To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by her Department on community care for the mentally ill broken down by local authority in the last financial year; and what is the proportion of the resources allocated to community care spent on mental health patients.

Figures for the last financial year are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about the results of GP fundholding in (a) the Fylde coast area and (b) Lancashire.

Fundholding general practitioners are at the leading edge of purchasing developments and are at the forefront of quality improvements for patients, including the creation of outreach clinics for such services as diabetes, physiotherapy, ophthalmology and vasectomy. The improvements made by general practitioner fundholders often have the effect of improving the quality of care for all patients.Information on specific localities is not available centrally. For information about Lancashire, the hon. Member should write to Sir Donald Wilson, the chairman of the North West regional health authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what limitations have been placed on the NHS chief executive in his dealings with the media.

In accordance with the normal rules for civil servants, the national health service chief executive is permitted, under ministerial authority, to have contact with the media in order, inter alia, to explain Government policy and the performance of the NHS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will amend the form of NHS authorities' and trusts' annual accounts to show the number of non-executive directors who decline to accept emoluments or salaries.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each local authority the percentage annual decrease or increase of children placed on protection registers in England for the latest available year; and what were the figures for (a) five years and (b) 10 years ago.

Information for the year ending 31 March 1994 will be placed in the Library. The earliest reliable annual comparisons available centrally for each local authority are for the year ending 31 March 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to ensure that district nursing services are maintained at existing levels under the national health service reforms.

Each locality will have different health needs and these will be reflected in the work of district nurses and other health professionals. It is for those who employ district nurses to assess continually and review their work with them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the value of business plans estimated under the public financial initiative broken down by region;(2) what is the total value of the public financial initiative business plans currently being assessed by the NHS executive.

The Department of Health does not have a public financial initiative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will cancel all payments to chairmen and non-executive directors other than the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and make available the savings for the provision of intensive care beds.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the occasions during the last five years when her Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reasons in each case.

There have been no occasions when the Department or agencies have had to resort to legal action with consultancy firms over the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (a) how many acute psychiatric wards there are, (b) how many beds are in each acute psychiatric ward, (c) on average what percentage of beds are vacant on those wards and (d) on average what percentage of patients are legally detained on those wards in respect of (i) the north-west regional office, (ii) the west midlands regional office, (iii) the south Thames regional office and (iv) the north Thames regional office of the NHS executive.

The information is not available centrally.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the occasions during the last five years when his Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reasons in each case.

Information sought can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. But there is one readily identifiable case which is subject to legal action and for that reason no further details can be given.The Lord Chancellor has three executive agencies, HM Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the Public Trust Office. As the question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executives of the agencies are best placed to provide an answer, I have accordingly asked the chief executives to reply direct.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 376, how many appointments to public positions have been made by his Department in the last year.

In the last year, 244 new appointments were made to the public bodies for which the Lord Chancellor has ministerial responsibility. This does not include re-appointments or judicial appointments.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many pre-trial interviews in line with the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and the memorandum of good practice have been made since September 1993; how many applications to submit a pre-recorded video taped interview with a child witness have been made since this date; and how many have been refused as evidence and on what basis.

My Department does not collect data about numbers of pre-trial interviews. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and its accuracy could not be guaranteed as many interviews do not result in criminal proceedings. Between 30 September 1993 and 31 December 1994, 725 applications were made to submit pre-recorded video taped evidence. Of these, 41 applications were refused. The reasons for the refusals are not recorded.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list those countries which have child support systems which as a result of agreements or treaties with the United Kingdom are able to collect child support and maintenance money in the United Kingdom in respect of (a) their own nationals, (b) United Kingdom nationals and (c) nationals of third party countries.

In accordance with the relevant international conventions and agreements to which the United Kingdom is a party, the following overseas countries have made arrangements with the United Kingdom for the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance payments through our courts. The nationality of the respondent is not relevant to the operation of the arrangements.

Countries

Algeria, Anguilla, Antigua^*, Austria, Australia, Bahamas^*, Barbados, Belize^*, Belgium, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzagovena, Botswana^*, Brazil, British Solomon Islands Protectorate^*, Brunei^*, Canada, Cayman Islands^*, Central African Republic, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus^*, Denmark, Dominica^*, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia^*, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada^*, Guatemala, Guyana^*, Guernsey^*, Haiti, Holy See, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica^*, Jersey^*, Kenya, Lesotho^*, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi^*, Malaysia^*, Malta, Mauritius^*, Monaco, Montserrat^*, Morocco, Naura, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria^*, Norfolk Island, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, St. Christopher and Nevis^*, St. Helena, St. Lucia^*, St. Vincent^*, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles^*, Sierra Leone^*, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland^*, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, except Zanzibar, Trinidad and Tobago^*, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda^*, United States, Upper Volta, Virgin Islands^*, Zambia^*, Zanizibar^*, Zimbabwe.

