To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the constitutional implications of the severing of the link between the Irish punt and the British pound.

The link between the Irish punt and British pound was severed when Ireland joined the European monetary system. This step had no constitutional implications for the United Kingdom.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if investments in companies listed on the unlisted securities market qualify for the reinvestment relief.

No. Capital gains tax reinvestment relief is available for investment in shares in qualifying unquoted trading companies. As the relevant legislation makes explicit, companies whose shares are dealt in on the unlisted securities market are not unquoted companies for this purpose.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what will be the inter-relationship between (a) Ministers and private sector lawyers, (b) hon. Members, (c) Government Whips and (d) Select Committees in respect of the contracting out of the drafting of Treasury legislation;(2) what measures he will take to prevent legal firms operating at below-cost prices to acquire contracts to draft Treasury legislation;(3) what safeguards will apply

My right hon. and learned Friend's plans to involve the private sector in drafting legislation for Treasury Ministers are as follows:Present practice is that most primary legislation in the areas of responsibility which fall to Treasury Ministers is drafted by Parliamentary Counsel. Officials in the Chancellor's Departments provide Parliamentary Counsel with instructions from which legislation is drafted, but none of the Chancellor's Department employs staff who themselves draft primary legislation.There have been occasions in the past where lawyers outside Parliamentary Counsel have been engaged in the drafting of primary legislation. My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is now setting up a pilot project to gain further experience of using the private sector in this area. Potential benefits could include: reducing time pressures caused by the volume of work facing existing draftsmen; widening the range of talent available to departments; bringing relevant specialist skills into the drafting process, and providing fresh thinking as to how our laws should be drafted.The pilot scheme will cover some aspects of the 1996 Finance Bill, and possibly also some secondary legislation.Treasury Ministers are still considering exactly which topics will be chosen for the pilot, but the bulk of the 1996 Finance Bill will continue to be drafted by Parliamentary Counsel in the usual way. Once the topics are selected, the contract or contracts will be let through competitive tender.Before the contract or contracts are signed, Treasury Ministers will need to satisfy themselves that the contractors chosen will be capable of doing the job well, that sensible financial arrangements are made, that adequate security measures are in place to protect classified information, and that potential conflicts of interest are avoided.The intention is that Inland Revenue and customs officials will deal directly with the contractors in much the same way as they deal with Parliamentary Counsel. It will be for the Revenue departments to give instructions to the contractors and for those departments to satisfy themselves that the draft legislation that is produced is of a satisfactory standard.Parliamentary Counsel will be responsible for the rest of the Finance Bill and for ensuring that the clauses and schedules drafted by the contractors are fitted into the Bill in the appropriate place.When the legislation comes before Parliament, Ministers will look to the contractors, working on instructions from officials, to draw up any Government amendments that are necessary, and to provide advice, for example, on the implications of any other amendments that are tabled. Contractors will be judged on the full range of services they provide.The fact that part of the Bill will have been drafted by private sector lawyers will not affect the relationships between Ministers and the House or Committees of it.The experiment will be closely monitored and will be subject to a full evaluation to consider the quality of drafting, other advice, whether timetables were met, security issues, and cost. The analysis of the cost will cover not only the fees for the pilot project, but also an assessment of any differential burden on Revenue department officials compared with using parliamentary counsel. One of the purposes of the pilot will be to look at the overall resources employed .by the contractors on the project to improve our understanding of the costs to the private sector of drafting legislation.The costs of the pilot will fall on departments' running costs. If necessary, the terms of the contract will deal with the possibility of late changes in policy or drafting instructions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all the schemes, activities and projects in which Brays Detective Agency has been retained and, in each case, the Government Department sponsoring the scheme and the total expenditure to date.

The Treasury has no schemes, activities or projects on which Brays Detective Agency has been retained; and it does not maintain records of other Government Departments' use of detective agencies.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to changing the rate of VAT on repairs to churches.

Repairs to all buildings, including churches, have been liable to the standard rate of VAT since 1973. The Government are opposed to further reduced rates as a matter of principle. The introduction of any zero rates, or reduced rates in this area, would also contravene the EC sixth VAT directive.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the reason for the decision that officials from the Treasury would not give oral evidence at the House of Lords Select Committee on Sustainable Development meeting on 7 February.

[holding answer 9 March 1995]: The Government's strategy for sustainable development is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. I was therefore not persuaded that it would be appropriate for Treasury officials to give oral evidence on the subject as a whole to the Committee on 7 February. Since then, the Committee has provided me with a list of questions relating to specific Treasury responsibilities and I have authorised my Department to submit a memorandum in response.The accountability of Ministers and the Government to Parliament has always been based on the principle that each Minister answers for subjects within his or her own departmental responsibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his objectives in the sale of the Transport Research Laboratory, and if he will make a statement.

