asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the International Energy Agency's reviews of the United Kingdom's energy programme, including energy research, development and demonstrations.

The International Energy Agency's reports on the United Kingdom are part of the Agency's annual review process designed to provide a thorough and systematic assessment of all IEA member country national energy programmes and policies on the basis of common criteria and to identify areas in which programmes might be improved. The reports are based on information provided by the United Kingdom and discussed in committee under rapporteurs who are responsible for producing the final report. The recommendations made in the reports are those of the rapporteurs alone and while we have agreed to study them with care as a helpful contribution to our thinking, they do not involve any commitment for Her Majesty's Government either as a whole or in detail.The Standing Group on Long-Term Co-operation report assesses the United Kingdom's contribution to the achievement of the overall IEA objective to hold oil imports to not more than 26 million barrels per day in 1985. Although we are not entirely happy about the balance of the report on the United Kingdom we accept that it is difficult to cover the complex issues fully within such short documents. The report generally represents the position at the end of 1976, although some account has been taken of measures in force by mid-1977. In particular, certain new measures have been introduced which overtake some of the comments in Section III (Policy Recommendations). These include the energy conservation measures announced in the House on 12th December 1977—[Vol. 941, cols. 30–33]—and the further conservation measures announced in the April 1978 Budget speech. In addition, the sixth licensing round has now been announced, opening about 40 new blocks to application.The review of national energy research and development programmes is the first to be undertaken under the auspices of the IEA. The report on the United Kingdom is based on statistics which are now nearly 12 months old and a number of new research and development programmes have been initiated since it was prepared.I believe that publication of these reports will be a useful contribution to the general debate on energy. I am therefore arranging to have them deposited in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he will authorise the further studies, recommended by the Select Committee on Science and Technology, on the feasibility of the Severn tidal power scheme, namely (a) the effect on the tidal regime, where there is an urgent need to explain the discrepancies between recent Hydrographic Research Survey work and previous studies, (b) general environmental questions, (c) effect on shipping, Central Electricity Generating Board operations, riparian land usage and water authorities, (d) further studies of the wave regime in the estuary, with references to effects on both the construction of the barrage and to the effects on shipping waiting to pass through the locks in the barrage, and (e) the non-energy benefits directly associated with a barrage.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8th May 1978; Vol. 949, col. 407], gave the following further information:I am today presenting to Parliament the Government's reply to the Third and Fourth Reports from the Select Committee on Science and Technology on the Development of Alternative Sources of Energy for the United Kingdom and Exploitation of Tidal Power in the Severn Estuary.The Government agree with the Select Committee that work on the alternative sources should be pursued with urgency and determination, but consider that the limitation of making faster progress is not the level of funding for research and development but the state of the technologies involved. Nevertheless, it will keep the level of funding under close review. The reply to the Select Committee announces that, in the light of results so far, expenditure on alternative sources is to be increased by £4·5 million.The Government also accept the recommendation in the Select Committee's Fourth Report that a Severn Barrage Committee should be set up with responsibility for further work on assessing Severn Barrage schemes and their feasibility. It will establish such a committee, under the chairmanship of my Chief Scientist, Sir Hermann Bondi, and has provisionally allocated £1·5 million for further studies to be recommended by the new committee. I shall be making a further announcement about the committee's membership shortly.This allocation brings the total increase in funding for research and development on the alternative sources to £6 million and makes a total Government commitment of about £16 million. The Government are determined that work on the alternative sources of energy should be given high priority and will be prepared, in the light of progress, to make further sums available for the more promising lines of development.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimates are available of the number of "commuted cases" and pre-1970 widows who are outside the present pneumoconiosis scheme; if he will provide additional money for the scheme with the aim of including these groups in the scheme; and what figures are available for the cost of this inclusion.

The National Coal Board estimates that there are about 10,000 men who commuted their benefit under the Workmen's Compensation Acts and are therefore outside the scope of the coal industry pneumoconiosis compensation scheme. All widows of men who died as a result of pneumoconiosis except those of commuted cases are within the scope of the scheme, but those who were widowed before 26th January 1970, of which the Board estimates there are about 15,000, are compensated on a different basis from those who were widowed after that date. A deputation from the National Union of Mineworkers came to see me on the subject on 14th March last and I understand they are to discuss with the Board the real practical problems which any change in relation to these two types of cases would present.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on youth unemployment in Scotland, with particular reference to the prospects for the next 12 months.

