To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the conditions in which the Prison Service is holding Roisin McAliskey. [20510]

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 if he will make a statement about the future use of Tote profits. [18533]

The Tote's role is to provide pool betting on horseracing and to raise money for racing. Maintaining its contribution to racing is central to Government policy; it is for the Tote to decide how to distribute the money.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures and guidelines exist for the random or routine searching at prisons with a significant drugs presence of (a) prison officers, (b) other prison staff and (c) other persons visiting in an official capacity. [19761]

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, pursuant to his answer of 27 February, Official Report, columns 288–89, if he will review the use of video-recorded closed circuit television in the legal visit facilities at special secure units. [19909]

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 how many reported incidents of staff assaults were recorded at Her Majesty's prison, Ranby from 1 January 1996 to date; and if he will make a statement. [19924]

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 if he will introduce proposals for the registration and regulation of wheel clamping; and if he will make a statement. [20081]

My right hon. and learned Friend has no present plans for legislation in this area. We are considering whether further legal measures are needed to regulate wheel clamping.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking to ascertain the whereabouts of Rosemary Iredale, a convicted child abuser recently released from prison but since disappeared; [19160](2) what steps he is taking to ascertain the whereabouts of Terry Valrona, a convicted child abuser recently released from prison but since disappeared. [19159]

[holding answers 10 March 1997]: I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is given to remand prisoners, detained in prisons in England and Wales, to register to vote and to apply for a postal vote; and if he will ensure that all such prisoners are advised of their right to vote and assisted in securing their vote. [19740]

[holding answer 11 March 1997]: 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 if he will make a statement on casino deregulation. [20446]

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the asylum seekers currently held in detention (a) are awaiting a decision on their asylum application, (b) are awaiting an appeal following a refusal of their asylum application and (c) have had an appeal rejected. [19561]

The available information is given in the table.

Number of people recorded as being detained1.2 on 31 January 19973 who had sought asylum at some stage, by stage of application and immigration status
Stage of application	Port	Illegal entrant	Subject to deportation action	Total
Awaiting an initial decision	103	57	15	175
Awaiting result of an appeal	203	144	29	376
Awaiting removal after refusal	86	144	17	217
Total	392	315	61	768
1 Persons detained solely under powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 to the Immigration Act 1971.
2 These figures include people who have been in detention for less than one month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period of time, the figures should be used with caution.
3 Illegal entrants and persons subject to deportation action are as at 31 January, port cases are as at 3 February 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 3 March, Official Report, column 463, (1) if he will make it his policy to ensure that any references to individuals' sexuality are deleted from the police national computer; [19434](2) on how many occasions an individual's sexual orientation has been recorded on the police national computer. [19433]

There is no specific data field on the police national computer for recording sexual orientation. This might be inferred from the details of the convictions history and offending pattern. Information recorded on the PNC must be relevant to the purposes for which it is held in order to comply with the data protection principles of the Data Protection Act 1984. Data on sexual orientation would not be relevant for these purposes and would be removed if found to have been improperly recorded.Records are not kept of how many occasions an individual's sexual orientation may have been improperly recorded on the PNC.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison inmates there were in each London prison on 1 March. [19492]

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 what percentage of burglaries in each of the last five years was committed by people aged under 21 years. [19687]

Information available is given in the table.

Percentage of persons cautioned and convicted at all courts for burglary offences who were aged under 21 years, 1990 to 1995
England and Wales
	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Percentage	64.8	60.9	58.9	57.8	58.4	58.3

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the percentage change in the number of crimes committed by youths in the past 10 years. [19822]

Information available is given in the table.

Number and percentage change of known offenders (those cautioned or convicted at all courts) aged 10 to under 18 by type of offence, 1985 and 1995
England and Wales	Thousands
Type of offence	1985	1995	Percentage change
Indictable	213.3	132.8	-38
Summary (excluding motoring)	50.0	46.2	-9
All offences (excluding summary motoring)	256.2	179.1	-32

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) sex offences, (b) homicides and (c) other violent crimes were recorded in West Yorkshire in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of these led to successful prosecutions. [19690]

The requested information on recorded crime is given in the following table:

Notifiable offences recorded by the police West Yorkshire police force area
Year	Sexual offences	Homicide	All violent crime1
1985	1,219	26	7,660
1986	1,247	25	8,062
1987	1,311	31	8,940
1988	1,275	26	10,047
1989	1,537	33	11,381
1990	1,584	43	12,109
1991	1,675	34	13,544
1992	1,361	34	13,727
1993	1,465	27	13,828
1994	1,504	27	13,886
1995	1,416	43	13,118
1 Offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.

