To ask the President of the Council what is her Department's policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment within her Department and relevant agencies and to other government departments or agencies; and what arrangements have been made in this respect. [23247]

My Department's policy for the recycling and disposal of information technology equipment is to determine the most cost effective option. Consideration is given to retention for spares, or sale to staff or to commercial or charitable organisations. I am not responsible for any agencies.

To ask the Attorney-General what is his Department's policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment within his Department and relevant agencies and to other Government departments or agencies; and what arrangements have been made in this respect. [23238]

The policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment in the Departments for which I am responsible is to redeploy the equipment within the relevant Department or, if it is past its useful life, to destroy it. Surplus equipment which is of value may be sold. All data are erased for security purposes.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce tax incentives for business angels to put loan capital into small private companies. [23554]

[holding answer 20 January 1998]: Business angels already receive tax incentives to invest in small companies through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what interest rate increase would be needed to keep to the inflation target if earnings rise by 1 per cent. more than the Government's forecast. [24296]

[holding answer 20 January 1998]: Interest rates are set by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)of the Bank of England to meet the Government's inflation target of 2½ per cent. The MPC bases its interest rate decisions on a range of evidence, and its response to higher than expected earnings growth would depend on how it affected the outlook for inflation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral answer of 15 January 1998, Official Report, column 478, if he will publish the figures his Department has collated on pension returns for (a) 1996 and (b) 1997. [24129]

[holding answer 20 January 1998]: I refer to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) on 16 January 1997, Official Report, column 322–24. The Treasury did not publish any pensions returns figures for 1996.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland to produce a concordat setting out arrangements for relations between his Department and the Scottish Executive after the establishment of a Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [23550]

[holding answer 20 January 1998]: Officials from my Department and the Scottish Office are discussing the need for a non-statutory agreement between the Treasury and the Scottish Executive covering the exchange of information, advance notification and joint working in line with the principles set out the White Paper, "Scotland's Parliament".

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the mandate of the Financial Services Authority will include those who have neither a current bank account nor one with a building society. [23354]

The Financial Services Authority will be responsible for all aspects of financial regulation. It will acquire the regulatory responsibilities currently exercised by the Bank of England, the three Self-Regulating Organisations (the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation, the Personal Investment Authority and the Securities and Futures Authority), the Insurance Directorate of Her Majesty's Treasury, the Building Societies Commission, the Friendly Societies Commission and the Registry of Friendly Societies. The Financial Services Authority will also be given responsibility for the authorisation of those currently authorised to do investment business by virtue of their membership of a Recognised Professional Body.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the Trustee Investment Act 1961; and what plans he has to change the current investment powers of charity trustees. [24423]

The Treasury has received a number of representations on reform of the Trustee Investments Act.The Government understand and accept in principle the case for reform. But any reform must provide a complete and lasting solution. It is unlikely that this could be achieved without primary legislation.The Government are committed to reform in a number of areas and already have a full programme of legislation implementing its key policy priorities. Primary legislation to reform the TIA would need to compete for a space in this programme. The Government will keep the position under review and seek to make progress at the earliest opportunity.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will carry out an assessment of the impact of his Department's current policies on the (a) income, (b) employment opportunities and (c) living standards, of the poorest 30 per cent. of the population. [23345]

Our society is more divided than it has been in generations: over the last 20 years the proportion of households without work has more than doubled from 9 per cent. Our policies are aimed at mending these divisions. Our objective is to raise the living standards of the many, not just of the few, and to offer education and employment opportunities for all.The Government believe that the best way of improving the living standards of those with the poorest living standards is to help them into work. We are implementing a range of policies under the New Deal to help move those people from welfare into work in order that their living standards may rise.The Government have also established a Social Exclusion Unit to help co-ordinate action across Government to find new and more integrated ways of tackling the worst problems. We continually evaluate our policies using a variety of methods.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which registered United Kingdom insurance and reinsurance companies have ceased underwriting since January 1992; and which are paying less than 100 per cent. of claims. [23985]

Information on the status of UK authorised insurance companies as at 31 December 1996 is given in the Insurance Annual Report 1996 published by The Stationery Office, copies of which are in the Library. Appendix 3A indicates whether a company's authorisation to effect contracts of insurance has been withdrawn under section 11 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982, and if a company is in liquidation, provisional liquidation, or scheme or arrangements under section 425 of the Companies Act 1985. Companies in the last three categories will generally not be meeting claims in full. Other companies which remain authorised may in practice have ceased underwriting, but it is not possible to give a definitive list as the circumstances of each company differ.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bank of England Bill. [24941]

The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bank of England Bill will be altered to reflect new guidance on the treatment of cash ratio deposits in the National Accounts. On the basis of advice from Eurostat, the Bank of England's income on cash ratio deposits will not score as General Government Expenditure. This does not affect the position for the Financial Services Authority, whose costs will be General Government Expenditure.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future regulation of Lloyd's. [24942]

