To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy on the tax treatment of bridging loan finance costs incurred during home relocation.

The Government's policy is that the tax treatment of bridging loan finance costs incurred during home relocation should be subject to the usual tax rules, as well as those in clause 76 and schedule 5 of the current Finance (No. 2) Bill.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy on the tax treatment of capital depreciation costs incurred during home relocation where either an employer or a relocation company purchases the employee's property at its current market value.

The Government's policy on capital depreciation costs on relocation, which are assumed to be loss on sale payments under guarantee sale price schemes, is that they should not qualify for tax relief under the new relief for relocation costs in clause 76 and schedule 5 of the current Finance (No. 2) Bill.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the names of the private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value for each financial year since 1987.

Forward: Civil Service Catering is the only part of the Treasury currently employing private security firms. Individual contracts are arranged at local level. During 1992–93, three security firms were employed by Forward at a total cost of £122,000. Details for the current year and for earlier years are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of 29 April regarding the business sponsorship incentive scheme for sport.

I can find no trace of the hon. Member's letter of 29 April ever having been received within my Department. Now that the hon. Member has sent my office a copy of the letter, I shall ensure that a reply is sent to him without delay.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement following his meeting with ITV company chairmen on whether large ITV companies will be permitted to merge with each other.

The meeting was helpful. I am reflecting on the various views put to me.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he received a copy of the British Medical Association's report into the risks associated with boxing; and if he proposes to set up an independent inquiry into these risks.

My Department obtained a copy of the report upon its publication. I do not believe that the risks associated with boxing are sufficient to justify an inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if it is possible to abstract from the listing of historic buildings farm houses and outbuildings which are no longer occupied or no longer serve an agricultural purpose.

No. The statutory lists do not contain this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he will publish his proposals on the regulation of the press.

The Government will set out their proposals on press regulation in their response to the report of the National Heritage Select Committee on privacy and media intrusion. We hope to publish this before the summer recess.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 7 June, Official Report, columns 82–83, and of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, on which of the visits by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh the Royal Yacht and the Queen's Flight were used; and to what extent.

Aircraft of the Queen's flight were used for travel from the United Kingdom in the case of each of the visits listed. In the case of the visit to Malta, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh embarked on the royal yacht in Palermo, Italy, and continued to use it throughout the visit. In the case of the visit to France, the royal yacht was used while the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Bordeaux. In the case of the Duke of Edinburgh's visit to the Caribbean, the royal yacht was used throughout the visit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, into what categories his Department divides the expenditure on visits by members of the royal family.

Expenditure by the Department in support of official overseas visits undertaken by members of the royal family falls into the following categories:

(a) travel

(b) hotel expenses

(c) official presents and donations

(d) salaries—additional staff

(e) bank, postal, telephone and telegraph charges

(f) miscellaneous (insurance, reconnaissance visits partly for security purposes, and so on)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 7 June, Official Report, columns 82–83, and of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, whether clothing formed part of the costs incurred by Government Departments in respect of visits by members of the royal family.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 7 June, Official Report, columns 82–83 and of 16 June, Official Report, column 645, which costs of the visits made by members of the royal family were met by other Government Departments; and if he will list the Departments.

With the exception of visits by the Duke of Kent, no costs of overseas official visits undertaken by members of the royal family during the financial year 1992–93 were met by other Government Departments except for the costs of the royal yacht, the Queen's flight and other RAF aircraft, which were met by the Ministry of Defence. The costs of the visits by the Duke of Kent to Japan and Germany as vice-chairman of the British Overseas Trade Board were met by the Department of Trade and Industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 7 June, Official Report, columns 82–83, what was the cost to his Department of each of the visits taken by (a) the Prince and Princess of Wales, (b) Prince Edward, (c) the Princess Royal, (d) Princess Margaret, (e) the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, (f) the Duke of Kent and (g) Princess Alexandra; on which of these visits the Queen's Flight was used; which Department bore the international travel costs; and what was the involvement of the Royal Yacht.

