolments in these two constituencies.

School Meals

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table showing the number and proportion of children receiving school meals broken down into (a) paid and (b) free in (i) primary schools, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) special schools in each year since 1987–88.

The information is set out in the table.

School meals service
Northern Ireland
Number of pupils receiving school meals in the primary, secondary and special sector
	Primary (including nursery)				Secondary (including grammar)				Special
Year	Pupils present	Pupils taking meals	Paid Pupils meals	Free pupil meals	Pupils present	Pupils taking meals	Paid Pupils meals	Free pupil meals	Pupils present	Pupils taking meals	Paid Pupils meals	Free pupil meals
1987–88	176,578	89,048	29,894	59,154	137,480	67,691	31,900	35,791	3,375	3,241	0	3,241
1988–89	178,409	78,525	35,311	43,214	136,918	65,220	39,379	25,841	3,286	3,253	0	3,253
1989–90	179,853	81,768	37,007	44,761	135,163	64,253	39,009	25,244	3,400	3,385	0	3,385
1990–91	178,999	88,690	41,388	47,302	132,525	66,271	41,034	25,237	3,568	3,518	0	3,518
1991–92	178,786	89,815	41,156	48,659	133,847	68,080	39,824	28,256	3,709	3,680	0	3,680

School meals service
Northern Ireland
Number of pupils receiving school meals in the primary, secondary and special sector
	Primary (including nursery)				Secondary (including grammar)				Special
Year	Pupils present	Pupils taking meals	Paid Pupils meals	Free pupil meals	Pupils present	Pupils taking meals	Paid Pupils meals	Free pupil meals	Pupils present	Pupils taking meals	Paid Pupils meals	Free pupil meals
Year	Number	² Per cent.	² Per cent.	² Per cent.	Number	² Per cent.	² Per cent.	² Per cent.	Number	² Per cent.	² Per cent.	² Per cent.
1987–88	176,578	50	34	66	137,480	49	47	53	3,375	96	0	100
1988–89	178,409	44	45	55	136,918	48	60	40	3,286	99	0	100
1989–90	179,853	45	45	55	135,163	48	61	39	3,400	100	0	100
1990–91	178,999	50	47	53	132,525	50	62	38	3,568	99	0	100
1991–92	178,786	50	46	54	133,847	51	58	42	3,709	99	0	100
¹ Proportion taking meals.
² Percentage of pupils taking meals.

Northern Ireland Electricity

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will give global figures for the cost of the flotation of Northern Ireland Electricity; and if he will make a statement;(2) how much the Department of Economic Development spent on privatising Northern Ireland Electricity.

The cost of the flotation of Northern Ireland Electricity will be reported to Parliament in the usual way once the sale is complete.

Environment

Social Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will establish a working group to investigate the potential for channelling further private finance into social housing projects and the monitoring of such investment.

Making use of private finance is an important element in our housing programmes. Our objective has been to increase the proportion of private funding in order to obtain the maximum benefit from the public resources available. For example, housing associations, which are the main providers of new social housing, are required to raise part of their development funds from the private rented sector. Around £2·5 million in private finance has been raised by housing associations since 1988; and it is hoped that a further £3 billion will be raised over the four years from 1992–93.In addition, some £1·5 billion of private finance has been raised as a result of the large scale transfer of local authority properties to housing associations. This finance is being used to improve existing stock, to repay debt, and to develop new social housing. Other programmes, such as estate action, housing action trusts and city challenge, aim to foster public and private co-operation in the regeneration of urban areas.We continue to encourage investment in the rented sector and to consider how to maximise the use of private sector funding and expertise in meeting housing need.

City Challenge

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to enabling winners of city challenge to spend their allocated total budget over five years according to need and the progress of schemes rather than in five equal annual amounts.

City challenge expenditure is subject to the annuality rules applied to all funds voted by Parliament under the Appropriation Act.The Department makes every effort to manage city challenge resources flexibly to accommodate the difficulties that may be faced by partnerships in matching progress on the ground exactly to their annual £7·5 million funding allocations. Reserve programmes are approved annually in order to accommodate slippage. Underspends which emerge in the year are offset wherever possible by expediting programmes in other city challenge areas. We are considering whether further flexibility is possible.

Ordnance Survey

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list by location the Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars that are still waiting to be adopted;(2) what criteria he has laid down before organisations and members of the public can adopt Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars; how they go about adopting them; what is the cost of adoption per pillar; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for this subject has been delegated to the executive agency. I have asked Professor Rhind, chief executive for Ordnance Survey, to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Professor David Rhind to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 9 June 1993:

I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the Ordnance Survey scheme for adopting triangulation (trig) pillars.

The criteria we have adopted, providing the landowner's agreement can be obtained, are:

the first person or organisation to lodge an application for the adoption of a particular pillar will be permitted to do so, subject to various conditions (see below);
the applicant must agree to the terms of a Code of Practice drawn up for the purpose (copy enclosed);
the applicant must sign a memorandum of agreement with both Ordnance Survey and the landowner (copy enclosed).

Anyone wishing to adopt a particular trig pillar simply has to write to Ordnance Survey registering an interest. Ordnance Survey will respond enclosing a copy of "Guide to Adopting a Trig Pillar" (copy enclosed) and, on receipt of the applicant's confirmation of a wish to proceed, will initiate action to obtain the landowner's agreement, leading to the signing of the memorandum of agreement. Although Ordnance Survey incurs some administration cost, the process is free to the applicant.

When I wrote to you on 27 October 1992 the scheme had only recently been introduced. It is proving to be quite time-consuming to make the necessary arrangements with both landowners and applicants and, at the time of writing, no adoptions have been completed. However, we have made 1,983 provisional allocations (out of a total of 4,904 available) and expect to finalise many of these in the next few weeks. There remain available some 2,920 pillars but this number is reducing slowly on a day-by-day basis. A list of those pillars still available will therefore be a very long one and I should be grateful if you would confirm that you would like a complete listing before I arrange for its preparation.

Sellafield Discharges

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Nordic Environment Ministers regarding proposals to increase permitted discharge levels from the Sellafield nuclear plant; and if he will make a statement.

I have received representations on this matter from the Swedish Environment Minister, in his capacity of the chairman of the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the Danish Environment Minister.

Thorp

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has regarding representations made to the Paris Commission on the proposed operation of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield; and if he will make a statement.

I have received information on a number of such representations.

Sizewell B

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he is making for ministerial decisions relating to Sizewell B power station.

Sizewell B is in my constituency, and I have accordingly delegated responsibility for all minis-terial decisions to my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Planning.

Minis 14 Documents

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish his Department's MINIS 14 documents.

I am today publishing MINIS 14 and a set has been placed in the Library.

Small Cetaceans

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific steps his Department has taken, or intends to take, to conserve and manage the habitat of small cetaceans, in line with the United Kingdom's commitments under the annex to the 1992 agreement on the conservation of small cetaceans of the Baltic and North seas; and what steps he is taking to prevent acoustic disturbance.

[holding answer 7 June 1993]: The Government strongly support the agreement. The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to sign it last year and although the agreement is not yet in force, we have already agreed to apply its principles in all British waters.Cetaceans already receive considerable protection in British waters under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. A number of other initiatives are also under way which contribute to the conservation of small cetaceans. These include controls of discharges into the sea; restrictions on exploration activity at sea; research into ways of enhancing the acoustic detectability of fishing nets to reduce by-catches, and research funded by my Department for recording cetaceans stranded on the British coast and investigating causes of death.The new agreement contains provisions to encourage joint research. In considering whether further conservation measures are necessary it is essential that we learn more about the abundance and distribution of the various species of small cetaceans present in European waters. For that reason, the Government announced last year that we would provide £110,000 towards a major survey of small cetaceans in the North sea, including the channel. The project is led by the sea mammal research unit—SMRU—based in Cambridge. The EC and several other range states are also providing resources and the survey is due to be conducted next year.The SMRU is also to chair a working group on acoustic disturbance to small cetaceans. This has been established by my Department under the arrangements for the implementation of the new agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the United Kingdom Government expect to ratify the agreement on the small cetaceans of the Baltic and North seas signed in New York on 17 March 1992.

