To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what independent medical assessment (a) is allowed and (b) has been made of the condition of the hunger strikers at Rochester prison or moved from Rochester prison; [18473](2) if he will make a statement on the medical condition of

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: No immigration detainees at Rochester are currently refusing food. Those who do so are taken to an outside hospital if their condition gives cause for concern. Detainees who persist in food refusal clearly take risks with their health: medical records are confidential, but none of those who took part in the recent protest is currently assessed as giving cause for medical concern.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if evidence from Dr. Ed Walker was offered to the Taylor inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster; for what reasons he was not called to give oral evidence; and if he will make a statement. [18500]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: Dr. Walker did not give evidence to the Taylor inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster. The inquiry was concerned with the events at the Hillsborough stadium. The precise circumstances in which the victims died were matters for the coroner's inquest. A statement given by Dr. Walker to police on 20 July 1989 was made available to the coroner's inquest.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the penalties for those who entice children into prostitution. [18492]

The Government announced on 16 January that it had decided to carry out a review of existing maximum penalties for sex offences. This will include the offence of causing or encouraging the prostitution of a girl under 16. The purpose of the review will be to identify any anomalies in existing penalties, and to ensure that penalties properly reflect the comparative gravity of existing offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received calling for interceptions of telephone conversations involving alleged criminals to be usable as evidence in criminal trials; and if he will make a statement. [18448]

The right hon. Lord Lloyd of Berwick has raised the issue on a number of occasions, including at chapter 7 of the report of his inquiry into legislation against terrorism, where he recommended that section 9 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985 be amended so as to allow the prosecution to adduce intercepted material in cases affecting national security. That recommendation is under consideration. The views of the law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies have been sought by my Department. Otherwise, I am aware of no recent representations on the subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people (a) aged under 18 years and (b) in total were (i) arrested for, (ii) cautioned for, (iii) charged with and convicted of offences relating to knives in north Yorkshire in each of the last five years; [18261](2) how many people

Detailed data of the number of people arrested and charged are not collected centrally.Information available on the number of people cautioned, prosecuted and convicted from 1991 to 1995 is given in the tables. 1996 data will not be available until the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will review the deportation order served on Mrs. Ganiat Lasoye; [18223](2) if he will reverse the deportation order on Mrs. Ganiat Lasoye; what professional advice and from which

I am satisfied that the original deportation decision was properly based. However, in view of the exceptional compassionate circumstances, we have concluded that deportation action should not now be taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current average staff to prisoner ratio in category C prisons. [17973]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the inquest, about which the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden has written to the Oxford coroner, Nicholas Gardiner, to be reconvened; and if he will make a statement. [18103]

The date for the resumption of the inquest is a matter for the Oxfordshire coroner to decide. I understand that he hopes to list the case for hearing in early April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if a contract has been agreed to purchase the American prison ship Resolution. [17974]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish by region the residual life remaining in those parts of the trunk road network in England, including bridges, classified as condition orange and condition red for traffic congestion according to the maps produced by the national roads network assessment system for (a) 1995, (b) 2005 and (c) 2015. [17704]

[holding answer 26 February 1997]: Residual life provides a measure of the remaining strength of a road in terms of the number of years of forecast traffic loading it is estimated to be able to carry before strengthening should be considered. Even at the stage of zero residual life, the road will perform quite satisfactorily

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish by region the maintenance planned by the Highways Agency for those parts of the trunk road network in England, including bridges, classified as condition orange and condition red for traffic congestion according to the maps produced by the national roads network assessment system for (a) 1995, (b) 2005 and (c) 2015. [17705]

[holding answer 26 February 1997]: The Highways Agency's plans for future maintenance of the trunk road network have not yet been finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which body is responsible for collecting litter on the M45; and when it was last collected. [17313]

