To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if citizens making their houses available to the police for surveillance are individually identified in court.

Where there is a prosecution in a case in which individuals have assisted the police by

Passengers refused leave to enter, and removed from, selected ports
Number of persons
	Dover West	Dover East	Folkestone	Ramsgate	Newhaven
1993
May	21	284	2	9	15
June	18	295	1	7	2
July	41	367	2	13	15
August	33	338	1	7	12
September	34	333	5	5	34
October	13	332	5	3	14
November	4	n/a	4	n/a	7
n/a=not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the money allowance-grant that is given to a prison inmate who is discharged from a prison in England and Wales.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported, so far, in 1993; and how many people were deported from the United Kingdom in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people arriving on a cross-channel ferry have been refused leave to enter the United Kingdom and removed each month since May at (a) Dover western docks, (b) Dover eastern docks, (c) Folkestone, (d) Ramsgate and (e) Newhaven.

The information requested is given in the table.

The number of persons removed from the United Kingdom under the deportation process was 2,220 in 1991, 2,453 in 1992, and 1,654—provisional figure—for January to September 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of EC countries were made subject to a requirement to leave the United Kingdom for (a) each of the three years preceding 1993 and (b) for each month since May 1993.

The information available is given in the table.

EC nationals1 require to leave the United Kingdom
Number of persons
	Passengers refused leave to enter and removed	Illegal entrants removed2	Persons removed under the deportation process2
1990	145	8	59
1991	88	7	51
1992	229	3	76
1993
January to March	49	3	30
April	10	1	18
May	23
June	12
July	17	..	11
August	28
September	19

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average life sentence served by (a) men and (b) women who were sentenced to life imprisonment since 1970.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a table showing the major occupation of shotgun certificate holders.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms, by category, are registered as being in private ownership.

The estimated number of firearms which were held on a firearm certificate in England and Wales on 31 December 1992 is 358,000. Information as to the categories of firearms held on certificate is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those police authorities which have asked publisher Harper Collins for a contribution to the cost of policing visits made by Baroness Thatcher to promote her memoirs; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list any sites being considered for new prisons in south Wales; and if he will make a statement.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions are made for prisoners to apply for social security benefits before release, to enable any such benefits to be received immediately upon release; and if he will make a statement.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of individuals convicted for murder since the abolition of the death sentence who, on release, have committed murder again.

From the information to date seven individuals convicted of murder in England and Wales since the abolition of the death penalty had been convicted again of murder in England and Wales following release as follows:

Case	Date of first murder	Date of second murder
First	1969	1986
Second	1971	1990
Third	1972	1988
Fourth	1972	1992
Fifth	1974	1985
Sixth	1979	1989
Seventh	1980	1992

In addition, a further case involved a murder in England in 1972, with a subsequent murder taking place in Scotland in 1983. One person convicted of a murder which took place in 1981 in Northern Ireland was subsequently convicted of a second murder in England which took place in 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances a coroner may adjourn an inquest into multiple deaths without reconvening its sitting to complete his investigations.

Under section 16(1) of the Coroners Act 1988, if a coroner is informed that a person has been charged with the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of the deceased, or with an offence directly involving or alleged to have been committed in circumstances connected with the death of the deceased, he must, in the absence of reason to the contrary, adjourn the inquest until after the conclusion of the relevant criminal proceedings. Under section 16(3) of the Act, the coroner may resume the adjourned inquest after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings if, in his opinion, there is sufficient cause to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to respond to the final suggestions for boundaries made by the European Parliamentary Committee for Wales.

My right hon. and learned Friend will pay prompt attention to the report of the Committee when he receives it. I understand that that is likely to be later this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each police authority in England and Wales, (a) the increase in authorised police establishment requested and (b) the increase granted by him in each of the past five years, in both cases making it clear whether supernumeraries are included or excluded from each figure.

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce a national public alert system.

It was announced on 12 November 1992 that the obsolescent national siren warning system was to be closed down and that future national arrangements for warning the public would use radio and television broadcasts. Work is in hand on the new system.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the Government's policy on issuing re-entry visas to those settled in the United Kingdom and who intend to return within short periods; and if he will make a statement.

Re-entry visas were abolished in May 1991. Those settled in the United Kingdom are however exempt from the requirement to obtain a visa if they return to the United Kingdom for settlement within two years of departure.

