To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the number of press officers currently employed by his Department who are normally based (a) in the Department in London, (b) in the House and (c) at each other location.

The Lord Chancellor's Department employs six press officers, all of whom are based at the Department's headquarters in London.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list each public opinion survey commissioned by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies since 1 October 1992, showing for each the subject, objectives, total cost, the period in which it was conducted and the organisation from which it was commissioned.

Department or Agency	Title	Objective	Timing	Contractor
HM Treasury	BT3 Share Sale	Market Research	May-July 1993	MORI
HM Treasury	Electricity Generators Share sale	Market Research	July 1994	BMRB
Customs and Excise	Travellers Charter survey 1993	Monitor quality of service provided staff to travellers	July-August 1993	NOP(Consumer Market research)
Department of National Savings	Advertising Tracking Study	Monitor effect of savings advertising	continuous	Millwood Brown
Department of National Savings	Product Features study	Determine trade off between saving product features	November 1992	Public Attitude surveys Ltd.
Department of National Savings	Investment Guide Research	Evaluate the launch of a new product booklet	March-May 1994	Taylor-Nelson
Inland Revenue	Shipley Accounts Office Customer Survey	Ascertain customers' views on service provided	January 1993O	Line Telephone surveys
Inland Revenue	Pensioners and their tax returns	Assess difficulties in completing returns	September 1993	CCC Research Ltd

No public opinion surveys have been commissioned by my Department during the period specified. I am not responsible for any agencies.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee how much money was spent with foreign companies on refurbishment within the Palace of Westminster in the current financial year; and how much was spent in the same period with British firms.

No contracts have been let to foreign firms by the Parliamentary Works Directorate in the current financial year for refurbishment work. However, contractors have normal commercial freedom to subcontract and purchase supplies, provided that they comply with specifications set by the Director of Works or other relevant authorities of the Palace of Westminster. Within these constraints contractors may choose occasionally to use foreign suppliers where they are competitive in quality or service. Some £10 million is forecast to be spent in the current financial year on maintaining the Palace of Westminster.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list each public opinion survey commissioned by (a) his Departments and (b) his agencies since 1 October 1993, showing for each, the subject, objectives, total cost, the period in which it was conducted and the organisation from which it was commissioned.

The surveys listed, commissioned by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's departments or agencies since 1 October 1992, included questions to individuals about their opinions:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present estimated value of revenue lost to the Exchequer because of illicit cross-border trade in alcohol and tobacco products.

Forecasting levels of illicit activity is by its nature always difficult. A broad estimate derived from amounts seized has been made of £35 million on revenue loss from all smuggling of excise goods. Work is continuing to improve estimation in this field.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average monthly revenue value of seizures made by HM Customs and Excise during 1993–94 for (a) all tobacco goods, (b) all alcohol beverages, (c) hand-rolled tobacco and (d) beer; and what is the estimated monthly revenue value of seizures for the same products for the six months to September 1994.

The average monthly revenue value of seizures made by HM Customs and Excise in the financial year ending 31 March 1994 were (a) £98,514 for all tobacco products, (b) £64,892 for all alcoholic beverages, (c) £77,205 for hand-rolled tobacco and (d) £41,091 for beer.Details of seizures for the month of September 1994 are not currently available. The average monthly revenue value of seizure for the same products for the five months to August 1994 were

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many negotiators are now employed in Departments and agencies following the Government's decision to delegate pay and grading; what was the equivalent number of officials employed at the treasury when pay was settled nationally; and what has been the cost of training these additional officials and the overall additional cost of pay negotiations in the revised form.

In 1993–94, there were 242 staff in the Treasury directorate which looks after civil service management and pay. It is for those who have received pay and grading delegation to decide how to conduct their negotiations and the size and composition of their negotiating teams, and to ensure that their delegated arrangements represent value for money.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress the Securities and Investments Board has made with its inquiries into sales of personal pensions.

The Securities and Investments Board, the chief investment regulator, has today issued a statement determining how compensation is to be delivered for people who have personal pensions instead of being in an occupational pension scheme and who now face financial loss as a result of bad investment advice. I have today placed copies of the statement in the Libraries of both Houses.Today's statement follows the initiative announced by SIB last December, when it published evidence that many sales of personal pensions appeared not to have been made in full compliance with the regulation under the Financial Services Act. Since then, with the help of experts for the life and pensions industry, the SIB has mounted an exercise to assess the problem and to prevent it recurring.The Government are also taking action to make sure that the arrangements for redress are brought into effect as efficiently as possible. The public service pension schemes are setting other occupational schemes a good example. There is also clarification of the tax treatment of compensation payments.It is now clear that some sales of personal pensions in the past took place on the basis of bad advice, not given in accordance with the regulatory rules then in force. SIB's statement today implements the assurance I gave in the House to the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham and my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. T. Smith) on 8 December 1993,

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Council meeting of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union held on 21 October.

EC Finance Ministers met in Brussels on Friday 21 October to discuss the own resources decision and Italian and Spanish milk disallowances.Italy, and to a lesser extent Spain and Greece, faced disallowance due to their failure to fine farmers who had exceeded EC milk quotas over the period 1989–93. Italy and Spain claimed that this was unfair, as their national quotas had been set too low to begin with. In 1992, it was agreed at a Council of Agriculture Ministers to increase Italian and Spanish milk quotas for 1993–94. Subsequently, in the course of clearing the EAGGF accounts for 1989 and 1990, the Commission decided to disallow only the amounts which would have been payable by Italy and Spain if they had had in those years the extra milk quota which had been awarded them for 1993–94. It indicated that it intended to do the same for 1991, 1992 and 1993. This would have resulted in Italy and Spain paying roughly half the amount for which they were liable at the outset.The United Kingdom objected to this and brought proceedings before the European Court of Justice on the grounds that the Commission had exceeded its competence by backdating quota, a power which could be exercised only by the Council of Ministers. Italy and Spain also began ECJ proceedings on the grounds that the disallowance decisions were still excessively harsh and claimed that they should make no further repayments at all.Even had we ultimately won on all aspects of our ECJ cases, on which judgment was still two years distant, the level of the fine would have been a matter for the Council to determine on the basis of a proposal from the Commission. There is no reason to believe that the Commission would then have produced any different proposal from the one that it had originally made. Therefore Italy and Spain would only have paid roughly half of the penalties for which they were theoretically liable even if we had won our cases in the ECJ on all points.I therefore negotiated a settlement which resulted in Italy and Spain agreeing to repay much higher sums to the Community budget than they would have paid if we have not brought our action in the European Court or if we had allowed our action before the Court to take its course to a possibly successful conclusion over the next two years.Ecofin on Friday agreed to increase total disallowance from the Commission proposal of 2 ·1 billion ECU or 1·6 billion to 3·2 billion ECU or £2·5 billion—an increase of 1·1 billion ECU or £860 million on the level of disallowance fixed by the Commission. This is the largest agricultural fine even levied in the history of the European Community. Payment will start in 1995.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total income to the Exchequer from North sea oil revenue (a) between 1974 and 1979 and (b) since 1979.

Government revenues raised from North sea oil and gas production between 1974–75 and 1978–79 were £930 million. Since 1979–80 they have been £75,000 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of press officers currently employed by his Department who are normally based (a) in the Department in London and (b) at each other location.

The Home Office has 14 press officers in post, including the director and deputy director of information who deal with all media. There are two vacancies. All are based in London. There are a number of agencies accountable to the Department which employ Government information service press officers who are not included in these figures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out by police authority (a) the standard spending assessment and (b) the estimated or actual budget for the latest year for which figures are available.