Responsibility for litter clearance on the M45 lies with the Highways Agency, which has instructed its maintenance agents to clear litter as necessary to meet the obligations imposed by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The last general litter clearance on the M45 was carried out in March 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the regulations which apply to roll-on roll-off ferries with regard to the ration of (a) lifeboats and (b) lifejackets required to the number of passengers aboard. [18685]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: For vessels built before 1 July 1986, the relevant regulations are regulations 4 and 5 of the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1980, SI No. 1980/538.For vessels built on or after 1 July 1986, the relevant regulation is regulation 5 of the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1986, SI No. 1986/1066.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 10 February, Official Report, column 70, if he will estimate the cost of answering the question of how many aircraft have been found to be overloaded in each of the past two years. [18651]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The Civil Aviation Authority audits UK airlines to ensure that their aircraft are operated within the limitations of their performance, including those limitations associated with aircraft weight. Reports of these audits are placed on the file of the relevant air operator's certificate holder.The number of incidents of overloading can therefore be obtained only by manual examination of the individual reports of each inspection carried out in the last 24 months on aircraft operated by the 230 UK holders of air operators' certificates. In this case, the hon. Member's question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what are his plans for staff levels at the Liverpool Coastguard station; [18635](2) what are his plans for the future of the Oban (Scotland) Coastguard station; [18630](3) what are his plans for the future of the Pentland (Orkney) Coastguard station; [18632](4) what are his plans for the future of Tyne Tees (Tynemouth) Coastguard station; [18636](5) for what reason the Oban Coastguard station (Scotland) was left out from that part of the "Focus for Change" review which will exclude the station from officers with enhanced grading; [18631](6) if he will make a statement on the treatment of

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer that I gave on 4 February, Official Report, column 574. The strategy for HM Coastguard is still under development and its effect on the future staffing levels of any rescue centre cannot yet be assessed. Meanwhile, under present arrangements for the implementation of "Focus for Change", 17 rescue centres will have watches headed by the new higher grade watch managers. Pentland, Tyne Tees, Liverpool and Oban will be considered at a later date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the 1995–96 annual report of the Coastguard agency; and if he will make a statement. [18560]

I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard agency to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of (a) sector stations and (b) sector station officers in the Coastguard agency for each of the last seven years; and what are his projections for the number of sector stations in each of the next five years. [18634]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard agency to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department took to write off the debts of Railtrack; and if he will indicate the amounts involved. [18679]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The outstanding capital debt of Railtrack owed to the national loans fund, amounting to £1,229 million, was extinguished by the Railways Act 1993 (Extinguishment of Loans) (Railtrack plc) Order 1996 on 29 March 1996. On that day, £585 million of new debt owed to HM Treasury was created. Part of the £585 million was repaid immediately; the remainder was sold on as bonds in July 1996, after Railtrack was privatised. The company's capital structure was determined with the objective of maximising the overall value of the flotation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many illegal discharges from ships were reported in each year since 1990, indicating in each case the location; how many resulted in a successful prosecution; and what was the fine imposed. [18559]

I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard agency to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 10 February, OfficialReport, column 64, on what date he received the submission of the Association of District Councils for his consultations on the introduction of 44-tonne lorries; and for what reason the Association of District Councils was not included in his original answer. [18599]

The hon. Member's question to which my answer appeared in the Official Report on 10 February was originally due for answer on 31 January and the information in the answer included the responses received by that date. The response from the Association of District Councils was not received until 3 February. I regret that the answer was not fully up to date when published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his current estimate of the annual subsidy which will be paid to each of the regional railway franchisees for 1997–98. [16617]

The Office of Passenger Rail Franchise's latest estimates of the grant support to be paid in 1997–98 to the franchisees that make up the previous regional railways sector British Rail are given in the table, together with the comparative British Rail grant claim for 1996–97. Both sets of figures comprise the annual support for passenger rail services grant paid by the franchising director and the financial support provided to train operators by passenger transport executives.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the main price indices used in each EU member state; and what assessment he has made of their (a) basis, (b) data collection procedures and (c) methods of calculation relative to those used in the United Kingdom. [17356]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage to total Government revenue is accounted for by income tax. [18145]

