To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what proposals he has to raise the subject of a ban on fox hunting and stag hunting on church land at the appropriate forum.

None. The Church Commissioners' long-standing policy on fox hunting is that our tenants should follow their own consciences in deciding whether or not to allow hunts on to land in their care. Our tenancy agreements do not, therefore, reserve the right of hunting to the landlord. This right rests with the tenant. No stag hunting takes place on land owned by the Church Commissioners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what work her Department is currently undertaking to develop a measles and rubella vaccine which is not dependent on a strain developed from cells front an aborted foetus.

The Department does not undertake vaccine development. MRCS, the cell culture in which the rubella vaccine is prepared, is used worldwide and no further foetal material has been involved since its development in 1966. Industry is not, as far as we are aware, seeking other culture media. However, there are many research groups actively investigating the application of new technologies such as the use of recombinant proteins for vaccine development. Such new vaccines may not require viruses to be grown in present cell culture methods.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the foetus, whose cells were used to develop the vaccine against measles and rubella being used in the current campaign to vaccinate all school children, had been aborted.

All rubella vaccines, including the rubella vaccine being used in the measles and rubella schools immunisation campaign, are grown in cell culture whose cells are called MRC5. This cell line was developed from a small number of cells taken from a single foetus in 1966 and the cells have grown and replicated since and been used widely for growing viruses. The termination of pregnancy was carried out on medical grounds in a national health service hospital. No further foetal material has been involved since 1966. The vaccine is highly purified and does not contain any foetal tissue. There is no question of use of this vaccine enabling anyone to profit from a termination of pregnancy.Measles vaccine is prepared on chick embryo tissue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those medical aerosols known to her Department that now contain chlorofluorocarbon gases.

Records held by the Medicines Control Agency show that there are 184 products containing chlorofluorocarbons licensed under the Medicines Act for human use at present. A small number, which are listed, contain chlorofluorocarbons as active ingredients. The remainder contain chlorofluorocarbons used as excipients, usually in the form of a propellant. It is not normal practice to disclose excipients, since to do so could prejudice companies' commercially sensitive information, which they are required to provide to obtain a product licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many working days on average are lost annually because of influenza.

This information is not collected by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost to the national health service of each influenza vaccination.

The basic cost of a pre-filled syringe of influenza vaccine is approximately £5.10. Reimbursement and remuneration for the general practitioner is about £1.00 per patient; this payment forms part of the general practitioner's total payment for providing general medical services.

To ask the Secretary of state for health if (a) dispensing general practitioners and (b) non-dispensing general practitioners are able, under terms and condition of service, to sell condoms to their patients.

General practitioners cannot sell condoms to their national health service patients.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to decrease bureaucratic requirements on general practitioners.

In 1991 we set up a working group on unnecessary bureaucracy, made up of representatives of the general medical services committee, family health services authorities and the Department of Health. It recommended a number of improvements to claim forms and guidance on simplified procedures. These were implemented in June 1991.All subsequent changes to the general practitioner contract have been made in consultation with representatives of the profession. Among other considerations, these consultations ensure that the profession's views on such changes are fully addressed and that bureaucracy is kept to a minimum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost to the national health service of unemployment (a) in total and (b) by such smaller categories as are available.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients consulted general practitioners about dental problems in each of the last five years.

The information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the privatisations which her Department has promoted since 1979, indicating, in each case, the date of the sale, the proceeds of the sale and the estimated current value of the company.

No part of the Department, its agencies or related bodies has been privatised since 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the average time taken to deliver blood supplies to hospitals throughout the north-west following the proposed closure of two blood transfusion centres.

The National Blood Authority is satisfied that its proposal to establish a network of blood banks will enable it to continue to respond to emergency demand for blood without detriment to patient care and will result in an improved service to hospitals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to replace the blood collected from the blood transfusion service at Lancaster for use throughout the north-west.

