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and for dealing with terrorist incidents and their consequences and to report as necessary to the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy."

Ministerial Sub-committee on London (EDL(L))--

Composition

Secretary of State for the Environment (Chairman)

Minister of State, Home Office

Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Minister for Industry)

Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Minister for Housing, Inner Cities and Construction)

Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Minister for Local Government and Planning)

Minister of State, Department of Social Security (Minister for Social Security and Disabled People)

Minister of State, Department for Education

Minister of State, Department of Health (Minister for Health) Minister of State, Department of Employment

Economic Secretary, Treasury

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Minister for Transport in London)

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of National Heritage

Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science Terms of Reference

"To co-ordinate the Government's policies on London."

Ministerial Sub-committee on Drug Misuse (EDH(D))--

Composition

Lord President of the Council (Chairman)

Solicitor General

Paymaster General

Minister of State, Home Office

Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence Minister of State, Scottish Office

Minister of State, Department of Health (Minister for Health) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Welsh Office

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, Department for Education

Others, including the Minister for Overseas Development and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State from the Departments of the Environment and Employment may be invited to attend as appropriate and should receive all papers.

Terms of Reference

"To co-ordinate the Government's national and international policies for tackling drugs misuse, and report as necessary to the Ministerial Committee on Home and Social Affairs."

Ministerial Sub-committee on Women's Issues (EDH(W))--

Composition

Secretary of State for Employment (Chairman)

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Paymaster General

Minister of State, Department for Education

Minister of State, Scottish Office

Minister of State, Welsh Office

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms, Department of Trade and Industry

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security

Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State, Department of Health Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Employment The Minister of State, Minister for the Armed Forces, Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office will also receive papers and be invited to attend as necessary.

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Terms of Reference

"To review and develop the Government's policy and strategy on issues of special concern to women : to oversee their implementation ; and to report as necessary to the Ministerial Committee on Home and Social Affairs".

Ministerial Group on Refugees from Former Yugoslavia (Gen 24)-- Composition

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Chairman)

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Lord President of the Council

Secretary of State for the Environment

Secretary of State for Employment

Secretary of State for Social Security

Secretary of State for Scotland

Secretary of State for Education

Secretary of State for Health

Secretary of State for Employment

Chief Secretary, Treasury

Secretary of State for Wales

Attorney-General

Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (Minister for Overseas Development)

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office

The Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will also receive papers and be invited to attend as necessary.

Terms of Reference

"To consider whether a visa regime should be instituted for citizens of former Yugoslavia in the context of the Government's overall policy towards that region and to review the practical arrangements for the reception and subsequent support of those arriving in the United Kingdom from this area taking account of the implications for the treatment of refugees from other parts of the world, and to report to Cabinet."

Ministerial Group on Sanctions Against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Gen 27)--

Composition

Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Chairman) Paymaster General

Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Minister for Trade)

Minister of State for Aviation and Shipping, Department of Transport

Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Ministry of Defence Economic Secretary, Treasury

Terms of Reference

"To keep under review the implementation of the sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia imposed under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 757, 787 and 820, and to report to the Ministerial Committee on Overseas and Defence Policy as necessary."

Press Secretary's Office

Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Prime Minister what is the salary, grading and scale attaching to the post of press secretary to the Prime Minister, the number of staff accountable to the press secretary and the total cost of the press secretary's office in the last financial year.

The Prime Minister [holding answer 9 February 1994] : My present press secretary holds a rank equivalent to home civil service grade 2, the salary range for which is £64,307 to £75,328. Nine members of staff are accountable to him. The total cost of the No. 10 press office for the financial year 1992-93 was £621,760.

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Regional Airports

Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 2 February, Official Report, column 702, if he will be replying direct to the representations made to him by the chief executive of Manchester Airport plc. in regard to liberalising access to regional airports ; if a copy of the reply will be placed in the Library ; and by when he expects the reply to have been sent.

The Prime Minister [holding answer 9 February 1994] : A reply will be sent shortly.

Moscow (Visit)

Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise the issue of the slaughter of seal pups in Russia with Boris Yeltsin during his visit to Moscow.

The Prime Minister [holding answer 9 February 1994] : I do not expect to do so. However the Russian authorities are aware of the public concern in the United Kingdom, and our embassy will continue to raise this subject with the Russians whenever the opportunity arises.

EMPLOYMENT

Manufacturing Earnings

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the weekly United Kingdom earnings figures for manufacturing shown in the November issue of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development main economic indicators adjusted to the same base date as the corresponding figures in table 18.11 of the September issue of the "Monthly Digest of Statistics" ; what is the figure in the latter table ; and what factors lay behind the discrepancy.

Miss Widdecombe : The weekly manufacturing earnings figures for Great Britain, compiled by the OECD from published figures and shown in the November issue of OECD main economic indicators are incorrect. The figures in the latest, January 1994 edition, accurately reflect the manufacturing earnings figures published in the monthly digest of statistics converted to a base date of 1985.

The earnings indices shown in table 18.11 of the monthly digest of statistics are the results of the monthly wages and salaries survey by the Employment Department.

Public Bodies

Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment who are the members currently appointed to the Women's National Commission.

Mr. Michael Forsyth : As Government co-chairman, Baroness Denton of Wakefield, Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, is the only appointed member of the Women's National Commission, WNC. The 50-member organisations of the WNC chooses its own representatives to sit on the commission.

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Labour Statistics

Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the United Kingdom are currently unemployed, economically active, but not in receipt of unemployment benefit ; and what were the equivalent figures for May 1979.

Miss Widdecombe : For the current data, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. Carlisle) on 26 January 1994, Official Report, column 285-86. The equivalent information for 1979 is not available.

Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people would have been registered as unemployed in 1978 if the figures had been treated on the same basis as 1994.

Miss Widdecombe : Claimant unemployment figures based on the current coverage of the count are available from the Department's consistent seasonally adjusted series. This gives the average level of claimant unemployment in the United Kingdom in 1978 as 1,144,000.

Consultancies

Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the value of consultancy contracts awarded by his Department each year since 1979, both in current prices and at constant 1994 prices.

Mr. Michael Forsyth : Information in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Housing Co-operatives

Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met representatives of organisations representing housing co- operatives to discuss funding and strategy ; what is his policy regarding the development of housing co-operatives ; what criteria he applies when determining financial assistance to housing co-operatives ; what plans he has to encourage the development of housing co-operatives ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Tim Smith : There is no housing co-operative movement in Northern Ireland. As there is no demand for housing co-operatives, there are no plans at present to encourage their development.

General National Vocational Qualifications

Mr. Stott : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what plans he has to introduce general national vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland's schools and colleges ; what representations he has received concerning GNVQs in Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement ;

(2) what study his Department has made of the provision of general national vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland's schools and colleges ; what reports his Department has commissioned into their provision ; if he will make the results of the reports available to both the House and the general public ; and if he will make a statement.

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Mr. Ancram : General national vocational qualifications, GNVQs, were introduced into a small number of schools and further education colleges in Northern Ireland in September 1992. The Northern Ireland Department of Education inspectorate carried out a survey of this provision during the 1992-93 academic year, which concluded that a satisfactory start had been made. Indeed, first results indicate that the proportion of Northern Ireland students who achieved a full GNVQ at intermediate level at the end of 1992-93 was significantly higher than the national average. While I have no plans to publish that survey I intend to publish a report on the present, much larger, phase of GNVQs at the end of current academic year.

Private Patient Facilities

Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much income by region has been generated by private patient facilities in national health service hospitals in each year since 1987-88.

Mr. Amcram : The information requested is as follows :

Year      |£                  

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1987-88   |1,551,399          

1988-89   |1,941,697          

1989-90   |1,954,145          

1990-91   |2,049,903          

1991-92   |2,429,774          

1992-93   |3,179,440          

NHS Redundancies

Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of redundancies among national health service hospital staff (a) by grade and (b) by reason for each year since 1988-89.

Mr. Ancram : This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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Consultancies

Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the value of consultancy contracts awarded by his Department each year since 1979, both in current prices and at constant 1994 prices.

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