In her statement of 23 July 1997, Official Report, column 676, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced that the supervision of insurance business, including that carried on at Lloyd's, would ultimately become a responsibility of the proposed Financial Services Authority (FSA). Since then, I have been considering the options for the future regulatory arrangements for Lloyd's in the context of the comprehensive reforms which we will implement in the forthcoming financial services reform Bill. As we have already made clear, we intend to publish a draft Bill for consultation in the Summer.Holders of insurance policies underwritten at Lloyd's should enjoy the benefits of the same kind of supervisory regime as those with policies issued by other insurers. I intend as part of the modernisation of the prudential supervision powers currently available to the Treasury under the Insurance Companies Act 1982, that the FSA will have much more extensive supervisory powers in relation to Lloyd's. I intend that these should include enhanced powers of intervention and a requirement for authorisation by the FSA of managing agents, who are responsible in practice for running underwriting syndicates. I also intend that the FSA should have reserve power to undertake direct authorisation and supervision of Members of Lloyd's, should that prove to be appropriate in due course.Certain activities at Lloyd's are similar to business which is currently regulated by the Financial Services Authority under the Financial Services Act 1986. Members' agents advise Members of Lloyd's about which syndicates they should participate in and I intend that their activities should be subject to authorisation by the FSA. In addition, the emerging secondary market in syndicate capacity resembles markets subject to control under the 1986 Act. I intend that the FSA should oversee the operation of the market under a regime similar to that currently in place for recognised investment exchanges.These arrangements will continue to allow scope for a major role by the Council of Lloyd's in ensuring that Lloyd's continues to be a well-regulated, successful and important part of the UK financial services industry. They will however provide, for the first time in many areas, a major element of external regulatory accountability.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total number of deaths in each of the last five years resulting from ingesting (a) heroin, (b) alcohol, (c) ecstasy, (d) speed, (e) nicotine, (f) glue, (g) Temazepam, (h) cannabis and (i) LSD. [23390]

Deaths in England and Wales, 1992–96
	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
(a) Heroin	—	52(10)	88(9)	130(21)	186(35)
Alone	—	41(7)	68(7)	106(17)	147(32)
With other drugs2	—	11(3)	20(2)	24(4)	39(3)
(b) Alcohol5	3,565	3,550	3,853	4,235	4,489
(c) Ecstasy	—	5(2)	22(1)	7(-)	10(2)
Alone	—	3(1)	15(1)	4(-)	8(2)
With other drugs2	—	2(1)	7(-)	3(-)	2(-)
(d) 'Speed' (Amphetamines)	—	22(3)	18(1)	37(3)	29(2)
Alone	—	8(-)	6(-)	18(-)	14(1)
With other drugs2	—	14(3)	12(1)	19(3)	15(1)
(e) Nicotine (Tobacco-related)4	n/a	n/a	n/a	120,000	n/a
(f) Glue3	75	57	49	57	n/a
(g) Temazapam	—	169(62)	157(47)	133(40)	92(22)
Alone	—	60(25)	66(26)	37(16)	32(15)
With other drugs2	—	109(37)	91(21)	96(24)	60(7)
(h) Cannabis	—	10(3)	10(2)	10(3)	4(2)
Alone	—	2(2)	2(-)	l(-)	-(-)
With other drugs2	–	8(1)	8(2)	9(3)	4(2)
(i) LSD	—	-(-)	1(-)	-(-)	-(-)
Alone	—	-(-)	-(-)	-(-)	-(-)
With other drugs2	—	-(-)	1(-)	-(-)	-(-)
The figures in brackets are those deaths with a mention of alcohol and are included in the non-bracketed figures.
1 The route of administration (i.e., whether swallowed, injected, inhaled etc.) of toxic substance is not usually specified on the death certificate. The data above represent all mentions of drugs, however administered, where the death was certified is due to poisoning, drug dependence or non-dependent abuse of drugs.
2 If, for example, both heroin and cannabis are mentioned on a death certificate, the death will occur twice in the table, once under 'Heroin with other drugs' and once under 'Cannabis with other drugs'.
3 Data supplied by St. George's Hospital Medical School and are those deaths involving all volatile substances, including glue.
4 Data relate to United Kingdom. This is the latest Department of Health estimate.
5 Deaths certified as due to alcoholic psychoses, alcohol dependence syndrome, non-dependent abuse of alcohol, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and toxic effects of alcohol.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of (a) alcohol-related deaths, (b) tobacco-related deaths and (c) cannabis-related deaths in each of the last three years. [23182]

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.