Note 1: Asterisked countries do not have reciprocal enforcement arrangements with Scotland.

Note 2: Reciprocal enforcement arrangements have not necessarily been made with all the states or territories of the countries listed.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the number and proportion of (a) all civil cases in which the appeals heard by the Court of Appeal were unsuccessful, (b) all applications for leave to appeal to the House of Lords refused by the Court of Appeal, (c) all petitions to the House of Lords for leave to appeal that were successful and (d) hearings in the House of Lords which overturned the ruling of the Court of Appeal after a successful petition.

The latest available figures show that in the 12 months ending 30 September 1994, 1,102 or 71 per cent. of the 1,546 civil appeals disposed of by the Court of Appeal were unsuccessful. The information requested regarding applications for leave to appeal to the House of Lords refused by the Court of Appeal is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. During 1994, of the 167 petitions to the House of Lords for leave to appeal from the civil division of the Court of Appeal, 46 or 28 per cent. were allowed. Of the 25 civil appeals from the Court of Appeal allowed by the House of Lords during 1994, including one appeal allowed in part, 17 or 68 per cent. had been granted leave by the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many fur pelts were (a) imported and (b) exported in each year since 1989; and what was their value.

The available information is published by the Central Statistical Office in "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", available in the Library of the House. Fur pelts are classified to group 212 of the standard international trade classification.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many retail businesses were involved in the fur trade in each of the last five years.

The Government do not collect data on the number of retailers involved in the fur trade.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much the nuclear levy has raised for each year since it was introduced.

The fossil fuel levy has raised the following amounts:

Year	£ Million
1990–91	1,175
1991–92	1,324
1992–93	1,348
1993–94	1,233

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much the nuclear levy currently adds to average household fuel bills.

The fossil fuel levy is charged to licensed electricity suppliers, at the rate of 10 per cent. of the value, net of VAT, of leviable electricity supplied. The levy has made transparent the nuclear costs that it finances; but because these costs were already being met, electricity prices did not have to increase when the levy was introduced in 1990.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to announce final details of the regional supply network programme.

An announcement will be made shortly.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to encourage insurers to standardise definitions of unemployment and disability in respect of private mortgage protection policies.

No. This is an operational matter for individual companies in which the Government has no powers to intervene. The Association of British Insurers has said that insurers are guided by an individual's welfare benefit entitlement or by the legislation on redundancy in settling such claims. During their consultation on the proposed changes the Department of Social Security will discuss with insurers how best to ensure that the interface between public and private provision works well.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the United Kingdom treated individuals and organisations listed by the United States Treasury in April 1991 as sanctions breakers or links with Iraqi procurement networks as persons in Iraq or Kuwait within the terms of the Iraq and Kuwait United Nations Sanctions Order 1990.

Some individuals and organisations listed by the United States Treasury are regarded as being persons in Iraq or Kuwait for the purposes of the Iraq and Kuwait United Nations Sanctions Order 1990.Broadly, this would include any body constituted or incorporated under the law of Iraq and any body carrying on business, whether within Iraq or not, which is controlled by persons or bodies resident in Iraq or constituted or incorporated under the law of Iraq.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the United Kingdom companies which have been granted export licences to Iraq since sanctions began.

[holding answer 14 February 1995]: 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 if he will list the products that have been exported to Iraq since sanctions began.

[holding answer 14 February 1995]: To identify and list every product which has been exported to Iraq since sanctions began would incur disproportionate cost. Any export to Iraq has to either be notified to, or authorised by, the United Nations Sanctions Committee in New York. Exports which leave the territory of the United Kingdom will also require a export licence from my Department. Typical exports to Iraq include: foodstuffs, medical items, clothing and other items for essential civilian needs.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library information showing if each item listed in schedules 1, 2 and 3 of annexe A in his discussion document on the chemical weapons treaty is presently a licensable export and on what date the requirement to be licensed was imposed.

This information has today been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to encourage genuine competition between different food manufacturers and stop the creation of cartels.

The competition legislation provides for the Director General of Fair Trading, Sir Bryan Carsberg, to consider and, if appropriate, investigate allegations of cartelistic behaviour, anti-competitive practices and abuse of market power. His remit covers all commercial activities in the United Kingdom including the food manufacturing sector. Sir Bryan has recently announced a new initiative against cartels. Should the hon. Member have any specific cases in mind he should write to him directly.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to involve United Kingdom manufacturers of navigation systems in the European Space Agency programme now being set up in co-operation with Eurocontrol and the European Commission to propose a European global navigation satellite system.

