To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to change the cash limits for the Overseas Development Administration for 1996–97. [2372]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class II, vote 5 will be increased by £30,570,000 from £1,591,466,000 to £1,622,036,000. The increase is in respect of: a rollover of underspending against the 1995–96 external assistance vote; a balance of underspending against European Community budgetary aid in 1994; the early redemption of outstanding loan repayments by the Crown Agents to the National Loans Fund; advisers fee related to the privatisation of the Crown Agents; and the reimbursement of costs incurred in 1995–96 and costs for 1996–97 in respect of the Gibraltar social insurance fund. The increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the departmental minutes which the Overseas Development Administration laid before the House on 20 August. [1650]

The departmental minute reported the assumption of contingent liabilities arising from tax indemnities given to the commercial banks which are making concessional loans to developing countries to finance the following projects:

Country	Project	Estimated maximum liability £
1 Indonesia	Advancement of SI Science and Technology	1,432,665
2 China	Guangzhou Metro Ventilation System	416,051

It was necessary to give the indemnities urgently during the parliamentary recess to avoid delaying the start of these two projects.The departmental minute also reported that the contingent liability for the China Guangzhou metro overhead catenary system project had been underestimated by £88,317 in the earlier departmental minute laid before the house on 16 April 1996. This project is already being implemented. The financing agreement for this project will be increased. The contingent liability is now estimated to amount to a maximum of £916,354 instead of the £833,037 previously notified.These projects are being supported by the Overseas Development Administration under the aid and trade provision soft loan financing arrangements which enable the banks to lend at concessional rates.The departmental minute was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 20 August and copies were sent to the Public Accounts Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes she proposes to make to her Department's cash limits and running cost limits for 1996–97. [2432]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class X, vote 1 will be increased by £14,107,000 from £948,760,000 to £962,867,000 arid running costs limit is increased by £3,340,000 from £26,137,000 to £29,477,000. This is to increase provision for assets accepted in lieu of tax; within the new project ceiling, to increase provision to fund works required to complete the British Library St. Pancras building; to provide for payments from the National Heritage lottery fund to the royal commission for historical manuscripts for assessment work; to provide for additional expenditure on the royal estate and to transfer responsibility to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for maintenance work connected with ceremonial works; to provide for payments from the Department of the Environment—class VI, vote 5—towards the cost of refurbishing Somerset house for the housing of the Gilbert collection; to provide for additional appropriations from rents and other income from properties on the royal estate; to provide for the transfer of responsibility for costs of the Whitehall heating system for the Banqueting house to the Historic Royal Palaces agency; to provide for additional appropriations from sales of published material by the Royal Fine Art Commission; to provide for a reduction in expenditure on research and other services; to provide for an increase in running costs expenditure in line with entitlement to end year flexibility, to effect the transfer of responsibility for voluntary services from the Home Office and to transfer provision from the Security Facilities Executive agency for advisory services; to effect transfers from Home Office for grants for reducing racial disadvantage and for assistance to the National Association of Lay Visitors; and to provide for the expenses of the Department in the privatisation of the BBC transmission services. The increases will be offset by transfers, savings and charges to the reserve, and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each division of the Health and Safety Executive trends in staff levels relative to levels three years ago. [660]

	1 April 1993	1 April 1994	1 April 19951	31 March 19962
Health and Safety Commission (Support)	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
Director General's Office	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00
Solicitor's Office	17.00	18.00	17.00	19.00
Resources and Planning Division	665.50	663.00	662.00	574.00
Safety Policy Division	124.00	124.00	121.00	113.00
Strategy and General Division	150.50	140.00	141.00	136.00
Health Policy Division	89.00	94.00	86.00	96.00
Field Operations Division	1,960.50	1,939.00	1,859.00	1,741.00
HM Railway Inspectorate	63.00	71.00	85.00	82.00
HM Inspectorate of Mines	60.00	52.00	48.00	42.00
Offshore Safety Division	319.50	375.00	343.00	309.00
Nuclear Safety Division	271.50	281.00	263.00	268.00
Technology and Health Sciences Division	333.00	335.00	330.00	330.00
Health and Safety Laboratory	415.00	382.00	364.00	365.00
Electrical Equipment Certification Services	54.00	56.00	57.00	61.00
Total staff	4,537.50	4,545.00	4,391.00	4,151.00
1 Figures given are full-time equivalent counts. A revised Treasury methodology for calculating full-time equivalent figures for staff in part-time posts came into operation from 1.4.95. From that date all part-time staff were counted pro-rata according to hours worked. Previously part-time staff who worked 10 hours or more were all counted as 0.5.
2 From 1.4.96 HSE Divisions were restructured. Staff in post data for 31.3.96 is listed to provide comparison with previous years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were statutorily recognised as homeless at the latest available date; and of those how many are estimated to have accommodation with, (i) specific inadequacies and (ii) insecurity; how many are housed in emergency hostels; and how many are without any form of shelter. [1015]

I refer my hon. Friend to the quarterly information bulletin entitled, "Households found accommodation the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985: England" for the available information. Copies of the bulletin, the latest of which provides statistics for the second quarter of 1996, are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with regard to securing the replacement of lead pipes in the domestic water supply network. [1024]

The Government's policy is to seek to reduce levels of lead in drinking water. Action is being taken by water suppliers to help reduce lead levels at consumers' taps, but responsibility for domestic pipework rests with property owners. To help them, the Government have recently published a leaflet which informs householders about the risks from lead in drinking water and gives advice on the action that they can take to reduce exposure. We are currently considering what further measures could be taken to provide information and promote awareness.

