asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to improve industrial democracy within the Forestry Commission and if he will make a statement.

The Forestry Commission will participate fully in the co-ordinated series of studies proposed for the public services. Details of these were given in the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Civil Service Department, on 11th February 1976.—[Vol. 905, c. 240–41.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make representations to the European Commission to review the new EEC regulations for seed grain with a view to raising the standards for seed to the level previously set down under the voluntary British certification scheme.

No. These two standards serve quite different purposes. The mandatory EEC standard is designed to protect farmers in member countries by prescribing minimum qualities which must be satisfied before the seed concerned can be marketed within the Community. In contrast the higher British standard to which the hon. Member refers, and which we are substantially retaining as a voluntary feature of our new certification scheme, is intended to help buyers here and abroad who want supplies of premium-quality British seed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will clarify the situation of the EEC directive on poultry slaughter as regards the stipulation that there shall be an official veterinary surgeon who is on the premises full time, indicating whether this means constant supervision or not.

The directive does not specify the full-time attendance of an official veterinary surgeon but requires that ultimately the entire production of all poultry slaughterhouses shall be under the supervision of an official veterinary surgeon. He may be assisted by trained non-veterinary assistants acting under his responsibility and supervision. For slaughterhouses wishing to engage in intra-Community trade this requirement will have to be applied from the beginning of 1977, but for those engaging solely in production for the home market exemption from this requirement may be granted on application up to August 1979.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in view of the EEC regulations on poultry slaughter, what advice he will give to the producers with limited throughputs.

As various types of business are involved, there is no single prescription. Such producers should seek individual advice in the light of the commercial, hygiene and other considerations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether there are any regultions which would prevent the import into the United Kingdom of Indian produced potatoes, of which 10,000 tonnes of a bumper crop are held for export by the Indian National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing Federation.

Yes. Our plant health regulations do not include India among the countries from which imports of potatoes may be permitted. It would, however, be possible for my right hon. Friend to license such imports provided he is satisfied that India is free from serious potato diseases or pests which could be a danger to our own crops. Information on this is being sought from the Indian authorities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in the Official Report the total aid given to farmers for each of the years 1965 to 1975.

I regret that information is not available on a calendar year basis. Figures by financial years for public expenditure in the United Kingdom under the common agricultural poilcy and on national grants and subsidies are published in the Annual Review White Papers.

asked the Attorney General in the years 1974 and 1975, how many appeals in the Court of Appeal were (a) set down for hearing, (b) disposed of by the appeal, and (c) withdrawn or struck out.

During 1974, 1,177 appeals were set down in the Court of Appeal, Civil Division: 641 appeals were disposed of by the appeal and 444 were withdrawn, struck out or otherwise disposed of. The equivalent figures for 1975—provisional only—are 1,302, 876 and 376. In the Criminal Division 5,313 appeals were registered during 1974: 5,087 appeals were terminated, 2,409 of these by a hearing of the full court. The equivalent figures for 1975—provisional only—are 6,107, 5,524 and 2,523.

asked the Attorney-General in the years 1974 and 1975, how many civil actions were (a) set down for trial, (b) tried and disposed of after trial, and (c) disposed of either by consent between the parties or by default of one or other party, in the Queen's Bench, Chancery and Family Divisions, respectively.

The information is not available in the form requested. The table below sets out such data for 1974 and 1975 as are available.

	1974	1975*
Queen's Bench Division
Actions set down for trial	7,014	7,512
Actions disposed of—Total	6,315	6,576
After full trial	1,477	1,828
Settlement in course of trial	279
Settlement approved before trial	408	4,748
Settled immediately before trial	532
Struck out, withdrawn, etc.	3,619
Chancery Division
Action set down	745	628
Actions disposed of—Total	666	426
After trial	267	282
Otherwise	399	144
Family Division
Defended divorce causes—
Set down for trial	2,909	2,939
Disposed of—Total	2,832	2,911
After trial	2,413	2,368
Otherwise	419	543
Undefended divorce causes†—
Set down for hearing	118,544	129,050
Disposed of—Total	120,223	125,149
After hearing	116,127	121,175
Otherwise	4,096	3,974
* Provisional figures.
† Family Division and county courts.

asked the Attorney-General when the Government propose to implement the recommendations of the Faulks Committee on Defamation.

The Government have not yet reached a decision on this matter.

asked the Attorney-General if he will define the functions of the members of his Department who work in the Palace of Westminster; and why it is necessary for them to be located there.

None of my staff is located in the Palace of Westminster.

asked the Attorney-General whether his approval is required when the Director of Public Prosecutions reinstitutes proceedings for alleged offences for which the defendant has been acquitted in jury trial.

