Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Monday 30 January 1995

Duchy Of Lancaster

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what factors lead to the description of advertisements in public places, newspapers or periodicals as being placed on behalf of a Minister of the Crown rather than on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.

Within the framework of collective responsibility, there is no practical distinction between publicity described as being issued by a single Minister or Her Majesty's Government. The terminology used may properly reflect the content and context of the advertising.

Treasury

Oil Fuel Excise Duty

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what types of oil fuel are subject to a reduced or rebated rate of excise duty; what are the rates on rebated fuel; what are the unrebated rates; and what are the most common uses for the rebated fuels.

There are two classes of oil: light oil and heavy oil.The full, unrebated, rate of duty on light oil is 36.14p per litre. This is levied on leaded motor spirit.These are two types of rebated light oil: unleaded motor spirit which is rebated to a rate of 31.32p per litre is used in cars, taxis, light goods vans, and motor cycles; and furnace fuel which is rebated to a rate of 1.66p per litre is burned by approved furnace operators.The full, unrebated, rate of duty on heavy oil is 31.32p per litre. This is levied on diesel road fuel and kerosene when used as a road fuel.There are four types of rebated heavy oil:

Kerosene which is fully rebated is used for heating and lighting in the domestic, industrial, and agricultural sectors, and as aviation turbine fuel to power jet aircraft;

Gas oil which is rebated to a rate of 2.14p per litre is used as a heating fuel, as power for heavy industrial and marine diesel engines, and can be used instead of diesel road fuel in certain off road situations, for example, in agricultural or construction plant;

Fuel oil which is rebated to a rate of 1.66p per litre is used mainly as a power source in electricity generation and in manufacturing industries;

Other heavy oil which, by chemical analysis, falls outside the preceding categories is fully rebated and is used in grease making, road building, and as lubricating oil.

Wessex Regional Health Authority

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to be able to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen to the Financial Secretary regarding the Wessex regional health authority dated 9 December 1994.

This letter has been passed to the Minister for Health for answer. I understand that my hon. Friend intends to issue a reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Training Courses

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by the Department or agency.

For the calendar year 1994 the information requested is:

	Course description
For HM Treasury:
Title:	Finance programme for generalists
Objective:	To enable and prepare non-specialists—in finance—to work more effectively in the specialist finance areas of Treasury
Organisation:	Management Development Associates Ltd.
Responsibility of participants:	Senior managers
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants from which written reports produced
Title:	Management training programme—four separate courses
Objective:	For good management skills to be perceived as integral for performance effectiveness
Organisation:	Sundridge Park
Responsibility of participants:	Senior managers
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants from which written reports produced
Title:	Economics for generalists
Objectives:	To enable officials with general responsibilities to work more effectively with specialist economists
Organisation:	London business school
Responsibility of participants:	Senior managers
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants from which written reports produced
Title:	Equal opportunities seminars
Objective:	To increase the understanding of equal opportunities with Treasury

	Course description
Organisation:	Pearn Kandola
Responsibility of participants:	All staff
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants and post-course evaluation workshops
For the Royal Mint:
Title:	Commercial systems analysis
Objective:	To increase the understanding of new computer systems and bow they can be applied
Organisation:	W S Atkins Management Consultants
Responsibility of participants:	First-line supervisors
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants and feedback to departmental manager
Title:	Operators training course
Objective:	To become fully conversant with new equipment supplied and familiarise operators with the operator input to System 21
Organisation:	Davy International Ltd.
Responsibility of participants:	Shop floor operators and shift managers
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants and shop floor feedback
Title:	System 21 integrated training
Objective:	Familiarisation operation and maintain the ability of the system
Organisation:	Davy International Ltd.
Responsibility of participants:	Plant electricians/technicians
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants and feedback to departmental managers
Title:	1st year off-the-job Apprentice training
Objective:	To gain initial skills/qualifications as part of the engineering apprenticeship
Organisation:	Pontypridd technical college
Responsibility of participants:	1st year engineering apprentices
Evaluation:	Achievement of NVQS and evaluation by EnTRA assessor
Title:	Total quality facilitator training
Objective:	To provide training for newly appointed facilitators as part of a total quality programme
Organisation:	Coopers and Lybrand
Responsibility of participants:	Cross-section from first line
Evaluation:	Evaluation forms from course participants and feedback to quality manager
For the Central Statistical Office:
Title:	Leadership and management programme
Objective:	To improve the leadership and management skills of CSO staff
Organisation:	Centre for Action learning
Responsibility of participants:	All staff
Evaluation:	Questionnaire

	Course description
Title:	Aspects of hardware communication
Objective:	To train staff in aspects of information systems
Organisation:	Networks
Responsibility of participants:	Information systems staff
Evaluation:	Questionnaire
For Paymaster:
Title:	Customer care/Telephone skills/Letter writing
Objective:	To give the pensions staff the necessary skills to deal with both pensioners and customers in various media
Organisation:	West Sussex Training Association
Responsibility of participants:	All staff up to higher executive officer grade in pensions sections
Evaluation:	Questionnaire
For the Valuation office:	None

Providing the actual costs paid in each case could be unfairly advantageous to possible future competitors. However, the total cost of the above training is £113,718 for the Treasury and £239,734 for the agencies.

Profit-Related Pay Schemes

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the annual cost to the Exchequer of the tax reliefs afforded to profit-related pay schemes; and what margins of error should be attributed to such estimates.

An estimate of the cost of income tax relief for profit-related pay schemes is published in table 1.6 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1994", a copy of which is in the Library.

Bonus Payments

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the annual cost to the Exchequer of (a) bonus payments to employees paid gross of tax, in terms of the interest opportunity cost to the Exchequer and (b) bonus payments paid by employers in such a way as to temporarily or permanently avoid paying employers' national insurance contributions on such payments.

In the Finance Act 1994 and subsequent regulations, the Government introduced measures to counter the avoidance of pay as you earn and national insurance contributions. These measures are expected to end the deferral of about £300 million in PAYE tax and the avoidance of about £75 million of NICs.These costs relate to all forms of remuneration paid to employees by their employers. Employers are not required to identify bonus payments separately from other payments, and figures on bonus payments could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Since these measures were introduced, the Secretary of State for Social Security has announced further measures to combat other NIC avoidance devices.

Absenteeism

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the absenteeism rate for (a) his Department, (b) the Central Statistical Office, (c) the office of the Paymaster and (d) the Royal Mint in each year since 1991.

The table gives the average number of days sickness absence per member of staff:

	1991	1992	1993	1994
HMT	7.5	6.9	7.1	9.2
CSO	9.8	9.2	8.9	¹9.9
Paymaster	10.6	10.6	10.4	13.7
Royal Mint²	5.9	5.3	5.7	8.4
¹ Provisional figure
² Non-industrial staff only

Mortgages

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to assist self-employed workers who are part of the new flexible work force to overcome difficulties they experience in obtaining a mortgage when purchasing a home; and if he will make a statement.

The lending policies of mortgage providers are matters for their own commercial judgment, though it is clear that lenders remain keen to do business with those who can sustain the costs of home ownership in the longer term. Lenders have a responsibility to ensure that mortgages are adequately secured, and that borrowers are in a position to meet the repayments.

Vat (Private Health Care)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would be raised if VAT was charged at 17.5 per cent. on private health care; and if he will make a statement.

The Treasury publication "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs" suggests that the exemption from the standard rate of VAT of health services—a category which includes private health care—costs £300 million in a full year. These figures make no allowance for behavioural responses.

Building Society Takeovers

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for reviewing the Building Societies Act 1986 so that all long-term investors are treated equitably when a building society is subject to a takeover bid.

I have been engaged in a comprehensive review of the Building Societies Act 1986. I intend to announce the outcome shortly.

Credit Cards

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue he estimates would be raised by placing a £10 tax on the possession of each credit card.

[holding answer 24 January 1995]: A £10 tax on the 25 million existing credit cards would yield £250 million on the assumption of no behavioural change.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates his Department has made as to the effects on credit card usage of the imposition of a £10 tax on credit cards.

[holding answer 24 January 1995]: No such estimates are available.Ms Primarolo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if his Department has considered charge cards and credit cards to be similar for tax purposes;(2) what differences between credit cards and charge cards have implications for the imposition of a tax on each.

[holding answer 24 January 1995]: There is no taxation of either charge cards or credit cards.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue a consultation paper on the taxing of credit cards in the coming year.

[holding answer 24 January 1995]: My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations he has consulted in respect of taxes on credit cards.

[holding answer 24 January 1995]: None.

Commercial Lobbying

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on how many occasions in the last four months he or any of his Ministers have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements;(2) on how many occasions in the last four months of which he has knowledge any civil servants in his Department have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.

[holding answer 25 January 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 25 January 1995, Official Report, column 116, by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Recruitment

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent during 1994 on recruiting staff to his Department and its executive agencies; and how many staff were recruited.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: The table shows the number of permanent or fixed-term appointments to HM Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer's executive agencies during 1994, together with the cost of recruitment arrangements.

	Number of staff	Cost including VAT £
HM Treasury	27	216,750
Central Statistical Office	72	202,388
Paymaster	3	1,148
Royal Mint	20	17,214
Valuation Office	61	nil
Total	183	437,500

Environment

Next Steps Agencies

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out for each of the next steps agencies in his Department, whether they have acquired their own headquarters buildings and, if so, at what purchase cost or annual rental; how many support staff they have required which were not required when their operations were within his Department; how many of them publish periodical journals and at what annual cost; how many have fleets of executive cars or single executive cars and at what annual cost; how many have corporate clothing and at what cost; and what is the cost of specially designed and printed corporate stationery.

There are five next steps agencies within the Department of the Environment:

The Building Research Establishment
The Buying Agency
The Planning Inspectorate
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
The Securities Facilities Executive

Responsibility for the subject matter of the question has been delegated to the chief executive of each agency. I have asked each of them to reply to the right hon. Member in respect of their own agency.The Secretary of State for the Environment is also responsible for Ordnance Survey, a separate Department and next steps agency. I have also asked its chief executive to reply to the right hon. Member.

Letter from R. G. Courtney to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 30 January 1995:

I have been asked by the Secretary of State for the Environment to reply to this PQ in respect of the Building Research Establishment.

The relevant information is:

BRE's headquarters are unchanged since becoming an Executive Agency.

Devolution of personnel, finance and estates responsibilities from DOE and PSA has led to the creation of four additional posts at Grade 7 and above; overall, however, support staff numbers have fallen by 30.

The BRE Annual Review has not changed in style. The cost of preparing the 1994 Review was £49k (including staff costs).

BRE's use of cars is unchanged; the annual cost of its two cars in 1993/4 was £14.6k.

The BRE logo has not changed.

BRE does no provide corporate clothing.

BRE's stationery was redesigned in 1994 at a cost of £3.36k because the previous stationery referred to a site that was closed.

Letter from S. P. Sage to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 30 January 1995:

The Secretary of State for the Environment has asked me to reply to your Question about various items of expenditure incurred by The Buying Agency (TBA), one of DOE's executive agencies. The details are as follows:

TBA remains in the same premises it occupied prior to agency status in 1991.

TBA staff numbers have varied only slightly since becoming an agency. In 1991 they averaged 105; in 1995 they will average 110.

We publish newsletters to TBA's 10,000 customers and suppliers three times a year. In 1994 the cost was £20,000. The newsletters provide an update on goods and services available through TBA.

We operate 13 lease cars for our network of national and regional account managers. In 1994 the cost was £75,000.

Following its launch as an agency TBA modified the logo used by its parent, The Crown Suppliers. There was no development cost.

Each member of staff has a TBA tie (men) or scarf (ladies). The cost for design and printing these was about £1,000.

On becoming an agency TBA modified its stationery in line with its logo. Again there was no development cost.

Letter from C. Shepley to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 30 January 1995:

1. The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to this Parliamentary Question insofar as it relates to the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency.
2. In the Planning Inspectorate we have incurred no expenditure on most of the items you refer to. Specifically, we have not acquried our own buildings; we do not publish a journal; we do not have executive cars; and we do not have a specially designed logo, corporate clothing or corporate stationery as a result of changing to Agency status.
3. The question of support staff is more difficult to answer with precision because a number of functions have been transferred to us by the Department and some of the requirements relating to those functions have since changed. Wherever possible we have carried out these functions with fewer staff than had previously been deployed by the Department for the same tasks. For example our typing unit consists of 8 staff in Bristol and replaced previous arrangements which utilised significantly more staff located away from our Headquarters building. In total we have taken on 31 staff for such tasks—mainly in the typing, personnel and finance areas. This has provided us with more immediate higher quality support services, with increased accountability for the actions they take. Over the period from the launch of the Agency in April 1992 staff numbers in comparable terms have fallen from 649 to 585 despite the arrival of the additional staff.

Letter from Marcus C. Buck to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 24 January 1995:

I have been asked to reply on behalf of The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC) to the range of questions you have asked of Next Steps Agencies in Question 866.
(I) The QEIICC Executive Agency occupies the conference centre building at the discretion of the Secretary of State for the Environment. Since 1993–94 it has paid an annual rent of £6.4 million.
(II) Being a purpose-built conference centre, the QEIICC's operations did not exist prior to the completion of the building in 1986. No staff figures exist within the QEIICC prior to its launch as an Executive Agency in 1989. However the number has reduced from 68 in July 1990 to 64 in January 1995.
(III) The QEIICC is required to produce an Annual Report and Accounts each year. The most recent—that for 1993–94—cost £11,000.
(IV) The QEIICC has no executive cars.
(V) The QEIICC's logo was designed in-house at no cost.
(VI) Approximately half of the QEIICC's staff (those working on events) wear uniforms. The 1994–95 annual budget for uniforms is £6,000.
(VII) The QEIICC's 1994–95 annual budget for corporate stationery is £22,000. This covers letter-headed and continuation paper, envelopes delegate writing pads and pencils, business cards, job application forms, performance assessment forms, three-part invoices, cheques and remittance advice.

Letter from John King to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 25 January 1995:

You have asked the Secretary of State for Environment for information about the Next Steps Agencies in his Department. My reply deals exclusively with the Security Facilities Executive (SAFE). The information which you have asked for is given below:

SAFE does not have its own headquarters building. It shares its HQ accommodation with other Government Departments.

A similar number of support staff are employed in the Agency compared with when it was part of DOE.

No periodical journals are published by the Agency.

The Agency does not have any executive cars for senior staff.

Our new logo was designed to coincide with the launch of the Agency, and is used on brochures, presentation packs tender documents and corporate stationery. The cost of the new logo cannot be separately identified.

The Agency does not have corporate clothing. However, drivers from the Government Car Service, the InterDespatch Service and Custody guards have always had their own uniforms. The only change has been that the drivers now wear ties incorporating the Agency logo.

The cost of designing new stationery for the Agency was £13,855 plus VAT. This included all general and financial stationery used in dealing with our customers. The cost of the initial print run was £8,054 plus VAT.

Letter from David Rhind to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 23 January 1995:

The Secretary of State for the Environment has asked to reply to your question about the additional costs attributable to the establishment of Ordnance Survey as an Executive Agency.

Ordnance Survey has always been and remains a department in its own right and the move to operation on Next Steps Agency lines did not of itself incur new or additional costs. The answers to the specific parts of your question are as follows:

Ordnance Survey occupies the same headquarters building that it occupied prior to becoming an Executive Agency;

no additional support staff were required;

Ordnance Survey continues to publish an Annual Report (with Trading Accounts) and a Corporate Plan;

no fleets of executive cars or single executive cars have been purchased;

the Ordnance Survey logo has not changed since becoming an Executive Agency;

Ordnance Survey does not use corporate clothing;

stationery costs have not varied as a result of the change to Executive Agency status.

I hope the foregoing provides all the information you need.

Merseyside Development Corporation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will meet the creditors of the Merseyside development corporation; if he will provide for their claims for compensation from public funds; and if he will make a statement.

Any matters which might arise between the MDC and any creditors it may have would be for the parties concerned.

Housing, West Midlands

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what considerations underlay the proposal in the draft Government regional planning guidance for the west midlands that the 20-year housing needs assessment should be reviewed in June; what account this took of (a) population projections and (b) shortage of land; and if he will make it his policy to introduce a quinquennial review of land needs.

The draft regional planning guidance for the west midlands proposes that the Forum of Local Authorities should review the housing figures by June, in order to take into account new household projections, which are to be published shortly. The housing figures in the draft guidance were based on the figures submitted by the Forum of Local Authorities, which took account of household projections and the current land availability. Regional planning guidance is expected to be revised on average every five years, providing an opportunity for the review of land needs.

Fuels

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effects on the environment of the use of (a) petrol, (b) diesel and (c) oxygenated petrol.

Petrol and diesel have known environmental benefits and disbenefits for both global and local environments, but the environmental case for oxygenated petrol is not yet clear. Government will continue to keep these under review, and participate fully in the setting of standards for vehicle emissions and fuel formulation at a European level, in particular in the light of the forthcoming report from the European tripartite initiative on future engine and fuel technologies.

Disabled People

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion and number of non-industrial civil servants in the Departments and agencies for which he has responsibility are registered disabled and disabled as defined by the Cabinet Office document "Focus on Ability".

The following information covers non-industrial staff in my Department, excluding Property Services Agency Services:

Registered disabled staff	Non-registered disabled staff	Combined percentage of total
70	68	2.0

Training Courses

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by his Department or agency.

This information is not held centrally and could be assembled only at disproportionate cost.

Construction Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to implement the recommendations of the Latham report with particular reference to a construction contract Bill; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to report and legislate on the recommendations of the Latham report.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will chair a meeting of the standing strategic group for the construction industry on 7 February, at which the recommendations of the review implementation forum for taking forward the proposals in the Latham report will be discussed. We have made it clear that we are prepared in principle to legislate on these proposals subject to agreement on the need for and form of such legislation.

Opencast Coal Sites

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many suggested opencast coal sites are registered in the national land bank;(2) if he will publish the names arid the locations of opencast coal sites registered in the national land bank.

This Department does not hold a register of opencast coal or proposed opencast coal sites.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the opencast coal sites working as at 3 January giving details of locations.

This information is not held centrally.

Business Rates

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance he can offer to any business which is facing economic difficulties because of high increases in business rates; and if he will make a statement.

The 1995 revaluation of all non-domestic property takes effect on 1 April. Transitional relief will ensure that rate bills will not rise because of the revaluation by more than 10 per cent. a year after allowing for inflation. Maximum increases for properties with a rateable value less than £10,000£15,000 in Greater London—will be 7.5 per cent. after allowing for inflation. The Government have pledged some £500 million towards the cost of the relief for England in 1995–96.

:To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the impact the increased valuation of non-domestic properties will have on business in Yorkshire.

We estimate that without transitional relief, the average increase in rates bills in 1995–96 as a result of the 1995 revaluation for North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire taken together would have been 36 per cent. Transitional arrangements will limit these increases to 7.5 per cent., after allowing for inflation, for property with a rateable value below £10,000. Property with a rateable value above these thresholds will have increases limited to 10 per cent. after allowing for inflation. The average increase in rate bills in Yorkshire after transitional relief is 9 per cent. This relief is worth £185 million.

Business Rates

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average increase in valuations being received by businesses in the Normanton constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Information for the Normanton parliamentary constituency is not available. However, the average increase in rates bills for 1995–96, after transitional relief, in the Wakefield metropolitan district is 10 per cent. Without transitional relief the average increase would have been 32 per cent. The relief is worth £11 million to ratepayers in Wakefield.

Agenda 21

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what monitoring he is undertaking of the progress by local authorities in the implementation of Agenda 21; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities' implementation of Agenda 21—the report from the UN Conference on Environment and Development—is carried out individually and through their national "local Agenda 21 initiative". Monitoring this is a matter for local government. I have regular discussions about progress, however, with local government representatives in the central and local government environment forum.

Leasehold

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 111, if he will make it his policy to introduce modifications to part 2 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, to remedy shortcomings identified in the interim report of the leasehold enfranchisement advisory service.

I consider it far too soon since the enactment of the 1993 Act to be considering major revisions to the enfranchisement rights which it contained. With the help of the leasehold enfranchisement advisory service, we will, of course, continue to keep these provisions under review.

