To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average value, as stated by plaintiffs, of those personal injury claims commenced in the county courts for each year since 1990.

The information requested is not recorded throughout the year but only from cases concluded during the months of March and November. From these samples, the average figures can be projected as follows:

:To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many lawyers currently employed by his Department have a minimum of three years experience in dealing with personal injury cases.

No statistics are kept on the information which the hon. Member seeks, and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

:To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the main concerns expressed by respondents to the consultation paper entitled, "Small Personal Injury Claims."

Approximately 150 responses to the consultation paper were received and they are currently being evaluated. Respondents came from a wide variety of interested groups and their responses varied accordingly in scope and tone. The majority of respondents who disagreed with the proposals were those who consider the small claims procedure an inappropriate forum for personal injury claims under any circumstances, particularly because it limits recoverable costs.

:To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will define the meaning of non-standard injury as set out in paragraph 33, part a, in the consultation paper, "Small Personal Injury Claims."

:Paragraphs 31 to 34 of the consultation paper set out the safeguard which will ensure that each case is dealt with in the appropriate forum according to subject matter, and not value alone. It is proposed that, where a district judge decides that a case is unsuited to arbitration, for example because an injury had come about in complex circumstances or was of unpredictable severity, he would be able to refer the matter for trial.

:To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will outline the full range of duties, other than disposing of cases by trial, which are performed by district judges.

A description of the jurisdiction and duties of the office of district judge is contained in the consultation paper "Developments in Judicial Appointments Procedures" which was issued on 19 May 1994. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

:To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contracts and for what total sum were let out by his Department and agencies for which it is responsible to (a) Coopers and Lybrand, (b) KPMG Peat Marwick, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) Price Waterhouse, (e) Arthur Andersen, (f) Touche Ross, (g) Grant Thornton, (h) Robson Rhodes and (i) Pannell Kerr Forster for (i) privatisation, (ii) market testing, (iii) management advice, (iv) accounting, (v) audit, (vi) consultancy and (vii) other services in (1) 1980 to 1983, (2) 1984 to 1987, (3) 1998 to 1991 and (4) 1992–93.

The information that the Department has about these types of contract relates only to 1992–93 and is not broken down in a way which allows the question to be answered in the detail sought. However, on the best information currently available, total expenditure on external consultants during that year was £3.455 million. For projects costing less than £20,000 no detailed information is readily available, but for those above that amount which were completed in that year, the details are as follows:

:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the reorganisation of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland in advance of the privatisation of these services.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the reorganisation of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland in advance of the privatisation of these services.

:As my hon. Friend, the then Minister of State made clear to the House on 20 April 1993, the Government remain committed to the privatisation of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland as soon as practicable, but will not be able to do so, for tehnical reasons, during the lifetime of the present Parliament. In the interim, I have decided that the Water Executive of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, which is responsible for the delivery of water and sewerage services, should become a "next steps" agency not later than April 1996. This will enable the Water Executive to operate as a separate unit in the Department, within a framework of appropriate efficiency targets and performance measures, and will build on work to develop the commercial orientation of the organisation.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland in 1994–95.

For 1994–95, the following key performance targets have been set for the agency:

• To meet an overall efficiency gain of 2 per cent.
• To reduce the unit cost per vehicle excise enforcement case completed to £21.73 (at 1992–93 prices).
• To dispatch 90 per cent. of registration books for new vehicles within 16 working days of the receipt of application.
• To dispatch 90 per cent. of refunds of vehicle excise duty within 11 working days of receipt.
• To dispatch 92 per cent. of vehicle excise licences within six working days of receipt of postal applications.
• To dispatch 92 per cent. of duplicate vehicle registration books within six working days of receipt of applications. To dispatch 96 per cent. of amended vehicle registration books (following changes to vehicles or keepers) within eight working days of receipt of applications.
• To dispatch 91 per cent. of ordinary driving licences within 11 working days of receipt of applications.
• To dispatch 96 per cent. of vocational driving licences within 11 working days of receipt of applications.
• To dispatch 91 per cent. of provisional driving licences within 10 working days of receipt of applications.
• To dispatch substantive replies to 90 per cent. of written inquiries within four working days of receipt.
• To limit maximum waiting time at local vehicle licensing offices to 25 minutes during peak periods (the first eight and last two working days of each month) and 10 minutes at other periods.
• To reduce the error rate (errors on any item sent out by the agency) to 0.5 per cent. of total agency output.

