To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many public appointments have been made by his Department in the last year; and how many of those appointed were identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

Nine public appointments were made in the last year by the diplomatic wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, of which one was identified by the Public Appointments Unit.Four public appointments were made in the last year by the Overseas Development Administration wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, of which one was identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints by British holiday makers have been received by the British consul in Corfu regarding (a) unprovoked attacks and (b) attacks involving theft.

Our records do not show whether attacks were provoked or not. In 1994, our consulate in Corfu were notified of five robberies with assault, and 16 assaults, including five rapes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice is currently being given to British citizens wishing to visit Lebanon.

Foreign Office travel advice to British nationals wishing to visit Lebanon is not to travel outside the main towns. We also advise against travel to the southern suburbs of Beirut, south Lebanon and the north and west of the Bekaa valley, particularly the area around Baalbeck and Hermel.We strongly advise our nationals to register with the embassy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Lebanese track of the middle east peace negotiations.

Progress on the Lebanese track of the middle east peace process is vital if there is to be a comprehensive settlement. We continue to call for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 425.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what suggestions for a comprehensive peace in the middle east were put forward by the EU troika in its recent mission to Syria; and what was the response of the Syrians.

The EU troika reaffirmed the EU's support for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace based on UN Security Council resolutions and the principle of land for peace. They urged both Syria and Israel to reach a negotiated settlement as soon as possible. The EU's support for the peace process was welcomed by Syria.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union agreed to remove the arms embargo on Syria; what considerations led to the decision; and how he informed the House of the decision.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my noble Friend Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in another place, on 7 December 1994 Official Report, House of Lords, column 85. The arms embargo was lifted as the original grounds for imposing the restrictions no longer existed and to provide a signal of encouragement to Syria with regard to progress in the middle east peace process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the removal of the arms embargo on Syria required parliamentary consent.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy in respect of British citizens in Sierra Leone.

Since 26 January, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been advising dependents and those with no pressing need to stay in Sierra Leone, to leave. Many have already done so, but we estimate that 200 British nationals with the right of abode in the United Kingdom remain in Sierra Leone.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the situation in Sierra Leone.

I refer the hon. Lady to my written answer of 30 January, columns 493–94 to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington).The security situation in Sierra Leone continues to give cause for concern. Seventeen abducted foreign nationals, including six Britons, remain in captivity: we are working to secure their release. Large numbers of Sierra Leoneans have been displaced by the conflict, with damaging consequences for the economic and social structure of the country. We have given some £500,000 in emergency aid this financial year to help Sierra Leonean victims of this war, and stand ready to provide further such help. Special representatives of the UN and Commonwealth Secretaries-General have now arrived in Sierra Leone, and we continue to give our strong support to efforts to bring about a settlement to the conflict.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have been killed in Sierra Leone since disturbances started in 1991.

There are no official figures, but unofficial estimates vary between 15,000 and 20,000 deaths.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the kidnapping of aid workers in southern Sudan.

Twelve aid workers, including one British national, were kidnapped on 8 February by a rebel group in southern Sudan. By 11 February, all the aid workers had been released unharmed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what practical arrangements have been made to transport UNAVEM III troops to Angola.

The UN is discussing the practical arrangements for the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in UNAVEM III with potential troop-contributing countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current position concerning the application by Mrs. Christina Nevan Gando—Ref: R250794—made to the United Kingdom post in Abuja to join her husband in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is going to be made on the application made by Mrs. Ushaben Sunil Bhai Patel—Ref: AP/94/10/38—to the post in Bombay to join her husband in the United Kingdom; when her application was made; when was she interviewed at the post; if she has been notified of the outcome of her interview; and if he will make a statement.

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

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will give (a) the total cost to date to the legal aid fund of the Benzodiazepine litigation, (b) the total number of legal aid certificates issued for Benzodiazepine litigation, (c) the average cost per certificate where no proceedings were issued, (d) the average cost per certificate where proceedings had commenced and (e) total generic costs associated with the Benzodiazepine litigation.