The information is as follows.The cost to the Department of the overseas visits undertaken by the members of the Royal Family as listed is as follows:

Country	Date	Cost
		£
The Prince and Princess of Wales
Egypt	10–15 May	26,600
Korea	2–5 November	57,600
Hong Kong	5–7 November	12,700
France	13–15 November	2,400
France	17–19 November	1,400
United States of America and Mexico	12–18 February	22,600

Country	Date	Cost
		£
Nepal	2–6 March	9,900
The Prince Edward
British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Western Samoa	2–18 October	27,000
The Princess Royal
Norway, Sweden, Finland	11–19 May	9,400
India	10–15 September	23,200
The Princess Margaret
The Netherlands	23–25 June	3,900
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
Belgium	12–13 October	4,700
The Duke of Kent
Japan	14–23 May	Nil
Italy	30 June–1 July	6,700
Germany	9–10 November	Nil
Princess Alexandra
United States of America	22–25 April	23,000
Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada	30 October—7 November	35,200

All these visits involved use of the Queen's flight/RAF aircraft and scheduled flights, except for that by the Duke of Kent to Italy, which involved only the former. The costs of the Queen's flight and other RAF aircraft are met by the Ministry of Defence. The costs of scheduled flights are met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.The royal yacht was used during the visit to Mexico by the Prince of Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 7 June, Official Report, columns 82–83, if he will list the official engagements on each visit by (a) the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, (b) the Prince and Princess of Wales, (c) Prince Edward and (d) the Princess Royal.

I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman with details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has as to the extent and source of continuing supplies of weapons to Somalia.

An arms embargo was imposed on Somalia in January 1992 by the United Nations. We have received no reports of any violation of the embargo, but large amounts of arms undoubtedly remain in Somalia from the former regime.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the United Nations has made as to the extent of the systematic use of rape as a weapon during the disturbances in Somalia; and what is being done to bring the offenders to justice.

There are no reports of the systematic use of rape as a weapon in the current disturbances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in Somalia on an area-by-area basis to reconstruct a civil society; and who is responsible for such work.

Reconstruction of a civil society is ultimately the responsibility of the Somalis themselves. As a part of this process district councils are being established in several areas with the support of UNOSOM II. Clan elders are also playing a constructive role in the process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what disciplinary action has been taken following review of the performance of the United Nations or its associated organisations in Somalia.

The Secretary-General has announced an investigation into the tragic shooting of Somali demonstrators by United Nations peacekeeping forces. The investigation has yet to be completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has further to improve diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Diplomatic relations with the United States are in excellent shape. I am pleased to say that we and the United States Administration remain in the closest contact.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 17 June, Official Report, column 686, if he will give further details of the OECD meeting in Paris to which the report on sustainable development was presented.

The United Kingdom progress report to the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development was made available to delegates attending the third meeting of the environment policy committee of the OECD held in Paris on 9 to 11 June. This was one of a regular series of meetings which enables Governments of industrialised countries to exchange views on issues of environmental policy. On this occasion the agenda included a review of the follow-up to last year's Earth summit. The committee will next meet in December.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 24 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 24 June.

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

To ask the Prime Minister on what dates since taking office the President of the Irish Republic made visits to Northern Ireland for which facilities were made available by Her Majesty's Government; which of those visits were (a) private and (b) official; what period of notice was given to Her Majesty's Government for each private visit; when invitations were issued by Her Majesty's Government in respect of official visits; what arrangements were made for Her Majesty's Government (i) to be informed of and (ii) to approve the itinerary of each visit; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 22 June 1993]: President Robinson has made private visits to Northern Ireland on 16 December 1990, 2 February 1992, 22 May 1992, 6 and 7 September 1992 and 18 and 19 June 1993. The usual courtesies for a visiting Head of State have been extended to the President on each occasion and Northern Ireland Office officials have been present at all venues, apart from Whiterock college of education on 18 June 1993. The period of notice given for the visits was three days, two months, 10 days, 10 days and three weeks respectively, but, in respect of the latest visit, particulars of those participating in the West Belfast item, and of its venue, were made known only three days before the visit.No invitations have been extended by Her Majesty's Government apart from that to a reception given by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 2 February 1992. For each visit, Irish Government officials informed HMG of the proposed itinerary, which does not require HMG's approval.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations she had made to the European Commission concerning future funding arrangements for the EC school milk scheme.

