To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make available on departmental pages established by his Department on the Government's world wide web server, "www.open.gov.uk" (a) the Audit Commission's reports entitled "Paying the Piper" and "Calling the Tune" and (b) other reports of the Audit Commission.

No. Distribution -of Audit Commission reports is a matter for the commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the (a) population, (b) number of employees, (c) number of employees per 1,000 population and (d) political party in control in each local authority; and if he will post the answer on his Department's pages on the Government's world wide web server, "www.open.gov.uk.".

I have today placed the information requested in the Library of the House. No firm decision has yet been taken by the Department on the use of the Internet.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the current policy of the London residuary body towards the ownership and development of County hall; and if he will make a statement.

Under the Local Government Act 1985, the London residuary body has a duty to dispose of surplus property for the best price reasonably obtainable; pursuant to this duty the LRB exchanged contracts on 14 October 1994 with Frogmore Estates plc in association with Galliard Homes for the sale of the remainder of the County hall site, and the sale is due to be completed by 29 March 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made in the establishment of a construction industry board; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend, my noble Friend the Minister of State and I met with representatives of the construction industry and their clients on 7 February and agreed to set up a new construction industry board. The board will take forward the reform proposals in Sir Michael Latham's report "Constructing the Team". The board will be chaired by Sir Michael Latham and will include representatives from the construction industry and its clients.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Luton, South (Sir G. Bright) of 14 December, Official Report, column 664, when he proposes to give powers to local authorities to tackle dog fouling; how the designated areas will be determined; and when he expects to bring forward the necessary legislative proposals to effect these changes.

The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Bill, which was introduced by the hon. Member for Blackpool, North (Mr. Elletson) and received its Second Reading on 10 February, would give local authorities the necessary powers. The Bill proposes that local authorities may designate land which is open to the air and to which the public have access.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Norway, and what plans he has for discussions on the damage done to the environment by the lack of fully operated coal desulphurisation plant at power stations.

The Secretary of State has had no recent bilateral discussions with his Norwegian counterpart on sulphur emissions from UK power stations. The UK is, however, on target to meet fully its commitments to reduce sulphur emissions under the EC large combustion plants directive. Both the United Kingdom and Norwegian Governments signed last year the UNECE protocol on further reductions in sulphur emissions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the policy on allowing departmental civil servants to work for, or be seconded to, local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

The Department strongly encourages interchange with local government. Since 1993, 12 DOE staff have been on secondment to local authorities, and 18 local government staff have had secondments to DOE.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines have been issued to local authorities since the district auditor's interim report on Westminster city council's designated sales policy; and if he will make a statement.

Files of general correspondence are normally destroyed after a five-year period, and we have been unable to locate the response to which the hon. Member refers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what standards his Department requires of private hostels used by persons on social security benefits.

Private hostels will usually fall within the definition of a house in multiple occupation contained in part XI of the Housing Act 1985. Under these provisions, local authorities have extensive powers to ensure that houses in multiple occupation are fit for the number of occupants. The Department's circular 12/92 sets out guidance to local authorities on the standards of fitness they might wish to impose in such cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new initiatives he is taking to encourage the construction of affordable housing.

The Government continue to promote efficiency, value for money and use of private finance in the provision of affordable housing. In this way we aim to ensure that the maximum benefit is derived from the public resources available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what studies he has conducted into which substances are emitted when secondary liquid fuel is burned;(2) what monitoring has taken place of the emissions from the Rugby Cement works at Barrington.

Studies have been made on the emissions to air for particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, oxygen, total organic carbon, dioxins, and heavy metals. The dioxins and heavy metal content of solid waste discharges and the chlorine, heavy metals, sulphur and PCB content of secondary liquid fuels has also been studied.Rugby cement works at Barrington has monitored all the above parameters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines his Department gives to local authorities with regard to the use of moneys in the housing revenue account.

The items of expenditure and income falling within the Housing Revenue Account are defined in schedule 4 to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, also issues an annual determination setting out the sums to be debited and credited to the account under items 8 of parts I and II of schedule 4. The Department will shortly be issuing a circular providing further guidance on local authority expenditure and income which should be accounted for in the housing revenue account.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the aggregate financial balances, excluding schools, held by Shropshire at the latest available date and for the corresponding date in 1994 and 1993.

[holding answer Monday 13 February 1994]: The latest available estimates of the level of reserves, excluding schools is as follows. These estimates are subject to amendments 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 as a date later than 1 April 1994 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of the population of the proposed north riding of Yorkshire is from areas that, prior to local government reorganisation in 1974, were in the administrative areas of the (a) north riding, (b) west riding and (c) east riding of Yorkshire.