The majority of blood donation does not take place at transfusion centres. Mobile collection teams go out into the community to conduct pre-arranged donation sessions. Under the NBA's proposals mobile teams would go out to donors in all areas whether the centres are amalgamated or not.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements she has made for the specialist provision of factor 8 to hospitals throughout the north-west of England following the proposed closure of two blood transfusion centres.

The. availability to hospitals of factor 8 will not be affected by the National Blood Authority's proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the subjects of any reports currently being prepared by the committee on the medical effects of air pollutants, showing the time frames for (a) their completion and (b) their publication.

Two sub-groups of the committee on the medical effects of air pollutants, on asthma and particles respectively, are expected to report back to the main committee by early 1995. The committee will consider their draft reports, with a view to agreeing publication as soon as possible thereafter.In addition, a summary of COMEAP's work up to the end of 1994 is being prepared and will be published, jointly with material on the work of the advisory committee on the medical aspects of air pollution episodes. Publication is expected towards the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list each study undertaken for her Department this year on correlations between atmospheric pollution and the incidence of asthma and respiratory illnesses showing the time frames for (a) their completion and (b) their publication.

The relevant research studies funded in this year through the Department of Health's centrally commissioned programme are:

Middlesbrough Childhood Asthma study—University of Teesside 1 May 1994–30 April 1995.

Health Effects of the Nitrogen Dioxide Episode in London, December 1991—st. George's Hospital Medical School; 1 April 1993-28 February 1994.

Modified National Study of Health and Growth, which includes the prevalence of asthma in children-United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS) of Guy's and St. Thomas's; 1 January 1993–31 December 1995 (part of a programme of work and not separately costed).

It is planned to commission two further studies this year which will begin in 1995.

Impact of Air Pollution and Temperature on General Practitioner Consultations—University College Medical School; 1 January 1995-31 December 1995.

Personal exposure to Air Pollutants and Severity of Hay Fever Symptoms in London Traffic Wardens-Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine; 1 February 1995–6 November 1995.

Reports arising from all these studies will be published in the normal way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees of the London ambulance service were dismissed in 1993–94.

I am advised by the London ambulance service that it dismissed five people in 1993–94. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Mr. Martin Gorham, chief executive of the London ambulance service, for details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees of the London ambulance service were absent for (a) under 20 days, (b) 20 to 39 days and (c) over 40 days in 1993–94.

This information is not available centrally in the form requested. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 20 October at column 308–9.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records are held by NHS Estates of transfers of land and property between health authorities, or health authorities and trusts in the Trent region.

Transfers of property to trusts are agreed by the district health authority, and the legal transfers are effected by the regional authority on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The regional health authority and the trusts hold records of property transfers. NHS Estates may provide advice about policy matters, but is not involved in reaching agreement, and does not hold records of transfers. NHS Estates collects data on the size and value of the estate in the NHS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many in-patients were treated in private hospitals for psychiatric specialties under contracts placed by (a) GP fundholders and (b) health authorities in the most recent year for which statistics are available;(2) how many in-patients were treated in private hospitals for non-psychiatric specialties under contracts placed by

This information is not available centrally.

	From April 1998	From April 1989	From April 1990	From January 1991	From December 1991
Chairmen	£11,868	£12,462	£17,437	£17,610	£19,285

Since 17 September 1990, non-executives have been remunerated at a rate of £5,000 per annum.Details of expenses paid to chairmen and non-executives and the salary of the chief executives are not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of severance pay or other financial remuneration paid or agreed to be paid by the Greenwich Healthcare Trust to its former chief executive.

This is a matter for the Greenwich Healthcare Trust and the hon. Member may wish to write to the chairman for details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her latest assessment on the influence that tobacco advertising has on the numbers of children and teenagers who become smokers.

