asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to continue unchanged the facilities presently extended to diplomats serving abroad to help them with the cost of educating their children at independent boarding schools in the United Kingdom.

An independent review of Diplomatic Service allowances, which was carried out last year by Sir Derek Hornby, confirmed the need for allowances for boarding school education. These ensure continuity of education for many Diplomatic Service children. The review recommended some adjustments in the way the allowances are administered. Further detailed work is being carried out on these recommendations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to review the system for appointing judges.

The Government propose to consult later this year on the merits of a judicial appointments commission and whether it should be established.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to maintain the position of the 15 City Technology Colleges.

The central mission of this Government is to raise educational standards. We would like the CTCs to contribute their expertise and experience. We will develop a partnership approach with City Technology Colleges, ensuring that as independent institutions they have fair and open admissions policies and work with local communities and education authorities. As with other state funding, we will want to ensure that there are no unfair privileges involved.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to abolish the Funding Agency for Schools.

The Government will be introducing legislation to end GM status, and we are discussing with the Funding Agency what this will mean for it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the difference between a certificate of eligibility and a nursery voucher.

The Government have announced that the nursery education voucher scheme will cease at the end of this summer term. From April 1998, places for four year-olds will be secured and funded through early years development plans. In those local authority areas which do not have approved interim early years development plans for the autumn and spring terms, certificates of eligibility will be a temporary measure to ensure that those children taking places in the private and voluntary sectors are not disadvantaged.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that the current level of capital funding is sufficient both to fund new building and to bring the buildings of all schools, colleges and universities into a good state of repair within three years; and, if not, how much more money is required, and whether it will be provided.

Local authorities estimate that about £3 billion needs to be spent in addition to present funding to bring current school buildings up to standard. The Further Education Funding Council has reported that a total of £338 million has been spent by the council and colleges to resolve colleges' most pressing capital needs following the 1993 Hunter Survey. The apportionment of funds to support future capital expenditure is a matter for the FEFC: the council currently has a capital programme of £30 million a year. The Higher Education Funding Council for England plans to provide £30 million a year for three years from 1998–99 for special initiatives to improve poor estates. The Government will consider very carefully any recommendations on capital funding by the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, which is expected to report next month.The development of public/private partnerships is also making an important contribution to improving school, college and university buildings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that the present methods of allocating funds to individual schools are in need of improvement, and, if so, when they intend to announce their plans for such improvement.

The Government are committed to funding arrangements which do not discriminate unfairly between schools or between pupils. Existing arrangements are being reviewed, and consultations will take place in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average cost of providing a place at a state school for a 16 year-old in each of Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.

There is no reason for schools and LEAs to disaggregate their budgets in a way that would allow the cost of 16 year-olds to be isolated from those for other secondary pupils. Therefore, this information is not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect the University for Industry to open.

The University for Industry, which will not be a university in the conventional sense, is in the early stages of its development and a final timetable has yet to be agreed. My department is taking urgent steps to bring together a range of interests from across and outside government to agree the way ahead. An announcement is expected soon.

asked Her Majesty's Government:With reference to the statement in the Labour Party manifesto that one of the underlying causes of inflation, of low growth and of unemployment is "too little investment in education and skills, and in the application of new technologies", how they measure such investments, and what was the amount of such investments in the last financial year for which figures are available.

The level of past and planned investment in education and skills by the Department for Education and Employment is set out in the current spending plans and full details are given in the DfEE Departmental Report (Cm 3610). Employers' expenditure on training can be estimated by collecting data in a special survey. In 1993 employers' expenditure on training was £10.6 billion. This figure includes wage costs paid to trainees as well as the direct costs of the training. It is not possible to give a precise figure for the level of investment in the application of new technologies. In 1995 the Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development by the public and private sectors was £14 billion. This includes all types of research and development including its application.

asked Her Majesty's Government:With reference to the statement in the Labour Party manifesto that one of the underlying causes of inflation, of low growth and of unemployment is "too few opportunities to find jobs, start new businesses or become self-employed", how they measure the numbers of such opportunities, and what those numbers were according to the latest figures available.

The Labour Force Survey is a quarterly survey of households in the UK. It shows that in winter 1996/7 there were 26.5 million people in jobs in the UK, about 70 per cent. of all those of working age. Of those 12.5 per cent. were self-employed. Barclays and Nat West Bank estimates suggest that there were between 350,000 and 450,000 small business start-ups in 1996.The Government will pursue a stable macro-economic policy as a platform for sustainable, low-inflation growth. Our Welfare to Work policies will aim to improve the employment prospects of unemployed people and those currently outside the labour market who want jobs, by providing opportunities to enhance their skills, enterprise and employability. These policies are essential for creating a successful economy with a high and stable level of employment, where all groups in society can prosper.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what dates the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England will be meeting, and how soon after each meeting the minutes will be published.

The Bank has announced the dates of the Monetary Policy Committee meetings up to the end of 1997: 9/10 July, 6/7 August, 10/11 September, 8/9 October, 5/6 November, and 3/4 December. The minutes, including a record of any vote, will be published within six weeks of each meeting.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they agree with the decisions reached by the Governor of the Bank of England and his Monetary Policy Committee on 6 June.

In the Mansion House speech on June 12 the Chancellor said that the new Monetary Policy Committee had already shown it was prepared to take action to keep inflation under control. Maintaining low inflation is an important part of economic stability on which high levels of growth and employment depend.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they intend to take to prevent the dissipation or distancing of the personal funds of former Lloyd's Names who ceased to be members of Lloyd's with the benefit of Equitas reinsurance and who are now subject to regulation by the DTI under Part II of the Insurance Companies Act 1982, and whether other than by maintaining a record of the addresses of such Names they will now ascertain the nature and value of such funds in order to underwrite the contractual liability of such Names towards their policyholders.

Where former members of Lloyd's have reinsured their 1992 and prior liabilities with Equitas, any claims from policyholders will be met from the assets which have been transferred to Equitas for that purpose. Where such former members have additionally reinsured all their outstanding liabilities from subsequent years through Lloyd's, it will be for the appropriate ongoing members of Lloyd's to meet relevant claims. Only in the unexpected event of Equitas or, where applicable, Lloyd's, failing to pay such claims in full might there be a call on the personal funds of former Names.The exercise of the Secretary of State's powers under Part II of the Insurance Companies Act 1982 in relation to former members of Lloyd's must be seen in that context. For the time being, the Secretary of State will maintain a record of the addresses of such former members. However, for so long as the relevant reinsurance arrangements continue in force and the claims against policies underwritten by former members' are being paid in full, I do not consider it necessary for the protection of policyholders for the Secretary of State to impose any further regulatory requirements upon, or take any further action against, former members of the Society.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many probation officers were working in prisons in England and Wales in May 1995, in May 1996 and in May 1997; and what plans they have to increase this last number.

Staffing statistics are compiled at 30 June and 31 December each year. The number of probation officers working in prisons in England and Wales in June 1995 was 645 and in June 1996 was 586. Figures for 1997 are not yet available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have studied

The Government have studied the report entitled Refugees and Criminal Justice and noted its contents. The Prison Service is currently reviewing its guidance on immigration detainees and has taken these recommendations into account.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Horticulture Research International at Wellesbourne has received requests for information or advice from tobacco growing countries in Europe in respect of alternative crops or land uses.

Horticulture Research International advises that it has received no such requests.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are proposing to take in the interest of consumer safety to ensure that adequate controls are put in place to cover the production of poultry meat in premises processing fewer than 10,000 birds per year.

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked for a review to be conducted of the exemption from Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 of premises slaughtering fewer than 10,000 birds per year.As part of that review, he will he seeking urgent advice from the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) on the health risks associated with the continued sale of New York Dressed (NYD) and

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they approve of the use of sticky traps to catch rodents.

While the Government accept that sticky traps are not an ideal form of rodent control, they are needed under certain, limited circumstances, such as to control pests in food premises. An industry code of practice makes it clear that sticky traps should only be used as a last resort where other forms of control have failed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy on the increase in the number of wild boar, in particular in relation to their potential as carriers of swine fever, and their unpredictable nature and the consequent risk to the public.

Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits the release of animals not ordinarily resident in Great Britain in a wild state. The wild boar qualifies as such an animal.There have been alleged sporadic sightings of wild boar in the wild, but not all have been substantiated, and there is no confirmed evidence of established breeding populations in the wild.Feral boar do not at present pose a notifiable disease threat because Great Britain is free of Classical Swine Fever. In response to reports of the presence of feral wild boar, the Government have engaged in a risk assessment exercise.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What would be the expected effects on human health of acute and chronic exposure to propane phosphonic dichloride, ethyl propane phosphoryl dichloride, propyl phosphonic dichloride, ethyl succinyl chloride and thionyl chloride, both alone and in combination.

The information requested on these highly specialised chemicals is not readily available. The effects on human health will depend very much on how they are manufactured and used and the level and route of exposure. The noble Countess has asked for information about the manufacture and use of these chemicals in a separate Parliamentary Question and that information should provide a basis for a more detailed reply. I will write to the noble Countess in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of the subsidy which would be required in order to restore the former Motorail services.

The Government have made no estimate of the cost of re-instating former Motorail services.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the European Directive 91/440 on Open Access applies to the Channel Tunnel railway in part or whole.

Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways applies to the Channel Tunnel except in relation to shuttle services for road vehicles.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Transport, Ms Jackson on 11 June (HC Deb.,

We are examining all the options for making regulation of the rail industry more accountable and effective. We have taken no decisions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ensure that the pilot schemes for roadside emission testing take into account the public's reaction to the proposal to issue a penalty charge regardless of whether or not the motorist has properly maintained their vehicle.

I hope to make an announcement shortly about proposals to involve local authorities in checking vehicle emissions at the roadside. The proposals will be subject to public consultation and parliamentary approval. We will naturally take account of the views of others in finalising our proposals, although we will also need to ensure that we do not undermine the whole purpose of the scheme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they plan to include advice to users of roller skates, skate boards and roller blades in the

The Highway Code is being revised this year and all suggestions will be considered during the revision process. It might be more appropriate to include advice on roller skates, skate boards and roller blades in the Highway Code for Young Road Users.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as many companies now require their drivers to undergo driving assessments, there are any legal obligations on a driver who receives an unfavourable assessment result to declare this to his insurer.

No. The information to be declared on an insurance proposal is a matter of contract between an insurer and his policyholder.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to reduce the incidence of uninsured driving.

Driving without insurance is a most serious matter. We will be considering the way forward on combating evasion, taking account of the views of representatives of the insurance industry, the police and others concerned. Measures already being taken to combat Vehicle Excise Duty evasion are also effective against insurance offenders, as drivers must produce a valid insurance in order to buy a tax disc.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they plan to reduce the legal limit for drinking and driving.

We are looking at a number of options for improving road safety. The legal limit for drinking and driving is one of the many issues we shall be considering.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will now include "secured" car parks in planning guidance for town centres (PPG6).

The revised PPG6: Town Centres and Retail Developments, published in June 1996, refers to the need for secure car parks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to take any action to improve the integrity of the information held by the DVLA, and whether they consider that inaccuracy of the data held is preventing the prosecution of speeding and other motoring offences.

The vehicle record maintained by DVLA is a vital ingredient in the effective enforcement of traffic offences and its current state is not considered to date by the law enforcement agencies to be a significant handicap in tracking down offenders. However, DVLA, in conjunction with the police and other interests, is constantly looking at ways of improving the accuracy of its vehicle record so as to further assist the detection and prosecution of motoring offences and vehicle crime. On 24 March this year new registration procedures were introduced. These will ensure that the DVLA vehicle record contains more accurate details of vehicles and their registered keeper.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as the ISOFIX proposals for child restraint fitment to vehicles may offer improvements in safety over the current systems in use, they will press for the introduction of this sort of scheme on a world-wide basis.

The department has actively supported the development of the ISOFIX child restraint attachment system. We will continue to promote the ISOFIX system and have offered to draft an amendment to ECE Regulation 44, the European standard for child restraints, so that it can incorporate the key features of the system.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to allow more widespread use of 30 mph repeater signs.

No. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 specifically prohibit the erection of speed limit repeater signs on lit 30 mph roads. The erection of repeaters on some 30 mph roads but not on others could create enforcement difficulties in that a driver might claim he was unaware of the limit because on that particular road there were no repeaters. Evidence, particularly from greater compliance when the limit is enforced by the presence of speed cameras, suggests that drivers know what the limit is but many choose to ignore it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as part of the campaign to reduce excessive and inappropriate speed, and to change public attitudes to speeding, they have any plans to improve the standard of speed limit signing, and particularly to increase the number of repeater signs on roads where these signs are necessary.

No. Requirements for the placing of speed limit terminal and repeater sings are laid down in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994. The placing and design of the signs is generally clear to drivers as evidenced by greater compliance with speed limits where signs indicating the presence of speed enforcement cameras are also present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list for each member of the G7 nations the percentage of GDP spent on health care costs.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) collects and publishes figures for health spending. The table shows the figures requested for 1995, the latest year for which figures are available.

Expenditure on health care in the G7 countries, 1995
Country	Public expenditure on health care as a percentage of GDP	Total expenditure on health care as a percentage of GDP
Canada	6.9 per cent.	9.7 per cent.
France	8.0 per cent.	9.9 per cent.
Germany	8.2 per cent.	10.4 per cent.
Italy	5.4 per cent.	7.7 per cent.
Japan	5.7 per cent.	7.2 per cent.
UK	5.9 per cent.	6.9 per cent.
USA	6.6 per cent.	14.2 per cent.
Source:
OCED 1997.

These figures are not fully comparable because of differences in definitions between countries. In addition, comparisons between expenditure figures alone ignore the efficiency and effectiveness with which resources are used.