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Vietnamese Refugees

59. Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of Vietnamese refugees accepted to settle in the United Kingdom to date ; and whether provision for Vietnamese refugees will be increased.

Mr. Renton : Between 1979 and the end of the third quarter of 1988 some 20,400 Vietnamese refugees were admitted for settlement in the United Kingdom. For the future, I refer to the announcement made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar) on 22 December, columns 588 and 589.

Tackling Crime (European Co-operation)

60. Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department is doing to promote greater European co- operation against crime.

75. Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department is doing to promote greater European co- operation against crime.

Mr. John Patten : We attach great importance to closer European co- operation to tackle crime and have actively sought to strengthen bilateral links ; my right hon. Friend recently signed an agreement with Italy to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime. Further action is in hand to improve bilateral and multilateral co-operation in a number of areas including mutual legal assistance and extradition arrangements, the exchange of drugs intelligence and the confiscation of drug traffickers' assets.

Broadcasting

62. Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards a Council of Europe convention on broadcasting.

Mr. Renton : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from him on 23 January, column 393.

63. Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to meet the chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority to discuss the White Paper on the future of broadcasting.

Mr. Renton : My right hon. Friend met Mr. Russell on 10 January and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met him on 17 January to discuss our recent White Paper


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on broadcasting. My right hon. Friend keeps in regular touch with the chairmen of the BBC and IBA on a wide range of broadcasting matters.

Football Matches (Policing)

64. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether steps are being taken to reduce the cost of policing football matches.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The aim of the national football membership scheme envisaged in part I of the Football Spectators Bill [Lords] is to break the link between football and hooliganism by disqualifying troublemakers from attendance at all League grounds. In the longer term, the scheme should reduce considerably the heavy police commitment required to maintain order at football matches.

Burglaries

65. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the latest figures for burglary in England and Wales.

Mr. John Patten : Burglary fell by 8 per cent. in the 12 months to September 1988 compared with the previous 12 months. This information is published in table 4 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin 36/88, a copy of which is in the Library.

Right of Silence

67. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on his conclusions concerning the right of silence.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend is awaiting the report of the working group which was set up last year to consider what changes in the law are necessary. We expect to receive its report around Easter.

77. Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received relating to the possible abolition of the right of silence.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend has received a number of letters from right hon. and hon. Members, including one from the hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Hull, West (Mr. Randall) on behalf of the Opposition, and from members of the public. I understand that the working group on the right of silence which my right hon. Friend set up to consider this issue has received responses to its consultation document from a wide range of interested bodies.

Metropolitan Police

68. Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to promote greater efficiency in the Metropolitan police.

79. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in securing greater value for money from the Metropolitan police.

81. Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in securing greater value for money from the Metropolitan police.


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Mr. Douglas Hogg : Measures have been introduced on a number of fronts to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and economic use of Metropolitan police resources and to ensure value for money of Metropolitan police expenditure. Changes were made last year to the systems of estimating, monitoring and controlling expenditure and to the composition of the cash limit in order to strengthen the controls on running costs and other current expenditure. An estimate screening process has been introduced to concentrate attention on the relative priorities of competing demands, increasing value for money in the use of resources and identifying policies or projects which require more detailed examination. Work is being done on the improvement of financial management information and pilot schemes to assess the effectiveness of divisional budgets. There is a programme of civilianisation to release police officers for operational duties and to ensure that functions are carried out in the most economic way. Independent inspections by Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary will augment the internal system of inspections in measuring the efficiency of the force.

Other initiatives aimed at improving greater Efficiency and value for money include a continuing programme of scrutinies and reviews, contracting out of services, and the wider use of output measures and performance indicators.

Some recent achievements include : 218 headquarters posts abolished through reorganisation in the last three years ; 1,300 posts devolved from headquarters to areas in the last three years ; 322 posts civilianised since March 1986 ; 500 cleaning posts contracted out ; hours spent on street duty in 1988 up by some 7.5 per cent. over the previous year ; a reduction of 10 per cent. in real terms in the overtime budget ; a 7 per cent. improvement in arrest rates ; and a 6 per cent. improvement in clear- up rates.

