To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

No service in the Privy Council Office has been market-tested.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Expenditure on energy by the Privy Council Office amounted to £16,492 in 1991–92, £16,680 in 1992–93 and £13,977 in 1993–94. I am not responsible for any agencies.

to ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures his Department is taking to monitor the effects of the Afzal v. Ford ruling; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is collecting statistics on the number of cases concluded each month through arbitration in the county courts, and a sample of cases concluded at trial broken down by the type of case and amount of the award. These data will, over a period, indicate whether changes have taken place, for example in relation to the number of lower value personal injury cases dealt with in the small claims procedure, and the total number of arbitrations compared with the number of trials.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he plans to announce the review of the small claims court limit; and if he will make a statement.

The Lord Chancellor intends to keep the small claims limit under review. At present, officials are examining the volume of work received by the county courts in different monetary bands, gathering evidence on the current operation of the small claims procedure and considering other relevant information. Any proposals for change will be put out to public consultation in the usual way.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

The services market tested by the Lord Chancellor's Department and won by the private sector are listed. The value of the contracts is £7,185,626.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department 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.

My Department has no firm plans for the release of information through the Internet at this point. However, it is considering the potential of the CCTA government information service—world wide web server "open.gov.uk"—as a complementary service for the release of publicly available information.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many local authorities provide contact centres for fathers coming before family courts who wish to see their children; and what considerations are being made to extend the availability of contact centres across the country.

The information sought is not a matter for the Lord Chancellor's Department.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average cost of a hearing before a special adjudicator of the Immigration Appeals Authority of an application for bail by a person detained under Immigration Act powers.

The information requested is not available. In any one case, the cost of a hearing depends on many factors, such as the number of parties and witnesses attending and giving evidence, the level of representation and whether or not an interpreter is required.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the effect of the external finance limit on the EFL in the case of English Partnerships on the public sector borrowing requirement;(2) what is the effect of guarantees provided by English Partnerships on the PSBR.

The public sector borrowing requirement takes account of English Partnerships' external finance limit. Any calls arising from guarantees that English Partnerships give must be accommodated within its EFL, and therefore have no direct effect on the PSBR.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was paid in housing benefit (a) to council tenants and (b) to non-council tenants; how much was received in housing revenue account subsidy in each local housing authority area; and what was the size of the surplus or deficit in each local housing authority in 1993–94.

I have placed in the Library a copy of the information requested by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what representations he has received regarding overpackaging;(2) if he will introduce legal targets regarding the reduction of overpackaging; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received over 450 representations about overpackaging in the past year.There are strong financial incentives for reducing unnecessary packaging, and industry has made substantial progress in this area. The Government believe that the best way reducing of overpackaging is to build on these incentives through effective use of economic instruments. Our producer responsibility initiative for packaging waste and the recently announced landfill levy will provide substantial and additional incentives for the reduction of overpackaging.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The information is as follows:

£ million
	Department	Agencies
1991–92	1.03	1.05
1992–93	0.94	1.04
1993–94	0.90	1.10

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his strategy for the purchase of land for the protection of flora and fauna; what role he envisages voluntary conservation organisations might play in the purchase and management of land of conservation importance; and if he will make a statement.

In keeping with the voluntary principle of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, new acquisitions by the county councils are restricted to fragile sites where no alternative owners are willing or able to undertake appropriate management. Voluntary bodies play an important part in conserving important wildlife sites. Where appropriate, English Nature can give financial support to voluntary bodies for purchase and management.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how members of local valuation tribunals are appointed and by whom;(2) by what means small business proprietors can become appointed to local valuation tribunal panels.

Valuation tribunal members are appointed by the county council, metropolitan district council or London borough council for the area concerned. Each appointing authority decides its own method of selection and appointment, but my Department has issued general guidance, stressing in particular the desirability of appointing members from a wide cross-section of the community. I would expect appointing authorities to welcome approaches from people interested in serving on tribunals. Tribunal presidents and clerks will also be happy to discuss with such people the work of tribunals and what is expected of members.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what further progress he has to announce on the consultation with owners and occupiers of land affected by the designation of special areas of conservation under the European union habitats directive, pursuant to his undertaking on 19 July, Official Report,column 240;(2) what further progress he has to announce on the selection and designation of sites to become special areas of conservation under the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 approved on 19 July, as required by the EU directive on the conservation of natural habitats and, pursuant to his undertaking to the House on 19 July,

The Government are considering with the nature conservation agencies the sites to be proposed to the Commission as candidate special areas of conservation in June 1995. The Government will publish a draft list of sites as soon as possible for consultation with owners, occupiers and other affected interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects additional draft regulations to implement the EU habitats directive on consents and permissions to be laid before the House, as indicated in his undertaking of 19 July, Official Report, column 242.