It is not open to a prosecuting authority to reinstitute proceedings against a defendant for a crime in respect of which he has previously been acquitted in jury trial.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the total cost of publicity incurred by his Department in the years 1973, 1974 and 1975; and what is the estimate for 1976, broken down into relevant headings.

Nil. No provision has been made for 1976.

asked the Attorney General, in the years 1974 and 1975, in the House of Lords, how many appeals were (a) outstanding at the start of each year, (b) set down in each year, (c) disposed of in each year and (d) withdrawn in each year.

The number of appeals outstanding in the House of Lords at the beginning of 1974 was 31. Thirty-four appeals were set down during the year, 43 were disposed of otherwise than by withdrawal and three were withdrawn. The corresponding figures for 1975 are l9, 64, 49 and 6 respectively.

asked the Attorney-General, in the years 1974 and 1975, what was the average waiting time between committal for trial by magistrates to trial by the Crown courts expressed as a percentage of (a) less than eight weeks, and (b) less than 20 weeks.

In the years 1974 and 1975 the average waiting times for persons committed for trial by magistrates to the Crown Court were 10·3 weeks and 9·9 weeks respectively. The proportion of defendants who waited for less than eight weeks was 59 per cent. in 1974 and 56 per cent. in 1975. The proportion who waited less than 20 weeks was 89 per cent. and 90 per cent. respectively.

asked the Attorney-General, in the years 1974 and 1975, how many cases or persons—whichever figure is most conveniently available—were disposed of by trial in the Crown courts, and, if available, the percentage of those (a) pleading guilty, (b) convicted after trial, and (c) acquitted.

During 1974, 60,418 persons were tried in the Crown Court. Of these defendants 62 per cent. pleaded guilty to all charges, 22 per cent. were convicted after trial and 16 per cent. were acquitted on all counts. Figures for 1975 were 67,600, 63 per cent., 22 per cent. and 15 per cent. respectively.

asked the Attorney-General if he will list the nationality of official parties of foreign judges or lawyers to whom hospitality out of public funds has been afforded on the occasion of organised visits by such parties of foreign judges or lawyers in the most recent convenient year.

This information is not easy to provide in the form requested by the right hon. and learned Gentleman, but my noble Friend will write to him as soon as the best available information can be assembled.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate what would be the cost of raising child tax allowances to a level so that the married man with children's tax threshold is above the FIS entitlement level; and if he will estimate what would be the net cost if all child tax allowances were allowed only at the standard rate.

Assuming that the proposal applied to single persons with dependent children as well as to married parents, the estimated cost for 1975–76 would be about £1,060 million. If the increase in tax allowances together with existing child tax allowances were to count for tax relief only at the basic rate the net cost of the proposal would be about £950 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what level child tax allowances would need to be raised in order to lift the tax threshold for a married man above the FIS entitlement level; and if he will estimate what further rises would be needed in order to keep the tax threshold above the FIS entitlement level for the 1976–77 financial year.

The tax thresholds for single persons with dependent children and for married parents would need to be raised by varying amounts depending on the number of children, but, on average, the increase required per family to raise the tax threshold to the FIS level would be about £430. Figures for 1976–77 will depend on any changes to tax allowances and FIS entitlement levels.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his definition of public sector employment includes or excludes employment within nationalised industries.

The public sector is defined to include nationalised industries and other public corporations. Public sector employment therefore strictly speaking includes employment in nationalised industries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual tax revenue from alcoholic drinks in each of the past three years.

£1,075 million in 1972–73, £1,144 million in 1973–74 and £1,484 million 1974–75. These figures include estimates of VAT receipts from the supply of alcoholic drink in 1973–74 and 1974–75. Because VAT is collected in arrear and there were rebates of spirits, beer and wine duties paid on goods held in stock on 31st March 1973 before the introduction of VAT, the revenue in 1973–74 was less than for a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss in revenue if personal allowances against income tax were increased by 20 per cent.; what estimate is available for the number of people who would be taken out of taxation thereby; at what percentage wealth tax would have to be imposed on accumulated wealth of £100,000 or over to recover this sum; and if he will make a statement.

The estimated cost at 1975–76 income levels of a 20 per cent. increase in the married and single personal allowances, including the wife's earned income allowance, is £1,350 million. Some 590,000 taxpayers—counting married couples as one—would be taken below the tax threshold. Estimates of the distribution of identified personal wealth for 1975 are not yet available but on the basis of provisional estimates for 1974 it would require a flat rate of about 10 per cent. on personal wealth of £100,000 or over and on wealth held in trust to yield £1,350 million in a full year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the list of national institutions entitled to receive gifts or legacies of works of art under exemption from capital transfer tax to all arts or educational bodies registered with charitable objects.

