To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in what circumstances a sheriff may hear representations on sentences in private; and on how many occasions such representations have been heard in private in the last five years. [15059]

There is no information on the number of occasions on which sheriffs have heard representations on sentence in private. Representations on sentence are normally made in open court.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to reply to the report on mental incapacity recently produced by the Scottish Law Commission; and if he will make a statement. [15403]

My right hon. Friend has welcomed the Scottish Law Commission report on incapable adults. We are studying its wide-ranging proposals very carefully, but I cannot yet say when we shall be in a position to respond.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans the National Rivers Authority has to increase public access to water courses. [15156]

The National Rivers Authority has a general duty to promote the use of inland and coastal waters and associated land for recreation, and must ensure that its own water or associated land is made available in the best manner for recreational purposes. The Government's code of practice on conservation, access and recreation gives guidance to the NRA and the water and sewerage companies on the exercise of their environmental and recreational duties. Details of the NRA's activities in these areas are contained in its annual report on conservation, access and recreation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those regulations concerning licenses for the abstraction of water which remain to be covered by regulations to be brought in to implement European Union directive 92/43 on habitats and species; and when he expects to lay drafts before Parliament. [15198]

Chapter II of part II—sections 24 to 72—of the Water Resources Act 1991 concerns the granting of licences for the abstraction of water. Those sections will be covered by further regulations implementing the EC habitats directive. It is expected that the regulations will be laid before Parliament later this year. Currently, regulation 3 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 required all competent authorities, such as the National Rivers Authority or environment agency, in the exercise of any of their functions, to have regard to the requirements of the habitats directive.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate the application by Norchem to construct a chemical recycling plant at Warndon, Worcester; and if he will make a statement: [15411]

The current application by Norchem in relation to the Warndon area of Worcester is for a waste management licence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The application has been made to Hereford and Worcester county council, the licensing authority, and is for waste oil treatment recovery and chemical waste transfer. The council is considering a number of matters relating to the application.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has in respect of grants to homelessness voluntary organisations under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985; and if he will make a statement. [16138]

The section 73 grant programme continues to represent good value for money. Since 1990–91, it has been particularly successful in assisting a large number of single people to find and keep accommodation. Programme expenditure has grown from £2 million to £6.9 million in 1995–96 and the number of schemes funded has increased from 30 to 160.For 1996–97, the Government have increased to £7.8 million the sum to be made available to voluntary organisations to help them to meet the running costs of practical schemes that assist single people in housing need. This means that, in addition to continuing to fund all eligible existing projects, we shall invite bids to start new schemes in 1996–97.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to review the proposals to contract out parts of the Department of the Environment's roads services. [16009]

I have received a number of representations about the proposals to contract out large parts of the activities of the roads service. I have decided that an extensive market testing programme would provide an alternative way of securing improved value for money and give employees of the roads service an opportunity to compete with the private sector for the delivery of service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanism exists to ensure that the public are made aware of any new level of subsidy agreed in the event that a franchisee for the south-west or great western line returns to the franchising director to renegotiate the level of subsidy upwards. [15169]

The level of subsidy paid in respect of the South West Trains and Great Western franchises is detailed in the relevant franchise agreement, which is available to the public via the franchising director's register. If the franchising director were to agree any new level of subsidy with either the South West Trains or Great Western franchisee, this would be shown in a revised franchise agreement which would be placed on the register.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to secure the future of the supersaver ticket and its applicability to the current range of services. [15294]

This is a matter for railway operators. The British Railways Board offers supersaver tickets because of their commercial potential, and private railway operators are likely to set up similar schemes for the same reason.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which London boroughs do not recognise the orange badge usable by disabled car drivers; and if he will make a statement. [15394]

The orange badge scheme does not apply to the City of London, the city of Westminster, the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea and part of the London borough of Camden. Each of these authorities, however, operates its own independent concessionary scheme for disabled people who live or work in the area and offers limited concessions in relation to designated parking and meter parking to orange badge holders generally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will (a) list the number of private companies and agencies consulted by the Highways Agency for advice and information to date in connection with the agency's proposed Al Gateshead western bypass and (b) give the total cost of the amounts paid by the agency to private companies and agencies. [15193]