The Government are currently considering the form that the additional regulations should take. They will be laid as soon as possible in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has to report on the establishment of joint working arrangements between sea fisheries committees, harbour authorities and local authorities as regards meeting the United Kingdom obligations under the European Union habitats directive for effective conservation in the maritime zone up to six miles offshore in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland, as announced in his undertaking of 19 July, Official Report, column 242.

The obligations under the directive relate to designated special areas of conservation. No SACs will be designated until the list has been agreed with the Commission some time after June 1995. Where necessary for marine sites, management schemes will be developed. I expect these to build upon the arrangements being developed on a voluntary basis for many areas of our coast.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will identify by building which parts of the county hall complex have been sold; and which parts remain to be sold.

The riverside—or main—building of county hall has been sold by way of the grant of a 999-year lease. Contracts for the sale of the remainder of the county hall site were exchanged on 14 October, with completion being set for 29 March 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new measures he proposes to ensure that the international commitments made by the Prime Minister at the Rio Earth summit to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 are met, following the decisions not to increase value added tax on domestic fuel to 17.5 per cent.

The Government are committed to fulfilling their obligations under the climate change convention. We are considering whether further measures are needed to ensure that we remain on course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the Government's policy in respect of charging users of publicly funded resources a charge equivalent to a full commercial rental value in respect of real property; and what exceptions have been made to this policy.

Under the property repayment system introduced in 1984, Departments occupying the Government's civil estate currently pay an opportunity cost rent equivalent to the open market rent for their occupations of Government freeholds and properties on historically low rents. The opportunity cost rents are reviewed every five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

In this Department so far, nine market tests which have involved exposing in-house functions to competition have been awarded to outside bidders, with a total value of £706,300.With the exception of staff catering at the Building Research Establishment, these were one-off construction research projects.

Project	Organisation
BRE: staff catering	Gardener Merchant
Durability of organically coated metal cladding	W. S. Atkins
Water economy	BSRIA
Scoping study for HVAC systems	Centre for Configurational Studies, the Open university
Identification and development of source data for risk assessment systems, part 1	Fire SERT centre
Identification and development of source data for risk assessment systems, part 2	Ulster university
Fire-resistant behaviour of trussed rafters	Trada Technology Ltd.
Alternative aggregates	Mott McDonald Consultants
Ventilation of underground car parks	TB V Science

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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.

In addition to works undertaken on DOE buildings, the Department of the Environment Property Holdings undertakes work on buildings occupied by more than one Department. All the buildings concerned are on the common user estate. Works of less than £10,000 have been excluded from the table. Details of refurbishment works funded by other departments will be provided by the Ministers concerned.

	Total estimated cost £ millions
1991–92
Valiant house, Uxbridge—internal refurbishment	0.410
Riverwalk house, London—refurbishment of heating induction units	1.021
Metropole building, London—toilet refurbishment	0.295
40–42 Westborough, Scarborough—ingoing works 1st floor	0.016
Crown house, Sunderland—external uplift works	0.011
Bridge house, Blyth—ground floor upgrade	0.078
Daryl house, Stockton—internal refurbishment	0.327
Crown house, Huddersfield—part toilet refurbishment	0.066
Crown house, Hull—toilet refurbishment	0.048
Crown house, Wakefield—toilet refurbishment	0.057
Pennine house, Washington—internal refurbishment	0.127
Eaton court, Reading—internal refurbishment	2.135
Bankhead avenue, Edinburgh—internal refurbishment	1.097

	Total estimated cost£millions
1992–93
Elmwood house, Harrow—refurbishment of 4 floors	1.800
Mowden hall, Darlington—new podium roof	0.420
Unicorn house, North Shields—replace cladding and windows	0.470
Crown house, Corby—refurbishment of toilets	0.221
2 Marsham street, London—refurbishment of podium toilets	0.514
2 Marsham street, London—refurbishment of Tower toilets	0.142
Government offices Great George street, London—refurbish toilets, stack 1	0.905
Old Admiralty building, London—refurbish-modemise canteen	0.358
Ham River house, London—internal refurbishment	0.592
Olivetree house, Belfast—refurbish front entrance	0.051
Lyon house, Harrow—refurbish two floors	0.589
Lime Grove, Eastcote—internal refurbishment to spur 10	0.064
Bradford house, Llandeilo—general refurbishment	0.099
Crown house, Gainsborough—refurbish disabled tiolet	0.016
Berkeley house, Harrogate—toilet refurbishment	0.021
42 Eastgate, Leeds—toilet refurbishment	0.034
West Riding house, Leeds—part internal refurbishment	0.026
Crown buildings, Bridlington—new disabled access	0.031
Elvet house, Durham—toilet refurbishment	0.108
Crown house, Middlesbrough—internal refurbishment	0.115
Benton house, Newcastle—internal refurbishment	0.071
Government buildings, Kenton Bar, Newcastle—toilet refurbishment, spur U	0.081

