To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the establishment of the immigration appeals office in London and (a) in each of the past five years and (b) in the current year; what plans there are to increase the staff establishment and the number of adjudicators in (i) London and (ii) Leeds.

Staff establishment levels in past years at the immigration appellate authorities—IAA—are available only for the IAA as a whole and not for individual centres. The figures in each of the past five years were as follows:

	Numbers
1989–90	77
1990–91	94½
1991–92	97
1992–93	95½
1993–94	117

The number of staff allocated to the centre at Thanet house in London for the year 1993–94 is 63.There are currently no plans to increase either the staff establishment or the number of adjudicators at either Thanet house in London or in Leeds, although these will be kept under review in light of the current and projected workloads.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the total number of appeals awaiting processing by the immigration appeals office in London; what is the average time taken between the receipt of papers from British overseas posts and the listing of appeals before adjudictors, in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Leeds: what action he is taking to expedite the hearing of appeals; and if he will make a statement.

As of 31 October 1993 there were 19,074 appeals outstanding before the adjudicators within the IAA as a whole. As of 26 November 1993, there were 324 appeals which had been received at Thanet house in London and had not yet been processed.Figures are not available for the average time taken between the receipt of papers from British overseas posts and the listing of appeals before adjudicators. However, upon receipt of the explanatory statement and notice of appeal from the post overseas, the IAA normally dispatches copies of the case papers to to the parties' representatives in the country within five days. The parties must then prepare the case for the hearing. The current average time between the IAA receiving a certificate of readiness from a party to the date of the hearing for

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

There are 45 files in the Lord Chancellor's Department—out of a total of 90,974 files —marked "not for NAO eyes". These refer to individual file parts. For each NAO study a number of divisions may be involved and each may possess a file with a number of parts.The marking "not for NAO eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Departments and the NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spends annually on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising and (c) press advertising; and what were the corresponding figures for 1985 and 1979.

The latest estimate of expenditure on advertising in the current financial year and the corresponding figures for 1985–86 and 1979–80 are as follows:

	£000s 1993–94 (estimated)	£000s 1985–86	£1979–80
Television advertising	0	0	0
Radio advertising	29·2	0	0
Press advertising	1,105·8	14·8	91·6

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in his Department; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.

The Department currently employs 27 permanent press and publicity officers. The comparable figures for 1985–86 and 1979–80 are 23 and 22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has incorporated the code of practice for information security management, published by the British Standards Institution, into relevant contracts with information technology suppliers.

The code of practice for information security management was developed by and established for use by commercial organisations and does not specifically address the requirements for the protection of official information. The security requirements for IT systems and services used by central Government Departments are stated in the Government's IT security policy document. The IT security policy is supported by use of the CCTA risk analysis and management method·CRAMM·and baseline security for IT systems·BSITS·risk analysis methods and by supporting advice and guidance published by the Government IT security authorities. These are regularly reviewed to ensure best practice, have been developed specifically for use within government and have been in operation for some time.The Department for Education's IS security policy is in line with the Government's IT security policy and all major contracts with information technology suppliers follow the guidelines in Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency·CCTA·model agreements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidelines he plans to offer to teachers about their form of dress.

My right hon. Friend expects teachers to set a good example to their pupils in everything they do. How best to achieve that is for local determination. He has no plans to issue national guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the future of the school meals service.

Local education authorities and, where appropriate, governing bodies of self-governing·grantmaintained·schools have responsibility for providing school meals, and determine the appropriate level of service in the light of local priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

The Department has 39 files·out of a total of over 500,000·marked "not for NAO eyes".This marking is used in accordance with the agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Departments and the NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they remain current.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what has been the total cost of providing security at the former Fitzherbert school site in Brighton during the period it was in the ownership of the City Technology Colleges Trust and the Michael Faraday Trust.

The cost of providing security at the former Fitzherbert school site in Brighton during the said period was some £233,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of acquiring the Student Loans Company from its previous owners.

The Government acquired the Student Loans Company in December 1989 at a cost of £10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education for each city technology college, what is the amount of Government grant received each year since establishment, the pupil roll for each year and the amount of private sector sponsorship received each year.