The available court date relate to defendants convicted in the West Yorkshire police force area and are given in the following table. Information is given for the years 1985, 1990 and 1995 only. The provision of data for other years would involve disproportionate cost. It is not appropriate to express these figures as a percentage of recorded offences as they relate to offenders who may have been proceeded against for more than one offence.

Number of defendants convicted at all courts for (a) sexual offences, (b) homicide and (c) violent crimes1 in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area 1985, 1990 and 1995
West Yorkshire police force area
Offence	1985	1990	1995
Sexual offences	345	328	256
Homicide	21	24	18
Violent crimes1	2,861	3,447	2,751
1 Includes the indictable offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery and the summary offence of common assault.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) sex offences, (b) homicides and (c) violent crimes were recorded in each of the last 20 years; and what percentage of these led to successful prosecutions. [19691]

The requested information on recorded crime is given in the following table:

Notifiable offence recorded by the police
England and Wales
Year	Sexual offences	Homicide	All violent crime1
1975	23,731	515	106,044
1976	22,203	565	111,562
1977	21,313	482	117,233
1978	22,367	532	122,590
1979	21,843	629	129,285
1980	21,107	620	133,359
1981	19,424	559	139,913
1982	19,729	618	151,261
1983	20,410	550	153,871
1984	20,222	621	159,299
1985	21,456	616	170,650
1986	22,684	661	178,203
1987	25,154	688	198,829
1988	26,529	624	216,214

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the successful bids, in Wales, for CCTV funding; and how many bids were rejected and in which areas of Wales they were located. [20050]

In the third round of the closed circuit television challenge competition—1997–98—the following bids from Wales were successful:

Bid	Amount awarded £
Monmouth town centre	112,500
Prestatyn town centre	85,500
Wrexham town centre	50,000

There were 13 unsuccessful bids from the following areas:

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she will announce the conclusions of the committee chaired by Sir Colin Cowdrey on sporting ambassadors. [20511]

I will be announcing the committee's conclusions on the morning of 14 March and copies of the announcement will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will provide a breakdown by project of PFI schemes for which her Department is responsible as identified in table 5.5 of the Red Book. [18930]

[holding answer 6 March 1997]: The breakdown is in the following table. The figures in the table represented best estimates at the time the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997–98" was prepared. The figures in the FSBR are rounded to the nearest £10 million.

PFI Capital expenditure
PFl Capital expenditure	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	Total
Signed contracts	1.4	1.4	1.4	4.2
British Museum Object Store	13.0	11.0		24.0
British Museum Great Court			1.0	1.0
Science Museum Wellcome Wing			1.0	1.0
Tate Bankside Roof Observatory			4.0	4.0
Tate Millbank Queen Alexander site			15.0	15.0
Tate Millbank electric sub-station		0.3		0.3
Natural History Museum combined heat and power		1.0	2.0	3.0
British Library bibliographic cataloguing	>4.0			4.0
British Library Boston Spa building	9.0	4.0		13.0
British Library Colindale building	10.0	5.0		15.0
British Library catering and conference	1.5			1.5
British Library digitisation		35.0	40.0	75.0
Sports Council IT		2.0		2.0
English Heritage— Stonehenge English Heritage—GIS		1.0	1.0	2.0
Total	38.9	60.7	65.4	165

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many law members of industrial tribunals were surveyed in the recent review of members' expenses and how many replied; what was the proportion of employee to employer members taking part; how many responses were received from each region; if he will place details of the survey in the Library; and what action he plans to take as a result of the survey. [20049]

Prior to the recent notification to lay members of industrial tribunals of changes to the arrangements for payment of their fees and expenses, an analysis of claims was undertaken. The analysis was based on a random sample of 400 claims made by members from across Great Britain. The sample did not separately identify claims made by employer and employee nominees. I will arrange for a summary of the results to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to improve the Government publicity relating to the small firms loan guarantee scheme. [19758]

