asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many administrative grade personnel at present serving in commercial departments abroad have had: (a) any practical industrial or commercial experience or (b) any period of employment in industry or commerce.

On the basis of information readily available the number who have had significant experience or periods of employment of the kinds described is six.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people of any grade at present serving in commercial departments abroad have had: (a) any practical industrial or commercial experience or (b) any period of employment in industry or commerce.

On the basis of information readily available the number who have had significant experience or periods of employment of the kinds described is 13.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people by grade serving at home have had: (a) any practical industrial or commercial experience or (b) any period of employment in industry or commerce.

On the basis of in formation readily available the numbers who have had significant experience or periods of employment of the kinds described are:

Grade					Number
2	…	…	…	…	1
3	…	…	…	…	4
4	…	…	…	…	7
5	…	…	…	…	15
6	…	…	…	…	6
7	…	…	…	…	1
9	…	…	…	…	1
10	…	…	…	…	1

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any provision is made for administrative grade civil servants to receive commercial or industrial experience, and, if so, what provision; if any provision is made for employees of industry and commerce to be seconded for a period to Foreign and Commonwealth Office commercial departments: (a) at home and (b) abroad; and, if so, how many such people there are and where they are serving.

At the establishment of the Diplomatic Service in 1965 the value of "cross fertilisation" between the Diplomatic Service and commerce and industry was recognised. Contact was made with a number of firms with a view to arranging secondments of Diplomatic Service officers to them and of their employees to the Diplomatic Service. Over the past 10 years, 15 outward attachments to industry and commerce have been arranged and five inward attachments from industry and commerce. At the moment there are no Diplomatic Service officers seconded to commerce or industry nor are there any employees from the private sector seconded to the Diplomatic Service. However, efforts continue to be made to arrange secondments in both directions.All officers taking up commercial assignments in Her Majesty's Missions overseas attend training and/or briefing courses which include visits to firms in commerce and industry in this country. Arrangements are also made for officers in commercial jobs abroad to visit firms interested in the markets in the countries where the officers concerned are serving.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total staff by grade employed in the commercial departments of the following place at present, and what it was in 1957 and 1967: (a) Washington, (b) remainder of the USA, (c) Paris, (d) remainder of France, (e) Cairo, (f) Tehran, (g) Riyadh and (h) Caracas.

The information is set out below:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees about the tardiness in processing applications for entry visas for political prisoners from South America and about the small proportion of applications granted following the statement by Her Majesty's Government to the European Council that the United Kingdom would be prepared to accept 1,000 refugees from that area.

I have received representations from the Representative in London of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, M. Heidler, about the time taken to process applications from refugees in Argentina to come to the United Kingdom. These and other complaints have been fully investigated and M. Heidler has recently confirmed that United Nations officials in Buenos Aires now accept that the applications have been processed there with all the speed that could reasonably be expected.My right hon. Friend made no statement in the European Council to the effect suggested in the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the light of the Helsinki Final Act, he will make immediate representations to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics about the arrest of members of the Organising Committee of the Jewish Cultural Symposium in Moscow on the eve of the commencement of this international conference.

The Government share the deep concern that is rightly felt in Britain about human rights questions. Ministers take every suitable opportunity to bring to the attention of the Soviet authorities the strength of feeling aroused by certain aspects of their domestic policies and will continue to do so.The Government attach particular importance to the 7th Principle of the Helsinki Final Act whereby participating States undertook to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Government will not be satisfied until all of the points in the Final Act have been met by all of the signatory states.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total staff of the British Embassy in Moscow; what proportion are British citizens and citizens of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, respectively; and what is the annual cost to the British Government of the British and Russian employees, respectively.

The total staff of Her Majesty's embassy in Moscow is 141. Of these, 86 are British subjects, 54 are Soviet citizens and one is Greek. The annual costs of the British and non-British employees, respectively, are £876,000 and £146,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total staff of the Russian Embassy in London; and what proportion of the staff are British citizens and citizens of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, respectively.

The staff of the Soviet Embassy in London as of today comprises 45 diplomatic and 45 administrative and technical staff, all of whom are Soviet citizens. Locally engaged staff of diplomatic missions in London are not notified to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

asked the Lord President of the Council on how many occasions in 1976 there have been meetings of the EEC Council of Ministers; and on how many occasions they have been followed by oral statements to the House.

The Council of Ministers met on 54 occasions during 1976 and meetings were followed by oral statements on 11 occasions.

asked the Lord President of the Council when he expects the Official Report of the proceedings of this House on Friday 10th December to be published.

I have been asked to reply.It is hoped to publish the

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will promulgate industrial investment guidelines for the Scottish Development Agency.