[holding answer 11 June 1993]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently preparing an instrument of ratification for the agreement and will be depositing it with the United Nations shortly.

Employment

Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the practice of declaring staff in the counselling service surplus to requirements; what plans there are to make the policy uniform throughout the United Kingdom; what is the long-term situation for those staff who have been declared surplus; and what effect this will have on the career structure within the Employment Service;(2) if he will make a statement on the prospect of redundancies occurring within the Employment Service within the next 12 months;(3) whether the present treatment of surplus staff in the Glasgow and Tayside and Fife region is a national pilot project;(4) what plans he has for the enhancement of early retirement within the Employment Service.

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from D. B. Price to Mr. Ian Davidson, dated 11 June 1993:

As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, it is the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the Agency's Chief Executive to answer Parliamentary Questions about relevant operational matters. In his absence, I am replying to your questions to the Secretary of State about:

—surplus personnel in the Employment Service;
—what plans exist for redundancies;
—whether the present treatment of staff in Glasgow and Tayside and Fife is a national pilot and
—what plans there are for enhancements to early retirement.

Certain aspects of advisory work in the Employment Service are being regraded resulting in a temporary surplus of staff at Executive Officer grade. In common with current policy operated by the Department of Employment every effort will be made to redeploy these and any other staff. This may include offering people throughout the organisation the opportunity to apply for voluntary early retirement on enhanced terms. In the meantime, dependent upon local circumstances, some may be asked to do the work of more junior grades on a temporary basis. The deployment of these people is likely to have the effect of slowing down promotion opportunities in some places. There are no plans currently for redundancies in the Employment Service.

As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the proposed effect of the Phillips review on the present surplus situation in the Employment Service.

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from D. B. Price to Mr. Ian Davidson, dated 11 June 1993:

As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, it is the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the Agency's Chief Executive to answer Parliamentary Questions about relevant operational matters. In his absence, I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State about the effect of Phillip's Review on surpluses within the Employment Service.

The Phillip's review of the Employment Service organisational structure was undertaken to identify ways of sharpening the management of Employment Service performance and further increasing the value for money it achieves in delivering its surpluses, if any, would result from implementing its recommendations.

As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to Written Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

Counselling Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on service to the unemployed of cuts in the grading of the counselling service and changes in the time taken to interview clients;(2) what proposals he has to enhance the counselling service supplied to the unemployed;(3) what policy considerations underlay his predecessors decision to regrade the counselling service in the Employment Service and to institute a two-tier service.

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from D. B. Price to Mr. Ian Davidson, dated 11 June 1993:

As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, it is the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the Agency's Chief Executive to answer Parliamentary Questions about relevant operational matters. In his absence I am replying to your questions to the Secretary of State about:

what assessment she has made of the effect on service to the unemployed of cuts in the grading of the Counselling Service and changes in the time taken to interview clients;
what proposals she has to enhance the Counselling Service supplied to the unemployed and what policy considerations underlay her decision to regrade the Counselling Service in the Employment Service and to institute a two tier service.

Ever since the Restart programme of advisory interviews was first introduced in 1986 we have continually developed and enhanced the service we offer to our clients. As part of this process of enhancing our advisory services, we took a policy decision that, as from April 1993, the people who provide these services in our local offices should be re-organised into Back To Work Teams. These teams are made up of a mixture of people, at Executive Officer and Administrativeon Officer levels. Adopting this approach means that we are now able to offer clients different levels of interview according to their needs. For some clients basic advice will meet those needs but for the others, where the initial interview uncovers deeper issues or where the client asks for more help, we will be able to offer in depth advisory interviews. In addition we have ensured that all clients will receive a full diagnostic interview at two key points in their period of unemployment; namely six months and one year. Back To Work teams will also help us provide a more coherent service. This is because clients will see a member of the same team at all their advisory and signing visits and we will make sure that these contacts build on one another. Each member of a team will be able to provide clients with relevant information and advice about their benefit claim and the jobs and programme opportunities available locally.

For these reasons we consider Back To Work teams represent the most cost effective way of providing all our clients with a comprehensive range of advisory services tailored to their needs, while allowing the Employment Service to live within its financial means.

We will be assessing the effectiveness of Back To Work teams throughout the year and will take whatever action to further enhance them as necessary. You may be encouraged to know that early indications from our local office people are that our clients have reacted well to the service they are receiving under the new arrangements.

I hope that this is helpful.

As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Employment what assessment he has made of disparities in the policy within the Scottish region on regrading of the counselling service in the Employment Service.

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from D. B. Price to Mr. Ian Davidson, dated 11 June 1993:

As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, it is the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the Agency's Chief Executive to answer Parliamentary Questions about relevant operational matters. In his absence, I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State about what assessment she has made of disparities in the policy within the Scottish Region on regarding of the Counselling Service in the Employment Service.

Changes to our advisory services in Scotland have been on the same lines as those in England and Wales. Ever since the Restart Programme of advisory interviews was first introduced in 1986 we have continually developed and enhanced the service we offer to our clients. As part of this process of enhancing our advisory services, we took a policy decision that, as from April 1993, the people who provide these services in our local offices should be re-organised into Back To Work Teams. These teams are made up of a mixture of people, at Executive Officer and Administrative Officer levels. Adopting this approach means that we arc now able to offer clients different levels of interview according to their needs. For some clients basic advice will meet those needs but for the others, where the initial interview uncovers deeper issues or where the client asks for more help, we will be able to offer in depth advisory interviews. In addition we have ensured that all clients will receive a full diagnostic interview at two key points in their period of unemployment; namely six months and one year. Back To Work teams will also help us provide a more coherent service. This is because clients will see a member of the same team at all their advisory and signing visits and we will make sure that these contacts build on one another. Each member of a team will be able to provide clients with relevant information and advice about their benefit claim and the jobs and programme opportunities available locally.

For these reasons we consider Back To Work teams represent the most cost effective way of providing all our clients with a comprehensive range of advisory services tailored to their needs, while allowing the Employment Service to live within its financial means.

We will be assessing the effectiveness of Back To Work teams throughout the year and will take whatever action to further enhance them as necessary. You may be encouraged to know that early indications from our local office people are that our clients have reacted well to the service they are receiving under the new arrangements.

Regarding the arrangements which have been made in Scotland I should explain that it is an important aspect of our way of working that local managers should have flexibility, within our national framework, to vary their organisation in line with local circumstances. If you have a specific issue about the arrangements in Scotland please contact me or our Director for Scotland, Mr. Alan Brown. His address is Employment Service Regional Office for Scotland, Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9SD telephone, 031 229 9191.

I hope this is helpful.

As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

Market Testing

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost to date and the expected future cost of his Department's market-testing programme; how many staff are engaged full-time in work relating to market testing; which firms of consultants have been used in connection with the market-testing programme; and how they were selected.

