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Government expenditure on regional preferential assistance for industry<1>
Financial year
Form of assistance-Region |1978- |1979- |1980- |1981- |1982- |1983- |1984- |1985- |1986- |1987- |1988-
|79 |80 |81 |82 |83 |84 |85 |86 |87 |88 |89
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Regional Development Grant
Northern |135.0 |122.4 |117.5 |143.9 |127.2 |101.3 |89.0 |67.3 |102.2 |61.7 |81.6
North West |64.3 |58.7 |105.7 |143.4 |97.3 |83.0 |80.0 |62.1 |101.3 |45.7 |46.7
Yorkshire and Humberside |30.2 |21.5 |38.7 |47.1 |36.4 |23.5 |26.8 |24.2 |27.1 |17.8 |19.3
South West |6.0 |5.0 |8.5 |10.3 |11.0 |7.8 |9.5 |8.6 |15.3 |7.0 |6.6
East Midlands |2.3 |2.4 |3.2 |7.2 |8.8 |8.2 |3.8 |4.4 |8.4 |7.1 |7.9
West Midlands |0.1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
England<2> |238.1 |210.0 |273.7 |351.9 |280.7 |223.8 |209.0 |166.6 |254.4 |139.3 |162.2
Scotland |107.3 |70.2 |113.3 |142.7 |287.3 |143.0 |109.2 |107.5 |170.2 |78.0 |76.6
Wales |71.5 |50.7 |103.5 |122.2 |121.5 |72.1 |92.7 |84.4 |88.8 |53.4 |58.6
Great Britain<2> |416.9 |330.9 |490.5 |516.8 |689.6 |438.9 |410.8 |358.5 |513.1 |270.6 |297.4
2. Selective Financial Assistance
Northern |10.6 |11.5 |19.2 |22.6 |21.1 |15.4 |15.3 |16.2 |17.3 |24.9 |35.1
North West |40.2 |23.3 |22.5 |14.7 |18.3 |13.6 |13.7 |12.7 |18.3 |19.6 |20.3
Yorkshire and Humberside |5.2 |6.8 |6.6 |7.1 |10.6 |8.8 |9.7 |8.3 |10.1 |14.1 |21.0
South West |2.4 |2.7 |2.8 |1.7 |2.7 |2.0 |2.2 |2.5 |5.2 |4.3 |4.5
East Midlands |0.7 |0.9 |0.6 |1.0 |4.1 |8.7 |6.4 |3.9 |2.2 |2.3 |1.0
West Midlands |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |5.5 |9.8 |18.3 |24.6
England<2> |59.2 |45.2 |51.7 |47.1 |56.8 |48.7 |47.3 |49.1 |62.9 |83.4 |106.7
Scotland |14.9 |18.7 |23.5 |19.6 |20.1 |24.7 |31.7 |48.1 |35.4 |38.3 |38.0
Wales |30.4 |18.8 |11.8 |10.2 |14.5 |15.9 |19.4 |22.5 |27.5 |28.3 |36.1
Great Britain<2> |104.5 |82.6 |87.0 |77.0 |91.5 |89.3 |98.4 |119.7 |125.8 |150.1 |180.8
3. Regional Enterprise Grant
Northern |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.3
North West |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.4
Yorkshire and Humberside |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.2
South West |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.1
East Midlands |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
West Midlands |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
England<2> |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.9
Scotland |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.3
Wales |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.2
Great Britain |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |1.4
4. Expenditure by English Estates on
land and factories
Northern |13.2 |13.9 |14.9 |10.1 |10.2 |12.3 |18.3 |11.1 |16.9 |22.6 |16.6
North West |<3>9.6 |<3>7.4 |9.3 |<3>15.7 |<3>8.2 |<3>6.5 |10.2 |11.1 |9.0 |13.5 |14.6
Yorkshire and Humberside |2.0 |3.8 |7.4 |7.4 |5.9 |3.3 |6.0 |2.9 |4.1 |6.7 |9.3
South West |1.2 |2.6 |1.3 |2.8 |2.7 |2.1 |2.5 |0.9 |2.2 |3.4 |3.4
East Midlands |0.4 |0.8 |0.9 |0.4 |0.7 |- |- |- |- |- |-
West Midlands |0.1 |0.1 |- |- |- |- |- |0.9 |0.2 |0.5 |1.0
England<2> |26.5 |28.6 |33.9 |36.4 |27.7 |24.2 |37.0 |26.9 |32.4 |46.7 |44.9
Expenditure by Scottish and Welsh
Development Agencies on land
and factories
Scotland |27.8 |37.8 |47.3 |58.4 |46.4 |43.6 |23.3 |23.8 |20.2 |20.5 |18.2
Wales |30.2 |43.4 |60.0 |65.9 |46.2 |28.4 |30.1 |25.4 |27.6 |44.2 |45.8
5. Highlands and Islands Development
Board
Scotland |6.1 |8.5 |11.4 |11.8 |15.6 |17.3 |22.9 |17.6 |16.6 |16.4 |18.1
6. Development Board for Rural
Wales
Wales |- |- |- |- |- |4.1 |5.3 |6.1 |6.8 |6.5 |7.4
<1>All figures are gross and include payments to nationalised industries.