With regard specifically to this age group, the report "Why Children Start Smoking", Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to reassess the case for permitting the prescribing of cannabis to those suffering from multiple sclerosis or glaucoma.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis), met the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) and a delegation from the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics on 26 October to hear the case for making cannabis available for medical use. We intend to consider carefully the points made to us before coming to a view.Any consideration of the use of cannabis as a medicinal product would have to take account of the potential risks associated with short and long-term use of cannabis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list (a) the names of the chairman, general manager or chief executive of the Greenwich health authority and its successor bodies and the Greenwich Healthcare Trust in each of the years since 1988–89 and (b) the amounts paid to each person by way of fees, salaries, other remuneration and expenses for each year;(2) if she will list

A list of chairmen, non-executive members and chief executives of Greenwich health authority, now Bexley and Greenwich health authority, since 1989 and Greenwich Healthcare Trust since 1992 will be placed in the Library.The annual rates of remuneration are as follows:of Population Consensus and Surveys 1990, identified a number of risk factors associated with starting to smoke. The report concluded that

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 24 October, Official Report, column 451, if she will provide comparable data on staff numbers on the revised basis for each year for which it is available since 1989.

The information is shown in the table.

General and Senior Managers by Region—England as at 30 September 1991 and 1992—Whole Time Equivalents
	1991	1992
England Total	14,500	17,700
Northern	770	770
Yorkshire	1,200	1,400
Trent	810	1,070
East Anglian	570	660
NW Thames	720	1,050
NE Thames	2,120	1,950
SE Thames	1,000	1,150
SW Thames	700	580
Wessex	860	990
Oxford	520	770
South Western	800	920
West Midlands	1,460	1,770
Mersey	740	900
North Western	1,000	1,270
SHAs and Others	1,230	2,460

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the privatisations which his Department has promoted since 1979, indicating, in each case, the date of the sale, the proceeds of the sale and the estimated current value of the company.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average cost to his Department of answering (a) a written and (b) an oral Parliamentary question.

I refer my hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Hertfordshire, West (Mr. Jones) on 30 November 1993 at column 391.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the combined value of child dependency addition and child benefit for the child of a widow or invalidity pensioner at current and April 1994 prices and as a percentage of average earnings in November 1979 and at each subsequent uprating date.

The information is in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the level of unemployment benefit in each year since 1979 expressed as a proportion of average male earnings in the same years.

The information is set out in the table.

	Single rate unemployment benefit £	As a percentage of average male earnings per cent.
November 1979	18·50	16·2
November 1980	20·65	15·3
November 1981	22·50	15·1
November 1982	25·00	15·6
November 1983	27·05	15·7
November 1984	28·45	15·2
November 1985	30·45	15·3
July 1986	30·80	14·6
April 1987	31·45	14·0
April 1988	32·75	13·3
April 1989	34·70	12·9
April 1990	37·35	12·6
April 1991	41·40	13·0
April 1992	43·10	12·7
April 1993	44·65	12·6
April 1994	45·45	12·4

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his current calculation of the amount of (a) the basic pension, (b) the Christmas bonus and (c) child benefit allowance had they been increased since 1979 by (i) increase in prices and (ii) increase in earnings.

The information is in the table.

	Value at November 1979 £	Current value if increased in line with prices £	Current value if increased in line with average earnings £
Basic retirement pension	23·30	55·70	74·75
Christmas bonus	10·00	23·95	32·15
Child benefit	4·00	9·45	12·80

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total cost in advertising (a) personal pensions and SERPS, (b) disability living allowance and disability working allowance and (c) family credit in each year in which a campaign has been run.

The total costs for advertising by the Department of Social Security were:

Personal pension and SERPS
	£
1993–94	100,000

Disability living allowance and disability working allowance
	£
1991–92	3,043,000
1992–93	240,000
1993–94	803,000

Family Credit	£
1989–90	5,518,000
1990–91	3,894,000
1991–92	1,500,000
1992–93	950,000
1993–94	3,090,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will reimburse appellants against a negative diagnosis of PP12 D chronic bronchitis and emphysema who obtain at their own cost International Labour Organisation standard soft exposure X-rays which contribute to a positive diagnosis.

