To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he plans to publish his departmental guidance on the implementation of the code of practice on access to Government information, as promised at paragraph 3(ii) of the code issued on 4 April; and what has been the cause of the delay in publishing the departmental guidance.

The Lord Chancellor's Department's guidance on the implementation of the code of practice on access to Government information has been available since the end of March. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in his plans to transfer the armed services food supply task to the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute; and if he will make a statement.

Negotiations with the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute are proceeding satisfactorily and I expect shortly to be able to provide full details of the future food supply arrangements for the armed services. As part of our review of this task, the future of victualling depots operated by the Ministry of Defence has been examined. This work is continuing, but the conclusions reached so far are that the Royal Navy victualling depots at Burnetts Lane, near Southampton, and Royal Elizabeth Yard, Kirkliston, near Edinburgh, are no longer required. It is therefore proposed the Burnetts Lane should close by 30 September 1995, and that REY Kirkliston should close by 31 March 1996.These proposals are subject to consultation with the trade unions and other interested parties. No final decisions will be taken until consultation has been completed, and negotiations with NAAFI have been concluded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals covering the Greater London area carry out heart transplant surgery.

St. George's Healthcare NHS trust, St. George's hospital, Tooting; the Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children NHS trust; and the Royal Brompton hospital which operates in association with Harefield hospital.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what provision is made for (a) infertility treatment and (b) infertility investigation in Sunderland district health authority;(2) what advice the Sunderland district health authority has sought from her Department as to the most cost-effective and cost-efficient means of providing for infertility investigation and treatment.

These are matters for the Sunderland district health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. George Bedell, chairman of the authority, for details.The national health service provides a wide range of treatments for subfertility. Individual health authorities determine priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances.Advice is available to health authorities and clinicians in two publications drawn to the attention of the NHS in 1992:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice the West Kent health authority has sought from her Department as to the most cost-effective and cost-efficient means of providing for infertility investigation and treatment in its area;(2) what provision is made for

This is a matter for West Kent health authority. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Mr. Peter Edgely, the chairman of the authority, for details.The national health service provides a wide range of treatments for subfertility. Individual health authorities determine priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances. Advice is available to health authorities and clinicians in two publications drawn to the attention of the NHS in 1992:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what provision is made for infertility investigation in (a) the South Birmingham district health authority area and (b) the area covered by West Midlands Health.(2) what is the provision for infertility treatment in

This is a matter for individual health authorities. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. B. Stoten, chairman of South Birmingham health authority and Mr. B. Edwards, chairman of West Midlands regional health authority for further information.The national health service provides a wide range of treatments for subfertility. Individual health authorities determine priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances. Advice is available to health authorities and clinicians in two publications drawn to the attention of the NHS in 1992:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the recruitment of general practitioners.

The number of general practitioners is at an all-time high and has risen from 21,357 at 1 October 1979 to 26,289 at 1 October 1993, an increase of over 23 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on stress among general practitioners.

Family doctors deliver a high standard of care across a wide range of services. We recognise that the responsibility for maintaining high-quality services can lead to stress in some doctors and we have recently agreed to provide financial support for a study by the Royal College of General Practitioners into the effects of stress on general practitioners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) percentage discount rates and (b) special offers have been offered by each national health service trust provider in England to GP fundholders who place block orders for cataract surgery; and if she will indicate the thresholds at which the discount changes.

These are local contractual matters between individual national health service trusts and general practitioner fundholders and district health authorities as purchasers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response she has made following the report by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting on standards of nursing in nursing homes; and if she will make a statement.

I welcome the clear statement by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting that the vast majority of residents of nursing homes are looked after well. I share the UKCC's concern about the rare cases where abuse or neglect by nursing staff occurs. Any single such case is a betrayal of nursing trust.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list each housing association which is contracted to provide social services under the care in the community programme.

Contracts for social care are made by individual social services authorities in accordance with the needs of their areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will itemise each community care service for which there is a charge and indicate the variation in charges found within England.

Local authorities are required to make charges for adults for whom they arrange residential accommodation. The amounts payable in charges vary depending on the actual costs of the accommodation and the resources of each resident. Local authorities have discretion about the amount charged for short-stay residents. They also have discretionary powers to make charges for non-residential services. There is no requirement to inform the Department about individual charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has undertaken of the effect of the homelessness legislation review on her care in the community policy; and if she will make a statement.