There are no plans to change the way in which the scheme is publicised.Information on the scheme is widely available. Details appear in relevant DTI publications and there is a separate scheme booklet. This is widely distributed to lenders and business intermediaries throughout the United Kingdom and is freely available directly from the DTI. Currently, around 5,000 copies a month are requested.The main focus for promoting the scheme lies with lenders and intermediaries. The scheme is appropriate only when a lender considers the business proposal for a loan to be viable, and would be prepared to lend, but for the lack of collateral to use as security against a conventional loan or overdraft.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to make the booklet relating to the small firms loans guarantee scheme more comprehensive. [19759]

The booklet will be updated later this year to reflect recent changes.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library copies of the agreements between the Roslin Institute and other bodies since the inception of the Roslin Institute. [18967]

The Roslin Institute enters into a very wide range of contracts and other agreements in the course of its business. All the contracts relating to commercial activities, including the exploitation of research, are classified as commercial in confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries whose police officers received scholarship awards in Britain in 1991. [19916]

In 1991, the FCO diplomatic wing and the ODA did not keep centrally a record of police officers who received scholarship awards. It would involve a disproportionate cost to collate this information now for all such projects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the human rights performance of Namibia was last graded for internal purposes by his Department. [19913]

We have no formal grading system. But with Namibia, as with other countries, we take human rights performance into account when monitoring political developments.

Asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the total bilateral aid contribution to multilateral aid programmes in the Sudan for each of the last five years. [19600]

Since 1992, the UK has channelled £13.5 million of bilateral emergency assistance for Sudan through multilateral agencies. The breakdown of disbursements together with information on disbursements through international non-governmental organisations is as follows:

	Multilateral agencies	NGOs	Total
1992	1.6	8.0	9.6
1993	5.0	6.3	11.3
1994	3.9	10.2	14.1
1995	2.2	5.0	7.2
1996	0.8	5.2	6.0
Total	13.5	34.7	48.2

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what evaluation (a) his Department and (b) consultants to his Department have made of the assessment by the US Department of Energy's glass advisory panel of the safety of using vitrified glass to encapsulate high-activity radioactive waste; and if he will make a statement on the current operational status of vitrification plants for nuclear waste immobilisation in the United Kingdom. [19912]

Neither my Department nor consultants used by my Department are aware of an assessment by the US Department of Energy's glass advisory panel of the safety of using vitrified glass to encapsulate high-level radioactive waste. The status of vitrification plants are matters for the operators subject to meeting regulatory requirements. But I understand that the one vitrification plant in the UK is operated using two processing lines at the BNFL, Sellafield site in Cumbria. This plant was commissioned in February 1991 and has a consent to operate in full compliance with all UK regulations. BNFL is building a third operating line at Sellafield which is expected to be commissioned in the year 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that the installation of turbines by electricity generating companies does not cause damage to migratory fisheries on (a) the River Leven and (b) other rivers in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [19676]

Section 14 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975—amended by schedule 15 the Environment Act 1995—requires the owner or occupier of any mill, defined as including any erection for the purpose of developing water power which diverts water from any watercourse frequented by salmon or migratory trout, to place and maintain, at his own cost, a screen to prevent access to the intake by those fish. Such a screen is required to be so located and constructed that, so far as reasonably practicable, those fish are not injured or damaged by it. This obligation applies only where the intake channel was constructed after 18 July 1923.There are two abstractions on the River Leven for hydro-power generation. Both intakes were constructed before 1923 and so are not covered by the screen obligation. Neither currently has screens in place, but the Environment Agency is well aware of the issue and is seeking agreement with the abstractor for the installation of suitable screens.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those local authority delegations which met him or his Department's Ministers, and the hon. Member who accompanied each such delegation, and the subjects discussed between 1 November 1996 and 28 February 1997. [19717]

A total of 79 authorities, as listed, sent delegations to Ministers in the Department of the Environment during the consultation period on the proposed local government finance settlement for England for 1997–98. The composition of each delegation was entirely a matter for individual local authorities, which were free to invite hon. Members to accompany them as they saw fit. A range of local government finance issues was discussed at each meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what part regeneration plays in British Waterways' management and operation of the canal network. [20606]