The estimated cost to date to the legal aid fund of the Benzodiazepine litigation is £28.6 million. Some 13,500 certificates were issued in total. Of these, approximately 5,000 claims resulted in the issue of proceedings. The average cost per certificate where no proceedings were issued is estimated to be £1,590. The average cost per certificate where proceedings have been commenced is difficult to estimate because taxations are currently proceeding in these cases and a substantial number of cases have yet to be taxed. Some 3,200 cases have so far been taxed at an average cost of £3,500. This figure is expected to rise as the 1,800 outstanding cases are likely to contain a higher proportion of more expensive cases. The total generic costs paid out to date are £3.9 million.The costs are now being taxed and, as with all other legal aid bills, the amount to be paid out of the legal aid fund will be that which the court determines to be reasonable. All the above figures include solicitors' costs, counsel fees, disbursements, court fees and VAT.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Judicial Studies Board has to introduce additional training for judges on managing rape cases.

The Judicial Studies Board determines what training is appropriate for judges. The courses which it provides cover rape cases. I understand that the board has no plans to introduce additional training.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to order re-examination of all cases where legal aid costs have exceeded £1 million to establish the justification for approving the legal aid to recover the sums involved in cases where resource statements are found to be false.

The grant and discharge or revocation of civil legal aid certificates is the responsibility of the Legal Aid Board. The grant and revocation or withdrawal of criminal legal aid is the responsibility of the court dealing with the case. Legal aid regulations say what may be done if the assisted person's circumstances change or new information about his or her circumstances comes to light.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the amount of public funds available (a) to conduct prosecutions and (b) to conduct defences by barristers.

The amount of public funds available to conduct prosecutions is a matter for the various prosecuting agencies. It is estimated that the net cost of criminal legal aid paid to barristers in the current financial year to conduct defences is £158 million.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much revenue was collected by way of fines imposed by magistrates courts and the Crown court in England and Wales in each year since 1989; and if he will make a statement.

Figures relating solely to fine revenue are not available. The revenue collected by way of fines, fees, confiscation orders, compensation orders and fixed penalties imposed by magistrates courts and the Crown court in England and Wales in each year since 1989 was:

Year	£ million
1989–90	241
1990–91	269
1991–92	241
1992–93	232
1993–94	233

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Walthamstow of 6 February, Official Report, column 10, if he will make it his policy to instruct area advisory committees on justices of the peace to record the ethnic origin of all those applying to become a JP.

The Lord Chancellor is reviewing his policy. He has already made it clear that he wishes to see more ethnic minority candidates recommended for appointment. Suitability for appointment remains the overriding consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the upper limit on employer's national insurance contributions was abolished; if he will state the additional revenue gained each year since; and if he will make a statement on the outcome of research the Government commissioned on the impact of this change on the employment patterns of higher and lower-paid earners.

An estimate of the amounts raised each year following the abolition of the upper limit on employer's national insurance contributions is in the table.

Year	£ billion2
1985–19861	0.50
1986–1987	1.50
1987–1988	1.75
1988–1989	2.25
1989–1990	2.75
1990–1991	3.00

Year	£ billion2
1991–1992	3.00
1992–1993	3.00
1993–1994	3.00
1994–1995	3.25
1 Upper Earnings Limit abolished on 6 October 1985.
2 Figures are founded to nearest £¼ billion.

Abolition of the upper earnings limit for employer's national insurance contributions made it possible for the rates of employees' and employers' national insurance contributions to be reduced, especially at lower levels of pay. This was aimed at improving job prospects for the low paid, particularly among the young and unskilled, by reducing individuals' national insurance payments and reducing the business costs of prospective employers.Research commissioned by this Department shows that a fifth of employers consider national insurance contributions when setting wage levels and that some employers take contribution rates into account when fixing staffing levels. This supports the view that reducing employers' wage costs in respect of lower-paid workers helps to promote their employment prospects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total amount spent on disablement benefit for occupational deafness in 1993.