[holding answer 7 June 1993]: The Employment Department group's market-testing programme is being developed within existing resources.It is not possible at this stage to given an estimate of likely savings from the Department's market testing programme. Annual returns across Whitehall indicate, however, that in previous years savings arising from market testing have typically been around 25 per cent. of the original cost even when the activity has remained in-house.Fifty-one staff are currently employed full time across the group to deliver a programme covering over 1,900 staff and with a value of £72 million.The Department has used the following consultants to advise on its market testing programme and all were selected as a result of a competitive tender exercise:

Coopers and Lybrand
Ernst and Young
John Pearce
KPMG
PA Consulting
Price Waterhouse

Benefit Week

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to review the benefit week and associated signing arrangements in respect of protection of the interests of those claimants who are alphabetically disadvantaged.

[holding answer 8 June 1993]: Responsibility for the subject or the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Sir Cranley Onslow, dated 11 June 1993:

As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to him about any plans he has to review the benefit week and associated signing arrangements in the interests of clients who may be disadvantaged by the existing procedures. This is something which falls within the responsibilities he has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.

If a client undertakes part-time work there are occasions when the amount of benefit they are entitled to depends on their signing day and I am assuming this also relates to your question. This is because unemployment benefit is disallowed where earning; for days falling in a benefit week exceed the weekly lower earnings limit, currently £56, and a client's signing day determines their benefit week.

Although the rules concerning part-time work are drawn from Social Security legislation, there are some flexibilities available to us and we are always looking at ways of improving our procedures in order to offer a high quality service to our clients. We have recently carried out a review of our part-time worker procedures and several recommendations have been made to improve the service we provide.

We are working towards introducing nationally the benefit week for regular part-time workers to end on Saturday, when all clients would be affected by the rules in the same way. This has the further advantage that it corresponds with the week used to assess the award of National Insurance contribution credits.

I hope this is helpful.

As decided by the Adminstration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

National Finance

Farmers And Gangmasters

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action the Inland Revenue proposes to take to ensure that farmers arid gangmasters comply with their statutory responsibilities.

The Inland Revenue will continue, where possible, to use its statutory powers to ensure that farmers and gangmasters, who make use of temporary work forces, properly account for both their own and their employees' tax and national insurance liabilities.

Correspondence

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth might receive an answer to his letter of 1 April referring to Mr. P. R. Lake of Rugby.

I have recently written to my hon. Friend on this subject.

Shares Dividends

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to prevent tax avoidance arising by the offering of dividends of shares in lieu of cash with instant sale facilities.

All developments which may have a significant effect on Exchequer receipts are carefully monitored.

Lloyd's

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the timetable for the repayment of tax to individual taxpayers arising out of losses at Lloyd's of London.

The Inland Revenue calculates that some 27,000 underwriting members of Lloyd's have suffered trading losses for the Lloyd's account year to 31 December 1989. These losses can be used for relief against other income for tax year 1989–90 and, in some circumstances, the previous year and repayment of tax paid on that income may be reclaimed.The process of dealing with repayment claims for Lloyd's account 1989 started some four months earlier than for previous years, and out of some 26,500 claims received by 28 May, when the last count was made, more than 17,000—64 per cent.—have been repaid. At the same time last year, the comparative figures were 16,800 claims received, 6,900—41 per cent.—had been dealt with.An interim payment will, if possible, be made in circumstances where Inland Revenue audit procedures may prevent immediate repayment in full.

Income Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of people over the age of 65 years who are liable for income tax at each of the lower basic and higher rates, in the present financial year.

Latest estimates for 1993–94 are as follows:

Thousands
Matginal rate of taxpayer	Taxpayers aged 65 and over
Lower rate	1,390
Basic rate	1,490
Higher rate	120
All taxpayers	3,000

Tax Credits

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of tax credits on share dividends becoming available to tax-exempt entities in each of the years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93 were claimed in the same year.

I regret that the information requested is not available. However, it is estimated that about 75 per cent. of total repayments of income tax and payments of tax credits to tax exempt institutions are made in the year in which the recipient first becomes entitled to the repayment or payment.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 May, Official Report, column 327, on what basis he has made the assumption that about half of tax credits on share dividends held by charities are claimed in the same year in which the dividend is paid.

The assumption is based on the knowledge that many claims by charities for payment of tax credits are made after the end of the financial year in which the dividend is paid. For example, many charities submit an annual claim for income tax repayments and payments of tax credits after the end of the relevant financial year.

Tax Fraud

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has of the extent of fraud in the taxation system; and what steps he is proposing to take to combat it.

[holding answer 10 June 1993]: Reliable estimates of the extent of tax fraud are not available. But the hon. Member may wish to consult the chapter entitled "Deterring And Tackling Non-Compliance" in the latest annual report of the Board of Inland Revenue.

Economic And Finance Council

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the latest meeting of the European Community's Economic and Finance Council.

The Economic and Finance Council of the European Community—ECOFIN—met in Luxembourg on 7 June. The Paymaster General and I represented the United Kingdom.The Commission informed the Council of its intention to publish revised economic projections for the Community on 16 June. These are likely to indicate less favourable growth prospects for most member states than the forecast contained in the annual economic report for 1993. By contrast, the revised forecast is expected to contain improved growth prospects for the United Kingdom and confirm the Commission's assessment earlier in the year that GDP growth in the United Kingdom will be greater than in any other major member state. There was a brief preparatory discussion for the Copenhagen European Council's examination of the economic situation in the Community.The Council discussed the draft seventh VAT directive intended to provide a harmonised system for taxing second-hand goods and works of art. I indicated that the United Kingdom could consider a very low rate of VAT for imported works of art for the duration of the transitional VAT system, but only as part of an acceptable compromise on other outstanding aspects of the proposal. It was agreed that this issue would be considered further by officials before returning to the Council.In discussion of the Commission's proposals for a carbon/energy tax, I made it clear that the Government had already announced measures in the Budget that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom; and that we did not see a need for a harmonised tax at Community level. The topic was remitted for further consideration by officials.The Commission urged early progress on the proposed directive to abolish withholding taxes on cross-border interest and royalty payments between companies. There was no substantive discussion of this proposal.The Council adopted conclusions on the Commission's annual report on fraud against the Community budget. I welcomed the Commission's recent efforts to address this problem and stressed the need for clear and measurable objectives and target dates in the Commission's action plan. The Council invited the Commission to provide an assessment of further specific improvements needed to increase the effectiveness of the fight against fraud. The presidency also reported on recent discussions with the European Parliament on a new inter-institutional agreement on budget discipline.The Council reached a political agreement on the principle of Euratom loans for nuclear safety in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Final adoption of the Council decision will take place once the European Parliament's opinion is available.

Finally, there was a brief general discussion of the Commission's proposed directive for deposit protection arrangements for credit institutions. There was broad support for the principle of a minimum directive in this area, although I stressed the importance of the principle of subsidiarity in this context.

The Council took no formal votes. The conclusions on the Commission's annual report on fraud and the political agreement on the principle of Euratom loans were approved by consensus.

Exchange Rate Mechanism

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his timetable for re-entry to the exchange rate mechanism.

[holding answer 10 June 1993]: The Government have no timetable for re-entry to the ERM.

National Heritage

Ministerial Visits

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list details of (a) orchestral concerts, (b) rock concerts, (c) opera, (d) theatre, (e) films, (f) ballet and (g) other dance performances he attended in his official capacity, since his appointment.