	Total estimated cost £ millions
Government buildings, Kenton Bar, Newcastle—internal refurbishment, spur J	0.025
Regent house, NEI centre, Newcastle— internal refurbishment	0.100
Pennine house, Washington—provision of disabled facilities	0.031
New buildings, Hinckley—internal and external refurbishment	0.498
Broadway house, Hereford—internal refurbishment	0.115
Ty Glyder, Bangor—external refurbishment	0.485
Argyle house, Edinburgh—internal refurbishment	1.145
St. Clare house, Ipswich—internal refurbishment	2.585
Hightown barracks, Wrexham—internal refurbishment	0.808
Cherry Grove CB, Haverfordwest—external refurbishment	1.087
84–86 Guild street, Aberdeen—refurbish entrance canopy	0.080
Thistle street, Edinburgh—toilet refurbishment	0.019
Ladywell house, Edinburgh—internal refurbishment phase 3	0.251
Meldrum house, Edinburgh—toilet refurbishment	0.187
Longman road, Inverness—upgrade entrance hall and refurbish plant room	0.117

	Total estimated cost £ millions
1993–94
Ashdown house, Hastings—internal refurbishment	5.835
Crown buildings, Scunthorpe—internal and external refurbishment—part-funded Benefits Agency	0.860
Whitgift centre, Croydon—internal refurbishment	1.240
Mesnes house—internal and external refurbishment	1.360
Hook rise, Tolworth—internal refurbishment of A Block	1.292
Raydean House, Barnet—external refurbishment	0.932
246 Stockwell road, London—installation of secondary glazing	0.063
2 Carlton gardens, London—general refurbishment	1.145
Furness house, Barrow-in-Furness—internal refurbishment of fifth floor	0.053
DNS Marton, Blackpool—refurbishment kitchen and dining room	0.171
Eskdale house, Kendal—internal refurbishment	0.023
Stopgate lane, Liverpool—refurbishment F and G	0.095
Sunley tower, Manchester—refurbishment floor 10	0.212
Manchester house, Manchester— refurbishment floor 2	0.135
Bromyard avenue, Harrow—refurbishcanteen	0.140
Beeches road, chelmsford—internal refurbishment, spur F	0.084
41–55 Windmill hill, Ruislip—internal refurbishment	0.210
Elmbridge court, Gloucester—toilet refurbishment	0.155
Merrywalks house, stroud—toilet refurbishment	0.058

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will outline the expenditure plans in each year from 1994–95 to 1997–98 in respect of (a) the local authorities' housing investment programme and (b) the Housing Corporation's approved development programme.

[holding answer 8 December 1994]: The total of housing investment programme allocations in England for 1994–95 and 1995–96 are £1,326 million and £1,272 million respectively. Both figures exclude resources for estate action, which are now within the single regeneration budget.It is not possible to give planned HIP allocations for 1996–97 or 1997–98. These depend on annual decisions about resources for special housing programmes, and the national level of receipts taken into account.The Housing Corporation's gross capital resources for its approved development programme and the rough sleepers initiative are £1,533 million in 1994–95, £1,197 million in 1995–96, £1,177 million in 1996–97 and £1,191 million in 1997–98. The Housing Corporation will be publishing the full details of its approved development programme for 1995–96 later this month.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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 Treasury's Internet service was launched on 15 November 1994.At present, the service includes the full details of the Budget, including my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor's Budget statement and all the Budget news releases. Other documents that are available include other Treasury news releases, speeches, minutes of the Chancellor's monthly monetary meetings with the Governor of the Bank of England, reports of the panel of independent forecasters and details of the fundamental expenditure review of Treasury running costs.More information will be added in due course.All this material is provided on the Treasury's own Internet server. The address for the Treasury's world wide web pages is "http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk". In addition to the world wide web, the same information can be obtained by electronic mail or by FTP from the following addresses:

	Addresses
Email mailing lists:	" maillist@hm-treasury.gov.uk"
Email file transfer:	"ftpmail@hm-treasury.gov.uk"
File Transfer (FTP):	"ftp.hm-treasury.gov.uk"

The text of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" has been published on the Internet by HMSO, and is available at "http://www.open.gov.uk/budget94/budget94.htm;" it can also be located by a hypertext link from the Treasury's world wide web pages.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recorded holders there are of the 3.5 per cent. war loan.

There are approximately 243,000 accounts in 31/2 per cent war stock on the Bank of England and other registers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances insurance policies for mortgage interest protection against sickness and unemployment are liable to the insurance premium tax; and what is his estimate of the effect on tax receipts of plans to restrict income support help with mortgage interest payments from October 1996.

