To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many empty buildings his Department currently owns; what is the cost of insuring and securing these buildings; how many were designed as residential properties; and what was the total amount spent by his Department on empty property taxes in each of the last five years. [14574]

Property Holdings is responsible for the whole of the Government civil office estate known as the common user (office) estate in which Government Departments and their agencies are housed. At 31 December 1995 there were 195 empty buildings on the CUE, 38 owned by the Government and the remainder held on lease.As a general rule, the Government carry their own insurance risk. Where premises are leasehold, some landlords require formal insurance cover. This invariably forms part of the service charges. The security and insurance elements within such charges cannot readily be disaggregated and consolidated without disproportionate cost.Until vacation the empty properties on the CUE have been used by the Government as business premises. An assessment of their original design criteria is not available centrally.The Government make a contribution in lieu of rates on their CUE properties. The figures for payments of CILOR made by Property Holdings on its vacant space, leased and owned, are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the length of the sewage outfall pipe at Norton for which the National Rivers Authority gave its discharge consent; and what is the actual length of the pipe as it now exists; [14335](2) if he will list those outfall pipes that

I understand that the National Rivers Authority does not usually measure the length of outfalls, but does verify locations of the discharge positions. The consent for the discharge at Norton, which pre-dates the establishment of the NRA, does not specify a pipe length but does specify the discharge location by national grid reference.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what assessment the National Rivers Authority has made of the advantages of introducing a computer model of the tidal flow off the Norton outfall; [14339](2) when the National Rivers Authority expects to have a model for the flow of dispersal off the Norton outfall. [14340]

I understand that the National Rivers Authority already has a model which can be applied to any discharge to the Solent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the National Rivers Authority gave permission for the discharge of sewage on the flood tide at Norton. [14337]

I understand that, since its establishment in 1989, the National Rivers Authority has not altered the discharge consent for the Norton outfall.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what enforcement action the National Rivers Authority intends to take for non-compliance with its consents at the Norton outfall. [14336]

I understand that the National Rivers Authority is not aware of any current breaches of the consent for the Norton outfall.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the National Rivers Authority's response to the imposition of tertiary treatment plants for Solent outfalls. [14324]

There is no requirement for tertiary treatment in the Solent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what studies the NRA has made of the closure of the Totland outfall and the consequential effects on outflow at Norton; and what studies were made by the NRA of increasing the volume of discharge inside the Solent as opposed to outside it. [14408]

I understand that the National Rivers Authority has carried out monitoring at Totland for bathing water directive and other purposes. Bacteriological quality at Norton foreshore has also been monitored by the NRA and has shown an improvement since 1993.Detailed studies of the dispersion characteristics of the Solent for the purposes of the urban waste water treatment directive have resulted in a requirement for full secondary biological treatment for all significant sewage discharges into these waters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to designate the Solent's native oyster beds under the biodiversity plan; and what other bi-valve oyster beds and eco-systems in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the EU are of similar ecological importance. [14409]

"Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report", published on 13 December 1995, contains no plans to designate the Solent's native oyster beds. The report does recommend that the native or European oyster, Ostrea edulis, be among 1,253 species whose conservation status should be monitored. The Government expect to publish their response to the report in spring of 1996.Important native oyster beds are found in the Fal and Helford estuaries, River Tamar, River Lynher, the Crouch, Blackwater, Roach and West Mersea estuaries in England; Loch Ryan in Scotland and Milford Haven and Swansea bay in Wales. In the European Union important native oyster beds include Oosterscheldte in the Netherlands and the north Brittany coast around St. Malo in France.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment the National Rivers Authority has made of the advantages of monitoring the Solent under the shellfish waters directive. [14334]

The National Rivers Authority is the competent authority for reporting compliance with and enforcing the shellfish waters directive. It is required to monitor all the areas of the Solent designated under the directive.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on (a) restoration orders for areas of special scientific interest and (b) the consultations he has had about extending his powers under section 31 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. [14591]

We have agreed in principle to consult on the extension of the powers of the court to make an order requiring restoration when the special interest of such a site is damaged.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the level of finance for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [14606]

The budget allocated to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee by English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales over the past five years has been:

• 1991–92: £3.955 million
• 1992–93: £5.050 million
• 1993–94: £4.900 million
• 1994–95: £5.008 million
• 1995–96: £4.735 million

This funding has enabled the country agencies to carry out those special functions relating to nature conservation in Great Britain as a whole and beyond Great Britain which are exercised through the joint committee.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what account he takes of topography and salinity when deciding the outer estuarine boundary of the River Humber; [14955](2) if he will now receive the outer estuarine limit of the Humber under the urban waste water directive taking account only of objective criteria. [14956]

The National Rivers Authority has been asked to review the basis for establishing estuary boundaries for the purposes of the urban waste water treatment directive, including the relevance of salinity and topography, and to advise my Department accordingly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to monitor global temperature rises. [14928]

The Department receives regular reports from the Meterological Office about global temperatures.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on which occasions in the last three years officials have vetoed draft EU legislation on the grounds that a fiche d'impact had not been correctly prepared. [13654]