The Highways Agency contracted preparation work on the bypass to one firm of design consultants. The consultant has obtained specialist advice about matters concerning geology, archaeology, ecology, landscaping and agriculture from a number of firms.The total cost of preparatory work to date is £3.3 million, excluding VAT.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to include an expert nominated by the Derbyshire Family Association on the proposed inquiry into the wreck of the MV Derbyshire; and if he will make a statement. [15536]

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlile) on 22 January, Official Report, column 38.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plan she has to collate information about applications to courts in respect of public interst immunity certificates. [14902]

The Government will consider the maintenance of records relating to public interst immunity certificates in the light of the recommendations in Sir Richard Scott's report.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many parents with care have been imprisoned for contempt of court following non-compliance with a contact order made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 in each year since 1991. [14848]

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

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contact orders have been made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 where the presiding judge has been aware that one parent has been charged with, or convicted of, assaulting the other parent. [14842]

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 Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in how many cases the legal aid costs were over £100,000 in (a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95 and (c) so far in 1995–96. [14747]

The information requested is shown in the table. For civil legal aid, the figures represent the number of individual legal aid certificates where gross payments, including VAT, have exceeded £100,000, but exclude multi-party actions. The criminal legal aid figures also include VAT and cover cases in the magistrates' courts and the crown court.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the current status of contracting out the care of pregnant women to the NHS by women's prisons; and what such plans exist for HMP Holloway. [15001]

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the post of chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Authority was advertised; how many applications were received; how many candidates were shortlisted; on what date the shortlisted candidates were interviewed; and with what result. [14933]

The post of chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission was advertised on 3, 5 and 8 September 1995. Thirty-seven applications were received in response to the advertisement and these, along with 87 candidates drawn from other sources, were considered. Six shortlisted candidates were interviewed on 12 and 20 December 1995. The decision whom to appoint is for Her Majesty the Queen, advised by the Prime Minister. When that decision has been taken, an announcement will be made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many industrial tribunals have been registered in the last 12 months in respect of staff employed in the Prison Service; how many have been settled prior to a hearing taking place; how much compensation has been paid to individuals in total; how much costs have been incurred by (a) services provided by Treasury Solicitors for industrial tribunals and (b) services provided by counsel advising and attending tribunals; and how many cases are still outstanding. [14954]

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that there should be an office for the issue of passports in Birmingham. [15425]

The UK Passport Agency undertook a review of the location of its offices in 1995 and concluded that the six regional passport offices in the United Kingdom were able to meet current and expected levels of demand and that there was no case for additional offices.The UK Passport Agency has recently introduced a partnership arrangement under which passport applications can be handed in at high street post offices and branches of ARTAC World Choice travel agents who will check the application form for accuracy and deliver it to the agency for processing. There are more than 40 post office outlets and five ARTAC World Choice travel agents in the Birmingham area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will institute changes in his Department's practice on the non-disclosure of internal papers containing classified or commercially sensitive information involving arms or military equipment sales. [14900]

I refer the hon. Member to the statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, Official Report, columns 1139–44.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of all documents submitted by his Department to the Scott inquiry on the quantities and values of the Jordan arms sales package. [15693]

Sir Richard Scott intends to publish in due course copies of all document which he considers are relevant to the text of his report. This will be available to the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the titles of each of the papers his Department provided to the Scott inquiry. [15699]

I have no plans to list the titles of the 29,000 pages of papers which my Department provided to the Scott inquiry. The inquiry will be publishing a substantial number of these documents in the annex to the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his practice to give details of types of training and the number involved in the training of foreign nationals involved at military establishments in the United Kingdom and at British military bases abroad. [15696]

We disclose details of those countries which received UK training, whether in the UK or overseas, and also the number of students concerned during any particular period. It is not normally our practice to disclose the precise details of military training given to any particular country as such details are regarded as confidential between Governments. There are no plans to change this policy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has anything to add to the answer to the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) of 25 January 1991, Official Report, column 357. [15630]