No. If the medical appeal tribunal considers that an X-ray is needed to decide an appeal it is obtained by the Benefits Agency at no cost to the appellant.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has for removing the age limit on elderly carers after the age of 65 years; what are the reasons for the age limit; and if he will consider allowing carers after the age of 65 to claim invalidity care allowance.

Invalid care allowance is intended for people of working age who give up the opportunity of full-time employment because of their caring responsibilities.We have no plans to allow carers over the age of 65 to claim ICA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to adapt the benefits system for carers in line with the recommendations of the social services committee and the social security advisory committee.

We welcome the contributions made by the committees. However, we have no plans at present further to amend the system of support for carers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will make it his policy to provide more financial assistance to carers;(2) what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the use of savings on his Budget to provide more financial assistance to carers.

The Government recognise the contribution made by carers to society and will continue to keep the financial provision made for them under review.It is not usual practice to divulge the nature of any discussions which may have taken place with the Chancellor of the Exchequer prior to his Budget statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the reasons underlying the policy whereby a disabled person cannot claim the severe disability premium if the carer is receiving invalid care allowance.

The severe disability premium is intended to give extra help to severely disabled people living independently, who are most likely to need to purchase care. Invalid care allowance is intended to provide a level of financial assistance to those people who have given up the opportunity of full-time employment because of their caring responsibilities. To pay both in respect of an individual's care needs would be to provide the same help twice.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has concerning the circulation of counterfeit pound coins; what steps are being taken to deal with the problem; and if he will make a statement.

While there are some counterfeit £1 coins in circulation, the numbers are believed to be extremely small in relation to the total number of £1 coins in circulation.Under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, it is a criminal offence to make a counterfeit of a coin or to pass it on to another person. Where sufficient evidence of such activities exists, it is for the police to take action against those responsible.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons why recently floated companies fail to maintain their flotation share price.

None. Share prices are determined by market forces. The stock exchange investigates any unusual price movements as part of it's responsibility for market supervision.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax barriers there are to life insurance companies selling their products throughout Europe; and what measures he proposes to remove them.

The EC third life insurance directive which came into force on 1 July brings about a single European market for life assurance. Our insurers have a range of good products and a history of achieving good returns from their policyholders and they are therefore well placed to compete for business throughout Europe.Insurers are taxed in the United Kingdom on the investment income and gains accruing for the benefit of their policyholders. In general, policyholders resident here have no further tax to pay when their policy benefits are paid. This is because the tax the life office pays is treated as satisfying their liability to tax at the basic rate. The tax regimes in other European countries do not all follow this approach. There, the investment income and gains accruing for policyholders are more likely to accrue free of any tax charge. Tax may therefore be payable when policy benefits are paid.Our tax system already recognises to an extent that this is the approach in many other countries. United Kingdom insurance companies are not taxed on the investment income and gains accruing for the benefits of non-resident policyholders if the business is conducted through an overseas branch.We shall be introducing legislation in the forthcoming Finance Bill to extend this tax treatment to most life insurance business written directly from the United Kingdom with an individual who is resident in another European state, or which is business written with an employer in another European state for the benefit of employees outside the United Kingdom. Such business will in future be taxed in the same way as branch business with a non-resident. United Kingdom branches of overseas life insurance companies will also be able to benefit from this treatment for business with residents of another European state.The changes will apply to new contracts written in the first accounting period of an insurer beginning after today.We are also making some consequential changes to the existing rules dealing with the investment income and gains and tax credits attributable to overseas life assurance business. New compliance and information requirements will also be introduced to ensure that only genuine non-residents will be able to take out policies falling within the special rules for overseas life assurance.Further details are contained in an Inland Revenue press release which is being issued today.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions proceedings commenced under section 99 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 in each of the last five financial years resulted in a penalty being assessed.

[holding answer 26 October 1994]: The numbers of cases in which penalties have been formally charged under section 99 in each of the last five years are as follows:

	Number
1989–90	—
1990–91	—
1991–92	—
1992–93	1
1993–94	—

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress of the Inland Revenue's special investigations into Welsh Rugby Union; what tax has been recovered; what future arrangements have been made; and what similar inquiries have been made in England.