I shall be seeking bids for the Transport Research Laboratory from a wide range of interests. My objectives are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusion he has reached on his Department's review of the system of economic regulation of airports; and if he will make a statement.

The review considered how the system of economic regulation established in the Airports Act 1986 had worked to date, and whether there was scope for improving the process of regulation. It was not concerned with the principles or methodology of regulation.Following consultation, my Department has identified a number of measures to improve the way the system works, including clarification of the procedures for regulation of airports and for handling of complaints, improved availability of information, and clarification of the criteria for designating airports under section 40 of the Airports Act 1986 for closer economic regulation. In addition, some measures have been identified which will require legislation; these will be taken forward when the opportunity arises. The main such change concerns the roles of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority in the regulation of the designated airports; it is proposed to adopt a regime based on what has become the "standard" model for the regulation of utilities. It is expected that the next quinquennial reviews of BAA's south-east airports and Manchester airport will proceed under the existing system.In the light of recommendations from the Select Committee on Scottish Affairs, we have also considered whether Glasgow and Edinburgh airports should be designated for the purposes of economic regulation. We have found no evidence of abuse of monopoly position or inefficiency and we have therefore concluded that there is no case at present for designating these airports.I am placing the report of the conclusions in the review in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to visit the Newbury constituency in the current year.

At present, I have no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether Pan Am flight 103 was under special guard at Heathrow airport from the time of arrival from San Francisco at 12.10 hours on 21 December 1994 until take-off for JFK airport, New York at 18.25 hours as described in page 14 of the fatal airport inquiry on the Lockerbie air disaster report.

From the evidence given to the fatal accident inquiry, and the earlier investigation by the Metropolitan police into the handling of this flight at Heathrow airport, my Department is satisfied that the Maid of the Seas was under constant supervision by security guards while between flights at the airport on 21 December 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those parts of the railway system which will have been privatised or put out to contract by April 1996.

[pursuant to his reply, 6 March 1995, c. 53]: Union Railways Ltd. and European Passenger Services Ltd. were omitted from the list of sales intended to April 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by classification society the number of ships detained by the Marine Safety Agency in the last two years.

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 contracts have been agreed by Railtrack for each section of the Great Western mainline, and each branch line, for track renewal, re-sleepering and re-ballasting, for 1995–96; and what has been the value of each contract and track length covered.

These activities form part of the track renewal work carried out under contract for Railtrack by that part of British Rail infrastructure services which the British Railways Board expect to. offer for sale as the Western track renewal unit later this year. In light of the expected sale, details of the contracts and their value are therefore commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much freight by tonnage has been transferred from road to the railway system (a) since 1 January 1992 and (b) since the opening of the channel tunnel rail link.

This information is not available in the form requested. Information on tonnages carried by rail can be found in table 1.12 of "Transport Statistics Great Britain 1994", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions currently exist on the maximum working and driving hours for mobile crane operators.

Drivers of mobile cranes are subject to national rules on drivers' hours in part VI of the Transport Act 1968, as amended. These limit driving to 10 hours a day. The rules also limit drivers to 11 hours duty each day, but not on days when they do not drive or when they drive for less than four hours on each day of the week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that vehicles hired for the transport of children to and from school have the appropriate licence or that local education authorities be empowered to issue a new form of licence specifically for school transport purposes.

All motor vehicles, including those used for school transport, are subject to the requirements of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and to annual roadworthiness testing. Public service vehicles must also satisfy additional construction requirements and be licensed through the operator licensing system under which their operators are subject to sanction by traffic commissioners if standards are not maintained.We do not consider further controls to be necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those sites where he is currently monitoring vehicle pollution stating in each case (a) what monitoring he is undertaking and (b) whether PM10 is counted.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pages of forms an applicant for a review of a refusal of an application for disability living allowance has to peruse; and how many pages an appellant has to peruse when making an appeal for disability living allowance, having being rejected on first consideration and review;

The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will reply to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much the Government have spent on the detection of benefit fraud for each year sine 1979.

Benefit fraud is investigated by the Benefits Agency, Employment Service and local authorities. Details of local authority expenditure on benefit fraud investigation are not held centrally.The Benefits Agency's expenditure on fraud investigation is only available for the last two years. Prior to the formation of the Benefits Agency, most anti-fraud work was integrated with benefit claims processing, and other mainstream local office activities, and separate cost data was not kept. However, the bulk of investigations are now carried out by separately managed units for which costs are known.

	£ million
1992–93	66
1993–94	69

These figures include staff and running costs, but not accommodation. Benefit savings for the same periods were £558 million and £654 million respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many post-1973 war widows have subsequently re-married in each year for which figures are available.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of living post-1973 war widows.