Income tax accounted for 25¼ per cent. of all general Government receipts in 1995–96. The Budget forecast this percentage falling to 24 per cent. in 1997–98, reflecting the 1995 and 1996 Budget reductions in income tax.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many statutory employee share ownership trusts have been notified to the Inland Revenue in each year since 1990; [17979](2) how many

Statutory employee share ownership trusts—ESOTs—do not require formal advanced approval from, or registration by, the Inland Revenue. The Revenue is, however, prepared to say whether a particular draft or executed trust deed meets the statutory ESOT conditions. Not all companies will see a need to clear a trust deed in advance; and companies clearing deeds are not required to state the number of employees prospectively covered by them. The number of statutory ESOTs cleared by the Revenue since 1990 is in the table. Information about the number of firms and participating employees in all forms of employee share ownership plan is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will express the United Kingdom's gross contribution to the EC in 1995–96 as a proportion of the revenue from the standard rate of income tax for the same period. [18084]

In financial year 1995–96 the UK's total gross contribution to the European Community budget after abatement was £7,635 million. This was equivalent to 17.5 per cent. of revenue from the basic rate of income tax in that year of £43,600 million. However, the UK's contribution to the European Community is, of course, funded by total general Government receipts. In 1995–96 our gross contribution to the Community was equivalent to 2.8 per cent. of the total of £269,200 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reliability of the governor of the Bank of England's forecasts of the rate of inflation. [18398]

The Bank published in its February 1996 inflation report an assessment of its forecasting record since it began publishing the inflation report in February 1993.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account he took of the potential impact of increases in costs outside the UK's control in setting his inflation target. [18397]

The Chancellor took full account of this, and other factors, in setting the inflation target of 2½ per cent. or less. As he said in his 1995 Mansion house speech, events outside our control, such as sharp movements in commodity prices, could temporarily take us away from the objective. But setting interest rates consistently at the level judged necessary to achieve the inflation target should ensure that inflation will remain in the range 1 to 4 per cent. Since the Government started setting an explicit target for inflation, underlying inflation has averaged 2.6 per cent.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has taken to monitor the accuracy and reliability of his method of calculating inflation. [18399]

The Government's target for inflation is set in terms of underlying inflation—the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments. The RPI, which is compiled from a total of 120,000 prices collected each month from 146 locations throughout the UK is determined by recommendations of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee. The Office for National Statistics, which compiles and publishes the RPI, has in place a number of checks to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the index including auditing of monthly price collection, and regular updating of its coverage.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of recorded deaths from pneumonia in each region for the month of January in each year since 1990 to date. [18284]

[holding answer 3 February 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.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each of the last five years for which figures are available the (a) average (b) highest and (c) lowest prices of crude oil during each year. [18512]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The information requested is available in the "International Financial Statistics" publication of the International Monetary Fund. Oil prices can be found in the "Commodity Prices" tables, which is on page 84 of the February edition of the monthly report, with annual data also available in the yearbook.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the (a) number and (b) value of PFI contracts which have been agreed in the last financial year for which figures are available; what were the total annual payments to be made in respect of those contracts; and what will be the total value of the payments made over the life of the contracts. [18582]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The information is not available in the form requested. However, annual PFI data showing historic and forecast capital investment is published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report, tables 5.4 and 5.5. This was supplemented by my answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Timms) on 10 December 1996, Official Report, columns 125–26. Table 5.6 shows aggregated estimates of revenue commitments for signed projects, up to the year 2024–25. A list of major agreed projects as of 26 November 1996, and their capital value, was placed in the House of Commons Library in response to a further parliamentary question from the hon. Member for Newham, North-East on 17 December 1996, Official Report, columns 510–11. This will be updated on a quarterly basis, with the next list due to be placed in the library at the end of March. The total number of PFI deals is not held centrally.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the quotas for lending to local authorities by the Public Works Loan Board. [19201]