The following table lists the standard spending assessment and comparable net revenue budget information for each police authority in England for 1994–95. For Wales, provision for the police is included in the overall assessment made for Welsh county councils and no separate figures are available.

1994/95	£ million
Police Authority	SSA	Budget Outturn
Avon and Somerset	69·274	70·738
Bedfordshire	27·790	25·229
Cambridgeshire	28·702	29·276
Cheshire	43·087	44·475
Cleveland	33·706	34·092
Cumbria	26·638	26·262
Derbyshire	41·516	40·038
Devon and Cornwall	65·707	70·500
Dorset	29·218	35·611
Durham	31·171	31·257
Essex	71·273	73·194
Gloucestershire	26·570	26·404
Hampshire	79·134	81·076
Hertfordshire	42·413	40·908
Humberside	45·645	45·190
Kent	76·389	76·475
Lancashire	72·462	74·179
Leicestershire	41·583	38·760
Lincolnshire	27·064	32·503
Norfolk	32·450	34·969
Northamptonshire	26·705	29·557
North Yorkshire	31·821	31·373
Nottinghamshire	52·894	52·781
Staffordshire	49·707	51·588
Suffolk	27·670	28·260
Surrey	42·834	43·870
Sussex	67·155	66·757
Thames Valley	95·202	96·501
Warwickshire	23·384	23·681
West Mercia	46·071	48·452
Wiltshire	28·927	29·132
Greater Manchester	156·167	158·053
Merseyside	105·608	104·793
Northumbria	80·833	81·557
South Yorkshire	68·019	68·278
West Midlands	154·888	151·096
West Yorkshire	118·825	119·765
City of London	29·690	35·838
Metropolitan	791·008	788·515

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future policing arrangements for Humberside.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment announced today that the county of Humberside would be replaced by four unitary authorities, with the area around Goole, in the present district of Boothferry, transferring to North Yorkshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the interim report of the review of police core and ancillary tasks.

I have today placed a copy of the interim report in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of British passports reported as lost or stolen in 1992; how many were in foreign countries; and what were the figures for each of the preceding five years.

Precise figures for the number of United Kingdom passports lost or stolen are not kept but it is estimated that about 70,000 are reported each year, of which about 20,000 are in foreign countries. A significant number of these passports are expired while a smaller percentage will subsequently be found having been originally misplaced.Passport issuing within the United Kingdom is now computerised and the system allows the recording of machine-readable passports that have been reported lost or stolen. Arrangements are being considered which would provide the United Kingdom Passport Agency with statistics from the computerised records to monitor the problem.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which countries, other than the United Kingdom, the largest number of British passports were recorded as lost or stolen in 1992–93.

Figures provided by British Consulates indicate that Australia with 1,161, the United States with 1,055 and France with 1,025 recorded the highest number of United Kingdom passports reported to them as lost or stolen during 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people lost or had more than one passport stolen in 1992–93 in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) elsewhere.

No separate record is kept of the number of persons who have reported more than one passport lost or stolen during a given period.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in England and Wales were prosecuted for dropping litter in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Information for 1989 to 1993, which is provisional, is given in the table:

Number of defendants prosecuted for dropping litter1 1989–1993*
England and Wales	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993*
Prosecutions	2,409	2,543	1,673	1,639	1,170
1 An offence under section 1 (3) of the Litter Act 1983 repealed by Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
* Provisional

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what analysis his Department has made of the implications for policing on wheelclamping of the outcome of Total Car Park Management v. Dr. Colin Spink in the Oxford county court on 13 July.

The judgment referred to related to a civil dispute and has no direct implications for the police. We are, of course, taking all relevant judgments into account while formulating policy on wheelclamping on private land.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the research being undertaken by or on behalf of his Department into the use of closed-circuit television, including the subject matter of such research; who is undertaking the work; and when a report on each study is due to be provided to his Department.

The Home Office police research group is currently carrying out a study of closed-circuit television systems in town centres with the aim of identifying the characteristics of schemes which make an effective contribution to the control of crime and operational policing generally. A report will be available by Easter 1995.The Home Office police scientific development branch is carrying out a study of the technical and operational aspects of CCTV systems aimed at setting appropriate performance standards for CCTV systems and assisting crime prevention officers. The final report will be available in July 1995.PSDB has also commissioned a study of a number of town centre control rooms looking at the human factors associated with the monitoring of CCTV images. This is being carried out by CCD Design and Ergonomics Ltd and a report is expected before the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many of the burglaries recorded in each borough by the Metropolitan police in the year ended June were in a dwelling; and how many were in another building;(2) how many incidents of theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and of theft from a motor vehicle were recorded by the Metropolitan police in each borough in the year ended June.

[holding answer 19 October 1994]: The information requested has been supplied by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and is contained in the following tables:

Notifiable offences of burglary recorded by local authority borough or district
Metropolitan police district: July 1993 to June 1994
Borough/district	Burglary in a dwelling	Burghlary in a buliding other than a dwelling	Total burglary
Barking	1,675	1,730	3,405
Barnet	3,478	1,566	5,044
Bexley	1,780	1,046	2,826
Brent	4,033	1,614	5,647
Bromley	3,454	1,946	5,400
Camden	4,332	2,872	7,204
Croydon	3,871	2,061	5,932
Ealing	3,000	1,238	4,238
Enfield	2,209	1,634	3,843
Greenwich	4,292	1,875	6,167
Hackney	4,879	2,088	6,967
Hammersmith	2,613	1,288	3,901
Haringey	3,251	1,300	4,551
Harrow	2,284	1,099	3,383
Havering	1,918	1,595	3,513
Hillingdon*	2,134	1,381	3,515
Hounslow*	2,560	1,536	4,096
Islington	3,026	1,695	4,721
Kensington and Chelsea	3,348	892	4,240
Kingston	1,647	1,591	3,238
Lambeth	6,220	1,719	7,939
Lewisham	5,613	2,346	7,959
Merton	1,774	1,133	2,907
Newham	4,053	2,493	6,546
Redbridge	2,613	1,318	3,931
Richmond	1,799	969	2,768
Southwark	4,620	2,477	7,097
Sutton	2,382	1,262	3,644
Tower Hamlets	2,194	2,704	4,898
Wandsworth	4,146	1,972	6,118
Waltham Forest	2,317	1,679	3,996
Westminster	3,856	3,780	7,636
Broxbourne (part)	305	264	569
Elmbridge (part)	225	190	415
Epping Forest (part)	399	332	731
Epsom and Ewell	723	367	1,090
Hertsmere	343	327	670
Reigate and Banstead	338	128	466
Spelthorne	540	947	1,487
Welwyn Hatfield (part)	9	12	21
Heathrow Airport	4	28	32
Thames	—	—	—
Total	104,257	58,494	162,751
*These figures exclude offences reported in those parts of the borough which fall within the boundary of Heathrow airport