Waterways provide an important catalyst for urban and rural regeneration. One of British Waterways' aims is to promote and accommodate conservation and regeneration. In doing so it works with a range of partners in the private, public and voluntary sectors.An excellent example of the role of canals in regeneration is the Birmingham waterfront where over £300 million of private sector finance has been attracted to developments alongside British Waterways' canals. Another success story is the joint investment of £7 million by British Waterways and Gloucester city council in Gloucester docks which has attracted over £30 million in private finance. The shift in the city's focus to the docks has seen the numbers employed rise from 100 to 2,000 and tourism visits rise from a few thousand to over 1 million. In Scotland the millennium link, aided by £32 million from the Millennium Commission, will create 4,200 permanent jobs and attract £400 million of private investment along the 70-mile waterway corridor.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the report of the interdepartmental working group on blight. [20607]

The interdepartmental working group on blight was established to review the scope, cause and effects of blight arising during the various stages of major infrastructure projects and to consider whether any practical changes could be made to existing arrangements for property purchase and compensation. The group published a discussion paper last June and a progress report, which set out the various proposals that had been put to group, was published last November. Since then the group has been evaluating these ideas and assessing the costs and benefits of various options. That work has yet to be completed. I anticipate that the group will now complete its work in about the middle of this year.In addition to a consideration of possible changes to the purchase and compensation arrangements, the group is looking at steps that might be taken to reduce the blighting effects of projects by, for example, speeding up decision processes and reducing uncertainty. On 14 January I announced consultations on proposals to speed up both the development plans and planning appeals processes, all of which has the potential to reduce blight. However, the group has drawn attention to two ideas which might be pursued ahead of its final report. I therefore propose to begin consultation on ways of reducing the blighting effects of infrastructure projects which are shown on statutory development plans, but which have subsequently been abandoned, and on developing a code of good practice on the timely dissemination of information about projects by major infrastructure developers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is considering similar proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the listed buildings in the green belt. [20608]

National policy for green belts is set out in our planning policy guidance note 2 and for listed buildings in planning policy guidance note 15. PPG2 confirms the importance which the Government attach to green belts, and maintains the general presumption against "inappropriate" development within them—as detailed in PPG2. Very special circumstances are needed to outweigh this presumption. The Government also attach a high priority to protecting the historic environment and to ensuring that the special architectural or historic interest of listed buildings is fully recognised. PPG15 makes clear that, in general, the best way of ensuring the upkeep of historic buildings is to keep them in active use; and PPG2 advises that suitable reuse of a building is to be preferred to redevelopment where it is of architectural or historic interest.Where a change of use, extension or alteration to a listed building in the green belt would be essential for, or contribute significantly to, ensuring a viable future for the building or for maintaining it in good order, this could constitute or contribute to the "very special circumstances" which can justify inappropriate development in the green belt. Proposals would have to be of a high standard of design to complement or enhance their surroundings; and any proposals would need listed building consent as well as planning permission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the research on "CCT and Local Authority Blue-Collar Services" by Austin Mayhead and Co. [20672]

My Department will publish today research on "CCT and Local Authority Blue-Collar Services" by Austin Mayhead and Co. It followed up an earlier piece of research into blue-collar compulsory competitive tendering carried out by the institute of local government studies at the university of Birmingham.This research confirms the progress that has been made in achieving greater efficiency and value for money in the delivery of local authority services through fair competition between in-house teams and private contractors. Average annual savings from blue-collar CCT in the second round are running at 9 per cent. compared with 6.5 per cent. in the first round. Most authorities recognise that the quality of CCT services has improved since the first round. Three quarters said that CCT had resulted in clearer and more comprehensive service specifications and two thirds thought it had resulted in a closer reflection of consumer needs.Only a minority—11 per cent.—of authorities, however, are supportive of the compulsory element of the CCT regime and almost a third said they would not undertake competitive tendering of services should compulsion be removed.The report looks at the experiences of authorities during the second round of tendering for blue-collar services and analyses data on costs, number of bids, changes in specifications and other factual information about contracts.I will place in the Library today copies of the executive summary of a copy of the full report entitled "CCT and Local Authority Blue-Collar Services".

