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Consultants

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost to date of the employment of consultants for his Department's married housing quarters sell-off. [29342]

Mr. Arbuthnot: Further to my answer of 19 December 1995, Official Report, columns 114-15, the total cost to date of the employment of consultants since we began to develop the proposal to transfer the married quarters estate to the private sector announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 30 November 1995, Official Report, columns 810-11, amounts to some £3.5 million, exclusive of VAT, on the basis of invoices received by the end of April.

Chemical and Defence Establishment

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work has been carried out at the chemical and defence establishment, Porton Down, to assess whether and how LSD could be used in interrogations; what were the conclusions of this work; and if he will make a statement. [29344]

Mr. Arbuthnot: This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, DERA, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Dr. David Clarke, dated 14 May 1996:

I have been asked to reply to your question about the possible use of LSD in interrogations at the Chemical and Biological Establishment (CBDE) as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which now includes the former CBDE in one of its divisions.
The Chemical and Biological Defence Sector (CBD) of what is now known as the Protection and Life Sciences Division (PLSD) at Porton Down has no record of any work being carried out to assess whether and how LSD could be used in interrogations. The work which was undertaken at Porton Down was aimed at ascertaining the effects of LSD on service personnel in operational circumstances.
I hope this is helpful.

Army Training (Video)

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the release of video footage of Army training by the Northern Ireland training advisory team. [29343]

Mr. Soames: Video tapes used to debrief soldiers during pre-Northern Ireland training were passed by the BBC to the Ministry of Defence on 8 May; they had apparently been bought by a third party in Coventry. Urgent steps are being taken to prevent any recurrence of

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this incidence, and a full assessment of any implications for current military operations in Northern Ireland is being made.

As a police investigation is now in hand it would be inappropriate to comment further.

The continued safety of our troops in Northern Ireland is of paramount importance.

Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion

Sir Peter Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance the United Kingdom will continue to give to support the development of the Baltic peacekeeping battalion. [29528]

Mr. Soames: The UK, together with other NATO allies--Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the USA--and Sweden and Finland, has been involved in the training and development of the Baltic peacekeeping battalion since 1994. This programme, which includes English language training and training by the Royal Marines in basic infantry skills, will continue until late 1997. In addition to training provision, the UK--as part of an international equipment package--has provided 38 Carl Gusav anti-tank weapons to the peacekeeping battalion. These weapons are surplus to UK requirements and are non-offensive weapons suited for defensive purposes in a peacekeeping environment. These will be delivered today.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Fish Quotas

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Government will table proposals in Brussels (a) to stop quota hopping and (b) to increase British quotas for the United Kingdom fishing industry. [28915]

Mr. Baldry: I refer my right hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister in the House on 5 March Official Report, column 130. The Government intend to table proposals to address the problem of quota hopping at an appropriate stage in the intergovernmental conference.

Feedstuff Ingredients

Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the categories of (a) foodstuffs and (b) additives permitted for

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sale for feeding to (i) cattle, (ii) sheep, (iii) pigs and (iv) poultry, indicating the regulations applying to each category; [28712]

(2) if he will list the categories of (a) foodstuffs and (b) additives permitted for sale for feeding to fish for human consumption, indicating which regulations apply to each category. [29067]

Mrs Browning: There is no list of permitted food ingredients for animals, including fish. However, the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1995, S.I. 1412, contain detailed provisions on the composition and labelling of feedingstuffs and a list of permitted feed additives. A copy of the regulations is in the Library of the House.

Specified Bovine Materials (Handling)

Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the results of the state veterinary service's visits to abattoirs to monitor the handling of specified bovine materials in the period January to April 1996; and if he will make a statement. [29687]

Mr Douglas Hogg: The State Veterinary Service is continuing its programme of unannounced visits to all plants handling specified bovine material. In the first four months of 1996, 1,196 visits to abattoirs have been recorded. Of these, 1,148 or 96 per cent. found the handling of SBM to be fully satisfactory. Of the four per cent. of cases where deficiencies were reported, not all--for instance, poor record keeping--presented a risk to public or animal health. There were only four incidents recorded where pieces of spinal cord had not been completely removed from the spinal canal. No such incidents have been reported since 20 March, some seven weeks ago.

I will ensure that a note is placed in the Library of the House regularly to update these figures.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Skills Audit

Mr. Byers: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what dates he has received written representations from the Secretary of State for Education and Employment about the skills audit. [28954]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The Secretary of State and I have worked together closely on the audit since it was announced in the last competitiveness White Paper.

Mr. Byers: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 7 May, Official Report, column 113, which department is responsible for conducting the skills audit; with which countries the United Kingdom's skills level and performance will be compared; if it will include consideration of the performance of the Untied Kingdom schools system; and if he will make a statement.[28943]

The Deputy Prime Minister: The skills audit has been conducted by an ad hoc interdepartmental group under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Office, with the support of a Department for Education and Employment chaired working group. The remit of the audit was to examine the

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UK's performance at the level of basic qualifications for employment and to compare it with those of our leading competitors. It will be published in the summer in parallel with the third competitiveness White Paper.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Colliery Tips

Mr. Batiste: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the value of the colliery tips still held by British Coal; and what receipts to public funds he estimates will accrue from their disposal in (a) the current and (b) the next financial year. [28857]

Mr. Page: The valuation of British Coal's property, including colliery tips, and the likely proceeds from their disposal is a commercial matter for the corporation.

Mr. Batiste: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if British Coal is subject to the scrutiny of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in the disposal of its surplus colliery tips. [28855]

Mr. Page: The Comptroller and Auditor-General is not the external auditor of British Coal and has no statutory right of access to its records. He can, of course, look at the Department's activities in relation to its sponsorship of British Coal.

Mr. Batiste: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what mechanisms exists to ensure that British Coal obtains value for money in its disposal of colliery tips; [28853]

(2) what guidelines he issues to British Coal in respect of obtaining the best price for disposals of colliery tips. [28854]

Mr. Page: The disposal of its non-operational property, including colliery tips, is a matter for British Coal. However, British Coal must comply with its statutory duties under section 11 of the Coal Industry Act 1994.

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