To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will place in the Library copies of the correspondence her Department has received in the last six months concerning the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive as it affects the offshore oil and gas industry. [46008]

Correspondence received by the Department in London and Aberdeen since December 1997 concerning the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive as it applies to the offshore oil and gas industry covers a wide range of matters, including requests for and responses to the February draft of the Regulations which came into effect on 30 April and comments on Guidelines designed to help those involved in preparing or responding to environmental statements required under those Regulations. The consultation correspondence includes material from other government Departments, statutory advisers, local authorities, companies and industry representatives and environmental and other interest groups and, since neither of the consultation requests mentioned that responses would be copied for publication, it would be appropriate as a matter of courtesy to seek correspondents' permission before doing so. There is also some correspondence regarding the impact of the Regulations on future projects which may include commercially confidential material and, again, the correspondents' permission would be needed before such letters could be released. For these reasons, the copies requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what export licensing controls exist in respect of the export of civil nuclear technology and equipment; and if existing procedures are under review. [46481]

The UK's export controls on nuclear and nuclear-related goods are derived from international nuclear non-proliferation commitments and membership of international nuclear export control regimes, in particular the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), whose members have agreed common guidelines for the transfer of nuclear and nuclear-related goods and technology. The NSG guidelines are reproduced as International Atomic Energy Agency document INFCIR 254, Parts I and II as amended.These commitments are given effect in the relevant legislation, which in this case is Council Regulation (EC) No.381/94 on the export of dual use goods and the related Council Decision 94/942/CSFP as amended.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many foreign visitors and delegations from which countries have been received by (a) the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and (b) British Nuclear Fuels Limited since 1991. [46478]

I am advised by UKAEA that they received over 22,000 foreign visitors from countries throughout the world since 1991. I understand from BNFL that it would be an extensive exercise to check past visitors records: in 1997, the last complete year, they received 178,000 visitors to the Sellafield Visitors Centre alone.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many and what percentage of road vehicles are currently powered by (a) compressed natural gas,(b)liquid petroleum gas and (c) electricity in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) other member states of the European Union; and if she will make a statement. [46728]

In 1997, 9,100 vehicles were registered as running on gas or gas and petrol. No breakdown between compressed natural gas and liquid petroleum gas is available. There were 17,400 electric vehicles. Taken together, gas and electric vehicles make up less than 1 per cent. of the vehicles in the UK. There are no comprehensive statistics for other EU member states.Interest in alternatively fuelled vehicles is growing, especially among fleet operators and local authorities. DTI is supporting the development and use of such vehicles through the Foresight Vehicle LINK programme and the work of the Cleaner Vehicles Task Force.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what mechanisms are in place to monitor and audit funding awarded to universities through the research councils. [46841]

All Research Councils' expenditure is subject to audit by the National Audit Office (NAO).Research Councils themselves have annual programmes of dipstick testing of the usage of their grants within higher education institutions (HEIs). These programmes are carried out jointly by Council staff and the Research Councils' Internal Audit Service. The NAO are currently conducting a value for money audit examining the procurement by HEIs of capital equipment funded by Research Council grants.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to her answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie), of 2 June 1998, Official Report, column 162, if she will indicate the differences in information reported on civil plutonium under the new arrangements as against previous practice. [46811]

The key differences are:

(i) Information under the new format is now reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and circulated to Member States by the Agency, in keeping with the requirements of the 'Guidelines for the Management of Plutonium'. These figures, which show holdings of plutonium at 31 December instead of at 31 March each year, are more widely distributed than before.

(ii) The new format provides clearer information on holdings of plutonium in various forms in a way which facilitates international comparisons on a consistent basis.

(iii) Separate information is now published on the amount of plutonium held in the United Kingdom on behalf of foreign customers.

