Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Wednesday 7 December 1994

Health

Ward Funds

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect of separate registration of individual ward funds on the income of NHS hospitals.

Individual ward funds are required to be registered only where they constitute separate charities. We have no information on any link between registration and income.

Community Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has to demonstrate that the transfer of funding to local authorities for care in the community is keeping pace with the transfer of responsibilities.

Since 1990–91, total resources for community care have risen by 121 per cent. to £5,122.6 million for 1995–96, including an increase of 12.4 per cent. for 1995–96 over 1994–95. In addition, specific grants have been increased for drugs and alcohol, AIDS/HIV and social work training for 1995–96 in line with inflation and increased by some 30 per cent. for mental illness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to meet representatives of Lancashire county council to discuss the resourcing of care in the community.

I have on various occasions met members and officers of Lancashire county council and Members of Parliament from the area. I have no current plans for further meetings.

Maternity Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the organisations who will be consulted about the applicability of the data set to maternity care.

The development of the maternity contract minimum data set will require consultation with all organisations who have an interest in the data set. These will include representatives of the organisations involved in the delivery of maternity services, those involved in the purchasing of maternity services, and of organisations representing the health professionals involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the criteria for assessment of the data set for maternity services to be used during the piloting programme.

The criteria for the assessment of the maternity data set will be agreed during the initial stages of its development.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information in respect of the professional group of main care giver the minimum data set for maternity services will record.

The draft contract minimum data set published in October 1993 recommended the inclusion of a data item to record the key professional with overall responsibility for the care programme. The proposed classifications were consultant, general practitioner and midwife.

Nhs Trusts

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will now make it her policy to keep a record centrally of the resignations or dismissals of chief executives of NHS trusts, together with the reasons for the resignation or dismissal and details of the settlement agreed on termination.

No.

Nhs Managers

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the definition of proper public scrutiny in respect of confidentiality clauses in employment contracts of general and senior managers in the NHS.

Proper public scrutiny in this con text means parliamentary scrutiny and judgment about propriety.

Asthma

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to include targets relating to asthma in the "The Health of the Nation" targets programme under review; and when she expects to conclude that review.

"The Health of the Nation" programme is continuously under review. The chief medical officer's working group is considering what further work is necessary on interventions and possible targets, before asthma can be reconsidered for key area status.

Quality (Nhs)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has on the extent to which the quality of care provided by the NHS differs from what it was four years ago.

The changes we have introduced, including the introduction of a managed market, national health service trusts, the general practitioner fundholding scheme and the patients charter have all contributed to marked improvements in the quality of patient care, by focusing on the development of locally determined services which reflect the needs and wishes of the individuals who use those services. Tangible benefits in terms of patients care include: significant reductions in waiting-times, the development of quality services which effectively reflect local needs and priorities and a greater role for patients in decisions concerning their own health care and treatment.These improvements have been borne out by the results of the recently published British Social Attitudes Survey, which suggests that, since 1990, the number of people satisfied with the NHS has increased by 10 per cent.

Hypothermia

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have been caused by, or were associated with, hypothermia among people over (a)65 years, (b) 75 years and (c) 85 years old in each year since 1979.

The information for England and Wales will be placed in the Library.

Cot Mattresses

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she plans a full investigation of the safety of cot and baby mattresses; and if he will make a statement.

Dr. Kenneth Calman, the chief medical officer, has set up an expert group to steer further work by the Department on cot deaths. The group will be chaired by Lady Limerick.Its terms of reference are:

To review the findings of the report on "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" (the "Turner Report", 1991) and any subsequent data on hypotheses linking antimony with unexplained deaths in infants; and to advise the CMO on what further studies should be undertaken to investigate postulated causal relationships between chemicals and cot deaths.

The group has been asked to review the available material and to provide the Department with advice as quickly as possible. It will meet shortly.

Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients were waiting for hospital treatment (a) in total and (b) over 12 months, for each year since 1979;(2) how many patients had been waiting for hospital treatment for more than a year in March 1991.

Information on the numbers of people waiting over 12 months and in total for hospital treatment is shown in the table. There has been a reduction of 66.7 per cent. in the numbers waiting over one year since March 1979.

		Number waiting over one year	Total waiting
1979	March	185,195	752,422
	September	197,532	695,726
1980	March	196,983	664,919
	September	187,993	635,881
1981	March	180,774	628,333
	September	180,905	619,393
1982	March	175,554	622,480
	September	192,902	725,865
1983	March	198,546	726,186
	September	205,920	703,755
1984	March	194,614	692,945
	September	189,546	682,599
1985	March	171,197	674,453
	September	160,227	661,249
1986	March	161,326	673,107
	September	164,682	681,901
1987	March	162,273	687,945

		Number waiting over one year	Total waiting
	September	209,440	848,022
1988	March	207,925	876,246
	September	219,929	900,051
1989	March	223,311	922,676
	September	218,116	929,056
1990	March	207,860	958,976
	September	202,740	957,533
1991	March	169,761	948,243
	September	155,419	947,842
1992	March	80,585	917,717
	September	80,581	939,740
1993	March	56,877	994,974
	September	71,022	1,032,038
1994	March	64,508	1,065,369
	September1	61,693	1,063,302
Note:
¹Provisional Figures from September 1987 figures include numbers waiting for day case treatment.

Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the review of the Public Health Laboratory Service into the epidemiology and control of chlamydia trachomatis infection will be complete; what representations she has received about this matter; and if she will made a statement.

The paper being prepared by the Public Health Laboratory Service for the Department of Health is a compilation of published and unpublished epidemiologic data concerning:

the levels of genital chlamydia infection in various population groups in the United Kingdom and abroad;

what is known concerning the health burden resulting from chlamydia;

information that has been gathered in the United Kingdom and elsewhere relating to control strategies and the outcome of those measures.

This paper is a background document. Given the lack of information in this field, it is likely to make recommendations as to the areas of further study which could be undertaken. The paper is in a late stage of development and will be delivered to the Department in the new year.

Covert Video Surveillance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 25 November, Official Report, columns 412–3, if the use of covert video surveillance at the North Staffordshire hospital is classified as a research experiment.

No; it is one of the range of services available to individual children and like other innovative developments, it is regularly evaluated.

Empty Property

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to make use of her Department's empty residential property.

The Department and the national health service follow Government guidelines on the management of their residential estate whereby only property which is required for operational purposes should be retained, and that surplus property should be disposed of as quickly as possible. This may be in the open market, or to housing associations or local authorities. Consideration should be given to short-term or temporary lettings of vacant residential property which is either not surplus, or which cannot be disposed of immediately.

Smoking

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies her Department has undertaken to ascertain whether higher taxes are the most effective and fair means of reducing smoking.

The Government's assessment of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce smoking is based on critical evaluation of the available research evidence. Studies show that an increase of 10 per cent. in the price of tobacco products can be expected to lead to a drop of between 3 and 6 per cent. in tobacco consumption. There is a significant relationship between price and consumption across the range of income groups. This supports the view that raising tobacco taxation is one of the most important parts of any strategy to reduce smoking.

Mental Hospitals (Sales)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the capital receipts on the sale of mental hospitals over the past six years by region; and what were the consequent current revenue savings by region.

The information requested is not separately identifiable in the information available centrally.

Tapeworm Infection

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for each of the years 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993, how many people in the United Kingdom (a) became infected with the tapeworm echinococcus granulosus and (b) died from infection with the tapeworm echinococcus granulosus caught in the United Kingdom.

The number of laboratory reports of human echinococcus infection received by the Public Health Laboratory Service communicable disease surveillance centre in 1990–93 are shown in the table. Place of acquisition of the infection is not reported.

	1990	1991	1992	¹1993
England and Wales	14	5	16	13
Northern Ireland	0	0	0	0
Scotland	0	0	0	1
United Kingdom	14	5	16	14
¹ Data for 1993 are provisional.

There have been no deaths certified as being clue to echinococcus granulosus—

¹ ICD 122.0, 122.1, l 22.2, 122.3, 122.4 in 1990–92. The table below gives the

number of deaths in each of the three years due to echinococcus unspecified—¹ ICD 122.8, 122.9—in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Information on whether the infections were acquired in the United Kingdom or abroad is not available. Data for 1993 are not yet available.

	1990	1991	1992
England and Wales	5	3	3
Scotland	0	0	0
Northern Ireland	0	0	0
United Kingdom	5	3	3
¹ International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for each of the years 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993, what has been the cost to public funds of treatment of infection with the tapeworm echinococcus granulosus.

Echinococcus granulosus—hydatid disease—can be treated either medically or with a combination of anti-helminthic drugs and surgery. It is not possible to estimate the cost to public funds of this treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what have been the main focuses in the United Kingdom of infection with the tapeworm echinococcus since 1990.

Information on the focuses of infection with echinococcus granulosus—hydatid disease—is not available. Data on the number of cases are available from laboratory reports made to the Public Health Laboratory Service communicable disease surveillance centre. A total of 34 laboratory reports were made from 19 different laboratories in England and Wales during the period 1991 to 1993. However, as data are provided by reporting laboratory it is not possible to assume focuses of infection from these figures because some laboratories—for example, Cardiff public health laboratory and the London tropical diseases hospital—have particular interest and expertise in this field and cases are referred to them from all over the country. It is also not possible to tell from these reports whether these are new cases or fresh investigations on previously diagnosed cases or what duplication might exist in them.

Nhs Probity

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement concerning the Audit Commission's report, "Ensuring Probity in the NHS"; and if she will make a statement.

We welcome the report's comments that the majority of national health service employees and contractors are honest and diligent. The level of losses through fraud are small compared with the huge amount spent on the health service. We have already taken a number of steps to safeguard NHS funds but have asked the NHS executive to scrutinise the report to see whether any further action is necessary.

Hearing Aids

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy in relation to the provision of non-NHS hearing aids to adults for whom they have been prescribed by medical practitioners on the basis that they are more suitable than NHS hearing aids; and if she will make a statement.

Where no standard range hearing aid meets the medical needs of a patient, an alternative model may be supplied.

Hillingdon Hospital Health Trust

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will call for a report on the suitability of Professor Neil Merritt, vice-chancellor of Portsmouth university, as chairman of the Hillingdon Hospital Health trust; and if she will make a statement.

No. Hillingdon Hospital National Health Service trust has been very successful, meeting all its financial objectives and achieving eight five star awards in the patients charter league tables.

Organ Donation

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to replace organ donor cards by an opting-out system; and if she will make a statement.

The Government believe that giving organs should be a positive, altruistic choice made by individuals or their surviving relatives and not a presumed right on the part of the state. "Opting-out" does not have the support of the majority of the British people and there is no clear evidence that it would improve donation rates. On 6 October this year, we launched the national health service organ donor register; all those wishing to signal their intention to be a donor can now record their names on this central computerised register. The volume of applications is already encouraging.

Environment

Housing Corporation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many jobs the Government estimate are created annually by the approved development programme budget;(2) what was the average cost to a housing association of compiling a bid for the Housing Corporation's approved development programme for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Neither my Department nor the Housing Corporation can provide the cost to housing associations of compiling bids for the Housing Corporation's approved programme or the total number of jobs created by the approved development programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the budget of the Housing Corporation is spent on administration.

The Housing Corporation's administration costs for 1994–95 represent 1.4 per cent. of its total grant in aid.

Sound Insulation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how the sound insulation provisions of the building regulations are enforced currently; what plans he has to introduce post-construction testing of building; and what plans he has to introduce standards for impact sound transmission into the regulations;(2) what is his estimate of the proportion of post-1985 buildings which have sound insulation below the standard generally regarded as reasonable for building regulations purposes.

Reasonable standards of sound insulation between new dwellings were required by the 1985 building regulations, which applied in England and Wales outside London. In 1986, these were extended to cover new dwellings built in London where previously there was no requirement for sound insulation in the London Building Acts. The requirements were further extended in the 1991 building regulations to cover reasonable standards of sound insulation between converted flats. We have no information on the proportion of dwellings built since 1985 where reasonable provision for sound insulation was not required.The approved document to part E of the building regulations provides guidance on ways of demonstrating compliance, including recommending forms of construction which have been shown to provide a reasonable standard of sound insulation in practice. As with other parts of the building regulations, they are administered by local authorities or approved inspectors who normally assess plans and carry out site visits.My Department funds a programme of research at the Building Research Establishment to assess how the regulations are operating in practice. As noted above, the provisions for sound insulation were last strengthened in 1991, and they are kept under review. The need for, and the costs, benefits and practical implications of, post-construction testing, and any further provisions for impact sound transmission beyond those already covered by the regulations which might be considered necessary for the purpose of achieving a reasonable standard of health, are included in such reviews.

Rough Sleepers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has received regarding the numbers of rough sleepers (a) in London and (b) outside London; and what representations he has received regarding accommodation provision for them outside London.

The 1991 census is the only national count of people sleeping rough. It found 2,650 people sleeping out in England, of whom 1,197 were in London, with most concentrated in the central London boroughs. Since 1990, the Government's £182 million rough sleepers initiative has been successful in reducing the number of people sleeping rough in central London by around three-quarters; 268 were found in a count undertaken by voluntary sector organisations in May 1994.My Department receives occasional representations to extend the RSI outside central London. however, the initiative remains targeted on central London because the greatest concentrations of people sleeping rough remain there. Outside central London, it is the responsibility of each local authority to consider the housing needs of all people living in its area, including people sleeping rough, when drawing up its housing strategy. I commend to local authorities the RSI model of co-operation between statutory and voluntary organisations in meeting the needs of people sleeping rough.

Housing Stock

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total asset value of local authority owned housing stock.

The Department has no direct data on the value of dwellings owned by local housing authorities.However, for the purpose of setting guideline rents for housing revenue account subsidy, the value of each authority's stock is estimated, based on the pre-discount prices of recent right-to-buy purchases. For the year 199495, the total of these estimates for all English housing authorities was £151.43 billion.

Homelessness

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines are issued to local authorities regarding their statutory duty to house homeless 16 and 17-year-olds; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to chapter 6 of the "Homelessness Code of Guidance to Local Authorities", third edition, 1991, issued under section 71 of the Housing Act 1985, a copy of which is in the Library.

Building Control Fees

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what change has been made to building control fees for (a) local authority building control and (b) the National Housebuilding Council; and if he will make a statement.

Changes to the fees local authorities charge for their building control work were made in the Building (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 1994, which came into force on 1 October 1994. The fees chargeable by the National House Building Council as an approved inspector are a matter for it.

Radioactive Waste

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if local authorities will be allowed to refuse authority for the disposing of radioactive waste from the nuclear industry under the proposals contained in the consultation paper, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions";(2) if the proposals in the consultation document, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions" will allow radioactive waste to be deposited in tips owned privately or by the Local Authorities Waste Disposal Companies Association.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 6 December at column 132.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what means he intends to take to ensure the ability of private owners of tips to comply with all necessary requirements before allowing the depositing of radioactive waste on such tips under proposals contained in the consultation document, "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions".

The Government's consultation document "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy: Preliminary Conclusions" proposed that there might be advantage in encouraging waste producers to make greater use of the burial of low-level radioactive waste at landfill sites. This remains only a proposal, however, and there are no plans in relation to specific sites. The Government are considering the responses to the consultation document and will make a statement of future policy in due course.

Pollution Prosecutions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all prosecutions, and their outcome, initiated over the past three years in England and Wales by (a) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution, (6) the National Rivers Authority, (c) the London Waste Regulation Authority and (d) local waste authorities.

I will write to the hon. Member.

Scrap Metal

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to provide exemptions from waste management licensing for the recovery of scrap metal; and if he will make a statement.

On 8 November I published a consultation paper setting out our proposals for exemptions from waste management licensing under part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for the recovery of scrap metal and the dismantling of waste motor vehicles. The consultation paper invited comments by 5 December and proposed that waste management licensing should apply to these activities from 1 January 1995.It is clear from the responses I have received that the period of transition to the new system is a matter of concern to both the industry and waste regulation authorities. There are two main reasons for this concern. The first arises from section 77(2) of the 1990 Act. Under the terms of this provision, licences issued under part 11 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, which are in force when the new system is implemented, will be treated as site licences under part II of the 1990 Act. The second is the need for the industry and waste regulation authorities to have time to consider any regulations which are laid before Parliament, and the related statutory guidance on licensing, before the new system comes into force.I recognise the importance of both these issues to the industry and waste regulation authorities. I have decided, therefore, that waste management licensing under part. II of the 1990 Act should apply to the recovery of scrap metal and the dismantling of waste motor vehicles from 1 April 1995. I have made the necessary amendment to the commencement order to give effect to this decision.I will now conclude my consideration of the responses to the consultation paper with the aim of laying the regulations providing any exemptions, and publishing the related statutory guidance on licensing, as early as possible in the new year.

Sustainable Development

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the consultation recently carried out by his Department on the setting up of the United Kingdom round table on sustainable development.

My Department issued a consultation paper on 21 October, inviting comments before 17 November. Some 134 responses had been received by 25 November, including 50 from business and industry, 21 from environmental groups and 10 from local government. A list of responses will be lodged in the Libraries of both Houses and in the Department of the Environment library.Most of the responses received were supportive of the proposals in the consultation paper, and many offered helpful suggestions that expanded upon the proposals we had made. Some 95 of the responses commented on membership, and 37 suggested topics for the round table's work programme. In the light of this response, and the need to consider all of the suggestions fully before proceeding, I have decided to call the first meeting of the round table early in the New Year, rather than on 13 December, which was mentioned as a possibility in the consultation document.

Dealing With The Public

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to update the index to the explanatory material on how his Department deals with the public which he first made available last July.

I have today made available the first update of the index to the explanatory material on my Department's dealings with the public. This index will continue to be regularly updated, demonstrating my Department's commitment to open government. I have placed a copy of the index in the Library of the House and it is also available from my Department's libraries and from the Government offices for the regions.

Employment

Computer Malfunctions

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the cost to date of reimbursing employees in his Department who ran up overdrafts and bank charges due to computer malfunction in his Department in July; if he will list by month for the last 24 months the number of occasions similar computer malfunctions have occurred and the cost to his Department on each occasion; and if he will make a statement.

The cost of reimbursing employees due to a late payment of Employment Department group salaries in July 1994 was £28,969. The only other similar occurrence in the last 24 months was in February 1993 when the cost was £25,980. A complete review of the systems of control has been undertaken which should make it unlikely that a similar problem could occur again.

Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on the Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on the Internet over the next year which will be accessible via the world wide web server, "open. gov. uk" or any specific departmental server.

The Department has no firm plans to place information on the Internet.

Portable Machines

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding European Commission proposals to harmonise the voltage of portable tools and machines on construction sites.

The European Commission has made no such proposals.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of jobs lost and gained and his explanation of why and how from membership of the EEC since 1972.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him by my right hon. Friend the Economic Secretary on 17 March, Official Report, column 822 and 30 June, Official Report, column 680; by my hon. Friend the Paymaster General, on 25 November, Official Report, column 468 and by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 29 November, Official Report, column 583.