Police Forensic Service

70. Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to establish a full-time police forensic service.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Home Office forensic science service provides forensic science facilities to police forces outside London through its six regional laboratories. The Metropolitan police and the City of London police are served by the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory.

It would not be economical, or effective, for each provincial police force to establish its own laboratory.

Prison Sentences (Remission)

Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent remission of prison sentences is based on the severity of the crime.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : Remission may be earned on all prison sentences of more than five days. Those not exceeding a total term of 12 months may be reduced by up to half ; longer sentences may be reduced by a third. The maximum amount of remission will, thus, reflect the length of sentence or sentences imposed on a prisoner, which is determined by a number of other factors in addition to the severity of the offence.


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Drugs

74. Mr. Irvine : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in securing greater international co- operation against the illegal drug trade.

Mr. Hurd : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier this afternoon to a similar Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey).

Prisoners

76. Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were in prison at the most recent count.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : On Friday 27 January 48,867 prisoners were held in prison service establishments in England and Wales. A further 298 prisoners were held in police cells.

Police Efficiency

78. Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to implement the

recommendations of the Audit Commission on police efficiency.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Audit Commission recommendations contain valuable guidelines for improved value for money in the use of police resources. The Home Office and Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary will fully support and encourage chief officers of police and police authorities in implementing the recommendations.

Italy (Ministerial Visit)

80. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about his recent visit to Italy.

Mr. Hurd : I visited Italy from 11 to 14 January at the invitation of Signor Antonio Gava, the Italian Minister of the Interior. During the visit I had talks with Signor Gava and his officials about matters of common interest, and I signed a joint arrangement for co-operation between our two Governments on developing measures against terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking. Copies of this arrangement have been placed in the Library.

I called on a number of parliamentarians in Rome, and visited Turin and Milan where I met local officials and members of the business community, and visited a drug rehabilitation project.

Prisons (HIV Testing)

86. Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to introduce compulsory HIV testing in all prisons.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : No. Practice in prisons follows Government policy for the general community. A test is carried out only with informed consent.

South Yorkshire Police

87. Mr. Duffy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to increase the current manning levels in the South Yorkshire police.


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Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend announced on 30 January, column 6 , that he had approved an increase of 16 police posts for South Yorkshire and that he was prepared to approve a further 11 posts for stage II probationer training if the police authority made formal application for them.

Shops Act 1950

88. Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken to seek the views of the local government authorities on ways of amending the Shops Act 1950 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton : I have met with the Association of District Councils on 14 July, 21 September and 13 December 1988 to exchange views on Sunday trading and have received the proposals which it published on 30 December.

Intoxicating Liquor

89. Mr. John Hunt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to introduce legislation to amend the present definition of intoxicating liquor in the Licensing Act 1964 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are considering, in consultation with other Departments, whether it would be desirable to amend the definition of intoxicating liquor in the 1964 Act to relax restrictions on the sale of low alcohol products now becoming available. In particular, we are concerned to assess any possible effect on children and young persons of unrestricted access to low alcohol drinks.

Reparation and Mediation Schemes

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the results of his Department's research into the experimental reparation and mediation schemes will be published.

Mr. John Patten : In the spring.

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is provided to police authorities on the provision of neighbourhood watch signs.

Mr. John Patten : There is no central guidance on the provision of neighbourhood watch signs. The permission of the highway authority--usually the county council or the London borough council--is needed when a sign is to be erected on highway land, and some authorities use this as a means of achieving standardisation of signs.

Child Abductions

Sir George Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many United Kingdom children have been abducted overseas in defiance of orders from British courts over the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mr. John Patten : I regret that the information requested is not collected centrally.


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Football League Matches

Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 January, Official Report, column 492 , regarding events at Football League matches for the first part of the 1988- 89 season, if he will give a further breakdown of the figure of 543 arrests at fourth division matches up to 31 October 1988.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : Following my reply of 10 January, ACPO was informed of a substantial error in the return from one police force and the provisional total for division 4 has now been amended to 248.