The Government recognise that youth unemployment in Scotland is unacceptably high, although the position is showing signs of improvement. We shall continue to take positive steps to alleviate the problems of young people seeking work both through our economic policies, which are bringing about the fundamental improvements on which employment prospects depend, and through schemes such as the youth opportunities programme, which are providing short-term employment for young people and at the same time enhancing their prospects of finding a permanent job.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance he has given to returning officers in elections regarding the employment of unemployed persons as polling clerks, provided they have suitable qualifications.

Prior to parliamentary and local government elections, a letter is sent to returning officers enjoining them to notify their requirements for extra staff to local offices of the Department of Employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total number of murders made known to the police in 1977; and what were the comparable totals in each year since 1945.

The information is set out in the table below:

NUMBER OF MURDERS MADE KNOWN TO THE POLICE 1945–1977 (AS AT 31St DECEMBER
EACH YEAR
Year	…	…	…	Murders made known
1945	…	…	…	24
1946	…	…	…	18
1947	…	…	…	16
1948	…	…	…	14
1949	…	…	…	14
1950	…	…	…	21
1951	…	…	…	9
1952	…	…	…	13
1953	…	…	…	18
1954	…	…	…	14
1955	…	…	…	11
1956	…	…	…	13
1957	…	…	…	12
1958	…	…	…	18
1959	…	…	…	14
1960	…	…	…	16
1961	…	…	…	14
1962	…	…	…	27
1963	…	…	…	16
1964	…	…	…	27
1965	…	…	…	32
1966	…	…	…	30
1967	…	…	…	41
1968	…	…	…	41
1969	…	…	…	31
1970	…	…	…	29
1971	…	…	…	45
1972	…	…	…	47
1973	…	…	…	43
1974	…	…	…	38
1975	…	…	…	47
1976	…	…	…	63
*1977	…	…	…	67
*Provisional

NUMBER OF SCE HIGHER GRADE PASSES
		1	2	3	4	5+	Total
Education authority schools	…	4,195	3,545	3,568	3,733	6,444	21,485
Grant-aided schools	…	159	191	248	326	1,131	2,055
Independent schools	…	133	172	208	197	257	967
Total	…	4,487	3,908	4,024	4,256	7,832	24,507

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of years that will elapse before the costs of the Forth and Tay bridges is repaid out of tolls if the tolls remain at the present level.

Forecasts must be uncertain, but it seems that on recent trends of receipts and costs the debt on the Forth Bridge is unlikely to be repaid if tolls remain at the present level. In the last three years £434,000 of unpaid interest has been capitalised.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of secondary schoolchildren was being educated in education authority, independent and grant-aided schools, respectively, at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Provisional figures for September 1977 show that 94·7 per cent. of secondary school pupils were in education authority schools, 2·2 per cent. in independent schools and 3·1 per cent. in grant-aided schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many higher leaving certificate passes were secured in each grade, respectively, in secondary schools during the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of these passes in each grade were obtained by pupils in education authority, independent and grant-aided schools, respectively.

Information in the precise form sought is not available, but the following table provides figures relating to Scottish Certificate of Education Higher grade passes held by pupils who left school in session 1976–77.Revenue on the Tay Bridge is at present sufficient to meet interest charges and repayments of capital as they fall due, but whether the present toll will be sufficient for the 50-year repayment period will depend to some extent on the way traffic flows are affected by the opening later this year of the Friarton Bridge at Perth.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total cost to public funds of educating children in education authority, direct grant and independent schools, respectively, in the most recent year for which figures are available.

The information for 1976–77 is as follows:

	£ million at outturn prices
Education authority schools	…	554·0
Grant-aided secondary schools	…	2·8

The figures exclude expenditure in respect of special education. Local authorities' financial returns do not show separately their expenditure on bursaries for children attending independent schools, but the figure is believed to be relatively small.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of vacancies for sewing machinists currently available within the Strathclyde Region.

On 3rd March 1978, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 218 unfilled vacancies for sewing machinists in Strathclyde Region.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what evidence he has of shortages of skilled workers in the Strathclyde Region.

Shortages of skilled labour in specific skills arise from time to time in local areas within Strathclyde Region. At present the main shortages are in engineering occupations. Close and regular contact between my Department and the MSC on the one hand and industry on the other ensures that such shortages are identified at an early stage, and, where possible, appropriate steps taken to alleviate them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of sewing machinists currently unemployed within the Strathclyde Region.

On 9th March 1978, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 1,163 sewing machinists registered as unemployed in Strathclyde Region.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total expenditure on books for local authority schools in Scotland in the last three years for which figures are available.