Education

Disabled Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Education when all schools will be fully accessible to disabled children.

It is impracticable to place a timetable on the Government's commitment to improvements in the accessibility of schools. The Government consider that by far the most effective and affordable way to improve access steadily is to ensure that the needs of disabled people are provided for when buildings are designed or constructed. That is why my Department will shortly be consulting on the upgrading of its constructional standards which will mean that all new schools and extensions would be fully accessible to disabled people. Parental choice will continue to play a fundamental part in the decision as to where children are educated and existing school buildings may be rendered accessible accordingly.

Local Education Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the shortfall between resources allocated to local education authorities in 1994–95 and the bids made by them; and if she will make a statement.

The 1994–95 local authority grant settlement allowed for local education authorities to spend £17,087 million on education in that year. This was distributed between authorities through the standard spending assessment mechanism, and through a limited range of specific grants. Bids related only to some of the specific grants, which totalled less than 2 per cent. of the settlement for education. Local authorities also bid for credit approvals in respect of capital projects.

Grant-Maintained Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many copies of the video, "Grant-Maintained Schools: Our Children, Our Choice", have been distributed; what conditions they are distributed under; whether they are (a) on sale, and if so, how many copies have been sold, (b) on loan, and if so, how many copies have been borrowed and how many have been returned or (c) are free;(2) what was the production cost of the video, "Grant-Maintained Schools: Our Children, Our Choice"; how many copies have been made; and what was the total cost of the videos.

The video "Our Children, Our Choice" cost some £48,000 to produce, and 10,0()0 copies have been made at a further cost of £16,000, giving a total cost of £64,000.About 6,000 copies have been distributed to date. Copies are made available free in response to requests; they are not loaned. A few copies have been returned, but the Department does not have a record of the precise number.

Building Refurbishment

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishment.

The information requested is as follows:

	1991–92 £	1991–92 £	1993–94 £
(Mowden Hall Teachers Pensions Agency premises)	102,000	1,738,000	83,000
(Mowden Hall Departmental premises)	103,000	45,000	36,000
Vincent House	74,000	4,000	2,000
Corporation House	2,000	4,000	2,000
Enterprise House	2,000	—	7,000
Total	283,000	1,791,000	130,000

(1) All figures are rounded to nearest £000.

(2) Refurbishment work at the Teachers Pensions Agency premises at Mowden Hall included external and internal fabric and a new ventilation system.

(3) Refurbishment work at all other DFE premises listed included internal adaptations of erecting and demounting walls, replacing light fittings and redecoration.

Prime Minister

Eu Anti-Fraud Budget

To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the size of the European Union's anti-fraud budget.

As I made clear following my meeting with the French Prime Minister at Chartres, I will insist that discussion of all aspects of fraud and irregularity against the Community budget is given a high priority at the Essen European Council.

Security And Intelligence Services

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the staff counsellor for the Security and Intelligence Services.

Sir Philip Woodfield KCB CBE has served as staff counsellor for the Security and Intelligence Services since November 1987. He will retire from the post on 31 March 1995, and I express the Government's gratitude to him for the way in which he has established this very sensitive post and fulfilled the duties of it. Sir Christopher France GCB, currently permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, will succeed him as staff counsellor from 1 April 1995.

Conference On Security And Co-Operation In Europe

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe summit in Budapest.

I represented the United Kingdom at the summit meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in Budapest on 5 to 6 December, accompanied by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.The meeting adopted the Budapest summit declaration; and separate declarations on the 50th Anniversary of the termination of world war II, and on Baltic issues. It also adopted 10 decisions on different aspects of the CSCE's work.These decisions embraced strengthening the CSCE; regional issues; further development of the capabilities of the CSCE in conflict prevention and crisis management; code of conduct on politico-military aspects of security; further tasks of the CSCE forum for security co-operation; principles governing non-proliferation; a common and comprehensive security model for Europe for the 21st century; the human dimension; the economic dimension; and the Mediterranean.Copies of all of these documents will be placed in the Library of the House.The CSCE is no longer just a conference. Its role has widened since the end of the Cold War. Under the Budapest decision on "Strengthening the CSCE", its title will change from 1 January 1995 to "The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, CSCE". This change of title has been accompanied by some structural changes which are set out in the relevant decision.Among its other decisions, the summit:

—initiated planning for a CSCE-led peace-keeping operation in Nagomo-Karabakh. Deployment of a multi-national CSCE peace-keeping force will depend on progress towards a political settlement, on United Nations Security Council backing, and on the requisite military preparation;

—adopted measures to strengthen the CSCE in its central role of conflict prevention;

—reinforced, as a result of a British initiative, the CSCE's arrangements for dealing with the problem of minorities and other human rights questions;

—set out standards for the democratic control of armed fon:es, in a new code of conduct;

—added to military confidence building measures, including provisions for the exchange of information on all conventional forces.

At a separate ceremony in Budapest on 5 December, Ukraine acceded to the non-proliferation treaty. On behalf of the United Kingdom, I extended to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine the nuclear security assurances which we have given in the past to other non-nuclear weapon states. Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin extended the same assurances on behalf of the United States of America and the Russian Federation.

In the margins of the conference, I had discussions with many of the CSCE heads of Government, including the Presidents of the Czech Republic, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and the United States; the German Federal Chancellor; and the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Norway and Turkey.

The future development of the North Atlantic Alliance was one of the subjects mentioned in many speeches to the conference, and also during my bilateral meetings. It was a point of particular concern to the Russian delegation. I explained to President Yeltsin that our aim, which was widely supported by our partners in NATO and the European Union, was to extend to the east the prosperity and stability which members of the European Union and NATO now enjoy. That was why both organisations were developing their links with the countries of central and eastern Europe. NATO had commissioned a study of the principles of enlargement, but had taken no decisions yet on which countries might join the organisation or when. It was very important for NATO to build up its relationship with Russia, and we therefore hoped that the Russian Government would soon sign their agreement with NATO on the "Partnership for Peace" programme. It was common ground that there should be no new dividing line across Europe.

The dominant political issue at the summit was the conflict in Bosnia. CSCE decisions are adopted by

Gross public expenditure on aid (£ thousands)
	1993–94 Cash price	Percentage of total	1983–84 Cash price (expressed in of total 1993–94 prices)	1983–84 Real terms	Percentage of total
Bilateral	1,304,515	56.60	554,730	936,332	52.19
Multilateral	1,000,079	43.40	508,111	857,644	47.80
Total	2,304,594		1,062,841

Note:

Administrative costs and flows from ODA to CDC are excluded.

Aid And Trade Provisions

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 23 November 1994, Official Report, column 199, which British companies have received contracts, and what value these contracts have been, as a result of ATP projects approved for funding since June 1993.

The information requested is as follows:

		£ million
Project	Company	Export value	Atp value
1993
Railways Double Tracking	Transmark	1.964	0.982
Tetouan gas turbines	John Brown Engineering Ltd.	65.000	10.925

consensus, and because of differences of view between certain participants, a draft declaration on Bosnia was not adopted. However, the chairman of the conference spoke for many delegations in issuing, in his personal capacity, a call on all warring parties in Bosnia, and particularly in Bihac, to end the fighting, declare a ceasefire and allow free access of humanitarian assistance throughout Bosnia.

My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, will be making a statement separately to the House on Bosnia, taking account of discussions during the Budapest summit.

Overseas Development Administration

Aid

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has discussed with his right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer the shift of resources from poverty-focused direct aid to commercially tied projects; and if he will make a statement.

No. The primary emphasis of the aid programme continues to be to assist development and thereby alleviate poverty. Over 90 per cent. of aid allocatable by income group has gone to low income and lower middle income countries since 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total amount of (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral aid in (1) cash and (ii) real terms in 1983 and 1993; and what were the percentages in each case.

The information is as follows:

		£ million
Project	Company	Export value	Atp value
Bombay and Delhi airports	Cossor Electronics Ltd.	4.105	1.437
1994
Muela Hydropower project	Kvaerner Boving Ltd.	9.550	4.775
Chickens processing plant phase II	Humatt Engineering Ltd.	8.990	4.227
Kundasale Strategic Study	Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners Ltd.	0.093	0.093
Santiago Traffic Control	Siemens Plessey Controls	2.372	0.831
Mini Hydros	Balfour Beatty Projects and Engineering Ltd.	15.019	4.121

Education Projects

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent in cash and real terms in each of the last five years on education projects in (a) developing countries outside the Commonwealth and (b) developing countries in the Commonwealth, by the European Union; and what was the extent of British funding for these projects.

EC commitments to education programmes in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries under the fourth Lome convention—1991 to date—have totalled 199.2 mecu or £155.3 million. The United Kingdom share of these programmes, funded through the European Development Fund, is 16.37 per cent.Education commitments to Asia in 1993 totalled 173 mecu or £134.9 million, and to Latin America 16.2 mecu or £12.6 million. The United Kingdom share of these costs, financed through the Community Budget, will be around 16 per cent.Disaggregated figures by individual Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries are not available. As these commitments will spend over a number of years it is also not possible to give annual expenditure figures in real and cash terms.

Indonesia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all infrastructure projects in Indonesia that are assisted by aid from the United Kingdom.

The following infrastructure projects are presently being funded from the United Kingdom's aid programme to Indonesia.

Shortwave Radio Transmitters
Steel Bridging Phase II
Citayam-Cibinong Railway
Cigading-Serpong Railway
Samarinda Power Station
Cikampek-Padalarang Toll Road
Cikampek-Cirebon Railway (Double Tracking)

European Union Development Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed at the European Union Development Council in Brussels on 25 November.

My right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Chalker of Wallasey represented the United Kingdom at the Council. There was extensive discussion of the situation in Rwanda. An action programme totalling 67 mecu, or £52 million, was endorsed and the importance of national reconciliation underlined. Further progress was made on co-ordination between Community and member state aid programmes, notably through agreement on joint guidelines on food, security and education. There were also useful exchanges of view on the state of play on the mid-term review of the Lome convention, future assistance to South Africa and evaluation.

Transport

British Transport Police

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his plans as to the future employer of the British Transport police.

The Government have decided that the BR board will continue as employer of the BTP for the foreseeable future. The role of employer will eventually pass to the British Transport police committee, when a suitable legislative opportunity can be found.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in whom the ownership and control of the British Transport police will be vested following the flotation and privatisation of Railtrack.

[holding answer 29 November 1994]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) earlier today.

Road Signs, London

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress is being made on the project to replace the road signs on London's primary route network; and if he will make a statement.

The Highways Agency has awarded a trial contract for the replacement of route direction signs on primary routes in west London, mainly along the A4. This follows extensive consultation carried out by the Highways Agency to develop a signing system which will better serve drivers needing to make journeys within the M25.The trial contract, which has been awarded to Ringway Ltd., will be used to validate the designs, work methods and materials to be used in the main signing project contracts which follows.The first of the four main project contracts is due to be let next autumn with a view to the re-signing project being substantially completed by the end of 1997.Poor signing causes drivers to lose their way, wasting both time and money. The new signs will give clearer, simpler and consistent directions. This important project will help drivers and assist traffic movement in the capital.

Capital Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list for each county council its capital expenditure on public transport as a percentage of its capital expenditure on roads.(2) if he will list for each county council

(a) its capital expenditure on roads and (b) its capital expenditure on public transport.

The figures for 1993–94, as reported by local authorities in their transport policies and programme submissions for 1995–96, are set out in the following table.

Expenditure for 1993–94—All figures in £000
Authority	TSG eligible major highway works	Non-TSG eligible major highway works	Structural maintenance of principal road carriageways	Structural maintenance of bridges	Local roads safety schemes	Other minor highway works	Major public transport schemes	Public transport minor works	Total highways	Total public transport	Total transport	Public transport as percentage of highways	Parking	Total capital
Avon	13.800	0	2,492	2.163	630	3,329	142	113	22,414	255	22,669	1.1	0	22.669
Bedfordshire	1,511	0	1.154	2,240	1,066	1,315	0	82	7,286	82	7.368	1.1	0	7.368
Berkshire	1,978	0	1,901	1,127	955	408	0	121	6,639	121	6,490	1.9	300	6,790
Buckinghamshire	1,735	1,938	2,207	638	753	666	0	0	7.937	0	7.937	0	0	7,937
Cambridgeshire	2,406	0	2,597	2,603	2,972	1,067	0	0	11.645	0	11.645	0	367	12,012
Cheshire	17.572	34	7,422	2,902	505	2,008	495	47	30,443	542	30,985	1.7	297	31.282
Cleveland	5,918	0	2,310	423	671	409	0	546	9,731	546	10,277	5.3	0	10.277
Cornwall	7,623	0	2,404	1,695	408	3,107	0	163	15,237	163	15.400	1.1	35	15,435
Cumbria	2,663	0	2,240	1,985	625	1,459	0	0	8,972	0	8,972	0	155	9,127
Derbyshire	4,233	0	1.810	1,192	390	8,032	986	115	15,657	1,101	16,758	6.6	733	17,491
Devon	5.730	1,317	4,164	1,402	1.311	5,146	0	1,764	19.070	1,764	20.834	8.5	1,430	22,264
Dorset	4.755	0	1,295	570	833	1,785	0	50	9.238	50	9.288	0.5	0	9,288
Durham	6,464	818	1,273	1,120	501	1.539	0	0	11,715	0	11,715	0	14	11,729
East Sussex	3.218	1.833	2.174	1,864	356	2.880	0	0	12,325	0	12,325	0	192	12,517
Essex	10.279	378	2,507	1,813	2,334	5.396	0	22	22,707	22	22,729	0.1	0	22,729
Gloucestershire	5.045	0	1,474	756	486	2,223	0	370	9.984	370	10.354	3.6	0	10,354
Hampshire	26,762	34	4,646	1,654	1,420	2,673	0	707	37,189	707	37,896	1.9	0	37,896
Hereford and
Worcester	3,115	0	1,914	842	507	2,044	0	0	8.422	0	8,422	0	77	8,499
Hertfordshire	11,282	0	2,870	2,294	1.184	4,269	0	101	21.899	101	22,000	0.5	0	22.000
Humberside	10,910	3.167	3,869	1.998	651	884	0	20	21,479	20	21,499	0.1	720	22,219
Isle of Wight	0	0	966	607	414	1,155	0	0	3,142	0	3,142	0	5	3,147
Kent	60,900	0	7.753	1,943	1.175	3,416	0	240	75,187	240	75.427	0.3	0	75,427
Lancashire	12,339	23	2,160	5,962	1,869	3,289	142	1,012	25,642	1,154	26,7%	4J	75	26,871
Leicestershire	5,998	0	2,060	911	641	1,706	986	37	11.316	1,023	12,339	8.3	0	12,339
Lincolnshire	5,329	0	2,440	2,501	463	2,894	0	5	13.627	5	13,632	0	0	13,632
Norfolk	2,709	2.728	6.251	2,861	2.431	2,174	0	389	19,154	389	19,543	2	479	20,022
Northamptonshire	3,514	1,260	4,122	1,476	1,004	1,262	0	8	12,638	8	12.646	0.1	171	12,817
Northumberland	3,013	0	2,2%	4,566	422	368	0	0	10,665	0	10.665	0	235	10,900
North Yorkshire	8.232	0	4,470	3,082	1,699	3,731	0	74	21.214	74	21,288	0.3	791	22,079
Nottinghamshire	5,076	769	3,577	2,203	1,047	9,680	2,910	1.677	22,352	4,587	26,939	17	1,048	27,987
Oxfordshire	1.917	63	1,281	1,214	1,444	259	0	0	6,178	0	6,178	0	0	6,178
Shropshire	3,122	0	1,750	2,154	363	4,189	0	91	11.578	91	11.669	0.8	0	11,669
Somerset	4,022	0	1,734	1,292	351	2,450	0	0	9,849	0	9,849	0	0	9,849
Staffordshire	5.837	0	6,442	1,674	577	2,618	0	0	17,148	0	17,148	0	0	17,148
Suffolk	629	1.316	3,153	2,378	1,357	6,222	0	800	15.055	800	15,855	5	601	16.456
Surrey	22,215	0	3,133	4,536	2,502	3,438	0	0	35,824	0	35,824	0	0	35,824
Warwickshire	332	0	1,204	2,348	994	785	0	51	5,663	51	5,714	0.9	54	5,768
West Sussex	3,125	95	1,872	558	855	2,190	0	0	8,695	0	8,695	0	495	9,190
Wiltshire	1,749	0	0	152	675	1,573	0	0	4,149	0	4.149	0	83	4,232

Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on the Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on the Internet over the next year which will be accessible via the world wide web server "open.gov.uk" or any specific departmental server.

The Department has no plans to make information available on the Internet. This will be considered as part of a review of publication arrangements.

Vehicle Licensing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of commercial and heavy goods vehicles operating illegally on British roads by carrying no licence, insurance or taxation disc.

A sample roadside check held earlier this year in the south-east and Metropolitan traffic area indicated that about 8 per cent. of vehicles stopped illegally had no operator's licence. However, the exercise was targeted on vehicles thought likely to be offending the regulations, so the estimate may be considerably higher than the true national proportion of such vehicles.

We have no reliable estimate of the proportion of commercial and heavy goods vehicles operating without insurance.

A roadside survey conducted in 1989 found that some 2.4 per cent. of goods vehicles were operating without VED. An up-to-date estimate based on a survey conducted in summer 1994 will be published shortly.

Trains (First Aid)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 25 November 1994, Official Report, column 381, what information he has on the extent to which the requirement for passenger trains to carry first aid kits is complied with; and if he will investigate the absence of a first aid kit on a train travelling from Basingstoke to Reading on 24 October when Matthew Burridge was injured.

All passenger trains are checked daily to ensure that they are carrying first aid kits in sealed containers. Any used equipment must be replaced before trains are allowed to leave a depot.I understand that in the case of the incident concerning Mr. Matthew Burridge, on 24 October, the train in question was carrying a first aid kit. The kit was not used as the conductor had radioed ahead to Reading station for medical assistance, which was given following arrival at the station three minutes later.

Drivers Hours

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the organisations that responded to his consultation paper on the deregulation of drivers' hours.

We have not issued a consultation paper on the deregulation of our national rules on driver's hours, but we sought views from a number of bodies on the operation of the present rules. The organisations included HGV and bus operators, trades unions, trade associations, enforcement agencies, road safety groups and public utilities.

Home Department

Asylum Seekers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list, by country of origin and, where appropriate, the third country passed through, the number of asylum seekers arriving at Heathrow Airport during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994;(2) if he will list, by port of entry the number of asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom during

(a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.

(3) if he will list, by country of origin and, where appropriate, the third country passed through and the number of asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.

