To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the (a) capital value and (b) expected start date of each of the private finance initiative schemes relating to transport which are summarised in table 5.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997–98" and which are expected to start in the period 1997–98 to 1999–2000. [8627]

[holding answer 11 December 1996]: The information is as follows:

	Estimated capital value (£ million)
Birmingham Northern Relief Road	300
CAA New Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre	1200
DBFO road schemes	350
London Transport Communications	150–200
1 Subject to review.

Timing is subject to progress with negotiations and with approvals procedures, but most of these schemes are expected to start in 1997–98.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the estimated forward financial commitments for each signed PFI contract agreed by his Department or one of its agencies as summarised in table 5.6 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997–98". [8620]

[holding answer 11 December 1996]: Details of individual contracts are commercially sensitive, but we estimate the average annual costs over the next three years to be around £100 million for signed design, build, finance and operate road contracts and a further £100 million for other agreed transport PFI schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to conduct the next general review of the trunk road network. [9013]

We have no plans at present for a further general review of the trunk road network.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications his Department has received (a) nationally and (b) from Devon and Cornwall for compensation from regular exporters of fish and fish products as a consequence of the recent French lorry drivers' dispute; and if he will make a statement. [8692]

We have had two inquiries on behalf of fishing interests, neither specific to Devon or Cornwall, about eligibility for claiming compensation and the procedure. I am not aware of any claims having yet been submitted to the French authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the criteria governing eligibility for compensation for exporters on a regular basis of United Kingdom products to the European Union following the recent lorry drivers' dispute in France; and if he will make a statement. [8708]

Any business which can demonstrate, with hard supporting evidence, that it has suffered financial loss as a direct result of the dispute is at liberty to submit a claim for compensation to the French authorities for their consideration. We shall publish shortly details of the arrangements for making claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the current objectives of the road and vehicle safety directorate. [8328]

The road and vehicle safety directorate contributes to my right hon. Friend's objectives set out in the "Transport Report 1966" and, in particular, to promoting transport safety by seeking to reduce the number of road accidents in which people are killed and injured and to reducing the adverse impact of transport on the environment through tighter vehicle standards and other measures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road fatalities arising from the loss of road wheels from heavy commercial vehicles occurred in each of the last five years; how many wheel loss incidents there were; what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into this matter; what assessment he has made of the advantages of safety wheel nuts in reducing accidents; and if he will make a statement. [8706]

It is estimated that each year there are approximately five to six fatal road accidents involving heavy goods vehicles in which wheel detachment occurs. As data on the causation of accidents are not routinely collected by my Department, figures on the number of fatalities arising from such accidents are not available.With regard to the number of incidents involving wheel loss each year the cases indicated by the analysis of the Vehicle Inspectorate database represent only those cases where the police have called upon an investigation to be carried out by the inspectorate.My Department has been represented for many years on the British Standards Committee for wheels and tyres who commissioned research by the Motor Industry Research Association—MIRA—into the problems of wheel loss from commercial vehicles. This research complemented work carried out by the University of Exeter on behalf of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers—IRTE—and the Department of Trade and Industry which contributed some £35,000 to the funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 25 November, Official Report, column 52, on sound barriers on motorways, if he will now make a statement. [9182]

I have completed a review of the policy and have no changes to propose. Noise barriers have been provided on new roads and improvement schemes opened after 16 October 1969 where they offer an effective benefit to an appreciable number of properties which would otherwise have qualified for noise insulation under the Noise Insulation Regulations 1975 (Statutory Instrument No 1763), and where the cost of providing the barriers did not exceed the cost of individual insulation. For the purpose of determining whether a property would qualify for noise insulation, changes in noise level are calculated on the basis of projected traffic growth 15 years from the date of opening of the scheme.It remains the Department's policy, subject to the availability of funds occasionally, and in exceptional circumstances, to exercise a discretionary power of

	1991		1992		1993
	Killed	Injured	Killed	Injured	Killed	Injured
Car or van drivers	15	149	11	134	9	146
Car or van passengers	24	800	15	599	10	508
Front seat car passengers	2	61	3	71	4	61
Rear seat car passengers	20	696	11	509	6	420
All van passengers	2	43	1	19	0	27

It is not known how many of these casualties were as a direct result of not wearing a seat belt.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of the Secretary of State for Transport of 29 November, Official Report, column 418, if he will place in the Library copies of the research undertaken by the fire research and development group and the fire research station into the fire and smoke hazards of polystyrene, together with their findings.[7812]

I have arranged for this information to be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate how many (a) drivers, (b) front seat passengers and (c) back seat passengers have been (i) killed and (ii) injured as a result of not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle in Wales in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [8233]

Statistics for seat belt wearing are available only until 1993 and only for the occupants of cars and vans. Data on front and back seat passengers are available only for car passengers. The table shows the recorded number of drivers and passengers killed and injured in Wales whilst not wearing a seat belt whether or not one was fitted. The table does not include figures for casualties where the wearing of a belt was not reported—about a quarter of all accidents.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the (a) male and (b) female population over the age of 30 years has committed at least one (i) minor criminal offence and (ii) serious criminal offence; and if he will make a statement. [7509]