Notifiable offences of vehicle crime recorded by local authority borough or district
Metropolitan police district: July 1993 to June 1994
Borough/district	Theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle	Theft from a motor vehicle	Total vehicle crime
Braking	1,774	2,294	4,068
Barnet	1,859	4,051	5,910
Bexley	2,167	2,731	4,898
Brent	2,117	4,083	6,200
Bromley	2,761	4,975	7,736
Camden	2,109	6,406	8,515
Croydon	2,863	5,671	8,534
Ealing	2,390	4,527	6,917
Enfield	1,970	3,454	5,424
Greenwich	3,551	4,622	8,173
Hackney	2,781	4,240	7,021
Hammersmith	1,517	5,475	6,992
Haringey	2,370	3,862	6,232
Harrow	944	2,621	3,565
Havering	2,695	2,804	5,499
Hillingdon*	1,877	4,123	6,000
Hounslow*	1,824	3,498	5,322
Islington	2,131	4,407	6,538
Kensington and Chelsea	1,179	4,642	5,721
Kingston	724	2,743	3,467
Lambeth	3,033	5,818	8,851
Lewisham	2,875	3,923	6,798
Merton	1,286	2,786	4,072
Newham	3,409	4,065	7,474
Redbridge	3,239	2,845	6,084
Richmond	689	2,591	3,280
Southwark	3,480	6,044	9,524
Sutton	1,648	2,455	4,103
Tower Hamlets	2,341	4,338	6,679
Wandsworth	2,617	5,991	8,608
Waltham Forest	2,715	3,026	5,741
Westminster	1,382	6,851	8,233
Broxbourne (part)	391	919	1,310
Elmbridge(part)	89	364	453
Epping Forest(part)	709	1,100	1,809
Epsom and Ewell	349	964	1,313
Hertsmere	358	1,171	1,529
Reigate and Banstead	208	550	768
Spelthorne	445	1,681	2,126
Welwyn Hatfield (part)	3	14	17
Heathrow Airport	72	382	454
Thames	11	8	19
Total	72,952	139,115	211,977
* These figures exclude offences reported in those parts of the borough which fall within the boundary of Heathrow airport

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the public appointments for which he is responsible (a) in the west midlands region and (b) in Shropshire, indicating in each case the duration of the appointment, the date when a new appointment is due, and the salary.

My right hon. and learned Friend is responsible for appointments to board of visitors to prisons in the West Midlands region and in Shropshire. Appointments to boards of visitors are for a maximum of three years and are renewable. Members do not receive a salary but are entitled to travelling, subsistence and financial loss allowances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for the last year for which information is available for each Crown court circuit, what has been the average length of sentence for those found guilty of rape after (a) pleading guilty and (b) pleading not guilty, and, for those pleading not guilty but found guilty, what has

Adult males found guilty and sentenced at the Crown court for rape offences1 by circuit, average sentence length2 and proportion sentenced to over five years imprisonment, 1993*.
Crown court circuit	Total found guilty	Number sentenced to imprisonment	Average sentence length2 (months)	Proportion sentenced to over five years imprisonment
Midland and Oxford	78	76	75	61
North Eastern	48	48	72	56
Northern	41	39	69	49
South Eastern	112	105	87	78
Wales and Chester	38	36	76	61
Western	29	26	74	65
England and Wales	346	330	78	65
(1)Substantive rape—excluding attempts and offences under the Mental Health Act 1959.
(2)Excluding "lifers".
* Provisional.

The 1993 information given is expected to be final but has been labelled provisional until publication of the Command Paper "Criminal statistics" on 2 November.The reply is on the same basis, as information for previous years from Crown court circuits and individual court centres previously provided to the House of Commons Library. A comparison is given in the table. The variation between years for the smaller circuits such as Wales and Chester and Western reflects the small number of persons sentenced per year.

Average sentence length1 in months for adult males sentenced at the Crown Court for rape offences2 by circuit, 1990–1993*
Crown court circuit	1990	1991	1992	1993*
Midland and Oxford	69	74	75	75
North Eastern	63	79	75	72
Northern	92	74	77	69
South Eastern	78	79	86	87
Wales and Chester	87	75	72	76
Western	71	66	74	74
England and Wales	76	76	79	78
1 Excluding "lifers".
2 Substantive rape - excluding attempts and offences under the Mental Health Act 1959.
* Provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated number of remand prisoners who have been awaiting trial (a) for more than three months, (b) for more than six months, (c) for more than 12 months and (d) for more than 18 months, at the latest available date.

[holding answer 24 October 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated

[holding answer 21 October 1994]: Plea data is not collected centrally.The table gives information for 1993, which is provisional, on the number of males aged 21 and over found guilty and sentenced at the Crown court for rape offences, by circuit.to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the number of press officers currently employed by his Department who are normally based (a) in the Department in London, (b) in the House and (c) at each other location.

The Cabinet Office—Office of Public Service and Science—employs eight Government information service press officers who are normally based in London. No press officers are based in the House or at locations other than London; a regional press service is provided by the Central Office of Information. Press officers working for agencies directly accountable to the Cabinet Office are not included in this figure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the total amount spent on official hospitality by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies for each year since 1990.

Expenditure on official hospitality by the Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service and Science, and executive agencies in each year since 1990 was as follows:

	(a) Cabinent Office1		(b) Agencies
	£	HMSO2 £	COI £	OPSS Agencies £
1990–91	14,300		500	1,200
1991–92	26,6003		4,400	1,300
1992–93	25,000	19,400	4,600	59,500
1993–94	27,700	22,000	5,900	6,100
1 Figures for the Cabinet Office exclude expenditure by the Office of the Prime Minister, which was the subject of a separate Answer by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
2 HMSO figures are based on their accounting year 1 January— 31 December. Figures for hospitality were not recorded centrally by HMSO before 1993.
3 In addition, £234,100 was borne by the OPSS in 1991–92 on official hospitality in respect of the 1991 economic summit.

Expenditure by OPSS agencies in 1992–93 includes some £59,000 relating to Chessington computer centre's launch as an executive agency.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the public appointments for which he is responsible (a) in the west midlands region and (b) in Shropshire, indicating in each case the duration of the appointment, the date when a new appointment is due, and the salary.

None.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are employed by his Department; and what proportion of them are employed in each of the standard regions.

As at 1 October 1994, there were 5,774 industrial and non-industrial staff in the departments and agencies for which I am responsible, and in other areas which fall to the Cabinet Office vote. The proportions by standard region are:

Region	Proportion Per cent.
Inner London	41·5
Intermediate	0·5
Outer London	7·5
Rest of South East	8·5
East Anglia	24
South West	3
West Midlands	1
North West	7
North	0·5
Yorkshire and Humberside	1
East Midlands	1
Wales	0·5
Scotland	4
Northern Ireland	1

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell) of 18 October, Official Report, column 138, to what (a) Government Department and (b) other authorities any evidence on impropriety in the Al Yamamah arms deal should be forwarded.

To ask the Prime Minister who are the appropriate authorities (a) for the receipt and (b) the investigation of complaints made in the case of Mr. Mark Thatcher relating to British defence contracts.

Matters within the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government in relation to defence contracts should be addressed, in the first instance, to the Ministry of Defence.

To ask the Prime Minister to which authority the complaint from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) to the Prime Minister's Office concerning the role of Mr. Mark Thatcher in relation to defence contracts was referred; and what action was taken.

[holding answer 21 October 1994]: The complaint was referred to the Cabinet Office, which in turn consulted the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Treasury, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the security service.The conclusion reached was that the document that the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) had sent contained a number of clear errors, which cast doubt on its reliability. No evidence was found to support the allegations made.

To ask the Prime Minister what discussions Her Majesty's Government have had with the United States Government, the United Nations, other EC countries and the Arab League about the shortage of medicine, water pumps and water filters in the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates; and which statistics are available to Her Majesty's Government on the incidence of marasmus, kwashiorkor, and other water-related diseases in the Baghdad area over the summer.

Except for the Arab League, we meet representatives of these countries and organisations at routine meetings of the United Nations department of humanitarian affairs. Reports indicate that diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria are increasing and that there are cases of marasmus and kwashiorkor. We have no information specific to Baghdad.We condemn the Iraqi regime for continuing to refuse United Nations offers to allow limited oil sales to pay for humanitarian supplies. Iraq's attempts to make political capital out of avoidable suffering are cynical.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out the rules governing the availability of financial support from Government for Ministers in respect of libel actions arising from events which took place before they took office; and if he will make a statement.

Public resources may be used to deal only with matters which arise as a direct result of the official duties of Ministers.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the Cabinet Secretary's report into the allegations made by Mr. Al Fayed.

The text of the report is as follows.

"On 30 September you asked me to investigate certain allegations of impropriety against members of the Government, which had been brought to you in confidence on the previous evening and which, you were told, derived from Mr. Mohammed Al Fayed.

In reporting these allegations the informant said that Mr. Al Fayed wanted a meeting with the Prime Minister, principally because of Mr. Al Fayed's wish to have the DTI Inspectors Report on the takeover of the House of Fraser revised or withdrawn. He had made a number of allegations against Government Ministers and was contemplating passing them to others.

You replied that it would be impossible for you to see Mr. Al Fayed in these circumstances. You added that, if Ministers had been guilty of wrong doing, you were not going to make any sort of deal, regardless of the cost to the Government's reputation. You said that you would consider how to proceed and suggested that in the meantime your informant should make no response to Mr. Al Fayed.

The following morning you asked me to investigate. I carried out some immediate enquiries and on the evening of 30 September your Private Secretary reported to you that some of the allegations were familiar because they had surfaced before, had been previously investigated and had been strongly denied. However, some allegations were new. You then asked me on 3 October to follow up all the allegations, whether old or new, with the Ministers concerned.

I had conversations with the Ministers named in the allegations in the week before the Conservative Party Conference, and I reported to you the outcome of these conversations, together with the results of other inquiries I had made, on Monday 17 October on your return from Bournemouth. In the light of that report, you asked the Chief Whip and me to clarify some points so that, in the interests of natural justice, there should be no risk of your acting unfairly. On 18 October, you concluded that Mr. Smith's offer of resignation form the Government should be accepted later in the week when the Chief Whip's and my action was complete.

I should make clear that, in view of the circumstances in which the information reached you, I have not felt able to approach or interview Mr. Mohammed Al Fayed himself. I was reinforced in that view by information subsequently received that Mr. Mohammed Al Fayed has made available to others the information which was provided to you. It can therefore be assumed that if there is any further material which Mr. Al Fayed may have to substantiate his allegations it will come to light.

While the Chief Whip and I were taking the further steps agreed at your meeting on 17 October, two of the allegations passed on to you were made public in The Guardian of Thursday 20 October. These were that Mr. Neil Hamilton and Mr. Tim Smith were paid to raise questions on Mr. Al Fayed's behalf in the House of Commons.

I had previously enquired into both these matters and had asked Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Smith about them. Both sets of allegations may be the subject of other enquiries and, in the case of Mr. Hamilton, are the subject of legal proceedings against The Guardian newspaper. In these circumstances I should not deal with them in detail in this report, which I know that you envisage publishing.

Suffice it therefore to say here that Mr. Smith volunteered to me that, as he has subsequently confirmed publicly, he received payments from Mr. Al Fayed between 1987 and 1989, when he ended his activities on behalf of Mr. Al Fayed. He did not declare the necessary information in the Register of Members' Interests until just before the end of this period, and he acknowledged that lie should have done so earlier. He offered his resignation from the Government.

Mr. Hamilton has emphatically denied throughout my inquiries, both in writing and subsequently in a public statement, that he received any payments deriving from Mr. Al Fayed. I have found no evidence which controverts Mr. Hamilton's assurances on these matters. He acknowledged that he had received hospitality from Mr. Al Fayed, as a private guest (as he believed), at a time well before he entered the Government. He had not thought it necessary to declare this in the Register of Members' Interests, for reasons which he explained in a letter to the Editor of the Guardian of more than a year ago, a copy of which he gave me. He also gave me an exchange of correspondence dated nearly a year ago in which he had amplified to the Chairman of the Select Committee on Members' Interests what he had said to the Guardian.

When Mr. Hamilton became a Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry, he declared his previous interest in matters concerning Mr. Al Fayed and has stood aside from involvement as a Minister in issues involving the House of Fraser.

There were other allegations passed on to you by your informant. I have looked into all these, so far as I am able, and the Chief Whip and I have put the allegations in detail to the Ministers concerned. In some of them there are patent inaccuracies, and all have been denied explicitly, unequivocally and in writing.

I have found nothing which would cause me to throw any doubt on the validity of those denials. Moreover, the fact that there is reason to think that these allegations too have now been made available to others who have so far chosen not to publish there suggests that they too may have found that there is a lack of evidence to establish their validity.

In those circumstances, while confirming that I am confident that the allegations either are demonstrably false, or, so far as I have been able to establish, are entirely unsubstantiated as well as being denied by the Ministers concerned, I do not think it appropriate to give them further currency by listing them in this Report.

To ask the Prime Minister if the statement made by the hon. member for Richmond and Barnes (Mr. Hanley) during his recent visit to the south-west, on the possibility of making Exchequer funding available to reduce water and sewerage charges in the South West Water company area represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 24 October 1994]: The Director-General of Water Services has recently completed the first periodic review of water company price limits. The new price limits that he announced for South West Water have been referred, at the company's request, to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. In the meantime, we must await the outcome of the commission's review.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many staff are employed by his Department; and what proportion of them are employed in each of the standard regions.

The total number of staff employed by the Department is 349, excluding casuals; all staff are employed in the London region. This figure excludes staff working in the Department's two executive agencies, the Historic Royal Palaces Agency and the Royal Parks Agency. All the staff work in London.

To ask the secretary of state for National Heritage on what grounds he cancelled the contract of the nominated chairman of the Millennium Commission; and how much had been paid to him in regard to severance of his contract.

The decision to terminate the contract of the nominated chief executive of the Milliennium Commission, Mr. Nicholas Hinton, was taken by the commission, which is independent of Government. The sum of £19,125 was paid to Mr. Hinton as compensation for loss of office in accordance with his contract of employment.

To ask the Secertary of state for National Heritage (1) when he expects to appoint management consultants to advise him on the sports council reorganisation;(2) what he estimates to be the likely cost of management consultancy contracts for the Sports Council's reorganisation.

The period of consultation on the Government's proposals end on 31 October. I expect to announce final policy decisions and how these should be implemented shortly after that.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will extend the consultation period for the reorganisation of the Sports Council to consider the deep concern voiced by local authorities at his proposals.

The consultation period has in effect already been extended from 30 September to 31 October through the addition of children's play to the consultation exercise. I do not propose to extend it further. I shall now be looking very carefully at the views expressed on our proposals before taking final policy decisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has made in respect of British athletes no longer having their income support stopped while they are competing for Britain abroad.

I have met social security Ministers on two occasions to discuss the payment of income support to British athletes competing abroad.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the number of press officers currently employed by his Department who are normally based (a) in the Department in London, (b) in the House and (c) at each other location.

My Department currently employs seven press officers. All are based in the Department's offices in London.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the average class sizes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools; and what were the corresponding figures five, 10 and 15 years ago.

The average sizes of single teacher classes in maintained primary and secondary schools in England in 1979, 1984, 1989, and 1994—provisional—are shown in the table.

Average sizes of single teacher classes in maintained primary and secondary schools in England in 1979, 1984, 1989 and 1994 (provisional) Position in January each year
	Primary	1Secondary
1979	25·9	*
1984	24·7	20·6
1989	25·7	20·1
1994 (prov)	26·9	21·4
1 excludes Sixth Form Colleges which ceased to be classified as schools from 1 April 1993
* data for secondary schools excluding Sixth Form Colleges is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list each public opinion survey commissioned by (a) her Department and (b) her agencies since 1 October 1992, showing for each, the subject, objectives, total cost, the period in which it was conducted and the organisation from which it was commissioned.

The DFE has carried out the following public opinion surveys since October 1992.

Subject: School performance tables

Objective: To establish levels of parental awareness and understanding of the school performance tables publications

Date: December 1992 and January 1994

Company: Taylor Nelson

Subject: Grant-maintained schools

Objective: To measure changes in public awareness and understanding of grant-maintained schools

Date: May 1993, October 1993, February 1994

Company: Audience Selection

Subject: National curriculum testing of 7, 11 and 14-year-olds

Objective: To assess parental awareness and effectiveness of the publicity campaign on school testing arrangements in 1993

Date: April 1993

Company: British Market Research Bureau

Subject: National curriculum testing of 7, 11 and 14-year-olds

Objective: To assess parental awareness of testing arrangement; under the National Curriculum in light of a review announced by Secretary of State for Education in May 1993

Date: May 1993

Company: Bulmershe Research

Subject: Publicity campaign for parents on national curriculum testing of 7, 11 and 14-year-olds

Objectives: To assess parental awareness and effectiveness of the publicity campaign on school testing arrangements in 1994

Dates: January 1994, July 1994

Company: British Market Research Bureau

Subject: DFE exhibition - DFE touring roadshow

Objective: To establish the communication effectiveness of the 1992, 1993 and 1994 DFE roadshows

Date: October 1992, July 1993, July 1994

Company: 1992, 1993 Martin Hamblin; 1994 Alpha Research

Subject: Further and higher education charters

Objective: To assess awareness and effectiveness of the publicity campaign for the FE and HE charters

Date: September 1993, November 1993

Company: Martin Hamblin

Subject: Educational provision for under-fives

Objective: To establish the take-up of education provision for under-fives and the parents' attitudes to different types of provision

Date: April 1994

Company: Bulmershe Research

Subject: Updated parents charter

Objective: To establish he effectiveness of the 1994 parents charter campaign

Date: June 1994, August 1994

Company: Research Society of Great Britain

Only one of the agencies of the DFE, SCAA, has carried out public opinion research since October 1992, as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education to what extent an educational psychologist employed by a local education authority retains professional autonomy in determining needs under the Education Act 1993; and what guidance her Department gives on how financial constraints may be taken into account under the LEA.

The conditions of employment of education psychologists are a matter for the authorities which employ them.Under the Education Act 1993 and the Education (Special Education Needs) Regulations 1994, an authority must seek psychological advice as part of any multi-professional statutory assessment of a child with special educational needs. If, as a result of a full assessment, and of any representations made by the child's parents, it is necessary for an authority to determine the provision which the child needs, then a statement of special educational needs must be made. The statement must specify the necessary provision, and the authority must arrange that it is made, whatever the funding implications, unless the child's parent makes suitable alternative arrangements.The code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs provides comprehensive practical guidance to LEAs and the governing bodies of all maintained schools on their responsibilities towards all children with special educational needs. All those to whom the code applies have a statutory duty to have regard to it. The code provides a framework which aims at quality and consistency of assessment, both across and within LEAs. Having regard to the code, many LEAs have issued additional guidance to schools and support services on specific criteria to be used to achieve such consistency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the Further and Higher Education Council first received an application from the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute for additional funding in 1994–95; and when the application will be determined.

I understand that the Further Education Funding Council received an application from this institute in May and a duplicate application in August. I understand that the council notified the institute of its final recurrent funding allocation for 1994–95 on 14 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions she has held concerning a strategy to deal with disruptive and troubled children in schools; and what conclusion she has reached thereon.

Following very wide consultations, the Department issued a set of circulars in May giving guidance on pupil behaviour and discipline, the education of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and other subjects within the broad heading "Pupils with Problems". Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties have special educational needs and the circular complements provisions in the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. Local education authorities must have regard to the code which came into effect on 1 September. Copies of these documents are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the rates of university students' grants in 1978–

Value of The Standard Maintenance Grant and Grant Plus Loan
Academic Years	Standard maintenance grant (cash terms) £1	Standard maintenance grant plus loan (cash terms) £2	Standard maintenance grant (real terms) £3	Standard maintenance grant plus loan (real terms) £	Standard maintenance grant as a percentage of average earnings5	Standard maintenance grant plus loan as a percentage of average earnings
1978–794	1,100	—	3,143	—	24	—
1979–804	1,245	—	3,054	—	22	—
1980–814	1,430	—	3,027	—	22	—
1981–824	1,535	—	2,917	—	22	—
1982–834	1,595	—	2,826	—	21	—
1983–844	1,660	—	2,797	—	20	—
1984–85	1,775	—	2,856	—	20	—
1985–86	1,830	—	2,780	—	19	—
1986–87	1,901	—	2,804	—	18	—
1987–88	1,972	—	2,792	—	17	—
1988–89	2,050	—	2,742	—	16	—
1989–90	2,155	—	2,680	—	16	—
1990–91	2,265	2,685	2,540	3,011	15	18
1991–92	2,265	2,845	2,440	3,065	14	18
1992–93	2,265	2,980	2,356	3,100	12	16
1993–94	2,265	3,065	2,314	3,132	13	18
1994–95	2,040	3,190	2,040	3,190	n/a	n/a
1 The standard maintenance grant rate is that applicable to students living away from home and studying outside London. In 1994–95 the corresponding London rate of grant is £2,560 and the parental home rate of grant is £1,615.
2 Since 1990–91 Student support has included grant and loan; the grant was frozen at the 1990–92 level (ie £2,265) until 1994–85 when it was reduced to £2,040. Figures for 1990–91 and subsequent years include grant plus full year loan for students living away from home. The full year loan for students studying in London in 1994–95 is £1,375 and £915 for those living at their parents' home.
3 Based on the September Retail Price Index of each academic year.
4 Up to and including 1983–84 students claimed, and were individually reimbursed, full travelling expenses; from 1984–85 a flat rate amount for travelling costs was incorporated within the main rate of grant. The rates of grant for 1983–84 and earlier years exclude the excess travelling expense element.
5 Average annual earnings approximated from weekly earnings in April from the New Earnings Survey of full-time employees whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence. This survey may not include bonuses paid at other weeks than the survey week and does not capture seasonal work. For 1979–80–1982–83 earnings are compiled on the basis of men aged 21 + and women aged 18 +. From 1983–84 earnings are compiled on the basis of employees on adult rates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the number of press officers currently employed by her Department who are normally based (a) in the Department in London, (b) in the House and (c) at each other location.

The Department currently employs 12 press officers at its headquarters in London. None are employed at the House or any other location.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what quantities of low level radioactive waste have been co-disposed in landfills since 1979; and what proposals exist to increase the amounts.