The information is as follows:

Financial Year			£ million at outturn prices
1974–75	…	…	…	5·4*
1975–76	…	…	…	7·2†
1976–77	…	…	…	6·4
* Based on a return by the pre-local government reorganisation education authorities.
† Covering the period from 16th May 1975 to 31st March 1976 and grossed up to a full year, equivalent to £8·2 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many road accidents where alcohol was considered to be a factor took place in Scotland between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. during the first six months following the introduction of the new Scottish licensing law; and if he will draw a comparison with the figures for the same period in the years 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977;(2) how many road accidents where alcohol was considered to be a factor took place in Scotland between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. in each of the years 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977.

The information available relates to the number of drivers involved in accidents in Scotland who either refused, or showed a positive result following a breath test between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. and is as follows:

		January to June	Annual Total
1974	…	428	932
1975	…	412	883
1976	…	365	782
1977 (provisional)	…	342	818

The extension of permitted opening hours of licensed premises from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. was effective from 13th December 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the unsatisfactory arrangements negotiated by the EEC for access by British boats to the blue whiting stocks in Faroese waters, if he will now insist on making bilateral arrangements with the Faroes in future and inform the Commission accordingly; and if he will make a statement.

I have no reason to think that the extent of fishing opportunities being offered by the Faroese in their waters, particularly for the main species in which we are interested, would have been greater under bilateral arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the working of the Official Secrets Act; how many complaints he has received on the matter in the last six months; and whether legislation amending the Act may be expected soon.

The Government accept that Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 should be reformed and the Gracious Speech at the opening of the present Session gave an undertaking that legislative proposals to that end would be brought forward. In the last six months I have received some 50 representations about alleged inadequacies in this and other aspects of the official secrets legislation. We do not intend to introduce legislation until we have published a White Paper and had the benefit of comments on it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have been imprisoned in 1978 so far for non-payment of restitution;(2) how many females have been imprisoned in 1978 for non-payment of restitution;(3) how many females with children under school age have been imprisoned in 1978 for non-payment of restitution.

The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his latest plans to reduce the strength of the Special Branch; what numbers have had to be withdrawn from what airports and seaports in the last two years; and what current manpower shortage there is.

There are no such plans. Each police force in England and Wales has its own special branch, and the deployment of officers within each force is an operational matter for the chief officer of police concerned.Some work at certain ports outside London is being transferred from the Metropolitan Police Special Branch to the special branch of the force in whose area the port lies. I gave information about the number of officers employed on special branch work in an Adjournment debate on 24th May 1978—[

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the total numbers of convictions for murder, attempted murder and manslaughter, respectively, in 1977; and what were the comparable figures in each year since 1945.

Data on the number of persons convicted of murder, attempted murder and manslaughter are published annually in the Criminal Statistics for England and Wales. Figures for 1977 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of the Home Department what guidance he has given to returning officers in elections regarding the employment of unemployed persons as polling clerks provided they have suitable qualifications.

We advise acting returning officers who require extra staff for elections to notify their local office of the Employment Service and to give equal opportunity of employment to all suitable persons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many training courses for part-time or full-time interpreters in Welsh and English have been organised by his Department.

It has not been found necessary to employ part-time or full-time interpreters in Welsh and English in the Home Office. No training courses have therefore been organised.There is provision, however, for individual members of staff to apply, under the further education scheme, for assistance toward the cost of a Welsh course leading to a recognised qualification.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report those districts where ward boundaries are still under review by the Local Government Boundary Commission; and if, in any of these cases, new warding arrangements might still apply for the purposes of the 1979 local elections.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has yet to submit reports containing final proposals for new electoral arrangements for the metropolitan and non-metropolitan disticts listed below. The commission has suspended work on all these reviews of electoral arrangements pending the outcome of its appeal against the judgment delivered in the High Court on 25th January 1978 in a case brought by the London borough of Enfield. It is not possible at this stage to say whether the commission will be able to complete any of these reviews in time for the new arrangements to come into effect for the May 1979 local government elections.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the review of local authority ward boundaries by the Local Government Boundary Commission; and if he will make a statement.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has submitted 264 reports containing final proposals for new electoral arrangements for eight metropolitan districts, 224 non-metropolitan districts and 32 London boroughs. So far, orders have been made to implement new electoral arrangements in one metropolitan district, 193 non-metropolitan districts and 31 London boroughs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing those districts where reviews of ward boundaries have now been completed and where the new warding will operate for the purposes of 1979 local elections, indicating the area of the district, the electorate, the number of councillors prior to the review, and the number of councillors determined as a result of the review.

The information will take a little time to produce. I shall write to the hon. Member when it has been collated.

asked the Secretary of State for Home Department if he will seek to amend the law on divorce to bring the provision for divorce in magistrates courts into line with the provision in the divorce courts.