My Department has today issued such guidelines to the Agency. I am placing copies in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give instructions that no facilities should be provided in future for Service men to listen to lecturers or be supplied with literature from the Institute for the Study of Conflict.

I have nothing to add to the reply which my predecessor gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard) on 22nd July 1976.—[Vol. 915, c. 568–69.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will hold an inquiry into the recent use of soldiers as quarry in a bloodhound chase; and if he will discourage employment of Service men in such ways.

I am looking into the facts of this incident and will write to the hon. Member in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many commissioned officers have been seconded to Fort Bragg, USA, for specialist training during the last three years; and what was the nature of that training.

A total of 10 British officers have received training at the United States Army Institute for Military Assistance during the last three years. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 20th December about the nature of this training.—[Vol. 923, c. 127.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he will take to improve the weather forecasting service.

The Meteorological Office maintains a continual review of its forecasting methods and is always striving to improve them. It devotes a good deal of effort to research which is directly or indirectly aimed at improving the techniques used in forecasting and the quality of the forecast.There has been steady improvement in the accuracy of short range forecasts in recent years particularly in respect of the outlook for two or three days ahead. However, there is a limit to what can be achieved with the present state of knowledge and there is no simple step which can be taken to obtain a rapid and dramatic improvement.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how many personnel are involved in his Department abroad in helping companies which seek contracts under the aid programme.

The activity that my hon. Friend has in mind is a function of the commercial sections of Diplomatic Service posts abroad.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what is his estimate of the number of jobs which is created for a company which is directly involved in producing goods and services through overseas aid programmes.

The creation of jobs in any individual company depends on many different economic factors, and it would be very difficult to estimate to what extent the production of goods and services under the aid programme has contributed to the creation of jobs within it.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how many companies in the United Kingdom are at present involved in producing goods and services through overseas aid programmes.

Because of the form in which procurement records are kept I regret that it is not possible to provide an answer to this Question without a disproportionate expenditure of time and resources.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what support he proposes to give to the immunisation and tropical diseases research programmes of the World Health Organisation.

I have been following closely the development of the proposals made by the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation for a special programme for research and training in tropical diseases, for which total pledges already exceed £7 million. This programme has been launched to provide new tools for the control of six tropical diseases which are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the developing world—malaria, schistosomiasis, filariasis, trypanosomiasis, leprosy and leishmaniasis.I am giving the full support of my Ministry to this co-ordinated world-wide effort, and have pledged, subject to parliamentary approval, a contribution of £500,000 for 1977, the first fully operational year of the programme. This follows an initial contribution of £150,000 provided for work on the preparatory stages which were carried out during 1976.I am also giving the full support of my Ministry to the World Health Organisation's expanded programme on immunisation which has the objective of encouraging the development of well aimed and well administered immunisation programmes in developing countries which need external aid in expertise and resources for this purpose. In particular, the programme is assisting the poorest countries in Africa and in South East Asia. The immunisation programmes are national in character and are designed to reach the rural as well as the urban child. I intend, subject to parliamentary approval, to make a contribution in kind to this programme by providing vaccines from manufacturers in the United Kingdom, and by meeting all the expenses of delivery up to a total value of £100,000 for each of the three financial years 1976–77 to 1978–79.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development when, he now expects the Fay Committee to report; and if he will make a statement.

The Committee has yet to complete its inquiries, and I cannot add to the replies given to my hon. Friend on 25th October and 29th November. If my hon. Friend himself wishes to give evidence, following the suggestion of my right hon. Friend the Member for Lanark (Mrs. Hart) on 20th December, in the debate on the Second Reading of the Consolidated Fund Bill, I hope he will make contact with Judge Fay.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give general details of the pensions due or claimable by ex-Ministers of the Crown who have served in office for one to five years, five to 10 years and above 10 years; on the basis of present inflation, what these indexed pensions will be in five to 10 years and 10 to 20 years; and what gross income would have to be earned to enable these pensions to be received at these stated dates.

Until 1972 a Minister was able to earn pension only in respect of salary received as a Member of the House of Commons. The Parliamentary and Other Pensions Act 1972 introduced new pension arrangements giving an option for Ministers to be pensioned from 1st April 1972 on any salary in excess of that as a Member of the House of Commons. The ratio from time to time between the excess salary and the pensionable salary of a Member governs the rate of accrual of pension under the Supplementary Scheme. For example, in any one year in which the excess equals the Member's pensionable salary the accrual rate in the Supplementary Scheme will equal the accrual rate in the Members' Scheme; this is the general position for Cabinet Ministers at the present time. As the supplementary arrangements have been in operation for less than five years and there has been a change of administration since 1972, the amount of any pension earned under these arrangements will be relatively small.I cannot endorse my hon. Friend's assumption of the present rate of inflation continuing indefinitely. In any event, it is impossible to forecast what level of ministerial salary would be required in the future to produce a particular level of pension from the supplementary arrangements particularly as such pensions depend upon the pensionable salary of a Member of the House of Commons at the date of retirement.