To ask the Prime Minister what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in respect of the admission of states in the Visegrad group into the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

The Copenhagen European Council agreed in June that the Central European associate countries—including the four states in the Visegrad group —should be admitted to the European Union, if they so wished, as soon as they are ready to take on the obligations of membership. The Government had worked hard to achieve this outcome, and warmly welcomed it.The associate countries are now beginning to prepare themselves, economically and politically. The United Kingdom is helping this process both bilaterally and through the European Union.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the progress of his proposals for the honours system announced on 4 March.

The changes to the honours system outlined in my statement to the House on 4 March have been put into effect. I plan to report to the House shortly on the review of the numbers and distribution of honours.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the companies from other EC countries which have brought inward investment into Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the last 10 years.

According to records maintained by the Department of Trade and Industry's Invest in Britain Bureau, 879 EC-owned companies have set up in the United Kingdom in the last 10 years. These figures are based on information provided by the companies at the time of the announcement to invest. There is no requirement to notify the Department, and so the figures include only those projects where the Invest in Britain Bureau and its regional partners were involved, or which have come to their notice. They take no account of subsequent developments.At the request of the companies concerned, some names are commercially confidential, and cannot be quoted. However, a list of quotable companies has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Prime Minister what will be the cash limit on the cost of running his office in 1994–95.

Financial provision for the running of my Office in 1994–95 is subject to the budgetary planning arrangements operated jointly by the Cabinet Office and Office of Public Service and Science. Internal allocation of the 1993 survey settlement is not yet complete. Provision is expected to be similar to that for the current financial year.

To ask the Prime Minister what information ministerial special advisers who resign or retire are required to provide concerning their subsequent employment; and to whom.

None.

To ask the Prime Minister if it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to support the admission of states in the Visegrad group into membership of NATO; and if he will make a statement.

We and our NATO allies have repeatedly stated that NATO is not a closed shop. We do not therefore rule out the possibility of new members at some time in the future. But the question of NATO enlargement is a complex one. Our overriding objective in considering it must be to enhance security and stability across the whole of Europe, while at the same time ensuring that we do not create new divisions or erect new barriers.

To ask the Prime Minister which of Her Majesty's Government's policies since 1979 have attempted to influence moral behaviour; and what assessment he has made of each of those policies.

Policies are designed to influence moral behaviour where it is in the national interest that they should do so. Our policies on law and order are perhaps the most obvious example.

To ask the Prime Minister how much has been spent on decorating and furnishing No. 10 Downing street since November 1990.

[holding answer 30 November 1993]: Figures are available only on a financial year basis. The expenditure on new works, furniture and fittings in the state rooms, on the catering facilities, and in the offices and other rooms in 10 Downing street from April 1991 to March 1993 was £292,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 6 December, Official Report, column 31, what information his Department has on the place of residence of pupils under the assisted places scheme at the time of their original application for an assisted place; what steps his Department takes to ensure that applicants for assisted places are genuinely entitled to a place under the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Information about the place of residence of pupils at the time of their application for an assisted place is not held by the Department. It is for participating schools themselves to select pupils for assisted places, but the Department ensures that they target able children from families with low incomes, and also that a substantial majority of assisted pupils in any school have previously attended a maintained school.To ensure that participating schools carry out assessments of income correctly, the Department also issues regular comprehensive guidance and carries out random audit surveys of income assessments. These surveys, together with the statistical information collected, show that schools are indeed administering the scheme properly and targeting the pupils for whom the scheme is intended.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 6 December, Official Report, column 31, what was the total cost to public funds of the assisted places scheme at Wolverhampton grammar school in each year since 1981.

The information requested for the past five years is given in the table. Data for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Academic year	DFE expenditure £000s
1988–89	485
1989–90	507
1990–91	600
1991–92	702
1992–93	1760
1 Estimate pending final claim.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will list by local education authority area (a) the number of Office for Standards in Education formal inspections and (b) the number of unannounced visits carried out so far.(2) if he will list by local education authority area the number of formal inspections planned till the end of 1994.

The arrangements for inspecting schools under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 are a matter for Ofsted.I have asked Professor Sutherland to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers in 1990–91; and how many vehicles were involved.

In the financial year 1990–91, the Government car service for Ministers cost the Department £134,191·00, including value added tax, for five vehicles. There will in addition have been a cost to the Department in transporting ministerial boxes and other papers to Ministers; it is unfortunately not possible to disaggregate this figure from other costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many hostel spaces for the homeless in Doncaster have been supported by his Department in (a) 1990–91, (b) 1991–92, (c) 1992–93 and (d) the current year; and if he will make a statement.