Information available centrally on the percentage of the population with a criminal record relates to convictions for standard list offences only. Standard list offences include all indictable offences, including those triable either way, plus the more serious summary offences. All standard list offences are considered to be serious offences.Results from criminal histories of a sample of offenders born in 1953 indicate that 31 per cent. of males and 7 per cent. of females born in that year were convicted of at least one standard list offence before the age of 30; and that 34 per cent of males and 8 per cent of females were convicted of at least one standard list offence before the age of 40.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the report, "A Second Exile. The Mental Health Implications of Detention of Asylum Seekers in the United Kingdom", by C. K. Pourgourides, S. P. Sashidharan and P. J. Bracken at the North Birmingham Mental Health trust; and what plans he has to implement its recommendations. [8646]

Copies of this report have been forwarded to us. We cannot accept its main recommendation—that the policy of detaining asylum seekers should be abandoned—but we will take account of its detailed recommendations in taking forward detention policy.Detention under the powers contained in the Immigration Act 1971 is used only as a last resort. Temporary admission is granted wherever possible. The primary consideration is whether a person is likely to comply with any restrictions upon him, including any arrangements for his removal from the country. Detention is unavoidable in a small number of cases if we are to retain an effective immigration control.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many retailers have been prosecuted for selling (a) lottery tickets and (b) scratch cards to children; and if she will make a statement; [8201](2) how many retailers have been prosecuted for selling

These are operational matters for Camelot Group plc. I have, therefore, asked the Director General of the National Lottery, who is responsible for regulating the operation of the lottery, to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will announce the names of those bids to establish and run the British Academy of Sport that are going forward to the second stage of the evaluation process. [9136]

Thirteen of the 26 bids received to establish and run the British Academy of Sport are going forward to stage 2 of the evaluation process. The 13 bids are:

• The Athletes Bid (Hertfordshire)
• Bath
• Birmingham West Midlands
• Central Consortium (Loughborough, Nottingham, Lilleshall)
• De Montford University
• Houghton Grange (Huntingdon)
• Kent Thameside
• Manchester
• Merseyside
• Sheffield
• Sports City Foundation (Kettering)
• UK Academy 2000 (Yorkshire)
• Upper Heyford (Oxfordshire).

We expect to reach a final decision in the early spring of next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the United Nations to implement and monitor the oil for food deal in Iraq under the provisions of UN resolution 986. [8652]

We welcome UN Security Council resolution 986 (1995) which took effect on 10 December. Saddam Hussein's failure to agree to implement this humanitarian gesture for over 18 months has caused the Iraqi people much unnecessary suffering. The UN in New York will monitor contracts for the export of oil from Iraq. It has appointed inspectors to monitor the export of oil from Iraq and the import of humanitarian goods. The UN has also appointed observers to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of humanitarian goods once they are inside Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the cost to United Kingdom public funds of the establishment of a European monitoring centre for racism and xenophobia. [8671]

Discussions are continuing about the form which the European monitoring centre for racism and xenophobia should take. It is too early to estimate its likely cost to United Kingdom public funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will veto plans to establish a European monitoring centre for racism and xenophobia. [8670]

No. Agreement was reached at the Florence European Council on 21 to 22 June 1996, on the principle of a European monitoring centre for racism and xenophobia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the British Government are taking to promote the safeguarding of human rights worldwide. [8788]

We participate actively in bodies dealing with human rights, including the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth. We raise human rights concerns with individual Governments bilaterally and with European Union partners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the British Government are taking in respect of the International Court of Justice ruling of 8 July 1996, relating to nuclear disarmament. [8789]

We do not believe that the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of nuclear weapons gives rise to any new factors affecting the fundamental principles of United Kingdom and NATO defence policy, including the continuing importance of nuclear deterrence in maintaining peace and stability in Europe.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the outcome of the consultation on proposed changes to the farm woodland premium scheme; and what conclusions have been reached on payment rates. [9216]

A wide range of organisations were consulted on the proposed changes to the FWPS announced to Parliament on 24 July, Official Report, column 624. Most organisations welcomed the proposed changes though there were a number of different, often conflicting views. In light of the consultation we will be making some minor modifications to our original proposals and a statutory instrument will be laid before Parliament early next year. Subject to approval by Parliament and the European Commission, it is intended that most of the proposals will be implemented with effect from 1 April 1997. A list of the changes is being placed in the Library of the House.The rates of payment to apply from 1 April 1996 will be as follows:

	FWPS £/hectare/year	FWS £/hectare/year
Land eligible for Arable Area payments
Outside of the Less Favoured Areas	300	230
Disadvantaged Areas of the Less Favoured Areas (DA)	230	180
Severely Disadvantaged Areas of the Less Favoured Areas (SDA)	160	120
Other Cropped Land and Improved Grassland
Outside of the Less Favoured Areas	260	200
DA	200	160
SDA	140	110

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current throughput of carcase remains from the over-30-month slaughter programme; and how many weeks it will take to clear the backlog at this rate. [7739]