Grants approved for payment by the Department to each city technology college for recurrent funding purposes in the current academic year are shown in the table, together with the numbers of funded pupils.Amounts of grant include provision for diseconomies of scale during the build up of colleges to full capacity and for services provided by local education authorities to their schools.As for all other schools, any additional funding by private sector sponsors for recurrent expenditure purposes is a matter for the schools and sponsors concerned.

1993–94
College	Recurrent grant £million	Funded numbers
1 Kingshurst	3,604	1,250
2 Djanogly	2,565	844
3 Macmillan	2,826	912
4 Emmanuel	1,929	600
5 Dixons	2,456	730
6 Leigh	3,361	1,140
7 Harris	3,187	1,000
8 Britschool	2,914	686
9 Bacons	3,926	1,050
10 Haberdashers	4,806	1,150
11 Thomas Telford	2,485	664
12 Brooke Weston	2,448	735
13 ADT	2,770	600
14 Landau Forte	1,958	450
15 John Cabot	1,292	150

To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of incitement to racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986 were referred to him by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 1987; how many were not proceeded with (a) through insufficient evidence, (b) because prosecution was judged not to be in the public interest and (c) for other reasons.

I am causing inquiries to be made into the matters raised by the right hon. Member and I will reply as soon as possible.

To ask the Attorney-General if he has anything to add to his statement to the House on 30 June concerning the Serious Fraud Office.

Shortly after my statement to the House about the Serious Fraud Office on 30 June 1993 at column 965, Mr. Asil Nadir's former solicitor, Mr. Peter Knight of Vizards, wrote in response to a general invitation from the director of the Serious Fraud Office that those concerned about the working of the office should bring specific anxieties to his attention. Mr. Knight wanted the Serious Fraud Office to give further consideration, among other things, to its handling of privileged papers during the preparation of its case against Mr. Nadir.The director has therefore looked into this matter again, in great detail, and has now written to Mr. Knight. I am placing the exchange of letters in the Library. The director's findings show that my statement, responding to the personal statement by my hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Mr. Mates) on 29 June at column 823, was incomplete on the issue of privileged papers and therefore misleading. I am taking the earliest opportunity to correct this.In April 1991 the Serious Fraud Office acknowledged to Mr. Nadir's solicitors that two sealed bags of documents subject to a claim for privilege had been opened in January and February in breach of an undertaking given to the solicitors on 5 December 1990. Documents, which the Serious Fraud Office understood and still believes were not privileged, had been copied to the administrators of Polly Peck International Plc—PPI. This breach of the Serious Fraud Office's undertaking, which it regretted, was acknowledged in my statement and in my predecessor's letter to my hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire dated 20 October 1991 which is already in the Library.However, it now appears that copies of privileged documents were circulated to the prosecution team on two occasions. The first occasion was on 26 November 1990, before the giving of the undertaking but after a general claim for privilege had been made by Mr. Nadir's solicitors. In error, copies of these privileged documents formed a small part of a very large distribution of documents routinely copied and circulated to the prosecution team after the search at PPI. The administrators of the company were entitled to access to the vast majority of these documents and were therefore given access to the circulated copy documents, including—apparently because the mistake was not then recognised —access to and copies of certain privileged material. The second occasion was on 10 January 1991 when copies of documents seized from Mr. Nadir on his arrest were circulated to the prosecution team in the apparent belief that the documents in question could not from their description be privileged, despite the fact that a claim had been made by Mr. Nadir's solicitors.I regret that the fact that copies of privileged documents had been circulated was not acknowledged by the then case controller to Mr. Nadir's solicitors, and that no decisive attempt was made to retrieve them until December 1991, despite Vizards' frequently expressed concern about the matter and the fact that the then case controller appears to have recognised at least by January 1991 that copies of potentially privileged documents had been circulated. The reason is being pursued further by the director of the Serious Fraud Office. It is, however, right to say that the director of the Serious Fraud Office is not aware of any attempt to use the documents in conscious breach of privilege when preparing the prosecution case, although on two occasions privileged documents were used, apparently inadvertently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the up-to-date funding position for Ashford international station.

The position remains that we have made provision for expenditure by British Rail to cover the track, signalling, platform and other railway works which were inaugurated by the hon. Member on 20 October. The station buildings, car parking and other facilities will be provided by the private sector; British Rail has received bids and is now evaluating these. It hopes to make a statement shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public sector transport projects where he is looking to private sector funding in whole or part and their estimated cost.

