Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Tuesday 21 January 1997

Lord Chancellor's Department

Land Registration Act 1925

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's D>epartment when the report of the joint working party on the possible reform of the Land Registration Act 1925 will be finalised; and when it will be published. [12026]

The joint working party hopes to complete its report in the early part of 1998 and it will be published shortly thereafter.

Home Department

Child Sex Offenders

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his best estimate of the number of previously convicted child sex offenders who will not be required to register under the terms of the Sex Offenders Bill. [10755]

This is a highly complex matter. No precise estimate is available of the number requested. Officials are preparing a paper containing estimates of various categories of sex offender which I will send to the hon. Member. Copies of the paper will be placed in the Library.

Domestic Burglaries

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of domestic burglaries in the London borough of Barnet during each of the last five years and the trend during 1996–97. [10777]

The available information has been provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. No estimates for the trend for 1996–97 are available. However, the latest published recorded crime statistics relate to 12 months to June 1996 and the number of recorded domestic burglaries in Barnet for this period is 3,438. The available information for the last five calendar years is contained in the table; during this period there has been an 18 per cent. fall in the number of domestic burglaries in Barnet.Offences of domestic burglaries recorded in the London borough of Barnet, 1991–95:

1991: 4,209
1992: 4,425
1993: 3,892
1994: 2,532
1995: 3,450

Surveillance Operations

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times per year he estimates that chief constables will exercise the powers granted to them in part III of the Police Bill; and if he will make a statement. [11236]

Figures are not held centrally on the number of authorisations. However, an exercise undertaken to inform debate on the Police Bill confirmed that, in 1995, there were approximately 2,100 chief officer authorisations by police and customs of intrusive surveillance operations in the United Kingdom.

Lethal Toxicity Tests

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which lethal toxicity tests other than the LD50 are included in the category, acute and sub-acute quantitative whole body lethal toxicity tests, in the 1990 to 1994 statistics on scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain. [11170]

Any tests requiring a quantitative estimate of the lethal dose were included: LD50/LC50 tests, LD10/LC10 tests, fixed dose procedure tests and any other test methods—mainly sub-acute, repeat dose tests—considered to fall within the following definitions:

(a) dose ranging or limit setting lethal toxicity tests (including indicator tests);

(b) lethal toxicity tests (including tests in which a statistically valid quantitative result was required); and

(c) non-lethal clinical sign toxicity tests.

Criminal Conviction Certificates

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to refund the cost of obtaining criminal conviction certificates to individuals who are in receipt of a jobseekers's allowance; and what is the cost of obtaining such a certificate. [11061]

We have no such plans. We envisage that the cost of obtaining a criminal conviction certificate will be in the region of £5 to £6.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal conviction certificates he estimates will be issued annually if the Police Bill is enacted. [11059]

Once the new system for criminal record checks is fully functioning, we estimate that up to 5 million criminal conviction certificates will be issued each year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement concerning the production of criminal conviction certificates by motorists, when they renew their motor insurance, in order to demonstrate to insurers that they have not been convicted of offences which could be associated with road rage. [11060]

Criminal conviction certificates will be available to individuals. It will be for them to decide whether to show a certificate to anyone who may request it.

Damages And Ex Gratia Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the total sum paid out in damages and ex gratia payments by each police force in England for each of the last five years arising from litigation initiated against the police force and the legal costs incurred in respect of such claims. [11079]

This information is not held centrally.

Office Of The Data Protection Registrar

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost to public funds for each of the next three financial years of (a) the Office of the Data Protection Registrar and (b) the Police Information Technology Organisation. [11237]

The gross estimates are:

(a) Office of the Data Protection Registrar:

1997–98: £4 million
1998–99: £4 million
1999–2000: £4 million

The implementation of the European Community directive on data protection by October 1998 may affect the figures for 1998–99 and 1999–2000.

(b) Police Information Technology Organisation:

1997–98: £51 million
1998–99: £38 million
1999–2000: £43 million

Police Bill

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the consistency of the provisions of the Police Bill, with United Kingdom obligations under the European convention on human rights; and if he will make a statement. [11235]

I have received representations from hon. Members of both Houses as well as members of the public and the legal profession. I believe that the provisions of the Police Bill are fully consistent with our obligations as signatories to the convention.

Cheltenham Festival

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in respect of the inquiry established by the racing authorities into events at the Cheltenham festival in 1996 referred to in his answer of 26 March 1996, Official Report, column 495; and if he will make a statement. [11080]

None

Child Care Facilities

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if Ministers are entitled to use child care facilities supported by his Department. [11592]

Ministers of the Crown are able to make use of the child care facilities provided by their Department on the same basis as civil servants working for the Department.

Taylor Inquiry

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will place in the Library a list of those people whose statements were considered by the Taylor inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster but who were unable to be called to give verbal evidence; [11429](2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the list of the people who gave evidence to the Taylor inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster. [11322]

Information about the persons and organisations who gave or submitted evidence to the inquiry is contained in the appendices to the interim report, Cm 765, and the final report, Cm 962, of the inquiry by Lord Justice Taylor, copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the findings of the Taylor inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster. [11321]

The final report of the inquiry by Lord Justice Taylor, Cm 962, was presented to Parliament in January 1990 and is available in the Library.

Fire Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers he has to, and in what circumstances he can, hold a public inquiry into a fire authority's fire cover provisions and proposals. [11335]

My right hon. and learned Friend's approval is required under section 19(4) of the Fire Services Act 1947 when any reduction in the number of fire stations, fire appliances or firefighting posts in a brigade is proposed. Under section 19(8) of that Act, he may, for the purposes of his functions under section 19, hold such public local inquiries as he thinks fit. He also has certain other powers under the Act to order public local inquiries in particular circumstances.

Dronabinol

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations led him to reschedule dronabinol under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to allow it to be used medicinally. [11877]

The amendment to permit the medical use of dronabinol reflected its rescheduling under the United Nations convention on psychotropic substances.The rescheduling under the United Nations conventions was based on advice from the World Health Organisation that dronabinol had been demonstrated to have a specific medical use as an anti-nausea drug for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

Casinos

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to implement his proposed changes to the permitted areas for casino operation. [11875]

On 12 November, we issued revised proposals on expanding the list of casino permitted areas. The consultation period ends on 31 January.

In considering the responses, we will also wish to take account of local authority boundary changes in areas such as Teesside.

We will make our final decisions when we have evaluated all the responses to the consultation.

Cautions (Costs)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average monthly cost of cautioning plus schemes in the last year for which figures are available; [10927](2) what was the average cost of administering a caution in the last year for which figures are available. [10931]

[holding answers 20 January 1997]: This information is not held centrally.

Cs Gas Trials

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which polices forces in England and Wales are involved in CS gas trials. [10853]

[holding answers 20 January 1997]: The following forces participated in the CS spray trials which took place between 1 March and 31 August 1996:

Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cleveland Constabulary
Dorset Police
Durham Constabulary
Dyfed-Powys Police
Greater Manchester Police
Kent Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary
Merseyside Police
Metropolitan Police
Northumbria Police
North Yorkshire Police
West Mercia Constabulary
West Midlands Police
West Yorkshire Police

Sandwich Panels (Fire Safety)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the fire safety implications of the presence of lightweight polymer-cored sandwich panels in the food processing industry and by which organisations this research has been carried out. [11262]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: The fire research and development group of the Home Office commissioned the Building Research Establishment to undertake an initial review of the fire safety of large insulated sandwich panels. Small-scale laboratory tests have been carried out to examine the ignitability and general fire behaviour of the panels with a view to more detailed and extensive tests being commissioned by the Department of the Environment.

Indonesia (Police Training)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what concerns were expressed by his Department in 1984 about the involvement of Bramshill police college in the national police management training bilateral aid project in Indonesia; and what information his Department had about the involvement of United Kingdom trained Indonesian policemen in human rights abuses following their training. [11644]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: Concerns expressed in 1984 about the project related to the possible involvement of Indonesian police officers in abuses of human rights in Indonesia; and the need to ensure that the normal work of the police staff college was not adversely affected by any one programme of overseas training. No information was available about the activities of Indonesian police officers following their training.

Behaviourally Disturbed Young People

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has evaluated into the correlation between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and juvenile crime; if he will make it his policy to ensure that juveniles convicted of more than three crimes should be assessed for ADHD by a medical practitioner competent in the pharmacological treatment of this condition; and if he will make a statement. [11539]

I have been asked to reply.The Cambridge study of delinquent development, which was largely funded by the Home Office, found, among other results, that the incidence of hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity at ages eight to 10 years independently predicted future juvenile convictions. However, the causes of juvenile delinquency are complex and wide ranging, and hyperactivity is only one of many. The Government have no plans to amend their policies in the manner suggested by the hon. Member.

Environment

Housing (Northamptonshire)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing association houses were (a) built, (b) acquired and (c) restored to use in each local authority in Northamptonshire, in each of the last five years. [11065]

Information compiled by the Housing Corporation on housing association houses provided with Housing Corporation and local authority funding in Northamptonshire is as follows:

Corby
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	52	0	0	0	52
1992–93	0	24	0	1	25
1993–94	28	0	0	15	43
1994–95	63	0	0	2	65

Corby
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
1995–96	20	0	0	1	21
Total	163	24	0	19	206
LA funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	0	0	0	0
1993–94	0	0	0	0	0
1994–95	63	0	0	0	63
1995–96	49	35	8	0	92
Total	112	35	8	0	155

Daventry
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	12	0	0	0	12
1992–93	20	45	0	2	67
1993–94	27	0	0	2	29
1994–95	48	7	0	8	63
1995–96	36	0	0	7	43
Total	143	52	0	19	214
LA funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	0	0	0	0
1993–94	4	0	0	0	4
1994–95	66	0	5	0	71
1995–96	87	71	5	0	163
Total	157	71	10	0	238

East Northamptonshire
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	16	36	0	0	52
1993–94	12	0	0	3	15
1994–95	86	21	0	3	110
1995–96	50	1	0	1	52
Total	164	58	0	7	229
LA funded
1991–92	16	0	0	0	16
1992–93	24	0	0	0	24
1993–94	10	0	0	0	10
1994–95	22	0	0	0	22
1995–96	11	0	0	0	11
Total	83	0	0	0	83

Kettering
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	13	0	0	0	13
1992–93	98	78	0	1	177
1993–94	56	0	0	2	58
1994–95	41	0	0	1	42
1995–96	6	2	0	4	12
Total	214	80	0	8	302

Kettering
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
LA funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	0	0	0	0
1993–94	23	0	0	0	23
1994–95	0	21	3	0	24
1995–96	0	0	0	0	0
Total	23	21	3	0	47

Northampton
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	112	60	8	6	186
1993–94	25	3	37	13	78
1994–95	10	2	13	22	47
1995–96	172	0	48	26	246
Total	319	65	106	67	557
LA funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	0	0	0	0
1993–94	13	6	2	0	21
1994–95	20	22	25	0	67
1995–96	65	2	4	0	71
Total	98	30	31	0	159

South Northamptonshire
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	18	0	2	20
1993–94	10	1	0	10	21
1994–95	25	0	0	17	42
1995–96	65	0	0	6	71
Total	100	19	0	35	154
LA funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	0	0	0	0
1993–94	24	0	0	0	24
1994–95	0	3	3	0	6
1995–96	26	5	0	0	31
Total	50	8	3	0	61

Wellingborough
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991–92	16	0	0	0	16
1992–93	0	25	0	3	28
1993–94	47	0	0	8	55
1994–95	10	0	0	9	19
1995–96	94	0	0	6	100
Total	167	25	0	26	218

Wellingborough
	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
LA funded
1991–92	0	0	0	0	0
1992–93	0	0	0	0	0
1993–94	0	0	0	0	0
1994–95	0	0	0	0	0
1995–96	50	0	0	0	50
Total	50	0	0	0	50

	Dwelling stock owned by local authorities at 1 April¹		Percentage change in stock April 1980 to Marck 1996	Receipts from sales (net of discounts) April 1980 to March²1996
	1980	1996		£ thousand
Corby	13,628	7,346	-46	59,491
Daventry²	6,082	3,883	-36	35,215
East Northamptonshire	6,047	4,185	-31	26,412
Kettering	6,626	4,751	-28	27,684
Northampton⁴	12,925	15,503	+20	75,729
South Northamptonshire	5,745	3,518	-39	32,538
Wellingborough	7,750	5,717	-26	34,053
¹ Source: housing investment programme (HIP1) returns.
² Source: quarterly PI B returns; figures include receipts from voluntary sales as well as right to buy.
³ The receipts figures exclude receipts between January and March 1987 which were not reported by the authority.
⁴ The increase in Northampton's stock reflects the 6,400 dwellings that it acquired from Northampton new town in April 1985. Adding an estimate of the new towns stock in April 1980 would produce a fall over the period of around 25 per cent. The receipts figures exclude receipts between January and March 1986 which were not reported by the authority.

Council Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the housing waiting list, on 1 January, in each of the London borough council authorities; and if he will make a statement. [11313]

Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list at 1 April each year in their annual housing investment programme—HIP1—returns.The numbers reported as being on by London borough councils' lists at 1 April 1996 were as follows:

London borough	Number of households on the waiting list
Camden	6,873
City of London	822
Hackney	10,294
Hammersmith and Fulham	6,187
Haringey	3,793
Islington	8,485
Kensington and Chelsea	4,725
Lambeth	13,081
Lewisham	11,766
Newham	8,975
Southwark	6,662
Tower Hamlets	6,718
Wandsworth	5,620
Westminster	3,674
Barking and Dagenham	1,679
Barnet	2,975
Bexley	3,863
Brent	9,503
Bromley	2,983
Croydon	5,496
Ealing	9,669
Enfield	3,557
Greenwich	6,445

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings were owned by each district in Northamptonshire at the time that the right to buy was introduced; how many are owned at the latest date; what percentage that is of the original figure; and what receipts, net of discount, have been raised. [11067]

Information is not available on stock numbers at the time of or receipts since the introduction of the right to buy—October 1980. The available data are set out in the table.

London borough	Number of households on the waiting list
Harrow	1,772
Havering	2,332
Hillingdon	3,387
Hounslow	6,232
Kingston upon Thames	1,901
Merton	3,737
Redbridge	1,903
Richmond upon Thames	3,071
Sutton	1,921
Waltham Forest	8,555

Bed-And-Breakfast Accommodation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were in bed-and-breakfast accommodation in each of the London boroughs on 1 January. [11314]

Information is published on households accommodated under statutory homelessness provisions in a quarterly information bulletin, entitled "Households found accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985: England". The bulletin includes a table on homeless households temporarily accommodated and this identifies those in bed-and-breakfast accommodation.In the Library are copies of the bulletin, the latest of which provides statistics for the third quarter of 1996.

Revenue Support Grant (Sunderland)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the revenue support grant for the borough of Sunderland at current prices in each year since 1990. [11336]

The information requested is as follows. The figures in real terms in 1995–96 prices have been rebased using the gross domestic product deflator.

Year	Revenue support grant (£ million)
1990–91	86.326
1991–92	82.395
1992–93	121.324
1993–94	117,333
1994–95	133.464
1995–96	126.283
1996–97	122.837
1997–98	¹120.383
¹Provisional.

Environmental Protection Act 1990

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the sections of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which are not in force. [11521]

The Department does not hold information centrally on those provisions of Acts which are not in force. However, the annex to Statutory Instrument No. 3056 of 28 November 1996 sets out the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which have been brought into force by commencement orders. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Granny Annexes (Council Tax)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 17 December to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Martin) Official Report, column 551, on changes to the payment of council tax for granny annexes, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of elderly and disabled people who will gain financially from the changes, (b) the number of households which will face a higher council tax banding following the changes and (c) the total fall in income for local councils from the changes; and what plans he has to compensate local councils for the fall in income. [11430]

We estimate that up to 50,000 dwellings will be removed from valuation lists as a result of this measure, with an offsetting one-band increase in

Mid-year population estimates
Local Authority	June 1986	June 1987	June 1988	June 1989	June 1990	June 1991	June 1992	June 1993	June 1994
Gateshead	206,294	205,653	204,784	204,132	203,146	203,078	203,072	202,850	202,444
Newcastle	282,401	283,719	280,834	278,825	278,996	278,161	281,706	285,310	283,556
North Tyneside	194,338	195,346	195,809	196,078	195,548	195,456	195,166	194,751	194,082
South Tyneside	157,120	156,575	156,148	156,314	156,638	157,210	157,290	157,200	156,665
Sunderland	297,815	297,156	296,188	296,360	296,310	296,446	297,147	297,806	297,226

Source:

NOMIS.

Household projections (Mid-year estimates)
	¹ 1981	¹ 1991	¹ 1992	¹ 1993	² 1994	² 1995	¹ 1996	¹ 2016
Gateshead	81,000	84,000	84,000	85,000	85,000	86,000	86,000	94,000
Newcastle	110,000	117,000	119,000	121,000	120,500	120,600	123,000	137,000
North Tyneside	77,000	82,000	83,000	83,000	83,400	84,100	84,000	89,000

banding in around one quarter of cases. This would reduce the tax yield by around £15 million to £20 million, or less than 0.2 per cent. We do not expect the impact on local authorities to be significant. None the less, future rate support grant settlements will take into account the change in yield.

Child Care Facilities

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if Ministers are entitled to use child care facilities supported by his Department. [11595]

Ministers' eligibility to use available child care facilities supported by my Department could be considered on the basis of value for money, in accordance with the Department's delegated responsibility for establishing and maintaining such schemes.

Household Estimates (Tyne And Wear)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the mid-year population and household estimates for each district in Tyne and Wear for each year from 1986 to 1996; and how changes in these estimates have affected the projections for 2016. [11613]

Mid-year population estimates for 1986 to 1994—the latest data available from stated sources—are reproduced in the following tables. Population projections for 1997 and 2016 are also given together with projected change between those two dates.Latest household projections data collated are from 1991. These data are similarly reproduced in the following tables. Projections data for 1981 and 2016 are also included. Projected change between 1996 and 2016 is illustrated.

Projected population (1993 Base)
Percentage
Local Authority	June 1997	June 2016	Change	Percentage change
Gateshead	201,978	195,333	-6,645	-3
Newcastle	282,496	280,645	-1,851	-1
North Tyneside	193,565	188,112	-5,453	-3
South Tyneside	158,483	160,549	2,065	1
Sunderland	298,128	297,689	-439	0

Source:

NOMIS (Crown Copyright Reserved).

