To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total expenditure on all forms of advertising by his Department and its agencies for each year since 1979, in 1994 prices.

Expenditure on all forms of advertising prior to 1987–88 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Expenditure on advertising for each year thereafter is shown in the table. In 1993–94, the way in which expenditure is recorded changed, so the figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95—to December—include all forms of publicity. The Lord Chancellor is responsible for three agencies: Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the Public Trust Office. As the hon. Member's question concerns specific operational matters, on which the chief executives are best placed to provide answers, I have accordingly asked the chief executives to reply direct.

Year	£
1987–88	6,990
1988–89	5,117
1989–90	6,745
1990–91	5,893
1991–92	24,324
1992–93	16,450
1993–94	78,541
1994–951	80,096
1 To December

To ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure on all forms of advertising by his Office for each year since 1979, in 1994 prices.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the impact on funding from the millennium fund of the proposed Cardiff Bay opera house of (a) breaches in the rules of the competition organised by the Cardiff Bay opera house trust and (b) breaches of the planning permission of the local planning authority; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 20 January 1995]: This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I shall reply to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the commission and place a copy in the Library of the House.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what executive agencies formerly in the civil service will soon be privatised.

The Government have announced plans to transfer the following executive agencies to the private sector: the Transport Research Laboratory; the National Engineering Laboratory; the Laboratory of the Government Chemist; ADAS, in part; the Natural Resources Institute; and the Accreditation Services, part of the National Physical Laboratory.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is public expenditure per head in Wales in the current financial year; and what is the equivalent in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave to the hon. Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) on 2 February, Official Report, column 1199.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the redundancy terms offered to staff in his Department following the Treasury's fundamental review of expenditure.

The Treasury's fundamental expenditure review is still continuing. At all but the most senior grades the precise staff levels required have not yet been finalised. If there is a surplus of staff at any level, it will be managed by means other than redundancy, where possible.The financial terms in the event of redundancy are those set out in the civil service compensation scheme. This scheme—formerly section 10 of the principal civil service pension scheme—which applies throughout civil service, was laid before Parliament on 20 December 1994.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates the Treasury has for the annual costs to companies and members of the public of accounting for and paying capital gains tax.

The Inland Revenue is not aware of any recent studies of capital gains tax compliance costs.The deregulation task force chaired by Francis Maude is looking at capital gains tax as part of its efforts to reduce compliance costs for businesses. We shall consider carefully any recommendations the task force may make in due course.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 6 February, Official Report, columns 63–64, about the European Monetary Institute, what period of time is intended to be covered by the institute's budgeted expenditure for which the total capital requirement is 615.6 million ecu.

The capital resources will be used to generate an income necessary to cover the expenditure of the European Monetary Institute until its liquidation, in accordance with article 1091 of the EC treaty. The Council of the EMI intends to review the size of the resources three years after the establishment of the EMI, at the end of 1996.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money his Department estimates was lost through income tax evasion in each year from 1990 to the latest year for which figures are available.

No reliable estimates are available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to amend the tax law regarding the buy-back of company shares.

The current Finance Bill contains no proposals relating to the tax treatment of the purchase by a company of its own shares, but, as with a wide range of tax issues, the position is kept under review.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the clearing banks to discuss charging policies and the need for openness with customers; and if he will make a statement.

My colleagues and I meet the chairmen and other representatives of the clearing banks from time to time to discuss a wide range of issues. Bank charges for business customers were looked at in reviews of the financing of small firms published by the Bank of England in January 1994 and January 1995. Neither highlighted charges as a significant problem. For the retail sector, the code of banking practice, introduced by all the major banks, already encourages greater openness between banks and their customers. All the major banks have now introduced, or are introducing, pre-notification of charges.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the numbers of staff with science, engineering and technology qualifications employed in the civil service by grade in (a) 1979, (b) 1983, (c) 1987 and (d) 1993.

This information is not held centrally. Below the open structure, there are civil servants employed in the professional and technology group and the science group. Details of the numbers and grades of these staff are available in table 4 of "Civil Service Statistics" for each of the years. Copies of "Civil Service Statistics" are available in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's policy is on relocating civil service jobs to areas of high unemployment and low opportunities.