[holding answer 19 January 1998]: 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 how may people have died in the United Kingdom in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available from (a) tobacco-related illness, (b) alcohol-related illness, (c) road traffic accidents and (d) vitamin B6 overdoses; and if he will make a statement. [23512]

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 estimate the distribution of (a) households and (b) taxpayers in each quartile of income in the United Kingdom and in each of the regions and nations of the United Kingdom. [22978]

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 how many males aged 50 to 65 years were in full-time employment in Northumberland in each of the last three years; and what percentage this was in each year of all males in that age group in that area. [24034]

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 estimate he has made of the number of women of child-bearing age in the United Kingdom who earn more than (a) £100,000 and (b) £1 million annually. [23792]

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 Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all overseas visits made since 1 May 1997 on which he or any other Minister in his Department has been accompanied under Rule 83 of the Ministerial Code, indicating (a) who accompanied him or her, (b) the cost to public funds of each such visit. [23256]

[holding answer 15 January 1998]: The rules and practice on foreign travel by Ministers have not changed and are the same as those followed under the previous Administration.I was accompanied to Hong Kong for the handover from 27 June to 1 July by my wife at a cost to public funds of £2,901.I was accompanied to Dublin on 3 November by my partner, Ms Gaynor Regan. There was no cost to public funds.My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson) was accompanied by his partner, Miss Geraldine Daly, to Luxembourg from 25–26 October at a cost to public funds of £571.24.My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) was accompanied by Mrs. Fatchett to Australasia and the Pacific from 12–22 September at a cost to public funds of £7,558.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list each overseas journey he has made at public expense since 1 May 1997 and indicate the date, purpose and cost of each journey. [24133]

For details of my overseas visits undertaken during the period 1 May to 10 November 1997, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 11 November 1997, Official Report, column 502–04. My visits overseas since then are listed in the following table:

Date	Venue	Purpose of visit	Total cost(£)
November
19–20	Geneva	P4 Meeting on Iraq	35,140.15
20–21	Luxembourg	Extraordinary European Council Meeting on Employment
24	Brussels	General Affairs Council	6,216.00
25–28	Budapest	Bilateral	45,694.00
	Prague
	Warsaw
December
7–8	Brussels	General Affairs Council	2,019.93
8–10	Bonn	Peace Implementation Conference	8,613.20
11–13	Luxembourg	European Council	30,000.00
16–17	Brussels	NAC Ministerial and Related Meetings	11,895.09
January
14	Strasbourg	European Parliament	9,478.09
15–17	Washington	Bilateral and EU	150,000.00
	Ottawa	Presidency
18–21	Hong Kong	Bilateral	1100,000.00
	China
1 Estimate only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he was informed that procedures for joining the Schengen Agreement under the Treaty of Amsterdam would be subject to unanimity. [24054]

We learnt of the change to the text when we received the revised Treaty text (CONF 4001/ 97) on 19 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the investigations by the presidency of the European Council on the circumstances surrounding the negotiations at Amsterdam, pertaining to voting procedures used in the admission of states to the Schengen area. [24052]

The Presidency's view was that the treaty text (CONF 4001/ 97) was an accurate reflection of discussions at the Amsterdam Summit. This text was deposited in the Libraries of the House at the time of receipt.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the negotiations at Amsterdam, pertaining to the voting procedures used in the admission of states to the Schengen area, have been raised (a) at the Council of Ministers and (b) bilaterally; and by whom. [24055]

This issue was raised at all levels on a number of occasions following the Amsterdam Summit, including in several bilateral exchanges with other Member States, in particular the Presidency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received in favour of the placing of BBC World Service programmes on the Internet. [24051]

Some World Service output is already available on the Internet. In collaboration with BBC News, the World Service has launched an online news service in English, and is developing other online news services in Arabic, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish. In addition, World Service programmes can now be heard live in English, Spanish and German as a result of various rebroadcasting agreements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Minister's recent visit to Algeria on behalf of the European Union; and what new initiatives he proposes. [24477]

The European Union (EU) Troika visited Algeria on 19 and 20 January in order to open up the current political dialogue between the EU and the Algerian Government; to provide a public demonstration of the European people's sympathy for the suffering of their neighbours in Algeria; to emphasise the EU's condemnation of terrorism and to improve our understanding of the situation in Algeria. The mission made progress in achieving those objectives.Foreign Minister Attaf agreed in principle to accept my invitation to visit the UK during our Presidency to continue the dialogue. The Troika urged the Algerian Government to be open about the situation in Algeria, and in particular to allow an early visit from the UN Special Rapporteurs. It was disappointing that the Algerian Government have so far been unable to agree to the latter. We agreed with the Algerian Government to increase the number of parliamentary exchanges. The EU' s offer of humanitarian assistance to the Algerian people was not taken up but remains on the table. I will also be reporting to the General Affairs Council who will consider further how the EU might help Algeria.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Algerian government to accept initiatives of the international community to end human rights abuses in Algeria. [24442]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary urged Mr. Attaf, the Algerian Foreign Minister, to accept a visit by UN Special Rapporteurs when they spoke on the telephone on 16 January. During the EU Troika mission to Algiers on 20 January, I reinforced that message with Mr. Attaf and Prime Minister Ouyahia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department is giving to the Home Office about the human rights situation in Algeria in relation to people seeking asylum from that country. [24444]

The Home Office is familiar with the human rights situation in Algeria and seeks FCO advice in relation to specific circumstances that affect asylum applications. That advice covers the internal security situation in particular areas and any threat to particular sectors of society.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment within his Department and relevant agencies and to other Government departments or agencies; and what arrangements have been made in this respect. [23278]