The Commission has not yet presented its detailed proposals for expenditure under the school milk scheme in 1994. When it does, our position on the matter will be determined by a thorough examination of the provisions contained therein.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent additional precautions have been taken to protect against the importation into the United Kingdom of horses infected with equine viral arteritis from third countries.

The state veterinary service will increase the level of post-import testing of stallions imported from third countries. All those giving seropositive results will be re-exported to their country of origin.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment she has made of compliance with the procedures governing the import of equidae from Poland over the last two years.

The compliance with either Community or, in their absence, national rules in respect of the import of live animals from third countries is kept under continuous review.Since June 1991 a small number of horses has been re-exported to Poland following seropositive test results for EVA. The matter was taken up with the Polish veterinary authorities which were reminded of our import requirements.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence her Department has as to the number of occasions over the last five years on which measures designed to protect the United Kingdom from the importation of equine viral arteritis have not been complied with.

The Department has evidence of 10 occasions during the last five years when measures designed to prevent the introduction of equine viral arteritis have not been compiled with.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the protection offered under article 20(2) of EC directive 90/426/EEC in respect of equidae imported into the United Kingdom, in circumstances where it is known that a third country has failed to comply fully with the conditions set out in the directive.

Article 20 of directive 90/426/EEC was revoked by directive 91/496/EEC laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on animals entering the Community from third countries. The latter permits member states to require, as appropriate, the detention in quarantine or isolation, or the slaughter or re-export of any animal which is found to be diseased or suspected of being diseased, or which does not fully meet the import requirements laid down in Community or national import rules; or where it is established that the exporting third country has not complied with the requirements provided for in Community or national rules.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will provide a breakdown of expenditure under the farm and conservation grant scheme in cash and real terms, for each financial year since the inception of the scheme in 1989.

The breakdown requested is shown in the table.

Grant paid under the F&CGS 1989–93 in England and Wales
Financial year	Cash £'000s	(Real Terms) £'000s1
1989–90	6,663	6,663
1990–91	26,732	24,385
1991–92	35,713	31,089
1992–93	32,618	27,535
1 Calculated using the Retail Price Index taking 1989–90 as the base year.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what purpose the farm and conservation grant scheme was established.

The farm and conservation grant scheme is designed to help farmers maintain efficient farming systems while also meeting the often heavy cost of combating pollution and conserving the countryside and its wildlife. The scheme focuses on those investments which cut costs by updating existing resources and on those which help to achieve good countryside management. A special priority of the scheme is to help farmers install and improve waste handling facilities in order to meet their obligations to minimise pollution risks.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reasons account for the decision to allow farmers under 40 years of age to qualify for an additional allowance under the farm and conservation grant scheme; and what is the amount of the additional allowance.

The extra grant for young farmers—those under 40—implements a provision of EC regulation 2328/91 on agricultural structures. An additional 25 per cent. of the normal rates of grant is payable to young farmers on first improvement plans under the farm and conservation grant scheme.

To ask the Minster of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if access to the farm and conservation grant is conditional on the applicant fulfilling any residential qualifications.

So that grant is paid only to viable businesses, the farm and conservation grant scheme requires that a farm business for which grant is sought must have been operational for at least a year. In addition, farmers situated in less-favoured areas are eligible for grant aid on the regeneration of grassland using lime and/or fertiliser and for enhanced rates of grant for some other investments. Otherwise, there are no conditions relating to residence.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the farm and conservation grant for repairs and reinstatement of farm buildings encompasses farm houses and outbuildings which have been unoccupied for a six-month or longer period, but which are to be brought back into agricultural use.

It is a condition of the grants available under the farm and conservation grant scheme for the repair or refurbishment of traditional farm buildings that the building for which grant is sought must be in current agricultural use and have been in use during the 12 months prior to the application being received. However, no grant aid is available for the restoration of dwellings on farms.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans the Government have for the administration of milk quotas under the new milk marketing arrangements provided for in the Agriculture Bill [Lords].