:To ask the Prime Minister when he last met representatives of organisations for, and of, disabled people to discuss the need for comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation; when he next plans to meet such representatives; and if he will make a statement.

I have had a number of meetings with interested parties. My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Disabled People, has also had a number of such meetings, including one with the all-party disablement group on 15 March. He keeps me fully informed of the issues which are discussed.

:To ask the Prime Minister what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in relation to access by disabled people to buildings open to the public; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Section 4 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 and section 4 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 oblige those who provide buildings which are visited by members of the public to make provision for disabled people. In addition, the Government have introduced provisions within building regulations for the benefit of such people. These provisions apply predominantly to new buildings and some extensions.

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what amounts have been received in EC subsidies and support by British, French and German pig farmers in each of the last five years.

The CAP pigmeat regime is lightweight and very little direct support is available.Under the guarantee section of the common agriculture policy—FEOGA—expenditure on export refunds and private storage aid for pigmeat, neither of which are paid direct to producers, was as follows:

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list those of her Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to consult prior to legislation proposals; and in respect of which bodies the Government must publish their response to advice supplied by them.

:Prior to legislation proposals, the Government are required to consult the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, the Committee on Agricultural Valuation, the Sugar Beet Research and Education Council and the Veterinary Products Committee. They are not required to publish their responses.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department which have a statutory basis.

The following non-departmental public bodies have a statutory basis:

• The Advisory Committee on Pesticides
• The Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees
• The Consumers' Committees for Great Britain and for England and Wales
• The Committees of Investigation for Great Britain and for England and Wales
• The Committee on Agricultural Valuation
• The Hill Farming Advisory Committee
• The Veterinary Products Committee.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list her Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to produce annual reports.

:Only the Veterinary Products Committee is required to produce an annual report, but the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Food Advisory Committee also do so.

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department which are required to lay their annual reports before Parliament.

None.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advisory bodies she has set up in her Department since the publication of "Public Bodies 1993".

:None.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list her Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to publish their advice to Government.

None, but in practice a number do so.

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the countries, in order of frequency, from which meat treated with (a) clenbuterol and (b) other beta-agonists has been imported in each year since 1985.

:Beta-agonists—which include clenbuterol—are a group of drugs which have been used for a number of years in licensed veterinary medicines to treat respiratory ailments in cattle and horses and as an aid to cattle at the time of calving. There are no requirements for those importing meat into the United Kingdom to declare whether it has come from animals treated with these medicinal products. I regret therefore that I cannot supply the hon. Member with the information requested.

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the number of cases of bovine TB in cattle imported from Ireland in each year since 1990 and in each month of 1994.

The number of confirmed cases of bovine TB in cattle imported from Ireland in each year since 1990 were:

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what methods of screening Irish cattle for bovine TB are in place; and what measures she intends to introduce.

All Irish cattle, except bullocks, are tested for bovine tuberculosis 60 days after importation. In addition, all animals in herds maintained by or which have regular intakes of Irish cattle are tested annually. The routine testing interval for herds which import bullocks from Ireland for fattening purposes is set at the discretion of the divisional veterinary officer. No further measures are considered necessary.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans she has to bring forward measures to restrict the sale from supermarkets, garden centres and other retail outlets of Dieffenbachia picta—Dumb Cane—and other species of that genus, or to make the prominent display of safety warning labels mandatory at sites of sale; and if she will make a statement.

The conditions under which potentially hazardous plants are sold by supermarkets and garden centres is a matter currently being considered by the horticultural industry. An industry voluntary code of practice is in the final stages of preparation and is expected to be published later in the summer. This is an industry-led initiative and a good example of self-regulation.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what fish producing organisations were consulted on her marketing development scheme.

The following organisations with an interest in fisheries were consulted on the proposals for the marketing development scheme:

• Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• Anglo-Scottish Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• British Crayfish Marketing Association
• Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• Fleetwood Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• Grimsby Fish Producers' Organisations
• Institute of Fisheries Management
• Lowestoft Fish Producers' Organisation
• National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations
• New British Trout Association
• Salmon and Trout Association
• Shellfish Association of Great Britain
• South Western Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.
• United Kingdom Association of Fish Producers' Organisations
• Yorkshire and Anglia Fish Producers' Organisation Ltd.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is her Department's policy towards the publication of external consultants' reports in relation to market testing.