After consultation with officials from the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Space Agency, the Department of Transport has agreed to provide a Government financial contribution to the proposed European collaborative global navigation satellite system.This Government funding will allow industry to play an active role in the proposed programme. I am also pleased to report that industry has agreed to provide support to the programme from its own resources.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met the Secretary of State for Transport to discuss the operational and industrial importance to the United Kingdom of involvement in the steps being taken by Eurocontrol, the European Commission and the European Space Agency to establish a European global navigation satellite system.

Officials of the two Departments have been working closely for a number of months on UK participation in the European global navigation satellite system. I hope to meet my noble Friend Viscount Goschen, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, to discuss satellite navigation issues in the near future.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assistance the Government will give to companies providing products and support services to the fishing industry, to help them diversify.

The Government provide a wide range of business support services for these companies and others. There is focused support available in assisted areas, and the full range of services is available to assist diversification in north Devon. Details can be obtained from the Government office for the south-west.Assistance is also available from the European structural funds: north Devon is covered by the objective 5(b) single programming document which will make grants towards a variety of economic measures including many business support activities. Diversification is an important factor, and support will be provided for, among other things, product and process development and for increasing the level and capacity for research and development.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many miles of co-axial cable have been laid towards the information super-highway infrastructure; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many miles of optical fibre cable have been laid towards the information super-highway infrastructure; and if he will make a statement.

The Department does not hold details of how many miles of optical fibre and coaxial cable have been laid. Figures from industry sources, however, point to the rapid installation of new or upgraded communications networks. Investment in these new networks has been spurred by the Government's liberalisation of the telecommunications sector.Optical fibre is the dominant technology for trunk networks and inter-exchange traffic, and increasingly for large business customers. BT, for example, has more than 1.4 million miles of optical fibre in its network. The cable industry is installing 260,000 miles of fibre per annum. Together with the networks being installed by other telecommunications operators such as Mercury, Energis, COLT, and MFS, the United Kingdom is estimated to have more than 2 million miles of fibre.Coaxial copper cable, which is the medium normally used by the cable industry in the final connection to residential customers, is being installed at a rate of 60,000 miles per annum. Compression techniques can materially increase the amount of traffic which can be sent over these cables. The information super-highway embraces both fibre and coaxial cable and applications are being developed accordingly.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what timetable he presently envisages for decisions and announcements on matters relating to the nuclear review.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr. Tipping) on 19 October 1994, Official Report, column 239.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the names of the companies which have been given a licence to communicate with and visit Iraq in (a) 1994 and (b) 1995, in each case giving the date the licence was granted.

[holding answer 14 February 1995]: 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 Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update his answer of 7 December to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts), Official Report, column 263, for the year 1995–96 to provide a list of the reliefs categorised under the heading (c) other reliefs.

Estimated full-year yields at 1995–96 income levels based on a projection of the 1992–93 survey of personal incomes and other survey data in line with the assumptions in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1995–96" are given in the table. The figures do not take account of any behavioural effects which might result from the introduction of such changes, and show the yield from restructuring each allowance or relief separately. If two or more were restricted, the total yield would be greater than the sum of individual figures. Most of the amount shown within heading (c) is relief for charitable covenants, for donations under the giftaid scheme, for allowable interest on loans to acquire company shares and relief for class 4 national insurance contributions.

	Restriction to
	Basic rate		20p
Effect of restricting	Yield £ million	Numbers affected millions	Yield £ million	Numbers affected millions
(a) Personal allowances	1,600	3.5	5,900	26.5
(b) Relief for pension contributions	730	2	1,410	11.6
(c) Other reliefs	150	0.7	1n/a	n/a
1 Information on reliefs given at source is not available from the survey of personal incomes so it is not possible to estimate the effect of restricting other reliefs to 20 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the revenue from tobacco duty in each year since 1992.

The information is as follows:

Tobacco revenue	£ billion
1992–93	6.0
1993–94	6.5
1994–951	6.8
1 Forecast.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the receipts from value added tax in each year since 1993; and what are the forecast receipts of value added tax for the year 1995–96.

The information is as follows:

VAT receipts	£ billion
1993–94	38.9
1994–951	43.3
1995–961	48.1
1 Forecast.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the revenue from alcohol duty in each year since 1992.

