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Mr. Aitken : My Department has contracted to sell 62 Jet Provost aircraft in the current financial year. In the same period 87 engines, six tip tanks and 10 trollyaccs have been sold. Prices are commercial in confidence.

Mr. Cann : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the marks or categories of the Jet Provost


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aircraft sold in the current financial year ; what flying time was left to each aircraft under existing operational rules ; and what price was received for each aircraft.

Mr. Aitken : Type 3A, type 4 and type 5A Jet Provost aircraft have been sold in the current year. Jet Provost aircraft are not lifed in hours but by a fatigue index factor which is based upon the operational conditions under which the aircraft are flown ; and these will determine further flying life. The prices are commercial in confidence.

Yugoslavia

Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) financial and (b) personnel contribution is made by the Federal Republic of Germany towards international activities in Yugoslavia.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : I have been asked to reply.

Germany pays 8.977 per cent. of costs, on the UN scale of assessment, towards peacekeeping operations. In 1993 its assessment for UNPROFOR was $489.8 million. Total humanitarian aid to the former Yugoslavia for the period January 1993 to 16 February 1994 donated by Germany to UN agencies, according to the latest UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs figures, is $25,318,046. There are no German military personnel serving in the former Yugoslavia. We do not have details of German civilian personnel.

Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annualised cost of British military operations associated with Yugoslavia.

Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 4 March, Official Report, columns 942-43.

DEFENCE

NATO

Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current level of direct financial contributions to the NATO organisation by each of the member countries ; and what is proposed for future years.

Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the hon. Member.

Air Training Corps

Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the nearest available alternative to RAF Halton as a flying base for the Air Training Corps ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : The nearest available airfield which could be used as a flying base for the ATC is RAF Henlow. However, this would not necessarily be a practical alternative since the volunteer gliding schools are regional in character, and RAF Henlow is well outside the catchment area for the local ATC and combined cadet force units.

RAF Halton

Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) How many years RAF Halton has been used as an operational airfield ; and if he will make a statement ;


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(2) for how many years the ATC has flown aircraft from RAF Halton.

Mr. Hanley : Military flying has taken place at Halton for 82 years. It was first used by the Army between 1912 and 1981 ; since then, it has been used for RAF operational flying. The ATC has flown aircraft from RAF Halton for 46 years.

Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give his Department's estimate in decibels of the noise nuisance caused to local residents of aircraft flying from RAF Halton ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : Over a two-week period last year, monitoring equipment positioned on the property of those complainants most affected by noise from flying at RAF Halton revealed that aircraft operations increased the average background noise by up to 8dB(A).

HIV/AIDS

Mr. Davidson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel were tested for HIV/AIDS in each of the last four years ; what factors he has taken into consideration for deciding whether such tests should be made compulsory and regular ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : Information on the number of service personnel tested for HIV is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In accordance with stated Government policy, there is no compulsory HIV/AIDS testing of service personnel, but those who consider themselves to be at risk are encouraged to undergo voluntary testing.

Drug Testing

Mr. Davidson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Government policy on drug testing for military personnel.

Mr. Hanley : My Department is at present considering the introduction of compulsory random drug testing to supplement existing measures to deter service personnel from drug abuse ; the Army conducted trials last year to examine the procedures involved.

Freephone and Freepost

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the use of freephone and freepost facilities currently being operated by his Department ; how much these facilities are costing ; for what purposes these facilities are being used ; and how much his Department has spent on operating freephone and freepost facilities in each financial year since 1979.

Mr. Hanley : Freephone facilities are not at present operated by my Department.

A freepost address is used by the armed forces to enable potential recruits to respond to regular and reservist recruitment campaigns. The cost of this service could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The forces aerogramme can be posted free of charge to and from service personnel serving in designated operational areas and their next of kin. Since 1986, the


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annual cost of this facility has been some £220,000. Earlier financial information is not available. During the Gulf crisis, this figure rose to £1,400,000. The most recent figure available, for the financial year 1992-93, is £262,000 reflecting increased usage as a result of operations in the former Yugoslavia.

Pregnant Service Women

Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women who formerly served with (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army and (c) the Royal Air Force and who were dismissed from the service because they were pregnant have received compensation by way of industrial tribunals finding for them ; what were the individual sums paid ; what is the total sum paid so far to claimants ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : As at 8 March 1994, 1,790 women--350 Royal Navy, 686 Army, 754 RAF--who were dismissed from the services on the grounds of pregnancy had received compensation from the Ministry of Defence to the value of £7,575,912. Such payments have resulted from industrial tribunal awards but most payments followed acceptances by claimants of MOD offers of compensation. To identify individual sums paid could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of outstanding cases due to be heard by the industrial tribunals concerning claims for compensation by women who were dismissed from the service because they were pregnant ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : Some 2,000 cases concerning claims for compensation by women who were dismissed from the services on the grounds of pregnancy remain to be settled and some 1,200 of these are currently listed for hearing at industrial tribunals.

Hunting

Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on how many occasions personnel from the Britannia royal naval college in Dartmouth have hunted with the Britannia Beagles Association during duty hours for each year since 1989 ;

(2) if he will make a statement about the benefits to officers' training of hunting with dogs ;

(3) if he will list the number of officers of each rank who have hunted with the Britannia Beagles Association during duty hours, in each of the last five years.

Mr. Hanley : Hunting with dogs, either on foot or on horseback, promotes physical fitness and good tactical ground appreciation, both of which are of great value to military training.

Although beagling, like all other recreational activities, is not part of the BRNC Dartmouth training curriculum, and is not therefore undertaken by personnel while on normal duty, members of the Britannia Beagle Association may, if they wish, run with the beagles during compulsory sports afternoons, which are aimed at developing character and promoting fitness, or during off-duty hours. Records are not maintained by my Department of the number of officers who have hunted with the Britannia Beagles Association, whether during compulsory sports afternoons or during off-duty hours.


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Beauforts Dyke Sea Dump

Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the Beauforts Dyke sea dump situated between Larne and Stranraer ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hanley : My Department has received a number of inquiries about phosphorus objects which have been washed ashore in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man in recent years. Some of these suggested that the objects may originate from the former Beauforts Dyke explosives dumping site. Subsequent Ministry of Defence investigations have been unable to identify the origin or purpose of these objects except that our records show that no phosphorus objects were ever stored at Beauforts Dyke.

Civilian Establishments

Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report, column 202, if he will list, from information publicly available, his Department's civilian establishments, their locations and the number of people they each employ.

Mr. Hanley : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 8 March, Official Report, column 202.

Military Bases

Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 8 March, Official Report, column 202, if he will list, from information publicly available, the United Kingdom's home military bases, their locations and the number of service personnel based and civilians employed at each of them.

Mr. Hanley : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 8 March 1994, Official Report, column 202.

WALES

European Structural Funds

14. Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the failure of parts of Colwyn borough to get approval for objective 5(b) status under the EU structural funds.

Sir Wyn Roberts : I am disappointed that we secured a smaller than hoped for objective 5(b) coverage for Clwyd in spite of a long and hard struggle with the Commission. At a very late stage the Commission insisted on changes to the population basis on which the discussions were being conducted. As a result, reductions had to be made to the United Kingdom's proposals. Within Wales, Colwyn was considered by the Commission to present the weakest case for objective 5(b) status.

Incomes

15. Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the extent to which the average income of workers in Wales is compatible with his economic strategy.

Mr. Gwilym Jones : My right hon. Friend's strategy is based on improving standards of education and training ;


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improving access to markets ; and ensuring a good supply of development land and facilities for industry and commerce. The continuing success of this strategy should enable average earnings in Wales to increase still further.

Government Reorganisation

16. Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration he has given since April 1992 together with the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to ways of improving the system of government of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Gwilym Jones : The Government keep under review ways of improving the system of government in the United Kingdom.

Industry and Agriculture

17. Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next plans to meet German Government Ministers to discuss common concerns in industry and agriculture.

Mr. Redwood : I have no plans to meet German Federal Government Ministers.

Gross Domestic Product

18. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the most recent estimates of gross domestic product per capita for the people of (a) Wales and (b) Britain.

Mr. Redwood : In 1992, the latest available, GDP per head was estimated at £7,515 in Wales and £8,813 in Great Britain in 1992.

Satellite Communications

19. Mr. Fabricant : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he has taken to encourage high technology firms in the area of satellite communications to set up manufacturing plant in Wales.

Mr. Redwood : Inward investment in this and other areas of the information technology sector is promoted actively through IT Wales, with encouraging results.

Public Bodies

20. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new measures he will introduce to make quangos accountable to the people of Wales.

Mr. Redwood : Non-departmental public bodies in Wales are accountable to Parliament--as we have seen in recent months. I report to the House on money and policy, and the accounting officer on regularity.

Civil Service

21. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new proposals he has to increase the total of civil service jobs in Wales.

Mr. Redwood : Responsibility for assessing the advantages of relocating Government work rests with


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departmental Ministers. Within the framework of the guidelines covering relocations, every effort is made to attract civil service jobs to Wales.

St. Dogmaels Landslip

22. Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes to take in relation to the St. Dogmaels landslip.

Mr. Gwilym Jones : My officials visited the site last week and have provided me with a full report on the situation. My officials and I stand ready to offer advice and assistance where possible.

Gross National Product

23. Dr. Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the gross national product per capita currently in Mid Glamorgan and in Wales.

Mr. Redwood : Figures on GNP are not available below United Kingdom level. GDP however is available for 1991, which showed Mid Glamorgan at £5,883 compared with Wales £7,218. The estimates tend to understate output in areas where people commute elsewhere for their work.

Unemployment

Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the level of male unemployment in Wales at the latest available date ; and what was the percentage unemployment rate.

Mr. Redwood : In January 1994, there were 100,500 male unemployed claimants in Wales, representing 13.7 per cent. of the work force.

Rural Railways

25. Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received during the last 12 months on the future of rural railway services.

Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend and I have received a total of 36 representations.

Pigmeat

26. Mr. Roger Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to relieve the effects of pigmeat overproduction upon producers in Wales.

Sir Wyn Roberts : The problem in the pigmeat market is one of oversupply, largely from elsewhere in the European Union. Prices should recover once production has declined.

Disabled Facilities Grant

27. Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date he transferred the funding of the disabled facilities grant from the supplementary credit allowance to the basic credit allowance.

Mr. Gwilym Jones : Disabled facilities grants have been funded from local authorities' basic credit approvals since April 1992.

Freephone and Freepost

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the use of freephone and freepost facilities currently being operated by his


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Department ; how much these facilities are costing ; for what purposes these facilities are being used ; and how much his Department has spent on operating freephone and freepost facilities in each financial year since 1979.

Mr. Redwood : A total of £31,465 is expected to be spent on freephone and freepost facilities in 1993-94. This expenditure is related to citizens charter activities and the provision of information on the council tax and on agriculture grant applications. Information on such expenditure in previous years is not readily available.

Pupils (Costs)

Sir Harold Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the unit cost per pupil in each local education authority in Wales in 1992- 93 for (a) nursery/primary and (b) secondary pupils.

Sir Wyn Roberts : Provisional data on the net expenditure per pupil in maintained schools in each local education authority area in Wales for 1992-93 are given in the table.


                   |£ per pupil       |£ per pupil                          

                   |Nursery/Primary<1>|Secondary<1>                         

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

Clwyd              |1,486             |2,243                                

Dyfed              |1,807             |2,164                                

Gwent              |1,479             |2,226                                

Gwynedd            |1,673             |2,430                                

Mid Glamorgan      |1,476             |2,300                                

Powys              |1,911             |2,088                                

South Glamorgan    |1,494             |2,144                                

West Glamorgan     |1,794             |2,403                                

                                                                            

Wales              |1,590             |2,256                                

<1>LEA and grant-maintained schools.                                        

Schoolchildren (Vaccinations)

Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information is held by his Department on the number of schoolchildren who have been vaccinated in schools as part of the school health service.

Mr. Gwilym Jones : Complete information on the number of school children vaccinated as part of the school health service is not available centrally. However information on the number of children aged five to 15 vaccinated in any setting in Wales is given in the table. All information relates to the financial year 1992-93.


Number of children aged five to 15 who:                                               

Vaccinated against        |Completed a primary|Received a booster/                    

                          |course             |reinforcing dose                       

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

Diphtheria                |369                |5,591                                  

Tetanus                   |455                |16,106                                 

Pertussis                 |98                 |<1>-                                   

Polio                     |471                |16,622                                 

MMR<2>                    |1,221              |<1>-                                   

BCG (tuberculosis)        |<3>15,442          |<1>-                                   

Single antigen rubella<4> |11,122             |<1>-                                   

<1> Denotes not applicable.                                                           

<2> Measles, mumps and rubella.                                                       

<3> Includes children aged one to four.                                               

<4> Females only, aged 15 and under.                                                  

Tesco (Grant Aid)

Mr. Faber : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is the total sum of grant aid to be made available to Tesco plc by his Department to assist with the building of


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its new distribution depot at Magor, Gwent ; over what period the grant will be paid ; and in how many instalments of what value ; (2) what job creation or other criteria need to be met by Tesco plc at its new distribution depot at Magor, Gwent, in order to receive the grant offered to it by his Department.

Mr. Redwood : For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am unable to comment on the details of any specific application for grant assistance.

Agency Chief Executives

Mr. Radice : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many agency chief executives in his Department are currently paid more than £82,925, excluding performance-related bonuses ; and whether such chief executives were recruited directly to their present post from outside the civil service.

Mr. Redwood : No agency chief executives in the Welsh Office are currently paid more than £82,925.

Motorways

Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles of motorway are currently (a) open, (b) under construction and (c) planned in Wales either (i) as new motorway or (ii) as existing motorway being widened.

Sir Wyn Roberts : The mileages are :

(a) Open--77 miles

(b) Under construction--7 miles

(c) Planned--15 miles (new)

12 miles (widening of existing).

Wages Councils

Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the Trades Union Congress to discuss the consequences of the abolition of wages councils ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Redwood : I have no plans to meet the TUC to discuss this issue. The abolition of wages councils is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

Waste Recycling

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress made in Welsh local authorities towards the recycling of 25 per cent. of household waste.

Mr. Redwood : Information relating to the numbers of bottle banks and amounts of glass collected by local authorities has been published in the 1992 series of the "Environmental Digest for Wales". Definitive information on other aspects of recycling will not be available until all authorities finalise their recycling plans under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to allow supplementary credit approvals to be used for recycling investment.

Mr. Redwood : Local authorities may apply for grant and supplementary credit approvals for waste recycling facilities under the strategic development scheme.


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Head Injuries

Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which hospitals in Wales employ multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams for treating local patients who have suffered severe head injuries.

Mr. Gwilym Jones : Details of the information requested are not held centrally. However, the major neurosurgical units at Morriston hospital and the University hospital of Wales, Cardiff, have multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams for neurosurgical conditions, including brain injury. These regional centres also treat local patients. Neurosurgical patients from north Wales go to Walton hospital, Liverpool. Post-acute rehabilitation may take place closer to patient's homes, in local hospitals or in the community, but information on local provision is not held centrally.


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