:The Department's policy is to review the scope for publication on a case-by-case basis having regard to the code of practice on open government and agreed contractual terms covering commercial confidentiality. The Department may in some cases publish a synopsis of the report rather than the report itself.

:To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will set out the total cost of external consultancy fees incurred by her Department in relation to market testing.

Over the period April 1992 to date the total cost of external consultancy fees incurred by the Department in relation to market testing is estimated to be £684,000.

:To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration he has given to alternative sources of revenue for the BBC other than licence fees; and if he will make a statement.

Our consultation document on the future of the BBC, published in November 1992, invited views on a number of possible alternatives to the licence fee. The Government's conclusions will be set out in the White Paper that we plan to publish shortly.

:To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the total licence revenue of the BBC arising from those purchasing licences in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales; and what proportion of the total income of the BBC is represented by revenue derived from television licences.

:BBC licence fee income for 1992–93 was £1,597.7 million. This represented 87 per cent. of total BBC income in 1992–93. Figures for television licence revenue by country are not available. However, the number of television licences in force by country as at 31 March 1993 was:

:To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment has been made by his Department of the value for money provided by the BBC to its viewers, in relation to the cost of a television licence and to the services provided by other networks.

:We appointed independent consultants, Touche Ross, in mid-1993 to advise on the level of the television licence fee from 1994–96. The study, as well as examining the BBC's progress in pursuing efficiency measures, included comparisons of the BBC's performance and staff costs with those of commercial broadcasters. A copy of the management summary of the study is in the Library. I announced the Government's decision on the future level of the licence fee on 4 November 1993 at columns 309–10.

:To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the future of the Yorkshire Mining museum, Caphouse.

[holding answer 27 June 1994]: I visited the Yorkshire mining museum on Friday 10 December. I was very impressed by what I saw. The chairman of the trustees, Councillor Norman Hartshorne, the then vice-chairman, Councillor Robert Mitchell, and the director of the museum, Dr. Margaret Faull, explained to me the financial difficulties which the museum would face, following the restructuring of the coal industry. These difficulties arose mainly from the fact that the traditional help in kind to the museum from British Coal would no longer be available. I said that I would do everything I properly could, consistent with the DNH's relationship with other museums, to help.The Government have now decided that the Department of National Heritage will receive additional provision in order to give the Yorkshire mining museum, the only mining museum in England with underground workings, transitional assistance of £300,000, spread over three years. The Museums and Galleries Commission has agreed to administer the provision of this financial assistance. My officials will shortly be discussing with the commission the arrangements for doing this.I shall be looking for further, non-financial ways to help ensure the profitable continuance of the Yorkshire mining museum—although I emphasise that the future of the Yorkshire mining museum is for its trustees to determine. I wrote on Friday 24 June to the director of the museum suggesting an early meeting to discuss such matters. In the meantime, I have asked Sir Neil Cossons, director of the National Museum of Science and Industry, if he would be prepared to give the Yorkshire mining museum his advice on a wide range of relevant subjects, including sponsorship. He has generously agreed.The future of the mining museums, so central to the history of Britain's industrial development, and thus to her wealth, and to her role and influence in the rest of the world, will be one of the subjects to which I want to pay particular attention in the review that my Department is undertaking of our policy towards the whole museum sector.I should like to thank my hon. Friend, the Member for Batley and Spen (Mrs. Peacock) my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate (Mr. Banks), the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) and the hon. Member for Morley and Leeds, South (Mr. Gunnell) among others on both sides of the House, for their valuable advice.

To ask the Attorney-General how many contracts and for what total sum were let out by his Department and agencies for which it is responsible to (a) Coopers and Lybrand, (b) KPMG Peat Marwick, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) Price Waterhouse, (e) Arthur Andersen, (f) Touch Ross, (g) Grant Thornton, (h) Robson Rhodes and (i) Pannell Kerr Forster for (i) privatisation, (ii) market testing, (iii) management advise, (iv) accounting, (v) audit, (vi) consultancy and (vii) other services in (1) 1980 to 1983, (2) 1984 to 1987, (3) 1988 to 1991 and (4) 1992–93.

The information is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made towards the Government's target of recycling 25 per cent. of reusable household waste.

Recovery of household waste will increase dramatically as a result of the producer responsibility challenges which we have set for the packaging and newsprint industries and others.Packaging alone is over 20 per cent. of household waste and the industry draft plan aims to recover 58 per cent. of packaging waste by 2000 and to extend close-to-home recycling facilities to eight out of 10 homes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to encourage recycling.