The Department has been fully involved in the review of access to local authority and housing association tenancies. The Government's conclusions, when announced, will take into account the implications for the policy areas, including care in the community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 26 May, Official Report, columns 294–95, (1) if she will list all the factors, and their relative weights, taken into account when determining per capita spending by district health and family health services authority;(2) pursuant to her answer of 26 May,

The figures for per capita spending were calculated by dividing the total expenditure for each authority—from the provisional 1992–93 accounts—by the crude population figures, mid 1992 estimates, for each respective authority.It is the responsibility of regional health authorities to make allocations to district health authorities and to family health services authorities for cash-limited expenditure. The majority of FHSA expenditure is determined by demand for services and there are no predetermined allocations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her best estimate of the numbers of patients in end-stage renal failure dying each year due to non-availability of sufficient donor organs; what steps she is taking to reduce destruction of such organs; and if she will enter into discussions with the medical profession with a view to establishing an organ transplant opt-out register in place of the current donor cards.

Information is not available centrally on the number of people who die while awaiting a kidney transplant. People awaiting kidney transplants may live for many years and may die from causes other than kidney failure. The Government are continuing to take a number of initiatives to increase the number of donor organs available for transplant. The Department of Health is in regular contact with the medical profession on this subject but the legislation for the presumption of consent unless otherwise indicated, regardless of the views of relatives, does not have widespread support.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his oral answer of 29 March to the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston (Mr. Keen), Official Report, column 787, what study he is making of the age profile of the academic work force.

It is for universities and colleges as employers to consider in the first instance the age profile of their academic staff. My right hon. Friend will continue to keep the general situation under review, in the light of any advice from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the United Kingdom's level of non-marketable debt minus national savings has increased in line with Government estimates for each of the last 15 years.

Non-marketable debt represents only a small proportion of total Government debt. Figures for the components of national debt at end-March, including sterling non-marketable debt and national savings, are published annually in the Bank of England's quarterly bulletin debt article—see the November 1993 edition for end-March 1993. Sterling non-marketable debt excluding national savings, calculated from these articles, for the last 15 years are given in the table:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what instructions are given to security staff in his departmental offices in London for dealing with (a) those sleeping rough in departmental doorways and (b) beggars in the vicinity; and how many problems have been experienced with each category in the last three months.

No specific instructions are issued to security staff; it is the practice for anyone causing a nuisance to be asked to move on. No problems have been experienced in the past three months.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for encouraging companies to retain profits rather than distribute them as dividends.

The Chancellor has no plans to intervene in the control of dividends.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average level of dividends of the top 50 companies in each of the last 10 years.

The Treasury does not monitor individual company results and does not have this information.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average price of 20 cigarettes, the average gross weekly wage for adult male manual workers and the proportion of the latter represented by the former in each year since 1964.

The table shows available data.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the change in the real exchange rate as measured by relative unit values of exports to (a) European Union countries and (b) the rest of the world from January 1993 to the latest available date.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 21 March 1994, Official Report, column 15, which provides references to exchange rate and export price data for Community and other countries, which can be used to calculate the information requested.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the Government's latest economic forecast.

Under the terms of the Industry Act 1975 the Government have to publish two forecasts a year. Following the move to a unified Budget, forecasts will be published in the summer and in the Budget in November. The first summer forecast will be published on 28 June. Copies will be available from the House of Commons Vote Office at 11 am.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what mechanisms exist for the independent monitoring of charter standards; and if he will give details of the mechanism for each public service covered by a charter.

Under the citizens charter, each public service organisation is responsible for setting its own charter standards and ensuring that they are monitored. The public services publish details of actual performance against standards on a regular basis. Later this month, for example, the Department of Health will publish comparative information on the performance of health authorities. In November, the Department for Education will again publish performance tables for schools and colleges with students in the 16 to 18 age range. London Underground publishes four-weekly performance figures against its charter targets, and British Rail publishes four-weekly performance figures for the punctuality and reliability of lines.The citizens charter second report published in March 1994 reports generally on the progress achieved in improving standards of service and gives details of new commitments made under the charter.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he will take on the conclusions of reports which he commissioned on plug and socket harmonisation on the level of disruption and costs to industry, customers and the time taken for benefits to accrue.