At the end of each football season the Association of Chief Police Officers carefully reviews the returns from 43 individual forces relating to the number of arrests made at matches of the 92 Football League clubs. One part of a season is not comparable with another and where interim figures have been collected they have not been subjected to the same scrutiny. Since the provisional totals to 31 October 1988 have not been given a full end of season check, it would be inappropriate to publish a detailed breakdown, club by club, across the Football League or any division as a whole.

Prisoners (AIDS)

Mr. Tom Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's policy for the reception of an inmate into prison who is known or thought to be suffering from AIDS ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : All prisoners are questioned about their medical history and are medically examined on reception. Where AIDS is diagnosed the prison medical officer will devise a clinical management plan appropriate to the individual case. Facilities for the care and support of prisoners with AIDS, AIDS-related illness and other infectious conditions are being developed on a contingency basis.

Mr. Tom Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women known to be suffering from AIDS were in prisons in England and Wales on 1 January.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : There was no reported case of AIDS. Fifty male prisoners and seven females were known to be HIV antibody-positive.

Prison (Woolwich)

Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will be responsible for the naming of the new prison at Woolwich ; when a final decision will be announced ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : Responsibility for the naming of new prisons rests with the Secretary of State. In accordance with usual practice the local authority--the London borough of Greenwich--has been invited to suggest a name for the new prison at Woolwich. A decision will be taken as soon as possible after its response is received.


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Buckingham Palace Security

Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on Buckingham Palace security ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hurd : Arrangements for security at Buckingham Palace are regularly tested and kept under constant review.

A routine exercise, restricted in scope and using limited resources, was conducted by the royalty and diplomatic protection department of the Metropolitan police to test the security systems at Buckingham Palace on the evening of 17 January. The exercise met its objectives, and I understand that the commissioner is satisfied with the results.

Kerb Crawlers (Electronic Tagging)

Mrs. Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of electronic tagging in relation to kerb crawlers.

Mr. John Patten : We have no plans as yet to introduce the use of electronic monitoring for convicted offenders. We shall review the use of electronic monitoring in the light of the forthcoming pilot studies monitoring defendants on bail.

English Folk Dance and Song Society

Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Charity Commission as to why it refused to look into allegations of ballot rigging in the affairs of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Mr. John Patten : No. The propriety of the Society's recent election is a matter for the society itself and ultimately for the courts.

Association of Chief Police Officers

Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a report from the Association of Chief Police Officers regarding its recent emergency exercises ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John Patten : A report on COMTEST '89 is being prepared by the Association of Chief Police Officers. Any conclusions on operational matters will be for chief constables to consider, but we are following developments closely.

SCOTLAND

Manufacturing Investment

Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest figures for levels of manufacturing investment in Scotland, both in cash and real terms ; and what are the annual figures for each of the previous 10 years.

Mr. Rifkind : The latest available figures relate to 1986. The volume estimates have been estimated using the United Kingdom deflator for manufacturing investment.


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Manufacturing investment in Scotland                                                                                         

Gross domestic fixed capital formation                                                                                       

                         |£ million at current    |£ million at 1985 prices|£ per employee at 1985                           

                         |prices                                           |prices                                           

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1977                     |491                     |950                     |1,540                                            

1978                     |523                     |908                     |1,515                                            

1979                     |561                     |873                     |1,513                                            

1980                     |644                     |871                     |1,634                                            

1981                     |585                     |723                     |1,517                                            

1982                     |541                     |627                     |1,400                                            

1983                     |470                     |515                     |1,227                                            

1984                     |596                     |631                     |1,589                                            

1985                     |861                     |861                     |2,195                                            

1986                     |788                     |757                     |1,984                                            

Bathing Water

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all those beaches in Scotland which failed to meet the European Community directive on bathing water quality standards in the last year for which data is available, when it is planned for each of these beaches to meet these standards ; and what is the estimated cost in each case.


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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information on results for 1987, the latest year available, was given in my answers on 5 May at column 536, and 29 June 1988 at column 247, to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro). A copy of the report "Bathing Waters in Scotland, Results of Monitoring : 1986 and 1987" is available in the Library.

The information on the quality of Scottish bathing waters during the 1988 bathing season is being collated at present. I expect to announce the results before the start of the 1989 bathing season. Discussions are currently taking place with the authorities concerned about plans and programmes of improvement for those bathing waters which did not meet the directive's standards in 1987.

Labour Statistics

Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the unemployment figures for each constituency in Scotland for each of the last three years ; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the previous year.

Mr. Lang : The information requested is set out in the table.


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Unemployed claimants in Scottish parliamentary constituencies                                                                                                                                                           

Constituency                      |December 1986            |As percentage of December|December 1987            |As percentage of December|December 1988            |As percentage of December                          

                                                            |1985                                               |1986                                               |1987                                               

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aberdeen North                    |4,691                    |130.3                    |4,169                    |88.9                     |3,276                    |78.6                                               

Aberdeen South                    |4,280                    |141.2                    |3,521                    |82.3                     |2,700                    |76.7                                               

Angus East                        |4,509                    |117.8                    |3,839                    |85.1                     |2,905                    |75.7                                               

Argyll and Bute                   |4,302                    |106.6                    |3,777                    |87.8                     |3,156                    |83.6                                               

Ayr                               |5,223                    |103.4                    |4,504                    |86.2                     |3,507                    |77.9                                               

Banff and Buchan                  |3,968                    |125.6                    |3,340                    |84.2                     |2,634                    |78.9                                               

Caithness and Sutherland          |2,575                    |103.1                    |2,435                    |94.6                     |2,181                    |89.6                                               

Carrick, Cumnock and                                                                                                                                                                                                    

   Doon Valley                    |6,751                    |102.2                    |6,138                    |90.9                     |4,956                    |80.7                                               

Central Fife                      |5,656                    |99.4                     |5,229                    |92.5                     |4,085                    |78.1                                               

Clackmannan                       |4,742                    |102.5                    |4,212                    |88.8                     |3,363                    |79.8                                               

Clydebank and Milngavie           |4,703                    |102.9                    |4,417                    |93.9                     |3,537                    |80.1                                               

Clydesdale                        |5,179                    |103.8                    |4,423                    |85.4                     |3,409                    |77.1                                               

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth           |4,793                    |103.0                    |4,017                    |83.8                     |3,148                    |78.4                                               

Cunninghame North                 |5,649                    |102.8                    |5,032                    |89.1                     |3,777                    |75.1                                               

Cunninghame South                 |6,213                    |98.6                     |5,546                    |89.3                     |4,200                    |75.7                                               

Dumbarton                         |5,605                    |94.9                     |5,388                    |96.1                     |4,422                    |82.1                                               

Dumfries                          |4,055                    |101.6                    |3,442                    |84.9                     |2,742                    |79.7                                               

Dundee East                       |7,748                    |94.0                     |7,004                    |90.4                     |5,630                    |80.4                                               

Dundee West                       |6,363                    |95.6                     |5,655                    |88.9                     |4,712                    |83.3                                               

Dunfermline East                  |5,021                    |102.7                    |4,489                    |89.4                     |3,642                    |81.1                                               

Dunfermline West                  |3,796                    |106.1                    |3,388                    |89.3                     |2,788                    |82.3                                               

East Kilbride                     |5,108                    |101.3                    |4,239                    |83.0                     |3,391                    |80.0                                               

East Lothian                      |4,156                    |109.9                    |3,878                    |93.3                     |3,211                    |82.8                                               

Eastwood                          |3,397                    |103.1                    |3,013                    |88.7                     |2,358                    |78.3                                               

Edinburgh Central                 |5,584                    |111.9                    |5,136                    |92.0                     |4,148                    |80.8                                               

Edinburgh East                    |4,590                    |99.3                     |4,341                    |94.6                     |3,323                    |76.5                                               

Edinburgh Leith                   |6,974                    |106.9                    |6,469                    |92.8                     |5,044                    |78.0                                               