The slaughter rate of cattle under the over-30-month scheme progressively increased through the autumn to around 60,000 animals per week by the middle of November. This rate would have cleared the backlog declared by farmers as at 2 November under the Government's registration system by Christmas, but animals are not being presented for slaughter at levels consistent with the number registered.Abattoirs have, therefore, been permitted to take both registered and unregistered OTMS animals provided priority is given to registered animals. In the week ending 8 December just over 40,000 OTMS animals were presented for slaughter against a disposal capacity of around 60,000 animals. Only half of these were registered as part of the backlog which is a good indicator that clearance has almost been achieved.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met the National Farmers Union to discuss certified herds; and when he expects to bring forward detailed proposals. [8213]

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food meets the NFU regularly. These meetings cover a range of topics including certified herds. Detailed proposals are currently being drawn up. However, the progress of a certified herds scheme is dependant on whether it is decided to proceed with the selective cull.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his latest estimate of the annual consumption of seafish by seals in United Kingdom waters, expressed as a proportion of the total catch by British fishing vessels in the same waters over the same period. [8178]

The estimated number of grey seals associated with breeding sites in the United Kingdom waters in 1995 was 115,000. The Ministry does not have comparable figures of common seals, but the present population is estimated to be 28,000. Scientific work indicates that a seal can eat between 1.4 and 1.8 tonnes of fish each year. Current seal numbers may thus have accounted for between 200,000 and 260,000 tonnes of fish. It is not possible to draw a direct comparison with landings from the United Kingdom fleet, since seals mostly eat species which are not consumed by humans.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that the Bank of England releases all of its archived papers and documents for the year 1966 before the end of the year. [8353]

Although the Bank of England is not subject to the Public Records Acts, it has as a matter of policy released archived papers after 30 years. Papers relating to 1996 will be made available on 1 January 1997.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage of shares held by individuals in privatised companies (a) on privatisation and (b) as at the most recent date for which figures are available. [8215]

The following table gives the information requested in part (a) for major primary sales. The present size of share registers is a matter for the companies themselves and their registrars and may be found in individual companies' annual reports.

Shares sold in the public offer (as a proportion of total shares sold in the offer)
Offer	Year	Actual proportion allocated (per cent.)
BT	1984	34
British Gas	1986	64
British Airways	1987	47
Rolls Royce	1987	42
BAA	1987	52
British Steel	1988	42
Water	1989	47
Regional Electricity	1990	55
Companies
Generating	1991	49
Companies
Scottish Electricity	1991	58
N. Ireland Electricity	1993	64
Railtrack	1996	151
British Energy	1996	152
2 Includes Retail Tender.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to consult on how to regulate the selling and marketing of long-term care insurance. [9135]

The Government's consultation document, "A new partnership for care in old age", published on 7 May, invited comments on a proposed partnership scheme to provide extra protection from the means test for residential care to people who took out a "partnership product" to meet some of the costs of long-term care. Views were also invited on whether the selling and marketing of partnership insurance products, and long-term care insurance more generally should be regulated under the Financial Services Act 1986.I informed the House on 24 July 1996,

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will report progress with the privatisation of the Paymaster agency. [9183]

Initial bids have been received and three bidders have just been short-listed. These are the management and employee buy-out team in partnership with ITNet, Capita Managed Services, and EDS/Hogg Robinson Financial Services Ltd. Final bids are due in by mid-January.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Council of Ministers has adopted the letter of amendment No. 2 to the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union for 1997. [9184]

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 5 December, Official Report, columns 744–46. The Council adopted the letter of amendment No. 2 to the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union for 1997 at its meeting on 19 November. It has now been passed to the European Parliament as the letter of amendment No. 2 to the draft general budget of the European Union for 1997.In agreeing this proposal I waived the United Kingdom's scrutiny reserve. I did so because the letter of amendment No. 2 formed an integral part of a package with which the Council aimed to secure the European Parliament's agreement to a budget for 1997 in which total payments would be frozen at 1996 levels in cash terms. Such an outcome would clearly be in the national interest.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the number of taxpayers who will face penalties for late return of self-assessment forms; and what is the expected annual yield from such penalties in each of the next three years. [8275]

[holding answer 9 December 1996]: The Inland Revenue's current working assumption is that 15 per cent. of taxpayers will file their self-assessment tax return later in the first year of the new system, reducing to 10 per cent. in the third year. These figures are based on current taxpayer behaviour, and do not take into account the deterrent effect of late filing penalties or publicity around the filing dates. The automatic penalty for those who do not file by 31 January 1998 will be £100. No estimates have been made of the annual yield from late filing penalties.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria the United Kingdom will propose to govern the choice of the members of the board of the European Central Bank; and if he will take steps to ensure that the Nolan committee's recommendations relating to public appointment will apply to these appointments. [6807]

Article 11 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks-ESCB—annexed to the EC treaty states that the executive board of the European Central Bank—ECB—shall comprise the president and vice-president of the ECB and four other members. It states that the

"President, the Vice-President and the other members of the Executive Board shall be appointed from among persons of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters",

by common accord of Governments at the level of Heads of State or Government, on a recommendation from the Council after it has consulted the European Parliament and the Governing Council of the ECB. In accordance with article 43.3 of the statute and paragraph 8 of protocol No. 11, member states which do not participate in the single currency are not involved in this procedure and nationals of these countries may not be members of the executive board. Article 50 of the statute provides for some transitional procedural rules to govern the section of the executive board when it is established.The second paragraph of article 11.1 of the statute states that members of the executive board shall