Departments and agencies should review the location of their work with the intention of securing cost savings, and wider employment and economic development benefits, including consistency with Ministers' wider regional and inner-city area policies.Departments considering relocation liaise closely with other Departments, the Government offices for the English regions, local authorities and the training and enterprise councils over their proposals for change.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what work the Government have undertaken to facilitate the use of the ecu.

[holding answer 6 February 1995]: Since 1988 the Government have issued ecu denominated debt. In addition to widening the options for management of the United Kingdom's reserves, this programme shows the importance the Government attach to providing further opportunities for the development of the private ecu markets in London.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral answer of 2 February to the hon. Member for Warrington, North, (Mr. Hoyle) Official Report, column 1201, what advice he has received from the Council of Mortgage Lenders about the likely effect of the changes he proposed in the Budget to income support for home owners' mortgage interest payments on the number of repossessions.

[holding answer 7 February 1995]: The Department of Social Security has on-going discussions with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and will continue to do so throughout the consultation process. The council has expressed concern about the possible impact of the proposals. The Government are listening carefully to its concerns but believe that the proposed changes will result in the development of comprehensive quality insurance which will provide better protection for all home owners against repossession, not just those who currently receive income support mortgage interest.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the total expenditure on all forms of advertising by his office and its agencies for each year since 1979, in 1994 prices.

The Privy Council Office incurred no expenditure in respect of advertising over the years in question. I am not responsible for any agencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) guidance and (b) direction he has issued to NHS trusts in Scotland relating to local pay bargaining; and if he will place copies of these documents in the Library.

NHS in Scotland employers are aware of the Government's policy. Responsibility for devising pay arrangements should be delegated wherever possible to those who are responsible for managing the delivery of services. NHS employers in Scotland are responsible for taking appropriate steps to develop and implement local pay.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those public bodies for which he retains departmental responsibility; which of these bodies have been identified as suitable for placing in the private sector; and by when it is expected each of these bodies will enter the private sector.

The Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1994", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, lists non-departmental public bodies, nationalised industries, public corporations and NHS bodies. None of the bodies listed as being sponsored by my Department has been identified as suitable for placing in the private sector. Non-departmental public bodies are subject to review every five years, at which time consideration is given inter alia to the possibility of privatisation. The position of the other bodies is also considered regularly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland why he has not yet provided the information about next steps agencies requested by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton in his question of 20 January.

I apologise for the delay in answering the right hon. Member's question, which was in fact answered on 8 February, Official Report, column 336.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much public investment in the form of Government and European grants has been given to Dundee port authority in each of the last 10 years.

I have been asked to reply.No Government grants were paid to the authority for port-related developments over this period. Payments from the European regional development fund were:

Year	£
1985	104,957
1986	80,178
1987	Nil
1988	1,389,300
1989	874,200
1990	Nil
1991	353,905
1992	178,270
1993	47,491
1994	520,679
1995 (to date)	Nil
Total	3,548,980

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he or his officials have had with Dundee port authority in relation to proposals for privatising that authority.

I have been asked to reply.Dundee port authority's chairman has met my noble Friend Lord Goschen, and with his professional advisers has had a number of meetings with officials of the Department.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions and in what circumstances in the last five years advertisements have been placed in newspapers or periodicals which have been described as being issued by, or on behalf of, Ministers in his Department 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.Centrally produced DTI advertising does not refer to either Her Majesty's Government or an individual Minister, but generally includes the DTI logo and its descriptor.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposals for the Insolvency Service on the rights of the employees of the service to transferred rights and conditions.

In the absence of any decision to contract out the work of official receivers, it is too early to consider the issue of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, the implications of which may not become clear until the nature of proposals in any bidding process could be assessed.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what adjustments to the spending plans for his Department he has made following his proposals for the Insolvency Service;(2) what provision he has made for redundancy costs arising out of his proposals for the Insolvency Service.

I refer the hon. Member to the announcement my right hon. and noble Friend Earl Ferrers made on 10 October 1994, Official Report, column 94. No early retirement or severance provisions have been made by my Department, as the preparatory work on increasing private sector involvement in the work of the official receivers is still on-going, nor has my Department made any adjustments to its spending plans.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to remedy the criticism of insolvency practitioners made by the National Audit Office.

