asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has made representations to the United Nations authorities over the UN guard of honour accorded to the assassins of Lord Moyne; and what replies he has received.

The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations expressed concern to the United Nations Secretariat over reports appearing in the Press that the United Nations Emergency Force had provided a guard of honour. The Secretariat explained that the UN Emergency Force had had no knowledge of the identity of the bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further discussions he has had with representatives of foreign Governments at the United Nations about coordinated financial aid to Mozambique.

We have been having preliminary discussions with reprsentatives of a number of other Governments. Further progress would need to await Mozambique's membership of the United Nations.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about three black Rhodesians, Maurice Nyagumbo, Moven Mahachi and John Mutasa, who are at present in Umtali or Salisbury gaols.

The three men named by my hon. Friend are among a number of Africans accused by the régime of involvement in the recruitment of young Africans for guerrilla training. The Government's views on this matter were fully explained on 23rd May by my right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science in her reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Warley, East (Mr. Faulds).—[Vol. 892, c. 693–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further consultations he has had with African leaders in Rhodesia regarding the possibility of constitutional talks.

We are in frequent contact with ANC leaders. As I told the House on 2nd July, I had meetings with them in Salisbury on 29th and 30th June. I have been in touch with some of them since then.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will pay an official visit to Zambia.

My right hon. Friend visited Zambia during his African tour. He has no plans at present for a further visit.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is now in a position to make a statement outlining the views expressed by Her Majesty's Government to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany at the recent London talks with the Brazilian Government concerning the proposed contract to give Brazil a nuclear weapons capability.

Concerning the recent meeting in London I have nothing to add to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 30th June—[Vol. 894, c. 314.] We have not discussed with the Brazilian Government their recent agreement with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the provision of nuclear power stations and associated technology.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will seek an early meeting with the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs.

My right hon. Friend and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Irish Republic are both attending the EEC Foreign Ministers' meeting in Brussels today.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many applications from immigrants claiming entitlement to settle in the United Kingdom were handled by

		1972	1971	1974	1975 first six months)
Applications received*	…	12,117	8,615	8,651	5,146
Applications approved	…	5,670	5,084	4,502	3,600
Applications rejected	…	1,203	729	1,144	733
* An application frequently covers more than one person: these figures relate to the actual number of persons involved.

On 30th June 1975 applications under consideration totalled 11,759. The current waiting period for an interview is 22 months, but only four and a half months for cases accorded priority treatment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what implications for United Kingdom diplomatic representation abroad will flow from the setting up of a Scottish legislative assembly.

This is one of many questions being examined in connection with devolution by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council and other Ministers concerned. The Government's attitude will be made clear in the White Paper on devolution to be published in the autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the sale to foreign countries of nuclear equipment and technology.

The Government's policy is to enable all countries to share in the benefits of nuclear science through trade in equipment and technology, wherever this can be done in conformity with the entry clearance offices in Pakistan in each of the last three years and during the first six months of this year; how many applications were approved; and how many applications were rejected;(2) how many applications from immigrants claiming that they are entitled to settle in the United Kingdom are currently under consideration at embassy offices in Pakistan; and how long must applicants wait for an interview by an entry clearance officer.

The information is as follows:Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and without giving rise to the danger of proliferation of nuclear explosive technology.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Israeli Government concerning the health and welfare of a British subject, John Paul Glover, now held in Ramla Prison after a secret trial; when Mr. Glover was last visited by the British Consul; and what reports the Consul has made to Mr. Glover's family about his general health.

Any complaints which Mr. Glover has had have always been taken up with the Israeli authorities. He was last visited on 8th July 1975. The Consul is in touch with Mr. Glover's daughter, who visits her father twice a month.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has now taken the necessary steps to ratify the Lomé Convention; and if he can yet say when it is hoped to bring it into effect.

No. The text of the convention will be laid before Parliament as the first step in the United Kingdom's ratification process, as soon as possible. It is our intention that it should be accompanied, for the convenience of Parliament, by a number of Community internal agreements some of which have not yet been concluded, but which we also have to ratify; and other relevant documents. It is not possible to give a firm date by which the necessary constitutional processes in the other signatory States will have been completed. The trade provisions of the convention were implemented administratively on 1st July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representatives sit in the European Assembly on behalf of Denmark, Eire, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland, respectively; and how many British representatives in the Assembly sit for Scottish constituencies at Westminster.

The information is as follows: Denmark 10, Republic of Ireland 10, Luxembourg 6, Belgium 14, Netherlands 14. Four members of the British delegation represent Scottish constituencies at Westminster.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects consideration by experts in the United Kingdom to be completed on the EEC document relating to the supply of raw materials to the Community, involving a combination of private and State enterprise in the exploration and development of new mineral resources in less developed countries.

The document sets out the Commission's preliminary views only. Recent discussions in the EEC have concentrated on raw materials in the context of relations with developing countries. Further documents, which will soon be laid before Parliament, include proposals for industrial co-operation with developing countries in the raw materials field.

asked the hon. Member for Kingswood, as representing the Church Commissioners, what grants the commis- sioners have made since 1970 under the authority of the Pastoral Measure 1968 to the Redundant Churches Fund to assist with the care and maintenance of redundant churches of architectural and historic interest; and if he will make a statement.

