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Drug Education

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations she has made to the other Departments since 26 February on the drug abuse resistance education scheme. [18956]

Mrs. Gillan: I wrote on Monday 3 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville) Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department to bring his attention to the debate on DARE of 26 February, Official Report, column 397-410. I copied my letter to my right hon. Friend the Lord President.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will study the evaluation of DARE by North Nottinghamshire Health Promotion. [18957]

Mrs. Gillan: My right hon. Friend would welcome the opportunity to do so.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will call for a report from the Nottinghamshire county council on its secondary school booster scheme for DARE. [18959]

Mrs. Gillan: My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so. Any information Nottinghamshire county council chooses to offer the Department will be received with interest.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action she has taken to extend the DARE scheme. [18954]

Mrs. Gillan: Decisions on approaches to drug education remain a matter for individual schools.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to the oral statement of the Lord President of the Council on 26 February, Official Report, columns 401-2, what is her response to the questions raised by the hon. Member for Nottingham, North regarding the DARE scheme. [18960]

Mrs. Gillan: I sought to set out my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State's response to those questions during the debate. Broadly, while my right hon. Friend remains interested in the progress of the DARE programme in Nottinghamshire, she does not intend to promote or endorse one particular approach to drug education in schools above the many others that are serving our teachers and young people well in their particular circumstances.

6 Mar 1997 : Column: 706

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will write to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North giving her view on the Office for Standards in Education report on drug education. [18958]

Mrs. Gillan: Yes.

Office for Standards in Education

Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment who is responsible for inspecting those appointed by Ofsted; and what proposals she has to improve the supervision of Ofsted appointees. [18820]

Mr. Robin Squire: Ofsted is a Government department headed by the chief inspector of schools, who is responsible for appointing and registering inspectors. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will provide a breakdown by project of PFI schemes for which her Department is responsible as identified in table 5.5 of the Red Book. [18926]

Mr. Robin Squire: Table 5.5 shows the estimated capital spending through the private finance initiative in the Department's and Employment Service's own estates and infrastructure. As the estimate is based on the aggregate potential for PFI in these areas, it is not yet directly attributable to specific projects, other than those which have already been concluded. So far, these are two Employment Service computer projects: Employment Service communications and guidance system and windows integrated system for personnel.

PRIME MINISTER

Lockerbie

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 28 February, Official Report, columns 419-20, if he will put forward proposals for a bilateral extradition agreement between the United Kingdom and Libya. [18735]

The Prime Minister [holding answer 5 March 1997]: No. The United Nations Security Council decided that Libya must surrender the accused for trial in Scotland or the USA.

Engagements

Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for Thursday 6 March. [17885]

Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 March. [17886]

The Prime Minister: This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

6 Mar 1997 : Column: 707

Organophosphates

Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Prime Minister from what date information was available to any Government Department about the dangers to health from the use of organophosphates; what action was then taken to ensure that all Departments considering their use were made conversant with the dangers; and if he will make a statement. [18824]

The Prime Minister: Organophosphates were first investigated for use as insecticides in the 1930s in Germany. Since then, information on the health effects of OPs has accumulated over time. Much of the information is in peer-reviewed scientific journals, books or World Health Organisation publications and is therefore available to all Government Departments as well as to the general public.

Government Departments receive advice and information on a regular and on-going basis about OPs and their possible effects on human health from a number of sources both external and internal. OP compounds have been reviewed on many occasions, including the independent expert committees which advise the Government on pesticides and veterinary products. They have not recommended a ban or suspension of the use of this class of compounds.

Governor-General Visits

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister if he will recommend that an invitation be issued to (a) the Governor-General of Australia, (b) the Governor-General of Canada and (c) the Governor-General of New Zealand to make a visit to the United Kingdom of equivalent status to a state visit. [18013]

The Prime Minister [holding answer 4 March 1997]: No.

TREASURY

Earth Summit II

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what preparations his Department is making for earth summit II, and for the preparatory conferences leading up to the summit. [18496]

Mr. Oppenheim: The Department of the Environment is taking the lead within Government on the preparations for the UN General Assembly special session in June and I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Minister for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison), gave him on 5 March 1997, Official Report, column 634.

Pension Plans

Mr. Olner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the net present value of savings made from reduced expenditure on tax relief paid on contributions made to appropriate personal pensions in (a) 2025, (b) 2030, (c) 2040 and (d) 2050, if (i) all and (ii) half of those earning under £10,000 per annum who are currently opted out of the state earnings-related pension scheme into APPs were to rejoin SERPS. [15591]

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Mr. Jack [holding answer 14 February 1997]: The yield from reduced expenditure on tax relief for minimum contributions from the national insurance fund to appropriate personal pensions is tentatively estimated at about £10 million for 2025-26 and 2030-31, and negligible by 2040-41, if all holders of APPs with earnings of under £10,000 per annum were to rejoin SERPS, and about half these amounts if half of those were to rejoin SERPS. The figures are at 1996-97 prices and have been discounted.

The costing assumes that these APP holders in 1996-97 would otherwise continue as APP holders over the projected period. In addition, they are assumed to have the same earnings in these future years in real terms as they did in the base year.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Mr. David Kyle

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Attorney-General what role Mr. David Kyle played in preparing the Crown case in (a) the 1989 appeal of the men convicted of killing Carl Bridgewater and (b) the 1987 and 1991 appeals of the six people convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings. [18255]

The Attorney-General: Mr. David Kyle played no part in preparing the Crown case in the 1989 appeal of the men convicted of killing Carl Bridgewater. He also played no such part in relation to the 1987 appeal by the six people convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings. In relation to the 1991 appeal by these persons, the preparation of the Crown case was undertaken within the special casework division of what was then Crown Prosecution Service headquarters casework. Mr. Kyle was head of division at that time and in that capacity had supervisory responsibility for all cases dealt with on his division.

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