The reports of the National Audit Office and of the Public Accounts Committee contained recommendations that the Insolvency Service should seek to improve the quality and timeliness of reports submitted by insolvency practitioners concerning unfit conduct of directors in insolvent companies.The Insolvency Service has issued revised guidelines to insolvency practitioners which emphasised the need for timeliness of reports and the adequacy of evidence to support allegations of unfit conduct. These guidelines are being reinforced by the newly constituted joint insolvency monitoring unit set up by the insolvency profession to raise standards of its members. In addition, the Insolvency Service has commenced a programme of visits to practitioners who have a poor record of reporting, backed by prosecution in extreme cases.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the levels of steel imports into the United Kingdom for each three-month period since January 1993 from (a) the United States of America, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Korea and (e) Japan.

The information is in the following table:

United Kingdom imports of steel1
000 tonnes
	United States of America	France	Germany	South Korea	Japan
1993
Q1	10.0	83.7	312.6	0.3	14.2
Q2	12.7	79.6	354.7	0.3	14.3
Q3	8.9	94.1	315.9	3.4	17.5
Q4	11.8	415.3	358.8	0.2	16.9
1994
Q1	9.1	185.2	359.7	4.2	10.0
Q2	8.8	191.6	391.6	0.2	17.5
Q3	11.5	191.4	381.4	2.1	8.4

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to encourage United Kingdom shipbuilding yards to develop their capacity to produce floating oil and gas platforms.

My Department established a working group on floating production systems last year and the group has made positive proposals to strengthen the competitiveness of UK yards and other suppliers in this sector. Its recommendations are being pursued with the industry and a report will be published shortly.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to encourage United Kingdom oil companies to purchase equipment from United Kingdom producers.

My Department helps oil companies in the UK and overseas to identify competitive UK suppliers and supports initiatives to help the suppliers improve their competitiveness.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what allowance was made in the liabilities of PowerGen's accounts for the flue gas desulphurisation of Ferrybridge power station when the company was privatised; what is his estimate of that sum in 1995 prices; and how much has been spent on flue gas desulphurisation of Ferrybridge station.

The expectation that investment in 4 GW of flue gas desulphurisation equipment at PowerGen's coal-fired plant would form part of its capital expenditure programme was taken into account at privatisation. The 1991 prospectus for the sale of PowerGen gave an estimated cost of £250 million for the fitting of flue gas desulphurisation equipment at Ratcliffe power station. PowerGen had applied for planning permission to fit flue gas desulphurisation equipment at Ferrybridge C. This permission has subsequently been granted. Information on expenditure on particular capital projects is a matter for the company.Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is required to review the conditions of integrated pollution control authorisations granted to power stations and may impose new conditions to prevent or reduce emissions of pollutants subject to the application of BATNEEC—best available technique not entailing excessive cost.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has power to direct whether specific conditions should or should not be imposed.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations his Department has received on EU proposals to restrict the block exemptions governing the distribution of cars; and if he will make a statement.

The European Commission has published a draft regulation—OJ 379/16—intended to replace Commission regulation 123/85. This regulation governs the selective and exclusive dealership agreements for motor vehicles, and is due to expire in June 1995.My Department has consulted interested parties representing United Kingdom manufacturers, dealers, trade associations, consumer groups and legal bodies to obtain their views on the draft. It has received representations from, or held discussions with, some 40 companies and representative organisations.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 2 February, Official Report columns 760–61, if the contract awarded to N. M. Rothschild was for a fixed fee; which tender was recommended to the then Secretary of State for Energy for acceptance by the interdepartmental group; and when the contact is expected to end.

[holding answer 9 February 1995]: The contract was awarded on the basis of hourly rates. The then Secretary of State for Energy acted in accordance with the advice he received from officials. The contract will end once the privatisation of the British coal Corporation, including the non-mining activities, is completed.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list military equipment that has been refused export licences to Indonesia on the grounds that such equipment might be used for internal repression between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1993 and between 31 December 1993 and 1 February 1994.

[holding answer 7 February 1995]: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to reveal details of export licences or applications for licences unless the requirements of confidentiality are outweighed by the public interest.In this instance, I believe that the public interest is served by disclosing the following information:

To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service have been dropped within the last five years on the grounds that the principal witnesses or victims have a hearing difficulty or suffer from mental illness.

The Crown Prosecution Service maintains no central records regarding witnesses or victims of crime. The information is recorded on individual case files, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the domestic waste dump sites in Northern Ireland where environmental problems have arisen, indicating the type of problem which has arisen at each site.