Local Government Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the outcome of consultation on the local government finance settlement; and if he will make a statement.

I am today laying before the House the Local Government Finance Report (England) 1995–96, the Limitation of Council Tax and Precepts (Relevant Notional Amounts) Report (England) 1995–96 and the Special Grant Report (No. 12). These reports establish the amounts of revenue support grant and non-domestic rates to be paid to local authorities in 1995–96, and the basis of their distribution; specify the amounts which are to be used as the basis of comparison for measuring increases in certain local authorities' budgets in 1995–96 for the purpose of capping, and provide for a special grant to be paid to certain authorities for 1995–96. Two hundred authorities made written representations and Ministers met 90 delegations from local councils.I shall be sending copies of these reports to all authorities as soon as possible, together with a table showing each authority's standard spending assessment and its entitlement to RSG, NDR and special grant. I have also placed copies of the reports and the table in the Library and the Vote Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what reserves are currently held by each county council;(2) what reserves were held by each county council at the latest date for which figures are available.

The latest available estimate of the level of reserves as at 1 April 1994 are given. These estimates are subject to amendment as authorities finalise their accounts. Compatible data on the use of balances in 1994–95 which would be needed to derive an estimate of the level of reserves at 1 April 1995 are not yet available.

Estimated Level of Reserves¹at 1 April 1994²
	Outturn £000
Avon	27,608
Bedfordshire	22,788
Berkshire	83,457
Buckinghamshire	47,590
Cambridgeshire	56,532
Cheshire	48,563
Cleveland	22,713
Cornwall	31,725
Cumbria	11,336
Derbyshire	³11,600
Devon	51,858
Dorset	10,201
Durham	20,359
East Sussex	35,010
Essex	74,504
Gloucestershire	19,293
Hampshire	92,717
Hereford and Worcester	24,376
Hertfordshire	56,403
Humberside	32,436
Isle of Wight	3,774
Kent	47,747
Lancashire	72,114
Leicestershire	16,845
Lincolnshire	46,650
Norfolk	33,850
Northamptonshire	12,820
Northumberland	18,239
North Yorkshire	36,604
Nottinghamshire	13,203
Oxfordshire	25,557
Shropshire	7,232
Somerset	36,476
Staffordshire	48,424
Suffolk	28,102
Surrey	74,955
Warwickshire	15,591
West Sussex	16,818
Wiltshire	23,957
Notes:
¹ These reserves include those held for local management of schools and other purposes which may not be available to the council for general use.

² Source: Level of reserves—outturn—at 1 April 1993 +/-appropriations to/withdrawals from reserves 1993–94—(RS return for 1993–94.
³ Level of reserves—revised estimate—at 1 April 1994—RA returns for 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total proposed expenditure in each local authority area by (a) urban development corporations, (b) English Partnerships and (c) inner-city tasks forces for 1995–96.

Planned gross expenditure in 1995–96 by each urban development corporation is set out in table A. Where the urban development area crosses local authority boundaries, each local authority is listed.Planned expenditure by English Partnerships in 199596 is expected to be £263.2 million including the use of receipts.The national allocation for task forces in 1995–96 is £13.0 million and the local authority areas where task force expenditure is expected are set out in table B. Budgets for individual task forces have not yet been decided, but those task forces which remain open for the whole financial year will each receive a budget of about £1 million. For task forces which have closed, expenditure will be limited to commitments made before closure.

TABLE A: Planned gross expenditure by UDCs in 1995–96
UDC	Gross expenditure £000	Local authority
Birmingham Heartlands	13,438	Birmingham City Council
Black Country	37,270	Sandwell BC Walsall BC Wolverhampton BC
Bristol	13,322	Bristol City Council
Central Manchester	12,558	Manchester City Council
Leeds	200	Leeds City Council
London Docklands¹	89,900	LB Newham LB Southwark LB Tower Hamlets
Merseyside	34,000	Liverpool City Council Sefton BC Wirral BC
Plymouth	11,750	Plymouth City Council
Sheffield	17,156	Sheffield City Council
Teeside	52,650	Hartlepool BC Langbaurgh BC Stockton on Tees BC Middlesborough BC
Trafford Park	29,400	Trafford BC Salford City Council
Tyne and Wear	53,731	Newcastle City Council North Tyneside BC South Tyneside BC Sunderland BC
Note:
¹ Excludes DLR proposed gross expenditure of £38.7 million.

TABLE B: Local authority areas with task force expenditure in 1995–96
Local authority area	Task force
Bradford	Bradford
Kingston upon Hull	Hull
London Borough of Lewisham	¹Deptford
London Borough of Hackney	Hackney
London Borough of Southwark	²North Peckham
London Borough of Haringey	Tottenham

TABLE B: Local authority areas with task force expenditure in 1995–96
Local authority area	Task force
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham	²West London
South Tyneside	South Tyneside
Stockton on Tees	Stockton and Thornaby
Derby	Derby
Nottingham	¹Nottingham
Birmingham	Newtown/Ladywood
Birmingham	²East Birmingham
Manchester	¹Moss Side and Hulme
Wirral Metropolitan Borough	Wirral
Liverpool	Granby/Toxteth
Plymouth	Plymouth
Bristol	²Bristol
¹Closing at the end of 1994–1995.
²Closed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the allocation made to each local authority in 1993–94 from (a) the urban partnership (b) estate action and (c) the derelict and grant programmes.

Expenditure by local authority area in 1993–94 on the urban partnership fund, estate action and derelict land grant is set out in the table.

Expenditure in 1993–94 on the Urban Partnership Fund (UPF), Estate Action and Derelict Land Grant (DLG).
£000s
Local authority	UPF	Estate action	DLG
Allerdale	—	900	898
Alnwick	—	866	—
Amber Valley	—	—	47
Barking and Dagenham	—	—	254
Barnet	—	1,202	—
Barnsley	—	4,599	1,576
Barrow in Furness	—	600	52
Basildon	—	850	—
Bassetlaw	—	—	1
Bath	—	1,195	152
Bedford	—	—	11
Bedfordshire	—	—	4
Bexley	—	—	14
Birmingham	245	19,342	1,008
Blackburn	—	4,953	39
Blackpool	—	650	75
Blyth Valley	—	1,277	—
Bolsover		94	106
Bolton	224	2,025	569
Boston	—	81	—
Boothferry	—	—	12
Bradford	—	4,800	1,312
Braintree	—	—	6
Brent	125	—	36
Bristol	500	6,285	—
Broxbourne	—	323	—
Burnley	137	2,291	103
Bury	—	485	1,260
Calderdale	—	3,230	3,278
Cambridge	—	4	26
Camden	—	305	4
Cannock Chase	—	300	278
Canterbury	—	156	—
Caradon	—	—	677
Carlisle	—	2,255	—
Carrick	—	—	87

Expenditure in 1993–94 on the Urban Partnership Fund (UPF), Estate Action and Derelict Land Grant (DLG).
£000s
Local authority	UPF	Estate action	DLG
Charnwood	—	—	17
Cheltenham	—	323	—
Cheshire	—	—	3,229
Chester	—	750	20
Chesterfield	—	659	154
Chester le Street	—	250	—
Chorley	—	—	970
Cleveland	—	—	6
Colchester	—	481	—
Congleton	—	—	86
Copeland	—	1,050	—
Corby	—	2,900	1,811
Cornwall	—	—	536
Coventry	2,600	5,937	123
Craven	—	778	—
Crewe and Nantwich	—	300	1
Croydon	—	—	27
Cumbria	—	—	4,123
Darlington	—	535	235
Dartford	—	—	22
Daventry	—	—	57
Derby	175	6,577	11
Derbyshire	—	—	2,221
Derbyshire Dales	—	—	92
Derwentside	—	3,062	2,203
Devon	1,239	—	—
Doncaster	70	1,867	1,629
Dudley	282	2,834	3,742
Durham	—	130	1,065
Ealing	—	510	36
Easington	—	1,572	117
East Yorkshire	—	270	—
Eden	—	300	—
Ellesmere Port and Neston	—	2,239	1,990
Enfield	—	141	—
Erewash	—	413	1,346
Fenland	—	155	—
Forest of Dean	—	—	36
Gateshead	378	200	2,169
Gedling	—	—	5
Gillingham	—	272	—
Glanford	—	—	5,164
Gloucester	—	721	—
Gosport	—	—	5
Gravesham	—	—	84
Great Grimsby	—	600	4
Great Yarmouth	—	532	47
Greenwich	345	2,970	266
Guildford	—	—	33
Hackney	125	9,081	—
Halton	—	1,956	1,166
Hammersmith and Fulham	81	2,077	—
Haringey	—	4,616	—
Harrogate	—	298	—
Hartlepool	150	1,486	—
Hastings	—	—	35
Hereford and Worcester	—	—	14
Hertfordshire	—	—	14
High Peak	—	1,055	—
Hillingdon	—	750	—
Hinckley and Bosworth	—	—	6
Hounslow	—	2,221	—
Humberside	—	—	50
Huntingdonshire	—	378	12
Hyndburn	—	1,494	297
Ipswich	—	292	17
Islington	1,040	5,233	—
Kensington and Chelsea	—	1,450	—
Kent	—	—	48
Kerrier	—	—	1,502

Expenditure in 1993–94 on the Urban Partnership Fund (UPF), Estate Action and Derelict Land Grant (DLG).
£000s
Local authority	UPF	Estate action	DLG
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	—	—	2
Kingston upon Hull	25	4,323	176
Kingswood	—	—	3
Kirklees	1,140	4,013	1,927
Knowsley	1,000	3,174	610
Lambeth	—	6,652	263
Lancashire	—	—	243
Lancaster	—	—	3,276
Langbaurgh on Tees	127	1,523	85
Leeds	300	6,472	253
Leicester	233	7,127	4
Leicestershire	—	—	404
Lewisham		9,884	32
Lichfield	—	—	103
Lincoln	—	290	313
Lincolnshire	—	—	55
Liverpoool	1,065	19,338	986
Luton	—	—	8
Macclesfield	—	191	217
Maidstone	—	744	—
Manchester	350	17,327	3,249
Mansfield	—	500	1,812
Melton	—	106	—
Merton	—	199	23
Middlesbrough	36	678	44
Newark and Sherwood	—	790	188
Newcastle under Lyme	—	213	433
Newcastle upon Tyne	250	3,064	455
Newham	326	7,600	292
North Cornwall	—	—	7
North East Derbyshire	—	363	323
North Kesteven	—	158	—
North Norfolk	—	—	49
North Tyneside	729	2,723	518
North Warwickshire	—	—	12
North West Leicestershire	—	—	46
North Wiltshire	—	110	—
Northampton	—	100	9
Northavon	—	—	245
Northumberland	—	—	789
Norwich	—	631	5
Nottinghamshire	65	—	2,085
Nottingham	370	6,111	333
Nuneaton and Bedworth	—	500	152
Oadby and Wigston	—	100	—
Oldham	340	3,050	1,805
Peak National Park Joint Planning	—	—	—
Board	—	—	110
Pendle	—	—	82
Penwith	—	—	24
Peterborough	—	253	—
Plymouth	960	1,411	54
Poole	—	503	—
Portsmouth	—	220	10
Preston	348	2,716	—
Reading	—	1,150	1
Redbridge	—	2,738	—
Redditch	—	605	—
Reigate and Banstead	—	—	6
Restormel	—	—	63
Ribble Valley	—	116	—
Richmond upon Thames	—	75	—
Richmondshire	—	—	36
Rochdale	240	3,826	354
Rossendale	—	710	378
Rotherham	685	—	3,354
Rushcliffe	—	—	1
Rushmoor	—	574	—
Salford	870	6,002	2,225
Sandwell	215	9,285	5,412

Expenditure in 1993–94 on the Urban Partnership Fund (UPF), Estate Action and Derelict Land Grant (DLG).
£000s
Local authority	UPF	Estate action	DLG
Scunthorpe	—	486	—
Sedgefield	—	1,346	148
Sefton	310	2,798	561
Sheffield	675	6,625	664
Shropshire	—	—	1,569
South Cambridgeshire	—	—	34
South Derbyshire	—	—	16
South Hams	—	245	15
South Lakeland	—	—	29
South Ribble	—	174	7
South Staffordshire	—	—	6
South Tyneside	500	718	139
Southampton	—	679	—
Southwark	1,000	17,223	21
St. Edmundsbury	—	213	17
St. Helens	—	5,415	787
Stafford	—	444	—
Staffordshire	—	—	616
Staffordshire Moorlands	—	—	10
Stevenage	—	496	—
Stockport	—	3,260	1,117
Stockton on Tees	119	2,035	532
Stoke on Trent	—	1,969	1,021
Stroud	—	963	—
Sunderland	1,000	5,511	520
Surrey	—	—	31
Sutton	—	565	—
Tameside	—	—	1,075
Teesdale	—	—	6
Teignbridge	—	—	1
Thamesdown	—	100	16
The Wrekin	—	—	383
Thurrock	—	1,000	2
Torbay	—	—	25
Tower Hamlets	—	11,767	236
Trafford	—	751	—
Vale Royal	—	835	2
Wakefield	—	2,144	2,790
Walsall	—	1,549	4,325
Waltham Forest	—	3,797	16
Wandsworth	670	—	—
Warrington	—	600	20
Warwickshire	—	—	4
Watford	—	242	—
Wealden	—	—	111
Wear Valley	—	1,701	290
Westminster	—	179	—
West Devon	—	—	8
West Sussex	—	—	54
Weymouth and Portland	—	131	—
Wigan	420	2,147	3,058
Wirral	75	4,681	496
Wolverhampton	250	2,293	915
Worcester	—	1,050	—
Wyre	—	763	—
York	—	1,280	30
Total	22,409	357,437	104,148

Prime Minister

Lockerbie

To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has now made of an unclassified document emanating from the air intelligence agency department of the United States air force, sent to him by the hon. Member for Linlithgow, asserting that Ali Akbar Mohrashemi paid cash and gold to terrorist organisations to carry out terrorist activities, and to destroy Pan Am flight 103 in retaliation for the United States shoot-down of the Iranian airbus.

I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Gentleman on 26 January 1994, Official Report, columns 299–300.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library his correspondence with Mr. English of Chard, Somerset, in relation to Libya and Lockerbie.

It is not my normal practice to do so.

Deregulation

To ask the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible for deregulation in each Government Department.

The deregulation initiative is headed by the right hon. Michael Heseltine, President of the Board of Trade. Ministers are appointed in each of the regulatory Department's to be responsible for deregulation issues. They are:

Department	Minister
Her Majesty's Treasury (Revenue and Customs)	Right Hon. Sir George Young MP Financial Secretary
Department of Transport	John Watts MP Minister of State
Scottish Office	Allan Stewart MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Welsh Office	Roderick Richards MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Home Office	Michael Forsyth MP Minister of State
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	Earl Howe Parliamentary Secretary
Department of Trade and Industry	Jonathan Evans MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department of Health	Hon. Tom Sackville MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department of Employment	Hon. Philip Oppenheim MP
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department of Social Security	James Arbuthnot Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department of Environment	Right Hon. Viscount Ullswater Minister of State
Northern Ireland Office	Baroness Denton of Wakefield
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Ministry of Defence	Righ Hon. Roger Freeman Minister of State
Department for Education	Eric Forth MP Minister of State
Office of Public Service and Science	Robert Hughes MP Parliamentary Secretary
Lord Chancellor's Department	John Taylor MP Parliamentary Secretary
Department of National Heritage	Iain Sproat MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Correspondence

To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to the letters of inquiry sent to him six months ago by Mr. R. Nimmo of 202 Morville street, London E3.

The Department of Employment replied on my behalf on 28 July 1994, a copy of which has recently been sent to Mr. Nimmo.

Common Currency

To ask the Prime Minister what is his current attitude towards the introduction of the hard ecu as a common currency within the EU.

Although the United Kingdom advocated the hard ecu during the Maastricht treaty negotiations, it was eventually agreed that the route set out in the treaty would avoid the problems of the control of the money supply that a parallel currency would inevitably involve. We therefore agreed to a three-stage process in which responsibility for our monetary policy will remain firmly in national hands unless and until Parliament agrees that we should seek to join a single currency.

World Summit For Social Development

To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to attend the world summit for social development in Copenhagen in March; and if he will list those who will be representing Her Majesty's Government.

I will make a decision on attendance nearer the date.

Eu Fraud

To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to persuade the French Government to include the issue of the eradication of fraud in their objectives for their EU presidency.

At the Essen European Council, I made a number of proposals on the subject of fraud, waste and mismanagement which were agreed by the Council. I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 12 December, Official Report, columns 613–30.The French presidency has made clear that it intends to pursue these measures vigorously. This was endorsed by the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers at its meeting on 16 January when the presidency work programme was discussed.The reports from member states, commissioned at Essen, on the measures member states are implementing domestically to combat waste and the misuse of Community resources will be examined under the French presidency.The French presidency fully shares our views on fraud, as the French Prime Minister made clear to me at our Chartres meeting last December.

Chequers (Entertainment)

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the (a) dates of (b) nature of and (c) individuals present at each occasion at Chequers in the period from 2 December 1994 to 20 January 1995 which has involved the provision of food, drink and other forms of reception or entertainment paid for out of public funds.

[holding answer 26 January 1995]: There was one such occasion on 13 January 1995. This was a meeting of Ministers reviewing British foreign policy. It is not my normal practice to provide a list of individuals present on such occasions.

Trade And Industry

Wellcome-Glaxo Merger

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has given to the long-term effect on research and development of the proposed takeover of Wellcome by Glaxo; and if he will make a statement.

The relevant competition authorities will be considering the proposed merger in due course. Therefore, it is not appropriate for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to comment.

Absenteeism

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the absenteeism rate for (a) his Department, (b) the Accounts Services Agency, (c) Companies House, (d) the Insolvency Service, (e) the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, (f) the NEL, (g) the National Physical Laboratory, (h) the National Weights and Measures Agency, (i) the Patent Office and (j) the Radiocommunications Agency in each year since 1991.

The average number of days sick leave per employee for the Department and its agencies is shown in the table.

	1991	1992	1993	1994
Department excluding Agencies listed below	8.1	8.1	10.3	9.5
Accounts Service Agency¹	—	—	13.9	13.0
Companies House	10.9	13.4	17.4	16.8
Insolvency Service	7.8	8.9	11.4	10.8
Laboratory of the Government Chemist	5.4	7.0	7.9	6.6
NEL	6.0	5.5	6.6	10.6
National Physical Laboratory	5.4	7.3	7.6	6.4
National Weights and Measures Agency	3.9	4.1	8.1	13.3
Patent Office	7.0	8.2	12.0	11.5
Radiocommunications Agency	8.2	9.1	11.5	8.8
Total	7.9	8.6	11.0	10.3
¹ For 1991 and 1992 ASA figures are part of the departmental figures.

Northern Electricity

To ask the President of the Board of Trade by how much domestic electricity prices for Northern Electric customers have changed since 1991 in relation to the UK average.

Using the normal assumption that the average domestic household buys 3,300 kWh of electricity per year, Northern Electric's standard tariff rose by 1.9 per cent. between 1991 and 1994. If allowance is made for inflation, as measured by the gross domestic product (market prices) deflator, this represents a fall of 7.4 per cent. in real terms. For customers on Northern Electric's Economy 7 tariff, the price of electricity rose by 2.4 per cent. in current price terms and fell by 7 per cent. in real terms (assuming consumption of 6,600 kWh per year—3,000 day units and 3,600 night units). VAT has been excluded from the above figures. This tax (8 per cent.) was imposed from 1 April 1994, but an unspecified number of consumers paid in advance and will not have paid any VAT during 1994.For all regional electricity companies in England and Wales, the corresponding average change over this three-year period for standard tariff customers was -0.9 per cent., (9.9 per cent. in real terms), and for Economy 7 tariff customers it was +0.9 per cent., (-8.4 per cent. in real terms).

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the effect of the takeover of Northern Electric by Trafalgar House on the sale of the National Grid Company.

My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is awaiting the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading on the proposed takeover by Trafalgar House of Northern Electric.