The Pastoral Measure 1968 came into operation on 1st April 1969 and it is, therefore, convenient to deal with payments made to the Redundant Churches Fund since that date. Over the period 1st April 1969 to 30th June 1975 the commissioners have made grants to the fund totalling £348,800 and the Department of the Environment has made grants of a similar amount under the authority of the Redundant Churches and other Religious Buildings Act 1969. The commissioners have also paid to the fund the sum of £174,400 over the same period in respect of a one-third share of the proceeds of sales of redundant churches and sites in accordance with Section 52 of the Pastoral Measure. The total sum paid, therefore, to the fund over the period from Church and public funds and from a share of proceeds of sales was £872,000.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many copies of the book "The Nationalization of British Industry 1945–1951" have been ordered, and sold, respectively; and what is the latest estimate of the final demand.

As the book was published only on 25th June 1975 it is too early to make an estimate of final sales. 2,000 copies have been printed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his present estimate of the loss of jobs, brought about by the Government cuts in defence expenditure.

I regret that I cannot usefully add to the broad picture given in the Defence White Paper and in subsequent discussion in the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the British forces trained at the Johore Bahru Jungle Warfare Training School in Malaysia have played any part in the fighting in Malaysia against the local Communists; and, if so, whether they have been suffering casualties.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reconsider his refusal to increase the annuity of £100 received by holders of the Victoria and George Crosses in view of the decline in the value of those annuities.

No. While it is recognised that the annuity may represent a welcome addition to the resources

House of Commons Vote
	£	£
Members' salaries	2,801,661·74
Members' expenses	1,962,920·49
Contributions to Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund	509,171·53
		5,273,753·76
Staff salaries	1,752,716·82
Retired allowances	132,122·40
		1,884,839·22
General expenses		543,998·89
Refreshment Department (Contribution towards staff costs during the periods of recess in 1974–75 and towards the payment of interest on the Consolidated Fund Loan)		83,265·00
Members' Fund (Grant in Aid)		15,000·00
Police		183,820·83
TOTAL		7,984,677·70

The information requested is as follows for the year ended 31st March 1975:

				£	£
Treasury
Salaries and allowances	…	…	…		36,855·00
CSD
Parliamentary Printing	…	…	…	2,339,437·00*
Other stationery and printing	…	…	…	228,011·00†
					2,567,448·00
DOE
Salaries, wages etc.	…	…	…	620,000·00
Capital expenditure (new works, improvements)	…	…	…	2,280,000·00
Current expenditure (maintenance and repairs)	…	…	…	873,000·00
					3,773,000·00
* This represents the production cost of House of Commons Debates, Votes of Proceedings, Bills. Acts, paper, journals and Command Papers.
† This represents the cost of stationery, printing, office machinery etc. supplied to the House of Commons for administration purposes.

asked the Lord President of the Council what was the annual cost, at the latest available date, of running the House of Commons, including all services of any kind whatsoever, salaries of all staff, maintenance, repair and improvement and including all buildings, such as Norman Shaw, Dean's Yard etc., where Members of Parliament and/or their secretaries have official working facilities provided; and if he will itemise the main constituent costs.

Expenditure for 1974–75 was as follows:

asked the Lord President of the Council what is the latest estimate of the costs of building the new House of Commons; how this compares with the previous estimates; what have been the costs to date of removing Members from No. 1 Bridge Street and other offices into Norman Shaw (North); and if he can now say when the building of the new building is to commence.

It is estimated that the cost of the new parliamentary building designed by Messrs. Spence and Webster, and certain associated works, but excluding the cost of the site, would be at least £30 million at current prices. At the time of the debate on the new parliamentary building in June 1973 the estimated cost on a comparable basis was about £20 million.The cost of providing accommodation, excluding furnishings, for 128 Members, 130 secretaries and supporting services in the Norman Shaw (North) building was £2·4 million.As regards the final part of the Question, I would refer to the statement which I made to the House today, 16th July.

asked the Lord President of the Council what arrangements are being made for a Select Committee to visit Cyprus.

I can only repeat that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and I hope that we can find a way of meeting this request before the Summer Recess. I will let my hon. Friend know the outcome of our discussions as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) which coal-fired power stations have been permanently closed down since March 1974; and what was the installed capacity of each;(2) which oil-fired power stations have been permanently shut down since March 1974; and what was the installed capacity of each.

The following table shows the power stations which have been permanently shut down since 31st March 1974:

		Type of Firing and Installed Capacity in MW
Station		(coal)	(oil)
Battersea (A)	…	218	25
Woolwich (IP Section)	…	104	0

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effect the White Paper "The Attack on Inflation" will have on the pay of university teachers, and their agreed rise from October.

The negotiating committee will be meeting to consider the university proposals for cost of living increases in the light of the White Paper, Cmnd. 6151. The salary scales determined by the Board of Arbitration in its award of 2nd June will be implemented with effect from 1st October 1975 in accordance with paragraph 8 of the White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made in discussions as to the qualification to serve as councillors of certain categories of local government employees.