The following table shows the number of staff employed by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last four years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people have been diagnosed as contracting occupational dermatitis in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [1136]

The industrial injuries compensation scheme administered by DSS tends to record the most serious cases of (non-infective) dermatitis. The numbers of new cases assessed at 1 per cent. or more disability, based on a 100 per cent. count of cases from 1985–86 to 1994–95 are as follows:

Year	Number of cases of dermatitis
1985–86	785
1986–87	464
1987–88	368
1988–89	285
1989–90	301
1990–91	434
1991–92	411
1992–93	419
1993–94	392
1994–95	368

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional measures are being evaluated to protect construction workers employed on the London Underground Jubilee line extension from contracting occupational dermatitis. [1139]

The Health and Safety Executive has completed a follow-up survey on one site. This showed that where the full range of measures was used, cases of dermatitis had reduced by 80 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many construction workers employed on the London Underground Jubilee line extension have been diagnosed as contracting occupational dermatitis. [1137]

Of the 133 men examined by HSE's employment medical adviser, 10 showed signs of occupational dermatitis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures were taken at the outset of the London Underground Jubilee line extension to protect construction workers from occupational dermatitis. [1138]

Protective measures are the responsibility of the contractors engaged in the project. I am informed by the Health and Safety Executive that washing facilities were provided at all Jubilee line extension sites. It is not possible to state the extent to which other measures such as protective clothing, skin creams and training were made available by contractors.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many guilty verdicts have been recorded, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, under health and safety law, following the serious injury of an employee. [1132]

The information is not available, or available only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reason each of the individuals cited in his answer of 16 October 1996, Official Report, column 1075, were sent to prison following convictions under health and safety at work law; and what was the length of the sentence in each case. [1133]

The information requested about the three cases of individuals sent to prison following convictions under health and safety at work law its as follows:

Reason	Length of prison sentence (months)
1. Breaches of the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983 and the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987	3
2. Contravention of a prohibition notice issued under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)	4
3. Contravention of a prohibition notice issued under HSWA	4

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps have been taken to reduce instances of mental illness caused at work, following the 1995 court case in which an employee sued his employer for a nervous breakdown brought on by stress. [1140]

In May 1995, the Health and Safety Executive published guidance "Stress at Work: A Guide for Employers" which explained that mental illness is one ill health condition that has been associated with stress. HSE is carrying out research in order to provide employers with more detailed guidance on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the rules governing the spending of capital budgets by local authorities during the transitional period to unitary authorities. [1087]

Authorities in the transitional period before reorganisation are governed by the same rules on capital spending as other authorities, but in addition are subject to the prudential code of financial management, jointly published in 1994 by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the local authority associations, and approved by the Audit Commission. I have arranged for a copy of the code to be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Health and Safety Commission's current review of the legislation on asbestos will be completed; and when its conclusions will be published. [1441]

The Health and Safety Commission undertook a wide-ranging review of health and safety legislation including asbestos legislation in 1993–94, the results of which were published in 1994. As a result of the review, HSC published a discussion document in May 1996 on the future of the lead and asbestos regulations and is currently considering the responses received. It is expected that HSC will complete this work in 1997, and will issue a consultative document on any legislative changes it considers are needed as soon as possible thereafter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in rank order the 10 most common causes of deaths from industrial diseases and the numbers of deaths from those diseases. [866]

The information in the table is limited to those diseases that have a strong occupational link. These are diseases caused by the inhalation or swallowing of various kinds of mineral or organic dusts. The numbers of such deaths reported on death certificates in Great Britain in 1994 were as follows:

	Number
Mesothelioma	1,235
Pneumoconiosis (other than asbestosis)	276
Asbestosis (excluding certificates also mentioning mesothelioma)	174
Farmer's lung and other occupational allergic alveolitis	10
Byssinosis	7

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for the most recently available date (a) the 10 districts in Great Britain which have the highest rates of death from asbestos-related diseases and (b) the national rate of death from these diseases. [867]

The only asbestos-related disease for which the data are available is mesothelioma, and the district breakdown is available only for the period 1976–91. The 10 districts in Great Britain with the highest rates of death from mesothelioma in this period are, in descending order: Clydebank, Barrow in Furness, Plymouth, Barking and Dagenham, Portsmouth, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Southampton, Newham and Gillingham.The average crude rate of death from mesothelioma in Great Britain in the same period was 11 per million. In 1994, the crude death rate from mesothelioma in Great Britain was 22 per million.These tragic deaths are because of asbestos exposures of anything between 15 and 60 years ago, before the current stringent controls on asbestos were introduced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what annual death rates from asbestos-related diseases the Health and Safety Executive has forecast over the next 25 years. [868]