Since the implementation of the Maastricht treaty all EC environmental legislation has been adopted under qualified majority voting and a veto cannot apply. 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 Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce his response to the revised bid of the City of Hull for SCA 1996–97. [14965]

An announcement will be made in the near future.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he intends to be the implementation date of the reorganisation of local government in areas for which orders have not yet been made. [15380]

As I said in my statement on 30 November 1995, Official Report, columns 1333–52, we envisage staging the implementation of reorganisation in England to take account of the resources available. We also needed to allow time to receive and consider representations on the Local Government Commission's final report which was submitted on 19 December, and, where we accept recommendations for change, to consult on draft orders. With these considerations in mind we have reluctantly concluded that implementation of reorganisation in the remaining areas for which we have not already laid orders cannot take place in 1997. I intend to make a further announcement setting out our decisions on the recommendations in the commission's final report, and the timing of the remaining orders, as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in conducting the market test of the management of the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre. [15381]

I have now decided to award a five-year service level agreement to the in-house team, based on the existing executive agency for the conference centre. It will take effect from 1 April 1996. Having considered the advice of a steering group and of consultants, KPMG, I am satisfied that the bid submitted by this team offers better value for money than those received from elsewhere. It also satisfies the quality and security requirements set for the test.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the grants distributed from the Duchy benevolent fund in (a) 1993, (b) 1994 and (c) 1995. [14945]

Lists of grants distributed from the Duchy of Lancaster benevolent fund for the last three years would run to several hundred items. A list of donations made to charitable causes in the County Palatine in 1993, before the fund became a registered charity, was placed in the Library on 2 February 1994.I am not a trustee of the fund. As a properly constituted charity, the trustees produce an annual report and accounts to the Charity Commissioners which is open to public scrutiny. The accounts show all donations except the many grants below £1,000 which are made on behalf of the trustees by the lords lieutenants of Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside who are all trustees of the fund.If the hon. Member would like details of donations made to organisations or individuals in his local area, I shall arrange for the secretary of the fund to provide the information.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has to change the 1995–96 cash limit for the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner and health service commissioners. [15285]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner and health service commissioners—class XIX vote 4—will be increased by £702,000 from £9,000,000 to £9,702,000.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to support the President of the European Commission's policy of less but better legislation and to improve the operation of the fiche d'impact procedures. [13656]

Through my contacts with the Commission and with Ministers in other member states I have been pressing for improved regulatory systems at the European level, a rolling programme of regulatory reviews and action on a number of specific burdensome directives. At the informal meeting of the Internal Market Council to be held later this month, I shall share our experience of compliance cost assessment as a contribution to the current review of the Commission's impact assessment systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total amount of investment (a) estimated to be required to make lines suitable for the passage of European swapbody freight containers and (b) which has already taken place for such conversion, indicating the location, in respect of each main rail route and for Great Britain; and if he will make a statement. [14234]

BR has upgraded existing railway infrastructure at a cost of some £26 million to facilitate the carriage of standard European swapbodies and containers between the channel tunnel and terminal sites at Glasgow Mossend, Liverpool Seaforth, Manchester Trafford Park, Wakefield Normanton, Birmingham Landor Street and London Willesden. It will be for Railtrack to consider the commercial case for undertaking further loading gauge clearance work in the light of demand for freight services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has issued to personnel management staff within the Driving Standards Agency concerning retraining following a formal complaint under chapter 17 of his Department's staff handbook. [14440]

The Driving Standards Agency is producing a revised course on new desk instructions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each agency within his Department his plans for changes to annual staff reporting and promotion procedures. [14432]

I have none. However, where the chief executives of my Department's agencies have such plans, these are shown:

DRIVER AND VEHICLE LICENSING AGENCY

Promotion

Planning to introduce changes to the internal job application and promotion procedures. A new application form covering both procedures will support more objective assessments of the skills required for the advertised post and the applicant's suitability for it.

DRIVING STANDARDS AGENCY

Planning to review the current staff repotting and promotion procedures.

HIGHWAYS AGENCY

Annual staff reporting

Will pilot a new staff appraisal system in 1996–97 with a view to introducing it in 1997–98. The new system aims to improve the accuracy and consistency of reporting standards, provide a more effective means for staff and their managers to identify development needs and to encourage a frequent and constructive dialogue on performance.

THE COASTGUARD AGENCY

Annual staff reporting

Aiming to introduce changes from November 1996.

VEHICLE CERTIFICATION AGENCY

Annual staff reporting

Planning to introduce new appraisal and reporting procedures in 1997–98.