Magistrates' courts do not have jurisdiction to grant divorces. The Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Bill, which is awaiting Lords consideration of Commons amendments, implements the Law Commission's recommendation that the law applied by magistrates' courts should operate consistently with the permanent remedies available on divorce, whilst still giving full effect to the rather different objectives of the magistrates' matrimonial jurisdiction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report those primary units of local government in England, Scotland and Wales which are placed in more than one of the proposed constituencies for the probable EEC elections.

The provisional proposals for European Assembly constituencies are a matter for the parliamentary boundary commissions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what alternative work he has been able to offer civilian employees whose weekly earnings have been affected by the prison officers' dispute at Parkhurst.

Although every effort has been made, I regret that it has not been possible to find suitable alternative work for the staff who have been excluded from Her Majesty's Prison, Parkhurst, by industrial action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to resolve the continuing dispute at Her Majesty's Prison, Parkhurst, Isle of Wight.

The recent Civil Service pay settlement included provision for an increase in the inconvenience of locality allowance for staff serving in the Isle of Wight prisons to cover the cost of three return ferry journeys a year to the mainland. The Prison Officers' Association has, however, been informed that its further claim for an Island cost of living allowance cannot be accepted.Staff at Albany and Camphill are working normally and it is a matter for regret that the prison officers at Parkhurst prison are continuing their industrial action in support of this claim.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons in England and Wales were convicted of a second or subsequent offence in each of the last five years for which records are available, in the following categories (a) men, (b) women, (c) boys aged between 15 and 21 years, and (d) girls aged between 15 and 21 years.

Information in the form requested is not readily available. The following information is based on an analysis of a sample of persons convicted in 1971:Proportion of persons convicted of "standard list"(

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest estimates of the cost of keeping a prisoner in a prison, in a borstal institution and in a detention centre, respectively.

In 1976–77, the last financial year for which full details are available, the average weekly cost of keeping a male inmate in prison, borstal and a detention centre was £82, £94 and £96 respectively. It is estimated that, for 1977–78, these figures will be about £91, £104 and £107.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the circumstances of the death of a young coloured prisoner called Campbell on 7th May 1978 in Her Majesty's Prison, Bristol; and in what kind of cell Campbell had been held for the four days prior to his death.

Mr. Campbell was found dead on 7th May 1978 in the hospital at Bristol Prison where he had been since 27th April. At the adjourned inquest on 2nd June a verdict of death from natural causes was returned. I understand he died from a rare blood disease. He had been located in a special observation cell in the hospital since 5th May in view of his disturbed behaviour.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, in the case of the five Questions answered in the 1976–77 Session with incorrect information, he arranged for only two to be corrected by further Questions by the Members concerned; which were the other three; why, in these cases and as with the four in the current Session, alterations are being made in the bound volume of the Official Report instead of by rectification through a further Question; and whether he will arrange for this to be done in the future.

As a general rule an hon. Member is invited to table a further Question if the scale or complexity of the original mistake make it inappropriate for a correction to be made in the Bound Volume of the Official Report.It is for the hon. Member concerned to decide whether or not to take up the invitation, just as it is open to those who receive no such invitation to table a further Question on their own initiative. There is no question of my arranging for this to be done. I see no reason to change the present practice; it would in any case not be possible, for the reasons given, to ensure that a further Question was tabled in every case.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action she is taking in view of the relatively low level of educational attainment in the Northern Region.

Within any region, the provision of education is the responsibility of the individual local education authorities, but the Green Paper "Education in Schools" sets out some ways in which the Government are seeking to raise levels of attainment nationally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will list the sixth-form school conferences which she has attended or plans to attend in 1977 and 1978.

I attended one sixth form school conference in Hertfordshire in 1977 on 11th November at Barnwell School, Stevenage. This year I attended one on 3rd March at the Barclay School, Stevenage. Both of these are in my constituency. I attended another at Adeyfield School, Hemel Hempstead, on 19th May.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received from former university teachers who, after changing employment, abrogated their Federated Superannuated Scheme for Universities trust deed in order to join the teachers' superannuation scheme; and whether she will take steps to assist those whose pension prospects have been materially reduced as a result.

