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Mr. Forth : There is no reason why all pupils in Enfield should not receive full-time education. Enfield council will get its fair share of the underlying 2.6 per cent. increase in education standard spending, once account has been taken of the transfer of responsibility for further education from local authorities to the new funding council.
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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Interpretation of Legislation
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the decision of the House of Lords in the case of Pepper v . Hart on references to the utterances of Ministers on the contents and intent of Bills during their passage in Parliament, when Acts are subsequently interpreted in the courts.
Mr. John M. Taylor : On 26 November 1992, the House of Lords decided by a majority that courts could look at parliamentary materials if the legislation is ambiguous or obscure or leads to an absurdity ; the material that could be relied upon consists of a statement by a Minister or other promoter of the Bill ; and the statements relied upon are clear.
Legal Aid
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many of the claims made by solicitors for payment by the legal aid fund were settled within one month in 1991-92.
Mr. John M. Taylor : In 1991-92 the Legal Aid Board had a general target of paying 80 per cent. of solicitors' bills within six weeks of receipt measured by its performance in March 1992. This target was surpassed, with 87 per cent. of bills being paid within that time.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many claims for payment by solicitors are awaiting payment from the London legal aid area office ; and how many have been outstanding for over one month.
Mr. John M. Taylor : On 6 January 1993 the London area office had a total of 31,651 costs claims of all types in the process of being paid. Of these 2,844, or 9 per cent. had been held in the office for more than one month.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) England received legal aid for each year since 1987 in respect of (i) advice and assistance for divorce, (ii) road or work accidents, (iii) regaining custody of children taken into local authority care and (iv) alleged criminal acts triable at a Crown court ; and what is his estimate for the total number of people eligible for legal aid in the categories mentioned for the next financial year.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information is not available in the form requested. The following table shows the number of bills paid for advice and assistance for divorce for each of the last five years for England and Wales, for legal aid area 7 which comprises parts of Lancashire including Pendle together with Greater Manchester, and for legal aid area 15 which comprises the rest of Lancashire and Merseyside.
|England and Wales|Legal Aid Area 7 |Legal Aid Area 15
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1987-88 |237,056 |18,531 |13,599
1988-89 |232,494 |18,005 |13,412
1989-90 |225,066 |18,132 |12,460
1990-91 |215,895 |17,315 |11,681
1991-92 |231,065 |16,867 |11,770
The number of legal aid certificates for proceedings related to road and work accidents is available only for England and Wales. Figures for the last five years are :
Year |Number ---------------------- 1987-88 |26,113 1988-89 |27,745 1989-90 |29,181 1990-91 |30,416 1991-92 |38,679
The following table shows for each of the past five calendar years the total number of criminal legal aid orders made in : (a) England and Wales ; (b) the magistrates' courts in Lancashire and the Crown court centres in the northern circuit of the Lord Chancellor's Department ; and (c) the Pendle magistrates' court and the Crown court at Burnley.
_
Year |(a) |(b) |(c)
|England and Wales |Lancashire and |Pendle and Burnley
|Northern Circuit
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |496,975 |12,639 |670
1988 |511,895 |<1>- |<1>-
1989 |502,675 |10,303 |708
1990 |507,813 |13,583 |880
1991 |517,118 |10,889 |737
<1>No figures available.
Figures are not available for certificates issued for proceedings for regaining children taken into local authority care. In England and Wales it is estimated that in the next financial year 48 per cent. of households will be eligible for civil legal aid and 21 per cent., for advice and assistance. There is no upper financial eligibility limit for criminal legal aid.
Commercial Court
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 December, Official Report, column 757, from what date Mr. Justice Colman will be available to commence sitting in the commercial court.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Mr. Justice Colman was eligible to sit in the commercial court immediately following his appointment. The day to day deployment of High Court judges is, however, a matter for the Lord Chief Justice, after considering the needs of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, the divisional court and the Court of Appeal, criminal division. In deciding where judges are to be deployed there are different questions of priority to be decided. The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice consider a reduction of waiting times in the latter two courts to be of high priority.
