To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions in the past 12 months the Governor of Hong Kong has

Name of body	Publish annual reports	Publish annual accounts	Publish minutes of meetings	Publish agendas of meetings	Publish a register of members interests
Britain-Russia Centre	Yes (statutory)	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No
British Association for Central and	Yes (statutory)	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No
Eastern Europe
British Council	Yes (non-statutory)	Yes (non-statutory)	No	No	No
Commonwealth Institutes, London and Edinburgh	Yes (statutory)	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No
Great Britain-China Centre	Yes (statutory)	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No
Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No	No
Westminister Foundation for Democracy	Yes (statutory)	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No	No
Crown Agents Holding and	Yes (statutory)	Yes (statutory)	No	No	No
Realisation Board

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Ministers approved the on-sale by Jordan of 29 British-supplied armoured recovery vehicles to Iraq. [16393]

In 1981, the Jordanian Government requested permission from the UK to supply to Iraq 29 armoured recovery vehicles planned to be exported to Jordan under a memorandum of understanding. Approval was given, as required by the memorandum, since the supply was consistent with Government policy at that time, which was that no lethal equipment would be exported to Iraq, the vehicles in question being classified as non-lethal. The arrangement was made before the establishment of the Iran-Iraq export guidelines in 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he plans to ensure that recommendations Nos. 18 and 19 of the first report from the Defence Select

The Governor has naturally met some of these people on a number of occasions in the course of his official duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests, indicating in each case if this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [16822]

The table covers the Foreign and Overseas Development Administration.Committee of Session 1995–96, HC 61, on aspects of defence procurement and industrial policy are implemented. [16456]

The Government memorandum in response to these and the other recommendations contained in the Defence and Trade and Industry Committees' joint report on "Aspects of Defence Procurement and Industrial Policy", was published by the Committees on 7 February 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which non-NATO countries have received (a) advice, (b) training, (c) supplies and (d) support from the RAF Institute for Aviation Medicine since 1984. [16315]

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military services and training provided by his Department between 1974 and 1979 to (a) the middle east, (b) Iran and (c) Iraq; and what was the nature and value of those services. [16988]

It is not our practice to comment on the policy of previous Governments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests, indicating in each case if this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [16830]

The information requested is as follows:There is a statutory right for the public to inspect the annual accounts of all the service museums, held by the Charities Commission; the National Army museum and the RAF museum publish their annual reports voluntarily. Statutory public access to the annual report and accounts of the Service Sound and Vision Corporation is available at Companies House. The Oil and Pipelines Agency's annual report and accounts are laid before each House of Parliament.None of the MOD's executive NDPBs publishes the agendas or minutes of meetings; and there is no statutory requirement to do so.Appointees to the OPA and SSVC are required to declare any personal interests and records are maintained. In the case of SSVC, any members' interest are also registered at Companies House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will make a substantive reply to the letter regarding aircraft crash pollution sent on 27 March 1995 by the general secretary of the Celtic League; if he will publish the text of his reply; and if he will make a statement. [17571]

My officials responded on 22 February this year. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sites and aircraft type involved in serious crash incidents in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Cornwall, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the rest of England and (f) the United Kingdom since 1980, indicating (i) the incidents for which RAF post-crash management techniques have been implemented and (ii) the cases where toxic pollution was (1) measured and (2) recorded; and if he will make a statement. [17572]

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the key targets for the chief executive of the Army Base Repair Organisation for 1996–97. [18034]

The chief executive of the Army Base Repair Organisation has been set the following key targets for 1996–97.

1. To remain within ABRO's allocated budget.

2. To deliver a responsive repair service, which both matches the needs of the customer in peace and for operations to the agreed timelines, quantity and quality criteria and offers value for money.

3. To implement a comprehensive output based system to measure customer satisfaction.

4. To submit to the Minister of State for the Armed Forces the results of the land command support market Test by 31 January 1997.