Table B
Applications ¹ received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, by location of application and nationality, 1992 to end-October 1994
Number of principal applicants
	1992			1993			1994 (January-October)
Nationality	Total applications ²	Applied at port	Applied in country	Total applications ²	Applied at port	Applied in country	Total applications ²	Applied at port	Applied in country
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria	180	5	170	100	10	90	160	15	145
Colombia	280	120	160	380	200	175	320	210	110
Poland	90	45	45	155	95	55	245	85	160
Romania	305	30	275	370	105	265	270	55	215
Turkey	1,865	695	1,165	1,480	655	830	1,740	520	1,215
Former USSR	270	25	245	385	45	340	480	45	435
Former Yugoslavia	5,635	2,180	3,455	1,830	260	1,565	1,140	235	905
Other	275	50	230	585	200	385	780	275	505
Total	8,895	3,150	5,745	5,280	1,570	3,710	5,135	1,440	3,695
Africa
Algeria	..	..	..	305	40	265	755	95	660
Angola	245	50	195	320	140	180	470	115	355
Benin	15	—	15	..	..	..	5	—	5
Burkina Fasco	5	^*	5	..	..	..	..	..	..
Cameroon	40	10	30	70	10	60	65	5	55
Chad	15	^*	10	..	..	..	..	..	..
Congo	15	—	15	5	5	^*	..	..	..
Ethiopia	680	115	565	615	150	465	645	130	515
Gabon	15	—	15	5	—	5	..	..	..
Ghana	1,600	175	1,425	1,785	400	1,385	1,670	345	1,325
Ivory Coast	310	45	270	330	105	230	665	420	250
Kenya	110	20	90	630	435	195	1,605	620	385
Liberia	100	45	50	90	55	35	115	70	50

The available information on the number of asylum seekers applying for asylum in the United Kingdom by port of entry for the period 1993 to end—October 1994 is given in table A. Information prior to 1993, and by nationality is not available.Information for the period 1992 to end—October 1994, on the number of asylum seekers applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, by location of application and nationality, is given in table B.Statistical information about the country through which asylum seekers pass is not available.

Table A
Applications¹for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, by port of entry, 1993 to end—October 1994.
	1993	1994 January—October
Heathrow	5,300	6,400
Terminal 1	600	1,000
Terminal 2	1,500	2,000
Terminal 3	2,000	2,200
Terminal 4	1,200	1,200
Gatwick	900	800
North	400	400
South	500	500
Other port	1,100	1,200
Total port applications	7,300	8,500
¹ Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred; sub totals are rounded independently and may not appear to add up to the component parts.

Table B
Applications¹received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, by location of application and nationality, 1992 to end-October 1994
Number of principal applicants
	1992			1993			1994 (January-October)
Nationality	Total applications ²	Applied at port	Applied in country	Total applications ²	Applied at port	Applied in country	Total applications ²	Applied at port	Applied in country
Nigeria	615	95	520	1,665	220	1,450	3,350	325	3,020
Sierra Leone	..	..	..	1,050	220	830	1,665	945	720
Somalia	1,575	890	685	1,465	675	785	1,390	585	805
South Africa	40	15	30	60	20	40	75	35	40
Sudan	560	80	480	300	40	260	275	65	215
Togo	35	5	30	40	10	35	45	5	40
Uganda	295	150	140	585	385	210	285	80	205
Zaire	880	440	435	635	340	295	630	300	335
Other	490	80	410	320	135	190	695	250	445
Total	7,630	2,220	5,410	10,295	3,380	6,915	13,805	4,390	9,415
Middle East
Iran	405	90	315	365	105	260	445	115	330
Iraq	700	240	465	495	270	225	435	190	245
Lebanon	380	160	220	285	145	140	180	60	125
Other	495	95	400	370	120	250	570	285	290
Total	1,980	580	1,395	1,520	640	880	1,630	645	985
Asia
Afghanistan	..	..	..	..	..	..	275	210	65
Bangladesh	165	60	105	160	15	140	..	..	..
China	330	10	320	215	85	130	295	170	125
India	1,450	145	1,305	1,275	105	1,165	1,625	205	1,420
Pakistan	1,700	65	1,630	1,125	85	1,040	1,455	150	1,305
Sri Lanka	2,085	1,205	880	1,965	1,050	915	2,020	1,115	905
Other	375	235	140	440	290	155	415	30	390
Total	6,100	1,720	4,380	5,175	1,630	3,545	6,085	1,875	4,210
Nationality not known	—	—	—	100	100	—	115	115	—
Grand Total	24,605	7,675	16,930	22,370	7,320	15,050	26,765	8,465	18,305
¹ Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5 with '^{^*}'= 1 or 2 and '..'= unavailable
² Figures do not include applications made overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who could be removed from the United Kingdom to France have been allowed to remain in the United kingdom because the Immigration Service judged that entry into France would be refused during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.

The information requested is not available. It is the practice of the Immigration Service to remove all failed asylum seekers unless there are exceptional,compelling or compassionate circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers removed from the United Kingdom to France have been returned to the United kingdom by the French authorities; and on what grounds during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.

The information requested is not available for the period before the enactment of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993. Eleven asylum seekers were returned to the United Kingdom by the French authorities in the period 26 July 1993 to 31 December 1993. Sixty-two asylum seekers were returned in the period 1 January 1994 to 31 October 1994.

Information relating to the grounds for their return is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum appeals have been lodged; how many have been determined; how many have been rejected; and how many of the applicants whose appeals have been rejected have been removed from the United kingdom during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.

The available information is that in the period 1 January to 31 October 1994, about 8,500 appeals against a refusal of asylum have been received and about 1,900 appeals determined by adjudicators. Of the 1,900 determined, about 80 per cent. have been dismissed. Information prior to 1994 is not available.Information on the number of asylum seekers removed in 1992, 1993 and 1994 is given in the table. Information on the number of asylum seekers removed after having either an appeal against removal under the Immigration Act 1971 or under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 dismissed is not separately identified in the statistics.

Removals and voluntary departures ¹ of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1992 to end-October 1994.
	Number
1992	1,345
1993	1,820
1994 (Jan-Oct)	1,605
¹ figures exclude voluntary departures in deportation cases prior to February 1994.

Compensation Orders

To ask the secretary of State for the Home Department how many compensation orders were made by the courts in (a) 1990, (b) 1991, (c) 1992 and (d) 1993; what was the total value of compensation ordered to be paid in each of these years; and what number and percentage of compensation orders made in each of these years were paid in full (i) within 12 months of the making of the order, (ii) within two years and (iii) within three years.

Information on the number of offenders ordered to pay compensation and the total amount ordered is given in the following table.Information is not collected centrally on when and on how much of the compensation is paid.

Number of offenders orders to pay compensation for all offences¹and the total amount ordered by type of court 1990–1993
England and Wales		£ thousands
Court/Year	Number of offenders ordered to pay compensation	Total amount
Magistrates' courts
1990	117.2	18,431.4
1991	102.7	17,804.1
1992	97.5	16,499.5
1993	90.2	15,602.8
Crown Court
1990	12.4	²20,484.4
1991	10.1	8,581.7
1992	8.8	9,811.3
1993	6.3	7,301.5
¹ Excluding summary motoring offences.
² Includes a small number of extra large amounts of compensation ordered for fraud and forgery offences.

Pre-Sentence Reports

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the inquiries conducted by his Department or by HM inspectorate of probation since 1 October 1992 into the use by judges and magistrates of pre-sentence reports on offenders and into the arrangements for their delivery by the probation services of England and Wales; and if he will place copies of all such reports in the Library.

The Home Office research and planning unit has undertaken a survey of criminal justice agencies' experience of the operation of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, which included questions seeking the views of sentencers about the usefulness of pre-sentence reports. The unit has also undertaken a more specific survey of judges' and magistrates' satisfaction with services provided by probation staff, including the preparation of pre-sentence reports. Both are due to be published shortly.As an addition to the general probation area inspection programme, HM inspectorate of probation has conducted two inquiries since 1 October 1992 which bear specifically on the arrangements for the provision of the pre-sentence reports. The report of the criminal Justice Act 1991 inspection was published in 1993; and the report on the quality and provision of expedited pre-sentence reports prepared for the Crown Court by the probation service was published earlier this year. Copies of both reports are already in the Library.

Police Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the budgeted total administration costs for each of the new police authorities of England and Wales in their first year; and how much was spent on administration in total by each of the old police authorities of England and Wales in their final year.

It will be for each of the new police authorities to determine its budgetary requirements for 1995–96. The new police authorities are currently being established and the budgets have not yet been set. Details of the administration costs of existing police authorities are not held centrally.

Mohammed Riaz

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the prison sentence being served by Mohammed Riaz in Long Lartin prison; what was the recommendation of the trial judge; and if he will make a statement.

The period for retribution and deterrence in this case was originally set in 1988. At that time, the trial judge recommended 10 years. The Lord Chief Justice of the day recommended a minimum period of 16 years. The Minister then set a period of 20 years. In doing so he would have had regard to the statement by Sir Leon Brittan, as Home Secretary in 1983, that terrorists and certain other specified categories of murderer could normally expect to serve at least 20 years.Following the Doody judgement of June 1993, the above details were disclosed to Mr. Riaz. He subsequently made representations and his case was considered afresh in December 1993. My right hon. and learned Friend concluded that there were no grounds to justify disapplying the policy set out in the Britian statement. He therefore confirmed the existing period of 20 years.

Racial Violence And Harassment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding racial violence and harassment.

The Home Office has received a number of representations from individuals and organisations condemning racial violence and harassment. It has also received the report of the Home Affairs Committee's inquiry into racial attacks and harassment, to which it gave its response on 20 October, a copy of which is in the Library. The Government continue to condemn racial violence and harassment and are committed to taking effective action to deal with it.

Animals (Drowning)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances downing is permitted as an acceptable or humane method for killing animals.

There are no circumstances in which the drowning of a conscious animal would be accepted as humane. Drowning is not one of the methods of humane killing of laboratory animals listed in schedule 1 to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. A scientific case would have to be made out before it could be authorised under section 5 of that Act.

Ministerial Speeches

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions since 1979 civil servants in his Department have been asked to draft speeches of a constituency nature for use in a Minister's own constituency.

None.

Child Abusers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what continuing treatment and counselling facilities are available in north-west England for those convicted of child abuse but now released into the community.

Area probation services run a range of programmes for those convicted of a sexual offence who have been sentenced to a community sentence or who are undergoing a period of supervision following their release from custody.Participation in such programmes may be made a condition of release on licence, as may attendance on a psychologist, psychiatrist or medical practitioner. Information about individual service provision is not kept centrally.

Prisoners (Hiv)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has of cases of HIV-positive prisoners acquiring the infection in prison; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 7 December 1994.

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what evidence there is of cases of HIV positive prisoners acquiring the infection in prison.

There has been one documented case of a prisoner who became infected with HIV whilst within the prison system in England and Wales. This case, which was referred to in a reply from Lord Ferrers, the then Minister of State at the Home Office to a Question from Lord Kilmarnock on 6 July 1994 (WA81).

Life Imprisonment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what changes have been made in the review procedures in cases of persons sentenced to life imprisonment.

Two of my predecessors as Secretary of State, the right hon. Sir Leon Brittan and my right hon. Friend the member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) made statements in 1983 and 1987 respectively, about the review arrangements for life sentence prisoners. Under those arrangements, the first review by the Parole Board takes place three years before the expiry of the period thought necessary to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence—commonly referred to as "the tariff". However, no life sentence prisoner is detained for more than 17 years without a Parole Board review of his or her case, even where the period in question exceeds 20 years. The Secretary of State also reviews the case of every life sentence prisoner who has been detained for 10 years.From now on, all life sentence prisoners will have a Parole Board review three years before the expiry of their tariff. Since all prisoners will now know the length of their tariff and also the date of this review, I consider that the automatic review at the 17-year point no longer serves any useful purpose. The 17-year review will therefore be discontinued, save in respect of those existing prisoners for whom such a review has already been fixed.This means that the review three years before the expiry of the tariff will be the first review for all prisoners. The setting of a review at this point is intended to allow sufficient time for preparing the release of those life sentence prisoners who may be considered an acceptable risk. This is subject, in the case of mandatory life prisoners, to the question of the public acceptability of early release.In recent years, successive Secretaries of State have recognised that, for the majority of life sentence prisoners, a period in open prison conditions is generally vital in terms of testing the prisoner's suitability for release and in preparing him or her for a successful return to the community. It is, therefore, now normally the practice to require the prisoner to spend some time in open conditions before release and to arrange a further review while the prisoner is in an open prison for a formal assessment of his or her progress. I intend to continue with this practice and the first Parole Board review will therefore normally serve the purpose of assessing the prisoner for open conditions.The purpose of the 10-year ministerial review is to consider whether there are any grounds for bringing forward the date of the first review by the Parole Board. This review is now redundant as far as discretionary life sentence prisoners are concerned since their cases are dealt with in accordance with the arrangements introduced by part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. However, the 10-year ministerial review will continue to take place for mandatory life sentence prisoners.In addition, I have decided that for those life sentence prisoners for whom it is decided that the requirements of retribution and deterrence can be satisfied only by their remaining in prison for the whole of their life, there will in future be an additional ministerial review when the prisoner has been in custody for 25 years. The purpose of this review will be solely to consider whether the whole life tariff should be converted to a tariff of a determinate period. The review will be confined to the considerations of retribution and deterrence. Where appropriate, further ministerial reviews will normally take place at five-yearly intervals thereafter. Existing prisoners who fall into this category and who have already served 25 years or more in custody will not be disadvantaged. Their cases will be reviewed by Ministers as soon as is practicable and after any representations they may wish to make.As I announced in reply to a question by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Sir I. Lawrence) on 27 July 1993,

Official Report, columns 863–65, successive Secretaries of State have been, and I continue to be, willing to consider any written representations by life sentence prisoners about their tariff. They will also continue to be afforded the opportunity to submit such written representations at the beginning of the sentence and before I have formed a view as to the appropriate period in question.

Group 4 Security Services

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints he has received about Group 4 security services in the past year.

I have received very few complaints about Group 4 in the last year, either for its work with the Prison Service or the Immigration Service. The exact number of complaints could be ascertained only at disproportionate cost.There is evidence that Group 4 has been performing very well in its contracts with the Home Office. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons praised the quality of staff at HMP Wolds, which is managed by Group 4, and said the prison was "very nearly an enormous success".The court escorting service provided by Group 4 provides better value for money, costing 24 per cent. less than the previous system. Escapes from escort are now over 40 per cent. lower than when the service was provided by the police and Prison Service, despite the fact that the number of remand prisoners has increased significantly, therefore necessitating more escort journeys.A recent Home Office survey of customers in the east midlands and Humberside, where Group 4 provides the court escort and custody service, has shown high levels of satisfaction amongst the police, prisons and courts. Some 86 per cent. were either satisfied or very satisfied with Group 4's overall performance and 90 per cent. Of court staff rated Group 4's performance as better, or at least as good as, the service that went before. Some 83 per cent. of the sample agreed or strongly agreed that Group 4 had settled into its job well in the first year of operation.

Defence

Low Flying

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many complaints he has received from people living in England about low-flying military aircraft in 1991, 1992, 1993 and during the current year;(2) how many complaints about low-flying military aircraft he has received from people living in Wales in 1991, 1992, 1993 and during the current year;(3) how many complaints he has had about low-flying military aircraft from people living in the north of Ireland during 1991, 1992, 1993 and the present year;

(4) how many complaints he has received from people living in Scotland about low-flying military aircraft in 1991, 1992, 1993 and during the current year.

The information requested is as follows:

Year	England	Wales	Scotland
1991	3,412	791	643
1992	4,401	904	990
1993	4,141	556	1,041
1994¹	3,899	592	996
¹ Up to 30 November 1994.

Most low flying in Northern Ireland is of an operational nature, with only a limited number of training sorties. Complaints arising from this activity are dealt with locally, and no central record is available of the number received.

Defence Export Services Organisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed by or attached to the Defence Export Services Organisation.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Simpson) on 30 November, Official Report, columns 778–79.

Airfields

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's airfields are occupied by United States forces; what is the form of tenure; and which ones are now surplus to requirements.

The United States Air Force currently operates four of my Department's airfields at the main operating bases of RAF Alconbury, RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, and the standby deployment base of RAF Fairford. United States visiting forces are based in the United Kingdom under the general provisions of the NATO status of forces agreement 1951 and the visiting forces act 1952. These airfields will remain available for as long as, in the opinion of both the UK and US governments, the presence of the United States visiting forces at them is considered desirable in the interest of common defence. The airfield at RAF Alconbury is no longer required for USAF operations and the station will become a non-flying base by 31 March 1995.

Building Refurbishment

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.

The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Cyprus

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the number of British service personnel convicted by a civilian court for a criminal offence in Cyprus in each of the last three years; and if he will list the offences concerned.

Details of Royal Air Force personnel convicted of criminal offences by a civilian court in Cyprus since 1992 are as follows:

Year	Number	Charge
1992	6	Five cases of drink-related driving offences. One public order offence.
1993	12	All cases of drink-related driving offences.
1994	7	Six cases drink-related driving offences. One case of larceny.

The Army maintains central records of the numbers of personnel convicted of criminal offences by a civilian court in Cyprus only where, if convicted, personnel receive a penal sentence. No such cases were notified in 1992 or 1993, but there have been two cases in 1994; one individual was charged with cheque fraud and the other with criminal damage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the number of British service personnel court-martialed in Cyprus in each of the last three years; and if he will give the offences on which they were charged.

The information requested is as follows:

Year	Number¹	Charge
1992	6	Drinking on duty and stating a falsehood.
		Possession of a weapon and ammunition and escaping from custody.
		Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (OABH).
		Burglary (seven charges) and theft.
		Impaired Driving.
		Nuisance phone calls.²
1993	9	Unauthorised phone calls.
		Attempted arson/arson.
		Common assault and assault OABH.
		Four cases of Assault OABH.
		Obtaining property by deception, avoiding liability by deception (two charges) and forgery.²
		Theft.
1994	16	Improperly entering the female accommodation.
		False accounting.
		Common assault and assault OABH.
		Three cases of drink-related driving offences.
		Two cases of disobedience to standing orders.
		Two cases of assault OABH.³
		Failing to provide a specimen of breath after an accident.²
		Theft.
		Two cases of absence without leave.
		Wounding.
		Theft (two charges), false instrument (eight charges) and forgery (3 charges).
Notes:
¹ Figures exclude courts material held in Cyprus but where the offences were committed elsewhere.
² Found not guilty.
³ One found not guilty.

Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the estimate for the cost of building a new hospital on the site of the Cambridge military hospital, Aldershot, including the refurbishment of the existing building;(2) what plans he has for the listed buildings on the site of the Cambridge military hospital;(3) what is the estimated cost of closing the Cambridge Military hospital.

Essential rebuilding and refurbishment works costs which would be necessary if the Cambridge military hospital were to become the tri-Service core hospital are estimated at over £66 million. Final decisions on disposal or redevelopment of the hospital site have not yet been made and any future plan will take account of listed buildings. Residual running and rundown costs of the site following closure are estimated at £1.1 million in the financial year 1996–97 and thereafter about £0.383 million a year against an anticipated overall saving from the defence costs study proposal of some £50 million a year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate has been made of the additional cost of treating service men and women from the Aldershot Garrison at Haslar;(2) what is the estimated cost of transferring the staff and equipment from the Cambridge military hospital to Haslar.