To ask the Prime Minister what is the current membership of the public sector pay review bodies. [20512]

The current membership, with effect from 1 April 1997, is as listed:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the annual cost to local authorities of (a) drawing up and (b) maintaining their contingency plans for dealing with marine oil pollution; [19299](2) what arrangements are in place to check the adequacy and resilience of local authority contingency plans for dealing with marine oil pollution. [19300]

I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard agency, Mr. Chris Harris, to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 5 March, Official Report, column 609, if he will instruct the Highways Agency to publish figures relating to the regularity of litter collection on the M45. [19562]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Highways Agency will identify those projects that will be delayed or deleted as a consequence of the additional expenditure it will have to meet consequent upon the relaying of the capping and asphalt surfacing replacement between junctions 6 and 8. [19572]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those stretches of road, including bridges, classified as orange and red for congestion in 1995 for each region which have residual life of (a) nought years and (b) nought to four years; and if he will specify the maintenance planned for those stretches of road. [20136]

The residual life of the road network is held on a database comprising some 20,000 discrete sections designed to permit efficient computer analysis. The sections of the network covering the congestion maps and the residual life bands specified in the question are likely to number some 2,000 reference sections which could be identified and interpreted to provide a meaningful answer only at disproportionate cost.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 (1) he will assess the impact of safety of the reduction in sector posts by the Coastguard agency; and if he will make a statement; [19022](2) what assessment he has made of the effects of the increasing role of volunteers in supporting the Coastguard agency. [19021]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library (a) the titles and short description of the functions of each regulatory, advisory or other committee of the Commission of the European Communities, (b) the names and details of each member and (c) their method of appointments and the designation of their responsible officers; and if they publish an annual report. [19435]

A list of Commission committees is in section III of volume 4 of the 1997 draft general budget of the European Communities which is available in the Libraries of the House. The other details requested are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress with the European IGC. [18312]

The intergovernmental conference is progressing well. All member states are working towards a conclusion to the intergovernmental conference at the Amsterdam European Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when her Department established its Internet site; what representations she has received and what data she has collated on the use and utility of the site; and what steps she is taking to increase the amount of information available via the site. [19142]

The Department's Internet site was established with the merger of the former Education and Employment Departments in the summer of 1995, both of which had their own sites for a short time prior to this.No significant representations have been received about the site, except for a few constructive comment received from users. Statistics show that the site is accessed, on average, 35,000 times a week.The Department's policy is to extend its site, wherever possible, to provide information about its policy areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much her Department and its executive agencies have spent drafting, publishing and circulating each of their customer charters and customer standard documents; and how many copies of each document have been issued. [19393]

The Department and its executive agencies publish four charters and one customer standard document. The costs of publishing these documents and the number of copies issued are as follows:

	Publishing and circulating (£ millions)	Number of copies issued (millions)
The parent's charter	3.073	20
The jobseeker's charter	0.02	0.055
The higher education and further education charters	0.77	2.87 2.42
The overseas labour service statement of service standard	0.002	0.02

The involvement of civil servants in drafting and preparing text is part of their normal responsibilities and cannot be quantified separately.It would compromise the Department's confidential tendering procedures to disclose separately the payments made for the circulation of charters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many nursery vouchers have been taken up in the London borough of Wandsworth. [19490]

The following table shows the numbers of nursery education vouchers issued to parents and redeemed, in whole or in part, for each term during phase 1 of the voucher scheme in Wandsworth.

	Summer 1996	Autumn 1996	Spring 1997–to date
Vouchers issued	3,123	3,147	3,026
Vouchers redeemed in whole or part	2,798	2,760	2,437

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) which teachers of deaf children are required to hold a qualification for teaching the deaf; [19895](2) what specialist qualifications for teaching the deaf are required of a teacher of hearing-impaired children in a special unit where that child is registered in a mainstream class. [19897]

Teachers of classes of hearing impaired children, including teachers of children registered in a mainstream class but taught in a special unit, are required to gain a qualification recognised by the Secretary of State, within three years of appointment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate her Department has made of (a) the number of schools and (b) the number of special classes, in England and Wales, which require teachers with a qualification for teaching the deaf. [19896]

In January 1995 there were 28 maintained and 13 non-maintained special schools for children with hearing impairments—source: table 10 of "Statistical Bulletin", 9/96. The Department does not collect statistics on special classes for hearing impaired children. Teachers of such a class, whether in a special school or a mainstream school, must gain an approved qualification.Questions relating to schools in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if statements made for (a) deaf and (b) visually impaired children below statutory school age, require prior consultation with an appropriately qualified teacher under the Education Act 1981; and if she will make a statement. [19894]

The Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations 1994 require local education authorities making a statutory assessment of a child with hearing and/or visual impairment to seek advice from a teacher with a relevant qualification. The Government have no plans to change this requirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what decision has been reached concerning funding by the private finance initiative for the Caste Hill site in Bolton; and if she will make a statement. [19015]

Bolton local education authority is assessing the feasibility of using the private finance initiative to take forward a project to build a replacement primary school and community facilities on the Castle Hill site. It is for the authority to decide whether the PFI offers the best value for money for the project.I am encouraged by the amount of interest that has been shown by local education authorities in the PFI to date. There are currently 15 pathfinder projects across the schools sector, including LEA, grant-maintained and voluntary-aided schools. There is a wide range of projects: examples include replacement secondary and primary schools and grouped projects for catering, information technology equipment and energy management facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answers of 4 March 1997, Official Report, columns 557–58, if the proceeds of the sale of Enborne Lodge school will be divided according to the provisions in force at the time of the decision to sell or those in force at the time of the sale itself. [19952]

A final decision on the interpretation of legislation would be a matter for the courts. Subject to that, however, my right hon. Friend considers that the provisions which would apply would be those in force at the time of any sale. Proposals by the Association of London Government which would affect the arrangements for sharing the proceeds from disposal of certain former Inner London education authority property are at present under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the outcome of the consultation on her proposals to accept the School Teachers Review Body's recommendations for a 3.3 per cent. increase for teachers. [20614]

I am today confirming that I am accepting the School Teachers Review Body's recommendation to increase teachers' pay by 3.3 per cent. This award will be staged so that teachers will receive 2 per cent. on 1 April 1997 and the remainder on 1 December 1997. I will lay an order before Parliament which will give the values of the new spine points, scale and allowances with effect from 1 April 1997 and 1 December 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans she has for the implementation of learning credits; and if she will make a statement. [20615]

The White Paper "Learning to Compete", Cm 3486, published in December 1996 set out the Government's intention to introduce, progressively from September 1997, a new learning credits entitlement for all young people aged 14 to 21 to career planning and learning opportunities up to level 3. This will clarify and make more coherent young people's entitlement to post-16 learning and career planning, and increase still further their participation, motivation and attainment. Learning credits will be issued nationally from Easter 1998 to all 16-year-olds completing compulsory education.The consultation document "A Passport to Learning" published alongside the White Paper sought views on how learning credits should be implemented and their scope for further development.The Government's proposals have been warmly welcomed by respondents across the education and training worlds.The new learning credits entitlement includes:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the expected levels of council tax in 1997–98. [19213]

Local authorities in Wales are required to notify my Department of the level of council tax set for 1997–98 by 17 March 1997. The available provisional information is given in the following table. I shall write to the hon. Member when final figures are available and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Average band D Council taxes—1997–98
Unitary authority	Average band D payable1
	£
Blaenau Gwent	—
Bridgend	539
Caerphilly	—

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on local authority capital expenditure plans for the year 1997–98. [19508]

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's statement on 12 December 1996 on public expenditure in Wales for 1997–98, Official Report, columns 405–19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to increase the percentage of capital sales receipts available to local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [19503]

The Government currently have no plans to increase the percentage of usable capital receipts from the sale of local authority assets. Authorities have to set aside a proportion of receipts from the sale of capital assets for debt redemption. If they were allowed to spend their set-aside resources, either other areas of spending would need to be reduced to ensure that debts were paid off or public spending as a whole would rise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received relating to changes to the formulae for the standard spending assessments; and if he will make a statement. [19505]

The distribution formula for 1997–98 was ratified by the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance. A joint Welsh Office-Welsh Local Government Association review of the formula is under way for 1998–99. Recommendations for change will be considered by the consultative council in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on current levels of youth unemployment in (a) the previous county of Clwyd and (b) the county of Flintshire. [19512]

In January 1997 there were 3,482 persons aged under 25 on the claimant unemployment count in the former county of Clwyd. The corresponding figure for Flintshire was 985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 10 March, Official Report, column 38, to the hon. Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards) on NHS trusts mergers, what estimate he has made of (a) the transitional costs of achieving the trust merger, (b) recurring administrative savings and (c) the time which it will take to reach the recurring administrative costs. [20084]