Records of the quantities of such disposals are not held centrally.The Government's consultation paper, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary

The information requested is shown in the table.Conclusions", proposed that there would be advantage in encouraging waste producers to make greater use of the controlled burial of low-level radioactive waste. Responses on this and other issues raised in the review are being carefully considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what contribution the United Kingdom has made to the preparation of an international convention on waste management being developed under the International Atomic Energy Agency's radioactive waste safety standards programme;(2) what steps Her Majesty's Government plans to take to fulfil the resolutions agreed at the International Atomic Energy Agency 38th annual conference in Vienna in September calling for an assessment by IAEA member states of the impact of the sea disposal of radioactive wastes.

The 38th general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency resolved on 21 September this year to invite the board of governors and the director general to commence preparations for a convention on the safety of radioactive waste management. It also invited them to consider further measures that would enhance international co-operation in this field, including assessment of the impact of the land and sea disposal of wastes. I expect that the United Kingdom will participate fully, as is appropriate, in such work. As regards the International Atomic Energy Agency's radioactive waste safety standards programme, which is aimed at securing international consensus on technical and regulatory aspects of radioactive waste management, the United Kingdom has participated fully, and continues to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to amend the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 enabling landfill tips, including those located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to take nuclear waste; and if he will made a statement.

[holding answer 24 October 1994]: The Government have no plans to amend the provisions in the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 concerning the controlled burial of low-level radioactive waste in landfill sites. The consultation paper, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions", proposed that there would be advantage in encouraging waste producers to make greater use of the existing controlled burial provisions. Responses on this and other issues raised in the review are being carefully considered. There are no plans in relation to particular sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to investigate, or to require Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to investigate the import of wastes from Germany for incineration at the Edmonton incineration plant; and if he will investigate the activities of the International Waste Consultants, brokers for the import of German waste.

I am aware that contracts exist for the import of garage waste for disposal at the North London waste authority's incinerator in Edmonton. The circumstances surrounding these contracts are under investigation by the NLWA and the London waste regulation authority. I am sure that these authorities are taking the appropriate action to protect human health and the environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library the paper by David Massingham of his Department, presented at the waste management forum at the Institution of Civil Engineers on 22 September.

On 22 September, the Waste Management Forum held a half-day seminar on the Environment Select Committee's report on recycling, under the title "Recycling Reappraised". Mr Massingham of my Department attended, and was among a number of people invited to comment briefly as a focus for discussion. No formal paper was prepared for this occasion, but the main points made at the seminar are contained in the report prepared by the Waste Management forum, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many visits have been paid to the United Kingdom, and for what purpose, by the International Atomic Energy Agency's waste management advisory programme.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contracts have been issued by his Department for the assessment of the applicability to waste management policy of life-cycle analysis.

I am pleased to announce that my Department has issued recently a contract to develop a methodology for the life cycle analysis of waste management options for different wastes.This contract is the first part of a major project under the Department's waste research programme. The project will provide an analysis of the environmental costs and benefits of different wastes management options over the entire life cycles of selected wastes. The results from the project are intended to inform waste management policy at both the national and local level.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent communications his Department has had with the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee on the options for returning to countries of origin radioactive wastes arising from spent fuel reprocessed at Sellafield and Dounreay.

The chairman of the radioactive waste management advisory committee wrote to me on 4 July with further advice on British Nuclear Fuels' proposals for waste substitution. A copy of the committee's advice was appended to the consultation document, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions", which the Department published on 5 August.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to change the present strategy of regional assistance as it affects the Wirral.

The Government's view of the assisted areas map, which defines those parts of Great Britain eligible for regional assistance, was completed last year. The new map reconfirmed Wirral's development area status for regional assistance purposes, and the Government, do not propose to review the assisted areas again for at least two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the record of compliance of sewage works with their discharge consents in (a) 1992–93 and (b) 1993–94.

The National Rivers Authority has reported that in 1992 95 per cent. of the water company sewage treatment works it monitored complied with their discharge consent standards, and that in 1993, the figure was 93 per cent. Because of new reporting procedures introduced by the NRA, the information for 1993 is not directly comparable with earlier statistics. The underlying trend is one of significant improvements in performance: only 83 per cent. of sewage works complied in 1988. This reflects the water industry's substantial investment programmes since privatisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many houses recorded in the 1994 housing investment programme data as being empty in the (a) council, (b) housing association, (c) public and (d) private sectors; and what percentage of the overall stock this represents;(2) how many households are recorded in the 1994 housing investment programme data collected by local authorities as being on council waiting lists

The data provided by local authorities on their 1994 housing investment programme—HIP1— returns is still being analysed. I will write to the hon. Member when this work is complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to monitor the effectiveness of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

A research report, commissioned by my Department, entitled "The Landlord and Tenant Act 1987: Awareness, Experience and Impact", was published by HMSO in 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications in respect of homeless persons have been made to local authorities since 1979; and what proportion of these were accepted for rehousing as statutorily homeless.

The application figures for individual authorities, where they are reported, are published in the quarterly local housing statistics publication along with the figures for acceptances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the position of a homeless family will differ from the current situation as a result of proposals contained in the statement on access to local authority housing and explanations of its intent given in written answers to questions 15, 20 and 27.

The court's interpretation of part III of the Housing Act 1985 has the effect of requiring local authorities to secure a tenancy for life for an eligible homeless household. Under our reform proposals the duty would be to secure accommodation for at least 12 months; that duty would recur if the household continued to be eligible for assistance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the average weekly rent paid by people earning less than £10,000 in each year since 1990.

Estimates of the average rent paid by households in England headed by people with annual incomes less than £10,000 are as follows

Average weekly rents, before and after deduction of housing benefit
	Before deduction of HB	£ per week After deduction of HB
1990	28·10	15·60
1991	30·10	14·80
1992	35·10	16·00
1993	39·60	16·90

These figures are from the Family Expenditure Survey and are subject to sampling error.The estimates do not take into account the income of householders other than the head of household, and information is not available to enable the calculation of average rents paid by

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to monitor the take up of the leasehold enfranchisement provisions of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

Leasehold enfranchisement is a private transaction between the leaseholders and the landlord, and it is therefore not possible to monitor take up comprehensively. But my Department does monitor the number of cases coming before leasehold valuation tribunals where the parties cannot agree terms. Currently 32 cases have been heard or are listed to be heard in the near future.We are about to let a research contract to follow up the experiences and progress of those who have approached the Leasehold Advisory Service, which has been established jointly by the Department and the private sector. To date it has received about 3,000 inquiries.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many properties rented privately in each region are currently deemed to be unfit for human habitation under the current fitness standard.

The 1991 English house condition survey estimates that the following numbers of privately rented dwellings are unfit for human habitation under the current fitness standard, by Government office regions:

	Number
Northern	13,000
Yorkshire/Humberside	27,000
North West	58,000
East midlands	20,000
West Midlands	39,000
South West	34,000
Eastern	24,000
Greater London	56,000
South East	54,000
Merseyside	8,000
England total	333,000

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the expenditure by the Housing Corporation on (a) administration and (b) accommodation; and how many staff were employed by the corporation in each year since 1980.

