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Sustainable Development
Mrs Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the consultation recently carried out by his Department on the setting up of the United Kingdom round table on sustainable development.
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Mr. Gummer: My Department issued a consultation paper on 21 October, inviting comments before 17 November. Some 134 responses had been received by 25 November, including 50 from business and industry, 21 from environmental groups and 10 from local government. A list of responses will be lodged in the Libraries of both Houses and in the Department of the Environment library.
Most of the responses received were supportive of the proposals in the consultation paper, and many offered helpful suggestions that expanded upon the proposals we had made. Some 95 of the responses commented on membership, and 37 suggested topics for the round table's work programme. In the light of this response, and the need to consider all of the suggestions fully before proceeding, I have decided to call the first meeting of the round table early in the New Year, rather than on 13 December, which was mentioned as a possibility in the consultation document.
Dealing with the Public
Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to update the index to the explanatory material on how his Department deals with the public which he first made available last July.
Mr. Robert B. Jones: I have today made available the first update of the index to the explanatory material on my Department's dealings with the public. This index will continue to be regularly updated, demonstrating my Department's commitment to open government. I have placed a copy of the index in the Library of the House and it is also available from my Department's libraries and from the Government offices for the regions.
EMPLOYMENT
Computer Malfunctions
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the cost to date of reimbursing employees in his Department who ran up overdrafts and bank charges due to computer malfunction in his Department in July; if he will list by month for the last 24 months the number of occasions similar computer malfunctions have occurred and the cost to his Department on each occasion; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe: The cost of reimbursing employees due to a late payment of Employment Department group salaries in July 1994 was £28, 969. The only other similar occurrence in the last 24 months was in February 1993 when the cost was £25,980. A complete review of the systems of control has been undertaken which should make it unlikely that a similar problem could occur again.
Internet
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on the Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on the Internet over the next year which will be accessible via the world wide web server, "open. gov. uk" or any specific departmental server.
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Miss Widdecombe: The Department has no firm plans to place information on the Internet.
Portable Machines
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received regarding European Commission proposals to harmonise the voltage of portable tools and machines on construction sites.
Mr. Oppenheim: The European Commission has made no such proposals.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of jobs lost and gained and his explanation of why and how from membership of the EEC since 1972.
Mr. Oppenheim: I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him by my right hon. Friend the Economic Secretary on 17 March, Official Report, column 822 and 30 June, Official Report, column 680 ; by my hon. Friend the Paymaster General, on 25 November, Official Report, column 468 and by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 29 November, Official Report, column 583 .
EDUCATION
Disabled Children
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when all schools will be fully accessible to disabled children.
Mr. Forth: It is impracticable to place a timetable on the Government's commitment to improvements in the accessibility of schools. The Government consider that by far the most effective and affordable way to improve access steadily is to ensure that the needs of disabled people are provided for when buildings are designed or constructed. That is why my Department will shortly be consulting on the upgrading of its constructional standards which will mean that all new schools and extensions would be fully accessible to disabled people. Parental choice will continue to play a fundamental part in the decision as to where children are educated and existing school buildings may be rendered accessible accordingly.
Local Education Authorities
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the shortfall between resources allocated to local education authorities in 1994 95 and the bids made by them; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire: The 1994 95 local authority grant settlement allowed for local education authorities to spend £17,087 million on education in that year. This was distributed between authorities through the standard spending assessment mechanism, and through a limited range of specific grants. Bids related only to some of the specific grants, which totalled less than 2 per cent. of the settlement for education. Local authorities also bid for credit approvals in respect of capital projects.
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Grant-Maintained Schools
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many copies of the video, "Grant-Maintained Schools: Our Children, Our Choice", have been distributed; what conditions they are distributed under; whether they are (a) on sale, and if so, how many copies have been sold, (b) on loan, and if so, how many copies have been borrowed and how many have been returned or (c) are free;
(2) what was the production cost of the video, "Grant-Maintained Schools: Our Children, Our Choice"; how many copies have been made; and what was the total cost of the videos.
Mr. Robin Squire: The video "Our Children, Our Choice" cost some £48,000 to produce, and 10,000 copies have been made at a further cost of £16,000, giving a total cost of £64,000.
About 6,000 copies have been distributed to date. Copies are made available free in response to requests; they are not loaned. A few copies have been returned, but the Department does not have a record of the precise number.
Building Refurbishment
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishment.
Mr. Boswell: The information requested is as follows:
|1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Mowden Hall Teachers Pensions
Agency premises) |102,000 |1,738,000|83,000
(Mowden Hall Departmental
premises) |103,000 |45,000 |36,000
Vincent House |74,000 |4,000 |2,000
Corporation House |2,000 |4,000 |2,000
Enterprise House |2,000 |- |7,000
|-------- |-------- |--------
Total |283,000 |1,791,000|130,000
(1) All figures are rounded to nearest £000.
(2) Refurbishment work at the Teachers Pensions Agency premises at
Mowden Hall included external and internal fabric and a new
ventilation system.
(3) Refurbishment work at all other DFE premises listed included
internal adaptations of erecting and demounting walls, replacing light
fittings and redecoration.
PRIME MINISTER
EU Anti-fraud Budget
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the size of the European Union's anti- fraud budget.
The Prime Minister: As I made clear following my meeting with the French Prime Minister at Chartres, I will insist that discussion of all aspects of fraud and irregularity against the Community budget is given a high priority at the Essen European Council.
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Security and Intelligence Services
Sir Anthony Durant: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the staff counsellor for the Security and Intelligence Services.
The Prime Minister: Sir Philip Woodfield KCB CBE has served as staff counsellor for the Security and Intelligence Services since November 1987. He will retire from the post on 31 March 1995, and I express the Government's gratitude to him for the way in which he has established this very sensitive post and fulfilled the duties of it. Sir Christopher France GCB, currently permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, will succeed him as staff counsellor from 1 April 1995.
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe
Sir Michael Neubert: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe summit in Budapest.
The Prime Minister: I represented the United Kingdom at the summit meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in Budapest on 5 to 6 December, accompanied by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.
The meeting adopted the Budapest summit declaration; and separate declarations on the 50th Anniversary of the termination of world war II, and on Baltic issues. It also adopted 10 decisions on different aspects of the CSCE's work.
These decisions embraced strengthening the CSCE; regional issues; further development of the capabilities of the CSCE in conflict prevention and crisis management; code of conduct on
politico-military aspects of security; further tasks of the CSCE forum for security co-operation; principles governing
non-proliferation; a common and comprehensive security model for Europe for the 21st century; the human dimension; the economic dimension; and the Mediterranean.
Copies of all of these documents will be placed in the Library of the House.
The CSCE is no longer just a conference. Its role has widened since the end of the Cold War. Under the Budapest decision on "Strengthening the CSCE", its title will change from 1 January 1995 to "The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, CSCE". This change of title has been accompanied by some structural changes which are set out in the relevant decision.
Among its other decisions, the summit:
--initiated planning for a CSCE-led peace-keeping operation in Nagorno- Karabakh. Deployment of a multi-national CSCE peace-keeping force will depend on progress towards a political settlement, on United Nations Security Council backing, and on the requisite military preparation;
--adopted measures to strengthen the CSCE in its central role of conflict prevention;
--reinforced, as a result of a British initiative, the CSCE's arrangements for dealing with the problem of minorities and other human rights questions;
--set out standards for the democratic control of armed forces, in a new code of conduct;
--added to military confidence building measures, including provisions for the exchange of information on all conventional forces.
At a separate ceremony in Budapest on 5 December, Ukraine acceded to the non-proliferation treaty. On behalf
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of the United Kingdom, I extended to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine the nuclear security assurances which we have given in the past to other non-nuclear weapon states. Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin extended the same assurances on behalf of the United States of America and the Russian Federation.In the margins of the conference, I had discussions with many of the CSCE heads of Government, including the Presidents of the Czech Republic, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and the United States; the German Federal Chancellor; and the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Norway and Turkey.
The future development of the North Atlantic Alliance was one of the subjects mentioned in many speeches to the conference, and also during my bilateral meetings. It was a point of particular concern to the Russian delegation. I explained to President Yeltsin that our aim, which was widely supported by our partners in NATO and the European Union, was to extend to the east the prosperity and stability which members of the European Union and NATO now enjoy. That was why both organisations were developing their links with the countries of central and eastern Europe. NATO had commissioned a study of the principles of enlargement, but had taken no decisions yet on which countries might join the organisation or when. It was very important for NATO to build up its relationship with Russia, and we therefore hoped that the Russian Government would soon sign their agreement with NATO on the "Partnership for Peace" programme. It was common ground that there should be no new dividing line across Europe. The dominant political issue at the summit was the conflict in Bosnia. CSCE decisions are adopted by
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consensus, and because of differences of view between certain participants, a draft declaration on Bosnia was not adopted. However, the chairman of the conference spoke for many delegations in issuing, in his personal capacity, a call on all warring parties in Bosnia, and particularly in Bihac, to end the fighting, declare a ceasefire and allow free access of humanitarian assistance throughout Bosnia. My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, will be making a statement separately to the House on Bosnia, taking account of discussions during the Budapest summit.OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Aid
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has discussed with his right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer the shift of resources from poverty- focused direct aid to commercially tied projects; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry: No. The primary emphasis of the aid programme continues to be to assist development and thereby alleviate poverty. Over 90 per cent. of aid allocatable by income group has gone to low income and lower middle income countries since 1990 91.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total amount of (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral aid in (1) cash and (ii) real terms in 1983 and 1993; and what were the percentages in each case.
Mr. Baldry: The information is as follows:
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Gross public expenditure on aid (£ thousands)
|1983-84
|Cash price
|1993-94 |Percentage |(expressed in |1983-84 |Percentage
|Cash price |of total |1993-94 prices)|Real terms |of total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bilateral |1,304,515 |56.60 |554,730 |936,332 |52.19
Multilateral |1,000,079 |43.40 |508,111 |857,644 |47.80
|-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Total |2,304,594 |1,062,841
Note:
Administrative costs and flows from ODA to CDC are excluded.
Aid and Trade Provisions
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 23 November 1994, Official Report, column 199, which British companies have received contracts, and what value these contracts have been, as a result of ATP projects approved for funding since June 1993.
Mr. Baldry: The information requested is as follows:
£ million
Project |Company |Export value |Atp value
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993
Railways Double Tracking |Transmark |1.964 |0.982
Tetouan gas turbines |John Brown Engineering Ltd. |65.000 |10.925
Bombay and Delhi airports |Cossor Electronics Ltd. |4.105 |1.437
1994
Muela Hydropower project |Kvaerner Boving Ltd. |9.550 |4.775
Chickens processing plant phase II |Humatt Engineering Ltd. |8.990 |4.227
Kundasale Strategic Study |Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners Ltd. |0.093 |0.093
Santiago Traffic Control |Siemens Plessey Controls |2.372 |0.831
Mini Hydros |Balfour Beatty Projects and Engineering Ltd.|15.019 |4.121
Education Projects
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent in cash and real terms in each of the last five years on education projects in (a) developing countries outside the Commonwealth and (b) developing countries in the Commonwealth, by the European Union; and what was the extent of British funding for these projects.
Mr. Baldry: EC commitments to education programmes in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries under the fourth Lome
convention--1991 to date--have totalled 199.2 mecu or £155.3 million. The United Kingdom share of these programmes, funded through the European Development Fund, is 16.37 per cent.
Education commitments to Asia in 1993 totalled 173 mecu or £134.9 million, and to Latin America 16.2 mecu or £12.6 million. The United Kingdom share of these costs, financed through the Community Budget, will be around 16 per cent.
Disaggregated figures by individual Commonwealth and
non-Commonwealth countries are not available. As these commitments will spend over a number of years it is also not possible to give annual expenditure figures in real and cash terms.
Indonesia
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all infrastructure projects in Indonesia that are assisted by aid from the United Kingdom.
Mr. Baldry: The following infrastructure projects are presently being funded from the United Kingdom's aid programme to Indonesia. Shortwave Radio Transmitters
Steel Bridging Phase II
Citayam-Cibinong Railway
Cigading-Serpong Railway
Samarinda Power Station
Cikampek-Padalarang Toll Road
Cikampek-Cirebon Railway (Double Tracking)
European Union Development Council
Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed at the European Union Development Council in Brussels on 25 November.
Mr. Baldry: My right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Chalker of Wallasey represented the United Kingdom at the Council. There was extensive discussion of the situation in Rwanda. An action programme totalling 67 mecu, or £52 million, was endorsed and the importance of national reconciliation underlined. Further progress was made on co-ordination between Community and member state aid programmes, notably through agreement on joint guidelines on food, security and education. There were also useful exchanges of view on the state of play on the mid-term review of the Lome convention, future assistance to South Africa and evaluation.
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TRANSPORT
British Transport Police
Mr. Trotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his plans as to the future employer of the British Transport police.
Mr. Watts: The Government have decided that the BR board will continue as employer of the BTP for the foreseeable future. The role of employer will eventually pass to the British Transport police committee, when a suitable legislative opportunity can be found.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in whom the ownership and control of the British Transport police will be vested following the flotation and privatisation of Railtrack.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 29 November 1994]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) earlier today.
Road Signs, London
Mr. Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress is being made on the project to replace the road signs on London's primary route network; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: The Highways Agency has awarded a trial contract for the replacement of route direction signs on primary routes in west London, mainly along the A4. This follows extensive consultation carried out by the Highways Agency to develop a signing system which will better serve drivers needing to make journeys within the M25. The trial contract, which has been awarded to Ringway Ltd., will be used to validate the designs, work methods and materials to be used in the main signing project contracts which follows.
The first of the four main project contracts is due to be let next autumn with a view to the re-signing project being substantially completed by the end of 1997.
Poor signing causes drivers to lose their way, wasting both time and money. The new signs will give clearer, simpler and consistent directions. This important project will help drivers and assist traffic movement in the capital.
Capital Expenditure
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list for each county council its capital expenditure on public transport as a percentage of its capital expenditure on roads. (2) if he will list for each county council (a) its capital expenditure on roads and (b) its capital expenditure on public transport.
Mr. Watts: The figures for 1993 94, as reported by local authorities in their transport policies and programme submissions for 1995 96, are set out in the following table.
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Expenditure for 1993-94-All figures in £000
Authority |TSG eligible major |Non-TSG eligible |Structural |Structural |Local roads |Other minor |Major public |Public transport |Total highways |Total public |Total transport |Public transport as|Parking |Total capital
|major |maintenance of |maintenance of
|highway works |highway works |principal road |bridges |safety schemes |highway works |transport schemes |minor works |transport |percentage of
|carriageways |highways
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |13,800 |0 |2,492 |2,163 |630 |3,329 |142 |113 |22,414 |255 |22,669 |1.1 |0 |22,669
Bedfordshire |1,511 |0 |1,154 |2,240 |1,066 |1,315 |0 |82 |7,286 |82 |7,368 |1.1 |0 |7,368
Berkshire |1,978 |0 |1,901 |1,127 |955 |408 |0 |121 |6,639 |121 |6,490 |1.9 |300 |6,790
Buckinghamshire |1,735 |1,938 |2,207 |638 |753 |666 |0 |0 |7,937 |0 |7,937 |0 |0 |7,937
Cambridgeshire |2,406 |0 |2,597 |2,603 |2,972 |1,067 |0 |0 |11,645 |0 |11,645 |0 |367 |12,012
Cheshire |17,572 |34 |7,422 |2,902 |505 |2,008 |495 |47 |30,443 |542 |30,985 |1.7 |297 |31,282
Cleveland |5,918 |0 |2,310 |423 |671 |409 |0 |546 |9,731 |546 |10,277 |5.3 |0 |10,277
Cornwall |7,623 |0 |2,404 |1,695 |408 |3,107 |0 |163 |15,237 |163 |15,400 |1.1 |35 |15,435
Cumbria |2,663 |0 |2,240 |1,985 |625 |1,459 |0 |0 |8,972 |0 |8,972 |0 |155 |9,127
Derbyshire |4,233 |0 |1,810 |1,192 |390 |8,032 |986 |115 |15,657 |1,101 |16,758 |6.6 |733 |17,491
Devon |5,730 |1,317 |4,164 |1,402 |1,311 |5,146 |0 |1,764 |19,070 |1,764 |20,834 |8.5 |1,430 |22,264
Dorset |4,755 |0 |1,295 |570 |833 |1,785 |0 |50 |9,238 |50 |9,288 |0.5 |0 |9,288
Durham |6,464 |818 |1,273 |1,120 |501 |1,539 |0 |0 |11,715 |0 |11,715 |0 |14 |11,729
East Sussex |3,218 |1,833 |2,174 |1,864 |356 |2,880 |0 |0 |12,325 |0 |12,325 |0 |192 |12,517
Essex |10,279 |378 |2,507 |1,813 |2,334 |5,396 |0 |22 |22,707 |22 |22,729 |0.1 |0 |22,729
Gloucestershire |5,045 |0 |1,474 |756 |486 |2,223 |0 |370 |9,984 |370 |10,354 |3.6 |0 |10,354
Hampshire |26,762 |34 |4,646 |1,654 |1,420 |2,673 |0 |707 |37,189 |707 |37,896 |1.9 |0 |37,896
Hereford and Worcester |3,115 |0 |1,914 |842 |507 |2,044 |0 |0 |8,422 |0 |8,422 |0 |77 |8,499
Hertfordshire |11,282 |0 |2,870 |2,294 |1,184 |4,269 |0 |101 |21,899 |101 |22,000 |0.5 |0 |22,000
Humberside |10,910 |3,167 |3,869 |1,998 |651 |884 |0 |20 |21,479 |20 |21,499 |0.1 |720 |22,219
Isle of Wight |0 |0 |966 |607 |414 |1,155 |0 |0 |3,142 |0 |3,142 |0 |5 |3,147
Kent |60,900 |0 |7,753 |1,943 |1,175 |3,416 |0 |240 |75,187 |240 |75,427 |0.3 |0 |75,427
Lancashire |12,339 |23 |2,160 |5,962 |1,869 |3,289 |142 |1,012 |25,642 |1,154 |26,796 |4.3 |75 |26,871
Leicestershire |5,998 |0 |2,060 |911 |641 |1,706 |986 |37 |11,316 |1,023 |12,339 |8.3 |0 |12,339
Lincolnshire |5,329 |0 |2,440 |2,501 |463 |2,894 |0 |5 |13,627 |5 |13,632 |0 |0 |13,632
Norfolk |2,709 |2,728 |6,251 |2,861 |2,431 |2,174 |0 |389 |19,154 |389 |19,543 |2 |479 |20,022
Northamptonshire |3,514 |1,260 |4,122 |1,476 |1,004 |1,262 |0 |8 |12,638 |8 |12,646 |0.1 |171 |12,817
Northumberland |3,013 |0 |2,296 |4,566 |422 |368 |0 |0 |10,665 |0 |10,665 |0 |235 |10,900
North Yorkshire |8,232 |0 |4,470 |3,082 |1,699 |3,731 |0 |74 |21,214 |74 |21,288 |0.3 |791 |22,079
Nottinghamshire |5,076 |769 |3,577 |2,203 |1,047 |9,680 |2,910 |1,677 |22,352 |4,587 |26,939 |17 |1,048 |27,987
Oxfordshire |1,917 |63 |1,281 |1,214 |1,444 |259 |0 |0 |6,178 |0 |6,178 |0 |0 |6,178
Shropshire |3,122 |0 |1,750 |2,154 |363 |4,189 |0 |91 |11,578 |91 |11,669 |0.8 |0 |11,669
Somerset |4,022 |0 |1,734 |1,292 |351 |2,450 |0 |0 |9,849 |0 |9,849 |0 |0 |9,849
Staffordshire |5,837 |0 |6,442 |1,674 |577 |2,618 |0 |0 |17,148 |0 |17,148 |0 |0 |17,148
Suffolk |629 |1,316 |3,153 |2,378 |1,357 |6,222 |0 |800 |15,055 |800 |15,855 |5 |601 |16,456
Surrey |22,215 |0 |3,133 |4,536 |2,502 |3,438 |0 |0 |35,824 |0 |35,824 |0 |0 |35,824
Warwickshire |332 |0 |1,204 |2,348 |994 |785 |0 |51 |5,663 |51 |5,714 |0.9 |54 |5,768
West Sussex |3,125 |95 |1,872 |558 |855 |2,190 |0 |0 |8,695 |0 |8,695 |0 |495 |9,190
Wiltshire |1,749 |0 |0 |152 |675 |1,573 |0 |0 |4,149 |0 |4,149 |0 |83 |4,232
Internet
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on the Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on the Internet over the next year which will be accessible via the world wide web server "open.gov.uk" or any specific departmental server.
Mr. Norris: The Department has no plans to make information available on the Internet. This will be considered as part of a review of publication arrangements.
Vehicle Licensing
Mr. Alison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of commercial and heavy goods vehicles operating illegally on British roads by carrying no licence, insurance or taxation disc.
Mr. Norris: A sample roadside check held earlier this year in the south-east and Metropolitan traffic area indicated that about 8 per cent. of vehicles stopped illegally had no operator's licence. However, the exercise was targeted on vehicles thought likely to be offending the regulations, so the estimate may be considerably higher than the true national proportion of such vehicles.
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We have no reliable estimate of the proportion of commercial and heavy goods vehicles operating without insurance.A roadside survey conducted in 1989 found that some 2.4 per cent. of goods vehicles were operating without VED. An up-to-date estimate based on a survey conducted in summer 1994 will be published shortly.
Trains (First Aid)
Sir David Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 25 November 1994, Official Report , column 381 , what information he has on the extent to which the requirement for passenger trains to carry first aid kits is complied with; and if he will investigate the absence of a first aid kit on a train travelling from Basingstoke to Reading on 24 October when Matthew Burridge was injured.
Mr. Watts: All passenger trains are checked daily to ensure that they are carrying first aid kits in sealed containers. Any used equipment must be replaced before trains are allowed to leave a depot.
I understand that in the case of the incident concerning Mr. Matthew Burridge, on 24 October, the train in question was carrying a first aid kit. The kit was not used as the conductor had radioed ahead to Reading station for medical assistance, which was given following arrival at the station three minutes later.
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Drivers Hours
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the organisations that responded to his consultation paper on the deregulation of drivers' hours.
Mr. Norris: We have not issued a consultation paper on the deregulation of our national rules on driver's hours, but we sought views from a number of bodies on the operation of the present rules. The organisations included HGV and bus operators, trades unions, trade associations, enforcement agencies, road safety groups and public utilities.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list, by country of origin and, where appropriate, the third country passed through, the number of asylum seekers arriving at Heathrow Airport during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994;
(2) if he will list, by port of entry the number of asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.
(3) if he will list, by country of origin and, where appropriate, the third country passed through and the number of asylum seekers arriving in the United Kingdom during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.
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