Company Accounts

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many companies have had penalties imposed upon them by Companies House for the late submission of accounts in each of the past five years; and what has been the total amount of such penalties in each of these years.

Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to Companies House under its chief executive, Mr. Durham. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from David Durham to Dr. Tony Wright, dated 30 January 1995:

Jonathan Evans, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs, has asked me as Registrar and Chief Executive of Companies House Executive Agency, to reply to the following Parliamentary Question which you tabled:

How many companies have had penalties imposed upon them by Companies House for the late submission of accounts in each of the past five years; and what has been the total amount of such penalties in each of these years.

The late filing penalty system was introduced on 1 July 1992. Details of the number of penalties levied and the sums involved are set out in the table below.

Late filing penalties raised: Great Britain Financial years 1992–3; 1993–4; 1994–5
	Number	Value (£ million)
1992–93 (July-March)	79,928	12.5
1993–94 (April-March)	84,384	20.8
1994–95 (April-December)	55,053	13.8

House Of Commons

Statutory Instruments

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many statutory instruments requiring affirmative resolution he expects will be brought before the House in the current Session; and how many of these he expects to be considered by (a) Standing Committees or (b) on the Floor of the House.

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

European Union

To ask the Lord President of the Council what communication he has received from the President of the European Parliament concerning its resolution of 10 February adopting the proposal for a constitution for the European Union, as proposed by its Committee on Institutional Affairs; and what action he has taken consequent on any requests therein.

The European Parliament did not adopt the draft constitution prepared by the Committee on Institutional Affairs, but only took note of it. I have received no communication from the President of the European Parliament concerning the resolution of 10 February 1994.

Overseas Development Administration

Register Of Available Personnel

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prospective candidates seeking employment in the United Kingdom's overseas aid programme had their details held on the Overseas Development Administrations's register of available personnel for each year since 1979; how many of them were appointed; and how many of them were removed from the register after two years.

The historical information about the register of available personnel, which has only existed since 1987, is not available. Information about recent years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which are the four main consultancies and recruitment agencies supplying personnel to the United Kingdom's overseas aid programme since 1979.

Individuals employed under the aid programme are normally recruited directly by the Overseas Development Administration. No records are kept which distinguish between contracts with consultancy firms relating solely to the supply of expertise to the aid programme and those which also cover the supply of other services.

Aid, Africa

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what decisions have been made in the past six months by the European Commission about the provision and destination of aid within Africa.

Tables providing details of EC projects approved between July and December 1994 which benefit sub-Saharan Africa under (i) the European development fund, (ii) European Community food and humanitarian aid and (iii) the special programme for South Africa, have been placed in the Library of the House.In October 1994, a framework agreement creating the first bilateral treaty relationship between the EC and South Africa was signed. In November 1994, the Development Council agreed a programme of 67 mecu— about £53 million—to rehabilitate social and production structures in Rwanda.

Arun Project, Nepal

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what topics were discussed at the recent informal briefing with members of the inspection panel of the World bank; and what conclusions were drawn by the United Kingdom executive director;(2) if he will instruct the United Kingdom executive director of the World bank to support the preliminary recommendations of the inspection panel of the World bank on the Arun III project.

There has been a preliminary exchange of views on the inspection panel's report on a request for an inspection of the Arun III hydroelectric project in Nepal. Executive directors decided to defer further action pending receipt of the views of the newly elected Government of Nepal, and also pending a review by the panel of its report in the light of additional information to be supplied by bank management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has about the current position of the Government of Nepal on approval of the Arun III project.

We understand the newly elected Government have expressed broad support for the project, but wish to take stock before reaching a firm view on whether to proceed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the board of the World bank will consider the full appraisal report of the Arun III project.

No date has been set.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what organisations he will consult before deciding the British Government's policy in the World bank on the Arun III project;(2) what organisations will be consulted by the board of the World bank before it reaches a final decision on the Arun III project;(3) what organisations he will consult before deciding the British Government's policy on implementing the recommendations of the inspection panel of the World bank on the Arun III project;

(4) what organisations will be consulted by the board of the World bank before it reaches a final decision on implementing the recommendations of the bank's inspection panel on the Arun III.

The board as such does not normally consult outside organisations, but will want to be assured that the borrower and the bank have consulted fully, in accordance with bank policies and procedures. Individual members of the board will have their own arrangements for consultation. We have received views from a number of organisations, notably the Intermediate Technology Development Group, on the proposed project and have encouraged the bank to consult widely with informed groups, particularly those active in Nepal. We shall take account of these views when considering the proposed project and in relation to the report of the inspection panel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the minimum projected rate of return on the Arun III project which would be required for the United Kingdom to support this project.

As a minimum, we would expect the economic rate of return to exceed the opportunity cost of capital of 10 per cent. used for this project.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's current policy towards the Arun III project in Nepal.

The Arun project raises complex economic, environmental, social and institutional issues. Debate on these issues is continuing, especially given the new Government's desire to take stock of the project; and the independent inspection panel's report.

World Bank Inspection Panel

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the initial work of the inspection panel of the World bank.

The inspection panel became operational only in August 1994, and to date has received only one request for inspection. It is too soon to draw conclusions about its effectiveness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom executive director of the World bank attended the recent informal briefing with members of the inspection panel of the World bank.

Yes.

Somali Refugee Camp

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what visits have been made to refugee camps containing Somali people and in which countries; and what view Her Majesty's Government have formed of the conditions there.

United Kingdom officials visited Somali refugee camps in Kenya in September 1994 and in Ethiopia in December 1994. The condition of refugees in Kenya is generally stable; that of Somali refugees in Ethiopia is more variable, with some groups remaining vulnerable to food and medical shortages. We have provided over £11 million since 1991 to help refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia, most of whom are Somalis.

Transport

Nuclear Waste Shipments

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek an urgent meeting with the EU Transport Commissioner to discuss the safety arrangements under Council directive 92/3Euratom of 3 February 1992 on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste into and out of the European Community, as they apply to the imminent shipment of radioactive waste from La Hague in France.

I have been asked to reply.No. Council directive 92/3/Euratom sets out provisions for the authorisation of shipments of radioactive waste, into and out of the European Union and between member states, by the competent authorities of the country of origin. Authorisation of the shipment referred to is a matter for the French competent authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the Channel Islands in regard to the forthcoming sea shipment of high-level nuclear waste from La Hague in France to Japan.

None.

Executive Search Agencies

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 19 December, Official Report, column 880, which posts were filled as a result of the employment of executive search agencies; which executive search companies were involved in this exercise; and what were the values of the individual contracts involved.

The two posts filled with the help of executive search agencies were:

1. The Highways Agency chief executive. Korn Ferry International

assisted in carrying out the search and selection: the cost was £23,500.

2. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency chief executive. Saxon Bampfylde International plc carried out the search and administration; the cost was £31,800.

Aircraft Noise

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what jurisdiction local authorities have over noise made by aircraft while on the ground.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 24 January, Official Report, column 110, by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside.

Civil Servants

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion and number of non-industrial civil servants in the departments and agencies for which he has responsibility are registered disabled and disabled as defined by the Cabinet Office document "Focus on Ability".

As of 1 July 1994, 181 Department of Transport staff were known to be registered as disabled. This is 1.4 per cent. of the total staff—12,929. In addition, 134 DOT members of staff have responded to questionnaires and declared themselves to have a disability which is not registered. This is 1 per cent. of the total staff.

Coventry Airport

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 98, what local authorities, including parish councils, have contacted him about noise and nuisance at Coventry airport in the last 12 months; how many of the complaints relate to (a) day and (b) night flights; how many complaints there were in each of the previous five years; and if he will divide them into complaints about (i) day and (ii) night flights and list the local authorities involved.

Of the 14 representations mentioned in my answer of 24 January, 11 related to noise generally at Coventry airport, of which four also made specific reference to night flights. The remaining three representations concerned night flights alone.The number of complaints received in each year since 1992 is as follows:

	Total complaints	General noise	Day flights	Night flights
1992	3	1	1	2
1993	5	3	0	3
1994	14	11	0	7

Some complaints covered more than one topic. Information for earlier years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.In addition, since January 1990 my Department has had one contact from a local authority about noise and nuisance at Coventry airport. This took the form of a meeting in July 1994 between the Minister for Aviation and Shipping and a delegation from Warwick district council led by my hon. Friend himself. At this meeting the subject of aircraft noise at Coventry airport was discussed generally, but with a particular focus on ground noise and night flights.

Lobbying Organisations

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a list of all those who were received by him, his fellow Ministers or senior officials in the past six months, indicating which ones were representatives of lobbying organisations.

No; it is not our practice to do so.

Coaches

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have died in coaches crashing in the right-hand lane of carriageways with more than two lanes, in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not available.

Stafford's Railway Bridge

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional safety measures have been undertaken in the past 12 months on the Stafford's railway bridge in Exeter.

Railtrack has informed me that, between November 1993 and February 1994, additional bracings were installed between the piers and the upstream side of the main girders of the Stafford's railway bridge to increase its lateral stability. I understand that the work undertaken allows the bridge to remain open longer during periods when the River Exe is in flood.

Mayday Call (Olympic Airways)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what circumstances caused the Mayday call of Olympic Airways Boeing 737 Flight 265 from Athens on 17 January; and if he will make a statement.

Olympic Airways Flight 0A265 on 7 January 1995 was inbound from Athens to London Heathrow at a time air traffic control was advising all aircraft of 40-minute delays in landing. When given the delay, 0A265, then holding in a "stack" at flight level 180, requested an earlier approach, stating engine de-icing problems. Air traffic control advised that a priority approach could be given only if the aircraft declared an emergency.The pilot promptly made a "mayday" call, which is a distress emergency call to signify that an aircraft is threatened by grave and imminent danger and requests immediate assistance. This is for the captain to judge. However, there seems some doubt about the seriousness of the situation in this case: for example, there is no evidence that one engine had been shut down, as was reported in the press.ATC offered the captain an immediate diversion to Gatwick airport, which he declined. Accordingly, the aircraft was then cleared for a direct approach to Heathrow airport, which instigated full emergency procedures. The aircraft landed safely and a subsequent examination apparently revealed no damage or technical malfunction.The Civil Aviation Authority's safety data units received notification of the incident as an ATC occurrence report. Details of the incident have been passed to its flight operations policy department for consideration of any possible subsequent action by the authority.

Heathrow

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the districts of Greater London over which aircraft normally fly while making their final descent into Heathrow airport; and if he will make a statement.

The London Boroughs normally overflown are: Wandsworth, Richmond, Hammersmith and Fulham, Spelthorne, Hillingdon and Hounslow. In addition, aircraft skirt the southernmost boundary of Kensington and Chelsea.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department now has as to the statistical analysis for a major crash on Greater London by an aircraft using Heathrow airport; and when such an incident last occurred.

The statistical analysis available to the Department is derived from worldwide accident data and is not specific to individual airports. The last major crash of an aircraft using Heathrow airport occurred near Staines in 1972.

Aircraft (City Approaches)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at which cities in Europe and north America, other than Greater London, airliners routinely fly over more than 15 miles of the city during an airliner's final approach to landing at the normal airport destination; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available.

Oxygenated Petrol

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has carried out into oxygenated petrol; what plans for research into the environmental suitability of oxygenated petrol he has; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 26 January 1995, Official Report, column 367.

Fishing Vessels (Medical Supplies)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from fishermen's organisations about regulations governing the carriage of medical supplies on fishing vessels.

[holding answer 26 January 1995]: Ministers have received 28 representations from fishermen's organisations via hon. Members about the regulations governing the carriage of medical supplies on fishing vessels. Of these, 22 have come from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, one from the Leigh and Southend Joint Fishermen's Association and one from the Fleetwood Fishermen's Association. Direct representations to the Department have also been received from the NFFO, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the Southern Sea Fishermen's Council.

Northern Ireland

Birth Control

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what specialist provision exists in Northern Ireland to offer contraception advice and counselling to young people; and what plans he has to extend these provisions following the findings of the recent study of the director of public health into the eastern health and social services board on abortions and contraception.

Family planning services are available to young people in Northern Ireland through family planning clinics, general medical practitioners and voluntary agencies. The provision of these services is a matter for health and social services boards to determine in the light of local needs and priorities. I understand that the Eastern health and social services board proposes to target family planning services on areas of social deprivation and high teenage pregnancy.

Atmospheric Pollution

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to change existing policy on atmospheric pollution in Northern Ireland following the recent Eastern health and social services report on the link between atmospheric pollution and the incidence of lung cancer.

In his fifth annual report, the director of public health for the Eastern health and social services suggested that a link may exist between atmospheric pollution and the incidence of lung cancer in certain parts of Northern Ireland, particularly in the Belfast area and that atmospheric pollution may be one of several environmental factors linked to the causation of disease. It presented no specific evidence however to show that such a link exists.The Government have made a firm commitment to ensure that statutory air quality standards set to protect public health are achieved and maintained throughout Northern Ireland. They also have an on-going programme of major initiatives designed to improve air quality and inform the public when conditions are such that those at greatest risk are made aware of the situation.Last week, a joint statement was issued by the Secretaries of State for Transport and for the Environment setting out proposals for a new air quality management strategy for the United Kingdom taking account of the nine most significant pollutants. Northern Ireland has been consulted and will be fully involved in the evaluation and implementation of initiatives flowing from the strategy.

Queen's University

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total public funding for the Queen's university of Belfast in each of the past five years.

The information is as follows:

Academic year	£ million
1989–90	56,126
1990–91	65,152

Academic year	£ million
1991–92	67,177
1992–93	72,404
1993–94	78,078

Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the average number of parents in attendance at the annual meetings of parents held in 1993 and 1994 in (a) controlled primary schools, (b) controlled secondary schools, (c) controlled grammar schools and (d) maintained schools in Northern Ireland.

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Murders, Londonderry, East

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many murders against (a) civilians and (b) members of the security forces were committed in the Londonderry, East constituency and on what dates in each of the last five years; and in how many cases (i) charges have been brought and (ii) convictions have resulted.

[holding answer 26 January 1995]: The information requested is as follows:

Murders in East Londonderry constituency
1990	Civilian/security forces	Location
1 December	Civilian	Kilrea

To date no one has been charged or convicted for this murder.

1991	Civilian/security forces	Location
16 August	Civilian	Kilrea
25 August	Civilian	Coleraine
30 August	Civilian	Coleraine
16 September	Civilian	Magherafelt
17 September	Security Forces	Maghera
6 November	Security Forces	Bellaghy

One person has been charged with murder but convicted of manslaughter for the incident on 25 August. One person has been charged and convicted of the murder on 30 August.

1992	Civilian/security forces	Location
3 March	Civilian	Greysteel
2 April	Civilian	Kilrea
30 July	Civilian	Castledawson

One person has been charged with murder but convicted of manslaughter for the incident on 3 March. One person has been convicted of actual bodily harm for the death which resulted from the incident on 30 July.

>1993	Civilian/security forces	Location
25 March	4 civilians	Castlerock
30 October	7 civilians	Greysteel

Four persons have been charged with the eight murders at Greysteel. One person has been charged with the murders at Castlerock.

1994	Civilian/security forces	Location
14 April	Civilian	Greysteel
24 April	2 civilians	Garvagh
12 July	Civilian	Coleraine

One person has been charged with the murders on 24 April. One person has been charged with the murder on 12 July.

Lord Chancellor's Department

Judiciary (Secret Societies)

44.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to require members of the judiciary to declare membership of secret societies; and if he will make a statement.

The Lord Chancellor has no such plans.

Transsexuals (Marriage)

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what plans he has to recognise British post-operative transsexuals who marry legally abroad as being married in their acquired gender; and if he will make a statement;(2) if post-operative transsexuals who have married under New Zealand law will be recognised as married under British law; and if will make a statement.

The position in the law of England and Wales is that a marriage to which parties are not respectively male and female is void. What sex a person has for this purpose is a question of fact, but the present legal position is that the biological criteria for determining sex are established at birth. The Government have no plans to change the law.

Custody

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many times the Official Solicitor recommended that the children that he is acting on behalf of are given into the custody of (a) the mother, (b) the father or (c) the local authority in the last year for which figures are available.

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

Automatic Party Status (Divorce Proceedings)

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to give children automatic party status in divorce proceedings.

The Lord Chancellor has no such proposals.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Mutual Defence Agreement

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, columns 740–41, if there are any further amendments to the 1958 United States-United Kingdom mutual defence agreement, which are still in force at the present time, made prior to 1965.

The 1958 US-UK mutual defence agreement was also amended in 1959.

Mrs Shazia Noreen

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when is a decision to be taken by the United Kingdom post in Islamabad on the application of Mrs. Shazia Noreen, ref: IMM/C5048, to join her husband in the United Kingdom.

I have asked the entry clearance officer in Islamabad to let me have a report on the application by Mrs. Shazia Noreen. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.

Rwanda

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to press through the appropriate United Nations authorities to establish whether the Rwandan nationals accused of the murder of their countrymen and countrywomen have been brought to justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the United Nations to assist the Rwandan authorities to indict those who are responsible for the murder of Tutsis.

The United Kingdom was a co-sponsor of UN Security Council resolution 955 of 8 November 1994 which established an international criminal tribunal for Rwanda.In addition, the UN has drawn up a plan to help reconstruct the Rwandan judicial system.

World Summit For Social Development

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what documents have been published by his Department in preparation for the world summit for social development in Copenhagen in March.

We will be issuing an information brief on the world social summit in early February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what follow-up mechanisms he favours in order to ensure that commitments given by member states at the world summit for social development are adhered to.

The summit documentation makes clear that follow-up at the national level will be the responsibility of national Governments. The UK is already addressing most of the issues that the summit will cover. We will note carefully any further action required and will seek to implement it through existing mechanisms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the UN social summit in Copenhagen in March.

A final decision on attendance at the summit will be made nearer the date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who will be representing his Department at the world summit for social development in Copenhagen in March.

A final decision on attendance at the summit will be made nearer the date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultation his Department has undertaken with non-governmental organisations regarding the draft plan of action for the world summit for social development.

Information about the summit has been disseminated to over 200 contacts from a wide range of organisations in the United Kingdom. Of those who wish to be involved, some are in direct contact with the Government; others are in touch with a central contact point in UNED-UK, the United Kingdom branch of the United Nations environment and development non-governmental organisation, which we are funding specifically to disseminate information about the summit and to ensure any NGO with an interest in the summit's issues can make its voice heard. We welcome their interest and involvement and will remain in close touch with United Kingdom NGOs during the preparatory process and at Copenhagen itself.

Disabled People

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion and number of non-industrial civil servants in the Departments and agencies for which he has responsibility are registered disabled and disabled as defined by the Cabinet Office document, "Focus on Ability".

On 1 July 1994, the number of non-industrial civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the Overseas Development Administration and its agency, who were registered disabled was 52, representing 0.67 per cent. of the whole. Figures for the number and proportion of non-registered disabled staff are not available.

Mrs Surraya Ashraf

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a solicitor, based in Bradford, visiting Pakistan asked officials at the United Kingdom post in Islamabad to review the refusal of an application by Mrs. Surraya Ashraf and her daughter Miss Noreen Akhtar, ref. GV100/24649, to enter the United Kingdom; when the request to review the application was agreed; what was the outcome of the review; when was that information sent to the solicitor; and if he will make a statement.

I have asked the entry clearance officer to let me have a report on the applications by Mrs. Surraya Ashraf and her daughter, Miss Noreen Akhtar. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.

Entry Clearance

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to be able to reply to the questions asked by the hon. Member for Nottingham, North on 18 July 1994, Official Report, column 28, on entry clearance applications and appeals.

The answer to the hon. Member's question of 18 July 1994, was conveyed, in full, in a letter to him from me on 13 September. Arrangements were also made for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library.Regrettably, the answer to the hon. Member's other question of 18 July has not been answered in full. I am therefore taking this opportunity to ask posts to update their final returns and will give the hon. Member the answer he seeks as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the total number of applicants at the British embassy in Addis Ababa for permission to travel to Britain by nationality, waiting tune for interviews and decisions for each of the past five years.

I have asked the entry clearance officer in Addis Ababa to let me have a report. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth office as soon as possible

Western Sahara

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action has been taken by his Department to further progress on the United Nations referendum on the future of the Western Sahara.