Household projections (Mid-year estimates)
	¹ 1981	¹ 1991	¹ 1992	¹ 1993	² 1994	² 1995	¹ 1996	¹ 2016
South Tyneside	62,000	65,000	65,000	66,000	65,800	66,200	67,000	76,000
Sunderland	108,000	117,000	118,000	119,000	119,500	119,600	121,000	137,000
Source:
¹ Figures as appear in "Projection of Households in England to 2016 (HMSO)". Figures are rounded to nearest thousand.
² Figures as provided by DOE (housing data statistics).

	1996	2016	Change	Percentage change
Gateshead	86,000	94,000	8,000	9.3
Newcastle	123,000	137,000	14,000	11.4
North Tyneside	84,000	89,000	5,000	5.9
South Tyneside	67,000	76,000	9,000	13.4
Sunderland	121,000	137,000	16,000	13.2

Abandoned Mines

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent communications his Department has had with the Environment Agency in respect of the implementation of plans to clean up contaminated waters from abandoned mines. [12097]

My officials are in regular contact with the Environment Agency regarding proposals for remedial work and the remediation of sites where minewater pollution has a serious impact on the aquatic environment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will require the Environment Agency to update the report prepared by the National Rivers Authority in 1993 on the pollution of water in abandoned mines. [12066]

There is no specific requirement for the Environment Agency to update its report. However, the agency is constantly collecting new information on water pollution from abandoned mines, and it may wish to issue reports or other communications from time to time.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have held with the Coal Authority since 31 October 1994 in regard to pollution and decontamination of abandoned coal mines. [12067]

Ministers in my Department have held no meetings with the Coal Authority since it was set up. Officials have held a small number of meetings to discuss issues related to water pollution from abandoned coal mines, and they continue to maintain regular contact with the authority. The Environment Agency works closely with the Coal Authority and has held seven meetings in the period. These have dealt with the production and review of a memorandum of understanding between the two organisations and, more recently, joint work to identify sites affected by discharges form abandoned coal mines where remediation is necessary and feasible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what visits (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have made to assess the levels of pollution in abandoned mine workings during his term as Secretary of State. [12068]

The assessment of water pollution in abandoned mines is a responsibility of the Environment Agency, which maintains an extensive monitoring programme for that purpose. Officials of the Department of the Environment have made a small number of informative visits to sites affected by minewater pollution, and maintain regular contact with the Environment Agency on this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department collates on (a) the levels of contamination and (b) the methods adopted to clean up polluted water from abandoned mines (i) previously in private ownership and (ii) currently in private ownership. [12069]

The Environment Agency is responsible for the collection and collation of information regarding water pollution from abandoned mines and it collects all relevant data on water chemistry and stream biology. Discharges from abandoned mines are highly site specific but, in general, the parameters recorded are pH, dissolved oxygen, total and dissolved iron, other metals, salinity, flow and biological diversity. Where minewater pollution is being treated, the methods vary according to the nature of the discharge and of the site itself. The current or former ownership of the abandoned mine is not relevant to the approach adopted.

Isocyanate Compounds

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will instruct the Health and Safety Executive to review the safety precautions for the use of isocyanate compounds; if he will instruct them to (a) review the use of isocyanate by Scottish Power employees in the depots in (i) Kilmarnock and (ii) Motherwell and (b) evaluate other recent experience and research; and if he will make a statement. [11927]

Control of exposure to isocyanates is regulated by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988. These regulations are kept under constant review by the Health and Safety Executive. The HSE also produces guidance on implementing these regulations with respect to isocyanates.In 1993 the HSE investigated a report of occupational asthma in an employee of Scottish Power in Motherwell. As a result, controls by Scottish Power were improved. A review of those controls at both the Kilmarnock and Motherwell depots by the HSE is currently under way.The HSE's enforcement activities and links to industry and trade unions ensure that any new evidence and research is identified and addressed for any regulatory implication.

Satellites

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to announce the outcome of his recent consultation exercise on possible changes to the permitted development rights for satellite and other antennas. [12303]

Last year, we consulted on some possible minor amendments to the present rights to install satellite dishes and other antennas without the need to submit a planning application. The changes were intended to keep the legislation up to date with developments in telecommunications. They attracted considerable support and we have therefore decided to proceed with them.The main change is bringing the permitted size of satellite dishes in the south and east of the country into line with the rest of the country. The slight increase in permitted dish size in the south and east will then enable householders in these areas to access more readily the choice of satellite channels currently enjoyed by the rest of the UK and allow the different satellite TV companies to compete on a more equal basis.We will also be giving a new freedom to telephone users who wish to change to a radio fixed-link service enabling them to install a small antenna on their building—or two in the case of a large building. This will widen the choice of telephone services available to the consumer. And finally, there will be a new flexibility to install a satellite antenna rather than a terrestrial antenna on large buildings, helping businesses to communicate more easily.These changes will increase consumer choice and promote further competition in the telecommunications industry, but will have a minimal impact on the appearance of towns and the countryside. Planning applications will continue to be required in a range of circumstances in conservation areas, national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. We are now preparing the necessary order.

Scotland

Housing Associations

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what access (a) the public and (b) tenants are allowed to the minutes of housing associations; and if copies of those minutes are provided to Scottish Homes. [11330]

The publication and circulation of minutes are matters for individual housing associations and practice varies between associations. As the regulating body for housing associations, Scottish Homes has access to minutes of association meetings and requires associations to provide copies of these for all meetings held in the six months prior to a monitoring visit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers Scottish Homes has to monitor the operation of housing associations in Scotland. [11331]

The Housing Associations Act 1985 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 give Scottish Homes a range of regulatory responsibilities, including the maintenance of a register of housing associations and the supervision and control of registered housing associations in Scotland. Scottish Homes publishes an annual report of its monitoring activities.

Irvine Housing Association

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will request the registration and monitoring section in Scottish Homes to investigate delays by the Irvine Housing Association in giving its tenants membership of the association. [11703]

Responsibility for the supervision and control of registered housing associations in Scotland lies with Scottish Homes. I have asked its chairman, Mr. John Ward, to investigate the matter and respond directly to the hon. Member.I have asked to see a copy of the report.

Science Centre

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had concerning plans for the establishment of a Scottish science centre; and if he will make a statement. [11659]

My right hon. Friend and I have had various discussions on this matter. The Scottish Science Trust and the associated network of science centres are the subject of applications for funding by the Millennium Commission. Decisions on those applications are a matter for the commission.

Prior Options Review

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the (a) profit-related pay and (b) bonus given to the chief executive of each Government research institution currently being considered under the prior options review in 1996 and 1995; and if he will make a statement. [11941]

Prior option reviews were conducted on the five Scottish agricultural and biological research institutes—SABRIs—the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency—SASA—and the Scottish Office Fisheries Research Services—FRS.The SABRIs are non-profit-making organisations. The pay of the directors is determined within the terms and conditions of service applying to staff at the institutes. Pay is performance-related but bonuses are not paid.The SASA and FRS are parts of the Scottish Office. The pay of the directors of each is determined within the standard pay arrangements for the senior civil service and is neither profit-related nor in the form of a bonus.

East Ayrshire Community Hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received the alternative proposals for the funding of the East Ayrshire community hospital; what discussions have taken place between his Department and officers of the Ayrshire and Arran Community NHS trust about the plans; what recommendations have been made to him by the trust; when he expects to decide on the proposals; and if he will make a statement. [11926]

Further negotiations between the trust and the preferred private finance initiative bidder are currently under way and are covered by commercial confidentiality. Once the outcome of the negotiations is known an announcement will be made.

Education (Fees And Awards) (Scotland) Regulations

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will link the home fee status classification of students and the rules of eligibility that may be adopted for awards specified in the Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations 1983, as amended, to those who are settled in the United Kingdom under the immigration laws. [12351]

Revised Education (Fees and Awards) (Scotland) Regulations will be laid before Parliament to consolidate the 1983 regulations. An amendment will be laid thereafter to the consolidated regulations to add a requirement of being settled in the United Kingdom under the immigration laws to the existing criteria for establishing a "relevant connection" for the purpose of student fee classifications by institutions and to the rules of candidate eligibility for certain awards which may be adopted under the regulations.

National Heritage

Nelson

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if her Department will assess the advantages of making millennium fund money available for preparations for the commemoration of the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson. [10866]

Northamptonshire awards
Body	Award date	Recipient	Award amount	UK constituency
Sports	20 November 1996	Welland Gliding Club	4,000.00	Corby
Charity	20 November 1995	Corby Mind	50,000.00	Corby
Charity	11 August 1996	Duston Pensioners Voice	1,263.00	Daventry
Sports	18 June 1996	Bringtons and Nobottle Cricket Club	2,500.00	Daventry
Sports	5 September 1996	Long Buckby Cricket Club	3,563.00	Daventry
Heritage	14 February 1996	Crick Church Bells Restoration Fund	7,000.00	Daventry
Charity	11 August 1996	Deanshanger Day Centre	7,086.00	Daventry
Sports	8 August 1995	Long Buckby Community Centre	7,200.00	Daventry
Heritage	12 December 1996	Colwyn Preservation Society	17,000.00	Daventry
Sports	15 May 1995	Potterspury Sports and Social Club	23,300.00	Daventry
Charity	11 August 1996	Age Concern Daycentre Group, Weedon	31,000.00	Daventry
Sports	16 May 1995	Moulton Football Club	35,067.00	Daventry
Charity	11 August 1996	Wheels To Adventure	43,800.00	Daventry
Sports	10 October 1996	Brightwell Recreation Ground Association	50,485.00	Daventry
Sports	20 June 1996	Brackley Tennis Club	91,000.00	Daventry
Sports	3 July 1995	Daventry District Council	614,000.00	Daventry
Heritage	12 December 1996	Sulgrave Manor Board	745,000.00	Daventry
Charity	20 November 1995	Accommodation Concern	2,200.00	Kettering
Charity	11 August 1996	1st Burton Latimer Scout Group	6,780.00	Kettering
Charity	19 December 1995	Kettering Welfare Rights Advisory Service	7,245.00	Kettering

The Millennium Commission is currently inviting proposals for activities which will unite and inspire people throughout the United Kingdom in celebration of the millennium. A proposal to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson could be made in that context, although it would be for the commission to determine whether such a scheme was appropriate for its funding. It may also be possible for such a proposal to be put to the heritage lottery fund, which would assess it against its published criteria.

Greenwich Exhibition

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement in her capacity as Secretary of State on the role of public finance and management in the proposed London exhibition at Greenwich in 2000. [10766]

[holding answer 13 January 1997]: The exhibition at Greenwich will be a national exhibition, sited in London, forming the focal point of a national festival which will last throughout the year 2000. It will be funded by a combination of a national lottery grant from the Millennium Commission, private sector sponsorship and revenue generated by the exhibition itself.The precise structure of the operating company which will run the exhibition is being finalised but the commission will, through the terms and conditions of grant, ensure that the operating company delivers a superb exhibition which represents value for money. Expenditure of grant from the Millennium Commission is subject to the financial directions which I have issued to it.

National Lottery (Northamptonshire)

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list each national lottery award made to each constituency in Northamptonshire since 20 March 1995. [11194]

There have been 80 awards totalling £8,864,423 to projects in Northamptonshire. A breakdown of awards by constituency, up to the end of December 1996, is shown in the following table:

Northamptonshire awards
Body	Award date	Recipient	Award amount	UK constituency
Sports	8 November 1995	Scaldwell Sports Club	9,871.00	Kettering
Charity	11 August 1996	Geddington Youth Club	12,000.00	Kettering
Charity	20 November 1995	Kettering Mind	22,046.00	Kettering
Sports	9 January 1996	Northampton Sailing Club	35,000.00	Kettering
Arts	13 September 1995	Moulton Players	60,000.00	Kettering
Sports	5 September 1996	Clipston Playing Field Trust	71,500.00	Kettering
Charity	11 August 1996	Kettering Youth Information	92,098.00	Kettering
Charity	20 November 1995	Kettering Volunteer Bureau	107,032.00	Kettering
Charity	19 December 1995	Teamwork Workbridge	230,000.00	Kettering
Charity	11 August 1996	Abington and Kingsley Pensioners Voice	500.00	Northampton North
Charity	20 November 1995	Northampton Active Group	5,000.00	Northampton North
Sports	10 October 1995	Fernie Fields Sports Club (VANAID FC)	10,188.00	Northampton North
Charity	11 August 1996	Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs	20,081.00	Northampton North
Charity	19 December 1995	Be Positive	90,000.00	Northampton North
Charity	11 August 1996	Northamptonshire Society For Autism	103,050.00	Northampton North
Sports	8 August 1995	Weston Favell Upper School	553,750.00	Northampton North
Sports	10 May 1996	Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs	714,825.00	Northampton North
Charity	19 December 1995	Hartwell Playgroup	500.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	Rural Support Group	2,195.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	Women's Health Information And Support Centre	2,500.00	Northampton South
Arts	17 May 1995	Northamptonshire County Council	7,500.00	Northampton South
Sports	10 October 1996	Rushmere Tennis Club (formerly Nationwide)	7,800.00	Northampton South
Sports	2 July 1996	Harpole Bowls Club	18,650.00	Northampton South
Heritage	20 December 1995	St. Andrews, Little Billing	19,000.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	Northampton and District Citizens Advice Bureau	24,354.00	Northampton South
Charity	20 November 1995	Off The Hook	25,040.00	Northampton South
Charity	11 August 1996	Care And Repair	26,795.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	Northampton Physically Handicapped And Able-bodied Club	28,600.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	Northamptonshire Victims Support Scheme	28,820.00	Northampton South
Sports	16 May 1995	Kislingbury Bowls Club	42,500.00	Northampton South
Charity	11 August 1996	Lord Hesketh Youth Centre	46,933.00	Northampton South
Charity	20 November 1995	Northampton Womens Aid	52,488.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	Northampton Youth Counselling And Information Service	56,300.00	Northampton South
Sports	9 January 1996	Nether Heyford P C	57,181.00	Northampton South
Charity	20 November 1995	Northampton Unwaged Training Resource And Advice Centre	57,591.00	Northampton South
Sports	3 July 1996	Roade Football Club	67,454.00	Northampton South
Charity	11 August 1996	Enterprise Training Project	83,670.00	Northampton South
Charity	11 August 1996	Welfare Rights Advice Service	89,866.00	Northampton South
Arts	26 June 1996	Royal Theatre Northampton	100,000.00	Northampton South
Arts	23 July 1996	The Derngate Trust	100,000.00	Northampton South
Charity	11 August 1996	Northampton Soup Kitchen	108,204.00	Northampton South
Charity	11 August 1996	Northamptonshire Charter For Youth	195,500.00	Northampton South
Charity	19 December 1995	The Council On Addiction For Northamptonshire (C A N)	242,000.00	Northampton South
Sports	4 July 1995	Bugbrook Playing Fields Association	292,100.00	Northampton South
Heritage	14 February 1996	English Heritage	300,000.00	Northampton South
Millennium	11 September 1995	Northamptonshire County Council	736,000.00	Northampton South
Sports	9 August 1996	Northamptonshire County Council	1,381,787,00	Northampton South
Sports	9 August 1996	Wellingborough Town Cricket Club	3,100.00	Wellingborough
Charity	11 August 1996	Wellingborough District Racial Equality Council	5,000.00	Wellingborough
Sports	10 October 1996	Bozeat Playing Field Association	9,155.00	Wellingborough
Charity	20 November 1995	Rock Street Playgroup	10,000.00	Wellingborough
Charity	11 August 1996	The Society Of St. Vincent De Paul	35,030.00	Wellingborough
Charity	19 December 1995	Community Help And Training (c H A T)	37,764.00	Wellingborough
Charity	19 December 1995	National Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children	47,400.00	Wellingborough
Sports	3 July 1996	Finedon Town Bowls Club	70,119.00	Wellingborough
Charity	11 August 1996	Service Six	70,887.00	Wellingborough
Charity	11 August 1996	Oaktield Limited	81,200.00	Wellingborough
Charity	23 October 1995	Delos Community Trust	110,000.00	Wellingborough
Sports	6 June 1995	Wellingborough Rugby Football Club	131,690.00	Wellingborough
Charity	11 August 1996	Wellingborough District Hindu Association	165,320.00	Wellingborough
Total			8,864,423.00
			80 Awards

Personalised Number Plates (Executive Agencies)

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many personalised number plates there are in the ownership of the executive agencies operated by her Department; and if she will list them. [11413]

There are no personalised number plates in the ownership of the executive agencies operated by my Department.

