asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the United Kingdom contribution to SACLANT's wartime task in the Eastern Atlantic.

The principal talks of SACLANT's maritime forces would be to keep open the sea lines of communication between North America and Europe which are essential for reinforcement and resupply and to support Allied Command Europe. In the early stages of tension or conflict the United Kingdom would contribute the major part of the European maritime forces in the Eastern Atlantic. Initially, operations in that area would fall largely on these forces because of their proximity to the Soviet exits from the Norwegian and Baltic Seas.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is the practice of the Army to bind minors to their contracts of employment.

As the engagement of members of the Armed Forces is at the discretion of the Crown, enlistment into the Armed Forces does not involve entering into a contract. Consequently the law relating to contracts as it affects infants does not apply.Under his terms of engagement a junior soldier who enlisted under the age of 17½ may leave, as of right, at any time during his first sixth months of service by giving 14 days' notice. Furthermore, he has the option on reaching the age of 18 of either confirming his original commitment to service or of electing to reduce his commitment to one of three years' further trained service.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how much land, in acres, is in the ownership of his Department in the counties of Banffshire, Kincardineshire, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire, respectively.

Freehold land holdings are: Banffshire, nil; Kincardineshire, 591 acres; Aberdeenshire, 807 acres; Angus, 3,044 acres, and Perthshire, 177 acres.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's houses are currently being sold to local authorities or private individuals as being surplus to requirements.

On 31st October 1976, 522 houses were being sold to local authorities and a further 71 to private individuals.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will publish in the the EEC before holding any referendum which offered Scotland separation from the United Kingdom and the EEC.

I have nothing to add to what I said about referenda during the debate on the Second Reading of the Scotland and Wales Bill on 16th December 1976.—[Vol. 922, c. 1735–79].

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much land, in acres, is in the ownership of the Department of Agriculture in the counties of Banffshire, Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire, Angus and Perthshire, respectively.

The acreage of land held by the Department, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for agricultural purposes, is as follows:

Acres
Banffshire	—
Aberdeenshire	2,677
Kincardineshire	4,467
Angus	2,829
Perthshire	8,531

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what land, in acres, is in the ownership of the Crown Estates in the the counties of Banff, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Angus and Perth, respectively.

The agricultural land managed by the Crown Estate Commissioners is as follows:

County	Acreage
Banff	51,000
Kincardine	Nil
Aberdeen	540
Angus	Nil
Perth	Nil

The Crown Estate also includes some foreshore of and seabed adjoining these counties.

	1972–73	1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77 (estimate)
	£	£	£	£	£
(a) Official shorthand writers' fees	17,504	17,333	17,270	33,107	42,000
(b) Expenses of Members and officials on Select Committee business in the United Kingdom	3,775	3,548	3,522	5,414	9,000
(c) Specialist assistance to Select Committees	8,970	12,338	6,421	20,068	27,000
(d) Expenses of Select Committees traveling abroad	24,023	15,422	13,821	88,435	89,000
Total	54,272	48,641	41,034	147,024	167,000
These figures cannot without disproportionate cost be allocated between separate Select Committees, nor is it possible to isolate the cost of printing and publishing minutes of evidence and reports or to isolate the remaining costs from the more general administrative expenses of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, having requested comments from the Police Federation on his draft Police Federation (Amendment) Regulations during the early months of 1976 and having received these comments on 26th April, no response was made by his Department, despite a reminder, until 30th November.

There have had to be consultations on legal and other aspects, and I hope that an early meeting with the Federation can be arranged to discuss and settle them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many advertisements were placed by the Inland Revenue,

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the cost to public funds of each Select Committee of the House of Commons, and when appropriate each Sub-Committee of a Select Committee, in each of the last five parliamentary Sessions.

The identifiable costs directly attributable to Select Committees in the last four financial years and the estimated outturn in the current financial year are as follows:Management Division (Manpower and Training) Section in the

The Inland Revenue placed the following numbers of recruitment advertisements in the newspapers concerned:

Newspaper	Placed in 1975	Placed in 1976 up to 1st December
Lurgan and Portadown Examiner	—	1
Lurgan Mail	—	1
Portadown News	3	1
Craigavon Times	3	—
Armagh Guardian	—	1
Ulster Gazette	—	—

asked the Cancellor of the Exchequer how many investigations and prosecutions, respectively, have resulted from false statements concerning lump sum payments to sub-contractors in the construction industry on Inland Revenue Form No. 704 in each of the last three years.

