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Dronabinol

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations led him to reschedule dronabinol under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to allow it to be used medicinally. [11877]

Mr. Sackville: The amendment to permit the medical use of dronabinol reflected its rescheduling under the United Nations convention on psychotropic substances.

The rescheduling under the United Nations conventions was based on advice from the World Health Organisation that dronabinol had been demonstrated to have a specific medical use as an anti-nausea drug for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

Casinos

Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to implement his proposed changes to the permitted areas for casino operation. [11875]

Mr. Kirkhope: On 12 November, we issued revised proposals on expanding the list of casino permitted areas. The consultation period ends on 31 January.

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 515

In considering the responses, we will also wish to take account of local authority boundary changes in areas such as Teesside.

We will make our final decisions when we have evaluated all the responses to the consultation.

Cautions (Costs)

Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average monthly cost of cautioning plus schemes in the last year for which figures are available; [10927]

(2) what was the average cost of administering a caution in the last year for which figures are available. [10931]

Mr. Maclean [holding answers 20 January 1997]: This information is not held centrally.

CS Gas Trials

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which polices forces in England and Wales are involved in CS gas trials. [10853]

Mr. Maclean [holding answers 20 January 1997]: The following forces participated in the CS spray trials which took place between 1 March and 31 August 1996:

Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cleveland Constabulary
Dorset Police
Durham Constabulary
Dyfed-Powys Police
Greater Manchester Police
Kent Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary
Merseyside Police
Metropolitan Police
Northumbria Police
North Yorkshire Police
West Mercia Constabulary
West Midlands Police
West Yorkshire Police

Sandwich Panels (Fire Safety)

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the fire safety implications of the presence of lightweight polymer-cored sandwich panels in the food processing industry and by which organisations this research has been carried out. [11262]

Mr. Sackville [holding answer 20 January 1997]: The fire research and development group of the Home Office commissioned the Building Research Establishment to undertake an initial review of the fire safety of large insulated sandwich panels. Small-scale laboratory tests have been carried out to examine the ignitability and general fire behaviour of the panels with a view to more detailed and extensive tests being commissioned by the Department of the Environment.

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 516

Indonesia (Police Training)

Mrs. Clywd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what concerns were expressed by his Department in 1984 about the involvement of Bramshill police college in the national police management training bilateral aid project in Indonesia; and what information his Department had about the involvement of United Kingdom trained Indonesian policemen in human rights abuses following their training. [11644]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 20 January 1997]: Concerns expressed in 1984 about the project related to the possible involvement of Indonesian police officers in abuses of human rights in Indonesia; and the need to ensure that the normal work of the police staff college was not adversely affected by any one programme of overseas training. No information was available about the activities of Indonesian police officers following their training.

Behaviourally Disturbed Young People

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has evaluated into the correlation between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and juvenile crime; if he will make it his policy to ensure that juveniles convicted of more than three crimes should be assessed for ADHD by a medical practitioner competent in the pharmacological treatment of this condition; and if he will make a statement. [11539]

Mr. Maclean: I have been asked to reply.

The Cambridge study of delinquent development, which was largely funded by the Home Office, found, among other results, that the incidence of hyperactivity, attention deficit and impulsivity at ages eight to 10 years independently predicted future juvenile convictions. However, the causes of juvenile delinquency are complex and wide ranging, and hyperactivity is only one of many. The Government have no plans to amend their policies in the manner suggested by the hon. Member.

ENVIRONMENT

Housing (Northamptonshire)

Mr. William Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing association houses were (a) built, (b) acquired and (c) restored to use in each local authority in Northamptonshire, in each of the last five years. [11065]

Mr. Clappison: Information compiled by the Housing Corporation on housing association houses provided with Housing Corporation and local authority funding in Northamptonshire is as follows:

Corby

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	52	0	0	0	52
1992-93	0	24	0	1	25
1993-94	28	0	0	15	43
1994-95	63	0	0	2	65
1995-96	20	0	0	1	21
Total	163	24	0	19	206
LA funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	0	0	0	0
1993-94	0	0	0	0	0
1994-95	63	0	0	0	63
1995-96	49	35	8	0	92
Total	112	35	8	0	155

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 517

Daventry

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	12	0	0	0	12
1992-93	20	45	0	2	67
1993-94	27	0	0	2	29
1994-95	48	7	0	8	63
1995-96	36	0	0	7	43
Total	143	52	0	19	214
LA funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	0	0	0	0
1993-94	4	0	0	0	4
1994-95	66	0	5	0	71
1995-96	87	71	5	0	163
Total	157	71	10	0	238

East Northamptonshire

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	16	36	0	0	52
1993-94	12	0	0	3	15
1994-95	86	21	0	3	110
1995-96	50	1	0	1	52
Total	164	58	0	7	229
LA funded
1991-92	16	0	0	0	16
1992-93	24	0	0	0	24
1993-94	10	0	0	0	10
1994-95	22	0	0	0	22
1995-96	11	0	0	0	11
Total	83	0	0	0	83

Kettering

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	13	0	0	0	13
1992-93	98	78	0	1	177
1993-94	56	0	0	2	58
1994-95	41	0	0	1	42
1995-96	6	2	0	4	12
Total	214	80	0	8	302
LA funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	0	0	0	0
1993-94	23	0	0	0	23
1994-95	0	21	3	0	24
1995-96	0	0	0	0	0
Total	23	21	3	0	47

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 518

Northampton

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	112	60	8	6	186
1993-94	25	3	37	13	78
1994-95	10	2	13	22	47
1995-96	172	0	48	26	246
Total	319	65	106	67	557
LA funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	0	0	0	0
1993-94	13	6	2	0	21
1994-95	20	22	25	0	67
1995-96	65	2	4	0	71
Total	98	30	31	0	159

South Northamptonshire

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	18	0	2	20
1993-94	10	1	0	10	21
1994-95	25	0	0	17	42
1995-96	65	0	0	6	71
Total	100	19	0	35	154
LA funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	0	0	0	0
1993-94	24	0	0	0	24
1994-95	0	3	3	0	6
1995-96	26	5	0	0	31
Total	50	8	3	0	61

Wellingborough

	New build	Acquired	Rehabilitated	Do-it-yourself shared ownership	Total
Housing Corporation funded
1991-92	16	0	0	0	16
1992-93	0	25	0	3	28
1993-94	47	0	0	8	55
1994-95	10	0	0	9	19
1995-96	94	0	0	6	100
Total	167	25	0	26	218
LA funded
1991-92	0	0	0	0	0
1992-93	0	0	0	0	0
1993-94	0	0	0	0	0
1994-95	0	0	0	0	0
1995-96	50	0	0	0	50
Total	50	0	0	0	50

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 520

Mr. Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings were owned by each district in Northamptonshire at the time that the right to buy was introduced; how many are owned at the latest date; what percentage that is of the original figure; and what receipts, net of discount, have been raised. [11067]

Mr. Clappison: Information is not available on stock numbers at the time of or receipts since the introduction of the right to buy--October 1980. The available data are set out in the table.

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 519

	Dwelling stock owned by local authorities at 1 April(1)		Percentage change in stock April 1980 to March 1996	Receipts from sales (net of discounts) April 1980 to March (2)1996
	1980	1996		£ thousand
Corby	13,628	7,346	-46	59,491
Daventry(3)	6,082	3,883	-36	35,215
East Northamptonshire	6,047	4,185	-31	26,412
Kettering	6,626	4,751	-28	27,684
Northampton(4)	12,925	15,503	+20	75,729
South Northamptonshire	5,745	3,518	-39	32,538
Wellingborough	7,750	5,717	-26	34,053

(1) Source: housing investment programme (HIP1) returns.

(2) Source: quarterly P1B returns; figures include receipts from voluntary sales as well as right to buy.

(3) The receipts figures exclude receipts between January and March 1987 which were not reported by the authority.

(4) The increase in Northampton's stock reflects the 6,400 dwellings that it acquired from Northampton new town in April 1985. Adding an estimate of the new towns stock in April 1980 would produce a fall over the period of around 25 per cent. The receipts figures exclude receipts between January and March 1986 which were not reported by the authority.

21 Jan 1997 : Column: 519

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