I presume that the question refers to trust deeds covering the assignment of policies out of FSSU to local education authority employers of the teachers to whom the policies relate. Regulations are being prepared with the intention of giving to teachers for whom such trust deeds are in force, on condition that the relevant policies are handed over to the Government, actuarially equivalent credit under the teachers' superannuation scheme; but any cases in which trust deeds have been abrogated have not been included. Representations have been received on behalf of one teacher who has chosen to take this exceptional course of action which is not a prerequisite for transfer to the teachers' superannuation scheme. There are no obvious steps which might be taken to assist this teacher but the matter is being pursued.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to her Written Answer to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South, Official Report, 22nd May, column 410, by what method the net cost per place appropriate to overseas students in institutions of higher and further education in the United Kingdom is calculated.

Since it is not practicable to differentiate the cost of places at educational establishments by reference to the place of origin of the students occupying them, the net cost per place at non-university institutions of higher and further education had to be assumed to be the same for home and for overseas students. The costs used in the answer given on 22nd May 1978 were calculated by dividing net recurrent expenditure in financial year 1976–77 for each category of institution by the numbers of students attending, and estimating, by means of weighting, the different costs of advanced level and of non-advanced level course places.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her estimate of the current net total cost to public funds of all the places in universities in the United Kingdom occupied by students from developing countries.

The number of students from developing countries in universities in the academic year 1976–77 was 24,848. Applying to this figure the appropriate net cost per place would give an estimated cost to public funds of £31·9 million at 1977 survey prices. This cost excludes debt charges and capital expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students supported to any degree from public funds, whether by their own countries or Her Majesty's Government, are in the United Kingdom at colleges of higher education (a) from the Commonwealth, and (b) from the EEC; and how many United Kingdom students are in the Commonwealth and in the EEC.

In 1976–77 there were about 28,000 students from the Commonwealth and 2,400 from the EEC countries following higher education courses in the United Kingdom. Most benefited from the fact that the fees charged to them did not in general cover the full cost of tuition, but the extent to which they were otherwise supported from public funds is not known. According to the latest UNESCO sources, in 1974 about 9,000 United Kingdom students were following higher education courses in the Commonwealth and 3,500 in the EEC.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what fees are paid by United Kingdom students at higher educational level in the EEC in each country; and what fees EEC students pay in the United Kingdom.

Detailed information about fees in EEC countries is given in "Higher Education in the European Community—A Handbook for Students (1977)", copies of which are in the Library. The fees recommended for all overseas students on courses of higher education in the United Kingdom for 1978–79, including EEC students, are £925 for postgraduates and £705 for undergraduates and students of advanced further education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether any arrangements to be made for EEC students in the United Kingdom as a result of EEC document "Admission to Institutions of Higher Education of Students from other Member States" will also apply to comparable students from the Commonwealth.

The document was solely concerned with EEC requirements, but in considering it we shall take account of the needs of students from other countries, including the Commonwealth.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage of students going on to higher and further education in Walsall, Hartlepool, Blackburn, Rochdale, Sefton, St. Helens, Wigan, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sandwell, Brent, Ealing, Haringey and Wandsworth, respectively.

I regret that this information is not available in the detail requested. The Department carries out an annual survey based on a one-in-10 sample of those leaving school, which includes information on the destination of school leavers where this is known by the school. Due to sample size and the incidence of non-response on pupils' destinations, results at LEA level would not be reliable statistically. Some school leaver statistics at regional level are published annually in Statistics of Education, Volume 2.The numbers of students from each local education authority entering teacher training courses, and the numbers taking up full value awards for other courses—mainly on higher education—are given in Statistics of Education, Volume 5. These numbers are also expressed per 1,000 of the estimated average 18 to 19 age-group resident in the authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will state the number of discretionary awards made to further education students for each year since 1974 by the local education authorities of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.

Comprehensive information on all discretionary awards is not collected by my Department, but the numbers of new discretionary awards made which were reported by the authorities as designed to cover the full cost of fees and maintenance—subject to any deductions made in respect of the students' income and that of their parents and spouses—were as follows:

		Academic years
	…	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77
Derbyshire	…	*	507	254
Leicestershire	…	591	460	532
Northamptonshire	…	351	234	97
Nottinghamshire	…	469	459	453
* Not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied with the current legislation governing fire precautions in student accommodation.

I am satisfied with the regulations made under the Education Acts and under the Local Government Act 1974, which cover fire precautions in educational establishments maintained by local education authorities. Other new educational buildings, including residential accommodation in universities, are covered by the Building Regulations 1976. Additional powers are also available under the Fire Precautions Act 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science upon what criteria she based her decision to approve the proposal by the Leicestershire County Council, under Section 13 of the Education Act 1944, to close Grimston Church of England (Controlled) Primary School; why neither her decision letter nor the Under-Secretary of State's letter to the hon. Member for Melton dated 16th May give any reasons; and whether she will make a statement.