I am afraid that information about the number of investigations cannot be provided without disproportionate effort and expense. Details of prosecutions by the Inland Revenue are set out in the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Rodgers) on 10th May—[Vol. 911, c. 54].

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sub-contractors in the construction industry have been refused a new style tax exemption certificate; and what estimate he has made of the final number who will be refused.

20,960 at the last count, on 12th November. It is not possible to estimate the final number of refusals. Up to 12th November 185,730 certificates had been granted.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria the Inland Revenue is using to decide whether a construction company is issued with a 714P or a 714C tax exemption certificate.

The inspector's decision depends on all the facts of the case, including the administrative needs of the company, the nature of its operations and how recently it has been formed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the gross annual pre-tax earnings for a married man without dependent children to enable him to be left with £67,000 per annum after payment of tax.

For 1976–77 a gross earned income of £358,820 per annum would be required to leave £67,000 per annum net after payment of tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will amend paragraph 47 of IR 14/15 1976 to clarify the appeals procedure and include the possibility of appeal to the Special Commissioners.

No. The paragraph states that an appeal lies to "the independent Commissioners", which covers both the General and Special Commissioners. Applicants who are refused a certificate are formally notified that they may ask for a hearing before either body.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current annual rate of inflation; and what proportionate contribution is made to that rate by (a) increased unit labour costs (b) increased costs of imported raw materials and other imports (c) increased costs of components and other materials used by industry, reflecting inflationary pressures already in the economy and (d) other factors.

The Retail Price Index rose by 14·7 per cent. over the 12 months to October. It is extremely difficult to quantify the exact contribution made by individual components. But, as a very rough estimate, increased unit labour costs may have contributed about 40 per cent. of total inflation over the period; increased import costs about 40 per cent.; and other factors the remaining 20 per cent. The cost increases faced by industry are a compound of past increases in all these categories and are not separately identifiable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what increase in the money supply would be required during 1976 to reflect (a) growth in the GNP and (b) the rate of price inflation; and how this compares with the target increase of 12 per cent.;(2) what effect on the level of economic activity the successful achievement of the target increase of 12 per cent. in the money supply will have, given that the rate of price inflation is greater than 12 per cent.(3) what is the current rate of increase in the money supply.

I will let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of the public sector deficit is financed by borrowing abroad;(2) how successful he has been, in percentage terms, in financing the public sector deficit in the current year.

I will let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will instruct Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to extend time limits for the payment of VAT where small firms find themselves in arrears due to bad debts and cash flow problems.

Traders are not normally required to pay VAT to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise until an average of two and a half months after they make the relevant supplies. I do not believe it would be justified to change these arrangements in order to ease cash flow problems of individual firms.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers are more than: (a) three months, (b) six months, and (c) nine months in arrears with payment of their employee's national insurance contributions; and how many employees are affected in each case.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th December 1976], gave the following information:In October 1976 about 57,000 employers were three months or more in arrear with payment of their employee's national insurance contributions. A further breakdown of this figure is not available, and no information is held about the number of employees affected.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what is the cause of the current non-appearance of the Order Book; how many industrial disputes involving parliamentary papers have occurred in 1976 to date; and what is the corresponding figure for each of the last 10 years.

The non-appearance of the Order Book was due to an industrial dispute involving members of the National Graphical Association at the Parliamentary Press. There have been four separate industrial disputes in 1976 which have affected the normal delivery of parliamentary papers. The number of industrial disputes affecting the supply of parliamentary papers in their normal form in earlier years are as follows:

Session commencing
2nd November 1971	6
31st October 1972	5
30th October 1973	2
12th March 1974	2
29th October 1974	1
19th November 1975	2
24th November 1976	2

I regret that information for 1966–70 Sessions is not available.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) whether he will set out details of those civil servants and public employees to whom London allowance is paid, giving (a) the numbers involved and (b) breaking down the total between Government Departments;(2) whether he will set out the annual cost of the London allowance breaking down the total between Government Departments.