The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation—CENELEC—the body responsible for electrical standards in Europe, has referred the proposed standard back to the relevant technical committee for further work. The study recently undertaken by the Building Services Research and Information Association for my Department will provide a useful factual background for comments from consumers and industry if and when a draft standard is issued for national consultation.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade further to his White paper "Competitiveness: Helping Business to Win", what evidence he has in respect of profit levels of (a) United Kingdom manufacturers and (b) major foreign based manufacturers; and what was the estimated return on capital in manufacturing industry for each year since 1970 in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) other major Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

For the United Kingdom, the gross trading surplus of manufacturing companies and public corporations plus income from self-employment from manufacturing can be obtained from table 2.2 of the Central Statistical Office Blue Book. The rate of return on capital employed by manufacturing companies is shown in CSO Bulletin 64/93 "Profitability of UK Companies (1962–1992)".Table 14 of the OECD's "National Accounts 1993" contains information on the operating surplus and rates of return on capital employed in manufacturing for OECD countries. These figures are on a slightly different basis from those published by CSO, and are provided for a variety of years.Copies of all the above-mentioned publications are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the areas of the United Kingdom which have been cabled to date and those areas which are programmed for cabling over the next 12 months.

To date, 125 franchises have been licensed, covering 14.5 million homes. Services are now being offered in 65 of these franchises and cable networks now pass over 3 million homes. The cable operators will continue to build out their franchises over the course of the next few years in line with the build obligations set out in their licences. The Department does not hold precise details of the areas which have been cabled, and the construction plans of the cable operators for the next 12 months are primarily a matter for the companies themselves.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy that the articles for the blind facility will remain a Freepost service following any reorganisation of the Post Office.

The Government are well aware of the importance of the free postage facility currently offered by the Royal Mail for articles for the blind. The Green Paper on the Post Office, which is due to be published shortly, will, therefore, make clear that, under any option, the Royal Mail will be required to continue to offer this valued service.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what approval is required from institutions of the European Union, and in what form, for the zero-rating of VAT on postage for letters and parcels in the event of privatisation or part-privatisation of the Post Office.

Arrangements in respect of VAT and postal services need to conform with EC VAT legislation and, in particular, the sixth EC VAT directive, which provides VAT exemption for the universal letter and parcel services. In the light of discussions with the European Commission, as well as earlier jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, the Government are satisfied that privatisation would not mean the imposition of VAT on these services. The Government have made it clear that, under any option that they finally adopt, stamps will continue to be free of VAT.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will publish the scrutiny team's report and evidence;(2) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consideration given to the views of the Fire and Rescue Service in the present deregulation of fire safety legislation.

The Fire and Rescue Service has taken every opportunity to make its views known to Government and the fire safety review team during the widespread consultation on the review of fire safety legislation and enforcement. I know that the review team has found these and others' comments constructive and comprehensive.On the question of publication of the review team's report, I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy) on 14 June,

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, when he expects to publish the inter-departmental report on fire safety scrutiny.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy) on 14 June, Official Report, columns 427–28.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many requests he has received for environmental information under the Access to Environmental Information Regulations 1992; and how many requests were refused.on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

[holding answer 14 June 1994]: The Department has to date received around 187 requests for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 1992, none of which have been refused on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 16 June.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 16 June.

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

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his letter of 13 May to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, if he will make an assessment of the background work and credentials of Mr. Max van der Stoel for making a report on Iraq.

Mr. van der Stoel is the United Nations special rapporteur on Iraq. It is for the chairman of the Commission on Human Rights to appoint special rapporteurs, who must be impartial. Mr. van der Stoel's international reputation and his wide experience of human rights issues make him an excellent choice as rapporteur on human rights in Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the summary of responses received by his Department as part of the consultation process following his proposal to merge English Nature and the Countryside Commission for England.

A summary of the responses received will be placed in the Library of the House once an announcement has been made on the outcome of the study.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to protect green-field sites in the west midlands region.

The Secretary of State will continue to uphold policies that protect the green belt and open countryside in the west midlands. He will maintain his commitment to urban regeneration and will stress the importance of accommodating any necessary development within urban areas wherever possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has received as to a need for the release of land for house building in the west midlands.

The West Midlands Forum of Local Authorities has recently submitted advice to the Secretary of State. The forum estimated that 275,000 additional dwellings would be required in the region between 1991 and 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the demand for new private sector housing in the west midlands.

The Secretary of State will set out his view of the need for new housing in the region in the forthcoming consultation draft of regional planning guidance. That need is based on a number of different factors and will be met by housing of a variety of tenures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which parts of the county hall complex have been sold; and which parts remain unsold.

The riverside or "main" building has been sold. The remainder of the county hall land and buildings at present remain unsold.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what instructions are given to security staff in his departmental offices in London for dealing with (a) those sleeping rough in departmental doorways and (b) beggars in the vicinity; and how many problems have been experienced with each category in the last three months.

My Department's standing instructions do not contain anything specifically related to the categories mentioned, nor have there been any problems in the last three months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to establish an urban air quality monitoring station in the Nottingham area; and if he will make a statement.