As my hon. Friend told my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Golding) on 23rd May—[Vol. 892, c. 681.]—this matter is under consideration and final decisions must await the views of the Royal Commission on Standards of Conduct in Public life.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those water authorities in England who intend to impose restrictions on the use of water if there is no appreciable rainfall between now and 1st August; and if he will also list those already applying restrictions.

Restrictions on the use of hosepipes have already been imposed over the whole of the area of the South-West Water Authority and in parts of the areas of all the other English authorities except Northumbrian, Thames and Southern. If the exceptionally dry weather continues, I understand that those authorities already imposing restrictions may find it necessary to extend the areas affected by them and that restrictions on a limited scale will be imposed by Southern Water Authority. I am sorry that I cannot be more precise; much will depend on the weather and on the seasonal demands.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing associations operating in Nottinghamshire have been registered under the provisions of the Housing Act 1974; and if he will list them in the Official Report.

One housing association operating in Nottinghamshire, the Nottingham Community Relations Housing Association, has so far been registered by the Housing Corporation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many miles of motorways and dual carriageways, respectively, were opened in England in the period 1965 to 1975;(2) how many miles of motorways and dual carriageways, respectively, there are under construction in England.

764·4 miles of trunk motorways were opened in England in the period April 1965 to 11th July 1975, and 625 miles of trunk dual carriageways in the period April 1966 to 11th July 1975.Annual records were not kept for dual carriageways prior to April 1966.166·5 miles of motorway and 173·7 miles of dual carriageways are currently under construction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will name the non-United Kingdom destinations served by container facilities in the port of Glasgow in each year over the past five years; and if he will make a statement;(2) what are the fob charges at the port of Glasgow; and how they compare with other United Kingdom ports of similar size;(3) what has been the number and value of freight sailings from the port of Glasgow to West African destinations in each year over the past five years.

This information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) to which Vote the surplus of revenue over expenditure obtained from the Severn Bridge tolls is credited;(2) if he will consider lowering the price of crossing the Severn Bridge to 10p;(3) when the present price for crossing the Severn Bridge was fixed;(4) what are the criteria for deciding what the price will be to the motorist for crossing the Severn Bridge.

Under the Severn Bridge Act 1965 my right hon. Friend is required to charge tolls which will cover actual and expected costs, but no more. The present charges were introduced in 1971. The proceeds from toll charges are paid into the Consolidated Fund. There is no present likelihood of reducing the current toll of 12p per car.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many properties now qualify as mixed hereditaments in England and Wales.

I regret that my Department does not collect this information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many public planning inquiries have been held in each of the years 1970 to 1974; and if he will consider publishing the decisions of such public inquiries in the London Gazette or similar publications.

The number of cases into which local inquiries were held under the Town and Country Planning Acts was 4.393 in 1970, 4,239 in 1971, 4,154 in 1972, 4,034 in 1973 and 4,696 in 1974. There is no evidence to suggest that existing arrangements for publishing the decisions on these cases are inadequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current estimated number of elm trees in Hyde Park affected by Dutch elm disease and the numbers treated by injection against attack by the disease; and if there are any contingency plans for saving trees of special importance.

At present 110 trees in Hyde Park are materially affected by Dutch elm disease, 76 to the extent of 50 per cent. of more. Unhappily, evidence of additional trees being infected is appearing all the time. 27 selected trees are being treated by injection as a part of an experimental programme which has been carried out for the past three years. The treatment has to be repeated annually. A number of the original trees have been lost and others have been brought into the programme. The trees of special importance which we are most anxious to save are not, unfortunately, the ones which respond well to the recommended injection treatment. This is most effective for young trees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what factors he attributes the fact that public sector housing starts declined in the period March to May 1975 by 15 per cent. compared with the previous three months and 7 per cent. by the period March to May 1974.

I think the figures quoted by the hon. Member should now be 13 per cent. and 5 per cent. respectively. The mild weather in January and February this year led to a number of starts being brought forward, thus increasing the figures for those months and depressing the figures for the period March to May. A more realistic comparison is of figures for the period January to May of 1975 and 1974; on that basis starts are 7 per cent. up this year. The general position in the public sector is healthy following the upturn achieved last year. The best indicator of this is in tender approvals, where we have an increase of 19 per cent. in the first five months of this year over last.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what factors he attributes the fact that house renovation grants were approved for only 33,900 dwellings in England and Wales in the period March to May 1975, compared with 73,400 in the same period of 1974; and what action he intends to take to reverse the trend.

It is too soon after the introduction of the 1974 Act to speculate on the reasons for this decline, which may not denote a long-term trend. Approvals for private owners have in fact risen slightly, month on month, from March 1975 onwards. It would, therefore, be premature to take any specific action at this stage, but the Government will continue to watch the situation closely and to encourage local authorities to use their new powers, including the declaration of HAAs, to deal with stress conditions. It is more important to ensure that resources are devoted to tackling the worst housing conditions than that large numbers of grants are approved for non-priority purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Transport Road Research Laboratory expects to complete its survey into the various problems affecting the unreliability of bus services, including the current shortage of spare parts.

