To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner fundholders in the Northumberland health authority employed community psychiatric nurses in each year since 1992. [13485]

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department encourages the provision of alternative medicine in the national health service. [13974]

As with other forms of treatment, it is for local purchasers to decide, in the light of available resources and competing priorities, on the purchase of the most appropriate forms of treatment to meet the assessed health needs of their population. The reforms we have introduced into the national health service have made it easier for those doctors who would like to provide alternative medicine services for their patients to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public and which remain private. [14030]

My Department has a good record for publishing internal guidance documents. In the last 12 months, examples include:

Department of Health: Public Health, the National Health Service and Social Care: Statement of Responsibilities and Accountabilities.

NHS Executive Business Plan—1995–96.

Guidance to NHS bodies—71 health service guidelines were issued in 1995.

The NHS Priorities and Planning Guidance for 1996–97 issued to all health authorities, trusts and general practitioners and freely available to others who have requested them.

Guide to the NHS, published in March circulated to all parts of the NHS to explain to staff and the public how the NHS works and the basis on which it works.

The Medicines Control Agency's updating "Mail", issued bimonthly, giving guidance on new operational procedures and information on licensing times.

Copies of these documents, along with the Department's own guidance to staff on the code of practice on access to Government information, issued in April 1994, have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors are currently working more than 72 hours per week. [14056]

Our task forces report that at 30 September 1995, there were 1,719 junior doctors and dentists contracted to work for more than an average of 72 hours a week. That is just 6.1 per cent. of the 27,994 junior doctors and dentists in England and includes 1,424 juniors in non-onerous posts where the limit on hours is not due to fall to 72 a week until the end of 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14089]

We have not sold and do not sell spare computer capacity. The Department of Health's information technology infrastructure comprises personal computers on the desk, linked to servers in each office via local area networks which in turn are linked nationally via a wide area network. Any spare capacity, such as there is, does not lend itself to being sold for both technical and security reasons. The Department outsourced its mainframe computer capacity to the private sector last year following a market test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to dismiss the chairman of the Central Sheffield University Hospitals trust. [14524]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paediatric consultants have been employed by the NHS in each year since 1991. [14459]

The information is shown in the table.

England hospital staff as at 30 September each year paediatric and paediatric Neurology Consultants
Consultants	Number	WTE
1991:
Paediatrics	789	723.0
Paediatric neurology	16	14.7
Total	805	737.7
1992:
Paediatrics	839	768.6
Paediatric neurology	15	13.5
Total	854	782.1

England hospital staff as at 30 September each year paediatric and paediatric Neurology Consultants
Consultants	Number	WTE
1993:
Paediatrics	917	842.1
Paediatric neurology	15	13.7
Total	932	855.8
1994:
Paediatrics	996	903.2
Paediatric neurology	13	11.8
Total	1,009	915.0
WTE = whole time equivalent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will include in the next set of NHS performance tables information on the patients charter standard on emergency admission through accident and emergency departments [14909]

As my answer of 28 November, Official Report, Columns 601–02, implied there are no immediate plans to include information on trust' performance in meeting the patients charter standard on emergency admission through accident and emergency department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to limit direct care payments to physically disabled people under 65 years of age. [14162]

The Government issued a consultation paper on 15 January 1996 on the Community Care (Direct Payments) Bill and copies are available in the Library. The paper sets out a number of alternatives as to which groups of people will be eligible in the first instance to receive direct payments in lieu of community care services, and seeks views We shall consider carefully the responses that we receive before deciding on the definition of eligibility to be used.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department of he will make it his policy that those asylum seekers who are granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom are not required to renew that leave that annually. [14128]

Exceptional leave to remain is not a permanent status and it is appropriate to review periodically whether a person granted it continues to qualify. Although exceptional leave is normally granted for 12 months in the first instance, extensions are usually for a three-three period.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers there are under the enforcement directorate employed in the areas of (a) London (b) West London, (c) The south-west (d) the midlands, (e) Ease Anglia (f) the north-west (g) the north-east and (h) Scotland. 14239]

The information set out in the table relates to warrant-holders at all levels in the enforcement directorate engaged in the enforcement of the immigration laws or in detention-related activities. In addition immigration officers within the ports directorate are engaged in after-entry enforcement work subject to the needs of the on entry control

Number of immigration officers in the enforcement directorate
	Number
London (excluding west London)	153
West London	144
South-west	1
Midlands	33
East Anglia	1
North-west	13
North-east	7
Scotland	1

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the arrangements proposed for the administration of Crown copyright. [14926]