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action the United Kingdom is taking to ensure that significant emission reduction targets are put forward at the Geneva intersessional conference on climate change in December. [8052]

The United Kingdom proposed, at the first conference of the parties to the climate change convention in Berlin in 1995, that developed countries should agree to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to between 5 per cent. and 10 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010.We expect this proposal to influence negotiations, including at the convention meeting taking place in Geneva this month, which will lead to an agreement on new commitments at the third conference of the parties in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those recommendations produced by the consultants for BRECSU which were subsequently not published, indicating the factors underlying their non-publication. [8254]

BRECSU is one of the Department of the Environment's managing contractors for its energy efficiency best practice programme. In this role, it has placed some 600 contracts with a range of organisations. The reports submitted by the contractors are used, together with other consensus knowledge and expertise, to produce a wide range of best practice publications in the buildings and related energy management fields.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in the attempts by the Environment Agency, as a successor to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, to secure the release of the safety reports relating to the proposed subterranean repository for radioactive waste near Sellafield; and if he will make a statement on the current working relationship between Nirex and the Environment Agency. [8610]

Following my written answer to the hon. Member on 11 November, Official Report column 3 UK Nirex Ltd. has provided the Library with a list of its research reports. Until Nirex applies to the Environment Agency for authorisation under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 to dispose of radioactive waste, there is no formal regulatory relationship between the company and the Environment Agency. However, discussions are currently taking place between the two organisations about their future working arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the additional rent rebate expenditure incurred by local authorities as a result of the application of his guideline rent increases for each year from 1990–91 to 1995–96. [8872]

The guideline rent increases produced gross public expenditure savings which offset the additional cost of rent rebates. The estimated rent rebate expenditure if all authorities had increased their rents in line with the guideline rent increases for each year from 1990–91 to 1995–96 and the estimated gross savings from the extra rent income are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of continuation funding in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99 and (c) 1999–2000 for each estate action scheme (i) in London and (ii) nationally. [8849]

Within the single regeneration budget planned provision nationally for the remaining estate action commitments is currently as follows:

	£ million
1997–98	170
1998–99	98
1999–2000	61

SRB allocations to each region for 1997–98 for continuing programmes, including estate action, will be determined shortly, following last month's Budget statement. The Government offices in each region then

Capital challenge—all bids—total bid cost and credit approvals bid for—by service and by region
(£,000)
Service	North East	Yorkshire and the Humber	East Mids	Eastern	South East	London	South West	West Mids	North West	Merseyside	Totals
Total bid cost—by service—all bids
Education	7,595	35,639	27,013	36,964	27,297	76,819	17,566	57,493	46,127	19,909	352,422
Housing	23,604	60,145	31,326	40,156	70,327	170,478	29,331	159,947	123,053	4,940	713,307
Personal Social Services	6,502	4,370	6,595	11,397	7,899	14,865	5,328	6,915	11,034	3,216	78,121
Transport	39,579	182,490	25,674	92,584	157,730	77,605	45,551	114,162	191,470	79,422	1,006,267
Magistrates' Courts	245	7,727	11,614	6,126	210	23,596	22,000	2,516	306	0	74,340
Fire and Civil Defence	3,360	7,270	1,310	40	5,120	13,670	12,296	4,983	7,700	5,528	61,277
Probation Service	0	0	75	6	90	2,086	4,976	1,327	0	2,261	10,821
Coastal Prot'n, Flood Defence	0	0	0	550	13,338	0	2,125	1,040	0	0	17,053
Sport and Recreation	34,180	29,484	34,225	9,287	220,802	15,416	25,868	16,405	65,183	3,002	453,852
Other Services	67,466	29,843	43,154	76,319	216,609	228,222	226,324	193,422	238,052	24,032	1,343,443
Totals	182,530	356,968	180,986	273,429	719,422	622,757	391,365	558,210	682,925	142,310	4,110,902
Credit approvals bid for—by service—all bids
Education	7,005	29,111	21,886	18,952	16,306	46,313	10,181	32,472	28,385	14,074	224,685
Housing	8,820	32,098	8,381	21,678	10,897	79,433	11,222	53,164	39,628	500	265,821
Personal Social Services	3,215	3,055	3,835	16,371	3,132	8,636	3,997	5,970	8,024	2,080	58,315
Transport	26,756	52,519	29,021	29,179	90,751	39,329	34,403	66,402	48,448	36,442	453,250
Magistrates' Courts	245	7,727	11,614	6,031	210	23,591	7,200	2,516	306	0	59,440
Fire and Civil Defence	3,346	7,270	660	20	4,720	13,545	12,246	4,698	7,700	5,527	59,732
Probation Service	0	0	75	6	0	1,776	3,101	1,327	0	2,261	8,546
Coastal Prot'n,	0	0	0	275	0	0	1,000	200	0	0	1,475

To ask the Secretary of state for the Environment what allowance he made for inflation in determining estate action allocations in (a) 1993 and (b) 1994; and if he will make statement. [8850]

Local authorities were advised to make due allowance for inflation before submitting their bids for estate action support to the Department. The amounts available to fund new and continuing estate action schemes in 1993–94 and 1994–95 were determined by the public expenditure survey settlements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide (a) a breakdown for each region of the source of the resources to finance capital challenge and (b) a breakdown of the bids received from each region. [8851]