Grade	Present Basic Salary £ pa	Superannuation pention £ pa	Provision| Lump Sum§ £	Pension in 2 years' time assuming 15 per cent. inflation £ pa
Permanent Secretary	20,175*†	11,500‡	34,500‡	15,208·75
	18,675*†	10,500‡	31,500‡	13,886·25
	17,175*†	9,500‡	28,500*	12,563·75
Deputy Secretary	14,000*†	7,500‡	22,500‡	9,918·75
Under-Secretary	12,000	6,000	18,000	7,935·00
Chief Scientific Officer (lower band)	11,670	5,835	17,505	7,716·79
Senior Director (Accounts)	11,670	5,835	17,505	7,716·79
Directing Grade A (P & T)	11,440	5,720	17,160	7,564·70
Principal Medical Officer	11,440	5,720	17,160	7,564·70
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer	10,180-	5,595	16,785	7,399·39
	11,190
Directing Grade B (P & T)	11,000	5,500	16,500	7,273·75
Senior Medical Officer	11,000	5,500	16,500	7,273·75
* These rates are those actually in payment; i.e. they exclude the second stage of the increase authorised for the Higher Civil Service following the Government's acceptance of the recommendations in Report No. 6 by the Review Body on Top Salaries (Cmnd. 5846) in December 1974.
† These rates do not attract London Weighting.
‡ Pension and lump sum based on salary promulgated but partly withheld in the present restrictions—see * above.
§ Gross amount—liable to reduction if any outstanding contributions for widow's pension scheme at date of retirement.
| Assuming at least 12 months on maximum of scale and 40 years' reckonable service at retirement.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are his estimates in current and constant prices of pensions paid under the Civil Service Pension Scheme in 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76 and 1980–81 in total and per capita.

Expenditure on Civil Service pensions is met from the Vote for Civil Superannuation, etc.—class XIV, Vote 6. The outturn for the Vote, including lump sum benefits and

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will list the present 10 highest paid grades of civil servant, what their present salaries are, and on the present basis, what their retirement pensions will be; and assuming the present rates of inflation and indexed pension arrangements, what these persons' annual pensions will be on retirement and in 20 years time.

The information requested is given in the table below for the 10 highest paid general service grades. The table shows the maximum pensions and lump sums which can be earned after 40 years' reckonable service. In practice, only a minority qualify for such benefits. The average length of service for all retired civil servants is 23 years; information is not available on a grade by grade basis.transfer payments less contributions and other receipts, was £135·5 million in 1973–74, £160·3 million in 1974–75 and £253·0 million in 1975–76. In constant price terms—that is, at 1976–77 prices—the figures are £226 million, £228 million and £288 million respectively. On the same price basis, the present estimate for 1980–81 is £430 million. Including widows' and other dependants' pensions, and calculated on the basis of pensions in payment at 1st December when pensions are up-rated each year, the average amount of pension in payment was £476 a year in 1973–74, £564 a year in 1974–75 and £718 a year in 1975–76. At 1976–77 prices, the figures are £795 a year, £800 a year and £819 a year respectively. The estimate for 1980–81 assumes an average pension of about £900 a year in that year.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give the actual or estimated costs to the end of December 1976 for the payment of indexed pensions to retired public servants.

The cost of the 13·8 per cent. pension increase, payable from 1st December last, is estimated to be £114 million for the public services in a full year. The cost of public service pensions, including lump sums and inflation-proofing, for the financial year 1976–77 is estimated to be £1,140 million.

asked the Prime Minister what official engagements he proposes to carry out in the Christmas Recess.

It is not in accordance with previous practice to list my future official engagements.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Mitcham.

asked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to Mitcham.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if he will announce the action taken on the dossier on the activities of South African agencies submitted by the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Rose).

The dossier has been passed to the appropriate authorities for consideration.

asked the Prime Minister when he next expects to meet the TUC.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesend (Mr. Ovenden) on 7th December.

asked the Prime Minister when he next intends to visit the North-West Region.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatal accidents have occurred at the east exit to the Hyde Park Corner Underpass during the last two years and how many accidents resulting in injury.