Insurance policies for mortgage interest protection against sickness and unemployment are liable to insurance premium tax because they are a type of general insurance, almost all of which is subject to the tax. No specific estimate has been made of the effect on tax receipts of any increase in the use of such insurance—in the context of changes to the income support arrangements relating to mortgage interest payments—but any such effect is likely to be negligible.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the contribution made to economic growth since 1992 by the reduction in the deficit on trade with the EEC in manufactures;(2) what was the contribution made to economic growth since 1992 by the reduction in the deficit on trade in

Between the fourth quarter of 1992 and the third quarter of 1994 gross domestic product increased by 6 per cent. Over the same period, net trade in manufactures contributed 0.9 percentage points to GDP growth, net trade in finished manufactures contributed 0.3 percentage points to GDP growth, and net trade in manufactures with countries in the European Union made a slightly negative contribution to GDP growth. However, more recently net trade in manufactures has accounted for a far more significant proportion of GDP growth, as the economies of the European Union have picked up.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to amend the Building Societies Acts to ensure that if the first named holder of a joint account dies the second named holder qualifies for any bonuses in the event of a takeover.

I am currently reviewing the Building Societies Act 1986. In my interim statement of 6 July, I said that stringent statutory controls on takeovers would be retained. The review is now focusing on societies' accountability and powers, but I am taking careful note of all the comments I have received about the position of joint account holders. I hope to announce the conclusion of the review soon.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings or functions have been or will be held at No. 11 Downing street in December 1994 and which alcoholic drinks will be available.

No such information is available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give full details of all interdepartmental and non-governmental consultations carried out in the preparation of Customs and Excise compliance cost assessment No. 6 related to his Budget statement, with regard to the effect of the measures proposed on the international competitiveness of the United Kingdom tourism industry.

In common with most other Budget measures, there were no such consultations in preparing the compliance cost assessment to which the hon. Gentleman refers. However, Customs and Excise has stated that the assessment will be reviewed in the light of any comments received.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the assumptions he made as to the increase in gross domestic product when calculating the United Kingdom contribution to the European Union budget for each year until 1999.

The growth assumptions used were consistent with those set out in the Budget of 29 November.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on what date he plans to publish the Finance Bill;(2) what plans he has to publish the Finance Bill before the House rises for the Christmas recess.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Mr. Banks) on Thursday 8 December, Official Report, column 330.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the average amount of VAT collected by one Customs and Excise VAT collection officer annually.

[holding answer 8 December 1994]: For the year ending March 1994, Customs and Excise deployed 5,429 staff years on VAT visiting. These staff identified errors in traders' records which when corrected resulted in an increase in the net liability of £1,322 million, or an average of £243,507 per staff year. These figures do not take account of errors that traders might have found and corrected themselves.Customs and Excise has recently reviewed the way in which it deploys staff to ensure compliance with VAT requirements so as to ensure increased effectiveness. Over the coming years, effort will be refocused on better education to assist businesses to get their VAT declarations right. In parallel with this, targeting of visits and assurance techniques will be improved.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the percentage of those with mortgages who are self-employed, employed on fixed-term contracts or who are employed on a part-time basis.

[holding answer 8 December 1994]: Estimates from the spring 1994 labour force survey for Great Britain show that of all heads of households who were owner-occupiers with mortgages, 15 per cent. were self-employed; 2 per cent. were employed on fixed-term contracts; and 4 per cent. were working part time either as an employee or self-employed. These three groups make up 19 per cent. of all mortgage holders.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new mortgages have been taken out in each of the last five years (a) in total and (b) by geographic region.

[holding answer 8 December 1994]: Data for the total number of mortgages advanced are available in table 10.4 of "Housing and Construction Statistics 1983–1993" published by the Department of the Environment. These data are not published on a regional basis. However, the first column in table 10.9 of the same publication gives the percentage breakdown of new mortgages by region only for advances made by building societies.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the change in real personal disposable income over the whole of 1994 and in each quarter of 1994, both in aggregate and on a per capita basis.

[holding answer 9 December 1994]: At this stage, quarterly information on real personal disposable income in aggregate and on a per capita basis is available only for the first half of 1994. It can be found on the Central Statistical Office database, series CECP and CAIU respectively. The Budget forecast is for no change in the level of real personal disposable income in 1994 as a whole compared with 1993. Quarterly forecasts are not published.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the main expected effects on the public accounts from 1994–95 to 1997–98 of the national lottery, including the effects on general Government expenditure, general Government revenue, the general Government borrowing requirement and the public sector borrowing requirement.