At present, 28 landfill sites are authorised to receive domestic waste. Twenty-six are operated under district council control and two are operated by the private sector, but regulated by statutory authorities. Prior to 1980, landfill sites were used without proper design and building plans. Since then, authorised sites are engineered to deal with and contain leachate and gas emissions. Environmental problems associated with landfill sites can be litter, smell and bird invasion.The degree to which any of these problems may be found at a particular site will depend upon a range of factors such as location, the engineering technology used in design and operation of the site and on-going site management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to redefine the term blind so that a person who is unable to pass the vision test associated with the driving test should be regarded as being unable to do any work for which eyesight is essential.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration he has given to abandoning the system of two categories of registrable visual disability.

The system of distinguishing between blindness and partial sight assists in service planning as the needs of blind and partially sighted people are not identical. Fewer people might be willing to register with social services departments if doing so meant they were required to accept the label "blind". We have no plans to change the present system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to instruct Department of Health officials to issue new guidelines to approve consultant ophthalmologists to certify all persons with a visual acuity of 6/18, or less, as blind and registrable in that category with social services.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the practice in other countries of having only one category of registrable visual disability.

None. The system in use throughout the United Kingdom has been established over many years enabling trends in causes of blindness and partial sight to be monitored. There are no plans to amend the system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those public bodies for which he retains departmental responsibility; which of these bodies have been identified as suitable for placing in the private sector; and by when it is expected each of these bodies will enter the private sector.

The public bodies for which the Secretary of State retains departmental responsibility are set out in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1994", copies of which are available in the Library. Since "Public Bodies 1994" was published, the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Agency was established.None of these bodies has been identified as being suitable for placing in the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the termination payments made to chief executives and general and senior managers in each NHS trust since its inception, indicating the size and number of individual payments.

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Consideration is being given to the collection of data on termination payments in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total expenditure on all forms of advertising by his Department and its agencies for each year since 1979 in 1994 prices.

The information requested is listed:

Year	Expenditure £ (in 1994 prices)
1979–80	1,146,986
1980–81	999,033
1981–82	1,159,163
1982–83	2,731,538
1983–84	4,821,516
1984–85	4,360,906
1985–86	6,004,314
1986–87	5,651,684
1987–88	5,719,217
1988–89	6,100,684
1989–90	6,393,354
1990–91	6,769,594
1991–92	7,953,941
1992–93	7,770,377
1993–94	6,046,557
1994–95	15,241,690
1 Consists of estimated expenditure or expenditure to date for Departments.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about the final recommendations of the disbanded Advisory Board for the Research Councils.

The final recommendations were in December 1993 and consisted of advice on the then science budget. I have placed copies on the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total spending reduction in Government-funded research which took place when near-market research was abandoned.

Over the period—1987–88 to 1991–92—there was a cash increase of 19 per cent. in total Government-funded R and D expenditure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by what method he is kept informed as to scientific developments and breakthroughs that warrant funding and other support from Government; and if he will make a statement.

Many different methods.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with the Department of Trade and Industry on funding of space science.

I met my hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for space last November, to discuss the funding of space science and our two Departments continue to work closely together.There is continual contact between the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, my Department and the British National Space Centre at an official level, through which we are currently looking in detail at the cost-effectiveness of the UK's participation in the European Space Agency's science programme.I recognise fully that our space scientists have an excellent reputation and we will continue to support our best space science research.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to the letter from the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Hughes) to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, what discussions Her Majesty's Government are having with CERN partners on ways in which the original timetable for the large hadron collider and associated developments in particle physics can be adhered to.

The timetable of the large hadron collider project agreed by member states in December 1995 foresees full operation in 2008. This can be achieved within known existing resources. Completion before this date will require significant additional. contributions from non-member states.The CERN director general is taking the lead in discussing with potential partners the terms on which they might participate scientifically and financially. He has the full support of the UK and other CERN member states. We stand ready to give the director general every assistance to help these discussions reach a satisfactory conclusion. Any proposal for the participation of non-member states will be discussed by member states in the CERN council.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will name the companies which have been successful in obtaining contracts to provide services for Government Departments as a result of the market-testing process; and if he will list them by Government department.

