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Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases income support has been paid under regulation 8(3) of the Income Support (General) Regulations to persons not treated as available for employment.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that the information is not available.
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the changes since 1979 and the dates when they occurred (i) in the conditions of entitlement to supplementary benefit and income support of persons aged 19 years in non-advanced education and (ii) in the circumstances in which extra-statutory payments in lieu of benefit can be made to such persons.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 13 January 1989] : The supplementary benefit regulations were amended from 18 October 1982 to extend entitlement to benefit to persons aged 19 years in relevant education who were single parents, severely handicapped, orphans or estranged from their parents.
In 1985 that amendment was found to be defective and a circular was issued in November 1985 authorising extra-statutory payments to be made until the regulations were amended.
Amendment regulations corrected the defect from 6 April 1987 and also extended entitlement to certain young people aged 16 to 19 inclusive who were not estranged from their parents but could not be supported by them because their parents were chronically sick, or in prison, or could not enter the country.
From 11 April 1988 an upper limit of 19 years was set in all the income- related benefits for the payment of benefit to young people in full-time non-advanced education.
There have been no changes in the circumstances in which extra-statutory payments in lieu of benefit can be paid to 19 year olds in relevant education. Extra-statutory payments can be made only where claimants are deprived of all or part of their entitlement in a way not foreseen or intended when the law was drawn up.
Barlow Clowes International
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the criteria applied by his Department in dealing with applications from Barlow Clowes International investors for social security on hardship grounds.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 16 January 1989] : Investments in Barlow Clowes International are treated in the same way as other investments for income support purposes. Where the current market value, less 10 per cent. if there are expenses of sale, together with any other capital exceeds £6,000, no benefit is payable. A crisis loan may be available where the investment cannot be realised immediately and there is serious risk to the health and safety of the applicant or his family.
Mr. N. Quinn
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when his Department expects to settle the claim by Mr. N. Quinn of Birmingham, in respect of the motor
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accident of 20 September 1988, when the uninsured Ford Sierra registration number D378 JML belonging to his Department hit Mr. Quinn's car.Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 16 January 1989] : The Department's solicitor has been in correspondence with Mr. Quinn and his insurers since 6 October 1988, following the accident when Mr. Quinn's car collided with a Crown vehicle. The Department does not subscribe to the normal third party cover afforded by insurance companies, because section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 does not apply to the Crown. The Department, therefore, in common with most other Departments of State, carries its own risks and has its own insurance arrangements. I am sure that all concerned want to see the matter resolved as soon as possible.
Special Needs Hostels
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the organisations (a) which submitted evidence urging the Government to allow special needs hostels to continue being funded on a board and lodgings basis and (b) who proposed different funding arrangements.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 19 December 1988] : A list of the 346 organisations which made individual submissions considered following the issue of the consultative paper "Help With Hostel Charges" has been placed in the Library. Details of individual organisations' submissions are not normally published, but the responses varied between those who agreed that there was a need for change, those who favoured keeping the present system, those who put forward proposals of their own and those who did not have a preferred solution.
EMPLOYMENT
New Earnings Survey
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what categories of people are likely to be excluded from the coverage of the new earnings survey ; and what estimate can be given about the total number of people involved.
Mr. Lee : The new earnings survey is a sample survey covering 1 per cent. of employees in Great Britain who are members of
pay-as-you-earn schemes.
The main categories of the work force in employment excluded from its coverage are self-employed persons, Her Majesty's forces, those on work- related Government training programmes, without a contract of employment and those employees, mainly part-time women and young people, who earn below the income tax threshold and are not in a PAYE scheme. Exempted categories include private domestic servants, husband/wife working for spouse, company directors who do not receive a salary and those working abroad. A full description of the survey and its coverage is contained in part B of the annual new earnings survey report.
It is estimated that 5.4 million of the work force in employment in Great Britain were not covered at the time of the latest survey in April 1988.
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Ethylene Dibromide
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take action to reduce the occupational exposure limit for ethylene dibromide in the light of the recently published British Journal of Industrial Medicine article "Semen quality in papaya workers with long term exposure to ethylene dibromide".
Mr. Nicholls : The Health and Safety Commission recently reduced the occupational exposure limit for ethylene dibromide in air from 1 part per million to 0.5 ppm to measured as an eight-hour time-weighted average. That limit came into effect on 1 January 1989.
The HSC's advisory committee on toxic substances will shortly be considering proposals for translating that limit into a maximum exposure limit under the new Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. I will ensure that the article referred to by the hon. Member is brought to the attention of the committee.