Civil Servants (Bicycles)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will make a statement on the current conditions on which civil
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servants in his Department are granted salary advances to enable the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel ; if he will make a statement on the current conditions in each agency of his Department ; what plans he has to change the conditions ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. John M. Taylor : My hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury explained in a written answer on 16 December 1992 at column 285-86 that, as part of the ongoing programme for delegating to Departments and agencies greater responsibility for managing personnel management policies, Departments and agencies have been given the freedom to determine the conditions on which advances of salary to assists civil servants in the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel are made. Staff in the Lord Chancellor's Department, and in the Department's executive agencies, are eligible for a salary advance to assist with the purchase of a bicycle for home-to-office travel. The maximum advance is currently £100 repayable over a period of one year. Departments and agencies will shortly have discretion to set their own limit and rules for eligibility and repayment. No decisions have yet been reached on how this discretion might be applied within the Lord Chancellor's Department and its agencies.
Court Listing
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on what basis his Department makes available court listing information in (a) manuscript and printed form and (b) machine readable form.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Crown court centres usually distribute lists of cases to be heard, or likely to be heard, or the information they contain, to all interested parties as soon as they are available. Lists of cases with fixed hearing dates and cases likely to be heard within a particular period are distributed at least 10 days prior to the first hearing date. These lists are usually in printed form and are posted.
A daily list is printed and published usually by 3 pm, showing the cases due to be heard on the next sitting day. However, some courts publish a provisional list earlier in the day. The information on this list is notified to parties either by the hand delivery of a copy, or by sending a copy by facsimile machine or, more commonly by means of a telephone call. The hon. Member is aware from my answer of 16 December 1992 at col. 239 that the central criminal court is distributing such lists in a machine readable form on an experimental basis.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Electricity Generation
Mr. Colvin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to quantify the external costs of each form of electricity generation.
Mr. Eggar : Last December my Department published an independent report on environmental and other social costs of different methods of electricity generation.
The report, commissioned by the former Department of Energy and entitled "The Social Costs of Fuel Cycles" is the work of a team from the Centre for Social and
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Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE), led by Professor David Pearce of University college London. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.My Department is also currently supporting the participation of the Energy Technology Support Unit in a joint European Community/USA study to develop a methodology for assessing the external costs of fuel cycles. Phase I of this study is nearing completion : phase II is expected to commence during 1993.
Electricity Generation
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what was the cost per tonne of British coal used in producing electricity in 1991 ; what estimates his Department has for the cost per tonne in 1995 ; and if he will make a statement. ;
at was the cost per tonne of imported coal used in producing electricity in 1991 ; what estimates his Department has for the costper tonne in 1995 ; and if he will make a statement. Mr. Eggar [holding answer 13 January 1993] : The average cost of coal, both home produced and imported, used by the major generating companies in producing electricity in 1991 was £43.47 per tonne. The cost of British coal used in power stations is a commercial matter for the companies concerned. My Department has not produced forecasts of future energy costs since 1982.
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost, in coal equivalent tonnes, of natural gas used to produce electricity in 1991 ; what estimates his Department has for the cost in 1995 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 13 January 1993] : The cost of natural gas used to produce electricity is a commercial matter for the two major generating companies concerned. My Department has not produced forecasts of future energy costs since 1982.
Electricity Supply
Mr. Spellar : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment his Department has made of interruptions to electricity supply to consumers since 1990.
Mr. Eggar : The Office of Electricity Regulation--OFFER--includes an assessment of interruptions of electricity supply to consumers in their annual "Report on Distribution and Transmission System Performance". The latest edition of this report (for the year 1991-92), covers the last 10 years and is available from OFFER's library.
Inward Investment
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many inward investment projects in Northumberland and Blyth valley were begun in each year since 1990.
Mr. Sainsbury : In 1990, 13 overseas companies decided to invest in Northumberland with one of those investments being made in Blyth. The figures for 1991 are five and one respectively. Figures for 1992 are not yet available. These figures do not include relocations from other regions of the United Kingdom.
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These figures are based on information provided by the companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest. There is no requirement to notify the Department and so the figures include only those projects where the Department's Invest In Britain Bureau and its regional partners were involved or, which have come to their notice. They take no account of subsequent developments.Betws Colliery
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from companies expressing an interest in taking over production of coal at the Betws colliery in Ammanford ; when he received these representations ; and if he will ensure that the pit is maintained whilst these representations are being considered.
