asked the Secretary of State for Employment what a widow and a housewife, respectively, receive as a training grant where each attends a departmental training centre for training or retraining.

I am advised by the Manpower Services Commission that the basic allowance paid to a trainee under the Training Opportunities Scheme varies according to age and domestic responsibilities. A married woman living at home aged 20 or over without dependants receives a basic allowance of £14·80 per week.A widow is entitled to receive the same basic training allowance plus the appropriate children's allowance under TOPS. A widow who is in receipt of widowed mother's allowance under the National Insurance Scheme with increases for children may, if this is more advantageous to her, choose to continue to draw her full widowed mother's allowance, in which case an abated training allowance of £3·50 a week is payable.