[holding answer Monday 13 February 1995]: We no longer propose to create a county of the north riding of Yorkshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those who made representations to him requesting that the name of North Yorkshire county council should be changed.

[holding answer Monday 13 February 1995]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has concluded that the county's name should not be changed.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to institute an occupational health assessment of the sickness at Companies House.

As this is an operational matter for Companies House executive agency, I have asked David Durham, the chief executive, to respond directly to the hon. Member.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to (a) end, (b) raise and (c) extend the nuclear levy.

The future of the fossil fuel levy is being considered as part of the review of nuclear power currently being undertaken by the Government and I cannot pre-judge the outcome.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek to amend the Coal Industry Act 1994 to give local planning authorities the power to protect the local communities from the liability of restoration of opencast mining sites; and if he will make a statement.

I have no proposals to amend the existing provisions of the Act in respect of the responsibilities of planning authorities.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if his changes in the INsolvency Service affect the powers (a) to prosecute for fraud, (b) to disqualify directors and (c) to prosecute in situations of bankruptcy; and if he will make a statement on the rights of private contractors to initiate prosecution and disqualifications

No decision to contract out the functions of official receivers has been taken. When considering that decision, Ministers will take into account such factors as value for money and enabling official receivers to concentrate resources on their investigative role. The latter would improve the Insolvency Service's ability to take disqualification proceedings against directors.The power to prosecute in personal bankruptcies and in cases of fraud in company liquidations rests with the investigations division of the Department of Trade and Industry and this situation will not be affected by any decision to contract out official receivers' functions.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the present size of the Insolvency Service employment (a) in total and (b) in each region and nation; and if he will estimate the effects on such employment of his proposals to change the status of the service.

Figures for the Insolvency Service staff in post as at 1 January 1995, in total and broken down by offices, are as follows.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many cases have been dealt with and how many staff employed by the Insolvency Service in each year since 1988; and if he will express these figures in index form with 1988 as the base.

The figures for the number of cases dealt with by the Insolvency Service each year since 1988, together with the number of staff employed in the same period, are as follows:

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the full cost of the consultancy work carried out by SRU Ltd. on (a) the privatisation of Companies House and (b) the contracting out of work carried out in Companies House.

The fee paid to SRU Ltd. in connection with the review of Companies House is £189,000.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade which of the facilities operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority have had sanctions imposed for infringement of article 83 of the Euratom treaty since 1988; if he will specify the infringements that occurred; and what has been done in each case to rectify the situation.

Sanctions have been imposed on the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority under article 83 of the Euratom Treaty on only one occasion. That was at the least severe level—a "warning"—on 4 March 1992 concerning a facility at Dounreay. I refer the hon. Member to the European Communities Commission decision C(92) 476 final—OJ L88 of 3 April 1992—a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. To rectify the situation, modifications were made to the plant and to management procedures, and improvements were made to the accounting and records systems.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent, of 26 January, Official Report, column 335, on the imports and exports of uranium, what factors led to the figures for certain years being classed as commercial in confidence.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Energy to the hon. Member for Newcastle Upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins), on 7 February 1995, Official Report, column 142.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the prospects of the saddlery trade; and what measures he proposes to promote this industry in rural areas.

The Department has initiated discussions with representatives of the industry about its prospects and the issues which influence its competitiveness both in the United Kingdom and overseas.If the right hon. Member has particular concerns in this context I would be pleased to consider them.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what restrictions apply in France to British auction houses; and if he will make a statement.

In France, all auctioneering or individual sales of works of art must be undertaken by "commissaries priseurs", who are personally appointed by the state and restricted in number. As a result, British auction houses are not able to operate in France as corporate entities or to levy commission at rates comparable to those levied in the United Kingdom. The Government will continue to press the European Commission and the French authorities to secure the removal of this barrier to trade.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the extent to which the solvency rate for Lloyd's of London for each year since 1987 took account of statistics made available to his Department with particular reference to non-marine all other business.