I can answer only for the Civil Service. The accompanying table gives, by Department, the numbers of non-industrial civil servants working in inner and outer London on 1st January 1976, together with the annual cost of paying these numbers the appropriate London weighting allowances—inner London £465, outer £275. Comparable figures for industrial civil servants are not centrally available and could not be collected in time. But on 1st January 1975, 6,928 industrial civil servants worked in inner London and 12,402 in outer London. Assuming that these numbers were paid the current rates of London weighting, introduced on 1st July 1975, the annual costs would be £3,221,520 for inner London and £3,410,550 for outer London, giving a total for industrial civil servants of £6,632,070.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will set out the current terms and aims of the London allowance.

London weighting is paid to civil servants employed in London other than Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Secretares and equivalent grades. The rates, last revised on 1st July 1975, are £465 for inner London—within five miles of Charing Cross—and £275 for outer London, between five and 18 miles from Charing Cross plus certain additions. Since 1974 the allowance has been based on recommendations made in Advisory Report No. 4 by the Pay Board, which considered that its basic justification was to ensure comparability of real earnings for people working in London and elsewhere. London weighting is thus intended to compensate for the higher costs of travel, housing and other items as well as for the wear and tear of travel and for lower housing standards.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many companies in industries sponsored by his Department are eligible for planning agreements; and with how many he has entered negotiations on planning agreements.

The planning agreement system applies to leading companies in industry generally, including companies engaged in food and drink manufacturing, but there is no fixed limit on the number of companies that might be included. My officials have had informal exploratory talks with a number of the companies concerned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects the new rules governing the conditions under which animals are transported overseas for slaughter to be implemented.

In accordance with an undertaking already given, an order regulating the export of food animals under Section 8 of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 will be made within 12 months of the date on which the Act became law—15th November 1976. This order will give specific legal authority for the welfare controls currently operated under more general powers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will consult organisations concerned with animal welfare when considering regulations relating to the transport of livestock to overseas destinations.

Yes. It is our normal practise to do this.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that it is necessary to have three tiers of health service administration; and whether he has any proposals to change the system.

The Government have made clear on many occasions their dissatisfaction with the system and structure of NHS organisation introduced by the previous Administration. But further fundamental changes at the present time would be damaging to patient care and to staff morale, and I intend to await the report of the Royal Commission on the National Health Service before contemplating major changes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much of the cost of raising the earnings rule limit from £35 to £50 is attributable to the increased pensions which would be payable to retirement pensioners whose pensions are currently reduced or extinguished because of the earnings rule.

Out of the estimated cost in 1977–78 of moving from a £35 earnings limit, increased in line with earnings as proposed in the Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, to one of £50, some £3 million is attributable to the increased personal pensions payable to those retirement pensioners who would be affected by the £35 earnings limit proposed in the Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost at current rates of benefit of moving from the £50 per week earnings rule limit to complete abolition.

The estimated cost to the National Insurance Fund would be about £150 million in 1977–78, offset by some £45 million in respect of additional tax yields and a saving in exchequer supplement to the Fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many schoolchildren were inspected by the school dental service during each of the last five years; and what proportion did not require further treatment.

The numbers of children inspected during each of the last five years in England and the proportions not requiring further treatment were as follows:

		per cent.
1971	4,525,860	44·6
1972	4,724,279	45·5
1973	4,816,656	46·5
1974	4,683,916	47·2
1975	4,725,248	48·9

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department has given any indemnities to water authorities adding fluoride to water supplies; and, if so, how many such indemnities have been issued and what are their terms.

Since 1962, on the publication of the report on the successful conclusion of the first five years of the United Kingdom fluoridation studies—Reports on Public Health and Medical Subjects No. 105—my predecessors and I have offered to indemnify water authorities against costs or damages incurred in proceedings alleging that the authority has lacked statutory authority to add fluoride to the water supply or that such addition has caused or might cause injury to health. This indemnity has never had to be invoked by a water authority and is still operative. Since it was introduced successive Governments have continued to support fluoridation as a safe and effective means of protecting the community against dental decay.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy on what date British Nuclear Fuels called in officials of the Health and Safety Executive; on what date the company notified the Secretary of State for the Environment; and on what date the company issued a public statement about the recent leak.