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are being taken to ensure that sub-contractors working on the new Ministry of Defence building at Abbey Wood, Bristol are being paid on time by the main contractors and according to the amount of work executed. [15479]

The contractual relationship between a main contractor and his sub-contractors and suppliers are a matter for the main contractor. However, contracts for Abbey Wood construction works place an obligation on main contractors to include a term in sub-contracts which require payment to be made to suppliers or sub-contractors within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice as defined by the sub-contract requirement.The overall progress on the main construction works at Abbey Wood is continuously monitored by the MOD project team and its commercial works project manager to ensure that programmed milestones—linked to payment plans set out in the respective contracts—are being met, with the achievement of agreed progress milestones triggering payment. We understand that sub-contractors and suppliers are being dealt with in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed between the parties concerned. Were this not the position, we would expect a detrimental impact on progress which would then be taken up directly with main contractors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimates he has made of the cost of the work being undertaken in respect of the construction of the new MOD building at Abbey Wood, Bristol; and if he will make a statement on the extent of the overrun against the original estimate. [15480]

The estimated works cost of the Abbey Wood development—inclusive of site acquisition, construction, fitting out, professional works management fees and VAT—is kept under constant review and remains within the approved budget of £248.5 million at 1992 prices—£273.4 million at 1995 prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff have been or are planned to be accommodated in new office accommodation. [36587]

Detailed information relating to all the new build office accommodation is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Four new office accommodation projects in excess of £10 million in value have been approved centrally since 1991 to accommodate some 8,800 staff in total. All of these are part of wider strategies which result in significant savings to the taxpayer. They are the new Procurement Executive headquarters at Abbey Wood near Bristol, an additional office block at Andover for HQ quarter master general's staff, a new personnel and training command headquarters at RAF Innsworth and a new logistic command headquarters at RAF Wyton.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ban the export of self-destruct anti-personnel land mines. [36586]

No. It would not be right to ban completely the export of a weapon which we may in future need to import for our own armed forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to award the contract for the construction of batch 2 Trafalgar class submarines. [36572]

I hope to be in a position to place a prime contract for the construction of batch 2 Trafalgar class submarines next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which countries the United Kingdom is collaborating or discussing collaboration on intelligence-gathering satellites. [36578]

The Western European Union is currently studying the possibilities of co-operation on a European satellite observation system. The United Kingdom is contributing fully to that work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement of progress on the feasibility study on anti-missile defence. [36580]

A contract was awarded in October 1994, to a consortium led by British Aerospace, to carry out a pre-feasibility study to identify ballistic missile defence systems to counter potential threats to the United Kingdom, the dependent territories and our forces deployed overseas. The study, which is scheduled to run for some 18 months and is proceeding according to schedule, will identify practical defensive architectures against a range of scenarios taking account of performance criteria, costs, time scales and technical risk. This advice will inform subsequent policy consideration, including whether the UK has a requirement for ballistic missile defence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Britain's requirements for attack and support helicopters now meet the United Kingdom's needs into the next century. [36585]

The orders which were announced during 1995, for 67 Apache attack helicopters for the Army, and 14 Chinook Mk II and 22 utility EH101 support helicopters for the Royal Air Force, will ensure that the United Kingdom's requirements for these capabilities will be satisfied for the foreseeable future.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for the most recent year available the cost of conditional exemption from inheritance tax of (a) chattels and (b) land in each case indicating the number of estates granted exemption. [13927]

The estimated cost to the Exchequer of granting conditional exemption from inheritance tax in 1994–95 is about £55 million for chattels, and £5 million for land and buildings. These figures represent the amount of tax deferred as long as the owners comply with their undertakings about the maintenance and preservation of the exempted property, and the provision of public access. If the undertakings are breached, or the property sold, tax is charged on the value of the property at that time.In 1994–95, conditional exemption was granted to 59 estates in respect of chattels, and to 18 estates in respect of land and buildings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average number of children in households where the husband or wife is (a) a higher rate taxpayer, (b) a basic rate taxpayer and (c) a lower rate taxpayer, classifying households by the taxpayer on the highest marginal rate. [14263]