I attended:

(a) a concert by the Guildhall Chamber Orchestra at St. James's, Piccadilly (14 October)

a memorial concert for Sir Andrzej Panufnik at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (18 October)
a concert in honour of Sir Georg Solti at Buckingham Palace (22 October)
a concert for the Scandinavian Festival of the Arts at the Barbican (10 November)
the reopening of the Wigmore Hall (12 November)
a Schools Prom at the Royal Albert Hall (23 November)
the Soiree d'Or at the Royal College of Music (11 December)
a concert by the London Philharmonic at the Royal Festival Hall (26 January)
a concert for Australia Gala day at the Royal Opera House (31 January)
a concert for the "Festival of Britten" at the Barbican (16 March)
a concert at the Wigmore Hall (2 April)

(c) The Duenna, performed by Opera North at the Grand Theatre, Leeds (2 October)

Turandot, at the Royal Opera House (20 February)
L'Assedio di Calais, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (3 March)

(d) Three Birds Alighting on a Field, at the Royal Court (6 November)

Carousel, at the Royal National Theatre (8 December)
Hamlet, at the Barbican (18 December)
Poor Beast in the Rain, at the Gate Theatre (22 December)

(e) Chaplin (16 December)

(f) Mayerling, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (13 November)

the Bolshoi ballet at the Royal Albert Hall (9 January)

(g) A Royal Gala for the Chicken Shed Theatre Company (14 December).

Parliamentary business precluded my attendance at a number of events to which I had planned to go: for instance, on 4 March, a concert of the Halle orchestra; on 25 March, a concert of the Philharmonia orchestra;"Arcadia", at the Royal National Theatre on 15 April; and "Tristan and Isolde", on 19 April, at the Royal Opera House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the occasions he has visited the royal pa laces in his official capacity since his appointment.

I attended a concert in honour of Sir Georg Solti's birthday at Buckingham palace on 22 October; a dinner for editors of regional newspapers at the Tower of London on 15 December; and opened the medieval palace at the Tower of London on 30 March. I have held several receptions at the Banqueting House on behalf of the business sponsorship incentive scheme and attended one given there by the GB Sports Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the visits he has made in his official capacity, since his appointment, to schools or colleges in connection with instruction and training in (a) drama, (b) dance, (c) music, (d) art and design, (e) architecture, (f) athletics and (g) other sports.

I visited the Architecture Foundation on 8 December; the Royal College of Music on 11 December and the Guildhall school of music and drama on 3 March. I opened an exhibition on the art of the design process at the Royal Institute of British Architects on 17 M arch. Invitations to most institutions in this area are more likely to go to Ministers in the Department for Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if he will list details of minority sports events that he has attended in his official capacity since his appointment;(2) if he will list details of

(a) equestrian, (h) association football, (c) rugby league, (d) rugby union, (e) athletics, (f) swimming, (g) tennis, (h) golf, (i) cricket, (j) basketball, (k) rowing and (l) other water sports events he has attended in his official capacity, since his appointment.

I attended:

(a) the Badminton Horse Trials on 9 May

(b) England versus Turkey on 18 November Bolton Wanderers versus Leyton Orient on 6 March

the FA Cup Final on 15 May

(c) the World Cup Final on 24 October

(d) England versus South Africa on 14 November

Barbarians versus Australia on 28 November

(h) the amateur golf championships at Royal Portrush on 28 May

I also attended the ice hockey championships final at the Wembley arena on 25 April and the European hockey club championships at Havant on 31 May. On 6 March, my Parliamentary Private Secretary attended a fencing championship on my behalf. I look forward to attending events in others of the categories listed as opportunities arise.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when, in his official capacity, he last went to a soccer match held between clubs at a senior level of the game in leagues in the pyramid below those of the Football League.

None.

Sports Governing Bodies

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last met the governing bodies of (a) association football, (b) rugby league, (c) rugby union, (d) cricket, (e) athletics and (f) swimming.

I met representatives of the Football Association on 15 December. I have met informally representatives of others of the bodies listed and will meet them formally as the need arises. I have met representatives of the GB Sports Council on several occasions.

Official Dinners

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list details of the official dinners he has attended since his appointment.

I have attended the following official lunches and dinners:

a lunch for those working on the built heritage at Admiralty House (16 November);
a lunch for women in sport at Admiralty House (14 December);
a lunch in honour of the President of Israel and Mrs. Herzog at 10 Downing Street (26 February);
a state banquet in honour of the Portuguese President at Buckingham Palace (27 April);
a dinner in honour of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Mulroney at 10 Downing Street (11 May ); and
a lunch for the Irish Minister of State for Arts and Culture at Admiralty House (14 May).

St Frideswide's Mission

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will reconsider his decision to refuse the granting of listed status to St. Frideswide's mission, Follett street, within the borough of Tower Hamlets; and if he will make a statement.

No. St. Frideswide's mission was assessed for listing last year, and I accepted English Heritage's recommendation, made following detailed research, that the mission buildings do not possess sufficient architectural or historic interest to merit listing.

Defence

Rapid Reaction Corps

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the training in peacekeeping roles undertaken by the rapid reaction corps.

In accordance with the developing NATO peacekeeping concept and as part of their annual training programme, the headquarters staff of the Allied Command Europe rapid reaction corps undertook a period of peacekeeping training earlier this year. United Kingdom units assigned to the corps which have deployed or may deploy to the former republic of Yugoslavia have also carried out peacekeeping training.

Depleted Uranium Ammunition

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the use by British armed forces of depleted uranium ammunition.

The British armed forces are currently equipped with two kinds of ammunition containing depleted uranium: 120mm tank ammunition, small quantities of which were fired by Challenger tanks during the Gulf conflict; and 20mm ammunition for the Royal Navy's Vulcan Phalanx point defence weapons system, which, apart from some rounds fired for proving purposes, was not used in the Gulf. During peacetime training at sea, the Royal Navy also fires Vulcan Phalanx ammunition at towed air targets; DU ammunition is not used by the Army for peacetime training purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made by his Department of the health risks posed to members of the armed forces who served in the Gulf war, arising from the use of depleted uranium tank and artillery rounds.

The Ministry of Defence knows of no evidence that there was any health risk to any United Kingdom service personnel who served in the Gulf war, due to the handling or use of depleted uranium ammunition.

Medical Discharges

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces who served in the Gulf war have since been discharged from the services on health grounds; what were the medical grounds for their discharge; and if he will make a statement.

Those members of the armed forces who received a medical discharge as a result of injuries or illness directly attributable to events occurring in the Gulf war are as follows:

	Number
Traumatic amputation of arm	1
Traumatic amputation of hand	1
Fracture of heel bone	1
Injury to kidney	1
Head injury with deafness	1
Open wound of foot	1
Fracture of spinal cord	1
Fracture of limbs	1
Displacement of vertebral disc	1
Disorder of back	1
Atopic dermatitis	1
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder	8
Total	19

Note: Figures are as at 10 June 1993.

Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Orangeleaf And Argus

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the award of the contract to refit RFA Orangeleaf and Argus.

We expect to let contracts for the refits of RFA Orangeleaf and RFA Argus at around the end of this month.

Iraq (No-Fly Zones)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received of recent breaches of the no-fly zones over Iraq by (a) Iraq and (b) Iran; and if he will make a statement.

There have been no recent indications of any breaches of either no-fly zone by Iraqi aircraft. We are aware of media reports on alleged recent incursions by Iranian aircraft but are unable to confirm them.

Trade

Ec Structural Funds

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress is being made in submitting projects for funding through EC structural funds.

Of the structural funds grant totals allocated to the United Kingdom for the current period, from 1989 to 1993 approximately 80 per cent. have been committed to projects. The remaining 20 per cent. are to be committed before the end of the year.

Electricity

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of (a) households and (b) the population has electricity supply.

Only isolated areas, containing a very small proportion of United Kingdom households and population, are without electricity supply. My Department has no precise estimates.

Auditors (Remuneration)

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any plans to amend the statutory requirements on disclosure of auditors' remuneration.

