To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if all the functions of the Central Office of Information will be sold if it becomes privatised; and if he will make a statement; [8494](2) what negotiations are being carried out in respect of privatising the Central Office of Information; and if he will make a statement. [8477]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North-East (Mr. Butler) on 23 November 1995, Official Report, column 235, in which I confirmed that the Central Office of Information will continue as a next steps agency.

	1990–91 £	1991–92 £	1992–93 £	1993–94 £	1994–95 £	1995–96 (established) £
Total staff costs	263,919	247,428	393,933	547,917	575,761	475,756
Entertainment	110	329	1,152	1,002	3,373	1,259
Stationery	641	1,774	3,863	2,262	8,386	30,193

Expenditure on the other items in each of the last five years is not collected in the format requested but is included in the running cost expenditure of my Department which was £64,646,000 in 1994–95

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what legal costs arising from the Scott inquiry have been incurred by his Department on behalf of Ministers and ex-Ministers: and if he will name the individuals concerned; [8757]

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will provide details of the publicity programme aimed at the general public designed to spread knowledge of the open government code; and how much newspaper advertising has been undertaken. [8558]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 January, Official Report, column 121, setting out details of the publicity programme for the code. Paid newspaper advertising has not been used as part of the programme.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his estimate of the cost of running his departmental office, and that of his predecessor, for each year since 1990–91 including the current year, broken down into (a) telephone bills, (b) total staff costs, (c) press and communications, (d) entertainment, (e) alcoholic drinks, (f) non-alcoholic drinks, (g) stationery, (h) office refurbishment and (i) other. [6397]

the table shows costs for the running of the OPS private offices since 1990–91 with an estimate for 1995–96.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his estimate of the total cost for himself and other departmental Ministers for each year since 1991–92, including the current year of (a) overseas travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers and their advisers, (b) car and chauffeuring costs of Ministers, (c) ministerial security costs and (d) domestic travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers. [6416]

The total costs for these items for the Chancellor and the Parliamentary Secretary and the private offices are given in the table.(2) what legal costs arising from the Scott inquiry have been incurred by the Department on behalf of current and past

No legal costs have been incurred by my Department on behalf of Ministers, ex-Ministers, civil servants, former civil servants or other advisors or secondees of my Department in connection with the Scott inquiry. The cost of any advice in connection with the Scott inquiry given by Government lawyers as part of their normal duties cannot be quantified.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 9 January, Official Report, column 121, what factors led his Department to accept photocopiers on variable contracts of three, four and five years over and above the leasing costs; and what is the minimum contractual cost of using and maintaining (a) the 18 photocopiers on three-year contracts, (b) the three photocopiers on four-year contracts and (c) the four photocopiers on five-year contracts. [8920]

The factors taken into account when deciding the length of contract include the size of the machine, the projected copy volumes and the need for flexibility in the light of changing circumstances.The minimum total cost of leasing

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many times (a) the Ministerial Committee on the Environment, (b) the Ministerial Committee on Competitiveness and (c) the Ministerial Committee on Economic and Domestic Policy have met since 1 January 1995; [8670](2) how many papers have been placed before the Cabinet between 1 July and 31 December 1995; how many of these papers were accompanied by a statement of the likely environmental implications; and for each paper which had environmental implications statements which Government Department took the lead in preparing the paper. [8671]

"Questions of Procedure for Ministers" makes clear that papers or other information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet or Cabinet Committees are not normally made public, in order to protect the principle of collective responsibility. It also makes clear that the papers for the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees should, wherever appropriate, cover any significant costs or benefits to the environment.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many mobile telephones were supplied to his Department in each of the last eight years; and in each year how many suppliers were involved. [9125]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service, Official Report, 9 January, column 121.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will launch a publicity campaign to raise the awareness of breast cancer in older women, with particular reference to breast screen tests; and if he will make a statement. [8428]

The national breast screening programme, with Age Concern, has launched an educational drive to inform women aged 65 and over of the importance of continued breast awareness and about their right to request breast screening every three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those health authorities who currently refuse to breast screen women aged 65 years and over. [8427]

There are no such authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will defer all further hospital closures, including those pending until alternative arrangements have been put in place for patient care with particular reference to elderly patients. [9154]

No. Decisions on hospital closures are primarily for local health authorities, and are referred to Ministers only where the community health council contests the proposed closure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which trusts have been required by him to pay to central funds all or part of their reserve because they have had an excessive cash surplus; and what amounts were involved. [8731]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which trusts have borrowed on an unguaranteed basis; and to what level in each year since their inception. [8713]

It is the responsibility of individual national health service trusts to secure best value for money from their borrowing. Information on trust borrowing on an unguaranteed basis is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received from experiments undertaken on mice as to the cross-species movement of BSE and the possible barrier to the harming of human beings by infected poisons from animals; and if he will make a statement. [8695]

We are aware of the research currently being conducted by Professor John Collinge to investigate whether bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE, can be transmitted to mice which have been genetically engineered to carry the human prion protein. Recently published interim results show that, after inoculation with BSE infected material, such mice have failed to develop spongiform encephalopathy within the time taken by similar mice following inoculation with Creuzfeldt-Jakob disease infected material. While this is encouraging, considerable further research is need before any firm conclusions can be drawn about the theoretical risk of BSE transmission to humans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the allocations made to individual trusts to pursue private finance initiative bids. [9033]

National health service trusts develop outline business cases for capital investment at their own expense. Where an outline business case is approved, regional offices have discretion to allocate funds for development of the full business case for the investment, a process which includes exploring the potential for a private finance solution. The capital investment manual, copies of which are available in the Library, suggests a budget of around 1 per cent. of the estimated value of the capital investment for the preparation of the outline and full business cases, including any costs incurred in testing for private finance, as well as other costs, such as design work. Actual figures on amounts allocated to develop full business cases are not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health authorities in England in order of population. [8877]

The information is shown in the table. The table relates to current 1995–1996 district health—authority boundaries and is based upon the resident population estimates for mid-1994, the latest available.

District Health Authorities in England ranked in order of population
District Health Authority	Estimated resident population mid-1994 (thousands)
West Kent	963
Leicestershire	917
North Essex	873
Bristol and District	848
Wiltshire and Bath	771
Berkshire	768
South-east London	732
North Yorkshire	727
East Sussex	727
Leeds	725
West Sussex	720
South Essex	697
Dorset	672
South Cheshire	665
Buckinghamshire	660
Suffolk	649
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	649
Nottingham	636
Western Surrey	636
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	617
East Norfolk	611
Lincolnshire	606
North and Mid Hampshire	604
East London and the City	595
Northamptonshire	595
Oxfordshire	590
Plymouth and Torbay	586

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which trusts have been given permission by the Secretary of State to borrow in currencies other than sterling, indicating the amount and the currency concerned. [8712]

No trust has been given permission by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to borrow in currencies other than sterling.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department maintains on (a) suicides and (b) homicides committed by (i) current and (ii) discharged mental health patients. [9101]

Information on homicides and suicides by current and recently discharged mental health patients is collected by the confidential inquiry into homicides and suicides by mentally ill people. The inquiry is funded by, but independent of, the Department of Health.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what current instructions he has issued to local authorities on the effects of means testing of those patients in need of long-term care on caring spouses and family; and if he will make a statement. [9118]

The most recent guidance to local authorities was issued in December in circular LAC(95)21, and an amendment to the charging for residential accommodation guide was issued at the same time, advising local authorities that they should consider use of their discretion where a married resident in residential accommodation is the main recipient of a couple's income at the point when a financial assessment is made, and also advises what factors and circumstances should he taken into account. Copies of the circular and the charging for residential accommodation guide are available in the Library. The Government intend to change the regulations with effect from April 1996 so that local authorities will he required to disregard half of the occupational pension of a resident whose spouse remains at home.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will conduct a survey for publication of the practice of all local authorities to establish whether they are exercising the discretion in favour of spouses of which they were reminded in his Department's circular LAC(94)1 in January 1994, paragraphs 6 and 7 regarding charges for residential or nursing home accommodation; if he will require an authority failing to exercise this discretion in favour of spouses to provide an explanation; and if he will make a statement. [9121]

We have no plans to do so. It is for local authorities to decide how and to what extent they exercise their discretion. Regulations will however, shortly be laid before Parliament to require local authorities to disregard from the means test half of the occupational pension of a resident whose spouse remains at home

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to improve the provision of single-sex accommodation by NHS trusts. [7531]

It is for health authorities and trusts to decide how best to use the accommodation available to them.

:To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of non-clinical managers in the NHS earning over £30,000 per year were women for each year since 1991; [7532](2) how many chief executives of hospital trusts were women in each year since 1991. [7534]

:The information requested is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department is taking to improve the representation of women in the higher levels of management in the NHS. [7533]

The Department of Health, on behalf of the national health service, is a founder member of opportunity 2000—the business-led campaign to improve the representation of women at the top of organisations.The NHS women's unit was established in October 1991 to take forward work on implementing Opportunity 2000 and eight goals were issued to the service for achievement by 31 December 1994, including a goal to increase the proportion of women in general management posts from 18 per cent. in 1991 to 30 per cent. in 1994.As part of the policy review in March 1995, a special survey was undertaken which showed that women had been appointed to 38 per cent.—83 out of 214—of vacant chief executive general manager posts filled in the three years to 31 December 1994, with women now occupying 28 per cent. of posts at this level.The NHS executive was commended on its outstanding achievement at the first Opportunity 2000 awards ceremony held in October 1995. Building on this success, a new set of goals was issued to the service for achievement by 30 September 1998 including a goal to increase the percentage of women in top management posts to 35 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices met higher rate targets for cervical cytology services by family health services authority for each year since 1990. [7535]

Target information is collected at general practitioner, not practice, level. The percentage of unrestricted principles meeting both the lower and the higher targets for April 1990 to April 1994 will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the district health authorities not currently purchasing abortion services; and if he will make a statement. [7536]

Health authorities are responsible for securing services to meet the health needs of their population. Information about individual health authority, plans is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how his Department is monitoring the performance of NHS trusts on meeting the patients charter standards on mixed-sex wards; [7537](2) how many NHS trusts are currently meeting the patients charter standard on mixed-sex wards. [7538]

It is for health authorities to monitor the performance of those hospitals with which they place contracts. Their annual patients charter reports should include information on hospitals' performance against the standards. In addition, the national health service executive has commissioned a survey in two regions on policies relating to mixed-sex wards and the suitability of wards for mixed-sex use. The results of that survey will be available shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter dated 21 August from the consultant in pain management at Derriford hospital. Plymouth; and what factors have prevented him from replying hitherto. [8186]

	12 July	16 September	13 September	11 October	15 November	13 December
Brentwood	752	1,796	1,296	1,079	1,108	1,077
Cambridge	658	2,169	1,052	591	620	527
Colindale	1,390	1,620	1,399	1,216	1,024	952
Tooting	1,411	1,885	2,091	1,536	1,786	1,497
Birmingham	1,622	3,275	3,467	2,139	2,729	1,113
Bristol	1,343	2,033	1,695	1,295	1,565	1,030
Oxford	748	1,973	1,562	1,307	1,175	727

Officials have now replied to the inquiry. I regret the delay which occurred; this was due to an oversight.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health. pursuant to his answer of 18 December, Official Report, column 945, which (a) health authorities and (b) trusts have (i) implemented and (ii) not implemented the care programme approach. [9185]

The national health service executive has requested reports on the progress made towards fully implementing the care programme approach.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports he has received alleging (a) unnecessary and (b) ineffective treatments provided by the national health service; what proposals he has to remedy such defects; and if he will make a statement. [8562]

A great deal of scientific evidence now exists about the effectiveness of health services. Improving the effectiveness of services is a priority for the national health service.On 10 January, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the publication of "Promoting Clinical Effectiveness". The booklet has been developed to support the work of all those involved in identifying and reviewing the effectiveness of clinical services. It explains where to get information on effectiveness, how this information can be used to improve services locally and how the results of change can he monitored. The NHS executive will hold health authorities to account for increasing their investment in healthcare which is now known to be more effective. Copies of the publication are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received on the levels of blood held at the blood transfusion centres; and what changes have taken place during the last six months of 1995 at each of these centres. [8563]

Blood stocks at blood centres are quite low at present, but this is often the case at this time of year because of seasonal and other fluctuations in supply and demand. Stocks at blood centres are not the whole picture. Hospitals also have their own blood banks, drawing supplies from the national blood service blood banks.The figures over the last six months for individual centres are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) guidelines and (b) other advice has been issued to (i) NHS bodies and (ii) other organisations regarding the use of the private finance initiative. [9082]

Current guidelines and advice on the private finance initiative issued by the national health service executive are as follows:

"The Capital Investment Manual" (HMSO 1994),

"Private Finance and Capital Investment Projects",(HSG(95)15),

"Information Management and Technology (IM&T) Procurement and Private Finance" (HSG(95)48).

Copies of these publications are available in the Library.It is not part of our responsibility to issue guidelines or advice on private finance to other organisations. Guidelines issued by the Treasury on private finance matters across the public service, including the NHS, is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which capital projects are currently being considered under the private finance initiative; and what is the cost of each project. [9055]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville) gave him oh 28 November 1995, Official Report, column 608.Since that reply, two further schemes with a capital value more than £1 million have been approved by the national health service executive under the private finance initiative, as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the number of cancellations of elective surgical admissions by NHS trusts in Greater London in (a) October, (b) November and (c) December; and if he will make a statement; [9163](2) how many cancellations of elective non-urgent surgical admissions were made by the Greenwich Healthcare NHS trusts

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list those health commissions which have decided that in vitro fertilisation services will (a) be routinely purchased and (b) not be purchased; and if he will make a statement; [8580](2) if he will make it his policy to ensure that in vitro fertilisation services are available from every health commission; and if he will make a statement. [8581]

Information about individual health authority plans is not held centrally.Decisions about provision, priority and resources for infertility services, including in vitro fertilisation treatment are made by individual health authorities, who are in the best position to determine priorities in the light of local needs and circumstances. Decisions must he made on the basis of sound evidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 28 November 1995 on national health service staff, Official Report, column 614, if he will provide details of medical locums by specialty. [8652]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 January Official Report, column 74.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost so far of producing and distributing "NHS Magazine"; how much has been raised from advertising; and if he will make a statement. [8921]

The national health service executive is reducing the volume of publications issued and targeting printed communications more precisely to ensure resources are used to best effect. As a result of a review of publications, the executive ceased production of six NHS newsletters, making an estimated annual saving of £227,000. The executive is also seeking a more cost-effective approach, supporting the costs of the "NHS Magazine" with advertising."NHS Magazine" acts as a vehicle for sharing best practice within the NHS. It also carries the most up to date quarterly data about NHS performance, helping to ensure that the service remains properly accountable to those it serves.Production costs/gross revenues broken down by issue are:

	Issue 1 £	Issue 2 £	Issue 3 £
Production
(Editorial/photography/design/reproduction, print)	41,886	43,914	50,486
Advertising revenue	10,900	16,850	30,500

Distribution costs for the first three issues were £17,664.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made on the impact of other hospital care of the number of emergency medical admissions to London hospitals during the current winter; and if he will make a statement. [9165]

Health authorities and national health service trusts are responsible for ensuring that local healthcare needs are met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency medical admissions were made by each London NHS trust in each month during the period October 1994 to January 1996. [9200]

Information on method of admission by region of treatment is published in "Hospital Episode Statistics—Volume 1", copies of which are available in the Library. The latest year for which information is available is 1993–94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his policy that no changes will be made in relation to the closure of the accident and emergency department of Edgware general hospital until the assurances given by his predecessor in the debate on 10 May 1995, Official Report, columns 784–85, have been fully implemented. [8585]

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an official visit to Edgware general hospital. [8578]

My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute beds closed in each London NHS trust during the period 1993 to 1995; and if he will make a statement. [9164]

The information available centrally provides details of the average daily number of available beds in each national health service trust for 1993–94 and 1994–95. This information is published annually in Bed availability for England, copies of which are available in the Library. Organisational changes mean that the data for each trust may not be strictly comparable over time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent in his Department and its associated agencies on working lunches in the year 1995–96 to date; and what is the projected amount for the full year. [9170]

The amount of expenditure on working lunches to the end of December this financial year is:

	£
Department	182,889
Agencies	333
Total	183,222

It is expected that hospitality expenditure for the Department will continue at the current rate for the remainder of the year. The agencies are projecting total expenditure for the year of the order of £380.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines for hospitals for reimbursement of travel costs for those in receipt of income support; if the guidelines recognise the UB40 as a proof of receipt of income support; what proof of being in receipt of income support is required for those not paid by an order book; and what was the last occasion on which the guidelines were amended. [9530]

The guidelines for reimbursement of the cost of travel to hospital do not recognise form UB40 as proof of receipt of income support because not everybody who is issued with that form is in receipt of that benefit. For those who are not paid income support by an order book, one of forms B3, C3, FF260 or FF260A covering the day they attend the hospital, can be presented as proof of eligibility.The guidelines were last amended in October 1994 with a reminder being sent out in May 1995. The list of documents which can be produced as proof of eligibility was reviewed in 1995 and set out in leaflet H11 which was effective from April 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the level of waiting list initiative funding and how many patients have been treated (a) by region and (b) by district and in each year since its inception. [9513]

Distribution of central waiting times fund 1987–1994
	Allocations (£000s)
	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	Total
Northern	1,700	1,925	1,737	1,798	1,665	2,216	3,002	14,043
Yorkshire	1,757	2,097	2,538	2,017	2,178	2,659	3,562	16,808
Trent	2,650	2,895	2,489	2,923	2,779	3,307	3,988	21,031
East Anglia	1,018	1,046	1,327	1,135	2,099	1,846	1,939	10,410
North-west Thames	1,590	2,316	2,428	1,690	2,768	3,549	5,230	19,571
North-east Thames	2,070	2,767	3,400	3,808	4,769	3,169	4,083	24,066
South-east Thames	2,040	2,350	2,653	2,738	3,909	3,562	5,220	22,472
South-west Thames	1,330	2,013	1,674	2,138	2,938	2,332	3,172	15,597
Wessex	1,400	1,609	1,518	2,024	2,217	2,317	2,875	13,960
Oxford	1,010	1,163	992	1,638	1,733	2,056	2,604	11,196
South Western	1,650	1,915	1,665	1,546	2,137	2,773	3,537	15,223
West Midlands	3,120	3,354	3,250	4,472	4,440	3,424	4,780	26,840
Mersey	1,350	1,693	1,925	1,515	2,300	2,272	2,579	13,634
North Western	2,295	256	2,407	2,860	2,735	3,344	4,311	18,208
Special Health Authorities	—	140	301	200	420	530	662	2,253
Miscellaneous	—	—	266	498	518	249	147	1,678
Total	24,980	27,539	30,570	33,000	39,605	39,605	51,691	246,990

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what information his Department holds on the proportion of waiting list initiative funding that has been spent in the private sector; [9538](2) what monitoring is undertaken of clinical standards for the private sector in respect of patients being treated under the waiting list initiative. [9517]

Information on the proportion of waiting list initiative funding spent in the private sector is not available centrally. Monitoring of the standard of care, wherever it is provided, is a matter for the relevant purchaser.

A national waiting time fund existed from 1987–88 to 1993–94. Distribution was to regional health authorities and details of the allocations made are shown in the table. Information on allocations to districts is not available centrally.The numbers of patients treated under waiting list initiatives are not separately identified. From September 1987 to September 1995 the number of patients waiting more than 12 months has reduced from 209,440 to 27,900 and the number waiting more that two years has fallen from 90,470 to nil.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates and on what matters, in connection with the 18th report of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution, "Transport and the Environment", he has made representations to the Secretary of State for Transport. [9095]

There have been many contacts between my Department and the Department of Transport concerning the Royal Commission report since its publication in October 1994, including several discussions at both official and ministerial level.

To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what new facilities are planned to be available after the next general election. [7473]

The major new facilities planned are the phase II new parliamentary building, which is due to open in 1999, and a visitors' centre in Westminster hall. In addition major improvements to existing facilities are planned including the improvement of access by disabled people, the refurbishment of the Refreshment Department and the installation of the parliamentary data and video network.

To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the effect of services to hon. and right hon. Members of the proposed privatisation of HMSO; and if he will make a statement. [7480]

The Commission's views are set out in the letter from the Speaker to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which was published in Hansard on 11 December, columns 455–57. That letter laid down a number of safeguards which the Commission consider necessary to protect the interests of the House in the event of HMSO being privatised. The Commission will continue to take a close interest in the progress of preparatory work for privatisation. In particular we will want to be satisfied that the safeguards are adequately secured by the contract to be drawn up between the House and a privatised Stationery Office.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee if he will make a statement on the risk of legionnaire's disease in the parliamentary estate. [7485]

I have been asked to reply.The water systems throughout the parliamentary estate are regularly tested for the legionnella bacterium as part of routine maintenance work. This work also includes sterilisation of cooling towers and shower heads, and keeping the domestic hot water temperatures above the tolerance of the bacterium. The results of recent routine tests showed slightly raised levels which have been dealt with by pasteurisation and chemical sterilisation. It is also proposed to make minor changes to plumbing in remote areas to help maintain safe water temperatures.

