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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 15 November 1990
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General when he expects the Devon and Cornwall police to complete their investigations into the Birmingham pub bombings case ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : I understand that police inquiries are far advanced and continue to be conducted with maximum speed consistent with thoroughness.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Mr. Jonathan Moyle
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further information he has about the death of Mr. Jonathan Moyle in Chile ; and if he will make a statement as to the cause and nature of his death.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have no further information. The investigation by the Chilean authorities into the tragic death of Mr. Jonathan Moyle is still in progress. The inquest opened by Her Majesty's coroner for Exeter and East Devon has been adjourned until 31 January 1991. We cannot anticipate the outcome of either inquiry.
Afghanistan
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now reopen the British embassy in Afghanistan ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have no plans at present to reopen our embassy in Kabul.
Professor Kazem Rajavi
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Swiss Government concerning the circumstances of, and investigation into, the assassination of Professor Kazem Rajavi.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : This is a matter for the Swiss authorities which are continuing their investigations.
TRANSPORT
London Underground
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will pay an official visit to London Underground stations during the rush hour.
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Mr. Freeman : Both my right hon. Friend and I visit the underground regularly, during the rush hour and at other times.
M62
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investigations he has initiated (a) into the possibility of reducing freight traffic on the M62 by transferring a proportion of such to the railways and (b) into improving the rail network to facilitate the carriage of more goods.
Mr. Freeman : The practical opportunities for transferring goods to rail from the M62, as with all roads, are likely to be very limited. We are encouraging BR to build on its strengths in the freight market which are primarily for trainload movements. Where there are sound commercial prospects we are backing new investment.
Trans-Pennine Study
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to have the results of the trans-Pennine study currently being undertaken by consultants on his behalf, and when he expects to publish the findings.
Mr. Chope : The consultants' report is due next spring. We shall make an announcement after assessing its findings and recommendations.
This Common Inheritance"
Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the policies set out in the Government's White Paper "This Common Inheritance" will affect his Department's national road traffic forecasts and the appraisal of trunk road schemes.
Mr. Parkinson : The national road traffic forecasts published in 1989 provide a broad range of future levels of road traffic demand, which remains the best available view. The forecasts clearly might be affected by future changes in, for example, regulations or taxation ; but there is no reason to change them at this stage, since they are broad enough to cover the general effect of the policies in "This Common Inheritance". The forecasts do not represent a target. The Government's policy is not to meet all demand in all circumstances, but only where to do so is justified, taking into account economic and environmental considerations.
The recent meeting of the second world climate conference discussed the need for countries to control their emissions of greenhouse gases. "This Common Inheritance" refers to the Government's willingness, if other countries take similar action, to set themselves the target of returning CO emissions to 1990 levels by 2005. A number of changes are identified which could contribute to slowing the growth of CO emissions in the transport sector. Many of these options would have no direct effect on the demand for travel, particularly changes in vehicle technology, individual choice of vehicles, and driving behaviour. The uncertainties surrounding the target, and the way in which any target might be achieved, are therefore so great that there is no sound basis for changing forecasts of travel demand.
The Department will therefore continue to use the 1989 NRTF as the basis for the local forecasts used in appraising trunk road improvements. Where a local
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authority has firm plans for actions to influence travel needs and choice, these plans will be taken into account directly in the preparation of the local traffic forecasts for the appraisal of a particular road improvement. (The local forecasts are based on NRTF, but also take account of local factors, such as car ownership, population and employment, and local authority plans.) The NRTF will be kept under review, in the light of actual experience of traffic growth and other changes.M1 (Chemicals Spillage)
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the chemicals involved in the accident that resulted in the closure of the M1 on Tuesday 23 October.
Mr. Chope : The only chemical involved was hydrobromic acid solution.
Mr. Richard Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any signs were placed at motorway junctions to advise motorists joining the southbound carriageway that the M1 was closed at junction 11 during the aftermath of the accident on 23 October referred to in his answer of 30 October, Official Report, column 466 ; whether any signs were placed on the hard shoulder or central reservations advising motorists to expect long delays ; and whether any signs were placed at junctions, on the hard shoulder or central reservation advising motorists to leave the motorway before junction 11.
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Mr. Chope : Remote signs to advise drivers of major incidents ahead are currently provided on our motorways only for major roadworks. The primary source of information about unforeseen events is radio reports.