The estimated number of males dying annually from the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in 10 years time could range from between 1,300 and 2,100; in 20 years time between 1,300 and 3,000 and in 30 years time between 1,000 and 3,200. These estimates are based on a paper "The Continuing increase in mesothelioma mortality in Britain" which was published in The Lancet on 3 March 1995. This paper discusses the uncertainties attached to the projections which increase very significantly beyond about 2010. It is therefore inappropriate to forecast a figure for each separate year. Projected figures for females are not available.Currently, there are estimated to be one or two deaths from asbestos-related lung cancer for each death from mesothelioma. The falling prevalence of smoking is likely to reduce this ratio in the future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the changes to the class 1 cash limits and defence operating costs limit for 1996–97. [2375]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the winter supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:

£000s
Class 1 vote	Current cash limit	Change	Revised cash limit
1	11,005,788	-10,891	10,994,897
2	4,662,170	25,000	4,687,170
3	5,761,870	288,000	6,049,870

The changes to class 1, votes 2 and 3 reflect the take up of entitlement to end-year flexibility. The reduction on class 1, vote 1 reflects the net effect of transfers to other Government Departments. In addition entitlement to end-year flexibility on class 1, vote I has, in accordance with Supply procedure, been funded through the partial appropriation of receipts from the sale of the MOD married quarters estate in England and Wales. The balance of the receipt from the sale will be brought to vote, subject to parliamentary approval, in the 1996–97 spring supplementary estimate.The final outturn on the Ministry of Defence cash limit in 1995–96 was £21,522 million which was £48 million higher than the provisional outturn announced in Cmnd 3318. The Minister of Defence's entitlement to carry forward provision under the Defence operating costs and capital costs schemes has, therefore, been reduced by £48 million over the totals announced on 12 July,

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost of maintaining the British Army in Northern Ireland in each year since 1969. [1105]

I will write to the hon. Member and 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 make a statement on the progress of his Department's work in relation to illnesses among service men and women who served in the Gulf war. [865]

I will write to the right hon. Member and 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 rescind the regulations reducing war widows' pensions because their husbands died of smoking-related causes; and if he will make a statement. [880]

I have been asked to reply.I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 30 October,

To ask the Prime Minister what proposals there are to change the 1996–97 cash limit or running cost limit for the Cabinet Office: other services vote. [2433]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit of the Cabinet Office: other services, class XVIII, vote 1, will be increased by £4,354,000 from £37,682,000 to £42,036,000 and the running cost limit will be increased by £2,567,000 from £40,586,000 to £43,153,000.The increases reflect the transfer of provision of £645,000—running costs—and. £1,457,000—capital—from the Office of the Public Service, class XVII, vote 1, to cover the cost of new repayment services; the transfer of certain administrative functions, the OPS's contribution to the cost of early staff departures and new IT systems and the increase of £70,000 in both running costs and receipts to account for staff loaned to Inland Revenue on repayment terms.The increases also include the transfer of provision of £105,000—running costs—and £400,000—capital—from the reserve to fund new services and essential building works.The vote is eligible for a cash limit increase of £1,788,000 in respect of end-year flexibility for running costs expenditure. The supplementary estimate will give effect to £1,738,000 of the increase.All the increases are either offset by interdepartmental transfers or have been charged to the reserve and will not -therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons born in the Philippines are estimated to reside in the United Kingdom; how many have the right of settlement; and which immigration laws permit (a) entry and (b) settlement. [1090]

The labour force survey carried out in spring 1996 estimates that there are 29,000 persons born in the Philippines who are usually resident in the United Kingdom. Information on the number who may be eligible to apply for settlement is not available. Information on the number granted settlement each year between 1985 and 1995 is published in table 6.5 of the "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom 1995" (Cm 3353), a copy of which is in the Library. Entry into and settlement in the United Kingdom is governed by the Immigration Act 1971 and the immigration rules made under it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the numbers of (a) requests made by United Kingdom authorities for the extradition of persons to the United Kingdom, (b) requests for extradition received from other countries for the extradition of persons out of the United Kingdom, and (c) individuals actually extradited to and from the United Kingdom for each year since 1992. [876]

The Home Secretary is responsible for extraditions to and from England and Wales and from Northern Ireland. The information that follows relates to such cases.

(a) Number of requests made by United Kingdom authorities for the extradition of persons to England and Wales:

• 1992: 45
• 1993: 33
• 1994: 45
• 1995: 48

(b) Number of requests for extradition received from other countries for the extradition of persons out of England, Wales and Northern Ireland

• 1992: 78
• 1993: 100
• 1994: 100
• 1995: 101

(c) (i) Number of individuals actually extradited to England and Wales:

• 1992: 25
• 1993: 21
• 1994: 29
• 1995: 14.