At 1 March 1995 war widows pensions were in payment to 3,151 widows of men whose

Average weekly income from state benefit and occupational pensions1
	Benefit income		Occupational pension2
	Over state pension age	55 to state pension age	Over state pension age	55 to state pension age
Couples3	107.40	74.00	92.00	129.20
Single people	71.40	69.40	52.90	63.20

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he (a) expects the. regulations restoring entitlement to part-time school workers for family credit to come into effect; if they will be retrospective; and if he will consider making ex gratia payments to those who do not qualify for income support.

The Income-related Benefits Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1995—SI 1995 No. 516—were laid before Parliament on 10 March 1995. Regulation 11 of these regulations provides for the hours of school workers and others with a similar pattern of employment to be averaged over termtime only for the purpose of determining whether or not they satisfy the condition of entitlement to family Service in the armed forces ended on or after 31 March 1973.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the additional cost of a flexible decade of retirement between the ages of 60 and 70, compared with the Government's proposals to equalise state pension age at 65.

The Government's plans already allow for indefinite flexibility after state pension age. From 2010, people will receive a 10 per cent. increase in their state pension for every year that they defer drawing it. To allow people to claim their full state pension from age 60, even if the flexibility were limited to a decade, would cost £13 billion a year more by 2030 than age 65.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total income of (a) pensioners and (b) others aged 55 years and over in 1992 from (i) retirement pension, (ii) invalidity benefit, (iii) disability benefits, (iv) widows' and widowers' benefits, (v) income support, (vi) occupational pensions and (vii) personal pensions and annuities.

Information is not available in the form requested. The table shows average net weekly incomes from all state benefits and from occupational pensions for people receiving those incomes aged over state pension age and between 55 and state pension age.credit commencing on or after 11 April 1995. It will not be retrospective. As all families have been able to claim their legal entitlement, we have no plans to make ex gratia payments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many acres of apple orchards were grubbed up in each of the past three years; what is the present level of application for the EU's grubbing-up grant; and if he will make a statement on the prospects for the Ulster apple industry.

No apple orchards were grubbed up in Northern Ireland in the last three years.The current apple orchard grubbing-up scheme has attracted three applicants with a total entry of 45.15 acres, or 18.28 hectares. I am hopeful that the industry will continue to make a valuable contribution to the Northern Ireland horticultural sector and to the food processing industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the terms of reference of the McKenna review into closer working relations between the Royal and City hospitals, Belfast.

The terms of reference for the acute services reorganisation project chaired by Dr. McKenna are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what humanitarian aid and development assistance is currently being given or is planned by the European Union for Angola.

Angola has a national indicative programme of 115 mecu, or (£93 million, under EDF VII—1991 to 1995—for long-term development assistance. In addition, a special six months humanitarian plan for 6 mecu, or £4.9 million, was agreed for Angola on 30 November 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the obstacles to agreement at the special Foreign Affairs Council in February on the size of the eighth European development fund for 1995 to 2000; and what are the time scale and approach that are going to be used to settle these disagreements.

The size of EDF VIII was not settled in February since the contributions offered by member states did not reach the target figure tabled by the presidency. Further discussions are envisaged at the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers on 18 and 19 March and at the Foreign Affairs Council on 10 April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what extent relief agencies providing humanitarian aid for the Kurds have been endangered by Iraqi Government shelling of Arbil in contravention of the safe haven policy instituted after the Gulf war.

We are concerned that relief workers may be endangered by indiscriminate Iraqi Government shelling of northern Iraq. We continue to press Iraq to abide by Security Council resolution 688, which calls on the Iraqi regime to cease repression of its own people.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the German Federal Audit Office's investigation into the value for money represented by the planned Arun III hydropower project in Nepal; and if he will make a statement;(2) what assessment he has made of the independent reports comparing the relative value for money of the Arun III hydropower project and the various possible alternative investments in Nepal's energy sector proposed by the Alliance for Energy and the Arun Concerned Group.

We have not seen the reports referred to.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the board of the World bank to consult as widely as possible to identify the most appropriate and effective power scheme for the sustainable development of Nepal before taking any final decision on funding for the Arun III hydropower project.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 30 January, Official Report, columns 480–81.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom executive director of the World bank to vote to allow the inspection panel to complete necessary field work for their investigation into the Arun III hydropower project before the Government of Nepal reach a final decision on funding.

The board has already decided that field work should commence only after the bank has received a decision from the Government of Nepal as to whether they wish to request IDA funding for the Arun III project.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs what plans he has to provide further aid to the Palestinians.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister today announced a new £7 million bilateral aid package for the Palestinians. Some £2 million of this will be provided for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's peace implementation programme. Some £5 million will be allocated to a know-how programme covering assistance for management training for the ministries of the Palestinian Authority, small-scale water and sewage treatment plants and water leak detection, health management and education, including English language teaching. We are also hoping to promote joint projects with UK private sector companies to help generate exports and employment in the west bank and Gaza strip. Basic training for the civil police will also be considered. In addition, $1 million will be given towards the costs of UNRWA's moving offices to Gaza.This will bring our total aid to the Palestinians in support of the peace process to £82 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) by what method the contract for orthopaedic out-patients was awarded to Health Care International by Forth Valley health board; and on what terms NHS providers were allowed to compete for the contract;(2) if he was consulted by Forth Valley health board before it provided Health Care International with the names and addresses of NHS orthopaedic out-patients awaiting appointments; and if he consented to this information being given to HCI without the knowledge of the patients concerned.