The Department is investigating means of improving driver information in such circumstances and I will write to my hon. Friend with more details.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether nuclear waste will be permitted to be carried through the channel tunnel.
Mr. Freeman : Eurotunnel has announced that it does not intend to permit the transport of nuclear waste through the tunnel.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Legal Firms
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those legal firms that have been criticised by his Department's inspectors since June 1979.
Mr. Redwood : Seven reports of inspectors appointed under the Companies Act and published since June 1979 have contained criticisms of firms of solicitors. The extent of criticism varies in degree and reference should be made to individual reports.
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Name of company |Date of publication |Name of firm
|of report
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Larkfold Holdings Limited | 7 June 1979 |Wright, Sons and Pepper
Darjeeling Holdings Limited |30 April 1980 |Callingham Tucker
Scotia Investments Limited |22 January 1981 |Richards Butler
Gilgate Holdings Limited | 8 September 1981 |Kidd, Rapinet, Badge & Co.
Milbury plc |27 October 1988 |Hancock & Wills
County NatWest Limited |20 July 1989 |Travers Smith and Braithwaite
County NatWest Securities Limited
House of Fraser Holdings Limited | 7 March 1990 |Herbert Smith
Radio Scanners
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulations apply to the use in the United Kingdom of radio scanners ; what are the main requirements of such regulations ; whether he proposes to extend such regulations or to alter the requirements of existing regulations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The use of radio scanners to listen to private messages is an offence under section 5(b) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 if done otherwise than under the authority of the Secretary of State or in the course of duty as a servant of the Crown. The Broadcasting Act 1990 will amend the Wireless Telegraphy Act so that scanners may be ordered forfeit by the court under section 14 upon conviction. There are no other proposals to extend or alter section 5(b).
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ENVIRONMENT
Heritage Properties
Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the number of heritage properties in public ownership which are open to view ; and what incentives his Department makes available to private owners of properties to make their properties open to view.
Mr. Trippier : English Heritage owns, or manages on behalf of the Crown, over 400 historic properties, monuments and sites to which there is public access. The Historic Royal Palaces Agency has responsibility for six unoccupied royal palaces in London to which there is also public access. Both bodies are funded by the Department. In addition, a number of individual Government Departments and local authorities are responsible for other historic property, some of which is in use as office accommodation and to some of which there is public access. There is, however, no centrally held record of access arrangements to such properties.
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This Department offers no direct incentives to private owners to open their properties to public view. However, private owners can be eligible for building repair grant from English Heritage provided there is provision for public access. In addition, Inland Revenue offers relief from certain capital taxes to encourage owners to keep and care for heritage property on condition that public access is provided.Education Spending
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list for each local education authority and for both the standard spending assessment element of (a) other education and (b) under- fives education the changes in these elements in both total sums and percentage caused by reducing the additional educational needs index from 70 to 50 per cent. ;
(2) if he will list for each local education authority the results of changing the proportion of the standard spending assessment elements for (a) other education standard spending assessment and (b) under-fives standard spending assessment that are distributed on the basis of the additional educational needs index.
Mr. Key : I have today placed in the Library a table showing the effect on the provisional 1991-92 standard spending assessments for other education and for the under-fives of the proposed reduction in the proportion of these elements to be distributed on the basis of the additional educational needs (AEN) index from 70 per cent. to 50 per cent. The table shows the effects of the change in £s million and percentage terms for each local education authortity in England.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (a) the total standard spending assessment for education for each local education authority, (b) the standard spending assessment element for under-fives for each local education authority, (c) the standard spending assessment element for primary education for each local education authority, (d) the standard spending assessment element for secondary education for each local education authority, (e) the standard spending assessment element for post-16 education for each local education authority and (f) the standard spending assessment element for other education for each local education authority.
Mr. Key : I have today placed in the Library a table showing the information required.
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (a) for each local education authority the adjustments to the indicator of student numbers within the post-16 education standard spending assessment in those areas expected to participate in the training credits pilot scheme for each local education authority involved and (b) the exemplification of changes in standard spending assessment for the post-16 education standard spending assessment for each local education authority involved.