Much of the day-to-day administration of milk quotas is currently carried out by the milk marketing boards. It would be wrong for this work to be passed on to the boards' successor bodies since it would give them access to commercially sensitive information about the operations of their competitors. The Government intend, therefore, that from the beginning of the next quota year on 1 April 1994 the Intervention Board executive agency should assume overall responsibility for the administration of milk quotas in the United Kingdom, including those functions currently carried out by the milk marketing boards. A further announcement will be made when detailed arrangements have been finalised.As well as transferring responsibility for the administration of milk quotas to an independent agency, we are also considering whether any other changes are necessary in the operation of the quota system to ensure that it does not tilt the playing field to anyone's advantage. We are looking in particular at the arrangements for leasing quota between producers and we will be consulting the industry on this and other issues before deciding what amendments to make to the quota regulations.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what import precautions were in force in respect of the import of horses and farmed livestock before September 1992; and what additional precautions were in force in respect of such imports from Poland.

Imports of horses and farmed livestock were subject to harmonised Community or, in their absence, national rules. Such import conditions differed according to species and the animal health status of the country of origin. Among other things, such conditions included pre-export or post-import testing and isolation, as appropriate, and, in all cases, that consignments were accompanied by a health certificate signed by an official veterinarian of the exporting country confirming that the animals fully complied with our import requirements.From 1 July 1992 imports of live animals were also subject to veterinary checks in accordance with the provisions of Council directives 90/425/EEC and 91/496/EEC. In view of the safeguards provided, it was not considered to be necessary to take any special precautions in relation to such imports from Poland.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Wallace) of 11 June, Official Report, column 357, if he will place in the Library (a) copies of the communications from the Swedish and Danish Environment Ministers on THORP and (b) copies of the information on the Paris Commission.

It is not normal practice to place in the Library of the House confidential correspondence with foreign Governments. I have placed in the Library the two draft Parcom recommendations requested, together with the final recommendation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on the preferred option for the disposal of radioactive spent fuel from advanced gas-cooled reactors, as between reprocessing and dry storage; and if he will make a statement.

It is for the owners of spent fuel to decide on safety, technical and economic grounds whether to reprocess spent fuel from advanced gas-cooled reactors or place it in dry storage.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures for homeless households in temporary accommodation in England and Wales.

The latest available estimate for the number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation relates to 31 March and appears in table 4(d) of "Households found accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act 1985: England. Statistics for the first quarter of 1993", a copy of which is in the Library.For information about Wales, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest estimate of the cost to local authorities of placing homeless families in bed-and-breakfast accommodation.

The most recent year for which information is available is 1990–91, when it is estimated that English local authorities' revenue expenditure, defined as net current expenditure, on bed and breakfast and similar accommodation was £66·632 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the housing completion figures in (a) 1987 and (b) 1992.

Estimates of housebuilding completions for England and Great Britain are shown in the publication "Housing and Construction Statistics". Figures for 1987 are in tables 6.1(a) and 6.1(d) of the 1981 to 1991 annual edition; and provisional figures for 1992 are in tables 1.2(a) and 1.2(d) of the December quarter 1992 edition—issue No. 52. Copies of this publication are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to extend the period of consultation on his draft advisory circular on gipsy sites and planning to the end of October 1993 to take account of the local authority holiday season and the absence of gipsies from their normal habitats in July and August.

Our policy is to allow a reasonable time for interested parties to express their views. In order to clarify gipsies' position in the planning system, it is important that the guidance is issued as soon as possible. I do not therefore propose to extend the two-month consultation period beyond the end of July.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each district council with no overall political control (a) the total population, (b) the total capital budget for 1993–94 and (c) the total revenue budget for 1993–94

I have arranged for the available information to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the selection of a chief executive for the Urban Regeneration Agency.

Lord Walker of Worcester, as chairman-designate of the URA, has selected Mr. David Taylor, currently the managing director of AMEC Developments Ltd., to be the agency's first chief executive. Mr. Taylor has been chosen in open competition from a field of 178 applicants. He will bring to the agency a wealth of experience in regeneration gained during his private sector career. Subject to enactment of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Bill, he will be appointed chief executive by the agency when established later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he is making for the issue of supplementary credit approvals to local authorities in England in respect of ERDF grants in 1993–94.

Supplementary credit approvals will be issued quarterly for ERDF expenditure defrayed on approved projects for which local authorities have submitted grant claims. In addition, temporary increases in authorities' aggregate credit limits will be available on request to assist the financing of expenditure on approved ERDF projects in the period before supplementary credit approvals are received. Local authorities in England are being advised by letter today of these arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in selling the Building Management Business.

I hope to exchange contracts with purchasers of the Building Management Businesses shortly. We are proceeding with individual sales as negotiations are completed. Parliamentary approval of new expenditure to enable the vendor to complete the sales will be sought in a winter supplementary estimate for the sale of PSA Services businesses vote—class VII vote 13. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure will be met by repayable advances from the contingencies fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has decided to take against the city of Chester following the notice served on the authority on 1 April, under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988, in respect of ground maintenance work.

My right hon. Friend has given careful consideration to the response which the City of Chester has made to the notice served on 1 April 1993, and has today given a direction under section 14 of the Local Government Act 1988 in respect of ground maintenance work. The direction places restrictions on the extent to which the authority can undertake ground maintenance work without the express agreement of the Secretary of State.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many boxers have been killed, or brain damaged by boxing in each of the last five years.

The information requested concerning deaths for the period 1987 to 1991 in England and Wales is routinely published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in its monitor entitled "Fatal accidents occurring during sporting and leisure activities" series DH4; information for 1992 is not yet available.During this period, one death was registered in 1987.The information requested for the incidence of brain damage is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of whole-time equivalent district nurses in 1992.

The latest information shows that in England, at 30 September 1991, there were 9,900 whole-time equivalent district nurses.At October 1992, there were 9,120 whole-time equivalent practice nurses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department will establish a joint research programme with the Medical Research Council into the physical origins and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

A task force on myalgic encephalomyelitis—ME—is preparing a report which should provide a basis for considering a more structured approach to research in this field. Both the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and the Department will continue to receive and evaluate individual proposals for ME research.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many neuroscience, plastic surgery, cancer, cardiac and renal beds there are in each provider unit in the Thames region;

The number of ordinary and day case patients treated by specialty for districts and trusts have been published in "Ordinary and day case admissions for England 1991–92", a copy of which is available in the Library. Information on beds by specialty is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children have been identified as requiring speech therapy in the city of Newcastle in each of the last five years;(2) what has been the average waiting time, for each of the last five years, for children in the city of Newcastle waiting to receive speech therapy from the point at which speech therapy is recommended to the date at which treatment commences.

The information requested is not available centrally. However, for children aged 15 or under in Newcastle, 670 new episodes of speech therapy treatment were started in 1989–90, 695 in 1990–91 and 727 in 1991–92.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to initiate a public inquiry into the running of all residential care establishments in connection with allegations of maltreatment of children in such establishments; and if she will make a statement.

None. Since 1991, there have been a number of inquiries into specific aspects of residential child care. Where there are specific allegations of mistreatment, the Government are always concerned to ensure that they are thoroughly investigated by the managing authorities, as laid down in procedures for child protection and that appropriate action is taken in the event of the confirmation of such allegations. We have recently established a residential child care support force whose prime purpose will be to promote improvements in the quality and delivery of the service for these young people.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the terms of reference of the support force for children's residential care.

We are currently consulting on draft terms of reference which are as follows:1.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how frequently in each district health authority area (a) women between the ages of 20 years and 35 years and (b) women over 35 years receive cervical smear tests.

The information is not available centrally, but a report by the National Audit Office in 1992 found that at 31 March 1991, 46 per cent. of districts in England recalled women every five years, 39 per cent. recalled every three years and the remaining 15 per cent. recalled different women at different intervals.The central method of collecting information on the cervical screening programme is currently being revised, and it is intended that this information will be available from the financial year 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses have been waiting five years or more to complete the appeals procedure for regrading.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to buy out nurses regrading appeals; and if she will make a statement on the situation (a) nationally and (b) in the Nottingham area.