This is a matter for Forth Valley health board. It is appropriate for health boards to buy services from independent hospitals in order to reduce waiting times. I understand that in order to meet patients charter waiting time guarantees for orthopaedic out-patient appointments, the board carried out a tendering exercise, including NHS and independent providers, which was won by Health Care International.Individual patients, were then offered the choice of orthopaedic out-patient treatment at HCI. There is no requirement for the board to consult the Secretary of State before providing HCI with the names and addresses of those patients awaiting appointments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has concerning the promoting and publicising of National Continence Day on Wednesday 21 March; and if he will make a statement.

The Scottish Office is providing funding for the staffing of a telephone helpline at the continence resource centre, Southern General Hospital NHS trust, Glasgow from 6 March for a four-week period, including National Continence Day. Leaflets advertising the helpline and encouraging sufferers to seek help will be distributed to a range of outlets within and outwith the health sector. Advertisements are being placed in some Scottish newspapers and a press release will be issued on 20 March. The press release will include details of local continence adviser contact numbers and ethnic minority helpline numbers. A number of events are also being organised across the country by local health service professionals. The Scottish Office is happy to promote the campaign to increase awareness of this distressing condition and to encourage sufferers to seek advice and treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will present to the Select Committee on National Security the information from the Crown Office which caused Sheriff John Mowat QC to uphold the objection of Mr. Colin McEachran from the Department of Transport to any evidence in the Lockerbie case relating to the operation of intelligence agencies into the United Kingdom, as being contrary to the national interest, as stated on page 14 of the determination in the fatal accident inquiry relating to Lockerbie.

No such information was placed before Sheriff Principal Mowat QC by the Crown Office. The objection to evidence relating to the operation of the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom was made by counsel appearing on behalf of the Home Office and the Department of Transport. The fatal accident inquiry relating to Lockerbie was heard entirely in public and all information and evidence presented to the inquiry was heard in public.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether it was with the agreement of the Crown Office that ex-Chief Constable George Esson gave an interview to the Glasgow Herald on Lockerbie published on Monday 20 February.

Mr. George Esson, formerly chief constable, Dumfries and Galloway constabulary, did not seek the agreement of Crown Office in giving the interview to the Glasgow Herald published on 20 February 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what study the Crown Office have made of Mr. Alan Francovitie's response to ex-Chief Constable Esson, a copy of which has been sent to the Lord Advocate.

This article, like all items in the media relating to Lockerbie which come to their attention, has been considered by the prosecuting and investigating authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of probabilities, referred to in charge 10, page 15 of the report of the fatal accident investigation into the Lockerbie air disaster, of a suitcase with explosives arriving at Frankfurt on a flight or an airline, other than Pan American.

The assessment of probabilities by my noble and learned Friend the then Lord Advocate was reflected in the instruction to the procurator fiscal at Dumfries to request petition warrants for the two named accused on charges which alleged that the suitcase containing an improvised explosive device was placed on board Air Malta flight KM180 to Frankfurt am Main airport at Luqa airport, Malta and was at Frankfurt am Main airport placed on board Pan American World Airways flight 103A to London Heathrow airport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what record the Crown Office has of any onward confirmed ticket to New York from Luqa airport, Malta, in December 1988 via Frankfurt and Heathrow; and what estimate he has made of the evidence of Miss Milne on page 41 of the determination by Sheriff Mowatt QC in relation to Lockerbie and whether a bag could enter the inter-line system unless an onward confirmed ticket had been issued.

It is not the position of the Crown Office as reflected in the criminal petition against the two Libyan accused that the suitcase which contained the improvised explosive device was loaded at Luqa airport as luggage relating to a passenger travelling on such a route. The evidence of Miss Milne was considered along with all other evidence which was available to the Crown prior to the commencement of criminal proceedings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what official apologies have been given by the Scottish Office and the Crown Office to Dr. David Fieldhouse, police surgeon of Bradford, in relation to Lockerbie.

None. Counsel appearing on behalf of the chief constable for Dumfries and Galloway constabulary withdrew the suggestion the Dr. Fieldhouse had been unaccompanied during his searches at Lockerbie at the conclusion of his cross-examination of Dr. Fieldhouse on day 47 of the fatal accident inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hectares the Forestry Commission has planted during the last 10 years for which figures are available.

In the 10 years to 31 March 1994, the Forestry Commission planted 116,201 hectares of woodland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on the devolution of planning application fees to local authorities, and if he will make a statement.

In December 1993, my right hon. Friend announced that he would consider the issue of a consultation paper on the devolution of planning fees to local authorities. The policy initiative is still under consideration and further discussions will take place with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and other interested parties before a decision is taken on the most appropriate way forward.In the meantime, fees will continue to be set centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his decision following the shipping subsidies review in relation to shipping services on the west coast of Scotland.

After very careful and detailed consideration, I have concluded that tariff rebate subsidies on bulk freight to and from the west coast of Scotland should be progressively withdrawn. In order to avoid the possibility of immediate freight rate increases affecting commodities of significance for island residents, I intend to phase out the payment of TRS on some commodities over a period of three years. The TRS rate is currently 40 per cent. for imports to the Western Isles and 30 per cent. for exports from the Western Isles. As from 1 May 1995, I intend to set both rates at 30 per cent. followed by annual reductions to 20 per cent., 10 per cent. and zero from the beginning of each subsequent financial year. The tapering of subsidy over three years should provide existing companies with the opportunity to consolidate their market position, and make efficiency improvements, while at the same time enabling other companies to become increasingly competitive with those companies whose subsidy is reducing. I would expect to see a competitive market develop which would act as a constraint on freight rate increases.I have, however, concluded that there is scope for the exclusion of certain commodities from being eligible for TRS in a shorter period. As from 1 September 1995 the transport of raw timber, quarry products and road salt will no longer be eligible to receive TRS.I do not consider that the export of primary commodities requires continued subsidy. There are currently very substantial amounts of timber being extracted from the west coast of Scotland and forestry extraction is expected to more than double over the next 15 years. The shipping market needs to adjust to the scale of these operations; and I believe that continuation of TRS on timber is unnecessary and would distort the market. Quarry products and road salt currently receive a lower rate of subsidy than generally available. Given the low amount of subsidy currently payable on these commodities, I would expect efficiency savings to restrain any price increase.After consideration of representations received, I have been persuaded by the evidence put to me, that in relation to movements of fishmeal and fish oil from Shetland, complete withdrawal of subsidy on 1 May would be likely to have significant adverse effects on the industry; and that a period of adjustment is required. I have concluded that subsidy should be retained; and set, with effect from 1 May, at a rate of 30 per cent., followed by reductions to 20 per cent., 10 per cent. and zero from the beginning of each subsequent financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for shipping subsidies for sea transport services in the highlands and islands other than those provided by Caledonian MacBrayne; and if he will make a statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the estimates, I propose to make available in 1995–96 total subsidy provision under the tariff rebate subsidy scheme of £9.1 million. For services to Orkney and Shetland, tariff rebate subsidies of up to £8.3 million will be made available, and up to £800,000 will be available for bulk shippers operating on the west coast of Scotland and to and from the Northern Isles.The provision includes subsidy of up to £7.6 million to P and O Scottish Ferries Ltd. for the operation of passenger and accompanied car services for the year to 31 March 1996 and for freight services to 30 April 1995. As previously announced, I intend subject to the approval of Parliament and of the European Commission, to change the method of subsidy for passenger and accompanied car services to a block grant payable over a period of years in accordance with a contract to operate a specified level of service. I propose in due course to put the service out to competitive tender.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for an assessment of hygiene standards in Scottish abattoirs.

The hygiene assessment carried out on behalf of my Department covers five specific aspects of abattoir operations. These are ante-mortem inspection, slaughter and dressing, personnel and practices, maintenance and hygiene of premises and general condition and management.Hygiene standards in Scottish abattoirs are generally good, although my Department is making specific efforts to encourage those with lower scores to improve their standards. The table shows the results recorded at the latest inspection visit to each slaughterhouse in Scotland for the period ending November 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he is taking to combat sickness absenteeism in (a) Registers of Scotland, (b) the Scottish Prison Service, (c) the Scottish Record Office (d) the Lord Advocate's Department and (e) the Scottish Office.

[holding answer 7 March 1995]: Sickness absence is taken seriously by management and a number of local initiatives have been introduced with a view to reducing it to a minimum. In the Scottish Office, for example, managers are provided with regular information which enables them to monitor absences in their area. As well as taking steps to ensure greater control and management of sick absence, a number of health initiatives have been introduced, including the introduction of an alcohol policy, health screening for staff, the promotion of the benefits of exercise, a healthy life style and eating, the creation of a smoke-free environment and training in stress management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many letters were received in the Department from hon. Members last month.

[holding answer 22 February 1995]: A total of 474 letters were received from hon. Members in January 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many letters were sent to hon. Members last month by each Minister in the Department.