Mr. Key : The figures requested are shown in the table :
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Authority |(a) |(b)
|Reduction in |Reduction in
|student numbers |post 16 education
|SSA element
|(£ million)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bexley |67 |0.246
Bromley |36 |0.134
Croydon |51 |0.202
Birmingham |110 |0.426
Bradford |109 |0.403
Cheshire |97 |0.322
Cornwall |160 |0.559
Devon |297 |1.017
Hertfordshire |230 |0.820
Kent |123 |0.433
Northumberland |77 |0.260
Suffolk |178 |0.602
Isles of Scilly |<1>- |<2>-
<1> Less than 1.
<2> Less than £1,000.
Metropolitan Water Board "B" Shares
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about compensation due to Metropolitan Water Board "B" stockholders since 1958 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Two inquiries have been made on behalf of stockholders, one in 1987 and the other this year. When the Metropolitan Water Board was abolished in 1974, Thames water authority took over responsibility for Metropolitan Water stocks : under the Water Act 1989 any outstanding liabilities were passed to Thames Water plc, and are a matter between that company and those persons who have an interest as stockholders.
Electoral Registration
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will issue advice to poll tax officials on the powers in the Local Government Finance Act that allow an electoral registration officer to inspect the registers.
Mr. Key : Detailed guidance on the responsibilities of community charge registration officers is contained in the community charge practice notes, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. The Home Office also issued guidance on 10 August 1990 which advises electoral registration officers on their right of access to the community charges register.
London Residuary Body
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been distributed to London boroughs by the London residuary body since the abolition of the Greater London council.
Mr. Key : A total of £486 million in capital receipts and £184 million in revenue balances.
Credit Approvals
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the basic credit approvals for local authorities for 1991- 92 classified by (a) specific service and (b) individual local authorities.
Mr. Portillo : Basic credit approvals for individual local authorities for 1991-92 will be announced in due course.
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Redditch Borough Council
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who submitted the original complaint of anti-competitive behaviour against Redditch borough council to his Department and when ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : It is our policy not to reveal the identity of the originators of complaints about failures by local authorities to comply with the requirements of part I of the Local Government Act 1988. I can confirm, however, that my Department first wrote to Redditch borough council on the matter of the refuse and other cleansing contract in July 1990.
Street Cleaning
Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what response he has received from local authorities to his decision to postpone competitive tendering deadlines to enable the authorities affected to let their street cleaning contracts on the basis of the proposed code of practice on litter ; and what consideration he has given to this response.
Mr. Portillo : We have received a number of submissions from local authorities about our decision to extend competition deadlines for street cleaning. In particular, it has been drawn to our attention that authorities whose work has until 1 April 1991 fallen outside the provisions of the Local Government Act 1988 because expenditure incurred has fallen below £100,000 per annum are in a similar position to those authorities mentioned in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Esher (Mr. Taylor) on 20 July which have already been granted an extension. I therefore intend to substitute a later deadline of 1 August 1991 for all authorities whose street cleaning work is required to be submitted to competition by 1 April 1991. I shall make an order giving effect to this intention. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will make similar arrangements for Scottish and Welsh authorities.
Local Authority Staff
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people are in employment (a) full time and (b) part time in each local authority ; what percentage of that authority's population each figure represents ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key [holding answer 14 November 1990] : I have today placed the available information based on local authority staffing figures for March 1990 in the Library of the House.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met local authority representatives to discuss the effects of cuts in direct subsidies for community charge/housing benefits on the level of community charges for 1991-92 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I have been asked to reply.
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My right hon. Friend the Minister of State met representatives of the local authority associations on 24 September to discuss the proposal to reduce from 97 per cent. to 95 per cent. the rate of direct subsidy for community charge benefit and certain housing benefit cases from April 1991. This change has been fully taken into account in the proposed local authority finance settlements for 1991-92, and the distributional consequences should be minimal.THE ARTS
Items in Lieu of Tax
Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Minister for the Arts if there have been any items accepted in lieu of tax or allocated since an announcement was last made on the subject to the House.
Mr. Mellor : Since my announcement on 31 October at column 575 , I am pleased to announce that a painting by W. R. Sickert, entitled "Girl at a Window, Little Rachel" has been accepted in satisfaction of £84,000 tax. No decision on the allocation of this offer has yet to be taken.
I would also like to inform the House of two refunds my Department has received of moneys originally paid to the Inland Revenue for items accepted in lieu of tax. These receipts have arisen because of reassessment of the position on the estates concerned. The first relates to the acceptance of a series of 20 watercolour illustrations by J. M. W. Turner announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 13 January 1988 at column 293. My Department has been refunded £2,852.81 of the original payment making the final cost of acceptance of the offer £230,897.19. The second receipt, for £19.15, relates to the acceptance of a painting known as "Fabula" by El Greco which was announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on 20 April 1989 at column 254 . The final cost of acceptance for this item was therefore £947,117.73. The refunded moneys have been paid directly into the Consolidated Fund and will not be added to this year's acceptance in lieu provision.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Civil Service Relocation
Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the terms on which civil servants are relocated.
Mr. Ryder : As the House was informed on 17 January 1990 at columns 288-89 departmental Ministers have already announced decisions to relocate a substantial number of civil service posts away from London and the south- east over the next two to three years. These transfers of work not only represent good value for money for the taxpayer but also give advantages to staff and management, plus important benefits to the new locations, nearly all of which are the focus of the Government's regional or inner-city policies.
The moves need careful planning. Many jobs which are being relocated will be filled by local recruitment, but sufficient numbers of experienced and mobile staff will need to move with their jobs so that continuity is
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maintained and essential work is not put at risk. Accordingly Departments ensure that their staff and the civil service unions are consulted. Departments make every effort to ensure that, wherever possible, even staff with a mobility obligation move on a voluntary basis, and, of course, they already have a number of measures available to them for assisting mobile staff to meet the costs of transfers that are in the public interest.These measures include advances of up to six months' salary for house purchase, reimbursement of the actual costs of moving, special arrangements for meeting additional costs where the move is into a more expensive housing area, meeting the interest costs of any necessary bridging loans, payment of additional travel costs as an alternative to moving home, and, for moves out of London, payments over five years of amounts up to the level of London weighting. This range of measures compares very favourably with those offered by private sector employers.
Most of these measures are intended for staff who decide to transfer their family home to the new location. Surveys of public and private sector relocations have shown that certain staff are reluctant to relocate for fear of damaging a spouse's career or disrupting their children's education at a key stage. Like other employers the Government take account of such concerns in the terms offered to staff relocating to a new area.
The range of relocation assistance available to Departments is therefore being widened to include the discretion to offer, where it is cost- effective to do so, an alternative to existing permanent transfer terms to mobile staff who, for domestic reasons, are reluctant to move the family home. The additional discretion will enable relevant staff to take accommodation at the new location without prejudice to their existing family home. The assistance offered will comprise an advance of up to six months' salary to secure the new accommodation, to be repaid over seven years, help with some of the setting-up costs, assistance with legal costs and a tapering allowance for up to 10 years to meet part of the mortgage costs. Such assistance will be conditional on agreement to arrangements for sharing between the individual and the Government the proceeds of disposal when he or she moves again and the new accommodation is sold. In addition all such assistance will be taxable.
The costs of these measures, which are expected to fall below the costs of existing transfer terms, will be contained within agreed running costs limits, and will be recovered from savings generated by the relocation.
European Currency Unit
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in drawing up his proposals on a hard ecu for the forthcoming intergovernmental conference, whether he intends to propose any restrictions on the use of the hard ecu within the domestic economy.
Mr. Maples : The hard ecu would be used to the extent that the Government, companies and individuals chose to do so.
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Pension Funds
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has (a) been recouped from pension funds and (b) returned to the employers in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Maude [holding answer 14 November 1990] : Information is not available in the form requested. The table below gives information derived from pension funds reports to the Inland Revenue on action which they propose to take to remove surpluses, following the provisions of the Finance Act 1986.
T £ million Schemes reporting in |Refunds to employers|Tax due on refund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1987-88 |91 |37 1988-89 |224 |90 1989-90 |423 |169 Note: The amounts shown represent figures for schemes reporting to the Inland Revenue in each year where proposals have been agreed by the superannuation funds office. The tax may not yet have been paid if the proposals have not yet been implemented.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Ecuador Rain Forest
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Overseas Development Administration has on British Gas's proposals for development in the Ecuador rain forest.
Mrs. Chalker : We have been informed of British Gas's exploration activities in Ecuador but have no information about any proposals for development.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Nunnykirk Hall School
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to give a substantive reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 19 July about the application of Nunnykirk Hall school, Northumberland, for non-maintained status, and to the application made by the school to the Department on 9 February ; and whether he will make a statement as to the reason for the delay.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The preparation of a substantive reply to the letter received from the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed has required detailed research, but I shall reply shortly.
Schools, Bradford
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what reports he has received providing information about damage caused to Bradford schools by fire ; if he will consider making a supplementary allocation to Bradford local education authority to meet any shortfall between insurance payments made and the full cost of replacing school accommodation destroyed by fire ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : Bradford local education authority has been in touch with the Department about the damage
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caused by fires over the weekend of 3 and 4 November at Gregory middle school and Tyersal first school in Bradford. The resources required for reinstatement of the damaged accommodation at these schools are a matter for negotiation in the first instance between the Bradford local education authority and its insurers.Expenditure
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of gross national product was spent on education in each of the OECD countries in 1979 and the latest year for which figures are available ; and what was per capita spending on education in each OECD country in the same years.
Mr. Alan Howarth : The readily available data are as follows :
Current Education Expenditure as a percentage of Gross
National
Product
|1979 |1986
---------------------------------------------------------
Australia |5.3 |5.3
Belgium<1> |5.8 |5.1 |(1987)
Canada |7.2 |6.7 |(1987)
Denmark |5.5 |7.6 |(1987)
France<2> |3.3 |3.3
Germany, Federal Republic of |4.0 |4.0
Italy |4.4 |<1>4.5|(1983)
Japan |3.9 |5.0
Netherlands |7.3 |5.9 |(1985)
Spain |2.3 |2.9 |(1986)
Sweden |8.3 |6.7 |(1987)
United Kingdom |5.2 |4.8
United States of America |6.7 |<3>6.2|(1985)
Source: UNESCO Statistical Yearbooks 1983, 1989.
Public Current Expenditure on Education per capita
1986<4>
|£ Sterling at
|Purchasing
|Power Parity
--------------------------------------------------------
Australia |330
Belgium |320
Canada |540
Denmark<5> |440
France |330
German, Federal Republic of |260
Italy<6> |220
Japan<7> |230
Netherlands |360
Spain<6> |130
Sweden |420
United Kingdom |300
United States of America |420
Source: Table DD Education Statistics for the United
Kingdom 1989
Notes:
<1> Expenditure of Ministry of Education only.
<2> Metropolitan France.
<3> Total public and private expenditure on education.
<4> Figures for 1979 are not readily available.
<5> Provisional.
<6> 3rd level qualifiers estimated for Denmark, France,
Germany and Spain. Expenditure detail by level
estimated via 1983 for Italy and 1979 for Spain.
<7> Estimated. Includes some private funding, but
excludes fees.
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ENERGY
Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many of those who have registered an interest in electricity privatisation are from households where more than one member has registered an interest.
Mr. Wakeham : The number of persons registered for the sale will be disclosed in the prospectus to be published on 21 November. It would be inappropriate to anticipate its publication or to go beyond what will be set out in that document.
Nuclear Reprocessing
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will summarise the nuclear reprocessing deal between the German Nukem company and the Atomic Energy Authority ; what amount of nuclear material is expected to be transported to the United Kingdom under this deal ; where it will be reprocessed ; what arrangements have been made for its transportation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : This is a matter for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
Nuclear Fusion Power
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what reports, including from the European Commission, he has on nuclear fusion power and its potentially serious environmental problems ; if he will summarise the problems referred to ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : My Department has lately seen the Fusion Programme Evaluation Board report prepared for the Commission of the European Communities and published in July 1990 and the report of the Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy, published in the USA in September 1989. These reports concur in finding that fusion potentially has significant safety and environmental advantages over alternative methods of large-scale electricity generation, but that the realisation of this potential in a practical system requires solutions to a number of challenging problems. These problems concern the development of materials, the use of tritium, and the maintainability of the reactor.
Sir Trevor Holdsworth
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how he arrived at the salary to be paid to Sir Trevor Holdsworth at National Power.
Mr. Wakeham : The salary for the National Power chairmanship was determined as being appropriate for the post.
PRIME MINISTER
Security Services
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister whether the role of the security services has been reviewed in the wake of improved relations with much of eastern Europe ; whether any reviews are planned ; whether any savings have been ascertained ; and if she will make a statement.
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The Prime Minister : It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence and security matters.
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