(a) Each Government Department has contributed to capital challenge in proportion to their share of the Government's total provision for local authority capital expenditure. Since total provision is not sub-divided on a regional basis, it is not possible to break down each region's share in the manner requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost compensation factor used in determining resource allocation for London in (a) the generalised needs index, (b) the single regeneration budget and (c) capital challenge; and what plans he has to amend the allocation. [8852]

(a) The generalised needs index, which is used in the distribution of housing annual capital guidelines for local authorities in England, uses regional cost compensation factors to reflect the different costs of capital works in different parts of the country. There were separate factors for the new provision and renovation parts of the index.Relative cost compensation factors are calculated for each region and the factors are scaled so that the factors for the lowest regions equal 100. The cost compensation factors for London used in the GNI for 1996–97 were 155 (new provision) and 137 (renovation); the figures for other regions range between 100 to 130 and 100 to 114 respectively. The methodology underlying the cost compensation factors, which are updated annually, was reviewed in detail in 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received with regard to the environmental impact of World bank-funded transport projects in the Cameroon. [8411]

The Friends of the Earth wrote to my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Chalker on 6 September expressing concern about the possible environmental impact of this programme. The ODA acknowledged the possible risks but pointed out that the World bank was working with the Government of Cameroon to ensure that environmental impact was considered when individual projects were being selected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts are being made by Her Majesty's Government to enable the Save the Children Fund to enter northern Iraq. [8654]

We understand that two members of Save the Children Fund have recently entered northern Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British aid agencies are operating in (a) northern Iraq and (b) Iraq. [8653]

As far as we are aware there are eight British non-governmental organisations operating in northern Iraq and one in Baghdad-controlled Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British aid agencies are being denied access to northern Iraq. [8655]

The usual route for western NGOs carrying out humanitarian work in northern Iraq since 1991 has been via Turkey. The Turkish Government introduced new requirements in August, since when no British NGOs have been given authority to travel into northern Iraq from Turkey. We have raised this on several occasions with the Turkish Government, urging them to allow reputable British NGOs, who have complied with their new requirements, to enter northern Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of human rights in Zambia. [8737]

Our high commission closely monitors respect of human rights in Zambia. We welcomed the recent legislation establishing a human rights commission but we were concerned that two non-governmental organisations' leaders were questioned by police on 24 November following their reports on the recent elections.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received about the current internal political situation in Zambia. [8736]

We receive regular reports from our high commission at Lusaka. There have been no reports of any civil unrest since the presidential and parliamentary elections which were held on 18 November. The current internal political situation is stable.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the budget of the Immigration Appellate Authority in the financial year 1996–97; and what it was in financial years (a) 1995–96 and (b) 1994–95. [7793]

The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time special adjudicators were employed by the Immigration Appellate Authority (i) at the latest available date, (ii) on 1 January 1995 and (iii) on 1 August 1993. [7785]

At the latest available date, 6 December 1996, 29 full-time and 97 part-time immigration adjudicators were designated as special adjudicators by the Lord Chancellor. On 1 January 1995 there were 18 full-time and 44 part-time immigration adjudicators who were so designated. On 1 August 1993 there were 16 full-time and 15 part-time immigration adjudicators so designated.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many appeals against a refusal of asylum are currently outstanding; and what was the number on (a) 1 January 1996, (b) 1 January 1995 and (c) 1 January 1994. [7786]

The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the eligibility for legal aid of young people who are suing local education authorities over their school education. [7779]

In addition to qualifying financially, an applicant must also show to the Legal Aid Board that he or she has reasonable grounds for taking, defending or being a party to proceedings, and that it is reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case for legal aid to be granted. However, I should make clear that, as yet, the Legal Aid Board has not yet received any applications for legal aid in the case relating to educational achievement, which was recently reported in the press.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent representations he has received from the Bar Council on the subject of reform of the legal aid budget; and if he will make a statement. [7915]

I recently met the chairman of the Bar Council to discuss the reforms. I look forward to having further discussion and consultations with the Bar and other interested bodies as the reforms progress.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many certificates issued by the Legal Aid Board were revoked in (i) 1992, (ii) 1993, (iii) 1994 and (iv) 1995; and if he will make a statement. [7907]

The number of civil legal aid certificates revoked in each year was as follows:

• 1992–93: 11,630
• 1993–94: 19,503
• 1994–95: 21,773
• 1995–96: 25,032.

The figure for 1992–93 represents revoked emergency certificates only because revoked substantive certificates were not recorded on the Legal Aid Board's case administration computer system until 1993–94. The 1993–94 figure does not include substantive revoked certificates for Cardiff as that office was not upgraded with the new computer system until August 1994.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in how many cases in the past six months claims for legal aid to pursue civil claims for compensation in cases involving (a) criminal harassment by landlords, (b) illegal eviction and (c) disrepair have been refused; and how many of these claims have been granted on appeal. [7800]

The information requested is not available as the data gathered by the Legal Aid Board do not separately identify those categories of cases.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he last met the Law Society to discuss the provision and funding of legal aid; and if he will make a statement. [7916]