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Employmemt if he will publish a table showing employment in manufacturing industry by county and region for each year since 1979 and for each quarter month in 1988.
Mr. Lee : Figures for the standard economic regions can be provided but employment statistics for smaller areas are available only for dates when censuses of employment are taken.
The available information for counties and the Scottish region and island areas, taken from the September 1981 and September 1984 censuses of employment, is given in table 1.
The information for standard economic regions is given in table 2.
Table 2
Employees in employment<1> in Manufacturing Industries (Divisions 2-4 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980)
by region
Thousand
Standard Region September March June <2>Septembe
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1988 |1988
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South East |1,880|1,796|1,677|1,589|1,522|1,486|1,463|1,408|1,374|1,353|1,321|1,328
Greater London (included in South East) |n.a. |n.a. |681 |637 |598 |569 |556 |526 |514 |506 |477 |487
East Anglia |209 |197 |185 |181 |181 |190 |199 |205 |211 |213 |218 |220
South West |440 |421 |398 |381 |367 |376 |377 |371 |367 |362 |364 |367
West Midlands |983 |901 |800 |747 |714 |709 |709 |698 |696 |689 |697 |702
East Midlands |611 |573 |533 |509 |489 |488 |496 |493 |494 |487 |493 |493
Yorkshire and Humberside |708 |649 |580 |536 |502 |485 |484 |461 |453 |443 |443 |448
North West |970 |894 |803 |740 |692 |671 |655 |628 |609 |600 |600 |601
North |411 |374 |340 |314 |287 |276 |279 |266 |262 |261 |261 |262
Wales |317 |278 |239 |223 |214 |212 |211 |205 |211 |210 |213 |218
Scotland |602 |550 |502 |471 |442 |434 |430 |409 |392 |386 |385 |387
Great Britain |7,123|6,629|6,058|5,691|5,411|5,327|5,302|5,142|5,069|5,004|4,995|5,025
<1> Excludes the self-employed.
<2> Latest available.
n.a.=Not available.
Table 2
Employees in employment<1> in Manufacturing Industries (Divisions 2-4 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980)
by region
Thousand
Standard Region September March June <2>Septembe
|1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1988 |1988
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South East |1,880|1,796|1,677|1,589|1,522|1,486|1,463|1,408|1,374|1,353|1,321|1,328
Greater London (included in South East) |n.a. |n.a. |681 |637 |598 |569 |556 |526 |514 |506 |477 |487
East Anglia |209 |197 |185 |181 |181 |190 |199 |205 |211 |213 |218 |220
South West |440 |421 |398 |381 |367 |376 |377 |371 |367 |362 |364 |367
West Midlands |983 |901 |800 |747 |714 |709 |709 |698 |696 |689 |697 |702
East Midlands |611 |573 |533 |509 |489 |488 |496 |493 |494 |487 |493 |493
Yorkshire and Humberside |708 |649 |580 |536 |502 |485 |484 |461 |453 |443 |443 |448
North West |970 |894 |803 |740 |692 |671 |655 |628 |609 |600 |600 |601
North |411 |374 |340 |314 |287 |276 |279 |266 |262 |261 |261 |262
Wales |317 |278 |239 |223 |214 |212 |211 |205 |211 |210 |213 |218
Scotland |602 |550 |502 |471 |442 |434 |430 |409 |392 |386 |385 |387
Great Britain |7,123|6,629|6,058|5,691|5,411|5,327|5,302|5,142|5,069|5,004|4,995|5,025
<1> Excludes the self-employed.
<2> Latest available.
n.a.=Not available.
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Table file CW890123.030 not available
Young Employees (Overtime)
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements have been made to permit or discourage excessive overtime working by younger employees (a) on employment training schemes and (b) elsewhere ; and what steps he has taken to ensure that employees are given adequate advice in regard to this matter.
Mr. Cope : Trainees in employment training who are receiving practical experience with an employer are not expected to attend for any period which could normally attract over-time or premium payments in the case of employees. The hours of attendance for the youth training scheme are limited to 40 per week, taking one week with another. In employment generally hours of work are a matter for negotiation between employer and employees or their representatives. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, etc. 1974 requires every employer to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare of all his employees at work. This does not permit excessive hours likely to lead to fatigue induced accidents or ill health.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the level of unemployment, expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) in numbers of claimants for (i) the Hexham constituency, (ii) the
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Newcastle upon Tyne travel to work area, (iii) the Greater London travel to work area and (iv) England and Wales for the most recent month for which figures are available and for February 1985 ; (2) if he will estimate the number of unfilled vacancies expressed as (a) a percentage and (b) in numbers of claimants for (i) the Hexham constituency, (ii) the Newcastle upon Tyne travel to work area, (iii) the Greater London travel to work area and (iv) England and Wales for the most recent month for which figures are available and for February 1985.Mr. Lee : The following is the available information. Table A gives the total unfilled vacancies notified to jobcentres at December 1988 and February 1985. Table B shows unemployment level and percentage rates for December 1988 and February 1985. It is not meaningful to calculate a ratio of unemployed claimants to unfilled vacancies at jobcentres, since only about a third of all vacancies in the economy are notified to jobcentres.