Mr. Eggar : Since the announcement of the proposed closures in October 1992, my Department has received three representations from companies which may be interested in taking over the operation of Betws. British Coal has given assurances that the fabric of the pit will be maintained so that if, following the consultation process at present under way, it is decided to keep it open, that will be possible. We will need to consider the position again once the outcome of the consultations is known.
Newspapers
Mr. Beggs : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the exclusive arrangements for the supply and distribution of newspapers.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The Director General of Fair Trading referred the supply of newspapers from publishers to wholesalers and wholesalers to retailers in England and Wales to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on 19 August 1992. The commission was asked to report back to the President of the Board of Trade within 12 months. The terms of reference exclude Scotland and Northern Ireland primarily because their newspaper distribution arrangements are different. The Office of Fair Trading continues to keep the market for the supply of newspapers in Scotland and Northern Ireland under review.
Offshore Exploration
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to impose on discharges from exploration rigs in the Celtic sea, the same standards that are applied by the United States of America, Holland and Norway ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : Offshore environmental standards are established on the basis of regional agreements. The standards imposed on discharges from exploration rigs in the Celtic sea are consistent with those agreed in the Paris Commission (PARCOM), which administers the Paris convention for the prevention of marine pollution. This covers the whole of the north east Atlantic area. In appropriate cases more stringent requirements can be imposed under licence conditions. The Netherlands and Norway are members of the Paris Commission and their standards similarly reflect those agreed in the Paris Commission.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what advice he received from the Joint Nature
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Conservation Committee and the Countryside Council for Wales prior to the issuing of licences for exploration in blocks 103/2, 103/3, 103/6, 103/7, 106/25, 106/29, 107/21, 104/16, 104/17, 104/18, 104/19 and 104/21 ; and if he will make a statement ;(2) what is the shortest distance in nautical miles between the eastern extremity of block 103/3 and Romsey Island ;
(3) what is the shortest distance in nautical miles between the eastern extremity of block 103/7 and Grassholm ;
(4) what is the shortest distance in nautical miles between the Pembrokeshire Coast national park and (a) the eastern extremity of block 106/29, (b) the southern and eastern extremities of block 107/21, (c) the northern extremity of block 103/19, (d) the northern extremity of block 103/20, (e) the northern extremity of block 104/16 and (f) the northern extremity of block 104/17 ; (5) what is the shortest distance in nautical miles between the Skomer marine nature reserve and (a) the eastern extremity of block 103/7 and (b) the northern extremity of block 103/19.
Mr. Eggar : The shortest distance in nautical miles--nm--between the eastern extremity of block 103/3 and Romsey Island is 5.4 nm and between the eastern extremity of block 103/7 and Grassholm is 6.1 nm. The shortest distance in nautical miles between the Pembrokeshire coastal national park and (a) the eastern extremity of block 106/29 is 3 nm, (b) the southern and eastern extremities of block 107/21 is 3.6 nm, (c) the northern extremity of block 103/19 is 8.6 nm, (d) the northern extremity of block 103/20 is 6.4 nm, (e) the northern extremity of block 104/16 is 5.7 nm and (f) the northern extremity of block 104/17 is 7.7 nm. The shortest distance in nautical miles between Skomer marine nature reserve and (a) the eastern extremity of block 103/7 is 10.0 nm and (b) the northern extremity of block 103/19 is 12.7 nm. These figures are accurate to within 0.1 nm.
No licences have been issued for exploration in blocks 103/2, 103/3, 103/6, 103/7, 106/25, 106/29, 107/21, 104/16, 104/17, 104/18, 104/19 and 104/21.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to order independent environmental impact assessments before any new drilling begins in the Celtic sea.
Mr. Eggar : Prior to offering blocks for licence the Department consults relevant environmental organisations. Where appropriate special conditions, which may include a requirement for an environmental impact assessment, are attached to licences which take into account the environmental sensitivity of each block. These conditions are agreed with the consultees.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what environmental monitoring on the impact of offshore drilling in the Celtic sea has been carried out by his Department or the Department of Energy since 1973.
Mr. Eggar : The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food carries out general monitoring of the coast of England and Wales to establish background levels of marine pollutants. At the completion of the latest well in the Celtic sea, the University of Bangor will be carrying out a survey to assess any effects of drilling on the marine environment.