Statistics of road accidents and casualties in local areas are a matter for the local authorities concerned. I suggest that the hon. Member gets in touch with the Greater London Council which is the local highway authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether the reference in paragraph 4.15 of his statement on the Greater London Development Plan in October 1975 to the need to improve conditions in the M4–A4 corridor, as recommended by the Layfield Panel of Inquiry, remains Government policy; and whether he will arrange for its incorporation as an amendment in the approved Greater London Development Plan.

Yes. Any consequential amendment to the approved plan would be a matter for the Greater London Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is now able to announce whether the expenditure cuts announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer will affect the starting dates of the M20 motorway; and if he is able to give a date when the work will commence on the section by-passing the village of Sellindge.

The detailed implications of the cuts are still being examined, and a statement will be made in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport by how much he expects the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Christmas Budget to delay the opening of the A10 to M11 section of the M25; and when this will now be in use.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the Chancellor's recent statement will have on the building of the M25; and whether he will give the latest estimates for the completion of each section.

As a result of the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15th December, a moratorium has been imposed for the next six months on the letting of any new contracts for motorway and trunk road construction.The following sections of the M25 are already open: the A1 to the A111, Godstone to Reigate, Thorpe to Egham and Maple Cross to Hunton Bridge. The sections from Dartford to Swanley and from Westerham to Godstone are under construction and their estimated completion dates are the spring of 1977 and the summer of 1979 respectively. A contract for the section between Sundridge and Westerham was let before the moratorium and the estimated completion date is the summer of 1979. Revised estimated completion dates for all the remaining sections, for which contracts have not been let, have not yet been determined, as the detailed implications of the moratorium, and of the cuts in the funds available, are still being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport in view of the cutback in the national road construction programme, how many staff will be made redundant in his Department's Highways Section.

It is too early to say.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many people he thinks will be made redundant as a result of the latest cuts in the road building programme, in the private sector and in the Civil Service, respectively.

It is not possible to forecast redundancies, but the overall reduction in private sector employment in 1977–78 is likely to be about 5,000. It is too early to say what the effects will be in the Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the cost of undertaking a national housing survey along the lines of the questionnaire contained in the small pilot survey in South Norfolk referred to in the Written Answer on Monday 15th November 1976 to the hon. Member for Norfolk, South; and whether he now intends to go ahead with a national survey.

The estimated cost of a short interview based housing survey addressed to approximately 10 per cent. of all households in England is £6½ million. There are no present proposals to mount such a national survey.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to announce the membership of the committee to study recreational management training.

Consultations on the proposed study on recreation management training, foreshadowed in paragraph 39 of the White Paper on Sport and Recreation, Cmnd. 6200, are now complete. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Environment and for Education and Science have decided to appoint an independent committee to assess the needs and opportunities for the training of recreation management and supervisory staff. I am arranging for the committee's full terms of reference to be made available in the Library of the House.I am happy to inform the House that Mrs. Ann Yates has agreed to accept the chairmanship of the committee. It is hoped that the other members will be appointed shortly.It will be understood that, while the present economic situation lasts, the Government will not be able to endorse any recommendations which would be likely to involve increased local or central Government expenditure. Despite that constraint, we remain convinced that there is important work to be done by the committee in this field. The local authority associations have been consulted and are agreeable to the study going ahead on that basis.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the amount paid out in (a) rent rebates and allowances and (b) rate rebates to unemployed claimants not claiming supplementary benefit for each year since 1970.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the effect of the Water Charges Equalisation Bill on the average water rate for people living in the Thames Water Authority area.

Provisional estimates suggest that the effects of equalisation in Thames in 1977–78 would be an increase of about 6 per cent. in the average domestic bill. The average domestic bill in Thames would remain the lowest in the country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he has introduced a Bill to equalise water charges over the country while the charges for other public utilities will not be equalised.

The consultative document on the review of the water industry explained the reasons for Government's view that the present variations in water supply bills were unacceptably wide and that the range should be narrowed. Charges by other public utilities fall within a much narrower range.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will give an assurance that the Government cuts in public expenditure will not adversely affect the house building programme of stress areas such as the London borough of Newham and other such boroughs that have special problems connected with war damage and immigration.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to respond to the application by the Thanet District Council for key sector loan approval and grant aid for the coast protection work scheme on the West Rocks of Ramsgate.

I cannot at present give any indication of when I shall be in a position to respond to this application.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made by the Working Group on New Towns and Tenure and Social Ownership in its consideration of local authority and housing association leasing of privately owned dwellings; and if he will make a statement.