5. To complete the transfer of all repair activities from ABRO Old Dalby and close the workshop by 31 December 1996.

6. To reduce by 2 per cent. the 1996–97 ratio of labour costs to hours of production by 31 March 1997.

7. To obtain tenders for the re-installation of the strategic test facilities for Challenger and Warrior transmission and steer units by 31 March 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, column 90, how often the Ministry of Defence joint working group has met since June 1995; and at how many of these meetings the subject of the Edzell base closure was on the agenda. [17407]

The Ministry of Defence joint working party group was set up specifically to deal with the closure of RAF Edzell, and it has met three times.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the use of Whisper concrete on the M18 and A50 and its future use in road building. [16711]

I have asked the chief executive of the Highways' Agency to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total expenditure by his Department on the Isle of Wight in 1994–95 broken down by category. [16777]

Expenditure of some £4.5 million which can be attributed to the Isle of Wight in 1994–95 is as follows:

• £3 million paid to the Isle of Wight as part of the local transport capital settlement;
• £1.3 million paid to British Rail by the Franchising Director in support of passenger rail services on the Island line;
• £80.000 by the Driving Standards Agency;
• £35,000 on vehicle testing operations, including staff costs;
• and £74.000 by the Coastguard Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of accidents involving HGVs attributable (a) in whole and (b) in part to the defective eyesight of the HGV driver for the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [16728]

No statistics are collected on the relationship between accidents and defective eyesight; it is practically impossible to link defective eyesight and accident liability. Even if tests of eyesight were routinely conducted after accidents, it could not be established that poor eyesight was responsible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was his Department's budget for (a) consultants' fees and (b) all other costs associated with the public and press launch for the introduction of (i) the Great Western, (ii) South West Trains and (iii) London Tilbury Southend rail franchises. [17006]

The Great Western and South West Trains rail franchises were publicly launched with the assistance of officials from my Department and its marketing consultants—Shandwick Consultants Ltd. It is not possible to identify separately the costs associated with my Department's role in these events. Information about payments to individual contractors is commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has given to the Rail Regulator regarding the introduction of competition for passenger rail services up to 31 December 1996; and what arrangements will apply after this date. [16983]

Guidance on competition for rail passenger services was included in the guidance given by the Secretary of State to the Rail Regulator on 31 March 1994. The regulator published a policy statement, "Competition for railway passenger services" in December 1994. Both of these documents are in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the sections of rail track currently subject to temporary speed restrictions due to the poor condition of the track; and in each case, when it is estimated that these speed restrictions will be lifted. [17035]

Railtrack informs me that this information is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated relating to increasing the capacity of the M62 junctions 12 to 14 since the cancellation of the M62 relief road. [17095]

Work is at an early stage and options are still being identified. So far, we have commissioned work on traffic management and demand, and on possible minor improvements to the M62.We are also developing transport models in partnership with the Greater Manchester authorities. These will enable us to assess behavioural responses and to test alternatives.Evaluation will start when all the information has been gathered.We shall consult the public, and others, when we have identified effective and affordable alternatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safeguards will be put in place to guarantee the continued service of the royal train after privatisation. [17113]

Confidential contractual arrangements are being put in place to guarantee the continued service of the royal train after privatisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government have to prevent young people from using high-powered motor cycles. [17552]

Implementation of the second EC directive on driving licences will restrict motor cycle riders under the age of 21 to machines with a power output of up to 33 brake horse power (25kW) for two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out by home port the coverage of tugs on the north and west coasts of Scotland (a) before and (b) since the publication of the Donaldson report on the Braer incident indicating whether it is year-round; and if he will make a statement. [17211]

[holding answer 26 February 1996]: I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard Agency to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the value of all severance payments, and payments in kind, made by his Department to Mr. Martin Helm. [17239]

Mr. Martin Helm left the Department on 31 December 1995. He was paid a severance payment calculated in accordance with the rules of the civil service compensation scheme. Such payments are based on age, pay and length of service at the time of leaving. A payment of compensation in lieu of notice was also paid. It is not customary of divulge the value of payments made to individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests, indicating in each case if this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [16816]

The following is a list of the answers for each of the Department of Transport's executive NDPBs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what stage has been reached in the privatisation of the Transport Research Laboratory. [18219]

Negotiations with the preferred bidder, the Transport Research Foundation, are continuing. I expect the sale to be completed by the middle of March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the Thameslink 2000 project. [18217]