(ii) Number of individuals actually extradited from England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

• 1992: 36
• 1993: 27
• 1994: 35
• 1995: 31

A number of extradition cases from 1994 arid 1995 have not yet been resolved.The figures refer to extradition to and from countries other than the Republic of Ireland. Extradition between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland takes place under the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965 and the corresponding legislation of the Republic of Ireland. The Home Secretary is responsible where the case involves seeking the return of a fugitive who has been convicted by a court in England or Wales, while the Attorney-General is responsible where the case involves seeking the return of a person accused of an offence in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. I will write to the hon. Member with the statistics for such cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1996–97 cash limits within his responsibilities. [2374]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limit for class VII, vote 1—Home Office administration, police probation, immigration and other services, England and Wales—will be increased by £2,388,000 from £4,597,305,000 to £4,599,693,000 and for vote 2—prisons, England and Wales—will be increased by £120,646,000 from £1,521,670,000 to £1,642,316,000.The increase for vote 1 is the net effect of transfers from the Ministry of Defence in respect of charging for meteorological services, from the Security Facilities Agency in respect for charging for its services, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of drug prevention; to the department for Education and Employment and Welsh Office in respect of sponsorship of probation students; to the Department of Health in respect of drugs challenge funding; from the Department for Education and Employment and Welsh Office in respect of provision of closed circuit television in schools; to the Department for National Heritage in respect of the transfer of responsibility for voluntary services; from the Prison Service in respect of boards of visitors' training and to non-cash limited police special grant within this vote in respect of pilot private finance initiative projects.For vote 2 the increase is the net effect of additional provision of £120,650,000 from the reserve to meet the costs of the implementation of phase 2 of the recommendations of the Woodcock report and to increase the capacity of the Prison Service to meet the projected increase in the prison population, which includes the take-up of £750,000 end year flexibility towards the costs of Colchester young offenders institution; and the transfer of £4,000 to class VII, vote 1, Home Office, for external training of staff of the boards of visitors secretariat.The non-voted cash limit—HO/LACAP—is reduced by £490,000 from £98,382,000 to £97,892,000 due to a transfer to non-cash limited police special grant within vote 1 in respect of pilot PFI projects.In consequence of the changes the Home Office gross running cost limit will be increased by £12,334,000 from £1,801,481,000 to £1,813,815,000.The increases will be offset by savings, transfers or charges to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people who had applied for asylum were deported from Scottish prisons during 1994, 1995 and from 1 January this year to date; and what were the nationalities of those deported; [1526](2) how many people who had applied for asylum were detained in Scottish prisons during 1994, 1995 and from 1 January this year to date; and what were the nationalities of those detained. [1525]

[holding answer 31 October 1996]: The specific information requested is not available.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the draft bills published by the Law Commission in the last five years. [1664]

During the years 1991 to 1996 the Law Commission has published 26 reports with draft Bills attached. They are listed in the table.

list of Law Commission Reports in 1991–96 with Drafts Bills annexed
Report No	Report
1991
199	Transfer of Land: Implied Covenants for Title
202	Criminal Law: Corroboration of Evidence in Criminal Trials
204	Transfer of Land: Land Mortgages
1992
207	Family Law: Domestic Violence and Occupation of the Family Home
208	Landlord and Tenant: Business Tenancies—a periodic review of the Landlord and Tenant Act
1993
215	Sale of Goods Forming Part of a Bulk
216	The Hearsay Rule in Civil Proceedings
217	Family Law: The Effect of Divorce on Wills
218	Legislating the Criminal Code: Offences Against the Person and General Principles
219	Contributory Negligence as a Defence in Contract
1994
220	The Law of Trusts: Delegation by Individual Trustees
221	Landlord and Tenant: Termination of Tenancies Bill
222	Binding Over
224	Structured Settlements and Interim and Provisional Damages
226	Administrative Law: Judicial Review and Statutory Appeals
227	Restitution: Mistakes of Law and Ultra Vires Public Authority Receipts and Payments
228	Criminal Law: Conspiracy to Defraud
1995
229	Legislating the Criminal Code: Intoxication and Criminal Liability
230	Legislating the Criminal Code: The Year and a Day Rule in Homicide
231	Mental Incapacity
235	Transfer of Land: Land Registration
236	Fiduciary Duties and Regulatory Rules
1996
237	Legislating the Criminal Code: Involuntary Manslaughter
238	Landlord and Tenant: Responsibility for State and Condition of Property
242	Privity of Contract: Contracts for the Benefit of Third Parties
243	Offences of Dishonesty: Money Transfers

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary. Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the role of the Law Commission. [1663]

The Law Commission has a single, central purpose: promoting the reform of the law, so that the law will be simpler, fairer, more modern and cheaper to use.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the estimated outturn figure for the 1995–96 budget for the Law Commission. [1661]

The estimated figure for the financial year 1995–96 is £2,960,537. This does not include charges for accommodation.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the number of permanent staff at the Law Commission; and how are they appointed. [1662]

There are currently 39 permanent established staff working at the Law Commission and 19 established staff on short, fixed term appointments. This includes five parliamentary counsel assigned to the Law Commission from the parliamentary counsel's office.All staff at the Law Commission are civil servants, recruited through open competition in accordance with the civil service commissioner's recruitment code.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes he plans to make to the running costs limit of the Public Record Office, class VIII, vote 3 for 1996–97. [2373]

The running cost limit has been reduced by £189,000 from £22,711,000 to £22,552,000, to reflect a transfer from running costs to capital. The capital expenditure will be defrayed on the fitting out of central London office premises, through which the office provides services to the public.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the Government's reasons for not providing compensation for victims of terrorism in England. [1342]