My Department has today issued a consultative document seeking views on a proposed technical amendment to the Companies Act 1985 (Disclosure of Remuneration for Non-Audit Work) Regulations 1991.The regulations seek to foster the independence and integrity of audit firms by requiring their client companies to disclose in their annual accounts any remuneration paid to the firm or its associates for non-audit services. The proposed amendment would offer clear deregulatory benefits to both the client company and the audit firm without detracting from the purpose of the regulations.As many audit firms provide other services such as consultancy or tax advice, in some cases through separate but connected organisations, the definition of associate was made sufficiently wide to include all such entities. However, audit firms with insolvency practices can find themselves with numerous associates. as presently defined, because they are entitled to control 20 per cent. or more of a company's voting rights solely by virtue of an insolvency appointment.Any receipt of remuneration by such companies is unlikely to be relevant to the independence and integrity of the audit firm. Moreover, it can be an onerous task both for the audit firm to compile a list of such associates and for the client company to check whether payment has been made to any of them for non-audit services. The proposed amendment aims to correct this situation. For similar reasons, the consultative document also seeks views on whether trustees, or certain types of trustee, should also be excluded from the definition.

A copy of the consultative document has been placed in the Library of the House. Comments should reach my Department by 30 July.

Regional Development Grants

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when a decision of the European Council can be expected on the proposal to grant Merseyside objective 1 status; what is his position on this matter; what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the subject; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 27 May 1993]: I do not expect a decision on the list of objective 1 regions for some time. The Foreign Affairs Council, which my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs attended, discussed the issue briefly and inconclusively on 8 June. The Government will continue to press their demand for objective 1 status for Merseyside.

Health

Ultrasound Scanning

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department has on the cost-effectiveness of antenatal ultrasound scanning; arid on what research evidence it is based.

It is widely accepted among clinicians that antenatal ultrasound scanning is a valuable diagnostic facility. Studies undertaken on the cost effectiveness of ultrasound are reviewed in the publication "Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth". The national perinatal and epidemiology unit is currently considering further work in this area.

Specialty Reviews

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the specialty reviews will be published; if she will publish them in full; and what plans she has for public and professional scrutiny of the specialty review findings.

The specialty reviews will be published, in full, later this month and will therefore be available for public scrutiny. They are independent advice to Ministers and the national health service, not policy and will form only one part of a complex jigsaw informing decisions about the pattern of hospital services in London. Where appropriate, there will, of course, be full public consultation about any proposals to close or move services.

Hospital Beds

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of NHS beds per 10,000 resident population by status category, in all acute specialties, in (a) London district health authorities, (b) London special health authorities and (c) non-London comparators, dividing the figures into areas categorised as (i) inner deprived, (ii) urban, (iii) high status and (iv) total.

This information is not available centrally.

"Making London Better"

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the reduction of beds suggested in "Making London Better" applies to inner London; and if she will give details of the proposed reductions by specialty and geographical area.

"Making London Better" sets out the framework for delivering strategic change to improve London health services. Detailed proposals for change are being developed at local level.

Purchasing Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the name and address of each purchasing authority.

The information requested will be placed in the Library.

Prostate Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what NHS screening facilities are available for men most at risk from prostate cancer.

None. Several research projects in this area are currently being undertaken locally.

Health Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) regional health authorities, (b) health authorities, (c) family health service authorities and (d) health trusts were in existence on 1 April; and what is her forecast of the number which will exist on 1 April 1994.

The figures requested for 1 April 1993 are shown in the table:

(a) 14 regional health authorities

(b) 145 district health authorities

(c) 90 family health service authorities

(d) 392 National Health Service trusts

We are not prepared to make any forecast for 1 April 1994.

Patients (Personal Habits)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which statutory provisions confer on treatment providers authority to discriminate between patients on the grounds of their personal habits.

The patients charter makes it clear that every citizen has the right to health care on the basis of clinical need.

Nursing (Grading)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the forms CGS2 as supplied by each regional health authority to her Department in 1988.

The information requested is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the categories of material currently requested from regional health authorities and district health authorities, and which is held at her Department.

The Department obtains from health authorities information necessary for the compilation of the following publications:

Statistical Bulletins (all annual and relating to England only unless otherwise stated)

FHS related
1. Statistics for general medical practitioners in England
and Wales.
2. Prescriptions dispensed in the Family Health Services.
3. General Pharmaceutical Services.
4. Ophthalmic Services (occasional).
HCHS related
5. NHS Hospital Activity Statistics.
6. Elective admissions and patients waiting (six-monthly).
7. Bulletin on smoking.
8. HCHS medical staff.
9. HCHS non-medical staff.
Other
10. In-patients formally detained in hospital under the mental health act 1983 and other legislation.
Other publications (England only and annual except where otherwise stated)
Hospital activity and facilities
11. Health Service indicators (issued on computer disk).
12. Summary of bed availability.
13. NHS operating theatres: availability and use.
14. Out patient and ward attenders.
15. Ordinary admissions, day case admissions and regular day and night admissions.
16. Private hospitals, homes and clinics registered under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984.
17. Section 17(2) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970.
Community activity
18. Immunisation programmes.
19. Cervical cytology screening
20. Maternity services-midwife clinics and domiciliary visits.
21. Health visitor activity.
22. District nurses activity.
23. Community psychiatric nurses activity.
24. Community mental handicap nurses activity.
25. Other community nurses activity.
26. Genito-urinary medicine clinics, new cases seen (quarterly).
27. Breast cancer screening.
28. Chiropody services.
29. Clinical psychology services.
30. Dietetic services.
31. Occupational therapy services.
32. Physiotherapy services.
33. Speech therapy services.
34. Family planning clinic services.
35. Patient transport services.
Other

Admissions of working holidaymakers at United Kingdom ports
Number of persons
Nationality	1990. May to December	1991	1992	1993, January to March¹
Australia	11,600	14,200	15,400	3,540
Canada	1,800	1,750	1,750	230
Jamaica	50	30	70	²
Malaysia	30	40	30	²
New Zealand	6,440	7,260	6,500	1,290
Zimbabwe	160	190	170	50
Other Commonwealth	120	120	130	50
Total	20,100	23,600	24,000	5,160

36. Public health common data set, data definitions and user guide for computer files.

37. Public health common data set 'Health of the Nation' baseline data and trends, data definitions and user guides for computer files.

38. Public health common data set national volumes.

39. Public health common data set regional volumes.

40. National health service day care facilities.

41. In-patients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation regional figures.

42. Electro convulsive therapy (ECT).

43. Data from the Addicts index.

44. National health service workforce in England.

Format publications
45. Health and Personal Social Services statistics.
46. Departmental annual review.
Other statutory publications
47. Annual statement under section 17(2) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970: Separation of younger patients from older patients in hospitals. (December).
48. Report under section 11 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 on the development of services for people with learning disabilities (mental handicap) or mental illness in England.

addition, the Department from time to time obtains a disparate range of unvalidated administrative and management data obtained from a number of sources, including health authorities.

Home Department

Sunday Trading

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish his proposals on Sunday trading.

We intend to publish a draft Bill well before the summer recess.

Working Holidaymakers' Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the numbers and nationalities of individuals from the Commonwealth entering the United Kingdom on the working holidaymakers' scheme for each year since 1990; and the first quarter of 1993; and what plans he has to alter the scheme.

Reliable figures on admissions of working holidaymakers are available only from May 1990 and are given in the table. The operation of the scheme is under review, but there are no plans to abolish it.

¹ Data are provisional.

² Five or fewer.

Juvenile Offenders (Identification)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the present statutory restrictions on the identification of alleged juvenile offenders who are unlawfully at large.

I cannot comment on any current cases, which are sub judice. As a matter of general policy, the Government take the view that it should be possible, consistent with the need to ensure a fair trial, to identify a juvenile who, having been charged with a serious criminal offence, is unlawfully at large. To the extent that the current law prevents this, we intend to change it, and I shall announce further details in due course.