I refer my hon. Friend to the oral statement given today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle excise duty tax discs have been reported stolen; how many duplicate tax discs were issued to replace those stolen during the same period; and how much revenue has been generated by charging motorists for replacements in the latest 12-month period for which figures are available. [17246]

Statistics on stolen tax discs are not available. In 1995, 140,849 duplicate discs were issued to replace lost, stolen, destroyed, mutilated, illegible or faded discs. An administration fee of £7 is charged.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number and value of items, equipment and furniture, (a) stolen from and (b) otherwise unaccounted for within his Department and its agencies, by region, identifying all such items with a value above £5,000. [17240]

The answer is as follows:

	(a) Stolen		(b) Unaccounted for
Region	Number	Value £	Number	Value £
Eastern	3	1,570	3	1,019
North-east	26	13,245	—	—
South-west	3	2,526	3	195
Midlands	14	24,831	—	—
London	186	120,404	—	—
North-west	1	60	—	—
Scotland and Northern Ireland	1	590	9	2,568
Wales	10	2,189	9	684
South and South-east	16	14,665	7	1,843

No single item has a value above £5,000. The largest losses are due to theft of computer chips.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) consultants and (b) other employees are currently employed by the crossrail project team. [17237]

The crossrail project team currently employs 304 consultancy staff, of whom 243 are on short-term assignments, and 106 British Rail and London Underground staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list total payments made to date by his Department to (a) consultants, (b) outside organisations and (c) individuals for work on the crossrail scheme indicating the name of body involved and the services provided. [17236]

Total payments made to date by the Department of Transport to consultants for work on the crossrail scheme amount to some £735,000. The consultants and services provided are as follows:

• Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick: Audit of estimated cost
• Bechtel Limited: Value engineering study
• S G Warburn and Co. Ltd.: Joint venture study
• Bovis/Sir Alexander Gibb: Study of cost-effectiveness
• Ove Arup and Partners: Small-scale alternatives study.

No payments have been made by the Department to other outside organizations—apart from London Transport and British Rail—or individuals for work on the crossrail scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the total payments made by his Department to the crossrail project team to date. [17238]

Payments made to date by the Department of Transport to London Transport and British Rail in respect of cross rail amount to some £144 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of the trunk road network within Greater London has a currently residual life of (a) less than 12 months, (b) between one and four years, (c) between five and nine years, (d) between 10 and 14 years, (e) between 15 and 19 years and (f) greater than 19 years; and if he will make a statement. [17250]

I have asked the chief executive of the Highways' Agency to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents in which the fire service was called to road traffic accidents occurred in the Tyne and Wear fire authority area in the last three complete years; and how such incidents are taken account of in standard spending assessment calculation. [16094]

I have been asked to reply.The following information about road traffic accidents in the area of the Tyne and Wear fire authority has been taken from annual returns provided by the fire authority (a financial year basis was adopted in 1993):

To ask the Lord President of the Council how many orders by negative resolution were laid between October 1994 and July 1995; of these how many were (a) brought into effect (i) immediately, (ii) within 10 days, (iii) within 20 days, (iv) within 30 days, (v) within 40 days and (vi) after more than 40 days (b) prayed against then granted debates (1) before being brought into effect and (2) after being brought into effect and (c) how many were rescinded or not brought into effect as a result of parliamentary scrutiny. [16073]

The number of negative statutory instruments laid between October 1994 and July 1995 was 1,078. Of these, 168 were prayed against and debates were granted on 28 of them—22 were debated in Standing Committee and six on the Floor of the House.The remaining information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) of 26 January, Official Report, column 423, how many of the new total of applications had (a) full end user certificate or (b) purchaser orders for each of the years mentioned. [15176]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers) on 16 February 1996, Official Report, columns 42–43. Of the export licence applications covered by that answer, one quarter were accompanied by copies of end user certificates, and around 45 per cent. had copies of purchase orders originating from either the agent or the intended consignee. There is some overlap between these figures, as some applications were supported by both types of documentation.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will obtain from the United States Government records held by them on the military and financial credit support afforded to the Iraqi Government between August 1988 and August 1990 relating to United Kingdom-based banks as their subsidiaries. [15976]