The Public Works Loan Commissioners have issued a circular today notifying local authorities that there will be no change in the formula for calculating quotas for 1997–98.Copies of the circular have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions, since Britain joined the European Community, British and French forces have been on active service jointly in a conflict or peacekeeping role; and in which countries these actions took place. [18434]

Since 1973, UK and French armed forces have served jointly in one conflict—the Gulf war—and in the following peacekeeping operations: UNAVEM III, UN Angola verification mission; MINURSO, UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara; UNAMIC, UN advanced mission in Cambodia; UNTAC, UN transitional authority in Cambodia; UNPROFOR, UN protection force in former Yugoslavia; UNCRO, UN confidence restoration mission in Croatia; UNPREDEP, UN preventive deployment force, Macedonia; UNTAES, UN transitional administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, Croatia; UNMOP, UN mission of observers in Prevlaka, Croatia; UNOMIG, UN Observers mission in Georgia; and UNIKOM, UN Iraq/Kuwait observation mission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what preparations his Department is making for Earth summit II and for the preparatory conferences leading up to the summit. [18498]

This Department will play its full part, with other Government Departments, at the intersessional meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development being held in New York between 24 February and 7 March, at the fifth meeting of the CSD in New York between 7 and 25 April, and at the UN General Assembly special session in New York between 23 and 27 June. The UK aim is to ensure a successful review of progress since Rio and the setting of priorities for the years ahead. FCO officials from both the diplomatic and aid wings will form part of the UK delegations to these meetings. Our missions overseas, including the UK missions to the UN, will continue to promote UK objectives and priorities for sustainable development. The aid wing has also provided some financial support to help non-governmental organisations in developing countries to prepare for and attend these meetings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many questions were tabled for reply by his Department in each Session since 1979–80; in how many instances in each year the reply has been that providing the information involved disproportionate cost; and in how many instances in each year questions have been given the reply that the information was not available centrally. [16795]

A list of the number of written and oral questions answered by the Cabinet Office, Office of Public Service, in the Sessions 1982–83 to 1995–96, as supplied by the parliamentary on-line information service unit, has been placed in the House Library. Figures for 1979–80 to 1981–82 are not available.The other information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade who has been responsible for organising the business breakfast to be held in Carlisle on 10 March; at whose request the meeting was arranged; what is the estimated cost; and which Government Department will bear the costs. [18421]

[holding answer 3 March 1997]: The Carlisle business breakfast has been cancelled.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) of 24 February, Official Report, column 64, if he will list for each event the organisation responsible for organising the business breakfast; and at whose request it was arranged. [18422]

[holding answer 3 March 1997]: I have asked the relevant Government office to arrange each of the business breakfasts.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what EU regional aid has been secured for (a) Blyth Valley and (b) the north-east of England in each of the last two years. [18575]

Funding to the value of £4,143,902 has been secured from EU structural funds specifically for the Blyth Valley area in the last two years. In addition, a further £3,990,327 has been gained for projects covering the wider south-east Northumberland area; mostly in the form of business support measures funded from European regional development fund and training activities funded through the European social fund. Other region-wide projects will also provide benefits for the Blyth Valley area.The total amount of EU structural funds secured for the north-east of England in the last two years is approximately £235 million. This includes the objective 2 and 5b programmes as well as various Community initiatives which operate in specified parts of the region. The north-east also benefits from a share of the national objective 3 programme which provides training and counselling for the unemployed. In addition, the north-east of England will continue to benefit from objective 2 funding until 2001, and a programme worth approximately £290 million received in principle agreement from the European Commission on 27 February 1997.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make representations to the European Union to ensure that on all occasions it promptly pays United Kingdom companies which are involved in EU-financed projects. [18612]