Local managers have been asked to consider the use of buy-outs where they judge such measures will be cost effective. Some appellants in the Nottingham area have accepted buy-out offers and others will be considering doing so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr. Tipping), of 15 June, Official Report, column 510, if she will give the information on outstanding nurses' grading appeals by grade of nurse, including auxiliaries.

Information on the number of appeals outstanding by grade at employing authority level is not available centrally. At regional level, no reliable data are currently available. The information on the number of appeals outstanding by grade at national level for England is shown in the table.

Nurses and midwives clinical grading appeals outstanding as at 31 May 1993 England
Grade claimed	National level
B	465
C	214
D	160

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken to reduce the number of new-born babies dying from respiratory distress syndrome; and if she will make a statement.

[holding answer 17 June 1993]: Information about the effectiveness of clinical treatments is available to doctors through professional journals and other scientific publications. The results of widespread clinical trials have been published which suggest that artificial surfactant is an effective treatment for premature babies suffering from, or at high risk of, respiratory distress syndrome. The use of this treatment has grown rapidly within the national health service, even though it only became available commercially 18 months ago.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many tonnes of potatoes have been supplied as aid to each region or nation in the former Yugoslavia; for what purposes they were provided; where they were sourced; what was the price per tonne paid to the growers; what was the price per tonne paid by his Department; what information he has that seed potatoes so provided were actually planted; and what further aid is contemplated in respect of the agricultural industry.

At the request of UNHCR we supplied 2,000 tonnes of seed potatoes to the Tuzla region of Bosnia in March of this year. These were provided as part of our humanitarian aid programme to the former Yugoslavia to provide a cost-effective food source for the local population during 1993. They were procured through a supplier in Scotland who obtained supplies from more than 30 growers. The price paid to the supplier, reflecting both the urgency and the requirement for export-grade super elite standard potatoes, was £140 per tonne for 1,000 tonnes of Desiree potatoes and £145 per tonne for 1,000 tonnes of Pentland Squire potatoes. In addition to the costs of purchase this price included grading, bagging, marking and certification.Our representatives in the former Yugoslavia have confirmed that the seed potatoes have been planted, and that the aid was well received and used. We have no plans for any further such projects at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the number of Somalis dependent for food aid on foreign donors.

In February the World Food Programme/Food and Agriculture Organisation crop and food supply assessment mission estimated that 200,000 tonnes of imported food aid would be required to support approximately 2·5 million Somalis in the period March to August 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the number of children currently dying in Somalia from measles, dysentery, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, malaria and other illnesses.

The demise of health services in Somalia makes it extremely difficult for relief agencies to compile reliable statistics on the incidence of child mortality.Since January 1992 and in response to individual requests from relief agencies, we have committed £2·8 million in humanitarian aid funds in support of health care activities. This includes support for mother and child health care programmes and an expanded programme on immunisation, both of which are helping to reduce the incidence of disease in children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in removal of mines in Somalia; and what assistance his Department has given.

The British company Rimfire has been training and supervising more than 400 local people in a major mine clearance programme in north-west Somalia, the worst affected region, for the last 19 months. Over that period, we have contributed £673,000 to the Hargeisa part of the operation. Work in Hargeisa has now been completed. Later this year we expect UNOSOM II to put forward a plan to address the mine clearance needs of the whole of Somalia. In the meantime Rimfire's multi-donor funded operation in the north-west continues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in involving Somali professionals in the reconstruction of the country.

UNOSOM II employs some Somali professional staff and relief agencies rely heavily on Somali staff, many of whom are professionals, to help plan and implement their programmes. We shall encourage the employment of Somali professionals wherever appropriate and expect the numbers employed to accelerate as the process of recovery gets under way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints have been received about the standard of training at agencies to which his Department refers clients.

There is no central record of such complaints. Local training and enterprise councils contract with providers to deliver Government funded training programmes in their areas. TECs are required to operate quality control procedures and will take up any complaint made to them by a client.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement outlining the current training provision given to disability employment advisers concerning the interpretation of reasonable cause for the dismissal of registered disabled people from employment.