To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what plans he has to upgrade refreshment facilities for large groups of visitors to the House. [7475]

On 12 July 1994, the House approved the first report of Session 1992–93 from the Catering Committee, "Refreshment provision for line of route visitors". One recommendation was that the area currently occupied by the Westminster hall cafeteria should be converted to a visitor centre, which would provide light refreshments for the public, but that this should only take place once a suitable alternative has been found for the present lunchtime users.Although initial discussions between officials have been held regarding the proposed nature of a visitor centre, I do have to advise the hon. Member that some 500 people, mainly staff, have lunch daily in the Westminster hall cafeteria; the other outlets currently available to staff would not be able to accommodate the extra customers if the Westminster hall cafeteria was closed before the opening of the new cafeteria in the phase II parliamentary building, which I understand, will not he until 1999. It is therefore highly unlikely that a visitor centre could be open before then.

To ask the Lord President of the Council what contact, direct or indirect, he has had with the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in regard to the findings of the Privileges Committee in its first report for the session 1994–95 as they affect the Sunday Times and the Committee's call for further examination by the commission of the complaint made against that newspaper; what developments there have been since the Privileges Committee's findings were published; and if he will make a statement. [8593]

At his request, I met my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Wakeham, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, on Monday 20 November 1995 to discuss progress on this matter. Lord Wakeham has recently written to me, as Chairman of the Committee of Privileges, reporting on the position. I have arranged for copies of his letter to be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she will be in a position to consult on the proposal contained in the Government's policy statement "Sport: Raising the Game" that the Sports Council should be given the status of a statutory consultee on planning proposals affecting playing fields. [9684]

The Government are seriously concerned at the loss of playing fields. We attach high priority to ensuring that people have access to a range of high quality sports facilities. There is a clear need to improve consultation between the Sports Council and local planning authorities whenever proposals for the development of playing fields arise. We are, therefore, issuing today, jointly with the Department of the Environment, a consultation paper on the proposal that the Sports Council should become a statutory consultee on planning proposals affecting all playing fields, not only those used by schools.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Energy Council meeting on 20 December 1995. [8692]

The Council considered several issues and received reports on matters of interest. I represented the United Kingdom. Progress was made in a number of areas. In particular, political agreement was reached on a proposed directive on energy efficiency standards for fridges and freezers, the aim of which is to establish minimum standards and thus help to limited CO² emissions. The directive provides for a 15 per cent. reduction in electricity consumption for all new models over three years.The Council also adopted a common position on the Commission's proposed regulation on the registration of crude oil imports.It was not possible to reach a common position on the electricity liberalisation proposal. Ministers agreed however that there had been a convergence of positions during the Spanish presidency and that work should be continued during the Italian presidency with a view to possible agreement early in 1996.The Council considered a Commission proposal for the repeal and/or simplification of several EU legislative measures in the energy efficiency, oil and gas sub-sectors. In particular, political agreement was reached on a Commission proposal to simplify regulation 1056/72 on the notification of investments.Also, the Council received presentations/reports from the Commission on a number of items. These included a presentation of its energy policy White Paper; a report on gas supply and prospects to 2020; and its proposal for a second SAVE programme, aimed at encouraging best use of energy efficiency technology.The presidency gave a progress report on informal contacts with the European Parliament on Energy TENs prior to the convening of the conciliation committee. Progress reports were also given on the energy charter treaty, SYNERGY and on the energy aspects of the Barcelona Euro-Med conference.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Industry Council held on 20 December 1995. [8691]

The meeting examined further a Commission proposal to authorise the payment of exceptional state aid for Irish Steel under article 95 of the ECSC treaty. This matter was previously discussed by the Council on 7 November 1995, when the Government declined to agree the proposal in view of concerns about possible adverse effects on the United Kingdom steel industry.Bilateral discussions between the UK and Ireland immediately prior to the 20 December Council resulted in agreement on a revised aid package subject, at the insistence of the UK, to a number of strict conditions. These include, over five years, caps on Irish Steel's overall production, limits on sale of hot rolled products into the EU—under 300kt in the first year—and an undertaking that the company will not, over the same period, extend its current range of finished products. Overall the conditions are stricter than those attached to the previous article 95 decisions of December 1993. The Government believe that these improvements over the original Commission proposal meet the objective of ensuring that jobs in Ireland are not preserved at the expense of jobs in the UK.The amended proposals was accepted unanimously by member states. Formal approval will take place at a future Council.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received a report from the Director General of Fair Trading in relation to the provision of evidence by Bird's Eye Wall's to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission investigation into the supply of ice cream; what advice the director general of Fair Trading has given him in respect of such evidence; when he expects to take further action; and what action he proposes to take to ensure that accurate information is available to the director general. [9053]

I have received a confidential report from the Director General of Fair Trading on this matter. It is not the practice of the Department to comment publicly on such reports. Any decisions which need to be taken will be announced in due course.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the total number of industrial tribunals held in each of the last five years in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (b) the Glasgow area; and in what percentage of cases the appellant was successful. [9036]

The information requested is as follows:

	Total number of cases determined at hearing	Percentage of successful cases
1990–91
England	9,118	50
Wales1	630	44
Scotland	1,682	42
Glasgow	982	41
1991–92
England	11,592	52
Wales1	880	53
Scotland	1,382	41
Glasgow	817	40
1992–93
England	14,827	53
Wales1	1,091	54
Scotland	1,760	48
Glasgow	985	47

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what inquiries he has made into the issue by the Export Credits Guarantee Department of financial guarantees to United Kingdom financial institutions in relation to trade with Iraq which may have breached the Government's guidelines on the export of military and related equipment; and what action, if any, has been taken as a result; [7801](2) if he will estimate the amount paid by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to the Midland bank since 1980 in respect of trade with Iraq by

[holding answer 11 January 1996]: The consistency of ECGD support for certain export contracts with Government guidelines on trade for Iraq at the times is a matter which Sir Richard Scott may cover in his forthcoming report, on which I cannot comment at this stage. However, it has always been a condition of ECGD support that exporters obtain the requisite export licences.Amounts paid by ECGD to Midland bank since 1980 under guaranteed lines of credits extended to Iraq included sums relating to contracts undertaken by Racal and by Thorn EMI, but not in relation to any of the other companies named. The total principal value of claims paid by ECGD in respect of these contracts was approximately £22 million.It has been the practice of successive Governments not to disclose the details of individual contracts without the agreement of the parties concerned.The total of claims paid under ECGD guarantees in relation to trade with Iraq was £683 million as at 31 December 1995. Of this, £578 million was paid to banks under buyer credit and line of credit facilities; the balance having been paid to banks under buyer credit and line of credit facilities; the balance having been paid directly to exporters under short-term or supplier credit facilities. As against the figure of £578 million, recoveries of £72 million have been made, bringing the total outstanding unrecovered claims for buyer credit facilities to £506 million. A breakdown of the amounts claimed as between United Kingdom clearing banks and other banks, or of the amounts held by individual banks for their own account where loans have been syndicated, is not readily available.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West of 29 December, if he will give his current estimate of the length of time to be taken by the Employment Agency's standards office in Birmingham for its investigation into Allied Medicare Services and the employment of Huw Evans as a temporary auxiliary nurse in south Wales hospitals. [9183]

The investigation is under way, but it is too early to say when it will be completed. I shall write to the hon. Member by the end of the month to let him know progress.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received in respect of the simplification of United Kingdom regulations to enforce the EC electromagnetic compatibility directive, particularly regarding the impact of the regulations on smaller firms; and if he will make a statement. [9461]

The electromagnetic compatibility directive 89/336/EEC was implemented by the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations, SI 1992 No. 2372, which came fully into force on 1 January 1996. Under the regulations all apparatus marketed in the United Kingdom, including imports, must satisfy the requirements of the directive and carry CE marking. The main requirements are that apparatus should not cause excessive electromagnetic interference or be unduly affected by it.There are three ways of demonstrating compliance: self-certification to the relevant European standard; preparation of a technical file assessed by a competent body; and type examination. Testing is not mandatory except for apparatus designed for the transmission of radiocommunications.No representations have been received concerning simplification of the regulations but the Department continues to receive requests for advice on how to comply. The Government have provided extensive advice in the period up to January 1996 and have established regional EMC clubs. Technical telephone helplines, funded by DTI, are also currently available.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to ensure that clothes retailed in the United Kingdom which carry "Made in the UK" labels are manufactured in the United Kingdom. [9108]

It is an offence under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to supply or offer for sale any goods, including clothing, with a false or misleading indication of their origin.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost of the buildings constructed for his Department in each year since 1979. [7547]

The cost of buildings constructed for the DTI are set out in the table. Similar information is not readily available for the functions transferred to the Department under the Machinery of Government changes earlier this financial year.

Financial Year	£ million
1979–80 to 1983–84	nil
1984–85	9
1985–86	9
1986–87	12.3
1987–88	9
1988–89	9
1989–90	9.1
1990–91	12.3
1991–92	9.1
1992–93 to date	nil

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many mobile telephones have been supplied to his Department in each of the last eight years; and in each of those years how many different suppliers were involved. [9131]

Central records are not kept of procurements of mobile telephones which are now procured locally. However it is estimated that, excluding next steps agencies, there are currently in the region of 800 mobile telephones in use in my Department which have come from a variety of suppliers.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what dates and on what matters in connection with the 18th report of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution, "Transport and the Environment", he has made representations to the Secretary of State for Transport. [9100]

There have been many contacts between my Department and the Department of Transport concerning the royal commission report since its publication in October 1994, including several discussions at both official and ministerial level.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if answers sent to hon. Members in reply to parliamentary questions by the head of executive agencies in his Department are (a) seen, (b) approved and (c) amended by him before they are sent; and if he will identify any such letters to which amendments by him have been made in 1994–95. [7826]

Parliamentary questions are passed to the head of an executive agency for reply when the matter is one delegated to him under the agency framework document. The relevant Minister may see a copy of the reply before it is sent, but would not normally intervene in operational matters. I am not aware of any recent replies that have been amended.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many grants representing what total sums and with what average value were awarded under the business start-up scheme in each region of Britain in each year of the scheme's existence. [7583]

I have been asked to reply.The precise information requested is not available. Starts by region are available for 1994–95 and are given in table 1. Total expenditure and number of starts in England for each year of the programme are given in table 2. In 1994–95 the scheme was absorbed with the single regeneration budget.

Table 1: Business Start-up Scheme: Starts by English Region 1994–95
Region	Starts
South East	2,393
London	3,081
Eastern	1,925
South West	2,801
West Midlands	1,576
East Midlands	3,042
Yorkshire and Humberside	3,402
Merseyside	1,356
North West	3,058
North East	1,602

Table 2: Business Start-up Scheme: Starts and Expenditure in England
Year	Starts	Expenditure (£ million)
1992–93	33,600	62.0
1993–94	34,700	82.0
1994–95	24,236	63.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the 10 companies which have been leading indirect beneficiaries of aid-for-trade provision spending since the scheme's inception; and what percentage of total aid-for-trade provision spending each has attracted. [8236]

The 10 companies which have won the most ATP supported business as prime contractors since the scheme's inception in 1978 are:

Company	ATP allocation (£ million)	Percentage of ATP total
Trafalgazr House (including Davy and John Brown Engineering)	164.27	11.91
GEC	154.00	11.17
Balfour Beatty	105.85	7.68
Rolls Royce (including NEI)	68.82	4.99
Biwater	61.59	4.47
AMEC	58.70	4.25
Foster Wheeler	53.85	3.90
Snamprogetti UK	47.18	3.42
Siemens Plessey	43.04	3.12
Philips UK	34.11	2.47
Total	791.41	57.38
ATP total allocated1	1,379.21	—
1Due to rounding the totals may not balance. (The Balfour Beatty figure includes £24.37 million spend in respect of the Pergau hydro electric project before 1994–95. This project is no longer being financed by the aid and trade provision.

It is not possible to provide figures for the amount of business retained by the prime contractor as opposed to the amount handled by subcontractors. It should however be noted that the extent of subcontracting is normally considerable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total value of contracts awarded to GEC by the Overseas Development Administration in each year since 1990. [8237]

The only relevant contracts awarded since 1990 are two contracts, one to the value of £450,000 awarded in 1991, and a second worth £494,974 in 1992 to separate companies owned jointly by GEC and Alcatel Alsthom of France.The ODA has financed several contracts between GEC or its subsidiary companies and overseas clients. Since 1990, we have supported a number of such contracts, including in 1993 and 1994 grants to finance two power projects in India totalling £81.8 million and in 1995 a grant of £15.516 million for a power project in Indonesia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) the amount of grants to NGOs from the ODA and (b) the amount of UK aid money disbursed through NGOs in the last year for which figures are available. [8946]

All expenditure from the ODA to non-governmental organisations, NGOs, is provided on a grant basis. The sum of all grants for 1994–95 made by the Overseas Development Administration to United Kingdom NGOs for work in developing countries was £173,124,136, as detailed in the table. The comparable figure in 1992–93 was £141,791,127. in 1993–94 it was £148,610,155.