The information is as follows:

Alcohol revenue	£ billion
1992–93	5.1
1993–94	5.2
1994–951	5.4
1 Forecast.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the current capitalisation values of (a) British Telecom, (b) British Steel, (c) British Gas, (d) the privatised water industry, (e) the privatised electricity industry, including the distribution element—Powergen and National Power and (f) the coal industry.

The capitalisations of BT, British Steel, British Gas, the privatised water and sewerage companies and the privatised electricity companies are shown in the table. They reflect the market's assessment of the increased value achieved by the companies concerned since their flotation. The capitalisation of the privatised coal industry cannot be readily determined.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to reduce the payment of salaries to members of non-departmental public bodies.

Provision for the remuneration of chairmen and members of non-departmental public bodies is generally set out in the founding legislation of those statutory bodies. The Government's policy is to pay the appropriate remuneration as determined by Ministers with the consent of the Treasury.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions during the last five years when his Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reasons in each case.

The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 7 February, Official Report, column 67, when the consultation document on credit unions is to be issued; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

The Treasury is currently preparing a consultation document on the proposed amendments to the Credit Unions Act 1979. It will be issued shortly. A copy will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost to date of the Treasury's preparation on economic convergence in the European Union with a view to the possible introduction of a common currency and monetary union.

[holding answer 14 February 1995]: It is not possible separately to cost work within the Treasury on economic convergence within the EU. The Government's macro-economic policies are directed toward achieving sound public finances and permanently low inflation. These objectives are shared by other EU member states, and are also key elements of the convergence criteria set out in the Maastricht treaty.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions during the last five years when his Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reasons in each case.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 716, how many appointments to public positions have been made by his Department in the last year.

Eighty-two.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list (a) the number of trains and (b) the percentage of trains, which arrived more than five minutes late during peak hours on each of the Network SouthEast divisions in each four-week period during (i) 1992, (ii) 1993 and (iii) 1994;(2) if he will list

I have written to the hon. Member and placed a copy of my letter in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department or consultants to his Department have made of the suitability of the use of (a) elastomer rather than metallic seals and (b) austenitic steel rather than other metallic containment in the transport flasks used for the forthcoming shipment of high-level waste to Japan.

The Department judges the suitability of both seal materials and materials of construction of the containment system as a part of the design assessment process, against the stringent leaktightness criteria required by the International Atomic Energy Agency's regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material, for each application for design approval which it is required to undertake.The forthcoming shipment of high-level waste to Japan will use a French design of package, assessed to the same standards by the competent authority of France.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which rail services have been withdrawn since April 1992.

British Rail has discretion to vary services and many changes are made each year. Information on such changes could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Complete closure of a line or station is subject to statutory closures procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the rail track access charges in (a) each EU country, (b) each Scandinavian country, (c) the USA and (d) Japan.

These countries have different railway structures which would make it difficult to identify actual access charges and make accurate comparisons with our own access charge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to ensure that charter aircraft engaged in the transportation of live cattle are airworthy.

Before issuing any permits to a non-European Economic Area airline to operate an aircraft for flights to or from the United Kingdom under article 88 of the Air Navigation Order 1989, my Department must be satisfied that the aircraft to be used has, among other things, a valid certificate of airworthiness issued by the state of registry of the aircraft.In view of concern about the safety of flights engaged in the transportation of live cattle from Coventry airport as a result of the Air Algerie crash on 21 December 1994, the Department has taken the additional measure of requesting the Civil Aviation Authority to conduct inspections of the non-EEA aircraft for which an article 88 permit has been made in order to ensure, among other things, that the aircraft is airworthy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total Government spending for medical research into the causes and treatment of repetitive strain injury in each year since 1991; and what is the projected figure for 1995.

None.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give details of the clear-up work necessary at each of the abandoned British bases in the Antarctic region with the estimated costs in each case.

The removal of hazardous waste will be given priority. The cost, estimated at around £45,000 per station, is subject to weather conditions and accessibility. Complete removal of the abandoned stations may be necessary in the longer term.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the occasions during the last five years when his Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reason in each case.

None.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many public appointments have been made by his Department in the last year; and how many of those appointed were first identified by the public appointments unit.

Seventy-five public appointments have been made to Cabinet Office and Office of Public Service and Science sponsored public bodies in the last year.Of these, 57 were to the scientific research councils whose creation was announced in the White Paper "Realising Our Potential". One of these was first identified by the public appointments unit. In common with other Departments, the Cabinet Office-OPSS follows the guidance provided in the "Guide on Public Appointments Procedures". This advises that PAU is just one option which may be appropriate in filling certain posts.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 2 February, Official Report, columns 757–58, what number of research scientists and engineers were employed by higher education institutes in each year since 1981–82.