I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Eastham) on 27 June 1996, Official Report, column 202.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the cost of providing, in each of the three years before the commencement of the IRA ceasefire and in 1996 to date, compensation for losses caused by terrorism in England, Scotland and Wales on a similar basis to that provided in Northern Ireland. [1419]

There is no justification for a compensation scheme because, unlike Northern Ireland, insurance cover is readily available elsewhere in the United Kingdom. No estimate of the cost of such a scheme has therefore been made.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the regulation of the premiums for terrorism insurance levied on people living or working in inner London. [1354]

Individuals living or working in Inner London will normally be covered for any losses caused by acts of terrorism by their personal domestic household policies and/or comprehensive motor policies, as appropriate. Premiums are determined by normal competition between insurers.Insurance policies for businesses or other non-personal policyholders will normally have a limit on the level of claims payable, unless the policyholder has bought full terrorism cover. Were insurance is provided by a member of the scheme established in accordance with the Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993, the additional terrorism premium is set by the Pool Reinsurance Company Ltd. in the light of advice of consultant actuaries and after consultation with my Department.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes will be made to cash and running cost limits within class IV of the estimates for 1996–97. [2431]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 1—programmes and administration—will be increased by £13,930,000 from £1,301,655,000 to £1,315,585,000. This net increase results from:

(i) to take-up of running cost and capital end-year flexibility (£17,437,000) as announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 12 July 1996 (Official Report, cols 326–331);

(ii) agreed changes to NIREX payments (£1.760,000);

(iii) an adjustment to the classification of Gas Consumer Council receipts from appropriations-in-aid to consolidated fund extra receipts (£2,894,000); and

(iv) other miscellaneous changes (£194,000); offset by

(v) a net reduction to provision in respect of AEA Technology privatisation costs (-£3,855,000); and

(vi) the movement of provision from the Small Finns Loan Guarantee Scheme to the non-cash limited Shipbuilding Intervention Fund (-£4,500,000).

Within this total, the gross running costs limit for the Department of Trade and Industry is being increased by £17,782,000 from £364,037,000 to £381,819,000. This change comprises:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much has been allocated to each local education authority to (a) improve school security and (b) meet the recommendations of the Government working party on school security. [1493]

The Government have accepted all the recommendations of the working group on school security, including for provision of substantial additional funding to improve school security through the grants for education support and training—GEST—programme from 1997–98. The grant will be distributed according to the number of pupils and the number of schools in each authority. Local education authorities will be informed in December of their allocations for the coming financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will instruct Ofsted to open its data base derived from inspection of schools to accredited researchers, with particular reference to those investigating the effect of class size on the quality of education. [2322]

No. This is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools. I know that he takes every opportunity to bring the information held by Ofsted into the public domain.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Inland Revenue's policy in respect of overseas computer access to British taxpayers' confidential files after the commencement of tax self-assessment. [959]

I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Banks) on 16 October, Official Report, columns 912–13.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish, by region (a) the unemployment claimant count statistics and (b) the unemployment statistics as measured by the labour force survey, showing the percentage difference between the two in each case. [832]

[holding answer 28 October 1996]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the cash and running costs limits for 1996–97 for the national investments and loans office. [2379]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XVI, vote 10 will be increased by a token amount to £341,000. Following a machinery of Government change in preparation for the privatisation of the Paymaster Agency, a small residuary body, to be known as the Office of HM Paymaster General—0PG—will remain in the public sector to perform the non-divestible functions. This token supplementary is required to allow for the transfer of OPG' s functions from class XVI, vote II to NILO. The running costs limit will be increased by £104,000 to £1,366,000 with a corresponding reduction in the provision for class XVI, vote 11. The increase will be offset by savings or charged to the reserve and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received regarding the private finance initiative. [314]

[holding answer 31 October 1996]: I have received many. I warmly welcome opportunities to talk to PFI practitioners in all sectors and to listen to their views on the initiative. As a result, we have made legislative and regulatory changes to facilitate the deal process. We have also published several sets of guidance, including case studies and standard terms of conditions of PFI contracts and we are working with the private sector to provide PFI training for officials. Most recently, we have responded in detail to recommendations put forward by the CBI, with whom we are working in partnership to push the PFI forward.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the additional annual full-year revenue which would be raised by the introduction of a 50 per cent. rate of income tax on earnings over £100,000 per annum; how many people would pay additional tax as a consequence; and what is the distribution of those persons by area of residence in the United Kingdom. [804]

[holding answer 31 October 1996]: Income tax rates are applied to taxable income—that is the total income for income tax purposes—including earnings—less those allowances and deductions which are allowable at marginal rates. The estimated full year yield at 1996–97 income levels of introducing a new rate of 50 per cent. on taxable incomes above £100,000 is £1.1 billion. The yield includes the consequential effects on the yield of capital gains tax after allowing for likely changes in the volume of disposals. It does not take account of any behavioural effects which might result from the introduction of the new rate of tax. About 120,000 taxpayers would be affected.It is not possible to provide a reliable breakdown below United Kingdom level for 1996–97. The latest available information is for 1994–95.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if separate arrangements are made for the handling of secure cases with special reference to the files of hon. Members. [1079]