	British tourist authority		English tourist board		Scottish tourist board		Wales tourist board		Northern Ireland tourist board
	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years
1979–80	12.8	0.31	10.3	0.29	4.3	1.11	3.7	1.75	3.9	3.74
1980–81	14.2	0.34	11.5	0.32	5.2	1.34	4.3	2.02	4.8	4.57
1981–82	16.2	0.39	12.7	0.36	6.1	1.57	5.1	2.38	5.3	4.98
1982–83	18.1	0.43	14.9	0.41	7.2	1.84	5.6	2.61	5.2	4.86
1983–84	16.9	0.40	14.9	0.41	8.1	2.06	5.0	2.31	4.5	4.17
1984–85	17.3	0.41	17.7	0.49	10.0	2.50	6.4	2.95	5.1	4.67
1985–86	17.1	0.40	16.7	0.45	8.7	2.19	7.7	3.53	5.4	4.81
1986–87	20.6	0.48	20.3	0.55	9.1	2.29	7.9	3.60	5.6	5.04
1987–88	22.0	0.51	23.3	0.63	9.1	2.28	8.8	3.98	5.0	4.43
1988–89	23.7	0.54	25.8	0.70	9.9	2.49	9.3	4.17	5.4	4.79
1989–90	25.6	0.58	21.8	0.58	11.9	2.97	10.0	4.45	5.7	5.02
1990–91	27.5	0.62	17.2	0.46	12.3	3.06	10.6	4.70	7.5	6.57
1991–92	29.2	0.66	15.7	0.41	12.8	3.18	11.4	5.04	7.1	6.12
1992–93	30.9	0.70	16.2	0.43	13.6	3.38	13.7	6.04	11.6	9.86
1993–94	32.2	0.73	14.9	0.39	13.8	3.43	13.8	6.07	12.1	10.17
1994–95	33.2	0.75	11.3	0.30	17.4	4.31	14.4	6.34	12.5	10.43
1995–96	34.5	0.77	10.0	0.26	16.9	4.19	14.7	6.46	13.7	11.36
1996–97	35.5	0.79	10.0	0.26	18.3	4.53	14.7	6.45	14.7	12.12

Source:

Office for National Statistics, Department of National Heritage.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will set out the Exchequer grant for the promotion and support of tourism for each of the years 1979–80 to 1996–97 for the English, Wales, Scottish and Northern Ireland tourist boards and the British Tourist Authority at 1979 prices (a) as totals and (b) per head of population aged over 16 years in those areas. [11541]

	British tourist authority		English tourist board		Scottish tourist board		Wales tourist board		Northern Ireland tourist board
All GIA figures at 1979 prices	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years
1979–80	12.8	0.31	10.3	0.29	4.3	1.11	3.7	1.75	3.9	3.74
1980–81	12.0	0.29	9.7	0.27	4.4	1.13	3.6	1.69	4.1	3.90
1981–82	12.5	0.30	9.8	0.27	4.7	1.21	3.9	1.82	4.1	3.85
1982–83	13.0	0.31	10.7	0.30	5.2	1.33	4.0	1.86	3.7	3.45
1983–84	11.6	0.27	10.3	0.28	5.6	1.43	3.4	1.57	3.1	2.87
1984–85	11.3	0.27	11.6	0.32	6.6	1.67	4.2	1.94	3.4	3.12
1985–86	10.6	0.25	10.4	0.28	5.4	1.36	4.8	2.20	3.4	3.03
1986–87	12.4	0.29	12.2	0.33	5.5	1.38	4.8	2.19	3.4	3.06
1987–88	12.6	0.29	13.3	0.36	5.2	1.30	5.0	2.26	2.9	2.57
1988–89	12.7	0.29	13.8	0.37	5.3	1.33	5.0	2.24	2.9	2.57
1989–90	12.8	0.29	10.9	0.29	6.0	1.50	5.0	2.23	2.9	2.56
1990–91	12.8	0.29	8.0	0.21	5.7	1.42	4.9	2.17	3.5	3.06
1991–92	12.7	0.29	6.8	0.18	5.6	1.39	5.0	2.21	3.1	2.67

Tourism

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will set out the Exchequer grant for the promotion and support of tourism for each of the years 1979–80 to 1996–97 for the English, Wales, Scottish and Northern Ireland tourist boards and the British Tourist Authority (a) as totals and (b) per head of population aged over 16 years in those areas. [11540]

[holding answer 17 January 1997]: The total Government grant awarded to each of the statutory tourist boards for each year from 1979 to the current year in cash figures, and expressed per head of population for the countries covered by the boards was as follows:

[holding answer 17 January 1997]: The total Government grant to the statutory tourist boards, expressed in 1979 prices for each year from 1979 to 1996, and expressed per head of population aged over 16 years for the countries covered by the boards, was as follows:

	British tourist authority		English tourist board		Scottish tourist board		Wales tourist board		Northern Ireland tourist board
All GIA figures at 1979 prices	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years	GIA £ million	£ per head population aged over 16 years
1992–93	12.9	0.29	6.8	0.18	5.7	1.41	5.7	2.51	4.9	4.17
1993–94	13.1	0.30	6.1	0.16	5.6	1.39	5.6	2.46	4.9	4.12
1994–95	13.3	0.30	4.5	0.12	7.0	1.74	5.8	2.55	5.0	4.17
1995–96	13.4	0.30	3.9	0.10	6.6	1.63	5.7	2.51	5.3	4.39
1996–97	13.5	0.30	3.8	0.10	7.0	1.73	5.6	2.46	5.6	4.62

Source:

Offices of National Statistics, Department of National Heritage.

Heritage Lottery Awards

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many of the heritage lottery awards made to date have been claimed in full; and what proportion this represents of the total awards in terms of (a) number and (b) amount. [10824]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: To date the heritage lottery fund has announced awards to 605 projects totalling £370,912,187. Full payments have been made to 77 projects worth £31,071,205—that is, 13 per cent. of the total number and 8 per cent. of the total amount.A further 294 projects have received first payments totalling £92,655,186.

Consultants

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimates she has made of the amount spent on external consultants by her Department's non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years. [10158]

[holding answer 13 January 1997]: No such estimates have been made. However, the available information provided by my Department's non-departmental public bodies is given in the following table:

Financial year	Expenditure in £ million
1991–92	9.2
1992–93	9.2
1993–94	11.4
1994–95	12.5
1995–96	16.0

Year ending September	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Discontinued	187.399	185.824	159.085	158.594	153.468
Percentage of completed cases	12.8	13.4	11.9	11.9	12
Written off	84.379	103.323	119.598	133.303	110.454
Percentage of completed cases	5.8	7.4	8.9	10	8.6

A case "written off' is not thereby terminated. The majority occur when defendants cannot be traced by the police or a warrant for arrest remains unexecuted. Such cases can recommence if and when the defendant can be traced.

Attorney-General

Behaviourally Disturbed Young People

To ask the Attorney-General if he will introduce measures to ensure that (a) the police and (b) the Crown Prosecution Service obtain an assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for children and adolescents convicted of more than three crimes; and if he will make a statement. [11535]

I have been asked to reply.The Cambridge study of delinquent development, which was largely funded by the Home Office, found, amongst other results, that the incidence of hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity at age eight to 10 years independently predicted future juvenile convictions. However, the causes of juvenile delinquency are complex and wide ranging, and hyperactivity is only one of many. The Government have no plans to amend their policies in the manner suggested by the hon. Member.

Discontinued Cases

To ask the Attorney-General (1) what is the number and percentage of cases that have been (a) discontinued and (b) written off in magistrates courts in England and Wales in each year since 1986; and if he will make a statement; [10920](2) what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of cases written off in table 6.2 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales for 1995"; and if he will make a statement. [10921]

The information requested is available in a consistent format only from 1991 when the present method of recording was adopted. Figures since that date were as follows:In most cases the reason for discontinuance is that it becomes impossible to proceed further because, for example, key witnesses fail to appear at court, refuse to give evidence or change their story; because defendants produce driving documents at court and so establish their innocence; or because of evidential gaps in the prosecution case which cannot be filled by the police. Whenever possible, in practice in around 75 per cent. of such cases, the Crown Prosecution Service will consult the police before discontinuance and a survey in 1994 showed that the police objected initially to discontinuance in only 4 per cent. of cases when consulted.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Eu Parliamentary Building

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations his officials have made to other EU Governments about the necessity of a new EU parliamentary building in (a) Brussels and (b) Strasbourg; and if he will make a statement; [11105](2) what representations he and his officials made to monitor the spending of United Kingdom public funds on the new European Union Parliament building in Brussels; and if he will make a statement. [11107]

The United Kingdom has consistently pressed for value for money and sound financial practice in all European institutions. Overall ceilings for expenditure are set by the Council, but within that, spending by the European Parliament on building and other programmes is a matter for the Parliament in the first place, subject to scrutiny of its spending by the European Court of Auditors. We have not made separate representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list an inventory of internal fixtures and fittings and building costs, in sterling, of the new European Union Parliament in Brussels; what has been the cost to United Kingdom public funds; and if he will make a statement. [11106]

Title 2 of section 1 of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1996—Official Journal of the European Committees, volume 39 of 29 January 1996—gives details of the

"buildings, equipment and miscellaneous operating expenditure"

of the European Parliament.The United Kingdom's contribution to the 1996 EU budget represented 15 per cent. of the budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is (a) the total cost and (b) the cost to British public funds of building the new European Union Parliament building in Brussels; and if he will make a statement. [11108]

The total cost of the new European Parliament building in Brussels was estimated to be 831 million ecu, or £612.7 million, by the European Commission on 29 October 1996.The UK's contribution to the 1996 EU budget represented 15 per cent. of the budget.

Angola

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the future of the United Nations mission in Angola. [11840]

The UN Security Council will discuss soon the future of the UN mission in Angola—UNAVEM III. We envisage that following the progressive withdrawal of UNAVEM III at the end of its mandate—28 February 1997—a residual UN presence will continue to be needed. This will probably include a political component, human rights monitors and military and police observers.

Arms Trafficking

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the committee established by the Government to inquire into controls and procedures relating to trafficking in arms reported; what are its main conclusions; and if he will make a statement. [12263]

Following media reports linking British companies to the supply of arms in contravention of UN embargoes to Rwandan extremists in Zaire, the Government announced on 19 November that they had established an inter-departmental committee to examine rigorously the United Kingdom's procedures in relation to trafficking in arms and to determine whether there had been a gap in controls, and if so what action needed to be taken. The committee's terms of reference were given to the House in a written answer from the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Official Report, 11 December 1997, columns 270–71.The committee's report was submitted on 17 December. It notes that Customs investigators are seeking to establish whether there have been any illegal acts coming within the United Kingdom's jurisdiction. It would not be appropriate to comment further on Customs and Excise investigations at this stage.The UN arms embargo on Rwanda was not implemented in the Crown dependencies, and there was also a delay in its implementation in the dependent territories. The gap in controls, which the report notes was a narrow one, has already been put right as recommended by the committee. Consideration is also being given to whether the precise terms of the existing Orders in Council implementing the UN arms embargo against Rwanda are adequate.The committee reached four main conclusions: first, that there had been a lack of consistency in implementing embargoes in the UK, its dependent territories, and the Crown dependencies; secondly, that there were no structured arrangements for ensuring the timely and accurate imposition of embargoes; thirdly, that there was a need for greater clarity and transparency on the scope of the embargoes; finally, that under current UK legislation, trafficking could be prohibited only in relation to binding UN arms embargos.

The committee recommended that:

(a) The UN arms embargoes against Rwanda, Somalia and Liberia should be implemented in the Crown dependencies as soon as possible. The necessary orders were made on 19 December.

(b) All future binding UN arms embargoes should be applied promptly in the UK and in Crown dependencies and the dependent territories, in accordance with HMG's international obligations.

(c) As a matter of policy, all other arms embargoes should be applied promptly in the UK, the Crown dependencies and the dependent territories, in consultation with the dependent territories concerned.

(d) An inter-departmental committee, chaired by the Cabinet Office, should co-ordinate the introduction, application, amendment and lifting of all arms embargoes, including their scope and announcement.

(e) This committee should also consider the preparation of a public document, which would set out the basis and scope of all current arms embargoes and which would be kept up to date.

(f) It should be determined, as a matter of priority, whether the precise terms of the Order in Council implementing the UN arms embargo against Rwanda are adequate and any necessary remedial action taken.

(g) A considered assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of primary legislation to prohibit arms trafficking, taking account of the factors identified in this report, should be conducted as part of the current Government review of strategic export controls.

The Government have endorsed the committee's report, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House, and will be implementing its recommendations.

Treasury

Bowel Cancer

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new cases of bowel cancer were diagnosed on average in each of the last 10 years; and how many people died of carcinoma of the bowel in 1995. [10833]

The number of deaths that occurred in England and Wales in 1995, together with aged standardised rates per 100,000 population, and the data on new cases of bowel cancer are given in the following tables:

The numbers of deaths that occurred in England and Wales in 1995 (together with age standardised rate per 100,000)
	Males		Females
	Numbers	Rate¹	Numbers	Rate¹
Malignant neoplasm of small intestine, including duodenum (ICD² 152)	116	0.4	98	0.3
Malignant neoplasm of colon (ICD² 153)	5,178	18.1	5,636	13
Malignant neoplasm of rectum, rectosigmoid junction and anus (ICD² 154)	2,813	9.9	2,122	4.9
Bowel cancer (ICD² 152–154)	8,107	28.5	8,107	28.5
¹ The male and female rates have been directly standardised against the (same) European Standard Population so that the mortality for males can be compared with that for females.
² International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.

Incidence of bowel cancer (ICD9 152, 153 and 154), numbers and rates per 100,000 ¹, England and Wales, 1982–91: males and females (¹directly age standardised using European standard population)
	Male		Female
Year	Numbers	Rate	Numbers	Rate
Malignant neoplasm of small intestine including duodenum (ICD9 152)
1982	154	0.6	145	0.4
1983	182	0.7	157	0.5
1984	178	0.7	167	0.5
1985	205	0.8	171	0.5
1986	168	0.7	175	0.5
1987	189	0.8	175	0.5
1988	181	0.7	196	0.5
1989	177	0.7	193	0.6
1990	178	0.7	191	0.5
1991	216	0.8	185	0.5
Malignant neoplasm of colon (ICD9 153)
1982	6,837	27.3	8,633	23.7
1983	6,955	27.8	8,709	23.6
1984	7,020	27.5	8,651	23.0
1985	7,399	28.7	9,066	24.1
1986	7,163	27.6	9,016	23.9
1987	7,679	29.3	9,323	23.8
1988	7,714	29.1	9,413	24.1
1989	7,802	29.1	9,102	23.0
1990	8,024	29.8	9,316	23.5
1991	8,069	29.5	9,403	23.7

	Male		Female
Year	Numbers	Rate	Numbers	Rate
Malignant neoplasm of rectum, rectosigmoid junction and anus (ICD9 154)
1982	5,364	21.4	4,541	12.7
1983	5,543	21.9	4,641	12.9
1984	5,564	21.9	4,549	12.4
1985	6,028	23.3	4,693	12.7
1986	5,659	21.7	4,554	12.3
1987	5,644	21.6	4,553	12.1
1988	5,849	22.2	4,587	12.3
1989	5,690	21.4	4,565	12.0
1990	5,898	22.1	4,474	11.9
1991	5,826	21.6	4,441	11.8
Bowel cancer (ICD9 152–4)
1982	12,354	49.4	13,319	36.8
1983	12,681	50.4	13,506	37.0
1984	12,763	50.1	13,367	35.9
1985	13,632	52.8	13,931	37.3
1986	12,990	49.9	13,746	36.7
1987	13,512	51.7	14,051	36.5
1988	13,745	52.1	14,196	36.9
1989	13,669	51.2	13,860	35.6
1990	14,100	52.6	13,981	35.9
1991	14,111	52.0	14,029	35.9
¹ The male and female rates have been directly standardised against the (same) European Standard Population so that the mortality for males can be compared with that for females.

Landfill Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to permit a temporary exemption to landfill tax for those local authorities which are forced to dispose of unsold paper for recycling, which was collected to meet the Government's target for recycling waste by 2000. [11165]

I have no plans to do so.

Bathability Services

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations have been received by HM Customs and Excise about the application of VAT to bathability services; and if he will make a statement. [11585]

Supplies of bathing services in the home when provided by a public body as a welfare provision otherwise than for profit are not liable to VAT. One representation has been received by HM Customs and Excise.

Inland Revenue Office, Salisbury

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the future of the inland revenue local office in Salisbury. [11008]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: The board of Inland Revenue is currently considering reorganisation proposals from its network controllers which include the creation of a new-style office in Salisbury.

Insurance Premium Tax (Holiday Insurance)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue forecast from the imposition of a rate of insurance premium tax of 17.5 per cent. on holiday insurance sold by travel agents; and what account it takes of switching of the purchase of holiday insurance from travel agents to insurance brokers in order to incur the lower rate of insurance premium tax. [11451]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: Around £70 million of the estimated £235 million revenue yield in 1998–99—published in the 1997–98 "Financial Statement and Budget Report"—is from charging the higher rate of insurance premium tax on travel insurance; the remaining £165 million is from charging the higher rate of insurance premium tax on mechanical breakdown insurance of various types and insurance sold with TV and car hire. The travel insurance costing incorporates assumptions about changes in behaviour in response to the increased rate of IPT and this includes the option to buy travel insurance direct from insurers or through insurance brokers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what submissions or correspondence he has received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of holiday makers going abroad uninsured as a result of the proposed 17.5 per cent. rate of insurance premium tax on holiday insurance sold by travel agents; and if he will place copies of such submissions or correspondence in the Library. [11452]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: No such submissions or correspondence have been received.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the VAT currently lost to the Exchequer as a result of travel agents selling higher margin insurance with a high holiday discount instead of a low holiday discount and a lower insurance margin. [11453]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: VAT lost to the Exchequer is not dependent on the practice of holiday price discounting by travel agents. The usual pricing structure of the industry is that low margins are applied to holidays and high margins are applied to the associated sales of VAT exempt insurance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made by his Department of the commercial impact on travel agents of the proposed imposition of a higher rate of insurance premium tax on holiday insurance sold by travel agents than on similar insurance sold by insurance brokers and agents. [11679]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: Current pricing differentials and marketing practices in this sector, coupled with the fact that insurance provided free by travel agents will not be subject to the higher rate of insurance premium tax, suggest that the proposed tax differential in favour of other insurance agents and brokers is unlikely to have a significant effect on purchasing behaviour.

Work Force (Barrow)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the size of the work force in the Barrow travel-to-work area in (a) 1990 and (b) 1996. [11022]

[holding answer 16 January 1997]: 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.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. John Hutton, dated 21 January 1997:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply as the Director of the Office for National Statistics to your recent question on the size of the workforce in the Barrow-in-Furness travel-to-work area in 1990 and 1996.

The workforce is made up of the workforce in employment (employees, self-employed, armed forces and government-supported training participants) plus the claimant unemployed. However, information at travel-to-work area is available only for employees in employment and for claimant unemployment. The available information, closest to the dates requested, is provided in the following table:

Barrow in Furness travel-to-work area (at September)
	Employees	Claimant unemployed
1989	42,700	2,452
1991	36,100	3,749
1993	32,500	4,921

Source:

ONS.

1995 information for travel-to-work areas is expected shortly, and I will write to you when it is available.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies (Expenditure)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of total expenditure by non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1993–94; and what projections he has made for future years. [11442]

[holding answer 17 January 1997]: No information is held centrally on the total expenditure of non-departmental public bodies, or of projections for their total expenditure in future years. We do not do so because the annual public expenditure survey does not distinguish explicitly between direct expenditure by Departments and expenditure of the NDPBs they sponsor. "Public Bodies 1996", published by the Cabinet Office in December 1996, includes information about the gross expenditure of executive non-departmental public bodies in 1993–94,1994–95 and 1995–96.

Value Added Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 December 1996, Official Report, column 642, relating to VAT, if he will provide equivalent information on VAT registrations and deregistrations for 1996. [11447]

[holding answer 17 January 1997]: The registration and deregistration information for 1996 is in the attached schedule.

Registrations and deregistrations for 1996
Collection	Registration
Northern Ireland	4,057
Central England	15,960
Anglia	10,994
South-east England	7,476
South England	14,454
Thames Valley	20,465
London Central	17,375
London South and Tames	12,521
East England	16,309
North-west England	15,611
North England	14,089
Scotland	12,271
Wales West and Borders	16,533

Collection	Deregistrations
Northern Ireland	3,250
Central England	15,788
Anglia	10,215
South-east England	7,194
South England	13,593
Thames Valley	17,356
London Central	12,159
London South and Tames	10,146
East England	15,771
North West England	15,059
North England	14,070
Scotland	11,728
Wales West and Borders	16,411

Education And Employment

Child Care Facilities

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if Ministers are entitled to use child care facilities supported by her Department. [11597]

Ministers of the Crown are able to make use of the child care facilities provided by the Department.

Teachers (Early Retirement)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on trends in teachers' premature retirement over the past 10 years; and what reports she has evaluated into advice issued by local education authorities relating to premature retirement over this period. [11588]

The following table shows the number of premature retirements for each of the last 10 years. The figures vary, but the peak number in 1995–96 was 44 per cent. above the number in 1986–87. My right hon. Friend has made no evaluation of research into advice issued by LEAs relating to premature retirement over this period.

Year of retirement	Number of retirees
1986–87	9,087
1987–88	7,559
1988–89	12,346
1989–90	12,334
1990–91	11,692
1991–92	10,287
1992–93	12,214
1993–94	12,233
1994–95	10,608
1995–96	13,055

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the total sum paid out in enhanced pension payments to teachers taking early retirement in Kirklees metropolitan council area in each of the past 10 years. [11790]

The information requested is given in the following table, which has been derived from the Department of Environment's RO 1 return. The figures for years 1985–86 to 1988–89 are drawn from memorandum line 2 and are for premature retirement compensation only. Those for subsequent years are for premature retirement and Crombie compensation payments, and it is not possible to split them down further.

Year	(WOO)
1985–86	164
1986–87	29
1987–88	221
1988–89	534
1989–90	568
1990–91	255
1991–92	1,372
1992–93	838
1993–94	397
1994–95	410

Student Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many students applied for student loans in each year since 1993; and if she will make a statement; [11337](2) how many students who graduated in each year between 1989 and 1995 are still in debt to the Student Loans Company; and if she will make a statement. [11338]

These are matters for the Student Loans Company. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Career Development Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her latest estimate of current expenditure on and take-up of career development loans in (a) the Eastwood constituency, (b) Renfrewshire and (c) Scotland. [11658]

Expenditure estimates on CDLs are not available below national level. The number of approved CDLs in Scotland for the year 1996–97 as at 31 December is 617. Figures below Scotland can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Education And The Community (Mori Research)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what questions relating to, and mentioning, marriage were included in the research conducted by MORI on behalf of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority. [11660]

Recipients of the questionnaires issued to the samples surveyed by MORI were asked to refer to the consultation document, which set out both the values statements and the view of some of the members of the forum on values that a reference to marriage should be included in the statement on the family. They were asked for views on whether any of the values statements required strengthening. Focus group discussions were prompted in a similar fashion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reasons the consultation document on the national forum for values in education and the community issued by SCAA did not specify the date for the end of the consultation period; when it was sent; and if she will make a statement. [11661]

The School Curriculum and Assessment Authority will take into account all comments received by 10 January when it considers what recommendations to put to Ministers. SCAA initially failed to notify some of those who requested its consultation document that the deadline for responses was 29 November. In the light of concerns expressed to it, it subsequently notified all who had requested the document and had not yet responded that they had until 10 January to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) parents, (b) head teachers and heads of personal and social education and (c) school governors were involved in the qualitative research conducted by MORI on behalf of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority. [11559]

The MORI research included a quantitative and a qualitative element. The quantitative research comprised: an omnibus survey of a representative sample of 1,455 adults, including 597 parents; a postal survey of some 700 organisations with an interest, including teacher associations, parents' and governor's organisations; and a postal survey of a random sample of 3,200 schools—1,200 secondary and 2,000 primary schools. The qualitative research comprised four focus group discussions, each involving five to 10 parents; four focus group discussions, each involving six to eight school governors; and six focus group discussions, each involving four to eight head teachers or heads of PSE. In addition, anyone could request a copy of the document "Consultation on values in education and the community" and respond to it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reasons the concept of marriage was not included in the main body of the report arising from the consultation exercise on the national forum for values in education and the community conducted by SCAA. [11560]

The consultation document set out the draft statement of values agreed by the vast majority of forum members and quoted a more tightly drawn reference to family values, preferred by five forum members, which made specific reference to marriage.Marriage is mentioned several times in MORI's consolidated report on the consultation, discussed by the forum at its meetings on 6 January. The forum approved, with slight amendment, a revised reference to the family in the draft values statement which gives greater prominence to marriage.

Ault Literacy And Numeracy

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she will make available the findings of the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development study on adult literacy and numeracy skills. [11185]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: The national report for the international adult literacy survey will be published as soon as possible after the Office for National Statistics receives the data from Statistics Canada, the body co-ordinating the survey, and checks and analyses have been carried out to ensure we are satisfied with the accuracy and quality of the figures. We expect this to be by the autumn of this year, which is in line with the time scale originally planned for this complex international survey.

Medical School (Southern England)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she expects to announce the proposed location of a new medical school in the south of England; and if she will make a statement. [11102]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: My right hon. Friend has no plans to announce the setting up of a new medical school. It is the Government's view that the planned increases in medical student intakes recommended in the 1995 report of the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee can be accommodated within the existing medical schools.

Training And Enterprise Councils

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on the performance of TECs in England and Wales to date in respect of achieving the 100 per cent. plan target in relation to financial systems management information, the collection of evidence, audit and supplies. [11367]

TECs have made significance progress in addressing the former shortcomings in financial control relating to training and enterprise programmes identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General in reports on the Department's appropriation accounts up to 1991–92. It was these which gave rise to the commitment to the Public Accounts Committee in January 1992 that the Department would institute a plan to achieve 100 per cent. effectiveness in financial control in TECs and, through them, their providers of training and other activities. All TECs in England are currently assessed as low risk for financial control purposes. The Comptroller and Auditor General's latest report' acknowledges that the priority given by the Department to financial control has resulted in a substantial reduction in incorrect and uncertain payments to TECs and their providers. The Government continue to set rigorous financial control standards for TECs to safeguard the large amounts of public funding provided to them and to refine these standards to build upon the progress made through the original 100 per cent. plan. The responsibility for the TECs in Wales falls to the Secretary of State for Wales. The Welsh Office has confirmed that, on the most recently completed risk assessment audits, all the TECs in Wales had also achieved low-risk status.

¹ Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General: "Department for Education and Employment: Financial Control of Payments made under the Training for Work and Youth Training Programmes in England" (HC 402 Session 1995–96, published 12 June 1995).

Cass Sizes (Primary Schools)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many children in primary schools are currently in classes of more than 30 pupils. [11895]

The information requested is shown in the following table.

Number of pupils in one teacher classes of size 31 or more in maintained primary schools in each local education authority area in England: January 1996
Corporation of London	0
Camden	447
Greenwich	1,412
Hackney	664
Hammersmith	1,036
Islington	982
Kensington and Chelsea	187
Lambeth	857
Lewisham	917
Southwark	2,051
Tower Hamlets	859
Wandsworth	2,373
Westminster	544
Barking	1,603
Barnet	1,848
Bexley	8,821
Brent	2,259
Bromley	11,850
Croydon	6,341
Ealing	5,508
Enfield	8,840
Haringey	984
Harrow	3,833
Havering	5,678
Hillingdon	4,820
Hounslow	5,674
Kingston upon Thames
	7,095
Merton	3,955
Newham	2,381
Redbridge	9,060
Richmond upon Thames	2,309
Sutton	4,235

Number of pupils in one teacher classes of size 31 or more in maintained primary schools in each local education authority area in England: January 1996
Waltham Forest	3,282
Birmingham	25,642
Coventry	7,638
Dudley	6,618
Sandwell	11,812
Solihull	8,403
Walsall	7,241
Wolverhampton	6,762
Knowsley	5,254
Liverpool	12,051
St. Helens	5,563
Sefton	10,670
Wirral	6,987
Bolton	11,719
Bury	6,968
Manchester	9,687
Oldham	9,434
Rochdale	8,316
Salford	6,997
Stockport	8,247
Tameside	11,508
Trafford	9,389
Wigan	11,087
Barnsley	8,677
Doncaster	9,609
Rotherham	5,732
Sheffield	11,181
Bradford	11,449
Calderdale	6,331
Kirklees	14,395
Leeds	21,455
Wakefild	10,673
Gateshead	2,443
Newcastle upon Tyne	6,792
North Tyneside	4,897
South Tyneside	4,067
Sunderland	4,148
Isles of Scily	0
Avon	26,647
Bedforshire	11,867
Berkshire	18,309
Buckinghamshire	22,753
Cambridgeshire	18,065
Cheshire	32,225
Cleveland	13,869
Cornwall	14,936
Cumbria	11,382
Derbyshire	41,217
Devon	28,078
Dorset	19,654
Durham	19,881
East Sussex	20,971
Essex	34,741
Gloucetershire	14,246
Hampshire	44,938
Hereford and Worcester	13,225
Hertfordshire	23,396
Humberside	27,832
Isle of Wight	2,243
Kent	44,212
Lancasire	54,099
Leicestershire	21,784
Lincolnshire	13,962
Norfolk	13,224
North Yorkshire	18,663
Northamptonshire	11,089
Northumberland	8,478
Nottinghamshire	32,931
Oxfordshire	10,608
Shropshire	13,425
Somerset	13,649
Staffordshire	32,163
Suffolk	7,940
Surrey	14,197
Warwickshire	17,566
West Sussex	14,447
Wiltshire	15,128
England	1,260,587

National Funding Formula

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make it her policy not to introduce a national funding formula. [12065]

The Government published a discussion paper on national funding for grant-maintained schools in May 1996. The Government are analysing the responses, which have raised a number of issues.

Education (Fees And Awards) Regulations

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has to link the home fee status classification of students and the rules of eligibility that may be adopted for awards specified in the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1994, as amended, to those who are settled in the United Kingdom under the immigration laws. [12262]

Further to the account of the outcome of the programme of work arising from the scrutiny on enforcement of the immigration laws on 24 October 1996 by the Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone (Miss Widdecombe), Official Report, column 2, I confirm that revised Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations will be laid before Parliament to add a requirement of being settled in the United Kingdom under the immigration laws to the existing criteria for establishing a "relevant connection" for the purpose of student fee classifications by institutions and to the rules of candidate eligibility for certain awards which may be adopted by education authorities and other specified bodies.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Public Appointments

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the public appointments unit. [8534]

[holding answer 10 December 1996]: None of those appointed in the last year were first identified by the public appointments unit.

Chief Medical Officer

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many times he has met the chief medical officer over the last six months; and if he will list the issues discussed. [9634]

I and my officials have regularly met the chief medical officer over the last six months to discuss issues of importance to human health and food safety.

Personalised Number Plates (Executive Agencies)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many personalised number plates there are in the ownership of the executive agencies operated by his Department; and if he will list them. [11411]

The executive agencies operated by this Ministry do not have any personalised number plates.

Wash Shrimp Fishery

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he has commissioned on the impact of dredging on the Wash shrimp fishery; and if he will assess the advantages of allocating alternative dredging areas to evaluate the impact of dredging on the shrimp fishery. [11641]

An intensive dredging operation is being carried out in a licensed area known as area 107, well outside the mouth of the Wash, to provide sand to replenish the beaches along 22 km of the Lincolnshire coast.When asked to contribute to a Government view on the necessary increase to the quantity licensed for extraction, I insisted on an extensive monitoring programme. Work undertaken has confirmed that the shrimp population in the general area has declined, but has shown no evidence as yet to link this with the dredging operations and studies of the area have shown that a healthy benthic community has been maintained even quite close to the dredging area. There are no scientific grounds therefore, at present for moving the dredging to a different area.

Vitamin B6

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he or his officials have to meet Consumers for Health Choice and other consumer and practitioner organisations to discuss the work of the Food Advisory Committee in connection with vitamin B6. [11501]

Officials will shortly be inviting Consumers for Health Choice and other organisations representing consumer, nutritional therapy and industry interests to meetings to discuss the Food Advisory Committee's recommendations on vitamin B6.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what scientific peer-reviewed studies were considered by the Food Advisory Committee and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment in connection with their recent conclusions on the use of vitamin B6; and to what extent those committees took note of comments on studies of vitamin B6 supplementation by Alan Gaby MD in 1990; [11499](2) what assessment his Department has made of the published results of studies of vitamin B6 supplementation undertaken by Brush MG and Perry M, by Baker H and Frank 0, by Pauling L and by Mitwalli A, Blair G and Oreopoulos DG; and whether these papers were considered by the Food Advisory Committee and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment in connection with their recent conclusions on vitamin B6. [11500]

The Food Advisory Committee's recommendations were based on advice on the toxicity of vitamin B6 provided by the Department of Health's Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. The COT considered 31 publications from international scientific journals, one chapter from a book on vitamin B6 and three reports from other committees, including one from the EC Scientific Committee for Food. The Department of Health has arranged for a list of the papers considered to be deposited in the Library of the House. The papers referred to by the hon. Gentleman were not among those considered.

Beef Producers

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now take action to ensure that beef producers are not more greatly disadvantaged by the effect of the BSE problem than are dairy farmers. [11845]

Inevitably, not all producers will have been affected equally by the BSE problem over the last 10 months, or benefited equally from the wide range of measures which the Government have introduced. While the dairy industry has benefited from the calf processing aid scheme and from the over-30-months scheme for cattle, the beef industry is also receiving direct aid which will be worth over £250 million. The key point is that the survival of the UK beef and dairy industries has been assured. For the longer term, we are committed to ensuring that the beef export ban is lifted and that all other economic conditions are in place to provide both industries with a viable future.

To ask the Minster of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further assessment he has made of the difficulties faced by smaller beef producers.[11846]

I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on 6 November, Official Report, column 582, other than to note that the total of EU and Exchequer funds being made available in direct support to UK beef producers now stands at over £250 million.

Newcastle Disease

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which strains of Newcastle disease have been recorded in the current (a) Ross on Wye and (b) East Sussex outbreaks; and if he will make a statement. [12095]

The central veterinary laboratory, which is an international reference laboratory for Newcastle disease, has given these outbreaks a designation of C1. This classification records the way that monoclonal antibodies react to the virus isolate in cell structure.

Duchy Of Lancaster

Child Welfare

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 127, on the health of British children, what factors underlay his rejection of the Health Visitors Association's survey. [11601]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The "Health Visitors' Association Centenary Survey: Return of Diseases and Social Conditions of the 19th Century" was published on 25 November 1996 without details of the survey's design, methodology, sampling technique or response rate. Without these, it is not possible to assess the validity of the conclusions.

Defence

Gulf War Syndrome

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the 800 documents on Gulf war illness to which reference is made at paragraph 1.B.17 of his Department's organophosphate pesticide investigation team report D/OPPIT/3 of 6 December. [9593]

The documents referred to in paragraph 1.B.17 of the organophosphate pesticide investigation team's report are a miscellaneous collection of papers related to the issue of illness of personnel who served in the Gulf war contained in files located in one particular area of my Department. From the records of the team, the collection comprises internal minutes, notes, briefs and submissions; external letters and faxes; draft PQ material, Hansard extracts and a parliamentary petition; press releases, clippings and media transcripts; and published research papers and reports. The team's report does not suggest that this material in any way represents a coherent or comprehensive picture of my Department's consideration of this issue. The team made this reference simply to indicate the scale of the task which faced them in carrying out their work against very tight deadlines.By its nature a good deal of the material is already in the public domain. The remainder would need to be checked document by document against the requirements of the "Code of Practice on Access to Government Information", though most if not all of it is likely to be covered by the internal discussion and advice exemption in the code. Checking of the material to provide the information requested could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Gulf War (Vaccinations)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which vaccines on the list of vaccines placed in the Library were administered to personnel serving during the conflict with Iraq. [11293]

I refer the hon. Member to the memorandum "UK vaccination programme during the Gulf Conflict (1990–1991)" which was placed in the Library of the House on 10 December 1996, and to the document D/SG(Hlth) 2/3/2/9 dated October 1993 "Report on the vaccines used for Operation Granby", which is also available in the Library of the House.

Service Personnel (Hong Kong)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many British service personnel have been charged with disorderly conduct by (a) the military and (b) the civil police authorities in Hong Kong in each of the past three years; [11317](2) if he will make a statement on recent disturbances in Hong Kong caused by British service personnel; and if he will make a statement on the

(a) damage caused and (b) compensation sought; [11318]

(3) what recent discussion he has had with (a) the Governor of Hong Kong and (b) the senior military officer in Hong Kong regarding the behaviour of British service personnel stationed in Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement; [11316]

(4) how many British service personnel were arrested for disturbances caused in Hong Kong over the Christmas period. [11315]

On 21 December 1996, a number of soldiers intervened in a fight between two groups of European construction employees who had been drinking in a bar. One soldier was subsequently arrested for fighting, along with seven civilians. I am not aware that any damage was caused by the soldiers or that compensation is being sought from them. Indeed, the Royal Hong Kong police later praised the soldiers for attempting to intervene in a difficult situation.The matter is in the hands of the Royal Hong Kong police, who are now considering charges against those arrested.Over the past three years the number of personnel charged and convicted of disorderly conduct—an offence covering fighting, drunkenness, causing a disturbance and disorderly conduct within barracks—was:

	Civilian authorities
	Charged	Convicted	Military authorities Convictions
1994	18	14	¹36
1995	7	4	10
1996	12	6	26
¹ Records of cases brought under military law, but dismissed, are not held centrally.

Four service personnel were arrested for such offences between 20 December 1996 and 4 January 1997, three of whom are included in the 1996 figures.Commander British Forces, Hong Kong is responsible for all disciplinary matters concerning British service personnel in Hong Kong. He liaises directly with the governor, and with the Royal Hong Kong police where appropriate. The maintenance of discipline is taken extremely seriously. The British garrison in Hong Kong has an excellent record and we are determined that this will continue to be maintained until the garrison leaves in June.

Personalised Number Plates (Executive Agencies)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personalised number plates there are in the ownership of the executive agencies operated by his Department; and if he will list them. [11421]

None.

Gibraltar

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a timetable for the rundown of his Department's jobs on Gibraltar and make a statement on measures taken to assist in the retraining of military personnel for alternative employment. [11819]

The 1994 review of the Gibraltar garrison, which identified the core tasks in Gibraltar and associated manpower levels required, made reductions in military and civilian strengths possible. The reduction in military posts is now virtually complete. The reduction in civilian posts will take place over the next few years, primarily in 1998 and 1999; precise details have yet to be established. There are no military redundancies specifically related to this rundown but my Department is working closely with the Gibraltar Government and the trades unions on providing suitable re-training of civilian personnel for alternative employment.

Service Accommodation

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what further changes to the terms of the non-movers package 1993 originally on offer to entitled officers Her Majesty's Treasury has authorised his Department to make. [11907]

The non-movers package was introduced by the Treasury as an aid to relocating key staff. The responsibility for determining relocation expenses was transferred to Government Departments in 1993. Under that delegation the MOD decided to make the non-movers package more widely available in order to assist those affected by the major relocations that have been taking place in the Department. We have no plans to make major changes to current arrangements.

Mutual Defence Agreement

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of implementing the US-UK 1958 mutual defence agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for defence purposes since it was last amended. [12090]

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many times he has made requests to the United States Government for permission to transfer nuclear weapons information of United States provenance provided under the US-UK 1958 mutual defence agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for defence purposes to France; [12082](2) on how many occasions there have been requests by the United States Government for permission to transfer nuclear weapon information of British provenance provided under the US-UK 1958 mutual defence agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for defence purposes to France. [12083]

We are not aware of any such requests by either party.

Service Redundancies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the costs incurred by his Department as a result of redundancies in each of the three services in each of the past six years. [11456]

The "Options for Change" redundancy programme began in financial year 1992–93. In that year redundancy payments of £232 million were made. In 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96 the payments totalled £509 million, £453 million and £187 million respectively.These costs are split between the three services as follows:

£ million
	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	¹1996–97
RN	12	95	75	28	41
Army	209	328	281	16	5
RAF	11	86	97	143	138
Total	232	509	453	187	184
¹Estimate.

The payments include special capital payments, early payment of terminal grants, commuted pension payments and the first year's payment of immediate pensions.The figures for 1996–97 are an estimate as the RAF redundancy programme will not be completed until the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the costs of recruitment in each of the services in each of the past six years. [11457]

The costs of recruitment in each of the services for each of the last six years is as shown. Total army recruitment costs for the first year are not available as they cannot be identified separately.

£ million
Year	RN	Army	RAF
1990–91	23.48	n/a	26.33
1991–92	26.83	42.20	27.98
1992–93	19.00	42.60	27.45
1993–94	21.10	48.61	27.60
1994–95	19.50	45.91	27.87
1995–96	21.88	56.20	26.88

Armed Service Personnel

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the strength of (a) uniformed personnel and (b) civilian employees within each of the armed services as at 1 January 1997. [11847]

The most recent figures available relate to 1 December 1996 and are published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency in "Service and Civilian Personnel Statistics Monthly Return (SCPS) 1", which is available in the House of Commons Library. Figures for 1 January 1997 will be available in the first week of February 1997. The breakdowns of regular armed forces and permanent UK based civilian staff as at 1 December 1996 are as follows:

	Navy personnel	Army personnel	RAF personnel	All service personnel	Civilian employees
Navy budget areas	42,321	988	193	43,502	22,444
Army budget areas	168	98,348	294	98,810	34,426
RAF budget areas	110	192	54,689	54,991	16,690
Central budget areas	3,082	10,221	5,437	18,740	21,471
Trading funds	136	96	206	438	14,960
Service LEPs (including Gurkhas)	206	4,620	—	4,826	—
All	46,023	114,465	60,819	221,307	109,993

In accordance with civilian headcount conventions, part-timers are counted as the proportion of full-time hours they work. Totals may not equal the sum of the parts due to rounding. Included in the 114,465 Army personnel are 1,183 reserves serving in the former Yugoslavia.

Territorial Army

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the size of the Territorial Army in each of the last five years; and what is his Department's estimate of the figure in each of the next three years. [11454]

The size of the Territorial Army over the last five years is as follows:

Size of the Territorial Army¹
Year	Establishment	Strength
1 April 1992	²71,000	70,100
1 April 1993	71,000	67,200
1 April 1994	63,500	63,600
1 April 1995	59,000	58,400
1 April 1996	59,000	57,300
¹Figures exclude non-regular permanent staff.
²This is an estimate figure reflecting the drawdown of the Territorial Army to its post-"Options for Change" structure.

The planned establishment of the Territorial Army at 1 April for 1997, 1998 and 1999 will be 59,000. The actual strength in each of the three years will depend largely on recruitment and retention patterns.

Military Provost Guard Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Military Provost Guard Service personnel are planned to be stationed at (a) Chicksands, (b) Chilwell-Chetwynd barracks, (c) BOD Donnington and (d) Land Command Wilton from 1 April 1997. [11289]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: The Military Provost Guard Service pilot scheme will involve a total of 118 Military Provost Guard Service soldiers stationed at Chicksands, Chilwell-Chetwynd Barracks, BOD Donnington and Wilton. Given the potential implications for the security of military establishments, I have decided to withhold the details of the specific number of security personnel deployed at specific sites under exemption 1 of the code of practice on access to Government information relating to defence, security and international relations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has commenced recruitment for the Military Provost Guard Service. [11287]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: Recruitment to the Military Provost Guard Service has commenced, but no soldiers will be enlisted until parliamentary procedures are completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to introduce Military Provost Guard Service at (a) Woolwich garrison, (b) Catterick garrison, (c) Dishforth, (d) Arborfield, (e) Grantham and (f) Weeton barracks. [11288]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: Should the trial prove successful at pilot sites, it would be the intention to replace Ministry of Defence police officers with Military Provost Guard Service soldiers at other military locations where Ministry of Defence police officers are complemented for armed guarding rather than constabulary duties. The locations will be the subject of consultation with the Defence Police Federation and the trade unions concerned nearer the time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Military Provost Guard Service personnel are to be issued with SA80 assault rifles. [11290]

[holding answer 20 January]: The SA80 5.56mm service rifle is the standard issue rifle for the British Army. As such, it will be the primary weapon used by Military Provost Guard Service soldiers whilst carrying out armed guarding duties, as it currently is for Ministry of Defence police officers and full engagement soldiers. In appropriate cases, the 9mm Browning pistol may be issued.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the rules of engagement to be employed by the Military Provost Guard Service personnel. [11291]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: I have decided to withhold the information requested under exemption 1 of the code of practice on access to Government information relating to defence, security and international relations."

Northern Ireland

Targeting Social Need Policy

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the role of the targeting social need policy initiative in education in respect of community differentials. [10941]

The Department's targeting social need policy focuses on the targeting of additional resources at those schools with the greatest need in terms of social and educational disadvantage, regardless of the community to which those schools or their pupils belong. Just over 60 per cent. of TSN funding allocated to schools under the local management of schools arrangements goes to Catholic maintained schools, and that is a reflection of the additional identified need in those schools.

Further Education Colleges

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision has been made for the costs of redundancies under his proposals for the incorporation of further education colleges; and upon whom such costs will fall. [10942]

Discussions are taking place with education and library boards on the transfer of resources and functions; these include the staffing implications of the transfers. Decisions have yet to be made on the financial arrangements in the event of any redundancies.

School Rolls

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the current total school rolls at (a) primary and (b) secondary level; and what forecast he has made of school rolls at primary and secondary level in (i) five and (ii) 10 years time. [10944]

The information requested is as follows:

	Primary enrolemnts	Secondary enrolements
1995–96 (actual)	185,413	150,888
2000–01 (projected)	173,721	154,223
2005–06 (projected)¹	n/a	n/a
¹ School population projections are made only for seven years beyond actual enrolments.

Motor Cyclist Fatalities

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to record and publish the age of motor cyclist fatalities and the size of motor cycle involved. [11201]

The number of motor cyclist fatalities, broken down by age and gender, is published in the Royal Ulster Constabulary's "Road Traffic Accident Statistics" annual report. The relevant breakdown by age from the 1995 report is given below.The size of the motorcycles involved in the fatalities are not currently published although the following categories are held on the RUC traffic database and are available on request: moped, motorcycle under 125cc and motorcycle 125cc or above. It is not the intention to publish this as a separate entry.

Road users killed and injured, by age 1995
	Pedestrians		Drivers of motor vehicles		Motor cyclists		Pedal cyclists
Age	K	I	K	I	K	I	K	I
Under 5	1	115	—	—	—	—	—	12
5–10	4	263	—	—	—	—	1	109
11–15	4	204	—	3	—	1	—	82
16–19	3	97	4	421	—	31	—	23
20–24	—	77	10	948	1	65	—	29
25–34	3	114	12	1,757	2	64	1	65
35–44	6	69	6	1,052	3	35	—	28

Road users killed and injured, by age 1995
	Pedestrians		Drivers of motor vehicles		Motor cyclists		Pedal cyclists
Age	K	I	K	I	K	I	K	I
45–54	3	67	4	650	1	17	1	14
55–59	2	24	2	189	—	3	—	8
60–64	6	25	3	119	—	2	—	6
65 and over	15	127	7	261	1	2	1	5
Totals	47	1,182	48	5,400	8	240	4	381

	Passengers ¹		Pillion passengers		Drivers and passengers of "other" vehicles		Total
Age	K	I	K	I	K	I	K	I
Under 5	5	210	—	—	—	—	6	337
5–10	3	346	—	2	—	—	8	720
11–15	1	346	—	1	—	6	5	643
16–19	5	613	—	3	—	7	12	1,195
20–24	6	665	—	10	—	3	18	1,797
25–34	5	951	1	8	—	22	24	3,001
35–44	1	399	—	—	—	6	16	1,589
45–54	3	306	—	—	—	3	12	1,057
55–59	2	111	—	—	—	6	6	341
60–64	—	110	—	—	—	—	8	262
65 and over	5	241	—	—	—	3	29	639
Totals	36	4,298	1	24	—	56	144	11,581
¹ Includes pedal cycle passengers.

Northern Ireland Water

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to privatise Northern Ireland water. [11167]

Privatisation of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland remains the Government's ultimate goal, although it is not practicable for several years. As an interim step, the Water Service has been established as an executive agency from 1 April 1996 which will enable it to improve its commercial orientation.

Public Bodies

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the changes he has made in the financial provision for the headquarters administration of non-departmental public bodies. [10984]

The planned provision for administration for the main non-departmental public bodies is expected to fall overall by about 2 per cent. next year compared with the previous 1997–98 plans. I expect these reductions to be absorbed through improved efficiency, without affecting services.

Central Appointments Unit Central Register

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if a copy of the central appointments unit central register has been made available to (i) the Irish side of the Anglo-Irish secretariat at Maryfield and (ii) the Irish Government. [11199]

No. The list has never been made available to the Irish side of the Anglo-Irish secretariat or to the Irish Government.

Libraries Budget

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the budget for libraries in cash and constant price terms for 1996–97 and 1997–98; what consequences this will have for the provision of services; and if he will make a statement. [10982]

Each education and library board receives a block grant and decides on the resources which the library service should be given having regard to the Government's priorities. The budget for libraries in 199697 is £25.139 million and the boards will submit their proposals for 1997–98 expenditure to the Department for approval by 31 January.In its announcement on funding for the education service, the Government have made it clear that they intend that schools, and the classroom in particular, should continue to receive priority, but in giving priority to the classroom some reductions in provision are assumed for the library service which may include a cut equivalent to £1.9 million or 50 per cent. of the budget for book purchasing for public libraries compared with 1996–97. However, the precise effect on the library service cannot be measured until the budget figures have been agreed.

Air Freight

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent to which the present level of air freight services between Northern Ireland and Great Britain meets the needs of Northern Ireland industry; and if he will make a statement. [10954]

A comprehensive assessment of the extent to which the present level of air freight services between Northern Ireland and Great Britain meets the needs of Northern Ireland industry has not been made. The present level of air freight services has not been raised as a general issue of concern by local industry.

Marches And Parades

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of policing marches and parades during 1996. [10978]

Marches and parades are largely policed as part of normal police duties, and separate costings are not held centrally; where the public order situation demands, it may be necessary to deploy additional resources, and so incur additional costs. Costs arising from the main marching season in 1996 have been estimated at some £13 million.

Fluoridation

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to fluoridate Northern Ireland's drinking water. [11168]

All four health and social services boards in Northern Ireland have sought approval to proceed with proposals to have the water supplies for their resident populations fluoridated. I am currently considering these requests with a view to making a recommendation to my right hon. and learned Friend in the very near future.

Gallaher Ltd

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what Government assistance has been given to the cigarette manufacturers Gallaher Ltd. in support of the relocation of its factory in Hyde, Tameside to Ballymena in Northern Ireland. [11162]

Gallaher Ltd. has been offered grant assistance amounting to £9,957,000 towards its rationalisation and investment costs of £46.5 million in Northern Ireland.

Personalised Number Plates (Executive Agencies)

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many personalised number plates there are in the ownership of the executive agencies operated by his Department; and if he will list them. [11410]

None.

Transport

Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce the implementation date for the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995; and if he will make a statement. [12261]

I am pleased to announce that this Act will be fully in force by 1 June 1997. It will be partially commenced on 1 March to allow regulations to be made in advance. Any person who first passes a British driving test on or after 1 June 1997 will be subject to a two-year probationary period. A driver who incurs six or more penalty points on the licence from offences committed before the end of that period will lose entitlement to a full driving licence and revert to learner status until passing another driving test, theory and practical.

Rail Services (West Coast Line)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains travelling along the west coast line to London Euston from Coventry were diverted via Northampton, for the last three months that figures are available; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the total number of trains running on the service. [11010]

This is a matter for the train operators concerned and the information is not available in the exact form requested. In the period 13 October 1996 to 24 December 1996 inclusive, of 2,004 InterCity West Coast London and West Midlands services run to London Euston on Mondays to Saturdays, 42.2 per cent.—were diverted via Northampton.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains travelling along the west coast line to (a) London Euston, (b) Birmingham and (c) Coventry (i) failed to arrive at the time advertised in the timetable and (ii) were delayed by more than 15 minutes, in the last three months for which figures are available; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the total number of trains running on the service. [11009]

This is a matter for the train operators concerned. Most of the data requested for InterCity West Coast's train services are given in the table, except where it is not available in that form.

Reliability and punctuality for InterCity West Coast train services (London and the West Midlands) 13 October-24 December 1996 inclusive
	Euston	Services to Birmingham	Coventry
Number of trains run	2,004	2,014	2,058
Number (percentage) of trains run which arrived at time advertised	1,224 (61)	1,123 (56)	831 (40)
Number (percentage) of trains run which arrived within one to 10 minutes of time advertised	443 (22)	490 (24)	809 (39)
Number (percentage) of trains run which arrived more than 10 minutes after time advertised¹	337 (17)	401 (20)	418 (20)

All data given relate to Monday to Saturday services; data for Sunday services are not readily available.All percentages are rounded to nearest whole point.

¹ Data are not readily available on services arriving more than 15 minutes after the time advertised.

Motor Cyclists

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisation his Department consulted over the implementation of the new compulsory basic training regulations for motor cyclists. [11458]

The organisations listed were sent a copy of the August 1995 consultation paper which first announced the proposed change.

Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council
Associations of Chief Police Officers (England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland)
Association of County Councils
Association of District Councils
Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers
Association of London Boroughs Road Safety Officers
Association of London Authorities
Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Automobile Association
British Motorcyclists Federation
Chartered Institute of Transport
City of London Police
Civil Service Motoring Association Ltd.
Community Transport Association London
Community Transport Services
Confederation of British Industry

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
County Road Safety Officer's Association
Disabled Drivers' Association
Disabled Drivers' Motor Club
Disabled Motorists Federation
Driving Instructors Association
General and Municipal Workers' Union
Guild of Experienced Motorists
Institute of Advanced Motorists
Institute of Professional Driving Examiners
Institute of Road Safety Officers
Joint Action Group on Motorcycle Training
Justices' Clerks Society
Learn and Live Campaign
London Boroughs Association
Magistrates Association
Motorcycle Action Group
Motorcycle Industry Association Ltd.
Motorcycle Retailers Association
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain Ltd.
National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
National Council of Inland Transport
National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union of Scotland
National Union of Civil and Public Servants
Office of the Commissioner of The Police for the Metropolis
Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety
Royal Scottish Automobile Club
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
Scottish Courts Administration
Trades Union Congress—Economic and Social Affairs Department
Transport and General Workers Union
Transport Association
United Road Transport Union
Approved Motorcycle Training Organisations—408

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice organisations, consulted on the CBT regulation for motor cyclists, gave as to the amount of time needed for rider training agencies to train and test those motor cyclists and moped riders who are affected by the recent change in legislation. [11459]

Consultees did not know the number that would be directly affected by the change, but some motor cycle industry bodies supported giving a year's notice before the change was implemented. In the light of these representations, we deferred implementation for six months until 1 January 1997, 17 months after the change was originally proposed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures were taken to publicise the changes in the CBT regulations; what information was given; when it was disseminated; and to which bodies. [11460]

Advice about the change was included in the Department of Transport's factsheet about motor cycling from February 1996, "The Driving Test" handbook from July, "The Motorcycling Manual" handbook from October, leaflets issued with driving licences since August and with vehicle tax renewals from October. Meetings were held with motor cycle industry representatives in March and July to discuss publicity arrangements. A leaflet was prepared and bulk copies supplied in May to motor cycle dealers, trainers and road safety officers. Copies were also supplied to motor insurance companies. Advice was sent to organisations teaching the "knowledge" to learner London taxi drivers in August and October. There has been considerable coverage on the television, including a piece during prime time in September, and in the national newspapers and the specialist press. Letters were sent at the start of December to some 283,000 registered keepers of small motor cycles and mopeds. We recognised that many of these would be unaffected as they held a full licence or had already taken CBT, but the letter would provide guidance were others to wish to use the motor bikes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what extra resources his Department has made available to deal with the number of people needing to take their CBT. [11461]

The Department of Transport does not directly provide CBT courses. These are provided by approved training bodies which may be commercial organisations, voluntary bodies or local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for further consultations relating to improving safety for learner motor cyclists; and if he will allow an additional three-month period for existing riders who do not have CBT to undertake training without having their licence revoked. [11462]

In October we consulted interested parties about measures to improve safety for learner motor cyclists and we are currently considering the responses. I have no plans to reintroduce a distinction in CBT rules between those who obtained their licence before 1 December 1990 and those who obtained their licence after.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will repeal the one-year ban on learner motor cyclists who fail to pass their full test within two years of being granted a provisional licence. [11463]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Mr. Banks) on 12 November 1996, Official Report, column 115.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further changes to the motor cyclist licensing requirements he proposes to introduce; and what form these will take. [11464]

A wide-ranging consultation paper about motor cycle training was issued in October 1996 and I shall consider possible changes to training in the light of responses.