Animal Diseases Orders

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans she has to repeal the provisions of the Diseases of Animals (Therapeutic Substances) Order 1952 and the Foot and Mouth Disease (Sera and Glandular Products) Order 1939.

Legislation will come into force on Monday 14 June 1993 to repeal these orders, partly to comply with new Community legislation on veterinary vaccines and partly for deregulatory reasons.

Prime Minister

Kashmir

To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has made to the Indian Prime Minister about recent activity by Indian Government forces in Kashmir; and if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

I discussed the Indian Government's policy on Kashmir, including the actions of the Indian security forces, with the Indian Prime Minister during my visit to India in January. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I both discussed Kashmir and human rights issues with the Indian Vice-President during his visit to Britain in May. In our discussions with the Indian Government, we have emphasised that the establishment of a political process in Kashmir, which will enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to express their views, is an important element in the overall solution of the problem.

Local Government Reform

To ask the Prime Minister if he will give the number of representations he or the Secretary of State for Scotland have received calling for (a) the establishment of joint boards to take over functions from Scottish directly elected local authorities and (b) the transfer of functions from local authorities to the Scottish Office.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 30 April 1993 at column 502.

Exchange Rate Mechanism

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the conditions required to be fulfilled for the United Kingdom to re-enter the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system.

[holding answer 8 June 1993]: I have nothing further to add to the remarks I made on 9 June 1993, at column 302.

Scotland

Divinity Students

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total number of divinity graduates from Scottish universities in each of the past 10 years.

The numbers are set out in the table.

Year	Number of Divinity Graduates
1982–83	117
1983–84	122
1984–85	116
1985–86	130
1986–87	113
1987–88	139
1988–89	124
1989–90	118
1990–91	108
1991–92	151

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total amount of money paid by the Scottish Office in university fees for divinity students in each of the past 10 years.

The information requested is set out in the table.

Academic year	Value of tuition fees
1983–84	100,800
1984–85	107,000
1985–86	108,160
1986–87	113,704
1987–88	110,088
1988–89	104,618
1989–90	158,009
1990–91	457,275
1991–92	546,700
1992–93	628,845

Notes:

1. The value has been calculated from the number of Scottish domiciled award-holding students on undergraduate divinity and theology courses at Scottish Universities in the year in question.

2. The significant increase in value from 1990–91 onwards reflects the shift in the balance between Funding Council grant and tuition fee income first introduced in that year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to alter the payment of fees for divinity students at Scottish universities; and if he will make a statement on the Scottish Office's policy to the payment of fees for such students.

Tuition fees for eligible divinity students at Scottish universities are normally paid in termly instalments, in common with the tuition fees of eligible students on other courses; divinity courses attract fees at the band 1 rate. The awards offered to divinity students who satisfy the criteria for assistance under the students' allowance scheme include the payment of tuition fees. My right hon. Friend has no plans to change these arrangements.

Kvaerner Govan

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total amount of assistance given to Kvaerner Govan by the Scottish Development Agency and Scottish Enterprise.

[holding answer 25 May 1993]: Neither the Scottish Development Agency nor Scottish Enterprise has provided any assistance to the company. The relevant local enterprise company, Glasgow Development Agency, has, however, provided business growth training assistance to the value of around £35,000, funded by Scottish Enterprise; and assistance with skills training of key staff threatened with redundancy, amounting to £102,165, funded from its operating surpluses.

Damp Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions he has had on the medical damage and risk to the health of children living in housing which suffers from dampness or condensation;(2) if he will hold discussions with the health boards on preventive action to reduce the risk to children of living in damp housing.

[holding answer 7 June 1993]: This issue has been raised in the regular meetings my hon. Friend the Minister for education and housing has with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about housing matters, and in the frequent meetings he has with local authorities about resources for investment in housing. For example, my hon. Friend met representatives of Dumbarton district council and the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. McFall) on 3 February to discuss damp housing in Dumbarton. The chief medical officer at the Scottish Office has also discussed the matter with the convention and with Scottish Homes as part of the work being undertaken to take forward the initiatives in "Scotland's Health: A Challenge To Us All". The medical implications of dampness and condensation were described in the chief medical officer's speech to the convention's annual conference on 26 March. The text of the speech has been sent to directors of public health in health boards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance he offers to health authorities with regard to the risk to children living in housing affected by dampness and condensation.

[holding answer 7 June 1993]: The medical implications of dampness and condensation in housing were described in the chief medical officer's speech to the annual conference of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on 26 March. The text of the speech has been sent to directors of public health in health boards.

Gourock Ropeworks

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what plans he has to delist the Gourock ropeworks in Port Glasgow; and if he will make a statement;(2) when he last received a report from

(a) Historic Scotland and (b) Renfrewshire Enterprise Company on the current condition of the Gourock ropeworks, Port Glasgow; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 8 June 1993]: The Secretary of State has no plans to delist the Gourock ropeworks, Port Glasgow. The building is undoubtedly of listable quality and it remains listed at category A.Historic Scotland is in regular communication with Inverclyde district council about the ropeworks building and is informed of the council's actions to safeguard the condition of the building and the general security of the site. The council acted last year, in the interests of public safety, to make the building secure against intruders and to carry out works elsewhere on the site and generally tidy up the appearance of the site. Only recently, I believe, has the owner complied with the council's requirement and erected a security fence along the Bay street frontage, following the earlier site clearance works.Renfrewshire Enterprise Company has, I understand, been involved in consideration of the condition of the building and its development potential in the light of a specific declared interest by a possible developer. That has not, however, been pressed by the developer concerned. The local enterprise company has made no report to the Secretary of State on the ropeworks building.Historic Scotland will be having a further meeting with the council shortly, and will report on the latest developments to my right hon. Friend.

Dounreay (Safety Inspection)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the visit made to Dounreay by safety inspectors from Euratom in May;(2) what information he has received from Euratom following the visit of the European Commission's safety inspectors to the Dounreay nuclear waste disposal pits in May.

[holding answer 9 June 1993]: In terms of article 35 of the Euratom treaty, the European Commission has a right to verify the facilities for environmental monitoring maintained by member states. As part of the Commission's verification programme, a team of inspectors visited the United Kingdom during the period 10 to 14 May to examine monitoring facilities in the north of Scotland including those maintained as part of the surveillance of the environmental effects of operations at Dounreay. The visit did not include any inspection of the facilities for on-site solid waste disposal. The team's report to the Commission will be passed to my right hon. Friend in due course.

Forestry

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury of 20 April, Official Report, column 89, when he expects the Forestry Review Group to make its proposals; and when these proposals will be made public.

[holding answer 10 June 1993]: I have nothing to add to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 20 April 1993, Official Report, column 89.

Cervical Smear Tests

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, columns 451–52, about the programme of reviewing cervical smear slides from Inverclyde royal infirmary, Greenock, what recent information he has concerning the tracing of women who have moved from the hospital's catchment area; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 10 June 1993]: The women requiring to be traced fall into two categories:

1. Those who are known, through the Community Health Index, to have moved out of the area.

2. Those whose recorded address on the Community Health Index suggest that they still live in the area, but whose letters sent to those addresses have been returned by the postal authorities as "gone away" or "not known".

The Argyll and Clyde health board is receiving prompt assistance from primary care departments, family health services authorities and from individual general practitioners. Considerable help in tracing women married to United States naval personnel continues to be given by the United States naval authorities. Similar assistance is also being given in relation to Her Majesty's forces wives by the British military authorities.Where the re-examination exercise has resulted in a "non-negative report", the most strenuous efforts are being made to contact each woman involved to ensure that the necessary follow-up action can be taken.

Transport

Air Pollution

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what surveys have been conducted into the links between air quality, road traffic and pollution.

Air quality is monitored across a range of sites and the Department of the Environment issues daily bulletins which provide information on ozone, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.A calculation of emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, lead and black smoke from road transport is published annually in "Transport Statistics Great Britain".Details of emissions from the transport sector and Government action to limit them can be found in the memorandum submited to the Royal Commission on environmental pollution by the Departments of the Environment and of Transport. A copy of this memorandum has been placed in the Library.The quality of urban air review group—QUARG—a group of independent experts, published a report on urban air quality in January 1993 which examines the effect of road traffic on air pollution and future trends. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.

Bus Deregulation

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects of bus deregulation outside London in respect of passenger journeys travelled and of changes in fares.

I refer the hon. Lady to my Department's memorandum to the Transport Select Committee on London bus deregulation, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Elderly Holidaymakers

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been his response to the representations from Saga Holdiays concerning the maintenance of discounted fares for elderly holidaymakers following British Rail privatisation; and if he will make a statement.

I wrote to the chairman of the Saga group on 12 March. We announced on 25 May our intention to place a statutory duty on the franchising director to ensure that all franchise agreements contain obligations to participate in discount schemes for senior citizens.

Lower Thames Crossing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made regarding the lower Thames crossing study; and when a report will be published.

Consultants were appointed in May 1992 for a two-year study of the need for, and feasibility of, a lower Thames crossing downstream of Dartford. They are making good progress and expect to report back to the Department on programme in mid-1994.

Road Congestion

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what criteria he uses to assess quantitatively the extent and seriousness of congestion on individual links in the trunk road network ;(2) what research he has carried out into changes in the level and extent of congestion in the United Kingdom and its economic effects; and what studies he has undertaken of the likely level and extent of congestion on the trunk road network in future years;(3) what consideration he has given to publishing an annual report on congestion on the road network, similar to the report of the national road maintenance conditions survey;(4) in what way he monitors the level and extent of congestion on the trunk roads network.

Congestion is monitored by a variety of means including roadside vehicle detection, video cameras, traffic surveys, and motorway data provided by TrafficMaster—the private sector congestion monitoring system. All road investment involves the appraisal of congestion, including the vehicle delays on individual road links. This is set out in detail in the Department's COBA user manual which is based on extensive research. I have no plans at present to introduce an annual congestion report.

Trans-European Network

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will include the ports of Sheerness and Ramsgate in the proposals for the European Community's trans-European network maps.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport does not propose, as matters stand, to press for the addition of Sheerness and Ramsgate to the draft trans-European network guideline maps. The contents of the trans-European networks maps are still under consideration, but they would, in any case, be finally for decision by the European Council.These ports, and many other prominent United Kingdom ports, are not on the principal networks for the modes for which maps are under discussion. The member states group on ports and maritime development has argued against the production of a separate trans-European networks map for ports. Rather, it has proposed the development of a list of port projects which fulfil certain criteria.

Personalised Number Plates

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statutory provisions apply to the form of displaying vehicle registration numbers; what action is normally taken by police in connection with personalised number plates; to what penalties drivers are subject if they use non-standard displays of numbers and letters on personalised number plates; and if he will make a statement.

The statutory provisions for the display of vehicle registration numbers are contained within section II of the Road Vehicles (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 1971. Law enforcement with regard to personalised number plates is a matter for the police. The maximum penalty for the illegal display of a registration number is £1,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personalised number plate the DVLA has sold to drivers registered in the west midlands since 1986; how many complaints he has received from that region concerning the withdrawal of personalised number plates by DVLA; and if he will make a statement.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency commenced selling registration number in December 1989. Statistics on the number sold to motorists in the west midlands are not available. The Secretary of State has not withdrawn any such numbers and there have been no complaints from the west midlands.

A1-M1 Link

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the A1-M1 link road will be fully open.

The M1-A1 link road—A14—should be fully open to traffic by the end of 1993.

Flags Of Convenience

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals have been made by the European Commission, or any member state, of the European Community concerning the prohibition of vessels registered under flags or conditions of convenience for discharging or loading cargoes at ports in member states.

None.

Jubilee Line

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what loans have been made by the European Investment Bank in respect of the Jubilee line; what are the terms of repayment; and on what specific article of the banks the loans have been made.

No loan has yet been made. I understand, however, that the EIB is prepared in principle to lend money to the O and Y company, which is currently in administration, to fund the first instalment of the company's intended contribution to the cost of the Jubilee line extension. The terms governing any such loan would be a matter for the parties.

Transport Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the result of the Transport Council held in Luxembourg on 7 and 8 June.

The Transport Council met in Luxembourg on 7 and 8 June. I represented the United Kingdom.The Council discussed the Commission's communication on a common policy on safe seas. I stressed yet again that sub-standard shipping is a major and urgent problem in terms of the safety of human life and the environment; and that concerted action by all member states against sub-standard shipping both safeguarded EC interests and allowed us together to press for worldwide improvement through a tough new regime for all ships calling at Community ports or passing through Community waters. The Council, following discussions, welcomed and agreed the communication. This is a major step forward towards firm Community action, and the Commission will now bring forward proposals swiftly.Following the International Maritime Organisation's failure to agree action on higher standards for ferry safety, I informed the Council that the United Kingdom would pursue higher standards unilaterally. I said this was in line with the EC policy on safe seas and that the most recent accident in the North sea showed the importance of action in this field.The Council met the European Parliament under the conciliation procedure and reached agreement on a transport infrastructure programme for 1993–94 with a budget of 325 mecu.The Council adopted conclusions on the Commission's white paper on the future development of the common transport policy. These conclusions are wide ranging. They stress the importance of completing the single market and ensuring its effective operation and refer to the importance of the priniciple of subsidiarity and the need to avoid distortion of competition through state aids, as well as covering safety, environmental issues, infrastructure development and external relations.The Council agreed that a working group on aviation external relations should be set up. It considered amendments to the regulation on computerised reservation systems, but referred the issue of the physical separation of such systems from parent airlines back to COREPER for further discussion. The Commission reported that it would be putting forward its promised revision of the guidelines on aviation state aids. The Commissioner announced that he was setting up an expert committee to study current problems facing the Community's aviation industry. He undertook to produced a draft negotiating mandate by the September Council for opening transport negotiations with Switzerland, together with a study of relations in a wider framework.The Council reached political agreement on guidelines for Community trans-European networks for combined transport, roads and inland waterways. Following my intervention about difficulties being encountered by a United Kingdom operator, the Commission stated that Community funding would not be allocated to infrastructure projects not open to operators according to Community rules.The Council discussed road transport taxation and charging and road haulage cabotage, and agreed to hold an additional meeting on Saturday 19 June on these issues.

Traffic Signs (Private Land)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will extend the provisions for changes in traffic signs to private land

Traffic signs legislation applies to signs on or near any roads to which the public has access. There are no plans at present to extend the scope of this legislation.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Guatemala

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about relations with Guatemala.

We have good relations with Guatemala and welcomed the appointment as constitutional President of Ramiro de Leon Carpio, the former human rights procurator, on 5 June.

Yugoslavia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to press for the suspension from the Council of Europe of any member state found to be violating the United Nations embargo against Serbia and Montenegro.

At their meeting on 14 May, which was chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Council of Europe Ministers underlined the importance of respecting and implementing the United Nations Security Council resolutions on the former Yugoslavia, including those imposing embargoes.If proof were available that any member state actively supported violations of United Nations embargoes, that support would be condemned rightly in all international fora. However, the Council of Europe is not one of those organisations directly involved in this matter and any action might be more appropriately considered by those bodies which have such involvement.