Information is not available in the precise format requested. Estimates based on a 10 per cent. sample suggest that in 1992–93, the latest available year, occupational deafness accounted for around £25 million of disablement benefit expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when his appeal to the European Court over the social security commissioner's April 1992 decision about the rate of invalidity benefit payable to women over the age of 60 years is expected to be finally resolved.

The appeal against the social security commissioner's decision—CS 27/91—was made to the Court of Appeal jointly by the Secretary of State and the chief adjudication officer. At a hearing on 18 January 1994, the Court of Appeal decided to refer the case to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on questions of European law. A date for the European Court hearing has been set for 6 April 1995, but the court's ruling is not expected before July 1995. The case will be referred back for a decision by the Court of Appeal following this ruling.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will ensure that the invalidity benefit claimants affected will receive the real value of back payments of invalidity benefits made to them should the European Court uphold the social security commissioner's decision in respect of the payment of the benefit to women over 60 years.

Increased awards of invalidity benefit made as a 'result of the social security commissioner's decision—CS27/91—are being suspended pending the outcome of the appeal by the Secretary of State and the chief adjudication officer, except in cases of hardship. Any benefit which has been suspended will be paid in full if the commissioner's decision is upheld. There is no provision for the payment of interest in these circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants for invalidity benefit have been granted a suspension of his decision in respect of women over 60 years on grounds of hardship, while his appeal to the European Court over the social security commissioner's April 1992 decision is being resolved.

The available information is in the table.

Suspensions of increased Invalidity Benefit awarded as a result of Commissioner's decision CS27/91
Cases in which suspension applied	Hardship applications	Cases in which suspension lifted on hardship grounds
41,560	1,604	994

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to publicise the independent living fund for disabled people.

The provision of information to potential clients of the independent living (1993) fund is a matter solely for the trustees. I understand from the fund's director that the trustees have a carefully focused programme to ensure that potential clients of the fund, and local authority social services departments which must support applications to the fund, are aware of the eligibility criteria and application procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he made of the regional variations in the cost of a (a) new grave and (b) funeral in making his decision about funeral payments under the social fund.

We took account of a range of factors, including regional variations in costs, before making our proposals. These are now with the social security advisory committee. We expect to receive its report shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make a further allocation of funds to the discretionary social fund budget.

I am pleased to announce that due to further improvements in the recovery of social fund loans we have been able to make another additional allocation in the current financial year. A total of £2 million in equal amounts of £100,000 is to be made available to the Benefits Agency's area directorates on 16 February 1995. This is on top of the £13 million in additional allocations we were able to make in November 1994.The whole of the additional allocation will be devoted to social fund loans. We believe that social fund loans offer excellent value for money. They enable us to target available resources on those in most need and to recycle funds to help more applicants.Since the scheme started, we have been able to make nearly £1.3 billion worth of loans for an outlay of only £286 million. This expansion of the social fund loans budget will ensure that more people receive help and that the fund continues to play a valuable role in complementing mainstream social security provision.Details of individual district allocations have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received about insurance cover on home mortgages from the insurance ombudsman; and if he will make a statement.

None, but we will be seeking the views of the insurance ombudsman as part of the consultation process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions he has had with his colleagues on the employment status of personal assistants, with special reference to personal assistants employed by (a) local authorities and (b) other bodies.

We have had no discussions on this subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy that people who leave their job because of discrimination or exploitation at work should not be obliged to live on reduced income support or no benefit at all while their case is being investigated.

The Government have considered this issue in the context of the introduction of the new jobseeker's allowance. Where a doubt arises as to whether a claimant has left his job without just cause, but the claimant satisfies the conditions of entitlement for jobseeker's allowance, the Government propose to pay benefit in full until a decision is reached on the case by an independent adjudication officer. This change will be introduced from April 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy that suspension from unemployment benefit will not prejudice applications for hardship payments, and that each application will be decided on its merits alone.