VEHICLE INSPECTORATE

Promotion

Developing arrangements for selecting the most suitable applicants for posts by means of assessment centres.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has issued to staff in the personnel management section of the Driving Standards Agency on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service guidance on disciplinary procedures. [14444]

The Driving Standards Agency follows the Department of Transport's disciplinary procedures. They are aware of the ACAS guidance and the Department of Transport is reviewing its disciplinary procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts have been awarded by Railtrack to Hall and Tawse; and what work under these contracts has been subcontracted to British Rail maintenance departments. [14486]

I understand that Railtrack plc has awarded contracts to Hall and Tawse for rapid response and planned maintenance work. Hall and Tawse have subcontracted two small specialised work packages (about 1 per cent. of total contract value) covering professional inspection and track possession management advice to BR infrastructure maintenance companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the causes of the Chingford-Liverpool Street train crash on 19 September 1995 and the remedial action that has been taken. [14301]

The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate has conducted its investigation into this accident and is now considering what further action to take. It would be inappropriate to comment on the cause pending that decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) which offices of his Department have dress codes for administrative staff; [14413](2) if male staff in his Department are allowed to wear earrings; [142395](3) if he will make a statement on the factors which led to the decision not to include staff at grade 7 and above in the dress guidelines issued to staff of the north eastern traffic area office on 29 January; [14400](4) what are the requirements on female staff in the dress guidelines issued to staff of the north eastern traffic area office on 29 January; [14396](5) what representations he has received in the last 12 months from members of the public with regard to the dress and appearance of staff of the north eastern traffic area office; [14443](6) what plans his Department has to introduce a dress code for the administrative staff employed in the north eastern traffic area office; [14414](7) if female staff of the north eastern traffic area office are allowed to wear leggings; and if he will make a statement; [14398](8) which traffic area officers were visited by the clerk of the north eastern traffic area office in his assessment of the dress guidelines issued on 29 January; [14399](9) what instructions he has given to the clerk of the north eastern traffic area office on the matter of a dress code for staff below grade 7 in that office; [14442](10) what financial assistance he plans to make available to staff of the north eastern traffic area office to meet the costs of appropriate clothing set out in the dress guidelines issued on 29 January. [14397]

The Department's position on dress code is that staff who are required to wear a uniform while on official duty are provided with such uniforms. For other staff, there is no formal dress code nor instructions as to male earrings or leggings for females. This is left as a matter for discussion between local management and the individuals concerned.The dress guidelines for clerical staff in the North Eastern traffic area office have been suspended pending discussions with the trade union side. There are separate guidelines for staff in the management grades, which include the grade 7 clerk, agreed with the Public Services, Tax and Commerce Union locally.The dress guidelines had been prepared to give staff an indication of what is considered suitable in the light of the TAO's wish to improve the image and service that it presents to the public. There are no plans to provide additional financial support.

To ask the Secretary of state for Transport how much will be paid by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising to the British Railways Board for the operation and marketing of passenger rail services in Greater Manchester in 1996–97; and how much in 1996–97 prices was paid by Greater Manchester passenger transport executive in 1995–96. [14614]

The Office of Passenger Rail Franchising is currently negotiating a contract with the British Railways Board for the provision of passenger rail services including those currently supported by Greater Manchester PTE for 1996–97. When this is completed it will be possible to indicate only the amount of support paid for each train operating company, not the amounts paid for specific areas. The amount paid by Greater Manchester PTE is a matter for it or for the British Railways Board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisation will become responsible from 1 April for the services for the (a) marketing, (b) promotion and (c) provision of information about passenger rail services currently provided by Greater Manchester passenger transport executive; and what sums will be allocated for these purposes in 1996–97. [14615]

From 1 April 1996, the train operating company, North West Regional Railways, will be responsible for these activities, and for funding them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations will be responsible for the compilation of timetable information for Greater Manchester passenger rail services after 1 April. [14613]

From 1 April 1996 North West Regional Railways and Railtrack will become responsible for the compilation of timetable information on local rail services formerly supported by Greater Manchester passenger transport executive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes in the responsibilities of the British Railways Board and North West Regional Railways for the provision of passenger rail services in Greater Manchester are planned to be introduced from 1 April. [14612]

From 1 April 1996 the franchising director will assume responsibility for the financial support of local rail services in the Greater Manchester area. The franchising director will also become responsible for determining the future level of services formerly secured by the Greater Manchester PTE.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising has to enforce the contract held by North West Regional Railways, for providing Greater Manchester passenger rail services from 1 April. [14616]

The Office of Passenger Rail Franchising will have a legally enforceable contract with the British Railways Board for 1996–97 which will include the timetable for Greater Manchester services to be operated by North West Regional Railways.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the introduction of the piggyback principle for freight to the west coast main line. [14742]

Railtrack is examining costs and technical feasibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the re-opening of the Great Central Railway; and how many were opposed to it. [14740]

Up to Friday 9 February, we have received 465 letters from Members of Parliament, local authorities, other outside organisations and the general public about the project being promoted by Central Railway plc, including letters about the recent waiver applications. All but five of these letters expressed opposition to, or reservations about, the scheme in whole or in part, or opposition to waivers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what surveys his Department has undertaken into the number of homes and businesses that would be affected by the resurrection of the Great Central Railway. [14743]

None. The promoters of the project, Central Railway plc, are required under the Transport and Works Act procedures to survey all land that would be compulsorily acquired, for the purpose of listing all affected owners and occupiers in a book of reference. The book of reference must be provided with the application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail facilities which received freight facilities grant since the inception of the grant are now no longer in operation. [15005]