[holding answer 28 October 1994]: Rugby clubs are entitled to the same degree of confidentiality as any other taxpayers. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for me to comment any further.

To ask the Prime Minister what recent meetings he has had with Lord Nolan; and what has been their purpose.

I met Lord Nolan on Wednesday 26 October to discuss various matters relating to the committee on standards in public life, including appointments of Members.

To ask the Prime Minister what is the proposed remuneration of the chairman and board members of the proposed committee on standards in public life.

[holding answer 28 October 1994]: I shall publish this information shortly.

To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons peers are not included in the categories of persons to be considered by the Committee on the conduct of public life in respect of their parliamentary duties.

It is open to the committee to examine the standards of conduct to be observed by peers as parliamentarians, as Ministers and, indeed, as holders of other public offices.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will include in the terms of reference of the body which will investigate standards of public life the issue of funding of political parties.

No. The funding of political parties has already been the subject of an investigation by the Home Affairs Select Committee. Under the terms of reference I announced on 25 October, it is open to Lord Nolan's committee to consider concerns that appointments or other Government decisions may be influenced by political contributions.

To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral statement on standards of conduct in public life of 25 October, Official Report, col. 757, if he will indicate (a) who was the informant mentioned by the Cabinet Secretary in his report, (b) what proposals for a deal were put to him by the intermediary and (c) when he was first contacted by the intermediary.

I have nothing further to add to the statement that I made to the House on Public Life (Standards of Conduct) on 25 October 1994, Official Report, columns 757-770, and to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 25 October 1994, Official Report, columns 521-22.

To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to ratify the 1980–81 United Nations convention on inhumane weapons.

We continue to work actively towards ratification of the United Nations weaponry convention review conference. Meanwhile, we do, of course, adhere strictly to the provisions of the convention.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that Ministers should give substantive answers to questions from hon. Members about the contents of books or reports in areas for which they have responsibility, which are published by sources other than the Minister's Department or a non-departmental public body operating in the area or public policy for which the Minister has responsibility.

It is for individual Ministers to decide how to answer parliamentary questions.

To ask the Prime Minister on what date the note of his meeting with the informant acting on behalf of Mr. Al Fayed was passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

On 20 October 1994.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone (Mr. Clapham), of 20 October, Official Report, column 420, what arrangements were proposed to him on behalf of Mr. Al Fayed; and if he will make a further statement.

I have nothing further to add to the statement that I made to the House on Public Life (Standards of Conduct) on 25 October, Official Report 757–70.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has had from the Arab league about Libyan sanctions.

I have received no such representations.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations have been made to him (a) by right hon. or hon. Members or (b) others concerning the applications for British citizenship by Mr. Mohamed Al Fayed and Mr. Ali Al Fayed.

So far as I am aware, none.

To ask the Prime Minister what is the current membership of the public sector pay review bodies.

The membership of the pay review bodies is as follows:

To ask the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to assure himself that the right hon. Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor) has, in all respects, complied with the guidelines laid down in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: Ministers have the responsibility to ensure that they comply with the guidelines in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers". I have no reason to think that my right hon. Friend failed to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister what declaration of continuing association with Messrs Hill Samuel was made by the right hon. Member for Norfolk, South and on what date.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: Because of his former association with Messrs Hill Samuel, my right hon. Friend gave instructions to his Department that he should play no part in the selection process, in 1993, of financial advisers to the Department of Transport for the channel tunnel rail link.

To ask the Prime Minister on what date the right hon. Member for Norfolk, South intimated (a) his desire to leave the Government and (b) his intention to rejoin Hill Samuel.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: As was made clear in my right hon. Friend's resignation letter of 20 July, he had advised me earlier in the summer of his intention to leave the Government. I was informed of my right hon. Friend's decision to take up his appointment on 6 October.

To ask the Prime Minister what intimation of potential conflict of interest was made by the right hon. Member for Norfolk, South when direction was given by his Department to the British Railways Board to establish a vendor unit; and on what date.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: British Rail decided to establish a vendor unit in order to co-ordinate sales: no direction was given by the Department of Transport.