This Department and its one agency aim to recycle as much material as is cost justified. Classified elements of surplus information technology equipment which cannot be redeployed within the Department are destroyed. Unclassified elements are sold either in working condition or for scrap.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Governments of (a) South Africa, (b) Spain and (c) Panama concerning illegal fishing around Antarctica; and if he will make a statement. [24131]

The question of illegal fishing was discussed extensively at the annual meeting in November 1997 of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), of which both South Africa and Spain are Members. Through the Chairman of the Commission, and on a bilateral level, approaches have been made to the authorities in Panama.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the siting of the Antarctic Secretariat. [24132]

Antarctic Treaty Parties have made no further progress since the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in New Zealand in May last year when issues relating to the Secretariat were discussed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who has stayed in his official London residence since 1 May 1997. [24135]

The public rooms at 1 Carlton Gardens are used for a variety of official business. I have a private flat at the top of the building in which no official guests have stayed since 2 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what improvement works are planned for his official London residence; and what is the estimated cost of each item. [24136]

The exterior paintwork of 1 Carlton Gardens was refurbished over the summer at a cost of £45,000. The decision to undertake this work was made in early 1997 under the previous Government.The FCO are obliged under the terms of the lease from the Crown Estate to maintain the building according to a set timetable and strict standards and to comply with statutory requirements in respect of its Grade I listing status.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of all the Lottery Capital Scheme awards value has been granted to (a) the London region and (b) the Yorkshire and Humber region. [23378]

To date £3.18 billion has been awarded to Lottery capital projects. Of these, awards to the London region account for 17 per cent. (£543.8 million). Capital awards to the Yorkshire and Humber region (£214.7 million) account for 6.7 per cent. of the total.Information on successful Lottery applicants can be found on the Department's website www.lottery.culture.gov.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his assessment of the effect on amateur and junior rugby league of the recent changes to the management of the Super League. [23499]

The structure and management of rugby league is a matter for the rugby league authorities. The English Sports Council are working closely with the rugby league authorities, through a Joint Policy Board, which has overseen the establishment of a Youth Commission to develop and promote opportunities for young people to play the game at all levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of participation levels in rugby league at all levels of the sport. [23500]

According to the governing bodies for rugby league, there are around 1,000 professional rugby league players at 34 professional clubs, and approximately 35,000 amateur rugby league players at 400 amateur clubs in this country. The Government, through the English Sports Council, actively encourage all governing bodies of sport to have programmes in place which promote our policy of "sport for all" and increase participation levels in all sports, from grass roots through to elite competitors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the current state of rugby league in the light of the recent changes to the senior management of the Super League; and if he will make a statement. [23498]

The structure and management of rugby league is primarily a matter for the rugby league authorities, who establish and implement rules and regulations which they consider to be in the best interests of the game as a whole. I am certain my hon. Friend will make his views known and I am always ready to listen to them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the financial and participative future of First and Second division rugby league clubs. [23501]

I have not yet made an assessment and believe it is primarily a matter for the rugby league authorities although I would be interested in discussing the matter at an appropriate All Party Group meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the number and location of sites in Wales that will provide digital television services; and if he will indicate how many television viewers in Wales will not be covered by digital service transmitters. [23825]

The BBC and the Independent Television Commission's plans for the launch of digital terrestrial television services are based on 81 transmission sites in the UK. In Wales, the following sites are included in the launch plan: Wenvoe, Blaen Plwyf, Llanddona, Moel y Parc, Aberdate, Kilvey Hill, and Pontypool. It is not possible to provide a precise number of television viewers in Wales who will not be able to receive an adequate digital service from these transmitters until the transmissions begin. However, the ITC estimates that approximately 766,000 people in Wales (26 per cent. of the total population of Wales) may be unserved from the 81 site plan.Following the completion of the launch phase of digital terrestrial television, the BBC and ITC, in consultation with my Department, will determine how best to extend digital television services to those remaining unserved, whether by additional terrestrial transmitters or by other means.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the Government will subsidise the provision of set-top boxes to allow (a) the elderly and (b) the disabled to continue receiving television signals after the cessation of analogue broadcasts. [23686]

Digital terrestrial broadcasting has yet to begin and the Government have no plans to subsidise the provision of set top boxes. However, multiplex licences granted to British Digital Broadcasting plc by the Independent Television Commission contain conditions relating to the promotion of the acquisition of digital receivers and this may include direct subsidy. Analogue terrestrial transmissions will not be discontinued until the spread of digital receivers throughout the population is as universal as that of analogue terrestrial services now.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with satellite television broadcasters on the inclusion of terrestrial television channels in their services. [23941]

Government have no authority to determine which services are carried by satellite broadcasters. It is for the broadcasters, including those currently broadcasting their signals terrestrially, to discuss carriage of their services direct with satellite operators. I understand, however, that the BBC and Channel 5 intend that their terrestrial services should be available on digital satellite once transmissions begin.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the findings of Sir John Smith's report "Integrity in Football" will be acted upon by the Government's Football Taskforce. [24062]