More than 200 grants have been made since the scheme started in 1975. The Department undertakes monitoring of the tonnage moved through a grant-aided facility for a period equal to the commitment made by the grant applicant to move goods through that facility. This period is normally in the region of five to 10 years. Information on the current use of the relevant facilities is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has made of the costs of transporting low value, high bulk goods over long distances (a) by road and (b) by rail. [14981]

My Department makes such estimates when assessing applications for the grants which are available to encourage freight to be moved by rail rather than road transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many pages of evidence were provided by his Department to the Scott inquiry. [14835]

A total of 16,234.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department provided all documents requested by Lord Justice Scott in the furtherance of his inquiry. [14838]

All documents requested by Sir Richard Scott and in our possession were provided to his inquiry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many official ministerial visits have been paid to the Republic of Cyprus in each of the last five years; and what further such visits are planned. [14764]

Since 1991. there have been five such visits: two in 1992 and three in 1993. These visits all took place in a multilateral context. There are no present plans for further visits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to support current proposals for the demilitarisation of the island of Cyprus. [14763]

Moves by both sides to reduce deployment of troops and levels of military equipment on the island can only help to improve the climate for a settlement. This is an issue that we discuss regularly with both communities in Cyprus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 7 February, Official Report, column 321, if he will set out the authority for his statement that the question of sovereignty over the island of Imia is not determined. [15083]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Upminster (Sir N. Bonsor) observed in his oral answer on 7 February 1996, Official Report, columns 321–23, that the Greek and Turkish Governments take different positions on sovereignty over the island of Imia. We warmly welcome expressions by both sides of determination to deal with the issue by peaceful means. This must be right. It is important that it is done in accordance with international law.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Malaysian Government regarding Lim Guan Eng; and if he will make a statement. [14545]

We are following Mr. Lim Guan Eng's case, which is before the Malaysian courts. We have not made any representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his officials have made to the South African authorities in the case of Paul Grecian. [15104]

We are in regular contact with the South African prison authorities in the course of giving Mr. Grecian full consular support.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the legal procedures which have been followed in the case of Paul Grecian, at present in prison in South Africa. [15103]

Mr. Grecian has his own lawyer in South Africa who is able to advise on the legal procedures in his case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to publish as a Command Paper the current provisions of the treaty on European Union and the treaty establishing the European Community. [15313]

Such a Command Paper has now been published and has been deposited in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel are employed in aircrew standards evaluation duties in the Royal Air Force; and what is the minimum frequency of standards evaluation reviews of flying units. [13210]

The RAF is committed to ensuring that its aircrews maintain the very highest standards in all aspects of military flying. In addition to the continuous process of maintaining standards within units, all aircrew are regularly subjected to formal standards evaluation reviews every 12 to 24 months, depending on units' roles and operational commitments. Currently, 115 service personnel directly support the standards evaluation process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints in respect of low flying have been received by his Department from addresses in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland in each month since September 1995. [14232]

The number of inquiries and complaints about military low flying received by my Department since September 1995 from addresses in England, Wales and Scotland are in the table.

Month	England	Wales	Scotland
1995
October	375	52	116
November	364	80	69
December	150	61	87
1996
January	141	44	87

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of the fine weather in the summer of 1995 on the rate of public complaints to his Department concerning low-flying aircraft. [14233]

It is our experience that the rate at which complaints about military low flying are received by my Department increases when the weather is fine, as people are more likely to be outdoors or to have windows open and noise of any sort is more intrusive. We believe that the prolonged period of fine weather in the summer of 1995 was a significant factor in the increase in complaints during that year, but we are not able to quantify the effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many empty buildings his Department currently owns; what is the cost of insuring and securing these buildings; how many were designed as residential properties; and what was the total amount spent by his Department on empty property taxes in each of the last five years. [14575]

No central record is maintained of the number of buildings which may be empty at any given time and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to find alternative uses for the Army apprentices college, Harrogate, (a) within his Department, (b) in conjunction with other Government Departments and (c) by selling the property on the open market. [14143]

Since the announcement in December 1992 of the decision to close the Army apprentices college, Harrogate, my Department has considered the property for a number of other defence uses, none of which was found to be suitable. While the scope for alternative defence use is still being explored, we have, in parallel, conducted a without commitment "Expressions of Interest" advertising campaign through consultants to identify possible commercial interest in the site. The results of this advertising campaign are being assessed. A regular dialogue is maintained with the Government office for Yorkshire and Humberside.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many commissioned officers (a) in the Royal Air Force under Queen's Regulation 2905(3), (b) in (i) the Royal Navy and (ii) the Army under the equivalent Queen's Regulations have been required to retire, relinquish or resign their commissions in each of the last 10 years. [14555]

The number of commissioned officers who have been required to retire, relinquish or resign their commissions under Queen's Regulation (RAF) 2905(3) or equivalent regulations in the Royal Navy and the Army over the past 10 years are:

Year	Royal Navy	Army	RAF
1986	3	1	1—
1987	5	3	1—
1988	10	3	1—
1989	8	1	1—
1990	7	7	5
1991	5	2	2
1992	7	3	6
1993	3	1	6
1994	6	6	0
1995	10	6	8
1 Figures are not available for these years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the United Kingdom has the super-computing capability for nuclear test simulation. [14393]

