asked the Attorney-General how many trusts have been handled by the Public Trustee on an annual basis from 1970 to the latest available date.

The number of cases under administration, on the dates shown, were:

31st March 1970	12,305
31st March 1971	11,910
31st March 1972	11,601
31st March 1973	10,952
31st March 1974	10,348
31st March 1975	9,759
31st December	9,447

asked the Attorney-General what is the annual cost of administration of the Public Trustee from 1970 to the latest date available.

The annual cost of administering the Public Trustee Office in the years ended 31st March 1970 to 1975 was as follows:

	£
1970	1,024,880
1971	1,246,921
1972	1,426,801
1973	1,451,438
1974	1,563,741
1975	2,013,437

asked the Attorney-General what is the value of trusts administered by the Public Trustee from 1970 to the latest date available.

The total value of the trusts under administration by the Public Trustee was approximately as follows:

	£ million
31st March 1970	235
31st March 1971	210
31st March 1972	305
31st March 1973	270
31st March 1974	160
31st March 1975	175
31st December 1975	not available

The portfolio of each trust is valued in detail every third year, and that valuation is used for the succeeding years as the basis for calculating the administration fee charged by the Public Trustee in relation to that trust. The above figures are approximations based on the last triennial valuations—1st October 1968, 1st October 1971 or 1st October 1974, as approximate—adjusted in the light of current indices.

asked the Attorney-General how many staff were employed by the Public Trustee for the years 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975, respectively.

The number of staff employed in the Public Trustee Office was as follows:

31st March 1970	578
31st March 1971	545
31st March 1972	565
31st March 1973	532
31st March 1974	501
31st March 1975	518
31st December 1975	465

asked the Attorney-General what proportion of the Public Trustee's business was executor-ships on both a volume and value basis in 1970 and 1975.

On 31st March 1970 and on 31st March 1975 approximately 40 per cent. and 35 per cent, respectively, of the number of cases under administration were executorships. The values of these proportions are not available, and it would require a disproportionate expenditure of time and effort to extract this information.

asked the Attorney-General what was the basis of the fees charged by the Public Trustee in 1970 and in 1975.

The Public Trustee is required by Section 9(4) of the Public Trustee Act 1906 to charge fees at rates to produce an annual amount sufficient to discharge the salaries and other expenses of running his office.