Edinburgh Pentlands               |3,535                    |95.8                     |3,237                    |91.6                     |2,524                    |78.0                                               

Edinburgh South                   |4,323                    |106.1                    |4,096                    |94.7                     |3,129                    |76.4                                               

Edinburgh West                    |2,611                    |108.1                    |2,196                    |84.1                     |1,709                    |77.8                                               

Falkirk East                      |5,316                    |97.5                     |4,675                    |87.9                     |3,444                    |73.7                                               

Falkirk West                      |4,650                    |98.4                     |3,811                    |82.0                     |2,895                    |76.0                                               

Galloway and Upper                                                                                                                                                                                                      

   Nithsdale                      |4,231                    |104.9                    |3,569                    |84.4                     |3,360                    |94.1                                               

Glasgow Cathcart                  |4,451                    |100.6                    |3,911                    |87.9                     |3,264                    |83.5                                               

Glasgow Central                   |7,567                    |103.6                    |7,255                    |95.9                     |6,096                    |84.0                                               

Glasgow Garscadden                |6,214                    |98.0                     |5,485                    |88.3                     |4,904                    |89.4                                               

Glasgow Govan                     |6,065                    |98.2                     |5,634                    |92.9                     |4,975                    |88.3                                               

Glasgow Hillhead                  |5,829                    |106.9                    |5,370                    |92.1                     |4,660                    |86.8                                               

Glasgow Maryhill                  |7,994                    |101.8                    |7,494                    |93.7                     |6,483                    |86.5                                               

Glasgow Pollok                    |7,480                    |96.9                     |6,856                    |91.7                     |5,789                    |84.4                                               

Glasgow Provan                    |8,706                    |95.4                     |7,539                    |86.6                     |6,671                    |88.5                                               

Glasgow Rutherglen                |6,887                    |98.9                     |5,955                    |86.5                     |5,079                    |85.3                                               

Glasgow Shettleston               |6,732                    |104.6                    |6,086                    |90.4                     |5,429                    |89.2                                               

Glasgow Springburn                |8,616                    |99.1                     |7,825                    |90.8                     |6,820                    |87.2                                               

Gordon                            |3,365                    |160.2                    |2,595                    |77.1                     |1,795                    |69.2                                               

Greenock and Port Glasgow         |8,612                    |98.2                     |7,835                    |91.0                     |6,427                    |82.0                                               

Hamilton                          |6,566                    |104.4                    |5,680                    |86.5                     |4,298                    |75.7                                               

Inverness, Nairn and                                                                                                                                                                                                    

   Lochaber                       |6,967                    |106.9                    |6,026                    |86.5                     |4,998                    |82.9                                               

Kilmarnock and Loudoun            |5,579                    |98.5                     |5,032                    |90.2                     |4,191                    |83.3                                               

Kincardine and Deeside            |3,143                    |168.5                    |2,483                    |79.0                     |1,825                    |73.5                                               

Kirkcaldy                         |5,074                    |103.5                    |4,628                    |91.2                     |3,882                    |82.8                                               

Linlithgow                        |5,716                    |97.3                     |4,580                    |80.1                     |3,443                    |75.2                                               

Livingston                        |5,236                    |99.4                     |4,412                    |84.3                     |3,255                    |73.8                                               

Midlothian                        |4,495                    |102.1                    |4,146                    |92.2                     |3,364                    |81.1                                               

Monklands East                    |6,283                    |105.5                    |5,450                    |86.7                     |4,320                    |79.3                                               

Monklands West                    |5,050                    |103.3                    |4,519                    |89.5                     |3,495                    |77.3                                               

Moray                             |4,258                    |107.1                    |3,663                    |86.0                     |3,159                    |86.2                                               

Motherwell North                  |6,597                    |103.6                    |5,545                    |84.1                     |4,373                    |78.9                                               

Motherwell South                  |5,432                    |100.1                    |4,571                    |84.1                     |3,853                    |84.3                                               

North East Fife                   |2,707                    |102.5                    |2,450                    |90.5                     |1,914                    |78.1                                               