The Government provide resources, through the programmes of the Housing Corporation, for capital and revenue funding towards housing associations schemes for people with special needs. The information which follows gives the number of bed-spaces in such schemes in the metropolitan borough of Doncaster which have received revenue funding for that year and the amount of capital funding which has contributed to the addition of new bed-spaces in that year.

	Bed-spaces	Revenue funding £	Capital funding £
1990–91	37	92,000	206,000
1991–92	43	137,000	128,000
1992–93	54	144,000	382,000
1993–94	58	158,000	116,000

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of hostel accommodation beds available for elderly homeless people at risk in central London in November 1991, November 1992 and November 1993.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, what discussions he has held regarding provision to replace the beds for the homeless lost in Central London on the closure of the Salvation Army hostel in Great Peter street.

The responsibility for the funding of new provision through housing associations is vested in the Housing Corporation, which I understand has had discussions with the Salvation Army about the future of the Great Peter street site. More generally, under the Government's rough sleepers initiative, the Housing Corporation is planning to provide funding for about 1,500 new bedspaces in Central London over a three-year period beginning this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the Ministers in his Department who since June 1987 have visited (a) Saudi Arabia, (b) Malaysia, (c) Singapore and (d) South Africa on official business; and which such visits included party political activities in addition to official duties.

My Department's central records, which only go back to 1 April 1990, show that the only such visits were by my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean) to Malaysia and Lord Strathclyde to South Africa.As far as I am aware these visits included no party political activities. The visit to Malaysia was to attend a meeting with developing countries prior to the UNCED summit in Rio de Janeiro, whilst Lord Strathclyde's visit to South Africa was to promote export opportunities for the United Kingdom water industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has received on the matters discussed and decisions taken at the workshop on national plans for sustainable development held by the Development Assistance and Environmental Policies Committees of the OECD in Ottawa in October.

The workshop was attended by representatives of OECD and other Governments, including officials from my Department and the Overseas Development Administration, and by non-governmental organisations (notably the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development and the Overseas Development Institute) and by international agencies.It was not a decision-taking forum. It compared the experience of different OECD countries

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for monitoring the implementation of the voluntary plan which he has asked the packaging industry to draw up to recover between 50 per cent. and 75 per cent. of packaging waste; what action he proposes to take in the event of the packaging industry failing to meet the targets drawn up by him; and if he will introduce legal targets for the avoidance, minimisation and recycling of packaging waste and measures to boost markets for recycling products.

We believe that a voluntary approach, such as the producer responsibility initiative for packaging waste, will enable industry to devise the most cost effective and flexible methods for securing the Government's objectives for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste and for the reduction at source of packaging. Under producer responsibility we have asked industry to present by Christmas a phased plan to achieve our targets and we will examine their proposals very closely to satisfy ourselves that they are feasible. However, we have also made it clear to industry that if they are not able to satisfy us that they will succeed on a voluntary basis we will consider legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the locations of the air sampling station used for official purposes in Greater London; and what assessment he has made as to the adequacy of the range of samples for the safeguarding of the public.

The Government are advised on their monitoring strategy by the Department of the Environment's independent export review groups: the quality of urban air review group; the photochemical oxidants review group; and the review group on acid rain. Advice concerning potential health effects is provided by Department of Health independent export groups, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants and the Committee on Medical Aspects of Air Pollution Episodes.The location of the Department of the Environment's automatic and non-automatic air quality monitoring sites in Greater London are given in the tables.

Site type	Location
Automatic
Enhanced urban site	Camden (Bloomsbury)
Hydrocarbon site	Camden (University College)
Hydrocarbon site	Greenwich (Eltham)
NOx, O3, CO, SO2	Westminster (Bridge Place, Victoria)
NOx, CO	Kensington and Chelsea (Earls Court)
NOx, CO, SO2	Kensington and Chelsea (Cromwell Road)
Non-automatic
Smoke and sulphur	Croydon
Dioxide1	Ealing (2)
	Enfield
	Greenwich (2)
	Hackney
	Harrow
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Lambeth
	London (City)
	Redbridge
	Tower Hamlets
	Westminster

Site type	Location
Nitrogen dioxide1	Barking
(4 diffusion tubes in each borough)	Barnet
	Brent
	Bromley
	Camden
	Ealing
	Enfield
	Greenwich
	Hackney
	Havering
	Hillingdon
	Islington
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Lambeth
	London (City)
	Southwark
	Waltham Forest
	Westminster
Toxic organic micropollutants	Marsham Street, Victoria, Westminster
Multi-element and lead	Neasden, Brent
	Cromwell Road, Kensington and Chelsea
	Bridge Place, Victoria, Westminster
1Monitoring undertaken in collaboration with local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the quality of sea water off the beaches in and adjacent to the Castle Point constituency meets the European Community directive on bathing water standards.