Our policy is to help promote recycling through a wide range of measures including the recent producer responsibility initiative, which means that those who make and sell products and packaging should take a share of responsibility for the beneficial re-use of their waste. Current producer responsibility initiatives cover packaging, newspapers, batteries, tyres, vehicles and electronic equipment.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the chairmen of the main water companies about the introduction of compulsory water metering for domestic households.

The Secretary of State has discussions with the chairmen of water companies from time to time. Alternative methods of charging to replace rateable values are sometimes discussed. It is for each company to decide on an appropriate basis for charging, but metering, which relates charges to consumption, has many advantages.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what statutory protection there is for important wildlife sites that do not qualify as sites of special scientific interest.

The Government encourage local authorities to make full use of their powers under section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. They should also adopt appropriate policies in their development plans and under planning legislation to protect such sites.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to revise future revenue support grant allocations to local authorities, so as to improve the sums granted to councils in Devon and Cornwall relative to those in the south east of England.

We are discussing with the local authority associations a number of possible changes in the allocation of revenue support grant.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to increase the local government support grant for urban authorities for 1995–96.

We are discussing with the local authority associations a number of possible changes in the allocation of revenue support grant.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the funding of local services on Merseyside.

:I have nothing to add to the full reply I gave in response to the hon. Member's Adjournment debate on 26 May 1994, Official Report, columns 430–38.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that the Mediterranean countries are enforcing EC directives on water quality at the same speed and in same way as in Britain; and if he will make a statement about cross-border enforcement.

It is for the EC Commission to take the initiative to ensure implementation of directives and relevant international conventions to which the Community is signatory. The United Kingdom Government have continued to press for effective and consistent enforcement of directives, and the Commission now makes annual reports on implementation to the Environment Council.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 17 May, Official Report, column 393, what requirements of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 concern product specifications for sewerage pipe.

None: the 1989 regulations are concerned only with the quality of water delivered to the customer.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessments he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of merging the Countryside Commission and English Nature.

An announcement will be made once my right hon. Friend has had an opportunity to consider the report on the results of the merger study.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representatives he has received from British or foreign non-governmental organisations concerning the posing of environmental risks by the THORP.

No representatives, but a number of representations have been received on this subject.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from hon. Members for Warwickshire constituencies about local government reorganisation in the county.

:Since the announcement of the acceleration of the Local Government Commission's reviews on 30 September, Ministers in the Department have received the following letters from hon. Members in Warwickshire specifically on local government structure in the county :

• Alan Howarth—5 November 1993 and 17 May 1994
• Mike O'Brien—12 October 1993
• James Pawsey—5 October 1993 and 31 May 1994
• Sir Dudley Smith—15 October 1993

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to discuss its annual budget.

My predecessor, the hon. Member for Suffolk, South (Mr. Yeo), met the chairman of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee last July to discuss a range of topics including the committee's priorities and budget. I will be holding a similar meeting with the Earl of Selborne before the summer recess.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average number of electors per councillor in (a) metropolitan districts, (b) London boroughs and (c) shire districts, including county councillors.

:The number of councillors on each council in England is not prescribed in primary legislation but has been determined, by order, for individual authorities on the basis of recommendations from the Local Government Boundary Commission.The LGBC did however establish an average ratio of councillors to electorate to act as a guideline in drawing up its recommendations. The average number of electors per councillor used by the LGBC was:

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of consulting on and implementing the recommendations of the Local Government Commission.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given earlier today to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn).

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the cost (a) to central Government and (b) to local government of the local government review.

:The Local Government Commission incurred expenditure of £2·056 million in 1992–93 and received grant in aid of £5·124 million in 1993–94.We do not have overall figures for the expenditure incurred indirectly by central Government, or directly by local authorities, on the local government review.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new targets he proposes to set following the report in February by the expert panel on air quality standards and benzene.

I hope to make a statement on future air quality standards for benzene in the autumn, when we have completed consideration of responses to our recent consultation paper, "Improving Air Quality".

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to announce new initiatives to improve air quality in British cities.

We published wide-ranging consultation proposals on the further improvement of air quality in March. We will announce our conclusions on the next steps later in the year when we have considered responses to the consultation.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many British beaches now comply with EC pollution standards; and by what date he estimates all British beaches will do so.