The estimated number of research scientists and engineers, as defined by OECD, employed in HEIs are available only for selected years and are shown in the table. It should be noted that these data are derived from total HEI staff numbers using a set of factors representing the proportion of time that different categories of staff spend on teaching or research. The numbers also include academics working directly on research and development, and the time of central support staff attributed to R and D.

Research scientists and engineers engaged on R and D within HEIs, 1986–19921
(Full-time equivalents)
	1986	1988	1990	1991	1992
UK	25,000	26,000	28,000	29,000	31,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what account she has taken, in formulating policy, of research carried out by Peter Mortimore of the London Institute of Education, linking performance in reading and mathematics to class size.

The Department is aware of research published by Professor Mortimore and his colleagues in 1988. His report noted that the weight of earlier research had supported the view that larger classes were more effective. The Department will continue to monitor research in this field.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the occasions during the last five years when her Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reasons in each case.

Neither the Department nor its one next steps agency, the Teachers Pensions Agency, has taken legal action against a consultancy firm during the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 398, how many appointments to public positions have been made by her Department in the last year.

In the last year, 149 appointments to public positions were made by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment she has made of the quality of careers advice for those aged 16 to 19 years in south-east London; and if she will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Quarterly and half-yearly reviews of the careers services in south-east London have indicated that they are achieving the objectives set out in their business plans. Impartial and timely careers advice is essential to help young people make informed choices about education, training and employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to monitor air pollution in Rotherham.

My Department, in co-operation with Rotherham metropolitan borough council, monitors levels of smoke and sulphur dioxide at four sites and nitrogen dioxide at four sites in the Rotherham area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met members of the English Historic Towns Forum to discuss shop front design.

We have invited many organisations, including the English Historic Towns Forum, to discuss our proposals to improve the quality of design in our towns and cities, set out in the discussion document "Quality in Town and Country".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of diesel engines on public health; and if he will make a statement.

Diesel vehicles emit a range of pollutants, notably small particles—PM10. Advisory committees of my Department and of the Department of Health are examining possible health and environmental effects of PM10 and are expected to make recommendations on possible air quality standards shortly. More generally, Government will continue to fund research into links between air quality and, in particular, respiratory health.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduced revenue support grant on the provision of services in Sunderland; and if he will make a statement.

Sunderland's budget is properly a matter for the city council. Within our provisional capping criteria, the council may increase its expenditure in 1995–96 by 0.5 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will arrange to meet representatives of the water authorities to discuss quality and reliability of water supply.

From time to time Ministers and officials do meet representatives of the water companies to discuss matters of mutual interest. My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans for meetings to discuss quality and reliability of water supply.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of the house building industry to discuss prospects for new house building in the coming year and the impact of Government policies.

I met representatives of the volume housebuilders study group on 13 February. Discussion covered a number of topics of mutual interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the prospects for the housing market in 1995.

The housing market will continue to benefit from a range of Government policies, including the right to buy, cash incentives and shared ownership schemes for local authority and housing association tenants, and from our economic policies which have produced low interest rates and made home ownership more affordable than for many years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how he intends to improve the quality of the urban environment.

My Department launched last summer a wide-ranging initiative, "Quality in Town and Country", designed to see what more can be done lo improve the quality of the built environment, in city, town and village. In the light of the overwhelmingly positive response, we are considering how best Government and others can take forward this initiative. The Government already help to improve the quality of life in urban and other areas through the single regeneration budget, including city challenge partnerships. My Department has also issued planning policy guidance aimed at sustaining the vitality and viability of town centres, and encouraging effective town centre management.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the percentage increase in the SSA for Leicester council between 1994–95 and 1995–96.

On a comparable basis, Leicester city council's SSA increases by 2.6 per cent. from £40.340 million in 1994–95 to £41.396 million in 1995–96. This compares with an increase of 0.1 per cent. for non-metropolitan districts as a whole.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new out-of-town shopping developments await planning approval subject to DOE appeal.

There are 18 appeals awaiting a decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what account he will take of the views of national park residents on his plans to change the structure of national park authorities.

Our proposals for the future administration of the national parks are set out in part III of the Environment Bill, which is currently being considered in another place. No doubt my hon. Friend and other hon. Members whose constituents live in the parks will make their views known when the Bill comes before the House in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on meeting lobbying groups.

I try to meet as many as possible of the various types of groups that wish to see me, and I listen carefully, with an open mind, to what they say.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what financial resources, broken down by programme where possible, have been allocated and are to be allocated by each department to each Government office for the regions, in the financial years 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.