The Government propose to privatise Her Majesty's Stationery Office during the summer of 1996. We shall retain a residual body, which will keep the title "HMSO", to administer Crown copyright and to fulfil certain statutory responsibilities and oversight of the Gazettes. The residual body could also administer parliamentary copyright if parliament so wished. Irrespective of the privatisation, we intend that administration of Crown copyright should be further separated from official publishing functions.The residual HMSO will continue to administer Crown copyright with a view to making official information as widely and readily available as possible, taking into account the need to protect the interests of the taxpayer.The Government will continue the existing arrangements for non-exclusive licensing of Crown material These include conscessionary arrangements for certain educational and non-commercial purposes. The Government will continue the existing policy of allowing secondary publishers without charge or prior permission and on a non-exclusive basis, to reproduce in value-added print format Acts, statutory instructions and statutory rules and orders. I have decided that this concession should now be extended to electronic and microform formats.Reproduction in printed format of quasi-legislative material will continue to be licensed on a non-exclusive basis according to the policy described in HMSO's "Dear Publisher" letter of 6 February 1995, reference QLM/2, and the Cabinet Office circular DEO (PM)(95)4), copies of which have been placed in the Library of House.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress is being made towards the formulation of a model appeals mechanism as set out in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. [13645]

Following consultation on policy options relating to the model appeals mechanism last year, I intend to issue shortly a draft statutory instrument setting out the model for a further period of public consultation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Government will undertake the independent study proposed by the deregulation task force into how the total burden of Government surveys might be reduced by up to 25 per cent. [14976]

I have appointed Edward Osmotherly, chairman of the Commission for Local Administration in England, to chair a steering board to look at ways of cutting the burden of surveys on businesses. The terms of reference for the study are:

To consider how Government survey compliance costs to business, particularly SMEs, might be reduced; to assess cumulative options for achieving reductions, in light of the Deregulation Task Force recommendation to examine a 25 per cent. saving; to consider any impact on the quality of essential Government statistics and associated policies; and to prepare advice by June 1996.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, if he will list all (a) Internet and (b) other computer network, sites or bulletin boards operated by his Department or containing information supplied by his Department, indicating for each site or bulletin boards (a) the inaugural date, (b) the timetable and policy in respect of updates, (c) the Internet, or other network address and (d) to whom the site or board is currently made available and the criteria which must be fulfilled by applicants for access. [14208]

CCTA, the Government Centre for Information Systems, which is part of the Office of Public Service, operates the CCTA Government Information Service on the Internet. This service was launched in November 1994 and provides front-end indexing and retrieval facilities to information from over 180 public sector organisations, of which 79 are based on the CCTA server. The Internet address is http://www.open.gov.uk/.Within the CCTA Government information service, the Office of Public Service has home pages for the Cabinet Office (http://www.open.gov.uk/co/cohome.htm), the citizens charter unit, and the machinery of government and standards group. There is also information on open government, competitiveness, civil service personnel statistics and public bodies, and home pages for CCTA, the Buying Agency, the Central Office of Information, the Civil Service College, and HMSO.The service is updated daily, although individual Departments are responsible for determining policy and practice for updating their own pages. Access to the service is freely available to all Internet users.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the British Transport police under rail privatisation. [14520]

As we have made clear on many occasions, the British Transport police will continue as a unified public force responsible for policing Britain's rail network.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost to public funds of investigating the option of the Saltaire tunnel on the A650. [14140]

The answer is £915,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many spot checks were carried out on heavy goods vehicles and how many were found (a) not to have a valid heavy goods vehicle licence and (b) not to be insured in the last year for which figures are available. [14451]

During 1994–95, the Vehicle Inspectorate carried out a total of 243,128 roadside traffic enforcement checks of UK registered vehicles and prosecuted 169 cases for various categories of offence relating to vehicle excise duty, such as expired or no vehicle excise duty or incorrect rate. The Vehicle Inspectorate takes forward a vehicle excise duty offence only where it is one of a number of offences found and the figures given relate to cases brought for prosecution by VI only. If a single VED offence is found, it is reported to the local vehicle registration office for action. I understand from the DVLA that in 1994–95, 800 such cases were pursued, of which 466 resulted in successful enforcement action.We have no responsibility for the enforcement of insurance; this is a matter dealt with by the police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects his Department's research into reducing water spray from heavy goods vehicles to be completed. [14488]

The report on the work currently commissioned with Transport Research Laboratory is expected to be delivered to the Department by the end of March 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the dates of each organisational and structural review of (a) the Highways Agency and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency since their creation. [14430]

The Highways Agency, which was created in 1994, carried out an organisational and structural review in its first year and embarked on a further review, which is still in progress, in November 1995.The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which was created in 1990, carried out a pay and grading review in 1991–92; a senior structure review and reorganisation in 1993; job evaluation of senior posts in 1994; and a further reorganisation of its management structure in August 1994 in order to take forward its on-going change programme, including the restructuring of its local office network.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if inspections of operating centres are undertaken by traffic examiners prior to the issue of a goods vehicles operator's licence. [14431]

When considering an application for an operator's licence, a traffic commissioner will request an inspection of the operating centre by the Vehicle Inspectorate's traffic examiners where he has any doubts about the suitability of the proposed operating centre.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the royal train when privatisation of rail services is completed. [14417]

The royal train will continue to be available for use by Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the royal family.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to seek private sponsorship for the cost of the royal train. [14342]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what facilities are to be provided for residents of the Berwick and Alnwick areas to take the written part of the driving test. [14343]

Facilities for residents of the Berwick and Alnwick areas to take the written part of the driving test will be provided by dedicated theory test centres at Galashiels and Morpeth respectively. Initially, daytime test sessions at Galashiels are planned to be available on Mondays and Saturdays, and evening sessions on Fridays. Daytime sessions at Morpeth area planned for Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays, and evening sessions on Tuesday.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the franchise agreements and related documents for the LTS Rail, Great Western Trains and South West Trains passenger rail franchise. [13589]

[pursuant to his reply, 5 February 1996, c. 8]: On Thursday 8 February, the chairman of British Rail informed me that the British Railways Board had redeployed the managing director and finance director of LTS Rail. Their decision followed the completion by British Rail's internal auditors of an investigation into alleged ticket irregularities in the company. The investigation found no evidence that they had any involvement in the irregularities. Nevertheless, in the circumstances, the board believed that senior management changes were necessary.In the light of this decision, the franchising director has told me that he will not proceed with the completion of the franchise agreement. It remains his intention to transfer the LTS franchise to the private sector as soon as practicable, and he intends therefore to give previously shortlised bidders the opportunity to re-tender for the franchise. Consequently, a franchise agreement and other relevant documentation for LTS Rail will be placed in the Library once it has been completed.I have consistently made it clear that irregularities of the sort which occurred on LTS Rail are completely unacceptable in either the public or the private sector. I welcome the fact that the systems put in place detected these irregularities so quickly and that the British Railways Board has taken decisive action.I share the franchising director's desire to see an early transfer of the LTS Rail franchise to the private sector on terms which satisfy his rigorous requirements and those of the Rail Regulator.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received from members of the public and organisations within Staffordshire regarding the closure of magistrates courts within the county. [13728]

In the last three months, my officials have received three representations against the closure of magistrates courts in Staffordshire.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for each magistrates court within Staffordshire, the number of cases held there in each of the last five years and the number of staff currently employed. [13725]

The numbers of defendants in criminal cases completed and civil applications in respect of which a final adjudication was made, in areas under the control of justices' clerks in magistrates courts in Staffordshire, for the last five years are shown in the table.At the end of September 1995, there were approximately 195 staff employed in the magistrates courts in Staffordshire.

Number of completed cases in Staffordshire
	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Cannock	13,132	13,016	12,142	19,357	19,080
Lichfield	18,490	16,384	17,232	19,798	19,041
Newcastle-under-Lyme	13,730	13,587	11,113	12,243	13,167
Mid-Staffordshire	10,276	10,156	8,585	1—	1—
Stoke on Trent	26,121	23,771	23,387	24,152	25,888
1 Mid-Staffordshire was amalgamated with Cannock on 1 January 1994.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) if he will list the magistrates courts within Staffordshire that will be (a) closed and (b) merged as a result of his Department's proposals to rationalise the magistrates service; [13726](2) if he will list those magistrates courts in Staffordshire that have been closed over the last five years. [13727]

Magistrates courts are provided by the local paying authority for the use of the magistrates courts committee. Closure decisions are for the MCC to determine, although the paying authority may appeal to the Lord Chancellor against a proposed closure.Staffordshire MCC closed Eccleshall magistrates court in 1992 and Uttoxeter magistrates court in 1995.No decision has been made by the Staffordshire MCC to close or merge any other magistrates courts.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many Mary Bell orders are currently in force. [13681]

The question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executive of the Court Service is best placed to provide an answer and I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 31 January Official Report, column499, about the lapse of time since the destruction of Flight PA 103, what considerations he has given to implications of the statute of limitations for the prosecutions of those accused of the crime; and if he will make a statement. [13613]

Having consulted my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate, I can confirm that the only time limits applying in this case are those which commence after the appearance of the accused on petition before a sheriff in Scotland. In terms of section 101 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 an overall time limit of 12 months from the date of first appearance until the commencement of the trial would apply. This would also be subject to the custody time limits of (a) 80 days from full committal (which may be up to 10 days after first appearance) within which an indictment must be served and of (b) 110 days from full committal, within which time the trial must commence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the annual cost of implementing food and hygiene legislation. [13552]

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has had from local authorities on matters relating to food hygiene. [13581]

Officials of the Scottish Office regularly receive inquiries from local authorities about food hygiene matters. Within the last 12 months, formal representations have been received about the payment of the costs of a court case and procedures laid down in codes of practice. Representations were also received about the sale of raw goats' milk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what support he affords local authorities who face legal action for implementing their statutory responsibility under food and hygiene legislation. [13554]

Although my right hon. Friend provides around 85 per cent. of local authorities' total funding for non-housing net current expenditure, most of that support is provided by way of a block grant. No allowance is made, either in deciding the overall level of support or in the distribution of support among authorities, for expenditure resulting from legal action of any kind.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prosecutions there have been of businesses for breach of the food and hygiene legislation in Scotland in each year since 1992. [13580]

The following figures show the numbers of companies in Scotland against which proceedings were brought where the main alleged offence was a breach of the Food Safety Act 1990 or of food hygiene regulations.

• 1992: 52
• 1993: 34
• 1994: 26

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how he ensures that local authorities implement food and hygiene legislation. [13553]

Local authorities submit quarterly statistical returns to the Scottish Office which summarise their activities carried out under food safety legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has had from industry concerning food hygiene legislation; and if he will make a statement. [13582]

During the last 12 months my right hon. Friend has received representations from the industry about the enforcement of food safety legislation and the sale of unpasteurised goats' milk.Industry guides to good hygiene practice are being developed by various sectors of the food industry in consultation with the Government and food legislation enforcers. These guides should help industry to meet their legal obligations and to ensure food safety.

£ million
	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96 forecast	1996–97 planned provision
Set-aside access scheme	—	—	—	—	—	0.1	0.5
Environmentally sensitive areas	0.9	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.0	2.5	5.0
Farm conservation grant	3.5	3.5	3.1	5.3	5.1	3.8	3.0
Farm woodland premium	—	—	—	0.5	1.1	1.7	3.0
Habitats	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.6
Heather moorland	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.9
Organic aid	—	—	—	—	—	0.1	0.2

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in the last five years he has reminded local authorities of their statutory responsibility to inspect the production of soft cheese. [13585]

Guidance notes and code of practice No. 18 were issued on 7 November 1995 to all food authorities in Scotland in relation to their responsibilities under the Dairy Products (Hygiene) (Scotland) Regulations 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of soft cheese producers; and what subjects were discussed. [13583]

Although my right hon. Friend has not met representatives of soft cheese producers, they have regular meetings and correspondence with officials of his Department. The development of a code of best practice is currently under discussion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the dangers posed to public health by listeria in soft cheese; and if he will make a statement. [13584]

None. However, the current Scottish Office co-ordinated programme on listeria is concentrating on molecular techniques for identifying virulent strains, and on survival and growth of the pathogen in the gut, food and silage systems. The Expert Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food has been asked by the Scottish Office and Department of Health for an expert assessment of current scientific knowledge on the pathogenesis and virulence of listeria with particular emphasis on cheese.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the annual expenditure figures and. forecasts, for the (a), countryside access scheme, (b) environmentally sensitive areas, (c) farm conservation grant scheme, (d) farm woodland premium scheme, (e) habitat scheme, (f) nitrate sensitive areas, (g) moorland scheme, (h) organic aid scheme and (i) countryside stewardship for each year between 1990–91 and 1997–98. [13634]

[holding answer 5 February 1996]: There is no countryside stewardship scheme and there are no nitrate sensitive areas. Information about the other schemes is set out in the following table. Provision for 1997–98 has not yet been determined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals have been made to him by the British Geological Survey for help with monitoring of explosions and related work at Beaufort's dyke and other arms dumps; when he expects to be able to respond; and if he will make a statement. [14112]

[holding answer 8 February 1996]: Arrangements have been made to discuss the British Geological Survey proposals. My noble Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment will write to the hon. Member after these discussions have taken place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what web site her Department maintains on the Internet; what information is provided there; how often it is updated; what is the address; and if she or her Department answers questions and supplies additional information through the Internet. [7565]

The Department for Education and Employment maintains a web site on the Internet, address http://www.open.gov.uk/dfee/dfeehome.htm. The site is frequently updated and carries a wide range of information pages, including the responsibilities of Ministers, departmental press releases, departmental charters, the 1994 and 1995 school and college performance tables, a guide to the school curriculum, information on nursery education, the national targets for education and training, details for young people and employers on modern apprenticeships and catalogues of careers publications.The site is also the UK's official site for the encouragement, promotion and development of lifelong learning and will be supporting the 1996 European Year of Lifelong Learning. The Department has an Internet E-mail address—info@dfee.gov.uk. This is sited within the public inquiry unit and it receives and responds to a small but steady stream of general education and employment-related inquiries from home and overseas. Ministers do not use the E-mail for answering inquiries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of each of the shire counties education budgets is currently spent on (a) school and (b) non-school expenditure; and what amount of money this represents per school pupil in each case. [14577]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Jopling) on 13 December 1995, Official Report, columns 698–700.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of each of the London borough's education budgets is currently spent on (a) schools and (b) non-school expenditure together with the amount of money this represents per school pupil in each case. [14578]

The following table shows for each London borough the percentage of net recurrent expenditure in 1993–94, the latest year for which figures are available, on: (a) pre-primary, primary, secondary and special schools; and (b) other education services, including education other than at school, adult education, continuing education, discretionary awards, youth and other community services, service strategy and regulation and education support services. The table also shows the amount per pupil which this expenditure represents, though in the case of non-schools expenditure school pupils are not the principal clients.

London boroughs expenditure on education and its cost per pupil pre-primary/primary, secondary and special
Net recurrent expenditure 1993–94
	Percentage of expenditure (a)	Cost per pupil	Percentage of expenditure (b)	Cost per pupil
Corporation of
London	45	3,509	55	4,336
Camden	85	2,353	15	430
Greenwich	88	2,510	12	351
Hackney	87	3,803	13	588
Hammersmith and Fulham	74	2,996	26	1,028
Islington	89	3,232	11	398
Kensington and Chelsea	80	3,560	20	883
Lambeth	70	3,626	30	1,586
Lewisham	92	2,963	8	248
Southwark	81	2,685	19	625
Tower Hamlets	91	3,349	9	319
Wandsworth	79	2,861	21	774
City of Westminster	78	2,674	22	772
Barking	90	2,168	10	252
Barnet	96	2,374	4	88
Bexley	94	2,103	6	130
Brent	91	2,979	9	283
Bromley	89	1,952	11	238
Croydon	84	2,423	16	467
Ealing	91	2,863	9	295
Enfield	94	2,414	6	161
Haringey	95	3,208	5	180
Harrow	92	2,473	8	207
Havering	95	2,124	5	112
Hillingdon	95	2,572	5	148
Hounslow	93	2,309	7	164
Kingston upon Thames	88	2,130	12	279
Merton	90	2,427	10	284
Newham	93	2,543	7	203
Redbridge	94	2,411	6	142
Richmond upon Thames	85	1,869	15	319
Sutton	90	2,114	10	243
Waltham Forest	87	2,648	13	408
Total	88	2,624	12	351

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much each training and enterprise council held in reserves in 1994–95. [14543]

A list of training and enterprise councils and their accumulated reserves at the end of the financial year 1994–95, as shown in their annual statutory audited accounts, is shown in the following table:

Accumulated reserves
TECs by region	1994–95 £
North-east
County Durham	7,059,949
Northumberland	6,035,186
Teesside	6,797,000
Tyneside	2,306,000
Sunderland City (Wearside)	3,134,941
	25,333,076
Merseyside
CEWTEC	2,527,191
Merseyside	7,322,108
QUALITEC	1,125,814
	10,975,113
North-west
Bolton/Bury	4,105,742
Manchester	4,595,103
Metro	758,502
Oldham	1,068,773
Rochdale	1,794,365
South and East Cheshire	2,486,013
Stockport and High Peak	2,763,406
Cumbria	2,699,300
ELTEC	3,334,181
LAWTEC	5,964,015
NORMID	2,457,461
	32,026,861
Yorkshire and Humberside
Barnsley/Doncaster	3,394,000
Bradford	2,747,661
Calderdale and Kirklees	1,888,275
Humberside	5,809,949
Leeds	4,020,823
North Yorkshire	5,667,000
Rotherham	3,344,596
Sheffield	4,929,000
Wakefield	3,859,649
	35,660,953
Eastern
Bedfordshire	955,622
Cambridgeshire	908,640
Essex	4,606,599
Greater Peterborough	1,483,695
Hertfordshire	3,250,000
Norfolk and Waveney	2,860,000
Suffolk	1,132,731
	15,197,287
East Midlands
Greater Nottingham	1,577,000
Leicester	5,220,653
Lincolnshire	1,643,792
Northamptonshire	1,547,891
North Derbyshire	1,100,298
North Nottinghamshire	2,830,683
South Derbyshire	3,319,000
	17,239,317

Accumulated reserves
TECs by region	1994–95 £
West Midlands
Birmingham	2,974,000
Central England	1,542,584
Coventry/Warwick	1,858,305
Dudley	1,217,650
HAWTEC	855,009
Sandwell	1,306,809
Shropshire
Staffordshire	1,775,611
Staffordshire	5,244,000
Walsall	690,644
Wolverhamton	1,539,000
	19,003,612
South West
WESTEC (Avon)	3,975,000
Devon/Cornwall	4,085,000
Dorset	2,891,076
Gloucester	2,639,077
Somerset	2,051,935
Wiltshire	1,523,106
	17,165,194
London
AZTEC	3,513,182
CENTEC	2,723,980
CILNTEC	2,351,480
LETEC	6,025,164
North London	6,264,339
North West London	1,530,015
SOLOTEC	3,673,984
South Thames	0
West London	1,224,913
	27,307,057
South East
Hampshire	4,836,520
Isle of Wight	781,212
Kent	4,804,187
Milton Keynes/North Bucks	928,501
Heart of England	2,693,042
Surrey	2,100,631
Sussex	5,484,000
Thames Valley Enterprise	4,998,768
	26,626,861
Grand total	226,535,331

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 12 December, Official Report, column 563, if she will publish the training and enterprise council operating agreement in respect of priorities for training for work for particular age groups when a waiting list for entry may occur. [7644]

A copy of the training and enterprise council operating agreement has been placed in the Library. Schedule D of the agreement covers the requirements on TECs as they relate to training for work. Training for work is available to individuals aged 18 to 63.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 14 December 1995, Official Report, column 763, if he will make the film of LSD experiments on service personnel available for broadcast when recovered; and if he will make a statement. [14540]

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14083]

Generally, spare capacity is not something that the Department builds in when designing its computer systems. On occasions, computer facilities may be made available to other Departments which have requested assistance and this would normally be on a repayment basis. However, no central record is held of the degree to which its computer systems might contain spare capacity or the extent to which it has been made available for use by other Departments. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company carried out the repairs to his Department's RB44 light vehicle; how many vehicles were sent for repair; what was the total cost of repair; and who will pay this bill. [9952]

[holding answer 18 January 1996]: Modifications to the RB44 heavy utility truck in 1992 were made at the manufacturer's expense. Following the identification of continuing braking problems in 1993, and analysis of these by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, in consultation with the manufacturer, a further modification programme to 824 vehicles was started in October 1995 and is due to be complete by the end of March 1996. The modification kits have been provided by the company, and about 100 of them have been fitted by the company, at its own expense. The remainder are being fitted by military or civilian personnel in unit workshops. The direct cost to the Department of carrying out these modifications is estimated at some £100,000. In addition, other costs to the Department associated with rectifying the problem include the analysis and trials of DERA at a cost of some £310,000 together with the costs of returning vehicles to serviceable and roadworthy condition and maintaining other vehicles used while RB44 have been out of service. The latter costs are not readily quantifiable. The total costs to the Department on this basis are assessed to be less than £1,000,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the ad hoc programme will be run to resolve the inquiries of Mr. Peter Sutton, national insurance number 25 06 52 67D, into his national insurance contributions as communicated to the hon. Member for Wakefield by the chief executive of the Contributions Agency in December 1995. [13621]

This is a matter for Mrs. Faith Boardman, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the present number of (a) temporary and casual staff and (b) permanent staff employed by the CSA; and what is the number of DSS staff seconded to, or engaged in, CSA work within the agency. [13501]

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of the claims which are disallowed are successful on appeal. [13175]

The information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 29 January, Official Report, columns 584–85, how the figures for savings on the disability living allowance as a result of improving the quality and level of information to decision-makers were calculated. [13435]

An examination of a statistically valid sample of new claims suggested that without further evidence the higher rate mobility component would be inappropriately awarded in about 12 per cent. of cases and inappropriately disallowed in a further 1 per cent. Further work to test the assumptions underlying these estimates is currently being evaluated.The estimated savings took account of factors including forecasts of new claims and survival rates, the proportion of cases already subject to further evidence, the rate at which cases are reviewed, and passporting on to other benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions his officials have had with those of National Grid in respect of the additional power required by the announcement of eligible areas under the cold weather payments scheme. [14046]

No discussions have taken place between departmental officials and those of the National Grid. The impact of cold weather on demand for electricity is monitored separately from social fund cold weather payment triggers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the full year yield of restricting income tax reliefs and allowances to (a) £2,000, (b) £3,000, (c) £4,000, (d) £6,000, (e) £8,000, (f) £10,000 and (g) £12,000, indicating in each case the number of people affected. [14326]

The full-year yield of restricting income tax allowances and reliefs and the number of people affected at 1996–97 income levels are given in the table. The estimates do not take account of any behavioural effects which might result from the introduction of such a limit.

Upper limit for total allowances and reliefs1 £	Yield in full year £ million	Number of taxpayers Thousands
2,000	18,300	225,800
3,000	11,100	225,800
4,000	4,800	15,600
6,000	1,200	1,200
8,000	700	380
10,000	500	190
12,000	400	120
1 Including only allowances and reliefs given at marginal rates.
2 This will effect all taxpayers and bring a number of people into tax.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the yield from imposing a ceiling of (a) £10,000, (b) £20,000 and (c) £30,000 on the amount that may be held a PEP by any one individual. [14331]

Total tax relief for personal equity plans is provisionally estimated at £425 million for 1995–96. Information about PEPs is derived from annual returns provided by plan managers. These show the total value of funds, amount of subscriptions received and number of investors, but do not include information on the distribution of the number of investors by size of total PEP investment on which to base estimates of the yield from imposing ceilings on the amount individuals may hold in PEPs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the cost of complying with the accrued income scheme following the introduction of the loan relationships legislation; and what is the average annual yield from the accrued income scheme from personal taxpayers. [13797]

[holding answer 8 February 1996]: The loan relationship provisions contained in the current Finance Bill will materially reduce the costs of compliance with the accrued income scheme, since companies will no longer be subject to it. So far as individuals are concerned, no yield is necessarily to be expected from the scheme, since it affords relief from tax as readily as it brings additional income into charge. The limited figures available suggest that the scheme does in practice generate a small net yield. its main purpose, however, is to avoid the much larger loss of revenue which would arise in its absence, from tax-motivated "bond washing" transactions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14076]

So far as I am aware, no spare computer capacity has been sold by Her Majesty's Treasury to other Departments since 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14027]

The Treasury makes available to the public a large number of publications on various issues, details of which are included in the Treasury's booklet, "Publications in Print". The booklet has been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.Publications include guidance notes from the central unit on procurement, reports of the Treasury's fundamental expenditure review and a variety of other documents plus information via the Internet.Those manuals and guidance notes which are not published deal mainly with internal staff and security issues. No central record is kept.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of trivial occupational or private pension can be converted into a lump sum; when the figure was last increased and from what sum; and what plans to increase it. [13785]

Under the rules for occupational pension schemes, commutation on grounds of triviality is currently permitted if the aggregate benefits, including the pension equivalent of any lump sum benefits, payable from all schemes in respect of the employment are not more than £260 per annum. If total benefits exceed that amount, any residual pension left after taking the normal lump sum retirement benefit cannot be commuted even though it may not exceed the triviality limit.The limit was increased from £104 to £260 in 1991.There are no existing arrangements under the personal pension scheme rules to allow the conversion of trivial pensions to lump sums. However, as from 6 April 1996 procedures will be in place to allow personal pension funds which are insufficient to buy a pension of at least £260 per annum and total £2,500 or less to be taken in cash.The Inland Revenue periodically reviews all administrative limits and announces any changes at the same time. The triviality limit for both occupational and personal pension schemes will be reconsidered at the time of the next review.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which occasions in the last three years officials have vetoed draft EC legislation on the grounds that a fiche d'impact had not been correctly prepared. [136461

The correct preparation of fiches d'impact is a very important part of our consideration of proposals for EC legislation. It is one of the factors taken into account when Ministers consider the UK's negotiating position on a particular proposal.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the yield in 1998–99 to the Inland Revenue forecast in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1996–97", resulting from the change to self-assessment, is attributable to (a) business growth and (b) changing from the previous year to current year basis. [13748]

[holding answer 5 February 1996]: As I said in the debate on clause 112 of the Finance Bill, Official Report, 25 January 1996, column 530, just over £700 million of the 1989–99 self-assessment yield shown in table 5B.2 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1996–97" relates to income tax and class 4 national insurance contributions on the profits of trades, professions and vocations. This yield is almost wholly attributable to the interaction between the assumed growth in taxable profits and the move from the preceding year basis of assessment to the current year basis. If either of those factors were not present, there would be no significant effects on tax receipts from these sources of income attributable to self-assessment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the proportion of his officials who have a declared interest in the arms industry; [12331](2) in what form his Department's officials' declaration of vested interests are kept; and if he will make a statement. [12332]

We are not aware of any such declarations in recent years, but a check of all personnel files would incur disproportionate cost. I also refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 1 February 1996, Official Report, column 854.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that helicopters sold by the United Kingdom to the Turkish Government are not used against civilians; and if he will make a statement. [12878]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 7 February 1995, Official Report, column 229.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about the possibility of Russia selling weapons-grade enriched uranium to European nuclear research reactors; what assessment he has made of the implications of such sales for nuclear proliferation; and if he will make a statement. [14231]

Euratom has since 1995 been negotiating with Minatom, the Russian nuclear ministry, about the possibility of acquiring non-irradiated highly enriched uranium from the Russian Federation for use in European research reactors. The material in question would be subject to Euratom and international safeguards and to stringent security arrangements and does not, therefore, create a proliferation risk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14080]

The FCO diplomatic and aid wings have not sold spare computer capacity to other Government Departments since 1987.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has given to amending telecommunications operating licences so that telecommunication companies are required to offer discounts and concessions to (a) pensioners and (b) pensioners who are in receipt of income support. [13550]

Modification of operating licences issued under the Telecommunications Act 1984 is a matter for the Director General of Telecommunications. He is currently consulting on a range of proposals intended to increase the range of tariff packages available to consumers, especially vulnerable users. There are no current plans to develop a special regime for pensioners, as vulnerable users may also come from other sections of society.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to encourage larger companies to pay smaller companies more speedily. [14465]

The Government encourage all businesses to settle their bills on time. The 1994 White Paper, "Competitiveness—Helping Business To Win, Cm 2563, announced a number of practical measures to tackle the late payment of commercial debts. These included additional prompt payment requirements for Government departments and their agencies; further development of proposals for a British Standard for prompt payment and the implementation of proposals to require public companies to state their payment policies in their directors' reports. In addition, my Department has published a free guide to credit management and debt recovery for both buyers and suppliers.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 25 January 1996, Official Report, column 316, what estimate he has made of (a) the visible trade balance, (b) the invisible trade balance and (c) the non-oil visible trade balance for 1995, as a percentage of gross domestic product. [14576]

The information, which is available only for the first three quarters of 1995, is shown in the table.

Percentage of gross domestic product
	Number
Visible trade balance	-1.6
Of which: Non oil visible trade balance	-2.2
Invisible trade balance	1.0

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the proposed clinical waste incinerator at Bolton general hospital; when a decision is planned to be made on the proposal; and if he will make a statement. [13630]

Approximately 100 individual letters, 2,100 pro forma letters, and a petition containing some 300 signatures have been received concerning the appeal under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 against refusal to authorise operation of the clinical waste incinerator at Bolton general hospital. The hearing into the appeal was attended by 34 members of the public, including representatives of Bolton Friends of the Earth and Clean Air Above All. Correspondence has been received from the appellant concerning the timing of the appeal decision.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to issue a decision on the appeal by the end of this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provisions of the Clean Air Act 1993, controlling industrial emissions to air, he intends to repeal. [13674]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Worsley (Mr. Lewis) on 22 November 1995, Official Report, column 116.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14033]

In line with the code of practice on access to Government information, my Department publishes an index of the explanatory material on how it deals with the public. Each of the manuals and the guidance notes listed in the index is available to the public or is available for public inspection.The Health and Safety Executive has a programme to make administrative manuals and internal guidance publicly available, except a small proportion coming within the exemptions in the code of practice on access to Government information.Beyond that, each request for access to manuals and guidance is treated on its merits. The case for allowing access to manuals and so on which are not made public is reviewed regularly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government will publish their consultation paper on the draft regulations to protect important hedgerows as provided for by section 97 of the Environment Act 1995; and when he envisages the final regulations will be brought into effect. [14071]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 20 December 1995, Official Report, column 1239.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what complaints his Department has received alleging anti-competitive actions by the London borough of Brent. [14101]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, column 39, concerning planning application No. W95/8535 at Folly lane, Warminster, if he will place the written representations he has received from individuals in the Library. [14392]

No. Representations sent to the Secretary of State cannot be copied to third parties without the consent of the individuals concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for primary and secondary legislation passed since 5 April 1995, which measures were subject to a compliance costs assessment; and what was the compliance cost in each instance. [13649]

Details of compliance cost assessments for primary and secondary legislation passed in the first half of 1995 are included in a Command Paper, Cm 3075, which was presented to Parliament on 25 January 1996. Copies of the compliance cost assessments listed are available in the House libraries. Further Command Papers listing compliance cost assessments issued in the preceding six-month period will be published at six-monthly intervals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how he ensures that the negotiating brief for his officials discussing EU legislation takes fully into account the need to minimise the burdens on United Kingdom business. [13714]

Guidance on how officials are to apply deregulatory principles when negotiating EC legislation is contained in the booklet "Getting a Good Deal in Europe". This guidance has been supplemented by the recent publication of guidance on the preparation of compliance cost assessments, which stresses that the likely burdens on business highlighted by UK compliance cost assessments of EC proposals should be integral to the UK's negotiating strategy. Copies of both pieces of guidance are in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total leakage from (a) water company pipes and (b) domestic pipes in 1994–95 in gallons per day; and if he will publish statistics relating to water leakage from domestic pipes and company pipes, referred to in the oral answer of 15 February 1995, Official Report, columns 982–83. [14215]

Estimated total leakage, in millions of litres per day, is given in Ofwat's 1994–95 report on the cost of water delivered and sewage collected.The levels of leakage from household and water company pipes are calculable from the same publication and show that the leakage from household pipes represented some 23 per cent. of the total. I regret if my right hon. Friend's earlier answer misled the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each year since its inception (a) the expenditure and (b) the retained asset base of English Partnerships in each of its six regions. [14329]

The pattern of English Partnerships' programme expenditure and the distribution of its asset portfolio between its six regions since it came into full operation on 1 April 1994 is as follows:

£ thousand
	1994–95	1995–96	Asset portfolio as at
Region	Outturn development programme	Anticipated development programme	1 April 1994	31 March 1995
North-east	47,661	31,673	98,595	106,800
North-west	52,929	51,149	86,088	84,000
Yorkshire and Humberside	43,786	60,698	40,198	44,700
Midlands	63,433	53,773	14,305	18,000
South-east	10,311	26,831	23,453	22,100
South-west	7,260	10,064	4,361	3,900
Total	225,380	234,188	267,000	279,500

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will establish a public inquiry into the planning permission granted by the London Docklands development corporation to London International Exhibition Centre Ltd. for the construction of an 110,000 sq m exhibition centre on the site of the former royal docks. [14429]

I expect my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to announce soon his decision on whether or not to call in for his own determination the planning application for which the LDDC has resolved to grant planning permission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14081]

No spare computer capacity has been sold by my Department to other Government Departments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new measures he proposes to ensure an integrated child health service. [13813]

I do not, at present, propose any new measures to ensure an integrated child health service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy on children's services in the NHS. [13812]

The policy for children's services in the NHS in Wales is to promote improvements in health by providing the right guidance and care, by the right people, at the right time and place, whether in the hospital, surgery or in the home.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will establish in north-east Wales a consultant in rehabilitative medicine with the remit of improving the translation between paediatric and adult services for young people with disabilities. [13811]

The responsibility for the establishment of a consultant in rehabilitative medicine, in north-east Wales, is a matter for the relevant district health authorities or trusts to consider, having regard to locally assessed needs and circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many consultant paediatricians there are in Wales; in which locations; and if he will make a statement. [13814]

Information on medical staff in the NHS in Wales is collected annually on the basis of the NHS trust or directly managed unit in which they work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that the services provided by the South Wales sea fisheries committee are maintained at present levels in the event of reduced funding from the new unitary authorities in South Wales. [14532]

None. Sea fisheries committees are statutory committees of local government. They are created under the Sea Fisheries Act 1966, and they are financed by means of a levy charged to their constituent councils in percentage proportions set down in the individual orders creating them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the new unitary authorities in south Wales concerning the combined funding of the South Wales sea fisheries committee. [14537]

I am currently consulting interested authorities, in accordance with section 1 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966, on proposals submitted by the south Wales sea fisheries committee for changes to that committee's constitution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the remit of his Department's steering group on the resources and constraints with regard to Bristol Channel aggregates; who are the members of the steering group; which organisations they represent; on what date they will commence their study; and when he expects its completion. [14534]

The steering group will be convened when a contractor has been appointed to carry out the study. It is expected to include representatives from central Government, the Crown estate, mineral planning authorities, coast protection authorities, statutory conservation agencies, port authorities, fisheries organisations and dredging companies. The group's purpose will be to advise the Welsh Office about the research and how best to progress it. The project is expected to commence in the summer and take two to three years to complete. I will ensure that the hon. Member is informed of the steering group's composition when it is established.