A number of techniques and facilities, including super-computers, which will help to maintain the capabilities and expertise necessary for the stewardship of our nuclear weapons in the absence of underground testing are being developed. As regards the acquisition of super-computing equipment, I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-West (Mr. Stern) on 26 January 1996, Official Report, column 466.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many empty Ministry of Defence domestic dwellings there are in North Yorkshire; and how many are for sale. [14196]

There are 491 empty MOD domestic dwellings in North Yorkshire, of which eight are currently being sold under the joint services discount scheme. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 30 November 1995, Official Report, columns 810–11, we intend to transfer ownership of the married quarters estate in England and Wales to the private sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make an announcement for the contract to operate maintenance services at RAF Valley; and what requirements for on-going training commitments have been written into the specification. [14762]

Tenders for the maintenance work at RAF Valley are currently being evaluated. I expect to be in a position to announce the award of the contract in April. The contract will specify the qualifications and experience levels required by personnel undertaking maintenance work rather than the training needed to achieve those qualifications which will be a matter for the contractor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 December, Official Report, column 1176, what was the response of the US Government when he raised the question of "Buy American" clauses. [14805]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence raised Her Majesty's Government's concerns over "Buy American" restrictions during his recent visit to Washington. The US Department of Defense has begun to remove such restrictions where they are not required for national security reasons or mandated by law, and is urging the US Congress to follow suit. Regrettably, Congress voted to retain several old restrictions and to introduce a number of new ones in this year's defence legislation. Her Majesty's Government will continue to press for the reversal of these damaging provisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since 1 January 1995 (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) offficials in his Department have had contact with Lord Howe concerning his correspondence with the Scott inquiry. [14820]

Ministers and officials from the Ministry of Defence have had no such contacts with Lord Howe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to introduce a system of compensation or ex-gratia payments for service men injured in Bosnia, comparable to those available in Germany and Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement. [14921]

Where an injury resulting in the death or invaliding of a service man or woman is attributable to service in Bosnia, benefits are paid both from the armed forces pensions scheme and from the Department of Social Security war pensions scheme. My Department also operates a scheme for criminal injuries compensation for members of the armed forces and their dependants who are victims of crimes of violence while serving overseas. Such compensation, however, is not payable where the injury to, or death of, a service man or woman was a result of war operations or, as in Bosnia, military activity by warring factions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of university air squadrons and air experience flights in Northern Ireland. [15283]

The primary role of the university air squadrons is to attract new recruits of good quality and education into the Royal Air Force. The defence costs study "Front Line First" recognised the university air squadrons as a source of high calibre pilots for the RAF, but identified scope for rationalisation in the organisation as a whole. As part of rationalisation, it was proposed that the Queen's university air squadron— QUAS—being the least successful squadron in terms of providing pilot recruits for the RAF, should close. A consultative document covering this proposal was issued on 5 September 1995, recommending the closure of QUAS and, as a consequence, the closure of No. 13 Air Experience Flight based at Belfast.My Department received a number of representations from Members of Parliament and other interested parties. The consultation included the trades unions and local authorities and full and careful consideration has been given to the representations received. Following this work, I am satisfied that no issues have been raised which call into question the viability of the proposals.I have therefore decided with regret that QUAS and No. 13 Air Experience Flight should close at the end of this academic year. Air experience flying for air cadets will be provided by offering them places at summer camps on the mainland. We also propose to reactivate No. 664 Volunteer Gliding School at Belfast with immediate effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those officials in his Department who were authorised to sign F680 forms in the period June to December 1986. [14857]

[holding answer 12 February 1996]: No.

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many Government responses to Select Committee reports have been made more than six months after the publication of the Committee's report in each parliamentary session since 1990. [15086]

I shall write to the hon. Member with the information that he requests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the management costs for each health trust

	11993–94		21994–95
NHS trust	Management costs £000	Per cent. of total income	Management costs £000	Per cent. of total income
NHS trust operational 1 April 1992:
Pembrokeshire	2,053	4.95	1,873	4.46
NHS trusts operational with effect from 1 April 1993:
Glan Clwyd General Hospital	1,865	3.37	1,702	2.94
Wrexham Maelor Hospital	1,664	3.39	1,881	3.50
Gofal Cymuned Clwydian Community Care	3,205	5.27	2,385	3.72
Powys Health Care	2,301	5.50	1,882	4.90
Glan Hafren	2,824	3.10	2,633	2.82
Gwent Community	2,567	4.57	2,699	4.70
Llandough Hospital	2,698	5.89	2,520	5.00
Bridgend and District	1,635	2.69	1,558	2.43
Swansea	1,426	2.73	1,233	2.27
Llanelli/Dinefwr	1,024	3.38	812	2.62
Carmarthen and District	1,133	3.06	1,207	3.19
Ceredigion and Mid Wales	790	3.48	831	3.59
South and East Wales Ambulance	661	4.11	1,054	6.00
NHS trusts operational with effect from 1 April 1994:
North Wales Ambulance	—	—	516	420
Derwen	—	—	955	4.25
Nevil Hall	—	—	1,463	3.59
Gwynedd Hospitals	—	—	1,982	3.28
Gwynedd Community	—	—	1,636	3.42
Rhondda Healthcare	—	—	993	3.40
Mid Glamorgan Ambulance	—	—	1,002	12.86
Velindre Hospital	—	—	619	5.85
East Glamorgan	—	—	1,678	3.54
Morriston Hospital	—	—	1,609	2.59