Estimates for 1995–96 are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update his answer to the hon. Member for Peckhan (Ms Hannan) of 5 March 1993, Official Report, column 335, on an allowance for working mothers. [14403]

Estimates of the cost of introducing allowances against taxable incomes for working mothers and lone parents in 1995–96 are set out in the table. The first year cost would depend on how the measure was implemented.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a list of all the measures on personal and business taxation since 1979 which were approved by Parliament and opposed by Her Majesty's Opposition (a) on Second or Third Reading, (b) in Committee and (c) on Report; and if he will make a statement. [13122]

[holding answer 6 February 1966]: The Opposition have voted against every Finance Bill on Second Reading since May 1979, apart from the pre-election 1992 Finance Bill.They have voted against Bills including measures:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since 1 January 1995 (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had contact with Lord Howe concerning his correspondence with the Scott inquiry. [14821]

[holding answer 12 February 1996]: As a former colleague, Lord Howe has had informal contact from time to time on these matters with the Treasury at ministerial level.My officials have had no such contact with Lord Howe on departmental business nor, so far as I am aware, on an informal basis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to raise the de minimis rule as it applies to personal tax returns. [14664]

[holding answer 12 February 1996]: There is no de minimus rule applying to tax returns.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for primary and secondary legislation passed since 5 April 1995 which measures were subject to a compliance cost assessment; and what was the compliance cost in each instance. [13655]

[holding answer 13 February 1995]: I refer to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave to my hon. Friend on 14 February 1996, Official Report, column 578.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will refer to the Director of Public Prosecution the allegations made by Dr. Alan George and referred to him on 29 January. [15058]

Dr. Alan George wrote to me drawing attention to conduct by another which may have involved the commission of criminal offences. He indicated that he had also drawn the matter to the attention of the Metropolitan police.Dr. George has been advised that the matter should first be investigated by the police. They will refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service if their investigations reveal that criminal offences may have been committed.

to ask the Attorney-General if he will list the titles of each of the papers his Department provided to the Scott inquiry. [15698]

I have no plans to list the titles of the 1,778 pages of papers which my Department provided to the Scott inquiry. The inquiry will be publishing a substantial number of these documents in an annex to the report.

To ask the Attorney-General (1) what plans he has to make changes to the public interest immunity certificate arrangements; [14898](2) if he will make a statement on the use of public interest immunity certificates. [14906]

The Government do not propose to comment on issues within the scope of Sir Richard Scott's inquiry until his report has been published and fully considered by the Government.

To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were brought by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last four years; in how many all defendants were found guilty; and in how many the principal defendant was found guilty of the most serious charge. [14748]

I have been asked to reply.Since 5 April 1992, the Serious Fraud Office has brought 68 cases to trial. In 37 of these trials, all the defendants were convicted. In 53 of the trials, the principal defendant, or a principal defendant, was convicted.This is broken down as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if the Government will meet the costs incurred when interested parties translate HMSO material into (a) braille, (b) large print or (c) audio tape. [14663]

Her Majesty's Stationery Office is just one of many printers and publishers undertaking Government work. Individual Departments, agencies and other public bodies determine how, in what form and at what cost their official information is to be made available, and details are not held centrally.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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. [14982]

Since the Department was formed in May 1992, a total of 13 questions have been passed for answer to executive agencies and non-governmental departments for which this Department is responsible. The figure can be broken down as follows:

• 1992–93: 2
• 1993–94: 0
• 1994–95: 8
• 1995 to date: 3

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the individuals, by name and company, who are engaged on temporary secondments in the Cabinet Office and Office of Public Service; and if he will list the type and nature of the secondment. [14675]

The following staff are currently seconded into the Cabinet Office, Office of Public Service, from industry and commerce:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 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. [14995]

This Department has transferred no parliamentary questions to non-departmental public bodies.The number of written parliamentary questions referred to next steps agencies by this Department is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the aims, operations and achievements of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Chechnya. [15382]