The issues raised in Sir John Smith's report do not fall within the Taskforce's remit. Rather, they are matters for the Football Association to consider in the first instance. I have written to the FA's Chairman, Mr. Keith Wiseman, welcoming Sir John's report, and encouraging the FA to respond as early as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his Department's policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment within his Department and relevant agencies and to other Government departments or agencies; and what arrangements have been made in this respect. [23282]

DCMS and its agencies all operate a policy of reusing IT equipment where this is practicable. Equipment which cannot be reused internally is sold for reuse or recycling or passed to organisations which can dispose of unusable products such as old toner cartridges.DCMS has an arrangement with its IT contractors to undertake the disposal of IT equipment. Its two agencies, the Historic Royal Palaces Agency and the Royal Parks Agency both have, at present, informal arrangements for disposal of their equipment through various organisations. It is expected that these will be formalised in the coming year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to introduce a statutory register of accommodation; and if he will make a statement. [24944]

The new, harmonised accommodation rating schemes, which are being introduced in 1998 for full implementation by 2000 by the English Tourist Board, the Automobile Association and the Royal Automobile Club, represent a big step forward.We intend to assess the impact of these voluntary measures before deciding whether statutory registration is also needed. We shall do so on the basis of consultation with the Tourism Forum. The strategy for tourism, which I am currently developing in consultation with the Forum, will specifically consider how to raise and maintain quality in all aspects of tourism, including accommodation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his estimate of the cost to his Department of providing Welsh language television in the latest year for which figures are available. [21988]

The Welsh Fourth Channel Authority (S4C), is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The grant is paid on a calendar year basis and, for 1998, it is £74.895 million. The level of the grant is determined by a statutory formula set out in the Broadcasting Act 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what were (a) the total annual emissions in kilotonnes and (b) the emissions per unit of electricity generated, in g/kWh, of (i) carbon dioxide, (ii) sulphur dioxide, (iii) oxides of nitrogen, (iv) hydrogen chloride, (v) dust and (vi) other substances, for the last 10 years from each of the coal or gas-fired power stations in the United Kingdom. [22860]

I have placed the tables which provide the data requested insofar as they are available in the Library of the House. The data have been obtained primarily from records held by the Environment Agency in England and Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment. Where there are gaps in the data from Agency sources, they have been filled in a number of ways.Data have also been obtained from reports published by the power generators, and from correspondence between those companies and the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. In some cases emissions have been estimated by combining reported or derived fuel use estimates and aggregate emission factors. Where carbon dioxide emissions were not recorded they have been estimated using the relationship with the emissions of oxides of nitrogen.There are still many gaps in the tables. For the most part, this is because many power stations have closed down during the last ten years while others have opened only relatively recently. In other cases, such as for many of the pollutants in 1988, no data were recorded and no estimates can be made. Finally, emissions for some pollutants from stations fuelled by certain fuels are not considered significant and are not included in the tables, e.g. data are recorded for hydrogen chloride from coal fired stations only.Particulate matter emissions have been reported in place of those requested for "dust", as the former is what is actually measured. Gas fired power stations do not emit significant quantities of particulate matter and therefore do not figure in the tables for this pollutant.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for each month for the last 12 months the dates and times that the air traffic control centre at West Drayton failed, together with the length of the system failure, the estimated number of aircraft involved and the reason for the failure. [23197]

National Air Traffic Services Ltd., who are responsible for operations at the London Area and Terminal Control Centre (LATCC) at West Drayton, inform me that there were no system failures within the last 12 months.There were, however, two engineering related occurrences which resulted in short term capacity reductions. Neither incident resulted in a degradation of safety levels.On 5 August 1997 two sectors at LATCC had to be temporarily combined following reports of an electrical problem on one of the consoles. The duration of the incident

Heathrow
1997	Take-offs			Landings
	Total	Number delayed	Percentage delayed	Total	Number delayed	Percentage delayed
January	18,085	1,522	8.4	18,095	2,671	14.8
February	16,680	1,195	7.2	16,679	3,557	21.3
March	18,333	1,904	10.4	18,328	3,394	18.5
April	18,148	2,293	12.6	18,151	4,098	22.6
May	18,845	3,657	19.4	18,806	4,923	26.2
June	18,589	4,311	23.2	18,597	5,598	30.1
July	18,389	3,806	20.7	18,403	4,179	22.7
August	18,243	3,326	18.2	19,223	3,975	20.7
September	18,750	3,390	18.1	18,748	3,891	20.8
October	19,171	3,301	17.2	19,151	4,640	24.2
November	17,932	2,159	12.0	17,968	2,494	13.9
December	17,706	1,656	9.4	17,687	2,125	12.0
Total	218,871	32,520	14.9	219,836	45,545	20.7