Service personnel from Aldershot garrison might be treated in future either at Haslar or one of the new Ministry of Defence hospital units. Until these are selected, no precise travel or treatment cost comparisons can be made. Similarly, transfer costs for medical staff now at the Cambridge military hospital cannot be calculated until the location of the new Ministry of Defence hospital units, where some will serve, is known. Estimated equipment transfer costs, net of disposal receipts, are not available at this stage of the defence costs study implementation process. It is assumed, however, that any such costs will be minimal and will be far outweighed by the assessed overall savings to the Defence budget accruing from the reorganisation of the defence medical services of some £50,000,000 a year from 1996–97.

Military District Hospitals

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the most recent estimated cost of establishing and running each of the proposed military district hospital units.

At Derriford, where arrangements to establish a unit are most advanced, the capital expenditure committed by my Department to the project has been £5 million and estimated total annual running costs are approximately £6.5 million. The capital and annual running costs of the two new proposed Ministry of Defence district hospital units will depend upon the state of facilities and the costs at the host district general hospital selected. Decisions on the location of the two new military district hospital units, and therefore whether or not capital work will be required, have not yet been made.

Raf Elvington

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he has yet made a decision as to whether RAF Elvington is surplus to his Department's requirements; and if he will make a statement;(2) what consideration he has given to the future of RAF Elvington; and if he will make a statement.

The future requirement for RAF Elvington is being examined at present. No decisions have been taken, but if no defence use is identified the site will be disposed of in the normal way.

Hms Raleigh

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers from other countries have received retinue briefings at HMS Raleigh in the last five years; how much income was received; how many officers came from each country; and how much each country paid.

According to available records, there have been no instances of officers from other countries receiving retinue briefings at HMS Raleigh during the last five years.

Arms Exports

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arms are currently being exported from the United Kingdom and for which countries they are destined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the armaments sold to Indonesia between 1986 and 1994, and the financial value of these sales.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Gapes) on 28 November 1994, Official Report, column 501.

Positive Vetting

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many past and present elected representatives have been positively vetted by his Department; how many have requested to see their own positive vetting files; and how many have subsequently corrected entries on their files as a result.

None.

Lsd Experiments

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the nature and purpose of the medical and psychological screening of service volunteers who were tested with LSD at Porton Down;(2) pursuant to his answer of 21 November 1994,

Official Report, columns 55–6, which outside organisations or industrial firms were involved in the LSD tests; and what accidents or mishaps occurred during these experiments with LSD;

(3) pursuant to his answer of 21 November 1994, Official Report, columns 55–6, under which defence agreement was the LSD provided to Porton Down by the then United States army chemical centre at Edge wood in Maryland; what quantity was provided; and in which years was it provided;

(4) pursuant to his answer of 21 November, Official Report, columns 55–6, what follow-up medical checks have been carried out on the mental and physical health

of the 72 service volunteers tested with LSD at Porton Down; how many of these volunteers were checked after they left Porton Down; how often these checks were carried out; and who carried them out.

These are matters for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, CBDE to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Dr. Graham Pearson to Dr. David Clark, dated 7 December 1994:

1. Your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence about work carried out by the Ministry of Defence with LSD at Porton Down have been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. As part of that programme, evaluation is carried out of chemicals that may be utilised by an aggressor as a chemical warfare agent.
3. In order to carry out this work, it is necessary to use Service volunteers to:
a. Assess the ability of Service personnel to function with new equipment and procedures.
b. Develop medical countermeasures to protect Service personnel
c. Evaluate the effects of very low and medically safe concentrations of chemical warfare agents on the ability of unprotected personnel to operate normally.
No studies involving volunteers are carried out unless there is a clear military need and a detailed protocol has been reviewed and approved by an independent Ethics Committee in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Royal College of Physicians.
4. Volunteers on arrival at CBDE Porton Down are given a full medical examination, have the study explained to them in lay terms by an officer who is not involved in the study, are advised that they may leave the study at any stage without any explanation and at the end of the study are given a further medical examination to ensure that they have suffered no harm. In addition, there is no history of Service doctors in their units seeking advice from CBDE Porton Down on any subsequent illnesses that may have been reported by volunteers. Medical screening is part of the standard medical examination to ensure that no pre-existing medical condition could be aggravated by participation in any trial and consists of standard medical tests. The standard medical examinations consists of a full medical history, a full clinical examination and an electro cardiogram.
5. The same approach is adopted for psychological screening in order to ensure that a short acting, potent psychotropic drug such as LSD could not aggravate a pre-existing mental disorder. This screening and testing also forms an important part of the scientific assessment of the effects of such drugs so that pre-dose normal effects can be compared to those short term effects seen following administration. The psychological tests employed were the standard psychology tests used in research which were the Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) and the Heron, Allport-Vernon and Taylor personality and intelligence tests.
6. In my earlier answer to you of 21 November 1994 (Official Report, Columns 54–56) I stated that one of the sources of the LSD used in the work and studies carried out at CBDE was the then US Army Chemical Centre at Edgewood, Maryland. According to our records we received 10 grams of LSD in December 1965 and 10 grams in June 1966. The LSD was provided under the American, British, Canadian and Australian Armies (ABCA) agreement Quadripartite Working Group (QWG) on NBC defence.
7. No external organisations or industrial firms were involved with the LSD tests undertaken at Porton Down between 1962 and 1971. According to our records no accidents or mishaps occurred with experiments with LSD. At the end of the study all the volunteers would have been given a medical examination and in addition there is no history of Service doctors in their units seeking advice from CBDE Porton Down on any subsequent illnesses that may have been reported by volunteers who took part in the volunteer programme. Indeed, CBDE Porton Down has no evidence that participation in volunteer studies over the past 40 years have resulted in any harm to those concerned.
8. From time to time, Service volunteers have been recalled so that checks on their medical health can be made. There is no particular frequency or pattern to such recalls. In addition some volunteers return voluntarily to CBDE to take part in subsequent unrelated studies. It would require a disproportionate effort to search our records to see if any of the 72 Service volunteers had returned subsequently to CBDE for further studies.
9. I should add that the Ministry of Defence is very grateful to all Service personnel who have served as volunteers in studies at CBDE Porton Down as their participation has been vital to ensuring that the members of the UK Armed Forces are provided with the most effective protective measures possible against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. Such studies are vital to the defence of the realm and we are very grateful to the Servicemen who have helped achieve the high standards of protection that are available for the members of the UK Armed Forces.

Duchy Of Lancaster

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the functions and objectives of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee.

The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee provided advice to the Department of Trade of Industry and the former Science and Engineering Research Council on research and development requirements in advanced manufacturing. The committee was disbanded on 31 March 1994. The committee's terms of reference in respect of the SERC and the DTI were as follows:DTI

To identify and update the R and D industrial and technological innovation requirements in the area of advanced manufacturing;

to advise on the objectives, balance and strategy for Departmental expenditure on R and D in the area of advanced manufacturing;

to advise DTI on the allocation of funds necessary to secure those objectives; to consider and advise on proposals referred by the DTI to the Committee; and to make recommendations to DTI on longer-term or more speculative programmes; and

to propose measures which would further the application of science and technology within advanced manufacturing.

SERC

To advise on the development of the SERC programme and on the resources that should be provided for it;

to monitor the SERC programme generally and advise on its implementation;

to approve SERC expenditure within the powers delegated to the Committee; and

to make reports on its activities as required by SERC.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee in each of the last three years.

Responsibility for servicing the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Committee rested with the Science and Engineering Research Council before the Committee was disbanded on 31 March 1994.

	1992	1993	1994
Number of meetings held	8	6	1
Budgeted expenditure	0	0	0
Actual expenditure	0	0	0

The AMTC was a joint committee of the Department of Trade and Industry and the SERC. It was jointly serviced by the DTI and the SERC, with DTI in the lead until 31 September 1993, and the SERC thereafter. No report was published by the Committee. Its advice was channelled through the internal organisation of the DTI and the SERC.

Science

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what measures his Department is taking to promote public understanding of science.

The Office of Science and Technology will be spending in 1994–95 about £1 million on initiatives designed to improve public understanding and appreciation of the contribution that science, engineering and technology make to our society. These initiatives support work in schools through such schemes as the CREST—creativity in science and technology—awards and young engineers clubs. They also promote science, engineering and technology among the wider public through major events like the national science and engineering week, the British Association's science festival and the Edinburgh international science festival.

Next Steps Initiative

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the progress of the next steps initiative.

The Government today published the fifth "Next Steps Review"—Cm 2750. It brings together information on the 102 agencies within Government, and the executive organisations of HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue, which now constitute 62 per cent. of the civil service.Within central Government, agencies are delivering the citizens charter commitment to improved customer service and value for money. The review highlights how, under the charter, agencies focus on the needs of the users of their services and gives examples of what individual agencies have achieved. Thirty charter marks have been awarded to agencies in the first three years of the competition, reflecting the commitment of agency chief executives and their staff to high standards of customer service.The review reports the targets set for agencies and their performance against them in 1993–94 and lists key targets for 1994–95. In 1993–94, agencies met around 80 per cent. of their key targets, compared with 77 per cent. last year. Most targets have also become progressively more demanding year on year.The Government's aim is that every public service should be provided in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. All the executive functions of the civil service are therefore being examined against the following tests: whether they need to continue to be performed at all; whether they need to remain the responsibility of Government; where the Government do need to remain responsible for an activity, do the Government have to carry out the task or can they buy in from outside providers; and whether they should become the responsibility of an agency within Government. The review reports further progress in this work.,Once established, agencies are subject to periodic review, now normally after five years of operation. To ensure that the widest possible range of views are taken into account, both the initial examination of an activity and these reviews are publicly announced, including through the next steps review. The review also demonstrates many ways in which agencies are entering into partnership with the private sector, for example, by contracting out existing work to the private sector under a partnership arrangement or through joint ventures.Over the last six years, the next steps initiative has fundamentally altered the way in which the civil service is managed. It is a key part of the programme of change outlined in the White Paper "The Civil Service: Continuity and Change". The White Paper also proposed extending throughout the civil service many of the principles of next steps, including maximum clarity about objectives and targets, delegation of management responsibility and a clear focus on outputs and outcomes. The aim is a flexible and cost-effective civil service well-equipped to provide support for Ministers on policy matters and in the management of public services which meet the needs of their users.

Information Technology Advisory Board

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Information Technology Advisory Board in each of the last three years.

The Information Technology Advisory Board was a joint committee of the DTI and the Science and Engineering Research Council. It was disbanded in March 1994.

Financial Year	1991–92 £000	1992–93 £000	1993–94 £000
Number of meetings held	6	5	4
Budgeted Expenditure¹	30,712	36,599	38,457
Actual Expenditure¹	30,955	37,152	38,026
Secretariat arrangements	shared equally between DTI and SERC at official level
¹ Excludes postgraduate training and support costs which were operated centrally.

Advisory Arrangements: ITAB received external advice from joint SERC/DTI committees comprising of scientific and technical experts from academe and industry. The Committees drew on peer review referees and other expert advice when planning their programmes and assessing proposals for funding. In addition, membership of ITAB was designed to reflect different aspects of the technology chain.

Reports and Submissions:

Annual Reports—1991, 1992, 1993: a comprehensive summary of ITAB activities.

The Government Strategy for IT—1993: sets out the aims, objectives and remit of ITAB and its advisory Committees.

The Impact of IT—1994: published after ITAB was disbanded. Illustrates achievements and practical impact of the former joint programmes in an industrial and social context.

Submissions: annual contribution to the SERC PES submission.

Social Security

Buildings Refurbishment

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.

The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, figures for refurbishment projects costing more then £5,000 are available.A total of £111,600,423 was spent on refurbishing the DSS estate during the last three years.

Child Support Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he intends to take to ensure that Mr. Peter Stevenson, Ref. 7000102373, will have his maintenance payments reassessed by the Child Support Agency in the very near future and be paid the rebate due.

The administration of the Chid Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Tony Ward to Mr. Tim Devlin, dated 7 December 1994:

In the absence of Miss Chant, I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about your constituent Mr. Peter Stevenson.

Mr. Stevenson's maintenance liability was reassessed on 1 December 1994. On the evidence received, there is no indication that there has been an overpayment of child maintenance.

I hope that this reply is helpful.

Cold Weather Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cold weather payments have been paid out in the Manchester region for each of the past three years.

The administration of the social fund, which includes cold weather payments, is the responsibility of Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 6 December 1994:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the number of Cold Weather Payments made in the Manchester region in the past three years.

Cold Weather Payments are dependent on temperature data supplied by designated weather stations. In the Manchester region, this is the Meteorological Weather Station situated at Manchester Airport. In 1993–94, the temperatures recorded at Manchester Airport were not low enough to satisfy the conditions for Cold Weather Payments.

Details of the Cold Weather Payments made in the Manchester area during 1991–92 and 1992–93 are available from the statistical information already held in the Library.

I hope this reply has been helpful.

Anti-Fraud Work

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been (a) the personnel and other cost of anti-fraud work and (b) the amount recouped as a result of anti-fraud work in each year since 1979.

The administration of fraud work is a matter for Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 6 December 1994:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the costs of anti-fraud work and the amounts recovered as the result of such work since 1979.

Not all of the information you requested in available. Prior to the formation of the Benefits Agency (BA), most anti-fraud work was integrated with benefit claims processing and other mainstream local office activities and separate cost data was not kept. However, the bulk of investigations are now carried out by separately managed units - know as Fraud Sectors - which report to Area Directors rather than District Managers. Other investigations are conducted by the BA's separate Organised Fraud command. These organisational changes have enabled estimated costs of the main anti-fraud effort to be published in the two most recent BA Annual Fraud Reports. The figures are:

1992–93	£72.4m	includes estimated £6.4m accommodation costs for Sector Fraud Teams, which are normally minor occupants of premises.
1993–94	£69.0m	excludes accommodation costs for Sector Fraud Teams.

Estimated benefit savings from anti-fraud work during the same period were £558m (1992–93) and £654m (1993–94). Recoveries of benefit overpaid, including fraud cases, totalled £38m (1992–93) and £80m (1993–94). Information relating to the amount of benefit recovered directly as a result of anti-fraud work is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

Appeals

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if it is the practice for his Department to refuse to make benefit payment in line with the ruling of the Social Security Commissioner where such rulings are the subject of appeal to either the United Kingdom or European courts; how many such benefits are currently

figures rounded to the nearest thousand²
Benefit	Claimants total £ thousands	Total adult dependants £ thousands	Total child dependants £ thousands	Date of enquiry
Non-means tested benefits
Attendance Allowance	996	n/app	n/app	March 1994
Child Benefit¹	6,883	n/app	12,496	November 1994
Child's Special Allowance⁴	²99	n/app	²127	December 1993
Disability Living Allowance⁴	1,400	n/app	n/app	August 1994
Guardians Allowance¹	²1,977	n/app	²2,486	December 1993
Invalid Care Allowance	261	5	33	September 1994
Industrial Death Benefit	22	n/app	1	September 1994
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit⁶	209	n/app	n/app	April 1993
Invalidity Benefit³	1,580	457	120	April 1993
Maternity Allowance³	40	²100	n/av	April 1992
Non Contributory Retirement Pension⁶	28	n/av	n/av	March 1994

affected; and how much money in each case is being withheld from claimants.

It is our practice to suspend payment in cases which are the subject of an appeal to the courts or in cases where benefit would be affected by the outcome of such an appeal. There are currently a number of appeals which have resulted, or may result, in suspension of benefit. The benefits affected are income support, family credit, severe disablement allowance, invalidity benefit, invalid care allowance, attendance allowance and the care component of disability living allowance. The average weekly amount involved in the family credit cases is £20.39. No information is available on the amount involved in other cases.

Invalidity Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women are currently being paid reduced invalidity benefit because they have reached retirement age; how many have appealed against this reduction; how many have applied to be treated as cases of hardship; and how many such applications have been accepted.

The only figures available are those being kept as a result of the case of Mrs. Rose Graham.At the end of March 1994, the latest date for which information is held, 41,560 women were being paid reduced rate invalidity benefit because they had reached state pension age.A total of 1,604 hardship applications had been received; 994 hardship applications had been accepted and the suspension lifted.Information is not held on the total number of appeals received and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Benefit Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each of the (a) non-means-tested benefits and (b) means-tested benefits run by his Department; and if he will give the number of claimants and dependants covered by each benefit at the latest available date.

The information available is in the table.

figures rounded to the nearest thousand ²
Benefit	Claimants total £ thousands	Total adult dependants £ thousands	Total child dependants £ thousands	Date of enquiry
One Parent Benefit¹	902	n/app	1,424	November 1994
Other Industrial Injuries Benefits	1	n/app	n/app	March 1994
Reduced Earnings Allowance/Retirement Allowance⁶	155	n/app	n/app	April 1993
Retirement Pension⁶	10,090	92	25	March 1994
Sickness Benefit³	147	24	n/app	April 1993
Severe Disablement Allowance³	316	4	3	April 1993
Unemployment Benefit⁴	541	73	n/app	May 1994
Widows Benefit⁶	330	n/app	84	March 1994
War Pension	306	n/app	2	September 1994
Means tested benefits
Council Tax Benefit^{9, 3}	5,253	1,618	2,751	31 May 1993
Disability Working Allowance	²4,536	²1,767	²3,289	July 1994
Family Credit⁴	542	308	1,103	April 1994
Housing Benefit^{9, 3}
Rent Rebate	3,050	838	1,889	May 1993
Rent Allowance	1,480	270	643	May 1993
Income Support⁴	5,791	1,231	3,028	February 1994
Notes:
¹ Total claimants reflects the total of families in receipt and the child dependents reflect the children in those families.
² Denotes where the actual unrounded figures have been Shown Sample Size is 100 per cent, unless indicated:
³ Based on a 1 per cent, sample of claims.
⁴ Based on a 5 per cent, sample of awards.
⁵ Based on a 4 per cent, sample of awards.
⁶ Based on a 10 per cent, sample with an allowance for late returns for industrial injuries disablement benefit and reduced earnings allowance.
⁷ Number of assessments in payment not recipients.
⁸ Benefit replaced attendance Allowance for persons under 65 years and mobility allowance for 5 April 1992.
⁹ Includes a small number of cases where the claimant is eligible for council tax benefit but the actual amount payable is nil after non-dependant deductions have been accounted for.

Expenditure Levels

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the annual percentage

Total benefit expenditure 1978–79 to 1993–94 as a percentage of GDP
	Total benefit expenditure £ billion¹	Money GDP £ billion²	Benefit expenditure as percentage of GDP
1978–79	15.9	173.7	9.15
1979–80	18.8	208.6	9.01
1980–81	22.7	237.7	9.55
1981–82	27.7	261	10.61
1982–83	31.6	285.8	11.06
1983–84	35.3	310	11.39
1984–85	38.3	332.1	11.53
1985–86	41.8	364.9	11.46
1986–87	44.9	392.7	11.43
1987–88	46.7	434.8	10.74
1988–89	47.3	484.1	9.77
1989–90	50.1	525.8	9.53
1990–91	56.2	556.8	10.09
1991–92	65.3	580.8	11.24
1992–93	74.7	604.8	12.35
1993–94	80.9	639	12.66
¹ The growth of social security.
² Financial Statement and Budget Report 1995–96.