The OSCE long-term objective is to promote a peaceful settlement in Chechnya. Through the assistance group in Grozny, it continues to make every effort to help bring about an early ceasefire and encourage negotiations to find a settlement acceptable to all parties. The assistance group can play an important role in bringing Chechen and Russian representatives together and was instrumental in brokering the talks which led to the conclusion of the military agreement in July 1995. This agreement still offers the best basis for securing a lasting peace. Despite operating in often dangerous and difficult conditions, the assistance group continues to do a good job in building contacts with all parties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's ambassador in Moscow last met Mr. Sergei Kovalyov to discuss the situation in Chechnya. [15384]

Her Majesty's ambassador to Moscow last met Mr. Sergei Kovalyov on 22 September 1995, at which meeting the situation in Chechnya was raised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's ambassador in Moscow last discussed the situation in Chechnya with (a) President Yeltsin, (b) Mr. Gennadzy Zynganor, (c) General Lebed, (d) Arkadiy Volsky, (e) Mr. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, (f) Prime Minister Chernomyrdin, (g) Mayor Luzhkor and (h) Foreign Minister Primakov; and what were his conclusions. [15383]

Her Majesty's ambassador in Moscow last met Mr. Primakov on 6 February 1996 and Mr. Zyuganov on 14 September 1995. The situation in Chechnya was touched upon on both occasions. Her Majesty's ambassador presented his credentials to President Yeltsin on 12 February 1996, but did not discuss Chechnya with him. He has not met any of the other people listed. It is clear from these contacts and others that the situation in Chechnya and the search for a settlement is a major preoccupation both for the Government and Russian political leaders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now list the titles of each of the papers his Department made available to the Scott inquiry. [15700]

I have no plans to list the titles of the 16,234 pages of papers which this Department provided to the Scott inquiry. The inquiry will be publishing a substantial number of these documents in an annex to the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1 January 1995 (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had contact with Lord Howe concerning his correspondence with the Scott inquiry. [14818]

[holding answer 12 February 1996]: Communications between Ministers in this Department and others concerning correspondence with the Scott inquiry are private. Lord Howe has, like other witnesses to the inquiry, had contact with officials in the FCO from time to time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is going to be taken on an application made by Mrs. Noreen Bibi (Ref. IMMI/Co 534) to the post in Islamabad to join her husband in the United Kingdom. [15558]

I have asked the high commission at Islamabad for details and will arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many nurses there were in Welsh hospitals between 1990 and 1996; [14804](2) how many managers there were in Welsh hospitals between 1990 and 1996. [14829]

The information is given in the table. The figures include all staff employed by NHS trusts, health authorities and the Welsh Health Common Services Authority as separate figures for staff in hospitals are not available centrally. A reliable split between nursing staff and midwifery staff is not available centrally, so the information given relates to all staff in the nursing and midwifery group excluding pre-registration learners. For managers, all staff paid on manager pay scales are included in the figures; a number of these staff have been reclassified as managers from within the administrative and clerical and other staff groups. Managers from all disciplines may be included.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the (a) monetary targets and (b) the actual return on capital for each NHS trust annually since its inception; and how much of the surplus was (i) retained by each NHS trust and (ii) returned to the Government. [14625]

The information requested is contained in NHS trusts' annual financial reports, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the total amount of (a) useable and (b) set-aside capital receipts held by each local authority in Wales at 31 March 1995. [15065]

The information requested is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are employed, and in what capacity, at the Grant-Maintained Schools Foundation's regional office in Swansea. [14941]

One person is employed at the regional office in the capacity of schools liaison officer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the rent of the regional office of the Grant-Maintained Schools Foundation in Swansea; and who receives that rent. [14942]

It is for the foundation to negotiate the best possible terms within the funding made available from the Welsh Office. Such arrangements are commercial in confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many inquiries the regional office of the Grant-Maintained Schools Foundation in Swansea has handled since it opened. [14943]

Two hundred and six, many of which resulted in visits to schools to talk to governors, teachers and parents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what publications the regional office of the Grant-Maintained Schools Foundation in Swansea produces; and what is the cost of producing these publications. [14944]

The production of publications by the regional office in Swansea is a matter for the foundation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the closure of the British Eagle cycle factory in Newtown. [15230](2) if he will list all