We take advice on this matter from the quality of urban air review group and as priorities develop over the next three years, we will consult the review group on the location of monitoring sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the current key performance targets for the Building Research Establishment.

The Building Research Establishment is working to the following key targets for 1994–95:

£920,000 net contribution to the Exchequer income to cover full economic costs on a trading basis gross non-Exchequer income of £3.6 million taking into account changes in BRE's charging policy, an improvement of 3 per cent. in the average daily cost of commissions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what matters were discussed and what decisions taken at the European Transport Council on 13–14 June in Luxembourg; and how the United Kingdom voted on matters decided by vote.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the outcome of the Transport Council in Luxembourg on 13 and 14 June.

The Transport Council met in Luxembourg on 13 and 14 June. I represented the United Kingdom.On the first day, the Council discussed a number of maritime safety issues and reached a common position on proposals on the training of seafarers, minimum standards for ship classification societies and lower port fees for environmentally friendly oil tankers.I gave a presentation on the Donaldson report into the Braer incident off Shetland. I emphasised three recommendations of special interest: port state control, improved ship identification using transponders and emphasis on the "polluter pays" priniciple. I received strong support from all member states and the Commission, which felt that the report was a very positive basis for future work on maritime safety and agreed to further detailed discussion by the Council.Other items discussed included maritime competition, freedom to provide maritime services and maritime relations with west Africa.On the second day, the Council reached provisional agreement, subject to a United Kingdom parliamentary scrutiny reserve, on a common position on a directive harmonising conditions for transport of dangerous goods by road. The Netherlands and Spain entered abstentions.The Commission presented a communication on the way forward for civil aviation in Europe, drawn up in response to the wise men's report published in January of this year. I welcomed the Commission's paper, while emphasising the importance of elimination of state aids and full implementation of the third package of aviation liberalisation measures.Among the other items discussed was a proposed measure that aims to establish common criteria for allocating train paths to operators and charging for access to the railway network. I argued that the scope of the measure should be limited to international services and drew attention to the special treatment that would be needed where traffic rights had already been laid down —for example, the channel tunnel—or where necessary to get new infrastructure built. The Council also discusssed, but made little progress on, mandates for road transport negotiations with eastern Europe and transport negotiations with Switzerland.Under any other business, I reported on the review recently undertaken by the United Kingdom into the provision of seat belts in coaches and minibuses. My conclusion from this report was that there was now a good case for requiring the fitting of seat belts to new vehicles. I emphasised the importance of this issue for road safety and asked how work was progressing within the Commission. In its response, the Commission informed the Council that it was working on a directive that would introduce new roof rigidity standards and emergency exit requirements. Existing seat belt legislation was also being reviewed under the guidance of a group of experts and a separate proposal covering the fire resistance of materials was being examined. The Commission was committed to having all these proposals on the table by the end of 1994.Two votes were taken. On the dangerous goods directive, as noted above, I entered a parliamentary scrutiny reserve and the Netherlands and Spain abstained. On the seafarers' training proposal, Italy abstained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the estimated (a) demand and (b) cost to public funds of motorcycle tests over the next three years; what is the cost to the Driving Standards Agency of providing personal protective equipment to each motorcycle examiner; and what is the type and cost of the motorcycles used for the tests;(2) if he will list the reasons for which the block booking of heavy goods vehicle driving tests has been discontinued by the Driving Standards Agency; and if he will make a statement.(3) if he will list the number of

Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Driving Standards Agency under its chief executive, Dr. Ford, and I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's policy in respect of the proportion of the jobs created by the construction of the Jubilee line extention to be taken up by members of the communities adjacent to the extension.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 14 June 1994, Official Report, column 523.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research evidence known to his Department demonstrates that the imposition of a ban on coaches using the third lane on motorways would reduce the risk of accidents.

The available evidence is referred to in the consultation document issued on 9 May 1994, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish W. S. Atkins's independent review of Union Railways' work on the London terminus of the new channel tunnel rail link.

I have today published W. S. Atkins's report. Copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress has been made in awarding three-year licences to training and enterprise councils; against what criteria TEC bids are being assessed; and if he will make a statement.

The prospectus which launched the licensing process for training and enterprise councils was published at the end of May. TECs have between now and 1997 to demonstrate that they have met the criteria. We expect that the first licences will be awarded with effect from April 1995.The criteria cover TEC's corporate plans, strategic impact, programme performance and internal capability.A copy of the prospectus, "The New Contract Framework: 3 Year Licences", has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what proportion of (a) chairmen, (b) chief executives and (c) board members of training and enterprise councils are women.