The Lord Chancellor, I and officials in my Department regularly meet representatives of the Law Society to discuss a very wide range of issues relating to the provision and funding of legal aid.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the 20 (a) solicitors firms and (b) barristers who have received the largest sums of money from the legal aid scheme for each year for which information is available. [8700]

In the time available it has not been possible to provide the information requested. I will reply as soon as possible.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the advantages of statutory tort of molestation following the Court of Appeal judgment in the Burris v. Azadani case in July 1995. [7795]

The consultation paper, "Stalking—the Solutions", which was published by the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department in July 1996, discussed the question whether there should be a statutory tort of molestation or whether cases of molestation should be dealt with under the common law, in the light of recent cases. Its conclusion, that there should be a statutory tort, was supported on consultation and the Protection from Harassment Bill, which was introduced on 5 December, accordingly contains a statutory tort.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 12 December. [7453]

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

To ask the Prime Minister if he will now publish in the Official Report the ministerial correspondence and discussion papers that led to the change in rules for the award of war pensions for deafness and pension increases for further deterioration. [8728]

The texts of the address and the background note given to members of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions about the change in medical opinion regarding the interaction between service-related noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss and subsequent hearing loss have been placed in the Library. Inter-ministerial correspondence and discussion papers leading up to a change are not normally published.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list (a) the planned timetable, (b) the planned number participating and (c) the estimated public expenditure for the introduction of modern apprenticeships in each Government Department. [8840]

The use of modern apprenticeships is a decision taken by individual Government Departments. Information on take-up in the civil service is not held centrally. Departments are actively encouraged to consider modern apprenticeships as part of their human resource strategies to develop future managers and encourage lifetime learning.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what cost compliance assessment has been undertaken of the proposed Workplace (Fire Precautions) Regulations by the deregulation unit. [8345]

The Workplace (Fire Precautions) Regulations are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. Earlier proposals for implementing the directives had significant costs associated with them which had led us to adopt a new approach, recognising the high standards of fire safety that already exist in workplaces. The Home Secretary undertook a further public consultation during the summer on a revised draft of these regulations, which, amongst other issues, specifically sought advice from business on compliance costs. The Home Office is currently preparing a compliance cost assessment which will accompany the proposed regulations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment the deregulation task force has made of the introduction of the proposed Workplace (Fire Precautions) Regulations; and what meetings he has had with business representatives to discuss their possible compliance costs. [8344]

The Workplace (Fire Precautions) Regulations are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. The deregulation task force commented on the Government's proposed approach in its 1995–96 report. The Home Secretary undertook a public consultation during the summer on a draft of these regulations, and members of the task force have since provided views on the draft regulations. My noble Friend Baroness Blatch, Minister of State at the Home Office, and I are also discussing compliance costs for these regulations with the British Retail Consortium with whom yesterday we visited some premises.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the efficiency scrutiny report on the implementation and enforcement of EC law in the United Kingdom in respect of its fire safety provisions. [8343]

The recommendations on fire safety issues were largely taken forward in the later fire safety scrutiny, the Government's response to which was announced on 21 May 1996, Official Report, column 100. The Government have also acted upon the two recommendations relating to examination by fire service inspectors of complaints about enforcement action and encourage of fire authority participation in local business partnerships.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 14 November, Official Report, column 342, if she will list individually those national vocational qualifications accredited at 30 June that (a) had not attracted full awards and (b) had attracted fewer than 100 awards. [6971]

The information requested is contained in a number of tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library. As I said in my answer of 14 November, individual vocational qualifications are subject to accreditation at regular intervals and, given the time it takes after accreditation for awards to become available to centres, and individuals to train towards them, at any one time a considerable proportion of individual NVQs will have attracted few awards. Only about a quarter of the titles listed had an award accredited before 1994.

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, 1984 to 1993
	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993
North America
Canada	7.2	6.9	7.0	6.9	6.8	6.2	6.2	6.7	7.2	6.9
Mexico	3.9	3.8	3.5	3.3	3.3	3.6	4.0	4.5	4.9	4.1
United States	4.6	4.6	4.8	4.8	4.9	5.0	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.2
Pacific Area
Australia	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.1	5.5	n/a	4.6	4.7	5.5	5.6
Japan	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	3.7	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.6
New Zealand	4.7	5.1	5.8	5.9	6.1	n/a	n/a	n/a	6.5	6.7
European Union
Austria	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.6	5.8	5.5
Denmark	n/a	6.2	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	6.3	n/a	n/a	6.6
Finland	5.5	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.7	6.0	6.1	8.3	7.9
France	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.1	5.1	5.4	5.5	5.7
Germany	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.8
Greece	3.8	4.0	3.8	3.8	3.4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	3.5
Ireland	6.0	6.0	6.3	6.2	5.4	5.1	5.0	5.2	5.5	5.6
Italy	5.1	5.0	5.0	4.8	4.9	5.0	5.2	n/a	5.1	5.1
Netherlands	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.9	6.1	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.4
Portugal	4.0	4.0	4.3	4.1	4.2	4.0	4.3	5.5	n/a	5.4
Spain	3.4	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.9	4.2	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7
Sweden	7.2	7.0	7.0	6.9	6.5	5.4	5.6	6.5	7.7	7.7
United Kingdom	5.2	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.9	5.3	5.2	5.1
Other OECD countries
Czech Republic	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	4.2	n/a	n/a	6.0
Norway	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.7	7.0	n/a	6.8	n/a	9.0
Switzerland	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.0	n/a	5.2	5.4	5.7	5.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people after attending (1) employment rehabilitation service, (2) Employment Service services, (3) employment training, (4) the employment transfer scheme, (5) the free forward fares scheme, (6) industrial training boards, (7) job clubs, (8) the job creation programme, (9) the jobfinder's grant, (10) the job interview guarantee, (11) the jobrnatch