The extent and duration of the survey of the causes of bus unreliability will be determined by the results obtained from several local studies now in progress, which are expected to be completed by early 1976. The survey is concerned with all causes of unreliability.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has now been able to make a decision about the siting of the National Library.

I am not yet in a position to add to my reply of 19th June to my hon. Friend.—[Vol. 893, c. 515–6.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is prepared to guarantee any loans required by the tenant purchasers of blocks of flats owned by the Stern Group and now in receivership.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how he is getting on with his consultations with local authorities and others on measures to bring under-used, empty and short-life dwellings into occupation; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has already had useful discussions with a number of individual local authorities, housing associations, and other organisations about the measures I outlined in my reply of 25th February to my hon. Friend. We have now put to the local authority associations and other representative bodies concerned a range of measures, of an administrative and managerial nature, designed to secure more effective use of the existing housing stock. We have

		1974 4th Quarter	1975 1st Quarter	Percentage change
		£ million	£ million
Income from employment	…	14,439	15,510	+7·4
Total personal income before tax	…	20,478	21,430	+4·6
Total personal disposable income	…	15,892	16,495	+3·8
Personal disposable income revalued at 1970 prices	…	10,496	10,370	-1·1
Source: Tables B and E of the Central Statistical Office press notice issued on 10th July 1975.
Notes: All estimates shown are in seasonally adjusted form. Estimates of income from employment after tax revalued at 1970 prices are not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend SI, 1974/1331, to include designated domiciliary invited them to discuss with the Department which measures could usefully be the subject of further departmental advice or guidance, following on from the Department's circular on "Housing: Needs and Action" issued in March this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many member States of the EEC charge tolls on motorways.

Two: France and Italy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the income that would accrue from charging a 10p toll on the following stretches of motorway: M1 London-Birmingham, M6 Birmingham-Preston, M6 Preston-Carlisle and M5 Birmingham-Bristol.

I regret that the information requested is not readily available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated increase in the real value of income from employment in the first and second quarters of this year.

Estimates fur the second quarter of 1975 are not yet available. The available information about estimated changes in income between the fourth quarter of 1974 and first quarter of 1975 is as follows:services provided under the National Health Service.

SI 1331/1974 is intended to cover gifts of medical or scientific equipment to non-profit-making hospitals or research institutions where the equipment is purchased from charitable or voluntarily-donated funds. I am not aware of any widespread demand to extend the relief to the domiciliary services provided under the National Health Service.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list those construction programmes in central and local government to which cash limits have been applied as stated in paragraph 45 of the White Paper "The Attack on Inflation"; and if he will give the date on which the limits were introduced and state whether these limits remain firm;(2) if he will list those services financed by central Government funds to which cash limits have been applied as stated in paragraph 45 of the White Paper "The Attack on Inflation"; and if he will give the date on which the limits were introduced and state whether the original limits have remained firm.

The services presently subject to cash limits, and the dates when cash limits were introduced, are as follows:

CONSTRUCTION (NEW WORK) PROGRAMMES SUBJECT TO CASH LIMITS
Programme	Date of introduction of cash limits*
Defence works services	1975–76
Defence married quarters	1975–76
Civil accommodation (home and overseas)	1974–75
Prison buildings (including new dwellings)	1974–75
National Health Service capital expenditure	1969
University buildings	1974–75
Local authorities' locally determined sector (cash limit applies to borrowing, not expenditure)	1975–76
House improvements	1975–76
Local authorities' building for personal social services (Key sector)	1971
Local authorities' building for courts and police (Key sector)	1974–75
Local authorities' building for education (England and Wales) (Key sector)	1974–75
Local authorities' building for education (Scotland) (Key sector)	1975–76

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth was set up; and how many reports it has issued.

I have been asked to reply.The Royal Commission on the Distribution of Income and Wealth was appointed by a Royal Warrant dated 23rd August 1974. The commission has not yet issued any reports.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there were for motoring offences in the Leek parliamentary constituency in each of the past three years.

I am obtaining such information as is available and shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants are employed in his Department; what is the total cost of running the Department for the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will itemise the main constituent costs.

30,729 civil servants, including industrials, were employed in the Home Office on 1st April 1975.The estimates of staff salaries, etc., for 1975–76 are as follows:

		£
Salaries and wages	…	130,670,000
Travelling and subsistence	…	3,938,000
Other general expenses	…	5,079,000
		139,687,000
Less Appropriations in Aid	…	2,792,000
Net Estimates cost for 1975–76	…	136,895,000

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now issue the licence for which he has received an application from the National Trust for a further cull to reduce the numbers of seals on the Fame Islands.

I have issued such a licence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison houses, no longer required for prison purposes, have been offered for sale to local authorities; how many such houses have been accepted by local authorities subject to valuation; and whether completion of such sales following the local authority's offer has taken more than two months in any instance.