(iv) Information relating to reactor discharges and dispatches by site, and to exports and imports of plutonium, is no longer being published.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when she expects to publish the proposed consultation document on new radioactive emergency preparedness and public information regulations. [46736]

The Health and Safety Executive are at present developing consultative proposals for the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (REPPIR) in consultation with the Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group, the Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee and the Ionising Radiations Advisory Committee. They are now expected to be published in a consultative document in Autumn 1998. The HSE are aiming for as much commonality as possible with the Proposals for Regulations implementing the Directive on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances which were published as a consultative document in May 1998.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the legal status of patents for genetically engineered animals granted by the EU within the United Kingdom. [46562]

[holding answer 22 June 1998]: There is currently no mechanism for patents to be granted by the EU but patents having effect in the United Kingdom can be granted by the European Patent Office based in Munich. The European Patent Office is not an EU institution.Provided certain formal requirements are met, patents granted by the European Patent Office have the same legal status in the United Kingdom as patents granted in this country. Thus, a patent for a genetically engineered animal granted by the European Patent Office gives the same rights and can be challenged in our courts in the same way as patents granted here.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the current safety situation at the Sellafield nuclear installations, with respect to (a) operating buildings, (b) abandoned buildings and (c) waste storage facilities; and if she will make a statement. [46956]

[holding answer 22 June 1998]: The management of safety at Sellafield is a matter for the operator of the site, BNFL, in accordance with the requirements of the UK's independent nuclear safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (HSE's NII). Under the terms of its nuclear site licence, BNFL must demonstrate to HSE's satisfaction that all operations at Sellafield, including decommissioning of redundant plant and waste storage, are adequately safe. HSE undertakes rigorous monitoring and assessment of BNFL's safety management arrangements and has extensive powers to enforce any safety related actions it considers necessary.Additional expert scrutiny of safety issues associated with the UK civil nuclear industry, including activities at the Sellafield site, is provided by the independent Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee (NuSAC). NuSAC publishes a biennial report setting out details of its work. Its current programme includes consideration of a number of issues relating to the Sellafield site.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what plans she has for support from public funds for the United Kingdom deep coal mining industry; and what representations she has received on this matter; [47087](2) what proposals have been received from the private sector for support for the United Kingdom deep mining industry in relation to the use of coal for electricity generation; and if she will make a statement. [47088]

[holding answer 23 June 1998]: We are making good progress on our energy review and the Government hope to make an announcement on this very shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department intends to spend in Montserrat in (a) 1997–98 and (b) 1998–99. [46726]

The Department for International Development (DFID) spent £38.3 million on assistance to Montserrat and Montserratian evacuees in 1997–98. I will arrange for a table showing DFID expenditure on Montserrat in the last three years to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will provide a breakdown of all aid to the Gambia funded by the British Government, since 1994. [47302]

British aid to the Gambia, including Commonwealth Development Corporation investments, between 1993–94 and 1996–97 totalled £9.58 million. Figures for 1997–98 are not yet available but the total was approximately £800,000. The table analyses the figures by financial year and economic sector.

The Gambia bilateral aid by sector1
£000
	Total DFID programme2	CDC investments	Total
Renewable natural resources
Agriculture and livestock
1993–94	15	750	765
1994–95	—	—	—
1995–96	—	—	—
1996–97	—	—	—
Energy
1993–94	68	—	68
1994–95	105	—	105
1995–96	100	—	100
1996–97	86	—	86
Telecommunications
1993–94	122	—	122
1994–95	179	—	179
1995–96	158	—	158
1996–97	137	—	137
Public Administration
1993–94	582	—	582
1994–95	626	—	626
1995–96	392	—	392
1996–97	374	—	374
Housing
1993–94	5	—	5
1994–95	0	—	0
1995–96	1	—	1
1996–97	0	—	0
Health and Population
1993–94	458	—	458
1994–95	422	—	422
1995–96	655	—	655
1996–97	378	—	378

British Assistance to Sudan
£000
	1992–93	1994–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–1997
Financial aid	—	—	—	—	—
Grants and other aid in kind1	2546	396	373	332	360
of which;
Joint funding scheme grants3	137	170	176	149	109

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of United Kingdom overseas development assistance given to Sudan has been for (a) long-term development, (b) short-term relief and (c) disaster preparedness in each year since 1992. [45988]

The table shows our assistance to Sudan between 1992–93 and 1996–97. Our long-term bilateral development aid programme (excluding the Joint Funding Scheme and other small grant schemes) was terminated in 1991. Since then no new financial aid has been provided. Projects supported under our relief and rehabilitation assistance include both immediate relief and work on disaster preparedness; there is no separate figure for the latter.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of making central Government computer systems euro compliant. [43941]

