To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he took to ensure the care and welfare of Sita Kamara while she was in the custody of the immigration service; and if he will make a statement.

The immigration service monitors closely the performance and standards of service provided under contract by Group 4 Total Security Ltd for the care of detainees at Campsfield house. The steps taken to ensure Miss Kamara's well-being while at Campsfield house were fully in accordance with the requirements of the contract.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consideration has been given to the case of the Bridgewater Four; and when he expects to be able to announce a decision on reference to the Court of Appeal.

Inquiries by the Merseyside police in relation to the most recent representations about this case are nearing completion. When the police report has been received, and it has been considered along with all other relevant information and any further inquiries, my right hon. and learned Friend will make known his conclusions about the case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the terms of reference and the timetable of the review of options for the future of the Fire Service College; if he will name the consultants carrying out the review; and if they were appointed after a tender process.

On his appointment in May 1994, the newly appointed chief executive of the Fire Service College was asked to carry out a fundamental review of the college's corporate and business strategy which would include an examination of options for the future basis of the college's operations. There were no formal terms of reference. The chief executive will be presenting his finding to the Department shortly. In the course of the review, the chief executive has drawn on advice from the college's solicitors, Veale Wasbrough of Bristol. They were appointed in July 1994 after competitive tender. Following a competitive tender exercise run by Veale Wasbrough but overseen and approved by the college, the consultants Coopers and Lybrand were asked to provide advice on certain aspects of the review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the initial date of arrival in the United Kingdom of Suresh Kumar, currently held in Campsfield house detention centre: and if he will make a statement on the intervening circumstances.

It is not our normal practice to give detailed information on individual cases. I shall write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has for supporting general practitioners in their administrative commitments.

A total of £552.4 million was directly reimbursed to general practitioners in 1993–94 to assist them towards the cost of computing and staff they employ, including those who carry out administrative tasks. We are also carrying out an efficiency scrutiny of bureaucracy in general practice and a report will be delivered to the Department in April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is the policy of her Department to break down statistics by ethnic origin.

Yes, where the necessary source information is available and subject to confidentiality of information about individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are currently taken by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to monitor and initiate research into (a) handicaps in babies conceived by in vitro fertilisation, (b) the number of abortions, miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilisation, (c) the long-term psychological effects on babies conceived by in vitro fertilisation, (d) the long-term psychological effects on surrogate mothers of their surrogacy arrangements; and if she will make a statement.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority monitors the incidence of miscarriage and stillbirth in pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilisation, and abnormalities in babies born as a result of IVF, through its register of licensed treatments. Details are published in the authority's annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library.Long-term research is being undertaken by Professor Susan Golombok at City university into the psycho-social development of children born as a result of assisted conception.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps are taken by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to ensure that mothers agreeing to participate in surrogate pregnancies are made aware of their right not to hand over the baby following its birth;

It is a requirement of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 that people seeking licensed treatment or consenting to the use or storage of embryos, or to the donation or storage of gametes, must be given a

"suitable opportunity to receive proper counselling about the implications of taking the proposed steps"

before they consent. Comprehensive guidance on this matter is included in the code of practice for centres issued by the authority. This includes information on the additional factors to be considered where it is the intention that the child will not be brought up by the carrying mother. These provisions apply only where the surrogacy arrangements involve a centre licensed under the 1990 Act.Information about the number of births to surrogate mothers or about counselling arrangements is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is currently assisting (a) Dr. Valerie Beral or (b) other qualified individuals with research projects into the high perinatal mortality rate associated with in vitro fertilisation babies.

The authority has received no such requests for assistance. The authority is monitoring the incidence of perinatal mortality where licensed treatment has been given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to discuss with the chairman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that authority's answerability to Parliament.

Ministers hold regular meetings with the authority's chairman. There are no plans at this time to discuss accountability.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the current members of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, with the remuneration that each receives in connection with that membership.

Members of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are:

• Ruth Deech - Chairman
• Lady Diana Brittan - Deputy Chairman
• Professor R.J. Berry
• Professor Ian Cooke
• Jane Denton
• Liz Forgan
• Joan Harbison
• Professor Stephen Hillier
• The Most Reverend Richard Holloway
• Professor Martin Johnson
• Richard Jones
• Penelope Keith
• Dr. Brian Lieberman
• Dr. Caroline Lindsey
• Angela Mays
• Dr. Anne McLaren
• Dr. Jeanette Naish
• Rabbi Julia Neuberger
• David Shilson
• Lady Julia Tugendhat
• John Williams

The chairman is paid £8,210 per year. The deputy chairman receives payment of £136 for each day of attendance and preparation in respect of the work of the authority. Other members receive £128 a day on the same basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals are currently paid on either (a) a full time-time or (b) a part-time basis by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority; and if she will identify the numbers of individuals in each category who also derive income in any way from clinics licensed by that authority.

Twenty-one of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority executive are paid full-time. One official and legal adviser are paid part-time. No person in either category derives income from clinics licensed by the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total running costs of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in each of the years since it was established; and what percentage of those costs were generated by fees for licences in each of those years.

The information is as follows:

Year	Total gross expenditure £000s	Income from licence fees as a percentage of total gross expenditure
1990–91	109	1(no licence fees)
1991–92	811	8.7
1992–93	1,027	66.8
1993–94	1,146	66.1
1 The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority did not assume its full responsibility until 1 August 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific action she has now taken in pursuance of the oral statement of the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville) of 14 February 1995, Official Report, column 910, undertaking further to examine possible conflicts of interests on the part of those remunerated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

A member of the authority who is in any way directly or indirectly interested in a licence granted or proposed must declare such an interest. In such cases, the nature of the interest would be recorded by the authority and the member would be prohibited from participating in any deliberation or decision of the authority or of any licence committee with respect to the licence. In the case of their inspectors, the authority has issued guidance which clearly sets out a requirement for inspectors to inform the authority if they feel that it would be inappropriate for any reason to attend an inspection.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of NHS hospital and trust beds were operated as paybeds to the private sector in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

This information is not available. Bed numbers are considered to be an inadequate measure of private patient activity. Private patient activity is measured by information based on income from the annual accounts of national health service trusts and directly managed units.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what organisations and individuals her Department sought advice when compiling the community care charter.

The consultation document for the framework for local community care charters was sent to all local social services departments, health authorities, national health service trusts and housing authorities, as well as community health councils and a large number of voluntary organisations and provider representatives. All comments were carefully considered when the final document was drawn up.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what organisations and individuals her Department sought advice when compiling the patients charter.

I refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply that I gave to the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) on 16 February 1995 at columns 814–15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total annual NHS expenditure on management courses; and if she will list the amount spent per course in the latest available year.

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the role of voluntary bodies in providing assistance to the mentally ill and their relationship to statutory bodies.

Voluntary organisations make a very important contribution to the support of people with mental illness and we encourage local health and social services to work closely with them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's estimate of the total annual financial assistance to the mentally ill by voluntary bodies in London.

This is a matter for the large number of such organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people in England and Wales who did not consult a dentist in 1994; and if she will make a statement.

We have no such estimates. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health with whom in a NHS hospital or trust the final decision rests concerning the discharge of a patient after surgery.

Hospital consultants must decide when their patients are clinically fit to be discharged following surgery.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were discharged from Guy's and St. Thomas' Trust on 23 December 1994; and what measures were taken to ensure that sufficient care was provided for them over the Christmas period.

This information is not available centrally. The hon. and learned Member may wish to contact Lord Hayhoe, the chairman of the trust, for details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration has been given to including the aid programme to Indonesia financial support to the trade union movement; and if he will make a statement.

Within the resources available for supporting good government in Indonesia, we have judged the highest priorities to be assistance to the Indonesia national police and support for the Indonesian Government in financial decentralisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, columns 289–95, if any Indonesian police officers who have received scholarship awards involving training paid for by his Department have subsequently served in East Timor.

According to the Indonesian national police, none of the police officers has subsequently served in East Timor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, columns 289–95, how many Indonesian police officers have received scholarships awards in each year since 1990 involving training of less than one month, in each case specifying the recipient's rank and the cost of the scholarship.

The information is as follows:

Year	Name and Bank	Cost/Study/Tour/Year £
1990–91	Mr. C.H.M. Waskito, Colonel	3,100
	Mr. F. Sumampow, Lt. Colonel	3,100
	Mr. H. Rasyid, Colonel	3,100
	Mr. Soebariliyono, Lt. Colonel	3,100
	Mr. Suryaningprang, Lt. Colonel	3,100
	Mr. Y. Y. Laoli, Lt. Colonel	3,100
	Mr. D. Rustadi, Lt. Colonel	3,100
	Mr. M. Thoyib, Captain	3,100
	Mr. N. Eko, Captain	3,100
	Mr. Lihawa, Bridgadier General	3,100
1991–92	Mr. G. Sumampow, Lt. Colonel	3,000
	Mr. H. Rasyid, Colonel	3,000
	Mr. Soebarliyono, Lt. Colonel	3,000
	Mr. M. Suryaningprang, Lt. Colonel	3,000
	Mr. Y. Y. Laoli, Lt, Colonel	3,000
	Mr. D. Rustadi, Lt. Colonel	3,000
	Mr. M. Thoyib, Captain	3,000
	Mr. N. Eko, Captain	3,000
	Mr. Soekamid, Major	3,000
	Mr. Y Ermiady, Captain	3,000
1992–93	Mr. C. H. M. Waskito, Colonel	2,865
	Mr. F. Sumampow, Lt Colonel	2,865
	Mr. H. Rasyid, Colonel	2,865
	Mr. Soebarliyono, Lt. Colonel	2,865
	Mr. M. Suryaningprang, Lt. Colonel	2,865
	Mr. Y. Y. Laoli, Lt Colonel	2,865
	Mr. D. Rustadi, Lt. Colonel	2,865
	Ms Hemawati, Major	2,865
	Ms M. Simanjuntak, Major	2,865
	Ms R.P. Gaut, Major	2,865
	Mr. M. Thoyib, Captain	2,865
	Mr. N. Eko, Captain	2,865
	Mr. M. B. Hutagalung, Major General	2,865
	Mr. R. Lihawa, Brigadier General	2,865
	Mr. Karyoso,Brigadier General	2,865
1993–94	None	0

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the projected cost of consultancy visits to Indonesia by British specialists working with the Indonesian police force in 1994–95.

On present plans we expect to spend some £80,000 on consultancy visits in 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answers of 8 February, Official Report, columns 289–95, what impact his Department's spending on scholarships and consultancy visits to benefit the Indonesian national police force is having in terms of reducing human rights abuses; and what his future spending plans are with regard to these programmes.

The project aims to improve the quality of service of the Indonesia national police. It does this through the establishment of a consultancy unit within the INP's headquarters which advises senior management on strategic change and solving management and organisation problems. Improving the quality of service is an important means of encouraging correct policing procedures and the observance of human rights.The present project is due to end in March 1996. We shall be considering over the coming months whether there is a need for further support for the INP after that date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, columns 289–95, which companies were used to make the consultancy arrangements, and in each case to which British police forces consultants were connected.

Johnston and Ladd International was used. Before his retirement, one consultant used to be at Bramshill staff college and before that, the Kent constabulary. Another served with the Surrey constabulary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the projected cost of scholarship awards in Britain for Indonesian police officers in 1994–95.

On present plans we expect to spend some £37,000 on scholarship awards in 1994–95.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 8 February, Official Report, column 293, what were the costs in terms of administration and Crown servant time spent in supporting work with the Indonesian police force in each year since 1990, and whether these costs were included in the totals given in his answer.

Project management costs, which were included in my answer of 8 February, Official Report, column 293 were:

Year	Costs £
1990–91	26,950
1991–92	16,375
1992–93	16,735
1993–94	20,620

The Crown servant costs are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which projects and programmes he has allocated the funding no longer allocated to the Pergau dam in the current year.

In the current financial year, we are using the reallocated amounts for additional emergency aid, primarily in Bosnia, Rwanda and Chechnya; for additional contributions to multilateral organisations in the field of health and population; and for additional country programme expenditure including mine clearance in Cambodia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to allocate the funding no longer allocated to the Pergau dam in 1995–96 to low-income countries in Africa and South Asia.

The poorest countries of Africa and South Asia will remain a priority for aid programme funds in 1995–96. In 1993–94, nine of the 10 largest recipients of our bilateral country programme funds were low-income countries in Africa and Asia.

To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer of 27 February 1995, Official Report, column 686, (1) if he will publish the reply that he received from the Director of the Crown Prosecution Service concerning the case of Leon Patterson;(2) if he will publish the report sent to him by the Director of Public Prosecutions into the circumstances surrounding the death of Leon Patterson;(3) on what date he expects the new inquest into the death of Leon Patterson to take place.

The report by the Director of Public Prosecutions referred to in my answer of 27 February 1995, Official Report, column 686 was prepared and submitted as briefing to enable the hon. Member's question to be answered. Such briefing, like the report to the director for the purpose of the decision whether or not to prosecute, is confidential.The conduct of inquests is a matter for the coroner concerned. The further inquest to which the hon. Member refers is to be held pursuant to an order of the divisional court. The date is for the coroner to determine in his judicial capacity.

To ask the Attorney-General what directions he has issued following the passing of papers to him by the Metropolitan police serious and organised crime branch concerning the printing and distribution of race hate material; and if he will make a statement.The Attorney-General: I understand that the hon. Member's question relates to the investigation by the Metropolitan police into the activities of Combat 18. That inquiry is on-going. The Crown Prosecution Service expects to receive a report once the police inquiries have been concluded. I shall be kept informed. If the Crown Prosecution Service considers that proceedings may be appropriate for an offence which is subject to a statutory requirement that my consent be obtained, the papers will be referred to me.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards Palestinian elections and towards the redeployment of Israeli defence forces.

We understand that the elections negotiations in Cairo are making steady progress. The talks on redeployment have made no significant progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) men and (b) women applied for career breaks in his Department or its agencies; and how many have had their employment terminated in the last five years.

Information on applications for career breaks is not collated centrally. The numbers of officers beginning unpaid career breaks in each of the last five years are:

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Male	12	11	11	5	10
Female	44	68	65	65	59

In the same period the numbers of officers who have had their employment terminated on disciplinary and poor performance grounds are:

	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Male	3	5	3	1	4
Female	—	2	3	2	1

Staff whose applications for career breaks are not accepted do not have their employment terminated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government will take to encourage the Government of Turkey to ensure the preservation of the Suryani community in south-eastern Turkey.

Our ambassador in Ankara has discussed the concerns of the Suryani community with the Turkish authorities and stressed that it is their duty to investigate and stamp out cases of harassment and kidnapping. We shall continue to take a close interest in the Christian communities in Turkey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Her Majesty's Government are doing to encourage the Turkish authorities to allow the Syrian Orthodox Church in Turkey to have its own theological seminary and to teach the Syriac language in schools.

We take a close interest in the Christian communities in Turkey in the context of our wider concerns on human rights. Our ambassador and other members of the embassy take advantage of their visits outside the capital to meet with community leaders and to discuss their concerns with the local Turkish authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when he expects to ratify the Council of Europe framework convention for the protection of national minorities; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will make a statement about the preparation of a draft protocol to the European convention of human rights concerning the protection of the rights of minorities in the cultural field.

The Council of Europe summit in October 1993 called for the drawing up of a framework convention for the protection of national minorities, together with a draft additional protocol

"complementing the European Convention on Human Rights in the cultural field by provisions guaranteeing individual rights, in particular for persons belonging to national minorities".

The summit gave work on the framework convention the higher priority. The convention was drawn up during 1994 and opened for signature on 1 February 1995, when 21 states including the United Kingdom signed. We intend to ratify the convention in due course.The United Kingdom was fully involved in the drawing up of the convention, and is similarly engaged in the work which is in progress on the proposed additional protocol.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how he will ensure the same confidentiality and security of highly sensitive data in the event of the work handled by the Chessington computer centre being transferred to the private sector.(2) what steps he is taking to ensure continued accountability and to guarantee commitment to correct and punctual payment of employees in the event of the Chessington computer centre being privatised.

If work handled by Chessington computer centre is transferred to the private sector, the confidentiality and security of data, and accountability and commitment to correct and punctual payments, would be matters on which I should need to be satisfied that adequate safeguards are in place. The detail would be for the new operator and its customers to agree on a contractual basis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to protect the ownership and copyright of software written in-house in the event of the Chessington computer centre being privatised.

The treatment of software developed in-house in the event of the privatisation of Chessington computer centre is one of the issues on which I shall be advised by the review that I announced on 17 November 1994.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, if the review of the Chessington computer centre included an impartial and thorough analysis of all the options; and on what grounds the terms of reference did not contain an analysis of Chessington's record as a Government agency.

When Chessington computer centre was launched as an agency in 1993, the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced that it was a definite candidate for privatisation but that it was not being privatised immediately due to a lack of a commercial track record and of direct competition. The current review is addressing those issues. Chessington's performance as an agency is being considered as a part of the review of its commercial track record.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage the privatisation of local authority owned airports and bus companies.

Three public airport companies have been privatised in recent years, and discussions are at various stages in relation to some of those still in the public sector. Similarly, 28 bus companies, including the eight largest, have moved successfully into the private sector.We welcome these developments, and we are continuing to encourage other airport and bus company owners to consider seriously the options for privatisation. We have therefore decided that, for a two-year period beginning on 1 April, the set-aside rate for receipts by local authorities from sales of shares in public airport companies will be reduced from 50 per cent. to 25 per cent. We have also decided that the set-aside rate for receipts from sales of bus companies should be reduced to 25 per cent. for a one-year period from 1 April. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales will be making amending regulations later this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the cost per passenger carried on the London-Fort William sleeper/Motorail train would be, based only on the net costs saved by Railtrack and BR together, within the first year of its withdrawal;(2) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 20 February,

British Rail expect to save about £7 million from the proposed reduction in London to Scotland sleeper and Motorail services. The saving from withdrawing the Fort William service alone is estimated at £2.6 million. These figures do not include redundancy and relocation costs, which are non-recurring costs estimated at less than £300,000 for the withdrawal of the Fort William service. There are unlikely to be any savings to Railtrack.On the basis of passengers carried in 1993–94 the cost net of revenue excluding infrastructure changes is £180 per passenger. The figures are based on British Rail's best estimate, using the 1994–95 price base.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluation he has made of the conclusions of the Director of Rail Passenger Franchising in respect of the economy and efficiency of the London to Fort William sleeper.

No final conclusions have been reached by the franchising director, who has indicated his preliminary view of which services he is minded to include in the ScotRail PSR on which consultation will take place later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when the vehicles currently allocated to the auxiliary coastguard stations and marine rescue sub-centres are due to be replaced;(2) how many incidents were dealt with by the Marine Rescue Sub-centre at Swansea and at Liverpool in each year since 1988 which would formerly have been dealt with by the Hartland and Ramsay Centres.(3) how many individuals have been assisted by the marine rescue sub-centres at

These are operational matters for the Coastguard Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the amount of indebtedness of Railtrack; and what plans he has to write it off.

As at 1 January 1995 the outstanding principal owed by Railtrack to the national loans fund was £1.53 billion, excluding temporary borrowing.I have no plans at present to write off this debt.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost to British Rail of servicing its accumulated debts at today's prices in each of the past 20 years.

This information is available in cash prices in British Rail's annual report and accounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning the writing off of Railtrack's debts.

None

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what basis debt was apportioned at the time of Railtrack's separation from the British Railways Board on 1 April 1994.

Decisions on debt apportionment between British Rail and Railtrack were made bearing in mind the future financial plans of the two organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising is expected to employ at 1 April, taking account of those currently employed and posts which have been advertised.

Seventy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those premises occupied or due to be occupied by the office of Passenger Rail Franchising, stating the principal terms of ownership or lease.

The Office of Passenger Rail Franchising currently occupies 26–28 Old Queen street, London SW1, in its entirety and occupies a floor at 29–35 Old. Queen street. Both properties are leased. The terms of the leases are commercial and confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has relating to track access charges in (a) each European Union country, (b) the United States of America and (c) Japan.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 10 February 1995, Official Report, column 633. Actual track access charges in these countries are not readily identifiable or comparable with those made by Railtrack.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the level (a) of rebate paid by British Rail to the Treasury for each year it has been paid since 1965, and (b) of British Rail capital investments for each of those years; and what are the estimated figures for (a) and (b) for next year.

Between 1976 and March 1994 British Rail had an annual external finance requirement met by subsidy from the Government in the form of grant and borrowing, mostly from the national loans fund. Since April 1994 the railway industry has continued to receive Government support in the form of grants, but has a different financial structure in which British Rail and Railtrack have negative external finance requirements or external finance contributions, which are used to repay debt to the national loans fund.The outturn external finance requirements from 1979–80 to 1993–94, external finance limits and contributions for 1994–95 and 1995–96 and figures for capital investment in the railways from 1965, in current prices, are as follows:

Year	Investment£ million1994–95 prices
1965	1.396
1966	1.200
1967	976
1968	890
1969	608
1970	702
1971	746
1972	775
1973	777
1974	839
1975	969
1976	946
1977	937
1978	941
1979	967
1980	951
1981	810
1982	695
1983	767
1984–851	786
1985–86	855
1986–87	819
1987–88	993
1988–89	977
1989–90	1.119
1990–91	1.216
1991–92	1.442
1992–93	1.552
1993–94	1.188
1994–95	1.000
1 15-month year due to an accounting change from calendar years to financial years.
2 Forecast outturn.

External Finance Requirements
	BR/RTEFR£ million 1994–95 prices	UR/EPS EFR£ million 1994–95 prices	Industry EFR£ million1994–95 prices
1979–80	1791	—	1.791
1980–81	1672	—	1.672
1981–82	1853	—	1.853
1982–83	1528	—	1.528
1983–84	1396	—	1.396
1984–85	1713	—	1.713

External Finance Requirements
	BR/RT EFR£ million1994–95 prices	UR/EPS EFR£ million1994–95 prices	Industry EFR£ million1994–95 prices
1985–86	1414	—	1.414
1986–87	1172	—	1.172
1987–88	781	—	781
1988–89	505	—	505
1989–90	811	82	892
1990–91	1065	186	1.251
1991–92	1241	360	1.600
1992–93	1688	481	2.170
1993–94	1054	437	1.490

External Finance limits and contributions
	BR/RT EFC	UR/EPS EFL	Grant1	Industry EFL
1994–95	—645	217	1,924	21,496
1995–96	—945	120	1,800	3975

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has made available to British Rail as part of the public service obligation in 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, and 1994–95; and what funds he expects to make available to British Rail or any other rail operator to subsidise socially necessary services in 1995–96, 1996–97, and 1997–98.

The information is as follows:

Public service obligation grant
	Cash £ million	1994–95 prices £ million
1990–91	602	699
1991–92	892	975
1992–93	1.155	1,214
1993–94	930	949
1994–951	1,700	1.700
1 Estimate of support to passenger services, which from 1994–95 is paid by the Franchising Director. It excludes metropolitan railway grant, estimated to be £224 million, paid by the Department of Transport to passenger transport authorities.

In 1995–96 estimated total grant to support passenger services is £1,800 million. Of the £1,800 million, an estimated £1,610 million will be paid by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising to British Rail and franchisees, and £190 million will be paid by the Department of Transport to passenger transport authorities.Estimates of the level of grant support for 1996–97 and 1997–98 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds his Department has spent, or is estimated to spend on preparations for rail privatisation, excluding funds made available to (a) British Rail, (b) Railtrack plc, (c) the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and (d) the Office of the Rail Regulator, in (i) 1992–93, (ii) 1993–94, (iii) 1994–95, (iv) 1995–96 and (v) 1996–97.

The information is as follows:

	Year	£ million
(i)	1992–93	6.7
(ii)	1993–94	13.5
(iii)	1994–95	14.2
(iv)	1995–96	24.6
(v)	1996–97	5.3

Figures for 1994–95 onwards are current estimates and exclude main sale costs for the flotation of Railtrack, yet to be determined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates were given to him by British Rail for costs arising from the restructuring of British Rail for rail privatisation in (a) the current financial year and (b) the forthcoming financial year; what funds he has made available to British Rail for reorganisation in preparation for privatisation; what funds he has made available to Railtrack to implement privatisation in 1994–95, and what is his estimate for 1995–96.

British Rail expects to spend some £78 million on reorganisation and privatisation in 1994–95. Railtrack has so far spent less than £0.5 million in 1994–95 on activities solely concerned with privatisation. A precise figure cannot be given because it is impossible to differentiate between such activities and those concerned with developing and establishing Railtrack as a separate business from British Rail. Planned expenditure in 1995–96 is a matter for BR and Railtrack.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases his Department has recorded in the last five years of passenger ferries which use (a) the English Channel and (b) the North sea routes from United Kingdom ports violating international regulations in respect of the minimum distance between bow doors; and if he will make a statement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to implement the TRUST programme—currently being introduced in Birmingham—to other bus routes in and around London.

London Transport's "Countdown" system, currently on trial on 25 bus routes in London, provides passenger information at bus stops in a similar way to TRUST.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in what circumstances legal aid is available to criminals already serving a sentence.

The legal aid scheme provides legal advice, assistance and representation to those who might otherwise be unable to obtain it on account of their means, regardless of whether they are currently serving a prison sentence.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make it his policy that a person serving a prison sentence who has not fully disclosed the whereabouts of the proceeds of the crime of which they were convicted should not be allowed legal aid.

In assessing an individual's entitlement to legal aid, all the assets to which the individual can reasonably he expected to have access are taken into account.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what legal aid is available to prisoners wishing to appeal against sentence; and what restrictions there are on the number of appeals a prisoner may launch.

Criminal legal aid may be granted to a convicted person for proceedings in respect of a sentence, provided that it is desirable in the interests of justice and that his or her financial resources are such that he or she requires help in meeting his or her costs.A person convicted by a magistrates court has the right to appeal against sentence to the Crown court. Where an appeal is dismissed by the Crown court, a person may apply to the High Court for judicial review of that decision.A person wishing to appeal against a sentence imposed in the Crown court must initially seek leave to appeal from a single judge in the Court of Appeal, criminal division.If leave to appeal is granted, the matter will then be heard by the full court. If leave is refused, the application may be renewed to the full court. If the full court determines that leave to appeal should not be granted, a case can be referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Home Office, in exceptional circumstances.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if Myra Hindley is in receipt of a civil legal aid certificate.

I am not aware of any civil legal aid certificate currently in effect in respect of Ms Hindley.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what forms of publicly funded assistance Myra Hindley receives to enable her to retain a solicitor or counsel.

I am not aware of any publicly funded legal assistance currently being received by Ms Hindley, though it is possible that she may be receiving legal advice under the "green form" scheme.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if Myra Hindley is in receipt of a criminal legal aid certificate.

I am not aware of any criminal legal aid order currently in effect in respect of Ms Hindley.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received in respect of the financial advisers, Knight Williams; and if he will make a statement.

A number of representations have been received recently from hon. Members. The Government's role under the Financial Services Act has been to establish the framework within which the regulators work. A statement on an individual firm is a matter for the regulators. The Securities and Investments Board has made two public statements on this firm.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the effect on the level of eating out in hotels, restaurants and pubs, of the difference of 17.5 per cent. between the applicable rate of VAT on food consumed in these locations and at home.

If the standard rate of VAT were removed from eating out in hotels, restaurants and pubs, demand for this service would increase by an estimated 15 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what economic role he assigns to (a) the rate of interest and (b) the rate of exchange in the conduct of economic policy.

It is the role of monetary policy to deliver low inflation. Since monetary policy influences inflation with a lag, interest rate decisions are based on an assessment of the prospects for underlying inflation in one to two years' time. This assessment is based on a wide range of information including movements in the exchange rate.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the effect of the rise in the rate of exchange against the Deutschmark between February 1993 and January 1994 on the standard of living of manual workers in manufacturing industry relative to those of white-collar workers in the private sector.

It is not possible to isolate the effects of nominal exchange rate changes on standards of living.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the effect of the Government's exchange rate policies on the distribution of incomes since 1979.