<2>The England and Great Britain totals for individual forms of assistance may not always equal the sum of the component parts due to the inclusion of items which cannot be allocated to regions, and because of rounding.
<3>Includes expenditure in Cumbria, otherwise shown within the totals for the Northern Region.
The items included in the expenditure are: regional development grants, regional selective assistance and regional enterprise grants; expenditure on land and factories by the English Industrial Estates Corporation and the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies; and expenditure on land and factories and grants by the Highlands and Islands
Development Board and the Development Board for Rural Wales.
Red Telephone Boxes
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce a statutory duty on British Telecom to notify and consult the local authority when it intends to replace red telephone boxes in conservation areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Such a duty already exists under the terms of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 (SI No. 1813).
NESL (Danish Order)
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement as to the financial outcome of the Danish order for ferry boats which was placed with North East Shipbuilders Ltd.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The financial outturn on this contract at North East Shipbuilders Ltd remains subject to final audit and to the terms of sale of the last three ferries remaining from the order. Subject to that, the net losses on the contract are estimated to be of the order of £40 million. This includes the cost of cancellation of nine of the ships from the original order.
Wine
Mr. Wood : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he intends to introduce legislation to prescribe the quantities in which wine by the glass may be sold ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Forth : I am pleased to announce that the Government propose to make an order prescribing the measures in which wine may be sold by the glass in licensed premises. The trade's voluntary code of practice on prescribed measures for wine has made a useful contribution in this field. Nevertheless, I believe that the increase in the amount of wine sold by the glass in licensed premises has now tipped the balance in favour of prescribing measures for wine. We shall shortly be consulting interested parties about the proposal, in particular as to the volumes to be prescribed and the transitional period. We shall also be notifying the proposal to the EC Commission as we are required to do by directive 83/189. We would hope to be able to complete these steps in time to lay the order in Parliament before the summer under the affirmative resolution procedure. This order will have similar effect to that intended under Lord Mason's Weights and Measures (Sale of Wine) Bill which he has indicated he proposes to withdraw today.
Single Market
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a list of the inquiries which have been authorised by the EEC Commission on the impact of the single market and indicate which of the reports of such inquiries have been published.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : The Commission frequently undertakes inquiries in varying
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degrees of detail on a wide range of European issues. On the single market, the most detailed of these is the Cecchini report, published in 1988, which forecasts the impact of the single market on different industrial sectors. No complete list of Commission inquiries exists.Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Southend, East of 24 January, when his Department will complete its assessment of the EEC Commission-Louvain university study on the impact of the single market on regions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : My Department is still studying this report, received last week, and will complete its assessment as soon as practicable.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice and assistance was sought from his Department by the university of Louvain in connection with its report on the impact of the single market on regions.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : None.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what manpower in his Department is devoted to providing advice and briefing to industry, commerce and the general public on the 1992 proposals ; and what expenditure is devoted to this area of policy.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : My Department's "Europe Open for Business" campaign, which is dedicated to providing factual information to business on single market proposals, is run by a unit of 13 staff, supported as required by officials elsewhere in the Department, including regional offices. Expenditure on the campaign since its launch in March 1988 has been £4.7 million, plus £8.9 million on advertising.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the 1992 proposals on Strathclyde and south Yorkshire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : The impact of the single market on regions will depend on how successfully individual firms respond. It is therefore not possible to produce reliable assessments of the impact on particular regions as a whole. The single market will provide opportunities and challenges to firms in all parts of the United Kingdom, but the impact of 1992 is only one factor amongst many which will affect economic progress in particular regions.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the EEC Commission/Louvain university report on the impact of the single market on regions will be ready for publication ; and if he will make copies available through the Vote Office.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : The Commission has not yet decided when or if it will make the report prepared by Louvain university available for publication. I have today placed a copy of the draft report, made available to us by the Commission, in the Library of the House. It is available only in French at present.