Unemployment benefit is suspended where a question arises over the claimant's entitlement. In such cases, hardship payments of income support are made at the discretion of an adjudication officer on a case-by-case basis. However, hardship payments may be made only to people who are not actively seeking work if they have children, are pregnant or have a pregnant partner, or a sick or disabled or have a partner who is sick or disabled.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many unemployed claimants (a) immediately draw income support, (b) draw only unemployment benefit, (c) draw unemployment benefit and means-tested support and (d) draw income support as the right to draw unemployment benefit ceases in the last year for which figures are available.

The available information is contained in tables 1.1 of the "Quarterly Analyses of Unemployed Claimants", copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many successful housing benefit applications for each district council in Scotland there have been in each financial year since 1985–86; and if he will make a statement.

Information is not available in the format requested. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on Thursday 27 October, Official Report, column 801. The available case load information for 1994 is set out in the table.

Average housing benefit caseload for each district in Scotland 1994 (based on February, May and August 1994 data)
District	Average housing benefit caseload
Aberdeen	16,379
Angus	6,769
Annandale and Eskdale	2,517
Argyll-Bute	5,306
Badenoch	823
Banff and Buchan	5,531
Bearsden and Milngavie	923
Berwickshire	1,342
Caithness	2,033
Clackmannan	5,759
Clydebank	6,726
Clydesdale	4,540
Cumbernauld	2,656
Cumnock and Doon	5,329
Cunninghame	13,498
Dumbarton	7,421
Dundee	23,257
Dunfermline	10,977

Housing benefit expenditure
Scottish authorities	1985–86 £	1986–87 £	1987–88 £	1988–89 £	1989–90 £	1990–91 £	1991–92 £	1992–93 £	1993–94 £
Aberdeen	8,730,000	10,650,000	13,280,000	13,290,000	14,760,000	14,530,000	15,580,000	16,570,000	18,330,000
Angus	4,110,000	4,580,000	4,880,000	4,440,000	5,160,000	5,390,000	5,740,000	6,250,000	6,970,000
Annandale and Eskdale	1,760,000	1,890,000	2,010,000	2,040,000	2,160,000	2,260,000	2,570,000	2,970,000	3,380,000
Argyll-Bute	3,670,000	3,890,000	4,160,000	4,230,000	4,970,000	5,510,000	6,470,000	7,900,000	9,240,000
Badenoch	510,000	600,00	620,000	640,000	660,000	670,000	830,000	1,090,000	1,310,000
Banff and Buchan	3,500,000	4,020,000	4,110,000	4,250,000	4,790,000	5,000,000	5,170,000	5,970,000	6,470,000
Bearsden and Milngavie	520,000	630,000	750,000	790,000	870,000	930,00	1,140,000	1,340,000	1,510,000

Average housing benefit caseload for each district in Scotland 1994 (based on February, May and August 1994 data)
District	Average housing benefit caseload
East Kilbride	1,233
East Lothian	6,950
Eastwood	1,278
Edinburgh	41,671
Ettrick and Lauderdale	2,246
Falkirk	14,297
Glasgow	124,771
Gordon	2,746
Hamilton	11,483
Inverclyde	11,058
Inverness	4,470
Kilmarnock	8,563
Kincardine and Deeside	1,670
Kirkcaldy	14,520
Kyle and Carrick	10,078
Lochaber	1,507
Midlothian	4,920
Monklands	13,659
Moray	5,487
Motherwell	18,488
Nairn	790
Nithsdale	4,346
North East Fife	3,729
Orkney Isles	964
Perth and Kinross	8,230
Renfrew	21,121
Ross and Cromarty	4,089
Roxburgh	3,069
Shetland Isles	1,038
Skye and Lochalsh	784
Stewartry	1,416
Stirling	6,695
Strathkelvin	3,948
Sutherland	1,015
Tweeddale	936
West Lothian	10,522
Western Isles	1,728
Wigtown	3,247

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much money was spent on housing benefit, for each district council area in Scotland in each financial year since 1985–86; and if he will make a statement.