[holding answer 9 December 1994]: Proceeds paid into the national lottery distribution fund are part of general Government revenue and spending of these proceeds part of general Government expenditure. The GGR figures in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" include projections of £0.2 billion in 1994–95, £0.7 billion in 1995–96, £0.9 billion in 1996–97 and £1.1 billion in 199798. These figures do not include lottery duty because the net effect of the lottery on tax revenues is expected to be broadly neutral after redistributive effects. The GGE figures include projections of £0.0 billion, £0.5 billion, £1.0 billion and £1.0 billion respectively for those years. The difference between these flows in any particular year affects the general Government borrowing requirement and the public sector borrowing requirement. The spending of these proceeds is outside the public expenditure control total.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the main effects on the public sector accounts from 1992–93 to 1997–98 of the re-classification of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. as a public corporation, including the effects on the public expenditure new control total, general Government expenditure, the general Government borrowing requirement and the public sector borrowing requirement.

[holding answer 9 December 1994]: The figures for the control total contained in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" include the following amounts for BNFL's external financing requirements for the years in question:

£ million
	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98
EFR	-392	-653	-422	-411	-573	-244

The reclassification of BNFL as a public corporation in national accounts had no effect on general Government expenditure or the general Government borrowing requirement. However, it did mean that BNFL's market and overseas borrowing became part of the public sector borrowing requirement. The amounts in each year are:

£ million
	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98
EFR	-417	-679	-449	-439	-601	-272

The difference between the two sets of figures represents the payment of the fossil fuel levy to BNFL which is now included in its external financing requirement but was previously outside the control total. These payments have been included in general Government expenditure since the 1993 national accounts Blue Book.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

The reprographics service of the Crown Prosecution Service headquarters was market-tested in 1991 and the contract awarded to Williams Lea FM. The value of the contract is approximately £1 million.

To ask the Attorney-General what information he, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland or the RUC have about approaches made by Father Bernard Marshall of the Norbertine Canons based in County Cavan to a family whose children had been abused in Northern Ireland by Father Brendan Smyth after warrants for the latter's deportation had been delivered by the RUC to the Garda in April 1993 and prior to his subsequent conviction in January 1994; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.The RUC investigated an allegation from a member of the public of an attempt to pervert the course of justice by taking a statement from a member of the family of a victim of Brendan Smyth.In the light of this statement, it was decided that no further action was appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the value since February 1994 of monthly supplies of humanitarian aid from (a) Government and (b) non-governmental organisations to Bosnia-Herzegovina; and what were the monthly targets.

Monthly figures for the value of humanitarian aid to Bosnia-Herzegovina since February 1994 are not available. According to the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs, the value of 1994 aid contributions to the former Yugoslavia reported to the DHA by donors as at 27 October 1994 was:

	$
Governments	367,872,094
European Union	62,198,805
UN Agencies	12,597,735
Red Cross	42,054,618
Non-Government Organisations	131,254,905
Others	7,545,230
Total	623,523,387

	Target (tonnes)	Delivered (tonnes)
1994
February	42,000	22,000
March	47,000	43,000
April	27,000	25,000
May	33,000	27,000
June	31,000	25,000
July	33,000	22,000
August	23,000	13,000
September	23,000	18,000
October	23,000	25,000

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the current list of parliamentary private secretaries and the Ministers to whom each is attached.

The list is as follows:

	Name
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Minister for Agriculture— Mr. W. Waldegrave	Mr. O. Heald
Minister of State—Mr. M. Jack	Miss E. Nicholson
Defence
Secretary of State—Mr. M. Rifkind	Mr. H. Bellingham
Ministers of State—Mr. R. Freeman and Mr. N. Soames	Mr. S. Coe
Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy—Mr. D. Hunt	Mr. N. Evans
Education
Secretary of State—Mrs. G. Shephard	Mr. G. Kynoch
Minister of State—Mr. E. Forth	Mr. J. Whittingdale
Employment
Secretary of State—Mr. M. Portillo	Mr. D Amess
Minister of State—Miss A. Widdecombe	Dr. R. Spink
Environment
Secretary of State—Mr. J. Gummer	Mr. D. French
Minister of State—Viscount Ullswater, Mr. D. Curry and Mr. R. Atkins	Mr. J. Hayes
Foreign Office
Secretary of State—Mr. D. Hurd	Mr. M. Robinson
Ministers of State—Mr. A. Goodlad and Mr. D. Davis	Mr. E. Garnier
Minister for Overseas Development— Lady Chalker—and PUSS—Mr. T. Baldry	Mr. D. Faber
Health
Secretary of State—Mrs. V. Bottomley	Mr. K. Mans
Minister of State—Mr. G. Malone	Mr. P. Butler
Home Office
Secretary of State—Mr. M. Howard	Mr. D. Lidington
Minister of State—Mr. D. Maclean and Mr. M. Forsyth	Mr J. Arnold
Minister of State—Lady Blatch	Mr. J. Clappison
Laws Officers Department
Attorney-General—Sir N. Lyell and Solicitor-General—Sir. D. Spencer	Mr. G. Streeter
Minister without Portfolio—Mr. J. Hanley	Mr. P. Atkinson
National Heritage
Secretary of State—Mr. S. Dorrell	Mr. G. Brandreth
Northern Ireland Office
Secretary of State—Sir P. Mayhew	Mr. R. Spring
Minister of State—Sir J. Wheeler and Mr. M. Ancram	Mr. R. Robertson
Prime Minister	Mr. J. Ward
Privy Council Office
Lord President and Leader of the House of Commons—Mr. T. Newton	Mr. J. Marshall
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords—The Viscount Cranborne	Miss C. Gillan
Scottish Office
Secretary of State—Mr. I. Lang	Mr. S. Coombs
Social Security
Secretary of State—Mr. P Lilley	Mr. P. Merchant
Ministers of State—Mr. W. Hague and Lord MacKay	Mr. C. Hendry
PUSSs—Mr. A. Burt, Mr. J. Arbuthnot and Mr. R. Evans	Ms J. Lait