I am advised that British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. informed the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive about the suspected leakage at Windscale on 22nd October 1976, and officials of the Department of the Environment on 27th October. The company made a public statement on 9th December.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what code of practice he intends to adopt regarding procedures to be followed by British Nuclear Fuels for notification of future incidents involving radioactive leakages;(2) if the recently reported seepage of contaminated water at Windscale was below the level of radioactivity to necessitate a report to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate; what are the minimum levels for a report to be required; and if he is satisfied with the existing criteria.

I am advised that the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is informed of incidents at licensed nuclear sites involving radioactivity that affect or could affect the health or safety of workers or members of the public. The contamination found at Windscale on 10th October was not in this category. I am advised that the existing criteria provide the necessary protection for workpeople and the public, but, as I have already stated, I am making arrangements to ensure that I am immediately informed when incidents, however apparently insignificant, occur on nuclear installations for whose safety I am answerable to the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many accidents have occurred at Windscale since it first came into production which have not been immediately reported to successive Ministers; what has been the time lag in passing on such information; and what reasons were recorded at the time.

I have already asked for a record of incidents that have occurred at the Windscale site and will make this available to the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the proposed expansion of the Windscale nuclear fuel reprocessing works will result in a decrease in the levels of radioactivity in waste currently being disposed of in the Irish Sea; and what will be the amount of any decrease.

The proposed development, in so far as it relates to the reprocessing of Magnox fuel, is, I understand, designed to reduce the amount of radioactivity discharged to the Irish Sea. BNFL has stated that total discharges following the proposed development of Magnox and oxide reprocessing plants would not result in radiation doses significantly higher than at present. Such discharges would require the joint authorisation of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and myself under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. It has been the policy of successive Governments to ensure not only that discharges of radioactivity to the environment are within the internationally accepted safety standards, but that in addition they are reduced as far below these levels as is reasonably practical.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment under whose authority the Awards for Good Design in Housing 1976 were recently issued; who appointed the committee making the awards; who were the members of the committee; and if he will ensure that, in future, Members of Parlia- ment for an area in which an award is made are informed.

The scheme has been in operation for 16 consecutive years under successive Ministers of Housing. There are nine regional committees and a further national committee which assesses public sector dwellings specially designed for disabled people. Each committee consists of two architects nominated by the President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a housing manager nominated by the Institute of Housing, a nominee of the National House Building Council and an architect nominated by myself. I have arranged for details of future awards to be lodged in the Library of the House, and I will write to hon. Members for the areas in which awards are made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many planning authorities there are presently in the United Kingdom; and how many there were before the reorganisation of local government.

509 at present and 277 before reorganisation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people there are currently employed in planning departments of local authorities; and how many there were employed before the reorganisation of local government.

About 22,000 in England and Wales. Information on planning staff was not collected systematically before local government reorganisation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment in what form and in what detail he collects information regarding applications to his Department for loan sanction under Section 161(1) of the Local Government Act 1972; and whether he will outline briefly the reasons which prevented him answering fully two Written Questions from the hon. Member for Melton on 1st December, Official Report, columns 158–9.

Records of applications made under Section 161(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 are kept in a form and detail consistent with the proper exercise of my right hon. Friend's powers under this provision.The information requested in the earlier Questions is not necessary for this purpose and could have been provided only by the individual examination of each of the 716 applications submitted during the period in question. The cost of staff time and resources would have been disproportionate.I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the current situation relating to the EEC Draft Directive on Water Pollution by Pulp Mills.

The main issues raised by the draft directive were discussed by Environment Ministers at the Council on 9th December, but it proved impossible to reach agreement on them. It was agreed that the draft directive should be considered further at official level.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is satisfied with the situation that a learner motor cyclist can have an unlimited number of provisional licences, without conditions as to instruction or testing.

As I explained in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Park) on 9th December—[Vol. 922, c. 307]—enforcement of licensing conditions of this kind has been tried before, but did not prove to be an effective use of resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report all individual items or projects in his expenditure on research into travel and transport matters that exceed the sum of £250,000 together with the cost of each project or item, and the total cost of all projects costing less than this figure.