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many beds there were in Welsh hospitals in each year since 1979. [14803]

The information is given in the table.Almost 60 per cent. of the reduction in NHS hospital beds over the period is associated with better care for people with mental illnesses or learning disabilities away from the hospital environment. Reductions in the acute sector have been made possible through advances in medical technology and practice, including day case surgery. Since 1979, the total number of people treated as in-patients or day cases in Welsh hospitals has almost doubled.

Average daily available beds in Welsh NHS hospitals
	Number
1979	23,456
1980	23,203
1981	22,940
1982	22,441
1983–84	22,412
1984–85	22,295

The information requested is as follows:

Average daily available beds in Welsh NHS hospitals
	Number
1985–86	21,999
1986–87	21,565
1987–88	21,103
1988–89	20,504
1989–90	19,855
1990–91	19,414
1991–92	18,640
1992–93	18,078
1993–94	17,475
1994–95	16,834

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average cost of a school inspection per day for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Wales. [14530]

This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales. I have asked Mr. Roy James to write to the hon. Member and will arrange for a copy of his reply to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14026]

The Welsh Office issues guidance as appropriate to assist members of the public and others using Welsh Office services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many empty dwellings owned by Government Departments there were in Wales for the latest available year; and if he will make a statement. [15105]

I refer to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister responsible for housing on 23 November 1995, Official Report, column 238. Separate information is not available for other Government Departments in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the annual average cost of prescription items per patient prescribed by (a) general practitioner fundholders and (b) non-fundholding general practitioners for each year since the introduction of fundholding for which statistics are available for (i) Wales and (ii) each family health services authority. [14964]

The 1994–95 figures are as follows. We do not hold data for earlier years.

March 1994–April 1995	Fundholding cost per person £	Non-funding cost per person £
Clwyd	77.74	92.28
Dyfed	78.18	93.43
Gwent	68.19	86.86
Gwynedd	73.21	97.01
Mid Glamorgan	70.67	90.63
Powys	62.91	84.47
South Glamorgan	64.67	80.09
West Glamorgan	80.01	91.43
Wales	73.24	89.40

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the average unemployment rate over the period 1979 to 1994 for each OECD country; [13913](2) what was the average annual rate of export growth in real terms for each of the OECD countries over the period 1979 to 1994; [13921](3) what was the value of total investment per capita converted at current purchasing power parities for each OECD country in 1979 and 1994; [13912]

The data requested can be found in the following OECD publications:

• Economic Outlook
• Labour Force Statistics
• Quarterly National Accounts
• National Accounts, Main Aggregates Volume 1.

OECD civilian employment figures excluding those on work-related Government schemes are not available.These publications are all available in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy on United Kingdom Government contributions to European Union budget line B3–4004; and if he will make a statement. [13765]

The budgetary commentary to line B3–4004 of the general budget of the European Communities cites as its legal base the agreement on social policy annexed to the social policy protocol to the treaty on European union, and in particular the European works council directive adopted under that agreement. Article 2 of the social policy protocol states that for acts adopted by the Council under this agreement:

"any financial consequences other than administrative costs entailed for institutions shall not be applicable to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children currently make use of their annual capital gains tax allowance. [14259]

I regret that precise estimates are not possible for the number of individuals with net gains below the capital gains tax annual exempt amount. Details of gains are not required on tax returns where chargeable gains do not exceed the annual exempt amount and aggregate proceeds from disposals of all assets do not exceed twice the annual exempt amount.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many empty buildings his Department currently owns; what is the cost of insuring and securing these buildings; how many were designed as residential properties; and what was the total amount spent by his Department on empty property taxes in each of the last five years. [14566]

The Treasury does not own any property. All buildings occupied by the Treasury form part of the Government common user estate. Information relating to the CUE was given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment on 30 January 1996, Official Report, columns 648–49.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average rate of unemployment in the member states of the European Community in each of the years 1972, 1982 and 1992. [14527]

Comparisons between the UK and other EU countries of unemployment on the internationally standard international labour organisation basis are available only from 1984. The table shows the extent of the available information.