It is estimated by the trusts that the merger will result in recurring savings of up to £1 million starting in 1998–99. The level of transitional costs will depend upon the trust board's decisions on management arrangements in the new organisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 10 March, Official Report, column 38, to the hon. Member for Clwyd, North-West on NHS trust mergers, when he expects to appoint the (a) chairman and (b) board members of the newly merged trust. [20083]

Interim arrangements will be announced shortly which will enable the appointments to be made in line with the code of practice for public appointments issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 10 March, Official Report, column 38, to the hon. Member for Clwyd, North-West on NHS trust mergers, what estimate he has made of the job losses associated with the merger (a) before 1 April 1997 and (b) after 1 April 1997; and what estimate he has made of the winding-up costs in connection with the termination of services of board members. [20085]

There will be no job losses associated with the merger of the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS trusts before the new trust becomes operational on 1 April 1997. The detail of any job losses and costs incurred after that date will be a matter for the new trust board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many children in Conwy he estimates will register for nursery education by the local education authority in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement; [19957](2) what estimates he has made of the value of nursery voucher redemption to Conwy county borough council; and if he will make a statement. [20041]

Conwy county borough council has estimated that there will be 1,066 voucher-bearing children in their schools in the 1997 summer term. At this level, total annual voucher income for the authority would be £1,172,600.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what justification Conwy county borough council has submitted to him in respect of increases in (a) centrally held school budgets and related services and (b) provision for the rationalisation of nursery education; [19958](2) if he will make a statement on the costed items Conwy county borough council has included under the heading "Demography" in its education budget. [19959]

Statements of the financial provision local authorities plan to make for schools they maintain have to be submitted before the start of the financial year. Information has not yet been received from Conwy county borough council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority concerning the quality of project management of community hospitals by (a) Beard Dove and (b) Welsh Health Estates. [20082]

None. Welsh Health Estates does not act as project manager.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Llandough NHS trust concerning the termination of the services of Beard Dove as the project management company for the Barry community hospital and its replacement by Welsh Health Estates. [20086]

None. This is a matter for the trust. However, Welsh Health Estates is not acting as project manager but is advising the trust.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of the population in Wales have (a) committed suicide and (b) suffered a fatal accident in each of the last seven years; and if he will make a statement. [20036]

The latest available, complete, annual figures from the Office for National Statistics for residents of Wales are shown in the following table:

	Suicides1		Fatal accidents2
	Number	Rate per 100,000	Number	Rate per 100,000
1989	264	9.2	719	25.1
1990	303	10.5	711	24.7
1991	337	11.7	717	24.8
1992	335	11.6	698	24.1
1993	297	10.2	673	23.2
1994	331	11.8	690	24.5
1995	317	10.9	708	24.3
1International Classification of Diseases: E950–E959, E980–E989 excluding E988.8.
2 ICD E800–E929.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes Conwy county borough council has notified his Department it has made to its local management of schools scheme; and if he will make a statement. [20042]

Conwy county borough council has not submitted any proposals for changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what inquiries he has conducted to establish who was responsible for passing restricted Department of Agriculture personnel documents to the Irish News; when the RUC was informed; what action can be taken against those held responsible; and to what extent such action takes account of the Northern Ireland civil service fair employment code. [18750]

The permanent secretary of the NIO and the head of the Northern Ireland civil service has ordered an inquiry into the leakage to the media of documents and other information relating to the identity, records and deployment of civil servants in Northern Ireland. That inquiry will be headed by Mr. William Innes, a former senior Whitehall official with experience of government in Northern Ireland.If the inquiry indicates that a criminal offence may have been committed, the RUC will be informed.Only when the inquiry has been completed can a decision be taken on appropriate action. If that action involves a civil servant, it will comply with the civil service pay and conditions of service code.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date a claim of sectarian harassment was lodged against the Department of Agriculture and one of the Minister's private office staff; on what date the claimant was transferred out of her private office; and if he will make a statement. [18751]