For information on the contracts awarded by the Office of Public Service and Science, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 12 December 1994, Official Report, column 455. Other Ministers provided similar information on their Departments to the hon. Member for Darlington. Their answers were published in the Official Report between 12 December and 16 December. The Ministry of Defence provided a full list of contractors in an answer to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) Official Report, 30 January 1995, columns 546–48.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he or international organisations have to restart mine clearing operations in Somaliland.

We have no plans. We understand the UN has been unable to agree a programme for mine clearance work with the regional authorities, which include adequate systems for monitoring, reporting and accountability.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the ODA co-ordinator in Hargeisa has made of the priorities for British and European assistance to Somaliland.

North-west Somalia's needs are extensive. Britain's priorities remain support for programmes to help re-establish basic health and education services and help for those displaced by the recent fighting. EU assistance includes support for the livestock sector; water and sanitation and income generation. We agree with the NGO liaison and support officer's judgment that these remain priority areas for assistance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the statistical impact made by his Department's programme in the relative distribution of wealth between the world's 20 richest and 20 poorest countries.

[holding answer 9 February 1995]: Twenty-nine per cent. of the United Kingdom's total bilateral net official development assistance disbursements in 1992 went to the 20 countries listed as poorest in GNP per capita terms according to World bank information. The only countries with a higher percentage than the United Kingdom were Norway, Denmark and Finland, all of which had lower total disbursements to these countries in volume terms.However, it is not possible to isolate the statistical effect of aid disbursements to these countries—let alone disbursements by a single donor—from other factors when examining their economic growth.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to monitor the suitability of employment agencies offering domiciliary care provision; and how such agencies are monitored in terms of conduct and suitability.

The Employment Agencies Act 1973 and its associated regulations require all employment agencies to abide by specified minimum standards of conduct. Inspectors from the Department's Employment Agency standards offices investigate all complaints and other indications of breaches of the standards of conduct and undertake random checks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money was owed by South Thames TEC to Southwark college (a) for work undertaken before 7 November 1994 and (b) for work undertaken after 7 November 1994.

I am as yet unable to assess the financial impact of the receivership of South Thames training and enterprise council on Southwark college. Money owed by South Thames TEC to Southwark college before 7 November 1994 is a matter for the receiver, who is still establishing the total amount involved. The Department has processed invoices from the college for 7 November 1994 to 1 January 1995 to the value of £133,209.55 and these will be paid to the college by the end of next week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the financial impact of the receivership of South Thames TEC on Southwark college.

I am as yet unable to assess the financial impact of the receivership of South Thames training and enterprise council on Southwark college.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria will be used to assess an individual's skills, qualifications and experience for the purposes of entering into the jobseeker's agreement.

[holding answer 6 February 1995]: The employment officer and the jobseeker will seek to draw up a jobseeker's agreement. The terms and conditions of the agreement have to be such that if the jobseeker complies with the agreement he will satisfy the conditions set out in regulations on availability and actively seeking work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria will be used by the adjudication officer to determine what is reasonable for purposes of deciding whether a claimant for jobseeker's allowance considers the agreement as a condition of entitlement to be unreasonable.

[holding answer 6 February 1995]: Adjudication officers will be expected to have regard to the legislation and any relevant caselaw. They will be assisted by guidance issued by the chief adjudication officer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what procedures will apply when the adjudicating officer charged with deciding whether the agreement as a condition of entitlement for jobseeker's allowance is reasonable, rules it (a) to be reasonable and (b) to be unreasonable.

[holding answer 6 February 1995]: (a) If the adjudication officer determines that it is reasonable to expect the jobseeker to comply with the terms and conditions of a proposed agreement, the jobseeker can accept his determination or appeal to a social security appeals tribunal.(b) If the adjudication officer determines that it is not reasonable he may give directions as to the terms and conditions on which the employment officer is to enter into an agreement with the jobseeker. If the jobseeker does not consider the adjudication officer's terms reasonable, he can appeal to another adjudication officer, and if he is still not content he can appeal to a social security appeals tribunal.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have died in prison from natural causes in the past five years.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether decisions relating to the searching of category A prisoners and their visitors are policy or operational matters.

The power to search prisoners and their visitors is set out in the prison rules, which are made by the Secretary of State. Decisions relating to the rules themselves and changes to them are policy matters.The actions which are taken to implement the rules, including the procedures for searching category A prisoners and their visitors, are operational matters, as are the day-to-day decisions to search individual prisoners or visitors.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cuts to its budget have been proposed by the Prison Service; and what new equipment and materials have been cancelled.