The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment 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.

Details of the public bodies for which I have departmental responsibility are listed in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1994". A copy is available in the House of Commons Library. In addition to the bodies listed in that publication I now have responsibility for two further executive non-departmental public bodies. These are:

Stonebridge Housing Action Trust, Brent

The National Forest Company

I announced plans in October 1994 to privatise the docklands light railway which is wholly owned by the London Docklands development corporation. The first step will be taken in 1996, when DLR operations will be franchised to the private sector for a period of about seven years. The second step will be taken at the end of the franchise period, when the aim will be to transfer the railway as a whole into the private sector.There are no plans at present to privatise any of the other public bodies, but non-departmental public bodies are subject to a quinquennial review. Each such review considers the scope for privatising, contracting out or market testing all or part of the functions of the body. The Department's larger executive public bodies have programmes to contract out and market test parts of their work, where this is not already carried out in the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out a year-by-year projection from 2000 to 2010 of the projected level of sulphur dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom; and if he will indicate for each projected sulphur dioxide total the targets required under the United Nations economic commission's second sulphur protocol.

Year-by-year projections from 2000 to 2010 are not available.The most recent published projections of sulphur dioxide emissions, prepared by the Warren Spring Laboratory, now the National Environmental Technology Research Centre, were:

	'000 tonnes
	High	Low
2000	2.596	2.050
2005	2.200	1.890
2010	2.332	1.889

These figures represent 47 to 58 per cent., 53 to 61 per cent. and 52 to 61 per cent. reductions respectively against 1980 sulphur emissions. The protocol requires reductions in sulphur emissions against 1980 levels of 80 per cent. by 2010, to be achieved through intermediate targets of 50 per cent. by 2000 and 70 per cent. by 2005.There have been considerable changes since these projections were prepared and the Government expect to produce revised projections this year, taking account of recent developments. These will provide a basis for consultation on a national strategy to achieve the protocol commitments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many properties that are designated for sale have been empty in each of the wards within the borough of Westminster in the last (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months, (d) 12 months and (e) 24 months.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the district auditor's interim report on Westminster city council's designated sales policy has caused his Department to review guidelines on relationships between members and officials in the control of local councils.

No.

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.

The Government have said that they will consider whether there are any general lessons to be learned, when it is possible to do so without prejudice to the particular case in question. No guidelines have been issued by the Secretary of State to local authorities concerning housing sales since the district auditor published his provisional findings on the allegations relating to council house sales in Westminster, in January 1994. Designated sales take place under long-standing statutory consents for voluntary sales of housing as part of authorities' normal activities. Revised consents were issued in September 1994 and my Department is currently consulting the local authority associations on further revisions to those consents.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the framework of rules for engaging consultants by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities wishing to engage consultants must follow their own standing orders and obtain value for money. In this regard, the Audit Commission, in 1994, produced a good practice guide for local authorities called "Reaching the Peak? Getting Value for Money from Management Consultants".

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals his inspectors have heard against the refusal of councils to grant planning consent to McDonalds Restaurants Ltd.; and what were the results of the appeals in each of the last three years.

The information requested is not held in the Department's records.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with English Partnerships about grant to assist the development of the Foleshill gas work site.

I understand that English Partnerships has reached agreement with British Gas about the grant required to develop phase I of the site and that a survey will be completed this month for British Gas to establish ground conditions on phase II of the site. A formal submission to the board of English Partnerships will be made shortly after that about the offer of a grant to British Gas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate whether the secondary liquid fuel currently being burned by Rugby Cement at Barrington should be reclassified as hazardous waste.

It is for waste regulation authorities to decide whether or not a material should be classified as a waste under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994, and, if so, whether that waste should be considered special, under the Special Waste Regulations 1980. The Department of the Environment has issued guidance on what is a waste and what is not in its circular 11/94, and on how to determine whether or not a waste is special in waste management paper No. 23. I understand that Cambridge waste regulation authority has taken the view that the material in question is not waste.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest estimate of public expenditure per head in the county of Kent.

Local authority net revenue expenditure per head of population in Kent in 1994–95 was budgeted to be £773. Central Government expenditure in Kent is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of representations made to him relating to his decision over whether to call in the planning application for a leisure development at Whitechapel moors, north Devon.