The complainant raised orally allegations of sectarian harassment on 31 July 1995 and followed this up as requested in writing on 8 August 1995. A formal complaint of sectarian harassment was lodged with the Fair Employment Tribunal against the Department of Agriculture on 4 October 1995.The complainant was told of her transfer on 28 July 1995, informed orally about her new post on 7 August 1995 and took up her new post on 10 August 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for the most recent year for which figures are available (a) the percentage and number of school leavers who obtained a degree and (b) the percentage and number of posts requiring a degree filled in the Northern Ireland civil service clerical and administrative grades; and if he will ensure that the admission procedure does not discriminate against graduates. [18752]

It is estimated that 27 per cent. of school children in Northern Ireland—some 6,700—graduate by the age of 25.In the year 1996–97 a total of 735 clerical and administrative vacancies were filled in the non-industrial Northern Ireland civil service, of which 20, 2.7 per cent., required a degree as a condition of entry. The remaining 715 posts were standard clerical appointments where the nature of work to be performed does not require applicants to possess a graduate level qualification. Recruitment procedures to the NI civil service reflect the service's firm commitment to equality of opportunity in employment; entry standards for particular posts are set in relation to the nature of the work to be performed and all applicants are considered strictly on the basis of merit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to allow the Northern Ireland Forum to continue operating during any castle buildings talks adjournment. [18754]

The Northern Ireland (Entry to Negotiations, etc) Act 1996 places me under a duty to make, subject to approval of a draft in each House, an order to withdraw from effect the provisions establishing the Forum if it appears to me that the negotiations have been concluded or suspended.On 10 March I announced that I had concluded that the talks were suspended, following the decision of the plenary session to adjourn until 3 June, and taking account of all the circumstances. In accordance with my statutory duty I therefore laid before Parliament the draft Northern Ireland (Entry to Negotiations, etc) Act 1996 (Cessation of Section 3) Order 1997.If the draft order is approved, the Forum will not be able to operate in any form. It will be possible for a new Secretary of State to bring before the next Parliament a further draft order reviving the Forum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to improve respite care facilities for special school students and their parents in the North Down and Ards area; and what factors underlay the closure of the South Eastern education and library board's summer schemes. [18755]

There is no statutory requirement for education and library boards to provide summer schemes at special schools and my Department has no approval function to exercise. I understand that, in reaching its decision to discontinue the schemes, the board took into account concerns about the supervision and safety of pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the respite care centre at Beechfield avenue, Conlig, Newtownards, will come into service; and if he will make statement. [18757]

A range of services for children with learning disability are currently provided by the centre. An afternoon club offering after school respite will restart shortly. Full use will be made of the facility as soon as an analysis of the findings of a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the needs of families with children with learning disability has been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the training centres indicating (a) their capacity and (b) the total number of trainees currently at each. [18759]

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to announce his decisions on tranches 2 and 3 of the acute hospital reorganisation project; and if he will make a statement. [18760]

The position with regard to tranche 2 is that following receipt of the recommendations from the project steering group additional work had to be undertaken in relation to the recommendation on maternity services. This is now complete and I hope to make an announcement on all aspects of tranche 2 in the near future.Following consultations on tranche 3, the steering group put recommendations to me on 29 November 1996. I, in turn, consulted relevant bodies, inviting comments by mid-February. I will be considering these shortly and will announce my decisions soon afterwards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the summer schemes for mentally disabled children at Clifton special care school, Bangor; and what assessment he has made of the advantages of parents covering the cost of the schemes. [18756]

There is no statutory requirement for education and library boards to provide summer schemes at special schools and my Department has no approval function to exercise. I understand that, in reaching its decision to discontinue the scheme at Clifton special school, the South Eastern education and library board took into account concerns about the safety and supervision of pupils. Any further proposals from parents should be put to the board for consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fires in Housing Executive properties in each of the last three years are estimated to have resulted from a failure to observe building regulations. [18970]

I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that the answer is none.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what investigations he has conducted into the source of the noxious smell detectable at Manse road, Manse park and Manse green, Newtownards; and what action the Water Service of the Department of Environment (Northern Ireland) proposes to take. [18758]

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Water Service under its chief executive, Mr. H. R. F. Plester. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are registered (a) blind and (b) partially sighted. [19084]

Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. The numbers of blind and particularly sighted people in Northern Ireland who were in contact with health and social service providers during the year ended 31 March 1996 were 3,634 and 2,514 respectively.