My right hon. Friend has announced that the following projects are being considered for private sector funding in whole or in part. Private sector funding has already been secured for a number of major transport projects.

Project	Estimated cost £ million
Channel Tunnel Rail Link	3,000
Crossrail	3,000
Upgrading of west coast main line	400-600
Birmingham western orbital route	500
Croydon Tramlink	135
Midland Metro Line One	130
New Tamar crossing	100
Lower Thames crossing	1—
Mersey crossing	100
New Scottish air traffic control centre	200
1 No estimate available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received on fitting compulsory seat belts in buses; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has received more than 200 letters from hon. Members and members of the public in the last three months calling for seat belts to be fitted in buses, coaches and minibuses. The Department is currently reviewing the full technical and cost implications of the compulsory fitment of seat belts in minibuses and coaches. It would not be right to take any decisions before we have considered the full reports of the recent tragic accidents and this work has been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the effects of the 17-tonne gross vehicle weight limit on passenger coach manufacturers and operators in the United Kingdom; and when he plans to raise coach limit to 18 tonnes to conform with that of other EU countries.

I have received a number of representations requesting an increase to the maximum permitted weight for coaches to 18 tonnes. Unfortunately, it is not practical to increase the gross weight without allowing for a higher weight on the drive axle. The Department is at present engaged on an exercise to assess and upgrade all the bridges in the United Kingdom to accept a heavier axle load. When this assessment is complete I shall be in a position to consider such an increase.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals (a) he and (b) the EC has to introduce seat belts in all new coaches as a legal requirement; what is his estimate of when such a new law is likely to be applied; and if he will make a statement.

The Department is currently reviewing the full technical and cost implications of the compulsory fitment of seat belts in new coaches. Until this work has been completed and we have considered the full reports of the recent accidents we do not feel that it would be right to take any decisions on this question.To date, there has not been the support necessary from member states for the EC to make seat belt fitment on all seats a mandatory requirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether tenders have been submitted for the construction of the Spofforth bypass, near Harrogate; and when he expects the work to commence.

These are matters for the highway authority concerned—North Yorkshire county council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he has made for the financial reconstruction of the Port of London authority following the privatisation of the port of Tilbury.

I have concluded with the Port of London authority—PLA—an agreement under which the PLA has paid my Department £1·851 million from its capital reserve. PLA will in addition make further payments to my Department, at the end of each financial year ending on 31 December, of sums representing both the profits of the PLA's property management company, Port of London Properties Ltd.—POLP—and the net proceeds from their disposal of specified properties owned by the PLA and its subsidiaries. These properties were valued at some £35 million at December 1992. A sum of £951,000 has been paid to my Department in respect of the year ending 31 December 1992.These payments will be taken in payment of the repayable grants totalling some £147 million made to the PLA under the Ports (Financial Assistance) Acts of 1980 and 1981. The PLA's outstanding liability in respect of these repayable grants will be progressively reduced as these payments are made to my Department. When all of the specified properties have been disposed of, POLP will be wound up and the Department will relinquish its rights to any remaining repayable grants.This agreement has advantages for both parties over the previous arrangements for the repayment of the repayable grants. For the Government, it has provided a more certain prospect of substantial receipts than under the time-limited conditions attached to those arrangements. For the PLA, it has removed a substantial contingent liability, which was a disincentive to sound financial management of the business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent of the delays currently affecting applications for family credit; and if he will take steps to ensure that all outstanding claims can be dealt with and completed before Christmas.

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Alec Wylie. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to review the employment status of prison officers in Northern Ireland.

I have reviewed the employment status of prison officers in Northern Ireland in the light of the temporary injunction granted to the Home Secretary against the calling of industrial action in the Prison Service in England and Wales. I have concluded that the employment status of prison officers in Northern Ireland should match that in England and Wales.Legislation will therefore be introduced this Session confirming that it is unlawful for organisations representing prison officers in Northern Ireland to call for industrial action. This will also apply to organisations representing prison officers in the rest of the United Kingdom. At the same time the legislation will extend normal trade union status to organisations representing prison officers in Northern Ireland. It will also extend to prison officers the appropriate elements of employment protection legislation, including access to industrial tribunals, on a basis comparable to that for other workers. There will also be provision for regulations to be made to establish procedures for settling the remuneration of the staff concerned.My officials will be in discussion with representatives of prison officers in Northern Ireland about these provisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

My Department, which was established in April 1992, has not yet reviewed the full range of files inherited from former parent Departments and it is not possible to give a figure for those bearing a marking "not for NAO eyes". Since April 1992 DNH has opened a very small number of new files with this marking.The marking "not for NAO eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Departments and the NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers; and how many vehicles are involved.

The estimated cost of providing a car service for Ministers during the 1993–94 financial year is £161,000. There are four official cars, including two based in Cardiff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing for each year since 1979 the number of operating deep-mine coal pits, the annual output of mined coal, and the amount of coal exported from and imported into Wales; and if he will estimate the total value to the Welsh economy of the coal mined from deep pits over the period since 1979.

The number of deep-mine coal pits and their annual output for each year since 1979 is shown in the following table.The remainder of the information is not readily available.

Year (to 31 March)	Number of deep mines in Wales	Output (thousand tonnes)
1979	39	8,415
1980	38	8,304
1981	36	8,356
1982	35	8,240
1983	35	7,625
1984	30	7,237
1985	30	628
1986	19	7,310
1987	15	7,062
1988	12	5,460
1989	10	5,530
1990	6	4,040
1991	5	3,740
1992	4	2,300
1993	2	n/a

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the persons currently serving on non-departmental public bodies in Wales as appointed by him had not been included in the register held by the Welsh Office for public appointments.

The information is not collected centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts awarded to Welsh local authority direct service/labour organisations have not been subject to the issuing of a section 13 or 14 notice, alleging anti-competitive behaviour under the terms of the Local Government Act 1988; and on how many occasions such actions have been taken.

Information on the total number of contracts awarded is not held centrally. Only one authority has received a section 13 notice and section 14 direction. One other authority has received a section 13 notice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many local authority direct service/labour organisations operating contracts in Wales under the terms of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 have achieved the required rate of return since 1988;(2) if he will list, by authority, the surplus achieved since 1988 on trading accounts for

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts awarded to Welsh local authority direct service/labour organisations have not been subject to the issuing of a section 19A or 19B notice, alleging anti-competitive behaviour under the terms of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980; and on how many occasions such actions were taken.

Information on the total number of contracts awarded is not held centrally. Only one authority has received a section 19A notice and section 19B direction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the authorities that have been challenged by his Department, in relation to their internal arrangements for establishing client-contractor splits in order to meet the requirements of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 and the Local Government Act 1988.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many councillors in Wales have been surcharged or prosecuted as a consequence of taking decisions in relation to the Local Government Act 1988;(2) how many councillors in Wales have been surcharged or prosecuted as a consequence of taking decisions in relation to the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.

None to my knowledge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

There are 97 files in my Department marked "not for NAO eyes". These figures refer to individual jackets—file parts. For each NAO study a number of divisions may be involved and each may possess a file with a number of parts.The marking "not for NAO eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office, under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Department and the NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in his Department; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.

The Office of Public Services and Science employs seven members of the Government information service in its information division. The Department did not exist in any comparable form before 1992. Figures for earlier years are not therefore available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

The marking "not for NAO eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office—NAO—under which documents relating to the handling of relations between departments, the NAO and the Public Accounts Committee —PAC—are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current; 122 Cabinet Office and Office of Public Service and Science files are so designated.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received in the last three years in relation to housing problems in England (a) from local authorities, (b) from housing associations and (c) from other sources; and if he will make a statement.

My Department regularly discusses housing problems and successes with local authorities, housing associations and others. We value their contribution to policy development. Local housing authorities discuss their strategies and expenditure priorities each year with Ministers and with departmental officials as part of the annual housing investment programme resource allocation process; developing housing associations have similar discusions with the Housing Corporation. Twice a year I discuss local authority housing issues with representatives of the local authority associations in the Housing Consultative Council. In addition, we receive responses to consultation papers, and there is a wide range of formal and informal contact with local authorities and housing associations, and with Members of Parliament, members of the public, voluntary organisations and the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions since 1960 he has used his powers under section 5(1) of the Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938 to refuse his consent to the disposal by a local authority or parish council of green belt land to which the section applies; and what are his criteria for refusing consent in the future.

This information is not avilable, except at disproportionate cost. Consent has been refused on one occasion since January 1991. In that case the land was not designated as metropolitan green belt in a development plan. My right hon. Friend's primary concern in determining applications is to ensure that the land continues to fulfil the objectives of the 1938 Act and of green belt policy as set out in planning policy guidance note 2.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what circumstances an attachment of earnings order for the recovery of council tax or community charge arrears can be served on an organisation which provides a training programme funded by the European social fund requiring the organisation to make deductions from (a) a training allowance paid to the trainee or (b) a wage paid to the trainee; and if he will make a statement.

A billing authority may serve an attachment of earnings order in respect of arrears of community charge or council tax on an employer following the issue of a liability order by a magistrates court. Deductions may be made from the net earnings as defined in regulation 32 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and regulation 27 of the Community Charge (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had from Doncaster metropolitan district council in regard to proposals on market franchise rights; what reply he has sent; and if he will make a statement.

We have received representations from the council objecting to our proposal. All representations, both for and against the proposal, will be fully considered before any decision is made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost, by location, of bomb-proofing the Department's premises.

On security grounds, this information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye (Mrs. Lait) of 19 November 1993, Official Report, column 1, what considerations led to his proposal to increase housing revenue account subsidy guideline rents by 7.5 per cent. and management and maintenance allowance by 4 per cent.

My right hon. Friend took into account a number of considerations including the constraints on public expenditure; the need to move gradually towards income-related subsidies and a more market-related pattern of local authority rents which better reflects the value of accommodation provided in different parts of the country; the need to make further progress on the targeting of management and maintenance allowances by guaranteeing all authorities at least 95 per cent. of their target scores; and general movements in prices and earnings. The proposals are subject to consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the gross aid net level of investment in housing proposed by his Department for 1994–95.

Information on the Government's public expenditure plans for housing is contained in the Financial Statement and Budget Report, copies of which are available in the Library. More detailed information will be contained in my Department's annual report, to be published in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the locations of raised peat bogs in England; and if he will make a statement as to their protection.

A list of raised peat bogs in England is being prepared by Scottish Natural Heritage as part of work on a national peatlands resource inventory. This inventory will also summarise information on those sites designated as sites of special scientific interest—SSSIs. It is expected to be published during 1994 and a copy will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the response to date of advertisements placed in British and overseas journals in respect of bids to take over the financial management of the Government car service; what classified information on the location of classified bids was given in these advertisements; and if he will make a statement.

The market test relates to the routine book-keeping work provided for the Government car service—GCS—and the Interdespatch service—IDS. Financial management will remain the responsibility of the GCS and IDS management.Eight firms responded to the advertisement placed in the

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers; and how many vehicles are involved.

The annual cost to the Department of Environment for their Ministers' car service was estimated at £265,00 in 1992–93. Six cars are provided by the Government car service with drivers and full back-up service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the annual cost of the Government car service in each of the last three years; what was the comparable cost in 1979–80; how many vehicles form the Government car service; and what were the categories of cost in 1992–93.

The current cost of the Government car service—GCS—for the last three financial years is:

	£ million
1990–91	6·95
1991–92	6·99
1992–93	7·19

The 1990–91 figure includes an estimate for pension contributions that were paid centrally at that time. These contributions are included in the 1991–92 and 1992–93 figures.Information on the comparable cost in 1979–80 is not available.There are currently 190 vehicles in the Government car service fleet.In 1992–93 approximately 75 per cent. of costs were staff and 15 per cent. were vehicle costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many tenders for the publication of "London, Making the Best Better" were received from Asian businesses.

It is neither possible nor desirable to group tenders according to the ethnic origin of their owners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what day, date and times the two photographs that appear on page 10 of "London, Making the Best Better" were taken.

Both photographs were taken between 2 pm and 3 pm on Thursday afternoons. The precise dates are not known but the "before" photograph was taken in late November or early December 1990 and the "after" photograph in late October or early November 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the full range of activities for which London boroughs (a) are currently responsible and (b) were responsible in 1979.

The statutory activities of London Boroughs are described in the document entitled "The Functions of Local Authorities in England" published by my Department last year. As this was the first occasion on which a comprehensive review had been carried out, I regret that there is no equivalent for 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in his Department; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.

There are currently 31 press and publicity officers employed by the Department of the Environment's information directorate.Before 1989, the information directorate of this Department was part of the common services of DOE and Department of Transport and separate figures for the resources for each Department are not available. Global information for this period is published each year within the management information system for Ministers—MINIS—dating back to 1979 and is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the cost (a) overall, (b) to the Local Government Commission, (c) to Durham county council and (d) to the district councils of Durham to date of the inquiry into local government boundaries in the county of Durham.

Expenditure by the Local Government Commission and by local authorities in the area is a matter for them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he is issuing regarding a timetable for the reconsideration of the Boundary Commission's final proposal regarding local government boundaries in the county of Durham.

My right hon. Friend has directed the Local Government Commission to start its further review of County Durham on 13 December 1993 and to report to him by 30 December 1994. The review will be conducted in accordance with the revised procedure guidance issued to the commission on 22 November. We will agree a target date for the report with the commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1993 to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), OfficialReport, column 380, whether he envisages that the same organisations and individuals will be consulted in the new review of County Durham as in the original review.

On 22 November my right hon. Friend issued revised procedure guidance to the Local Government Commission for England. Annexe A to this revised guidance sets out the organisations which the commission is required to consult in conducting its review of an area. Except for the addition of the chief inspector, magistrates courts service, and the Lords Lieutenant for the area, this list is unchanged from that annexed to the procedure guidance issued to the commission in July 1992. The commission should also consult representative local organisations, including voluntary organisations. Others will be welcome to express their views, which will be taken fully into account by the commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1993 to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), Official Report, column 380, which local authorities in County Durham made representations about fresh proposals on the basis of the new guidance.

Four district councils—Derwentside, Easington, Sedgefield and Wear Valley—have asked for the revised policy guidance issued to the Local Government Commission on 2 November to be applied to County Durham and have indicated their willingness to consider fresh options for change.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1993 to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), Official Report, column 380, what weight he will now give to local views in determining the future structure of local government in Darlington.

It is for the Local Government Commission to conduct a further review of County Durham and make recommendations to my right hon. Friend. The Government have said that they attach great importance to local consensus and that the commission will wish to measure proposals from local authorities against expressed views from those outside local government. Once the final report has been published, there will be an opportunity for interested parties to make representations before we take decisions about the implementation of any recommendations for change.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1993 to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), Official Report, column 380, what has been the cost to date of the Local Government Commission's review of local government in County Durham.

Expenditure on the review of County Durham is a matter for the Local Government Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), Official Report, column 380, whether the same commissioners will be reviewing County Durham.

This is a matter for the Local Government Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1993 to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), what are the expected costs of his decision further to review County Durham.

The resources which we are making available to the commission, £5·124 million in 1993–94 and £8·300 million in 1994–95, should be adequate to enable it to complete all the reviews of local government structure in the shire counties of England by the end of 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1993 to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight), if he will make a statement on his reasons for not exempfing Darlington from further review.

My right hon. Friend has directed the Local Government Commission, under section 15(6) of the Local Government Act 1992, to conduct a further review of County Durham because he is not at present satisfied that the commission's recommendations for the area meet the criteria in section 13(5) of that Act. He did not want to limit the possible options available for consideration in the further review, and there would also have been difficulties in implementing changes for part of the county in advance of the remainder. He therefore concluded that it would not be right to exclude Darlington from the area to be covered by the further review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many councillors in England have been surcharged or prosecuted as a consequence of taking decisions in relation to the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980;(2) how many councillors in England have been surcharged or prosecuted as a consequence of taking decisions in relation to the Local Government Act 1988.

None, to my knowledge. The Department does not keep records of such actions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the total number of contracts awarded to English local authority direct service or labour organisations which have not been subject to the issuing of a section 19A or 19B notice, alleging anti-competitive behaviour under the terms of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980; and on how many occasions such actions were taken;(2) what was the total number of contracts awarded to English local authority direct service or labour organisations which have not been subject to the issuing of a section 13 or 14 notice, alleging anti-competitive behaviour under the terms of the Local Government Act 1988; and on how many occasions such actions have been taken.

To date, 55 notices and 28 directions relating to anti-competitive behaviour have been issued under sections 19A and 19B of the 1980 Act or sections 13 and 14 of the 1988 Act. Information on the total number of contracts is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many local authority direct service or labour organisations, operating contracts in England under the terms of the Local Government Act 1988, have achieved the required rate of return since 1988;(2) how many local authority direct service or labour organisations, operating contracts in England under the terms of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, have achieved the required rate of return since 1988.

For the financial year 1990–91, my Department recorded just over 2,000 accounts for direct service or labour organisations under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 and Local Government Act 1988, 1,670 of these accounts—83·5 per cent.—recorded that the DLO or DSO had met the statutory financial objective.For 1991–92, 2,260 accounts were recorded of which 1925—85·2 per cent.—recorded that the financial objectives had been met.Information on accounts for 1992–93 is not yet complete. Information on accounts for 1988–89 and 1989–90 is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the authorities that have been challenged by his Department in relation to their internal arrangements for establishing client-contractor splits in order to meet the requirements of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 and the Local Government Act 1988.

To date, none of the statutory notices or directions given to local authorities under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 or the Local Government Act 1988 has concerned internal arrangements for establishing client-contractor splits.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to conclude his consultations on changes to mineral planning guidance note 3; when he expects to announce any changes to MPG 3; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the then Secretary of State for the Environment announced on 25 March Official Report, columns 714-15, that we intended to proceed to consultation on revised planning guidelines as soon as possible. This is still our intention.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

The only category of files not available for NAO view are those which relate to relations between the Department and the NAO and the Public Accounts Committee. This is fully in accordance with the standing agreement between the Treasury and the NAO. This applies to 214 files out of 1·4 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what Government contribution will be made towards the joint venture proposals for the extension to the docklands light railway to Lewisham, announced in his Budget speech; and what help Ministers will give in assembling the private finance needed for the project.

No Government grant or subsidy will be made towards the costs of the extension to Lewisham of the docklands light railway. The joint venture will be taken forward by the London Docklands development corporation—owners of the railway—and Docklands Light Railway Ltd. My Department's private finance unit will provide advise and expertise where necessary to support their work.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about ratification by the United Kingdom of the climate change convention.

The United Kingdom's instrument of ratification will be deposited with the United Nations very shortly. This will fulfil our commitment to ratify the framework convention of climate change by the end of this year.Following the Budget statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and in particular the commitment to future real terms increases in transport fuel duties, we now have in place all the elements to complete the United Kingdom's national programme under the convention. The programme, which includes measures aimed at returning United Kingdom emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2000, will be published early in the new year. Publication of this programme will put the United Kingdom at the forefront of global efforts to implement the convention, which was signed by the Prime Minister at the Earth summit in Rio last year.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total budget allocated by his Department to the English Industrial Estates Corporation for expenditure in 1992–93 in (a) the northern region and (b) the United Kingdom as a whole.

Total capital expenditure by English Estates in the northern region in 1992–93 was £17·5 million out of a total capital expenditure in England of £54·3 million.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in his Department; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.

The Department's information division employs 19 press officers and 24 publicity officers. The figures do not include administrative support staff. Comparable details for 1985 and 1979 are not available.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much his Department spends annually on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising and (c) press advertising; and what were the corresponding figures for 1985 and 1979.

The details are as follows:

£000's
	1979–80	1985–86	1992–93
Television advertising	20	2,212	—
Radio advertising	5	—	1
Press advertising	1,529	2,805	1,138

The figures relate to centrally managed budgets and include expenditure by the former Department of Energy.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total amount spent by his Department on (a) regional enterprise grants (b) enterprise initiative schemes, (c) regional development grants and (d) regional selective assistance in 1992–93 in (i) the northern region and (ii) the United Kingdom as a whole.

The total amount spent by my Department on these schemes in 1992–93 is set out below together with the amount spent in the northern region.

DTI expenditure in 1992–93
£ million
	Northern region	Total expenditure
Regional enterprise grants	1·5	5·8
Enterprise initiative (including the SMART and SPUR schemes)	2·4	58·6
Regional development grants	8·3	11·0
Regional selective assistance	28·1	71·1

Expenditure on the enterprise initiative covers the whole of the United Kingdom whereas DTI expenditure on the other three schemes was paid in support of projects in England only.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of the manufacture of angling products in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years, the number of persons employed in such manufacture, the number of persons engaged in the sale of angling products in the United Kingdom, and the value of the retail sales of such products in those years; and if he will divide his figures into income for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The value of sales of fishing reels, rods and tackle—including hooks—by manufacturers in the United Kingdom was £13·5 million in 1990, £17·8 million in 1991 and £14 million in 1992. The other information requested is not available.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the nuclear reactors designated for inspection, and the period of inspection in each case, under the terms of the United Kingdom/Euratom/International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement—Cmnd. 6730—since it came into force.