The working group has now submitted its conclusions and, in particular, the findings of two of its members, Sir Dennis Pilcher and Mr. Derek Wood, who were asked to report specifically on this subject. I am now considering them in the context of our housing policy review.The group concluded, subject to reservations by one of its members, that the letting to local authorities and housing associations of privately owned property could be useful in encouraging some landlords to continue to make property available for renting or to bring empty property into use. It would, however, be difficult to assess the likely supply of each property or to discover the extent to which private landlords would be willing to enter into agreements of this kind. The evidence does not suggest that a significant number of blocks of flats, or estates or groups of houses, would generally be available, but that a useful number of individual dwellings, which might be vacant for a variety of reasons, could be the subject of such agreements.The group accepted the general view of the local authorities and their associations which submitted evidence that local authorities and housing associations should pay "fair rents" to the owners of property they leased.The group made a number of valuable detailed recommendations as to the tetras on which property should be leased and the way in which it should be managed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of national environmental interest in the site, he will call in the planning applications currently before Alnwick District Council for the building of six bungalows and five houses in the grounds of Crag-side, Rothbury.

No. I understand that the Alnwick District Council, which is dealing with this application for planning permission, considers that the proposal does not constitute a fundamental departure from the provisions of the development plan and that it is neither a county matter nor one which should be referred to the Secretary of State. In my view this is a matter which the properly elected local authority is quite competent to decide.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the objectives and composition of the Noise Advisory Council; how many people it employs; and what is the cost to public funds.

The terms of reference of the Noise Advisory Council are:

"To keep under review the progress made generally in preventing and abating the generation of noise; to make recommendations to Ministers with responsibility in the field; and to advise on such matters as they may refer to the Council."

Under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State the Council has 26 members including representatives from local government, industry, the trade unions, universities and environmental associations.The Council does not employ staff. Secretariat is provided by the Department of the Environment by staff who are also engaged upon other duties. Council members receive no remuneration. In 1975–76 their travel and subsistence costs were £3,346.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether animals and plants on Appendix II of the Washington Convention are subject to uniform controls in the United Kingdom; whether any are subject to strict regulation; and whether any are subject to automatic licensing for record purposes only.

Licences are required for the import into the United Kingdom of animals and plants included on Appendix II of the Washington Convention. While these licences are normally issued readily, a permit is also required from the country of export. These controls are applied uniformly, except that international trade in birds of prey and a few other species on Appendix II of the Convention has been made subject to the stricter controls applied to Appendix I species. No species covered by the Convention is subject to automatic licensing for record purposes only, although controls have been applied to international trade in certain species not covered by the Convention to enable this trade to be monitored.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will issue a circular to local authorities about the housing of one-parent families.

My Department will very shortly be resuming consultations about this with the local authority associations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are taken at present regularly to inspect dams to ensure their safety; who is responsible for undertaking such inspections; and if he is satisfied with the current arrangements.

The Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act 1930 requires that all reservoirs capable of holding more than 5 million gallons of water shall be inspected at least once every 10 years. The reservoir undertaker is responsible for arranging the inspection, which must be carried out by a qualified civil engineer from whichever is appropriate of the panels appointed by the Secretary of State for the purposes of the Act. There has been no serious reservoir failure in Great Britain since enactment; the Reservoirs Act 1975, which is not yet in force, does, however, strengthen the arrangements for inspection and supervision of reservoirs following advice from the Institution of Civil Engineers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the estimated number and ages of dams in Wales and the United Kingdom, respectively.

The International Commission on Large Dams lists 526 dams in the United Kingdom, of which 209 were constructed before 1900. The corresponding figures for Wales alone are 57 and 14.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to implement the measures in the British Reservoirs Act 1975 regarding the preparation of a comprehensive inventory of dams in Great Britain.

I am at present consulting with the interested parties about implementation of the Reservoirs Act 1975.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his present intentions with regard to legislation to deal with homelessness.

My right hon. Friend and I have repeatedly emphasised the Government's commitment to legislation on homelessness. I am, therefore, pleased to announce that the Government will be giving their support to the Housing (Homeless Persons) Bill which was yesterday presented to the House by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Ross) with whom my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Evans) will be closely associated in this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales on what basis he now justifies the restriction of applications for posts of area speech therapists in Wales to officers transferred to the employment of the Health Service in Wales or the Welsh Office at the date of the reorganisation of the Health Service since this is now some time in the past; and whether he will make a statement.

Present arrangements were set out, with my right hon. and learned Friend's approval, by the National Health Service Staff Commission for Wales in June 1975. These call first for competition among transferred officers within Wales, but allow an area health authority to widen the field of recruitment if such a competition does not lead to an appointment. No authority in Wales has asked the Welsh Office to alter these arrangements in so far as they apply to speech therapists.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of children leaving schools in Wales did so without CSE or O-level passes in the last year for which figures are available.