I will arrange for the hon. Member to receive copies of all the representations made about the proposed leisure development at Whitechapel moors, north Devon, as it would not be appropriate to place copies in the Library. Copies of all these representations have already been sent to the agents acting for the applicant and North Devon district council.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what considerations underlay his Department's delay in calling in the planning application for a leisure development at Whitechapel moors, north Devon.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers that I gave him on 2 November 1994, Official Report, columns 1152–53.There was no undue delay in calling in the planning application.On 21 December 1994 North Devon district council wrote to the Government office for the south-west indicating that it had resolved to grant planning permission for a leisure development at Whitechapel moors, north Devon. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State took full account of all the planning issues involved, and the representations received, and called in the application for his own determination on 19 January 1995—15 working days after receipt of the council' s letter.The planning issues which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wants considered at the public inquiry are set out in the call-in letter issued by the Government office for the south-west.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount of housing benefit paid in the last year for which figures are available to private tenants renting properties previously acquired from local authorities under the right-to-buy scheme.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total cost to date of processing appeals against council tax bandings.

The cost of work undertaken by the Valuation Office agency on council tax banding proposals and appeals in England between 1 April 1993 and 31 December 1994 was £56.2 million.During the same period, the running costs of the valuation tribunals in dealing with all types of appeal, including non-domestic rating, council tax liability and valuation, were £18 million. Non-domestic rating cases accounted for a majority of this figure, but no exact breakdown is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many properties currently have exemption from council tax under each category of exemption.

The latest information on the number of properties in England under each class of exemption is as follows:

As at 7 June 1994	000s
A. Empty dwellings where works are required, under way or recently completed	89.5
B. Empty dwellings owned by charities	1.5
C. Dwellings left empty and unfurnished	201.5
D. Dwellings left empty by prisoners	1.0
E. Dwellings left empty by patients in hospitals and care homes	31.6
F. Dwellings left empty by deceased persons	57.5
G. Dwellings which are unfit etc.	10.4
H. Empty clergy dwellings	1.2
I. Dwellings left empty by people receiving care	5.9
J. Dwellings left empty by people providing care	0.7
K. Dwellings left empty by students	2.1
L. Repossessed dwellings	31.9
M. Halls of residence	9.2
N. Dwellings occupied solely by students or school leavers	98.5
O. Armed forces' accommodation	61.9
P. Visiting forces' accommodation	14.0
Q. Dwellings left empty by bankrupts	0.6
R. Vacant caravan sites and moorings	0.5
Total	620.0

The number of dwellings on the valuation list, including the 620,000 listed was 20,216,303.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the factors taken into account in the calculation of local authorities' standard spending assessments in order of importance.

The amounts allocated by each of the main indicators in the standard spending assessment formula for 1994–95 were set out in the standard spending assessment handbook 1994–95, a copy of which was placed in the Library. The corresponding figures for the SSAs for 1995–96 will be set out in the next edition of the handbook which is expected to be published in April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what evidence he has received on the extent of homelessness among young single people; and if he will make a statement.

In central London, where the problem of rough sleeping is greatest, a count undertaken last November by voluntary sector agencies found 288 people sleeping rough, of whom two were aged under 18 and a further 45 aged 18 to 25.Outside central London, I know of no reliable information about the number of young homeless people. It is properly the responsibility of each local authority to consider the housing needs of all people in their area, including young homeless people.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the future of the British Waterways Board.

I have today published a consultation paper continuing the review of navigation functions of the British Waterways Board and the National Rivers Authority recommended by the Select Committee on the Environment. I intend to consider carefully the views of those who respond and, therefore, I cannot yet say what effect the outcome of this consultation exercise may have on the future of the British Waterways Board.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he hopes to fulfil his undertaking to inspect the Forth rail bridge.

Soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what study his Department has made of changes in air pollution levels in (a) Manchester and (b) other United Kingdom cities; what comparable information he has about the situation in major industrial cities elsewhere in the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Changes in annual average levels of pollution in Manchester and other United Kingdom cities are set out in the 16th edition of the Department of the Environment "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Information on levels of pollution in major industrial cities elsewhere in the European Union is not held centrally.A European topic centre of the European Environment Agency on air quality has been established to assess, among other issues, environmental data requirements, collection and reporting, with a view to improving information on urban air quality across Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action the United Kingdom is taking to phase out the production of substances damaging the ozone layer.

The production of halons, chlorofluorocarbons and carbon tetrachloride has already ceased, and methyl chloroform will cease by the end of this year. The Community has introduced a new European regulation which phases out hydrochlorofluorocarbons by 2015. This is directly applicable in United Kingdom law.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the occasions during the last five years when his Department or its agencies has taken legal action against a consultancy firm; and what were the reasons in each case.