I will let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, and in what circumstances, public or publicly guaranteed lending to companies which are or will be under the control of the National Enterprise Board, or which are in receipt of direct assistance from the Department of Industry, is classified as a liability when determining the size of the public sector deficit; and whether private ownership of the shares of the companies in question does or can affect the classification adopted.

Though the National Enterprise Board is a public corporation within the public sector, companies under its control are included along with other companies in the private sector for statistical purposes. Loans to them are therefore part of public expenditure, and contribute to the public sector borrowing requirement—though not to the financial deficit, from which, like all lending and other financial transactions, they are excluded. This classification is not affected by private ownership of shares in the companies. The provision of a Government guarantee on company borrowing does not constitute public expenditure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, and in what statistical classifications, Chrysler (United Kingdom), British Leyland and Rolls-Royce are treated as being in the public sector.

None of these companies is treated as part of the public sector in any statistical classification.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the total level of loans to the private sector by the banking system subject to Government guarantee in the financial or calendar years 1973, 1974 and 1975, and the firms which are recipients of such loans.

I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many employees there were on 1st January 1965 and on the latest available date in the Civil Service.

There were 667,980 civil servants in post at 1st January 1965 and 745,120 at 1st January 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will include Open University correspondence in the category of mail which is granted Forces' postal rates.

The arrangements described in my answer of 4th February—[Vol. 904, c. 606]—do not differentiate between Open University correspondence and other correspondence. I will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, in view of the high cost of travel incurred by Service personnel serving in Ulster when returning to Great Britain for weekend leave, he will consider making an allowance in the form of additional travel warrants to those already provided for long leave purposes.

						1973–74	1974–75	1975–76*
Advertising	…	…	COI	…	…	4,129,600	4,055,000	3,682,500
			MOD	…	…	204,000	225,300	261,200
Publications	…	…	COI	…	…	114,300	565,800	480,700
			MOD	…	…	32,300	47,900	58,300
Exhibitions	…	…	COI	…	…	74,600	175,100	115,700
			MOD	…	…	629,700	745,000	760,900
Films	…	…	COI	…	…	297,700	187,000	190,000
			MOD	…	…	103,200	109,700	113,000
Miscellaneous	…	…	…	…	…	119,100	117,900	139,700
Total		…	…	…	…	5,704,500	6,228,700	5,802,000
*Estimated.

Total expenditure in 1976–77 is expected to be of the order of £5½ million.

asked the Sectary of State for Defence how many of the trained pilots in the Royal Navy in October 1975 have completed full training as helicopter pilots.

As at 1st October 1975 there were 472 aircrew serving in the Royal Navy who had completed full training as helicopter pilots.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many trained pilots served in the Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm) in 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970 and 1975.

No. Under existing arrangements all Service men in Ulster are allowed four leave travel warrants each year, and those separated from their families receive an additional eight travel warrants each year. Additionally, troops on emergency tours are granted rest and recuperation leave during their tour, with air travel provided at public expense. There are also arrangements to assist Service men to travel on leave by air.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost of publicity incurred by his Department in the years 1973, 1974 and 1975; and what is the estimate for 1976, broken down into relevant headings.

Expenditure by both the Central Office of Information (COI) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and by MOD directly is as follows:

As at 1st the numbers of aircrew trained as pilots who were serving in the Royal Navy were:

1955	806
1960	599
1965	706
1970	676
1975	612

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied concerning the welfare of persons of British and dual British/Cypriot nationality presently in Anzio refugee camp, Cyprus, in the light of the agreement of 1st February with the Cypriot Government concerning the camp.

The detailed arrangements which have been worked out with the Cyprus Government were brought into effect on 16th February. Under these arrangements the Cyprus Government are supplying free rations to all families qualifying for such assistance under the normal rules which apply to displaced persons in their care and have also made cookers available for their use, again without charge. In the circumstances I am satisfied that reasonable provision has been made for all who are in genuine need.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what figures are available for the number of accidents and deaths resulting from the use of adventure training methods by the Armed Forces; if he will examine the value of such training methods; and if he will make a statement.

Adventure training, which includes mountaineering, sub-aqua diving, free fall parachuting and dinghy sailing, is designed to develop qualities of fitness, endurance, self reliance, initiative and teamwork. It plays an important part in the training programme of all three Services. Although safety precautions are kept under careful review, this form of training inevitably involves some risk. In the past five years, over a quarter of a million Service men have taken part in this training. There have regrettably been 22 fatal accidents and some 15 cases of serious injury.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he now expects to publish this year's Defence White Paper.

I intend to publish this year's Defence White Paper during March.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many standardisation agreements have been made through the Standardisation Agency; and how many have been implemented.

The United Kingdom has ratified 585 standardisation agreements prepared by the Standardisation Agency, of these 518 have been implemented to date and the remainder, which are generally of recent origin, will be included in national instructions as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make available to the crofting townships of the west coast and the islands, bulls of the following breeds with high growth potential: Simmental, Maine Anjou and Charollais etc.