The results of water quality monitoring in the 1993 season for bathing waters in the area are shown in the Department's press release No. 818 copies of which have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the results of the study into the effects on health of sea water bathing around the British coastline which was conducted by pilot study in collaboration with the University of Wales water research centre; and if he will make a statement.

A report on the pilot study was published on 19 June 1990 and placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the results of the sea water bathing health study which took place at Southend on Sea on 4 July 1992; and what implications can be drawn from that study on the advisability of sea water bathing in and around the Castle Point constituency.

The study at Southend in 1992 forms part of the four-year programme of research at a number of locations on which the final report will be published shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if it is safe to bathe from beaches serving the coastline in and adjacent to the Castle Point constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Safety will depend on a large number of factors including wind, wave and tidal conditions and the competence of the bather. Methods of risk assessment are described in "Safety on British Beaches" published by RoSPA and RLSS UK. The advice from the Department of Health is that there is minimal risk of serious disease from swimming in British coastal waters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each civil service grade in his Department (a) the total number of people employed, (b) the total number of black people and (c) the total number of Asians.

The total numbers, and the numbers of black and Asian staff¹ at each grade level are as follows:

	Total in grade	Black	Asians(excluding Chinese)
Grade 1	1	0	0
Grade 2	7	0	0
Grade 3	34	0	0
Grade 4	7	0	0
Grade 5	144	0	0
Grade 6	309	1	0
per cent.		0·3
Grade 7	776	8	2
per cent.		1·0	0·3
SEO and equivalent	740	3	12
per cent.		0·4	1·6
HEO and equivalent	981	18	24
per cent.		1·8	2·4
EO and equivalent	1,224	28	42
per cent.		2·3	3·4
AO and equivalent	1,601	131	76
per cent.		8·2	4·7
AA and equivalent	790	65	36
per cent.		8·2	4·6
Total	6,614	254	192
per cent		3·8	2·9
1Figures are for permanent full time and part-time non-industrial staff, including those in agencies based on those who have responded to ethnic origin surveys as at 1 October 1993. Respondents account for 91 per cent. of all staff; a total of 510 respondents—7·7 per cent. of all staff overall —are of ethnic minority origin.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount paid to the Evening Standard for distributing and advertising the questionnaire and document "London: Making the Best Better"; if separate amounts where payable for (i) distribution and (ii) advertising; if any advertisements were provided free of charge as part of a distribution package; and if he will make a statement.

Information about the amount paid to the Evening Standard is commercial in confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a full list of all polling organisations who were consulted about draft copies, or asked to undertake pilot studies, in connection with his questionnaire accompanying "London: Making the Best Better"; what was the total cost involved in such pilot studies or consultations; and if he will make a statement.

The organisations invited to tender to undertake a pilot study on the questionnaire accompanying the document "London: Making the Best Better" were MORI, NOP and the London Research Centre. The contract was awared to MORI, at a total cost of £4,500 including VAT.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what who was responsible for printing copies of the documen, "London: Making the Best Better" and the accompanying questionnaire.

The Department of the Environment was responsible for printing both the booklet amd the questionnaire. The work was competitively tendered and the contract awarded to Flair Press Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the task of analysing replies to the document "London: Making the Best Better" has been plat out to tender.

[holding answer10 December 1993]: No. The analysis of the replies is being undertaken within my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many replies so far received to the document "London: Making the Best Better" questionnaire have been deemed invalid.

[holding answer 10 December 1993]: Of about 6,500 replies received so far, under 30 are unusable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider including within the remit of the new agency for environmental protection responsibility for the promotion of recycling and environmentally friendly technology.

The proposed environment agency will bring together the work of the National Rivers Authority, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the local authority waste regulators. The detailed functions, powers and duties of this new agency are still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the successive estimates given by his Department of the cost of ending sewage sludge dumping in Britain, together with the names of the external consultants employed to assist with the preparation of such estimates.

The Department said in October 1990 in evidence to the House of Lords Committee on the European Communities, that the initial estimate was of the order of £200 million. In the document "Paying for Quality" published by the Director General for Water Services in July 1993 an estimate of capital costs of around £440 million was given. Further estimates are now being made by the sewerage undertakers in preparation for their submissions to the director general in the context of the current periodic review of price limits.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he plans to ensure that leakage of toxic substances from coal workings will continue to be dealt with following privatisation; and if he will make a statement.