The question whether there is reasonable cause for a particular dismissal is a matter of fact for the court to decide in the light of all the circumstances of the case. Disability employment advisers do not advise on such matters and, therefore, receive no specific training on the interpretation of this provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of young people who are eligible for youth training schemes under the youth training guarantee are receiving such training; and if he will make a statement.

In May there were around 241,000 young people in England on youth training—YT—or participating in youth credits, there were a further 4,000 young people who were covered by the YT guarantee and had been waiting for a YT place for eight or more weeks, of whom 1,600 had already received an offer.Information on how many young people who are in training and were covered by the guarantee is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have taken place on breaches of the Sunday trading laws in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

In 1991, the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available, 522 prosecutions were brought under part IV of the Shops Act, of which 86 were brought to successful conclusions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priority he attaches to initiatives addressed to street violence and mugging.

A high priority is given to such initiatives. Many of the schemes funded by the safer cities programme have been targeted at street violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when next he plans to meet representatives of the fire and civil defence authorities to discuss their funding requirements for 1994–95.

There are no immediate plans for such a meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's prison privatisation programme.

Following the contracting out of the Wolds remand prison and Her Majesty's prison Blakenhurst, tenders for Her Majesty's prison Doncaster are to be invited in July. The market testing of Manchester prison is proceeding and a decision on the service supplier is expected in July.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will allow the existing prison service to bid to run the prison in future prison privatisation.

The Prison Service will not be bidding in the next competitive tender to run Her Majesty's prison Doncaster. This continues the policy of no in-house bids for new establishments in the current building programme, which ends with Doncaster. The service will concentrate on preparing in-house bids for the next tranche of market testing of existing establishments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans next to meet representatives of the Superintendents Association in the north-west to discuss the Government's proposed changes to the police service.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to meet north-western representatives of the Superintendents Association.

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

We receive representations from time to time both about individual cases and about the scope of the powers vested in my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General under the Criminal Justice Act 1988. His careful and discriminating use of those powers has repeatedly proved the wisdom of that legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has carried out into current methods of dealing with persistent juvenile offenders.

The Home Office has commissioned more than 47 research projects on various aspects of juvenile crime since 1979; but the Government's conclusion that the existing powers of the courts to deal with persistent juvenile offending are unsatisfactory also took account of views firmly expressed by experienced practitioners within the criminal justice system. Currently an in-depth survey of persistent juvenile offending, and the response made to it, is being carried out in two London boroughs and one midlands county as part of the preparation for the introduction of the new secure training order for persistent juvenile offenders which my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) announced in his statement on 2 March 1993, Official Report, columns 139–42.

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

My right hon. and learned Friend shares the view of his predecessor that the powers currently available to the courts when they have to deal with persistent juvenile offenders are unsatisfactory. He intends therefore to take forward the proposals for the secure training order which my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) announced to the House on 2 March 1993, Official Report, columns 139–42, and to bring the necessary legislation before the House as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers to discuss the problems arising from juvenile offenders; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend met the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers on 28 May 1993 although he has not yet had the opportunity to discuss the subject of juvenile offending with representatives of the association. He is, however, aware of the views which they have expressed about it, for example in evidence given earlier this year to the Select Committee on Home Affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to visit Yorkshire in the near future to discuss levels of crime.

My right hon. and learned Friend has, at present, no plans to make such a visit; but we have, and will maintain, regular contacts with services, organisations and individuals knowledgeable about crime in Yorkshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy towards parliamentary accountability of the security services.

Government policy on the accountability of the Security Service was set out in their reply to the report of the Select Committee on Home Affairs which was published on 27 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the extension of British summer time.

As I explained in my reply to a question from the hon. Member on 30 November 1992, Official Report, column 7, the Government will bring forward proposals on future summer time arrangements when the outcome of the current review by the European Commission is clear.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with car manufacturers about reducing the incidence of car theft.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is represented on the Home Office advisory committee on car crime prevention, one of the main aims of which is to consider what practical steps car manufacturers and others can take to reduce the incidence of car theft.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with fleet buyers in seeking to prevent car crime.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association is represented on the Home Office advisory committee on car crime prevention which meets regularly to discuss what more can be done to help prevent car crime.In addition, a senior officer from the Home Office crime prevention centre sits on the panel which assesses entries for the BVRLA's prestigious vehicle anti-theft award. I shall be presenting this year's award later this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representative of business and commerce have been included in the membership of the National Board for Crime Prevention.