Land Compensation Act 1973

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will amend the Land Compensation Act 1973 to lay a statutory duty on county councils to invite individual claims for compensation from persons whose property may be diminished in value by physical factors arising out of public infrastructure works. [11878]

I have been asked to reply.The interdepartmental working group on blight is currently looking at a range of issues related to losses arising during the various stages of major infrastructure development. I will look with care at any recommendations for changes to legislation which it may make.

Overseas Development Administration

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held recently with his EU counterparts regarding the future of UNIDO. [11892]

Officials from EU missions met last week in Vienna in order to make a preliminary assessment of UNIDO's core activities. The conclusions of the group will be considered by the EU working group on the UN in Brussels on 23 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons he commissioned an Overseas Development Administration report on UNIDO in 1996; and what was the cost of that report. [11894]

We commissioned an external assessment of UNIDO's policies and performance in order to help us reach a view on its continued relevance and value as a development agency. The assessment cost £75,500.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received regarding UNIDO. [11891]

Following the announcement on 9 December of our intention to withdraw from UNIDO, we have received communications from the chair of the G77 and China in New York, the representative of the British staff in UNIDO and the Federation of International Civil Servants' Associations. Four letters from hon. Members of this House have also been received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the value of the work of UNIDO. [11893]

As we made clear in our letter of withdrawal to the Secretary-General of the UN, and in a parallel letter to the Director-General of UNIDO, we recognise the value of some of the work of UNIDO but have concluded that there is no longer a case for a separate UN institution for industrial development. We believe this work should be carried out in a more broadly based UN development agency.

Angola

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress of the peace process in Angola. [11841]

The peace process is at a crucial stage. During her recent visit, my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development urged the Angolan Government and UNITA to complete the outstanding provisions of the Lusaka protocol. We hope that a Government of unity and national reconciliation will be formed on 25 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the reasons for UNAVEM III's withdrawal—the United Nationals Angola verification mission—from Angola. [11842]

UN Security Council resolution 976 of 8 February 1995, which authorised the establishment of UNAVEM III, envisaged completion of its mandate by February 1997. The Security Council's decision in resolution 1087 of 11 December 1996 to authorise the gradual and progressive withdrawal of UNAVEM reflected the recent positive steps in the peace process including the UN Secretary-General's special representative's declaration in December 1996 that UNITA had completed its military commitments under the Lusaka protocol.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he makes of the effect of the withdrawal of UNAVEM III on the peace process in Angola. [11843]

We are working with other Security Council members to ensure that UNAVEM III and any successor UN presence remains in place for long enough to safeguard the success of the peace process.

Bangladesh

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been given by Her Majesty's Government to (a) the Government of Bangladesh and (b) (i) British and (ii) international non-governmental organisations working in Bangladesh to assist the Biharis in Bangladesh; and if he will make a statement. [11247]

Since 1990, Her Majesty's Government have provided bilateral assistance totalling £770,000 for health and education projects involving Bihari communities in Bangladesh. As part of the Overseas Development Administration's support for the fourth health and population project of the Government of Bangladesh, £164,596 has been spent in support of reproductive health and child nutrition activities by the Al-Falah model clinic in the Geneva camp. Through ODA's joint funding scheme, the British non-governmental organisation Concern Worldwide had received £607,957 for primary education projects.

Social Security

Accord Information Technology System

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the estimated (a) start-up costs and (b) annual costs for the new accord information technology system. [10513]

The information is not yet available as work to define the new systems has not yet reached the stage where service providers can submit technical solutions, and thus predict costs.

Income Support

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases of error in the calculation of income support for mortgage interest payments were identified in the 1994 review of such cases; and what was the average and total amount of error involved. [10815]

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

Estimated cost/saving and numbers gaining from reducing the family credit taper (1997–98)
Taper	Family credit	Housing benefit	Council tax benefit	Income support/jobseeker's allowance (income-based)	Net cost	Number of gainers
60 per cent.	+£290 million	-£20 million	-£5 million	-£5 million	+ 260 million	585,000
50 per cent.	+£730 million	-£40 million	-£10 million	-£5 million	+ 675 million	770,000

1. Estimates are based on the 1994–95 family resources survey, uprated to 1997–98 prices and benefit levels.2. Estimates of costs are rounded to the nearest £5 million.3. Estimates of gainers are rounded to the nearest 5,000.

Housing Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the savings to his Department resulting from each of the changes to (a) restrict the amount of housing benefit payable on rents above the local reference level of 50 per cent. of the difference, (b) calculate housing benefit on the basis of single room rent levels for people aged under 25 years and (c) introduce payment of housing benefit in arrears. [10974]

The information is set out in the table:

£ million
	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99
Restricting the amount of housing benefit payable on rents above the local reference level of 50 per cent.	58	113	141
Calculating housing benefit on the basis of single room rent levels for people aged under 25	13	57	62
Paying housing benefit in arrears	105	120	75

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average amount of (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit payable to claimants (i) with earnings from employment, (ii) also receiving family credit and (iii) also receiving disability working allowance. [10975]

The information is as follows:

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. John Denham, dated 20 January 1997: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking, how many cases of error in the calculation of Income Support for mortgage interest payments were identified in the 1994 review of such cases; and what was the average and total amount of error involved.

As a result of the National Audit Office report a full review of the housing cost element of all Income Support cases was undertaken in 1994.

At the end of June 1995 the review exercise had identified 308,590 cases in error, the total value being £85,505,632. Of that £77,865,018 were overpayments and £7,640,614 underpayments. Therefore the average value of error was £277.08.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

Family Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of (a) the cost and (b) the numbers gaining from reducing the family credit taper to (i) 60 per cent. and (ii) 50 per cent. [10989]

The information is set out in the table.

Average amount of housing benefit/council tax benefit (May 1995)
	Housing benefit £	Council tax benefit £
With earnings from employment	31.99	4.98
Also receiving family credit	30.98	4.49
Also receiving disability working allowance	27.81	5.33

Source:

Housing benefit management information system, 1 per cent, annual sample inquiry for housing benefits/council tax benefits recipients not in receipt of income support, for Great Britain taken at the end of May 1995.

Note:

This analysis has only provided the weekly amount of benefit for those who do not also receive income support. There are cases where housing benefit/council tax benefit recipients with income support who also have earnings from employment, family credit and disability working allowance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the most recently available figure for the housing benefit live load in each district of Northamptonshire; and what are the costs involved. [11076]

The information is set out in the table.

Northamptonshire local authority district	Number of housing benefit recipients (1995–96 average)	Housing benefit expenditure costs (1995–96) £
Corby	5,230	8,964,000
Daventy	2,860	5,091,000

Northamptonshire local authority district	Number of housing benefit recipients (1995–96 average)	Housing benefit expenditure costs (1995–96) £
East Northants	3,690	6,949,000
Kettering	4,680	9,778,000
Northampton	14,030	30,549,000
South Northants	2,710	5,563,000
Wellingborough	4,720	8,639,000

Sources:

1. DSS local authority expenditure claim forms.

2. Department of the Environment local authority expenditure claim forms.

3. DSS housing benefit management information system.

Child Support Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a month by month breakdown of the benefit savings achieved by the Child Support Agency from April 1994 to the latest month available using the same headings as in his answer of 19 July 1995, Official Report, columns 501–502. [9961]

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Benefit savings—1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995
(£ million)
Category of benefit savings	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	January	February	March	Total 1994–95
Resulting from pre-CSA assessments:
Paid direct by absent parent to parent with care	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.59	10.23	10.42	9.84	10.41	10.16	8.76	9.11	119.52
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	1.25	1.10	0.99	0.93	0.71	0.68	0.46	-0.011	0.34	0.51	0.031	0.006	6.996
Resulting from CSA assessments:
Paid direct by absent parent to parent with care	0.80	0.80	0.80	0.80	1.46	1.37	1.13	1.23	1.01	1.08	1.29	1.99	13.76
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	1.78	1.82	2.36	3.08	3.43	3.75	3.53	4.30	3.88	4.52	5.85	9.65	47.95
Deductions from absent parent's IS payments	0.037	0.045	0.052	0.11	0.20	0.17	0.23	0.30	0.24	0.17	0.37	0.46	2.384
Income support claim cessations:
Maintenance exceeds rate of benefit	1.66	1.23	2.36	4.24	2.33	1.60	1.31	2.62	1.52	1.57	1.85	1.55	23.84
Income support claim withdrawn within four weeks of CSA action	18.80	19.92	21.14	14.90	15.40	16.45	17.26	17.13	11.15	13.81	15.10	18.47	199.53
Reductions in Family Credit or Disability Working Allwoance resulting from CSA assessments	Monthly breakdown not available												12.84
Housing Benefit/Council Tax reductions resulting from CSA assessments	Monthly breakdown not available												52.25
Total	34.327	34.915	37.702	34.06	34.12	34.25	34.34	35.409	28.55	31.82	33.251	41.236	479.07

Letter from A. Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 January 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency benefit savings.

In my reply to you of 12 June 1995, Official Report, col 492, I gave a breakdown of the benefit savings collected from 1 April 1994 up to 31 March 1995. I then wrote to you on 22 November 1995, Official Report, col 231–232, where I gave updated figures to 30 September 1995. In my further reply of 7 December 1995, Official Report, col 435–438, I provided a month by month breakdown of benefit savings for the period 1 April 1994 to 30 September 1995.

In preparing this response, it has become apparent that some figures previously quoted now require amendment. The attached tables show the revisions where necessary, covering the full period specified in your question. In 1995/95, Departmental statisticians examined benefit savings arising from reductions in Family Credit as a result of CSA assessments, and from the withdrawal of Income Support claims within four weeks of CSA action. They concluded that in each case the savings were being under counted. As a consequence, it has been necessary to make retrospective adjustments to the 1995/96 figures in those two categories.

You should also note that 1995/96 and 1996/97 figures for Family Credit and Housing Benefit are now available on a month by month basis. (This was not the case for 1994/95.)

I hope this is helpful.

Benefit savings—1 April 1994 to 31 March 1996
(£ million)
Category of benefit savings	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	January	February	March	Total 1995–96
Resulting from pre-CSA assessment:
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	0.25	0.19	0.29	0.40	0.21	0.24	0.24	0.16	0.10	0.25	0.41	0.05	2.79
Resulting from CSA and pre-CSA assessment:
Paid direct by absent parent to parent with care	10.67	11.19	10.83	11.08	11.19	10.74	10.78	10.31	10.21	10.20	9.49	10.09	126.78
Resulting from CSA assessment:
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	4.11	5.58	5.36	4.73	5.16	5.21	4.68	6.68	5.24	7.98	5.88	7.51	68.12
Deductions from absent parent's IS payments	0.45	0.87	0.73	0.68	0.72	0.73	-1.41	0.33	0.28	0.24	0.29	0.41	4.32
Income Support claim cessations:
Maintenance exceeds rate of benefit	0.96	0.75	0.62	0.63	0.77	0.57	0.71	0.73	0.48	0.84	0.48	0.54	8.08
Income Support claim withdrawn within four weeks of CSA action	14.55	16.97	16.87	13.85	14.99	17.09	18.73	18.80	10.33	13.08	13.35	12.09	180.70
Reductions in Family Credit or Disability Working Allowance resulting from CSA assessments	3.00	3.07	3.36	2.88	2.80	3.39	3.78	3.82	2.15	3.73	3.80	4.18	39.96
Housing Benefit/Council Tax reductions resulting from CSA assessments	4.91	5.86	5.88	4.69	5.16	5.93	6.40	6.45	3.58	4.50	4.63	4.19	62.18
Total	38.90	44.48	43.94	38.94	41.00	43.90	43.91	47.28	32.37	40.82	38.33	39.06	492.93

Benefit savings—1 April 1996 to 30 November 1996 (£ million, rounded to two decimal points)
Category of benefit savings	April 1996	May 1996	June 1996	July 1996	August 1996	September 1996	October 1996	November 1996	1996–97 YTD
Resulting from pre-CSA assessments:
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	0.07	0.07	0.07	0.04	0.07	0.05	0.07	0.05	0.48
Resulting from CSA and pre-CSA assessments:
Paid direct by absent parent to parent with care	9.65	10.00	9.65	9.94	9.98	9.43	9.35	8.87	76.87
Resulting from CSA assessments:
Paid through Agency collection service to SoS	7.12	7.57	7.33	8.09	7.23	7.80	8.88	7.88	61.89
Deductions from absent parent's I S payments	0.20	0.33	0.34	0.32	0.50	0.41	0.48	0.65	3.23
Income support claim cessations:
Maintenance exceeds rate of benefit	0.44	0.47	0.35	0.52	0.40	0.50	0.69	0.56	3.92
Income support claim withdrawn within four weeks of CSA action	10.35	13.01	11.70	12.33	12.75	13.56	16.94	14.37	105.00
Reductions in family credit or disability working allowance resulting from CSA assessments	4.00	4.16	3.52	3.78	3.32	4.33	5.09	4.58	32.80
Housing benefit/council tax reductions resulting from CSA assessments	3.61	4.46	4.02	4.17	4.35	4.71	5.80	4.93	36.04
Total	35.43	40.07	36.98	39.18	38.59	40.79	47.28	41.89	320.21

Due to rounding, in-month figures do not necessarily sum exactly to in-month or year-to-date totals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the figures on revenue collected by the Child Support Agency in his answer of 29 November 1995, Official Report, columns 742–43, with reference to the latest available data and indicating for each month since 1995, (a) the amount of revenue demanded attributable to type A interim assessments and (b) the amount offsetting state funds. [9965]

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from A. Chant to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 20 January 1997:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about that element of child support maintenance that is paid via the Agency.

The available information on maintenance scheduled for payment and collected by the Agency is set out in the attached table, together with how much of the maintenance collected by the Agency each month has offset benefit spending.

In addition, between October 1995 and March 1996, £76.89 million arising from Agency assessments was paid directly between parents who do not use the Agency's collection service. The figure for the current financial year, to the end of November 1996, is £95.68 million.

Information on the amount of revenue attributable to Type 'A' interim maintenance assessments is not currently available.

I hope this is helpful.

Annex A: Maintenance scheduled for payment and collected by the agency
£ million
	Assessed and scheduled for payments via Agency collection service	Paid Agency collection service	Amount collected via Agency which offsets benefit spending
1995–96
October	39.63	11.81	4.67
November	39.30	11.86	6.68
December	45.55	11.22	5.24
January	38.41	14.89	7.98
February	38.21	13.69	5.88
March	33.93	14.85	7.51
Total, October 1995 to March 1996	235.03	78.32	37.96
1996–97
April	39.44	16.80	7.12
May	43.01	18.42	7.57
June	34.28	17.15	7.33
July	36.04	19.67	8.09
August	37.64	19.15	7.22
September	33.46	19.67	7.80
¹October	24.49	21.50	8.88
November	20.52	21.67	7.88
Total, year to date 1996–97	268.88	²154.03	61.89
¹ From October 1996 the functionality of Child support computer system was enhanced; figures no longer include suspended maintenance amounts.
² Excludes amounts for unobligated, unassigned and future pay.

Cold Weather Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cold weather payments have been made during the recent cold spell to recipients in Northamptonshire. [11786]

The administration of the social fund is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Sir Peter Fry, dated 20 January 1997:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting information on how many Cold Weather Payments have been made during the recent cold spell to recipients in Northamptonshire.

The information is not available in the format requested. Statistics are kept for Benefits Agency (BA) Districts and not by regions. The Northamptonshire District consists of the BA offices at Northampton, Corby and Wellingborough.

During the recent cold spell 51,611 automatic payments were issued to those customers covered by the Northamptonshire District.

I hope you find this reply helpful.

Trade And Industry

Fireworks

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the meetings he held between 21 November and 19 December 1996 with individuals and organisations making representations for or against proposals to ban aerial shells and similar fireworks from general sale to the public. [11041]

[holding answer 16 January 1997]: In addition to considering a large volume of representations relating to aerial shells, I met two representatives form the firework industry between 21 November and 19 December.

Carpet Sales (Measurement)

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he introduced legislation requiring carpets to be sold only by the square metre. [11770]

The Price Marking Order 1991 was amended in 1994 by the Price Marking (Amendment) Order 1994 to require the unit price of products sold by area to be given by reference to the square metre. The unit price may also be given in imperial units, provided that they are not displayed more prominently than the metric units.

Out-Of-Town Supermarkets

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the impact on small,independent traders of the increase in the number of out-of-town supermarkets. [11957]

The number of small retailers has declined in recent years, with some of this reduction being the result of the increase in out-of-town shopping facilities.

However, the Government have taken steps to assist small retailers in many ways, including through tougher retail planning policy guidelines, help with inner-city regeneration and security such as closed circuit television, and the general measures of deregulation and support for small firms. Many small retailers have also shown that they are able to compete and succeed in competition with bigger retailers.

Telecommunications

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to implement a telecommunications key escrow in the United Kingdom. [12018]

As stated in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Luff) on 10 June 1996, Official Report, columns 13–14, I published a paper outlining Government policy on the provision of encryption services on public networks.Officials within my Department are currently preparing a more detailed consultation paper which we intend to publish early this year. A consultation period will precede proposals for legislation.

Eu Funding

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the total payments made to the UK under the European Union's European regional development fund and the European social fund in each year since 1988. [11789]

[holding answer 20 January 1997]: Payments made to the UK under the European Union's European regional development fund and European social fund in each year since 1988 are shown in the table.

£ million
Year	ERDF	ESF
1988	369	272
1989	347	406
1990	440	225
1991	370	618
1992	556	437
1993	425	589
1994	608	321
1995	436	756
1996¹	822	805
¹ 1996 figures are forecasts, earlier years are outturn.

Inward Investment

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that have been created directly and indirectly as a result of direct inward investment into the United Kingdom since 1979, or since some later date in respect of which an estimate can be made. [11490

[holding answer 17 January 1997]: According to figures notified to my Department's Invest in Britain Bureau for the financial years 1979 to 1996, over 366,000 new jobs are associated with decisions to invest in the UK. The Department does not have complete and accurate information on the additional number of indirect jobs created as a result of inward investment over this period.

Wales

Grants To Businesses

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the value of grants awarded to (a) inward investors, (b) existing indigenous Welsh companies and (c) new indigenous Welsh companies in the last three years for each constituency in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [11184]

The information is not available in the form requested. Regional selective assistance is the main form of grant aid available for companies wishing to pursue investment projects in Wales. The following table lists the value of RSA grant paid to United Kingdom owned and foreign owned companies between January 1994 and December 1996, for those constituencies which lie either wholly or partly within the assisted area. The figures include residual grant payments to projects which are located in area which are no longer assisted, following the revision of the assisted area map in August 1993.

	Value of RSA payments (£)
Constituency	UK owned	Foreign owned
Aberavon	732,591	2,545,000
Alyn and Deeside	5,489,725	4,497,500
Blaenau Gwent	9,482,655	3,156,425
Brecon and Radnor	1,000,259	—
Bridgend	685,500	1,710,000
Caernarfon	541,500	280,000
Caephilly	5,407,500	1,402,500
Cardiff Central	2,237,095	1,370,000
Cardiff North	551,696	125,000
Cardiff South and Penarth	678,220	12,000
Cardiff West	27,500	—
Carmarthen	253,000	—
Ceredigion and Pembroke North	171,000	587,500
Clwyd North West	3,016,500	—
Clwyd South West	502,800	1,753,095
Conwy	358,000	86,000
Cynon Valley	2,017,730	410,760
Delyn	3,779,135	2,095,000
Gower	80,945	1,840,956
Islwyn	2,538,000	12,227,210
Llanelli	1,183,320	1,981,668
Meirionnydd Nant Conwy	351,000	540,000
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney	4,076,986	2,498,000
Monmouth	650,000	1,479,500
Neath	1,206,738	1,500,000
Newport East	4,363,690	3,488,000
Newport West	585,000	612,000
Ogmore	3,926,820	9,271,250
Pembroke	1,075,875	329,500
Pontypridd	5,482,750	9,824,286
Rhondda	2,316,500	232,500
Swansea East	1,539,258	193,000
Swansea West	836,500	863,000
Torfaen	4,857,500	1,089,000
Vale of Glamorgan	205,313	6,172,000
Wrexham	3,737,176	3,195,000
Ynys Mon	3,388,500	1,516,030
Total	79,334,277	78,883,680

Other forms of financial assistance are available, including Mid Wales Development grant which is administered by local authorities in the area covered by the Development Board for Rural Wales.

Meningitis

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many cases of (i) A, (ii) B, (iii) C and (iv) Y-type meningitis were diagnosed in Wales last year; and how many were fatal; [9758](2) how many cases of (i) A, (ii) B, (iii) C and (iv) Y-type meningitis within the Bro Taf health authority area

(a) were diagnosed last year, (b) have occurred in the current year to date and (c) were fatal in each year. [9759]

A total of 251 cases of meningococcal disease were reported to the communicable disease surveillance centre, Wales in 1996, of which 138 were meningococcal meningitis and 113 were meningococcal septicaemia.Data from the meningococcal reference laboratory on the typing of cases from Wales are available only to 12 December 1996. They are shown in the following table for the 115 samples which were referred.

Meningococcal Reference Laboratory (Manchester PHL) data reported to CDSC Colindale for isolates of Neisseria meningitides from Wales (to 12 December 1996)
Organism	Number
Type A	0
Type B	68
Type C	42
Type Y	1
Other	4
Unknown	0
Total	115

Ninety-seven cases of meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia were reported to Bro Taf health authority between 1 January 1996 and 8 January 1997 as shown in the following table.

Cases of meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in Bro Taf 1 January 1996 to 8 January 1997
Type	Number
Group A—laboratory data	0
Group B—laboratory data	8
Group C—laboratory data	4
Ungrouped	16
Unknown	69
Total	97

1. Data from Bro Taf health authority infection control unit.2. Laboratories and clinicians are encouraged to report promptly, before sub-typing is necessarily known.3. In some cases sub-typing is not possible.4. Data for period 1 January 1996 to 31 March 1996 are combined data for Mid and South Glamorgan health authorities.Laboratories do not know whether a case has resulted in fatality. Fatalities would normally be around 10 per cent, of cases. However, data notified to the Office for National Statistics based on death certificates report one death in 1995 and one during the period January to June 1996.

The latest available Office for National Statistics data, taken from death certificates, are as follows:

Fatalities from meningococcal infection (including meningococcal meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia)
Year	Bro Taf	Wales
1995	2	8
1996 to end June	0	5

North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what plans he has to meet representatives of the North Wales health authority to discuss revenue funding for the proposed north Wales cancer treatment centre; [11207](2) what assessment he has made of the ability of North Wales health authority to fund the revenue costs of the proposed cancer treatment centre. [11205]

My right hon. Friend has no plans to meet the health authority. Welsh Office officials are discussing revenue funding with the health authority and an announcement will be made shortly.

North Wales Ambulance Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the performance targets set for the North Wales Ambulance Service. [11670]

The standard set for Conwy, Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey is that in response to a 999 call an emergency ambulance should arrive at the scene of the incident within eight minutes for 50 per cent. of calls and within 21 minutes for 95 per cent. The corresponding times for Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham are eight minutes and 18 minutes.

Gp Fundholders

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the percentage of general practitioners who are fundholders in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [11673]

Fifty-two per cent. of general practitioners in Wales are fundholders covering 52 per cent. of the population.

Church Commissioners

Cergy (Full Incumbents)

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, how many clergy enjoying full incumbent status are aged (a) over 70 years and (b) over 80 years. [11073]

At 31 December 1996, there were 31 ministers of incumbent status aged 70 or over, of whom 12 were aged 80 or over.

Suffragan Bishops

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners if he will list (a) those suffragan bishops for whose salaries the commissioners are responsible, with their dates of appointments, (b) such suffragan sees as are currently vacant and (c) those assistant bishops for whose salaries the commissioners are responsible. [11071]

The suffragan and full-time assistant bishops whose stipends the commissioners are empowered to pay and their dates of appointment are as follows:

See	Suffragan see	Bishop's name	Date of appointment
Birmingham	Aston	John Austin	3 September 1992
Blackburn	Burnley	Martyn Jarrett	2 February 1994
	Lancaster	John Nicholls	25 April 1990
Bristol	Swindon	Michael Doe	29 September 1994
Canterbury	Dover	Richard Llewellin	9 October 1992
	Maidstone	Gavin Reid	9 October 1992
	Ebbsfleet	John Richards	29 April 1994
	Richborough	Edwin Barnes	20 July 1995
Carlisle	Penrith	Richard Garrard	21 September 1994
Chelmsford	Barking	Roger Sainsbury	17 January 1991
	Colchester	Edward Holland	5 January 1995
	Bradwell	Laurie Green	23 February 1993
Chester	Birkenhead	Michael Langrish	2 March 1993
	Stockport	Geoffrey Turner	21 September 1994
Chichester	Horsham	Lindsay Urwin	30 November 1993
Coventry	Warwick	Anthony Priddis	3 July 1996
Derby	Repton	Henry Richmond	30 January 1986
Durham	Jarrow	Alan Smithson	21 September 1990
Ely	Huntingdon	John Flack	8 January 1997
Exeter	Crediton	Richard Hawkings	2 July 1996
	Plymouth	John Garton	3 July 1996
Glucester	Tewkesbury	John Went	25 January 1996
Gildford	Dorking	Ian Brackley	25 January 1996
Hereford	Ludlow	John Saxbee	29 April 1994
Lichfield	Shrewsbury	David Hallatt	22 July 1994
	Stafford	Christopher Hill	7 March 1996
	Wolverhampton	Michael Bourke	29 September 1993
Lincoln	Grantham	William Ind	23 October 1987
	Grimsby	David Tustin	25 January 1979
Liverpool	Warrington	John Packer	13 November 1996
London	Fulham	John Broadbent	25 September 1996
	Kensington	Michael Colclough	25 September 1996
	Stepney	John Sentamu	25 September 1996
	Willesden	Graham Dow	22 May 1992
	Edmonton	Brian Masters	20 December 1984
Manchester	Hulme	Colin Scott	13 September 1984
	Middleton	Stephen Venner	2 February 1994
	Bolton	David Bonser	13 September 1991
Newcastle	Assistant Bishop	Kenneth Gill	1 September 1980
Norwich	Lynn	David Conner	2 February 1994
	Thetford	Hugo de Waal	17 January 1992
Oxford	Buckingham	Colin Bennetts	29 April 1994
	Dorchester	Anthony Russell	2 February 1988

	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Diocesan bishops	482,087	706,433	494,322	469,947	645,155	660,897	314,192	480,653	732,103	678,457
Suffragan and full-time assistant bishops	136,160	427,608	204,161	684,680	591,468	80,323	2,557	3,815	31,113	27,202

No new moneys were made available for grants for the housing of suffragan and full-time assistant bishops from 1991.

See	Suffragan see	Bishop's name	Date of appointment
Peterborough	Brixworth	Paul Barber	25 January 1989
Ripon	Knaresborough	Malcolm Menin	2 December 1986
Rochester	Tonbridge	Brian Smith	2 November 1993
St. Albans	Bedford	John Richardson	23 February 1994
	Hertford	Robin Smith	25 January 1990
St. Edmunds and Ipswich	Dunwich	Tim Stevens	17 November 1995
Salisbury	Ramsbury	Peter Vaughan	21 April 1989
	Sherborne	John Kirkham	1 December 1976
Sheffield	Doncaster	Michael Gear	2 March 1993
Southwark	Kingston	Martin Wharton	3 November 1992
	Woolwich	Colin Buchanan	1 December 1996
	Croydon	Wilfred Wood	25 July 1985
Southwell	Sherwood	Alan Morgan	1 September 1989
Truro	St. Germans	Graham James	23 February 1993
Wakefield	Pontefract	John Finney	14 May 1993
Winchester	Basingstoke	Geoffrey Rowell	2 February 1994
	Southampton	Jonathan Gledhill	20 November 1996
Worcester	Dudley	Rupert Hoare	29 September 1993
York	Hull	James Jones	2 November 1994
	Selby	Humphrey Taylor	1 September 1991
	Whitby	Gordon Bates	9 June 1983
	Beverley	John Gaisford	7 March 1994
Europe	in Europe	Henry Scriven	9 February 1995

The following suffragan sees are currently vacant, one of which will be filled by the person named:

See	Suffragan See	Bishop's name
Bath and Wells	Taunton	Not yet announced
Chichester	Lewes	Not yet announced
Oxford	Reading	Canon Dominic Walker

Bishops (Expenses)

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, what has been the Church Commissioners' expenditure for the payment of bishops' capital expenses in each year since 1986. [10948]

The following figures for diocesan bishops' houses, which include both a chapel and office accommodation for bishops' staff, show the total capital expenditure, excluding fees, from 1986 to 1995, the last year for which figures are currently available. The figures, at December 1995 prices, are net of sale proceeds of any surplus property and also include the purchases of property where appropriate.As suffragan and full-time assistant bishops' houses are owned by diocesan boards of finance full details of all capital expenditure are not available, but capital grants made by the commissioners are shown.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, what has been the Church Commissioners' expenditure for the payment of bishops' revenue expenses in each year since 1986. [10949]

The table shows the total revenue expenditure from 1986 to 1995, the last date for which figures are currently available, at December 1995 prices. The figures for diocesan bishops' houses include expenditure on furnishings and gardens, but exclude fees and are net of rental income for accommodation not occupied by bishops.

	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Diocesan bishops	1,438,666	1,325,950	1,482,657	1,316,418	1,616,873	1,661,259	1,405,465	1,487,894	1,744,283	1,417,489
Suffragan and full-time assistant bishops	172,761	124,340	179,326	189,973	172,698	126,810	113,048	187,134	154,205	206,745
Bishops' administrative costs	4,724,549	5,121,197	5,439,570	5,565,365	6,278,517	6,718,993	6,785,396	7,060,791	7,199,430	7,414,000

Prime Minister

Bletchley Park

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the current ownership of Bletchley park. [12031]

The freehold of Bletchley park is owned in part by the Secretary of State for the Environment and in part by British Telecommunications.

Sellafield

To ask the Prime Minister when he was first notified of the current proposals by UK Nirex Ltd. to build a rock characterisation laboratory near Sellafield. [11915]

I was made aware of the proposals in September 1992. UK Nirex Ltd. made them public in October 1992 when it published a consultative document outlining the rock characterisation facility concept.

Engagements

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 21 January. [10662]

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 21 January. [10663]

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

Nuclear Tests

To ask the Prime Minister how much money to date has been paid to the Australian Government in compensation for the nuclear testing carried out by the United Kingdom in the 1950s; what

The figures for suffragan and full-time assistant bishops' houses show half of the total expenditure on periodical outgoings e.g. rates, insurance and repairs, the other half of which were borne by dioceses.

The figures for bishops' administrative costs include their working expenses and staff salaries and pensions, as well as support for the archbishops' appointments secretary, the clergy appointments adviser, the archbishops' adviser for bishops' ministry and the bishops' officer for urban priority areas.

work Her Majesty's Government are currently carrying out with the Australian authorities in this area; and if he will make a statement. [11455]

No such compensation has been paid. In 1968, Australia signed an agreement with the UK confirming that the clean-up of all test sites had been completed satisfactorily. However, in the interests of wider Anglo-Australian relations, in 1993, the UK agreed to make an ex gratia payment of £20 million, and now regards the matter as closed.

Ministerial Visits

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the dates he has visited Wales since 10 April 1992 in his official capacity. [12098]

I have visited Wales on official business on the following occasions since 10 April 1992:

3–4 September 1992
11 June 1993
28 October 1994
13–14 June 1996

In addition to these, I have visited Wales on a number of occasions.

Health

Performance Targets (Ambulance Services)

11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the performance targets set for ambulance services. [10366]

The patients charter standard is that a person dialling 999 for an ambulance can expect it to arrive within 14 minutes in an urban ambulance service area or 19 minutes in a rural service area. In 1992–93 ambulances reached 2 million calls within the patients charter target, and by 1995–96 this had increased to some 2.6 million, which is 91.4 per cent. of emergency calls.

Mental Health Services

12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about mental health services. [10367]

I have received several representations from various sources including professional bodies and voluntary organisations concerned with the care of mentally ill people. I have meetings with these organisations on a regular basis.

Mental Health

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total number of admissions to psychiatric hospital via court disposals under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years. [12037]

Information on psychiatric admissions to national health service facilities is contained in the Department of Health's statistical bulletin "In-patients formally detained in hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983 and other legislation, England: 1989–90 to 1994–95"—the latest year for which information is available. Copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to psychiatric hospitals there were in each of the last five years. [12036]

The information available centrally relates to admissions under the mental illness specialties in national health service hospitals and is published in tables 5.20 and 5.21 of the publication, "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England: 1996", copies of which are available in the Library.

Gps' Lists

13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the right of general practitioners to remove patients from their list. [10368]

General practitioners' terms of service provide that a doctor may have a person removed from their list. Health authorities have powers to assign patients to a GP if they have difficulty in registering.

Community Care Services

14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of National Mencap to discuss community care services for people with learning disabilities. [10369]

I met representatives of National Mencap on 21 October 1996 to discuss a number of issues relating to community care.

Long-Term Care

15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue a national charter for long-term care. [10370]

We have no plans to do so.

Animal Experiments

16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research projects are currently being funded by his Department involving the use of animals; and what species are involved. [10371]

Eleven projects involving the use of animals are currently receiving funding from the Department. We have commissioned these projects in response to public health concerns about Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, BSE and food poisoning. Those studies chiefly involve the use of mice, but chickens and rabbits are also used. All of these projects conform to the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which is administered by the Home Office. I have placed a list of these projects in the Library.The Department also supports a range of research activity in the national health service and non-departmental public bodies, some of which involve the use of animals but detailed information on them is not held centrally.

Nhs Funding

17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to alter the basis of funding of the national health service. [10372]

None. The Government remain firmly committed to a national health service which is funded mainly from general taxation, and available to all on the basis of clinical need and regardless of ability to pay.

Dental Services

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental check-ups were carried out in Berkshire in the last year for which figures are available. [10373]

During 1995–96, payments for almost 233,000 dental examinations for adults were scheduled in the Berkshire family health services authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 166, on categories of treatment relating to dentists' pay (1) what assessment he has made of the breakdown of the (a) adult item of service percentage in the case of the highest earning national health service dentist in 1995–96 and (b) the child item of service percentage in the case of the previous years; and if he will make a statement; [12102](2) for what reasons the gross fee earnings for 1991–92 and 1994–95 indicate no amounts for capitation. [12103]

The dentist in 1995–96 is a general dental practitioner who has registered patients and receives fees for item of service treatment and registration fees. The dentist in the previous years is a general dental practitioner providing, in the main, orthodontic treatment for patients who have been referred by other general dental practitioners with whom they are registered and who receive capitation payments for them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the hon. Member for Pendle's question of 12 December 1996 on national health service dentists' earnings by decile. [12104]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 20 January 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 220, how many dental (a) assistants and (b) nurses were employed by the highest paid national health service dentists in each year between 1991–92 and 1995–96. [12106]

Information on the number of dental nurses employed by individual dentists is not available. The information available on the number of dental assistants' is in the table.

Number of assistants¹employed during the financial year
	Dental assistants¹
1991–92	3
1992–93	3
1993–94	3
1994–95	3
1995–96	6
¹ Assistants are fully qualified dentists, who do not have their own health authority contract number but work on that of a principal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 220, what were the number of dental practices listed for the highest earning national health service dentists in each year between 1991–92 and 1995–96. [12105]

To give this information would be in breach of the open government code of practice, which exempts information which could facilitate an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what current proposals he has to increase the number of dentists practising in rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [10385]

As announced in the recent White Paper, "Primary Care: Delivering The Future", the Government will make available to health authorities in England funds for selected schemes to improve the availability of general dental services in certain areas.Priority will be given to those schemes most likely to have a direct and lasting impact on the availability of national health service dentistry and which offer best value for money.

Xenotransplantation

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the report of the advisory committee on xenotransplantation. [10374]

"Animal Tissue into Humans", the report of the advisory group on the ethics of xenotransplantation was published on 16 January 1997, together with the Government's response to the report. In our response, we set out our broad agreement with the group's recommendations and the establishment of the UK Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority. Because of the complexity of the issues surrounding xenotransplantation, we have asked for comments from all interested parties during a three-month consultation period. Copies of the report and response are available in the Library.