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will submit a programme under objective 4 of the European social fund for 1997 to 1999. [8552]

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the proportion of gross domestic product spent on education in each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country in the last 10 years. [8557]

The information requested for those OECD countries for which data are available is shown in the table. The figures given are based on information provided by each country to OECD for its latest edition of "Education at a Glance", published on 9 December. Copies of "Education at a Glance" will shortly be available in the Library.scheme, (12) the jobplan workshop, (13) the job review, (14) the job release scheme, (15) job review workshops, (16) the job start scheme, (17) the jobseeker's allowance, (18) the job share programme, (19) the job splitting scheme, (20) the job training programme, (21) learning for work, (22) job seminars, (23) local enterprise agencies, (24) Manpower Services Commission, (25) non-advanced and work-related further education, (26) new job training scheme, (27) the national policy skills scheme and (28) national record of achievement

The information requested can be provided only at a disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she expects to announce confirmation of the schedule 5 enactment in respect of the grant-maintained status of the Liverpool Blue Coat school; and if she will make a statement. [8871]

Liverpool local education authority has requested that the Secretary of State declares void the ballot for grant-maintained status in respect of the Blue Coat school. No decision on grant-maintained status can be made until the investigation into the ballot complaint has been completed. That investigation will be completed shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress she has made on extending the project work pilots; and if she will make a statement. [9272]

In November I announced my plans to extend the project work approach to 28 new pilot areas across the country, covering up to 100,000 people, and to test a number of variations on the basic model. A list of the locations and start dates of the new pilots is contained in the following table.We will be piloting variations to the approach used in Hull and Medway and Maidstone to see whether we can improve its effectiveness. There will be an emphasis on literacy and numeracy in all the new pilots. Up to 10,000 people will have access to intensive help with literacy and numeracy. A further 9,000 people will be covered by pilots where we will be seeking increased involvement of the private sector. In pilots covering around 14,000 people, workstart will be replaced by jobmatch as an additional programme available to people in the pilot. Jobmatch offers grants to people who take part-time jobs as a stepping stone into full-time work. The results from the jobmatch pilots currently running have been encouraging, and we want to see whether jobmatch is a more cost-effective addition to the help available to project work participants than workstart. We will also test the added value of workstart by removing it altogether in some pilots. In other pilots we will be varying the length of the initial period of jobsearch help for around 13,000 people.Through these pilots, we will provide a package of specialist help and advice for people who have been out of work for a long time and face significant disadvantages. I believe that these pilots are an innovative and useful addition to the help that we already provide for unemployed people.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress she has made on the contract for work pilot; and if she will make a statement. [9271]

In November I announced that the Department would be introducing pilots to explore ways in which the talent for innovation of the private sector might be used to help unemployed people back to work. The Chancellor announced in his Budget speech that these pilots would be called contract for work.The aim of the pilots will be to test the cost effectiveness of the private sector in getting long-term unemployed people back to work and to test specific approaches to that task. The pilots will have an incentive-based funding structure which rewards success.There will be two private sector contract for work pilots, each covering around 3,000 people. Another 6,000 people will be placed on programmes run by the Employment Service, to provide an additional measure against which the performance of the private sector can be judged. The pilots will last for 12 months and participants will be referred to them for a maximum of six months. The pilots will start in the spring and invitations to tender should be issued by mid-February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of the Government funding for the training and enterprise councils was represented by the salaries of their chief executives in the last year for which figures are available. [8424]

The information requested is not available. However, in line with other private companies, training and enterprise councils are required to provide information about their funding and about the remuneration of directors in their annual accounts. Copies of individual TEC accounts and of an amalgamated income and expenditure account for TECs in England are held in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the onset times of the cases of the new variant of CJD by month; and if he will make a statement. [7948]

The month and year of onset for the 14 cases of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease confirmed by the national CJD surveillance unit up to the end of November 1996, listed in order of onset, are:

1. January 1994

2. February 1994

3. March 1994

4. June 1994

5. July 1994

6. August 1994

7. December 1994

8. January 1995

9. January 1995

10. January 1995

11. March 1995

12. July 1995

13. August 1995

14. January 1996

Cases can be confirmed only by examination of brain pathology. Normally this is done post mortem, and in the rare cases where a positive brain biopsy is obtained this is not possible until fairly late in the course of the disease. Therefore there is a long delay between the date of onset—the date of the first clinical symptoms related to CJD—and the date of confirmation. The median duration of illness in these cases is 14 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued on the necessary period of in-patient treatment for a proper risk assessment to be carried out before a patient's discharge. [8262]

Guidance issued by the national health service executive in 1994 on the discharge of mentally disordered people requires a full risk assessment to be carried out before discharge of any patient who may present special risks. There is no set time limit for this task.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the assessments by NHS executive regional offices of individual area health authorities' performance in the provision of child and adolescent mental health services; and if he will make a statement. [8521]