The Development Board for Rural Wales is the only statutory agency to have given support to British Eagle Cycles. I have asked the chief executive of the board to write to the hon. and learned Member with the information requested and I 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 (1) if he will publish the current guidelines on the use of waiting list initiative funding on (a) British United Provident Association, (b) private consultants and (c) NHS consultants on piecework rates; and if he will make a statement. [15657](2) what guidelines he has issued on the removal of patients from eligibility for waiting list initiative funding on the basis of their refusal to accept NHS treatment at

It is for health authorities and GP fundholders to decide on the most effective ways of spending the resources available under the waiting times initiative. Purchasers can agree contracts with private hospitals and with consultants on a private basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultation she has had with the chairmen of the University Hospital of Wales Trust, the south Glamorgan health authority and the south Glamorgan family health services authority concerning the payments of waiting list initiative funds to GP fundholders for the treatment or diagnosis of long waiting list orthopaedic patients at (a) BUPA, (b) consultants' private consulting rooms an (c) weekend sessions in NHS hospitals. [15661]

No such consultation has been made. It is for health authorities and GP fundholders, as purchasers of hospital services, to decide on the most effective way of using waiting times initiative funding. In doing so, they are conscious of the need to achieve value for money.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each GP training programme in Wales, the number of places allocated in each centre and the number of GP trainees at the latest available date. [15659]

This information is not held centrally by the Welsh Office. The sub-dean of the University of Wales college of medicine, department of postgraduate education has advised that, as at February 1996, there are 12 vocational training schemes in Wales. The number of places on each of those schemes are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage of hard-to-fill vacancies over the previous 12 months in 1994 and 1995. [15560]

Figures relating to number of vacancies over the periods are not available. However the report "Skill Needs in Britain, 1995" published by the Department for Education and Employment indicates that the percentage of establishments with 25 or more employees in Wales reported hard-to-fill vacancies in 1994 was 16 per cent. The figure of 35 per cent. quoted in that report for 1995 is not directly comparable due to changes in the questions asked. A comparable 1995 figure is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many petitions for bankruptcy have been initiated by her Department in respect of businesses in the Greater Manchester area in the past five years. [10303]

Records are not kept that would allow a definitive answer to be given but I am aware of no instance of the Department, or of the former Departments for Education and Employment, having initiated such action within the period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many empty buildings her 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 her Department on empty property taxes in each of the last five years. [14571]

The Department for Education and Employment and the- Employment Service together currently own 26 freehold properties which are empty.One property includes a hostel block for use by trainees and four terraced houses for the use of hostel supervisors.Following general Government practice, the Department and the ES bear the cost of their own property insurance.The Department and the ES together also hold 135 leasehold properties which are empty. None is designed for residential use.In many leaseholds buildings, the landlord insures the building and recovers the cost through the overall service charge; it is not possible to disaggregate this charge without disproportionate time and cost.The cost of security for empty buildings is also included in maintenance costs and it is therefore not possible to identify the separate total for security costs.The Department's contribution in lieu of rates on vacant properties for the current year ending March 1996 will be £170,900. The ES's CILOR on vacant properties in the year ended 31 March 1995 was £680,000. CILOR figures for previous years are included in overall running cost figures and cannot be separated out without disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 12 February 1996, Official Report, column 438, how many children are covered by the management and administration cost of £2,924,000; and what is the pupil:manager ratio in Warwickshire local education authority. [15367]

A total of 68,699 pupils: this figure, like those given in my answers of 2 and 12 February, is taken from the authority's 1995–96 local management of schools budget statement. The Department does not collect the information which would be needed to answer the second part to the question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) for how many weeks of jobseeker's allowance a claimant will be eligible after a suspension period imposed on grounds of having left a previous job voluntarily; [15548](2) what mechanism will be used to reclaim jobseeker's allowance, paid during the adjudication period, to a claimant who is subsequently judged to have left his previous employment voluntarily and has his allowance suspended. [15557]