No applications have been received from any crofting townships for bulls of these breeds. In considering the suitability of particular breeds for conditions in the Highlands and Islands, account must be taken of a number of factors, of which high growth potential is only one.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the count for the regional election in Speyside-Glenlivet was held in Aberdeen.

Choice of place for the count is entirely a matter for the returning officer. I understand that his decision was based on a number of factors, including availability of staff and other resources, road communications and postal voting arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will show the numbers of trained and untrained social workers employed in each region; if he will express these figures in percentage terms; and what recommendations on qualified staffing have been made to the regional authorities.

Information about numbers of trained and untrained social workers employed in each region will not be available until the first returns are made later this year by the regional and islands authorities following the introduction of a new system of social work statistics. No recommendations on qualified staffing have been made to the regional authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of vandalism in Scotland in 1975, or the latest 12-month period for which figures are available.

None. The difficulties of making estimates in this field are set out in the Report "Protection again Vandalism" published last November by the Home Office Standing Committee on Crime Prevention.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when work on the Bankfoot, Perthshire, bypass is expected to start.

Work on the construction of the seven-mile bypass of Bankfoot from Luncarty to Birnam started on 16th February 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a list of all unoccupied Government factory premises in Scotland, indicating when production last took place in them.

This is now a matter for the Scottish Development Agency and I am asking the Chairman to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many disconnections of supply in (a) gas and (b) electricity took place as a result of fuel deficits in each year since 1970 in Scotland; in how many cases had: (1) the Department of Social Services local office and (2) the local authority social services department been consulted before disconnection; how many families with children and pensioners, respectively, were affected; and what was the average length of disconnection of supply.

The information requested relates to matters within the statutory responsibilities of the Scottish electricity boards. I am, therefore, asking the chairmen of the boards to write to the hon. Member. Questions about gas are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to ensure that, following the dissolution of the area training organisations and the general reduction in teacher education, there is an adequate supply of properly trained teachers in specialist subjects, particularly for the handicapped.

The Department has recently asked institutions, providing bodies, and other interests concerned with initial teacher training to bear the need for an adequate supply of the teachers mentioned fully in mind in making their future plans, and for individual plans to be co-ordinated within an ad hoc regional framework and forwarded to the Department by the end of June.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what projections he has made on the loss of student accommodation, as a result of clearance schemes, the Rent Act 1974 and municipalisation; and what advice he is giving to local authorities to meet the demand over the next five years.

Trends in the supply of student accommodation are regularly monitored. These show that clearance schemes affect some institutions mainly in city centres that there is less cause for anxiety about the effects of the Rent Act; and that municipalisation has had little impact on the availability of student accommodation. Advice to local authorities on housing matters generally rests with my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction. He has already expressed the hope that local authorities and housing associations would make accommodation available for single young people, including students, where the shortage of accommodation for them aggravates the general housing problem.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what changes have recently taken place in regulations concerning student grants in relation to married students.

The following changes were made in the awards regulations for the current academic year:

(i) The lower rate of grant for married women was abolished, and married women students living with their husbands in their own home became entitled to the same rate of grant as married men;

(ii) the age at which married women students cease to be subject to a parental contribution was raised to the same level (25) as for married men and single students;

(iii) married women students became eligible to claim dependants' allowances on the same basis as married men; and

(iv) the dependants' allowances payable to married students were, except for certain disregards, made subject to a deduction in respect of the spouse's earnings.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will list the number of undergraduate students at universities and polytechnics in the United Kingdom showing for each university and polytechnic the per capita fee per student which is passed to student unions.

In general, student union subscriptions are settled by the authorities of universities and colleges, and detailed information about the amounts payable is not available in my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what figures are available for the number of accidents and deaths resulting from adventure schemes operated by schools; if he will study the educational value of such schemes; and if he will make a statement.

No central records are kept of accidents arising from school activities. My Department through Her Majesty's inspectors is aware of a variety of adventure schemes with a wide range of objectives, and issues guidance to those concerned in the form of a pamphlet on "Safety in Outdoor Pursuits"; but it is for local education authorities and the schools themselves to assess the educational value of such schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will reach a decision about the level of grant to be given to ALRA in respect of adult literacy schemes for the coming year.

We hope to make an announcement shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers were working in schools in each year from 1965 to 1975, inclusive: and how many administrative and clerical staff were working, whether in schools or local authorities, in educational administration in each year from 1965 to 1975 inclusive.