I am aware that members of the United Kingdom parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe have expressed strong views about the violation of international sanctions. It is open to those members to raise these matters in the assembly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest estimate of prisoners of war held by (a) the Croats, (b) Serbs and (c) Muslims.

The International Committee of the Red Cross—ICRC—regularly visits 400 prisoners held by the Bosnian Croats, 1,023 held by the Bosnian Serbs and 993 held by the Bosnian Muslims. The ICRC is also visiting those detained during the fighting between Bosnian Croat and Muslim forces in central and southern Bosnia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department is in receipt of information from the UNHCR in respect of the reported expulsion by the Croatian HVO forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina of Muslims from Mostar; what contact he has made with President Tudjman about this matter; and if he will make a statement.

We are aware of reports that Bosnian Croat HVO forces apparently with support from Croatian Government forces, have expelled Muslims from Mostar, but have seen no specific information on this from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The European Community is continuing to apply pressure on President Tudjman about his responsibility for the actions of Croat and Bosnian Croat forces in Bosnia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken for UNPROFOR to protect the citizens of Medjeda and Ustipraca in Bosnia from Serb shelling.

The co-chairman of the international conference for the former Yugoslavia and UNPROFOR commanders are continuing their efforts to secure Bosnian Serb agreement to allow United Nations monitors and humanitarian relief convoys through to the Gorazde area. This will provide a vital first step towards stabilising the increasingly desperate situation there.

European Construction

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken in response to the final declaration of the interparliamentary conference on the role of national parliaments on European construction, held in Brussels in May 1992, and recommendation 1193 of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe; and if he will make a statement.

The final declaration of the interparliamentary conference was debated by the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly last October, but not sent for action to the Committee of Ministers.The Council of Europe ministerial meeting on 14 May, which was chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, agreed a number of points for discussion at the forthcoming Council of Europe summit which reflect the concerns expressed on the final declaration and include most of those items raised in recommendation 1193.

The Council of Europe will continue to play a major role in the development of democracy in Europe and it is right that the summit, to be held in Vienna on 8 and 9 October, should consider its role and place in relation to other organisations and institutions, in particular the EC and Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Russia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his most recent discussions with his Russian counterpart covered relations between the United Kingdom and Russia and the newly independent Baltic states.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has had regular discussions with Mr. Kozyrev. He has outlined on several occasions the British Government's wish for good relations between Russia and the Baltic states. My right hon. Friend is due to meet Mr. Kozyrev again today, 11 June, in Athens at the North Atlantic consultative conference.

Eastern Europe

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Romania from 1 to 3 June and Bulgaria from 3 to 4 June. The objectives of his visit were to assess and encourage political and economic reform: to explain British policy on former Yugoslavia and to urge rigorous enforcement of United Nations sanctions. My right hon. Friend saw at first hand the work of the sanctions assistance mission team on the Danube, working with the local customs authorities.In Romania he had meetings with President Iliescu, Prime Minister Vacaroiu and Foreign Minister Melescanu, the presidents of both chambers of Parliament and opposition leaders. My right hon. Friend addressed a joint session of the Romanian Parliament. In Bulgaria, he had discussions with President Zhelev and Prime Minister Berov, the chairman of the National Assembly and representatives of the main parliamentary parties.In both countries, my right hon. Friend discussed bilateral relations including in particular parliamentary links and prospects for British investment. Both Bulgaria and Romania are intent on developing their links with the west and sought our support for this. They are also anxious for recognition for the losses which their economies have suffered as a result of United Nations sanctions against Serbia.Our relations with Bulgaria and Romania are developing quickly and we are able to discuss issues frankly, including such problems as the dismissal of the director general of the Bulgarian news agencies, and parliamentary control of the Romanian security services. My right hon. Friend encouraged both Governments to press on with the reform process and promised our support for them in this difficult challenge.My right hon. Friend's itinerary did not include Hungary, which he visited from 4 to 7 May. I refer the hon.

Gentleman to the oral answer my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester, North (Mr. Jenkin) on 12 May, at column 787.

Baltic States

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he regards (a) Latvia and (b) Estonia as meeting Her Majesty's Government criteria of states practising good government; and if he will make a statement.

Latvia and Estonia observe the principles of good government, including respect for human rights and the rule of law. Since regaining independence both states have made welcome and significant progress on political and economic reform and on building democratic institutions. Estonia's accession to the Council of Europe and its signing of the European convention on human rights demonstrates the progress it has made; following Latvia's successful conduct of its elections, we look forward to the earliest possible Latvian accession to the Council of Europe.

European Economic Integration

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made to the proposal by Chancellor Kohl for a special Heads of Government summit in the autumn to discuss the next stage of European economic integration.

The idea of a special European summit in the autumn will be discussed at the Copenhagen European Council on 21 and 22 June. We will consider any proposals which are made there.

Macedonia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Macedonia; and when he expects ambassadors to be exchanged with that country.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Skopje on 4 June, and held talks with President Ghigorov and acting Foreign Minister Crvenkovski. He presented a consignment of medicines and medical equipment worth £400,000, the latest stage in the United Kingdom's £2 million emergency aid programme. My right hon. Friend also met representatives from the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe mission, the EC monitor mission and UNPROFOR. The United Kingdom now has a representative in Skopje, who will make practical arrangements for establishing an office there. The timing of an opening of diplomatic relations has not been decided: this will be influenced by progress in the mediation process between Greece and Macedonia.

Human Rights

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will support the reform of the control mechanism of the European convention on human rights proposed in recommendation 1194 of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.

All member states of the Council of Europe agree that reform of the control mechanism of the European convention on human rights is urgently needed. The Ministers' deputies meeting on 28 May agreed by consensus the mandate for a draft protocol amending the control machinery of the European convention on human rights. The Council of Europe steering committee for human rights will now draft the amending protocol. The United Kingdom will participate fully in the drafting process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the draft protocol on the rights of minorities to the European Convention on human rights, proposed by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe committee of experts for the protection of minorities has been mandated to study the possibility of formulating European legal standards for the protection of minorities, including the feasibility of a protocol to the European convention on human rights or a free-standing Convention. The parliamentary assembly's recommendation 1201 of 1993 is a useful contribution to the debate and is one of several documents being considered by the committee. The expert committee is to present its findings to the Council of Europe Heads of State summit in October. We await the opinion of the expert committee.

Expedito Ribeiro De Souza

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements Her Majesty's Government are making for diplomatic representation at the trial for murder of trade unionist Expedito Ribeiro de Souza, taking place in Ri Mara, Pará, Brazil, on 30 June.

We plan that a member of the staff of Her Majesty's embassy in Brasilia will attend the trial for the murder of Expedito Ribeiro de Souza.

Serbia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to protest at the imprisonment and treatment of Vuk Draskovic, leader of the opposition in Belgrade, and at other infringements of human rights in Serbia.

On behalf of the EC and its member states, the presidency delivered a demarch to the Serbian leadership protesting at the violence in Belgrade on 1 June and the arrest and beating of Mr. Draskovic and his wife. This matter was discussed by European Community Foreign Ministers at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 8 June when it was agreed to send a further message expressing concern and asking for immediate release of Mr. and Mrs. Draskovic. Lord Owen also raised the case with President Milosevic during his visit to Belgrade on 9 and 10 June. We continue to monitor closely the human rights situation throughout the former Yugoslavia. The Conference on Security and co-operation in Europe and relevant human rights organisations are also actively involved.

Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government propose to take at the United Nations Security Council following the contravention of Security Council resolution 598 by Iran when launching air strikes against People's Mojahedin bases in Iraq on 25 May; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 7 June, Official Report, column 84.

Volume 226: debated on Friday 11 June 1993

Written Answers To Questions

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