North Tayside                     |3,305                    |110.1                    |2,796                    |84.6                     |2,098                    |75.0                                               

Orkney and Shetland               |1,849                    |116.3                    |1,583                    |85.6                     |1,355                    |85.6                                               

Paisley North                     |5,424                    |97.8                     |5,095                    |93.9                     |4,097                    |80.4                                               

Paisley South                     |5,451                    |97.7                     |4,787                    |87.8                     |3,944                    |82.4                                               

Perth and Kinross                 |4,246                    |110.0                    |3,507                    |826                      |2,724                    |77.7                                               

Renfrew West and                                                                                                                                                                                                        

   Inverclyde                     |3,764                    |100.5                    |3,407                    |90.5                     |2,563                    |75.2                                               

Ross, Cromarty and Skye           |5,275                    |104.3                    |4,994                    |94.7                     |3,948                    |79.1                                               

Roxburgh and Berwickshire         |2,038                    |105.8                    |1,799                    |88.3                     |1,350                    |75.0                                               

Stirling                          |4,073                    |96.8                     |3,614                    |88.7                     |2,875                    |79.6                                               

Strathkelvin and Bearsden         |3,661                    |98.7                     |3,183                    |86.9                     |2,492                    |78.3                                               

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale |1859                     |107.1                    |1,499                    |80.6                     |1,268                    |84.6                                               

Western Isles                     |2,354                    |127.8                    |2,093                    |88.9                     |2,157                    |103.1                                              

Due to changes which have taken place in the compilation of the statistics during the period these figures are not directly comparable.

Crofters' Commission

Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what conclusions he has drawn following his review of the Crofters' Commission ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Michael Forsyth : My right hon. and learned Friend has accepted the main recommendation that the commission should remain in being as consituted. Most of the other recommendations were addressed to the commission which is now considering them. Consideration is also being given to those concerning the relationship between the commission and the Scottish Office and their respective responsibilities.

Turnhouse Airport (Transport Interchange)

Mr. Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what study his Department has made of the proposal put forward by Bridgehead 2000 for a central Scotland transport interchange to be located at Turnhouse airport, a copy of which has been sent to him ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Rifkind : The proposals by Bridgehead 2000 raise in the first instance matters for consideration by BAA plc, as owners of the airport, and the British Rail board.

Drug Offences

Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Scottish Law Commission last examined the law as it relates to drug offences.


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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Law Commission has never examined the law in relation to drug offences.

Population

Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the population of Scotland at present ; and what projections there are for how this will change over the next 10 years.

Mr. Rifkind : The registrar general's latest estimate of the population of Scotland, which relates to 30 June 1987, is 5,112,129. Projected populations based on this figure are given in the table.


Year                 |Projected population                     

                     |('000s)                                  

---------------------------------------------------------------

1988                 |5,104                                    

1989                 |5,097                                    

1990                 |5,091                                    

1991                 |5,085                                    

1992                 |5,081                                    

1993                 |5,077                                    

1994                 |5,073                                    

1995                 |5,069                                    

1996                 |5,064                                    

1997                 |5,059                                    

1998                 |5,053                                    

1999                 |5,046                                    

Source: Government Actuary's Department.                       

Pupils

Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pupils there are in Scotland at present in both primary and secondary sectors ; and how these figures are expected to change over the next decade.


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Mr. Rifkind : The provisional numbers of pupils in education authority primary and secondary schools at September 1988 were 432, 500 and 311,900 respectively. The most recent projections of pupil numbers are based on actual pupil numbers at September 1987 and are set out in the table.


          |Primary  |Secondary          

----------------------------------------

1989      |436,700  |296,800            

1990      |439,000  |289,800            

1991      |438,500  |289,200            

1992      |439,400  |291,900            

1993      |443,400  |296,700            

1994      |451,100  |299,600            

1995      |459,900  |300,300            

1996      |468,700  |299,400            

1997      |476,500  |298,300            

1998      |483,900  |298,200            

Students

Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many full -time and part-time students there are in both further and higher education in Scotland ; and what projections there are for changes in these figures over the next decade.


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