The Government take the late payment of commercial debts very seriously and is prepared to make representations to the European Commission about individual cases. The Department is ready to follow up the case which my hon. Friend previously brought to my attention as soon as the company concerned provides the further information that my officials requested from it.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Woking (Sir C. Onslow) of 18 February, Official Report, column 483, what is the expected level of repayments in 1998 and in subsequent years in respect of the launch aid support given to the Airbus A330/340 aircraft. [17372]

Forecast repayments are calculated on the basis of expected sales. These underlying assumptions are considered to be commercially confidential.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the value of timber exports from the United Kingdom. [17338]

UK exports of timber amounted to £38 million in 1995, and £45 million in January to November 1996.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many scientists were employed on Government-funded projects at the Institute of Food Research by his Department on (a) the most recent date available and (b) 31 March (i) 1995, (ii) 1990, (iii) 1985 and (iv) 1980. [18191]

Data on numbers of scientists employed on Government-funded projects at the Institute of Food Research is not readily available. However, in 1995–96, a total of 316 scientist—staff in post—were employed at IFR, and Government-funded projects accounted for approximately 79 per cent. of IFR funding: 46 per cent. from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, 28 per cent. from MAFF and 5 per cent. from other Government users. Comparable funding data is not available for the earlier years.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total research and development expenditure by the Office of Science and Technology for each year from 1980 to the present in (a) cash and (b) constant prices. [18665]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The Office of Science and Technology was established in 1992. The total annual expenditure by OST on research and development since that time is as follows:

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total research and development expenditure by the Office of Science and Technology on food and agricultural science for each year from 1980 to the present in (a) cash and (b) constant prices. [18667]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: Science budget expenditure on research is managed by the research councils. Research in food and agricultural science is funded principally by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council—formerly the Agriculture and Food Research Council. The Medical Research Council also funds some relevant research, figures for which are readily available only for 1994–95 and 1995–96. The figures for spending are in the table.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total Government research and development expenditure by each Department for each year from 1980 to the present in (a) cash and (b) constant prices. [18666]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: Reliable information is not available before 1984–85. For the years from 1985–86, I refer the hon. Member to tables D.3 and D.4 in "Forward Look of Government Funded Science, Engineering and Technology 1996", for years 1985–86 to 1998–99, and for 1984–85 to tables 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 of the "Forward Look of Government Funded SET 1994". Copies of both documents are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what research and development facilities have been privatised since 1980; and if he will list for each year since 1980 the changes in the number of (a) employees and (b) scientists employed in those establishments. [18668]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The following research and development facilities have been privatised since 1980 in order to increase their scope and ability to offer services to a wider user community:

The Hydraulic Research Station was converted to an independent company limited by guarantee in 1982.

The National Maritime Institute, formerly part of the National Physical Laboratory, was privatised as a company limited by guarantee in October 1982.

The plant breeding activities of the Agricultural and Food Research Council's plant breeding institute were privatised by trade sale in October 1987, but the establishment itself remained in the public sector as part of the AFRC's institute of plant science research.

The National Measurement Accreditation Service, formerly part of the National Physical Laboratory, was merged with the National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies, formerly part of the British Standards Institution, in August 1995 to form the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, which was established as a non-profit distribution company limited by guarantee.

The National Engineering Laboratory was privatised by trade sale in October 1995.

The operation of the National Physical Laboratory was contracted out in October 1995.

The Laboratory of the Government Chemist was sold to a management-led consortium in March 1996.

The Transport Research Laboratory was sold to the Transport Research Foundation in April 1996.

The Natural Resources Institute was privatised in May 1996.