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Civil Servants (Bicycles)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current conditions on which civil servants in his Department are granted salary advances to enable the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel ; if he will make a statement on the current conditions in each agency of his Department ; what plans he has to change the conditions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : DTI offers advances of salary for this pupose to all staff--including those in its agencies--other than casuals. Advances are subject to a £100 maximum repayable over 12 months and to proof of purchase being made available. The conditions will be reviewed from time to time within overall rules established by HM Treasury.
Chemical Weapons
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what arrangement his Department has made to ensure that the inspectors of the Organisation for Chemical Weapons, following the ratification of the chemical weapons convention, will be admitted to any site in the United Kingdom for which inspection has been requested ;
(2) what further United Kingdom legislation will be necessary to enable the inspectors and the national authority to carry out its duties following the ratification of the chemical weapons convention.
Mr. Sainsbury : Primary legislation will be required to provide the necessary powers to ensure that the United Kingdom fulfils its obligations under the chemical weapons convention.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what arrangement his Department has made to ensure that information will be made available to the public by the national authority, following the ratification of the chemical weapons convention, on the United Kingdom's compliance with the convention.
Mr. Sainsbury : No decision has been taken about the information to be made available to the public by the national authority. We will consult interested bodies. Information received by the national authority will be subject to the terms of the annex to the chemical weapons convention dealing with the protection of confidential information.
Assisted Areas
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to publish his review of the assisted areas map ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : Our intention is to announce the results of the assisted areas map review as early as possible, taking account of the outcome of the coal review and after the necessary clearance of the European Commission.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to announce the decision on the bid for assisted area status lodged by Waveney district council ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : Consideration is now being given to bids received, including that from Waveney district
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council. Our intention is to announce the results of the assisted areas map review as early as possible, taking account of the outcome of the coal review and after the necessary clearance of the European Commission.Cashmere
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement outlining the steps that have been taken to prevent Chinese attempts to circumvent the quota of cashmere goods allowed into the Community under the existing bilateral agreement.
Mr. Needham : Following representations from the United Kingdom, the EC has introduced a separate tariff line exclusively for cashmere sweaters. As a result of the completion of the single market the quota for cashmere sweaters has now been established on an EC basis. Both of these measures, which took effect on 1 January 1993, will enable import levels to be monitored more effectively than in previous years.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
European Cultural Festival
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what benefits accrued to the arts in Wales from the European cultural festival organised during the United Kingdom Presidency of the European Council ; what proportion of the total financial allocation was dedicated to Wales ; and how many permanent jobs were created.
Mr. Brooke : During the European arts festival some 70 events were held across the Principality in every art form--dance, theatre, classical music, jazz, opera, the visual arts and film. Approximately £320,000 was allocated to enable these events to take place. In addition, the festival planned and supported extensive education and community programmes involving some 100 schools in Wales. The festival has provided a good deal of additional short-term work for artists in Wales through the initiation of a wide range of new projects.
Gambling
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimate he has of (a) the net level of gambling each week, (b) the proportion of national lottery stakes that might go to good causes or in taxation and (c) the level of spending on the national lottery that would be required to produce £20 million for good causes and taxation.
Mr. Brooke : Overall responsibility for gambling, excluding the national lottery, rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department. On question (a) , I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 9 November 1992 at cols. 632-33.
(b) The proportion available for good causes will depend on the exact level of prizes considered appropriate, on the projected costs of operating the lottery, and on the level of tax. Taxation is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. (c) The turnover required to produce any given amount for taxation and good causes will depend on (b) .
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British Library (Yorkshire)
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Natonal Heritage if he will make a statement on the plans of the British Library with regard to its buildings and services in Yorkshire.
Mr. Key : The British Library's policy is to provide a service to users from its sites in London and Boston Spa, Yorkshire. The document supply centre will continue to operate from Boston Spa. In addition, during the last two years, the Library has relocated to Yorkshire its acquisition processing and cataloguing, its bibliographic services, computing and telecommunications and a substantial part of its administration.
The British Library Board will continue to review the needs of its users, including long-term requirements.
Football Ground Safety
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what financial provision will be made for implementing the football ground safety measures proposed by the Taylor report following decreases in the funding by pools company revenue.
Mr. Brooke : In the 1990 Budget, pool betting duty was reduced from 42.5 per cent. to 40 per cent. for five years to help finance the implementation of the Taylor report and in particular the achievement of all-seating. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has since made clear the conditions under which he would be prepared to extend the reduction for a further five years : he would need to be satisfied that the football leagues and football clubs had gone ahead with planning for their own contribution to implementing the required ground improvements. I am not aware of any plans by the pools companies to reduce their funding of Taylor -related work at football grounds.