Gatwick
1997	Take-offs			Landings
	Total	Number delayed	Percentage delayed	Total	Number delayed	Percentage delayed
January	8,370	225	2.7	8,329	878	10.5
February	7,810	249	3.2	7,775	592	7.6
March	9,132	287	3.1	9,138	929	10.2
April	9,351	278	3.0	9,347	921	9.9
May	10,756	926	8.6	10,751	1,335	12.4
June	10,723	1,061	9.9	10,693	1,534	14.3
July	11,378	968	8.5	11,338	1,321	11.7
August	11,688	879	7.5	11,687	1,271	10.9
September	11,159	794	7.1	11,167	1,164	10.4
October	10,798	602	5.6	10,791	1,183	11.0
November	8,946	470	5.3	8,957	619	6.9
December	9,091	358	3.9	9,080	405	4.5
Total	119.202	7,097	5.9	119,053	12,152	10.2

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for each month for the last 12 months the number of aircraft delayed in (a) taking off and (b) landing as a result of air traffic control delays at (i) Heathrow Airport and (ii) Gatwick Airport. [23198]

National Air Traffic Services Ltd., who are responsible for Air Traffic Control operations at Heathrow and Gatwick, have provided the following statistics relating to the total number of flights, and the number and percentage experiencing delays on take-off and landing at the two airports for each of the past twelve months. It should be noted that these statistics relate to flight delays on departure and arrival for whatever reason (e.g. weather, runway capacity, late passengers, as well as Air Traffic Control). A breakdown to show delays exclusively attributable to Air Traffic Control could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many air misses took place in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; and how many fatalities resulted from air traffic control errors in the last 10 years in the United Kingdom. [23580]

The Civil Aviation Authority, who are responsible for air space management in the United Kingdom, have supplied figures for Risk-Bearing Airprox incidents which are given in the table below. There were no fatalities resulting from air traffic control errors in the last 10 years in the United Kingdom.

Year	Risk-Bearing Airprox(P)	Risk-Bearing Airprox(C)
1987	65	—
1988	81	—
1989	71	—
1990	69	—
1991	61	25
1992	49	24
1993	69	21
1994	64	20
1995	48	30
1996	59	—

1. A Risk-Bearing Airprox incident is one categorised as A (real risk of collision), B (possible risk of collision) or C (slight risk of collision).2. 1997 figures have not yet been verified as to whether they are Risk-Bearing.3. Airprox (P) are incidents reported by pilots, Airprox (C) are incidents reported by air traffic controllers.4. Airprox (C) data have been collected only since 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the percentage of failures in car driving tests in (a) 1996 and (b) 1997; and in what proportion a reason for failure was that driving was too slow. [23508]

The percentage of failures in car driving tests in 1996 was 56 per cent. Figures for 1997 are available only from the period January to June because of problems with the computer system collating test data at the Driving Standards Agency. During that period the failure rate was 53 per cent. The Agency hopes to have rectified the problems relating to the IT systems in the near future.Statistics showing what proportion of failures was caused by driving too slow are not currently available. The Agency is developing management information systems that will allow comprehensive analyses to be undertaken of faults committed by candidates. It is hoped that this facility will be operational from early next month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will list for each of the train operating companies serving Greater London (a) the number of penalty fares issued and (b) the income generated by penalty fares since the companies began operating; [23656]

This information is not held centrally. Information supplied by or on behalf of Train Operating Companies is set out in the table. This shows the number of penalty fares issued by the Train Operating Companies serving greater London, the number of appeals received and the proportion of these that were successful.

Company	Penalty fares issued 1996–97	Appeals received	Total appeals successful per cent.
LTS Rail	9,330	745	57
Great Eastern Railway	43,717	5,083	53
Connex South Central	42,789	2.317	59
Connex South Eastern	100,031	11,203	63
Silverlink Train Services1	10,031	1,113	61
South West Trains	49,227	4,160	47
Thameslink	20,855	1,007	81
Thames Trains	23,979	1,967	65
Chiltern Railway	4,475	344	62
West Anglia and Great Northern	50,000	2,660	20
1 Denotes a company which no longer applies penalty fares.

Figures for income generated by penalty fares since the companies have been operating are unavailable. The primary purpose of penalty fares is not to generate income but to address the problem of ticketless travel. I understand that in 1990 the ticketless travel rate was four per cent. The implementation of penalty fares has, for most companies, driven down ticketless travel to 1.5 per cent. or less.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review circular 52/75 regarding inspection of trees. [23297

Circular Roads 52/75 will be withdrawn upon the issue of new and revised advice in the Trunk Road Maintenance Manual. These revisions are planned for publication later this year.The manual is provided to the managing agents for the trunk road network in England under the direction of the Highways Agency. The requirements for the inspection of trees are set out in volume 2, part 1, chapter 11 and are broadly similar to the advice given in the Circular 52/75.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people have (a) died and (b) been injured as a result of falling roadside trees in each of the last five years. [23296]