Table B
Unemployment claimants for December 1988 and February 1985
February 1985 December 1988
|level |<1>rate |level |<1>rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newcastle TTWA |65,551 |17.5 |45,293 |12.0
Greater London TTWA |370,377 |10.7 |232,323 |6.7
Hexham TTWA |1,537 |9.8 |987 |6.0
Hexham PCA |2,479 |n/a |1,562 |n/a
England and Wales |2,843,546|13.0 |1,675,587|7.7
<1> Unemployed claimants expressed as a percentage of claimants plus
employees in employment only.
Table B
Unemployment claimants for December 1988 and February 1985
February 1985 December 1988
|level |<1>rate |level |<1>rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newcastle TTWA |65,551 |17.5 |45,293 |12.0
Greater London TTWA |370,377 |10.7 |232,323 |6.7
Hexham TTWA |1,537 |9.8 |987 |6.0
Hexham PCA |2,479 |n/a |1,562 |n/a
England and Wales |2,843,546|13.0 |1,675,587|7.7
<1> Unemployed claimants expressed as a percentage of claimants plus
employees in employment only.
The figures are affected by the change in the compilation of the count in March 1986 to reduce
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over-recording and by the change in the coverage from September 1988 due to the introduction of new benefit regulations for young people aged under 18.Column 423
Qualifications
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give, based on the labour force survey (a) the total number of people of working age and (b) the percentage with (i) A level or equivalent or higher, (ii) O level or equivalent, (iii) below O level and (iv) no
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vocational or educational qualification for each standard English region, Wales and Scotland for 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Mr. Lee [holding answer 19 January 1989] : Estimates from labour force surveys, as requested, are shown in the following table :
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Graduates
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will give, based on the labour force survey the total number of graduates in employment as a percentage of all in employment in each of the standard English regions, Scotland and Wales and for each of the years 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
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(2) if he will give based on the labour force survey, the total number of graduates in employment in each of the standard English regions, Wales and Scotland and for each of the years 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987.Mr. Lee [holding answer 19 January 1989] : Estimates from labour force surveys as requested, are shown in following table :
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Regional variations in graduate employment of persons of working Age <1> Great Britain, Spring estimates.
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
|Graduates of working age|Graduate share<2> |Graduates of working age|Graduate share<2> |Graduates of working age|Graduate share<2> |Graduates of working age|Graduate share<2> |Graduates of working age|Graduate share<2>
|in employment |in employment |in employment |in employment |in employment
|(000)'s |per cent. |(000)'s |per cent. |(000)'s |per cent. |(000)'s |per cent. |(000)'s |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Region
South East |671 |9.2 |682 |9 |743 |9.7 |777 |10.1 |774 |9.8
of which
London |326 |11.3 |331 |11.2 |379 |12.7 |367 |12.5 |387 |13.0
Rest of South East |345 |7.8 |352 |7.6 |363 |7.8 |409 |8.6 |386 |7.9
East Anglia |43 |5.3 |45 |5.4 |47 |5.7 |54 |6.3 |59 |6.7
South West |95 |5.3 |115 |6.3 |114 |5.9 |116 |6.1 |125 |6.3
West Midlands |94 |4.6 |104 |5.0 |106 |5.0 |115 |5.3 |122 |5.6
East Midlands |76 |4.7 |86 |5.2 |91 |5.5 |98 |5.7 |90 |5.3
Yorkshire and Humberside |99 |5.0 |96 |4.8 |90 |4.5 |111 |5.5 |116 |5.7
North West |147 |5.9 |132 |5.2 |145 |5.6 |137 |5.3 |174 |6.6
Northern |57 |4.8 |58 |4.9 |49 |4.2 |63 |5.3 |73 |5.8
Wales |50 |50 |56 |5.4 |55 |5.3 |73 |7.0 |60 |5.6
Scotland |144 |7.1 |124 |6.2 |136 |6.6 |132 |6.6 |120 |5.9
Great Britain |1,474 |6.6 |1,498 |6.6 |1,576 |6.8 |1,675 |7.2 |1,711 |7.3
<1> Men aged 16-64. Women aged 16-59.
<2> Graduates as a percentage of all persons of all working age in employment.
Source: Labour Force Surveys.
High Moor Colliery (Accident)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the last section 123, and other inspections of 91s heading at High Moor colliery prior to the 30 m fall of roof on 13 January.
Mr. Nicholls : [holding answer 19 January 1989] : The last report of an inspection under section 123 on 91s heading at High Moor colliery was made on 9 January 1989. A copy of this report would have been required to be displayed at the mine.
The details of other statutory inspections made at the heading are still being gathered in the process of the investigation of the incident.
YTS Training Centre, Cyprus
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost of the YTS training centre in Cyprus ; who is eligible to attend the centre ; and how many trainees have made use of the centre for the most recent period for which figures are available.
Mr. Sainsbury : I have been asked to reply by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. The current staff cost of running the centre is £32.5K per annum, and all dependants of armed forces and Civil
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Service personnel in Cyprus between the ages of 16 and 19 years of age are eligible to attend. Since February 1987, 150 trainees have used the centre.AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Set-aside
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many applications and registrations he has received under the set-aside scheme on a county-by-county basis ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) how many applications and registrations he has received under the set- aside scheme (a) within and (b) outside, less-favoured areas ; and within each category how many applications he has received for (i) permanent fallow, (ii) rotational fallow, (iii) farm woodland and (iv) non agricultural use ;
(3) how many set-aside agreements his Department has finalised by county in England and Wales ; what is the total hectareage for each county taken out of production by such means ; and what is his estimate by county of the total cost of this scheme.
Mr. Ryder : I shall shortly be announcing further details of the first year's uptake of the scheme.
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Departmental Committees
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all his departmental committees onto which he appoints outside representatives.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Public bodies, including advisory committees, sponsored by my Department, are listed in "Public Bodies 1988" of which a copy is in the Library. I also appoint representatives from outside the Government service to the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and regional management board.
Pigmeat Imports
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the effect of the monetary compensatory amounts system on Dutch and Danish pigmeat imports into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Donald Thompson : United Kingdom, Dutch and Danish pigmeat monetary compensatory amounts are currently all zero ; so that their effect on Dutch and Danish pigmeat imports into the United Kingdom is neutral.
Fish Foods
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he intends the code of practice on the production of animal feeding stuffs containing processed animal products to apply to the production of fish foods.
Mr. Donald Thompson : It is my intention that the code of practice on the production of animal feedingstuffs will apply to feedingstuffs and their ingredients, including animal protein, intended for feeding to food animals and poultry but not to fish.
Salmonella
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the locations of reports of salmonella under the Zoonoses Order 1975 during 1988 ; and if he will indicate in each case who reported it and what was the method by which it was identified.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The reporting of isolations of salmonella in food producing animals is required under the Zoonoses Order 1975. 2, 167 reports have been submitted so far for 1988 for Great Britain. As there is a delay between finding an isolate and submitting a report, this figure must be regarded as provisional. Of these reported isolations, 1,559 were in England, 269 in Scotland and 339 in Wales. Under the Zoonoses Order, any person who knows or has reason to believe that an animal or bird is or was a carrier of a salmonella organism is required to make a report. Those making reports include owners of animals, private veterinary surgeons ; or reports can be made as a result of the isolation of a salmonella organism in a laboratory. It is not possible to give details of who reported the incidents, the methods by which they were identified or precise locations except at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what procedures exist for the monitoring of the code of practice for poultry health scheme members for the control of salmonella.
Mr. Donald Thompson : Since the poultry health scheme code was introduced, veterinary officers of my Department have been assessing compliance with it in the course of visits which they make to the premises. Further checks are carried out if visits are made following the reporting of isolations under the Zoonoses Order 1975. As part of the recently announced further measures the majority of the requirements at present in the code of practice will be made statutory.
Chicken Food
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly of 13 January, Official Report, column 795, (1) how many (a) feed processing plants and (b) feed processing plants producing chicken food there were in each of the years from 1984 to 1988 ;
(2) if he will give (a) the number of inspections per feed processing plant and (b) the number of cases, by plant and by sample, where resampling revealed salmonella contamination in each of the years from 1984 to 1988.
Mr. Donald Thompson : The number of plants in Great Britain can vary from year to year as new ones opened and others closed down. Furthermore, not all operate on a continual basis.
The total numbers of protein processing plants producing animal protein for incorporation into animal feedingstuffs, known to have been operational in each year from 1984 to 1988 were :
|Number
----------------------
1984 |109
1985 |112
1986 |102
1987 |86
<1>1988 |85
<1>Provisional.
The numbers visited and sampled during the year, and the numbers of batches inspected each year were :
|Number of plants visited|Number of batches
|inspected
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 |107 |251
1985 |106 |224
1986 |99 |212
1987 |84 |185
<1>1988 |74 |157
<1>Provisional.
Notes:
1. 1988 figures are provisional and may understate the final level because there is a delay between
inspection and the final recording of results.
2. In continuous production plants a batch comprises a series of samples collected over a five days
production. The number of samples taken each day is proportional to the output.
The number of cases where re-sampling revealed salmonella contamination in each of the years from 1984 to 1988 were :
Table file CW890123.039 not available
Provisional.
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Table file CW890123.039 not available
Sub-standard Beef
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his Department was first notified of imports of sub-standard beef arriving at Mid Cornwall Meatpackers.
Mr. Donald Thompson : On 24 November, Carrick district council's environmental health service sent a report to the Ministry's office at Truro. As soon as this was received, further details were requested in order that the matter could be raised with the authorities of the Republic of Ireland. These details were received on 19 December 1988.
Contaminated Meat
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any evidence that recent consignments of meat originating from Ireland which have been condemned in this country as unfit for human consumption had previously been the subject of cross-border trading between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining EEC export subsidies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : This is a matter for the Irish authorities, and we have asked them to investigate it.
Deer (Tuberculosis)
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are taken by his Department when an outbreak of tuberculosis is confirmed in farmed deer herds.
Mr. Donald Thompson : When an outbreak of tuberculosis is confirmed in farmed deer herds a notice is served under article 15 of the Tuberculosis (England and Wales) Order 1984 or the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 1984 preventing movement of deer on or off the premises. These restrictions are maintained until the herd has undergone two consecutive comparative tuberculin tests, at least 120 days apart, with negative results at severe interpretation. The first of these tests is carried out at least 120 days after removal of reactors or infected animals.
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration he has given to the introduction of a tuberculocis eradication scheme for farmed deer ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Donald Thompson : I announced my proposals for the control of tuberculosis in farmed deer on 15 december 1988 at columns 674-75. A consultation letter on the proposals was sent to interested organisations on 21 December 1988. Consideration is now being given to the comments they have made.
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of tuberculosis have
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been confirmed in deer herds in the past 12 months in England and Wales, and in each of the preceding three years.Mr. Donald Thompson : The numbers of deer herds in which tuberculosis has been confirmed are as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1985 |3
1986 |-
1987 |-
1988 |6
WALES
Hospital Waiting Lists
14. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of (a) in-patient and (b) out-patient waiting lists in the Mid-Glamorgan health authority area and in Wales as a whole ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Grist : At 31 March 1988, the number of people waiting for in- patient treatment was 7,112 in Mid Glamorgan and 41,648 in Wales as a whole. The numbers waiting for a first out-patient appointment were 16,842 and 82,319 respectively.
Translation Costs
15. Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the income and expenditure involved for the commemoration of the translation of the Bible into Welsh and the "Travels of Gerald of Wales" ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The Welsh Office contributed £25,000, over a three-year period, to support the work of the committee which co-ordinated arrangements for the numerous events to mark the 400th anniversary of the Welsh translation of the Bible. Celebration of the 800th anniversary of the travels of Gerald of Wales involved a number of events, including a major exhibition at the national museum of Wales. The final income and expenditure figures will take some time to establish.
M4
16. Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales in which month tenders will be invited for the four sections of the unfinished part of the M4 ; and when a decision on the successful tenderers will be announced.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : I hope shortly to be in a position to advertise my intention to invite tenders for the first phase of the Baglan-Lonlas section of the M4. Work on this is planned to start towards the end of 1989 -90.
Gresford to Pulford Bypass
17. Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the cost of the Gresford to Pulford bypass.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : The total cost of this joint Welsh
Office-Department of Transport scheme, including all works and land costs, is estimated to be £25 million. The Welsh Office share will be about £20 million.
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Severn Bridge
18. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the implications for the travel costs for officials to be borne by his Department of the location of the inquiry into the proposed increase in tolls on the Severn bridge.
Mr. Wyn Roberts : Varying the location of the inquiry would have only marginal implications for such travel costs.
Eggs
19. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had from farming unions in Wales on the recent statement on compensation for egg producers.
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