[holding answer 30 October 1996]: Yes.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the security arrangements governing the handling of taxpayer records at Oracle facilities abroad. [1073]

[holding answer 30 October 1996]: The handling of confidential taxpayer data is governed by the strictest possible security arrangements to safeguard against misuse. It would not be appropriate to make public the precise safeguards which are being put in place.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the batches of taxpayer records that may be available to staff at Oracle facilities abroad may include information about any matter relevant to tax in the case of any identifiable person. [1074]

[holding answer 30 October 1996]: Diagnostic and remedial work undertaken to support the self assessment computer system may at times necessitate specialist staff—either in the UK or, exceptionally, or Oracle facilities abroad—having access to copies of batches of taxpayer records. Such data will not be in a readily intelligible form.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of schools in Northern Ireland have 1 per cent. or more of the school roll from a minority community. [970]

Within Northern Ireland 328–26 per cent.—schools have 1 per cent. or more of the school roll from a minority community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his policy on Government claims or counter-claims against individuals in relation to damage and injury caused by those individuals as a result of their involvement in terrorist acts. [1204]

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its chief executive, Mr Dennis Stanley. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the construction of a new headquarters for the Department of Education; what is the cost of the building; and what was the value for money of this project evaluated against other building priorities in education. [226]

The headquarters of the Department of Education in Bangor, County Down comprised a high rise building and a number of temporary annexes which were past their useful life. The new building at the headquarters site is a replacement of these temporary structures and the estimated cost is £3.657 million. This project was evaluated against other Government office priorities, but not against other building priorities in education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many handguns are legally held in Northern Ireland; and if he will provide a geographical breakdown of their locations. [227]

At 30 September, 1996, the number of handguns held on firearm certificates in Northern Ireland was 12,872. Information on the geographical breakdown of their locations can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the difference in respect of guidelines relating to the legal possession of handguns in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Great Britain. [228]

Under the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order, 1981, the Chief Constable is responsible for the administration of firearms licensing. His policy in relation to sporting handguns which was agreed with the Secretary of State is that a person cannot acquire a handgun unless he is able to show good reason for acquiring such a firearm and he has been a member of a registered firearms club for a minimum of 12 months; the application is supported by the secretary of the firearms club; and the police are content that he is a suitable person to hold such a weapon. In addition, the Chief Constable may approve the issue of a handgun where a person's life is believed to be under a serious and specific terrorist threat. In these circumstances the Chief Constable must satisfy himself that the individual is in all regards suitable to hold such a firearm and that his possession of the firearm does not pose a threat to the wider public safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent provision he has made for accountancy services for incorporated colleges, broken down by (a) human and (b) technical support services, and what he estimates to be the cost of these services in this and the next financial year. [998]

Additional provision of £510,000 has been made in the current financial year for use in strengthening their financial systems. No separate provision has yet been made for 1997–98.The existing baseline also includes provision for the enhancement of colleges' financial management systems through improved computer hardware and financial accounting software. Estimated costs are as follows:-

	1996–97 £	1997–98 £
Capital	384,000	—
Recurrent	555,000	376,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the extra costs to his budget will be this year of funding the incorporation of the further education colleges; and if he will itemise that expenditure. [999]

A budget of £1 million has been made available in the current financial year. It is estimated that this will be used as follows:

Strengthening college financial systems: £510.000

Project management and other college preparations: £395,000

Consultancy support, conferences, training and guidance for colleges: £95,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) decisions have been made and (b) procedures have been followed in respect of the appointment of a private company to fund the nursery voucher scheme; and what estimate he has made of the initial and annual costs of this administration. [1000]

Following a competitive tendering process a contract to administer the nursery education voucher scheme on a UK-wide basis was awarded to Capita Management Services Ltd.Legislation is currently being prepared to permit the extension of the nursery voucher scheme to Northern Ireland and the contract with Capita Management Services includes an opt-in clause for this purpose.Consultation on the scheme in Northern Ireland ended on 7 June and I will make an announcement on the outcome later in the autumn. The cost of administering the scheme for Northern Ireland is estimated at a total of £300,000 over three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the likely capital costs of site acquisition and building integrated schools in the next three years. [1001]

Expenditure on integrated schools likely to qualify for capital grant is estimated as follows:

	£ million
1997–1998	8.3
1998–1999	13.3
1999–2000	9.0
Total	30.6

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the average delay for each claimant of (a) invalidity benefit and (b) incapacity benefit for each year since 1990. [735]

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

	Clearance time target	Performance achieved
1990–91 (SB/IVB)	average clearance time of 9 days	average clearance time of 9 days
1991–92 (SB/IVB)	average clearance time of 9 days	average clearance time of 7 days
1992–93 (SB/IVB)	65 percent. in 10 days	77 per cent. in 30 days
	95 per cent. in 30 days	95.1 per cent. in 10 days
1993–94 (SB/IVB)	65 per cent. in 10 days	72.5 per cent. in 10 days
	95 per cent. in 30 days	94.3 per cent. in 30 days
1994–95 (SB/IVB)	65 per cent. in 10 days	77.4 per cent. in 10 days
	95 per cent. in 30 days	95.7 per cent. in 30 days
1995–96 (IB)	65 per cent. in 10 days	78.9 per cent. in 10 days
	85 per cent. in 30 days	96 per cent. in 30 days