Provided that the jobseeker satisfied the entitlement conditions for JSA, payment of benefit will not be suspended pending an adjudication officer's decision on a question of whether a claimant left his employment voluntarily. If the adjudication officer decides that the claimant did leave his employment voluntarily without just cause, he will also decide the length of the period—at least one week, but not more than 26 weeks—for which JSA is not payable. Since any sanction will start from the week following the determination, repayment of JSA received before the decision will not be required. The claimant's period of eligibility for JSA after the sanction will depend on how long he continues to satisfy the conditions of entitlement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what requirements the jobseekers scheme will place on applicants to ensure that their appearance is suitable for the job being applied for; and what assessment she has made of the impact of these requirements on the ability of small businesses to comply with equal opportunities legislation. [15554]

To be entitled to jobseeker's allowance, a jobseeker must seek employment actively. Any act which would otherwise be considered a step in actively seeking employment will be disregarded if, by his appearance, the jobseeker undermines his prospects of securing employment, unless due to reasons beyond his control. An example of this would be where a jobseeker chose to dress for a job interview in a way which he knew would be unacceptable in that particular type of employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average cost of a school inspection; and how many inspections took place in each of the last five years. [15469]

This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, who heads the Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the outcome of the informal Social Affairs Council held on 2 to 4 February in Venice. [15091]

An informal meeting of Social Affairs Ministers in Venice on 3 February 1996 re-emphasised the importance of education and training issues to European competitiveness. The Commission's White Paper, "Teaching and Learning: Towards a Learning Society", provided a focus for a debate on the contribution of education and training to the promotion of employment. As this was an informal meeting, no formal conclusions were reached.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what steps she will be taking to ascertain the number of new places created in (a) the maintained sector, (b) the private sector and (c) the voluntary sector in phase one of the voucher scheme; [15299](2) what steps she will be taking in phase one of the voucher scheme to ascertain the number of nursery vouchers redeemed by those currently in

We have information on the number of four-year-olds currently in maintained schools but do not hold information on the number of four-year-olds in the private sector. We will collect information on the number of vouchers redeemed in the maintained and private and voluntary sectors once phase 1 of the scheme begins in April 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (a) how many 11 to 16-year-old pupils are permanently excluded from (i) local education authority secondary schools and (ii) grant-maintained secondary schools for the most recent year for which figures are available, (b) 11 to 16-year-old pupils have been admitted following permanent exclusion from another school to (1) local education authority secondary schools and (2) grant-maintained secondary schools and (c) the total number of schools in each category in that year. [15481]

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools in England have (a) closed and (b) merged for each year since 1979, giving the totals for (i) primary, (ii) secondary and (iii) special schools. [15344]

[holding answer 15 February 1996]: This question could be answered in the form in which it is asked only at disproportionate cost.In January 1979 there were 21,309 primary schools, 4,606 secondary schools and 1,489 special schools in the maintained sector. In January 1995 these figures had dropped to 18,551, 3,614 and 1,218 respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Eduction and Employment how many heads of household below retirement age and available for work have mortgages. [14300]

I have been asked to reply.The latest estimate for England is that 7,540,000 heads of household who are below retirement age, and were either in employment or seeking and available for work, have mortgages. This estimate is from the 1994–95 Survey of English Housing and is subject to sampling error.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were closed in 1995 in (a) Consett, (b) Sunderland, (c) Grimsby, (d) Good Hope, (e) West Middlesex and (f) Newham general hospitals. [14652]

Details of bed closures are not held centrally. Since the beginning of this year an extra 10 beds have been opened in Consett, 26 in Sunderland, 17 in Grimsby, 24 in Good Hope, 12 in West Middlesex and 32 in Newham general hospital.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the mean number of decayed, missing or filled teeth in five-year-olds in each health authority in each of the last five years; and what are the latest available figures. [14766]

Tables setting out the mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth of five-year-old children in each health authority in 1991–92 and 1993–94 will be placed in the Library. The 1993–94 figures are the latest available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds his Department will pay the libel costs of the defendants in the Kirby-Harris libel case. [14661]

The Department agreed to make an ex-gratia payment towards the legal costs of the parties on the grounds that bringing the proceedings to an end before further costs were incurred represented the best value for money. This decision was based on legal advice that very substantial costs, in excess of the costs paid, might fall to be paid by the Cornwall Healthcare NHS Trust out or resources which should be used for the health-care of the people of Cornwall.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish the review of renal care in the United Kingdom. [15470]