Merton, Sutton And Wandsworth Health Authority

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the funding for 1997 for the Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth health authority. [10375]

In 1997–98 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth health authority will receive an integrated allocation of £324 million, an increase of £5.1 million in real terms. The health authority will also receive an additional £6 million in 1997–98 to help implement strategic change.

Medicinal Drugs

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new proposals he has to reduce deaths resulting from the use of medicinal drugs. [10376]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 16 April 1996, Official Report, column 504, to the recent adjournment debate, Official Report 11 December 1996, columns 379–86 he initiated and to the replies I gave him on 13 February 1996, Official Report, column 557; and 4 July 1996, Official Report, columns 493–94.

Complaints (Nhs Dentists)

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase public awareness of the complaints procedures in respect of NHS dentists. [10377]

A national health service dentist is required by the regulations covering NHS general dental services in England and Wales to

"inform his patients about the practice based complaints procedure which he operates".

A supply of public information leaflets and posters was sent to all NHS trusts, family health services authorities, community health councils and family health services practitioners for use from 1 April 1996 when the new system was implemented. In addition, leaflets and posters have been supplied to all citizens advice bureaux, main public libraries and health information service outlets. The leaflet is also available in the 11 most commonly used ethnic minority languages.

Prescription Charges

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the level of the prescription charge in 1979 at current prices. [10378]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes) on 5 November 1996, Official Report, column 496.

Hepatitis B

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to adopt a universal vaccination policy to protect children against the hepatitis B virus. [10379]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Cunningham) on 3 December 1996, Official Report, column 642.

Evidence-Based Medicine

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he is taking to promote evidence-based medicine; and if he will make a statement. [10380]

The improvement of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of national health service services is a priority for the NHS as set out in the annual priorities and planning guidance. The NHS strategy White Paper, "A Service with Ambitions" reinforces the Government's commitment to support the NHS in bridging the gap between research findings and routine clinical practice.Executive letter (96)110 about "Improving the effectiveness of clinical services" was sent to all health authorities and NHS trusts in December 1996. Copies have been placed in the Library.

Fundholders (Northamptonshire)

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of fundholding general practices in Northamptonshire in each year since fundholding commenced. [10381]

The available information on the number of fundholding practices in Northamptonshire is:

Fundholding practices in Northamptonshire FHSA¹at 1 April
Year	Number of fundholding practices
1991	3
1992	11
1993	16
1994	16
1995	21
1996	34
¹Northamptonshire health authority from 1 April 1996.

Emergency Call Services

27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of lives which could be saved every year through prioritisation of emergency 999 calls. [10382]

The steering group on ambulance performance standards suggested that prioritisation of 999 calls could help to save the lives of an additional 3,200 cardiac arrest victims a year.

Haemophiliacs

28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about creating a hardship fund for haemophiliacs infected with hepatitis C. [10383]

Since my answer to my hon. Friend on 5 December 1995, Official Report, columns 130–31, representations have included six parliamentary questions and three early-day motions. There have also been two debates in this House. In addition, Ministers have received 334 letters, one of which included a petition.

West Middlesex University Hospital

29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the scheme to rebuild the West Middlesex university hospital. [10384]

Progress on this scheme is a matter for the West Middlesex University Hospital national health service trust. The NHS executive is awaiting the full business case from the trust.

Paramedics

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by region the number of qualified paramedics per head of population. [8077]

The information requested is in the table. These figures are based on the number of ambulance paramedics recorded by the Department of Health's September 1995 non-medical work force census—the first year in which ambulance paramedics were separately identified in the census.The regional figures shown in the table should be interpreted with caution because the population figures take no account of the relative needs of the people within each region and in some cases the population served by organisations within a particular region can be greater than the population of the region itself.

NHS Hospital and Community Health Service ambulance paramedics per 10,000 head of population by NHS executive regional office areas; England 1995
	Ambulance paramedics per 10,000 head of population
England¹	1.23
Northern and Yorkshire	1.17
Trent	0.77
Anglia and Oxford	0.86
North and South Thames^{1, 2}	1.27
South and West	1.65
West Midlands	1.13
North West	1.48
¹Based on revised figures. The Department of Health's statistical bulletin: NHS hospital and community health services non-medical staff in England 1985–1995, reported that there were 6,760 ambulance paramedics in England at September 1995. However, subsequent investigation shows that figures for the London Ambulance Service included staff with partial paramedic training. With these staff excluded, there were 6,000 paramedics at September 1995.
²Figures for North and South Thames NHS executive regional office areas have been combined to allow the inclusion of figures for the London Ambulance Service.

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, for each year his Department has sponsored research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, (a) the number of projects sponsored, (b) the resources committed to the research and (c) the number of publications arising from the research; and if he will place in the Library a list of titles of all published conferences, research papers, monographs and other research reports on transmissible spongiform encephalopathy produced by or on behalf of his Department. [10627]

The Department of Health and the Scottish Office department of health jointly fund the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance unit in Edinburgh, which was set up in 1990. To date, expenditure on the unit has totalled some £1.4 million and future needs are being reviewed. The unit published an annual report, copies of which are available in the Library.Since 1993, the Department of Health has spent £0.5 million on research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. A list of projects which have received funding from the Department of Health up to 16 January 1997 is shown in the table. A new strategy for research and development into the human health aspects of TSEs has been developed since March 1996. Details were published on 11 November and have been placed in the Library.The directed programmes of relevant funders are being commissioned against the strategy, for which the Department of Health plans to make £9.5 million available over the next three years. A joint Medical Research Council-Department of Health call for proposals was advertised in the academic press in May 1996. Projects successful after shortlisting by the DH/MRC TSE research advisory group have been invited to submit full proposals, some of which have been approved and are on the point of being funded.A list of Government publications on TSEs has been placed in the Library. All researchers are expected to publish the results of their work but, in view of the long time scale of TSE research, it may be some time before projects which are current or just getting under way will be in a position to publish.

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Research projects sponsored by the Department of Health (as at 16 January 1997)
Project title	Financial years covered	Resources committed £
Autoclave decontamination standards for SE agents	1993–94 to 1995–96	339,886
Molecular genetic studies of the human prion protein gene	1995–96 to 1998–99	281,000
Strain characterisation of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by transmission to mice	1995–96 to 1998–99	62,757
Transmission of CJD to mice	1996–97 to 2000–01	890,868

Osteopaths Act 1993

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action has so far been taken to implement the provisions of the Osteopaths Act 1993; and if he will make a statement. [10964]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced the designate membership of the General Osteopathic Council on 31 January 1996, Official Report, column 812. On Tuesday 14 January 1997, following completion of preliminary work by the designate General Osteopathic Council, the first commencement order to be made under the Osteopaths Act 1993 appointed for the commencement of provisions formally bringing the General Osteopathic Council into being. On the same day, the Privy Council formally appointed the osteopathic and lay members, and three of the four education members of the council, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment formally appointed the fourth education member.The chairman and members are now embarking on the programme of work necessary to enable the statutory register of osteopaths to open in early 1998.Those appointed are as follows:

Chairman (lay member): Mr. Simon Fielding OBE

Osteopathic members (all practising osteopaths):
Dr. John G. Armitstead MA MRCP (UK) DO
Mr. John B. Barkworth DO
Miss Susan Farwell DO
Mr. Gerry Gajadharsingh DO
Mr. Maurice Hills DO
Mrs. Jane Langer DO
Mr. John Lant DO
Mrs. Susan Pawsey MSc DO
Mr. John Roberts MSc DO
Mr. Phillip Tanswell DO
Mr. Nicholas Woodhead DO

Education members:
Mr. Jonathan Hobbs DO
Mr. Gregory Sharp DO
Miss Sarah Wallace DO
Dr. Brian Jolly BSc MA(Ed) PhD

Lay members:
Mr. T. Nigel Clarke BA (Hons): Director, GLW Government Relations, and Chairman Notiondouble Ltd.
Mr. Alan Kershaw BA (Hons) MA: assistant registrar, General Medical Council
Mrs. Rita Lewis MSc(Econs): health policy consultant/lecturer, member of UKCC
Mr. David Phillips OBE BDS: dental director and secretary, the Medical Protection Society Ltd.
Mrs. Deborah Todman LLB(Hons) MRAD: barrister
Mr. Alan Lettin BSc MS FRCS: vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and a consultant orthopaedic surgeon.

Beta Interferon

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health authorities' funding allocation for the provision of beta interferon (a) in September 1996 and (b) at the latest available date. [11016]

No such allocations have been made. The costs of prescribing beta interferon are expected to be met from within health authority general allocations, having regard to local priorities.

School Milk

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet the school milk campaigners to discuss the "Hunger Within" report. [11603]

Officials met representatives of the school milk campaign on 22 October 1996 when aspects of the then forthcoming report were discussed. The SMC is in regular correspondence with the Department and with my colleagues from the Department for Education and Employment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. SMC is aware of the Government's position and a further meeting at this stage is not planned.

Behaviourally Disturbed Young People

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure the representation of (a) his Department and (b) the chief medical officer's office at the meeting arranged under the auspices of the British Association for Psychopharmacology in London on 27 January regarding prescription of medicine for behaviourally disturbed young people; and if he will make a statement. [11510]

This will depend on the availability of relevant officials. The Department arranges to keep in touch with all meetings on professional matters of significant concern.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve the detection rate of children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by child psychiatrists and paediatricians; and if he will make a statement. [11508]

Matters concerning clinical performance and effectiveness are for the bodies—including the royal colleges—responsible for professional training, accreditation and development programmes and for clinical audit at local level. The Department has funded and supported a number of initiatives aimed at highlighting the importance of identifying and treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Child Care Facilities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if Ministers are entitled to use child care facilities supported by his Department. [11590]

Ministers of the Crown are able to make use of the child care facilities provided by the Department.

Speech Therapy Services (East London)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research his Department has evaluated into the speech therapy requirements of the east London area in respect of ensuring equity of service provision within the area; [11484](2) what is the total budget for speech therapy services in

(a) Tower Hamlets, (b) Newham and (c) City and Hackney. [11485]

Assessment of need and the allocation of funding are matters for the health authorities concerned. We do not hold details centrally.

Prescribed Cannabis

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much cannabis in (a) tincture and (b) other forms was prescribed by qualified medical practitioners in each year from 1967 to 1970. [11526]

The information requested is not available.

Gp Prescription List

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what period of notice was given to GPs in England and Wales in respect of the deadline for comments on the recent list of drugs to be removed from GP prescription; how many representations were received; and what discussions his officials have had with the British Medical Association about the period of notice. [11320]

On 25 November 1996, a press release was issued announcing consultation on recommended changes to the list of products which general practitioners may not prescribe on the national health service. Comments were invited by 9 January 1997. About 200 representations have been received in response. A copy of the press release was sent to the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association and to the Royal College of General Practitioners. There have been no discussions with the BMA about the period of notice. In responding to the proposals, the BMA has asked us to notify GPs as soon as possible of any changes which may be made to the list of non-prescribable items.

Nutrition

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the findings of the Southampton university health education report, "Children Who Have No Breakfast"; and if he will make a statement. [11602]

We have not seen the report referred to. We are aware of work from Southampton university addressing the number of children who do not eat a nutritious breakfast. Breakfast can make an important contribution to the nutritional requirements of both adults and children as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Agency Nurses

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what checks his Department conducts on the qualifications of agency nursing personnel; [11709](2) what assistance his Department gives to

(a) hospital trusts and (b) health authorities in checking the qualifications of agency nursing staff. [11708]

This is a matter for local managers.

Multiple Sclerosis

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the proposed study on the outcome measures for MS will begin. [11879]

A final decision on starting this study will be made once a satisfactory protocol for outcome measures has been finalised.

Asthma

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) incidence and (b) prevalence of asthma (i) by region and (ii) nationally in each of the last five years. [12041]

This information is not available. The best available information was brought together in "Asthma: An Epidemiological Overview", produced by the central health monitoring unit of the Department of Health and published in March 1995. Copies were placed in the Library.

Public Health Laboratory Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the report on the future of the public health laboratory service. [12043]

It is not the Government's practice to publish prior options review reports. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health will make an announcement to the House on the outcome of the public health laboratory service review as soon as it has been agreed with ministerial colleagues, following which he will lodge a memorandum in the Library.

Dioxin Emissions

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health hazards associated with dioxin emissions; and if he will make a statement. [10423]

The expert advisory Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has reviewed the toxicology of dioxins on a number of occasions. A tolerable daily intake for dioxins of 10 picograms per kilogram of body weight per day was set in by the committee in 1991. Following a United States Environmental Protection Agency draft report on dioxins in September 1994, COT reviewed all the available data and concluded that the new information continued to support its earlier advice and the TDI remained unchanged.The results of the first review on dioxins were reported in "Pollution Paper No. 27: Dioxins in the Environment"—HMSO: London, 1989. Pollution papers are available in the Library.

Food Poisoning

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the recent Ecoli epidemic; what plans he has to introduce new measures to prevent such epidemics; and if he will make a statement. [10424]

An assessment of the outbreak in Scotland is being made by an expert group under the chairmanship of Professor Pennington. I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 15 January 1997, Official Report, columns 323–26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the annual number of cases of food poisoning in each year since 1980; and if he will make a statement. [10463]

The number of cases of food poisoning notified to the Office for National Statistics is published in "Series MB2 Communicable Disease Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library.

Edgware General Hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the letter from the hon. Member for Harrow, East sent to him on 6 December, if he will invoke his powers under National Health Service Acts to secure from the Barnet district health authority an extension of the range of emergency services available at Edgware general hospital, in accordance with the terms of his written undertaking to the hon. Members for Hendon, North (Sir J. Gorst) and for Harrow, East submitted on 11 June; and if he will place a copy of this letter in the Library. [10537]

I do not intend to publish private and confidential correspondence between myself and hon. Members; I have no intention of using my reserve powers under the National Health Service Acts in respect of current proposals for Edgware hospital; I believe that the decisions reached by Barnet health authority at a meeting on 25 September 1996 reflect the real commitment of the NHS to respond to the concerns of the people of Edgware.

Life Expectancy

To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent life expectancy has changed since 1979. [10661]

Life expectancy at birth in England has increased in men from 70.4 years in 1979 to 74.3 years in 1995 and in women from 76.4 years in 1979 to 79.6 years in 1995.

Gp-Prescribed Drugs

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the expenditure on general practitioner-prescribed (a) tranquilisers and (b) anti-depressants in each health district in England over the last three years and for the half year to October 1996 in cash terms as expenditure per head of resident population in each district. [11612]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 22 July 1996, Official Report, column 112. Information before 1995–96 is not held and available information for the half year to September 1996 will be placed in the Library.

Suicides

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many suicides occurred in (a) each health district in England, and (b) NHS institutions in the last three complete years, and for the half year to October 1996; and if he will express these figures as a rate per head of the population. [11616]

Details of the number of suicides in (a) each health district in England and (b) NHS facilities in the last three complete years will be placed in the Library. Data for the first half of 1996 are not yet available. For (b) it is not possible to calculate population rates because there are no hospital populations available to use as denominators.

Ambulance Trusts (Stall)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) paramedics, (b) technicians and (c) staff in total were employed by ambulance trusts in each of the last five years. [8505]

[holding answer 12 December 1996]: The information available centrally is shown in the table. Ambulance technicians are not separately identified in the Department of Health's annual non-medical work force census and paramedics were not separately identified until 1995—the latest year for which census information is available.

NHS hospital and community health services staff employed by ambulance trusts¹; England as at September 1991 to 1995
Whole-time equivalents
	Number
1991
Ambulance staff²	1,240
All staff	1,420

NHS hospital and community health services staff employed by ambulance trusts¹; England as at September 1991 to 1995
Whole-time equivalents
Number
1992
Ambulance staff²	4,620
All staff	5,320
1993
Ambulance staff²	10,260
All staff	11,810
1994
Ambulance staff²	14,960
All staff	17,160
1995
Ambulance paramedics	5,240
All staff	17,540
Notes:
¹Figures are based on trusts described as "ambulance trusts" in their title. Ambulance staff employed by other trusts e.g. whole district trusts or community trusts, are excluded. The figures exclude staff not employed in trusts e.g. directly managed units (including the London Ambulance Service).
²Ambulance staff include ambulance men and women, ambulance officers and control assistants.

Source:

Department of Health's annual non-medical work force census.

Volume 288: debated on Tuesday 21 January 1997

Written Answers To Questions

Lord Chancellor's Department

Land Registration Act 1925

Home Department

Child Sex Offenders

Domestic Burglaries

Surveillance Operations

Lethal Toxicity Tests

Criminal Conviction Certificates

Damages And Ex Gratia Payments

Office Of The Data Protection Registrar

Police Bill

Cheltenham Festival

Child Care Facilities

Taylor Inquiry

Fire Authorities

Dronabinol

Casinos

Cautions (Costs)

Cs Gas Trials

Sandwich Panels (Fire Safety)

Indonesia (Police Training)

Behaviourally Disturbed Young People

Environment

Housing (Northamptonshire)

Council Housing

Bed-And-Breakfast Accommodation

Revenue Support Grant (Sunderland)

Environmental Protection Act 1990

Granny Annexes (Council Tax)

Child Care Facilities

Household Estimates (Tyne And Wear)

Abandoned Mines

Isocyanate Compounds

Satellites

Scotland

Housing Associations

Irvine Housing Association

Science Centre

Prior Options Review

East Ayrshire Community Hospital

Education (Fees And Awards) (Scotland) Regulations

National Heritage

Nelson

Greenwich Exhibition

National Lottery (Northamptonshire)

Personalised Number Plates (Executive Agencies)

Tourism

Heritage Lottery Awards

Consultants

Attorney-General

Behaviourally Disturbed Young People

Discontinued Cases

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Eu Parliamentary Building

Angola

Arms Trafficking

Treasury

Bowel Cancer

Landfill Tax

Bathability Services

Inland Revenue Office, Salisbury

Insurance Premium Tax (Holiday Insurance)

Work Force (Barrow)

Non-Departmental Public Bodies (Expenditure)

Value Added Tax

Education And Employment

Child Care Facilities

Teachers (Early Retirement)

Student Loans

Career Development Loans

Education And The Community (Mori Research)

Ault Literacy And Numeracy

Medical School (Southern England)

Training And Enterprise Councils

Cass Sizes (Primary Schools)

National Funding Formula

Education (Fees And Awards) Regulations