The numbers of teachers, full-time and full-time equivalent of part-time, in the maintained schools in England and Wales, in January of each year, were as follows:

1965	308,000
1966	316,000
1967	325,000
1968	335,000
1969	347,000
1970	360,000
1971	372,000
1972	395,000
1973	414,000
1974	436,000
1975	451,000

Figures for 1974 and 1975 are of qualified teachers; those for 1971 to 1973 include unqualified teachers in nursery and special schools, and those for 1970 and earlier years are of all teaching staff.The information requested in the second part of the Question is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much each local authority in England and Wales spent on education in 1974–75 and 1975–76.

Expenditure by each local education authority in England and Wales is listed in the annual digest of education statistics published jointly by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Society of County Treasurers, copies of which are in the Library. The latest volume relates to the financial year 1974–75.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, what are the (a) capital and (b) unit costs of providing each place in nursery schools and classes, respectively, in England and Wales in 1973 and 1974.

		Maintained Nursery Schools		Nursery Classes in Maintained Primary Schools
		1973–74	1974–75	1973–74	1974–75
Full-time pupils	…	15,431	15,365	32,527	34,793
Part-time pupils	…	30,401	32,752	61,762	75,258

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be replying to the letter of 16th June from the hon. Member for Welwyn and Hatfield regarding the nationality of Miss Bridget MacDougal.

I regret that I have not been able to reply sooner. This is an extremely difficult case, but I shall write to my hon. Friend very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what special financial aid has been given to Leicestershire in each of the last five years towards the cost of meeting the special problems associated with a large immigrant community; for what purposes was such aid authorised; and what form it took.

Between 1970–71 and 1974–75 grants paid to

The average net institutional recurrent costs per pupil—full time or full-time equivalent—were as follows:

	Financial Year
	1973–74 (1974 Survey Prices)	1974–75 (1975 Survey Prices)
Maintained Nursery Schools	£266	£300
Designated Nursery Classes in Primary Schools (Estimated)	£165	£197

Corresponding figures for capital costs are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many full and part time pupils, respectively, there were in nursery schools and classes, respectively, in England and Wales in 1973–74 and 1974–75.

In January of the respective years the figures for England and Wales were as follows.Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council under Section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 on the costs of staff employed in consequence of the presence of immigrants from the Commonwealth whose language or customs differ from those of the rest of the community, were as follows:

Financial Year	Grant paid to Leicestershire County Council £	Grant paid to Leicester City Council £
1970–71	7,806	156,597
1971–72	11,828	152,580
1972–73	20,509	160,233
1973–74	25,026	338,673
1974–75	381,310	243,286

It is not possible without disproportionate cost to identify what payments of grant aid to Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council under the Urban Programme relate to projects dealing with the special problems associated with a large immigrant community.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost of producing the English only and the bilingual Welsh/English television reminder form, respectively; what is the cost of the prepaid envelopes enclosed with the reminder form; how many television licences are renewed by direct application to the National Television Licence Records Office; and how many by application at Post Offices.

The estimated annual cost of providing the English only licence reminder form is some £43,000, and of the Welsh English form some £5,500. The cost of producing the prepaid envelopes enclosed with the reminded forms is some £50,000. Postage is charged only on those actually used, and is some £170,000. At present about 2,600,000 television licences, some 15 per cent. of the total issued, are obtained by direct application to the National Television Licence Records Office and nearly 15 million by application at post offices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will specify the criteria under which and the purposes for which grants as project aid to voluntary bodies are made by the Voluntary Services Unit.

Most of the Voluntary Services Unit's grants are made to national organisations whose work spans the interests of several different Government Departments or falls outside the responsibility of any individual Department. Grants may be made to individual projects if they are considered to be innovatory and of national significance. The puposes for which grants are made vary widely, but in all cases the VSU must be satisfied that the work concerned is of high social priority and that adequate arrangements have been made for it to be carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government's conclusions on the oustanding recommendations of the Younger Committee on privacy will be announced.

The outstanding recommendations of the Younger Committee and the implications for more general areas of privacy are now being studied, but it is too early to say when it will be possible for the Government to announce their conclusions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to empower magistrates in England and Wales to impose penalties for contempt in the face of the court.

The Report of the Phillimore Committee on Contempt of Court (Cmnd. 5794) recommended that magistrates in England and Wales should be given power to impose penalties up to a £20 fine or seven days' imprisonment for contempt in the face of the court. The Government are considering this and the other recommendations of the report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Answer given on Thursday 5th February 1976 to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South West, in respect of how many people action has been taken for removal when the period of stay of a work permit holder not accepted for settlement has expired and he has not left the country since March 1974.

It would involve a disproportionate effort to produce the figure, since the information could only be assembled by searching all our case files.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures are available for the number of accidents and deaths resulting from the use of adventure training methods by police forces; if he will examine the value of such training methods; and if he will make a statement.