The Statistical Branch of DETR produces a number of annual publications which incorporate a wide variety of accident data, but because of the inevitable limit on the number of categorisations of accidents, no separate statistics are maintained on injury accidents resulting from falling trees. There are no immediate plans to identify this data but this will be reconsidered when an overall review is undertaken within the next five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on those very exceptional circumstances referred to in Point 10, Annexe III, of EC Directive 91/439/EEC wherein insulin-dependent drivers might be granted licences to drive minibuses and transit vans. [23355]

The relevant provision in the Directive, relating to the driving of vehicles in group 2 (lorries over 3.5 tonnes and vehicles with more than eight passenger seats), says that

"only in very exceptional cases may driving licences be issued to or renewed for applicants or drivers in this group suffering from diabetes mellitus and requiring insulin treatment, and then only where duly justified by authorised medical opinion and subject to regular medical check-ups."

The advice of the Secretary of State's Honorary Advisory Panel on Diabetes and Driving is that there are, in their judgment, no exceptional cases which medical opinion would recognise as being lower risk than others. The Panel have recently confirmed their considered view that granting licences to drive Group 2 vehicles to those who are insulin-treated is not in the interests of road safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had, and with which bodies, on the protection of hedgerows in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [23288]

The official group set up to review the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 comprises representatives from a wide range of interests, including statutory agencies, local authorities and the main farming and conservation bodies.The protection of hedgerows in England and Wales is raised from time to time in Ministerial discussions with these and other interested groups.I will write to my hon. Friend with a full list of the review group's membership.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the water regulator; [23696](2) if he will take steps to strengthen the regulatory powers of OFWAT. [23698]

My overall assessment of OFWAT is that they do a good job within the existing framework of regulation. The Government are currently undertaking a review of the regulation of the utility industries with the objective of setting a long-term stable framework for utility regulation which is seen as fair by all the interest groups involved, particularly by consumers. Among other issues, the review has been considering whether any legislative changes are required to meet this objective. Our proposals will be published in a Green Paper in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1997, Official Report, columns 151–52, concerning the 13 reports received on the possible location of the wreck of the Gaul, what were the dates of each report; and if he will publish the reports in full. [23947]

Dates are recorded on existing files only for the following reports of the possible location of the Gaul:

• Poseidon: 21 May 1974
• HMS Rhyl: 22 May 1974
• Lord Nelson: 31 May 1974
• Rairo: 15 November 1975
• Marbella: 2 March 1977
• Ella Hewitt: 19 September 1997.

The other reports of location are undated, being referred to only in official correspondence and file notes. The references to reported locations are not in a form suitable for publication.But if my hon. Friend would like to contact the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents he will be happy to make arrangements for my hon. Friend to have access to the relevant files at his offices in Southampton.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what grants are available to enable coach operators to fit seat belts in coaches used in transporting children to and from school; and if he will make a statement. [23995]

There are no grants available to coach operators to cover the coasts of fitting seat belts in their vehicles. Operators can, of course, take these costs into account, along with other overheads, when tendering for transport contracts. The additional costs to local authorities of implementing the new requirements on safety of school transport has been taken into account when determining the Education Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) in local government finance settlements since 1995–96.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received about footpath I18 in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire; and if he will make a statement. [23830]

Ten representations have been received about Leicestershire County Council's temporary closure of footpath I18. I understand that the closure is necessary because a retaining wall next to the footpath is in a dangerous condition but that there is a legal dispute between the County Council, Railtrack and private residents about who is responsible for the works. I also understand that the County Council is considering taking legal proceedings to require the works to be carried out and in the meantime is considering interim engineering proposals that may enable the footpath to be reopened pending those works.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the present average cost of constructing one mile of new motorway; and what are the figures in cash terms for (a) 1988, (b) 1978 and (c) 1968. [24226]

The average cost of constructing one mile of new, dual three lane motorway is £17.1 million. The figures in cash terms for 1988, 1978, and 1968 are £11.8 million, £6.1 million and £1.7 million respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the performance of the Commission for Local Administration. [24242]

[holding answer 20 January 1998]: A fundamental review of the Commission for Local Administration in England concluded in 1996 that the Commission was cost-effective in its determination of complaints. A number of the review's recommendations required legislation and we shall be considering how to take these forward. In determining individual complaints, the Commissioners, appointed by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Secretary of State, are wholly independent of central and local government.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his Department's policy regarding the recycling of information technology equipment within his Department and relevant agencies and to other Government departments or agencies; and what arrangements have been made in this respect. [23243]

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions follows internal procedures for the redeployment of information technology equipment within the Department and the Agencies. Surplus equipment is disposed of in accordance with Treasury Guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the Year 2000 compliance of the CAA's computer systems. [24786]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) on 19 June 1997, Official Report, column 277, and to the reply the Minister for Roads gave to the noble Lord Gainford on 10 December 1997, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 30–31.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the total number of civil aviation movements over the last five years in United Kingdom controlled airspace. [24484]

National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS) have provided us with the following figures for the total number of aircraft movements handled at each of their Area Control Centres for each of the last five years:

Aircraft movements handled by NATS Units (Year to 31 March)
(000s)
Centre	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997
LATCC	1,288	1,331	1,411	1,494	1,560
MACC	264	273	361	374	394
ScACC	380	390	405	404	415
Oceanic	224	231	235	252	265

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the rate of change of the impact of aviation movements on airprox incidents over the last five years. [24482]

The Civil Aviation Authority, who are responsible for air space management in the United Kingdom, have supplied figures expressed in terms of Commercial Air Transport Aircraft Reported in Risk-Bearing Airprox incidents per 100,000 hours flown as an illustration of the impact of aviation movements on airprox incidents. The figures, for each of the last 5 years for which figures are available, have remained relatively constant despite significant increases (over 20 per cent.) in air movements over the period and are given in the table.

Commercial Air Transport Aircraft Reported in Risk-Bearing Airprox incidents per 100,000 hours flown
Year	Airprox (P)	Airprox (C)
1991	0.7	2.9
1992	0.4	2.5
1993	0.9	2.2
1994	1.5	2.0
1995	1.0	2.8
19961	0.7	2.8
1 1996 figures are provisional and cover the first nine months of the year.

1. Airprox (C) are incidents reported by Air Traffic Controllers, and Airprox (P) are incidents reported by pilots.2. Risk-bearing Airprox incidents are those falling in categories A (real risk of collision), B (possible risk of collision) and C (slight risk of collision). It excludes category D (no risk of collision) incidents.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the number of airprox incidents in United Kingdom controlled airspace for the last five years. [24483]

The Civil Aviation Authority, who are responsible for air space management in the United Kingdom, have supplied the following figures for the total number of airprox incidents reported in the United Kingdom for each of the past five years.

• 1993: 217
• 1994: 212
• 1995: 208
• 1996: 211
• 1997: 209.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the value of variable speed limits in the M25 controlled motorway pilot scheme, in terms of (a) overall journey times and (b) road accidents and casualties. [24480]

The value of variable speed limits in the M25 controlled motorway pilot schemes is being monitored by the Transport Research Laboratory. The results from their first year assessment, the report for which was released in February 1997, indicate that:

(a) during the first 12 months of operation of the pilot, the scheme had accommodated traffic increases in weekdays of 1.3 per cent. during the morning peak period on the clockwise carriageway, and of 3.7 per cent. during the afternoon peak period in the anticlockwise carriageway, without measurable increase in journey times. However, the natural variability of traffic behaviour had masked any overall reduction in journey times; and

(b) police records up to August 1996 showed a 30 per cent. reduction in injury incidents and a 25 per cent. reduction in damage only accidents compared to the previous year.

The results from the second year of operation are expected to be available in about two months' time. Indications are that the pilot is continuing to provide worthwhile benefits to motorists in terms of both traffic operation and safety, while contributing to pollution reductions through smoothing traffic flow.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many vessels sought the assistance of fire services in (a) territorial waters and (b) international waters in each of the past five years; of those what was the proportion of (i) bulk-carriers, (ii) coastal vessels, (iii) tankers, (iv) warships, (v) fishing vessels and (vi) pleasure craft; and if he will make a statement. [23033]

The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, we can advise that, during the last ten years, fire fighting teams have been deployed on 61 occasions in the UK Search and Rescue Region.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what sums were contributed from Government funds through (a) the Highway Authority, (b) English Heritage and (c) others towards the traffic calming measures undertaken in Colchester High Street; and what proportion of these represent the total cost of the measures. [24488]

We have awarded Essex County Council £1.2 million towards the Colchester local transport package in each of the last two years, with a further allocation of £600,000 in the 1998–99 local transport settlement announced in December last year. Resources allocated to packages for minor works are not targeted on specific projects. It is therefore for the County Council to determine the most appropriate use for their allocations within the package area. I understand from the County Council that in 1996–97 some £302,000 of the package allocation was spent on the High Street scheme. In addition, the County and Borough Councils provided £390,000 while English Heritage contributed £100,000. In 1997–98, £150,000 of the allocation is being spent on High Street works, with the Councils contributing £418,000. The total costs of the High Street works are estimated at £2.4 million.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Government plan to bring into force sections 23 to 28 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982. [22991]

There are no plans to bring these sections into force. I understand that the present system for the deposit and safe-keeping of the wills of living persons operated by the Principal Registry of the Family Division under section 126 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 is effective, efficient and increasingly widely used.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to review the legislation concerning solicitors' fees; and if he will make a statement. [22987]

I have no present plans to review the legislation concerning solicitors' fees. If the hon. Lady has any particular changes in mind perhaps she would care to write to me.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review the regulations governing the appointment by solicitors as executors for an estate of their own firm to carry out the administration. [22986]

This is a matter for the Law Society. The Department has no plans to review this area.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 December 1997, Official Report, column 397, if he will take steps to recover from Jonathan Aitken the full costs of laying on the trial arising from the libel action he brought against The Guardian newspaper; and if he will make a statement. [23036]