To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements were intimated by the right hon. Member for Norfolk, South under paragraphs 128 to 134 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers"; and if advice was sought by him from the then Prime Minister's Private Secretary in terms of paragraph 132.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: My right hon. Friend's pension arrangements are a matter for him, but I am advised that they corresponded with the requirements of paragraphs 128-134 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", and no consultation with the then Prime Minister's Private Secretary was therefore necessary.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the contracts awarded by Her Majesty's Government to Messrs Hill Samuel between June 1979 and July 1994, with the value in each case.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions since 1 January 1991 the Cabinet Secretary has advised individual Ministers of his opinion on their conduct in relation to "Questions of Procedure for Ministers"; which Ministers were involved; and on what dates the opinion was given.

[holding answer 28 October 1994]: Discussions between Ministers and the Cabinet Secretary are private.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will give details of the current inquiry into the system of public appointments and identify (a) when it was established, (b) its terms of reference, (c) its composition and (d) when it will report;(2) if he will give details of the current inquiry into the governance of quangos; when it was established; what are its terms of reference; what is its composition; and when it will report.

[holding answer 25 October 1994]: As I told the House on 20 October, I set up a working group in May to review the guidance to Departments on public appointments procedures. The terms of reference for the review are:

"To examine, in consultation with departments, the principles that should govern the membership of public bodies and the methods used to identify potential candidates, including questions relating to equal opportunities and multiple appointments, and the procedures leading to disqualification from or premature termination of appointments; and to consider whether amendments and additions need to be made to the 'Guide on Public Appointments procedures'."

The working group is chaired by the director of the public appointments unit and includes representatives from the Department of Employment, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Health, the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Scottish Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Treasury and the Welsh Office.My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I expect to receive the working group's report in a few weeks' time. I have also asked my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to look across the board at appointments to all public bodies and to make any further recommendations he thinks necessary. We shall be making any recommendations, together with the working group's report, available to the committee on standards in public life.In addition, the Office of Public Service and Science and the Treasury are preparing, in consultation with Departments generally, a revision of "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: A Guide for Departments". This is intended to assist sponsor Departments on a range of matters concerning non-departmental public bodies. The guide was last revised in March 1992. Work on a further revision began in May, and the aim is to produce the revised guide when the parallel work on public appointments has been concluded. This, too, will be made available to the committee on standards in public life.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps to co-ordinate Government policy between the Treasury and the Home Office on the reduction of fines for law breaking in respect of persons, authorities or nations who refused to pay them, in relation to the decision made at the Council of Finance Ministers of the European Union on 21 October.

The decision taken at ECOFIN on 21 October was to increase the so-called "fine" imposed by the Commission on Italy and Spain by 1.1 becu, and not to reduce the penalties.Although disallowance decisions taken by the Commission under the common agricultural policy are often colloquially described as fines, they are in fact completely different from fines imposed by criminal courts. I believe that co-ordination between the Treasury and the Home Office on these areas of policy is satisfactory.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 20 October, Official Report, columns 420-22, in regard to the inquiry by the Cabinet Secretary, how many other cases there are of hon. Members who are now Ministers in respect of whom any inquiries are being or have been undertaken; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answers of 20 October, Official Report, columns 420-22, (1) which other hon. Members are being questioned by the Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet;

[holding answer 27 October 1994]: I refer the right hon. and hon. Members to the statement that I made to the House on Public Life (Standards of Conduct) on 25 October 1994, Official Report, columns 757–770, and to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 25 October 1994, Official Report, columns 521–22.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) of 25 October, Official Report, column 521-22, if he will identify the informant acting on behalf of Mohamed Al Fayed and all Ministers against whom allegations were made; and what documentary evidence has been requested and examined by the Cabinet Secretary as part of his investigation.