The available information is set out in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were claiming (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax rebate at the last available date.

At the end of August 1994, there were 4,667,000 recipients of housing benefit and 5,606,000 recipients of council tax benefit. A recipient may be a single person or a couple.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current policy of his Department regarding payment of deductions from benefits for rent arrears to local authorities; and what changes to the policy he is considering.

Deductions from income support for rent arrears are paid to local authorities at intervals of 13 weeks and credited to tenants' rent accounts. There are no plans to change this policy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the total amount of income support annually given to families with (a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the amount given to people aged 18 to 24 years in each category; and how much is given to single parents in category (a);(2) how many families currently receiving income support have

The available information is in the table.Information relating to part

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 10 February, Official Report, columns 433–35, if he will publish the calculations of his Department on the number of claimants who lost (a) unemployment benefit, (b) sickness benefit or (c) retirement pension as a result of the changes in the contributory conditions since 1975.

Information relating to unemployment benefit and sickness benefit is not yet available. I will let the hon. Member have such information as becomes available as soon as possible.The information available in relation to retirement pension is as follows.No existing beneficiary lost entitlement to retirement pension as a result of the changes to the contribution conditions since 1975.For new beneficiaries, comparisons between notional entitlement under the pre-1975 legislation and actual entitlements are not available.In general, the 1975 changes made it easier for a person to qualify for retirement pension. The financial and explanatory memorandum to the 1972 Social Security Bill stated that the extra cost of the overall changes to the contribution conditions for benefits was likely to be small.Similarly, no financial savings were anticipated from the 1978–79 change to the definition of a qualifying year; I refer the hon. Member to the

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the organisational links between his Department and other departments which are concerned with countering benefit fraud.

Close and effective links are maintained between the Benefits Agency, the Employment Service, local authorities and the police to combat benefit fraud. Through its work with the ministerial group on crime prevention and other initiatives, the Department has also established contact with a number of other Departments and agencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many sufferers from asbestosis paid back benefits to the compensation recovery unit of his Department in the period 1 April 1994 to 31 January 1995; and what was the range of repayments they made.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 13 February, Official Report, column 542.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of residents of care or nursing homes with preserved entitlements to Department of Social Security benefits who have currently insufficient personal resources to meet the costs of their care.

The number of residents with preserved rights to the higher limits of income support whose total entitlement to social security benefits does not meet the fees is about 78,500.Some of these residents may have disregarded benefits, income or capital which could be used to meet any shortfalls.Source: February 1994 quarterly statistical inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many claimants in each region, for each quarter ending March 1994, were examined by the Benefits Agency medical service; and how many were found capable of (a) all work and (b) alternative work;(2) how many claims for sickness and invalidity benefit were referred to the Benefits Agency medical service in each quarter since March 1994; how many of these resulted in an examination; and what were the outcomes

The administration of Benefits Agency medical services is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

To ask the Prime Minister how many of his private office staff are fluent in European languages and which ones.

A number of my staff are fluent in a number of European languages.

To ask the Prime Minister what response he has made to the letter dated 19 May 1994 from the leader of Somerset county council concerning the Phoenix project.

My office has no trace of the letter.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out the conclusions or recommendations of paragraphs 11, 19, 20, 23, 29, 31, 35, 40 and 50 of the first report of the British Government on sustainable development, together with the Government's response in each case.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has welcomed the first report from the Government panel on sustainable development. The Government will consider the recommendations and respond in due course.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has had from Dr. David Fieldhouse, former police surgeon at Bradford, on the discrepancies between the Foreign Secretary's explanation of events concerning himself in relation to Lockerbie in December 1988 and Dr. Fieldhouse's own account of duties as a police surgeon as agreed by the Dumfries and Galloway police.

None.

To ask the Prime Minister how many hon. Members have received knighthoods since the 1979 general election.

One hundred and twenty two hon. Members have received knighthoods since the 1979 general election.

To ask the Prime Minister, following his recent statement, how Oxfordshire education authority will be able to maintain its current pupil to teacher ratio in the financial year 1995–96.