Lloyd's statutory solvency requirements, which are aimed at ensuring that there are sufficient funds to pay policyholders' valid claims, do not include a solvency rate.Lloyd's is subject to two solvency requirements, the first determined in accordance with section 84 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982, requires the members of Lloyd's taken together to maintain a margin of solvency as prescribed by the Act and relevant regulations. Since 1987, the margin of solvency—the extent to which the value of the declared assets of the members taken together exceeds the required minimum—has varied between 11.5 and 2.25 the required minimum, and for the year ended December 1993 was three times the required minimum. For this test, the required minimum is calculated—in conformity with domestic and European law applying to all insurers—by reference to premium received or claims notified. The "settlement statistics" made available to the Department about particular classes of business—of which the non-marine all other is one—do not have a direct impact on this margin of solvency.The settlement statistics are however one of the elements used to determine the basis for calculating the liabilities considered in the second solvency requirement. In accordance with section 83 of the Act, the value of each underwriter's assets must meet his/her liabilities—the liabilities, for general business, within which the non-marine all other category falls being calculated on a basis approved by the Secretary of State. Where appropriate, an underwriter's assets may be supported by the central fund and other assets held centrally by the society. For these purposes a name's liability on each syndicate is his/her share of the syndicate's liabilities, which in turn is the greater of

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the British companies which were given licences to attend the Eurohied and Intertech exhibitions held in Baghdad in November.

It has been the practice of successive administrations not to disclose such information unless the public interest outweighs the requirements of confidentiality.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, column 760, on what occasions Ministers or officials in his Department have met any representatives of the Iraqi British interests group, and for what purposes, since sanctions began.

Although Ministers and officials may for a variety of reasons have met representatives of the companies involved in the Iraq British interests group, there have been no meetings with the Iraq British interests group's organisers since its formation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the potential annual casualty reduction in respect of deaths and injuries which would arise from the implementation of the proposed European Union crash test legislation in relation to (a) frontal impacts (i) stage I angled barrier and (ii) stage 2 offset deformable barrier and (b) side impacts (iii) with ground clearance of 260 mm and (iv) with ground clearance of 300 mm.

Estimates made by the Department and the Transport Research Laboratory are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what new initiatives he has to promote the use of public transport.

We announced on 15 December the allocation of £79 million in 1995–96 for 37 local authority transport packages covering bus priority measures and park and ride schemes. In 1995–96 the package approach to local transport investment becomes the norm, particularly in urban areas. In addition, I have reconstituted the bus working group with representatives from the Confederation of Passenger Transport, local authority associations and the National Federation of Bus Users, to see what further measures can be taken to improve bus services within the deregulated framework.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment is made of the risk of sediment from soil disturbance entering water courses prior to commencing road construction.

This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the tonnage of road stone which will be required in the next 10 years of projected road building.

I regret this information is not available because it depends on the statutory progress of individual schemes in the current programme and on the availability of funds to take them forward. Furthermore, as scheme design evolves so their detailed requirements are refined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what priority is given to environmental impact studies within the decision-making process for the development of new roads.

Environmental assessment has formed part of the Department's procedures for road schemes for many years. Trunk road proposals are the Government's responsibility and we give full weight to environmental aspects alongside economic, engineering and safety considerations in the decision-making process. Assessment takes place throughout the development of a trunk road scheme and informs the decision-making process at all stages. The current requirements are laid down in volume 11 of the design manual for roads and bridges. The final stage of the assessment is in accordance with directive 85/337/EEC. A formal environmental statement is published, where the scheme is likely to have a significant environmental effect, with the draft orders. This statement, together with representations about it, must be formally considered by the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport in reaching their decision on whether or not to go ahead with the scheme. Schemes promoted by local highway authorities require planning permission and are also, where they are likely to have a significant effect on the environment, subject to formal environmental assessment in accordance with the directive. The planning authority must have regard to all material considerations including, where required, the environmental information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 6 February, if his inquiry into breaches of the Air Navigation Order of flights containing calves from Coventry airport in November and December 1994 deals specifically with the airline involved.

The purpose of the current inquiry is to seek to determine whether there have been any breaches of the Air Navigation Order. The inquiry will consider all relevant matters including the actions of the airlines involved in the operation of the flights.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the road worthiness of lorries used to export animals through the port of Shoreham.

This is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fee his Department paid for services relating to rail privatisation to (a) Hambros, (b) Price Waterhouse, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG, (e) SG Warburgs, (f) Samuel Montagu, (g) Shandwick, (h) Linklaters and Paines, (i) Freshfields and (j) Greshams.

Information about fees paid by the Department to individual contractors is commercially confidential. Total payments to date to these contractors amount to £17.1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to travel to Hong Kong in 1995.

None at present.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners (1) if he will list, for each year of the last 10 years, and by location new parsonages that the Church Commissioners have (a) had built and (b) bought, and the relative costs involved;

The initiative for the sale, purchase and construction of parsonages rests with the diocesan parsonages boards although each transaction requires the consent of the Church Commissioners. Over the 10 year period 1985–1994, 563 parsonages have been built, 550 purchased and 1,486 sold. The following table gives details including location by diocese and sums raised or expended.