Total expenditure on travel and transport research is estimated at about £14 million in 1976–77. Projects on which expenditure in 1976–77 is expected to be over £250,000 are:

	£
Experimental Safety Vehicle	260,000
Driver Behaviour Research	250,000
Development of a Sodium Sulphur Battery	350,000

The remaining £13·14 million is made up of a large number of smaller items.In addition there are for 1976–77 grants of £1 million to London Transport Executive and £2·13 million to British Rail's R & D Division; the latter includes £625,000 towards the cost of research into the novel features of the advanced passenger train to support prototype development.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report the information given to the County Councils' Association in May and June 1976 regarding his Department's estimate of the Road Construction Unit's future life and workload.

No. The information is unsuitable for publication in the Official Report, and, in any case, is now out of date.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is now in a position to announce the name of the chairman and members of the independent inquiry into investment appraisal methods for road schemes and their terms of reference.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, East (Mr. Dunnett) on Friday 10th December 1976. The membership of the committee will be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many ex gratia payments have been made under the Highways Act 1959 in each of the last five years.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 7th December to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Central (Mr. McMillan).—[Vol. 922, c. 142–3.]

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what were the amounts of ex gratia payments made in each of the last five years under the Highways Act 1959; and to which companies the payments were made.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 7th December to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Central (Mr. McMillan).—[Vol. 922, c. 142–3.]—Details of the 146 small individual payments made during the last five years are not readily available and would be costly to provide.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for restricting the use of the A58 between Leeds and Wetherby by heavy goods vehicles, or for diverting such vehicles from this road by signposting or by regulations, in the short term and in the longer term, respectively.

A working party of departmental and county council officials together with representatives from the road haulage industry is investigating the problem, which has wide implications for roods in both West and North Yorkshire. I will write to the hon. Member when their report, which is likely to take some time, has been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in discussions between his Department and the West Yorkshire County Council in the matter of designating lorry routes, particularly as they may affect the use of the A58 and A64, between Leeds, Wetherby and the A1.

The Government's proposal for a national network of lorry routes is still under consideration, and no conclusions have yet been reached. The problems of the A58 and A64 are being dealt with as local matters.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what inquiries his employment office in the London borough of Ealing has received from members of Ealing Council wanting to obtain statistics concerning refusal by young people to seek gainful employment; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that no such inquiries have been received by the Employment Service Agency's employment offices in the London borough of Ealing.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what reports he has received from offices of his Department from the London borough of Ealing concerning allegations of young people in Ealing being work shy; and if he will make a statement.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that no such reports have been received from the Employment Service Agency's employment offices in the London borough of Ealing.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will ask the ACAS to intervene in the dispute involving a member of BBC Radio Sheffield.

I understand there is an agreed procedure within the BBC for dealing with matters such as this. Should this procedure fail to resolve the dispute, I have no doubt that the services of ACAS will be available if the parties wish.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether quota figures about the numbers of registered disabled people employed in the public sector are now available; what action he proposes in the light of these figures; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 16th December.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the total amount of grants in the current year made under Section 7 of the Industry Act to firms operating in the regions of England.

In the period from 1st April to 31st October 1976 grants were offered to firms in respect of projects located in Scotland and the three main assisted areas of England as follows:

	£
Scotland	8,501,000
England	16,227,000

These grants are equivalent to about £54 per head of the registered unemployed in Scotland and £39 per head in England.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he is satisfied with the prospects for the United Kingdom paper industry during the next five years.

The United Kingdom paper and board industry faces a number of problems during the next five years, including preparing itself for a return to free trade with our former EFTA partners by 1984. The Paper and Board Sector Working Party is considering the prospects for the industry, and how its international competitive position can be improved. The £23 million scheme of financial assistance launched last June to encourage the industry to make greater use of indigenous fibres will help to alleviate one of its main current problems, that is the high cost of imported wood pulp.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much of the £23 million scheme for financial assistance to the paper and board industry has been allocated; and if he will make a statement.