As a member of the UN Security Council group of Friends of the Western Sahara, we have supported the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to bring about a resolution of the conflict in the Western Sahara. We have helped to broker various Security Council resolutions on the subject. Until September 1993, the United Kingdom contributed military personnel to the mission for a referendum in the Western Sahara.

Asylum Seekers

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which countries to which asylum seekers are forcibly returned British embassy officials meet them on arrival or monitor their return.

None other than Vietnam where our embassy both meets on arrival and monitors repatriated Vietnamese migrants from Hong Kong who have been screened out as non-refugees.

Kurdistan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings and discussions have been held with the PUK, KDP and Kurdish national parliament in recent months; and if he will make a statement on the internal conflict in Kurdistan.

We have sent messages to the leaders of the Iraqi Kurd political parties involved in the recent fighting urging them to reach an early and lasting settlement.We understand that the parties have indicated a willingness to seek peace through the auspices of the Iraqi National Congress. We fully support those efforts, not least because the only beneficiary from violence in northern Iraq is Saddam Hussein.

Iran

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations on human rights issues have been made to the Government of Iran; and if he will make a statement.

The European Union sponsored a strong human rights resolution on Iran which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 23 December 1994. The Union also raised human rights issues in recent discussions with Iran.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the main functions of the chargé d'affaires in Tehran; and what proportion of his time is spent on visa applications.

Our chargé d'affaires in Tehran, as head of mission, has a wide range of responsibilities which include political, representational, commercial and management functions. He supervises all embassy work including consular and visa matters.

East Timor

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the Indonesian Government concerning the action of their army in East Timor.

The European Union expressed concern in July and November 1994 about heightened tension in East Timor. The UN Secretary-General made an appeal on 9 January 1995 to East Timorese of all shades of opinion to exercise restraint. We look to the Indonesian Government to act similarly.

Sierra Leone

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts at preventive diplomacy are being made by (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the UN, (c) the European Union and (d) the Organisation of African Unity, in respect of the internal security situation in Sierra Leone.

We are very concerned at the recent deterioration in the security situation which had led to the abduction of a number of Sierra Leonean and foreign nationals, including six Britons. We are following developments closely and have reinforced our high commission in Freetown with experienced hostage negotiators. We are in touch with the Sierra Leone Government and our Commonwealth, EU and other partners in the region. We have also given strong encouragement to the UN Secretary-General's proposals to send a special representative. We hope it may be possible to bring about a peaceful solution in Sierra Leone and we are ready to contribute in any way we can to resolve the present difficulties.

Ivory Coast

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring of the safety of deportees from Britain is undertaken in the Ivory Coast; and if he will make a statement.

We have no mechanism to monitor what happens to deportees from Britain returning to Cote d'Ivoire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the human rights situation in the Ivory Coast; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer to his question of 10 January 1995, Official Report, column 59.

Liberia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the activities of the west African peacekeeping forces in Liberia; and if he will make a statement.

We have received reports from many sources on west African peacekeeping activities in Liberia.We continue to follow developments closely. We welcome and support the efforts of regional leaders and the United Nations to bring about a peaceful solution to the conflict in Liberia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts Her Majesty's Government have had with representatives of different factions in Liberia in the past year.

Our diplomatic missions in the region monitor developments in Liberia and have been contacted by representatives of most of the factions at some time.

Education

Emotionally Disturbed Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will outline his policy for dealing with emotionally disturbed children within the education system.

Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, the term usually applied to children and young people whose symptoms lie between those associated with stressed but normal behaviour and those associated with psychiatric illness, have special educational needs. It is for schools and local education authorities to see that their needs are assessed and suitably met along with those of other children with learning difficulties. The code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs provides targeted advice and this is expanded in the joint Department for Education-Department of Health circular "The Education of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties", DFE ref: 9/94, both documents being available in the Library. They point up the vital importance of close collaboration between services. The Office for Standards in Education continue to monitor the quality of the education provided for this group of children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many institutions there are who deal with the education of emotionally disturbed children; and how many there were in each of the last 10 years.

Time series data are not available centrally, but recent returns from schools suggest that about 380 maintained and non-maintained special schools and independent schools would describe themselves as making special provision for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. In addition, all mainstream schools are required to identify and where appropriate make suitable provision for individual pupils who fall within this category, following the guidance in the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. Further provision is made within pupil referral units in most local education authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children from the borough of Rotherham receive assisted places at independent schools.

Information about the local education authority area from which assisted pupils originate is not collected centrally. There are no schools participating in the scheme within the borough of Rotherham.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many assisted places have been awarded in the current academic year to pupils attending former direct grant schools.

Figures are not yet available for the current academic year. In academic year 1993–94, 17,445 such pupils held assisted places.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of pupils with assisted places comes from households where the parents are in full-time salaried or waged employment paying pay-as-you-earn tax.

Information concerning the occupations and tax position of parents in the assisted places scheme is not collected centrally.

Disabled People

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion and number of non-industrial civil servants in the departments and agencies for which she has responsibility are registered disabled and disabled as defined by the Cabinet Office document, "Focus on Ability".

The number of registered disabled people employed by the Department and the Teachers Pensions Agency is 60, representing 2.9 per cent. of the total. Figures for the number of all disabled people employed by the Department and the Teachers Pensions Agency are not currently available.

Special Needs

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were statemented in each year from 1965 to 1980 inclusive.

The arrangements for issuing statements of special educational needs were introduced under the Education Act 1981. In England, the number of pupils newly assessed as requiring special educational treatment in calendar years 1977 to 1980 inclusive were 23,210; 22,972; 21,570 and 22,243 respectively. Information for England is not available for earlier years.

Standard Spending Assessment, Devon

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the percentage change between the proposed education standard spending assessment for 1995–96 and the comparable figure for 1994–95 for Devon county council.

The proposed education standard spending assessment for 1995–96 for Devon is 2.2 per cent. higher than the comparable figure for 1994–95.

Direct Grant Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many former direct grant schools are now independent schools.

There are 120 registered independent schools which were formerly direct grant grammar schools.

Student Loans Company

To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what was the estimated cost of the development of computer systems for the fast-track applications system introduced by the Student Loans Company;(2) what remuneration has been received by the assessor of the Student Loans Company in each year of the existence of the position;(3) what was the expenditure by the Student Loans Company on computer systems development in each of the last two financial years for which figures are available; and to what specific purposes this expenditure was directed.

These matters are for the Student Loans Company. I have asked the acting chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Student Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in London she expects to be in receipt of the new rate of loan for those who could conveniently live at home in 1995–96.

The new rate of loan will apply from the academic year 1995–96 to students studying in London and living away from home whose grant is limited to the "parental home" rate of grant because their local education authority judges that they could conveniently live at home. Information is not collected centrally about the number of students in respect of whom LEAs have exercised this discretion.

Grant-Maintained Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list for each year since January 1991 for the grant-maintained secondary school sector (a) the number of full-time equivalent pupils, (b) full-time equivalent qualified teachers and (c) the pupil-to-teacher ratio.

The information requested is shown in the table.

Pupil: teacher ratios in grant-maintained secondary schools in England 1991–94 Position in January each year
	Full-time equivalent pupils	Full-time equivalent qualified teachers	Pupil teacher ratio
1991	36,400	2,390	15:3
1992	105,800	6,690	15:8
1993	221,400	13,780	16:1
1994	485,300	29,800	16:3

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list those grant-maintained schools in Liverpool that have received loans from the Funding Agency for Schools; and whether these loans have been repaid or renewed.

Information relating to loans made to grant maintained schools is held by the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member.

Free School Meals

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statutory or discretionary provision exists for the provision of free school meals to pupils under the age of 19 years whose parents are in receipt of income support

Grade equivalent	1991	1992	1993		1994
	(FTE)	(FTE)	(FTE)	(Headcount)	(FTE)	(Headcount)
Grade 3	2.0	3.5	3.5	4	3.5	4
Grade 7	55.5	61.5	73.0	80	74.0	87
Executive officer	521.5	472.5	482.5	500	471.5	499
Administrative officer	932.5	926.0	883.5	943	848.0	924
Administrative assistant	859.0	830.0	829.0	880	817.5	862
Total women	2,689.5	2,623.5	2.627.0	2,792	2,595.0	2,774

Arable Aid Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hectares of land established as grassland or soft or bush fruit during the years 1987 to 1991 which were initially ineligible for arable aid payments were subsequently deemed eligible by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department after farmers had submitted completed HCAP 009.114 forms.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Lockerbie

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Crown Office was first informed by the United States authorities of the possible involvement of Ayatollah Mohtashami in the Lockerbie bombing as suggested in the US Air Force Intelligence Agency de-classified documents; and if he will make a statement.

The Crown Office was aware of allegations of involvement of the former Iranian Interior Minister in the Lockerbie bombing at an early stage of the investigation. The allegations were examined by the competent authorities but no evidence has so far been found to substantiate them. in (a) incorporated colleges of further education and (b) incorporated sixth form colleges.

Provision of this nature is encompassed within discretionary awards and access funds which are administered by local education authorities and FE colleges respectively. The rate of grant payable to students and the method of assessment are for the authority to determine. FE colleges decide which students who are suffering hardship they will support from access funds.

Scotland

Departmental Employees

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees for which his Department is responsible were women (a) in 1991, (b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994; and of these, how many were (i) at grade 7 level, (ii) at grade 3 level, (iii) at executive officer level, (iv) at administrative officer level and (v) at administrative assistant level.

The numbers of women employed in the Scottish Office, its executive agencies, excluding the Scottish Prison Service, and associated departments at 1 April in the years from 1991 to 1994 and those at grade 7, grade 3, executive officer, administrative officer and administrative assistant levels were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence the United States legal authorities gave to the Crown Office to support the indictment of Libyan suspects in connection with the Lockerbie bombing; when the evidence was received; and if he will make a statement.

The Lockerbie investigation was carried out in close co-operation with the United States authorities. Criminal proceedings are pending and it would be improper to give details of evidence in the case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the Crown Office first learned of the existence of the de-classified US Air Force Intelligence Agency files which refer to the bombing of the Pan Am 103 at Lockerbie; and if he will make a statement.

The Crown Office first learned of the existence of this report from a press enquiry on 23 January 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the Crown Office received a copy of the de-classified United States Air Force Intelligence Agency files which refer to the bombing of the Pan Am 103 at Lockerbie; and if he will make a statement.

The Crown Office received a copy of the report on 24 January 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date the Crown Office was first informed of the contents of the de-classified United States Air Force Intelligence Agency files which refer to the bombing of the Pan Am 103 at Lockerbie; and if he will make a statement.

The Crown Office was first informed of the contents of the report on 23 January 1995 but was already well aware of allegations which are set out in that document.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the dates of the meetings which have been held between the Crown Office and the United States Air Force Intelligence Agency to discuss the contents of United States Air Force Intelligence Agency de-classified files which refer to the bombing of the Pan Am 103 at Lockerbie, the names of the individuals present and in what capacity they attended; and if he will make a statement.

No such meetings have been held.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the dates of the telephone discussions which have been held between the Crown Office and the United States Air Force Intelligence Agency to discuss the contents of United States Air Force Intelligence Agency de-classified files which refer to the bombing of the Pan Am 103 at Lockerbie; and if he will make a statement.

No such discussions have taken place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish details of delegations involving United States law officers and representatives of US Air Force Intelligence Agency to the United Kingdom to discuss the investigation into the Lockerbie bombing, the meetings they attended and the matters discussed.

No delegations involving United States Air Force Intelligence Agency representatives have taken part in discussions in the United Kingdom concerning the investigation into the Lockerbie bombing. United States law enforcement officers, based in the United States and in the United Kingdom, have met Scottish police and prosecution authorities frequently during the Lockerbie investigation and a liaison officer of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation was based at Lockerbie during much of the most active period of the Lockerbie investigation. The discussions of such officers were confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish details of trips involving representatives of the Crown Office to the United States of America as part of the investigation into the Lockerbie bombing, the meetings they attended and the matters discussed.

Representatives of the Crown Office have visited the United States on a number of occasions for confidential discussions concerning the Lockerbie investigation, which was carried out in close co-operation with the United States authorities. It would be inappropriate to give details of these meetings and discussions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment the Crown Office has made of the relevance of the de-classified US Air Force Intelligence Agency documents for the investigation into the Lockerbie bombing; and if he will make a statement.

The report quotes an untried source relying on "second and third party information" as stating that the former Iranian Interior Minister paid $10 million to have the Lockerbie bombing carried out. It contains no evidence to substantiate a story which was already well known and has not so far been otherwise substantiated. It has, accordingly, no present relevance to the investigation.

Instruments Of Torture

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assurances are sought from United Kingdom companies active in the manufacture, marketing and supply of (a) electro-shock weapons and (b) instruments of torture that such assistance as is given to them will not be used to facilitate trade in and support the marketing of electro-shock weapons.

In considering applications for licenses for the export of such equipment the DTI, together with advisers in other Government Departments, take special care and consider very carefully the political and military implications of allowing consignments to go overseas. Particular attention is paid to proposed exports to countries with poor human rights records, where the equipment might be used for internal repression.I understand that ICL Technical Plastics has now confirmed that its company's export records show that no such equipment was ever sold or export licenses sought or approved by the DTI.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received on the manufacture, marketing and supply of (a) electro-shock weapons and (b) instruments of torture; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received a small number of letters from members of the public on this matter.

Icl Technical Plastics

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions were held between his Department and ICL Technical Plastics in order to promote its products in the foreign market place; and if he will make a statement.

Scottish Trade International, the export arm of the Scottish Office and Scottish Enterprise, had some discussions in 1993 with the company about the marketing of a range of conventional riot gear which had been already sold to police forces within the United Kingdom. No mention of electro-shock weapons or similar products has ever been made to officials.The Scottish Office has conducted extensive investigation and is satisfied that the allegations made against the Department by the Channel 4 "Dispatches" programme are unsubstantiated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what financial assistance was given to ICL Technical Plastics in Glasgow for sponsoring sales trips abroad; and what sum was involved.

Scottish Trade International, the export arm of the Scottish Office and Scottish Enterprise, has given no financial assistance to ICL Technical Plastics, Glasgow, either for sponsoring sales trips abroad or indeed for any other business activities.

Depleted Uranium

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all sites in Scotland where depleted uranium is stored in any form; what is the quantity stored in each case; and what measures are taken to protect the public from any potential dangers.

In Scotland, depleted uranium is stored on nuclear sites at UKAEA Dounreay and British Nuclear Fuels plc, Chapelcross.Tonnages stored at these sites are:

Dounreay: 110 tonnes
Chapelcross: 5,000 tonnes

At these sites, similar controls are applied to depleted uranium as for all other nuclear materials.

From time to time the Ministry of Defence stores small quantities of depleted uranium at the test and evaluation establishment at Kirkcudbright. They are stored in accordance with current licensing regulations, arrangements are overseen by the Health and Safety Executive, and Her Majesty's industrial pollution inspectorate is aware of them. It is also held at other munitions stores and depots, but it is not the Ministry of Defence's practice to disclose the quantities of or locations where, specific types of ammunition are stored. However, all such material is held in safe and secure facilities in accordance with the requirements for radioactive materials.

Executive Search Agencies

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidelines are operated by his Department as regards the use of executive search agencies to fill vacancies within his Department and his Department's executive agencies; and in what circumstances his Department employs executive search agencies instead of relying fully on Departmental resources to fill vacant posts.

[holding answer 26 January 1995]: Executive search agencies are used in cases where my Department and its agencies consider posts will be difficult to fill and where suitable candidates are probably currently in employment and therefore unlikely to apply simply on the basis of an advertisement in the press.

Students

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discretion exists under current Scottish Office Education Department regulations and guidelines to allow institutions to make payments from access funds to students who are eligible for, but have not applied for, a student loan.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: The guidance issued to institutions indicates that if an eligible student has not taken out a loan, and there are no exceptional circumstances, it would be reasonable to conclude that his or her circumstances were not sufficiently difficult to warrant assistance from the access funds.We therefore expect the provision of assistance from the access funds to such students, other than on as short-term immediate need basis, to be very much the exception.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many students applied for assistance from the access funds in Scotland for the academic year 1993–94; and how many received payments;(2) what was the amount disbursed to students from access funds in respect of fees, books, equipment, accommodation, child care, or other needs for each higher and further education institution in Scotland for the academic year 1993–94.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: A full breakdown is not available since not all institutions have been able to provide the information requested. The table sets out the available information by institutional sector based on returns submitted to date.

Access funds 1993–94
	Higher education institutions	Further education colleges	Total
Number of students applying¹	13,500	4,600	18,100
Number of students assisted¹	8,600	3,800	12,400
Amounts disbursed¹	£1.9 million	£0.7 million	£2.6 million
Amounts available to all institutions	£2.7 million	£1.1 million	£3.8 million
¹ No adjustments have been made for outstanding returns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the percentage changes in the number of students applying for assistance from access funds between each year since the system began and the academic year 1993–94.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: The available information, based on returns received to date, is set out in the table.Figures for 1993–94 are not comparable with earlier years due to inclusion of returns from Scottish universities which, prior to that session, received their access funds resources from the then Universities Funding Council.

	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94
Number of students applying	11,000	12,600	12,700	18,100
Percentage increase on previous year	—	14 per cent.	1 per cent.	42 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the results of the monitoring returns for Scotland and higher education institutions on the use of discretionary funds for 1993–94.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to access funds.The detailed information so far available for academic year 1993–94 is not sufficiently comprehensive to justify publication. We will consider how best to disseminate the information when we have a more complete picture.

Cardiac Surgery

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make it his policy that no patients awaiting cardiac surgery in the Borders health board area will be put under pressure to accept referral to Health Care International in Clydebank unless they and their general practitioners are convinced that it is in the patients' best interests to do so;(2) what consideration he or his ministerial colleagues have given to the waiting list initiative taken by the Borders health board in respect of the referral of Borders patients waiting for cardiac surgery to Health Care International in Clydebank; and if he will make a statement;(3) what discussion was held between the NHS Executive in Scotland and the Borders health board before the recent initiative to refer Border patients awaiting cardiac surgery to HCI in Clydebank; and if he will make a statement;(4) what assessment he has made of the standard of cardiac surgery in HCI in Clydebank relative to the range of treatment available at the Royal infirmary in Edinburgh; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: This is a matter for Borders health board. It is appropriate for NHS purchasers to buy services from independent hospitals, in order to reduce waiting times for patients. The NHS in Scotland Management Executive was aware of Borders health board's proposal to purchase cardiac surgery services from HCI.

Home Department

Pucklechurch Remand Centre

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of whether security at the Pucklechurch remand centre is adequate for the custody of category A prisoners.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyles dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about security at Pucklechurch prison.

Category A escapes
Type of establishment	20 June 1988-31 March 1989	1 April 1989-31 March 1990	1 April 1990-31 March 1991	1 April 1991-31 March 1992	1 April 1992-31 March 1993	1 April 1993-31 March 94	1 April 1994-9 January 95
Dispersal	0	0	0	1	1	0	8
Local	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
Escorts	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Total	0	2	0	4	2	0	8

Incidents of escape from custody of other than prisoners in category A are recorded according to the security category of the prison from which the prisoner escapes and not by the security category of the prisoner.

Information about these escapes has only been recorded centrally since 20 June 1988. During the period 20 June 1988 to 9 January 1995, the number of prisoners who escaped from dispersal prisons and category B and C prisons is as follows:

An assessment has been made of the security arrangements needed to hold a category A prisoner at Pucklechurch prison and appropriate arrangements have been put into effect.

Prison Escapes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted category A prisoners have escaped in each year since 1965.

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

Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about how many convicted category A prisoners have escaped in each year since 1965.

Category A was introduced in June 1967. The following table shows the number of convicted category A prisoners who escaped in each calendar year since then.

Year	Number of prisoners	Year	Number of prisoners
1967	0	1987	2
1968	1	1988	0
1969	0	1989	1
1970	1	1990	1
1971	0	1991	1
1972	4	1992	1
1973	1	1993	0
1974 and 1975	0	1994	6
1976	3	1995	2
1977–1986 (inclusive)	0	—	—

In addition, in 1980 there were three escapes, and in 1991 two escapes, by remand/unconvicted category A prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category A, category B and category C prisoners have escaped from custody in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 16 January 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. John Hutton, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me, to reply to your recent Question about how many Category A, B and C prisoners escaped from custody in each year since 1979.