A total of 365 or 80 per cent. of United Kingdom bathing waters, complied with the relevant standards of the EC directive over the 1993 bathing season. The substantial programme of improvements to noncompliant waters is designed to bring virtually all the waters up to standard for the 1996 season.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to investigate the use by Plymouth city council of its car parking revenue account.

This is not a matter for the Government, and I have no such plans. If there are allegations of impropriety or illegality they should be referred to the independent auditor appointed to audit the city council's accounts.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the condition of the housing stock in Basildon.

We are aware that there are problems of poor design and construction in some of Basildon's housing, in particular that built by the former new town development corporation. Very substantial resources are being invested in renovation or redevelopment, with help from the Estate Action and Housing Partnership programmes and under the terms of transfer of the new town housing.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about exemption from the council tax for disabled people.

There is no exemption for disabled people from the council tax. However, people who are severely mentally impaired are not counted in the personal element of the tax and their presence will not add to the household's bill. Disabled persons may be entitled to a one band reduction in council tax if they need extra rooms or more space as a result of their special needs than would otherwise be the case.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to reform planning law on opencast mining.

Opencast coal mining is subject to the same planning law that applies to all mineral extraction. However, my Department has recently completed public consultation on draft revised planning guidelines for coal extraction and colliery spoil disposal which set tough environmental tests. New guidance will be published as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest available figures for levels of extraction of opencast coal.

:According to statistics compiled by the County Planning Officers' Society, 10·07 million tonnes of opencast coal were produced in England during the period 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993. The equivalent figures for Scotland and Wales are 5·4 million tonnes and 2·38 million tonnes.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to deal with the special housing needs of those people sleeping in the Bullring at Waterloo.

The Bullring at Waterloo is one of five areas specifically targeted under the Government's £180 million rough sleepers initiative in central London. A consortium of statutory and voluntary agencies, chaired by the London borough of Lambeth, is co-ordinating activity in the area. The Government are funding voluntary sector outreach and resettlement workers to assess the needs of the individuals sleeping rough in the Bullring and to assist them into suitable accommodation.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which EC directives on environmental matters have yet to be fully incorporated into United Kingdom law.

The main environmental directives still to be legally transposed in the United Kingdom are the nitrates directive, the urban waste water treatment directive and the habitats directive. The steps necessary to give effect to these are well in hand.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total amount of unallocated funds for 1995–96 under the single regeneration budget.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) on 14 April 1994 at column 239

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of the Local Government Commission to evaluate the commission's work.

My right hon. Friend last met Sir John Banham on 18 January. I met Sir John on 13 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, when he will bring forward proposals to implement changes in the administration of national parks.

The Local Government (Wales) Bill will allow my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales, to establish joint or special planning boards for the three national parks in Wales. However, it is our intention to introduce legislation to establish independent authorities for all 10 national parks in England and Wales as soon as there is a suitable opportunity to do so.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what responsibilities the Director General of Ofwat has for monetary arrangements for the certification of products used by water and sewerage companies.

:None.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the 14th annual report from his Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee; and what response he plans to make to the recommendations made by Professor Knill's committee.

The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's 14th annual report was sent to my right hon. Friend on 17 June. We will respond to it in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will request the chairman of British Nuclear Fuels to make available to hon. Members copies of the BNFL submissions to the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee on the matter of nuclear waste substitution options for foreign reprocessing waste arisings, since his deposition before Parliament on 25 June last year of his correspondence with the chairman of RWMAC on the matter.

As we have not yet received the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's further advice on waste substitution, I am unable to consider this request.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he received the final draft of the Ernst and Young study into the housing needs of the elderly; what was the final cost of the study; when the report will be placed in the Library; what conclusions he has drawn from the report; and if he will make a statement.

My Department received a full set of interim reports on the 12 individual parts of the study in February 1994. We expect to publish a single report, summarising these findings, in the autumn. A copy will be placed in the Library.I announced some interim findings from the research at a conference on affordable housing and community care organised by Hertfordshire county council earlier this year. A key finding is that the vast majority of elderly people wish to remain in their present homes, confirming the Government's community care policies. The study also suggests there is currently an over-provision of ordinary sheltered housing with warden support only, but under-provision of very sheltered housing with extra care facilities. We will consider carefully the policy implications of these and other findings from the study.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that appropriate technical assistance is made available for applications under objectives 2 and 5 (b) of European structural funds.

Technical assistance grants are available only from within the United Kingdom's structural funds allocation. If any such grants are made, the amount left for projects is correspondingly smaller. Therefore, the Government consider that the funds should be used primarily for projects, and have sought to minimise the use of technical assistance.Normal practice should be that applicants bear the cost of making applications themselves. This ensures equity between applicants and it is a sound principle that applicant bodies should pay for their own administration.As in all other fields, Government Departments and offices will gladly assist those who may have difficulty in completing applications. However, it is recognised that there may be some organisations, especially in the voluntary sector, who may need extra help. Limited technical assistance may exceptionally be made available to support recognised bodies in bringing forward high quality applications.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contracts for refuse collection, cleansing waste management and waste control have been awarded by local authorities to (a) UK Waste Management Ltd., (b) the FOCSA and (c) Leigh; and what is the total value in each case.

:My right hon. Friend does not require local authorities to inform him to whom contracts are awarded, unless such information is requested in connection with his responsibility for investigating potential breaches of the compulsory competitive tendering legislation. The Department does not therefore maintain a comprehensive record of either the number or value of contracts awarded to specific private sector contractors.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is her estimate of the cost of providing public housing or other publicly-funded residential care for people who are homeless in England; and if he will make a statement.

In 1992–93 40 per cent. of new tenancies in local authority and housing association stock were allocated to households whom local authorities accepted as homeless under part III of the Housing Act 1985. Over the three years 1992–93 to 1994–95 the Government are spending £5½ billion on providing an estimated 179,000 housing association homes to meet a range of housing needs.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what figures he has for homelessness in 1992 and 1993; and what were the comparable figures at the most recent available date.

:The number of households accepted as homeless by local authorities in England in 1993 was an estimated 134,190, a reduction of some 8,700-6.1 per cent.—on the corresponding figure in 1992 of 142,890 acceptances.The latest available figures show a continuation of the downward trend with 131,790 acceptances in the year ending March 1994. This is the eighth successive quarter in which total acceptances in the preceding 12 months have fallen.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of resources his Department provides to housing associations for helping homeless people.

:My Department provides funding through the Housing Corporation's approved development programme for housing associations to provide homes for homeless people and others in housing need. In 1994–95 the Housing Corporation's ADP budget is some £1·5 billion and the corporation estimates that this will enable housing associations to provide some 58,300 new lettings of which nearly 38,000—some 65 per cent—are intended by associations to be for homeless people. This would bring the total number of homes provided by housing associations between 1992–93 and 1994–95 to some 178,000. In addition the Department provides revenue support through the Housing Corporation for housing association schemes which provide accommodation for people with special needs, many of whom are single and homeless. In 1994–95 the corporation's revenue contributions are expected to be some £128 million.Under the Government's six-year—1990–91 to 1995–96—rough sleepers initiative, funding of £182 million has been made available to provide emergency shelters, night shelters, hostels, properties leased from private sector landlords and at least 3,300 bedspaces in permanent move-on accommodation for people who would otherwise sleep rough in central London. The bulk of this funding has been made available to housing associations through the Housing Corporation.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to meet housing associations and local authorities to co-ordinate a strategy for helping homeless people.

:My right hon. Friend hopes to announce shortly the Government's conclusions following consideration of the responses to our consultation paper "Access to Local Authority and Housing Association Tenancies", which proposed a new approach to homelessness. We should then be happy to discuss our intentions with local authority and housing association representatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met housing associations to discuss homelessness.

Ministers and officials in the Department are in frequent contact with the National Federation of Housing Associations, and with individual housing associations, about a range of topics, including homelessness. My officials met representatives of the National Federation of Housing Associations on 6 June to discuss the Government's proposals to reform the homelessness legislation.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent figures he has for the numbers of people (a) living in hostels, (b) living in hotels provided at the expense of local authorities and (c) living in housing association dwellings.

:The latest available figures are for 31 March 1994 and these show that of the households for which local authorities in England had accepted responsibility to secure permanent accommodation, or who were awaiting the outcome of inquiries, some 10,670 households were living in hostels and 4,930 in bed-and-breakfast hotels.The latest available information on housing association dwellings relates to 31 March 1993 when a total of 686,700 households were in occupation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent requests for resources he has had (a) from housing associations and (b) from organisations such as Coventry Cyrenians.

My Department has received no recent requests for resources from individual housing associations. The distribution of the resources made available to registered housing associations for the provision of social housing, through the Housing Corporation's approved development programme, is informed by the housing needs index and local authorities' priority housing needs.My Department received 270 applications for grant under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 for 1994–95 from voluntary sector organisations, including two from Coventry Cyrenians for schemes to assist single people in housing need.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with other Departments about the impact of the EU habitats directive; and if he will make a statement.

My Government colleagues and I are collectively committed to the transposition of the directive into United Kingdom law. The draft implementing regulations are to be laid shortly. Government policy for achieving the aims of the directive in the United Kingdom is set out in the biodiversity action plan, published in January of this year. This sets out our strategy for nature conservation over the next 10 and 20 years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his proposals to tackle the problems faced by local authority leaseholders.

I hope before the recess to lay an order introducing a scheme to help council leaseholders needing to move but unable to sell their flats bought under the right to buy because of mortgageability problems. Where leaseholders can buy a more suitable home from their local authority, the scheme will allow the council to take back the present flat in exchange, and to offset the right-to-buy price paid for it against the sale price of the exchange property. We will also be releasing shortly a discussion paper covering this and a number of other measures to help council leaseholders.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 21 June, Official Report, column 100, what plans he has, apart from large-scale voluntary transfers, to introduce new initiatives or schemes designed to pass local authority housing stock to private sector interests; how many members of his or other Departments or offices are engaged in preparing policy papers on this matter; which of these options involve public subsidy; and if he will make a statement.

Besides large scale voluntary transfer—LSVT—there are several ways in which local authority housing may be trasnferred to alternative landlords. Tenants are able to choose a new landlord under tenant's choice. Local authorities can transfer properties as they become vacant through trickle transfer; or with tenant agreement they can undertake a partial LSVT.I am always keen to encourage local authorities to consider ways of increasing private investment in social housing. I answered the hon. Gentleman's question about staff numbers in my Department in my answer of 21 June. Officials in other Departments are involved as necessary. And, as I also said in my answer on 21 June, the Department is jointly funding a study with five urban authorities and the Housing Corporation to look into alternatives for the ownership and management of housing in urban and inner city areas. The study will consider the subsidy implications of these options, among other issues. It is due to report in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's policy towards the publication of external consultants' reports in relation to market testing.

Publication of such reports will be considered on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the code of practice on open government.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the work force in each local authority area in South Yorkshire is in part-time employment.

I have been asked to reply.The latest estimate from the labour force survey is that in South Yorkshire in Winter 1993–94 (December 1993—February 1994), 27 per cent. of those in employment were working part-time.Comparable information is not available for local authority areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the reasons for the different levels of funding between local authorities for provision for the under-fives.

It is for local authorities to determine their own priorities between and within services. The different levels of funding between local authorities on under-fives reflects those different priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will allow local education authorities to spend more on the under-fives.

Within general spending constraints, local authorities are free to determine their own expenditure on under-fives.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the criteria for establishing that a local education authority has underspent on the provision for the under-fives.

A notional allowance for under-fives provision is made in each authority's education standard spending assessment, based on its resident under-fives population. How local authorities use that notional allowance is a matter for the discretion of each local authority. Neither education SSAs nor the sub-blocks within them are spending targets.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to make the provision of funding for the under-fives dependent on the number of under-fives in school.

The level and nature of provision for under-fives is a matter for the discretion of each local education authority. A notional allowance to support such provision is made in each authority's education standard spending assessment, based on its resident under-fives population. There are no current proposals to change the basis, although standard spending assessments are reviewed each year.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Education if it is his policy that the weighting factors in the standard spending assessments in respect of education are a reflection of his educational policies and priorities.

:No. Since education standard spending assessments are not prescriptive the weighting factors within them reflect the latest available objective information about relative variations in the cost incurred by local education authorities in providing a standard level of service.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the factors taken into account in setting the standard spending assessments for education spending.

Each local education authority's standard spending assessment is calculated on the basis of its relevant pupil and population numbers, adjusted to allow for local variations in the cost of providing a standard level of service. Adjustments are made to reflect the additional local costs of provision for pupils with additional educational needs, provision of education in sparsely populated areas, free school meals and the high labour and other costs in London and the south east.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the policy adopted by his Department towards the publication of external consultants' reports in relation to market testing.

The Department considers publication of external consultants' reports on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the code of practice on access to government information. Factors taken into account include the need to protect private and sensitive commercial information relating to third parties.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will set out the total cost of external consultancy fees incurred by his Department in relation to market testing.

:Expenditure by the Department on consultancy fees in relation to market testing since September 1992 amounts to £296,210.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teaching staff and non-teaching staff were employed by the Newham local education authority on (a) a full-time basis and (b) a part-time basis for each year since 1988.

:Information on the numbers of teaching and non-teaching staff is collected from local education authorities by the local government management board on behalf of the joint staffing watch group. The following data was supplied by the Newham education authority and shows the numbers of teaching staff and other education staff employed for the years 1988 to 1994. It is not possible to separate these between staff employed in schools and those employed elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how frequently he meets the management of the body running the student loan scheme.

On my right hon. Friend's behalf, I have met members of the board and management of the Student Loans Company on a number of occasions.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students aged 50 years or over have enrolled on full-time higher education courses in each of the last five years.

[holding answer 27 June 1994]: The numbers of United K ingdom domiciled new entrant higher education students in England aged 50 or over studying undergraduate courses for the past five years are set out in the table.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the procedure by which a young person under the age of 16 years would be issued with a national insurance number.

The administration of the issue of national insurance numbers is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is taking in respect of proposals by the Institute of Chartered Accountants on the power of his proposed pensions watchdog; and if he will make a statement.

We welcome the institute's comments which have been taken into account in our proposals for a new occupational pensions regulatory authority, set out in the White Paper "Security, Equality, Choice: The Future for Pensions". We will be consulting further with the institute and other interested parties in developing the new regulatory framework for occupational pension schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) when his Department received the letter from the hon. Member for Ilford, South sent to him on 28 March concerning the length of time taken by the Child Support Agency to respond to representations from hon. Members; when he replied to it; when it was forwarded to the Child Support Agency ; and when the chief executive of the Child Support Agency replied to it;(2) when he will reply to the letter sent to him by the hon. Member for Ilford, South on 28 March;(3) if he will publish the text of the reply dated 20 June from the chief executive of the Child Support Agency in response to the letter of 28 March from the hon. Member for Ilford, South to him.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State received the letter on 31 March. As the letter concerned the operations of the Child Support Agency, it was transferred to the agency on 13 April for reply by the chief executive. I wrote to the hon. Member on 5 May to acknowledge receipt of his letter, and confirming the transfer of the letter to the chief executive. I understand that the chief executive replied on 20 June as follows:

"Thank you for your letter of 28 March to Peter Lilley who has asked me to reply. I am sorry for the delay in making my reply.

All letters from Members of Parliament addressed to me are acknowledged and I aim to respond within an average of 20 working days. Recent press interest has stimulated a great deal of correspondence from constituents and although that target is not being met at the moment, the necessary steps are being taken to ensure that correspondence from Members will be answered as soon as possible.

I hope my letter explains the posiition."

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the length of time taken by the Child Support Agency to reply to letters from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement;(2) what guidelines have been issued to the Child Support Agency as to the time scale for replying to letters from hon. Members; and in what percentage of cases the Child Support Agency has met those guidelines.

The Child Support Agency has a target to reply in full to a letter from an hon. Member within an average of 20 working days.I recognise that the target has been met only in some 13 per cent. of cases and unacceptable delays have occurred. The agency has taken a number of measures to improve performance in this area. These include additional staff resources and improved processing arrangements.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether it is his policy to refer all letters from hon. Members concerning delay in replying to letters by the Child Support Agency for reply by the Child Support Agency itself.

Ministers see all correspondence from hon. Members relating to social security matters. However, where queries relate to operational matters dealt with by executive agencies, including the Child Support Agency, Ministers may refer them to the appropriate chief executive to reply. The chief executive has responsibility for operational issues and it is for the authority to take remedial action where necessary.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the grounds for the Benefits Agency to appeal against a decision of the social security appeal tribunal to the Social Security Commissioner; and how long, on average, this process takes from the date of the appeal tribunal's decision.

Appeals against a decision of a social security appeal tribunal are made by adjudication officers based at the central adjudication services. An appeal can be made only on the basis of a point of law. It is not possible to provide the information on how long this process takes as figures do not distinguish between appeals by adjudication officers and others.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how long, on average, appeals to the social security appeal tribunal take to be heard from the dale they are lodged.

:The average length of time from lodgement of appeal to the date of hearing before a social security appeal tribunal in the quarter ending December 1993 was 28·4 weeks.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what mechanisms there are for providing temporary financial support to those engaged in the social security appeals procedure over their entitlement to income support.