Under local management of schools, it is for governing bodies to determine school staffing levels within the resources available to them, including reserves.

To ask the Prime Minister, if he will be attending the meeting of the conference of the parties of the climate change convention, in Berlin in March.

No. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment hopes to attend.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 16 February.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 16 February.

This morning, I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Prime Minister how many ministerial special and political advisers were paid salaries in excess of the highest salary payable to a civil servant in each of the last five years; and what were the total annual salary payments to those advisers in each of those years.

None.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will arrange for a copy of a report he commissioned from the head of the Cabinet Office European Secretariat, concerning the policy implications arising from the opt-out negotiated by Her Majesty's Government in 1985 to the Single European Act to be placed in the Library.

No. It has been the practice of successive Administrations not to disclose policy advice.

To ask the Prime Minister, what representations he has received expressing concern at the requirement under the Single European Act on non-British citizens settled in the United Kingdom, to obtain visas before making short visits to other member states of the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

As far as I am aware, none. The Single European Act contained no provisions relating to visa requirements.

To ask the Prime Minister, what action he proposes, in relation to the forthcoming intergovernmental conference, concerning the maintenance by the United Kingdom of its frontier immigration controls; and if he will make a statement.

We shall take whatever steps are necessary to maintain our frontier controls. It is too soon to decide whether we shall need to take action on this during next year's intergovernmental conference.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to address the tax anomaly between football pools operators and the national lottery in respect of the aggregate out-take from receipt for duty and good causes.

I have no present plans to change the rates of either pool betting duty or lottery duty. In his Budget speech on 16 March 1993, my right hon. Friend the member for Kingston upon Thames (Mr. Lamont) said that, in deciding the tax rate of the national lottery, account was taken of the level of tax on other forms of gambling and the extent to which spending was likely to be diverted from other taxed activities. He went on to say that much would depend on how the lottery developed and the position would be kept under review. In his recent Budget speech, the Chancellor announced that the 1991 reduction in pools betting duty of 2.5 per cent., to help fund the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, should continue for another five years provided that the pools companies also continue to fund sport and the arts at their present level. HM Customs and Excise is monitoring the effect of the national lottery on receipts of pool betting duty and other gambling duties.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what lists Customs and Excise prepared of countries or destinations which were possible diversionary routes for the evasion of sanctions at the time of, or after, the passing of the Iraq sanctions orders in 1990.

Customs and Excise has prepared a number of lists at different times, based on intelligence currently available, to assist its officers to prevent breaches of the Iraq sanctions orders. It is not Customs' policy to make public such information provided in confidence to support operational effectiveness.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost of rail travel incurred by civil servants in the course of their duties; and what proportion of this total represents the cost of (a) first class and (b) standard class travel for each year since 1991.

Government Departments and agencies are responsible for the travel arrangements of staff travelling on official business. Details of the costs of rail travel and the class of travel used by civil servants are not held centrally.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were United Kingdom residents for tax purposes but not domiciled in the UK for each year since 1991.

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

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the final adopted version of the EU budget for a 15-member Community; and if he will publish figures showing the level of expenditure for 1995 for all 15 members.

The 1995 EC budget was adopted by the President of the European Parliament on 15 December 1994 on the basis of 15 member states. It will be published soon in the Official Journal.The total commitments in 1995 amount to 80.9 billion ecu, or £63.8

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the process of Her Majesty's Treasury's drawing up a supplementary and amending budget which allocates the additional expenditure to the detailed EU budget headings among new member states.

The 1995 EC budget which was adopted by the President of the European Parliament on 15 December 1994 includes provision for additional expenditure to take account of enlargement.The Commission will shortly be proposing a preliminary draft supplementary and amending budget which will allocate the additional expenditure to individual EC budget headings, as necessary. The Government will carefully consider the proposal, which will be subject to the usual parliamentary scrutiny procedure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in 1995–96 of implementing the review body on senior salaries 17th report.

The estimated cost in 1995–96 of implementing the seventeenth report of the review body on senior salaries is £5.7 million, which includes salary increases and associated national insurance and pension contributions. It will be met from the existing public expenditure provision.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much time the Group of Seven Finance Ministers and central bank governors spent discussing the long-term ecological sustainability of economic activity at their recent meeting in Toronto.

There was no discussion of this issue.

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

[holding answer 13 February 1995]: Expenditure by HM Treasury and the Chancellor's agencies on advertising in the period 1988–89 to 1993–94 at 1993–94 prices, and the spend to date in 1994–95 is shown in the table. Figures for other years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Year	HM Treasury £	Privatisation for which HMT responsible £	Agencies £
1988–89	64,900	—	—
1989–90	70,822	—	434,550
1990–91	49,671	—	779,087
1991–92	112,096	13,976,853	82,255
1992–93	50,204	—	399,420

	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994 (part)
Cattle	2	0	0	0	246	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sheep	0	0	0	0	0	265	0	0	334	0	287
Pigs	285	1,041	717	598	643	817	859	796	264	184	1,032
Poultry	43,944	110,141	151,232	229,701	273,240	325,835	471,649	718,366	762,625	183,018	662,126

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the continuing German restrictions on the import of British beef, what representation he has received concerning the legality of the restrictions; and what action the Government can take to resolve the issue.

The German Government have implemented the European Commission decision on BSE rules for the export of UK beef to other member states,

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of all tiger products seized in 1994 and in 1995 to date by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

[holding answer 15 February 1995]: The figures are as follows:

• 1994
• 1 tiger skin
• 9 tiger teeth
• 41 packets of tigerbone plasters
• 1,726 individual tigerbone plasters
• 20 x 70 cl bottles of tigerbone tincture
• 96 bottles of tigerbone pills
• 1995 (to date)
• 10 packets and 1 bottle of tigerbone pills.

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will list the number and type of livestock exported for (a) slaughter and (b) further fattening to Greece in each year since 1984.

Official trade statistics for total numbers of livestock exported to Greece between 1984 and 1993, and in the first nine months of 1994, are given in the table. These statistics do not distinguish animals for slaughter or for fattening. However, information derived from 'the Animo computer system in 1994 shows that health certification issued for sheep and pigs being exported to Greece has been for breeding animals only.which exempt meat from animals born after 1 January 1992 from any special trade conditions. In some German Lander, however, there are voluntary trade bans on the importation of UK beef. The European Commission has written to the German authorities questioning the legality of these voluntary bans under Community law. I welcome this prompt action by the European Commission.The Government have received no representations about these developments, but will continue to seek the respect of EC law in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the real increase in take-home pay of a single man at the lowest 10 per cent. of the earnings distribution, between (a) 1973–74 and 1978–1979 and (b) 1978–79 and 1993–94.

Real take-home pay for a single man at the lowest 10 per cent. of the earnings distribution fell by 1 per cent. between 1973–74 and 1978–79 and increased by 23 per cent. between 1978–79 and 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether benefit can be reclaimed if a claimant who was taking steps to carry out a reasonable direction for purposes of seeking entitlement to jobseeker's allowance benefit fails to do so.

If a claimant fails to carry out a jobseeker's direction which was reasonable having regard to his circumstances, the adjudication officer will consider whether he had good cause for doing so in deciding whether to impose a sanction. Jobseeker's allowance will be paid in full until the adjudication officer has made the decision.If the adjudication officer decides that the claimant failed without good cause to carry out the direction, a sanction will be applied for two weeks. Vulnerable groups will have access to hardship payments during a period of sanction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people, and what proportion of the unemployed, left unemployment in each quarter since 1974 to (a) go into work and (b) leave the labour force altogether; and what figures he has for those in each category who had been unemployed for (i) 0 to six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) one to two years and (iv) two years or more.

The information is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, how many people were unemployed in each quarter since 1974 for (a) under a year, (b) between one year and two and (c) more than two years.