It is for mineowners to ensure that they comply with any discharge consents determined by the National Rivers Authority. The Government will ensure that British Coal's current responsibilities with regard to the physical legacy of mining will be carried forward after privatisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements will be put in place to replace Directive 78/319/EEC on toxic and dangerous waste.

The Council of Ministers has agreed that member states will continue to apply the provisions of this directive, which is repealed on 12 December, until the Hazardous Waste Directive—91/689/EEC—comes into force in the spring of 1995. In the United Kingdom this agreement will be effected by retaining waste management controls including the 1980 Special Waste Regulations. The regulations will be revised to implement the new directive; they will be the subject of future consltation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of the United Kingdom's submission to the European Commission under article 37, provisions of the Euratom treaty concerning radioactive waste discharges from THORP.

The "General Data" required to be provided to the EC Commission under article 37 of the Euratom treaty on the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield, have been placed in the Library of the House. The Commission gave a favourable opinion on this plant as published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 21 May 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what expenditure was incurred by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in each of the financial years 1991–92 and 1992–93, and what is the projected expenditure for 1993–94, on work contracted out in sampling and monitoring;(2) what expenditure was incurred by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in each of the financial years 1991–92 and 1992–93, and what is the projected expenditure for 1993–94, on work contracted out in research on areas other than preparation for technical guidance;(3) what expenditure was incurred by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in each of the financial years 1991–92 and 1992–93, and what is the projected expenditure for 1993–94, on work contracted out in information technology;(4) what expenditure was incurred by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in each of the financial years 1991–92 and 1992–93, and what is the projected expenditure for 1993–94, on work contracted out in preparation for technical guidance;(5) what expenditure was incurred by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in each of the financial years 1991–92 and 1992–93, and what is the projected expenditure for 1993–94, on work contracted out in management consultancy services other than information technology.

The information is as follows:

£ million
	1991–92	1992–93	Projected 1993–94
Sampling and monitoring	1·3	1·6	2·0
Research	6·0	4·9	4·0
Information technology	0·4	1·4	1·4
Technical guidance	0·6	1·0	0·4
Management consultancy	0·3	0·7	0·9

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the current minimum standards of qualification and industrial experience required by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution for new entrants (a) to the pollution inspector grade and (b) to the assistant pollution inspector grade; and if he will make a statement on planned changes in these requirements.

New entrant pollution inspectors and assistant pollution inspectors require a relevant honours degree or equivalent qualification. They must also possess relevant professional experience—normally at least five years for pollution inspectors and two years for assistant pollution inspectors—ideally in a process industry. In addition, they must hold a current United Kingdom driving licence. There are no plans to change these requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the salary costs of civil service staff working for Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in each of the financial years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94, and what are the projected salary costs for 1993–94, for (a) inspectoral staff and (b) all other staff.

The information is as follows—in £ million:

	1991–92	Projected 1992–93	1993–94
Inspectors' salaries	4·5	5·3	7·2
Other salaries	2·1	3·3	4·6

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of external entrants to (a) the pollution inspector grade and (b) to the assistant pollution inspector grade in each year since 1984; and if he will make a statement on planned changes to the ratio of PIs to APIs at recruitment.

The pollution inspector and assistant pollution inspector grades were not established until 1989 and 1990 respectively. Recruitment since then is as follows:

	Number of external recruits
Date of recruitment campaign	PI	API
1989	8	—
1990	36	7
1991	32	9
1992	24	1

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to give a substantive reply to the matters raised with him in a letter dated 16 October by Occan and Morton consultants of Newcastle upon Tyne.

The matters raised in this letter have already been dealt with in official correspondence and in correspondence from the authors of the report by Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the level of funding for the National Rivers Authority in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Grant-in-aid paid to the National Rivers Authority was £99·518 million in 1990–91, £83·850 million in 1991–92 and £81·802 million in 1992–93. The reductions are more than offset by increases in income from non-grant sources. Expenditure on grant-aided functions increased by £14 million to £188 million between 1990–91 and 1992–93.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the expected level of funding for the National Rivers Authority in 1994 and 1995.

The public expenditure plans announced on 30 November envisage grant-in-aid funding to the National Rivers Authority of £67·861 million in 1994–95 and £59·876 million in 1995–96. Year on year reductions in grant support largely reflect efficiency savings, and increases in forecast income.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement of the reasons for the cuts in National Rivers Authority funding for 1993–94.

Since the 1992 autumn statement there have been no reductions in grant-in-aid provision for the National Rivers Authority for 1993–94. However, I understand that the authority may underspend its provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he is considering in relation to the way in which listed building consent is unnecessary in connection with ecclesiastical buildings owned by the Church of England.

Responsibility for the subject of this question is a matter for the Secretary of State for National Heritage.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations the Urban Regeneration Agency has had with local authorities; and if he will list those authorities.

David Taylor, the chief executive, and his senior staff are undertaking an extensive programme of regional visits to help inform the development of English Partnerships—the Urban Regeneration Agency—strategy. On each visit they have met representatives from several of the region's local authorities. I will ask Mr. Taylor to write to the hon. Member with a list of the local authorities concerned. Mr. Taylor is also about to meet representatives from local authority associations and individual authorities to discuss the development of a unified financing regime for English Partnerships. In addition, my Department has consulted all local authorities on our draft guidance to English Partnerships which was published in August 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment where the Urban Regeneration Agency is to be based.

English Partnerships—the Urban Regeneration Agency—will have a strong regional structure including a small London office. Its central administrative functions will be based outside London. Other decisions on the locations of its offices have yet to be taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a statement on progress in establishing the Urban Regeneration Agency;(2) if he will state the budget for 1993–94 and 1994–95 for the Urban Regeneration Agency.

The Urban Regeneration Agency, under its new name of English Partnerships, was launched on 10 November. It has taken over from my Department responsibility for the city grant programme with a budget for the remainder of 1993–94 of £34 million. From April 1994, it will incorporate the derelict land grant and English Estates programmes. For 1994–95, English Partnerships will have a budget of around £250 million including grant-in-aid and estimated receipts from its own activities and the European Union.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the budget for city pride for the years 1993–94 and 1994–95.

No specific resources are set aside for city pride.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to announce his decision in relation to the estate action bid, submitted by Bradford council, to regenerate the Allerton estate; and if he will make a statement.

I expect to announce decisions on this and other bids for estate action resources later this month along with local authority HIP allocations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the more strategic functions which will have to be done at a level above unitary councils referred to in the Minister's letter of 22 November to all hon. Members.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Planning had land use planning particularly in mind. Annex B of the policy guidance which we have issued to the Local Government Commission suggests that shared arrangements may also be necessary for functions like transport planning, library and archive services, or emergency planning. Paragraph 17 of that guidance draws attention to the special position of law and order services, where the combining of local government areas may be necessary in order to preserve appropriate structures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to imposing a ban on the sale of fridges that use ozone-depleting substances and global warming gases; and if he will make a statement.

The production of chlorofluorocarbons is to be phased out in 1995, and the use within the European Community of hydrochlorofluorocarbons in 2015. The use of HCFC's as refrigerants in domestic fridges and freezers will be banned from 1996, and in industrial refrigeration from 2000. There are no restrictions on the use of HFC's as refrigerants. These have some global warming potential but are essential to enable the industry to move away from ozone-depleting CFC's and HCFC's.These controls provide strong encouragement to the fridge manufacturing industry to move out of ozone- depleting substances. A ban on sales would not conform to current deregulation initiatives, nor to our commitments under the Montreal protocol. It would threaten free trade within the single market. It would cost jobs and severely hamper the competitiveness of British industry. For these reasons, the Government do not feel that a ban on sales would be appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the names of the authorities to be included in the programme for housing transfers by councils in 1994–95

I am today announcing the names of the 12 authorities who will be able to proceed, on a voluntary basis and subject to the approval of their tenants, with proposals to transfer their housing stock to housing associations during 1994–95.I am pleased that 14 authorities responded to our invitation and that, as a result of an expanded programme, it has been possible to programme some 50,000 dwellings.The 12 authorities which have successfully gained a place on the 1994–95 disposals programme, together with the 15 intended recipient housing associations are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has received a copy of the interim report by Sir Michael Latham to the joint review of procurement and contractual arrangements in the United Kingdom construction industry.

Sir Michael Latham has now presented his interim report, which was due before the end of the year, and I have received a copy. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.I announced the appointment of Sir Michael as the independent reviewer for the joint Government/industry review of procurement and contractual arrangements in the United Kingdom construction industry to the House on 5 July this year.Sir Michael's final report will be completed in July 1994 and will contain recommendations to Government and other bodies about practical reforms to reduce conflict and litigation and to encourage productivity and competitiveness.

To ask the Attorney-General how many cases the Crown Prosecution Service has not brought to court in each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

The number of defendants whose case did not proceed in each of the last seven years was:

	Numbers
11987	118,991
1988	194,693
1989	213,965
1990	227,489
1991	262,139
1992	281,121
21993	218,466
1 April to December.
2 January to September.