Manchester Olympics Bid
Mrs. Jane Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he plans to meet the chairman of the North West tourist board to discuss Merseyside's share in the Manchester 2000 Olympics bid.
Mr. Brooke : I have no plans to do so.
Civil Servants (Bicycles)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the current conditions on which civil servants in his Department are granted salary advances to enable the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel ; if he will make a statement on the current conditions in each agency of his Department ; what plans he has to change the conditions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The Department and its agency, the Historic Royal Palaces Agency, are able to provide advances of salary to assist staff with the purchase of bicycles for home to office travel. Advances currently up to a maximum of £100 are available to non-industrial staff who have served in the civil service for at least two months. Advances are not available to staff employed on a casual basis. The advances are interest-free and are repayable over one year. Immediate repayment is required should the member of staff cease to be a civil servant or dispose of the bicycle.
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The Department has no plans to change eligibility or repayment rules, or to raise the maximum amount of loan.Indian Subcontinent
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of the 14 December 1992, Official Report, column 14, on flights to and from the Indian sub-continent, what assessment he has made of the reasons for (a) the difference between the number of arrivals and departures in each year and (b) the trend in the difference.
Mr. Key : Reliable conclusions cannot necessarily be drawn from the differences between the data on passengers arriving and departing on flights from or to the Indian sub-continent. This is because the data relate to all such passengers irrespective of where they joined or left the flights, and also because the data include passengers who changed flights in the United Kingdom without passing through immigration control.
Information up to 1990 on international migration to and from the Indian sub-continent is given in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' annual reference volume "International Migration 1990". Information up to 1991 on citizens of Indian sub-continent countries who were accepted for settlement, that is, allowed to stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, is given in the Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration : Statistics, United Kingdom, 1991". Both of these publications are available in the Library of the House.
Television Licences
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if he will set out the reasons used by the National TV Licence Records Office for withdrawing a full concessionary TV licence entitlement from Richmond Row sheltered housing complex in Jedburgh ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what recent representations he has received about the operation of the current rules governing eligibility for full concessionary TV licence schemes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : Under section 180 and schedule 18 of the Broadcasting Act 1990, responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system, including determining eligibility for concessionary licences in individual cases, passed to the BBC with effect from 1 April 1991. Any questions about specific schemes should therefore now be directed to the secretary of the BBC, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on particular cases. Since the establishment of the Department of National Heritage in April last year, we have received 107 letters from hon. Members and 178 letters from members of the public about the operation of the concessionary licence scheme.
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Ms. Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received on behalf of Dulwich picture gallery ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key [holding answer 15 January 1993] : I have received no representations on behalf of the Dulwich
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picture gallery. However my right hon. Friend met representatives from the gallery and the arts community at Christie's on Thursday 7 January.Bletchley Park
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the future of Bletchley park as a museum dedicated to the cryptographers of world war two.
Mr. Key [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The Bletchley park site is owned by Property Holdings and British Telecom. I understand that the Government and British Telecom are planning to dispose of Bletchley park, and that a decision on its future is one for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to take.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Expenditure Plans
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are his spending plans for 1993-94 for Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mates : I refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the hon. Member for Londonderry, East (Mr. Ross) on 8 December 1992 at column 601. That covered expenditure plans for the years 1993/94 1995/96. Further details will be given in the Northern Ireland report "Public Expenditure and Priorities 1993/94 1995/96" which will be published on 12 February, and the 1993-94 estimates which will be laid before the House in due course.
Human Rights
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recommendations have been made by the Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights since it was set up ; and how many of these have been accepted by Government and implemented.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : The Commission has made many valuable recommendations, for example on fair employment, education, race relations and other human rights issues, which the Government have been pleased to accept. To identify all the recommendations made by the Commission and accepted by the Government since it was created in 1973 could be done only at disproportionate cost. But all the Commission's reports are published, and the Government's response to each report is laid in the Library of the House at the same time.
Ambulance Service
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the percentage of ambulances in each service in Northern Ireland that responded within (a) eight minutes and (b) 14 to 20 minutes to emergency calls in 1991-92.
Mr. Hanley : The available information is as follows :
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