[holding answer 28 October 1994]: The answer to the first part of the question is no. On the identity of the Ministers against whom allegations were made, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave today to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr Morris). On the third part of the question, I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn), on 25 October 1994 Official Report, columns 521-22.

To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone (Mr. Clapham) of 20 October, Official Report, columns 420-21, how many Ministers are being or have been investigated by Sir Robin Butler; when he expects to receive the report; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 26 October 1994]: My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary and my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury have confirmed that they were the subject of allegations investigated at my request by the Cabinet Secretary. No other Ministers were involved.

To ask the Prime Minister on what dates on and after 29 September he has met Mr. Ian Greer of Ian Greer Associates.

[holding answer 28 October 1994]: None.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) what is the total number of public appointments which he is responsible for making or which require his approval; and if he will include figures for the Crown appointments on which he is responsible for advising Her Majesty the Queen;(2) pursuant to his answer of 17 January,

[holding answer 27 October 1994]: Further to the information on appointments already given to the hon. Member, I am listing those appointments on which at the present time I advise Her Majesty the Queen.The total number of appointments for which I am responsible, including those on which I advise Her Majesty the Queen, cannot be accurately calculated since I have discretion in some cases as to how many appointments I make; and in the case of Church appointments some vacancies fall casually and unpredictably to the Crown by virtue of the Royal Prerogative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Sri Lanka.

I am planning to visit Sri Lanka from 15 to 16 November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funding problems there are for the ECOMOG forces in Liberia; and how the United Nations intends to deal with this.

We have no information on the funding position of those states which have contributed troops to the ECOMOG peacekeeping effort. The UN trust fund for Liberia was set up in 1993, partly to help support troops of participating ECOMOG countries. So far, only three countries, including the United Kingdom, have contributed to the fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the result of the study tour organised by Her Majesty's Government of middle east countries related to British expertise in waste water, referred to in his letter of 16 September; and what proposals he has to help Libya, Iran and Iraq.

As presaged in my letter of 16 September, a group of middle eastern water specialists visited the United Kingdom from 17 to 21 October to take part in a study tour of British waste water facilities. They visited a wide range of facilities in this country.The tour was arranged as a United Kingdom contribution to the work of the multilateral water working group, one of the five groups on the multilateral track of the peace process.Libya, Iran and Iraq are not members of the multilateral water working group. None of their Governments have sought our help.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Kashmir, Sind, Karachi and the Punjab.

Clashes continue in Kashmir between militant groups and the Indian security forces. The law and order situation in Sind, and particularly in Karachi, remains unsettled. We are encouraged by the growing return to stability in Punjab.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the latest situation regarding the question of the violation of human rights in Pakistan.(2) what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to Pakistan concerning the violation of human rights; and if he will make a statement.

We regularly raise our concerns about human rights with the Pakistani Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total cost of all assistance provided to the Falkland Islands in each of the past 10 years.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the House on 20 April 1993 by my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Sir M. Lennox-Boyd), which listed such expenditure from 1983. The following figures bring that reply up to date:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for trade with Iraq have been (a) put to the United Nations sanctions committee for consideration by the Government, (b) which companies tendered these applications, (c) how many applications have been granted and (d) which companies succeeded in the applications.

In the interests of commercial confidentiality, we do not disclose details about export licences that have been issued. Given constant changes in procedures for submitting applications to the Iraq sanctions committee throughout the lifetime of the regime, the other information requested could not be provided without disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for United Kingdom policy of the statement by the Russian foreign Minister concerning the lifting of sanctions against Iraq.

Despite the efforts of the Russian Foreign Minister, Iraq has still not recognised the sovereignty of Kuwait or the Iraq-Kuwait border as demarcated by the United Nations.There can be no question of lifting sanctions until Iraq complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to establish Gough island in the Tristan da Cunha group as a world heritage site.

We have applied for Gough island's nomination for inclusion in the list of world heritage sites under the world heritage convention. An application was lodged with the world heritage committee of UNESCO in Paris on 12 October 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet Libyan officials in Cairo about Lockerbie.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there have recently been sales of British tanks to Nigeria.