In the academic year 1974–75, 30·4 per cent. of those leaving school in Wales did so without having attained GCE Grade C or CSE Grade 5 or better.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take powers to remove British nationality from persons emigrating with out paying their tax liabilities, in view of the fact that £9 million was lost in this way in the last year.

We have no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to reduce the delay in replying to letters addressed to his Department by hon. Members.

The number of letters from hon. Members is steadily increasing. During the three months ending on 30th November, the number was 55 per cent. higher than during the same period last year. At the same time the number of Home Office staff has declined in accordance with Government policy and the need for the most stringent economy.A special review has been undertaken of the procedure for dealing with Members' correspondence and a small transfer of secretariat staff is consequently to be made. Staff throughout the Department have always recognised the need to deal with such correspondence as quickly as possible, and the new procedures now to be introduced should eliminate the most serious delays and should provide some acceleration for the majority of replies. But since most of the letters from Members—of which there have been more than 20,000 this year—refer to individual cases, about which inquiries have to be made outside the Home Office, the scope for improvement is inevitably limited.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what encouragement he is giving to prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons to study painting and other allied activities and to exhibit or sell their work to the general public.

Painting and other allied activities, mainly recreational but with opportunities in individual cases for formal study, are encouraged in prison education programmes. Selected work may be publicly displayed and sold in the annual Koestler Exhibition and in local exhibitions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were in prison in England during each of the past 10 years for which figures are available; and how the actual figures in the past few years compare with those projected in the 8th Report of the Expenditure Committee 1971–72.

The information available is as follows:

Average Daily Population in Prison Establishments, England and Wales, 1966–75
Year			Total
1966–67	…	…	34,021
1967–68	…	…	35,071
1968–69	…	…	32,502
1969–70	…	…	35,671
1970–71	…	…	39,723
1971–72	…	…	39,281
1972–73	…	…	38,142
1973–74	…	…	36,425
1974–75	…	…	37,531
1975–76	…	…	40,343

The decline in the prison population in England and Wales noted by the Select Committee in 1972 continued throughout 1973 since when the numbers in prison have increased broadly in line with the upward trend from 1950 and departmental projections reflected in annual White Papers on Public Expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for perjury have been instituted during the last 10 years against complaints in rape cases following the acquittal of the defendants in question; and how many such prosecutions were successful.

I regret this information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he first gave his approval to the purchase by the Suffolk police of a patrol launch; what estimate was made at that time of its capital and operating costs, respectively; and what was the total cost to public funds at the time of the launch being handed over to the police authority.

Police authorities are not required to seek prior approval for expenditure of this kind, though in response to an inquiry from the Suffolk County Council in December 1975 the Home Office indicated that this expenditure would rank for grant. The project was then estimated to cost £50,000 with operating costs of about £10,000 a year. The launch at present under construction is a development of the original proposal. It has not yet been handed over to the police authority. Its capital cost is estimated at £87,900 and likely operating costs at £14,300 a year plus the cost of purchasing and hiring ancillary equipment which has yet to be installed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers will be assigned to duties in connection with the Suffolk police launch; and if these officers are new recruits or, in the event that they are being seconded to this maritime assignment from other duties in the force, whether he proposes to increase the overall establishment of the Suffolk force by a corresponding number of officers so that police cover on land is not reduced.

Three sergeants and nine constables are being assigned to this work. The current authorised establishment makes no special provision for this, but the Chief Constable has discretion to deploy his officers in the way he considers most suitable to meet the problems of the police area as a whole.The strength of the force has been about 1,030 so far this year, with some 56 vacancies. The Chief Constable expects to fill a number of these vacancies in the next two or three months, so that the allocation of officers to the crew of the launch will not reduce the level of ground cover currently maintained.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of capital expenditure incurred by the Suffolk police authority he has approved for the purpose of Exchequer grant in respect of the purchase of a coastal launch; and how much he has approved as relevant expenditure for rate support grant in respect of its manning and maintenance in 1976 and 1977–78.

None. Relevant police expenditure for rate support grant purposes is estimated on a service-wide basis. The total police authority capital expenditure is expected to be contained within the levels provided in the White Paper on Public Expenditure (Cmnd. 6393). Manning and maintenance costs are expected to be contained within the limits of the rate support grant settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the extent to which radar speed traps are used in central London.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that it is seldom practicable to operate radar speed meters in the busy traffic conditions prevailing in central London.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute an inquiry under the Police Act to ascertain how, and on whose authority, a Polish-born British citizen, details of whom have been supplied to him, was interrogated by the police not for anything he had done but for that which it was thought he might do; and if he will make a statement.