Residential Care Homes

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of time of residence

changes in social security expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product in each year since 1979 cumulatively.

The information is in the table.of people in a long stay part 3 home (a) in the private sector and (b) in the voluntary sector.

Data on the length of stay in residential homes is not collected by this Department.

Trade And Industry

Industrial Development

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what new industries from overseas were sited in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, in each year between and including 1971 to 1980; and what major expansions or new plants of existing industries were set up or announced during the same years.

The total number of projects in England, Scotland, and Wales respectively in 1979 were 119, 28 and 18. Similarly, the number of projects in 1980 were 88, 31 and 16 respectively. These figures are based on information provided to the Department's invest in Britain bureau by companies themselves at the time of their decision to invest. Foreign investors are under no obligation to inform the IBB of their investment decisions.No records exist for years before 1979 and a more detailed breakdown of the figures for 1979 and 1980 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Advisory Bodies

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power in each of the last three years.

The Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power met seven times in 1992 and five times in 1993, before it was dissolved in October of that year. Secretariat duties were carried out by DTI officials. There were no advisors. ACORD's budget covered principally member's travel and subsistence expenses and meeting costs. These cost

Coal task force/advisory committee on coal research meetings
Financial year	Number of meetings (C= CTF A= ACCR)	Proposals to Committee	Strategy papers reviewed	Information papers discussed	Cost of running Committee £k	Total programme spend £million
1990–91	2C	0	2	2	7.0	11.40 (outturn)
1991–92	4C	13	1	4	14.0	4.67 (outturn)
1992–93	2C	6	1	4	7.0	3.93 (outturn)
1993–94	2C	12	7	5	14.0	7.83 (outturn)
	2A
1994–95(to date)	3A (+2 planned)	5	5	6	10.5	7.5(budget)
Notes:
¹ This excludes small value proposals, which are dealt with by committee members by post.

The Coal Task Force was inaugurated on 22 November 1990. The last meeting of the Coal Task Force was on 16 July 1993.The Advisory Committee on Coal Research was inaugurated on 11 November 1993.Secretariat and administrative support to these committees is provided by ETSU as part of the programme management arrangements which ETSU provides to the DTI.An annual progress report for the DTI is agreed by the committee at the end of each financial year: copies of reports for 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 are available in the House of Commons Library.The budget for the ACCR in financial year 1994–95 is £17.5k.

the Department some £3,300 in 1992–93 and 2,500 in 1993–94.

ACORD's remit was to offer views on the energy Research and Development programmes of the Department and of British Coal and Nuclear Electric. The council's views were communicated to Ministers by means of a letter from the chairman after each meeting. ACORD was responsible for commissioning "Energy Paper 61", an appraisal of United Kingdom energy technologies, which was published in May 1994.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Industrial Development Advisory Board in each of the last three years.

Information on the board's activities is published each year in the Industrial Development Act 1982 annual report, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.The estimated cost of administrative support provided for the board by the Department was £20,000 in 1993–94.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the coal task force in each of the last three years;(2) if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Advisory Committee on Coal Research in each of the last three years.

The following table details the activities of the Advisory Committee on Coal Research and its predecessor, the Coal Task Force.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee in each of the last three years.

The Offshore Industry Liaison Committee has met twice in each of the last three years. The secretariat is provided by the offshore supplies office.The committee has no advisors or budget and has not published any reports or submissions.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Energy Advisory Panel in each of the last three years.

The Energy Advisory Panel met for the first time on 23 November 1993 and has met six times to date; once in 1993 and five times so far in 1994. Three more meetings are expected to be held in the current financial year. Secretariat duties are carried out by DTI officials, but no advisors to the panel have been engaged. The panel's budget covers principally members' travel and subsistence expenses and meeting costs. These were some £3,400 in 1993–94 and £5,000 in 1994–95 to date.The panel has contributed to the production of the Government's annual energy report, published in June 1994, but it has not produced specific reports or submissions.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the advisory committee for the Joint Environmental Markets Unit in each of the last three years.

The Joint Environmental Markets Unit advisory committee met for the first time in March 1994 and has had two further meetings since then. The secretariat for the advisory committee is drawn from the staff of JEMU. The committee has no allocated budget; committee members are entitled to claim travel and subsistence in accordance with the DTI's rules for external members of advisory committees. No formal reports or submissions have been produced.

Indonesia

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the value of British arms sales to Indonesia in each of the last 15 years at current prices.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central, (Mr. Fatchett) on 24 November 1994, Official Report, column 300.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the financial value of United Kingdom exports to Indonesia in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will list the products.

The latest annual information is published in the December 1993 issue of business monitor MM20, "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Table 4 gives United Kingdom exports by country and product.

Domestic Coal Consumers Council

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he intends to exercise his powers under section 24 of the Coal Industry Act 1994 to abolish the Domestic Coal Consumers Council; and if he will make a statement.

In the light of the privatisation of British Coal and the alternative arrangements for the representation of domestic coal consumers' interests which the coal trade is developing, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has decided to abolish the council on 28 February 1995, when the members' current terms of appointment expire. The members are being informed accordingly.The necessary order abolishing the council as of 28 February 1995 will be made in due course.The coal trade, under the umbrella of the Chamber of Coal Traders, is establishing alternative private sector consumer arrangements. Progress has already been made with the establishment of a quality grading system by the Solid Fuel Association and the publication by the approved coal merchants scheme of a consumer charter. In addition, the Solid Fuel Association and HETAS— heating equipment testing and approval scheme—are working together to ensure that consumers have access to competent installers and approved appliances. Improvements to the body of consumer protection legislation, the keystones of which are the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and the Consumer Protection Act 1987 continue to be made: the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 came into effect on 3 October.To ensure that the smooth transition towards private sector arrangements is maintained, my right hon. Friend has appointed the out-going chairman of the council, Mrs. Ann Scully, to advise him on progress. Mrs. Scully will be assisted by Mr. Donald Mockett and Mr. Douglas Barrett MBE, who will offer local advice on the interests of consumers in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. The terms of reference of the advisory group are:

—to advise on such further specific arrangements as may need to be established in the interests of domestic coal consumers following the sale of British Coal and its subsidiaries;

—in particular, to assist in developing with coal producers, coal merchants and other organisations in the coal trade arrangements by them for the continuation of fume checks, and the establishment of commercial arrangements for the resolution of complaints, the maintenance of quality standards and dissemination of information and advice about the safe burning of solid fuel; and

—to report by 30 September 1995.

The Government recognise the enormous contribution which the Domestic Coal Consumers Council's members have made to protecting the interests of domestic coal users over the last 50 years, particularly during the passage of the Coal Industry Act 1994. But the market has changed and the time has come to place responsibility for users' interests where they should lie—with the coal trade. Mrs. Scully and her co-advisers will be able to assist the trade in this.

Aerospace Exports

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the amount of cash earned by exports by the United Kingdom aerospace industry in each year since 1989, and if he will make a statement.

The value of exports by the United Kingdom aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing industry, defined as group 364 of the standard industrial classification, 1980 is given in the following table:

Year	UK export £ billion
1989	7.2
1990	7.4
1991	7.3
1992	6.9

The information for 1993 is due to be published soon in the CSO's business monitor series MQ10, "Overseas Trade analysed in terms of industries".

Atomic Energy Authority

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals are in hand to outsource the operational responsibility for the management and supervision of pipelines or outfalls that are or have been used for the disposal of nuclear waste from AEA sites in Dorset.

Responsibility for this activity currently rests with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Government division's radioactive waste services. Government division announced in September that it intends to contractorise the operation as part of its strategy for creating a more competitive market in decommissioning and waste management services. It will continue, however, to determine the programme of work and ensure that the operations are carried out consistent with safety and environmental requirements. Government division is currently considering options for taking forward the process of contractorisation in consultation with employee representatives.

Official Receivers

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 2 November, Official Report, column 1131, what is his definition of official receivers' case administrative work.

The case administration work of official receivers covers the functions exercised in relation to the estates of insolvent companies and individuals rather than those functions which relate to official receivers' investigatory and regulatory roles.

Disqualification Reports

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of disqualification returns or reports submitted by insolvency practitioners during the past four years, and what proportion of disqualification returns or reports submitted by official receivers during the same period, have resulted in disqualification orders being made against directors.

The answer is as follows:

Insolvency Practitioner Cases
	Total number Submitted
Financial year	Returns	Reports	Number of orders
1991–92	15,615	3,602	146
1992–93	18,233	3,901	211
1993–94	16,124	3,727	194
1994–95¹	7,698	1,927	90
¹ to 31 October 1994

The number of cases reported on relate to the number of companies, whereas the number of disqualification orders made relate to the number of directors disqualified. The figures cannot be related to each other as it can take a number of years from when the report is submitted to the date when the order is made.

Official receiver reports
Financial year	Total number of reports submitted	Number of orders
1991–92	2,402	155
1992–93	2,657	182
1993–94	3,532	147
1994–95¹	1,537	48
¹ to 31 October 1994

The number of cases reported on are quoted in terms of the number of companies. The number of disqualification orders made relate to the number of individual directors disqualified. The figures cannot be related to each other as it can take a number of years for a disqualification order to be made following the submission of a report.The number of unfitted returns for individual directors in official receivers cases is not held.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many initial unfit conduct reports made, pursuant to the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and submitted by (a) insolvency practitioners and (b) official receivers were rejected for not being evidentially strong enough in each of the last three years.

The answer is as follows:

Insolvency practitioner reports
Financial year	Total number of reports submitted	Number rejected
1991–92	3,602	3,796
1992–93	3,901	3,320
1993–94	3,727	3,604
1994–95¹	1,927	1,774
¹ To 31 October 1994.

The number rejected for a particular year does not bear any relation to those reports actually submitted for that year. Whilst a high proportion will be rejected in the year that the report was submitted—approximately 70 to 75 per cent.—some will not actually be rejected for some time due to the time taken to investigate the matter further.The totals for rejections also include those not proceeded with because of parallel criminal proceedings, the bankruptcy of the potential respondent or the discovery of evidence which would refute or mitigate the allegation of misconduct.

Official receivers reports
	Total number of reports submitted
Financial year	Without full report	With full report	Number of full reports rejected
1991–92	2,166	236	31
1992–93	2,536	121	32
1993–94	3,425	107	13
1994–95¹	1,443	94	12
¹ To 31 October 1994

The total rejections for a particular year relate only to the cases which have been submitted with a full report. Some of them will also related to cases which have been submitted in an earlier financial year.

The rejection figures include those which have riot been proceeded with because there are already criminal proceedings afoot, the individual concerned has become bankrupt, or there has been evidence discovered which would refute or mitigate the allegations of misconduct.

Insolvency Service

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what criteria he will use to determine whether or not a pilot scheme will be implemented to evaluate the costs and benefits of contracting out parts of the Insolvency Service.

Any decision to contract out official receivers' functions will be made on the basis of value for money. A pilot scheme would be appropriate if it were felt that the practical details of a contract needed to be tested.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the resources which it will be necessary to provide to the Insolvency Service Agency to concentrate its investigative role if the recommendations of Stoy Hayward Consulting are implemented in full, indicating the numbers of professional and administrative civil servants.

No assessment has yet been made of the resources that would be needed to enable the Insolvency Service to pursue its investigative role. In any decision to contract out the administrative work of official receivers' offices, the resource implications of all residual work will be considered.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he will include in the specifications to contract out the initial interview of bankrupts and directors of companies in compulsory liquidation to ensure that they are conducted by adequately qualified staff in the private sector.

My officials are currently in the process of inviting firms to tender for a contract to work up a specification, bid documentation and evaluation criteria to enable the work of official receivers to be contracted out in the event that such a decision is taken. As part of this work, the successful contractor will be asked to determine performance criteria for all aspects of any work to be contracted out, including the initial interviews of bankrupts and company directors.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to consult insolvency practitioners, trade associations, chambers of trade and commerce and other interested bodies over his proposal to contract out part of the official receiver's statutory functions.

Any contracting out of the official receivers' functions would require them to be consulted pursuant to section 69(3) of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. I and my officials have received representations from a variety of sources on this issue and expect to receive further representations if any decision to proceed with contracting out is made.

British Gas

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the percentage of the revenue base of British Gas which is unregulated and open to competition.

Approximately 40 per cent. of British Gas's revenue base is in the competitive sector. In 1993, the British Gas Group turnover totalled approximately £11.2 billion. The tariff sector, which is both regulated by Ofgas and a monopoly business, accounted for approximately £6.5 billion, leaving around £4.8 billion revenue, or 40 per cent., derived from the competitive sector.

Competitiveness

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his oral answer of 23 November, Official Report, column 583, if he will publish any evidence that British industry's level of competitiveness has changed relative to the rest of the EEC since 1979.

The Government's White Paper "Helping Business To Win"—Cm 2563—set out a detailed analysis of the improvements in British industry's competitive position relative to our international competitors since 1979. The White Paper contained a formidable agenda of actions and initiatives committing the Government to work with industry to build on this success.

Environmental Advice

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answers of 30 November, Official Report, column 706, regarding the provision of environmental advice, if he will specify the advice he received from each organisation.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: Consultation of other Departments and organisations took place on the understanding that the information provided would be treated in confidence. This is our established practice with regard to consultation on blocks offered for licensing.Officials took account of the concerns of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Countryside Council for Wales, regarding the ecological status of the area. It was agreed that blocks could be offered and special conditions should be attached to each licence. These special conditions have been agreed with, among others, the Department of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the JNCC, which has consulted the CCW.

Coal Board Properties

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guarantees have been given in respect of the rights of the owners of former Coal Board properties within the curtilage of the pits.

[holding answer 6 December 1994]: The Coal Industry Act 1994 has preserved the rights of claimants in respect of subsidence under the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991.

Regional Development Funding

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those public projects which received European regional development funding and were subsequently privatised over the last 10 years, indicating (a) the level of funding and (b) the dates when it was received.

[holding answer 24 November 1994]: The bodies that have been privatised during the last 10 years and received European regional development funding for projects were British Gas, British Telecommunications and the Electricity Boards. The dates and amounts of grants are listed in the following table:

British Telecom	£
1984
17 May
Manchester	102,000
17 September
Newcastle	1,058,400
North Tyneside	1,118,400
South Tyneside	405,600
South Tyneside	1,355,100
South Tyneside	116,700
Sunderland	560,100
Middlesborough	274,800
Durham	1,194,300
Darlington	230,400
Darlington	300,000
Northumberland	210,600
Northumberland	24,900
Bradford	895,200
Rotherham	231,600
Doncastor	394,200
Barnsley	201,000
Redruth/Hayle	872,700
Liskeard/ Newquay/Roche	1,070,700
Birmingham	96,900
Birmingham	298,800
Birmingham	935,400
Birmingham	688,500
Birmingham	85,200
Birmingham	111,900
Birmingham	233,400
Birmingham	29,100
Birmingham	647,400
Birmingham	506,400
Birmingham	488,400
Coventry	38,700
Coventry	175,500
Wolverhampton	577,500
Wolverhampton	77,400
Wolverhampton	905,400
Wolverhampton	83,400
Walsall	560,400
West Bromwich	122,400
Birmingham	541,800
Liverpool	102,600
Wirral	24,000

British Telecom	£
Liverpool	38,700
Liverpool	38,100
Liverpool	31,500
Liverpool	159,600
Liverpool	95,400
Sefton	87,000
Sefton	97,200
St. Helens	63,900
St. Helens	54,900
Sefton	704,700
Wirral	669,300
Liverpool	139,200
Liverpool	732,300
Liverpool	45,300
Liverpool	74,700
Liverpool	391,200
Rossendale	18,000
Rochdale	29,400

Electricity Companies	£
1984
17 September
Burnley	79,500
Wigan	816,600
1985
24 January
Blaydon	74,100
Hull	45,000
Hull	30,900
Torridge	25,600
Tavistock	46,500
Lynton	259,800
30 September(Various)	889,500
1986
29 January
Rossendale	1,830,000
1987
27 January
Manchester	255,000
The Wrekin	80,500
1988
27 January
Chester	440,000
Salford	76,000
(Various)	436,000
Manchester	45,000
Hartlepool	512,500

British Gas	£
1984
12 January
Washington.	48,000
17 May
Sheffield	58,800
17 September
Barnsley	619,500
Bradford	43,800
Halton	151,200

British Gas	£
1985
24 January
Consett	28,800
Rotherham	811,500
Bideford	88,500
Birmingham	18,200
Blackburn	116,400
Liverpool	134,400
Rochdale	66,600
30 September
Sheffield	643,500
Bradford	39,500
Bradford	28,000
Wolverhampton	430,000
Halton	29,250

	£ million
	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	Jan-Sept 1993	Jan-Sept 1994
UK exports	13.6	36.0	69.7	118.7	179.3	115.3	163.7
UK imports	99.0	144.2	135.6	124.6	141.1	98.3	131.3
Balance	-85.4	-108.2	-65.9	-5.9	38.2	17.0	32.4

Source:

Overseas Trade Statistics of the UK

Northern Ireland

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to set up a centre for myalgic encephalomyelitis in Northern Ireland.

There are no plans at present to set up such a centre.

Wild Animals Legislation

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to extend the control of wild animals legislation to, or to propose similar legislation for Northern Ireland.

There are no plans at present to introduce legislation to extend the control of wild animals. In Northern Ireland the keeping of non-domestic animals is controlled under public health and animal welfare legislation. Native species of wild animals are subject to the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, which among other things controls the keeping of protected species listed in the order.

Ministerial Speeches

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what occasions since 1979 civil servants in his Department have been asked to draft speeches of a constituency nature for use in a Minister's own constituency.

I am aware of none. Civil servants may provide briefing of a factual nature for Ministers on matters relating to their own Departments. In addition, Ministers in preparing for a constituency speech can draw on material produced by their Department during the normal course of business.

Argentina

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on present trading relations with Argentina; and what has been the import/export level during the last five years.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: Our trade relations with Argentina continue to develop strongly. Not only are our exports growing rapidly but some of our best-known companies have invested over US$1 billion in Argentina over the last two years. In addition, there have been a growing number of trade missions to Argentina, including one which I led in July 1994.Figures for visible United Kingdom exports to and imports from Argentina over the last full five years and in 1994 to end September are:

Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps will be taken to prevent the erosion of hill livestock compensatory allowances and restore the HLCA rates to 1992–93 levels; and if he will make a statement.

The recently announced decision that HLCA rates for 1995 would remain at their 1994 levels was taken following the Government's completion of the annual review of economic conditions in the hills and uplands. The rates announced apply throughout the United Kingdom. The same procedure will apply again next year.

Voluntary Organisations

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to revise the Hurd principles as they apply to the activities of voluntary organisations in Northern Ireland.

I have no plans at present to revise what has come to be known as the Hurd policy but I will of course keep the policy under review in the light of developments in Northern Ireland.