My decision to approve the proposal of the Leicestershire County Council to close Grimston Church of England (Controlled) Primary School was taken after careful consideration of the case submitted by the authority, objections submitted by the school's managers and local government electors, and advice tendered by my professional adviser for the area. It is not the normal practice to give reasons when conveying my decisions taken under Section 13(4) of the Education Act 1944. In the case of Grimston school, I concluded that on balance the proposed closure was in the best educational interests of present and future children in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science in how many cases in each of the years 1974 to 1977 inclusive a local education authority has reconsidered its previous decision to close a village school, and has so informed her Department, despite her approval of the Section 13 notice regarding the closure.

I regret that this information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate expense for the years 1974 to 1976. Since the Education Act 1976 local education authorities have been under a duty to cease to maintain schools whose closure has been approved. If an authority intends to keep open the school for which a closure proposal was approved after 22nd November 1976, fresh proposals to that effect are required under Section 13. I am not aware that any such proposals were made during 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what weight she attaches, in deciding upon Section 13 notices to close village schools, to increasing parental support for such small local schools; and how many closures she has: (a) approved and (b) rejected in each of the years 1974 to 1977 inclusive.

Every proposal is considered on its merits. I am aware of increasing parental support for small rural schools and where objections to the proposal are made on these lines, they are given full consideration.Up to January 1977 records were not kept of proposals relating to the actual closure of schools and information for earlier years cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate expense. In 1977, 87 proposals for closing primary schools were approved and three were rejected. For secondary schools the figures were 16 approvals and no rejections. I regret that proposals relating specifically to village schools cannot be identified separately.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of recurrent expenditure on schools is spent on books and teaching aids.

In each of the financial years 1975–76 and 1976–77 about 4 per cent. of local authorities' recurrent expenditure on schools was devoted to books and teaching aids.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why regulations implementing Section 10 of the Education Act 1976 have not yet been issued.

The implementation of Section 10 is discussed in great detail in the recent report of the Warnock Committee. It has always been my intention, I believe with wide support within the education service, to await the outcome of consultations on the report before deciding what action to take on these provisions. As I foreshadowed on 24th May in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley), preparations for consultations with interested bodies are now in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of secondary school pupils were educated in comprehensive schools in 1960, 1964, 1970 and at the latest available date.

In January 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, the proportion of pupils in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales who were being educated in comprehensive schools was 79·9 per cent. The comparable proportions for 1960, 1964 and 1970 were 4·7 per cent., 7·0 per cent. and 32·0 per cent. respectively. These proportions include the pupils in middle schools deemed secondary schools.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied that progress has been made at the United Nations Special Session.

I hope to make a statement later today about the United Nations Special Session on Disarmament.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC and CBI.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Molloy) on 23rd May.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the CBI.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the CBI.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Stoddart) on 25th May.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the TUC.

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Dean) on 25th May.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his public engagements for 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 6th June.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 6th June.

I refer my hon. Friends and the right hon. and hon. Members to the reply which I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Madden).

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

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister when he last met the heads of nationalised industries.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 16th May.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what further consideration he has given to continuing the job creation programme in the Western Isles.

The job creation programme closed for new projects on 31st March. The new youth opportunities programme and special temporary employment programme, which evolved from it, began on 1st April. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is aware of the concern expressed by the Western Isles Islands Council about the provision under the new programmes for the area and that it will consider all schemes submitted from the Western Isles.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to receive the report of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos, being chaired by Mr. Bill Simpson, chairman of the Health and Safety Commission; and if he will make a statement.

In keeping with my announcement on 23rd May, the first two reports of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos were published on 1st June. The final report is expected to deal, among other things, with relationships between the level of exposure to asbestos dust and each asbestos-related disease and with the desirability and feasibility of substitution. These are among the most important factors which the committee will be considering in framing its recommendations.The committee's chairman, Mr. Bill Simpson, tells me that the committee's medical working group submitted its report to the full committee on this evidence last month. The committee is now considering this report alongside reports on the manufacture and use of products containing asbestos and on substitute materials.The committee is aware of the interest with which Members of the House and the general public look forward to its final report. However, with the wide knowledge that my hon. Friend has on this subject, I am sure that he will appreciate that much care and thought is necessary to achieve a proper balance of all the considerations before the committee makes its recommendations. This takes time, but the chairman assures me that the committee will submit its final report to the Health and Safety Commission and to me as soon as it is practicable to do so. At present, I am not in a position to give a firm date for the publication of the committee's final report.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that the industrial training boards have sufficiently close co-operation with the Manpower Services Commission on apprenticeship training.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that its regular discussions with industrial training boards cover questions about apprenticeship training from time to time. The Commission is currently discussing with boards how they will implement the proposals made in the report "Training for Skills—A Programme for Action", which includes recommendations about the planning and content of craft and technician training.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what further measures are proposed to reduce unemployment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he intends to bring forward further measures to reduce unemployment.

