To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking in respect of BAA's application for an increase in the air transport movements limit at Stansted airport.[5949]

We are today beginning consultation on raising the limit on air transport movements at Stansted. This follows the application by BAA plc, the airport operator, to increase the limit to 150,000 movements each year. The Department is seeking views on this option, as well as on an alternative option of increasing the limit to 120,000 movements a year.When planning permission was granted for the development of Stansted, an upper limit was placed on the number of air transport movements each year to ensure that the local infrastructure could cope with air traffic growth. We now need to decide whether it is time to increase that upper limit, and if so by how much, taking account of local interests and without unduly restricting the airport's ability to grow.The Department will be seeking the views of airlines, local authorities and other interested parties. Copies of the consultation document have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimate saving to businesses from the Deregulation (Motor Vehicles Tests) Order 1996. [5556]

The estimated annual potential benefit to both business and private motorists is £3 million. It is not possible to apportion that estimate between the two categories of vehicle user without disproportionate effort.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will show for all consultants and other outside organisations or individuals currently or previously employed by his Department for advice or assistance in rail privatisation (a) the name of the consultancy, organisation or individual, (b) the length of the contract offered to each consultancy, organisation or individual, (c) the total amount inclusive of VAT paid to date to each consultancy, organisation or individual and (d) the services required by his Department from each consultancy, organisation or individual; and if he will make a statement. [270]

[pursuant to his reply, 22 November 1995, c. 142–43]: Information about payments to individual contractors is commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those consultants, outside organisations and individuals employed to date by his Department to assist with the franchising of ScotRail. [5507]

No advisers have been appointed to assist exclusively with the franchising of ScotRail, but a number of advisers have been appointed to assist on a range of issues relating to rail privatisation. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Ms Jackson) on earlier today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has had with the Director General of the Office of Rail Franchise Regulation concerning issues of competition relevant to the preferred bidder status of the Western Region management team and First Bus for the Great Western passenger rail franchise and the dominant supplier position of First Bus in bus transport on the Cardiff-Swansea express bus route; and if he will make a statement. [5418]

[holding answer 11 December 1995]: Any competition issues raised by a rail franchise bid are for the franchising director, the Rail Regulator and the Director General of Fair Trading. My Department has been involved in discussions of a general nature.The Railways Act 1993 confers on the Rail Regulator the functions of the Director General of Fair Trading with respect to any monopoly situation or anti-competitive practice relating to the supply of railway services. Qualifying mergers are investigated by the Office of Fair Trading under the Fair Trading Act 1973.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list (a) in total and (b) in each region, the number of lollipop (i) men and (ii) women employed in each year since 1979, and if he will make a statement; [5364](2) what is the average wage for lollipop

The information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many foreign-owned British-registered fishing vessels are (a) demersal vessels of 10 m and (b) beamers of 10 m; and what are their engine capacities and lengths. [4969]

[holding answer 8 December 1995]: The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department gives to local authorities to determine traffic regulation orders; and what procedures are available to the public to object to such orders. [5246]

Statutory procedures for local authorities to make traffic regulation orders in England and Wales under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 are set out in the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/1120), as amended by the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/1500). These include requirements to consult parties that appear likely to he affected, to advertise the proposal and provide a general opportunity for objections to be submitted, and to give such objections due consideration before an order is made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to uprate annually the "amount per kilo" calculation for lost baggage compensation on airlines under the Carriage By Air (Sterling Equivalents) Order 1986. [4822]

My right hon. Friend expects to make a new Carriage by Air (Sterling Equivalents) Order early in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to encourage other European partners to ratify the 1975 Montreal protocol relating to compensation levels for lost baggage so that provisions under the protocol can be brought into force. [4823]

The Government acknowledge that liability limits established by the Warsaw convention 1929 and the Hague protocol 1955 are inadequate. Montreal additional protocol No. 3, which includes provision for updating liability limits for baggage, is unlikely to come into force in the immediate future. We have therefore been exploring within the European Civil Aviation Conference alternative means of increasing liability limits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicles over 25 years of age are currently registered in the Sheffield area. [5243]