The police have a responsibility for providing adequate protection and public order supervision when visiting Prime Ministers or other dignitaries are in this country. The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that, in accordance with normal procedure, the police interviewed a number of people who might be contemplating a demonstration in connection with the visit of the Polish Prime Minister so as to make sure that they were fully aware of the law in this country as regards their right to demonstrate and so that appropriate police arrangements could be made. There is no question of the police acting on behalf of foreign Governments or placing people under restraint at their request.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will encourage the use of the Special Constabulary for patrolling areas particularly subject to vandalism.

Special constables are under the control of the local chief officer of police, who has complete discretion in respect of their operational use. In most forces the duties of special constables include patrolling, usually in company with a regular officer; and I am sure that chief officers of police have well in mind the part that police patrolling can play in countering vandalism.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consideration has been given to reducing the prison population and finding alternatives to imprisonment.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to his Question on 18th November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in phasing out the remand of juveniles to prison establishments.

I propose early in the New Year to lay an order under Section 34 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 which will have the effect of prohibiting the remand of girls below the age of 15 to prison establishments under certificates of unruliness.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported from Great Britain under Section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 for any reason whatever; what were the names and nationalities of such persons; and for what reason they were deported.

116 people have been deported under Section 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 since it came into force on 1st January 1973. It would not accord with normal practice to disclose names.The countries of origin of the persons deported were: Argentine, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, United States, Zaire.The reason for deportation in each case could not be provided without disproportionate costs. However, I can say that in none of these cases was the decision to deport taken on grounds of national security or any of the other reasons to which Section 15(3) of the Immigration Act 1971 applies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many cases of theft of articles under £20 in value were tried in the magistrates' courts in the year up to May 1974 on pleas of (a) guilty, and (b) not guilty; and what are the comparative figures for the latest available date;(2) what proportion of those who pleaded not guilty at a magistrates' court in the past 12 months was acquitted;(3) what was the number of magistrates' court rooms daily in use in May 1974 and currently;(4) what is the average length of time a defendant now has to wait before an accusation triable summarily which is estimated to last for two consecutive days can be heard in a magistrates' court (

I regret the information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give instructions that no facilities should be provided in future in connection with police training for trainees to listen to lecturers or be supplied with literature from the Institute for the Study of Conflict.

As far as I know, the only contribution to police training made by the Institute for the Study of Conflict is one lecture a term on urban terrorism at the Police College, Bramshill. Courses at the college cover a wide range of subjects and enable those attending them to hear a variety of views, and I share my predecessor's reluctance—which he expressed in his reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Rose) on 1st April last—to interfere with this particular arrangement.—[Vol. 90, c. 553.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) why only a small proportion of applications for entry visas for political prisoners from Chile and Argentina has been granted;(2) why there has been such delay in processing applications for entry visas for political prisoners from Chile and Argentina;(3) how many applications for entry visas have been received from political prisoners in Argentina; and how many have been granted;(4) how many applications for entry visas have been received from political prisoners in Chile; and how many have been granted.

It would entail a disproportionate effort and cost to distinguish, within the statistics for these refugees, those in custody as political prisoners; but since Her Majesty's Government's response, in October 1973, to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' appeal to share the burden of the Chilean refugee problem, the United Kingdom has received 4,083 applications involving 10,691 people. Of these, 982 applications involving 2,345 people, have been granted and 1,807 involving 4,996 people, have been refused. 776 applications involving 2,165 people were withdrawn or the applicants decided not to come here after consent to do so had been granted. 1,853 people are known to have arrived in the United Kingdom.It is our policy to take a reasonable proportion of people anxious to leave Latin America and we have, since July 1975, concentrated on seeking to help those in the greatest danger. Applications in respect of 60 people identifiable as detained under sentence in Chile are being processed as quickly as possible. In July this year my predecessor, in answer to an international appeal made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on behalf of those Latin Americans in greatest danger in the Argentine, agreed to the entry of 75 cases for resettlement here. We have so far received 117 applications, involving 353 people, and have granted 42—117 people. Decisions have yet to be reached in 34 cases, and 41 cases are known to have gained resettlement elsewhere.The nature of immigration control into this country is different from that in most other countries in our reliance on control before or at entry. Inquiries to establish personal acceptability necessarily take time, but they are completed as quickly as resources allow.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Senorita Ana Maria Garcia Rejas, at present in prison in Chile and who applied for an entry visa to the United Kingdom in May 1975, will be granted such a visa which will enable her release both from prison and from Chile.