No.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek information from the United States Senate Banking Committee relating to the Technology Development Group and the supply of military equipment to Iraq. [16008]

No.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the contribution that home-produced timber makes to the balance of trade figures. [16086]

The standard international trade classification, under which UK trade is recorded, does not separately identify home-produced timber. The UK crude deficit in timber, wherever produced, was £1.4 billion to 1994 and £0.9 billion in January to September 1995.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the amount and monetary value of asbestos cement and asbestos friction materials imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [16617]

The answer is in the table:

UK imports of asbestos cement and asbestos friction materials
	Asbestos cement		Asbestos friction materials
Year	£ million	Tonnes	£ million	Tonnes
1991	29	88,178	18	4,099
1992	23	71,210	21	5,706
1993	20	61,816	22	3,668
1994	25	74,154	23	4,643
1995 (January-September)	15	47,024	18	3,672

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much work from his Department was allocated to Capita Managed Services before the resignation of Mr. J. Jasper as director. [16250]

This information is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many directors of Capita Managed Services at the time they were appointed to collect costs against disqualified directors have themselves been, or are, directors of companies which have been liquidated. [16274]

As far as is known, no directors of Capita Managed Services Ltd. were, at the time the company was awarded the contract to collect costs from disqualified directors, themselves directors of companies which had been the subject of winding up proceedings.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions (a) the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales and (b) the Inspector General of the Insolvency Service or their representatives met John Arthur Jasper; and what was the nature of these meetings. [16276]

The Registrar of Companies and his staff have had several meetings with Mr. J. A. Jasper over a period of several years in connection with a computer services contract with Capita entered into in 1991 and with other possible contracts to provide services to Companies House. Neither the inspector general of the Insolvency Service nor his staff has had any meetings with Mr. Jasper.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions (a) he and (b) other members of his Department met or had contact with John Arthur Jasper; and if he will make a statement on these meetings. [16277]

Neither I nor other Ministers in my Department have met Mr. Jasper on official business. In respect of the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales and the inspector general of the Insolvency Service, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave today to his Order question 16276. Information on whether other of my officials have met or had contact with Mr. Jasper is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he hopes to announce the contracts for Official Receiver services to be contracted out; and which services (a) will and (b) will not be contracted out, indicating the considerations underlying each decision. [16412]

I hope to be able to make an announcement before the end of the month regarding the outcome of the contracting out exercise undertaken by the Insolvency Service.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade at what times the bidders for the work of the Official Receiver were allowed to change or adjust their bids; how many were (a) given and (b) not given this option; and if he will list the changes made to bids indicating their source. [16415]

None of the six bidders invited to tender for the work available to be contracted out were permitted to change or adjust their final bids. They were all, however, invited to clarify certain points contained in their proposals during the technical and financial evaluation. The three organisations offering the best possibility of value for money were invited to further clarify some details of their proposals but no adjustment to their original bids was permitted.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many bids for the Official Receiver's work were not in the form demanded by the tender documentation. [16414]

All bids received were in the form specified in the invitation to tender.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the impact on staff numbers if the work of the Official Receiver is transferred to the private sector; and when the trade unions will be notified of any redundancies. [16416]

Up to 812 staff could be covered by the application of TUPE in any contracting out of official receivers functions.No redundancies of staff in the Insolvency Service have been identified.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the postponement of the decision on the future of the Insolvency Service. [16272]

The planned announcement of the outcome of the contracting out exercise undertaken by the Insolvency Service was postponed to enable further discussions to be held with bidders appearing to offer the best prospect of value for money.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the running costs of the Insolvency Service for the year ended 31 January identifying the costs of (a) staff, (b) leases and office rentals, (c) stationery and office equipment and (d) other support services. [17465]

The Insolvency Service year end is 31 March. Its running cost budget for the year to 31 March 1996 is £54,984,000, of which total pay costs are £36,689,000, accommodation costs £10,754,000, stationery and office machinery £825,000 and other running costs £6,716,000.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his officials last met the liquidators of BCC1. [17063]

My officials last met the joint liquidators on 31 March 1995.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade to what extent each EU country has adopted single market legislation; and if he will make a statement. [16402]

The following are the European Commission's figures of 8 November 1995 for the percentage of single market measures in the 1985 Commission White Paper on the single market which have been transposed into national law by member states of the European Union.