At this stage there are no plans to publish information relating to the performance by health authorities on child and adolescent mental health services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage health authorities to address the health risks arising from child prostitution. [8429]

Local authority social services have a duty to make inquiries where they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, and this would include information suggesting that a child may need protection from child prostitution. Following the introduction of mandatory children's services plans, the Department of Health is taking forward work to strengthen co-operation between social services and health and education and to encourage user participation in the planning process."The Patient's Charter: Services for Children and Young People" details children's rights and expectations of the standards of service the national health service is aiming to achieve. Multidisciplinary teams in young offenders institutions provide a range of preventive health services relating to sexual health, HIV, hepatitis and safe sex. These teams, together where necessary with NHS specialists and outside agencies, also provide a range of counselling relevant to those most vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation on release.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the total funding available for Sheffield health authority and (b) the increase in funding that has been allocated to Sheffield health authority for 1997–98; if he will express this in percentage terms above inflation; if this funding can be used for the city's hospital trusts; and if he will make a statement. [8298]

In 1997–98 Sheffield health authority will receive an integrated allocation of £270.5 million, a cash increase of £9 million—3.45 per cent.—which represents a real terms growth of £3.7 million—1.42 per cent.In 1997–98 Sheffield health authority will receive a general allocation of £257.2 million, a cash increase of £8.4 million—3.38 per cent.—which represents a real terms growth of £3.4 million—1.35 per cent.This is indeed funding which can be used for Sheffield's hospital trusts. It is for individual health authorities to decide the level and type of services purchased, in partnership with general practitioners locally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the duties of the new head of the private finance initiative and his responsibilities as a senior executive of Tarmac plc. [8431]

There is no possibility of a conflict of interest arising from the appointment of Mr. Robert Osborne as head of the private finance unit of the national health service executive. Approval of business cases for private finance initiative schemes is not part of Mr. Osborne's responsibilities. Nor will he have any advisory role in schemes in which Tarmac has an interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what terms he approved the provision of a vehicle to Mr. John Greetham in his role as chair of the Yorkshire and North regional NHS executive; and how many other regional executive chairs receive a similar benefit. [8607]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for York (Mr. Bayley) on 24 June at column 22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what Government funding has been made available to the overseas adoption helpline in each year since 1992; what Government funding is planned for 1998 to 2000; and if he will make a statement. [8520]

Financial support for the overseas adoption helpline since 1992 is as follows:

• 1992–93: £80,834
• 1993–94: £96,000
• 1994–95: £96,000
• 1995–96: £96,000
• 1996–97: £50,000

There are currently no plans to provide further funding after 31 March 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the contract to supply computer software to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital was put out to tender. [8432]

The Riverside acute unit, now known as the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS trust, issued the invitation to tender in December 1993 in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many renal dialysis machines there are per health authority; and how many renal patients on dialysis there are in each health authority. [8500]

The information is not available centrally in the form requested. However, the number of haemodialysis stations in hospitals in each national health service region for 1993 is contained in the "National Review of Renal Services Part 11; Evidence for the Review". The number of renal patients on dialysis in each NHS region in 1993, by renal unit, is shown in the same document. Copies of the report are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the size of the ambulance fleet by ambulance service in each of the last five years. [8504]

The information requested is not collected centrally. However, the second report of the Health Committee in Session 1994–95, copies of which are in the Library, contains some information on numbers of emergency ambulances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on new ambulances by ambulance trust in each of the last five years. [8487]

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) intensive care units, (b) intensive care beds, (c) paediatric intensive units and (d) paediatric intensive care beds there are by district health authority area. [8499]

Information on the provision of adult intensive care provision is not collected in the form requested. Information on the average daily number of available beds by broad ward classification for each national health service trust is published annually in "Bed Availability for England", copies of which are available in the Library.Information on the number of paediatric intensive care units and beds is not routinely collected at present. However a survey of paediatric intensive care provision was undertaken earlier this year and the results published in a report on 29 May. This report by the chief executive of the national health service executive is entitled, "Paediatric Intensive Care" and is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pay beds there were by NHS executive region in each of the last five years. [8503]

Pay beds have not been centrally authorised since 31 March 1991 and the Department has not collected information on pay bed numbers since then.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner practices there are in each district health authority area. [8497]

The available information will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts are using wartime huts for patient accommodation. [8501]

The information requested is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech therapists per 100,000 population are currently provided for children in (a) Southwark, (b) Birmingham, (c) Manchester, (d) Kingston, (e) Lewisham and (f) England. [8473]

The information is not available centrally in the form requested.The number of speech therapists employed by the national health service hospital and community health services by health authority areas is available from the Department of Health's statistical tables, "NHS Hospital and Community Health Services staff by health authority areas, England 1995"—the latest year available—which are available in the Library. Information on the estimated 1995 population in health authorities is available from the Library in "Office for National Statistic Monitor for Population and Health: Mid-1995 population estimates for re-organised local and health authority areas in England and Wales".The number of speech therapists per head of population within health authorities should be interpreted with caution because in some cases the population served by the organisations in each authority may be greater than the population of the health authority itself.