[holding answer 22 February 1995]: The information requested for January 1995 is as follows:

Minister	Number of letters sent to hon. Members
Secretary of State	54
Minister of State	119
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton	62
Sir Hector Monro	47
Mr. Allan Stewart	51

	Number of grant offers	Number of grant offers accepted	Jobs created	Value of grants£000	Total Project costs £000
Dover and Deal	4	2	35	140	1,248
Sittingbourne and Sheerness	21	16	304	844	8,784
Folkestone	6	4	115	460	4,288
Thanet	14	12	187	1,545	8,350
Isle of Wight	10	9	142	738	5,688

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the role of his special advisers employed to serve his Department.

[holding answer 7 March 1995]: My special advisers assist my colleagues and me with that part of their work which is partly governmental and partly political. Their duties vary.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to prevent delays in the Government office on Merseyside in processing objective 1 applications for ERDF funding.

One hundred and six applications have been approved in principle. Two have since been withdrawn. Forty-three grant offer letters have been issued. On 26 applications, further information is awaited from applicants. Thirty-five applications are currently with the Government office, where further information provided recently is being urgently assessed. These will be cleared as quickly as possible. Partners have been asked to ensure early provision of outstanding information, so that processing of all applications can be completed as soon as possible.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many grants have been offered under assisted area status; how many have been accepted; what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which should be created; and what was the total of public money spent and the total of the projects costs for (a) Dover/Deal, (b) Sittingbourne/Sheerness, (c) Folkestone, (d) Thanet and (e) the Isle of Wight.

The information requested, as at the end of January 1995, is as follows:

To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what dates he or his representatives (a) met and (b) plan to meet members of the Iraqi-British Interests Group after its visit to Baghdad.

My officials met members of the Iraqi-British Interests Group on 7 and 9 March; there are no further meetings currently planned.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the terms of the communications licences issued by him to the Iraqi-British Interests Group before its recent visit to Baghdad; who were the members of the group; and which firms they represented.

It has been the policy of successive Administrations not to comment on individual licencing cases unless the public interest outweighs the need for confidentiality.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what requests for export licences for the export of arms to Indonesia have been refused in the past 10 years.

The table shows the total number of export licence applications for goods on the military list of the Export of Goods (Control) Orders variously in force at the time.Information for earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Year	Refused
1991	2
1992	1
1993	0
1994	5
1995	0

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the purpose and outcome of the recent Department of Trade and Industry supported delegation to Angola.

The recent mission to Angola was the first foreign delegation to visit the country since the peace agreement was signed and the first UK mission since 1992. The mission was led by one of the Department's export promoters, David Chambers, on secondment from Hull Blythe—Angola.The purpose of the mission was to explore opportunities in the Angolan oil sector, a sector which has remained unaffected by the civil war and Angola's economic difficulties and which has been an area of considerable success for UK companies in the past. Our decision to mount the mission was prompted by increased interest in the area among UK companies, including recent new investment by BP and a joint venture success involving AMEC, and it proved to be a success. Mission members identified at least $1.5 billion worth of new business in the oil sector and the trip is expected to give rise to further business in due course.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has made to the US authorities since 1992 about concerns from British industry and commerce that Menwith Hill station, in north Yorkshire, is engaged in communications monitoring to the disadvantage of United Kingdom commercial interests.

[holding answer 9 March 1995]: My Department is investigating a report of interference from a radio station at Menwith Hill to a nearby radio station. The latter forms part of a network which provides a radio telephone service to airline passengers. No representations have been made to the US authorities.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received from United Kingdom industry and commerce about commercial espionage; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 9 March 1995]: None.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the percentage of unpaid telephone bills, in arrears, at the end of the last financial year.

[holding answer 13 March 1995]: This is a matter for the telecommunications operators.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures he is taking to combat sickness absenteeism in (a) Companies House, (b) the National Weights and Measures Agency, (c) the Accounts Services Agency, (d) the Patent Office, (e) the Insolvency Service, (f) NEL and (g) his Department.

[holding answer 9 March 1995]: I have asked the chief executives of the agencies to write to the hon. member. As far as my Department is concerned the management of sickness absence has been identified as a priority for line managers, with an overall target of reducing this absence to the current level of similar organisations in the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give an account of decisions taken in the European Community Council of Ministers meeting on 9 March; if he will make it his policy that the United Kingdom will not accept majority voting on European Community immigration policy or visa policy; and if he will make a statement.

The main results of the Council were as follows.The member states signed a convention on simplified extradition procedures. This was the first convention to be adopted under the third pillar of the treaty on European Union.In accordance with proposals originally put forward by the United Kingdom, the Council agreed in principle to focus in the short term on the preparation of a legally binding instrument on fraud affecting the Community budget that would deal only with key elements. This should enable the Council to meet the European Council's request that agreement on a legally binding instrument on this subject should be reached in the first half of 1995, and would be without prejudice to the continuation of more detailed work on fraud against the Community budget. The Government welcome this further progress in the fight against fraud.The Council noted progress on the development of a convention covering jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial cases, known as the Brussels convention II. It agreed that officials should continue work with a view to the first part of the convention covering scope and jurisdiction, being concluded by June.The Council adopted a joint action extending the remit of the Europol drugs unit in The Hague to cover the fight against illegal trade in radioactive and nuclear materials, the smuggling of persons, vehicle trafficking and associated money laundering operations.The Council considered the outstanding issues arising from the draft Europol convention and instructed officials to continue to work to resolve them in the light of the views that had been expressed.The Council requested the Committee of Permanent Representatives to consider remaining points of difficulty on the draft convention establishing a customs information system.The Council reached broad agreement on the text of a regulation on a uniform format for visas, subject to a parliamentary scrutiny reserve entered by the UK pending debate in Parliament on the draft external frontiers convention and related matters.The Council adopted a resolution on minimum guarantees for asylum procedures. The UK made a declaration that it would apply the prescribed procedures relating to any applications by nationals of member states to the extent permitted by domestic legislation.Significant differences of view emerged during discussion of a draft resolution on burden sharing of temporarily displaced persons, on which the Council commissioned further work by officials.The Council approved the third pillar contribution to the European Union's strategy on racism and xenophobia which will be considered by the European Council meeting at Cannes.Immigration and visa matters are generally handled, in the European Union context, under the provisions of title VI—the third pillar—of the treaty of European Union. Proceedings under title VI are subject to a unanimity voting regime, and it is the Government's policy to ensure that this is maintained. The Community has competence under article 100c of the treaty of Rome only in relation to the common visa list and a uniform visa format. Article 100c provides that the uniform visa format is already subject to qualified majority voting: the common visa list will be subject to qualified majority voting from 1 January 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on community sentencing.

I will tomorrow lay before Parliament and publish a Green Paper which invites views on wide-ranging proposals intended to strengthen and simplify the arrangements for the punishment of offenders in the community.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future policing arrangements for the new unitary district of Powys.

I have consulted the forces, police authorities and local authorities in the area on the future policing arrangements for the new unitary district of Powys. In the light of the replies received, I have decided that the Dyfed Powys constabulary shall be responsible for policing the whole of the new district from 1 April 1996.An order will be made in due course, under section 21A of the Police Act 1964, as inserted by section 14 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994, to give effect to this decision, following discussions with the police authorities and forces concerned on the details of its content.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution is made by his Department to local police authority budgets to cover their responsibilities in providing necessary assistance to truck cargo heavy duty mark II vehicles.

The level of assistance provided is an operational matter for the chief constable. Any costs are provided for in the same way as for other forms of policing.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cautions were issued by police forces in England and Wales in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Information on the number of persons cautioned by police force area is published annually in the "Criminal Statistics England and Wales", supplementary tables, Vol 3; table S3.7A of the 1990 edition and table S3.6A of the 1991 to 1993 editions refer to this. Copies of these publications are available in the Library.1994 data will not be available until autumn 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if Government Communications Headquarters staff at Menwith Hill station are required to obtain warrants signed by him before intercepting domestic and international phone calls made in or from the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 13 March 1995]: No. All interception of communications on public telecommunications systems in the United Kingdom is subject to the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act 1985, but ministerial responsibility for GCHQ is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of applications for asylum in 1994 by (a) nationality and (b) location of application.

The information requested is given in the table.

Applications1 for asylum, received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, by nationality and location where made, 1994
Number of principal applicants
	Applied at port	Applied in-country	Total
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria	15	215	235
Colombia	275	130	405
Czechoslovakia	5	5	10
Poland	140	220	360
Romania	60	300	355
Former Soviet Union	50	540	595
Turkey	595	1,450	2,045
Former Yugoslavia	310	1,075	1,385
Others	300	560	865
Total	1,755	4,495	6,250
Middle East
Iran	135	385	520
Iraq	250	300	550
Lebanon	70	145	215
Others	340	355	695
Total	795	1,185	1,985
Africa
Algeria	130	865	995
Angola	155	455	605
Cameroon	10	65	75
Ethiopia	150	580	730
Ghana	445	1,590	2,035
Ivory Coast	425	280	705
Kenya	655	475	1,130
Liberia	80	55	140
Nigeria	500	3,840	4,340
Sierra Leone	960	850	1,810
Somalia	785	1,055	1,840
South Africa	40	45	85
Sudan	75	255	330
Togo	10	45	55
Uganda	105	255	360
Zaire	360	415	775
Others	370	585	950
Total	5,245	11,715	16,960
Asia
Afghanistan	250	75	325
China	275	150	425
India	275	1,755	2,030
Pakistan	200	1,610	1,810
Sri Lanka	1,270	1,080	2,350
Others	40	530	575
Total	2,310	5,205	7,515
Other and unknown nationalities	125	—	125
Grand Total	10,230	22,600	32,830
1Figures rounded to the nearest 5.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants refused asylum, having lost their appeal against the asylum decision, subsequently appealed against deportation in 1994.