The prototype fast reactor at Dounreay was designated and subject to joint International Atomic Energy Agency/Euratom inspections from 1980 until 1982 under the terms of the United Kingdom/Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade which United Kingdom nuclear facility was the latest to be designated by the International Atomic Energy Agency for safeguards inspection under the terms of the United Kingdom/Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement—Cmnd. 6730.

The most recent United Kingdom nuclear facility to be designated by the IAEA for inspection, under the United Kingdom/Euratom/IAEA tripartite safeguards agreement, was the thermal oxide reprocessing plant receipt and storage pond at Sellafield; the facility was designated on 1 January 1993.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many files marked "not for National Audit Office eyes" are held by his Department.

No central record is kept by my Department of files marked "not for NAO eyes". For each NAO study, a number of divisions in different locations may be involved and each may possess in its registries a file with a number of parts—that is, individual jackets. The information requested is therefore not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The marking "not for NAO eyes" is used in accordance with an agreement between the Treasury and the National Audit Office, under which documents relating to the handling of relations between Departments and the NAO and Public Accounts Committee are not automatically available to the NAO while they are current.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what figures he has on the costs per gigajoule of coal imports into the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 30 November 1993]: The average prices of coal imported into the United Kingdom from January to September 1993—based on prices at the port of entry—are estimated from data available for Customs and Excise. This data provide information in £ per tonne and this has been converted to £ per gigajoule using a conversion factor of 26 gigajoules per tonne. The resulting prices of all coal imports and steam coal imports are as follows:

Coal type	Cost per gigajoule (£)
Steam coal imports	1·31
All coal imports	1·44

These prices are averages for coal of different grades and different calorific values with a variety of industrial and domestic uses. They include cost of transhipment from other EC ports. The data cannot be used to distinguish the price of imports to power stations. But in the European Community as a whole the overall price of imports to power stations from extra-EC countries was £1·08/gigajoule for the first quarter of 1993.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the net gain to the Exchequer of increasing the excise duty on unleaded petrol so as to eliminate the differential between leaded and unleaded petrol.

Had my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer increased the excise duty on unleaded petrol in the Budget to eliminate the differential with leaded petrol this would have raised a further £1,050 million in 1994–95 beyond the figures shown in the Financial Statement and Budget Report.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has incorporated the code of practice for information security management, published by the British Standards Institution, into relevant contracts with information technology suppliers.

The security requirements for IT systems and services used by central Government Departments are stated in the Government IT security policy document. This document is supported by use of the CCTA risk analysis and management method—CRAMM —and baseline security for IT systems—BSITS—risk analysis methods and by supporting advice and guidance published by the Government security authorities. These are regularly reviewed to ensure best practice, have been developed specifically for use within government and have been in operation for some time. The code of practice for information security management was developed by and established for use by commercial organisations and does not specifically address the requirements for the protection of official information.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the operation of his Department's sensitive documents unit; how many staff are employed in its operation; and approximately how many documents per annum come within its purview.

The Treasury does not have a sensitive documents unit. Sensitivity checks are carried out on records being considered for release to the Public Record Office. In the period from October 1992 to October 1993, 97 linear feet of records were checked for sensitivity by 3·5 staff.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were stopped and searched by customs officers at each port of entry during 1992, broken down by ethnic origin.

The information requested is not available. Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has recorded the ethnic grouping of persons selected for search of their person only since 1 January 1993.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 29 November, Official Report, column 338-40, if he will list the counties covered by each customs local office.

Customs group local offices to form collections. The counties covered by each collection are as follows:Collection and Counties

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 29 November, Official Report, columns 338-40, if he will adjust the figures on VAT registrations and deregistrations to run from September each year.

As Customs only holds such information for calendar quarters, revised registration and deregistration figures, by year, from October 1987 to September 1993 are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers; and how many vehicles are involved.

The cost to the Scottish Office of the car service for Ministers in 1992–93 was £224,163. The number of vehicles involved is three in London and four—part-time—in Scotland.