Child Support Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to publish details of the targets of the Child Support Agency; and if he will make a statement.

The Child Support Agency will publish its 1994–95 business plan today. Copies will be placed in the House.

The targets that I have set for the Child Support Agency for 1994–95 are as follows:

—50 per cent. of people with care of children making eligible applications to the Child Support Agency to have maintenance arranged;

—a score of 65 out of 100 on an index of client satisfaction with the agency's service, as determined by an independent survey;

—annual benefit savings of £10.2 million;

—to manage the agency's resources so as to deliver its business plan within a total budget of £5.7 million;

—by the end of March 1995, no more than 55 per cent. of outstanding maintenance applications to be over 13-weeks-old, no more than 25 per cent. over 26-weeks-old, and no more than 1 per cent. over 52-weeks-old.

The agency is making a number of operational and procedural changes this year which should significantly improve performance. The new targets take this expected improvement into account. They are higher than the agency's achievements last year; and they will be challenging but they should be achievable.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the reduction in the number of persons by grade and gender employed by his Department and associated offices and agencies, nationally and regionally over the next three years, as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement of 29 November, indicating which branch, agency and region will be affected and stating his estimate of the number of job losses in each year which will be by (a) natural wastage, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy; and what estimate he has made of the yearly total of savings in wages and associated costs as a result of these reductions in each Department, branch and agency.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: The information requested is not yet available. It is likely, however, that further reductions will be necessary over and above the 500 voluntary redundancies in the Northern Ireland civil service which will take place before 31 March 1995. The Department's staffing plans for 1995–6, 1996–97 and 1997–98 will be set out in the departmental report, to be published on 10 March 1995.The Government's aim has been, and will continue to be, that reductions in the size of the civil service should, as far as possible, be achieved without compulsory redundancies.

Treasury

Insurance Premium Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the insurance premium tax applies to insurance policies taken out to protect mortgage interest payments against the risk of sickness or unemployment.

In common with most other forms of general insurance, policies taken out to protect mortgage interest payments against the risk of sickness or unemployment are subject to insurance premium tax.

Betting Duty

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the potential impact on general betting duty receipts of the introduction of Sunday racing;(2) what assessment he has made of the impact on general betting duty receipts of the deregulation of licensed betting offices up to and including those measures announced by the Home Secretary in July 1994;(3) what assessment he has made of the potential impact on general betting duty receipts of the removal of restrictions on advertising of licensed betting offices.

No such assessment has been made.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rate of general betting duty receipts and the total revenue from that tax in each of the last five years.

The rate of general betting duty and the total revenue received in the last five years are as follows:Rate of duty—On-course—no liability to general betting duty from 29 March 1987Off-course—12 July 1981 to 1 April 1992—8 per cent. 1 April 1992 to present—7.75 per cent.

Receipts
	£ million
1989–90	458.7
1990–91	479.1
1991–92	482.1
1992–93	473.7
1993–94	494.9

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on general betting duty receipts of the introduction of evening opening of licenced betting offices.

General betting duty receipts for the months April to August, using 1992 as a baseline, increased by 11.7 per cent. in 1993 and 16.1 per cent. in 1994. General betting duty receipts for the fiscal year 1993–94 were 4.5 per cent. up on 1992–93 and those for 1994–95 will be approximately 6 per cent. up.

Vat Refunds

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 22 November, Official Report, column 71, if he will publish a table showing, for each recognised sport where VAT payments have been refunded to non-profit making organisations supplying sporting services, (a) the name of the sports clubs or associations and (b) the value of the VAT refunded.

No. I regret that this information is either not available or confidential.

Taxation Revenue

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of total Government taxation revenue was raised by the taxation of inherited wealth and income in each year since 1979.

The information requested is given in the table. Inheritance tax is charged on estates passing on death, and on certain lifetime gifts and settled property.

Financial year	Inheritance tax¹as a percentage of total government taxation²
1979–80	0.6
1980–81	0.5
1981–82	0.5
1982–83	0.5
1983–84	0.5
1984–85	0.5
1985–86	0.6
1986–87	0.7
1987–88	0.7
1988–89	0.6
1989–90	0.7
1990–91	0.6
1991–92	0.6
1992–93	0.6
1993–94	0.6
Footnotes:
¹ Includes small residual receipts from estate duty and receipts from capital transfer tax. Estate duty was replaced by capital transfer tax in 1975 which was in turn replaced by inheritance tax in 1986.
² Taxes on income, on expenditure, on capital, rates/community charge/council tax, royalties and social security contributions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the direct revenue yield in a full year at 1994–95 levels of income from restricting (a) personal allowances, (b) relief from pension contributions and (c) other reliefs to relief at (i) 25p and (ii) 20p, giving in each case the number of people affected.

Estimated full-year yields at 1994–95 income levels based on a projection of the 1992–93 survey of personal incomes and other survey data in line with the assumptions in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1995–96" are given in the table. The figures do not take account of any behavioural effects which might result from the introduction of such changes, and show the yield from restructuring each allowance or relief separately. If two or more were restricted the total yield would be greater than the sum of individual figures.

	Restriction to
	Basic Rate		20p
Effect of restricting	Yield £ million	Numbers affected millions	Yield £million	Numbers affected millions
(a) Personal allowances	1,450	3.3	5,600	26.1
(b) Relief for pension contributions	680	1.9	1,330	11.5
(c) Other reliefs	140	0.7	n/a¹	n/a
¹ Information on reliefs given at source is not available from the Survey of Personal Incomes so it is not possible to estimate the effect of restricting other reliefs to 20 per cent.

Eu Anti-Fraud Budget

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arguments were advanced at the Council of Finance Ministers in favour of reducing the anti-fraud budget at its meeting in November; and if he will make a statement.

The Commission's preliminary bid for anti-fraud lines in the 1995 budget was for 133.1 mecu, or £103.8 million which was a reduction of 6.1 mecu, or £4.8 million, over the budget for 1994. This is due to a reduction in one-off studies and start-up costs and capital expenditure in agriculture. But the Commission's bid ensured that the amounts for staff and running costs were maintained at their 1994 levels.The European Parliament sought an increase of 7 mecu, or £5.5 million, over the Commission's bid, made up of: 3 mecu, or £2.3 million, for measures for inspection of animals in the agricultural section; and 3.95 mecu, or £3.1 million, transferred from various programmes to a number of small amounts in administrative expenditure in the operational section of the budget. The latter is contrary to Council policy.The United Kingdom supported the European Parliament's proposals in this area, although it had considerable sympathy with the Council's view on not creating administrative expenditure lines within the operational expenditure section of the budget because this makes control of the Commission's administration budget more difficult. In the event, the majority's view prevailed and the European Parliament's bid was cut back at the 16 November Budget Council to the Commission's original bid, which both the Commission and the Council considered appropriate for what is required for the fight against fraud. But the majority of the European Parliament's proposals are for non-compulsory expenditure on which final decisions are taken by the European Parliament, and it is still able to reinstate part of this increase in the Budget if it so wishes.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Indonesia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ban the export of certain classes of weapons to Indonesia while violations of human rights continue.

The export to any destination of arms and other goods listed in the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 is prohibited without a licence issued by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. All applications for export licences for defence equipment are considered on a case by case basis in the light of established criteria. In the case of Indonesia, we would not, for example, licence for export equipment likely to be used for internal repression.

Private Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many private consultants were employed by his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what was the total cost.

There are three categories of external consultants as defined by the Cabinet Office efficiency scrutiny. This is: "Investigating problems, providing analysis or advice, or assisting with the development of new systems, new structures or new capabilities within the organisation".The diplomatic wing spent £704,542 on the hire of management consultants, £8,600,000 on the commission of estate and building works consultants and £4,915,000 on technical support in the information technology area.The total number of contracts was 460 at a total cost of £14,219,542. The aid wing spent £681,123 on the hire of management consultants, £55,000 on IT consultancies and £234,045,056 on consultants involved in the aid programme overseas. The total number of contracts was 1,181 at a total cost of £234,781,179.

Official Entertainment Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost of official entertainment in each diplomatic residence owned by Her Majesty's Government in each of the last three years.

The entertainment provision for heads of mission covers activities both at diplomatic residences, whether owned or rented, and elsewhere in the country of accreditation. The cost of entertainment in each residence cannot be disaggregated from the figure for overall entertainment. For the financial years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 the total FCO expenditure by heads of mission on entertainment was £2,077,868, £2,301,382 and £2,594,023, respectively.

Overseas Travel

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the number and cost of (a) first-class tickets, (b) business-class tickets and (c) economy-class tickets for overseas flights taken by Ministers located in Britain and paid for by his Department, in each of the last three years.

Our central records are unable to break down ministerial and civil servants commercial overseas flights. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the number and cost of (a) first-class tickets, (b) business-class tickets and (c) economy-class tickets for overseas flights taken by civil servants located in Britain and paid for by his Department, in each of the last three years.

The details for overseas flights by FCO and ODA Ministers and civil servants based in Britain in 1993 and 1994 are:

Class of travel	Number	Cost
1993		£
First class	293	543,449
Club class	6,825	5,734,311
Economy	1,598	392,460

Class of travel	Number	Cost
1994 (January–October)		£
First class	380	437,597
Club class	6,071	5,884,290
Economy	1,281	328,666

Apportioning expenditure between Ministers and civil servants would incur disproportionate cost.

For expenditure incurred in 1992, it is not possible to provide a breakdown by class and mode of travel. Nor is it possible to distinguish between overseas and domestic travel. Total expenditure on official travel by UK-based Ministers and officials in the FCO and ODA that year was £9,291,235.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total cost of overseas flights taken by (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants located in Britain and paid for by his Department in each of the last three years.

Expenditure for overseas travel in the FCO is as follows:

1992 £10,256,192

This 1992 figure includes all forms of travel—rail, road, ship and air. It is not possible to give a more detailed breakdown.

1993 Commercial and charter flights £7,407,489
1994 Commercial and charter flights £7,454,498

As stated in replies to other written questions, our central records are unable to break down ministerial and civil servants' flights without incurring disproportionate costs.

Drug Production And Trafficking

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution his Department is making to the development of international co-operation against illicit drugs production and trafficking.

The Government's consultative paper "Tackling Drugs Together" launched on 19 October demonstrates the Government's firm commitment to tackling the menace of illicit drugs both at home and abroad.In his reply of 24 November to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Coombs), my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out the action that the Government are taking to improve the effectiveness of international co-operation against drug traffickers. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is actively involved in supporting these activities.In this context, we have raised the profile and priority of drugs in our bilateral contacts with other countries, taking advantage on ministerial contacts where this would be useful and through our diplomatic missions abroad.At the multilateral level, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary stressed at the United Nations General Assembly on 28 September that "the international community needs to give full support to the UN International Drugs Control Programme, which has responsibility for leading the global effort in this field. The UN is the best resource for tackling this global menace". We are providing an extra £1.2 million to fund UNDCP projects. This will bring total United Kingdom assistance to other Governments, including through UNDCP to £8 million in this financial year.The United Kingdom, as chairman of the group of UNDCP major donors, will continue to encourage others to increase their contributions to UNDCP. We are moreover actively encouraging the international financial and development institutions to give higher priority to drugs and crime in their country programmes.We also play a prominent role in other international meetings, for example in the Dublin group of donors, which seeks to develop a dialogue with governments of producer and transit countries on drugs issues. We are also encouraging the EU to be more active in combating drug trafficking, particularly in areas of intergovernmental co-operation. We have, for example, been at the forefront of efforts to associate countries of central and eastern Europe with EU work on drugs and organised crime and we have taken a leading part in EU efforts to develop co-operation with other neighbouring countries in the Mahgreb and Levant. We are furthermore encouraging the Commonwealth to give the issue of drugs and crime a higher political priority.

Israel

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress there has recently been in allowing Palestinians back to jobs held in Israel.

On 20 November the Israeli Cabinet increased by 4,500 the number of work permits available for Palestinians throughout the occupied territories, bringing the total to 33,500.

Prisoners Of War, Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs whether progress has been made on the release of Kuwaiti prisoners since Saddam Hussein recognised Kuwaiti borders; and what representations he has made about their release.

Iraq is beginning to co-operate with the International Committee of the Red Cross in commenting on ICRC case files on missing persons passed to Iraq over 18 months ago. It has so far offered an incomplete response on 127 of the 609 case files. The tripartite commission will meet again on 8 December to review progress and approve the establishment of a technical sub-commission to speed up the substantive review of the case files. We have made it clear to the Iraqi regime that we expect to see substantive progress soon.

Zaire

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the United Nations Secretary-General's proposal for a United Nations peacekeeping force to be dispatched to Zaire with the object of securing the delivery of humanitarian aid, protecting British aid workers and ensuring safe passage for those refugees wishing to return to Rwanda.

The President of the United Nations Security Council issued a statement on 30 November in response to the Secretary-General's report on the situation in the refugee camps in Zaire and the proposals put forward in that report. The United Kingdom played a constructive role in the negotiation of that statement, which it fully supports. A copy will be placed in the House of Commons Library shortly.

Syria

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy with regard to arms sales to Syria.

The EU arms embargo on Syria was lifted on 28 November. All applications for the sale of arms will be considered on a case by case basis in the light of the international guidelines to which we are committed. These include whether a proposed transfer would be likely to increase tension in the region or contribute to regional instability.

Liberia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the present situation in the attempt to find peace in Liberia.

We strongly support the continued efforts by the Ghanaian President Rawlings to encourage a new agreement among the Liberian factions, but are disappointed that the latest round of talks in Accra ended on 29 November without making progress.A high level UN mission has been visiting Liberia and is due to report to the Security Council shortly. The present mandate of the UN observer mission, UNOMIL, is due to end on 13 January.

Commonwealth Institute

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his responsibility for the work of the Commonwealth Institute in Scotland.

Section 5(2) of the Imperial Institute Act 1925 established a board of governors for the purpose of carrying on the management of the institute under the responsible Minister, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. The chairman of the Commonwealth Institute, Scotland, is a member of the board of governors of the Commonwealth Institute.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests he has received regarding his future role in the continued functioning of the Commonwealth Institute in Scotland and from whom; and what response he gave.

On 28 April 1994, the chairman of the Commonwealth Institute, Scotland requested that the Government provide an annual core grant of £116,000 after March 1996. My noble Friend Baroness Chalker of Wallasey informed the chairman on 17 July 1994 that the Government could not meet his request, but that there would be no objection from the Government to the Commonwealth Institute, Scotland requesting the board of the institute in London to make available post-1996 a proportion of its funding.

Wales

Council Tenants

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policies on anti-social tenants in council housing; and what is his estimate of the number of such tenants.

Policy for dealing with anti-social council tenants is a matter for the housing authorities. The tenants' charter sets out what residents might expect of their council in managing nuisance. Councils are required to inform their tenants about their policy for dealing with anti-social problems. The Welsh Office has provided a grant to Cynon Valley borough council to research and advise on dealing with neighbourhood disputes and disruptive behaviour on council estates. The findings will shortly be made available to other housing authorities in Wales.

Dental Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many representations he has received on the subject of the provision of dental services in the NHS in the county of South Glamorgan in the last year; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many representations he has received from people living in Gwynedd about the provision of dental services on the NHS in the last year; and if he will make a statement;(3) how many representations he has about the provision of dental services on the NHS in the county of Clwyd in the last year; and if he will make a statement;

	1989–90		1990–91		1991–92		1992–93		1993–94
	Nursing and midwifery¹	In-patient cases	Nursing and midwifery¹	In-patient cases	Nursing and midwifery¹	In-patient cases	Nursing and midwifery	¹In-patient cases	Nursing and midwifery	¹In-patient cases
Clwyd	3,165	63,186	3,174	63,002	3,270	70,191	3,347	73,209	3,327	72,612
East Dyfed	1,947	36,262	2,043	36,879	2,018	39,090	2,052	40,606	2,061	42,480
Gwent	4,060	72,584	4,014	75,349	3,924	74,696	3,864	74,455	3,746	75,452
Gwynedd	1,895	37,858	1,912	37,592	1,920	38,817	1,968	39,567	2,049	40,133
Mid Glamorgan	4,745	87,080	4,777	89,782	4,777	93,566	4,901	96,152	4,808	97,420
Pembrokeshire	696	15,435	677	16,995	708	16,734	747	17,613	760	17,132
Powys	1,086	7,698	1,059	7,993	1,084	8,818	1,044	9,180	1,010	9,217
South Glamorgan	4,300	86,546	4,309	84,392	4,197	88,072	4,378	83,250	4,359	84,105
West Glamorgan	3,018	68,866	3,043	70,489	3,080	70,352	3,181	69,625	3,222	69,811
Wales²	24,919	475,515	25,017	482,473	25,050	500,336	25,555	503,657	25,422	508,362
¹ At 30 September. All nursing and midwifery staff (excluding pre-registration learners) are shown: because of the use of local pay scales it is no longer possible to identify qualified nurses separately. Staff employed by (and patients treated in) NHS trusts have been allocated to the health authority area in which the trust is situated.
² The nursing and midwifery figure includes staff employed by the Welsh Health Common Services Authority.

Tinnitus

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those counties in Wales where tinnitus sufferers may gain advice and assistance; and if he will make a statement.

All counties in Wales. Tinnitus sufferers may consult their general practitioners for advice

(4) how many representations he has received on the subject of provision of dental services on the NHS in Powys in the last year; and if he will make a statement;

(5) how many representations he has received on the subject of provision of dental services on the NHS in the county of Dyfed in the last year; and if he will make a statement;

(6) how many representations he has received on the subject of provision of dental services on the NHS in the county of West Glamorgan in the last year; and if he will make a statement;

(7) how many representations he has received on the subject of provision of dental services on the NHS in the county of Mid Glamorgan in the last year; and if he will make a statement;

(8) how many representations he has received on the subject of provision of dental services on the NHS in the county of Gwent in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

The following table shows the number of written representations, about NHS dental services, received by the Secretary of State from members of the public and from Members of the House, during the period 1 January 1994 to 30 November 1994. During the same period, 31 questions have been asked by Members of the House about NHS dental services in various parts of Wales.

County	Number of representations
Clwyd	7
Dyfed	12
Gwent	2
Gwynedd	41
Mid Glamorgan	4
Powys	6
South Glamorgan	7
West Glamorgan	8

and assistance. The GP may then refer the patient to an ear, nose and throat consultant for further advice or management.The Welsh hearing institute at the University hospital of Wales, Cardiff provides a specialist service for tinnitus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he has given to health authorities regarding special provision for people suffering from tinnitus.

No central direction has been given as it is a matter for each health authority to decide on the appropriate provision in the light of local health needs and best clinical practice.

Planning Policy Guidance Notes

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to publish versions appropriate for Wales of the Department for the Environment PPG6 on mineral planning, PPG13 on transport, PPG15 on museums and PPG23 on pollution; and when they will be available for public consultation.

There has already been consultation in Wales on the draft planning guidance for these issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales is now considering what guidance is needed for Wales. Consideration will be given as to whether a further round of consultation is necessary.