	Per cent.
Denmark	99.1
Luxembourg	96.4
Portugal	96.4
Netherlands	95.5
France	95.0
Sweden	95.0
United Kingdom	93.7
Spain	93.7
Italy	91.9
Belgium	91.0
Ireland	91.0
Greece	89.6

	Per cent.
Finland	89.6
Germany	88.2
Austria	77.8

We are encouraging the Commission to ensure that member states catch up on delays, and, at least as importantly, to ensure single market measures are effectively and evenly enforced in each member state. We are also making efforts to ensure that the UK catches up on its backlog.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his latest estimate of the number of jobs in Lancashire which depend on the defence industry and its suppliers; and if he will make a statement. [16306]

The latest estimate for the number of defence-dependent jobs in Lancashire is 30,000. This is from a survey commissioned by Lancashire county council and represents some 25 per cent. of employment in manufacturing industry and about 5 per cent. of all employment in Lancashire.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will list the studies currently funded by the Medical Research Council into Alzheimer's disease and the amounts of money awarded for each study; and if he will make a statement; [16901](2) if he will make a statement on his Department's funding for research into Alzheimer's disease. [16900]

The DTI's support for research into Alzheimer's disease is funded through the research councils from the science budget.Medical Research Council funding of research into Alzheimer's disease was £1.376 million in 1994–95, the last financial year for which complete information is available. The various research projects are listed, together with the corresponding amount of money:

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total value of exports to (a) the middle east, (b) Iraq and (c) Iran between 1974 and 1979. [16906]

The available information is given in the following table:

UK visible exports to the middle east1
Year	Middle east1	Iraq	Iran
1974	1,085.5	59.8	278.6
1975	1,767.8	137.1	494.7
1976	2,273.3	151.8	513.1
1977	3,068.7	167.4	658.4
1978	3,476.4	216.7	752.0
1979	3,081.7	201.2	231.8
Note:
1The middle east consists of: Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah etc., Oman, North Yemen, South Yemen, Iraq and Iran.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the levels of sales of machine tools to (a) the middle east, (b) Iraq and (c) Iran between 1974 and 1979. [16987]

Information before 1979 is available only for those countries which accounted for a significant proportion of UK exports of machine tools or those for which machine tools formed a significant proportion of total UK visible exports. The available information is given in the table:

UK exports of machine tools1
£ million, current prices
	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Cyprus	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.26
Syria	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.43
Lebanon	n/a	0.24	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.36
Israel	1.02	1.79	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.88
Jordan	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.22
Saudi Arabia	n/a	0.85	2.52	n/a	n/a	1.31
Kuwait	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.59
Bahrain	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.22
Qatar	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.28
Abu Dhabi	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.48
Dubai	n/a	0.27	n/a	2.47	n/a	2.63
Sharjah etc.	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.01
Oman	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.45
North Yemen	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.11
South Yemen	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.04
Iraq	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	2.40
Iran	1.34	2.46	4.02	9.53	n/a	1.68
Middle east	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	13.34
Notes:
1Machine tools are defined as heading 715.1 in the Standard International Trade Classification (Revision 1) until 1977 and as heading 736 of SITC (R2) from 1978.

n/a = not available.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of osmium-187 exist in the United Kingdom; what licensing arrangements cover its import and export; and what is the current market price per kilogramme of osmium-187. [16756]

Osmium 187 is a constituent of naturally occurring osmium—1.6 per cent. abundance. It is not subject to either export or import control.The price per gram is approximately £10.I am not aware that the 187 isotope is available in the UK in a separated form. Any inquiries to discover the quantities of Osmium 187 could be done only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to publish a consultation paper with proposals for (a) new legislation in place of the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939 and (b) export licensing procedures suitable for peacetime requirements. [17233]

The Government are currently considering Sir Richard Scott's recommendations and will be publishing a consultation paper.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total expenditure by his Department on the Isle of Wight in 1994–95 broken down by category. [16770]

The Department has regional information on the following programmes in the Isle of Wight area:

1994–95
	£
Regional Selective Assistance	159,634
Business Enterprise Services Budget	150,000
Business Link Pump Priming Budget	100,000
Regional Enterprise Grants for Innovation Projects	73,500

There was other departmental expenditure on the Isle of Wight which cannot be broken down on an area basis or where the work necessary to do so would result in disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the officials in his Department who have declared a current interest; what requirements are placed on officials to declare relevant interests; in what form records of such declarations are kept; and if he will establish a central register of officials' interests. [16881]

Each senior official and special adviser is required to make a declaration of his or her financial interests. This enables the Department to prevent potential conflicts of interest arising. In the case of other officials, conflicts of interest are dealt with by their line management. I have no plans to establish a central register.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the cover on the contract between Tripod Engineering and the Government of Iraq signed on 8 November 1988 was taken up and forms part of the ECGD outstanding claims with respect to the Government of Iraq. [16316]

Yes.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of whether Duke Power of North Carolina is a suitable potential buyer for nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom. [17532]

No assessment has been made as the contact was a preliminary and indirect one.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on Duke Power's safety record and its experience of operating gas-cooled reactors. [17533]

Duke Power does not own or operate any power stations in the UK. The advanced gas-cooled reactor power stations are unique to the UK. Any operator in the UK needs to satisfy the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate that it has the ability to meet the high standards of safety which the NII demands before it can be licensed to operate a nuclear installation.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average cost of administering a bankruptcy in each of the last three years. [17469]

Information on unit costs remains confidential until the conclusion of, and announcement of a decision on, the proposal for contracting our official receivers' case administration work. I will write to the hon. Member when an announcement has been made.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many directors were disqualified as a result of the work completed by the Insolvency Service; and how many directors were prosecuted for fraudulent trading as a result of work conducted by the Insolvency Service in the 12 months ended 31 January. [17464]

During the 12 months ended 31 January 1996, 721 directors were disqualified and 26 directors were prosecuted for fraudulent trading.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the findings of his Department's inquiry into the circumstances of the grant of regional selective assistance for the ROM-Data Corporation. [18075]

I have today placed a report summarising the outcome of my Department's inquiry in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the number and type of export licences that his Department has (a) issued for non-lethal equipment to Nigeria between 20 January 1995 and 20 November 1995 and (b) issued for dual use equipment since 20 November 1995. [14893]

[holding answer 12 February 1996]: A statistical analysis of export licences granted for military, para-military and security equipment granted during 1995 will shortly be placed in the Library of the House. The analysis will include all countries of destination for which these licences were issued, including Nigeria. I shall write to the hon. Member when this is done. Fourteen licences were issued for dual-use equipment between 20 January 1995 and 8 February 1996, as follows:

Number of licences	Heading1
9	1C
1	2B
3	3A
1	5A2
1 Headings under group 3 of part III of schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 and subsequently schedule 1 to the Dual-Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Regulations 1995.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all grants made by development agencies and other Government-funded bodies to Tandem and its subsidiaries, including British Eagle Cycles of Newtown; and if he will make a statement. [16207]

[holding answer 22 February 1996]: The information requested is not collated. I have no record of my Department having made grants to either of these businesses.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the practice of relocation by companies in search of grants between areas where grants are available. [16224]

[holding answer 22 February 1996]: The Government's regional policy aims to attract companies to the assisted areas. However, grants are not available simply for relocation to those areas. Any assistance must normally bring about a significant net increase in employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will undertake research to establish whether the use by health authorities and NHS trusts of privately owned medium secure facilities for detained patients costs more than using equivalent provision in NHS units; [16785](2) if the increased number of purpose-built medium secure beds is expected to eliminate the need for the use of privately owned medium secure facilities. [16786]

The availability of medium secure places in the independent sector provides health authorities with a greater choice. Selection of suitable places is a matter for health authorities who are responsible for commissioning services in a way which makes the best use of available resources to meet the needs of their population.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage change there has been since 1979 in the number of (a) hospital beds in the NHS, (b) full-time equivalent nursing staff and (c) bureaucrats and administrative staff. [13248]