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish a current list of (a) all parliamentary private secretaries and (b) unpaid members of the Government.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood).The Minister without portfolio is the only member of the Government who does not draw a ministerial salary.

To ask the Prime Minister how many Parliamentary Private Secretaries there are; and if he will provide comparable figures for November 1989, November 1984 and May 1979.

[holding answer 29 November 1994]: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood).Details of parliamentary private secretaries for earlier dates are a matter of public record.

To ask the Prime Minister 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.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment today at columns 436–39.In 1991–92 the kitchens used for catering for official functions in 10 Downing street were refurbished to bring them into line with the requirements of the then new food hygiene regulations. The cost of these works was £122,000 excluding value added tax and fees.

To ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure on energy for each property owned or leased by his Department for the use of Ministers in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Nil.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available;(2) what was the total expenditure on energy for

The total expenditure on energy for 10 Downing street in each of the last three financial years was:

	£
1991–92	39,000
1992–93	39,000
1993–94	33,000

The Chequers estate is the responsibility of the Chequers Trust.

To ask the Prime Minister what is his policy concerning the use of No. 10 Downing street for non-official or party political functions.

Ministers under this and previous Administrations have been allowed—at their own or party expense—to host non-official or party receptions or functions in Downing street. All catering, staff and other direct expenses must be met by the organisers of the event.

To ask the Prime Minister how many bottles of (a) whisky, (b) other spirits and (c) wine were bought from public funds for use at No.10 Downing street and the Prime Minister's other official residences in 1993–94; and how much they cost.

Disaggregated information of this sort could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Prime Minister how many meetings or functions have been or will be held at No. 10 Downing street in December 1994 at which alcoholic drinks will be available.

Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Prime Minister what charges are made to organisations or persons holding non-official or party functions at No. 10 Downing street in respect of overheads or directs costs associated with such functions.

Where charitable or other non-official events are held at No. 10 Downing street, the organisers are responsible for all catering and staff costs, as well as other miscellaneous direct costs. Organisers may use the kitchens or other facilities at No. 10 Downing street.

To ask the Prime Minister how many functions have been held at (a) No. 10 Downing street and (b) Chequers since November 1990 where the cost of refreshments was paid by a political party.

The answer is:

(a) 52

(b) 3

To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he is giving to how shareholders might be given additional powers to influence boardroom pay and perks.

Shareholders are already able to influence directors' remuneration. The Government are always ready to consider ideas for improving shareholders' powers or the information which is made available to them. It was announced in the White Paper on competitiveness—CM 2563—that the Government have been reviewing a number of aspects of company law, including directors' duties.

To ask the Prime Minister how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last Session of Parliament were not answered on the ground that the information sought was not held centrally by his Department.

Approximately 1 per cent.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the CSCE summit meeting in Budapest.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Sir M. Neubert) on 7 December 1994, Official Report, columns 220–22.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

For these purposes, my office is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science at column 455.

To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit the state of Oregon, United States of America.

None.

To ask the Prime Minister how much has been spent on security for (a) Cabinet members, (b) ex-Cabinet members and (c) other national politicians in each of the last five years.

[holding answer 9 December 1994]: Since April 1991 about £4.4 million has been spent on the installation of protective security measures at the homes of Cabinet Ministers, ex-Cabinet Ministers and other hon. Members. These measures were provided on the advice of those responsible for protective security and reflected on assessment of the threat to the individuals concerned. All spending is carefully monitored and controlled by those responsible.Information in the form requested for before that date is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Prime Minister how many staff have been employed by the security and intelligence services during each of the last five years.

[holding answer 9 December 1994]: Staff numbers for the security and intelligence services for 1993–94 and 1994–95 were published in the 1994–95 supply estimates—class XIX, Cabinet Office, Privy Council Office and Parliament etcetera. They totalled 10,766 and 10,516 respectively. Figures for earlier years are not publicly available, and I do not propose to publish such data retrospectively.

To ask the Prime Minister what has been the budget for the security and intelligence services during each of the last five years.