AEA Technology, the former commercial arm of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority which absorbed the rationalised activities of the Warren Spring Laboratory in spring 1994, was privatised in September 1996.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what representations he has received from the British Agrochemicals Association Ltd. in the past 12 months; what was the subject of those representations; and if he will make a statement; [18453](2) what meetings he has had with the British Agrochemicals Association Ltd. in the past 12 months; what was the subject of the meetings; and if he will make a statement. [18452]

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Industry and Energy attended the British Agrochemical Association's annual luncheon on 4 December 1996.Neither my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade nor other DTI Ministers have otherwise met or received representations from the British Agrochemicals Association in the last 12 months.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much in total his Department has failed to recover from companies defaulting on the terms of awards of regional selective assistance for each of the last 10 financial years; and if he will list the number of companies which defaulted in each year. [18669]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: The amount that the Department has failed to recover in the last 10 financial years is:

To ask the Prime Minister what account is taken of the Crichel Down precedent when considering whether a Minister ought to tender their resignation. [18743]

A discussion of the relevance of the events surrounding the resignation of Sir Thomas Dagdale in 1954 to present-day circumstances is contained in the memorandum on "Ministerial accountability and the provision of information to Parliament" which the Government submitted to the Public Service Committee in March 1996. The memorandum was published in volume III of the Public Service Committee's second report, Session 1995–96.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the circumstances in respect of failure or errors by a Government Department in which he would require the appropriate Minister to resign. [18723]

This would necessarily depend on the particular circumstance of the case, including the nature of the failure or errors in the Department and the extent of the Minister's personal responsibility for those failures or errors.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to encourage students to participate in sport and physical recreation. [17414]

[holding answer 26 February 1997]: The sport policy statement, "Sport: Raising the Game", published in July 1995, set out the Government's strategy for rebuilding the strength of British sport at all levels, from sport in schools, through sports clubs and further and higher education institutions, to our top athletes.In "Sport: Raising the Game", we emphasised the importance of students continuing to have the opportunity to develop a lifelong involvement in recreational or competitive sport at colleges and universities. We shall continue to emphasise this at every opportunity.Following on from the policy statement, in June 1996, the Further Education Funding Council produced its first report on good practice in sports provision in the further education sector, which included audited information. The report also includes examples of good practice. The FEFC has agreed to update its database on sports provision annually, to continue to comment on sports provision and students achievements in sport in its inspection reports, and to monitor changes in provision indicated by statistical returns from colleges.Also following on from the policy statement, in December 1996, the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals and the Standing Conference of Principals jointly published "Sport in Higher Education", an important part of which is the first ever in-depth survey of the extent and nature of sports facilities and opportunities, including community use, in the higher education sector. The report makes a number of recommendations higher education institutions might pursue to raise the profile of sport, including ensuring that institutions' literature, particularly the prospectus, conveys the scope of available sports facilities and infrastructure, and records students' sporting achievements.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans her Department has to aid universities and colleges in implementing the recommendations of the Bannister committee's report into university sports scholarships. [17408]

[holding answer 26 February 1997]: The Bannister committee's report highlights examples of best practice and sets out guidelines for the operation of university sports scholarship schemes. I fully back that guidance and hope further and higher education institutions will follow it. The results will undoubtedly benefit both the institutions and their sports scholars.Over the post two years, further and higher education institutions across the United Kingdom have benefited substantially from lottery grants for upgrading existing sports facilities and for building new ones. Under the lottery-funded world class performance programme, applications for the funding of individual athletes must be made through the national governing bodies of sport. Where an eligible athlete is also a student, part of the grant awarded to that athlete may be used to offset all or part of the student's study costs. The first awards under the world class performance programme will be made shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what analysis has been made to determine what proportion of students in secondary education who progress on to further or higher education continue to participate in sport and physical recreation while studying. [17409]

[holding answer 26 February 1997]: The 1990 general household survey indicated that 91 per cent. of full-time students take part in sport or physical recreation on a regular basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has for visiting the proposed sites for the British Academy of Sport. [18335]

I visited the site proposed by the Heyford Consortium on Tuesday 4 March. I will be visiting the sites proposed by the Sheffield Consortium and by the Central Consortium on Thursday 6 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many lottery tickets have been sold in the Crewe and Nantwich parliamentary constituency. [18638]