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RETI
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the formation and financing of the RETI organisation ; and whether Her Majesty's Government were consulted on its formation.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 January 1990] : We understand RETI to be one of many umbrella organisations concerned with lobbying on European issues. It does not receive Government funding. Her Majesty's Government would not expect to be consulted on the formation of such bodies, and were not consulted in this case.
LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Creches
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list by location where creche facilities are provided for working mothers employed in his Department ; and if they have to make any payment for this service.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : No nursery facilities are available to staff in my Department but they have access to the Westminster holiday playscheme which is financed by both parental and departmental contribution.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Probation Service
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to privatise parts of the probation service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The Government intend to publish shortly a Green Paper setting out a number of options for the organisation and management of probation service work. This will include an examination of the contribution that the voluntary and private sectors might make to the service's work. No changes will be made without full consultation. There are no plans to privatise the service.
Correspondence
Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen, dated 5 December 1989, regarding Sean Agatha, deceased.
Mr. Mellor : I wrote to the hon. Member on 30 January.
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth will receive a reply to his letter dated 30 December 1989 referring to Mr. J. R. Green.
Mr. John Patten : I will write shortly to my hon. Friend.
Prisoners (Suicide)
Mr. Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute an investigation into the suicide of inmates in prison.
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Mr. Mellor : We continue to be deeply concerned about the increased incidence of suicide in prison.
A number of initiatives have been taken in recent years to improve the prison service's suicide prevention strategy, including improved screening arrangements, better training and guidance for staff, establishing suicide prevention management groups and encouraging the involvement of the Samaritans. We also intend to examine whether closed circuit television may be a useful aid in some circumstances. In the longer term we shall have the benefit of research which has been commissioned from the University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology which will focus primarily on incidents of attempted suicide and self-injury in prison and their relationship with completed suicide.
All of this work is valuable and will continue. But, in a shorter time scale, my right hon. and learned Friend has decided that it would be helpful to ask Her Majesty's chief inspector of prions, Judge Stephen Tumim, to undertake a review, under section 5A of the Prison Act 1952, as amended, of our present policies and procedures in the light of information gained from his regular inspections of prison establishments. He will also look at the particular problems presented in this context by mentally disturbed inmates.
Judge Tumim's terms of reference will be :
To review the effectiveness of the current policy and procedures for the prevention of suicide and self-harm in prison service establishments in England and Wales, with particular reference to the risks posed by mentally disturbed prisoners ; and to make recommendations.
Judge Tumim will begin the review as soon as his inspection programme permits and he expects to be able to report to my right hon. and learned Friend in the autumn.
Recidivism
246. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the last available year what are the figures for those sentenced to a custodial sentence serving a second or subsequent sentence.
Mr. Mellor : The information requested is not recorded centrally. The readily available statistics relate to all previous convictions and are published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (tables 3.5, 4.2 and 5.2 of the latest issue, for 1988 (Cmnd. 825)), copies of which are in the Library.
Drugs
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new (a) cocaine and (b) heroin addicts were reported to the Home Office in each of the last five years.
Mr. Mellor : The information for the five years to 1988 is published in table 2 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue No. 1389, "Statistics of Drug Addicts Notified to the Home Office, United Kingdom, 1988", a copy of which is in the Library. Provisional information for 1989 indicates that in comparison with 1988 new notifications for cocaine increased by 13 per cent.--from 462--and for heroin by 5 per cent.--from 4,630.
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the yearly totals of money confiscated since the passing of the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986.