The information requested is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition of a hunger strike is used by his Department; and what action is taken by police or prison staff when hunger strikes occur.

A hunger strike is a situation in which an individual refuses to take food and/or fluid.The management and care of prisoners in Prison Service custody who refuse food and/or fluid is governed by the necessity to identify the underlying reasons for such refusal to eat or drink. There is also a necessity to distinguish between those who refuse while of sound mind and those who refuse at a time when, because of a mental illness, they are unable to make a rational judgment.The governor and prison medical officer are informed of any prisoners not taking food or fluids. The refusal is recorded in the returned food book, which is signed daily by a medical officer. If the food and/or fluid refusal continues, the prisoner will be admitted to the health care centre or transferred to another prison with a higher level of nursing care. For those patients with impaired capacity for rational judgment, arrangements will be made to transfer them to a national health service psychiatric hospital for treatment under the terms of the Mental Health Act.Once in the health care centre, the patient's condition is monitored on a daily basis by the prison medical officer, together with a consultant psychiatrist. If refusal persists, a specialist physician will be called in. Fluid is always available, and food is available each meal-time. The patient will be given every encouragement to resume feeding.In the case of those whose mental capacity is not impaired, the medical officer will clarify the extent of the refusal, and inform the patient of the following:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total of fines (a) imposed and (b) collected by magistrates and Crown courts in Wales in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Information held centrally, which is given in the table, shows the number of fines and the value of the amounts issued by type of court in Wales for 1990 to 1993.1994 data will not be available until the autumn.Information is not collected centrally by my Department on the amounts of fines paid.

Fines data for Wales by type of court 1990 to 1993
Court/year	Number of fines	Amount issued £
Magistrates courts
1990	129,277	8,851,600
1991	102,425	7,077,700
1992	117,729	8,586,000
1993	100,893	9,082,700
Crown court
1990	640	162,400
1991	610	231,000
1992	651	130,300
1993	356	91,800

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables were employed by the Welsh police forces in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

The number of special constables employed by the Welsh police forces in each year since 1990 is as follows:

As at 31 December	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Dyfed-Powys	210	315	260	271	306
Gwent	76	80	101	109	124
North Wales	199	256	295	298	315
South Wales	257	352	432	534	488
Total	742	1,003	1,088	1,212	1,233

The Government have set forces a target of increasing the number of special constables in England and Wales to 30,000 by 1996. This is an increase of 10,000 on present strength.As a result of the current national advertising campaign comprising both television commercials and press advertisements, inquiries and preliminary application forms received to date are as follows:

As at 3 March 1995	Enquiry	Application
Dyfed-Powys	35	14
Gwent	199	60
North Wales	20	4
South Wales	772	265
Total	1,026	343

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 March, Official Report, column 655, when he proposes to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the Republic of Ireland; and if he will list those countries (a) with which the United kingdom has negotiated such bilateral agreements and (b) with which bilateral agreements are being negotiated.

[holding answer 13 March 1995]: Following the implementation of the Football Spectators Act 1989, which extends only to England and Wales, we invited all countries who were members of the Union of European Football Associations, including the Republic of Ireland, to enter into bilateral agreements on corresponding offences. Following the disorder in Dublin on 15 February, my officials will again be raising with their Irish counterparts the prospects of an agreement.We have also encouraged other member states which have ratified the 1985 European convention on spectator violence and misbehaviour at sports events and in particular at football matches to enter into such agreements with us.Currently, we have bilateral agreements only with Scotland, Sweden and Italy. Unfortunately, it has not so far proved possible to reach more agreements. The negotiations themselves are usually long and tortuous, exacerbated by the fundamental differences between our legal system and that of the other country. Some countries see the restriction order, as set out in the 1989 Act, as a further criminal penalty which could be in breach of their own legal code through punishing a person twice for the same offence. There are also difficulties in the definitions of what constitutes a football-related offence in another country and whether they correspond to those offences set out in schedule 1 to the 1989 Act. Some countries, where hooliganism is not a significant problem, may not share the same priority in reaching an agreement over something which does not concern their own citizens, but only hooligans from this country. In some cases, on all but the most serious offences, a country may simply prefer as a matter of policy to deport a hooligan quickly without a court appearance, thereby removing the basis of a possible bilateral agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 27 February, Official Report, column 408, what proposals he has to introduce legislation to provide a separate power to prevent a person subject to a restriction order from leaving the country at the stipulated time.