The information is not available in exactly the form you request. Information about escapes of category A prisoners is in the following table:

Type of Establishment	20 June 1988-31 March 1989	1 April 1989-31 March 1990	1 April 1990-31 March 1991	1 April 1991-31 March 1992	1 April 1992-31 March 1993	1 April 1993-31 March 1994	1 April 1994-31 March 1995
Dispersal	—	1	—	—	—	—	1
Category B	49	15	34	50	45	24	23
Category C	82	99	153	170	126	104	77
Closed Young
Offender	10	29	37	75	58	50	23
Closed Female	—	—	1	10	7	1	5
Escorts (Male)	95	106	107	140	138	116	51
Escorts (Female)	7	5	4	14	13	9	7
Total	243	255	336	459	387	296	187

The above information also includes escapes from closed young offender establishments and those escapes form closed female establishments during this period. Young offenders and female prisoners are not classified as Category B or C, but as suitable for either closed or open conditions.

Prisoners (Private Cash)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the weekly limit of private cash that a prison inmate in prisons in England and Wales is allowed to spend.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the weekly limit which prisoners are allowed to spend from private cash.

The private cash limit for convicted prisoners is expressed in annual rather than weekly terms. The basic national limit, set in 1987, is £115 and excludes phonecards and newspapers. Higher levels can be set by governors with their area managers' agreement and some establishments have separate allowances for items such as hobbies materials and food. There are no such limits applying in general to unconvicted prisoners.

In his statement to the House on 19 December 1994 about the Woodcock enquiry into events at Whitemoor, the Home Secretary announced that amounts of private cash that prisoners are permitted to spend will be reduced, and in time the use of unearned private cash will be eliminated altogether.

Prison Security

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what salary has been or will be paid to the person or persons who will advise his Department on United States prison security; and if he will make a statement.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the salary of prison security advisors from the United States.

No decisions have been taken on the appointment or remuneration of a prison security advisor from the United States. A former warden of a maximum security prison in the United States has been invited to discuss the contribution that he might make to the Prison Service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons have had their locks changed because of key compromises in the last three years; and what was the average cost for each such prison.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Margaret Hodge, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisons where locks have been changed because of key compromises in the last three years.

Since January 1992 there have been 28 key compromises resulting in a change of locks. This includes the recent compromise at Parkhurst prison.

The cost of replacing the locks varies according to the size of the prison and the class of locks. Typical costs are in the range of between £40,000 and £64,000.

Prisoners (Self-Inflicted Injuries)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give figures for the numbers of self-inflicted injuries in Her Majesty's prisons, according to prison category, in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) the last year for which figures are available.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of self inflicted injuries during 1979, 1985 and the most recent available year.

In 1979 a total of 1,906 incidents of deliberate self injury were recorded. In 1984 reporting periods changed from calendar to financial years and therefore we do not have a specific figure for 1985. During the year 1985–86 a total of 1,567 incidents of deliberate self injury were recorded. The most recent available year 1993–94 had 4,187. Incidents of deliberate self injury are normally categorised as those with apparent suicidal intent and other less serious incidents. These are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of incidents of deliberate self injury
	Number of incidents of deliberate self injury
Year	With apparent suicidal intent	Other less serious incidents	Total
1979	300	1,606	1,906
1985–86	256	1,311	1,567
1993–94	825	3,362	4,187

The significantly higher figures for 1993–94 result from the Prison Service introducing a revised strategy for caring for potentially suicidal prisoners in April 1994. This was designed to enable a high quality of care to be given to prisoners who are identified as being at possible risk of self-harm. It reflected a decision to move away from a primarily medical model of suicide prevention towards a more integrated approach which emphasises the responsibility of the whole of the prison community for the care of those in distress.

Included amongst the new procedures was a system for identifying those at risk of self-harm by the use of a new form (F2052SH), which was piloted in a number of establishments during 1993. The form acts as a basis for a team work, case-conference approach to dealing with those at risk. The new system encourages staff to consider the most appropriate location for potentially suicidal prisoners, be that within the Health Care Centre or on the residential unit, with appropriate levels of supervision and support in either case.

It is possible that the introduction of the new form together with the higher profile which the strategy affords to identification of and support for potentially suicidal prisoners has affected recording procedures. Staff may have become more disposed to ascribe suicidal intent or alternatively have become more attentive to signs of self-injurious behaviour.

Information on deliberate self injuries by prison type is not available for 1979 or 1985–86. Table 2 shows the breakdown for 1993–94.

Table 2: Number of incidents of deliberate self-harm by prison type for 1993–94
Prison type	Number of incidents	¹ per cent. of CAN
Category D Trainer	9	0.3
Category C Trainer	295	2.5
Category B Trainer	120	3.2
Dispersal	116	4.4
Young Offenders (Male)	907	12.0
Local	1,750	12.5
Female	990	66.4
Note:
¹ Percentage CNA refers to the number of incidents of deliberate self injury expressed as a percentage of certified normal accommodation (CNA).

Prison Officers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's policy on the regular movement of prison officers who deal with category A prisoners in prisons in England and Wales.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your Question about the policy on the regular movement of prison officers who deal with category A prisoners.

Category A prisoners are located in prisons where the majority of prisoners are in lower security categories. Governors rotate staff as they perceive the need to do so.

In the case of category A prisoners located in Special Secure Units, the Woodcock enquiry into the escape from Whitemoor recommended that there should be a firm policy for the rotation of staff to reduce the threat of conditioning. The Home Secretary accepted all the Woodcock recommendations and intends to publish a detailed timetable for their implementation shortly.

Prisoners (Surveillance)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who (a) are classified as a suicide risk and (b) are not so classified have 24-hour surveillance as of 3 January this year.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners classified as a suicide risk and the number of prisoners under 24 hour surveillance.

During the period 3 – 18 January 1995 a total of 16 inmates spent periods of continuous observation in prisons in England and Wales. Of these, 15 had been identified at risk of suicide and one placed on observation on Headquarters instructions as a precautionary measure.

Establishment	Suicide risks on Continuous watch	continuous watch for other reasons
Pucklechurch	1	0
Guys Marsh	2	0
Swinfen Hall	2	0
Moorland	1	0
Wandsworth	1	0
Durham	1	0
Cookham Wood	1	1
		(13/14) HQ
		Instruction
Birmingham	1	0
Pentonville	1	0
Highdown	2	0
Parkhurst	2	0

Mrs Rosemary West

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who issued the instruction to keep open at all times the cell door of Mrs. Rosemary West, currently in custody at Pucklechurch remand centre, after the death of her husband on 2 January.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about who issued the instruction to keep open at all times the cell door of Mrs. Rosemary West, currently in custody at Pucklechurch Remand Centre, after the death of her husband on 2 January.

After the death of Frederick West on 1 January 1995 at Birmingham prison, the Directory of Custody, Phillipa Drew, in consultation with me, took the decision to place Rosemary West under observation by two members of staff on a twenty four hour basis, to prevent her from self harm.

Mrs. West's cell door is not kept open at all times. Her door is unlocked at approximately 20:45 and is locked again at 07.30. Every effort is being made to make the observation of Mrs. West as unobtrusive as possible.

Electro-Shock Equipment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the United Kingdom Prison Service has been equipped with, or trained with the use of, electro-shock devices.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Llew Smith, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about whether the United Kingdom Prison Service has been equipped with, or trained in the use of, electro-shock devices.

I can confirm that the Prison Service in England and Wales is not equipped with electro-shock devices nor are prison officers trained in the use of such devices.

It is for the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland to provide details for their own services.

Prison Governors

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons in England and Wales did not have a number one governor in post as of 16 January.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about which prisons in England and Wales did not have a number one governor in post as of the 16 January.

Our planning arrangements ensure that the majority of governor-in-charge posts are handed over by the outgoing governor to the incoming governor. Where there is an interregnum, arrangements are made for the post to be temporarily covered by another senior governor grade, usually from the same establishment.

On 16 January, the following prisons did not have a permanent governing governor in post:
HMP Canterbury: appointment pending.
HMP Coldingley: appointment made and new governor takes up post on 30 January.
HMP Lindholme: appointment pending.
HMP Long Lartin: appointment made and new governor takes up post on 30 January.
HMP Shrewsbury: appointment pending.

The new governor of HMP Parkhurst took up post on 16 January, which in turn created a vacant post to be filled at HMP Albany.

Life Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women who are classified as foreign nationals are currently serving a life prison sentence in a prison in England and Wales.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking, how many (a) men and (b) women who are classified as foreign nationals are currently serving a life prison sentence in a prison in England and Wales.

The latest available provisional information is for 30 November 1994. On that date there were 490 non-British citizens (474 males and 16 females) serving a life sentence in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. This includes 56 male and 4 female nationals from the Irish Republic.

Leeds Prison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 12 January, Official Report, column 202, for the non-payment of which types of fine the 11 people in Leeds prison are jailed.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. John Battle, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about fine defaulters at Leeds prison.

On 14 December there were 11 prisoners serving sentences for non-payment of fines imposed as follows:

Offence on warrant

assault on police
burglary
traffic offence (4)
criminal damage (2)
reckless driving
theft
drunk driving

Prisoners (Hospital Treatment)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the provision of security coverage to prisoners receiving outside hospital treatment; and who is responsible for the payment of costs incurred.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 30 January 1995:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about security coverage during visits to outside hospitals.

The level of security coverage to be provided is a matter for the governor in each case. Guidance is contained in section 60 of the Security Manual, copies of which are in the Library of the House.

The cost of escorts to hospitals, as with other kinds of escort, is met by the prison.

Mi5 (Headquarters)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current annual cost per member of staff accommodated in the MI5 headquarters building at Millbank, London.

It is long-standing Government policy not to provide detailed information about the expenditure of the security and intelligence agencies.

Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the current version of the European Union's data protection directive contains provisions regarding personal data derived from DNA samples of the dead; and if he will make a statement;(2) if the current version of the European Union's data protection directive contains provision about access by the data subject to non-automated personal data; and if he will make a statement;(3) whether the current version of the European Union's data protection directive contains provision regarding the giving of consent by the data subject, in certain circumstances, to the use and disclosure of personal data; and if he will make a statement;(4) if the current version of the European Union's data protection directive protects the individual by restricting the holding of sensitive personal data to those controllers authorised by the United Kingdom Parliament; and what plans he has to introduce such restrictions in the United Kingdom.

The most recent version of the draft data protection directive is an unpublished working document.This version contains no reference to DNA. It provides for similar rights of subject access to both computerised data and data in manual filing systems. It allows processing to be carried out if any one of a number of conditions is met. These conditions include the giving of consent by the data subject.The present text will not necessarily require the United Kingdom Parliament to authorise individual controllers to process sensitive personal data. If the directive is adopted, the Government will consider how to implement it in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement concerning progress towards agreement on the European Union's data protection directive; if he will indicate those areas where the United Kingdom Government still have major concerns; if he expects to vote against parts of the directive at a forthcoming meeting of the Council of Ministers in February; and if he will make a statement.

Negotiations within Council on the draft data protection directive are likely to be concluded under the French presidency. The Government continue to have reservations about a number of aspects of the directive: their final position will be determined when negotiations within the Council are concluded.

Mr John Marriott

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the salary paid to Mr. John Marriott when governor of Parkhurst prison; and what will be the salary paid to him in his new position.

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

Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 30 January 1995:

Mr. Marriott is Governor Grade 1 and was and is paid the salary for that grade within the range £46,986 and £48,025. His salary will not change as a result of taking up his new position.

Overseas Domestic Workers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what procedures his Department has put in place for monitoring the success of the new arrangements for the entry of overseas domestic workers;(2) what safeguards he has put in place to ensure that employers of overseas domestic workers honour agreements made to their workers under the new agreements announced on 9 December, once they have entered the United Kingdom.

I do not believe that detailed monitoring of the new arrangements is necessary, but I shall keep them under general review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the new arrangements for the admission of overseas domestic workers announced on 9 December will clearly set out standards of employment which conform to United Kingdom labour laws.

The new arrangements include a requirement for the employer to provide a written statement, setting out the main terms and conditions of employment, a copy of which must be given to the domestic worker, who must confirm that he or she agrees to them. Contractual employment terms are generally matters for the parties concerned and are not regulated by United Kingdom legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what specific guidelines as to what constitutes adequate maintenance and accommodation will be included in the new arrangements announced on 9 December, Official Report, columns 379–80 for the admission of overseas domestic workers

Entry clearance officers already have guidance on the application of the maintenance and accommodation requirements of the immigration rules. Separate guidance has not been issued in relation to overseas domestic workers. A domestic worker must be provided with a separate bedroom.

National Lottery

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the disbursement of national lottery funds to charities.

Twenty per cent. of available national lottery proceeds has been allocated for disbursement to eligible bodies by the National Lottery Charities Board. The board is an independent body, which will devise its own policies, practices and procedures, within the framework of the legislation. I understand that its present aim is to issue guidelines to applicants during the course of the year and to begin considering applications and making grants towards the end of the year.The other national lottery distributing bodies are also able to make grants to charities in their respective subject areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects charities to receive funds from the National Lottery Charities Board.

Number of prosecutions under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 (as amended)¹and Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 by type of proceedings and month 1993
England and Wales
	Type of proceedings
Offence/month	Apprehension	Summons by police	Summons other than by police	Total
Protection of Animals Act 1911¹
January	7	28	56	91
February	7	32	61	100
March	3	30	76	109
April	4	9	58	71
May	7	21	49	77
June	7	19	78	104
July	7	19	84	110
August	5	13	61	79
September	7	18	77	102
October	9	22	67	98
November	7	15	66	88
December	5	10	40	55
Annual	75	236	773	1,084
Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968—Sections 1, 2 and 6 (relating to welfare of livestock)
January	—	—	2	2
February	—	3	2	5
March	—	—	7	7
April	—	1	2	3
May	—	—	1	1
June	—	2	1	3
July	1	—	4	5
August	—	—	1	1
September	—	—	—	—
October	—	—	2	2
November	—	—	2	2
December	—	—	4	4
Annual	1	6	28	35
¹ Cannot distinguish between offences involving livestock or other animals,

Note:

The statistics of court proceedings are based on returns made by the police to the Home Office and although these include offences where there has been no police involvement, such as those prosecutions instigated by government departments, private organisations and individuals, the reporting of these types of offence is known to be incomplete. Where proceedings involve more than one offence, the table records the principal offence.

This is a matter for the National Lottery Charities Board. I understand however that it hopes to begin making grants towards the end of this year.

Livestock (Cruelty)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions his Department has brought forward for cruelty to livestock in each month since 19 January 1994; and how many of the defendants in these cases used lawyers paid for from legal aid.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and not the Home Department is involved in proceedings for cruelty to livestock. No data for 1994 will be available until autumn 1995. The table shows the number of prosecutions under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 by type of proceedings and month for 1993. Information held centrally does not identify the individual summoning body, nor the number of cases receiving legal aid by offence type.

Essex Police

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the cost of the use of video and still camera equipment by the Essex police at Brightlingsea in each month since October 1994.

I understand from the chief constable of Essex that such equipment has only been used in Brightlingsea during January 1995. As at 27 January, the cost was estimated at £1,100 for video equipment and £280 for still cameras.

Asylum Seekers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to end the policy of detaining asylum seekers in Britain pending decisions on their applications.

The Court of Appeal is currently considering a case involving the power to detain certain people who have sought asylum and the court's judgment will be given very careful consideration once it is received. In the meantime, it is not proposed to change our current general practice which results in the detention of only a very small proportion of people who have sought asylum.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what international conventions govern the practice of restraining failed asylum seekers in flight, and withholding their documents and handing them to the authorities of their country of origin;(2) what are the procedures when failed asylum seekers are returned under escort to

(a) Angola, (b) Ghana, (c) Zaire, (d) Sierra Leone, (e) Sri Lanka, (f) Turkey and (g) Uganda;

(3) what are the procedures for returning refused asylum seekers under escort to their country of origin; and if the passenger together with his travel documents is handed over to the security services at the receiving airport;

(4) in what circumstances the tranquillising drug largactil or chlorpromazine is given in the forced removal of failed asylum seekers; who determines the dose; and who administers it.

The powers of the commander of an aircraft to authorise the use of restraints in flight flows from article 6 of the Tokyo convention 1963. I am not aware of any international convention governing the handling of travel documents in these circumstances. Escorted asylum seekers are normally invited to disembark at the country of destination in possession of their own documentation. The procedures for removing failed asylum seekers under escort are the same irrespective of the country of destination. The person would not normally be drawn to the attention of the authorities in the country of destination unless this was considered appropriate e.g. in relation to a criminal offence. The administration of medication is a matter for a medical practitioner to decide. Sedation is not used as a means to effect removal.

Employment Vetting

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he intends to publish his proposals on the disclosure of criminal records for employment vetting purposes; and if he will make a statement;(2) what plans he has for the introduction of conviction certificates for employment vetting purposes.

We plan to publish a White Paper outlining our proposals for new arrangements for the disclosure of criminal records in late spring. The White Paper may include the proposal that people should be able to apply for a certificate showing any convictions they may have which are unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Employers could then ask to see such a certificate before making a firm job offer.

Police Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to allocate the police grant in 1995–96.

Further to his reply 1 December, Official Report, columns 844–45: I have today laid before the House the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 1995–96. The report sets out the amount of police grant to be made available to individual police authorities in 1995–96. It should be read in conjunction with the Local Government Finance Report (England) 1995–96, the Limitation of Council Tax and Precepts (Relevant Notional Amounts) Report (England) 1995–96 and the Special Grant Report (No. 12), which was today laid before the House by my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, and, for Welsh police forces, with the information being given to the House this afternoon by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.I am placing in the Library and in the Vote Office copies of a table showing by police force area the total effect of these announcements as they relate to police funding in England and Wales.

Church Commissioners

Consultants

30.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what conclusions the Church Commissioners have drawn from their independent actuaries' consultants reports.

The commissioners have accepted their actuaries' advice that in their endeavours to meet the commitments placed upon them they have been over distributing their income and that contributions should be collected from Church members to finance the cost of pension benefits accruing in the future.

Schools (Acts Of Worship)

31.

To ask the right hon. member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners if (a) beneficed clergy, (b) other clergy, (c) bishops and (d) archbishops are to be asked to conduct acts of worship in schools; and if he will make a statement.

This is not a matter for the Church Commissioners.

Churchgoers

32.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what assessment the Commission has made of the effect of changes in the average age of churchgoers on the finances of the Church of England.

None. The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England collects financial and membership information annually from the parishes, but does not hold data on the age profile of congregations.

Disestablishment

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what recent representations he has received about disestablishment.

None.

Investment (Arms Trade)

34.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what is the Church Commissioners' policy in respect of investing in companies engaged in the arms trade.

The Commissioners do not invest in any company whose main activity is in armaments. They have followed this policy for many years and monitor their investments accordingly.

Social Security

Jobseekers Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received regarding the safety of Benefits Agency staff dealing with income support claims and the proposed jobseekers allowance; and if he will make a statement.

The administration of income support and the benefit-related aspects of the proposed jobseeker's allowance is the responsibility of Mr. 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. Ian McCartney, dated 27 January 1995:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the safety of Benefits Agency staff dealing with Income Support claims and the proposed Jobseeker's Allowance.

From April 1996, Jobseeker's Allowance will replace Income Support and Unemployment Benefit for those customers who are required to be available or register for employment. Other customers will still be able to claim Income Support but there are no proposals to have claims by them dealt with by Benefits Agency staff in Employment Service Jobcentres and there have been no representations about the safety of staff dealing with Income Support claims.