Records are not kept centrally of accidents that occur in the course of training undertaken by police forces. The scope and range of the training are matters for the discretion of individual forces. The value of adventure training as a means of developing the qualities of initiative and self reliance in police cadets was recognised by the Working Party on Police Cadets which reported in 1965, and many forces include an element of such training in their cadet schemes. We are satisfied that there is no need to give any further general advice to chief officers on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reactions he has received in response to the publication of the Home Office Working Party's Report "Protection Against Vandalism"; and what action has been taken or is now planned to implement the report's recommendations.

The report has aroused widespread interest. The Government are planning a national publicity campaign to sustain that interest, to support local efforts to awaken public consciousness to the extent of vandalism and to help to enlist the co operation of the police, local authorities, industry, and, above all, members of the general public, in preventing it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners on remand received a sentence that entailed their instant release from prison; and what were the comparable figures in the three previous years.

51 per cent. in 1974, 52 per cent. in 1973, 49 per cent, in 1972 and 49 per cent. in 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest number of prisoners who are on remand in British prisons.

5,481 on 31st January 1976 in prisons and remand centres in England and Wales. Responsibility for offenders in Scotland rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current cost of keeping a man in a British prison; and what are the comparable figures for a woman, and a youth in a community school.

The latest available information for England and Wales relates to the financial year 1974–75, when the average weekly cost of keeping an adult in prison was £58 for a man and £74 for a woman. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services tells me that the average weekly cost of maintaining a child in all types of community home in England and Wales in 1974–75 was £50. This provisional figure, excludes administration costs and takes no account of parental contributions.Separate information is not available about the cost of community homes with education on the premises—formerly approved schools.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now make it his practice in appropriate cases of public importance to answer Questions in relation to operational matters for the police.

Although I always endeavour to provide hon. Members with information derived from reports from the police where this is appropriate, operational matters are the responsibility of chief officers of police and I do not intend to commit myself to any practice which might detract from or appear to conflict with that responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will bring forward criteria, to which property owners would have to adhere if they planned to convert houses into flats, which would include reference to a minimum number of levels, rooms and toilet facilities.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th February 1976; Vol. 905, c. 494], gave the following information:It is difficult to lay down general criteria which could fairly and reasonably be applied in all cases. Anyone considering a conversion can consult the Divisional Planning Office on the planning aspects and the Housing Executive on conditions relating to a grant.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many buildings in Wellington Park, Belfast 9 are used as private dwellings; and at what point he would consider it impossible to retain the present policy of not permitting owners of the private dwellings to sell their property for business or professional purposes.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th February 1976; Vol. 905, c. 495], gave the following information:At a recent count 70 buildings in Wellington Park, Belfast, were being used for residential purposes while 17 buildings had been converted to office use. Present planning policy is to retain the residential character of the area. I do not foresee any change in this policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will publish in a booklet form suitable for issue to companies considering applying for Government aid the document "Criteria for Assistance to Industry", copies of which are available to Members in the Vote Office.

Copies are already available on request from my Department and its regional offices and from the Scottish and Welsh Offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what proportion of the EEC Regional Development Fund is being allocated to the North-West; and how this compares with the proportion of national unemployed currently out of work in the region.

The European Regional Development Fund specifies the share of the fund available for each member State. There is, therefore, a United Kingdom share but no subdivision within it. To date, the Commission has agreed to contribute £38·9 million from the fund towards the cost of projects in the United Kingdom. £3·3 millions—8·5 per cent.—relates to projects in the North-West Region. In January 1976, 14·6 per cent. of those unemployed in the United Kingdom were in the North-West.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what advice he has sought, in view of the statutory letter monopoly of the Post Office, concerning the prohibition of special or exclusive rights for public undertakings under Articles 85 to 94 of the Treaty of Rome and following a case in Italy in 1974 in which the prohibitions of the Treaty on restraints on competition were held to be directly applicable in member States.

My right hon. Friend is taking legal advice on this question and I will get in touch with the hon. Member when I have seen that advice.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if, in view of the present level of unemployment in the West Midlands area, he will abolish all IDC controls until the rate of unemployment has fallen to a more reasonable level.

IDC applications are decided with full regard to the circumstances and plans of individual firms and the needs and resources of the locations concerned, particularly the current and expected labour situation. They continue to have an important part to play in the Government's regional policy, and a temporary suspension of the control in response to the present unemployment situation in the non assisted areas would not be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry which EEC regulations govern the giving of financial assistance to companies for stock building; and if he will make a statement.

Articles 92–94 of the Treaty of Rome cover all aid granted to industry by member States, and Article 4 of the Treaty of Paris covers aid to the coal and steel industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the total amount of money spent on administration and on capital grants and loans, respectively, by the National Enterprise Board between the date of its inception and the latest available date.

The National Enterprise Board has made no capital grants or loans so far. Expenditure on administration is a matter for the Board, but I am asking the Chairman to write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry on how many occasions he has used his powers under Section 11(9) of the Post Office Act 1969, in each year since that date.