Yes. Details about the export of tanks can be found in the UK return to the UN register of conventional arms, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House. However, in December 1993 we and our European Union partners announced a series of measures against the Nigerian military Government, including restrictions on new export licence applications for defence equipment. Since that time, no new export licences have been granted for the supply of lethal equipment to the Nigerian armed forces.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to decide on the United Kingdom's future contribution to CERN; what estimates he has made as to how much it will be; what will be the cost for the other countries involved; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom's contribution to CERN is fixed by an agreed formula based on member states' GNP. The United Kingdom contribution for the 1994 is about £60.5 million. The contributions of all member states for 1994 are shown in the following table. The budgetary process for 1995 is underway and in the current CERN draft budget the United Kingdom's contribution is estimated to be of the order of £64 million.Membership of CERN remains a high priority for the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, which pays the United Kingdom's contribution. The full programme of work at CERN complements domestic particle physics research in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the current expenditure for each of the research councils on past redundancies.

In the financial year 1993–94 the research councils then in existence incurred the following costs associated with redundancies (including early retirements and restructuring):

	£ million
Agricultural and Food Research Council	5·76
Economic and Social Research Council	0·02

	£ million
Medical Research Council	4·00
Natural Environment Research Council	2·60
Science and Engineering Research Council	2·30
Total	£14·68

These figures include both payments in respect of departures in 1993–94 and ongoing payments in respect of earlier departures.On 1 April 1994 the research council system was reorganised. The Agricultural and Food Research Council and the Science and Engineering Research Council ceased to exist and three new research councils came into being—the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. The total expenditure by the research councils in 1994–95 on redundancies, as defined herein is currently estimated at around £16 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give a breakdown of people currently holding public appointments in terms of (a) age, (b) sex, (c) race and (d) the region in which they live.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of public appointments made by his Department were held by women at the most recent date for which figures are available.

At 1 September, 28 per cent. of appointments to public bodies were held by women. Further details are available in "Public Bodies 1993", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Statistics about the number of public appointments held by women at 1 September 1994 are still being collected, and will be published at the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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 costs, the period in which it was conducted and the organisation from which it was commissioned.

The information has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many man hours were taken up by adjusting the clocks throughout his Department.

No record is kept of such estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost of the arrest, prosecution and appeal for Neil Latimer, Noel Bell, Jim Hegen and Winston Allen since 1983; and how much money it has cost the state to pursue this matter.

This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on postage, and how many items have been posted by his Department, in each of the last five years.

[holding answer 27 October 1994]: The amount spent on postage by the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments in the last five years is:

	£
1989–90	4,231,360
1990–91	4,884,984
1991–92	6,059,985
1992–93	6,387,424
1993–94	6,889,320

The Northern Ireland Office can provide information only for 1993–94. Computerised records are not held for the previous years and many of the manual records have been fire damaged.No statistics are available on the number of items posted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of public appointments made by his Department were held by women at the most recent date for which figures are available.

The Cabinet Office publication, "Public Bodies 1993", copies of which are available in the Library, gives a figure of 30 per cent. of public appointments in Northern Ireland being held by women. The 1994 figures are still being collected and will be announced in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what new proposals he has to promote and support the Irish language.

A draft order will shortly be laid before Parliament which will include a power to enable district councils to erect street names in a second language other than English. In practice, the second language is most likely to be Irish.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of classical swine fever occurred in each year since 1985.

There have been no cases of classical swine fever recorded in Northern Ireland since 1985.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will recommend the addition of a new requirement from hon. Members to register the amounts paid to them from all sources for parliamentary work in the Register of Members' Interests.

This is a matter for the Select Committee on Members' Interests. The hon. Member can, if he wishes, make a formal proposal to the Committee.

To ask the Attorney-General what steps have been taken this year to improve charging practice.

The Crown Prosecution Service and the police have together set up a charging standards group to develop joint guidance to assist police officers when instituting criminal proceedings to select the most appropriate charge.