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Mr. John Patten : Information on the amounts ordered to be confiscated in 1987 and 1988 is given in table 7.25 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales 1988", a copy of which is in the Library. The current estimate by the national drugs intelligence unit of the cumulative total of confiscation orders made since the Drug Trafficking Offences Act came into force in January 1987, is in excess of £16 million.
Passports
Sir David Price : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it takes on average to process an application form for a new passport ; and what are the reasons why a passport is not issued immediately the application form is presented to the Passport Office.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The processing of a passport application involves a number of stages, including examination of the application and accompanying documents, accounting for the fee, and preparing and issuing the passport. The precise time taken at each stage varies according to the type of application and other factors, and details are not recorded. Passports cannot normally be issued immediately because of the number and variety of the applications received, but priority is given to urgent cases.
Sir David Price : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will simplify the application forms for passports ; and if he will appoint a qualified work study engineer to analyse the relevance of the current questions asked on the application form.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Passport application forms were considerably revised and simplified in 1988 in connection with computerisation of the passport service, in the light of advice from forms design experts and the results of user trials. The design and content of the forms are kept under constant review for ease of completion and to ensure that the information requested is kept to a necessary minimum.
Litter
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average fine for dropping litter in 1988.
Mr. John Patten : In 1988 the average fine imposed in England and Wales under the Litter Act 1983 was £40.
Outside Experts
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement as to his Department's policy on the employment by the police of outside experts, including scientists, able to assist in the investigation and detection of crime.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The use of outside experts to assist in the investigation and detection of crime is a matter for the operational judgment of chief constables.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has any special procedures to deal with cases which are urgent ;
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(2) if he will take steps to ensure that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board gives greater publicity to the possibility of interim payments ;(3) if he will take steps to ensure that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board gives a guarantee that an interim payment will be made within three months on application where the case is obviously urgent or there are circumstances of special hardship.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 31 January 1990] : The board deals with each application on its own merits. Priority is given to cases of severe injury and cases of claims from the bereaved and the elderly.
The criminal injuries compensation scheme, which the board is responsible for administering, enables the board to make interim payments as soon as an applicant's eligibility for compensation has been established. This may take longer than three months. A copy of the scheme is made available to every applicant. Interim payments are made at the board's discretion and are normally called for where the information to assess a final award is not available, for example where only a provisional medical assessment can be given.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff have been employed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in each of the past five years ; what is the current number ; and what is the estimated shortage.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 31 January 1990] : On 29 January 1990, the board was at its full complement of 330 staff. We understand that it is preparing a detailed request for 50 more staff, which we expect to receive shortly. The other information requested is as follows :
Year ended |Average
31 March |number of
|staff in post
------------------------------------------
1985 |189
1986 |204
1987 |215
1988 |267
1989 |312
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the backlog of cases facing the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 31 January 1990] : On 31 December 1989, 96,177 applications were awaiting resolution by the board.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated number of months it takes before an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board receives a final payment.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 31 January 1990] : Information on this point is not available. The percentage of cases resolved by the board within certain periods of registration is shown in paragraph 6 of its latest annual report (Cm 900), copies of which are in the Library.
The figures for 1988-89 are :
|Per cent.
----------------------------------------
Up to three months |1.0
Three to six months |2.1
Six to nine months |4.8
Nine to 12 months |19.0
Over 12 months |73.1
Telephone Equipment
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the value to crime prevention generally of the use of telephone equipment which displays the caller's number on the recipient's phone.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 31 January 1990] : None. We are aware, however, of newspaper reports claiming success for equipment of this kind operated by Bell Telephone Incorporated of New Jersey, United States. We also understand that research of this system is to be published in the near future in the United States and we shall study it with interest.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the effect on the number of obscene phone calls made in America of the introduction of telephone equipment which identified the caller's number ; and whether there are any implications for the United Kingdom.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 31 January 1990] : We understand that a report will be published shortly by the school of criminal justice at the State University of New Jersey assessing the effect of introduction of telephone equipment which identifies the caller's number. We shall study this report to see whether introduction of similar equipment here would be beneficial. We are also considering a proposal from the Hull Safer Cities project for an assessment of the preventive effect of a call-tracing system to be operated by Kingston Communications in collaboration with the universities of Hull and Manchester.
West Midlands Police
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has anything to add to his answers of Thursday 25 January in the light of his answers of 5 July 1989 and 14 December 1989, about West Midlands police officers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 29 January 1990] : I regret that the answer given on 25 January was based on incorrect information. I now understand from the chief constable of the West Midlands that one of the officers involved in interviewing those convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings, Detective Superintendent Kelly, was subsequently reprimanded for matters unconnected with his normal police duties.
In providing the answer of 25 January I did not refer to Inspector Matthews because he was not dismissed but, as I informed the hon. Member on 14 December, at column 789, was required to resign.
Homosexuals
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will bring forward legislation to protect lesbians and gay men from discrimination in employment, housing and the provision of other public and private services ;
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(2) what action the Government are taking to monitor discrimination against lesbians and gay men ;(3) what extra-legal steps the Government are taking to ameliorate discrimination against lesbians and gay men ;
(4) what proposals he has to bring British law into line with best practice in other countries of the European Community with respect to the protection of male and female homosexuals ;
(5) what research he has commissioned into discrimination against homosexuals ;
(6) whether he has any plans to bring forward legislation to remedy discrimination against lesbians and gay men within the legal system ;
(7) whether the Government have any plans to introduce legislation to outlaw incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation along the lines of the legislation being introduced by the Irish Government.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 25 January 1990] : We have no plans to change the criminal law insofar as it affects homosexual relations or to introduce legislation to
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prohibit differences in treatment on the grounds of homosexuality. I shall write to the hon. Member about the other matters he has raised.Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the years 1988 and 1989, how many men were given custodial sentences in the United Kingdom for consenting homosexual acts with males between the ages of 16 and 21 years ; and what were the durations of those sentences in each individual case.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 25 January 1990] : Information for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.
In England and Wales in 1988, 10 males of, or over, 21 were sentenced to immediate imprisonment for buggery or attempted buggery of a male of, or over, 16 but under 21, with his consent. Thirteen males of, or over, the age of 21 were sentenced to immediate imprisonment for an act of gross indecency with a male under the age of 21. The durations of the sentences imposed are given in the table.
Similar information is not readily available for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Males aged 21 and over sentenced to immediate custody for selected sexual offences with other males aged between 16 and 21 by
sentence
length, 1988
England and Wales
Length of sentence
|4 months |over 4 |over 6 |over 1 year|over 18 |over 2 |over 3 |over 4
|and under |months up |months up |up to 18 |months up |years up to|years up to|years
|to 6 months|to 1 year |months |to 2 years |3 years |4 years
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buggery |- |1 |- |1 |1 |3 |- |-
Attempted buggery |- |- |1 |- |1 |- |2 |-
Indecency between males |1 |2 |3 |3 |1 |3 |- |-
Emergency Planning
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the local authorities that have a statutory obligation to undertake peacetime emergency planning of major industrial sites ;
(2) if he will list the major industrial sites by location where local authorities have a statutory obligation to undertake peacetime emergency planning.
Mr. Nicholls : I have been asked to reply.
This information is not collected centrally in this form and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Nicaragua
Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the ambassador of the United States of America regarding the forthcoming elections in Nicaragua ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : None. We are continuing to monitor the election closely and we await the report of our official observer, Dr. David Browning. Like others, including ONUVEN and the OAS observers, we have been concerned by reports of harassment of the opposition, of misuse of state resources by the Sandinista Front and of continuing inequality of access to the media and to funding. In particular, there was a long delay in releasing
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the $1.5 million which the National Endowment for Democracy paid into the Central bank for UNO's use in December.India
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will pay an official visit to the Indian sub-continent.
Mr. Maude : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs looks forward to visiting the Indian sub-continent but has no specific plans to do so at present.
Hong Kong
162. Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to amend the proposals for allowing the number of people from Hong Kong into the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials there are in the present Hong Kong administration at the levels which would be excepted from holding office under the terms of article 74 of the joint declaration.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 31 January 1990] : Exclusion from office after 1997 of specific individuals under section IV of annex I to the joint declaration would depend on whether those individuals were considered
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