The information is as follows:

Year ending 31 March	Administrative Costs £ 000's	Accommodation Costs £ 000's	Numbers of Staff
1980	6,413·0	1,457·0	649
1981	9,096·0	1,879·0	780
1982	9,014·0	2,522·0	639
1983	9,790·0	2,500·0	663
1984	10,336·0	2,700·0	715
1985	10,955·0	2,781·0	713
1986	11,657·0	2,924·0	714
1987	12,354·0	2,929·0	728
1988	13,400·0	3,100·0	720
1989	16,700·0	3,500·0	787
1990	16,600·0	3,300·0	745
1991	18,400·0	4,100·0	745
1992	20,700·0	4,500·0	734
1993	23,500·0	4,400·0	726
1994	24,600·0	4,500·0	718

Notes:

1. Figures to 1989 are for England, Scotland and Wales.

2. Figures from 1990 onwards are for England only (Housing Act 1988 and Housing (Scotland) Act 1988).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for each financial year since 1981–82, the total sale price of the dwellings sold under the right to buy and the average discount for sales during the year.

The information requested on right to buy sales is not held centrally.However, figures of receipts from sales of all council dwellings and the discounts allowed are collected by the Department. Data on the value of these sales and the average percentage discount given are shown in the table.

Value of dwellings sold by local authorities in England, 1981–82 to 1993–941
Year	Value of sales (net of discount) £ million	Percentage discount on sales
1981–82	1,241	42
1982–83	1,769	42
1983–84	1,316	42
1984–85	1,108	44
1985–86	1,061	46
1986–87	1,237	46
1987–88	1,697	47
1988–89	2,653	50
1989–90	2,700	51
1990–91	1,616	52
1991–92	1,086	52
1992–93	841	51
1993–94	1,034	49

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what role he has in connection with proposed new port facilities by the Merseyside development corporation; what effect these proposed facilities will have on sea traffic from Belfast to the north-west of England; what interests from outside the United Kingdom are involved in the provision or operation of these proposed facilities; what funding the proposed project will receive from the European Community; and if he will make a statement about these proposals by the Merseyside development corporation.

Merseyside development corporation, which is sponsored by this Department, has marketed a 55-acre riverside at Twelve Quays, Birkenhead, for a business park and an in-river ro-ro terminal. I am encouraged by the interest that has been shown in the proposed ferry terminal.MDC has given preferred developer status for the site to London and General, acting with Capital and Regional Properties, which are both United Kingdom development companies.The corporation's disposal of the site is a matter for the MDC to determine in accordance with the Department's disposal guidelines. Any application for grant assistance that the developer may make to MDC will also be subject to approval in accordance with Departmental guidelines; similarly any application for European Community funding will be subject to the appraisal process for objective 1 funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest position on the local government review; and if he will make a statement.

I have today written to Sir John Banham, chairman of the Local Government Commission for England, giving my decisions on the Commission's recommendations for Avon, Humberside Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and Somerset as set out in its reports "Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset" and "Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of North Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire". I announced my decision, on 1 March, to ask the Commission to undertake a further review of Gloucestershire.

AVON AND SOMERSET

Avon

I have carefully considered the Commission's recommendations for both Avon and Somerset counties and the many representations which have been made about them. I have concluded, for Avon, that abolishing Avon County Council and establishing four unitary authorities for the area (Commission recommendations 1, 2, and 3), would best reflect local identities and interests and achieve effective and convenient local government. I propose to accept Commission recommendations 8 to 12 (on strategic planning and electoral arrangements) for Avon as submitted.

I am still considering the recommendation (Commission recommendation 16) that a town council should be established for the unparished area of Weston-super-Mare. I am also still considering whether to ask the Commission to conduct a review of electoral arrangements in the area before its normal statutory periodic review. I support recommendation (Commission recommendation 18) about consultation between principal authorities and parish and town councils, but, this is for the relevant principal authorities to take forward.

Somerset

The Commission has recommended a move to a structure of three unitary authorities in Somerset (Commission recommendations 6). However, after taking account of the number and strength of the representations which I received opposing the recommendations and the lack of support for the alternative options considered by the Commission in its draft report, I have concluded that to retain the present two-tier system would best reflect local identities and interests and achieve effective and convenient local government in Somerset. I have therefore decided not to accept this recommendation. Consequently I am also rejecting recommendations 8 (in so far as it applies to Somerset) and 13 to 15. I am still considering the recommendation (Commission recommendation 17) that a town council should be established for the unparished area of Bridgwater.

Fire and Police Services

My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary, is making a separate announcement about the arrangements for the Fire and Police Services in Avon and Somerset (Commission recommendation 7).

Ceremonial Issues

As regards ceremonial issues (Commission recommendation 4), I do not have the power to include unitary authorities in counties where the two tier structure is to be retained. I am therefore obliged to modify some of the Commission's recommendations in this respect. The Commission recommended that the County of Avon, should for ceremonial purposes be divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset, with Bristol as a separate city and county. I propose to establish Bristol as a separate county, and to deem that for ceremonial purposes the unitary authorities of North West Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset should be part of Somerset. It is not possible to make a final decision on the nature of the ceremonial arrangements for South Gloucestershire until the outcome of the Commission's further review of Gloucestershire is known. However, I am minded that, by deeming or otherwise, the South Gloucesterhsire unitary authority and the present county area of Gloucestershire should be united for ceremonial purposes.

HUMBERSIDE, LINCOLNSHIRE AND NORTH YORKSHIRE

Humberside

In its report "Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of North Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire", for Humberside, the Commission has recommended the abolition of both the County Council and the County of Humberside and their replacement with four unitary authorities (Commission recommendation 1). I have concluded that, subject to some minor modifications, effective and efficient local government and local identities and interest would best be served by accepting the Commission's main recommendation. I propose to accept the recommendation (Commission recommendation 2) that a unitary authority be established upon the present boundaries of the City of Kingston upon Hull. However, because I take the view that the present boundaries of the City may be too tightly drawn, I intend to direct the Commission to undertake a further review of the City's boundaries with the East Yorkshire unitary authority in due course. I also accept the recommendations (Commission recommendations 3, 11 and 12) for three unitary authorities covering the greater part of the rest of Humberside. However, because of my decision not to accept recommendation 8, the reasons for which are set out below, I propose that Goole, the remaining part of Boothferry, should be incorporated in Selby district in North Yorkshire.

I propose to accept the recommendations (Commission recommendations 16, 17, 21, 22 and 25) covering the electoral arrangements for authorities in Humberside. However, I am still considering whether to ask the Commission to conduct a review of electoral arrangements in the area before its normal statutory periodic review. I am also still looking at whether there should be a review to consider the scope for further emparishment in the area (Commission recommendation 24). I support the recommendation (Commission recommendation 23) about consultation between principal authorities and parish and town councils, but again, this is for the relevant principal authorities to take forward.

On Commission recommendation 4, because of my decision to abolish the County of Humberside, the statutory requirement for all authorities to be within a county area, I have decided that, for ceremonial purposes, the City of Hull and East Yorkshire unitary authorities should be included in a new county area to be known as East Riding of Yorkshire.

I have decided to accept the Commission's recommendation for no change to the existing structure in Lincolnshire, and my reasons for doing this are dealt with below. I do not have the power to include unitary authorities in counties where the two tier structure is to be retained (Commission recommendation 10). I am therefore obliged to modify some of the Commission's recommendations in this respect. However, for ceremonial and related purposes I propose to accept the Commission's recommendation that the two authorities south of the Humber should be deemed to be part of Lincolnshire.

I propose to accept the recommendations (Commission recommendations 26 and 27) for minor changes to parish boundaries.