Government Departments have investigated the impact of the launch of the euro on their computer systems. Early indications are that these are limited. But the situation may change depending on the extent to which the euro is used in the United Kingdom while we are outside the euro zone. The situation will be closely monitored.IT implications are unavoidable if the United Kingdom joins the single currency. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has not made an estimate of the cost of making these changes as the cost of adapting central Government computers would depend on the detailed arrangements governing the transition to the single currency.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what level of education spending would be required in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03 in order to ensure that it was 0.1 per cent. higher as a proportion of GDP than in 1998–99, assuming the economy grows by two and a quarter per cent. in 1998, two per cent. in 1999 and two and a half per cent. in 2000; [46434](2) what level of education spending would be required in

The proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) formed by education spending in 1998–99 can be derived from tables 3A.2 and 4.1 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (Cm 3978). Projected levels of spending in future years at a fixed proportion of GDP can be calculated for any set of assumptions on economic growth and inflation. Table 4.1 offers assumptions for both output and prices.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of education spending would be required in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03 if the rate of increase were to be maintained at the same real terms rate as over the 10 years to 1997–98. [46431]

The rate of growth in spending on education over the ten years to 1997–98 can be derived from table 3.3 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1998–99 (Cm 3901). The level of spending for future years can then be calculated by applying this rate of growth, and assumptions for increases in prices such as those in table 4.1 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (Cm 3978), to the figure for 1997–98.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list his engagements for 15 May to 8 June; [45488](2) if he will list his engagements for 7 June to 15 June. [46395]

[holding answers 15 and 18 June 1998]: I attended a number of meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, carried out my duties in the House of Commons, gave several speeches and undertook a number of engagements in my constituency.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the current marginal benefits of different forms of public investment; and if he will make a statement. [46399]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: The Government believe that at present the marginal benefits of public investment are likely to be relatively high, reflecting under-investment in public infrastructure over recent years. This view is based on an assessment of the quality of service generated from existing public assets. Although all public investment projects are subject to detailed appraisal, the assessment of marginal benefits is in many cases made in non-financial terms because of the difficulty of assigning a monetary value to social returns.As explained in Cm 3978, the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, a number of steps are being taken, including the establishment of the Investment in Britain Fund, to make up for past under-investment and to provide for the modernisation of Britain's public sector infrastructure.The conclusions of the Comprehensive Spending Review will include detailed spending plans, taking account of the scope for worthwhile public investment projects. Departments will subsequently prepare their Departmental Investment Strategies. These will be scrutinised closely to ensure best value for money and positive social returns. The Treasury will publish the Departmental Investment Strategies in Spring 1999.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the level of net public investment as a share of gross domestic product for each year from 2002–03 to 2004–05;and if he will make a statement. [46378]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: Projections of public sector net investment in 2002–03 and 2003–04 as a share of gross domestic product are given in Table 4.5 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (June 1998). Figures for the year 2004–05 are not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will restate Table 4.5, page 44, of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy report of June 1998, to show total tax receipts and social security contributions before netting-off tax credits; and if he will make a statement.[46390]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: Corrected Budget forecasts of tax credits as a per cent. of GDP were published on 27 March 1998, Official Report, columns 348–50. There were no changes to these forecasts in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report.The Working Families Tax Credit will make work pay for families. It will guarantee a minimum income and will ease both the unemployment and poverty traps.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update Table 1.2, page 11, of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" of March 1998, to include the new forecasts contained in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy report of June 1998. [46373]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: Forecasts of the public sector net cash requirement, general government net borrowing and the public sector current budget were published in Table 4.5 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report. There have been no changes to the costings of the 1998 Budget measures, shown in Table 1.2. of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report", since the March Budget.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will recalculate tables 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7 in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy report on the assumption that GDP grows (a) by 1.5 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 1.75 per cent. in 1999–2000, (b) by 1.25 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 1.5 per cent. in 1999–2000, (c) by 1.0 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 1.25 per cent. in 1999–2000, (d) by 0.75 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 1.0 per cent. in 1999–2000, (e) by 0.5 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 0.75 per cent. in 1999–2000, (f) by 0.25 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 0.5 per cent. in 1999–2000, (g) by 0.0 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 0.25 per cent. in 1999–2000, (h) by –0.5 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 0.0 per cent. in 1999–2000 and (i) by –1.0 per cent. in 1998–99 and by 0.0 per cent. in 1999–2000. [46856]