Since the end of 1973, 238 prison houses or flats no longer required for prison purposes have been offered for sale to local authorities, of which 226 have been accepted subject to valuation. In all cases completion of sales following acceptance by the local authority has taken more than two months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet in a position to make a statement about the proposed police complaint procedure.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) on 15th July.—[Vol. 895, c. 423–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he has yet completed his review of the circumstances in which prison authorities are authorised to refuse permission to prisoners on remand in Her Majesty's prisons to write to their own or any other Member of Parliament;(2) whether he has made any new arrangements for prisoners on remand in Her Majesty's prisons to be able to write to their own or any other Member of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

The review I announced on 19th June in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Cartwright) is not yet complete.—[Vol. 893, c. 1645–47.]

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what part of the £10 million spent on medical aid is spent in rural areas; and what plans he has for extending medical aid to rural areas.

I cannot give a precise figure. But there is no doubt that the greater part of our medical aid benefits rural populations. In conjunction with national and international health authorities my Ministry has given increasing help in the promotion of health in rural areas, notably by training medical and paramedical staff for such work, undertaking research into diseases which affect rural populations, and contributing to largescale control measures such as the worldwide smallpox eradication programme of the World Health Organisation, or the onchocerciasis programme in the Volta River basin. I propose to develop such activities further, and I note that the World Health Organisation, the World Bank and other bodies are jointly considering new initiatives to improve the level of public health in the developing countries. I expect my Ministry to take an active part in supporting these measures as they unfold.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many more civil servants are being employed to administer the new system for collecting and refunding national insurance contributions; and what is the annual cost of this additional staff.

It is estimated that in my Department about 750 staff are currently engaged on the work of introducing the new National Insurance Scheme and phasing out the old. This number will reduce from 1976 onwards and by 1980–81 there will be a net saving of some 1,600 staff. The annual cost of 750 staff is approximately £2 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish a table on the same basic assumptions as in the Written Reply to the hon. Member for Norfolk North on 10th June, columns 156–64, but assuming that unemployment benefit were taxable comparing the net weekly spending power for a week's work after 39 weeks and when unemployed after 39 weeks at the appropriate rate—for a married man with a wife and two children not over 11 years of age who is earning £20, £25, £30, £35, £40, £45, £50, £55 and £60.

In the past 16 months I have answered many Questions of a similar nature from the hon. Member I have also indicated my doubts as to the validity of the assumptions, of the resulting figures and of any conclusions which might be drawn from those figures. The tables now requested would involve further assumptions about methods of taxation, and a substantial number of additional calculations. I am not satisfied that the very considerable expenditure of staff time which would be involved in making these calculations would be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish a table showing unemployment benefit, including earnings related benefit, as a percentage of the average post-tax manual wage for a man with a wife and two children not over 11 years of age, for each year since 1949.

The information requested is given in the table below.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT PLUS EARNINGS-RELATED SUPPLEMENT* IN RESPECT OF A MARRIED COUPLE AND TWO CHILDREN AS A PERCENTAGE OF AVERAGE EARNINGS† LESS TAX
Year (October)				Benefit plus ERS as a percentage of earnings less tax
1949	…	…	…	34·7
1950	…	…	…	33·1
1951	…	…	…	33·1
1952	…	…	…	37·5
1953	…	…	…	35·5
1954	…	…	…	33·1
1955	…	…	…	36·0
1956	…	…	…	33·9
1957	…	…	…	32·3
1958	…	…	…	40·5
1959	…	…	…	38·6
1960	…	…	…	36·3
1961	…	…	…	40·5
1962	…	…	…	39·3
1963	…	…	…	43·4
1964	…	…	…	40·8
1965	…	…	…	45·4
1966	…	…	…	63·9
1967	…	…	…	68·1
1968	…	…	…	67·1
1969	…	…	…	70·6
1970	…	…	…	66·6
1971	…	…	…	71·8
1972	…	…	…	67·9
1973	…	…	…	64·9
1974	…	…	…	64·6
1975 (April)‡	…	…	…	64·6
* Earnings-related supplement calculated on estimated earnings of male adult, full-time, manual workers in manufacturing and certain other industries based on the Department of Employment's October Inquiry. The supplement is only taken into account from its introduction in 1966.
† Estimated earnings of male adult, full-time manual workers in manufacturing and certain other industries based on the Department of Employment's October Inquiry.
‡ Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish a table showing unemployment benefit, including earnings related benefit, as a percentage of the average manual wage for each year since 1949 up to the latest available date.

The information requested is given in the table below.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT PLUS EARNINGS-RELATED SUPPLEMENT* IN RESPECT OF A MARRIED COUPLE AND TWO CHILDREN AS A PERCENTAGE OF AVERAGE EARNINGS†
Year (October)		Benefit plus ERS as a percentage of gross earnings
1949	…	34·7
1950	…	32·9
1951	…	32·8
1952	…	37·5
1953	…	35·4
1954	…	32·8
1955	…	35·9
1956	…	33·6
1957	…	31·8
1958	…	39·8
1959	…	37·6
1960	…	35·1
1961	…	39·0
1962	…	37·7
1963	…	42·1
1964	…	38·9
1965	…	42·6
1966	…	59·6
1967	…	62·9
1968	…	59·4
1969	…	61·4
1970	…	56·9
1971	…	62·2
1972	…	59·2
1973	…	55·2
1974	…	53·8
1975 (April)‡	…	53·5
* Earnings-related supplement calculated on estimated earnings of male adult, full-time, manual workers in manufacturing and certain other industries based on the Department of Employment's October Inquiry. The supplement is only taken into account from its introduction in 1966.
† Estimated earnings of male adult, full-time manual workers in manufacturing and certain other industries based on the Department of Employment's October Inquiry.
‡ Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of films and audio-visual productions commissioned by her Department in each of the last five years.

The Central Office of Information has commissioned films and audio-visual productions for this Department as follows:

1970–71	…	…	8
1971–72	…	…	5
1972–73	…	…	5
1973–74	…	…	4
1974–75	…	…	7

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total sum spent by her Department on film and audio-visual productions in each of the last five years, detailing expenditure under the headings films and shorts and others.

The figures are as follows:

		Films	Shorts	Others
		£	£	£
1970–71	…	12,000	12,100	—
1971–72	…	11,400	4,180	2,750
1972–73	…	24,200	13,300	—
1973–74	…	14,350	9,950	—
1974–75	…	21,450	16,000	—

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of film and audio-visual productions commissioned by her Department over the last five years which were made by Scottish-registered and English-registered production companies, respectively; and what was the total sum involved in each case.

Over the last five years the COI has made 29 film and audio-visual productions for the Department. All were made by English registered production companies at a total cost of £141,680.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether it is her policy to put all film and audio-visual productions commissioned by her Department out to competitive United Kingdom tender.

Film and audio-visual productions are produced through the COI, which commissions companies on the basis of their suitability for the work to be carried out.The use of competitive tendering is kept under review by the COI. On balance, it considers that it does not offer any advantage over direct commissioning.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of child health centres in Great Britain and in each English region is held in purpose-built premises, in premises built before 1930 and before 1919, respectively.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the secure unit at Prestwich Hospital, Manchester, will be open; and what procedures will be followed regarding the making of applications for admission of patients.

A regional security unit at Prestwich Hospital is now being planned. It is expected to become operational, together with a forensic unit, in about two

			Years ending 31st March
			1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
England	…	…	0·39	0·45	0·39	0·39	0·39
Northern	…	…	0·36	—	0·39	0·36	0·38
Yorkshire	…	…		—	0·38	0·39	0·37
North Western	…	…	0·45	—	0·45	0·44	0·45
West Midlands	…	…	0·34	—	0·37	0·37	0·36
East Midlands	…	…		—	0·35	0·39	0·37
London North	…	…	0·27	—	0·25	0·26	0·25
London Central	…	…	0·63	—	0·62	0·64	0·62
London South	…	…	0·31	—	0·33	0·31	0·32
South Western	…	…	0·35	—	0·33	0·35	0·35
Wales	…	…	0·24	0·34	0·28	0·29	0·30
				Years ending 31st December
			1970	1971	1972	1973	1974
Scotland	…	…	—	0·67	0·86	0·81	—

The number of children admitted to the care of local authorities in England and Wales in the year ending 31st March 1971 is not directly comparable with that in other years because it included 11,692 children in England and 636 in Wales subject to approved school orders or to supervision following release from approved school on 31st December 1970 who were deemed to be in the care of a local authority by virtue of paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 4 to the Children and Young Persons Act 1969. It is regretted that a regional breakdown of the figures for 1971 is not available. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has supplied the figures for Scotland, but regrets that the figure for 1974 is not yet available and that for 1970 is not shown as for various reasons it is not directly comparable with the figures for the following years. The figures for England and Wales, but not those for Scotland, exclude children committed to care under an interim care order or remanded to care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of children in Great Britain and in each English region was admitted to the care of local authorities in each year 1970 to 1974.

The information, related to children under the age of 18, is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the value of goods and services provided under the National Health Service by opticians in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

The estimated payments including patients' charges, to opticians providing general ophthalmic services in respect of each of the years concerned was as follows:—

					£ million
1970–71	…	…	…	…	28·6
1971–72	…	…	…	…	26·5
1972–73	…	…	…	…	29·9
1973–74	…	…	…	…	34·4
1974–75	…	…	…	…	46·9

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will endeavour to simplify present methods of applying for supplementary benefits in order to expedite payments in those urgent cases where the application is occasioned by accident or sudden illness.

Claim forms have a space for the claimant to indicate if his need is urgent, or he can call personally at the local office or telephone for advice. If he cannot himself contact the local office to inform it of urgent need occasioned by accident or serious illness, a relative or friend can do so on his behalf and a visit by the local officer will then be arranged. We are concerned to ensure that present arrangements are working effectively. If my hon. Friend has in mind a particular case of difficulty I shall be glad to look into it if he will let me have the details.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many organisations submitted evidence to the inquiry being carried out by the Supplementary Benefits Commission into the cohabitation rules; how many meetings the inquiry has so far held; when it held its first meeting; and when it expected to report.

The commission started its present study of the "cohabitation rule" by asking for a report by its inspectorate on the administration of the rule. The inspectorate reported in December 1974 and the commission then set up a small working party which first met on 16th January 1975. Eight further meetings have been held and eight organisations have submitted evidence. The working party has also considered much other evidence that has come to the commission's notice in the last two or three years. The commission hopes to present its report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services in the autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each member State of the OECD on both a per capita and per family basis the level of expenditure on health and social services, respectively, for each year since 1945.

Information in the form requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much has been paid to strikers and their families in unemployment benefits during each of the last five years.

Unemployment benefit is not paid to people taking part in trade disputes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the most recent available figures for the cost of providing care for a severely disabled person in (a) a general or geriatric ward of a National Health Service hospital, (b) a chronic sick unit attached to a National Health Service hospital, (c) a residential home run by charitable organisations and (d) fully adapted accommodation and services within the community, respectively.

The costs of treating patients with specific diseases or conditions are not separately distinguished in hospitals in which the specialities are mixed. In 1973–74, the annual average costs in hospitals of the nearest appropriate types in England were:

	£
Hospitals wholly or predominantly containing geriatric beds	2,435
Hospitals classified as partly acute	4,000
Hospitals classified as long stay	2,435
Hospitals classified as orthopaedic	4,840

No information is available centrally on costs in residential homes run by charitable organisations. The annual average costs in local authority residential accommodation for the younger physically handicapped and for the elderly were £742, excluding debt charges.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the most recent available figures for the average cost of providing care for a mentally handicapped person in (a) a National Health Service hospital and (b) a special unit or hostel within the community.

The average cost of providing care for a mentally handicapped person as an in-patient in an NHS hospital in 1973–74 was £1,755 a year Information is available only for local authority residential accommodation. In 1973–74 the average cost was £950 a year, excluding debt charges.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many widows with dependent children were in receipt of widowed mother's allowance in November 1974; how many of these were also in receipt of supplementary benefit; and if she will express the latter figure as a percentage of the former.

It is estimated that 99,000 widows with dependent children were in receipt of widowed mother's allowance in November 1974 of whom 12,000–12 per cent.—were also in receipt of supplementary benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of young people in Scotland currently attending day-release classes in agriculture; and what are the comparable numbers for the academic years 1972–73 and 1973–74, respectively.

Estimates derived from enrolments in October 1974 indicate that during session 1974–75 about 1,200 people will have been released from employment to attend part-time day further education courses in agriculture either on one-day per week or for continuous periods—blocks—of between two and six weeks at a time. Final figures for sessions 1972–73 and 1973–74 were 1,531 and 1,381 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will give a breakdown of the main heads of expenditure, for Scottish-registered and English-registered production companies, respectively, of those films and other audiovisual programmes commissioned by the Scottish Office between 1970 and 1975, detailing in particular travel and subsistence.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is now his estimate of the cost of phase I and subsequent phases of remedial works at Kirk-ton High School, Dundee.

The estimated costs of the remedial works at Kirkton High School, Dundee, are £298,440 for phase I and £637,500 for subsequent phases. The total cost, including consultants' fees and other items, is estimated to be £1,008,140.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, what is his latest estimate of the total number of children in Scotland in one-parent families; and what proportion this represents of all children and of all families.

The latest information available, based on a 10 per cent. sample of 1971 Census returns, is that in Scotland there were 117,650 dependent children in the 63,730 one-parent families which contained dependent children. These represented repectively 8 per cent. of all dependent children and 9 per cent. of all families containing dependent children. The census definition of a dependent child includes any child aged under 15 in the family and any single full-time student aged 15 to 24 in the family.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many miles of the A74 outside the Glasgow city limits have the benefit of lighting at the present time.

5·3 miles. A further 1·6 miles will be lit soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost per mile, at the most recent date, for constructing a trunk road in the Highland Region.

Construction costs vary widely depending on, for example, the width of carriageways, the nature of the ground, the number of bridges needed, and amount of soil to be shifted. The average cost per mile for the three schemes completed in 1974 was about £150,000; in each case, a 19½ ft. carriage-way was provided.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost per mile, at the most recent date, of maintenance of a trunk road in the Highland Region.

About £1,800, in the financial year 1974–75.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the last comprehensive review of police pay and conditions took place in Scotland.

Consideration of police pay and conditions is a matter for the Police Council for the United Kingdom, on which the Scottish police associations, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and my Department are represented. I am required by statute to take the council's recommendations into consideration before I make any regulations which affect the pay of the Scottish police. The last comprehensive review of pay by the Police Council was completed in March this year, and the resulting Police Council agreement, which has my approval, will be implemented with effect from 1st September in terms of regulations which I shall be making shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of expenditure on subsidies in the current year in respect of ferry and air services, respectively, to the Scottish island communities.