Grants of £3·9 million have been approved towards capital expenditure of £19·3 million on 14 projects. A further 14 projects are under appraisal by my Department, involving requests for assistance of £2·3 million towards capital expenditure of £9·9 million. The Department has been advised by prospective applicants of a number of projects for which assistance will be requested in the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total identifiable public expenditure per capita on industrial innovation in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, and the total expenditure per capita in the United Kingdom on this item in 1975–76.

The information available relates to net central Government expenditure on research and development on industrial productivity and technology. It is given in Table 7A of "Research and Development-Expenditure and Employment" published by the Central Statistical Office as "Studies in Official Statistics No. 27", a copy of which is in the Library. The estimated expenditure in 1975–76 is equivalent to £2·6 per head of the population of the United Kingdom. Separate figures are not available for expenditure in England, Scotland and Wales. These figures do not include expenditure on research and development by public corporations, on which the latest available information is given in Tables 1A and 11 of the same publication.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list any types of engineering equipment imported into the United Kingdom which could be manufactured in the United Kingdom.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th December 1976; Vol. 922, c. 805), gave the following information:A wide range of imported equipment is or could be manufactured in this country. Even so, the United Kingdom runs a substantial overall trade surplus in electrical and non-electrical machinery.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether he will refer the question of car parking facilities at airports to the Director of Fair Trading.

I am not sure what the problem is that the hon. Member is concerned about. The provision of car parking facilities at airports under its control is a matter for the British Airports Authority. But if there is evidence that consumers' interests are being

Economic Planning Region			Number of centers in operation receiving DPCP grant	Value of grants made towards running costs	Value of grants made towards capital costs	Total value of grants made to date
				£	£	£
North	…	…	1	451	7,845	8,296
Yorkshire and Humberside	…	…	2	20,525	29,163	49,688
East Midlands	…	…	3	140	5,600	5,740
East Anglia	…	…	3	13,993	35,187	49,180
South-East	…	…	7	37,365	61,981	99,346
South-West	…	…	1	8,150	657	8,807
West Midlands	…	…	4	30,005	47,610	77,615
North-West	…	…	2	9,841	7,830	17,671
Wales	…	…	4	19,348	29,681	49,029
Scotland	…	…	6	17,980	25,545	43,525
Total	…	…	33	157,798	251,099	408,897

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) why, in the light of his undertaking in March to the wool textile industry that the quota for wool suits from Romania would be reduced by 40,000, he authorised a total quota of 370,000 suits to be imported in 1976;(2) why he has allowed the quota of imported suits from Romania to be increased for 1977; and if he will make a statement;(3) why, in the light of the Government's policy on support for the United Kingdom clothing industry, he has allowed imports from Romania to increase for 1977.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many of the consumer advice centres operating in each region of Great Britain on 1st December 1976 were receiving grants from his Department towards running costs; and what is the total value of grants made for this purpose to each region to date.

The information as at 1st December 1976 is as follows:I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the trade, industry and financial powers exercised by the Stormont Parliament and also the powers, if any, exercised by its successor.

The Government of Ireland Act 1920 devolved to the Northern Ireland Parliament power to legislate in most areas of trade and industry, reserving to the United Kingdom Parliament responsibility for such matters as trade marks and designs, copyright or patent rights, and external trade. The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 conferred similar powers on the Northern Ireland Assembly. Under the provisions of the 1920 Act, power over the major taxes—income tax, company tax and Customs and excise duties—was reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament, and the rest of taxation was devolved; however the Northern Ireland Parliament made little use of its—theoretical—powers to tax Northern Ireland differently from Great Britain. Under the provisions of the 1973 Act responsibility for all significant taxation, though not local rates, remained with the United Kingdom Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for compensation under the Criminal Injuries to Property (Compensation) Act (NI) 1971 were received fol- lowing an explosion in William Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh on 29th May 1973; how many of these have been settled; and how many were refused.

37 applications for compensation were received as a result of this explosion, of which 33 have been settled. In one further application settlement has been reached in the county court, but payment is dependent upon the receipt by the Northern Ireland Office of the certificate of the court order from the applicant's solicitor. Three applications remain outstanding, in one of which the application was received out of time and refused. The applicant has lodged an appeal against this decision with the county court. The hon. Member wrote on 8th December to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about this latter claim.