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants of (a) incapacity benefit who were formerly receiving invalidity benefit, (b) incapacity benefit since April 1995, (c) severe disablement allowance and (d) credits only have been disallowed benefit during the year April 1995 to April 1996 by reason of (i) being found capable of work following the own occupation test, (ii) being found capable of work following the all work test (iii) failure to return IB50 questionnaire (iv) failure to attend medical examination and (v) other reasons. [417]

Information is not available in the format requested. It is not yet possible to provide reliable data on the numbers disallowed in each of the groups specified. The available information, for the period 13 April 1995 to 31 March 1996, is in the table.

Reason for disallowance of benefit	Incapacity benefit recipients
Capable of work following own occupation test	1,288
Capable following all work test	66,367
Failure to return questionnaire without good cause	7.710
Failure to attend medical examination without good cause	2,416

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, following the introduction of incapacity benefit in 1995 and the requirement for claimants to undergo a medical examination, he will publish (a) the number of medical exemptions, (b) the number of cases automatically exempted because the clients are in receipt of the higher rate of DLA, (c) the number of cases allowed after medical scrutiny, (d) the number of cases allowed after medical examination, (e) the number disallowed after examination and (f) the numbers disallowed for failure to attend examination sessions. [758]

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

Table 1: Exemptions from the all work test
Grounds for exemption	Numbers of incapacity benefit claimants at 31 May 1996
Severe sickness or terminally ill	129,000
In receipt of highest rate care component of disability living allowance	21,000

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many examinations for the all work test have (a) been carried out and (b) scheduled but not yet taken place during the year April 1995 to April 1996 for each of the regional medical centres. [419]

The administration of incapacity benefit is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list (a) the level of the basic state pension, (b) average weekly earnings and (c) the percentage of average weekly earnings represented by the basic state pension, for each year since 1966. [881]

I refer the hon. Member to tables 3.3 and 6.1 of the "Abstract of Statistics for Social Security Benefits and Contributions and Indices of Prices and Earnings", 1996 Edition; a copy of which is available in the Library.Comparative information for the years 1966 to 1970 is not available because the new earnings survey did not begin until 1970.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review the provision of social fund funeral payments. [2550]

Major changes were introduced in June 1995. I have been monitoring their effects. Expenditure has been significantly reduced from £63 million during 1994–95 to £49 million during 1995–96.I now propose to develop the scheme further. From April 1997, help will be targeted more precisely on those most in need and the scheme will be made simpler. The proposed scheme will allow up to £600 for funeral expenses. The allowable items will no longer be specified leaving the person responsible for arranging the funeral free to decide which elements should be included. Certain disbursements— for example burial or cremation costs—will be paid in addition to the capped amount. Likewise, provision will be made where additional costs are likely to arise in exceptional circumstances, for example transportation costs for distances in excess of 50 miles. Under the proposed changes, both the person responsible for making the funeral arrangements and the funeral director will have a clearer understanding of the level of help available from the social fund.In addition, a new test will help the adjudication officer to decide if it was reasonable for the person to have taken responsibility for the funeral expenses. In a case where there is no surviving partner, where a parent, son or daughter of the deceased exists, and neither they nor their partner are in receipt of a qualifying benefit it will be considered unreasonable for the person receiving the qualifying benefit to take responsibility for the funeral expenses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on progress with the transfer of his Department's estate to the private sector. [2551]

Three potential suppliers have been selected and will be invited to take part in the next stage of the project.They are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases before the Benefits Agency Medical Services remain outstanding; and when he estimates his Department will have cleared any backlog. [729]

The administration of the Benefits Agency Medical Services is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which office is responsible for the new claims visits in the Bolton area; and what has been the performance record of that office. [127]

This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when "Civil Service Statistics 1996" will be published. [2376]

"Civil Service Statistics 1996" was published today and copies have been placed in the Library. This publication highlights key trends in civil service staffing for the period up to 1 April 1996. It shows that the number of permanent civil servants fell by 4.5 per cent. from 517,000 on 1 April 1995 to 494,000 on I April 1996.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals there are to change the 1996–97 cash limit or running costs limit for the Office of Public Service. [2377]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Office of Public Service—class XVII, vote 1—will be increased by £4,653,000 from £173,974,000 to £178,627,000 and the gross running cost limit will be increased by £8,548,000 from £74,101,000 to £82,649,000. The changes reflect the take up of running cost end-year flexibility— £8,775,000—and capital EYF—f645,000—under the end-year flexibility scheme announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 12 July 1996, Official Report, columns 326–31; and certain other transfers between Departments. Provision is also made for the privatisations of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Recruitment and Assessment Services, the Occupational Health and Safety Agency, and the custody guards service. The increase in the cash limit will be met from the reserve and will not, therefore, add to the total of planned expenditure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to change the cash limit of the Central Office of Information for 1996–97. [2378]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Central Office of Information class—XVII, vote 3—will be increased by £5,200,000 from £1,182,000 to £6,382,000. The change is to provide a subsidy to the COI trading fund to cover anticipated redundancy and other costs arising from the COI trading fund's exit from the provision of certain services, following the prior options review of COI.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the additional annual cost to the NHS pension fund arising out of the payment of £50,000 to Mr. Roy Hemming of Doncaster Family Health Services Authority. [447]