[holding answer 9 December 1994]: The expenditure of the agencies was published for the first time in the 1994–95 Supply estimates—class XIX, Cabinet Office, Privy Council Office and Parliament etcetera. Aggregate expenditure in 1992–93 was £859.6 million. Estimated outturn for 1993–94 was £961.3 million and net provision for 1994–95 was £881.5 million. Figures for earlier years are not publicly available, and I do not propose to publish such data retrospectively.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will establish a review of the differential charging policies of Government Departments for information requested under the code of practice on access to official information under the open government initiative.

No.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is considering to improve the openness of government.

I am continuing to implement the policy set down in the White Paper on open government.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much money has been spent on promoting and advertising his White Paper "Open Government" in the past year.

Some £51,000 since April this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the performance of the citizens charter.

The citizens charter has led to considerable improvements in public services. Details of these improvements have been published in the citizens charter reports in 1992 and 1994. There have also been 227 charter mark awards, each one recognising excellence in public service delivery.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress his Department has made in making it easier for citizens to complain about the delivery of public services.

Well-publicised and easy to use complaints procedures are a key principle of the citizens charter. In addition, our independent complaints task force is looking at how public services handle complaints and where improvements can be made.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the latest figures for people using Internet to obtain government information.

In the past two months, there have been 332599 requests for government information from Internet users.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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 following refurbishment projects were undertaken and paid for from departmental funds.

Civil Service College
Year	Location	Cost £	Description of Project
1991–92	Sunningdale Park	292,000	Part of an on-going programme to refurbish previously low-quality lecture accommodation, adding improved insulation, new windows, new toilet facilities for disabled students and general upgrade of existing toilet facilities.
1991–92	Sunningdale Park	130,000	Conversion of a basement store area to provide office accommodation for staff transferred from London.
1992–93	Sunningdale Park	23,000	Part of an on-going programme to refurbish previously low-quality lecture accommodation, adding improved insulation, new windows, new toilet facilities for disabled students and general upgrade of existing toilet facilities.
1992–93	Sunningdale Park	32,000	Works to provide a ground floor coffee lounge and bar to enable disabled staff and students access to facilities enjoyed by others.
1993–94	Sunningdale Park	130,000	Works to upgrade staff leisure facility to enable it to be used by the public at weekends.

HMSO
Year	Location	Cost £	Description of Project
1993–94	Belfast	54,000	Refurbishment of bookshop.
1993–94	Belfast	200,000	Refurbishment of office accommodation following flood damage due to a burst water main.
1993–94	Manchester	74,000	Refurbishment of bookshop.
1993–94	Birmingham	40,000	Refurbishment of reprographics unit allowing surplus space to be reused.
1993–94	Norwich	8,500	Refurbishment of toilets.
1993–94	London	124,500	Conversion of warehouse space to provide office accommodation, and upgrading of toilets.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings in my Department and its agencies for each of the last three years was:

	1991–92 £	1992–93 £	1993–94 £
Cabinet Office	376,019	398,743	374,485
OPSS agencies	306,450	347,831	334,728
Central Office of Information	109,844	116,504	113,420
HMSO	1,102,000	1,158,000	1,120,000

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the current work of the Institute of Hearing Research on tinnitus.

Although work on tinnitus does not currently form a major theme of activity at the Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research, the institute does undertake some tinnitus research in several areas. These include an epidemiological study of risk factors associated with tinnitus and its effects on lifestyle; three studies on the extent of referral by GPs for specialist advice; and methodological research aimed at establishing an improved scale of tinnitus severity. Links with the Nottingham tinnitus clinic are actively maintained. The MRC is always willing to consider soundly-based research proposals in competition with other applications.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on investment in new developments at CERN.

The Government have consistently expressed their support in principle for the next major development planned at CERN, the large hadron collider project. It is widely acknowledged to be the right next step for the organisation and more generally for particle physics at the high-energy frontier. However, the LHC, like many other major international scientific initiatives, will be very expensive. Before giving final approval, therefore, it is essential that the project is based on a fair and sustainable financial framework. This will ensure that the investment made in the project gives the best possible value for money, both scientifically and economically. It is only by ensuring that major international collaborative facilities such as CERN are tightly managed that we will be able to afford the domestic science programmes which will exploit those facilities fully.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

Those services market tested under the "Competing for Quality" initiative by the Cabinet Office, Office of Public Service and Science, including its agencies, HMSO and COI, and won by the private sector, are as follows:

Activity Tested (and area)	Successful Tenderer
Telephonist Service for Downing Street—Cabinet Office	Manpower plc
Office Services—Cabinet Office	Serco Ltd.
Recruitment Monitoring—OPSS	PE International Ltd.
Facilities Management—CCTA	Tarmac Construction Ltd.
Reprographics—Chessington	Dytecna Ltd.
Typing Services—HMSO	Manpower plc
Passport Supply and Production—HMSO	Thomas De La Rue
Classified Printing—HMSO	Greenaways
Office Services: Custody Cleaning—COI	Royal British Legion Cleancare Ltd.
Catering—COI	Gardner Merchant Ltd.