Records held centrally on the numbers and proportion of training and enterprise council chairmen, chief executives and board members in England and Wales who are women show the following:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under which treaty provisions Cyprus is prohibited from joining the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

Under article 0 of the treaty on European Union any European state may apply to become a member of the Union. There is no prohibition in this treaty, or in the treaty of Rome, on Cyprus joining. But there are clearly difficulties in its doing so while the inter-communal dispute remains unresolved. The Council will review Cyprus's application early in 1995 in the light of developments in the inter-communal process. The United Kingdom supports Cyprus's membership application and the Commission's talks with Cyprus to familiarise it with the EC's existing legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the derogations entered by the United Kingdom Government from the Council of Europe recommendations that pertain to the use of personal data; and what was the reason in each case for such a derogation being entered.

The United Kingdom has entered the following reservations. In each case the reservations were entered because the provisions in question were inconsistent with United Kingdom law, policy or practice.

Recommendation No. R(83)10 on the protection of personal data used for scientific research and statistics (adopted 23/9/1983): the United Kingdom reserved its right not to comply with the recommendation as far as it relates to manually processed data.

Recommendation No. R(85)20 on the protection of personal data used for the purposes of direct marketing (adopted 25/10/1985): the United Kingdom reserved its right to comply or not with the first sentence of paragraph 2.4, the second sentence of paragraph 3.1 and with paragraph 3.3 as a whole.

Recommendation No. R(86)1 on the protection of personal data used for social security purposes (adopted 23/1/1986): the United Kingdom reserved its right to comply or not with the second sub-paragraph of paragraph 1.2, the second sentence of paragraph 3.3 and paragraph 5.

Recommendation No. R(87)15 regulating the use of personal data in the police sector (adopted 17/9/1987): the United Kingdom reserved its right to comply or not with principles 2.2 and 2.4.

Recommendation No. R(90)19 on the protection of personal data used for payment and other related operations (adopted 13/9/1990): the United Kingdom reserved its right to comply or not with paragraph 3.3, 3.4, 5.1.c and 7.1.

Recommendation No. R(91)10 on the communication to third parties of personal data held by public bodies (adopted 9/9/1991): the United Kingdom reserved its right to comply or not with principles 6.2 and 6.3 paragraph 2.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the United Kingdom is taking as a member of the Security Council to ensure that safe areas are established across Rwanda other than those on the border areas and in Kigali.

The United Kingdom supported Security Council resolutions 918 and 925 expanding the United Nations Aid Mission in Rwanda force and mandating it to provide support and protection for civilians at risk. Since the situation on the ground is constantly changing, Security Council resolution 925 gives the force commander the flexibility to deploy his force in the way that he considers most likely to enable UNAMIR to fulfil its mandate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the United Kingdom and other Security Council members are taking to ensure that those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda are held accountable under the 1948 United Nations genocide convention.

The United Kingdom has welcomed the appointment by the special session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on 24–25 May of a special rapporteur. His task will be to gather information on acts which may constitute breaches of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity, including acts of genocide, and report to the Secretary-General.The special session also affirmed that all persons who commit or authorise violations of human rights or international humanitarian law are individually responsible and accountable for those violations and that the international community will exert every effort to bring those responsible to justice, while affirming that the primary responsibility for bringing perpetrators to justice rests with national judicial system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he supports calls for human rights monitors to be deployed as part of the United Nations force in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom supported the adoption of the recent resolution by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights which, inter alia, called for human rights field officers to be deployed in Rwanda. Proposals for a deployment have not yet been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what request the United Kingdom Government have received for logistical assistance with the deployment of UNAMIR troops in Rwanda; and what was their response.

The United Kingdom, along with other United Nations member states, has received a request to provide logistical support. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs informed the House on 15 June, Official Report, column 615, we are keen and ready to provide such support and are looking with the United Nations at ways in which we can contribute, for example by providing trucks. Since the start of the crisis in Rwanda we have given over £11 million in humanitarian aid.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the emergency session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights which met on 24 and 25 May to discuss Rwanda.

We welcomed the outcome of the special session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to discuss Rwanda, and in particular its decision to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation, assisted by a team of human rights field officers. We look forward to receiving the first report of the special rapporteur by 24 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries which have responded positively to the United Nations Secretary General's appeal for troops to augment United Nations UNAMIR in Rwanda.

Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Congo and Mali have all responded positively to the United Nations Secretary-General's appeal for troops to augment UNAMIR.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the predicted timetable for the deployment of the addition 5,500 United Nations troops to Rwanda as agreed under United Nations Security Council resolution 918.