Details of the estimated expenditure on grants and loans for which I am responsible are set out below:

	1975–76
Revenue and capital grants and capital loans under the Highlands and Islands Shipping Act 1960	£3,600,000
Grants and loans for piers, harbours and terminals under the Congested Districts (Scotland) Act 1897	£2,888,000
Local Employment Act 1972	£1,000
Grant aid under Section 34 of the Transport Act 1968 for rural ferry services assisted by local authorities	£25,000

I am seeking powers in the Scottish Development Agency (No. 2) Bill which is at present before Parliament to give assistance to operators of air services in the Highlands and Islands. I estimate that the amount of grant in the current financial year will be about £120,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will seek powers to make it mandatory for councils to notify tenants on their rent cards of the council's obligation as a landlord to do repairs, and of the action a tenant can take if repairs are not done.

No. I regard this as a housing management matter within the responsibility of the local authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy towards tenant control and tenant co-operatives in Scottish council housing.

Under the Housing Rents and Subsidies (Scotland) Act 1975 housing authorities were given powers to delegate some or all of their housing management functions to their tenants, and subsidy can continue to be paid in respect of houses covered by an agreement between a local authority and a tenant co-operative. I give every encouragement to the exercise of these new powers by local authorities in suitable cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the average market prices for fat cattle

	1974–75	1973–74	1972–73*	1971–72*	1970–71*
Average market price (Scotland)	£18·58	£19·62	£14·94	£13·235	£11·30
Fatstock Guarantee Scheme Deficiency Payment (1970–72) (Great Britain)	—	—	Nil	£0·08	£0·81
* The figures for the years 1972–73, 1971–72 and 1970–71 relate to certified cattle under the Fatstock Guarantee Scheme (Week 13).

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing rents charged for a four-apartment Scottish Special Housing Association house in South Ayrshire in each of the

November 1970 to November 1971	November 1971 to June 1973	June 1973 to November 1973	November 1973 to present	Proposed from November 1975
£91·20	£105·60	£124·80	£139·20	£165·60

Future SSHA rents beyond this period will have regard among other things to the requirements of the Housing Rents and Subsidies (Scotland) Act 1975 and to the Government's counter-inflation policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of income in the current financial year from tolls on the Forth, Tay and Erskine road bridges.

If recent traffic trends continue for the rest of the year gross revenue from tolls at the three bridges may be of the following order: Forth, £1½ million; Tay, £650,000; Erskine, £400,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons employed

The average market price for certified clean cattle during the week beginning 23rd June 1975 at representative markets in Scotland was £21·98 per live cwt. In addition total premium was payable at the Great Britain rate of £2·66 per live cwt.The average market price for clean cattle in Scotland at representative markets in Scotland for the comparable week in the last five years was as follows:past five years; and if he will estimate the rent level in the next three years.

The annual standard rents charged by the Scottish Special Housing Association for a four-apartment mid-terrace house in this area during the period in question have been as follows:by the Ayrshire and Arran Area Health Board have been given an extension of service beyond retirement age.

I am informed that of the total of approximately 5,000 staff employed by the board, 26 officers, mainly in the nursing fields, have an extended service beyond the normal retirement age, because of difficulties of recruitment in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the average salary for general practitioners and the salaries of the top three grades of administrator under the health boards.

General practitioners are not paid by salary but are remunerated by fees and allowances related to the services they provide to their NHS patients. In its Fifth Report, published in April 1975, the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration recommended increases in these fees and allowances designed to increase their estimated average net remuneration, assuming no change in their general level of workload and responsibility, from these items to £8,485 in 1975–76. In addition general practitioners will on average receive several hundred pounds from other NHS work and from other official sources.NHS administrative staff with the same title may be remunerated on different scales according to the size of the health board and the level of responsibility. Secretaries are remunerated with effect nom 1st July 1975 on scales ranging from £5,832–£7,683 in the smallest boards to £10,164–£12,258 in the largest. The corresponding salary ranges for treasurers are £5,493–£6,714 in the smallest boards to 0,924–£12,021 in the largest.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to review the operation of licensing and licensing appeal courts in Scotland and, in particular, to consider the advisability of ensuring that less than half of the members of the licensing appeal court in any authority consists of members of the licensing court.

The Clayson Committee in its report considered the constitution of licensing and licensing appeal courts and made recommendations for reform of these courts, including the abolition of the present type of appeal court. I am at present giving careful consideration to those recommendations, but I am not yet in a position to announce any decision.

ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will show the date and amount of salary and wage increases to local government employees in Scotland since 1st May 1974.

Salaries and wages of their employees are fixed by local authorities within nationally negotiated scales. I am asking the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Services (Scottish Councils) and the various joint negotiating committees to make available copies of the circulars issued to local authorities giving details of agreed salary scales and increases, and I will place a copy of these in the Library as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the salary and position of each senior official, i.e., the top 10 appointments, in each regional, island and district authority (a) before appointment, where the official was employed in local government, (b) on appointment, (c) date and amount of any salary increases, and (d) salary and position at the latest date.

The salaries paid to individual officers are a matter for the local authority concerned to decide within the scales recommended by the national joint councils. The information requested is not available to me.