[holding answer 22 June 1998]: Table 4.1 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report set out the economic assumptions underlying the public finance projections. The effect of different growth rates on the public finances would depend on the composition of growth in the revised assumptions, and the reasons for the change in growth.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to increase consultation about public service standards and associated public spending plans; and if he will make a statement. [46383]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: The Government are fully committed to seeking improved standards in public services and better value for the taxpayer. Proposals will be published in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review and "Better Government" White Paper.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is his policy to keep public expenditure in balance over the economic cycle. [47288]

[holding answer 23 June 1998]: Meeting the golden rule means that, over the economic cycle, public sector current spending will be funded by current receipts, and not by borrowing.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 11 June 1998, Official Report, column 652, which paragraph of Annex B contains the Treasury definition of capital expenditure for the purposes of the golden rule. [46462]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: Paragraph 2.18 of the November 1997 Pre-Budget Report made clear that the Government monitor progress against the golden rule using the public sector current balance. Paragraph B.53 of the March 1998 "Financial Statement and Budget Report" sets out the definition of the current balance; and paragraphs B.62 and B.63 deal with the measurement of capital spending.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the final draft of "Stability and Investment for the Long Term", June 1998 (Cm 3978), was sent to be printed; and if he will make a statement. [46372]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: In accordance with normal procedure, the final draft of Cm 3978, "Stability and Investment for the Long Term", June 1998, was sent to the printers the day before publication, Wednesday 10 June 1998.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the changes in the fiscal rules that will apply to public corporations with particular reference to local authority airport companies. [47035]

The Minister for Transport will be consulting shortly on the Government's plans for allowing financially sound local authority airports greater commercial flexibility, as announced in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (Cm 3798). The consultations will cover both the detailed criteria for selecting those airports that will benefit and the operation of the new regime.The Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report also announced plans to give certain, largely self-funding, public corporations more flexibility to manage their spending between years, within agreed limits on external finance. Additional flexibilities may be available for some of these bodies in the light of the conclusions of reviews currently under way.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the employment effect of a direct increase in wages in the UK of 0.6 per cent.. [47237]

The impact on employment would depend on why wages increased, and how employers and employees responded to the increase in wages. For example, if an increase in wages reflected higher productivity it need have no employment consequences, and for those on low pay it could promote employee commitment, reduce staff turnover and thereby provide a boost to productivity.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the average pay rates for each of the counties in England, Scotland and Wales in descending order. [47105]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans Her Majesty's Government have to issue any new commemorative coins. [47674]

Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve my recommendation that a crown piece should be issued in 1999 in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.The memorial crown will be available from banks and post offices at its face value of five pounds by 1 July, the anniversary of the birthday of the Princess. In addition, collector versions in base and precious metal will be placed on sale from early in the year.The proceeds arising from the issue of this coin will go towards the development and implementation of the proposals announced by the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Committee in their preliminary advice to HM Government published today. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government have taken to eradicate racism in football. [46098]

[holding answer 18 June 1998]: The Government are fully committed to eliminating racism from football. One of the priorities of the Football Task Force was to address this problem, and I welcome and fully support the practical recommendations made in the Task Force's report into racism. I have written to the bodies identified in the report, asking them how they intend to take forward the measures relevant to them and seeking a clear timetable for action.There are two specific recommendations that fall to Government: that the Football Offences Act 1991 should be amended to make racist abuse by spectators an offence; and that schoolchildren should have access to playing fields on a regular basis.The Government will be amending the Football Offences Act 1991 as soon as legislative priorities allow. In the meantime, the Home Office has written to all chief police officers in England and Wales reminding them of existing powers under the Public Order Act 1986, which makes it an offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of causing harassment, alarm or distress to the person to whom such words or behaviour are directed.The Government recognise that schoolchildren should have access to playing fields to enable them to participate in a range of sports. We recently announced how we will protect existing playing fields needed by schools and communities through new legislation requiring schools to seek consent for the sale of playing fields and tightening planning controls.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many listed buildings, by number and grade, there are in East Sussex. [46705]