There has been no need for the formal use of these powers.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will provide figures showing the increase in output of the textile industry during each of the last 10 years for which the information is available.

The output of the textile industry (Order XIII of the Standard industrial Classifiation) as measured by the index of industrial production (1970=100) was as follows:

1965	86·1
1966	85·9
1967	84·1
1968	97·1
1969	100·2
1970	100·0
1971	100·7
1972	103·1
1973	108·6
1974	99·2
1975 (provisional)	93·9

Source: Annual Abstract of Statistics; Monthly Digest of Statistics.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give assisted area status to Coventry.

While all applications for assisted area status are considered on their merits I am not convinced that I would be justified in granting any such status to Coventry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if any of the companies which have members on the External Advisory Committee set up to advise his Department on the Ferrous Foundry Scheme, have been in receipt of benefits from the scheme under Section 8 of the Industry Act 1972.

Details of assistance given under the scheme are commercially confidential. As I have previously explained, a member of the committee who is in any way directly or indirectly interested in an application for assistance which is under consideration by the committee must declare the nature of his interest and take no part in the deliberations of the committee with respect to that application.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects the Post Office Users' National Council to report on the practice of the Post Office of charging users more for telephone calls which can be shown to have had to be made through an operator because of the breakdown of STD facilities.

I have been asked to reply.I understand that the Council's study of operator connected calls is still in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what account he took of the need for the conservation of the metropolitan green belt in the formulation of his policy in paragraph 26 of the White Paper (Cmnd. Paper No. 6400), "Future Civil Aviation Policy", to promote the build up of traffic at Gatwick.

The present buildup of traffic at Gatwick is related to expansion of the airport in accordance with the British Airport Authority's master plan. This was the subject of extensive consultations with the local authorities and other organisations concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the operation of the film levy fund; and if he will take steps to ensure that levy payments are not made in respect of the production of erotic films.

Details of the fund's operation are laid annually before Parliament. Classification of the content of a film is not within its scope. The fund is financed from a levy on cinema admissions for all films, and it is in turn distributed by reference to box office takings for the film concerned, with some advantage for low-cost films.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade in what circumstances his Department gives guidance or in any way constrains airport owners and managers in changing landing charges and associated tariffs.

Under the Civil Aviation Act 1949, Section 8(2)(o), the Secretary of State is empowered to regulate charges at licensed aerodromes. This power has not been exercised formally but it is customary for the Secretary of State's approval to be sought for changes in the charges at British Airport Authority's airports and for the charges recommended by the Aerodrome Owners Association for other airports.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will estimate the benefit to the British Airport Authority's finances derived from the rents from duty free shops situated on British Airports Authority land.

The British Airport Authority is responsible for negotiation of the concessions for the duty free shops at its airports. I understand it is the policy of the Authority not to publish details of income it receives from these concessions, but its Report and Accounts for 1974–75 shows that total income in that year from all trading concessions was £17,171,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will consult representatives of British cloth manufacturers with a view to establishing the extent to which cheap imports of mainly wool suits into the United Kingdom from Eastern Europe are causing or threatening to cause material injury to British cloth manufacturers.

I am always ready to meet representatives of the British cloth manufacturers if they feel that they are threatened with material injury through dumped imports of cloth. As both the cloth and suit manufacturers will realise, any action taken would have to conform to our own legislation and the GATT anti-dumping code.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he has now received representations from the Clothing Manufacturers Federation about cheap imports of mainly wool suits into the United Kingdom from Eastern Europe; and what steps he is taking to establish whether these imports constitute dumping.

Representatives of the Clothing Manufacturers Federation on 16th January discussed with officials of my Department the problem arising from these imports and the possibility of antidumping action against them. My officials explained the criteria which an antidumping application has to meet and the Federation representatives agreed to consider the matter further in the light of that information.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many small businesses were registered for the first time in each of the past five years.

There is no register of "small businesses" as such. Firms not incorporated under the Companies Act are required to register under the Registration of Business Names Act 1916 only if they are not operated under the true name or names of the proprietor or proprietors. These are not necessarily "small businesses" since they include partnerships of, for example, solicitors, accountants or stockbrokers. New registrations under the Companies Acts disclose the amount of capital the company is authorised eventually to issue, but this amount may be greatly in excess of the value of the working capital intended to be raised during the early years of the company's existence.Taking account of the above reservations the numbers registering during the last five years in Great Britain, respectively under the RBN Act and under the Companies Acts, with a nominal capital not exceeding £100 were as follows:

	Registered Business Names	Registered Companies
1971	78,728	26,295
1972	95,706	40,492
1973	104,825	52,288
1974	91,299	26,091
1975	95,333	28,337