These figures include cases where proceedings were dropped by the CPS, cases where the prosecution was unable to proceed because the defendant had died CT could not be traced, and cases adjourned sine die.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the level of expenditure by the Crown Prosecution Service for each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

Gross expenditure by the Crown Prosecution Service from its two votes in each of the last seven years was as follows:

	£'000
11986–87	74,153
1987–88	133,840
1988–89	156,882
1989–90	184,141
1990–91	213,431
1991–92	242,677
1992–93	273,748

Category	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
Lawyers	1,208	1,269·5	1,374·5	1,427·5	1,611·5	1,874·5	2,068·5	2,181·5
Legal Trainees	—	—	—	—	79	123	121	144
Administrators	1,910	2,841	2,629·8	3,100·5	3,487·5	3,674·5	4,094·5	4,191·5
Total	3, 118	3,750·5	4,004·3	4,528	5,178	5,672	6,284	6,517

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many representations he has received on the recent change in the law relating to television franchises and its possible effect on smaller, regional television companies.

This year, I have received 69 representations from hon. Members on the ownership restrictions on the ITV companies, as well as 22 from broadcasters, advertisers, other organisations and 20 from members of the public. The correspondence has included comments about the smaller regional television companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what are the latest figures from the business sponsorship incentive scheme.

The figures for 1992–93 indicate a record increase of 33 per cent. in the number of awards and an ¹ Part year.

To ask the Attorney-General how many cases were brought to court in which the Crown Prosecution Service failed to secure a conviction for each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

The number of defendants whose case was dismissed in magistrates' courts and the number acquitted in the Crown Court for the last seven years was:

	Magistrates courts	Crown Court
11987	20,051	6,122
1988	25,853	9,422
1989	27,437	9,369
1990	28,795	8,726
1991	26,644	9,551
1992	25,210	9,227
21993	16,781	6,900
1 April to December.
2 January to September.

To ask the Attorney-General how many full-time staff equivalent were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service for each of the last seven years for which figures are available.

The table provides the numbers of full-time staff equivalent employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in October each year, beginning in 1986.additional £1·9 million for the arts. It is likely that in 1993–94 the scheme will prove to be even more effective. In recognition of the great success of the scheme, I recently announced that I am increasing its budget by £300,000 to £4·8 million in 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he next plans to meet the chairman of the BBC governors to discuss the BBC licence fee.

I have no plans at present to meet the chairman of the BBC to discuss the television licence fee.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the site of the headquarters of the national lottery.

The site of the headquarters of the national lottery will be a matter for the appointed licensee. Those tendering for the licence will be aware of the advantages of locating in an area receiving Government incentives.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has made, following the decisions of the European Councils in Edinburgh 1992 and Brussels 1993, to increase the transparency and accountability of decision-making, including the recording of votes for each member state, at meetings of European Community Councils of Ministers at which his Department is represented; and if he will make a statement.

The Government fully support the conclusions reached at Edinburgh and Brussels on openness. On the matter of recording of votes, the Foreign Affairs Council on 6 December agreed that votes on legislative decisions would be published automatically unless a majority of the Council opposed this. This is fully consistent with the conclusions of the Edinburgh European Council last December.Voting details are now published by the Council secretariat after Council meetings. We shall ensure that this information is provided to Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the latest estimated total cost to public funds of the Windsor castle fire.

It is at present estimated that the cost of the Windsor castle restoration will be between £30 and £40 million of which about £9 to £12 million will be met from public funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his policy on independent television.

My aim is to ensure that the regulatory framework allows the ITV companies to flourish and to maintain and improve the programme services they provide to audiences in the United Kingdom and overseas, where new opportunities are opening up for United Kingdom broadcasters.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what research he has conducted into the popularity of opera; and if he will make a statement.

Figures made available to the Arts Council by the British Market Research Bureau indicate that 2·8 million—or over 6 per cent.—of the adult population attend opera performances. This represents an increase of over 30 per cent. in the last five years. Recent studies have also shown that, in addition to those who attend opera, 7 million people now have an interest in the art form. I warmly congratulate all those involved in opera in this country on this remarkable achievement.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what requirement he has placed on commercial television companies to broadcast British-made programmes; if this requirement applies to BSkyB; and if he will make a statement.

Under the Broadcasting Act 1990, Channel 3 licence holders are required to broadcast regional programmes, of which a suitable proportion should be made within the area. No such requirement applies to BSkyB. But under the EC Television Without Frontiers Directive, all United Kingdom broadcasters, where practicable, have to reserve a majority of their transmission time, subject to certain exclusions, for European works.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how he intends to improve on the latest figures for attendance at arts events.

The improvement of access to the arts is a cornerstone of the Government's policies for the arts, and is also a primary aim of the Arts Council. All Arts Council clients work to enlarge their audiences. Specific marketing initiatives support and direct their work; the latest figures point to the continuing success of these initiatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many civil servants his Department employs with responsibilities for tourism; and what is the total cost of their salaries.

There are 20 staff employed in my Department's tourism division, including one who works part-time. It is part of the division's role to ensure that the British Tourist Authority and the English tourist board make effective and efficient use of the money voted to them by Parliament. The division's salary budget for 1993–94 is £448,820.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration he has given to the funding of the BBC; and when he plans to publish his proposals concerning the renewal of the BBC charter.

I hope to publish a White Paper early next year setting out the Government's proposals for the future of the BBC, including its funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if, when he next meets the chairman of the Sports Council, he will discuss with him the problems of drug misuse in sport.

My right hon. Friend and I meet the chairman of the Sports Council regularly to discuss matters of mutual concern, including the misuse of drugs in sport.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many orchestral concerts he has attended in his official capacity since taking office; and how many of these were in London.

Since taking office I have attended 23 concerts involving orchestras or ensembles of various size: 18 of these were in London.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what grants from public funds have been paid to the Rugby Football Union for the rebuilding of its ground at Twickenham; what further grants are proposed; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes he is considering in relation to the way in which listed building consent is unnecessary for work in connection with ecclesiastical buildings owned by the Church of England.

The intention is that the exemption should in future be confined to buildings used primarily as places of worship, and some curtilage structures, and should be available to the Church of England and other church bodies whose internal control systems for works to such buildings meet the requirements of the code of practice which I published on 17 December 1992 at column 370. Following discussions with Church and amenity interests, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are considering to what extent curtilage structures should be included in these arrangements, and what special provision should be made for cathedral complexes. Our conclusions will be embodied in an order under section 60(5) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, which will be laid before the House in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consultations he has had with representatives of the film industry.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison).

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his definition of (a) security assurances and (b) security guarantees with regard to (i) the use of nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom against a non-nuclear weapon state and (ii) the commitment of the United Kingdom to defend a non-nuclear weapon state against the use or threet of use of nuclear weapons.

We regard a security guarantee as a commitment through an alliance, such as it contained in article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty, under which we and other states parties have undertaken collectively to take the necessary action to restore and maintain the security of each state member of the Atlantic alliance.We have in addition issued positive and negative nuclear security assurances to certain non-nuclear weapon states in the following terms:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the ratification of the START—strategic arms reduction talks—1 treaty by the Parliament of Ukraine on 18 November.

We issued a statement on 30 November about the Ukrainian Parliament's resolution which ratified the START 1 treaty. A copy of the statement has been placed in the House of Commons library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to meet Ukrainian officials and politicians to discuss the ratification of the START 1 treaty by the Parliament of Ukraine on 18 November.

We have already discussed this question with Ukrainian Government officials, and have made clear our concerns along the lines of the public statement we made on 30 November, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. We have also made our views clear to members of the Ukrainian Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department has received from Ukraine a draft treaty on security guarantees for Ukraine; and what plans his Department has to respond to such a draft treaty.

We have received from the Ukrainian ambassador a copy of a draft security treaty for signature by the five nuclear weapon states. The draft treaty would come into force on entry into force of the START 1 treaty, and it does not commit Ukraine to accession to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty—NPT—as a non-nuclear weapon state. We have made clear to the Ukrainian Government that Ukraine will be covered by our national security assurances once she accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he plans to discuss the ratification of the START 1 treaty by the Parliament of Ukraine on 18 November with his NATO counterparts (a) prior to and (b) at the NATO summit in January 1994; and if he will make a statement.

This question was discussed at the ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council on 2 December. Allies agreed that NATO should consider in the context of preparations for its January summit what steps the alliance might take to encourage the early entry into force and rapid implementation of all provisions of the START 1 treaty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent Council of Europe document concerning the influx of illegal settlers from Turkey into northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement on Government policy regarding this official Council of Europe document.

We too are concerned by reports of an influx of settlers from Turkey into northern Cyprus. The issue needs to be addressed in the context of an overall settlement. We share the hope of the United Nations Secretary-General that progress can be made with a resumption of intercommunal talks in the new year. We shall continue to support him in his efforts to achieve this.