Lincolnshire

The Commission has recommended retaining the present two-tier structure in Lincolnshire (Commission recommendation 13). I have looked closely at this recommendation. The Commission found little support for change in the County, and where there was support, no consensus about what form any change should take. This view is supported by the representations which I have received, and I have, therefore, concluded that I should accept the Commission's recommendation.

North Yorkshire

In North Yorkshire, the Commission has recommended the abolition of the County Council and that the existing eight districts should be combined to form three unitary authorities (Commission recommendations 5 to 8). I have decided to accept the recommendation that a unitary authority be established for the City of York, with its boundaries extended to include the Greater Planning Area (Commission recommendation 76). The Commission identified evidence of strong community identity amongst its residents and support for unitary status and I agree that the residents and support for unitary status and I agree that the present boundary is particularly restrictive. Because of the significant increase in the size of the City, in terms of the area it will cover, its population, and the additional functions for which it will become responsible, I have concluded that a unitary York will be considered a new and not a continuing authority. However, in the light of the strong representations which I have received opposing the Commission's recommendations for North and West Riding authorities (Commission recommendations 6 and 8), and in the absence of any consensus about alternatives, I have concluded that to retain the present two-tier system would best reflect local identities and interests and achieve effective and convenient local government in North Yorkshire outside the City of York. I have therefore decided to reject the recommendation for these two authorities and to retain the two-tier system in the remainder of North Yorkshire. A small number of district wards and county divisions would be split by the proposed boundary changes and it will be necessary to consult the authorities concerned about how the areas remaining outside York should be combined with other wards or divisions.

I have decided to accept the recommendations (Commission recommendation 19 and 25) covering the electoral arrangements for the new unitary authority for the City of York. However, as a consequence of my decision not to introduce unitary authorities elsewhere in North Yorkshire I shall not be accepting recommendations 18 and 20.

Planning

I am still considering the recommendations for planning (Commission recommendation 15) in the three counties in the light of my decisions about local government structure in the area.

Police and Fire Service

My Right hon. and Learned Friend, the Home Secretary, is making a separate announcement about the arrangements for the Fire and Police Services in these three counties (Commission recommendation 14).

Ceremonial Issues

I propose to deem the unitary authority for the City of York to be part of North Yorkshire for ceremonial and related purposes.

Implementation

In all areas where I am agreeing with the establishment of unitary authorities, I have given careful consideration to representations which I received about the implications for those services and functions currently performed on a wider basis. My decisions are based on the presumption that the authorities which are to become unitary will work together, and where relevant with existing authorities, to plan for these services and functions, and will forge effective links with other bodies such as health authorities.

Once I have had the opportunity to consult the affected local authorities, orders giving effect to the Commission's recommendations for these counties, with the aforementioned modifications, will be laid before the House. I intend that elections to unitary authorities in these counties should be held next May, with them assuming full responsibility for their new functions from 1 April 1996. A copy of my letter to Sir John Banham has been placed in the Library.

Conclusion

My decisions mean that nine further unitary authorities will be established from April 1996. Local people in these areas will enjoy the benefits which we believe that unitary local government brings; improved accountability and understanding of where responsibility for services lies; less duplication and improved cost-effectiveness; and improved quality and co-ordination of local services. Where there is to be change, I believe that the costs of change will be justified by the savings and other benefits which it will bring. Elsewhere, where I have judged that this would best provide efficient and effective local government which reflects local identities, I have decided to retain the present two-tier system. This diversity reflects our determination not to impose a uniform structure on local government in England. Instead, we wish to see the structure which works best for each area, which reflects the local preferences, history and tradition, and meets the needs and wishes of local people.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the soundness of data from the new earnings survey as the basis for area cost adjustment.

The New Earnings Survey is a well-established and comprehensive survey of earnings across the country. It is, therefore, a very suitable basis for establishing the relative wage rates paid in different regions in occupations relevant to local authorities. The sample numbers in the survey are, however, not large enough to produce reliable estimates of wage rates in individual local authorities. For this reason, the area cost adjustment is calculated at a regional level.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the effect on counties in the east midlands of removing £1·5 billion distributed through area cost adjustment to counties in the south east and dividing the proceeds to increase the general amount of the standard spending assessment of every other county and metropolitan authority outside the south east.

The table shows the effect on the standard spending assessments of counties in the. East Midlands, if SSAs in 1994–95 had been calculated without applying the area cost adjustment to authorities in London and the South East, but with no other change either to the national total of SSAs, or to the detailed formulae applied to each service.

	Actual 1994–95 SSA £ million	SSA with no area cost adjustment £ million	Change in SSA £ million*
Derbyshire	553	576	23
Leicestershire	561	584	23
Lincolnshire	365	380	15
Northamptonshire	364	37	15
Nottinghamshire	627	653	27
* figures may not sum due to rounding to nearest pound million

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to review the area cost adjustment element of standard spending assessment.

Various aspects of the area cost adjustment have been considered this year by the SSA sub-group, which is the main forum in which technical issues affecting standard spending assessments are discussed between government officials and local authority representatives. Ministers are considering the options which have been put forward and will be announcing their proposals for 1995–96 later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the percentage increase in standard spending assessment for counties in each English region from 1989–90 to 1994–95; and what were the percentage increases for all English counties and for all local authorities in England over the same period.

The first year of Standard Spending Assessments was 1990–91. Comparative figures for 1990–91 and 1994–95 for non-metropolitan county councils, which make no allowance for changes in function, are:

	1990–91 £ million	1994–95 £ million	Change
Northern	1,029·163	1,273·801	+23·8 per cent.
North West	1,217·646	1,477·878	+21·4 per cent.
Yorkshire and Humberside	798·783	976·481	+22·2 per cent.
East Midlands	2,014·564	2,469·158	+22·6 per cent.
West Midlands	1,251·442	1,530·181	+22·3 per cent.
East Anglia	966·003	1,216·725	+26·0 per cent.
South West	2,207·561	2,757·969	+24·9 per cent.
South East (outside Greater London)	5,152·553	6,629·815	+28·7 per cent.
Total shire counties	14,637·716	18,332·008	+25·2 per cent.
All local authorities	29,805·300	37,847·700	+27·0 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what basic credit approval was given to east midlands counties in each year since 1992–93; and if he will express this as a percentage of total county basic credit approvals for these years.

The information is given in the table.

Basic credit approvals issued to east midlands counties 1992–93 to 1994–95
County	1992–93 £ 000	1993–94 £ 000	1994–95 £ 000
Derbyshire	18,840	16,228	8,878
Leicestershire	17,926	14,145	12,334
Lincolnshire	16,076	14,034	13,426
Northamptonshire	7,631	4,974	6,903
Nottinghamshire	12,013	9,599	7,101
Total	72,486	58,980	48,642
Percentage of total BCAs for all counties	13·1	12·6	9·7

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of press officers currently employed by his Department who are normally based (a) in the Department in London, (b) in the House and (c) at each other location.

There are currently 31 information officers employed by the Department of Environment including those employed by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution. All deal with the full range of information services; none are exclusively press officers. These staff are all located in London. None are employed in the House.Additionally officers are employed in an information role in the va

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much of the money realised from the sale of houses under the right-to-buy legislation has been used by local authorities to pay off their outstanding debts.

Information on the value of receipts from right-to-buy sales and on how they are used by local authorities are not held centrally by the Department.However, figures of receipts from sales of council dwellings to sitting tenants are collected by the Department and these show that between the introduction of right to buy in 1980 and the end of March 1994 the total value of such sitting tenant sales, net of discount, is an estimated £18·5 billion.