Claims to Jobseeker's Allowance will be dealt with, as far as is possible, in Employment Service Jobcentres. To date, representations have been received from the Benefits Agency Trade Union Side about the safety of Benefits Agency staff working in Employment Service Jobcentres. Discussions are taking place with the Trade Union Side following a generic risk assessment of the effects of handling the Jobseeker's Allowance in Employment Service Jobcentres. This will be followed by local risk assessments in each Employment Service Jobcentre. Benefits Agency Trade Unions will be consulted about the results of the risk assessment.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

Benefits Agency (Assaults)

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many assaults have been committed on Benefits Agency staff dealing with income support claims in each year since 1979 (a) nationally, (b) by region and (c) by individual social security office; and if he will make a statement.

The administration of Income Support 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. Ian McCartney dated 27 January 1995:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about assaults on Income Support staff in Benefits Agency Offices.

Statistics on assaults on Benefits Agency Staff dealing with Income Support are not readily available in the format requested. This is because when collating these statistics, no differentiation is made with regard to the type of benefit in question, other than at a national level. Information relating to regions and individual offices could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

National statistics on the total number of reported assaults related to Income Support claims and supplementary benefit, which preceded it, are reproduced on the attached schedule. Figures prior to 1992 relate to the Department of Health and Social Security and Department of Social Security. Those for 1992 and 1993 relate to the Benefits Agency only. Statistics for 1994 are not yet available.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

Year	Benefit	Total assaults
Department of (Health and) Social Security
1979	Supplementary Benefit	165
1980	Supplementary Benefit	173
1981	Supplementary Benefit	155
1982	Supplementary Benefit	179
1983	Supplementary Benefit	174
1984	Supplementary Benefit	150
1985	Supplementary Benefit	182
1986	Supplementary Benefit	225
1987	Supplementary Benefit	185
1988	Supplementary Benefit	175
1989	Income Support	148
1990	Income Support	146
1991	Income Support	112
Benefits Agency
1992	Income Support	68
1993	Income Support	56

Child Support Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to introduce proposals for the Child Support Agency which will enable a repayment or payments at once if an overpayment has been made to the Child Support Agency resulting from an error by the Child Support Agency.

We have been considering the current provisions in the Child Support Act and regulations relating to overpaid maintenance and have concluded that some changes are necessary. We propose to amend regulation 10 of the Arrears, Interest and Adjustment of Maintenance Assessment Regulations to give the child support officer greater discretion in setting the amount by which current maintenance can be reduced when maintenance has been over paid. The amendment will be tabled in March for introduction in April.However, some cases will still remain where such an adjustment will not be possible or where it will give an unreasonable result. For example, there may be no current maintenance liability which could be reduced to take account of an overpayment, or only a small reduction will be possible meaning the overpayment would be repaid over an unreasonably long period. We therefore propose to include in the forthcoming Child Support Bill a measure to enable the Child Support Agency to reimburse the absent parent in such circumstances.

National Insurance Numbers

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the national insurance number can be used for purposes unconnected with the tax and benefits system; what legislation would be necessary to legitimise any new purpose; what plans he has to make the number more widely available for such purposes; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave him on Tuesday 29 November 1994, Official Report, column 627. The national insurance number can be used only for national insurance, tax and social security benefit-related purposes and we have no plans at present to introduce legislation to extend the use of the national insurance number.

Medical Appeals Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the total budget in each year since 1993 for training courses provided for medical consultants working with the medical appeals tribunals section of the Northern area of the independent tribunal service;(2) if he will list for each year since 1993 and to the latest available date

(a) all general training courses, their duration and numbers attending and (b) all specialist or medical training courses, their duration and umbers attending, which were provided for medical consultants working with the medical appeals tribunals section of the Northern area of the independent tribunal service;

(3) how many medical consultants are employed by the independent tribunal service in each region.

These are matters for the President of the independent tribunal service, his honour Judge Bassingthwaighte. I will ask him to write to the hon. Member.

Income Support

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applicants for income support have been refused owing to the habitual residence test per month since it was introduced; and of these how many were (a) British nationals and (b) non-British nationals.

The information is set out in the table.

Number of Income Support claimants recorded as having been refused benefit under the habitual residence test
1994	British nationals	Non-British nationals
August	237	758
September	372	2,028
October	454	2,724
November	585	2,741
December	439	2,234
Total	2,087	10,485

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the savings which will result from his proposals to (a) reduce the cap for income support for mortgage interest payments to £100,000 from April, (b) pay income support for mortgage interest only after nine months on benefit for new borrowers from October, (c) pay income support for mortgage interest only after two months on benefit for existing borrowers from October and (d) pay income support for mortgage interest at a standard rate to all claimants, (i) in 1995–96 and (ii) in a full year.

The estimated saving of reducing the cap on mortgage interest payments from £125,000 to £100,000 for new claims from April is £2 million for the year to April 1996. This estimate is based on the 1993 annual statistical enquiry, uprated to 1995–96 levels. The financial effects of the other changes will depend on the outcome of the consultation and the final detail of the scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what considerations underlay his proposals to adopt a standard rate of mortgage interest payments for income support.

The administration of the current scheme, which calculates each penny of interest due and reflects every change in interest rates, is extremely complex. It has been the subject of criticism by both the chief adjudication officer and the National Audit Office. A standard rate will significantly ease this administrative burden as well as reducing the cost to the taxpayer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if it is his intention that income support should continue to provide long-term assistance to borrowers to cover mortgage interest payments.

Yes.

Incapacity Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many existing claimants of invalidity benefit transferring to incapacity benefit he estimates will fail the new test of incapacity (a) at a threshold score of 15 or (b) if the threshold score were reduced to (i) 14, (ii) 13, (iii) 12, (iv) 11 and (v) 10;(2) how many existing claimants of invalidity benefit transferring to incapacity benefit he estimates will fail the new test of incapacity

(a) in total and (b) in the age bands (i) 55 to 57, ii) 50 to 54, (iii) 45 to 49 and (iv) 40 to 44 years;

(3) what is his estimate of the cost of (a) setting the threshold score for incapacity benefit at 15 and (b) lowering the threshold score for eligibility to incapacity benefit to (i) 14, (ii) 13, (iii) 12, (iv) 11 and (v) 10;

(4) how many new claimants of incapacity benefit he estimates will fail the new test of incapacity (a) at a threshold score of 15 or (6) if the threshold score were reduced to (i) 14, (ii) 13, (iii) 12, (iv) 11 and (v) 10;

(5) how many new applicants for incapacity benefit he estimates will fail the new test of incapacity (a) in total and (b) in the age bands (i) over 58, (ii) 55 to 57, (iii) 50 to 54 (iv) 45 to 49 and (v) 40 to 44 years.

We estimate that in the next two years 220,000 existing invalidity benefit claimants will cease to be entitled to incapacity benefit earlier than they would under the current system due to the application of the new all work test. Around 55,000 new claimants each year who would have been entitled to invalidity benefit will be found capable of work under the new test. No information is available on a breakdown of these totals by age.The threshold for benefit in the new test has been set at 15. It has been derived from the development work and set at the point where it would be unreasonable to expect someone to work. It would not be appropriate to set it at any other level. Accordingly we do not have estimates of the number of claimants who would be found capable if a lower threshold score was adopted and the associated costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the cost of passporting invalidity benefit recipients to incapacity benefit at the age of (a) 58, (b) 55 and (c) 50 years.

We estimate that the savings from applying the new all work test to exciting invalidity benefit recipients for the year 1995–96 is £140 million. This is on the basis that all claimants aged 58 and over who have been continuously in receipt of invalidity benefit since 1 December 1993 are exempt from the test as well as those who are terminally ill, those in receipt of the highest rate care component of disability living allowance and those suffering from certain specified severe and chronic illnesses. If all claimants aged 50 or over were exempt from the test on the same basis this amount would be reduced by £45 million. If all claimants aged 55 or over were exempt, the savings would be reduced by £15 million. In subsequent years the savings would be reduced by larger amounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants in each category will have their entitlements reviewed in relation to the new incapacity benefit; and who will qualify for the new benefit, in both numerical and percentage terms.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]:. An estimated 1.8 million people will be receiving invalidity benefit by the time it is replaced by incapacity benefit on 13 April 1995. They will automatically qualify for the new benefit. Around half will be exempt from the new medical test of incapacity. Around 220,000 people are expected to be found capable of work in the first two years. We estimate that an additional 55,000 new claimants a year, who would have qualified for invalidity benefit under the current rules, will be found capable of work as a result of the new test.

Child Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the total credit made to the national insurance fund each year by Her Majesty's Government on behalf of (a) women and (b) men each year as a result of their child caring responsibilities.

No actual sums of money are credited to the national insurance fund in these circumstances. The state pension position of people with child caring responsibilities can be protected by home responsibilities protection which works by reducing the number of years of contributions otherwise needed for the basic pension.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Fishing (Spanish Vessels)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many ships in Britain's registered fishing fleet are Spanish owned.

I have been asked to reply.This is an operational matter for the Marine Safety Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Rupert Allason, dated 30 January 1995:

The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Question, originally tabled for reply by the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, about Spanish-owned vessels in the British-registered fishing fleet.

I have to explain that this information is not available. Following the coming into force on 21 March 1994 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration Ships) Regulations 1993, the only eligibility requirement for companies wishing to register fishing vessels on the UK register is that they be incorporated in a member State of the European Economic Area with a place of business in the United Kingdom. Therefore it is no longer necessary for the Register of Ships and Seamen to know the nationality of shareholders and thus the information you require is not collected.

Health

Administrative Staff

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) managerial staff and (b) administrative and clerical staff have been employed by (i) regional health authorities, (ii) district health authorities and (iii) family health services authorities in each of the last five years.

In the following figures, managers are defined as those staff directly employed on general and senior manager terms and administrative and clerical staff are those directly employed on A and C terms. At 30 September 1989, there were 360 managers and 8,630 administrative and clerical staff in regional health authority headquarters, there were 30 managers and 4,360 administrative and clerical staff in family health services authorities. At 30 September 1990, the figures were 1,010 and 8,080, and 640 and 4,350 respectively. At 30 September 1993, the figures were 1,400 and 5,330, and 1,060 and 4,800 respectively.The increase in the number of managers is due largely to the reclassification of administrative and professional staff, including many senior nurses, as general and senior managers. In FHSAs, the increase is also due to new or greater managerial responsibilities of FHSAs for primary care development, general practitioner contracts, medical audit advisory groups, budgetary control, health promotion monitoring—immunisation targets and increased roles in community care.Data for 1991 and 1992 cannot be provided because the figures were collected on an aggregate basis and it is not possible to identify staff in regional and district health authorities and FHSAs separately. Data for DHAs cannot be provided for 1989, 1990 and 1993 because the aggregate figures collected for those years do not identify staff in DHA headquarters separately.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many managers and administrators were employed by the national health service (a) in 1989 and (b) at present.

At 30 September 1989 and 30 September 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, there were respectively 121,450 and 152,660 whole-time equivalent directly employed staff engaged on general and senior manager and administrative and clerical terms in the NHS. The figures are not directly comparable. Many professional staff including many senior nurses, and other staff have been reclassified as general and senior managers. In addition, certain NHS functions, including finance, personnel and information, have been strengthened. Over a quarter of administrative staff work in direct support to clinicians, allowing clinicians to concentrate their skills and experience on direct patient care.

Smoking

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many smoking-related deaths she estimates would be avoided by every 1 per cent. cut in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among the population.

Estimates of the effect of reducing smoking on the number of smoking-related deaths are complicated by the fact that smoking attributable diseases develop at differing rates over long periods. In broad terms, it can he estimated that a 1 per cent. cut in smoking prevalence in the population could be expected to reduce the number of smoking-related deaths by 2,000 to 3,000 deaths per year in the long term.

Negligence Claims

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of negligence claims which will be made against the national health service in each of the next five years; andwhat was the total cost of negligence damages against the NHS in each of the last three years.

We do not make estimates of the numbers of future medical negligence claims. Total costs for each of the last three years are estimated as £80 million in 1991–92, £100 million in 1992–93 and £125 million in 1993–94.

Dental Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she will take to ensure that patients presenting themselves for treatment at dental surgeries are made aware of the cost of the treatment before its commencement; and also made aware of whether this treatment is available under the NHS.

Dentists are required to provide patients with treatment plans which include details of costs of national health service treatment and any private treatment proposed. Dentists are also required to display in their surgeries information about NHS charges and about entitlement to exemption from and remission of such charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in each health authority area in England are (a) providing national health service treatment to existing patients and (b) willing to provide NHS treatment to new patients; and what percentage of the population in each area is registered for NHS treatment.

Information about general dental service practitioners under contract to family health services authorities will be placed in the Library. Information about dentists willing to take new national health service patients is not available centrally. Patients may register with dentists in FHSAs other than in the area where they are resident. Information is not available centrally therefore on the percentage of population of any FHSA which is registered.

Meningitis, Dover

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the three recent cases of meningitis in the Dover area and the risk to health in the area.

Three cases of meningococcal meningitis-septicaemia were diagnosed in the Dover area from 28 December to 9 January. Each case was reported to and investigated by the consultant in communicable disease control at East Kent health authority. Immediate detailed tracing action was carried out and all those people who were contacts were given prophylactic treatment. Further preventative treatment was arranged via the local general practitioners.There is no evidence of increased reporting of cases and there is no evidence of an outbreak. There are no known links between these cases. It is not unusual for three cases to occur within a short period of time, especially durirg winter months.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the operational use of the Stoke Mandeville magnetic resonance imaging scanner is (a) for patients and (b) commercial; and if she will make a statement.

The magnetic resonance imaging scanner at the hospital is owned not by the national health service but by the Jimmy Savile Hospital trust fund. It is therefore up to the trust fund to determine its operational use.

Prescription Charges

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to increase prescription charges (a) in this financial year or (b) in the financial year 1995–96.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin) on 20 December 1994, Official Report, column 1144.

Gp Charges

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the services for which general practitioners are able to make charges.

This information is contained in paragraph 38 of schedule 2 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992, copies of which are available in the Library.

Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to resolve the difference in the legal opinions obtained by her Department and the Data Protection Registrar as to whether the national health service number is protected by Crown copyright; if she will summarise her understanding of the registrar's position; if under current proposals other Government Departments will be able to use the national health service number for internal administration purposes not associated with health care; and if she will make a statement.

The Data Protection Registrar's position is that statutory control of access to and use of the new national health service number is appropriate. The Department remains of the view that unauthorised use can be pursued without resort to legislation: a view that would be tested in a case where evidence of actual abuse arose. There is no intention that the NHS number should be used by any Government Department for purposes not associated with health care.

National Register For Carers

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the representations she has received in support of the National Register for Carers; and if she will make a statement.

I have recently received a few letters from hon. Members about literature sent to them by the National Register for Carers. I have received no other recent representations on this matter.

Benzodiazepines

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each regional health authority, the number of patients in receipt of long-term benzodiazepines for the latest year she has figures; and what were the figures (a) five and (b) 10 years ago.

Benzodiazepines are prescribed by general practitioners or hospital doctors on the basis of their diagnosis of a patient's condition and for whatever period the doctor considers appropriate. We do not require this information to be submitted to the Department.

Redundant Hospitals

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many redundant national health service hospitals following disposal have been returned to hospital or allied use by the new owners since 1979.

No records are kept of the use put by purchasers of surplus national health service hospitals following sale.

Out-Patients

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which NHS trusts over the past 12 months it has been reported that first-time out-patients' appointments have not been available within 13 weeks.

This information is not available centrally.

Hospital Transport

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which national health service trusts, over the past 12 months, it has been reported that patients have waited more than an hour after transport has been booked to take them home from hospital.

This information is not available centrally.

Blood

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to carry out examination of blood serum in order to detect hepatitis C (a) donors and (b) recipients, prior to current screening methods.

I announced on 11 January a look-back exercise to trace, counsel and if necessary treat those who may have been inadvertently infected with hepatitis C through blood transfusions. A working party of experts is currently meeting to draw up guidance on the procedures for undertaking the look-back exercise, including procedures for testing of serum samples to detect hepatitis C in donors and receipients.

Testicular Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action and expenditure is undertaken to encourage me to self-examine for the onset of testicular cancer; and if she will will make a statement.

The Health Education Authority, which is funded by the Department of Health, provides information and advice about health direct to the public, and acts as a resource to health professions and others in the health education field. It has produced a booklet "Cancer: how to reduce your risks" which includes a section on testicular self-examination.

Skin Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) fatal or (b) non-fatal instances of skin cancer have been detected within the national health service, in each of the last 10 years; and what steps her Department is taking to combat this condition.

The available information on cause of deaths is contained in Office of Population Censuses and Surveys publications available in the Library: Series MB I cancer statistics—registrations, and series DH2 mortality statistics—death by cause. A commitment to halt the rising incidence of skin cancer is one of the key targets set out in "The Health of the Nation". The Department's strategy in this area includes a national public health campaign on skin cancer in partnership with the Health Education Authority and a programme of activity involving the national health service, commercial and professional bodies and other Government Departments to encourage healthy attitudes to exposure to sunlight.

Headlice

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to assist health authorities to combat outbreaks of headlice in children; and if she will make a statement.

Some health authorities have protocols for controlling this condition through co-operation between schools, school health service staff and parents. The voluntary organisation, Community Hygiene Concern, is also helping to raise awareness of the problem through its "Bug Busting" campaign. We will be making a contribution to the cost of this campaign for three years from 1995–96 and will also be referring to the work of CHC and other good practice in the national health service in guidance on child health care in the community which is currently in preparation.

Intensive Care Units

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the intensive care units which are currently facing closure in London.

Provision of intensive treatment units is a matter for local health authorities in consultation with their hospitals.

Gps (Training)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she has plans to reform or abolish the post-graduate educational allowance for GPs; and if she will make a statement on post-graduate training for doctors;(2) what steps she is taking to improve the standards of GP doctors training in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to abolish the postgraduate education allowance.Ministers accepted in principle the improvements to postgraduate training for doctors recommended in the working group report on specialist medical training "Hospital Doctors: Training for the Future". Progress on implementation is outlined in EL(94)71 "Implementation of the Report of the Working Group on Specialist Medical Training" dated 22 September 1994; copies of which are available in the Library. Since then, substantial progress has been made with the medical profession through several working groups. The future arrangements for postgraduate training in general practice are likely to be significantly influenced by the recommendation of the general practice working group whose report will be published shortly for wide consultation.

Gps (Out-Of-Hours Cover)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring her Department is doing into the effectiveness of local GP out-of-hours cover co-operatives and their cost-efficiency; if she has plans to reimburse in full GPs who join such local experiments; and if she will make a statement.

Individual family health services authorities are responsible for monitoring the provision and standard of general medical services within their localities.We are continuing to discuss the development of out-of-hours services with the profession, including appropriate reimbursement for providing those services.

Waiting Times

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the median and mean waiting times for urgent in-patient treatment over the last three years.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will implement a system which will routinely gather and analyse out-patient waiting time data in the National Health Service.

We have recently implemented a system to collect information on the waiting times for first out-patient appointments. This system records how long patients seen during a quarter had to wait. The first provisional results, for the quarter ending September 1994, were published on 18 January.

Mentally Ill People

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research she has conducted which compares the number and extent of injuries inflicted by mentally ill people on themselves against the level of injuries inflicted by mentally ill people on others; and if she will make a statement;(2) what research she has conducted which compares the number and extent of injuries inflicted by mentally ill people on others against the level of injuries inflicted by all sectors of the population on others; and if she will make a statement.

The Department has funded the Royal College of Psychiatrists to undertake a confidential inquiry into homicides and suicides involving mentally ill people in contact with or recently discharged from specialist psychiatric services. A preliminary report on homicides was published last year and copies are available in the Library. A full report on homicides and suicides will be published later this year.The Department is aware of independent research studies, from this country and the United States, which have looked at the relationship between mental illness and violent behaviour and violent offending. The findings of these studies have been taken into account in the development of policies for the care of mentally ill people.

Ambulance Travel Times

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average time of travel from collection point to hospital by ambulance.

This information is not available centrally

Hospital Closures

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if (a) recent large-scale investment, (b) a proven community need and (c) substantial health care staff unemployment are criteria used by the Government to avert the closure of a hospital; and if she will make a statement.

The decision to close a hospital is initially for the local health authority after full local consultation. When a proposal to close a hospital is referred to Ministers following objection by a community health council, they will consider all relevant factors in reaching their decision.