The Secretary of State is not aware that any legal action has been taken during the last five years by his Department in relation to a consultancy contract.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (a) the planned average rent, (b) the planned actual average rent rise and (c) the planned percentage rent rise of each of the London boroughs.

Local authorities set their own rents and are currently in the process of doing so for 1995–96. For the purposes of calculating housing revenue account subsidy, each authority is given an average weekly guideline rent. These are as follows for all London boroughs for 1995–96:

	Guideline rents
Borough	Rents (£)	Increase over (£)	1994–95 (per cent.)
Barking and Dagenham	36.98	2.82	8.2
Barnet	46.84	2.51	5.7
Bexley	39.59	2.82	7.7
Brent	44.40	2.82	6.8
Bromley	43.62	1.82	4.4
Camden	42.88	2.82	7.0
City of London	44.98	1.82	4.2
Croydon	48.57	2.82	6.2
Ealing	47.04	2.82	6.4
Enfield	45.96	2.82	6.1
Greenwich	44.06	2.82	6.4
Hackney	39.79	2.82	7.1
Hammersmith and Fulham	49.39	2.82	6.1
Haringey	48.49	2.82	6.2
Harrow	49.29	2.82	6.1
Havering	43.92	2.82	6.9
Hillingdon	44.15	2.82	6.8
Hounslow	41.56	2.82	7.3
Islington	44.76	2.82	6.7
Kensington and Chelsea	58.50	2.82	5.1
Kingston upon Thames	49.11	2.82	6.1
Lambeth	39.35	2.82	7.7
Lewisham	43.17	2.82	7.0
Merton	44.00	1.89	4.5
Newham	40.14	2.82	7.6
Redbridge	46.56	1.82	4.1
Richmond upon Thames	46.60	2.82	6.4
Southwark	44.86	2.82	6.7
Sutton	45.12	2.82	6.7
Tower Hamlets	39.80	2.82	7.6
Waltham Forest	42.07	2.82	7.2
Wandsworth	48.93	1.82	3.9
Westminster	50.93	1.82	3.7

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 411, how many appointments to public positions have been made by his Department in the last year.

No central record is maintained of the total number of appointments made by the Department. However, information readily available indicates that 105 public appointments were made during 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new jobs have been created through regeneration policies since April 1992.

Since April 1992, there has been a reduction of more than 500,000 in the number of unemployed. In that time, my Department's policies have been successful in creating or safeguarding over 340,000 jobs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he proposes to take to assist small firms to improve their environmental performance when the European Community eco-management and audit scheme becomes fully operational in April.

The Government strongly supports the EC eco-management and audit scheme which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be launching on 10 April. The scheme will give public recognition, throughout the European Union, to manufacturing businesses which adopt a positive approach to managing their environmental impacts. I am now delighted to be able to announce that we will be introducing a new grant to help small companies participate. The grant will be known as the small company environmental and energy management assistance scheme or SCEEMAS.SCEEMAS will be an adaptation of the existing energy management assistance scheme. It will help small firms address the whole spectrum of environmental issues facing them. Energy will remain an important element since the scope for saving energy must always be considered in establishing an environmental management system. Eligibility will be confined to manufacturing industry and to firms with fewer than 250 employees.The details of the grant will be refined over the next few weeks and its management will be contracted out, subject to satisfactory competitive tenders being received. I expect SCEEMAS to come into operation during May.To make way for SCEEMAS, the existing grant scheme will be phased out over the next year. Fresh applications under the existing scheme will be allowed up to 31 March; applications for successive stages will be allowed up to 29 September; with final claims allowed up to 31 January 1996. My officials will be writing to consultants involved in the scheme in the next few days, explaining the arrangements.The new grant should play an important role in promoting environmental management among smaller firms, and assisting them to become more competitive.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken to continue the review of British Waterways and the National Rivers Authority's navigation functions recommended by the Environment Select Committee.

I have today published a consultation paper continuing the review of British Waterways' and the National Rivers Authority's navigation functions begun in 1991. Copies have been placed in the House libraries.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the extension to Lewisham of the docklands light railway.

I have today given my approval for Docklands Light Railway Ltd. to shortlist four private consortia to tender for the concession to finance, build, own and maintain the extension of the DLR to Lewisham, under the Government's private finance initiative. The competition is expected to last about nine months, with the concession contract being concluded before the end of this year. Construction should start in 1996, and the extension should then open to passenger services in 1999.Private sector interest in the project has been strong, with seven consortia representing a wide range of finance, construction and project management expertise from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan competing to prequalify. The four selected by DLR Ltd. to proceed to tendering are, in alphabetical order: