asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether she will consider amending the Price Code, in the light of the latest CBI investment forecast.

The stage 4 Price Code came into force on 20th December 1974 and includes major new provisions to encourage investment. It would be unsettling to consider further amendments so soon after the review.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she is satisfied with her Department's relationship with the Price Commission.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she is satisfied with the control on price increases which take place at the same time as the changeover to metric weights and measurements.

So far, yes. But I am keeping a close watch on the situation assisted by the Metrication Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will make a statement on the progress of metrication as it affects the responsibilities of her Department.

The metrication programme has now been under way for 10 years. I hope that all those parts of industry which have yet to complete the change will review their programmes in consultation with the Metrication Board. In those fields where there is direct Government responsibility I shall be aiming to ensure faster progress. But in doing so I shall pay particular regard to the need to protect the interests of the poor and the elderly during the change. In particular the Metrication Board has commissioned a report on the problems of the elderly from the Tavistock Institute.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what plans she has for introducing new legislation on hidden price rises; and if she will make a statement.

I am satisfied that the provisions of the Price Code are adequate. However, I am always willing to reconsider the position in the light of any new developmens which may be brought to my attention.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether her Department's consultant on food values has examined the food values of advertised slimming foods; and if she will make a statement.

No. As my hon. Friend knows, the Food Standards Committee is considering whether any change is needed in the regulations which control slimming claims made for food. In the course of its review the committee will, no doubt, be considering whether there is a case for specifying minimum nutritional standards for slimming foods.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which she is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before her: and how many of them are women.

In making public appointments I am anxious to secure the people best fitted for the jobs in question. One aid to this is to take note of people with appropriate qualifications and experience, and it is always useful to hear of individual names. I am at present actively seeking possible nominees for appointments to consumer bodies, a high proportion of whom will, I hope, be women.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will list the subsidised foods, showing the prices with and without the subsidy, and the extent to which the subsidies are provided direct by the United Kingdom or via EEC.

On the basis of data collected for the purposes of the General Index of Retail Prices on 14th January 1975 the information is as follows:

asked the Attorney-General what plans he has to implement the proposals of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Aid.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the Advisory Committee's recommendations concerning legal aid for tribunals. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) on 7th February.

asked the Attorney-General what conclusions he has come to concerning the Law Society's proposals of July 1973 that legal aid guildships should be statutory and that there should be a rota system for solicitors at all courts.

The Law Society recommended in its memorandum of July 1973 that there should be duty solicitor schemes to operate in magistrates' courts. My noble Friend has expressed his support for the development of such schemes. There are over 25 schemes now operating throughout the country, established mainly at the instances of the Law Society and local law societies.

asked the Attorney-General what steps the Government have taken further to improve the county courts small claims arbitration procedure; whether the conference of registrars which he referred to in his answer to the right hon. and learned Member for Surrey, East (Sir G. Howe) on 19th December 1974 has now been held; and what were its conclusions.

In September 1974 the County Court Rules were amended to allow the registrar, where appropriate, to dispense with the pretrial review and order arbitration forthwith, so saving the parties an attendance at court. The registrar's jurisdiction was increased from £75 to £100. The conference to which the hon. Member refers was held on 11th February and concluded that the scheme was working well and had benefited many people. A number of relatively minor amendments were suggested and will be submitted to the County Court Rule Committee for its consideration in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of people working five days a week, four days a week, three days a week and less than three days a week, at the latest date for which figures are available.

Information about the number of days that people work during a particular week is not available. However, the monthly statistics of short-time working give an indication of the extent to which operatives in manufacturing industries work for less than their normal week because of short-time working. During the week ended 16th January 1975, about 128,000 operatives were on short-time. Of these, about 5,000 were stood off for the whole of the week and about 123,000 worked for part of the week.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report a table listing industries whose employees are working less than five days a week, specifying the number of employees affected in each case.

The precise information requested is not available. However, the monthly statistics give an indication of the extent to which operatives in manufacturing industries in Great Britain work for less than their normal week because of short-time working. An industrial analysis of the data relating to the week ended 18th January 1975 is set out in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will instruct the Conciliation Service, in assisting in pay disputes, to take account of the degree of consequential loss and damage sustained by private individuals during strikes and the extent to which workers involved have assented, or refused to accept procedural arrangements for settling disputes.

Ministers do not give instructions to the independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, for those industries where disproportionate loss and damage could occur to private, industrial and commercial interests through strike action, if he will consider introducing by legislation or otherwise up-to-date machinery for protecting public safety.

Public safety can best be safeguarded against the effects of strike action in any industry by measures designed to reduce and settle industrial conflict. Our policies aim to provide a framework within which better industrial relations may develop, and we have established the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to assist in the rapid settlement of disputes.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment in which year unemployment in Pembrokeshire last exceeded 2,844; and, in that year, what was the number of unemployed and the percentage rate.

Information is readily available only from 1955 onwards. The figure of 2,844 for Pembrokeshire in February 1975 was the highest recorded in this period.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his attitude to the Post Office pay settlement, and on the part his officers played in the negotiations.

The settlement is provisional and subject to ballot by the union's members. The Government welcome the main lines of the settlement, which appear to conform to the social contract, but they regret the threshold arrangement which is part of the settlement. This threshold arrangement does more than give protection against an acceleration in the rate of inflation and is unjustified.My officials were not party to the negotiations, which were conducted between the Post Office and the union.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment which ports are in the Dock Labour Scheme; and when they joined.

The following table shows the ports to which the scheme relates; all came within the scheme from its inception in 1947:—A.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will introduce legislation to provide for free postal communication to be made available for union elections with a view to encouraging postal ballots.

The matter is currently being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him: and how many of them are women.

In making public appointments it is necessary to secure people best fitted for the job in question and one aid to this is to take note of people with appropriate qualifications and experience and it is always useful to hear of individual names. These records are constantly being updated, with the result that there is no settled total at any one time.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many shirt manufacturing establishments in Great Britain are working on short time; how many people are affected; and what estimate he has of the effects of low-cost shirt imports on the employment prospects in the industry.

I have been asked to reply.Official statistics do not make it possible to identify the number of shirt manufacturing establishments at present on short-time or the number of people affected. Nor is it possible to distinguish the effects of low-cost imports on employment prospects from those of the downturn in home and overseas demand. I hope that, so far as home sales are concerned, the impending Community negotiations with the main overseas suppliers of low-cost shirts will result in quite small future growth in imports into the United Kingdom, so as to give the industry a stable situation in which to plan its own production and employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest figure on the number of collective agreements that contain discriminating reference to women; and how many of these have women's rates less than 95 per cent. of the men's rate.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 13th March 1975; Vol. 888, c. 219]. gave the following information:At 31st December 1974 there were 92 collective agreements on the Department of Employment register which still contained discriminatory references to women. Of these 47 had women's rates which were less than 95 per cent. of the corresponding men's rates. It is known that since then discriminatory references to women have been removed from at least 12 agreements and that in others women's rates have moved above 95 per cent. of the corresponding men's rates. I regret that it is not possible to provide more precise figures on a day-to-day basis.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

As opportunity offers, note is taken of people who might be suitable for the various appointments. No list is maintained.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give more complete categories of reasons for the acceptance for settlement during the third quarter of 1974 of Commonwealth citizens who were at first admitted on conditions to the United Kingdom.

Following is the information asked for:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has altered the basis on which applications for reduced rate television licences for sheltered old peoples' accommodation are considered; and whether there has been any recent change in the proportion of such applications which have been refused.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "No". As to the second part, I regret that no figures are immediately available. Because of the centralisation of licence records some applications previously granted have been reassessed, but we have no reason to think that the proportion of refusals has changed significantly during the last 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

In making public appointments it is necessary to secure people best fitted for the jobs in question, and one aid to this is to take note of people with appropriate qualifications and experience and it is always useful to hear of individual names. These records are being constantly updated and there is no limited list.

asked the Prime Minister if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

Lists of names. which include women, are drawn up whenever there is a vacancy on the public bodies and committees for which I have some responsibility. I maintain no general list of the kind which my hon. Friend has in mind.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

I am looking into my hon. Friend's Question and hope to let her have a reply tomorrow.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will take the opportunity provided by the Common Market referendum to obtain at a low cost Welsh and Scottish opinion on the need for Welsh and Scottish parliaments by including on the referendum form in these countries an additional question on the devolution issue; and if he will make a statement.

No. As indicated in the preface to the White Paper on the referendum (Command 5925) it is to be held because of the unique nature of the EEC issue.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is Her Majesty's Government's current financial involvement in Short Brothers and Harland Limited; how much financial assistance has been provided for production of the SD3–30 and how much financial assistance is being provided for guided weapons work.

The Government directly own 69½ per cent. of the issued share capital of £2·36 million of Short Brothers and Harland Ltd. Provision has been made for loans totalling £14 million of which £1·4 million remains to be drawn.No direct Government assistance has been provided for production of the SD3–30. The Government have, however, agreed to invest £4·25 million—October 1972 prices—towards the development of the project, and have acted as guarantor for a loan of £2·5 million towards these costs that the company has obtained from the European Investment Bank.The Ministry of Defence has placed contracts with the company for guided weapons work. It is not the practice, however, to reveal the kind of information requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the Government's financial contribution to research and development in the aerospace industry since 1970; how much of this money has been spent on civil and how much on defence projects; how much has gone to the British Aircraft Corporation, to Hawker Siddeley Aviation, to Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and to Rolls-Royce, respectively; and what return the industry has made either in taxation or in levy repayments.

The Government contributed £615 million to research and development in the aerospace industry in the financial years 1970–71 to 1973–74. Defence projects accounted for approximately 45 per cent. of this, the remainder being civil projects, mainly Concorde and the RB211 engine. The records of Government expenditure in industry do not readily distinguish, for individual firms, between payments for research and development and payments for production. Thus, although broad estimates have been made of research and development expenditure in the aerospace industry, accurate figures in the detail requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Levy payments received by the Government from the aerospace industry in the financial years 1970–71 to 1973–74 totalled £14 million on the civil side. The corresponding military figure is not readily available and cannot be obtained without disproportionate effort.Seperate records of taxation payments by the aerospace industry are not kept. The amounts of corporation tax paid by companies in the aerospace industry can be obtained from their published accounts.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give a general direction to the Post Office not to close sub-post offices in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to the speech I made in replying to the Adjournment debate on 24th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what reply he received to his letter dated 5th August 1974 addressed to Mr. G. Wright, Secretary of the Welsh TUC—published in the Official Report on 20th November—and what further action has been taken over the proposed study.

As my right hon. Friend indicated in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Moonman) on 20th November, the Welsh TUC considered that the research should cover a wider range of employment problems than those covered by the project suggested by Professor George, and it put forward its own proposals for research. Officials of the Department have had a series of discussions with both the Welsh TUC and Ruskin College, Oxford, which. it is intended, shall undertake the research. The terms of the agreement with the Welsh TUC are now being discussed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when his officials last had discussions with officials of the EEC on the studies concerning employment problems in South Wales and redundant steelworkers referred to in his reply to his hon. Friend the Member for Basildon on 29th January; and whether there has been any subsequent correspondence with the Commission.

Officials of the Department and the EEC last discussed the studies concerning employment problems in South Wales and redundant steelworkers—referred to in my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon on 29th January—in the spring of last year. There has been no subsequent correspondence between the Department and the Commission on these specific studies.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish any representations he has received during the past three months concerning the future of the shiprepairing industry.

It is not proposed to do so, but those who have made representations are free to publish them if they wish.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if his Department has had consultations with the British valve manufacturing industry; and what further consultations are to be held with a view to ensuring that both home needs are met and increasing exports achieved.

My Department is in touch with the British valve manufacturing industry and with its trade association. Discussions have been held with firms in the valve sector to discuss with them their future prospects. We shall continue discussions where these are necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he is satisfied that the British valve manufacturing industry has been able to meet home demand and achieve satisfactory exports in recent years.

The annual turnover of the British valve industry is some £130 million, of which exports are nearly £50 million. Imports have risen to an annual rate of about £22 million in 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) by what date the ships covered by the Anglo-Iranian trade agreements must be delivered to Iran; and whether the United Kingdom is liable to penalty payments if that deadline is not met, or whether the contract lapses;

During his visit to Teheran in January 1975, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade negotiated an outline agreement for the supply to Iran of 15 general cargo ships, each of 18,000–20,000 tons deadweight. A delegation from the United Kingdom shipbuilding industry, led by a senior official from my Department, went to Teheran on 28th February for discussions with the Iranian Government and the Arya National Shipping Line. At the conclusion of the discussions Arya confirmed its intention to order these 15 ships from United Kingdom shipbuilders, subject to agreement on the detailed specification, prices and delivery dates. It will not be possible to give more information until the further negotiations, which will take several weeks, have been successfully concluded. I understand that in addition to these new ships Arya may be interested in purchasing existing ships and is in touch with United Kingdom shipbrokers. The Government are not involved in this aspect of its requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will locate the three remaining advance factories allocated to Merseyside but for which no site has yet been acquired in the Knowsley industrial estate.

No, this cannot be done at the moment. As I told my hon. Friend on 10th March, other sites are planned in adjacent parts of Merseyside.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what draft regulation or other instrument of the EEC gives the EEC Commission the power to decide whether or not to approve a project for regional assistance applied for by Her Majesty's Government, stating what criteria apply, and whether any such decision would be subject to the Council of Ministers;(2) what projects of regional aid already approved by Her Majesty's Government will not now qualify for assistance from the EEC Regional Fund under criteria so far proposed.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement concerning the right of establishment of steel mini-mills in the United Kingdom together with the respective powers of Her Majesty's Government, the British Steel Corporation, and the European Coal and Steel Community or the EEC Commission.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department are employed in assessing terms, pay, conditions of service, and allowances for both Civil Service and civilian members of the Department serving overseas; how often these conditions of service are reviewed; and what is the cost to the Exchequer of making these assessments.

I cannot give meaningful figures for staff numbers and costs since much of the work is undertaken by staff concerned with pay, allowances and conditions of service generally and not with the overseas aspects separ- ately. The pay of United Kingdom members of the Armed Forces and home civil servants, and many of their conditions of service, are the same whether they serve in the United Kingdom or abroad. There are, however, a number of allowances relating specifically to service overseas, notably local overseas allowance for the Armed Forces, which is normally reviewed every three years, and foreign service allowance for civil servants, which is fully revised every three to four years.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will encourage NATO to develop a uniform exterior auxiliary fuel drop-tank to fit all the various types of aircraft in service with the allied airforces.

Aerodynamic considerations inhibit the fitting of one type of drop-tank to different aircraft and a range of tanks of different capacity is always likely to be required for operational reasons. We are, however, actively encouraging measures to improve interchangeability where this is possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in establishing a common system of electronic identification (FFS) for aircraft of 4 and 2ATF.

As my right hon. Friend indicated in an earlier reply to the hon. Member on 23rd January—[Vol. 884. c. 463.]—NATO is actively pursuing agreed concepts for future identification equipments. In the meantime procedures have been devised and implemented to allow different systems to operate side by side.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what military aircraft and other military equipment originally supplied to Jordan is known to have been subsequently passed on or sold to Oman; and whether it is Government policy to supply British pilots or other military personnel to operate this equipment.

Thirty-one Hunter aircraft are known to have been passed to the Sultanate of Oman by the Government of Jordan. The Oman Government have asked for assistance with the introduction into service of these aircraft, and this request is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends to abandon the existing brigade structure in the British Army in Germany; if so, whether the reorganisation will affect the number and strength of the fighting units in Germany; and whether there will be any intermediate level of command between the division and the battle group.

The Defence White Paper, which will be published on 19th March, will give appropriate details of these and other matters relating to the restructuring of the Army announced by my right hon. Friend on 16th December.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

No. When the occasion for any such appointment occurs, individuals, including women, with the appropriate qualifications and experience are considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of expenditure by the Government and local authorities, respectively, on sport and recreation during 1973–74 and 1974–75.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

In making public appointments it is necessary to secure people best fitted for the jobs in question. One aid to this is to take note of men and women with appropriate qualifications and experience, and it is always useful to hear of individual names. These records are being constantly updated, with the result that there is no settled total at any one time.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which she is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before her; and how many of them are women.

The public bodies and committees to which I make appointments cover many aspects of overseas development. They range from the well-known Commonwealth Development Corporation to my small and highly specialised Trypanosomiasis Panel. It is certainly my aim that they should have more women members. My hon. Friend will appreciate that women with experience and qualifications in these overseas and specialised fields are not easy to identify, for few women in the past have rarely had the opportunity to acquire them.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what decisions were reached by Commonwealth Ministers when they met recently in London to discuss food production and rural development.

Ministers agreed that food production and rural development should feature more prominently in national plans and that these should be designed to ensure that the poorest people in developing countries would receive a fairer share of the benefits of development. They acknowledged the need for developing Commonwealth countries to review their policies related to their institutions for integrated rural development —for example, co-operatives; to land reform; to provision of appropriate inputs such as water; to provision of incentives to farmers; and to training and research. They agreed that a greater share of the assistance of Commonwealth donor countries should be directed to agriculture and rural development, and strongly requested the forthcoming meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Governments should consider their report. I will arrange for a copy of the report prepared by the meeting to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what facilities have been established to provide purchasers of speculatively built houses with protection against misdescription and faulty workmanship.

All new houses have to comply with the Building Regulations. In addition about 98 per cent. of all new houses built for sale are covered by the National House Building Council's scheme, which specifies constructional standards and provides for inspection of the work. For houses not covered by the NHBC scheme there is a possible legal recourse for a purchaser under Section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972. These measures provide protection for purchasers against faulty workmanship.As regards misdescription, much of what is written and said in connection with the sale of a house can be checked by a potential purchaser, with professional advice where appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his assessment of the current level of capacity at which the house building industry is working; and what has been the effect to date of his proposals for maintaining and increasing the work load;(2) what is his estimate of the current trend in house starts in the private and public sectors, respectively.

There is no precise way of measuring the capacity of the house-building industry, but it is clear that in most places there is under-use, due largely to the steep fall in starts in the private sector which began in spring 1973. The disastrous trend in the public sector has now been reversed. Starts recovered sharply last year and increased tender approvals in 1974 should produce even more starts in 1975. In the private sector, the decline in starts seems to have levelled out and there are signs in the house-building figures published on 6th March that the various measures the Government have taken to bring about a recovery may be beginning to have the desired effect.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue a circular to local authorities advising them to keep their mortgage interest rates in line with those of the building societies.

My right hon. Friend could not advise local authorities to fix their mortgage rates at a level which might involve their home loans account falling into deficit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with the London Housing Action Group regarding the number of properties that are owned by local authorities and housing associations and that have been vacant for more than six months; and if he can give an indication of how many such properties there are in the Greater London area.

As my hon. Friend knows, the Action Group on London Housing has begun an investigation of the whole process of development and redevelopment in the public housing sector to identify where delays occur. An important concern in this work will be to minimise the time for which dwellings or sites remain empty before redevelopment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of local authority tenants had household incomes exceeding £3,000 per annum in the latest year for which the figures are available.

From the Family Expenditure Survey it is estimated that in 1973 the gross household incomes of 22 per cent. of local authority tenants in Great Britain exceed £3,000 per annum, compared with 32 per cent. for households of all tenures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to introduce his proposals for England and Wales terminating any existing disqualifications for councillors under the Housing Finance Act, providing an alternative to further surcharges and disqualifications, and providing for the recovery of lost rent from future rents or rates without burden on the Exchequer.

The Housing Finance (Special Provisions) Bill was introduced on 7th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he can now say when he intends to introduce legislation to nationalise the ports; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Christchurch and Lymington (Mr. Adley) on 15th January.—[Vol. 884, c. 432–3.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to give himself control over the level of water rates levied by water authorities.

The Water Act 1973 established the water authorities as self-supporting financial entities. I have no plans to overturn those arrangements by seeking additional powers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the decision of a number of regional water authorities to equalise their charges in the next financial year, he will instruct such bodies to implement his policy to phase this process over a seven-year period.

The Water Act 1973 allows water authorities considerable autonomy in fixing their charges. My right hon. Friend has, however, urged authorities to adopt a cautious approach to equalisation. We hope that they will heed this advice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local authorities on his decisions on the level of local transport expenditure accepted for each country for 1975–76.

I refer to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 4th February —[Vol. 885, c. 482.] I have also received delegations from Derbyshire and Lancashire County Councils to discuss aspects of their allocation of transport grant and met representatives of the local authority associations to review the grant arrangements generally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will confirm that the total rent paid by the Government to private landlords in the years 1966 and 1973 was £10 million and £57 million, respectively, and that the estimated figure for 1975 is in excess of £100 million.

The figures for total rent payments in Great Britain by the Property Services Agency in the relevant financial years are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the financial position of the National Bus Company.

The National Bus Company estimates a loss of approximately £15 million in 1974, mainly as a result of rapid increases in costs. I understand that increases in the fares of many of its operating subsidiaries have already been authorised by the appropriate traffic commissioners. The company and my Department are reviewing the company's longer-term prospects.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many administrative and clerical civil servants were employed by his Department in January 1971 and January 1975; and what was the average monthly salary or wage paid and the percentage increase for each figure.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the amount and purpose of any grants made under Section 8 of the Railways Act 1974.

The procedures for administering the grant were announced on 19th February. No payaments have so far been made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the aggregate amount outstanding, at the latest available date, in respect of the principal of money borrowed by the British Railways Board and the board's commencing capital debt.

The amounts at 12th March 1975 were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the average increase in domestic and commercial rates in Greater London, Inner London and in Outer London, respectively.

Based on reports from 10 of the 13 authorities in Inner London and 16 of the 20 in Outer London, the following are the estimated figures:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the number and value of eggs imported from France during the period 1st January to 28th February 1975.

Official figures are not yet available, but provisional estimates indicate that approximately 100,000 boxes of eggs were imported from France in the first two months of this year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in the Official Report the official wholesale prices quoted by his Department for the weeks ending 10th January 1975 and 12th January 1974 in respect of those vegetables for which retail prices are quoted in the Department of Employment Gazette.

Wholesale market prices are collected by the Ministry for weeks ending Wednesday and the following are averages of the most usual wholesale prices in main England and Wales mar-

asked the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will publish in the Official Report the further information now available on the sub-

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the amounts, by sidies and financial aids available to glasshouse growers in all EEC countries.

The following is a summary of out current information about temporary fuel oil subsidies made available to glasshouse growers in EEC countries:weight and value, of the different species of fish which were caught within the proposed 200 mile limit around England, Wales and Northern Ireland by each of the other countries of the EEC in each of the past five years.

Figures are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole. Following are estimates, in thousands of metric tons, of the quantities for 1972 caught within waters that would be covered by the terms used in the hon. Member's Question. Similar information is not readily available for earlier years,

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what quantities, by weight and value, of the main species of fish were caught by fishing vessels based on England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the area around England, Wales and Northern Ireland which would fall within the proposed 200-mile fishing limit in each of the past five years.

Figures are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole. Following are estimates, in thousands of metric tons, of the quantities for 1972 caught within waters that would be covered by the terms used in the hon. Member's Question. Similar information is not readily available for earlier years, and is not yet complete for 1973 and 1974. Figures for value are not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the total area of sea around England, Wales and Northern Ireland which would fall within the proposed 200-mile fishing limit; and what proportion this is of the total area of sea around all the countries of the EEC which would fall within the proposed 200-mile fishing limit.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Secretary of State for Scotland today.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will tabulate in the Official Report the and is not yet complete for 1973 and 1974. Figures for value are not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what quantities, by weight and value, of the main species of fish were caught by non-EEC countries in the area around England and Wales and Northern Ireland which would fall within the proposed 200-mile fishing limit in each of the past five years.

Figures are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole. Following are estimates, in thousands of metric tons, of the quantities for 1972 caught within waters that would be covered by the terms used in the hon. Member's Question, Similar information is not readily available for earlier years, and is not yet complete for 1973 and 1974. Figures for value are not available.amounts of butter and cheese imported into the United Kingdom from New Zealand for each of the years 1972 to 1974, together with the average amount of duty or levy per ton in each year.

The Overseas Trade Accounts show the following imports of butter and cheese from New Zealand in the years 1972, 1973 and 1974:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what response he has received from the EEC about his representations that the date for implementing its directive (17/18/EEC) about prohibiting the sale of clean plucked or uneviscerated poultry should be postponed until 1982.

The response to our request has been generally encouraging, though final decisions have not yet been taken.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the quantity and value of fish meal imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

The quantity and value of fish meal imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what obligations will be incurred by the United Kingdom on 1st January 1976 in respect of standards in the sales of liquid milk.

Landings of white fish and herring by British vessels in England and Wales during the last five years have been as follows:

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to his Question on 5th March 1975.—[Vol. 887, c. 411.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he keeps a list of possible nominees for public bodies and committees to which he is entitled to nominate; how many names are now before him; and how many of them are women.

When appointments to public bodies and committees are being considered my aim is to select persons best fitted for the job in question. One aid to this is to take note of people with appropriate qualifications and experience, and it is always useful to receive information about possible candidates. Since the records are continually being updated there is no settled total at any one time.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what study his Department has made of the effect on the small domestic consumer of the present structure of gas and electricity tariffs.

As I indicated on 24th February in my answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) we are continuing to study these tariffs including their effect on small users.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy by how much the market value of the shares purchased by the Bank of England from Burmah Oil Company Ltd., has increased since the purchase; and how this profit compares with the total value of the guarantees given by the Bank and the Government to the company.

As I have already told the hon. Member, it is by no means to be assumed that the BP holding bought by the Bank of England from Burmah could be sold at the current market price. This price at close of business on 14th March gives the shares a current value of £292 million, which is £113 million more than the cost. It is impossible to set a value on the whole support operation, but the bank gave guarantees on $650 million of its Group's dollar borrowings and provided a standby cash facility.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the individual limits of expenditure powers obtained by his Department by means of legislation or affirmative order in the past 12 months.

On 21st November 1974 the House approved affirmative orders under Section 2 of the Statutory Corporations (Financial Provisions) Act 1974. These authorised payment of compensation for price restraint in 1973–74 to the CEGB and area boards—£ 176,227,582—and to the Gas Corporation—£41,523,000.