[holding answer 4 March 1997]: This is an operational matter for Camelot Group plc. I have therefore asked the Director General of the National Lottery, who is responsible for regulating the operation of the lottery, to write to the hon. Member and to place copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by county and district and by amount the awards made in 1995, 1996 and 1997 by the Sports Council Lottery Fund to benefit (a) bowls, (b) athletics, (c) disability sports, (d) multi sports, (e) tennis and (f) mountaineering in Wales. [17300]

Awards totalling more than £23.7 million have been made to 232 sports projects throughout Wales. I have arranged for the lists to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by county and district the awards made in 1995, 1996 and 1997 by the Sports Council Lottery Fund to benefit the sports of (a) football, (b) rugby union and (c) swimming in the UK indicating the amount of each award. [17306]

Awards totalling over £441 million have been made to 2,603 sports projects throughout the UK. I have arranged for the lists to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what preparations her Department is making for the United Nations General Assembly special session, earth summit II; and for the meetings leading up to the summit. [18396]

I have been asked to reply.The Department of the Environment is taking the lead within Government on the preparations for the UN General Assembly special session in June.I refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I have given today to my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students from Leeds have entered higher education in each of the last five years. [17893]

The information requested is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many children are currently in nursery places in Lancashire; and what percentage this is of children of nursery school age. [17709](2) how many children are currently in nursery places in each local education authority in England; and what percentage that is of the children of nursery school age in each case. [18419]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many children are currently in nursery places in the London borough of Waltham Forest; and what percentage this is of children of nursery school age. [18079]

I refer the hon. Members to statistical bulletin 2/97 which shows numbers and percentages of children aged under five in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained primary schools by local education authority area in England in January 1996. A copy of the bulletin is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many nursery places for four-year-olds were provided by Leeds city council in the last year for which figures are available; what percentage this was of the number of four-year-olds in the Leeds city area; and what was the national average percentage of four-year-olds provided with a nursery place. [18338]

There were just under 3,000 four-year-olds in maintained nursery schools or nursery classes in maintained primary schools in the Leeds education authority area. The Department does not publish information on percentages or participation rates of four-year-olds by local education authority area. The percentage of four-year-olds in England who were in maintained nursery schools or nursery classes in maintained primary schools was 24 per cent. in January 1996.Participation rates of children under five in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained primary schools by local education authority area in England in January 1996 were published in a statistical bulletin on 28 February, a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students with student loans eligible for repayment are currently (a) in arrears and (b) in litigation in respect of their repayments. [17718]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how often she has met representatives of the Student Loans Company in the last year. [17719]

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, met the chairman and chief executive of the Student Loans Company on 9 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received in the last year about the student loans system; and if she will make a statement. [17720]

Since 1 March 1996, my right hon. Friend has received 202 letters from hon. Members and members of the public on the subject of student loans. In addition, my right hon. Friend has received a number of letters on student support generally. The breakdown of how many of those letters included student loans issues could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has received from bodies interested in winning a contract to take over the administration of the student loans system. [17721]

Contracting out of the administrative functions of the Student Loans Company will be by competitive tendering. The competition has not yet begun, but to date, there have been three such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list in rank order local education authorities by GCSE A to C grade results together with the local education authority rank order place for expenditure per pupil. [18090]

The following table lists in rank order for each local authority the percentage of 15-year-old pupils obtaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C in 1995–96 together with the local education authority rank order place for expenditure per secondary pupil in 1994–95—the latest year for which information is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what are the latest figures available for graduates gaining employment related to their degree within six months of graduation in (a) teaching, (b) engineering, (c) biotechnology and research sciences, (d) creative arts, (e) humanities, (f) computing and technology and (g) applied mathematics; and if she will make a statement. [17728]

The latest available information giving a complete list of occupations entered and other destinations by selected subject of first degree is given in the following table: