To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the estimated subsidy per passenger of providing the Fort William sleeper service.

The cost net of revenue per passenger of the Fort William sleeper, excluding infrastructure charges, is £180. The figure is £540 if infrastructure costs are allocated pro rata to non-infrastructure costs. Using infrastructure charges specific to the Fort William service the figure becomes £453. The figures are based on British Rail's best estimates, using 1993–94 demand levels and the 1994–95 price base.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the distinctions drawn by his Department between (a) a second runway at Gatwick and (b) a close parallel runway at Gatwick; and what factors cause (a) to be ruled out and (b) not be ruled out by the existing legal agreement between the British Airports Authority and West Sussex county council.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's answer of 2 February, Official Report, column 861–62, to the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) said that the options studied by RUCATSE for a second runway at Gatwick should not be considered further. These options were for full runways, located well away from the existing runway. A close parallel runway would deliver a smaller gain in runway capacity, but would also have less widespread environmental impacts. I understand that the existing legal agreement between BAA and West Sussex county council applies to any additional runway at Gatwick.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make publicly available the results of public consultation referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 2 February, Official Report, column 861–62 concerning runway capacity in the South-East.

My Department has recorded some 350 responses from organisations and some 4,100 letters from members of the public. A number of petitions were also received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated cost of the A1 road development from Darrington to Hook Moor in West and North Yorkshire.

A total of £110 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to introduce the design, build, finance and operate concessions in respect of the proposed A1 new road developments; and if he will make a statement.

There are no proposals at present to introduce design, build, finance and operate projects in respect of proposed A1 new road developments, beyond the short length of A1 between Hook Moor and Bramham included as part of the M1-A1 link road design, build, finance and operate project and the A1 widening project between Alconbury and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. Tenders for both were invited on 9 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reasons underlie the policy of not publishing individual area flying restrictions.

Temporary restriction of flying regulations are classified as local statutory instruments. By virtue of regulation 5 of the Statutory Instruments Regulations 1947, local instruments are exempt from the requirement to be printed. We believe this is due to the limited number of persons affected by such statutory instruments and the disproportionate costs that would he incurred in publication.Full details of these statutory instruments are promulgated to the aeronautical industry by aeronautical information circulars or, in cases of urgency, by notices to airmen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what review is being undertaken of search and rescue helicopter provision along the channel coast.

[holding answer 17 February 1995]: None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what types of seat belts and fittings his Department recommends for fitting into minibuses used for the transportation of children;(2) what types of seat belts and fittings are recommended for school minibuses.

Regulations 46 and 47 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (as amended) specify, for all vehicles, the minimum standards for both seat belts and anchorages. In the case of minibuses, most seats may be fitted with either lap or three-point belts suitable for use by adults or children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects on employment in the regional vehicle registration offices of proposals to privatise the means of preventing vehicle tax evasion.

No decisions on the future vehicle excise duty enforcement regime will be made until after the consultation period has ended later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce a requirement to retake the driving test for all drivers whose driving licences have been suspended (a) for drink driving, (b) for refusing breath tests or (c) for any other reason, for six months or more.

None, but the courts have discretionary powers to require any such drivers, or other drivers convicted of endorsable offences, to retake the driving test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contract Bray's detective agency has with his Department; and what was the purpose of the attendance of an employee of the agency at Winchester county court on 30 January.

Bray's detective agency has no contract with the Department of Transport and did not attend Winchester county court on the Department's behalf on 30 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the reasons the QE2 was found unsafe by United States officials during the vessel's visit to the United States of America in December 1994;(2) what were the responsibilities regarding safety of the Marine Safety Agency surveyor who sailed with the QE2 from Southampton in December 1994;(3) what were the precise differences between United Kingdom and United States regulations which allowed British authorities to allow the QE2 to sail from Southampton in December 1994, but which led the United States authorities to require further work to be undertaken.

The United Kingdom and the United States of America apply the same international standards relating to passenger ships—the safety of life at sea convention. In accordance with those standards, a limited passenger certificate was issued authorising the QE2 to sail from Southampton to New York with a reduced number of passengers. Heavy weather prevented completion of work during the voyage, and it became clear that further work would be required by the Marine Safety Agency before the ship could leave New York with her full complement of passengers.The MSA principal surveyor who had been involved from the conceptual designs through to the refit sailed with the ship to see the completion of outstanding survey items and witness appropriate tests. He had no wider responsibility for the safety of the ship during the voyage. The surveyor remained on board in New York until satisfied that all necessary safety work was being undertaken and would be completed before departure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what overseas visits he or his Ministers have made since 1 July 1994; and what was the duration and cost of the visits and the organisations and groups that he met during the course of such visits.

Details of the overseas visits made by Transport Ministers since 1 July 1994 are as follows:

Country visited	Duration	Cost £	Organisations/Groups met
THE RT HON DR BRIAN MAWMNNEY, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT
USA	1 day	2,863.20	HM Ambassador, Washington*
France	1 day	115.08	EPS Eurostar
USA	5 days	11,764.20	Texas Instruments
			Texas Turnpike Authority
			American Airlines
			United Airlines
			Illinois Dept of Transport
			Winconsin Central
			GT Capital Railcar
			Thrall Car Manuf.
			Co. Wabash National Corp.
			Union Tank Car Co.
			Chicago Aviation Commissioner
			Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
			Massachusetts Institute of Technology
			Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project
France	1 day	579.99	Telematics Conference
Holland	2.5 days	624.64	Dutch Transport Ministry; Town of Houten; Schiphol Airport
France	1 day	663.20	French Transport Minister
Belgium	2 days	1,040.58	Transport Council
Belgium	1 day	722.38	Transport Council
JOHN WATTS, MINISTER FOR RAILWAY'S AND ROADS
Germany	3.5 days	3,419.96	German State Secretary and President of Deutsche Bahn
France	1 day	470.85	Chambers of Commerce and Bridge Designers
France	1 day	318.00	Prometheus Ministers' Day
Germany	2 days	603.40	German State Secretary and Rhineland TüV
France	2 days	689.64	Informal Transport Council
LORD GOSCHEN, MINISTER FOR AVIATION AND SHIPPING
Denmark	1 day	704.00	Danish Shipping Minister
Japan	3 days	10,967.22	Kansai Airport Management; Transport, Trade and Industry Ministers; Defence Agency; Shipowners, Shipping and Marine Associations; Kawasaki Heavy Industry; Wakagyama Marine City; Virtuality Group; Airline, Railway, Shipping, Heavy Industry and Travel Companies; Media Representatives
Denmark	1 day	1,125.08	Ministers of Paris Memorandum of Understanding Group
France	1 day	No costs	P&O Ferries and Calais Chamber of Commerce
Belgium	1 day	649.4	Transport Council
STEVEN NORRIS, MINISTER FOR LOCAL TRANSPORT AND ROAD SAFETY
Portugal	2 days	1,248.80	Road Haulage Assn Conference
France	1 day	514.20	Paris; Ministry of Interior; The Paris Region Transport Administration

The figures include the cost of officials accompanying Ministers, with the exception of.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the real increase in take-home pay for a married couple with two children at the bottom 25 per cent. of the earnings distribution between (a) 1973–74 and 1978–79 and (b) 1978–79 and 1993–94.

Real take-home pay for married couple with two children at the bottom 25 per cent. of the earnings distribution increased in real terms by 1 per cent. between 1973–74 and 1978–79 and by 24 per cent. between 1978–79 and 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average cost per person

	1989–90 £	1990–91 £	1991–92 £	1992–93 £	1993–94 £
Remploy	7,229	8,325	8,864	9,472	9,727
Local Authority Workshops	7,292	8,262	8,907	9,547	9,729
Voluntary Body Workshops	5,776	7,022	7,733	8,488	9,200
Local Authority Placements	3,683	4,064	4,337	4,530	4,600
Voluntary Body Placements	3,456	3,748	3,907	4,138	4,223

I hope this is helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's view on the decision of Remploy in Barking to increase the number of able-bodied employees and of the effect of this policy on employment opportunities for disabled people.

Remploy's Barking factory is a twin site, with both bookbinding and packaging units. There are 146 severely disabled employees with 15 non-disabled employees in clerical, technical, supervisory and managerial roles. Remploy has not increased, and does not intend to increase, the number of non-disabled employees in either unit.

To ask the Secretary of Stale for Employment what consideration his Department has given to the knock-on effects of the interwork scheme on the skills base of Remploy; and if he will make a statement.

Remploy has around 8,900 severely disabled employees of whom about 1,450 are employed under interwork. The interwork scheme enables Remploy's disabled workers to be supported in jobs in a variety of host firms outside Remploy. The interwork scheme has had no knock-on effect on the skills base in Remploy factories; the company is in fact taking steps to increase the skills of its employees.Remploy has introduced a special programme called Choices designed to give new recruits to Remploy, as well as the company's existing employees, the opportunity, guidance and training to plan a career best suited to their individual needs. Remploy has introduced individual training plans aimed at improving skills. Company training programmes encourage development of basic core skills, such as numeracy and literacy, while aiming to help people gain a national vocational qualification or

employed by

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he had made of (a) current progress towards the revision of the Petroleum Consolidation Act 1928 by the Health and Safety Executive and (b) the interim measures that have been agreed under the deregulation process.

The Health and Safety Commission is seeking to make early progress with the review of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 and other petroleum legislation but the timetable for completion is currently under review. HSC's review of the guidance on petrol filling stations and other sites where petroleum is dispensed is already well advanced and the first part will be available in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps the Health and Safety Executive is required to take when notification of the arrival of a consignment of waste mercury has been received.

There is no legal requirement for notification to the Health and Safety Executive of the arrival, transportation, treatment and disposal of a consignment of waste mercury at premises for which it has enforcement responsibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what notice is required by the Health and Safety Executive of the arrival, transportation, treatment and disposal of a consignment of waste mercury; and if he will make a statement.

There is no legal requirement for notification to the Health and Safety Executive of the arrival, transportation, treatment and disposal of a consignment of waste mercury at premises for which it has enforcement responsibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment of those unemployed in the London borough of Lambeth how many have been unemployed for more than (a) two years, (b) one year and (c) six months.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Unemployed claimants in Lambeth (January 1995, not seasonally adjusted)
	Total
Claimants unemployed for over 2 years	6,228
Claimants unemployed for over 1 year	10,940
Claimants unemployed for over 6 months	15,485

Information on ILO unemployment in Lambeth is not available by duration.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his reply to the question from the hon. Member for Monklands, West on 31 January, Official Report, column 849, if he will publish the statement of the Medical Research Council on alleged Gulf war syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, on 8 February, Official Report, column 331.

To ask the Prime Minister whether all departmental ministers in answering questions on items received from Ian Greer in the last month included all packages and all correspondence from Messrs Ian Greer Associates.

It is for individual Ministers to answer questions as they consider appropriate.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letters received by the then Prime Minister from Heads of Government of member states of the European Community concerning the interpretations of those points of the draft European Single Act treaty concerning controls to be exercised by the United Kingdom at the frontiers between it and other member states of European Community.

The acceptance by Heads of Government of the right of member states to take measures necessary for the purpose of controlling immigration from third countries and to combat terrorism and other serious crime was signified by their agreement to the general declaration on articles 13 to 19 of the Single European Act, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Mr. Wardle) in the last 15 months, over the opt-out negotiated to the Single European Act over frontiers in 1985; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 16 February 1995]: Meetings and correspondence between myself and my Ministers are confidential.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 14 February Official Report, column 793, by what article of which Community treaty he expects to maintain a degree of frontier control and inspection in respect of persons and goods arriving from other member states of the European Union similar to that practised in 1992.

[holding answer 17 February 1995]: The Government take the view that there is nothing in the treaty to prevent the continuation of its practices in relation to persons and goods at frontiers. They base this view on their interpretation of article 7A, read in conjunction with the general declaration on articles 13 to 19 of the Single European Act.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will arrange for a copy of legal opinion obtained by the Government in 1991 concerning the legality of the opt-out from the Single European Act negotiated in 1985 permitting the United Kingdom to maintain frontier controls to he placed in the Library.

[holding answer 17 February 1995]: The advice of the Law Officers is not normally disclosed.

To ask the Prime Minister what specimen treaty, providing measures to exclude certain categories of people from entering the European Union, has been approved in principle on behalf of Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 17 February 1995]: At its meetings on 30 November and 1 December, the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted a standard format for the conclusion of bilateral readmission agreements between member states and third countries. The documents are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the division in percentage terms between (a) all forms of earned income including PAYE and self-employed persons and (b) all forms of unearned income including rents, investment income, pensions, and transfers from the state in the form of benefits.

Information on personal sector income is published in table 4.1 of "1994 UK National Accounts Blue Book". A more detailed breakdown based on the 1992–93 survey of personal incomes is published in table 3.4 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1994", copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of the Secretary of State for National Heritage of 7 February 1995, Official Report, column 160, what will be the income to the Exchequer, during the course of a full year, from (a) the investment of £65 million of lottery proceeds in Treasury bills and (b) of £22 million in gilts.

None. Income from Treasury bills and gilts goes to the beneficial owner, which is in this case would be the national lottery distribution fund, and not to the Exchequer.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many projects are being considered for the private finance initiative; how many have been agreed; arid what is the estimated value of the contracts involved.

Since the autumn statement of November 1992, notices for 29 projects of a value of greater than £5 million have been issued in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The estimated value of the capital investment under these contracts is £5 billion. Records are not held centrally for projects which are under consideration but are not yet in procurement or which are less than £5 million in value.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will disregard the increase in the rateable value of crime prevention measures where these have been provided at the cost of a tenant when assessing new rateable values for tenanted properties; and if he will make a statement.

Regulations due to come into effect on 1 April 1995 will require valuation officers to reflect the value of plant and machinery provided for protection of properties from a range of hazards. This will include plant and machinery that is used to protect the property from trespass of criminal damage. It is likely that the impact of these measures will be material where security is an important feature of the property concerned, for example, bullion stores, and likely to be less significant in relation to small businesses.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for taxing carbon dioxide emissions; and what discussions he has had with his

Year	PAYE amount in £ thousands	As a percentage of total PAYE collected	Amount expressed in 1993 prices	Classes 1 and 1A NIC amount in £ thousands	As a percentage of total NIC classes 1 and 1A collected	Amount expressed in 1993 prices
1979	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1980	9,914	0.05	26,975	1,056	0.01	2,873
1981	11,432	0.08	28,345	1,158	0.01	2,871
1982	15,281	0.06	34,603	1,261	0.01	2,855
1983	22,622	0.08	47,227	1,555	0.01	3,246
1984	33,312	0.11	64,863	1,971	0.01	3,838
1985	46,695	0.14	82,879	2,213	0.01	3,928

I have no plans to tax carbon dioxide emissions as such. However, the commitment to increase road fuel duties by on average at least 5 per cent. a year in real terms, and the introduction of VAT on domestic fuel and power, now held to 8 per cent., both play an important part in achieving the United Kingdom's commitment to return CO₂, emissions to 1990 levels in the year 2000.I have regular discussions with my colleagues about improvements to the environment.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost of developing the computer facilities necessary to support the introduction of tax self-assessment; and what plans he has to involve the private sector and from what date.

About £200 million. The Inland Revenue's information technology partner, Electronic Data Services, is due to take formal responsibility for this work from January 1996, but EDS is already involved in the programme and has expressed its full commitment to it.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Treasury will publish its general schedule for 1994–95 for doctors undertaking part-time work for central Government Departments and other agencies.

The Treasury will not be publishing revisions to the schedule which was effective from April 1993. It is not mandatory on Departments and agencies. Subject to any statutory Treasury involvement in specific cases, they can decide whether to vary the schedule's provisions in the light of their own judgments on best value for money and affordability within cash constraints.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimated level of uncollected PAYE and national insurance contributions deducted but not paid over to the Revenue, in figures and as a percentage of the total amounts, for each year since 1979 expressed in 1994 prices.

[holding answer 6 February 1995]: The amounts of PAYE and national insurance contributions uncollected and consequently remitted or written off as uncollected are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Colombian Government over the human rights situation in Colombia.

We maintain a regular dialogue on human rights with the Colombian Government. We welcome recent measures taken to address problems they acknowledge exist. My current visit to Colombia will provide a further opportunity to discuss this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts he has made to persuade the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to appoint a special rapporteur on Colombia.

None. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave to the hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) on 14 February, Official Report, column 580. We do not believe that the appointment of a special rapporteur is needed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the crisis in Chechnya with the German Foreign Minister; and what assessment he has made of whether a common European response to it exists.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs last discussed the crisis in Chechnya with the German Foreign Minister, Herr Kinkel, on 1 February.A common European response has been agreed within the framework of the common foreign and security policy. All EU members share the view that the fighting in Chechnya needs to be brought to an end, and negotiations on a political settlement started. The EU has given its full support to the OSCE's efforts to help find a lasting solution. Its position has been made clear in statements issued by the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 January and 6 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's latest estimate of (a) Russian military casualties (b) civilian casualties in Chechnya.

There are no independently verifiable figures available for the casualty figures in Chechnya. However, on 11 February, General Kolesnikov was quoted as saying 1,020 Russian soldiers had been killed. On 9 February, the Russian Interfax agency claimed that 3,400 Russian soldiers had been wounded.The Russian human rights ombudsman, Sergei Kovalev, has estimated 25,000 civilians have been killed or wounded. He arrived at this figure after questioning refugees about their personal experiences and extrapolating an overall figure from these eye witness accounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has for replacing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty with a nuclear weapons convention using the chemical weapons convention as a basis.

There are no such plans. We believe the nuclear non-proliferation treaty has worked well to contain the spread of nuclear weapons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will now be making a new submission to the International Court of Justice on the legality of the use and threat of nuclear weapons in any circumstances following the United Nations Assembly decision on 15 December to refer the issue to the court; and if he will publish the submissions already made.

We intend to make a further submission in the light of the resolution adopted by the 1994 United Nations General Assembly, seeking an advisory opinions the legality of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The International Court of Justice requires that submissions are kept confidential until the case is heard.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department plans to open embassies in (a) Armenia and (b) Georgia.

On 15 February 1995, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that we would be opening embassies in Armenia, Georgia and Turkmenistan this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many countries and how many heads of state have accepted invitations to the United Nations social summit in Copenhagen in March.

Over 90 heads of state or Government have confirmed their attendance at the summit. A number of other countries will also be represented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Department is responsible for co-ordinating the Government's input to the United Nations social summit in Copenhagen.

The Foreign Office is co-ordinating preparations for the United Kingdom's participation in the summit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there will be a United Kingdom policy statement to the United Nations social summit in Copenhagen in March; and whether it will be publicly available.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has prepared a background brief on the world summit for social development. This is available from the FCO's information department. Copies have also been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take measures to ensure the publication in the United Kingdom treaty series of the current contents of the treaty of Rome, the European Single Act treaty and treaty of the Union and in a single command publication of A4 size; and for what reasons this has not already been done.

In line with normal practice, the treaty on European Union was published as Command Paper No. 1934 in May 1992, following its signature by the United Kingdom, as Command Paper No. 2485, in March 1994, following its entry into force. A consolidated text is published by the office for official publications of the European Communities, and is available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many attacks by pirates on British shipping off the coast of Brazil have been recorded since 1987.

[pursuant to his reply 1 February 1995, column 701]: My Department has now been provided with new information. This shows that eight attacks off Brazil have been recorded; five on British flagged vessels, one on a Hong Kong flagged, British-managed ship, and two attacks on ships with a British interest, but flagged in other countries.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the latest number of judges serving in England and Wales; how many of these are fluent in (a) Urdu, (b) Punjabi and (c) Welsh; and if he will make a statement.

The table lists the number of judges in each of the offices shown in England and Wales as at 13 February 1995. Our records regarding judges' knowledge of languages are not comprehensive but show that 19 judges speak Welsh. None are recorded as speaking an Indian or Pakistani language but it is believed that a few do. Of those serving in a part-time capacity or in a full-time capacity not listed on the table, according to the limited information available, 55 speak Welsh and 16 speak an Indian or Pakistani language. Urdu and Punjabi are not separately identified in the records and the records do not indicate the degree of fluency.

	Total number
Lord Chancellor	1
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary	11
Heads of Division	4
Lords Justices of Appeal	30
High Court Judges	93
Circuit Judges	511
District Judges1	321
Stipendiary Magistrates	88
Masters2	29
1 Including District Judges of the Principal Registry of the Family Division.
2 Including Bankruptcy Registrars.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many shared residency orders have been granted by the courts for the last year for which figures are available.

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

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what has been the total cost of legal aid given for boundary disputes in each of the last three years.

It is not possible to identify separately the cost of boundary disputes from other proceedings relating to land. It is only possible, therefore, to provide information on the cost of all "land" related matters. The total net cost to the legal aid fund of all "land" matters—excluding landlord and tenant proceedings—where proceedings were concluded, in each of the last three years, was as follows:

• 1991–92: £5.2 million
• 1992–93: £7.7 million
• 1993–94: £10.9 million

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the cost of legal aid given for disputes involving medical negligence in each of the last three years.

The net cost to legal aid of cases involving medical negligence, excluding multi-party actions, where proceedings were concluded, in each of the last three years was as follows:

• 1991–92: £5.9 million
• 1992–93: £10.8 million
• 1993–94; £21.9 million

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to respond to the report of the United Nations Committee on Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding his policy on secure training centres; and if he will make a statement.

The proceedings of the committee ended with its concluding observations. But I take this opportunity to record that we reject the committee's observations about secure training orders. Its observations contain serious misunderstandings, despite the extensive written material provided to the committee before its oral hearings, and despite the specific information given by United Kingdom representatives at the end of nine hours of hearings during the brief opportunity to respond to the committee's oral questions on this matter.The committee appears to believe that the existence of the secure training centres could he inconsistent with the provisions of the convention requiring that detention or imprisonment of a child shall be used as a measure of last resort. As was explained to the committee, that is not so. By section 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, custodial sentences, whether for adults or children, are available to the courts only in limited circumstances and in effect as a last resort. Secure training orders, when brought into force, will be subject to that provision. Such orders will be available only for persistent offenders, and will be served in purpose-built establishments providing a high standard of training and care reflecting the needs of the young offender concerned, and the need to minimise the risk of further offending.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to enable football pools companies to pay small winnings in retail outlets, to operate on an equal footing with the national lottery through the subsidy of prize money and to remove restrictions on the type of events on which pools may be based.

My hon. Friend announced during the course of the debate on the motion on the Adjournment on 10 February, Official Report, column 642, that licensed betting offices should be permitted to pay pools winnings. I intend to bring forward an order under section 1 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 later this year, following consultation.I am currently reviewing the scope for further deregulation and have asked officials to discuss a range of issues with the Pool Promoters Association.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those passengers on the Leisure International Airways flight from Kingston, Jamaica in December 1993, who were granted temporary admission to the United Kingdom, have (a) returned to their country of origin, (b) been granted further leave to remain in the United Kingdom and (c) are of unknown location.

The information requested is not available. Comprehensive statistics are not kept of departures from the United Kingdom or of applications for leave to remain by reference to the flight of arrival.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the United Kingdom immigration rules are not breached by immigrants entering the United Kingdom from other European Union countries.

The United Kingdom operates a full immigration control on all non-European economic area nationals arriving here, regardless of the country from which they have travelled, and we shall continue to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the conduct of each authority under his jurisdiction in the case of the remand, conviction and subsequent escape of prisoner Roy Higginson;(2) what inquiries he has instigated in respect of prisoner Roy Higginson since 15 January; and if he will make a statement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how may police officers are currently serving in the north-east constabularies; and how many were serving in 1978.

The information is set out in the table:

North-east Police Forces—Strength (as at 31 December)
Force	1978	1994
Cleveland	1,311	1,435
Durham	1,289	1,356
Humberside	1,797	2,042
Northumbria	3,208	3,595
North Yorkshire	1,303	1,313
South Yorkshire	2,472	3,026
West Yorkshire	4,621	5,037

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilians are currently serving in the north-east constabularies; and how many were serving in 1978.

The information is set out in the table:

North-east Police Forces—Civilian strength (as at 31 December)
Force	1978	1994
Cleveland	300	522
Durham	510	485
Humberside	503	651
Northumbria	777	1,285
North Yorkshire	341	507
South Yorkshire	583	1,157
West Yorkshire	1,170	1,945

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time taken to investigate an alleged miscarriage of justice by his Department during 1994 or for the latest year available; and how many cases which are currently being examined by C3 division of his Department, at the latest date available, have been outstanding for more than 12 months.

Excluding cases over 12 months old, the average time taken in 1994 to complete consideration of an allegation of wrongful conviction was 36 working days. On 1 January 1995, there were 38 cases which had been under consideration for more than 12 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to modify the structure, management and functions of the Metropolitan police force forensic science laboratory; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Worcester (Mr. Luff) on 10 February, Official Report, columns 426–27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the measures (a) available and (b) used to protect the lawful export trade in live sheep; and if he will make a statement.

The Government keep the public order legislation under review to ensure that the right balance of measure is available to the police and prosecuting authorities. I am satisfied that no additional powers are needed at this time.The policing of demonstrations, including those against live animal exports, are operational matters for the chief officers of police concerned. They are not matters in which Government Ministers can intervene. I am satisfied that chief officers are taking all reasonable steps to ensure that those concerned with the carrying of live sheep and other animals to their point of departure can go about their lawful activities without obstruction.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the introduction of laws in Australia, France, the United States of America, Germany, Sweden and Norway to prosecute nationals who have committed sexual offences against children extra-territorially, where that offence is also a crime under the other country's law;(2) what plans he has to introduce extra-territorial jurisdiction over nationals who have allegedly committed offences against children, where that offence is also a crime under the other country's law.

We continue to monitor the position in those countries known to have adopted extra-territorial jurisdiction over sexual offences against children. The most recent information available indicates that prosecutions have been brought in Germany, Norway and Sweden against citizens of those countries. In only one case—in Norway—is a prosecution known to have been successful. However, the evidential requirements of United Kingdom courts are such that similar prosecutions would probably not be successful here; our courts rely largely on oral testimony, and would require the attendance of witnesses from the countries where the alleged offences had been committed.We have no present plans to introduce extra-territorial jurisdiction over our nationals who have allegedly committed offences abroad against children, although we remain ready to assist the judicial authorities in other countries to enforce their laws in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria underlay the awarding of the contract for the Wolds prison to a firm which did not submit the lowest bid.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the criteria used by his Department in the short-listing of individuals seeking to serve on the Metropolitan police committee.

I considered all applications to serve on this advisory committee personally, in consultation with Sir John Quinton. We had regard to the individual merits of each candidate and took into account the need to balance skills and experience in the light of the needs of the committee as a whole. I short-listed 20 candidates from the original field of over 100, and the successful candidates were seen by Sir John Quinton prior to their appointment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the impact of the November 1994 budget statement on the South Yorkshire probation service.

The 1994 Budget statement resulted in a specific grant cash limit for 1995–96 for the South Yorkshire probation service of £9.4 million, plus a further £0.6 million to support probation service partnerships with the independent sector previously funded separately by the Home Office. It is for the South Yorkshire probation service to decide how these resources are best used and to determine what specific changes within the service should be undertaken on the basis of the total expenditure limit implied by this level of grant support.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to advertise for applications for the post of chairman of the Tote Board.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were referred to the Court of Appeal following investigation by his Department in each of the last five years.

The information requested is provided in the following table:

Cases referred under section 17(1) (a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968
	Number of cases	Number of defendants
(a) in respect of conviction
1990	7	20
1991	10	12
1992	8	11
1993	8	9
1994	9	12
(b) in respect of sentence only
1990	3	3
1991	4	8
1992	1	1
1993	Nil	Nil
1994	2	3

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases he referred to the Court of Appeal following an investigation by C3 division at his Department in each of the last 12 months.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Number of cases referred under section 17(1)(a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968
Month	Conviction	Sentence
1994
February	Nil	Nil
March	1	Nil
April	1	1
May	Nil	Nil
June	Nil	Nil
July	2	Nil
August	Nil	Nil
September	Nil	Nil
October	2	1
November	Nil	Nil
December	3	Nil
1995
January	1	1

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training currently exists for British police to monitor and take action on pornography or other illegal entries on the Internet.

The way in which officers are trained in relation to the detection of computer pornography is for chief officers to determine in the light of their operational requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 January, Official Report, column 810, how many of the escapes from prisons in (a) 1979, (b) 1984–85 and (c) 1985–86 were non-key performance indicator escapes.

[holding answer 13 February 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will confirm or modify the ministerial description of the operation of articles 1000 and 7A of the current main treaty of the European Community and Union given orally by the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) on 27 January 1993, Official Report, column 122.

[holding answer 17 February 1995]: The position on both articles 1000 and 7A of the EC treaty remains as set out by my right hon. and learned Friend. The draft external frontiers convention, if implemented, would provide for the mutual recognition of visas in certain circumstances but this convention has not yet been signed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations he has received from the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Mr. Wardle) in the last 15 months, over the opt-out negotiated to the Single European Act over frontiers in 1985; and if he will make a statement;

[holding answer 16 February 1995]: Meetings and correspondence between Ministers are confidential.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what plans he has to make proposals to put upper and lower limits on the number of written questions an hon. Member may ask in any single parliamentary Session; and if he will make a statement.

I have no such plans.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make proposals to require hon. Members to declare if they are members of a masonic lodge.

I have no plans to do so.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what plans he has for greater scrutiny by Parliament of the administration and governance of the colonies in respect of those responsibilities within the jurisdiction of the governor and Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

I have no plans to change the existing arrangements.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what assessment he has made of the making of the new timetable for the sittings of the House; and if he will make a statement.

On the basis of less than six week's experience of the experimental changes agreed by the House in December, my initial assessment is that they are working well.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will consider moving certain Question Time sessions to the morning.

I have no plans to do so.

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will bring forward proposals for Government Departments to consult with hon. Members before transferring their oral questions to other Departments.

I have no plans to do so.

To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, when the Commission expects child care facilities to be made available in the building.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes).

To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will investigate the propriety of arrangements in operation for overprinting between certain printers and the suppliers of House stationery; and if he will make a statement.

Arrangements for overprinting of House of Commons stationery provided from the Serjeant at Arms' stores is the responsibility of individual Members.

To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee if he will make a statement on progress towards making the Official Report available to the public via the Internet and how this could be done; and what assessment he has made of whether the current production systems for the Official Report are capable of being connected to the Internet.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 14 February 1995 at column 573. The Information Committee has not yet considered the possibility of distributing the Official Report via the Internet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Jarman indices relating to deprivation has not been updated on the basis of the 1991 census; and if she will now take steps to do so.

In its recently published report for 1995–96, the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body recommended that future deprivation payments should be based on 1991 census data. The Government have accepted its recommendation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people under the age of 14 years have been admitted to psychiatric hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

Information on admissions to national health service hospitals for the under 14 years age group for mental illness is given in table 5.24 of the annual publication "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England" copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy that the range of cars provided to staff of health authorities and NHS trusts shall be limited to those costing no more than those provided for Government Ministers.

Staff employed on national terms and conditions may be eligible for a lease car under the terms of section 24 of the "General Whitley Council Handbook", copies of which are available in the Library. Employees who choose to have a car which is larger or more expensive than that due to them under the terms of the agreement must pay the excess costs involved.National health service trusts have the freedom to make their own staff transport arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will bring forward proposals to assist those local authorities which are unable to provide payments schemes for the disabled;(2) what assessment she has made of the expense caused to the disabled by legal barriers in direct payments to disabled people for personal assistance; and if she will review this policy.

There is, as yet, no such scheme. I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Howarth) on 24 November 1994 at columns 332–33.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made as to the cost-effectiveness of the charging for the provision of malaria chemoprophylaxis.

The cost of malaria prophylaxis represents a small part of the overall costs of travelling to malarious areas and some anti-malaria drugs can be bought over the counter cheaper than the cost of a national health service prescription. The Government are not changing their recommendations that all travellers to malarious areas take appropriate measures to prevent malaria but do believe that, in this case, the individual traveller should meet the cost of protecting their own health. The cost-effectiveness of permitting general practitioners to charge for prescribing anti-malarial drugs has been considered as one factor in reaching this decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have taken on new national health service patients in (a) Christchurch borough, (b) East Dorset district, (c) Dorset and (d) Great Britain in each year since 1979.

The available information is shown in the table.

Number of dentists who had additions to their register by year
	1991	1992	1993	1994
Dorset	244	244	242	240
England	15,126	15,295	15,268	15,217

1. Additions to the register include instances of patients reregistering with a dentist after a break in attendance and instances of reinstatement of registrations that have been cancelled in error.2. Some dentists have contracts with more than one family health services authority. The figure for Dorset includes all dentists in contract with Dorset FHSA meeting the criterion. The England figure represents the total number of dentists in contracts in England meeting the criterion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all major capital projects carried out at hospitals in the northern region since 1979 with their cost at 1995 prices.

Information will be placed in the Library which lists all major capital projects with a works cost of over £1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health at which locations in England and Wales cochlear implant operations are carried out for adults and children.

Cochlear implant operations are carried out at the following locations:

• Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham;
• The Royal Infirmary, Manchester;
• North Riding Infirmary, Middlesbrough;
• General Hospital and Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham;
• Bradford Hospitals Trust;
• Royal Southants Hospital, Southampton;
• Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge;
• Central Sheffield University Hospitals Trust;
• In London: University College and Middlesex Hospitals;
• St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington;
• Hospitals for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street.

The provision of this service in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the expenditure on cochlear implant operations in England and Wales since the start of this operation; and how many operations have been carried out in each year on (a) adults and (b) children.

This information is not available centrally. Information for Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the number of cases that have involved female circumcision and have required treatment at NHS hospitals covering the Greater London area.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle under Lyme (Mrs. Golding) on 17 February at column 836.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to introduce fines for misconduct for all holders of public office.