The information requested is as follows:

• Grade I: 142
• Grade II^*: 327
• Grade II: 6,554

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to amend the working holiday visa scheme to allow greater flexibility in respect of the employment of overseas nurses; [46503](2) if he will make it his policy to grant all nurses on working holiday visas an unrestricted two-year visa. [46504]

We would not wish to relax the working holidaymaker rules further while a mechanism already exists, through the work permit scheme, for non-European Economic Area nationals to be employed in cases of skills shortage.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces charge organisers of hunts for policing costs; and if he will make a statement. [46730]

This information is not held centrally. It is for chief officers of police to decide when to charge for providing a police service. No charge should normally be levied for officers deployed on the public highway.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports his Department has received from police forces in England regarding police charges

Grants to police authorities 1998–99
	Police revenue grant Home Office1	Police capital grant Home Office	Other grants Home Office, DETR, Welsh Office2	Total
Avon and Somerset	83,927,594	1,566,000	27,278,834	112,772,428
Bedfordshire	31,236,004	771,000	9,994,769	42,001,773
Cambridgeshire	36,984,853	489,000	10,002,899	47,476,752
Cheshire	53,821,066	772,000	15,277,729	69,870,795
City of London3	26,477,399	327,000	177,990	26,982,389
Cleveland	41,170,866	575,000	21,209,685	62,955,551
Cumbria	30,260,401	902,000	11,380,660	42,543,061
Derbyshire	50,025,805	2,626,000	14,446,156	67,097,961
Devon and Cornwall	86,035,239	2,757,000	25,066,602	113,858,841
Dorset	34,746,553	2,590,000	7,067,204	44,403,757
Durham	40,023,104	1,177,000	17,830,699	59,030,803
Dyfed Powys	26,041,183	446,000	4,624,850	31,112,033
Essex	81,230,190	1,237,000	20,869,674	103,336,864
Gloucestershire	31,508,615	520,000	9,513,646	41,542,261
Greater Manchester	186,857,552	2,777,000	92,332,074	281,966,626
Gwent	34,264,750	505,000	10,655,542	45,425,292
Hampshire	97,238,361	1,864,000	27,452,615	126,554,976
Hertfordshire	48,351,349	1,266,000	12,093,894	61,711,243
Humberside	56,629,333	2,279,000	23,956,850	82,865,183
Kent	91,742,017	2,263,000	29,423,872	123,428,889
Lancashire	89,725,382	1,248,000	36,752,787	127,726,169
Leicestershire	50,703,781	760,000	16,842,869	68,306,650
Lincolnshire	30,484,260	591,000	8,717,227	39,792,487
Merseyside	119,155,917	2,311,000	66,838,552	188,305,469
Metropolitan Police	931,430,758	21,892,000	500,538,080	1,453,860,838
Norfolk	41,511,521	2,096,000	11,595,311	55,202,832
North Wales	37,433,926	1,144,000	7,921,811	46,499,737
North Yorkshire	38,763,861	2,392,000	9,754,998	50,910,859
Northamptonshire	32,265,805	882,000	9,604,730	42,752,535
Northumbria	104,638,004	5,154,000	53,549,389	163,341,393
Nottinghamshire	62,798,626	2,290,000	25,636,418	90,725,044
South Wales	81,831,031	2,333,000	31,177,721	115,341,752
South Yorkshire	84,510,546	1,958,000	39,017,083	125,485,629
Staffordshire	56,923,712	3,008,000	18,028,138	77,959,850
Suffolk	33,943,496	474,000	8,331,409	42,748,905
Surrey	40,650,166	1,036,000	11,857,143	53,543,309
Sussex	83,399,383	1,929,000	22,638,081	107,966,464
Thames Valley Police	112,357,211	2,627,000	29,219,795	144,204,006
Warwickshire	26,196,092	397,000	6,800,324	33,393,416
West Mercia	56,204,353	1,161,000	12,986,799	70,352,152
West Midlands	190,264,486	3,857,000	94,475,766	288,597,252

I have received some correspondence from Lancashire Constabulary about the current discussions between the force and Burnley Football Club over charging for policing football matches. I have asked the Chief Constable of Lancashire to keep me informed of developments.It is for chief officers of police to decide when to charge for providing a police service but, under Home Office guidelines, no charge should normally be levied for officers deployed on the public highway outside football grounds.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police grant funding for each county for each of the last three years. [46925]

The information requested, for each police force area, is set out in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records relating to the activities of MI5 after 1918 are planned to be released to the Public Record Office; what years these records will cover; when these records will be released; and if he will make a statement. [46798]

The Security Service has started work on a review of its files relating to the Second World War. I hope that it will be possible to release some, but not all, of these files by the end of this year. Consideration will then be given to reviewing the records surviving from the inter-war period. As I announced in the House on

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have required traffic officers to undertake non-traffic duties. [46936]

Traffic officers in all police forces in England and Wales undertake non-traffic policing duties. Road traffic offences and general criminal offences do not arise in clearly separate ways which can be independently enforced. It is an important part of the British policing system that traffic officers deal with all crimes which occur on the roads and that police officers on general duties can take action against breaches of road traffic law.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of police officers worked on traffic duties in each of the past 20 years, in each police force. [46926]

The allocation of resources to particular functions and the deployment of officers are operational matters for individual chief constables. Road traffic offences do not necessarily occur separately. A large part of traffic officers' time is spent dealing with ordinary crime, or carrying out ordinary police duties. Conversely, officers on general beat duties are able to take prompt action against breaches of road traffic law. Any figures must be interpreted with care against that background.It is possible to provide figures only since 1990. These are set out in the tables which I have placed in the Library. Information for 1997–98 is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each of the last four years, all departmental inquiries and reviews instigated by ministers which have been chaired by individuals outside his Department; and in each case if he will give the date of establishment and the name of the chairman. [46834]

The information requested is as follows:

Committee	Established	Chairman
Inquiry into the escape of IRA Prisoners from Whitemoor gaol	September 1994	Sir John Woodcock
Inquiry into Prison Security	December 1994	Sir John Learmont
Inquiry into Legislation against Terrorism	December 1995	Lord Lloyd of Berwick
Assessment and implications of centrifuge contamination in the Trace Explosive Section of the Forensic Explosives Laboratory at Fort Halstead	May 1996	Professor Brian Caddy
Scrutiny of evidence relating to the Hillsborough Disaster	June 1997	Lord Justice Stuart-Smith
Inquiry under the Police Act 1996 into matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence	August 1997	Sir William Macpherson of Cluny
Independent Commission on the Voting System	December 1997	Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Review of Financial Regulation in the Crown Dependencies	January 1998	Mr. Andrew Edwards

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he had made of the merits of allowing victims of crime to present a statement to the police on the impact of the crime on their lives; and if he will make a statement on pilot schemes which have involved victims' statements. [46750]

Pilot schemes testing the use of 'victim statements' have been running in six police force areas since the end of 1996. Evaluation of the pilots is currently in hand, though a final report is not expected before the end of the summer. An assessment of the merits of the scheme will be made in the light of that report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 15 June 1998, Official Report, column 71, in respect of the offender who circumvented the strap of the equipment provided by the Digital Products Corporation, which company was responsible for monitoring the electronic tag; what plans he has for the same or similar equipment to be used in future; and what assessment he has made of whether other straps are susceptible to similar attempts at circumvention. [46986]

Securicor Custodial Services was responsible for monitoring the offender who circumvented the tag. The type of equipment in question made use of first generation technology and I understand that Securicor has no plans to use such equipment again. All electronic monitoring equipment in England and Wales is tested, prior to its authorisation for use, against the technical criteria specified by the Home Office, which includes an assessment of the susceptibility of the equipment to tampering.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on arrangements for supporting witnesses in magistrates' courts. [47009]

We are committed to providing a more co-ordinated service to witnesses through the implementation locally of 'National Standards of Witness Care in the Criminal Justice System'.Schemes supporting witnesses and other users of magistrates courts already exist in many parts of the country. Some are run by National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, some by Victim Support, while others have been established as a result of local initiatives. The possibility of improving support for users of magistrates courts is currently under consideration against the backdrop of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review. We hope it will be possible to announce the outcome of this consideration later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of firearms that have been handed in under the Firearms Amendment Act 1997. [46976]

The prohibition of large-calibre handguns under the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 came into effect on 1 July 1997 and owners of such handguns were required to dispose of them lawfully by 30 September 1997. By the end of that period, 116,644 large-calibre handguns had been surrendered to the police. In addition, although at that time they had yet to be prohibited, 26,371 small-calibre pistols were surrendered voluntarily by their owners to the police under the terms of the Government's ex gratia payment scheme. A further 19,183 small-calibre pistols were surrendered to the police between 1 and 28 February 1998 following the implementation of the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act

Handguns surrendered under the Firearms Acts 1997
	1997 Act		1997 (No. 2) Act
Constabulary/police	Large calibre	Small calibre (ex gratia)	Total	Small calibre	Combined total
England and Wales
Avon and Somerset	3,227	566	3,793	702	4,495
Bedfordshire	992	232	1,224	150	1,374
City of London	73	30	103	30	133
Cambridgeshire	1,176	365	1,541	253	1,794
Cheshire	2,250	361	2,611	367	2,978
Cleveland	700	242	942	123	1,065
Cumbria	863	150	1,013	274	1,287
Derbyshire	1,791	476	2,267	287	2,554
Devon and Cornwall	3,625	573	4,198	892	5,090
Dorset	2,207	545	2,752	348	3,100
Durham	1,020	313	1,333	108	1,441
Dyfed Powys	1,320	234	1,554	239	1,793
Essex	4,840	1,268	6,108	658	6,766
Gloucestershire	1,102	280	1,382	318	1,700
Greater Manchester	3,834	1,093	4,927	595	5,522
Gwent	1,112	289	1,401	163	1,564
Hampshire	3,757	766	4,523	649	5,172
Hertfordshire	1,998	435	2,433	241	2,674
Humberside	1,169	352	1,521	216	1,737
Kent	3,745	822	4,567	603	5,170
Lancashire	2,280	671	2,951	340	3,291
Leicestershire	2,515	377	2,892	202	3,094
Lincolnshire	1,308	338	1,646	162	1,808
Merseyside	2,907	650	3,557	408	3,965
Metropolitan Area 1	699	177	876	89	965
Metropolitan Area 2	2,852	629	3,481	499	3,980
Metropolitan Area 3	3,264	749	4,013	473	4,486
Metropolitan Area 4	4,176	868	5,044	820	5,864
Metropolitan Area 5	3,324	573	3,897	631	4,528
Norfolk	2,224	554	2,778	350	3,128
Northamptonshire	1,048	333	1,381	226	1,607
Northumbria	1,823	459	2,282	279	2,561
North Wales	1,267	287	1,554	263	1,817
North Yorkshire	3,105	794	3,899	126	4,025
Nottinghamshire	3,571	555	4,126	628	4,754
South Wales	2,862	784	3,646	337	3,983
South Yorkshire	2,125	663	2,788	219	3,007
Staffordshire	2,942	641	3,583	364	3,947
Suffolk	1,598	527	2,125	216	2,341
Surrey	3,114	668	3,782	680	4,462
Sussex	3,286	502	3,788	530	4,318
Thames Valley	3,806	807	4,613	1,013	5,626
Warwickshire	832	215	1,047	176	1,223
West Mercia	2,588	608	3,196	491	3,687
West Midlands	5,011	825	5,836	640	6,476
West Yorkshire	3,702	654	4,356	588	4,944
Wiltshire	1,352	320	1,672	204	1,876
Sub total for England and Wales	110,382	24,620	135,002	18,170	153,172
Scotland
Central Scotland	289	103	392	17	409
Dumfries and Galloway	236	83	319	33	352
Fife	293	76	369	61	430
Grampian	657	149	806	85	891
Lothian and Borders	1,253	245	1,498	194	1,692
Northern	958	307	1,265	173	1,438
Strathclyde	1,922	633	2,555	378	2,933
Tayside	654	155	809	72	881
Sub total for Scotland	6,262	1,751	8,013	1,013	9,026
Overall total for England, Wales and Scotland	116,644	26,371	143,015	19,183	162,198

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of reported incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales during 1997. [46987]

Recorded crime statistics relate to offence type, not to the relationship between the victim and the offender. There is therefore no definitive figure for the number of violent crimes which are domestic in nature.The most reliable nationwide estimate is provided by the British Crime Survey (England and Wales). The most recent survey suggested that, in 1995, there were one million incidents of domestic violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the projected prison population for each of the next 10 years. [46581]

[holding answer 19 June 1998]: Projections are currently available through to 2005. A projection which assumes that trends in sentencing which have been observed over the last 20 years continue, is as follows:

	Annual averages
1998	65,000
1999	69,600
2000	72,200
2001	73,700
2002	75,800
2003	78,000
2004	80,400
2005	82,800

Alternative scenarios are available which give a prison population by 2005 of 92,600 (custody rates and sentence lengths increase at about the rate observed between 1992 and 1996) or of 64,400 (custody rates and sentence lengths remain at 1997 level). The projection does not take into account the effect of Home Detention Curfew, which is included in the Crime and Disorder Bill

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the need for places in rehabilitation units for offenders made subject to drug treatment and testing orders. [47064]

The purpose of piloting the drug treatment and testing order in three areas will be to evaluate its cost, effectiveness and the demand for it from the courts. It is not possible at this stage to estimate with any accuracy what the need will be for places in rehabilitation units for offenders made subject to the order.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places were available for the rehabilitation from illegal drugs of offenders aged 15 to 21 years whose offending is linked to drugs and who are considered to be in need of treatment by the courts or criminal justice agencies (a) on 1 May 1997 and (b) at the latest available date. [47066]

This information is not held centrally. In general, places in rehabilitation units are not reserved for specific categories of patients, such as those referred by the courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration his Department is giving to Law Commission reports; and if he will make a statement. [47814]

I very much value the work done by the Law Commission and welcome the close working relationship between the Commission and the Department. The Home Office has the responsibility for considering the Law Commission's reports on the criminal law, although other Departments often have an interest in their proposals. Law Commission reports are normally considered by an interdepartmental working group of officials representing all the interested departments. The Law Commission plays a valuable role in assisting and advising these working groups.The consultation paper "Violence: Reforming the Offences Against the Person Act 1861", which described the Government's proposals for reform based on the Law Commission's recommendations in their report "Offences Against the Person and General Principles" (LC 218), was issued in February. This was based on the work of an interdepartmental working group on which the Law Commission was represented. The Law Commission reports on Involuntary Manslaughter (LC 239) and Corruption (LC 248) are currently under consideration by similar interdepartmental working groups which include the Law Commission. The Criminal Law Commissioner is also advising an Interdepartmental Working Group considering the Misuse of Public Office.The Law Commission's work on Hearsay also contributed to the work of the Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses Group which recommended that an interdepartmental working group be set up to consider the Law Commission's report on Hearsay (LC 245) in the broader context, taking account of the discussion in the report "Speaking Up For Justice". This working group will commence work shortly and will have the benefit of Law Commission membership.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for case review have been received by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each month since its establishment. [46406]

The Criminal Cases Review Commission was empowered to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 31 March 1997. Thirty two applications had been made to the Commission before that date, and 252 cases were transferred to the Commission from the Home Office and Northern Ireland Office. The numbers of applications received each month since then are as follows:

	Number
1997
April	129
May	108
June	76
July	96
August	102
September	92
October	76
November	97
December	58
1998
January	80
February	85
March	97
April	105
May	96

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many case workers have been employed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each month since its establishment. [46407]

The numbers of case review managers (caseworkers) employed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission who have started work each month since the Commission was established, and the total strength, are as follows:

	Start work	Total strength
1997
January	0	0
February	3	3
March	6	9
April	1	10
May	0	10
June	4	14
July	2	16
August	1	17
September	3	20
October-December	0	20
1998
January	2	22
February	1	23
March	1	24
April-May	0	24
June	2	26

In addition, one further case review manager is due to join the Commission this month. This will bring the Commission's total case review manager strength to 27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will review the number of staff available to the Criminal Cases Review Commission for the review of cases; [46408]