Information on the average daily number of available beds in 1979 is published in the "Statistical Bulletin: NHS Hospital Activity Statistics 1979–1990/91". Information for 1994–95 is published in "Bed Availability for England: 1994–95". Copies of these documents are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the officials in his Department who have declared a current interest; what requirements are placed on officials to declare relevant interests; in what form records of such declarations are kept; and if he will establish a central register of officials' interests. [16880]

There is a requirement in the Department's conditions of service manual that staff faced with a conflict of business interest, which they may be able to further as a result of their official position, must declare this to their personnel section. They must comply with any subsequent instruction from the Department regarding such interests. I see no need for the establishment of a central register of officials' interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will exempt from prescription charges kidney transplant patients who have to take drugs on a lifelong basis. [16898]

We have no plans to extend the medical exemption arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if (a) St. Thomas's hospital, (b) King's College hospital and (c) St. George's hospital, Tooting have a co-payment scheme for in vitro fertilisation treatment patients. [16737]

None of these hospitals has such a scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if patients treated at the assisted conception unit at Chelsea and Westminster hospital are seen by NHS consultants in NHS time; [16740](2) what charge is made to patients at the assisted conception unit at Chelsea and Westminster hospital; and what it covers; [16741](3) if he will make a statement on the assisted conception unit at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. [16780]

The assisted conception unit at Chelsea and Westminster hospital opened in November 1995. Since opening, it has provided 11 cycles of in vitro fertilisation treatment to national health service patients and eight cycles to private patients.In 1996–97 the unit aims to undertake 600 cycles of IVF. At present, it has two contracts with health authorities to provide a total of 270 cycles to the NHS during 1996–97.Both NHS and private patients are seen by consultants working under the terms of their contracts with the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust.At present private patients at the unit are charged £800 for each cycle of IVF treatment. Health authorities are charged an identical amount for NHS patients. This is projected to cover the trust's costs and deliver an appropriate return on capital during the first full year of operation—1996–97—and subsequently, if business plan projections are met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has taken external legal advice about whether patients of the assisted conception unit at Chelsea and Westminster hospital are national health service patients or private patients. [16739]

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what revisions he expects to make to the 1991 census and when these will be announced; and what effect these changes will have on the statistics available for populations within county boundaries. [16742]

There are no plans to revise the population figures from the 1991 census. The Registrar General's current series of mid-year population estimates are based on the 1991 census and include adjustments for estimated under-coverage in the census as well as for births, deaths and registration since 1991. Census figures for new local authority areas created under the Local Government Act 1992 will be published as each new area takes effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set target dates for replies to letters sent to his Department. [16783]

We aim to reply to all letters within 20 working days of receipt.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he is currently funding or planning to fund into the problems and treatment of incontinence. [16738]

The Department commissioned the social policy research unit of York university to research and produce a report on "The Role of the Continence Adviser in England and Wales". This was published in January 1994 and distributed to all health authorities, NHS trusts and continence advisers. Copies of the report will be placed in the Library.The Department has also commissioned three other research projects on incontinence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support he plans to give voluntary agencies concerned with the problem of incontinence (a) in 1995 and (b) in future years. [16757]

In 1995–96, the Department is providing funding to voluntary organisations concerned with incontinence as follows:

• The Continence Foundation—£85,000 towards its helpline and administrative costs, as part of grant awards which began in 1993–94.
• InconTact—£25,000, as part of a three-year grant of £25,000 per year towards the costs of its project to develop a continence public awareness programme.
• The Enuresis Resource and Information Centre—£47,113, made up of £33,000 as part of a three-year grant towards its administrative costs, £5,000 as part of a two-year grant for its project to pilot training seminars for doctors and nurses on nocturnal enuresis and £9,113 for the translation of ERIC's guide for parents on bedwetting into five ethnic minority languages.