Recycling

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many local authorities have submitted their plans to achieve the target for the recycling of domestic waste; and to what extent each local authority has produced a plan to achieve the targets of the Government.

All 37 authorities have submitted their draft plans, of which 34 have been approved to date; each plan provides for an increase in recycling activity and will contribute to the Government's target.

Quangos

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will publish the report of KPMG Peat Marwick on the operation of major Welsh quangos; what was the cost of the report; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: I am writing to the hon. Member today and placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Public Authorities (Rent Payments)

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish for the last three years the total amount paid in rent by each department, together with the total amounts for each year.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: Information is not available in the form requested. Where properties are occupied jointly by different Welsh Office departments and groups, costs are not apportioned separately to the administrative units involved. For reasons of commercial confidentiality it is also Government policy not to disclose information about rent levels for individual properties. The total amount of rent paid in each year is:

	£
1991–92	3,469,771
1992–93	3,768,323
1993–94	3,629,326

Darland High School

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will visit Darland high school, Clwyd; and if he will meet the chairman and vice chairman of Darland high school, Clwyd, to discuss the needs of special needs pupils;(2) if he will visit Darland high school, Clwyd, to discuss with the staff and governors Her Majesty's Government's policies concerning staffing and budgets for high schools.

Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have any plans at present to visit Darland high school. The budget for any local education authority maintained school is a matter for the authority concerned.

General Practitioners

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when the terms of service for general practitioners will next be reviewed.

Items included in the general practitioners' terms of service are amended from time to time but there are no plans for a general review.

Information Technology

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what date he has set for the completion of the tendering process for information technology for Welsh local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

The Welsh Office issued on 9 November 1994 a consultation paper on the Government's proposals for the extension of competitive tendering to information technology services. This paper proposed that the implementation date for local authorities in Wales should be 1 October 1999.

Scotland

Football

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next intends to meet the Scottish Football Association to discuss the future of the national stadium.

My right hon. Friend and I meet representatives of the Scottish Football Association from time to time, both formally and informally. Scottish Office officials will shortly be meeting representatives of national stadium committee to hear about the committee's plans for further redevelopment at Hampden Park.

Fuel Poverty

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met (a) local authorities and (b) other interested parties to discuss the incidence of fuel poverty in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

My officials and I regularly meet representatives of local authorities and other interested parties to discuss a range of social and health concerns.

Schools (League Tables)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any proposals to introduce league tables for Scottish Schools; and if he will make a statement.

A wide range of information relating to individual schools in Scotland is already published annually, following our commitment in the parents charter to do so. This covers exam results, school leavers' destinations, school costs and attendance and truancy rates.

Primary Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent per pupil in primary schools in Scotland in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the figure was in 1978–79, at constant prices.

Current expenditure per primary pupil in 1992–93 was 62 per cent. higher in real terms than in 1979. The latest figure is £1,766 per primary pupil.New information on budgeted school running costs per pupil for 1994–95, for individual primary and secondary schools in Scotland, will be published next week.

Violent Crime

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to tackle the problems of violent crime and drug-related deaths in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The detection and prevention of violent crime will continue to be given a high priority by police forces in Scotland. Forces are also very active in taking measures to curb the acquisition and supply of illicit drugs. Our strategy for tackling the problems associated with the misuse of drugs, including drug-related deaths, is set out in the report of the drugs task force led by my noble and learned Friend, the Minister of State, which was published on 19 October.

Secondary Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to develop value-added indicators when publishing performance data with regard to Scottish secondary schools.

The Scottish Office education department and COSLA have set up a working group to investigate value-added indicators of school performance. The Scottish Office has also commissioned a major research study on school effectiveness, including ways of measuring value added.

Manufacturing Industry

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss the manufacturing industry in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend and I meet representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress from time to time to discuss a range of matters concerning the Scottish economy.

Water Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to call in major proposed new water and sewerage capital investments by local authorities during the run-up to transfer of responsibilities to the new water and sewerage authorities.

My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to call in any major water and sewerage proposals during the run up to the transfer of responsibilities to the new water and sewerage authorities.

Hill Farming

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland to discuss the future of hill farming in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend and I met the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland on 26 October as part of the annual review of hill farming. We have no plans for a further meeting, although I meet the president from time to time on a range of issues.

A9

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about accidents on the single carriageway sections of the A9 north of Perth.

The Scottish Office has received no representations about accidents on the single carriageway sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

Local Government Reform

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will postpone the elections to the new local authorities until Thursday 4 May 1995; and if he will make a statement.

I believe that the timetable that has been set is the right one. It strikes the best possible balance between giving the existing councils sufficient time to prepare for the elections and giving the new councils additional time to prepare for the change on 1 April 1996.

Economy

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the chairman of Scottish Enterprise regarding the Scottish economy; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I last met the chairman of Scottish Enterprise on 23 November.

Second Forth Road Bridge

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what account he has taken of the findings of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution in coming to conclusions about a second Forth road bridge.

My right hon. Friend and I welcome the recent report of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution as a valuable contribution to public debate of the issues it considers. My right hon. Friend has reached no conclusions about a second Forth road bridge.

Toxic Waste

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provision he has made in the current financial year in financial allocations to Scottish Enterprise and the Glasgow Development Agency for making safe land contaminated by toxic waste.

No specific allocations are made to Scottish Enterprise or to local enterprise companies for expenditure on dealing with land contaminated by toxic waste. Such expenditure is met from the block allocation for environmental expenditure. The expenditure provision for Scottish Enterprise on the environment block in 1994–95 amounts to £78 million.The distribution of expenditure resources among local enterprise companies is a matter for decision by Scottish Enterprise. Glasgow Development Agency's budget allocation for 1994–95 on the environment block amounts to £13.680 million.

Public Sector Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of tenants' organisations to discuss public sector housing in Scotland.

There are no plans at present to meet tenants' organisations to discuss housing in Scotland, but I often meet tenants in the course of my housing visits throughout Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of tenants' organisations to discuss public sector housing in Scotland.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to meet tenants' organisations to discuss housing in Scotland, but I often meet tenants in the course of my housing visits throughout Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further steps he is taking to combat homelessness in Scotland.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh).

Skillseekers Training Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he plans to have with the Glasgow development agency on the operation of the skillseekers training scheme.

My right hon. Friend has no plans for such discussions. In Scotland the operation of Skillseekers is the responsibility of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its networks of local enterprise companies, which include the Glasgow Development Agency.

Economic Deprivation (Ill Health)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met Lanarkshire health board to discuss ill health as a result of economic deprivation.

My right hon. Friend and my noble and learned Friend the Minister of State regularly meet representatives from all health boards to discuss health issues. There are no immediate plans for further meetings at present.

Hawick Cottage Hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Borders health board in order to discuss the need for a custom built replacement for Hawick cottage hospital; and if he will make a statement.

My noble and learned Friend, the Minister of State meets chairmen of health boards regularly to discuss a wide range of strategic issues affecting the management of the NHS in Scotland. I understand that Borders health board is appraising options for the future provision of community hospital services in Hawick and that these considerations are at a preliminary stage.

Youth Unemployment, Glasgow

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he is taking to combat youth unemployment in south-west Glasgow.

The Government's economic policies are designed to create a climate in which all employers, including those in Glasgow, can maintain existing jobs and create new ones. The Skillseekers programme, operational in Glasgow since April this year, gives young people the opportunity to receive high-quality training, often while in employment, in the occupational area of their choice, and our youth training guarantee ensures that all young people under 18 who are not in full-time education or employment will receive the offer of a training place, with the prospect of gaining a qualification and thus an improved chance of securing employment.

Local Government Reorganisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Local Government Staff Commission to discuss the arrangements for staff transfers to the new authorities.

I met the Chairman and Secretary of the Local Government Staff Commission (Scotland) on Friday 18 November.

Scottish Homes

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to meet the board of Scottish Homes to discuss its spending programme in 1995–96; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I meet the board from time to time to discuss a range of issues, the last occasion being on 7 November 1994. I shall consider Scottish Homes' proposed programme for 1995–96 around the end of February next year.

Growth Rate

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from Scottish industry about the rate of growth.

My right hon. Friend and I are in continual contact with representatives of Scottish industry, in order that we remain fully aware of their interests and concerns.The average projection of the independent forecasters monitored by the Scottish Office industry department is for gross domestic product to grow by between 2.5 and 3 per cent. in both 1994 and 1995. This is a steady and sustainable rate of economic expansion.

Unemployment

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been out of work for more than one year; and what steps he has taken to reduce the number.

Latest figures as at October 1994 show that 75,752 people in Scotland have been out of work for more than one year. This figure is 7.9 per cent. of the relative United Kingdom figure and is a reduction of 9.1 per cent. over the October 1993 figure.The Government have introduced a comprehensive range of measures aimed at reducing long-term unemployment through the Employment Service and through Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the local enterprise companies and we have created the right conditions for growth in employment through tight control over inflation and harmonisation of business rates.

House Building

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many houses have been built for rent by (a) Renfrew district council and (b) Inverclyde district council in the last two years.

Information on tenders accepted, houses started, under construction and completed in each local authority area is available in the quarterly housing series of Scottish Office statistical bulletins, copies of which are in the Library.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the change in the number of unemployed since December 1992.

Between December 1992 and October 1994, the seasonally adjusted level of unemployment in Scotland fell by 28,700.

Grant Assistance

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the compliance of the second application of assistance from Bell Woven Brakel to set up a woven label factory in Dunoon with his Department's criteria for such grant assistance; and if, as part of this application, he will examine the potential impact of the grant on existing woven name tape manufacturers in the United Kingdom.

Bell Woven Brakel received financial assistance from Highlands and-Islands Enterprise, the Government's economic development agency for the highlands and islands. Consideration of individual assistance cases is a matter for the enterprise body and I have asked the chairman to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.

M74

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects work (a) to commence and (b) to be completed on the M74 between Fullarton and the south side of the Kingston bridge at the M8; and if he will make a statement.

The question of any extension to the M74 in Glasgow is at present a matter for Strathclyde regional council. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently issued a consultation document on proposals for trunking certain routes, including the proposed M74 within Glasgow, but no decisions have yet been taken.

Departmental Travel Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which airline has won the contract to transport Scottish Office staff travelling to Europe on official business; and if he will make a statement.

My Department does not have contracts with particular carriers to transport staff on routes between the United Kingdom and Europe. It is a member of a consortium of Government Departments which, following an open tendering exercise with all the carriers on a number of heavily used routes, has awarded preferred-carrier status to Sabena for travel to Brussels and Air France for Paris. There are no arrangements for other European destinations. Bookings are made taking account of price and airline schedules. These arrangements will be reviewed at 31 March 1995.

Ministerial Speeches

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what occasions since 1979 civil servants in his Department have been asked to draft speeches of a constituency nature for use in a Minister's own constituency.

None. Civil servants may provide briefing of a factual nature for Ministers on matters relating to their own Departments. In addition, Ministers in preparing for a constituency speech can draw on material produced by their Department during the normal course of business.

Nhs Spending

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the level of spending per head of population on NHS provision in each Scottish health district.

The latest available information is set out in the table:

Health Board Area	NHS Expenditure Per Head of Population 1993–94 £
Argyll and Clyde	753
Ayrshire and Arran	729
Borders	770
Dumfries and Galloway	754
Fife	675
Forth Valley	719
Grampian	736
Greater Glasgow	886
Highland	773

Health Board Area	NHS Expenditure Per Head of Population 1993–94 £
Lanarkshire	642
Lothian	766
Orkney	868
Shetland	885
Tayside	840
Western Isles	1,084
Total health boards	767

Forestry Commission

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his current policy towards the Forestry Commission.

The Forestry Commission will continue as the Government Department that advises on and implements our forestry policy.

Medical Complaints

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many medical complaints were heard in Scotland in each of the past five years; and in what percentage of cases complaints of patients were upheld.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: This information is not available for the full period requested. Information about complaints since January 1993 is now published in a series of quarterly NHS complaints bulletins, copies of which are held in the Library of the House.A global figure in respect of primary care service committee complaints in 1993–94 is provided in the most recent bulletin for the quarter ending 31 March 1994. The number of complaints made specifically against general medical practitioners was 141 of whom 13.5 per cent. were found to be wholly or partially in breach of their terms and conditions of service.

Community Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to require a set proportion of local authority expenditure on community care to be spent in the voluntary and private sectors; what considerations underlie those plans; and what consultation will take place before their implementation.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 has provided the Secretary of State with the power to direct authorities on the use of the considerable resources provided to them for community care. Where the use of these resources by an authority is judged to be inconsistent with Government policy and against the best interests of its clients, this new power will prove useful. Any authority in this position will generally have been in discussion with The Scottish Office prior to a decision to use the power.

Grant-Maintained Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ensure that the same standards of financial and managerial control that do not apply to local education authority schools will be required for grant-maintained schools.

[holding answer 5 December 1994]: A self-governing school in Scotland is subject to a range of provisions to ensure that the highest possible standards of financial and managerial control apply. In addition to inspection by Her Majesty's inspectors of schools, these provisions include: a scheme of Government prescribing such a school's articles of constitution and articles of management; the Self-Governing Schools (Application and Amendment of Regulations) (Scotland) Regulations 1994; the Self-Governing Schools (Change in Characteristics) (Scotland) Regulations 1994; the Self-Governing Schools Grant and Recovery (Scotland) Regulations 1994; and detailed financial management procedures and audit arrangements set out in a financial memorandum and other requirements and other guidance.

National Heritage

Spitfire

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action he is taking to preserve the Battle of Britain Flight Supermarine P.R. XIX Spitfire; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence is responsible for the operation of the Battle of Britain Flight. However, under the export control system, an export licence will be required from my Department if an owner wishes to export the aircraft, if it was manufactured or produced 50 years before the date of exportation and if it is valued at or above £39,600. In such a case there would be an opportunity for an objection to the export to be raised on the grounds that the Spitfire was of national importance under the Waverley criteria and for a decision on the export licence application to be deferred to enable a compensating offer to purchase to be made to retain the Spitfire.

Turner Bequest

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many of the finished pictures in the Turner bequest are now on public view in the United Kingdom.

The Turner bequest of 1856 makes provision for the display of approximately 100 unspecified paintings in his possession at the time of his death. The bequest currently comprises around 30,000 items, as it now includes unfinished work and sketches. The bequest is under the supervision of the trustees of the national gallery and of the Tate gallery, which administer, The Clore gallery.The national gallery has nine Turner paintings on display, its entire collection. The Clore gallery currently displays 160 oil paintings on its main floor, most of which are finished, and another 53 items in the reserve gallery, including studies and finished work. Other work is shown in rotation at the Clore. The Clore displays all finished works in its possession except for items on which conservation work is needed.

Tourism

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list those initiatives taken on behalf of domestic tourism in the last 12 months.

Information on initiatives undertaken by the English Tourist Board is published in the ETB's annual report, which may be obtained from the Library of the House. In addition to providing grant-in-aid to the ETB, my Department has undertaken a number of activities in support of the domestic tourism sector. These include pursuing with other Government Departments many issues of concern to the tourism industry; helping to encourage and publicise a wide range of events to mark the 50th anniversary of D-day; and working, with the ETB and the British tourist authority, on a tourism strategy which will identify priorities for action by my Department and the tourist boards.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will publish details of the remit given to McKinsey and Co. Inc., with regard to its present study on behalf of his Department, the British Tourist Authority and the English tourist board; what was the value of his Department's contribution to that study; and what is the likely completion date of the study and the number and identity of the other firms bidding for the contract to complete the study.

McKinsey and Co. Inc., was engaged to assist on work which my Department is undertaking with the British Tourist Authority and the English tourist board to identify opportunities for growth and constraints on performance and areas where Government intervention can assist, in the tourism industry. KPMG Peat Marwick and Touche Ross also bid for the contract.The first phase of this work, for which my Department contributed £35,000, is now complete. McKinsey is now developing certain parts of the original analysis. My Department has committed £15,000 to this work which should be completed by the early part of next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the value of the expenses claimed by KPMG for its work on behalf of the British Tourist Authority and the English tourist board into information needs and IT strategy.

The total expenses claimed by KMPG Peat Marwick from the British Tourist Authority and the English tourist board for its study were £2,652.06.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the value of the expenses claimed by McKinsey and Co. Inc., and incurred during its work for the British Tourist Authority entitled, "Meeting the Challenge".

The total expenses claimed by McKinsey and Co. from the British Tourist Authority were £3,591.

Civil Servants

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many civil servants are employed in the sport and recreation department of his Department; if he will list at what grade, at what salary and at what location they are employed; and for each of those civil servants seconded from other Departments, what was the Department from which they were seconded and the length of their secondment.

The Department's sport and recreation division, which is located at Cockspur street, is currently 21 strong and staffed as in the following table. The salaries of individual members of the division are, in every case, within the minimum to maximum band for the grade, as shown.

Grade	Number in post	Salary minimum £	Salary maximum £
Grade 5	1	38,341	56,953
Grade 7	3	25,837	40,012
HEO	5	16,000	21,059
EO	6	11,673	16,835
AO	3	9,393	12,450
AA	1	7,412	10,513
Personal Secretary	1	9,937	12,880
Typist	1	7,755	10,513

In addition, all of the listed staff receive Inner London Weighting of £1 ,776 (on a "reserve rights" basis).Six members of staff have been seconded from the Department of the Environment, 5 since April 1992 who will be returning by March 1995 and 1 since June 1994 who is on a two-year secondment.

Television Licences

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many representations he has received on the subject of increasing the discount for purchase of television licenses by partially sighted people in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

In the year to 30 November 1994, I have received three letters on this subject. As I explained in my reply to the hon. Member's question of 28 June this year, Official Report, columns 470–71, registered partially sighted people are not entitled to a reduction in their television licence fee on account of being partially sighted.

"Sport For The 21St Century"

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what timetable he proposes for the implementation of "Sport for the 21st Century"; who will be consulted; what procedures will be used for the consultation process; what representations have been received from the North-West Federation for Sport, Recreation and Conservation; and if he will make a statement.

The extent of consultation on the Government's proposals for restructuring the Sports Council was set out in my statement to the House on 8 July, Official Report, columns 584–92. I am currently considering a wide range of responses, including written representations from the North-West Federation for Sport, Recreation and Conservation. I have subsequently asked the GB Sports Council to provide me with its view of how its current functions and staffing might be re-aligned to take account of the Government's proposals. I shall then take final decisions on policy and the timing of implementation.

Library Services

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he intends to publish the review of public library services.

I hope to receive the final report from the review consultants early in the New Year. I will make a further statement on publication in due course.

Broadcasting

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what is his policy regarding the European Audiovisual Green Paper's suggestion of tightening the enforcement rules on the level of European programme content in broadcast television;(2) what is his policy towards the continuance of the quotas on the levels of European programmes set out in article 4 of the broadcasting directive; and when the directive is to be reviewed.

In the Government's view, the flexibility in applying the European programme content requirements afforded by the present wording of the EC broadcasting directive must be retained to avoid risking damage to the growth and development of the sector. We would not favour any proposal to remove this flexibility. We expect the European Commission's conclusions, following the review of the directive which it has conducted, to be published before the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the compliance with existing GATT rules of article 4 of the European broadcasting directive.

As we said in our response to the European Commission's Green Paper on European Union audiovisual policy, we would oppose any steps which would undermine the existing flexibility and relative openness to competition from outside the Union. We noted that even the existing provisions of article 4 of the directive carried the risk of successful challenge by our trading partners under the existing GATT rules.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Sheep Lice

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what insecticides sheep lice have developed resistance in other countries;; what resistance in sheep lice to insecticides has been suspected or detected in the United Kingdom; what percentage of sheep flocks in the United Kingdom are currently affected by sheep lice infestations; and what assessment he has made of the rate of spread of sheep lice infestation.

In Australia, the chewing louse of sheep—Bovicola Damalinia ovis—has been shown to be resistant to the synthetic pyrethroid cypermethrin, both by laboratory bioassay and under field conditions.Monitoring for insecticide resistance within United Kingdom populations of sheep ectoparasites—including the sheep chewing louse—has been undertaken for the past three years, under a Government-funded research project. There is no evidence to suggest that chewing lice are resistant to any licensed synthetic pyrethroid or ornaophosphorus formulation applied to sheep in the United Kingdom. Suspected resistance to organochlorine insecticides, which are no longer used, was reported in sheep lice in Cumbria in 1965.In the United Kingdom, the compulsory national dipping of sheep in organochlorine, organophosphate or synthetic pyrethroid plunge dip formulations between 1974 and 1992 for scab control, dramatically reduced the prevalence of

B. ovis. During this period, a total of 24 incidences of infestation were recorded. These were located on Bodmin moor, Dartmoor, the North Yorkshire moors, the Peak district, the Lake district, the Pennine regions of Cumbria and County Durham, Mid Glamorgan and the Scottish islands. No assessment has been made of the incidence of sheep lice infestation since 1992.

Goat Lice

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what approved products are available for treating lice on goats; and what approved products are available for treating lice on goats in the event of the ineffectivity of pyrethroid products.

Two veterinary medicines are licensed for the treatment of lice on goats—Cypor and Parosol Pour-on. Both are pyrethroid products. Any evidence of lack of efficacy of these products, or any other veterinary medicines, should be reported as suspected adverse reactions to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. In the absence of any other products specifically licensed for the treatment of lice on goats, the advice of a veterinary surgeon should be sought on what alternative products may be appropriate for use in the particular circumstances.

Drug Registration

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans (a) the United Kingdom Government and (b) the European Union have to introduce a system for the registration of drugs for use in minor species.

Both EC and national law already provide for a system of registration of drugs for all animal species. The requirements for an application for an individual authorisation will reflect the target species and the use to which the drug is likely to be put.

Warble Fly

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy in respect of the eradication of warble fly in the United Kingdom; what is his estimate of the number of years by which the eradication of warble fly was set back by the introduction of warbled cattle from France; and what is his estimate of the extra cost incurred to public funds in 1993 by the import of warbled cattle.

The Government are committed to maintain the United Kingdom's warble free status. Warble fly was eradicated from the United Kingdom in 1992 but was reintroduced in imported cattle during 1993. The reinfestation from imports is now well under control. Only two compulsory treatment areas have been established this autumn because of warble fly outbreaks and within these areas only five premises remain under movement restrictions pending confirmation of appropriate treatment.

The state veterinary service has provided for increased checks on imported animals, for a number of diseases, within existing manpower levels by adjusting priorities. It is not possible to cost out separately resources expended on checks for warble fly. The cost of warble fly operations within Great Britain for 1993 was approximately £237,000.

Pigs

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what surveys for anthelmintic resistance in oesophagostomum have been undertaken in the United Kingdom in the nematodes of pigs; and what steps are being taken to ensure that resistant worms are not imported in pigs from Denmark.

I am not aware of any surveys for anthelmintic resistance in the pig nematode, oesophagostomum, or any indications that this is a significant problem that calls for Government action. There are no EU requirements to check for resistant worms and no justification for taking special action in relation to imports from Denmark.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the change in parasite burdens in pigs maintained out of doors.

No data are maintained specifically on this subject. The management of parasitic problems would be carried out normally by the veterinary practitioner responsible for the herd. However, in the course of routine investigations, the veterinary investigation service has discovered the following numbers of cases of intestinal parasites in pigs since 1985. These figures do not differentiate between indoor and outdoor pigs.

1985: 21
1986: 22
1987: 16
1988: 21
1989: 13
1990: 14
1991: 7
1992: 11
1993: 7

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which 10 diseases of pigs in the United Kingdom cause the greatest economic losses to the agriculture industry; what is his Department's estimate of the loss caused to the agriculture industry by each disease; what significant changes he has predicted in the incidence of each of these diseases in the next 10 to 20 years; how much money the Government are spending on research and development on each of these diseases in the current financial year; and what differences in diseases are being observed between pigs reared indoors and out of doors.

This question can be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Sheep

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of (a) the percentage and (b) the number of sheep which are seropositive for maedia visna; and what steps are being taken to control the disease and to warn farmers of the dangers of buying infected animals.

A survey carried out by MAFF in 1993 suggests that around 0.4 per cent.—70,000 sheep—of the national flock may be infected by Maedi visna.We have taken a number of steps to alert veterinary surgeons and sheep farmers to the risks of infection in sheep. In particular, representatives of the state veterinary service have addressed the Sheep Veterinary Society and briefed individual breed societies. An information sheet is also available for veterinary surgeons and sheep farmers.Maedi visna is not a notifiable disease. Responsibility for protecting sheep lies primarily with flock owners. Effective disease control measures are part of the basic principles of good stock management. The sheep and goat health scheme operates a maedi visna accreditation scheme for farmers wishing to achieve disease-free status, and to provide an accredited source of unaffected sheep for other flock owners.

Caseous Lymphadenitis

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reliable diagnostic tests are available for the detection of animals infected with caseous lymphadenitis; what is the total of Government spending on the development of improved diagnostic tests for caseous lymphadentitis; and what steps are being taken to warn farmers of the dangers of buying infected animals.

The only available reliable diagnostic test for caseous lymphadenitis is to identify the causative organism from material from animals suspected of having the disease.Caseous lymphadenitis is not a notifiable disease and there is no Government spending on the development of diagnostic tests. Responsibility for control measures lies with the sheep and goat industries, and individual farmers who have been advised to protect their flocks and herds using good husbandry practices.

Anticoccidial Drugs

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many types of anticoccidial drugs are available in the United Kingdom.

Our records indicate that there are approximately 30 anticoccidial veterinary medicines licensed in the United Kingdom. They cover a wide range of substances, but fall into three main types:ionophore antibiotics, sulphonamides and potentiated sulphonamides and antiprotozoals.The majority of these are administered in feed or drinking water. Two formulations are prepared in tablet form, and three are administered by injection.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to which anticoccidial drugs resistance has developed in the United Kingdom; how widespread is this resistance; and what assessment he has made of the threat resistant coccidia pose to the production and welfare of broiler chickens.

Anticoccidial resistance has been reported to amprolium, thiamine analogue; arprinocid, Purine analogue; clopidol, hydroxyquinalone; decoquinate, hydroxyquinalone; methylbenzoquate, hydroxyquinalone; monensin, ionophore; and zoalene, nitrobenzamide, in the United Kingdom. The use of anticoccidials is closely monitored by the veterinary pharmaceutical industry and, although anecdotal evidence suggests that resistance has developed to other chemicals, strategies for the control of avian coccidia remain generally effective.The Government are currently funding several research projects into avian coccidiosis. Some of this research is aimed at assessing the threat of resistant coccidia to the protection and welfare of broiler and laying chickens. Results are awaited.

Bovine Immunodeficiency Virus

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which countries there are (a) virulent and (b) non-virulent strains of the bovine immunodeficiency virus; and what plans the Government have for the eradication of virulent BIV from the United Kingdom.

To date, only three isolations of bovine immunodeficiency-like virus have been recorded from two herds in the United States of America. It has not been possible as yet to ascribe virulence or non-virulence to this virus. There is, however, serological evidence that BIV exists in cattle in a number of countries, including the United States of America, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Costa Rica, and the virus probably has a worldwide distribution. Experience to date in those countries would suggest that the virus does not produce a specific disease condition and we understand that no control measures are applied in any country. The Government have considered all the available evidence about the virus very carefully and do not consider it necessary to introduce an eradication programme.

Dogs (Tapeworms)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food where are the main foci in the United Kingdom of infection of dogs with the tapeworm echinococcus granulosus; and what is his estimate of the cost of treating dogs in these areas to ensure eradication of the infection.

The main focus of the tapeworm echinococcus granulosus infecting dogs in the United Kingdom is north Gwent, Powys and west Herefordshire. The cost of treating and eradicating the disease cannot be estimated until a survey is carried out, but that cannot be done until a reliable cost-effective diagnostic test becomes available.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which 10 diseases of sheep in the United Kingdom cause the greatest economic losses to the agriculture industry; what is his Department's estimate of the loss caused to the agriculture industry by each disease; what significant changes he has predicted in the incidence of each of these diseases in the next 10 to 20 years; how much money the Government are spending on research and development on each of these diseases in the current financial year; and what action is being taken by the Government to inform farmers of the optimal way to control each of these diseases.

This question can be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Cattle Diseases

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which 10 diseases of cattle in the United Kingdom cause the greatest economic losses to the agriculture industry; what is his Department's estimate of the loss caused to the agriculture industry by each disease; what significant changes he has predicted in the incidence of each of these diseases in the next 10 to 20 years; how much money the Government are spending on research and development on each of these diseases in the current financial year; and what action is being taken by the Government to inform farmers of the optimal way to control each of these diseases.

This question can be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Leather Trade

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the losses to the farming, skin and leather industry from poor quality sheep skins; what assessment he has made of the causes of damage to sheep skins; what changes have been observed in the causes of damage to sheep skins since the deregulation of sheep scab; and what percentage of sheep skins are now top quality.

As far as the farming industry is concerned, there is no direct correlation between the quality of sheep skins and the prices paid for animals going for slaughter. My Department produced a leaflet this autumn in conjunction with the industry, encouraging farmers to treat their sheep against sheep scab. This initiative should help reduce the amount of damage caused by all ectoparasites. The skin and leather industries are the responsibility of the President of the Board of Trade. However, I understand that no Government studies are available to provide answers to the questions the hon. Gentleman raises.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the losses to the farming, hide and leather industry from poor quality cattle hides; what assessment he has made of the major causes of damage to cattle hides; and what percentage of (a) United Kingdom, (b) Danish and (c) German cattle hides are now top quality.

As far as the farming industry is concerned, there is no direct correlation between the quality of cattle hides and the prices paid for animals going for slaughter. The Government have mounted over a number of years a successful campaign to eradicate warble fly which is considered to be a major threat to the quality of cattle hides. The skin and leather industries are the responsibility of the President of the Board of Trade. However, I understand that no Government studies are available to provide answers to the questions the hon. Gentleman raises.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of jobs lost in the United Kingdom leather trade in the last five years as a result of the decrease in quality of sheep skins and cattle hides.

The skin and leather industries are the responsibility of the President of the Board of Trade. However, I understand the Government have no firm information on the impact of the quality of sheep skins or cattle hides on employment levels in the leather industry.

Sheep Scab

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total number of outbreaks of sheep scab in the United Kingdom in the 12 months prior to deregulation; how many outbreaks of sheep scab there have been in the United Kingdom in the last 12 months; and in which areas of the United Kingdom sheep scab has been found since the deregulation of the disease.

The total number of confirmed cases of sheep scab in the United Kingdom between 1 July 1991 and 30 June 1992 was 195. The collation of official records on the number of sheep scab outbreaks in Great Britain was discontinued after deregulation. In Northern Ireland, where sheep scab remains a notifiable disease, there have been 61 outbreaks over the last 12 months.Industry reports have indicated that sheep scab has been discovered in every county in Britain. A surveillance exercise during the spring identified 177 batches of sheep suspected of having sheep scab from 869 visits to sheep sales and markets. These and other reports confirm that the disease is probably spread across the whole country.The Government announced on 17 May that they would conduct a publicity campaign and increase the official veterinary presence at sheep markets. Surveillance at 766 market days since 1 September has resulted in 44 animals with sheep scab being withdrawn from sale and treated. These animals were found at markets in north Humberside, south Wales, the highland region and borders region of Scotland.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to monitor the development of resistance of sheep scab to insecticides in the United Kingdom; and what information he has on the insecticides sheep scab has developed resistance to in other Countries.

Sheep scab was notifiable in the United Kingdom between 1974 and 1992, with the compulsory national dipping of sheep in organochlorine, organophosphate or synthetic pyrethroid plunge dip formulations. During this period, there were no reported incidences of dip formulations failing to be effective. Monitoring for insecticide resistance in United Kingdom populations of sheep ectoparasites—including the sheep scab mite Psoroptes ovis—has been undertaken for the past three years, under a Government-funded research project. There is no current evidence to suggest that the scab mite is resistant to any licensed synthetic pyrethroid or organophosphate formulation applied to sheep in the United Kingdom.In Argentina, the sheep scab mite developed resistance to the organochlorine insecticide BHC—HCH, benzene hexachloride, hexachlorocyclohexane or lindane—in 1962 and then to the OP, diazinon, in 1970. The development of resistance in both cases was directly related to the standard of Argentinian sheep husbandry. There is no evidence that similar resistance has developed elsewhere.

Chicken Diseases

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which 10 diseases of chickens in the United Kingdom cause the greatest economic losses to the agriculture industry; what is his Department's estimate of the loss caused to the agriculture industry by each disease; what significant changes he has predicted in the incidence of each of these diseases in the next 10 to 20 years; and how much money the government are spending on research and development on each of these diseases in the current financial year.

This question can be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Animal Transportation

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that all the animals shipped from Plymouth to France on the night of 1 December were fed and watered within 15 hours of the start of their journey, and that all aspects of the journey plan for these animals were complied with;(2) what plans he has to stop the transport of livestock in unattended lorries;(3) how many livestock transporting lorries were left unattended for the voyage between Plymouth and France on the night of 1 December; how long the animals in these lorries were left unattended; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed that five livestock lorries were without drivers on landing at Calais after the aircraft which was to carry the drivers across the channel had been prevented from taking off by fog. Drivers were found for all of them and the longest period of delay was about three hours. During this period, the lorries were under the direct supervision of a veterinary surgeon employed by the shipping company to accompany the animals during the voyage. He has reported that the livestock were unaffected by the delay. Nevertheless, it is possible that delays of this sort could result in animals travelling for more than 15 hours without food and water, and as a result of this incident a notice has been served on the shipper prohibiting the carriage of livestock in lorries unaccompanied by their drivers.

Farm Animal Mutilations

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many prosecutions have been brought under the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 in each of the last five years in respect of unnecessary pain or distress caused by farm animal mutilations.

Information on the number of prosecutions in respect of pain or distress caused specifically by farm animal mutilations is not available.

Veterinary Inspectors

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the role of veterinary inspection centres in promoting good animal health practices.

One of the functions of the veterinary investigation service is to provide a diagnostic, advisory and consultancy service to private veterinary surgeons in agricultural practice and when an advisory farm visit is undertaken within this service, when a further investigation is carried out for disease surveillance purposes or when the service arranges promotional activities, every opportunity is taken to promote good animal health practices.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what time veterinary investigation officers are allocated for research and investigating changes in endemic diseases.

Approximately one-third of the time of veterinary investigation officers is allocated towards the monitoring of endemic disease, the detection of trends in such diseases and the investigation of new and emerging diseases. Basic research is not a function of the veterinary investigation service.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the effect of time recording in the veterinary investigation service; and what is done with the information collected.

Work recording in the veterinary investigation service is a normal management function used to monitor activities and to apportion staff time to the various programmes of the Department in which they are involved.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what literature the veterinary investigation service has produced in the last year for distribution to farmers or veterinary surgeons.

Eleven out of 13 veterinary investigation centres send out a regular monthly newsletter to veterinary practices. The other two centres send out either an amended monthly report or a newsletter at less frequent intervals. A large number of advisory leaflets are also produced by the centres for veterinary surgeons in relation to specific disease topics. The veterinary investigation service is a frequent contributor to agricultural sections of local newspapers and contributes to local radio broadcasts. In the last year, 45 articles, short communications or letters have been published in scientific journals by the veterinary investigation service and staff have contributed to a further 19 articles in the scientific press.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the future involvement of veterinary inspection centres in animal health schemes.

The future of the animal health schemes is currently under review as a result of the review of the animal health and veterinary group.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans has he to further reduce the number of veterinary inspection centres.

I have no current plans to reduce the number of veterinary investigation centres.

Ministerial Speeches

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what occasions since 1979 civil servants in his Department have been asked to draft speeches of a constituency nature for use in a Minister's own constituency.

As far as we are aware, none. Civil servants may provide factual briefing for Ministers on matters relating to their own Departments. In addition, Ministers in preparing for a constituency speech can draw on material produced by their Department during the normal course of business.

Animals (Drowning)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in what circumstances drowning is permitted as an acceptable or humane method for killing animals.

I know of no circumstances in which I would consider the intentional drowning of conscious animals for which the Department has responsibility to be either acceptable or humane. The EC directive on the welfare of livestock when slaughtered or killed, which will be implemented next year, does not permit drowning.

Volume 251: debated on Wednesday 7 December 1994

Written Answers To Questions

Health

Ward Funds

Community Care

Maternity Services

Nhs Trusts

Nhs Managers

Asthma

Quality (Nhs)

Hypothermia

Cot Mattresses

Waiting Lists

Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection

Covert Video Surveillance

Empty Property

Smoking

Mental Hospitals (Sales)

Tapeworm Infection

Nhs Probity

Hearing Aids

Hillingdon Hospital Health Trust

Organ Donation

Environment

Housing Corporation

Sound Insulation

Rough Sleepers

Housing Stock

Homelessness

Building Control Fees

Radioactive Waste

Pollution Prosecutions

Scrap Metal

Sustainable Development

Dealing With The Public

Employment

Computer Malfunctions

Internet

Portable Machines

Labour Statistics

Education

Disabled Children

Local Education Authorities

Grant-Maintained Schools

Building Refurbishment

Prime Minister

Eu Anti-Fraud Budget

Security And Intelligence Services

Conference On Security And Co-Operation In Europe

Aid And Trade Provisions

Overseas Development Administration

Aid

Education Projects

Indonesia

European Union Development Council

Transport

British Transport Police

Road Signs, London

Capital Expenditure

Internet

Vehicle Licensing

Trains (First Aid)

Drivers Hours

Home Department

Asylum Seekers

Compensation Orders

Pre-Sentence Reports

Police Authorities

Mohammed Riaz

Racial Violence And Harassment

Animals (Drowning)

Ministerial Speeches

Child Abusers

Prisoners (Hiv)

Life Imprisonment

Group 4 Security Services

Defence

Low Flying

Defence Export Services Organisation