Orthopaedic Clinics

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of English and Welsh orthopaedic clinics are booking patients over a year in advance; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for this.

Information requested in respect of England is not available centrally. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

Mrs Roberta Gerardo

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the death of Roberta Gerardo.

I shall write to the right hon. Member.

Nhs Trusts (Sponsorship)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out the advice which she has given national health service trusts on the subject of sponsorship.

Advice on commercial sponsorship of posts and of attendance by staff at relevant conferences, courses and other events is contained in HSG (93) 5, "Standards of business conduct for NHS staff'. Further advice is contained in "Income Generation: A Guide to Local Initiative", issued under cover of HN (89) 9. Copies of both documents are available in the Library.

Social Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to allow the purchasing of social care by fundholding general practitioners in pilot schemes on total purchasing.

Fundholding general practitioners in the total purchasing pilot schemes will be able to purchase all hospital and community health services on behalf of their patients.

Asphyxia (Deaths)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the recorded numbers of deaths by (a) age and (b) gender by asphyxiation from chewing gum in each of the last 10 years.

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Children (Divorce Proceedings)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will review the workings of the Children Act 1989 in respect of children's rights during divorce proceedings.

I have been asked to reply.There are no plans to conduct such a review.

National Heritage

Listed Buildings, Leicester

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage whether he will carry out a review of listed buildings in the city of Leicester.

I have no plans for a comprehensive review. Several significant buildings in Leicester have recently been spot-listed, and I am always ready to consider the case for listing, particularly where buildings are under threat.

Disabled People

12.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress his Department is making towards full access for disabled people into sports venues.

The Government are keen to ensure that people with disabilities are able to gain access to sports facilities in order to both watch and participate in sport. The Building Regulations 1991 already require all newly built and most extended public buildings to be accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, the Disability Discrimination Bill will introduce new rights of access for disabled people.

13.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what discussions he has had with disability arts organisations about improving arts opportunities for the disabled.

My Department is in regular contact with disability arts organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration he has given to the needs of disabled people in framing his proposals to restructure the Sports Council; and if he will make a statement.

Under the proposals I have announced, I shall expect the Sports Council, and its successors, to give full weight to the needs of sport for able-bodied people and people with disabilities.

Millennium Commission

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about the progress being made by the Millennium Commission in achieving its objectives.

I am delighted with the Millennium Commission's progress to date. The commission issued detailed guidance for applicants in November. Applications for funding for capital projects, large and small are now being invited, and the commission is consulting with experts on a festival for the year 2000 and a bursary scheme. A national competition for ideas for the festival will be launched in the spring.

Arts, Yorkshire

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last met the chairman of the Yorkshire and Humberside regional arts council to discuss the development of the arts in the Yorkshire region; and if he will make a statement.

I have had no such discussion with the chairman of Yorkshire and Humberside arts board. Development of the arts in the regions is primarily a matter for each of the 10 regional arts boards working with the Arts Council of England.

Information Super-Highway

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about his Department's involvement in developments for an information super-highway.

The Department of National Heritage is working with other Departments, such as the DTI, on a number of initiatives in this area. The Department is involved in the work on the Global Information Society; is interested in the areas of "electronic libraries" and "electronic museums and galleries"; and is reviewing developments as part of its responsibility for broadcasting and media. It is examining service information delivery over the Internet.

Fringe Theatre

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the planned level of spending on fringe theatre in London in 1995–96; and what is the figure for the current year.

This is a matter for the Arts Council and the London arts board. I understand that, in allocating money, these funding bodies do not distinguish "fringe theatre" from other forms of theatre.

Cross-Media Ownership

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he expects to announce the conclusions of his review of the rules on cross-media ownership.

An announcement will be made once the Government have reached a view on the way forward.

Archaeological Sites, Yorkshire

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if he will assist the Yorkshire Dales national park authorities to preserve the remnants of Victorian lead mines in the Yorkshire dales; and if he will make a statement;(2) what action his Department is taking to preserve 19th century industrial archaeological remains; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will take action to preserve the Old Gang smelt mills in Swaledale, north Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

The Old Gang smelt mill, Melbecks has been protected as a scheduled ancient monument since September 1978. For a number of years the Yorkshire Dales national park authority has been carrying out recording and consolidation works to the structure supported by grants from English Heritage, so far totalling £36,932. It is one of five mills in the Yorkshire dales which are scheduled, the others being Grinton Lead smelt fuel house and flue, Marrick lead smelt mill, Surrender smelt mill and lead cupola, flue and chimney at Grassington. Grants for essential repairs have been made or remedial action has been taken by English Heritage to ensure proper repair in respect of all of these structures in the last 10 years.The Royal Commission on the historical monuments of England, together with English Heritage and the county and national park authorities, have since 1989 undertaken a major survey of archaeological sites throughout the dales. English Heritage is also currently carrying out a national survey of the remains of the lead mining industry which will lead to proposals for scheduling and listing an appropriate sample of nationally important remains. This is one of a number of surveys of the physical remains of the late 18th, 19th and 20th century industrial processes undertaken as part of the monuments protection programme which aims to evaluate all known archaeological remains in England.

Tourism

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what initiatives he is taking to promote tourism in the rural areas.

Grant in aid to the English tourist board is used to support a range of development and marketing programmes including programmes which benefit tourism in rural areas. Many of these are delivered by the regional tourist boards, which receive substantial funding from the English tourist board. Examples in the Yorkshire and Humberside region include the walking holidays in the Wolds initiative and, in the North York Moors national park, the regional routes initiative.Rural tourism also benefits from the promotional activities of the British Tourist Authority, since the beauty of the countryside is a key element of Britain's appeal to overseas visitors.

Regional Orchestras

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement concerning his policy on regional orchestras and their funding.

The Arts Council and the BBC are responsible for formulating policy on regional orchestras. They are collaborating on a joint review of orchestral provision. Both bodies are awaiting the response to a discussion document that has been the subject of public consultation.

Wales

Local Government Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will announce his decision on the 1995–96 local government revenue settlement.

I have given careful consideration to the representations I have received on the provisional settlement proposals for local authorities and police authorities in Wales, which I announced on 29 November, Official Report, column 59, and 1 December, Official Report, column 815. The Minister with responsibilities for local government in Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones), has met representatives of Dyfed Powys and North Wales police authorities, and I chaired a meeting of the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance, at which settlement matters were discussed.Having taken account of all representations, I remain of the view that my proposals provide local authorities with an adequate level of funding for 1995–96, given the low level of inflation and opportunities for improving efficiency. Local authorities will need to assess their budget priorities carefully, but my plans ask no more of them than is being required of central Government and other public sector organisations.I have considered carefully the representations that I have received about my provisional settlement proposals for police authorities. In the light of those representations, I have decided to provide an additional £15.1 million in funding for Welsh police forces. This will bring the total available for police services in 1995–96 to £315.8 million. Of this, £156 million will be paid by the Home Secretary as police grant and I will provide £159.8 million as standard spending assessments. My plans clearly demonstrate the Government's determination to support the police and tackle crime. They provide the new police authorities with a strong financial base which will enable them to continue to provide a high standard of service to the communities they serve.To take account of the additional funding I am making available for policing, I have decided to set total standard spending at £2,782.1 million and aggregate external finance at £2,466.0 million for 1995–96. The settlement will increase the level of resources available to local and police authorities by over £87 million compared with 1994–95.Aggregate external finance will comprise £1,718.3 million in revenue support grant, £520 million in distributable non-domestic rates, and £227.7 million in specific and supplementary grants. My decisions are subject to approval by the House.The total standard spending I have announced for 1995–96 represents an increase of 3.2 per cent. on 1994–95, including £124.4 million for care in the community. My plans mean that 89 per cent. of total local and police authority revenue expenditure in Wales would be met by central Government, and should ensure a reasonable level of council tax for local taxpayers.I trust that local authorities will continue to budget prudently and play their part in restraining public expenditure.I propose to lay the Local Government Finance Report (Wales) 1995–96 before the House, for its approval, later this week.

Local Authority Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are on waiting lists for council houses in (a) Wales and (b) Alyn and Deeside; and what steps he is taking to provide housing for them.

The information requested is not available for Wales on a consistent basis. Authorities compile their waiting lists in different ways and some are moving towards common waiting lists with housing associations. In its housing strategy and operational plan, Alyn and Deeside district council recorded 2,140 applicants on its general waiting list and 739 tenants on its transfer waiting list as at 1 April 1994. These figures represent a reduction of 24 per cent. on the previous year's. Authorities are encouraged to use their enabling role to secure housing to meet local needs and to make best use of their stock by for example reducing voids and under-occupation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many empty council houses there are in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Information on the number of empty council houses in Wales is published in table 6.9 of Welsh Housing Statistics No. 14, 1994, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Empty council houses represent 1.1 per cent. of total council housing stock. I look for further improvement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in (a) Wales and (b) Alyn and Deeside were provided with council house tenancies in 1994.

Information on the number of local authority dwellings let to new tenants is published annually in table 6.8 of "Welsh Housing Statistics", No. 14, 1994. A copy of the publication is in the Library of the House.

Mortgage Repossessions

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of households in Wales who lost their home through repossession because of mortgage arrears in the latest available year; and if he will make a statement.

In 1994, county courts in Wales made 1,485 mortgage possession orders together with 2,253 suspended orders, whereby the mortgagors are given an opportunity to clear their debts. Information is not recorded centrally on the number of cases in which mortgage possession orders led to warrants to have defendants evicted.

Further Education Colleges

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many students are enrolled at each college of further education in Wales.

The number of students at each college of further education in Wales in 1993–94, the latest available year, is set out in the table.

Students at publicly funded Further Education Institutions in Wales in 1993–94¹
Institution	²Student number
Llandrillo Technical College	7,228
Welsh College of Horticulture	533
Llysfasi College of Agriculture	896
Yale Sixth Form College	3,625
Deeside College	4,647
Carmarthen College of Technology and Art	4,612
Pembrokeshire College	2,404
Ceredigion College of Further Education	1,380
Gwent Tertiary College	14,485
Gwynedd Technical College	3,455
Coleg Pencraig	1,272

Students at publicly funded Further Education Institutions in Wales in 1993–94 ¹
Institution	² Student number
Coleg Merion-Dwyfor	1,558
Coleg Harlech	149
Merthyr Tydfil College	2,112
Aberdare College	1,420
Bridgend College	3,989
Rhondda College	1,287
Ystrad Mynach College	2,838
Pontypridd College	3,623
Pencoed College	557
Coleg Powys	4,137
Coleg Glan Hafren	5,197
Barry College	3,413
St. Davids Sixth Form College	736
Swansea College	5,789
Gorseinon College	2,276
Neath College	4,134
Afan College	1,962
Total	89,714
¹ Excludes link students. Data are provisional pending publication.
² Student numbers include students on both higher and further education courses and for all modes of attendance.

Local Authority Employees

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of (a) men and (b) women who are employed by county boroughs and district councils in Wales.

Information on the number of people employed by local authorities in Wales is compiled by the Local Government Management Board. It is not immediately available in the form requested, but I will write to the hon. Member when the figures are available and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

Home Renovation Grants

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in (a) Wales and (b) Alyn and Deeside received home renovation grants in 1994.

The numbers of completed home renovation grants made in the first nine months of 1994 are given in the table.

	Mandatory renovation grants	Discretionary renovation grants
Wales	4,585	318
Alyn and Deeside	61	2

Information for the last three months of 1994 is not yet available.

Prescribing

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the percentage figures for (a) brand name and (b) generic prescribing for (i) general practitioner fundholders and (ii) non-general practitioner fundholders in each family health service authority in Wales for each of the past three years for which figures are available.

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1995, c. 379–80]: The figure for South Glamorgan Fundholders, for October 1993 should have read 53.53.

Sewage Discharge Outfalls

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list those sewage discharge outfalls on Welsh tidal estuaries and the coastline which have (a) primary treatment, (b) secondary treatment and (c) tertiary treatment;(2) if he will list those sewage discharge outfalls on Welsh tidal estuaries and the coastline which are planned for upgrading to

(a) secondary treatment and (b) tertiary treatment.

I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

Quarries

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will examine the implications for local environmental protection in Wales of the effect upon mineral planning authorities of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 in respect of the working of minerals in surface quarries; what representations he has received on this subject (a) from members of the public and (b) from local authorities; and if he will make a statement on quarrying policy.

Since 1 January 1994, my right hon. Friend has received, in relation to those provisions of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 relevant to interim development order permissions, one representation from a local authority about the operation of those provisions, and one representation from a local authority and 13 representations from members of the public in respect of IDO registrations and appeals. My right hon. Friend is considering the response to consultation proposals on the reform of old mineral permissions grated between 1948 and 1981.

Grant-Maintained Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many schools in Wales are grant-maintained; and what is this figure expressed as a percentage of Welsh local education authority schools.

Sixteen and 0.8 per cent. respectively.

Trade Delegations

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many trade delegations are expected by his Department in the forthcoming six months; where they are visiting; and if he will make a statement.

Trade delegations into the United Kingdom are hosted by appropriate trade associations and it is for these organisations to decide on a delegation's itinerary in conjunction with the overseas organiser. The Welsh Office is not involved in this process.

Students (Council Tax)

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to ensure that students sharing private sector accommodation with non-students are not held liable for the unpaid council tax of such non-students.

I do not propose to change the rules on residents' joint and several liability for the payment of council tax. It is for the members of a household to determine how the council tax bill should be paid.

Student Grants

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the average grant paid to students in higher education at constant prices in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

The average net maintenance grant, excluding any payment for fees paid by local education authorities in Wales to mandatory award holders in the academic years 1988–89 to 1992–93, the latest year available, is as follows. Since 1990–91, eligible students have been able to apply for a student loan to supplement their grant; loans have increased the resources available to students for their living costs.

Average maintenance grants in constant prices¹to holders of mandatory awards:
Wales: 1988–89 to 1992–93
Academic year	£
1988–89	1,830
1989–90	1,850
1990–91	1,740
1991–92	1,690
1992–93	1,690
¹ Based on the September retail prices index, excluding mortgage interest payments, at the beginning of each academic year.

Mineral Planning Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will consider amending section 22 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 in order to assist mineral planning authorities in the exercise of their duties.

Section 22 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 provides for the registration of interim development order permissions—granted between July 1943 and July 1948—and the submission of schemes of operating and restoration for approval by the mineral planning authority. These measures ensure that the extent and terms of IDO permissions are known and that active sites are operated up to modern standards. We have no plans to amend this section of the act.

Nhs Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will carry out a study to determine the influence that private practice in the same unit or specialty has on the waiting list and waiting time for treatment in the NHS.

I have no plans at present for such study.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will implement a system which will routinely gather and analyse out-patient waiting time data in the NHS.

This already exists. The NHS provides information on a quarterly basis about the number of people waiting more than six months and one year for a first out-patient appointment, and this is published regularly by the Welsh Office.

Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the definition of reasonable as used in deciding how many half-days a consultant may take off for private practice if he or she is full time or maximum part time in the NHS.

NHS consultants are able to undertake private work as well as NHS work under their national terms and conditions of service. Whole-time consultants may not earn more than 10 per cent. of their gross NHS earnings from private work. Maximum part-time practitioners can carry on private practice but with a salary reduced to 10/11 of that of a whole-time consultant. Consultants employed on NHS trust contracts may have different provisions.

Cardiff Bay

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Cardiff Bay development corporation concerning the contribution agreed on 11 May 1989 by Associated British Ports towards the costs of infrastructure in Cardiff bay; and if he will list such payments as have been paid or are anticipated.

None. A development agreement between the corporation and Associated British Ports was signed in March 1991. There is no agreement requiring ABP to make payments to CBDC in respect of infrastructure, but under the terms of the agreement the company is required to carry out development on its land. The chief executive of Cardiff Bay development corporation will write to the hon. Member giving details of the investments which have been made to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of his consultations with the Cardiff Bay development corporation into the promotion of Cardiff as a media centre.

I made it clear to the corporation in February 1994 that promotion of Cardiff as a media centre should have a high priority.

Countryside Council For Wales

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from Sir David Attenborough concerning the implications of reduced budget allocations to the Countryside Council for Wales on the ability of the Government to meet their international obligations under (a) the bio-diversity convention of the Rio treaty, (b) the habitats and species directive and (c) the European Union NATURA 2000 programme and if he will make a statement.

I have not received any representations from Sir David Attenborough, although I understand he did refer to the matter in a recent speech.

South Glamorgan Training And Enterprise Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the full membership of office holders on the board of the South Glamorgan training and enterprise council; if he will show in which way they met his criteria for TEC board membership; and on what date he approved their (a) membership and (b) any offices held.

The following are members of the board of directors of South Glamorgan training and enterprise council;

P Rich (Chair): Managing Director, Allied Steel and Wire Holdings, plc.
J P Sainsbury (V Chair): Partner, Pannell Kerr Forster
R Helliwell: Group Director, William Cowlin and Son
R W Peterson: Chairman, Peterson Partnership
M Davies: Managing Director, VIP Advertising Photography
J Mclean: General Manager, Marks and Spencer
R Forster: Managing Director, Biomet Ltd
P Sheldon: Chief Executive, South Glamorgan TEC
M Goodyear: General Manager, Marriott hotel
Councillor R B Goodway: Leader, South Glamorgan county council
I Spence: Wales General Secretary, GMB Union
T Wilmore: Chief Executive, Barry College

Eligibility requirements for TEC board membership are that at least two thirds of the directors—exclusive of the chief executive of the TEC who is the sole executive director—must hold the office of chairman or chief executive of a company or top-level operational manager at local level of a company or senior partner of a professional partnership within, in each case, the private sector. The remaining directors are required to be chief executives or equivalent from education, economic development, trade unions, voluntary organisations or the public sector.The directors of South Glamorgan TEC meet the above requirements and the chairman, Mr. Paul Rich, meets the additional requirement for chairing a TEC in that he is managing director of a large company of more than three years' standing.As private companies, limited by guarantee, I do not approve appointments to the boards of TECs.

Employment

South Thames Training And Enterprise Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now list the contractors to the South Thames TEC to whom letters of comfort have not been sent.

As the information is contained in a large list, I will write to the hon. Member with employer investment in people contractors who have been sent a letter of comfort and place a copy in the Library.

Health And Safety Executive

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how the Health and Safety Executive determined what part of the work of the field consultant groups was suitable for contracting out; and what factors made it possible to undertake this work separately from other duties at no extra cost to the Health and Safety Executive.

The Health and Safety Executive reviewed the range of work carried out by the field consultant groups to determine what part of the work was suitable for contracting out. An important factor was to identify what functions required the powers and discretion of an inspector. The process of tendering for the remaining functions will determine what level of savings can be achieved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans exist for the Health and Safety Executive to cut clerical and administrative posts in the field operations division following the introduction of laptop computers for inspectorial staff.

The Health and Safety Executive is now beginning the development of a project to equip field staff with portable computers and, as part of that development, will assess the scale of extra efficiencies which will be achieved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the cost of the Health and Safety Executive's staffing budget between 1 September 1993 and 1 September 1994.

The amount spent on Health and Safety Executive staffing between 1 September 1993 and 1 September 1994 was £117.6 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what work is currently done by the scientists who work within the Health and Safety Executive's field consultant groups; and if he will make a statement on the place of this work in the investigation of workplace ill health, accidents and incidents.

Scientists in the Health and Safety Executive's field consultant groups are mainly concerned with chemical substance sampling and analysis, scientific measurements and surveys as a service to inspectors in HSE's field operations division who undertake the investigation of workplace ill health, accidents and incidents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the Health and Safety Executive's professional and specialist staff have less than three years' service with the Health and Safety Executive.

There are 1,857 professional and specialist staff in the Health and Safety Executive of whom 408 have less than three years service with HSE.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why the Health and Safety Executive has found the need to consider an early retirement scheme for its specialists grades; how many posts it intends to lose by 1 April 1995; and how much money it expects Ito save on the payroll budget.

The voluntary early retirement scheme for the Health and Safety Executive managed grades and scientists was introduced to help restructure HSE management. Eighty-five management posts will be lost by 1 April 1995 through this scheme.The money from these posts will be used for a range of purposes including the recruitment of front-line inspectors. At this stage, it is impossible to predict what the net effect on payroll spend will be.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the total net savings in (a) costs and (b) staff years resulting from market-testing exercises in the Health and Safety Executive since April 1992.