The Secretary-General's report to the Security Council of 31 May 1994 outlined a three-stage deployment schedule. The first stage, the strengthening of the Ghanaian battalion in Kigali and the deployment of a number of military observers is to begin by mid-July 1994. Phase two, the deployment of one mechanised and one motorised battalion, will take place in close synchronisation with phase 1. The timing of phase three, the deployment of an additional two battalions, will depend upon how the initial deployment of the force unfolds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many job offers were reported by staff in his Department under the requirements of the rules on the acceptance of outside appointments in each of the last 10 years by (a) staff of grade 3 and above, (b) staff below grade 3, (c) staff in sections concerned with procurement or contract work, under section 15 of the rules of 1 February 1993 and (d) staff in other sections, under section 14; and how many of these reports were followed by an application to join the company concerned.

The information requested by the hon. Member is only available for the past nine years and is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British subjects are awaiting trial having been in custody for over one year since arrest in (a) other member states of the European Union, (b) Belgium, (c) Denmark (d) France, (e) Germany, (f) Greece, (g) Italy, (h) the Netherlands, (i) Portugal and (j) Spain.

The following numbers of British citizens have been awaiting trial in custody for over one year since arrest:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British subjects are awaiting trial having been in custody for over two years since arrest in (a) other member states of the European Union, (b) Belgium, (c) Denmark, (d) France, (e) Germany, (f) Greece, (g) Italy, (h) the Netherlands, (i) Portugal and (j) Spain.

The following numbers of British citizens have been awaiting trial in custody for over two years since arrest:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what instructions are given to security staff in his departmental offices in London for dealing with (a) those sleeping rough in departmental doorways and (b) beggars in the vicinity; and how many problems have been experienced with each category in the last three months.

No specific instructions are given to FCO security staff for dealing with anyone sleeping rough in doorways of our buildings or with beggars. We have had no problems with either category.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the record of member states in implementing EC directives; and how many times the Commission took member states to court in the years 1983 to 1993.

These figures were published in the Commission's 1993 report on application of Community law, available in the House Library. They are as follows:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she will announce a decision on the milk marketing board's reorganisation scheme; and if she will make a statement.

The Agriculture Act 1993 gave to me and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales the task of deciding on a milk marketing reorganisation scheme submitted by the England and Wales milk marketing board. Since receiving the board's application last October we have conducted two formal rounds of consultation and held discussions with the European Commission, the board itself, the Dairy Trade Federation and other parties whose interests are at stake. We have given full consideration to the many and complex issues involved as required by the Act.I am able to announce today that we have informed the board of the modifications which we considered necessary to enable us to grant its application for approval. The board has agreed to them and we have granted approval. The industry is therefore poised to take a great step forward.Under the now approved reorganisation scheme the existing milk marketing scheme will come to an end on 1 November 1994. From that date, producers will be free to sell their milk wherever they wish, while dairies and other purchasers will be free to buy direct from producers. The present system of managed markets and end-use pricing will be replaced by the normal disciplines of a competitive market. Our industry will have greater freedom to compete on level terms within the wider European market.It is evident that the full benefits of competition could more rapidly be achieved if Community milk quotas were abolished so that production could expand as the reward for success. This remains an important Government objective but not one which can be accomplished overnight. In the meantime I shall continue to press at next week's Council of Agriculture Ministers for milk quota to be made tradeable between producers in different member states.Up to 1 November 1994, which is vesting day under the board's reorganisation scheme, the requirement for producers to sell their milk to the board remains in force. But after 1 November those producers who continue to want the security of collective marketing will have a number of options. They can form their own marketing groups, as many are already doing in anticipation of the ending of the milk marketing scheme; they can form an association with a particular purchaser; or they can join Milk Marque, the board's successor marketing body under the reorganisation scheme.The scheme provides for Milk Marque to inherit certain assets of the MMB, including a sum of cash, property, staff and laboratories. It will not inherit Dairy Crest, which is to be floated on the stock market as an independent company. Nor will it inherit Genus, which is to become an independent company with all the shares distributed to producers. National Milk Records will remain with the residuary body for an initial period pending decisions on its longer-term future.The total market value of the assets to be passed to Milk Marque is around £39 million. In considering whether this transfer was acceptable, my right hon. Friend and I had to balance two considerations in particular. The first was the importance that we both attach to ensuring, in the interests of producers, that Milk Marque has a sound financial base. The second was the need to ensure fairness as between those producers who join the new body and those who do not. We are satisfied that the outcome is a satisfactory balance. Milk Marque will have an adequate asset base but will be required to issue interest-bearing certificates of entitlement so that producers who choose not to join will receive their full share of the value of transferred assets.I know that many purchasers are opposed to the establishment of a body such as Milk Marque which may have a large share of the market for raw milk in England and Wales. My right hon. Friend and I have considered Milk Marque's proposed trading practices, as we are required to by the Act, and have concluded that, taking account of the amendments made by the board to its October proposals, it does, indeed, take account of the interests of purchasers. Many, if not most, of the fears of the purchasers relate to the possibility of Milk Marque's abusing its market power in a discriminatory or otherwise unfair manner. Milk Marque will, however, be aware that it is under continuous scrutiny and will be well advised to conduct itself in such a way that there are no grounds for complaint. My right hon. Friend and I look to the Office of Fair Trading and the European Commission to monitor the situation closely and to act decisively if the need should arise.A great deal now has to be accomplished in a short time. Producers who have already signed contracts with Milk Marque, and wish to reconsider, have two weeks from today, that is until 30 June, to give Milk Marque written notice in order to secure release from their contract without paying compensation. I would however urge all producers to come to a decision on who they are going to sell to, and sign up, by four weeks from now. That will give the dairy companies, Milk Marque and others the ability to plan their sales and purchases from 1 November with the maximum of confidence. That is very much in the interests of consumers. It is also important for the flotation prospects of Dairy Crest, in which producers have a particular interest under the scheme.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I will be laying regulations before Parliament to establish the constitution of the residuary MMB which will deal with the MMB's remaining rights and obligations on behalf of producers after vesting day. It is our intention that the residuary body should be required to have due regard to the financial interests of milk producers. It will be answerable to them and not to Government. There will be a strong producer presence on the new board.I am pleased to be able to announce also that we shall be laying an order to establish a milk development council for England and Wales. This is in response to proposals submitted by the National Farmers Union. The object of the council will be to continue certain functions of the MMB, such as the financing of research and development, which would otherwise be likely to lapse. In order to establish how much support for such a body exists among producers my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales and I recently carried out a postal ballot of producers in Great Britain. In England and Wales 67 per cent. of the forms sent out were returned. Some 74 per cent. of those voting favoured the establishment of a development council. The Secretary of State for Wales and I conclude that this meets the requirement for substantial support set out in the relevant Act. We hope that a development council will be operational from 1 November or soon after. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is considering whether Scotland should join in.The granting of approval of the board's reorganisation scheme opens up the prospects of a brighter future. I am pleased, therefore, that the board has agreed to take an important step towards clearing up some of the unfinished business of the past by setting up an arbitration mechanism to deal with claims by certain producers against payment of levy on direct sales of low-fat milk from 1 January 1992. This follows the decision of the European Court of Justice in March that low-fat milk comes within the board's purchasing monopoly. It has been argued that some producers have claims, based in particular on the principle of legitimate expectations, which should limit their levy liability. The board's decision is intended to establish a more flexible and less expensive means of resolving the issues than would be available through the courts. I very much welcome it.Returning to the board's reorganisation scheme, the Act requires the principles of the approved scheme to be published. We have already published more detail of the proposed scheme than the Act requires in our March consultation document. We are now depositing in the Library of the House two further documents setting out the effects of amendments to the reorganisation scheme submitted by the MMB since March and of the modifications proposed by myself and the Secretary of State and accepted by the board.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what plans he has to improve facilities for children of hon. Members and visitors including changing facilities for babies in the House and its out-buildings.

I understand that child care facilities for Members and staff are at present under consideration by the Administration Committee and the House of Commons Commission. The Accommodation and Works Committee would be prepared to examine accommodation requirements arising from any decisions that are taken.The provision of facilities for the families of Members was among the bids put forward for space in the phase 2 building. The Committee has yet to decide to what extent that request can be accommodated within the limited space available. No change is at present contemplated for the families room. I am confident that the issue of changing facilities for babies will be considered in the context of any planned development of appropriate accommodation.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many job offers were reported by staff in his Department under the requirements of the rules on the acceptance of outside appointments in each year since its establishment by (a) staff of grade 3 and above, (b) staff below grade 3, (c) staff in sections concerned with procurement or contract work, under section 15 of the rules of 1 February 1993 and (d) staff in other sections, under section 14; and how many of these reports were followed by an application to join the company concerned.

The Department of National Heritage has been in existence only since April 1992. To date no job offers have been reported by staff in this Department under the requirements of the rules on acceptance of outside appointments.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage in what circumstances it is his Department's practice, when issuing a public consultation document, to inform those consulted that their responses will be made public unless they explicitly ask for them to be kept confidential; and if he will arrange for his Department to do so in all cases in future.