The total value of these services is just over £3.9 million per annum. Individual contract values are not given as this would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of those companies involved. Information on the restrictions of publication of commercial data within Government can be found in the code of practice on access to Government information, guidance on interpretation. Information on all market testing activities within central Government is published monthly in the "Market Testing Bulletin", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will arrange for ballots to be conducted in each secondary school in Islington on the issue of whether the school should apply for grant-maintained status.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no powers to arrange for any school to conduct a ballot on whether to apply for grant-maintained status. A ballot, in Islington as elsewhere, may only be triggered by a resolution of the governing body of the school, or by the presentation to the governing body of a parental petition.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) her Department and (b) her agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The total expenditure incurred by this Department on energy in respect of the offices and buildings occupied in each of the last three financial years is as follows:

	£
1991–92	577,600
1992–93	530,500
1993–94	550,600

The Teachers Pensions Agency shares a supply of electricity with the Department on its Darlington site. It is therefore not possible accurately to disaggregate the agency's energy costs which are included in the figures given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list those services that have been market-tested by her Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

The information requested is as follows:

Service	Successful contractor
The Department's publications despatch service	Westex Ltd.
Catering at the Department's headquarters	Gardner Merchant
Banking services provided to the Teachers Pensions Agency	Midland Bank plc
The Department's data preparation service	Compower Ltd.

The value of the individual contracts is commercially confidential information.Political activity is excluded if there might be a conflict of interest between political activity and the holding of a public appointment. The rules on political affiliation and conflict of interest are laid down in the Office of Public Service and Science "Guide on Public Appointments Procedures".

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel have been provided by the Ministry of Defence to (a) support sales of planes and other military equipment to Indonesia during the last two years and (b) have been stationed in Indonesia during the last two years; and for what purpose they were there.

Other than a colonel attached to the British embassy in Jakarta as defence attache and a warrant officer to support him, no military personnel have been stationed in Indonesia for any purpose during the last two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 December, Official Report, column 108, what was the basis on which he calculated annual savings arising from the market testing of health provision for British forces.

The level of savings arising from exposing an activity to competition will depend upon the outcome of the exercise to test the efficiency of in-house services and functions against tenders from outside contractors. In the case of health provision for the armed forces, many of the support activities which make up the service are still the subject of feasibility studies to determine objectives, priorities and optimum savings routes. Experience has shown that for departmental purposes, a savings target of at least 15 per cent. of the annual operating cost should be assumed to flow from the exposure of an activity to competitive pressures, but the final savings achieved will depend on the outcome of the market-testing exercise itself, and in many cases will be considerably higher.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

In the 30-month period up to September 1994, the Ministry of Defence examined 82 support activities with annual operating costs in the order of £600 million under the Department's "Competing for Quality" programme, which included market-testing activities. This resulted in contracts being placed with the private sector for 46 of these activities covering over two thirds of the total annual operating costs. Full details of individual contracts remain commercial-in-confidence, although some information on contracts awarded as a result of market tests is published monthly in the "Market Testing Bulletin" available from the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Royal Air Force to place an order for the EH101 helicopter.

We hope to be able to make an announcement shortly on our decision on support helicopters for the Royal Air Force.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in what capacity Mr. David Hart took part in his recent visit to Israel; and who paid for his costs;(2) who was in the official party during his recent visit to Israel; and who paid for the visit.

My right hon. and learned Friend was accompanied by Mrs. Rifkind, Mr. David Hart in his capacity as an independent adviser, Mr. Crispin Blunt—special adviser—the MOD press secretary, two members of his private office staff and an MOD official.The costs of the visit were met from public funds with the exception of Mr. Hart, who paid his own costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultancy contracts have been let by his Department as part of the "Front Line First" review; which companies have won contracts; and what sums of money are involved.

BAe Sema, Price Waterhouse, Monk Dunstone Associates, McKenna and Co. and P-E International provided advice to the defence costs study. A number of individuals from outside Government, as listed in the answer given to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 29 April, Official Report, column 399, were engaged to provide advice to the defence costs study teams.Not all those listed charged for their services, although the companies for which some worked did. Those companies were:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the projected cost of new sewerage works at RAF Chivenor.

There are no plans for any new sewerage works at RAF Chivenor other than routine maintenance. If it is not possible to find an alternative defence use for the main site at RAF Chivenor following the departure of the RAF, some work would be necessary to link the SAR flight to the local council's main drainage system. The estimated cost of this work is approximately £100,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to moving the Sea King search-and-rescue flight currently stationed at RAF Chivenor to St. Mawgan.