When an application was made in April 1975 for an entry clearance for Miss Garcia Rejas, to come here the person acting for her did not know whether she would be allowed to leave the country but said he would be sending further information. We have received none, and, since there can be no question of issuing entry clearances when people are unable to travel, in March of this year the application NA as formally refused. This does not prevent a further application being made, and if my hon. Friend has information that would justify reopening the case I will gladly consider it.

asked the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of the Section 1 committal procedure upon the number of cases going for trial.

None. It was suggested in evidence to the Interdepartmental Committee on The Distribution of Criminal Business between the Crown Court and Magistrates' Courts that a significant number of cases were committed for trial on evidence which did not justify a committal. The committee was unable to establish the validity of this opinion; to try to do so would, in its view, have involved a detailed and lengthy study which would probably have been inconclusive. No assessment was, therefore, attempted by the committee. I accept the committee's conclusion that it would be unproductive to attempt such an assessment.

asked the Attorney-General what proportion of those who pleaded not guilty at the Crown Court in the past 12 months were acquitted.

48·7 per cent. of those who pleaded not guilty to all counts in the Crown Court were acquitted on all counts in the period 29th March 1976 to 24th September 1976. Due to changes in definition figures collected and published before 29th March 1976 cannot be compared with those collected since.

asked the Attorney-General what was the number of Crown Court rooms daily in use in May 1974 and currently.

This information is not readily available, but it is being assembled. My noble Friend will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is complete.

asked the Attorney-General how many Crown Court judges there were in May 1974 and currently.

Judges are not appointed to the Crown Court but sit there as needed, dividing their time between it and other courts. In May 1974 there were 244 circuit judges and there are now 278. Most of them sit regularly in the Crown Court. High Court judges, Deputy High Court judges, recorders and deputy circuit judges also sit in the Crown Court from time to time.

asked the Attorney-General what is the average waiting period in London experienced by a defendant between committal for trial to the Crown Court and the trial itself (a) for those in custody and (b) for those on bail.

(a) 14 weeks; (b) 21 weeks.

asked the Attorney-General what is the average waiting period outside London experienced by a defendant between commital for trial to the Crown Court and the trial itself (a) for those in custody and (b) for those on bail.

(a) Six and a half weeks; (b) nine weeks.

asked the Attorney-General how many cases of theft of articles under £20 in value were tried on pleas of not guilty at the Crown Court in the year up until May 1974 and in the year up until the present date or the most recent 12 month period for which he has information.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Attorney-General whether or not guidance is being given by the Lord Chancellor for the examination at trial of rape offence charges of evidence that is prima facie excluded under the provisions of the new Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act.

No. It would not be proper for my noble Friend to offer guidance to judges of the Crown Court as to the way in which they shall conduct the trials of persons accused of rape, whether generally or in regard to the exceptional admission of evidence which is normally to be excluded.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) in Brussels on 20th and 21st December.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made earlier today.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement upon his talks in Brussels with EEC Agriculture Ministers regarding fishing limts.

Discussions on fishery matters on 20th December took place in the Council of Foreign Ministers which my right hon. Friend, the Minister, attended. I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on 21st December by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.—[Vol. 923, c. 468–81.]

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection (1) if he has consulted the British Tourist Authority or the British Hotels Restaurants and Caterers Association on his Department's proposals to seek to regulate hotel overbooking; and, if not, if he will so do before seeking to impose any requirements on the hotel industry;(2) if he will make a statement on his Department's proposals to seek to prohibit hotels from accepting a total number of room reservations in excess of the actual number of rooms in any given hotel.

My Department has no such proposals in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will refer to the Price Commission the practice of hotels charging more than Post Office rates for telephone calls placed through their switchboards.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so at present. It is for the hotel management to decide whether to recover the cost of installing and operating a switchboard through its room charges or by a separate charge added to the normal post offices rates. But where the second method is adopted I consider that customers should be informed in advance of the rates they will have to pay. I understand that the British Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers Association has already recommended its members to provide this information and will be issuing a further reminder shortly. I shall be interested to see the response to this, and urge all hotels to ensure that their guests are provided with a clear indication of the charges for telephone calls through the switchboard and of the location within the hotel of any public call boxes.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many visits there have been by members of the public to consumer advice centres in the Humberside Region; and what is the average cost of dealing with each inquiry.

I understand that, in the period from 1st October 1975 to 30th September 1976, only those personal visits and telephone calls to consumer advice centres in the Humberside Region which required action from consumer advisers were recorded. They totalled 13,486. I regret that information on the average cost of dealing with each inquiry is not readily available.