My Department has not issued any consultation documents where the intention has been to make individual responses available to the public. If such an occasion arose, the Department would make it clear that the response would be made available unless the respondent wished it to remain confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much has been raised from admission charges to Windsor castle and Buckingham palace.

Gross income, excluding VAT, from admission charges to Buckingham palace state apartments in 1993 was £2.277 million and from admission charges to Windsor castle between 4 January and 31 March 1994 was £0.754 million. Net income from Buckingham palace state apartments and from charges for the precincts of Windsor castle go towards the cost of the restoration of Windsor castle.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have (a) requested parliamentary counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members' Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct parliamentary counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

Parliamentary counsel does not draft amendments on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. On that authority, amendments were drafted by parliamentary counsel on instructions from my Department and subsequently made available following the Government's decision to support Lord Perth's Treasure Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assistance his Department has given, directly or indirectly, to the sport of rugby union in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 14 June 1994]: None.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has to introduce a citizens charter for participants in sport.

[holding answer 14 June 1994]: None. The main providers of sports facilities in the public sector are local authorities, a number of whom have been awarded the charter mark for their sports and leisure provision. The Sports Council is working towards a set of charter standards for its own services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the regeneration of areas of deprivation in Belfast, South.

The recently published strategy proposals for the "Making Belfast Work" initiative sets out how the Government propose to tackle deprivation in Belfast.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many equines were exported from Northern Ireland for human consumption in the past year; what was their value; and if he will make a statement.

There are no exports of equines for human consumption from Northern Ireland direct to Europe. Horses are exported to both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland but there is no information available on the number or value of Northern Ireland horses which may be consigned to licensed abattoirs in either country. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the latest discussions he has had with the Irish Government relating to Northern Ireland.

I periodically meet members of the Irish Government to discuss matters of mutual interest. The last such meeting was with Mr. Spring on 23 May. Our discussions are necessarily confidential but are generally the subject of a joint statement at their conclusion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the talks he has had with the Irish Government relating to a constitutional framework for Northern Ireland.

Consultations are continuing with the Irish Government on the construction of a framework conforming to the principles of the joint declaration. This would facilitate a comprehensive political settlement involving the main constitutional parties, and covering all the main relationships in accordance with the statement of 26 March 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he will be putting to the Irish Government for advancing the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The Government are consulting closely with the Irish Government on the construction of a framework conforming to the principles of the joint declaration which would facilitate a comprehensive political settlement involving the main constitutional parties, and covering all the main relationships in accordance with the statement of 26 March 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with political leaders from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland about prospects for peace.

I have continued, with the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram), to hold such discussions, which necessarily remain confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a further statement about the progress of the inter-party talks.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Members for Glasgow, Rutherglen (Mr. McAvoy) and for Lewisham, East (Mrs. Prentice) earlier today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the benefits to the security situation in Northern Ireland following the Downing street declaration.

I assess that the joint declaration, which is a declaration for democracy and against coercion, has beneficially still further isolated from public support and toleration those who employ violence for political advancement within our democracy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress on the Downing street declaration.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell).

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the application to the Northern Ireland Office of the policy on open government.

The Northern Ireland Office is committed to the application of the principles contained within the code of practice on Government information, which came into effect on 4 April 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on cross-border security.

Co-operation north and south of the border on matters of security is a matter of great importance for both Governments, and continues to be very effectively practised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Irish Republic regarding cross-border security.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath (Mr. Townsend).

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what support he is giving to integrated schools.

Integrated schools receive 100 per cent. recurrent funding immediately and become eligible for 100 per cent. capital grants when viability is confirmed. In March 1994, the Department of Education for Northern Ireland provided a £1 million grant to the integrated education fund for the development of integrated education. This is in addition to annual grant aid of some £250,000 to the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Housing Executive houses are heated by (a) electricity, (b) solid fuel and (c) other means.

This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive but I am advised by the chief executive that there are 25,605 houses heated by electricity, 125,427 by solid fuel and 1,900 by other means.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the latest figures on inward investment to Northern Ireland.

The financial year from 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994 has been the most successful 12-month period for inward investment since the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland was established in 1982.During the year, 13 projects were secured offering a potential 2,309 jobs. Associated investment in these projects amounts to £259 million.I am much encouraged by this success, and by the prospects for securing further inward investment for the Province.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what considerations led to the decision to cease the issuing of vehicle registration licences through post offices in Northern Ireland.

This is an operational matter for the chief executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Northern Ireland. I understand that he wrote to the hon. Member on 6 June 1994 setting out the reasons for his decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the number of health visitor students and district nurse students in training expressed as whole-time equivalents in March of each year from 1988 to 1993.