The Health and Safety Executive completed five market tests since April 1992. These have resulted in a net saving of 92 posts and a net cash saving of £560,000. The answer gives the number of posts saved rather than staff years as market tests are completed at various times in the year and the HSE does not record fractions of staff years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what reviews of the Health and Safety Executive's national interest groups are currently under way; when these reviews expect to report; and when recommendations are likely to be implemented.

A review of national interest groups in the Health and Safety Executive's field operations division began in autumn 1994. The review is examining the purpose and function of NIGs; their staffing and location and the allocation of industry or topic responsibilities between them. A report is due to be submitted to HSE senior management in July 1995. Any recommendations are likely to be implemented during the following two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what workload formulae are being used by the Health and Safety Executive and for what purposes; and if he will provide full details of how they were calculated.

Workload formulae are used within the Health and Safety Executive as an aid to management judgments especially in deploying inspectors as between geographical areas, industrial sectors and types of risks.Such formulae are used, for example, to take account of real and perceived risks in different sectors and to assess the relative priorities in inspections, technical and policy work. They are managerial tools to be employed with discretion and not fixed indicators, and I see no advantage in their publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff the Health and Safety Executive has lost, and expects to lose, as a result of public expenditure survey settlements in (a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95 and (c) 1996–97.

I am informed that the Health and Safety Executive made no changes to its staffing in 1993–94 because of the PES 1992 settlement, in which the Health and Safety Commission's bid for resources was met in full. The PES 1992 settlement provided for 4,661 staff in 1993–94. The PES 1993 settlement provided for 4,599 staff in 1994–95. Staffing levels for 1996–97 are currently being considered in the context of the forthcoming PES 1995 round.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what amounts of money the Health and Safety Executive has spent in employing consultants in relation to market-testing exercises since 1 April 1992.

Since 1 April 1992, the Health and Safety Executive has spent a total of £199,000 on consultancy in relation to market-testing exercises.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current annual cost of employing scientists to work within the Health and Safety Executive's field consultant groups.

The estimated current annual cost at 1994–95 prices to the Health and Safety Executive of employing scientists in its field consultant groups is £891,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what response he has given to the Health and Safety Executive's director general on the subject of agency status for the Health and Safety Executive's health and safety laboratory.

I have written to the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission, on whose behalf the Health and Safety Executive acts, asking that work to make the health and safety laboratory an agency of the executive should be undertaken swiftly. The necessary work is in hand for the health and safety laboratory to become an agency from April 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many inspectors employed in the Health and Safety Executive's field operations division have less than (a) three years' service and (b) five years' service for the Health and Safety Executive.

There are 914 inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive's field operation division. Of these inspectors, 153 have less than three years service and 336 less than five years' service in working for HSE.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what work is undertaken by the specialist inspectors who work within the Health and Safety Executive's field consultant groups.

Specialist inspector work is regulatory in character and involves applying expert health and safety knowledge of engineering and occupational hygiene to inspection, accident and incident investigation, standard setting and enforcement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the Health and Safety Executive's salary budget for each year since 1988–89; and what is the proposed figure for (a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97.

The available information which relates to the civil service pay bill of the Health and Safety Executive is given in the table:

Year	Civil Service pay bill outturn £s millions
1988–89	70
1989–90	77
1990–91	86
1991–92	98
1992–93	112
1993–94	117

The final pay bill for 1994–95, and the pay bill for subsequent years, will depend among other things on the outcome of pay negotiations which have yet to be concluded.

Employment Medical Advisory Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many doctors the Health and Safety Executive plans to employ within the employment medical advisory service in 1995 and 1996.

Plans for the staffing of the employment medical advisory service at 1 April 1995 were published in the Health and Safety Commission "Plan of Work 1994–95", which is available in the Library. Annexe 1, table 2 of the plan gives the figure of 90 staff for EMAS, of which 45 were doctors. The figure for 1 April 1996 will be set out in the Health and Safety Commission "Plan of Work 1995–96", due to be published in the early summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many nurses the Health and Safety Executive plans to employ within the employment medical advisory service in the years 1995 and 1996.

Plans for the staffing of the employment medical advisory service at 1 April 1995 were published in the Health and Safety Commission "Plan of Work 1994–95", which is available in the Library. Annexe 1, table 2 of the plan gives the figure of 90 staff for EMAS, of which 45 were nurses. The figure for 1 April 1996 will be set out in the Health and Safety "Commission Plan of Work 1995–96", due to be published in the early summer.

Training And Enterprise Councils

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposal he has to ensure that the training and enterprise councils swiftly conclude their contracts for the next financial year with AST training.

None. It is for individual training and enterprise councils to determine with whom they contract.

Health And Safety (Prosecutions)

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average fine imposed by magistrates courts as a consequence of prosecutions taken by the Health and Safety Executive under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 in the last year for which figures are available.

The provisional figure for average fines imposed in 1993–94 by magistrates courts following prosecutions taken by the field operations division inspectorates of the Health and Safety Executive is £1,874.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money was gathered in fines and costs, between 1 September 1993 and 1 September 1994 from cases taken by the Health and Safety Executive, as a result of the enforcement of health and safety law, in (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown courts.

Between 1 September 1993 and 31 August 1994, the Health and Safety Executive received a total of £818,162 in costs following prosecutions by HSE inspectorates. Of this £319,464 resulted from prosecutions taken in the Crown courts and £498,698 from magistrates courts. Information is not available on fines gathered as a result of prosecutions taken by HSE.

Work-Related Illnesses

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what initiatives the Health and Safety Executive is currently taking to reduce the levels of occupational ill health.

Much of the Health and Safety Executive's everyday activity, such as modernising the framework of health and safety law, inspection of workplaces, provision of advice and formal enforcement action is aimed at reducing occupational ill health. HSE is giving priority in 1994–95 to implementing a coherent programme of action based on the conclusions of its recent strategic review of the 10 main occupational health risks—toxic substances, biohazards, noise, vibration, ionising and non-ionising radiation, manual handling, upper limb disorders, sick building syndrome and stress. Action includes: obtaining better information on the scale and pattern of ill health; commissioning further research, for example on prevention techniques; and provision of practical guidance and publicity campaigns.HSE is also now planning a major new campaign, "Good Health is Good Business", which will start in May and aims to encourage and help employers to act to manage health risks more effectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the Health and Safety Executive's current estimate of the number of people whose health is affected by work activity.

From the responses to a special set of questions in the 1990 labour force survey of 60,000 households, it can be estimated that in the 12 months prior to the survey 2.2 million people in England and Wales suffered from an illness which they believe had been caused or made worse by their work.

Construction Design And Management Regulations

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Commission first sent a draft of the Construction Design and Management Regulations to him; and what has been the reason for delay in their introduction.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 24 January 1995, Official Report, column 184.

Focus Project

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current cost of the Health and Safety Executive's Focus project; what are the expected final costs; what was the original estimate for the cost of the project; and when it is expected to be fully implemented.

The cost of the Focus project at 30 December 1994 was £6.221 million. The projected life cost is £9.758 million, compared with the original estimates of £10.026 million. The major part of the project is expected to be completed in late summer 1995. Further enhancements will be incorporated in the development of a project to equip staff with portable computers.

Staff Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding the safety of his Department's staff dealing with unemployment benefit claims, income support and the proposed jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 27 January 1995]: Representations on this issue have been made to the Employment Service central health committee, by its trade union members. Their views are being taken into account in a generic risk assessment of the effect of the proposed introduction of a jobseeker's allowance on the safety of people working in Employment Service local offices.

Defence

Un Peacekeeping Force (Somalia)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to contribute to the operation to withdraw the UN peacekeeping force from Somalia.

The United Kingdom is contributing a Royal Navy ship to the UN operation to withdraw peacekeeping forces from Somalia. HMS Exeter will arrive in the area later this week and will operate as part of a task group led by the United States navy. A RN presence will continue to be available to the United Nations for this purpose until mid-March.

Bullying

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents involving allegations of bullying or brutality have been investigated in each of the armed forces in the last five years; how incidents were drawn to the attention of the authorities; and what was the result of the investigations.

Details of allegations of bullying or brutality which have been investigated in each of the armed forces in the last five years are not held in a readily available form. To obtain this information would require a search of records held by each ship and service establishment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the representations he has received in the last two years regarding incidents of bullying in the armed forces.

No central record is maintained of representations regarding incidents of bullying in the armed forces and the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what level in the armed forces investigations into complaints about bullying are held; what is the number of units at this level; and if his Department collates the information.

The level at which complaints of bullying are investigated by the services depends on the circumstances and seriousness of each case. Investigations may be undertaken at unit level or, in most cases, and always where a criminal offence is alleged, by the service police. Records are held centrally by the service police of all investigations undertaken by them.

Air Show (Bratislava)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 1 December 1994, Official Report, column 907, what was the total number of RAF personnel present at the Bratislava airport display on 20 and 21 August 1994; and what payment was made by the organisers of the air show towards the costs of the outward and return transit flights by the aircraft from their bases to Slovakia.

Seventy-six RAF personnel were deployed to Bratislava for the whole or part of the display.The costs of the outward flights were borne by my Department as the hours flown formed part of normal tasking. Fuel for the return flights was issued by the organisers without charge.

Mines, Firth Of Clyde

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if all of the mines laid during recent mine-laying exercises in and nearby the Firth of Clyde have been recovered; if local fishermen have been made aware of the recovery programme; and if he will make a statement.

Bad weather has delayed the recovery of exercise mines recently laid in and nearby the Firth of Clyde. Weather permitting, the mines will be recovered by mid-February. In accordance with normal procedures, local fishermen have been informed of planned recovery dates by means of a number of notices to fishermen.

"Competing For Quality"

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 10 January, Official Report, column 109, if he will list those activities under the "Competing for Quality" programme for the period 1 April 1992 to 30 September 1994 which have been secured by (a) in-house bids and (b) private contractors; and if he will name the successful contractors.

Listed are the activities which have been secured by (a) in-house bids and (b) private contractors, together with the names of the winning contractors, in the period April 1992 to September 1994.

a. Activities secured by in-house bids

Gardening at RM Units Poole, CTCRM Lympstone and COMMACHIO Group
RAOC Print Section—Northern Ireland
Air Weapon Range, RAF Cowden
Support Services—Gateway House, RAF Brize Norton
Aircraft Support Services, A and AEE Boscombe Down
Experimental Flying, Bedford/Boscombe Down
Mechanical Handling Equipment, repair and maintenance, Devonport
18 Base Workshops, Army Base Repair Organisation, Bovington

b. Activities secured by private contractors

Royal Navy Helicopters Maintenance and Engineering Support, HMS OSPREY, HMS HERON and HMS SEAHAWK
—Hunting A/C Ltd.
Aircraft Maintenance, HMS HERON
—Hunting A/C Ltd.
Works Services, HMS SEAHAWK
—PSA Building Management
Helicopter Simulator, HMS OSPREY
—Hunting A/C Ltd.
Works Services, HMS DOLPHIN
—PSA Building Management
Gardening at Royal Marine School of Music, Deal
—Oaklands plc
Central Engineer Reserve Plant Hire, Long Marston

—Various local contractors
Bielefeld Bakery, Germany
—NAAFI
Food Distribution in Rear Combat Zone, Germany
—NAAFI
Line of Communication Freight Service (Low Countries), Germany
—DEPAIRE
Food Distribution in BAOR (now UK Support Services). Germany
—NAAFI
Tailoring Service, Northern Ireland
—Private Individual
Ration Delivery Service in Northern Ireland
—NAAFI
Air Weapon Range, RAF Holbeach
—Siemens Plessey Assessment Services
Flight Checking, 115 Squadron, RAF Benson
—Hunting A/C Ltd.
Engineering and Supply, RAF Scampton
—Hunting A/C Ltd. RAF/RN Elementary Flying Training, RAF Topcliffe
—Hunting A/C Ltd.
Inspectorate of Recruitment Exhibition Production Flight, RAF Henlow
—SERCO
Property Management of Buildings in Central London
—Planned Maintenance Engineering Ltd.
Information Technology Data Processing, Devizes Hoskyns PLC
Domestic Services, MOD Police Training Centre —Gardner Merchant
Works Services Maintenance, Belize, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Falkland Islands
—Turner (FM) Ltd./Balfour Beatty/ACO
Trident in Service Support
—Rolls Royce/Devonport Management Ltd./British Maritime Technology
Mess Catering, A and AEE Boscombe Down
—Gardener Merchant
Relocation Reconnaissance Visits for staff transferring to Bristol
—Peter Carol Executive Coaches
Security Guarding of Abbey Wood site, Bristol
—CHUBB Wardens Ltd.
Combat Systems Information Management TC0
—EASAMS Ltd.
Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston
—Hunting-Brae Ltd.
Royal Navy Aircraft Second Line Engineering, Yeovilton —FR Engineering/SERCO
Tri-Service Food Study
—NAAFI
Verbatim Court Recorders, Department of the Adjutant General
—Harry Counsell and Co
Catering at Mill Hill Industrial Mess, Defence Postal and Courier Service, London
—Gardner Merchant
Army Catering Strategy Study
—Various contractors across a range of sites Electronic Warfare Training Tasks, 360 Squadron, RAF Wyton

—FR Aviation Ltd.
Parachute Transport Flight, RAF Hullavington
—Hallett Silbermann
Operation of Air Weapons Range, Rosehearty
—Assessment Services Ltd.
Operation and maintenance of the Government Pipeline and Storage System
—Simon Storage Group, SERCO Gulf Engineering, Unipen Maintenance Analysis and Computing Division, RAF Swanton Morley
—Bull Information Systems Ltd.
Airfield Services, Gibraltar
—SERCO Ltd.
Catering, cleaning and labouring activities, RAF Akrotiri
—Compass Catering Services (Cyprus) Ltd.
Support Services, Hong Kong
—SERCO/Gardner Merchant
Food Supply and Distribution, Hong Kong
—Various contractors
School Bus Service, Hong Kong
—Hoi Tai Tours Ltd.
Curtain Manufacture, Hong Kong
—FCO Procurement Unit
Furniture Repair, Hong Kong
—Wing Cheung and Co Ltd.
Data Entry, Meteorological Office, Bracknell
—Alpha Numeric

Animal Experiments

To as the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost of experiments involving animals at Ministry of Defence establishments in each year from 1989.

Animal experiments are an essential but small part of my Department's research and development programme, and as such the costs of these experiments are not recorded separately.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 December, Official Report, column 573, if he will identify the country of origin and commercial source of the rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, miniature pigs, marmosets and rhesus monkeys used in animal experiments at Ministry of Defence establishments; and if he will give the average cost of each animal by type.

All experimental work carried out by the Department using animals is in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Animals are used only when there is no acceptable alternative, and all the animals used are bred in the United Kingdom under conditions regulated by UK legislation. Animals are either bred on site, or purchased from suppliers at the prevailing commercial rate, and these costs are not separately recorded.It is not in the public interest to disclose the identities of the specific suppliers.

To ask the Secretary of State of Defence what consideration his Department has given to using alternatives to animal testing at Ministry of Defence establishments; how much is being spent on exploring these alternatives; and if he will make a statement.

All experimental work with animals at Ministry of Defence establishments is regulated by the Home Office under the conditions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and related legislation. Before any project involving animals is begun, a project licence must be granted by the Home Office. A critical part of the project licence application is a closely argued justification of the proposed use of animals considering the ethical and scientific issues. At each stage, the use of non-animal alternatives has to be considered and the licence is granted only where none is possible. In some cases, in vitro methods which do not use living animals are scientifically superior. Such methods have been developed by my Department, and the results of the research published in scientific literature. Costs are not separately identified and recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will define the categories of experiments carried out on living animals at Ministry of Defence establishments in each year from 1989; if he will identify the animals involved; and if he will make a statement.

Animal experiments are carried out within the overall categories as defined by the project licences which are issued in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The project licences currently in effect cover mild 7, moderate 15, substantial 4, and unclassified 1.It would involve disproportionate cost to identify the animals involved and the categories of experiment in each year since 1989.

Equipment Exports (Human Rights)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 19 January, Official Report, columns 690–91, if he will list the equipment which he considers could be used to violate human rights.

Part III, group 1 of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 as amended is a list of those military, security and para-military goods and arms, ammunition and related material which require export licences. The possible use for human rights violations is taken into account when applications for export licences are considered.

	RN		RAF		Army
	United Kingdom	Overseas	United Kingdom	Overseas	United Kingdom	Overseas
Killed
1989	1	—	3	—	6	13
1990	—	—	1	1	2	3
1991	1	—	—	—	4	4
1992	—	—	—	—	2	7
1993	2	4	—	—	1	1
Injured
1989	118	14	672	17	84	533
1990	90	3	636	12	106	376
1991	82	11	508	16	104	328
1992	88	18	381	7	51	117
1993	71	22	367	6	39	188

Notes:

1. The figures for the United Kingdom include Northern Ireland.

2. The figures for RN personnel injured in the United Kingdom include the north Atlantic.

Exports (Indonesia)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what monitoring of the levels of British exported military equipment is undertaken in Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

Support Helicopters

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consideration he has made of the purchase of Chinook support helicopters for the RAF;(2) how many support helicopters he expects to purchase to meet the RAF's requirements;(3) when he expects to make a decision on the procurement of support helicopters for the Royal Air Force; and if he will make a statement.

As announced in the 1994 Statement on the Defence Estimates, we are considering the Boeing Chinook and Westland EH101 to meet our requirement for additional support helicopters. Price and performance data for the two aircraft have been received. Those data are currently being assessed. No decision has been taken as to how many helicopters or of what type to purchase. An announcement will be made as soon as our negotiations are complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his policy to possess a mixed fleet of utility support helicopters for the RAF; and if he will make a statement.

We recognise the potential advantages of a mixed fleet. Price is also a key consideration. Negotiations with industry are still continuing. No decision has yet been made.

Training Exercises (Injuries)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces serving in (a) the Army, (b) the Royal Air Force and (c) the Royal Navy have been (i) killed and (ii) seriously injured while on training exercises (1) overseas and (2) in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

From the records available, it is not possible to differentiate between the seriousness of injuries. Numbers of service personnel killed and injured are as follows:

I have nothing to add to the reply given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr. Goodlad), on 19 December 1994, Official Report, column 894.

Volume 253: debated on Monday 30 January 1995

Written Answers To Questions

Duchy Of Lancaster

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Treasury

Oil Fuel Excise Duty

Wessex Regional Health Authority

Training Courses

Profit-Related Pay Schemes

Bonus Payments

Absenteeism

Mortgages

Vat (Private Health Care)

Building Society Takeovers

Credit Cards

Commercial Lobbying

Recruitment

Environment

Next Steps Agencies

Merseyside Development Corporation

Housing, West Midlands

Fuels

Disabled People

Training Courses

Construction Contracts

Opencast Coal Sites

Business Rates

Business Rates

Agenda 21

Leasehold

Local Government Finance

Prime Minister

Lockerbie

Deregulation

Correspondence

Common Currency

World Summit For Social Development

Eu Fraud

Chequers (Entertainment)

Trade And Industry

Wellcome-Glaxo Merger

Absenteeism

Northern Electricity

Company Accounts

House Of Commons

Statutory Instruments

European Union

Overseas Development Administration

Register Of Available Personnel

Consultants

Aid, Africa

Arun Project, Nepal

World Bank Inspection Panel

Somali Refugee Camp

Transport

Nuclear Waste Shipments

Executive Search Agencies

Aircraft Noise

Civil Servants

Coventry Airport

Lobbying Organisations

Coaches

Stafford's Railway Bridge

Mayday Call (Olympic Airways)

Heathrow

Aircraft (City Approaches)

Oxygenated Petrol

Fishing Vessels (Medical Supplies)

Northern Ireland

Birth Control

Atmospheric Pollution

Queen's University

Schools

Murders, Londonderry, East

Lord Chancellor's Department

Judiciary (Secret Societies)

Transsexuals (Marriage)

Custody

Automatic Party Status (Divorce Proceedings)