The costs to the national health service pension scheme correctly reflected the level of benefits properly paid to Mr. Hemming on his retirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost to Staffordshire county council of a community care place in a residential home run (a) by the county council and (b) by the private sector. [1051]

Staffordshire county council has told us that the net cost of a placement in one of its own homes is £198 and in the independent sector varies between £88 and £130. The reason for the cost differences includes the payment of residential allowance of £54, outside London rate, by the Department of Social Security which is made only to residents in the independent sector.The gross cost of a placement in one of their own homes is £279 and for the three categories of placements in the independent sector are residential old age, £204, very dependent elderly, £236 and physical handicap elderly, £246.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the NHS number system identifying each patient individually will be operational. [1119]

Area	Resident population1	Number of Health Centres2	Number of Health Centres per 1,000 population	Number of Health Centres per 100,000 population
Inner London3	2,009,366	51	0.025	2.54
Greater London4	6,910,828	124	0.018	1.79
Birmingham	1,004,258	28	0.028	2.79
Newcastle	275,217	8	0.029	2.91

The new national health service number system is being introduced through a phased programme across the NHS.The NHS central register has created New NHS numbers for the whole population of England and Wales and these have been incorporated into health authority primary care patient registers.New numbers are now being rolled out into general practitioner practice patient registers. At the end of September, this process had been completed in 65 per cent. of practices. By the end of 1996 full operational use of the new NHS number is scheduled in all breast screening office registers. The comparable date for cervical cytology, call and recall systems, diabetes screening systems and child health registers in mid 1997.Inclusion of the new NHS number in in-patient contract minimum datasets will be mandatory from 1 April 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many partnership vacancies currently exist for general practitioners in (a) Leeds, (b) Newcastle, (c) London, (d) Manchester and (e) Liverpool. [1109]

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients referred to (a) Great Ormond Street, (b) the Royal Marsden, (c) the Royal Free and (d) University College hospitals were referred by fundholding general practitioners. [1115]

This information is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairmen of the individual trusts for information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total amount spent on the school health service for each of the past five years. [1100]

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many family health centres per 1,000 population there are in (a) Inner London, (b) Greater London, (c) Birmingham, (d) Newcastle, (e) Liverpool, (f) Leeds and (g) Manchester. [1124]

The available information is set out in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the outstanding repair and maintenance backlog at all NHS facilities by district health authority for each year since 1991. [1128]

Outstanding repair and maintenance backlogs at all national health service facilities are not collected by district health authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost of the NHS administrative register to date. [1120]

The expenditure to date on the national health service administrative register is £8.8 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current cost of incinerating non-clinical waste in the NHS. [1108]

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospital trusts have indicated that they will not carry out elective surgery before the end of the current financial year. [1112]

The information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes will be made to the cash limits of his Department in 1996–97. [2552]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XI vote 1—hospital, community health, family health and related services, England—will be increased by £125,517,000, from £27,682,304,000 to £27,807,821,000. This allows for increases of £124,373,000 in respect of the take up of the end year flexibility entitlement as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the working relationships between health authorities and social services departments; if he will list examples of successful joint action in providing care in the community for people with special needs; what proposals he has for encouraging closer working together; and if he will make a statement. [1383]

Joint working between health and social services is a key feature of our community care monitoring. This shows that, although there are still improvements to make, there are many examples of good practice around the country covering groups of people with a range of needs. To assist authorities develop their collaborative working we published "Practical Guidance on Joint Commissioning" in 1995, copies of which are available in the Library. A development programme, which includes a series of locality workshop to encourage and enable authorities to develop their joint commissioning further, is taking this work forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if notice of termination has been given to CAMS Ltd. in relation to the company's contract with the national health service centre for coding and classification at Loughborough; if the National Audit Office draft report into the terms of the contract and other matters has been received by the NHS executive; and if he will make a statement. [1619]

Notice of termination has not been given to CAMS Ltd. with respect to its contract with the Department of Health for the licensing and support of Read codes in the national health service.The review commissioned by the NHS Executive from Silicon Bridge Research into these licensing and support arrangements has been completed and the report has been received. Its findings are being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS patients are covered by GP fundholders in the Northern and Yorkshire regions. [1660]

Fifty-three per cent. of the population of Northern and Yorkshire region are currently served by a fundholding general practitioner.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the specific training period for a state-registered nurse. [1952]

Training leading to registration with the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting as a general nurse is of three years duration comprising 4,600 hours of theoretical and practical instruction in compliance with European Communities Council directive 77/453/EEC.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications have been received for the EU maternal and child health budget line, B7–5407, for 1997; from which agencies and non-governmental organisations; if he will indicate (a) how much funding each applicant is requesting and (b) which allocations have already been made; and if he will make a statement. [469]