An estimated 18,250 vehicles over 25 years of age are currently licensed in the Sheffield post town area. Of these, 11,550 are in private and light goods, motorcycle or tricycle taxation classes and will qualify for exemption from vehicle excise duty as a result of the vehicle taxation changes announced in the Budget on 28 November 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with London Transport in respect of the design of the smart card currently being considered by London Regional Transport with particular reference to data protection matters. [5339]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what occasions certificates under section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 were signed by a member of his Department; for how long each certificate was valid; if he will make a statement on the other circumstances in which vehicle owner records or driver licence details can be used for the purpose of safeguarding national security; to what extent circumstances will extend to the digitised form of the photograph on the new driving licence; and if he will make a statement. [5340]

Certificates under section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 must be signed by a member of the Cabinet or the Attorney-General or the Lord Advocate. The Secretary of State for Transport has not signed such a certificate. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is registered under the Act.I also refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 25 January 1995,

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on official hospitality in 1994–95 and the financial year to date; and what is the 1995–96 projected budget for official hospitality. [5579]

The Department of Transport, excluding its agencies, spent £127,247 on official hospitality in 1994–95. The overall budget for 1995–96, which now also includes some non-entertainment costs such as those for eyesight test for VDU users, is £202,524, of which £84,351 has so far been spent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on furnishing and decorating ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last three years. [5562]

The annual costs for the Department of Transport are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the first annual report of the president of the special educational needs tribunal will be published; and if she will make a statement. [5845]

The report has been published today, and copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what studies her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated of the net Exchequer costs of moving disabled persons off benefits and on to supported placement schemes; if she will list the (a) calculations and (b) conclusions contained in these studies; and if she will estimate the costs involved in respect of Remploy's employees. [4691]

A 1989 study "The Net Exchequer Costs of Sheltered Employment" examined these issues. It is available in the Library. More recently, the Department has commissioned a study by the Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities to look at the effectiveness of supported employment agencies, which among other things will revisit some of the issues of the earlier study. This study has not yet been completed, and we will consider its findings in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average standard spending assessment provision for (a) primary pupils and (b) secondary pupils in each English county in 1995–96 and 1996–97, in current prices. [4919]

The table sets out each English shire authority's education standard spending assessment per five to 10-year-old and per 11 to 15-year-old for the relevant years in cash terms. The figures for 1996–97 are provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her most recent estimate of the number of local education authorities that do not make discretionary awards to students of dance and drama. [4957]

Discretionary awards are a matter for local education authorities. The Department does not collect data on the discretionary awards policies of individual authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consideration has been given to health and safety issues in the context of increases in class size. [5286]

Local education authorities and school governors have a general duty to ensure that school premises are safe. They will obviously want to bear that duty in mind in considering how to accommodate any increase in pupil numbers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the application of the Government's policy on age discrimination in respect of the training and enterprise council operating agreement with regard to priority for training for work for particular age groups. [5397]

No one has priority for entry to training for work solely on the grounds of age. Priority for entry to training for work is given to people who are regarded as being seriously disadvantaged in the labour market. This includes 18 to 24-year-olds who have been unemployed for two years or more. Priority comes into effect only when there is a waiting list for entry. It is unlikely that this has occurred in practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the function of classroom assistants; what is her policy on the extent to which they are expected to engage in formal class teaching; and what guidance her Department issues regarding their engagement and use. [5351]

Decisions on the engagement and deployment of classroom assistants are for headteachers and governors in consultation with the teaching staff whose work is to be supported. The Department is currently funding a pilot programme of training for specialist teacher assistants, and has defined the competences that this group of assistants will need to offer effective support to classroom teachers, principally at key stage 1, in the teaching of the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the number of staff within jobcentres who are in receipt of family credit. [5426]

This information is not available from the Department for Education and Employment as individuals are required to contact social security (income support) directly if they wish to apply for family credit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the number of jobs in the construction industry which would be created by a building programme of 35,000 homes in one year. [5325]

The Department has made no such assessment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment she has made of the performance of the Quantock school, Somerset to establish if it meets the standards required by her Department. [5461]

Standards at independent schools are monitored through educational inspection by Ofsted and, in the case of boarding schools, by local services departments for child welfare provision. Inspectors from Ofsted and Somerset social services department have visited Quantock school this year and reported that provision meets the minimum standards required by the Education Act 1944, as amended.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of firms closed down in each year as a consequence of the actions of VAT inspectors for each year since 1979 by county. [5362]

[holding answer 11 December 1995]: Figures are not available prior to 1986 and are not available at all by county.The number of bankruptcy and winding-up orders made by the courts following petitions laid by Customs and Excise in respect of VAT debts was:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the value of the United Kingdom equity market was (a) in the hands of private shareholders and (b) held by pension funds for each year since 1979. [1460]

The information requested is available for the years 1981, and 1989 to 1993 only. Details are in the table.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the change in take-home pay after tax and inflation for a one-earner couple on average male earnings with two children for the years (a) 1978–79 and 1996–97 (b) 1991–92 and 1996–97 and (c) 1995–96 and 1996–97. [3729]

The estimates are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was (a) consumption as a proportion of gross domestic product and (b) consumer credit per capita in 1979, 1985, 1988 and 1994. [4508]

The information requested for 1990 onwards, for consumption as a proportion of gross domestic product, can be derived from table 2.2 of "Economic Trends", November 1995 edition, No. 505, which is available in the House of Commons Library. Figures for earlier years are available in "Economic Trends" annual supplement, 1996 edition. They are also held on the Central Statistical Office database which can be accessed by the Library. The CSO database identifiers are:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to tables 1.3, 7.1 and 10.4 in the latest report on the family expenditure survey, what was the average weekly expenditure in 1994–95 of all non-retired households on (i) contributions to pension and superannuation funds deducted by employees, (ii) personal pensions and (iii) national insurance contributions paid by employees, by gross income decile or quintile group. [5010]

Estimates of the average weekly expenditure on these items by households where the head of household is non-retired are given below. The figures are estimates from the FES, and are subject to sampling variations. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10p.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will raise the subject of the consequences of EU member states' attempts to meet the Maastricht convergence criteria at the EU Finance Council in Brussels on 11 December. [5647]

The ECOFIN Council provisionally scheduled for 11 December was cancelled as work on preparation for the Madrid Council had been satisfactorily completed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish and lay before Parliament the Inland Revenue's report on tax simplification. [5951]

The Inland Revenue report, entitled "The Path to Tax Simplification", has today been laid before Parliament in accordance with section 160 of the Finance Act 1995.I warmly welcome this report. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his Budget statement that tax law has become too long and complicated and that he proposed that the Revenue tax code be rewritten in plain language.This report suggests a practical way forward to deal with this issue. Its central proposal is a major project to rewrite tax law in clearer and simpler language. This would reduce the compliance costs which the tax system imposes, in one way or another, on every taxpayer in the country. It would also support the Government's deregulation initiative, the system of self-assessment we are introducing, and the Revenue's continuing efforts to improve customer service, quality and cost-efficiency in all its work.A number of practical issues need further consideration including the parliamentary implications for dealing with the rewritten tax legislation. Meanwhile, the Chancellor has asked the Inland Revenue to proceed with preparatory work.In addition to the report, the Inland Revenue has today issued "The Path to Tax Simplification—a background paper", which contains further material on tax simplification. This document has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Both documents will be on sale to the public from today.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will visit the Campbell Soups Homepride plant in Mary port. [3603]

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 12 December. [3940]

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 12 December 1995. [3942]

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) what public records exist covering the purchase and early history of (a) the imperial state crown of George I, (b) the coronation crown of George IV and (c) the crown of Queen Adelaide; [5282](2) what representations he has received about the ownership and future of the imperial crown of George I, the coronation crown of George IV and the crown of Queen Adelaide; [5280](3) what is his policy on the future of the imperial crown of George I, the imperial state crown of George IV and the crown of Queen Adelaide. [5281]

So far as I am aware, I have received no representations about the ownership and future of these crown frames. I understand that the crown frames have been acquired by Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei and that the prince has most generously decided to present them to the nation. The applications for licences to export the frames have accordingly been withdrawn. A public record concerning the crown frames is in the annual report of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art, 1994–95, which was placed in the Library of the House on 24 October 1995.

To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements have been made to appoint a commissioner under the Security Services Act 1989 when Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's appointment expires on 17 December 1995. [5844]

Lord Justice Stuart-Smith has accepted re-appointment for a further two years until 14 December 1997.

To ask the Prime Minister how much has been spent on furnishing and decorating ministerial offices in his Department in each of the last three years. [5558]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will impose a universal service obligation on broadcasters on the introduction of digital terrestrial television. [5240]

The term "universal service obligation" is used in telecommunications to mean a requirement on a provider to enable consumers, regardless of where they live, to be connected to networks at an affordable price. There is no exact parallel with digital terrestrial television, where constraints on frequency availability mean that it will not be possible in the short-term for all new services to be made available to all consumers in the United Kingdom.The Government's policy document, "Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting", Cm 2946, published on 10 August, made clear that two of the key criteria on which applications from prospective multiplex providers would be judged would be their proposals to maximise the number of viewers who can be reached by digital terrestrial television, and their proposals to promote the take-up of digital receiving equipment, including through ensuring that it is made available at an affordable price. Analogue television transmissions will be maintained until a broadly similar proportion of the population as is now able to receive them can receive digital broadcast. No one will lose services that they are currently able to receive.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much has been spent to date on the national lottery in each region of England and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. [4540]

This is an operational matter for Camelot Group plc. The director general of the national lottery, Peter Davies has licensed Camelot to run the national lottery and he regulates its operations. I have therefore asked the director general to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many cable licences have not been acted upon and have lapsed. [4947]

Eight licences have been revoked because of the failure of the licensee to implement his proposals. In six of these cases, the area has been readvertised and new licences awarded in respect of five; an application for the sixth is currently under consideration by the Independent Television Commission. The remaining two licences have not yet been readvertised.

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many hon. Members have used the facility for visiting Brussels in each year since its inception.

The facility for hon. Members to visit institutions of the European Community in Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg was introduced on 1 January 1992. For the purposes of the Resolution, the year begins on 1 April.The number of visits by hon. Members to Brussels, for each year since the inception of the facility, is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish information on the management costs of NHS trusts in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [6023]

NHS trusts are now required to publish their management costs in their audited annual accounts. The accounts most recently published are for the financial year 1994–95. The following table shows the management costs of NHS trusts in Wales for that year, as audited and reported in their accounts, in cash terms and as a percentage of each trust's income.The definition of management used is the M1 figure devised by the Audit Commission. It includes the salaries of all managers—except those who are primarily clinicians—who earn more than £20,000 per year, and of managers in a few other specified posts regardless of salary, and the costs of management consultancy.Hospitals and other services which are not part of a trust or did not become trusts until April 1995 are not included in the table.Alongside ever-improving health, service and choice, first-class stewardship of resources is a key task for the health service. That is why, in "Caring for the Future", we set the target of transferring £12.5 million per year from management to patient care in the period from 1994–95 to 1996–97. Trusts in Wales are playing an essential part in this, and with the publication of trust management costs this year we can see the first fruits of that policy.The figures are lower than they would otherwise be because of the transfers that have already been made. I expect next year's figures to be lower still, as they will reflect some of the transfers being made in the present

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of workers on adult rates currently earn less than (a) £2.50, (b) £3, (c) £3.50, (d) £4, (e) £4.50, (f) £5, (g) £5.50, (h) £6.50, per hour, including and excluding overtime distinguishing between manual and non-manual, male and female and part-time workers. [4944]

The information is shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of full-time workers on adult rates currently earn less than (a) £100, (b) £150, (c)£200, and (d) £250 per week, (i) including and (ii) excluding overtime. [4945]

The information requested is shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Newport, East (Mr. Flynn) of 4 December, Official Report, columns 7–8, if he will make a statement on the criteria he used to calculate levels of employment and unemployment. [5012]

The figures used are from the claimant unemployment count as published monthly by the Central Statistical Office. For Wales as a whole, seasonally adjusted figures are available and used for month-to-month comparisons because they avoid the distortion of seasonal variation. Below this geographical level only unadjusted figures are published by the CSO, so where individual counties and parliamentary constituencies are compared with Wales, unadjusted figures are used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in diesel fuel duty in his Budget statement on the operation of bus services.[5306]

This increase is very small in terms of the overall operational costs of bus services. There is, therefore, no reason for it to have significant impact on the levels of services. It should encourage the operators to be more efficient in their use of fuel, and reduce emissions from public service vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to maintain the frequency of local bus services. [5307]

Bus operators must be free to respond to changes in the market. It is for county councils to ensure that essential public transport services are provided where these cannot be provided commercially.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement on the National Rivers Authority's proposed amendment to change the finish of the salmon and sea trout fishing season to 7 October, and its impact on fishing tourism in south-west Wales; [5374](2) what assessments he has made of the impact of the National Rivers Authority's proposed amendment to the rod and line byelaws on fishing tourism in south-west Wales. [5375]

I understand that the NRA is intending to amend its byelaws to conserve fish stocks. It has not yet submitted the byelaws for confirmation, but when it does so I shall consider the case for the amendments along with the comments of all objectors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh health common services authority concerning the effects on charges to NHS trusts in Wales for the authority's services of the authority reducing its occupancy of Crickhowell house to (a) less than 75 per cent. (b) less than 50 per cent. (c) less than 25 per cent. of the office space; and if the charges will reflect the rent paid by the authority for the whole building; [5640](2) what agreement he has reached with the prescription pricing division of the health common services authority in relation to its relocation from Crickhowell house, Cardiff bay; and what agreement he has made with the chairman of the Welsh health common services authority in respect of the market rent for the prescription pricing division in

My Department is discussing these matters with the authority. The whole of the building has been leased for 25 years from 31 August but there is provision for sub-letting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh health common services authority concerning special redundancy terms for current employees of the authority over 50 years of age. [5638]

None. Following discussions with my Department the authority will be introducing a voluntary redundancy scheme in due course in line with criteria which it will he establishing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees giving their full-time equivalents, there were in his Department on 31 December in each year since 1993; and what are the planned figures for 31 December 1996. [5644]

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with trade unions regarding compliance with European Union directives on large-scale redundancies in respect of his Department's current staff reductions and redundancies programme. [5641]

Consultation on the current staff reductions has taken place with the trade unions in my Department on the basis of the appropriate departmental Whitely Council agreements. The consultations comply with the provisions of the relevant European directives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many medical and nursing staff were working in occupational health within the national health service in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and if he will list the grades of those employees.[5428]

Information on nursing staff working in occupational health is not available centrally. Information on the whole-time equivalent number of medical staff whose main specialty was occupational health is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia in respect of the problem of non-payment and late payment for medical products exported to these countries by Smith and Nephew. [5241]

Smith and Nephew has not approached us about their payment problems with Iran. But the ECGD are dealing with both pre and post-revolutionary insured debt repayment matters in Iran. Current commercial debt claims by United Kingdom creditors are being administered through Credit Suisse in London.Our embassy in Riyadh has addressed with the Saudi Government the question of payment arrears, particularly for medical supplies, including payments owed for deliveries from Smith and Nephew. A number of outstanding payments have issued in 1995, but considerable sums remain outstanding and our embassy continues to seek early payment of the remainder.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from (a) Smith and Nephew and (b) other United Kingdom manufacturers about the difficulty of securing payments for goods exported to Iran and Saudi Arabia. [5242]

We have not received any representations from Smith and Nephew or other manufacturers about securing payment from Iran.We have not had any approaches from Smith and Nephew about Saudi Arabia, but the company informed my right hon. Friend the Member for Chippenham (Mr. Needham), the then Minister of Trade, in June of its debt problem with Saudi Arabia. We have also had approaches from a number of other United Kingdom manufacturers. Some have been paid; most, like pharmaceutical companies, which supply on a regular basis, have been paid some of their older outstanding debts but one is still about a year in arrears.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil service personnel in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are located in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland. [5106]

At 1 April 1995, the latest date for which data are available, the figures were:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) nationality and (b) location of each diplomatic mission located in Scotland; and what representations he has received regarding the closure of these missions.[5107]

There are no diplomatic missions located in Scotland; there are, however, 84 consular posts representing 37 countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the outcome of his immigration appeal in Leeds on 16 August 1995; and when Mohammed Rafiq will be allowed to enter the United Kingdom to join his wife. [4996]

Mr. Rafiq's appeal was successful and he has now been medically cleared. Entry clearance will be granted on application to the high commission at Islamabad.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what quota system the British embassy in Moscow applies for the approval of visitors' visas for Russian applicants hoping to come to Britain. [5376]

There is no quota system. Each application is considered on its merits by an entry clearance officer and in accordance with the requirements of the immigration rules.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total number of Russian visitors' visas granted in the current year to date. [5378]

In the first 11 months of 1995, the British embassy in Moscow issued 86,085 United Kingdom and Commonwealth-dependent territory visas, of which 84,315 were UK visa issues for Russians. During that same period, the British consulate general in St. Petersburg issued 15,164 UK and Commonwealth-dependent territory visas, of which 15,147 were UK visa issues for Russians.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria are used by the British embassy in Moscow to determine which visitors' visa applications from Russian citizens are approved. [5377]

Entry clearance officers at the British embassy in Moscow consider all visa applications in accordance with the requirements of the immigration rules, as is the case at all our entry clearance issuing posts overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total cost to date of consultancy payments made to firms in relation to work carried out to develop his Department's plans for the proposed sell-off its housing stock. [5379]

No payments have been made to date in relation to such work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent on the residence of the former British high commissioner in Kiribati on (a) the sub-lease, (b) ground rent and (c) fixtures, fittings and furnishings since the property was acquired on 31 March 1984. [5484]

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the residence of the former British high commissioner in Kiribati is to be handed over with fixtures, fittings and furnishings still in place; and if he will make a statement. [5485]

All fixtures, fittings and furnishings of any value have been removed for use elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what use the former British high commissioner's residence in Kiribati is to be put after handover to the Kiribati Government; and if he will make a statement. [5486]

This will be for the Government of Kiribati to decide.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the locations of British high commissioners' residences overseas; which buildings are sited on foreign Government-owned land and sub-leased to the British Government on terms similar to the Kiribati property; and if he will make a statement. [5487]

A list of the locations of British high commissioners' residences is given in "A". A list of those sited on foreign Government-owned land and sub-leased on terms similar to those for the high commissioner's residence in Kiribati is in list "B".

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the British high commissions that have closed in the last five years; how each property has been disposed of; what was the original purchase price and the sale price obtained for each property where appropriate; and if he will make a statement. [5488]

The only high commission to have closed in the last five years is that in Kiribati. The high commission offices have been transferred to the Overseas Development Administration. It is intended that the former high commissioner's residence should be handed over to the Government of Kiribati. Details of the cost of sub-lease purchase and ground rent are in my earlier answer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general practitioner, (b) consultant (c) junior doctor and (d) nursing midwifery posts were vacant in each of the last five years. [4185]

The available information is shown in the table. Information on vacancies for general practitioners is not centrally available. Figures on nursing and midwifery vacancies collected by the Office of Manpower and Economics are available in the annual report of the Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine. Copies of the review body's report are placed in the Library each year.The process of appointment of a doctor typically involves advertising the post and the selection of the most suitable candidate to fill it. The numbers of vacancies on 30 September will include many posts which happen to be vacant on that day but are in process of being filled.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new campaigns his Department intends to introduce to alert children to the dangers of smoking. [4724]

A new three-year programme aimed at 11 to 15-year olds will he launched next year when the present Health Education Authority campaign comes to an end. Additionally, the current national smoking education campaign is particularly aimed at parents, who are a key influence on children's smoking behaviour.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the average length of time it takes for the national health service to reimburse pharmacists for the cost of medicines dispensed by them; [4916](2) what plans he has to take steps to speed the process whereby pharmacists are reimbursed for medicines that they have prescribed; [4918](3) what is his target length of time for the period between a claim for reimbursement by a pharmacist who has dispensed medicine and the payment therefor. [4917]

A payment representing approximately 80 per cent. of the amount due is paid on the first day of the month following that in which the prescription is submitted for pricing. The remainder is paid on the first day of the following month.Pharmacists are currently paid on time, to a timetable originally agreed with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee. There are no plans to change the arrangement.