In addition to the above amounts, the Department is providing £50,000 to support National Continence Day/Bedwetting Day which will be held on 19 and 20 March 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the work of (a) his Department and (b) the NHS in the past year in respect of continence services. [16758]

The Department of Health supports a number of initiatives.The organisation of continence services locally and the manner in which they are delivered, are matters for district health authorities and hospital and community trusts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many procedures were carried out on children aged up to 16 years in each of the last 10 years for (a) myringotomy, (b) adenoidectomy and (c) tonsillectomy. [16905]

The information available for National Health Service hospitals in England is shown in the table:

	Myringotomy	Adenoidectomy	Tonsillectomy
1989–90	5,173	17,601	45,645
1990–91	5,241	16,577	47,582
1991–92	7,040	17,804	51,597
1992–93	6,312	17,532	52,931
1993–94	3,971	16,220	54,578

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total expenditure by his Department on the Isle of Wight in 1994–95 broken down by category. [16776]

The information is as follows:

Isle of Wight district health authority and family health services authority expenditure 1994–95
Category of expenditure	Amount £
DISTRICT HEALTH AUTHORITY EXPENDITURE:
Healthcare and related services purchased:
Mental handicap	2,679,000
Mental illness	5,247,000
Maternity	2,221,000
General and acute	26,945,000
Accident and emergency	1,417,000
Primary care	4,210,000
Other contractual expenditure	4,903,000
Other	1,627,000
Total district health authority expenditure	49,249,000
Family health services authority expenditure:
Primary	9,480,000
GP fundholding	21,608,000
Other	934,000
Total family health services authority expenditure	32,022,000
TOTAL ISLE OF WIGHT EXPENDITURE	81,271,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how many patients and in which areas the drug thalidomide has been prescribed in the last five years. [17391]

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines have been issued to hospital trusts about the purchasing of the drug thalidomide from abroad; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [17406]

There are no guidelines specifically relating to the purchase of the drug thalidomide from abroad. Decisions made by national health service trusts on the purchase of drugs to meet patients' needs and on the most appropriate source of supply, are made with the input of clinicians and pharmacists, in accordance with the Medicines Acts 1968 and 1971. "Guidance on thalidomide" was published by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Control Agency in the May 1994 issue of "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance" a drug safety bulletin which is circulated to all doctors, dentists, pharmacists and coroners. This guidance note strongly advised all doctors considering the use of thalidomide to follow detailed external guidelines on the clinical use and distribution of thalidomide which were published in a widely available medical journal. A reminder was published in July 1995. Copies of both the May 1994 document and that of July 1995 are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the booklet "Mental Health and Stress in the Work Place" to be published. [17425]

This is not a departmental publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will be announcing the new membership of Nottingham health authority. [17695]

The names of the non-executive members appointed to the proposed new health authorities will shortly be announced by the appropriate regional office of the national health service executive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the amount of funding allocated to South Birmingham health authority in respect of VAT liability in the current financial year; and what it has been in each of the past three years. [17771]

There is no separate allocation of funds in respect of value added tax liability.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were refused emergency medical admission to a hospital in the Greater London area during 1995. [17787]

This information is not available. Patients have the right to get emergency treatment from the national health service at any time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the key results of the NHS executive-social services inspectorate's monitoring of the implementation of the guidance on NHS responsibilities for meeting continuing health care; and if he will make a statement. [18076]

We have recently written to health and local authorities outlining the key results of the monitoring work carried out by the national health service executive and social services inspectorate and highlighting recommendations for further action. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Library.The monitoring work suggests that the majority of health authorities have made good progress in preparing to implement the guidance. This has been effective where health and local authorities have worked together closely. There are also issues on which progress in some parts of the country has been less encouraging. We have indicated our commitment to ensuring that these issues are addressed.Work on continuing health care will continue to be a priority for the NHS during 1996–97 and beyond to ensure the full implementation of the guidance. Health authorities, working closely with local authorities, will need to monitor closely the impact of their eligibility criteria and to develop further services to meet continuing health care needs. The letter highlights the key priorities for further work. The NHS executive and social services inspectorate will continue to monitor implementation closely and will make further reports on progress in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests, indicating in each case if this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [16823]

The non-departmental public bodies which

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what are his Department's guidelines for the admission of gynaecology and psychiatric patients through casualty units in hospitals where there is no registrar appointed for either of these specialities; and what recommendations are made by his Department for proper differential diagnosis to be made in such cases for admission or discharge of patients; [17404](2) what guidelines exist for admitting patients where there is one registrar to deal with that patient's problems; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [17405]

There is no central guidance. Procedures for admitting patients to hospital are determined in accordance with local arrangements.