£'000
	Birmingham*	Carlisle†	Glasgow*	Manchester*	Orkneys‡	Totals
1965–66	191	—	—	32	—	223
1966–67	220	—	3,500	30	—	3,750
1967–68	162	50	—	540	—	752
1968–69	180	—	—	188	16	384
1969–70	40	—	—	78	—	118
1970–71	13	—	—	23	—	36
1971–72	54	—	—	—	—	54
1972–73	172	—	—	—	—	172
1973–74	3	—	—	95	—	98
1974–75	56	—	—	3	9	68
1975–76(to January 1976)	17	—	—	1	4	22
* Grants payable under agreements providing for the transfer of the aerodromes from the Government to local authorities.
† Grants payable under section 12 of the Civil Aviation Act 1968.
‡ Grants payable under section 1(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1949.

In addition, some airports have been reimbursed for aerodrome security costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what discussions he has had with the recently formed British Insurance Brokers' Council;(2) if he plans legislation on the registration of insurance brokers; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he has met Mr. Francis Perkins of the Corporation of Insurance Brokers on the recent report on registration of insurance brokers by the joint working party under his chairmanship.

I have received and considered the report of the joint working party, and I have asked for the report to be amplified in certain import-

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many small businesses went into voluntary liquidation in each of the past five years.

Information about the size of the business carried on by companies in voluntary liquidation is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what grants have been made to local authority airports in each of the last 10 years;(2) what grants have been made to private airports for each of the last 10 years.

The table below sets out grants made to local authority airports. No grants have been made to privately owned airports.ant respects. It is too early yet to say what legislation may be necessary. My Department is keeping in touch with the British Insurance Brokers' Council on this and other matters of concern to insurance brokers.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if the financial arrangements concerning grant in aid to the CAA announced in Command Paper No. 6400, "Future Civil Aviation Policy", represent a change from the present policy that the authority should break even by 1977–78.

The relevant paragraphs of Cmnd. 6400 repeat in essence the financial objectives embodied in paragraph 29 of Cmnd. 4899 and similarly identify two areas in which the Authority is not expected to achieve early breakeven. There is a marginal change to reflect the possibility of a small residual deficit remaining in 1977–78 on the Authority's other activities.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the maximum gross weekly wage offered to a 16 year old, an 18 year old and a 21 year old unskilled worker engaged in the job creation programme of the Manpower Commission.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the rate of pay appropriate would be the normal rate applicable for equivalent work which in the case of unskilled work done for local authorities is the rate recommended by the National Joint Council of Local Authority Employees for unskilled manual workers. These rates are: for a 16 year old, £23·40 per week, and for a person aged 18 or above, £36·80. London allowances of up to £6 per week for Inner London are also payable.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men, women, boys and girls were registered as unemployed at the Mexborough employment exchange at the latest available date; what were the corresponding figures for 12 months ago; and if he will make a statement on what action is being taken to reduce the numbers.

On 8th January 1976, 1,305 males and 534 females were unemployed in the Mexborough employment office area. Information is not available separately for men, women, boys and girls. Because of industrial action a local offices of the Employment Service Agency, information for January 1975 is not available, but in February 1975 the figures were 945 males and 233 females.I would expect Mexborough to share in the benefits from the additional measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12th February. In addition, urgent consideration is being given to the question of a further increase in the South Yorkshire unit of Community Industry which covers Mexborough and which at present has 200 places.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give a list of those bodies, other than committees, but including quasi-judicial bodies, to which he appoints members other than civil servants; and what is the number of members serving on each body.

The information requested is:

Health and Safety Commission	9
Manpower Service Commission	10
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitation Services Council	10
Central Arbitration Committee	27
Levy Exemption Appeal Body	7
Industrial tribunals	1,574
Certification Officer	1
Remploy	17
Industrial training boards	500
National Dock Labour Board	10
Wages Councils	95

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to give official approval to the code on noise.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any proposals to introduce statutory maximum noise levels in industry.

The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission in forms me that the Health and Safety Executive is now consulting interested bodies on proposals for occupational noise legislation under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The proposals are contained in a report by the Noise Sub-Committee of the Industrial Health Advisory Committee. The Commission hopes to submit proposals for regulations setting out maximum noise exposure levels, backed by an approved code of practice, to my right hon. Friend as soon as the necessary consultations have been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects that regulations requiring employers to consult trades union representatives on health and safety matters will be brought into effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he proposes to introduce regulations providing for workers' safety representatives.

Regulations concerning safety representatives and safety committees will be introduced after consideration of the firm proposals on these matters from the Health and Safety Commission. The proposals are likely to be submitted as soon as possible after 13th March when comments on the Commission's consultative document are due. I cannot say at present how long the Commission will need to complete its consideration of the comments then received.