Unemployment rates in EU countries
	1984	1992
Belgium	11.9	6.7
Denmark	8.9	9.0
France	9.5	10.2
Germany1	6.7	6.3
Greece	8.1	7.8
Ireland	16.5	15.0
Italy	9.5	9.4
Luxembourg	2.7	2.0
Netherlands	12.4	5.6
Portugal2	—	4.0
Spain2	—	17.7
UK	10.9	9.7
EC average3	9.4	9.2

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax forgone as a result of the use of offshore single pension bonds. [14262]

We are not able to identify an offshore single pensions bond and, as a consequence, regretfully are not able to answer the hon. Member's questions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pages of evidence were provided by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to the Scott inquiry. [14837]

Her Majesty's Customs and Excise have provided 15,381 pages of evidence to the Scott inquiry. This figure does not include correspondence between the Department and the inquiry or evidence supplied to the inquiry by individual witnesses.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many written parliamentary questions were passed for answer to executive agencies and non-governmental departments in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [14988]

Since October 1992, when arrangements were introduced for enabling agency chief executives to answer parliamentary questions, chief executives responsible to Treasury Ministers have replied to seven questions:

• 1992: 3
• 1993: —
• 1994: —
• 1995: 2
• 1996: 2

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he intends to pay off the lease on the VAT and Excise office at Griffin house, 161 Hammersmith road; [13600](2) what considerations led to the decision to close the VAT and Excise office in Hammersmith road; and what consideration has been given to the future of the lease on the property; [13601](3) what is the nearest alternative office to the VAT office at 161 Hammersmith road at which people can get advice on VAT and excise; [13602](4) what is the cost of closing the VAT and Excise office at 161 Hammersmith road; and what is the cost of buying the lease; [13603](5) if his plans for staff at the VAT and Excise office in Hammersmith road include compulsory redundancy; [13604](6) what is the annual rental on his Department's VAT and Excise office at Griffin house, 161 Hammersmith road; [13605]

Her Majesty's Customs and Excise recently completed a fundamental expenditure review which has resulted in planned changes in working practices, with reductions in staff numbers and the need for accommodation. The regional collection responsible for the Hammersmith office, Thames Valley, decided to close the office as part of the consequential rationalisation of its operations, based on a detailed business case which took account of value for money for the taxpayer.There are no plans to "buy out" of the existing lease. When the property is vacated it will be in the first instance offered to other Government Departments in the locality. If they do not take up the additional accommodation it will be let on the open market. The annual rent is £511,988 with rates of £134,534 and landlord's service charge of £110,580.The cost of closing Griffin house will be some £400,000, which covers alterations to two nearby offices to house the additional staff who will be located there.Set against this are the reductions in running costs, a significant portion of which will start to accrue from the moment the building is vacated.There are no plans to make any of the existing staff at Griffin house compulsorily redundant.It is not departmental policy to conduct formal consultation exercises about the location of offices. However, the needs of traders and the public are always taken into account before a decision about the closure of an office is taken. In the case of Hammersmith, as it covers a small geographical area coupled with satisfactory transport links, it was felt that the public and the trading community would not be unduly inconvenienced by visiting another local office. In addition, at our adjacent offices vehicle access is generally easier and there are better parking facilities.The nearest offices are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 6 February, Official Report, column 118, if the figures covering the Isle of Wight include taxpayers on the island whose tax affairs are handled by other districts. [15077]

The figures are derived from the survey of personal incomes where taxpayers are allocated to counties according to their place of residence or to their business address if self-employed, regardless of where their tax affairs are handled.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage rate of employment growth over the period 1979–95 in respect of (a) each EU state, (b) USA, (c) Japan, (d) Australia, (e) Canada and (f) New Zealand. [14972]

The latest available information showing the most up to date comparisons is provided in the table.

Civilian employment, change 1979 to 19941 (per cent.)
	Percentage
Austria	17
Belgium	2
Denmark	5
Finland	-10
France	2
Germany	7
Greece	12
Ireland	-1
Italy	6
Luxembourg	4
Netherlands	36
Portugal	9
Spain	-1
Sweden	-6
United Kingdom	1
United States	21
Japan	18
Australia	30
Canada	28
New Zealand	24

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers are in small self-administered pension schemes; and what is the annual cost to the Revenue of tax relief on contributions under such schemes. [14666]

[holding answer 12 February 1996]: Information is not available concerning the actual number of taxpayers who are members of small self-administered pension schemes.The estimated cost of tax relief for contributions to occupational pension schemes is published in table 7.10 of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1995", a copy of which is in the Library. It is not possible to separate these estimates between small self-administered schemes and other occupational pension schemes.

£ million
Lender	1990–91	1991–92	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–961
Barclays	14.389	13.790	12.825	42.198	61.916	29.185
National Westminster	38.169	32.916	12.704	26.775	50.731	27.824
Lloyds	4.161	2.417	2.155	25.865	51.113	24.668
Midland	15.517	8.744	13.495	24.639	42.260	27.303
Bank of Scotland	1.385	2.464	2.018	6.232	10.259	5.816
Royal Bank of Scotland	1.939	1.018	0.425	6.608	8.492	6.719
Clydesdale	0.490	0.559	0.897	2.439	2.217	1.281
3i	4.091	4.631	4.170	7.567	6.461	2.523
Co-operative	0.295	0.101	0.025	0.335	1.048	0.406
Hill Samuel2	0.190	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Yorkshire	0.069	0.110	0.000	1.741	2.318	1.284
Bank of Ireland	0.179	0.070	0.000	1.420	1.117	0.787
Northern	0.583	0.265	0.205	0.322	0.529	0.430
Ulster	0.288	0.046	0.219	0.214	0.412	0.230
First Trust	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.250	0.856	0.550
TSB	0.632	0.082	0.000	0.303	2.656	0.860
Bank of Wales2	0.000	0.030	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Northern Venture Managers	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.270	0.325	0.000
Yorkshire Enterprise	0.025	0.250	0.225	0.465	0.528	0.302
DonBAC	0.087	0.052	0.218	0.425	0.331	0.050
Lenta	0.000	0.035	0.013	0.005	0.010	0.000
Equatorial2	0.025	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Ulster Development Capital	0.057	0.105	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
Total	82.571	67.685	49.594	148.073	243.579	130.218
1 To 30 September.
2 No longer a lender.

These figures may differ from ones quoted previously. They take account of loans guaranteed but subsequently withdrawn before the loan is taken out.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will describe the baseline between Skegness and Great Yarmouth for the purposes of the common fisheries policy. [14649]

The territorial sea baseline is drawn in accordance with the Territorial Waters Order in Council 1964, as amended by the Territorial Waters Order (Amendment) Order 1979. The base points are held and maintained by the territorial waters officer of the UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how he ensures that the negotiating

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been committed each year since 1990–91, and by which banks, under the small firms loan guarantee scheme. [14644]

I have been asked to reply.The value of loans guaranteed under the small firms loan guarantee scheme since 1990–91, by lender, is as follows:brief for his officials discussing EU legislation takes fully into account the need to minimise the burdens on United Kingdom business. [13716]

Guidance on how officials are to apply deregulatory principles when negotiating EC regulations 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 Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is (a) the highest and (b) the lowest hourly rate charged to abattoirs by the Meat Hygiene Service for the services of official veterinary surgeons. [15087]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 30 January to his previous question on the subject of official veterinary surgeons' hourly rates, Official Report, column 694.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what plans he has for the future of the site and building of the Public Record Office, Chancery lane. [10891]

I have been asked to reply.The efficiency scrutiny of the Public Record Office concluded that operations should be transferred to new premises at Kew. This transfer should be completed by the end of 1996. Other Government Departments have been widely canvassed, but there is no serious interest in re-use of the existing premises at Chancery lane. They will become surplus to requirements and will be disposed of on the open market by Property Holdings.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make it his policy to introduce measures to allow complex fraud cases to be heard by expert juries. [13890]

I have been asked to reply.Not at present. This is only one of a number of possible approaches which would require careful consideration before any alternative to the current jury system was adopted.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 31 January 1996, Official Report, column 749, if the anonymity order by Mr. Justice Johnson continues indefinitely; and if he will make it Government policy that no dead person's identity can be kept secret. [14040]

A judgment by the president of the family division on 8 December 1995 confirmed that the order made by Mr. Justice Johnson regarding the anonymity of patient C and other individuals connected with the proceedings should continue beyond patient C's death. The text of the president's two judgments and that of Mr. Justice Johnson in this case are available in the Library of the House.Questions relating to the anonymity of those involved in proceedings are matters for the court. The court will make its decision based on all the circumstances of the case.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14028]

The Department produces a wide range of administrative manuals and internal guidance: 13 are in the public domain and a further 84 are available for public inspection or could be provided on request. A list of these will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses. Guidance on security matters is not available to the public.Information on the full range of documents used for internal guidance could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.In accordance with the code of practice on access to Govnerment information a charge may be made to cover any additional costs of copies requested for retention.

To ask the Prime Minister which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14036]

For these purposes my office is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service, on 12 February 1996.

To ask the Prime Minister what was the final date on which (a) a Minister and (b) a civil servant delivered information to Lord Justice Scott for his inquiry. [14833]

The Government have been in correspondence with Sir Richard Scott's team throughout the period of the inquiry. The Cabinet Office was last asked to provide documents and information to the inquiry on 22 January.

To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements have been made for civil servants whose actions are discussed by Lord justice Scott to receive copies of his report before its official publications on 15 February. [14840]

The Government are in discussion with the inquiry about this.

To ask the Prime Minister how many pages of evidence were provided by his office to the Scott inquiry. [14836]

My office and the Cabinet Office have provided 6,197 pages of evidence to the Scott inquiry. This figure does not include correspondence between my office or the Cabinet Office and the inquiry or evidence supplied to the inquiry by individual witnesses.

To ask the Prime Minister if he (a) has discussed and (b) has authorised his Ministers to discuss media presentation of the Scott inquiry report with (i) newspaper proprietors, (ii) newspaper editors and (iii) governors of the BBC. [13993]

[holding answer 6 February 1996]: The arrangements agreed by the Government with Sir Richard Scott do not permit anyone outside Government to have access to the report before publication, nor to have the contents of the report disclosed to them. I have made it clear that those arrangements must be adhered to. The only exception at present agreed is that the spokesmen of the leading Opposition parties should have access to the report some hours before publication in accordance with the precedents for weighty reports of this nature. The preparation of the Government's response to the report has been and will be conducted in accordance with those arrangements. Any changes would be made only after consultation with Sir Richard Scott.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list each occasion on which he has visited (a) a British university, and (b) another institution of higher education in each of the last five years; and what was the purpose of the visit in each case. [14961]

I have visited a range of education establishments and discussed a variety of issues over the past five years.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 13 February. [13608]

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 13 February. [13609]

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