In addition to the development of the present measures, I am now engaged in consultations on possible new arrangements for the support of short-time working which could be introduced next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the achievements of the job creation scheme.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a total of 22,616 applications have been received for funding under the job creation programme, of which 15,299 have been approved providing up to 140,000 temporary jobs at an average gross cost of £1,600 each. The net cost per job after taking into account savings in unemployment and supplementary benefit and payments of tax and national insurance contributions is about £725.It is estimated that by the end of the programme in December 1978 approximately 230,000 persons who otherwise would have been unemployed will have benefited from the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on what latest consultations his Department has had over levels of absenteeism.

Advice and assistance for organisations facing difficulties of this kind are always available through the advisory services of the Department's work research unit and of ACAS. The Department of Employment is well aware that levels of absence cause difficulties in some organisations in some industries, but it would be wrong to assume that the problem is widespread throughout industry generally.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on whether the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has been called in to bring about an end to the industrial dispute between the Post Office Engineering Union and the Post Office.

The Post Office and the Post Office Engineering Union have been unable to reach agreement in response to the claim by the union for a reduction in its members' working week. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry has therefore invited Lord McCarthy to undertake a special review of the situation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what recent consultations he has held with Ministers of Employment in European Community countries on the problem of unemployment.

I represented my right hon. Friend at meetings of the Standing Committee on Employment in the EEC on 21st March and 12th May 1978. This Committee is normally attended by Employment Ministers as well as by representatives of unions and employers, and its agenda on these occasions included measures for dealing with unemployment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons were employed in the United Kingdom in the month of May in each of the years from 1971 to 1978 inclusive.

For the United Kingdom, employment estimates are available for June in each of the years 1971 to 1977. The table of figures is as follows:

EMPLOYEES IN EMPLOYMENT: UNITED KINGDOM (Thousands)
June each year
1971	…	…	22,122
1972	…	…	22,120
1973	…	…	22,662
1974	…	…	22,790
1975	…	…	22,707
1976	…	…	22,539
1977*	…	…	22,664
*Provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements there now are for newly qualified teachers who are unable to get employment as teachers to participate in job creation schemes in the months immediately following the completion of teacher training courses.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that unemployed teachers will be eligible to take up places on job creation schemes in which vacancies arise prior to the programmes' closing date of 31st December 1978. The job creation programme is being replaced by two new schemes to combat unemployment—the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme. These two programmes commenced on 3rd April 1978.The special temporary employment programme will provide 25,000 temporary employment opportunities, in addition to which there will be openings for up to 8,000 adults to act in a supervisory or managerial capacity in projects mounted under the youth opportunities programme. It is expected that a number of such openings would be suitable for unemployed teachers.The purpose of the special temporary employment programme is to provide temporary jobs as an alternative to prolonged unemployment. The Government have decided that preference should be given to those aged 19 to 24 who have been unemployed for six months or more and to those aged 25 and over who have been unemployed for 12 months or more. Where no suitably qualified candidates are available, people who have been unemployed for shorter periods may be recruited.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing (a) the number of employed in employment, (b) the employed labour force and (c) the numbers wholly unemployed, in the form of annual indices from 1945 to the present day, 1945=100.

Because there has been a number of changes in the methods of making employment estimates, a consistent series of figures from 1945 to the present day does not exist. The table below shows indices for the periods during which the figures are comparable with the beginning of each period taken as the base year. Details of the methods used to produce the estimates on which the figures below are based are given in British Labour Statistics—Historical Abstract 1886–1968 (Appendix B and footnotes to pp 218–220) and Department of Employment Gazette for March 1975 (pp 193–196, December 1976 (pp 1344–1346) and June 1977 (pp 604–605).