The Prison Service has not proposed any cuts to its budget and no new equipment and materials have been cancelled.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 23 January, Official Report, column 50, for what reasons the transitional and restructuring costs in the contract between his Department and the Sema Group in respect of the privatisation of the data centre in Bootle remain in confidence now that the contract has been agreed; what proportion this element of the contract was of the total contract amount; if any part of the agreement prior to the contract being signed required such commercial secrecy; if permission of Sema is required to publish the figure; and if he will make a statement.

It is not the usual practice to publish commercially sensitive information about contracts particularly where that would involve the disclosure of details of the pricing arrangements or structure of competitive bids and this applies both before and after a contract is let. The purpose is to preserve the legitimate business interests of competing companies who may wish to bid for future contracts. This consideration applied to the contract between the Home Office and Sema Group plc and I continue to regard information about the proportion of the contract costs which relate to transitional and restructuring activities as commercially confidential. If it was considered appropriate to disclose commercially sensitive information from tender or contractual documents. I would regard it as necessary to discuss the matter in advance with the contractor concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 23 January, Official Report, column 50, how many people were employed at the data centre in Bootle prior to its privatisation; how many of those employees (a) have been and (b) will be made redundant as a result of the Sema Group's proposals; and if he will indicate the type of staff, and the number in each category, made redundant.

Following the award of a contract for the supply of Home Office administrative information technology services, staff in the undertaking were transferred to Sema Group plc under the terms of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981; this included 272 staff based on Merseyside.Although subsequent redundancies by Sema Group are a matter for it, we understand from the company that, in order to make efficiency savings identified following an operational review of business requirements, it invited applications for voluntary redundancy in November 1994 from staff on Merseyside. As a result, 92 former Home Office staff on Merseyside have been accepted for voluntary redundancy under terms equivalent to those which would have applied if they had remained civil servants. I understand that all of these were formerly administrative grade civil servants in the grades administrative assistant to grade 7.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 23 January, Official Report. column 50, what is the expected percentage level of overspend or underspend for the estimated total payments from his Department for the Sema Group's transitional and restructuring costs against the amount allocated for these costs in the contract.

Payments to Sema Group plc to cover transitional and restructuring costs are expected to be at the level set out in the contract. Sema Group's bid contained an element for such costs, a proportion of which were estimated because they were dependent on the outcome of an operational review which they would conduct if awarded the contract. However, the contract specified a maximum to be paid by the Home Office on the basis that any costs over that amount would be melt by Sema Group. It is expected that the level of payments from the Home Office to Sema Group will be at that maximum level, which was the level assumed in evaluating the bid.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those public bodies for which he retains departmental responsibility; which of these bodies have been identified as suitable for placing in the private sector; and by when it is expected each of these bodies will enter the private sector.

The following non-departmental public bodies presently fall within my Department's responsibility:

• Alcohol Education and Research Council
• Commission for Racial Equality
• Community Development Foundation
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
• Fire Services Examinations Board
• Gaming Board for Great Britain
• Horserace. Betting Levy Board
• Horserace Totalisator Board
• Office of the Data Protection Registrar
• Police Complaints Authority
• Police Promotions Examinations Board
• National Lottery Charities Board
• Advisory Board on Restricted Patients
• Advisory Committee on Service Candidates
• Advisory Council on Race Relations
• Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
• Animal Procedures Committee
• Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council
• Firearms Consultative Committee
• National Board for Crime Prevention
• Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England
• Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales
• Parole Board
• Poisons Board
• Police Negotiating Board
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel
• Data Protection Tribunal
• Horserace Betting Levy Appeals Tribunal for England and Wales
• Interception of Communications Tribunal
• Misuse of Drugs Advisory Body
• Misuse of Drugs Professional Panel
• Misuse of Drugs Tribunal
• Police Arbitration Tribunal
• Police Discipline Appeals Tribunal
• Security Services Tribunal
• Boards of Visitors to Penal Establishments

These NDPBs are subject to a rolling review every five years, the first stage of which includes an examination of prior options, including the scope for privatisation. At present, none has been identified for privatisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost of running the Home Office supply service for radio and high technology equipment to the police and prison services.