Three of the 11 members of the National Board for Crime Prevention have commercial or business backgrounds. They are: Keith Ackroyd, the managing director of the retail division of the Boots Company plc, and chairman of the British Retail Consortium; Peter Batchelor, the executive director of sales and marketing at Vauxhall Motors; and David Sieff, a director at Marks and Spencer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies he has commissioned about the length of sentences for rape.

My right hon. and learned Friend has commissioned no such studies. But information about the length of custodial sentences imposed for all indictable offences is published regularly in the series of Command Papers entitled "Criminal Statistics", copies of which are in the Library of the House. They show that virtually all persons convicted of rape offences—including attempted rape—are sentenced to immediate custody and that, excluding cases in which the court has imposed the maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the average sentence length, which was just over four years in 1985, rose to approximately six years in 1987 and has remained at that level ever since.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has conducted into domestic violence.

Relevant factual information is regularly obtained through the British crime survey and recorded crime statistics. In addition, the Home Office has undertaken studies into the nature of domestic violence as well as the response to the problem. A review of existing research in 1989—Home Office research study 107: "Domestic Violence": Lorna J. F. Smith—provided fresh insight into the nature of domestic violence and contributed to the guidance that was issued in July 1990 to the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure a quick and effective response. A current Home Office research study is assessing the effects of the new policies. In the area of action research, the Home Office is also funding a number of local innovative projects into violence and in particular domestic violence which are intended to inform future policy development.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to complete his review of the Carl Bridgewater case; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the oral reply given earlier today to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the allowance of food to the young people in Feltham young offender and remand centre.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange a reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what structured training programmes he intends to introduce at Feltham young offender and remand centre.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce a probation department at Feltham young offender and remand centre.

Feltham remand centre has a team of one senior and five main grade probation officers. The young offender institution has a single senior probation officer whose main role is to develop and maintain the operation of the personal officer scheme and act as liaison point between the institution and the outside supervising services.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to prevent young people from becoming victims of drug abuse.

One of the primary tasks of 20 Home Office local drug prevention teams is to work with local communities in finding effective ways of tackling misuse, particularly among high-risk groups such as young people.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners with AIDS have been granted early parole under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requests he has had from police authorities in the west of England for assistance in helping to meet the extra costs incurred by dealing with past and expected new age traveller invasions; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many working days have been lost through stress-related illnesses in each police force area in the United Kingdom in each year since 1990.

The information requested is not held centrally and could be collected from individual forces only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the dates in the past 10 years when the Palace of Westminster and parliamentary outbuildings have been inspected for compliance with the fire safety regulations and standards which apply; if he will give details of all fire safety regulations and standards which apply; if he will list those areas where the inspections have found non-compliance with the relevant requirements; and what steps he has taken to rectify the situation in those areas.

During the past 10 years, members of Her Majesty's fire service inspectorate have visited the Palace of Westminster on nine scheduled occasions to monitor the progress of an agreed programme of work necessary before the issue of a fire certificate under the Fire Precautions Act 1971.These visits were in:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce red tape in the police force.

An extensive study into police paperwork is being undertaken. It will propose ways in which the administrative procedures following an arrest can be streamlined without jeopardising the rights of suspects. A review was also undertaken last year to examine ways in which the demands on the police for statistical and other information from the Home Office could be reduced. Computerisation and civilianisation are also being pursued as ways of relieving operational officers of administrative tasks.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish figures showing the total number of custody officers in each police force in England and Wales in (a) 1980, (b) 1985 and (c) 1992.

The post of custody officer was introduced by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which did not come into effect until 1 January 1986. The table shows the total number of custody officers in 1992 in those police forces in England and Wales for which figures are available. I understand that those forces for which figures are not shown appoint custody officers from their complement of sergeants as and when they are needed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the highest number of escapes in a week from the prison escort service (a) since 1988 and (b) since Group 4 Security has operated the service.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.