The national review of renal services, which was completed at the end of 1994, covered only England. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Davyhulme (Mr. Churchill) on 8 February 1996, Official Report, column 348.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) to what extent each of the former district health authorities in West Sussex is currently underfunded in both cash and percentage terms in (a) the current financial year and (b) 1996–97; and what is the level of underfunding of the two most underfunded health authorities elsewhere in the United Kingdom; [15404](2) what plans he has to implement his policy of ensuring that from 1 April 1996 all health authorities in the South Thames region will be broadly within 5 per cent. of their target share. [15402]

The planned 1996–97 allocations will bring all health authorities within the former South Thames regional health authority within 5 per cent. of their weighted capitation targets.For 1996–97 there is only a single planned weighted capitation target for the new West Sussex health authority and it is under target by 4.8 per cent. or £15.8 million. In 1996–97 the two most under-target health authorities in England are South Essex at 7.7 per cent. or £22.8 million and North Essex at 6.4 per cent. or £23.0 million.In 1995–96 Mid Downs was 5.7 per cent. or £6.1 million below target Chichester 7.9 per cent. or £6.5 million and Worthing 13.0 per cent. or £15.7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what monitoring of the ethnic origin of staff is being undertaken by national health service employers; and what reports he intends to publish based on that information; [15608]

I attach great importance to achieving equality of opportunity for all staff in the NHS. Information on the ethnic origin of NHS employees is collected annually and published in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin for "NHS Hospital and Community Health Services Non-Medical Staff in England", which will be placed in the Library shortly and separately for "NHS Medical and Dental Staff', also issued annually, copies of which are available in the Library.I have taken seriously the issues raised by the Policy Studies Institute report on "Nursing in a Multi-Ethnic NHS" and refer the hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 18 January 1996,

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take following the recent industrial tribunal case McCarthy v. British Nursing Association. [15667]

This matter does not concern a national health service employee. However, the NHS Executive is strongly committed to equal opportunities in NHS employment and will be studying the consequences for the NHS of any further legal action in this case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the position of asylum seekers needing advice or treatment from national health service health care staff. [15669]

Asylum seekers can seek advice or treatment from national health service health care staff on the same basis as other individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many judicial reviews of community care policy there have been since 1 April 1993; [15475](2) how many judicial reviews of community care policy have been applied for since 1 April 1993; [15476](3) what has been the cost of each judicial review of community care policy since 1 April 1993; [15477]

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data his Department collects about the relocation expenses paid by national health service employers. [15663]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 8 March 1995, Official Report, column 242.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when will he publish the Bill outlining changes to adoption law. [15670]

A draft of the proposed Adoption Bill will be issued shortly in the form of a consultation document.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his Department's policy to disqualify organisations that commit acts of race discrimination from being contractors with the national health service. [15664]

All national health service contractors are expected to comply with their statutory obligations under the Race Relations Act 1976 or any enactment relating to discrimination in employment, and to take reasonable steps to secure their observance by staff or agents employed in the performance of any NHS contract. Where a contractor is in serious or continuing breach of this requirement in a particular case, without taking remedial action, the NHS trust or authority concerned has the option of disqualification or termination, depending on the local circumstances of the case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the relationship between electromagnetic fields and child leukaemia; if he will place copies of that research in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [15633]

Commissioned research relation to electromagnetic fields and childhood leukaemia includes:

a direct Department of Health contribution to the United Kingdom childhood cancer study—a five-year prospective study of childhood cancer being undertaken by the UK Coordinating Committee on Cancer Research—to which a substantial effort is also being devoted by the National Radiological Protection Board, which advises Government on radiation hazards;

a study by the NRPB, shortly to be published, of the possible effects of exposure to mains frequency EMF on the proliferation of cultured human cells;

NRPB-funded work at Oxford university investigating the possibility that weak EMF might damage genetic material.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the individuals who serve on registered home tribunals, by region, indicating their gender and occupation. [15662]

The information requested is shown in the tables. The information requested is not kept by region as tribunal members may be required to attend tribunals in any area of the country.