The police and prison services now purchase their radio and high technology equipment directly from suppliers. The Department, through the radio frequency and communications planning unit, undertakes frequency regulation and management functions and provides strategic advice and technical guidance on radio matters to the police, fire, prison and other Home Office Departments. The cost of this service is approximately £940,000 in 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who advised him that the installation of geophones in the perimeter fence at Parkhurst would have to wait until building work was complete.

After the escapes from Parkhurst which took place on 3 January, I was informed by the Prison Service of the reasons why geophones had not been installed, as I explained to the House in my statement on 10 January, column 34.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total expenditure on all forms of advertising by his Department and its agencies for each year since 1979, in 1994 prices.

Expenditure on television, radio press and poster advertising by my Department and its agencies, except the Forensic Science Service agency, for each year since 1979 is as follows:

1993–94 prices (using the GDP deflator)
	£
1979–80	7,131,352
1980–81	3,422,914
1981–82	3,470,771
1982–83	3,456,974
1983–84	4,659,770
1984–85	5,243,644
1985–86	5,037,696

1993–94 prices using the GDP deflator
	£
1986–87	7,395,028
1987–88	6,599,918
1988–89	7,107,320
1989–90	6,766,316
1990–91	6,524,067
1991–92	7,797,182
1992–93	7,569,370
1993–94	9,345,196

The projected spend for 1994–95 is £10,178,074.The above figures do not include the marginal advertising spend for the Forensic Science Service since it became an agency in 1991. The agency does not have data to separate advertising spend from general publicity. Its systems will be modified to provide a breakdown from 1995–96.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what has been the cost of policing the demonstrations against the export of live calves;

The policing of recent demonstrations against the export of live animals has arisen from the duty of the police to uphold the law and I should not expect charges to be made for this.Information on the total costs of policing demonstrations against the export of live calves is not available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of prisoners were estimated to be drug users (a) when they entered prison, and (b) when they were released from prison in (i) womens' prisons and (ii) mens' prisons in each of the last 15 years.

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.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that monitoring shall be carried out of the number of accidents and fatalities resulting from the use of bathing beaches.

No. But I would refer the hon. Member to the work of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and, so far as concerns fatal accidents, to the reply which I gave to his question on 25 January, column236.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-United Kingdom nationals in each year, to date, have been (a) excluded from the United Kingdom, (b) are currently excluded from the United Kingdom and (c) have had exclusion orders withdrawn under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989.

[holding answer 7 February 1995]: Only persons who are not British citizens may be excluded from the United Kingdom under the 1989 Act: 14 persons are currently so excluded. Figures for each year since 1989 are shown in the following table:

Persons excluded from the United Kingdom
	Orders in force on 1 January	New orders made during year	Orders renewed during year	Orders revoked/lapsed during year
1989	35	—	4	5
1990	30	4	2	12
1991	22	3	6	7
1992	18	1	4	1
1993	18	—	4	1
1994	17	1	5	3
19951	15	—	—	1

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the relationship between the National Blood Authority and the promotion of national prune week.

This is a matter for the National Blood Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations her Department made to the Ministry of Defence regarding the implication for the NHS of the closure of RAF hospital, Wroughton.

Regular discussions take place between officials of the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence about plans for the future of military hospitals and their impact on the national health service, including RAF Wroughton. The timing and management of change at individual hospitals are discussed in joint machinery involving officials from my Department, NHS managers and Ministry of Defence officials.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on bovine somatotropin following recent research at Musgrave Park hospital on concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1.

All cows' milk contains IGF-1, an insulin-like growth factor. Administering artificially produced bovine somatatrophin to dairy cows results in marginally increased levels of IGF-1 in their milk.I understand that doctors at the Musgrove Park hospital, Taunton, have been conducting research into possible links between BST and cancer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number and rate of (a) conception, (b) full-term pregnancies and (c) terminations for each of the last 10 years for girls in the age group 12 to 15 years; and if she will indicate the levels of disaggregation for which figures are available currently.

The information available for England as a whole is shown in the table. Corresponding information for regional health authorities is published in birth statistics series FM1—Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys—and that for district health authorities from 1986 onwards, with rates averaged over three-year periods, in the OPCS monitor, "Conceptions in England and Wales 1991: residents of regional and district health authority areas FM1 94/1", copies of which are in the Library.

Conception at ages under 16 England
Year	Number
1984	9,096
1985	8,829
1986	8,684
1987	8,590
1988	8,246
1989	7,922
1990	8,111
1991	7,362
19921	7,475
1 Provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the length of time currently taken to treat a patient arriving at the Royal Liverpool hospital seeking treatment in the accident and emergency department between their arrival and the time of treatment.

District health authorities are responsible for setting and monitoring performance standards for accident and emergency services locally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of Liverpool health authority, Mr. Donald Tod, for this information in respect of the Royal Liverpool hospital.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will fund the training of the paramedics required to meet her 1995 target.

The funding arrangements for paramedic training are matters for individual ambulance services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health who appoints external auditors for (a) health authorities and (b) NHS trusts.

The Audit Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the closure of London accident and emergency facilities on emergency ambulance response times.

We understand that, at the request of health authorities and others, the London ambulance service has looked at patient flows resulting from changing patterns of accident and emergency provision in London. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Martin Gorham, chief executive of the LAS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the availability within the NHS of user-friendly adrenaline injection kits for the treatment of anaphylaxis.

There are at least three presentations of self-injectable adrenaline preparations available, but only one of which is licensed for use under the Medicines Act 1968. Doctors can prescribe any product which they feel necessary for the treatment of their patients at national health service expense, providing it is not included in schedule 10 to the NHS (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992. However, doctors must take full responsibility for the patient's welfare when prescribing an unlicensed product. Arrangements are in place to enable these to be obtained.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the adequacy of guidelines for the treatment of anaphylaxis in accident and emergency departments of NHS hospitals in England and Wales.

We are not aware of any clinical guidelines on the treatment of anaphylaxis in accident and emergency departments. The development of such guidelines and their upkeep would be a matter for the medical profession. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the adequacy of equipment and training for the treatment of anaphylaxis for ambulance services in England and Wales.

All national health service paramedics in England and Wales are trained in the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis, and I am informed that the equipment needed for such treatment is standard on all front-line ambulances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide a list of (a) trusts and (b) health authorities that have made loans to staff members in the latest year for which figures are available, indicating the sums involved.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what attempts were made, and what controls were in place to safeguard and judge the effectiveness of the 1994 no smoking campaign;(2) what proposals she has to improve the

All health education campaigns on smoking are aimed at particular groups in line with "The Health of the Nation" targets on smoking and are evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the sum spent last year on the no smoking campaign was disbursed.

Resources for health education campaigns on smoking in 1993–94 and 1994–95 were allocated to programmes aimed at particular target groups as follows:

	1993–94 £000	1994–95 £000
Teenage smoking campaign	1,199	1,260
Smoking in pregnancy	446	480
Adult and parental smoking	6,611	7,552

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current estimated cost to the national health service of treating smoking-related diseases.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) on 13 January, column 257.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people registered as mentally ill in the community is assigned a key worker.

Mentally ill people in the community are not required to register with health or social services authorities or with any other agency. All patients subject to the care programme approach should have an identified key worker, but we do not require information on numbers of such patients to be submitted to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) guidelines or (b) rules her Department sets to ensure that people released from long-stay mental hospitals are given (i) social security advice, (ii) housing advice and (iii) financial advice.

The "Mental Illness Key Area Handbook" advises health and local authorities that under the care programme approach, a systematic assessment of the health and social care needs of the patient should be undertaken prior to discharge. The assessment will include the person's housing and financial needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many long-stay mental hospitals in (a) London, (b) Birmingham, and (c) Manchester are open; and how many have set closure plans.

Information on all long-stay mental illness hospitals is not routinely collected. Details on the remaining large mental illness hospitals—with over 100 beds—including closure plans if any, were published in the mental health task force report, "Survey of English Mental Illness Hospitals, March 1993", copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) London, (b) Birmingham, and (c) Manchester are registered with health authorities as mentally ill in the community.

Mentally ill people living in the community are not required to register with health authorities. National health service agencies will generally only hold details of those people in contact with specialist services and we do not require this information to be submitted to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new acute psychiatric beds in (a) London, (b) Birmingham, and (c) Manchester are due to become available in 1995.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 6 February, Official Report, column 29, if she will provide a breakdown by region of the number of general practitioner fundholders who have overrun their budgets; and by what amount in each year since their inception.

Regional health authorities are responsible for the fundholding scheme in their areas. Information from regions is provided in the table. Final audited information for 1993–94 is not yet available.