Great Britain (mid-year figures)
		Employees in employment	Employed labour force‡	Registered unemployed§
1945	…	*	100	100
1946	…	*	90	365
1947	…	*	93	252
1948(1)	…	*	93	264
1948(2)	…	*	100	100
1949	…	*	100	93
1950(1)	…	*	101	99
1950(2)	…	100	100	99
1951	…	101	102	66
1952	…	101	102	107
1953	…	101	102	100
1954	…	103	103	82
1955	…	105	105	66
1956	…	106	106	69
1957	…	106	106	89
1958	…	106	105	133
1959(1)	…	106	105	139
1959 (2)	…	100	100	139
1960	…	102	102	108
1961	…	104	103	92
1962	…	105	104	135
1963	…	105	104	167
1964	…	107	105	115
1965	…	108	106	98
1966	…	109	107	92
1967	…	107	105	169
1968	…	106	105	183
1969	…	106	105	175
1970	…	105	104	190
1971	…	103	103	249
1972	…	103	103	277
1973	…	106	105	197
1974	…	106	105	187
1975	…	106	105	300
1976	…	105	104	463
1977	…	106†	105†	504
* Separate estimates of employees in employment for these years are not available.
† Employment indices for 1977 are provisional.
‡ The employed labour force comprises employees in employment, the self-employed (with or without employees) and Her Majesty's Forces.
§ From 1967 onwards, full-time adult students registering for temporary employment have been excluded. Their inclusion before then is thought to have had a negligible effect on the index.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if the unemployment figures requested in the Written Question from the hon. Member for Blaby which appeared in the Official Report, 7th April, column 263, are now available; if so, if he will publish them; and, if not, when he expects them to be available.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 15th May 1978, Vol. 950, c. 29], gave the following information:The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) estimates of unemployment rates, adjusted to United States concepts, for the first quarter of 1978 are:

United States	…	…	…	6·2
Canada	…	…	…	8·4
France	…	…	…	5·1
Germany	…	…	…	3·5
Italy	…	…	…	3·5
Great Britain	…	…	…	7·2

The estimates for Italy are currently being reviewed by the BLS. The figures for Japan and Sweden are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide

						Percentage change
			Latest date			Between March 1974 and the latest date	Between November 1977 and the latest date
United Kingdom	…	…	April 1978	…	…	+138	-3·0
United States	…	…	April 1978	…	…	+29	-10·2
Japan	…	…	April 1978*	…	…	+77	+7·0
Italy†	…	…	January 1978	…	…	—	-4·9
West Germany	…	…	April 1978	…	…	+103	-5·0
France	…	…	April 1978	…	…	+144	+2·0
* Provisional figure.
† An important change in the method of compiling unemployment statistics in Italy prevents a direct comparison between March 1974 and current data. The figure given in the second column is the change in unadjusted unemployment since October 1977.

However, these comparisons are arbitrary: corresponding comparisons between March 1973 and the latest data, for example, would show the following:

		Percentage change
United Kingdom	…	…	+106
United States	…	…	+39
Japan	…	…	+94
West Germany	…	…	+358
France	…	…	+188

Separate unemployment rates for the public and private sectors can be calculated only in an imprecise way by allocating the figures for each minimum list heading of the Standard Industrial Classification to the sector appropriate to the majority in each heading. On this basis, the percentages in Great Britain for May were 2·9 in the public sector and 5·3 in the private sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the percentage increase in unemployment since March 1974 to the latest available date in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, Italy, West Germany, and France; and what was the percentage increase or decrease in unemployment in these countries between November 1977 and April 1978.

Using national definitions, the changes in the seasonally adjusted numbers unemployed for the countries listed are given below:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish comparable rates of unemployment in the first quarter of 1978 for the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Italy, France, West Germany and Japan and quote the source used.

I refer the hon. Mem-Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Lawson) today.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the most up-to-date estimate of the number of unemployed people under the age of 25 years.

At 12th January, the latest date for which the half-yearly age analysis is available, there were 551,240 people under 25 years of age registered as unemployed in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the role of the Training Opportunities Scheme; what is the annual cost of Training Opportunities Scheme grants and the cost per place; and what percentage of those taking a Training Opportunities Scheme course immediately find an appropriate job.

While I am in general satisfied with the role of the Training Opportunities Scheme (TOPS), I am pleased that the future role, composition and scale of the scheme are currently under review and I expect to receive the Commission's recommendations on these matters in the autumn of this year. The provisional total annual cost of TOPS allowances during 1977–78 was £76 million. The total expenditure on the scheme was £190 million. During this period the average cost per year for each training place was £5,005 of which £2,062 represented allowances.Information about the placing of TOPS trainees is obtained from a postal survey of one in six of all TOPS trainees which started with effect from January 1977 and is carried out three months after the date of completion of training. Combined results for trainees completing courses in the first three quarters of 1977 indicate that 65 per cent. of a total sample of 7,432 TOPS trainees who completed their courses were in employment three months after the completion of training: 51 per cent. of all completers considered that they were using what they had learnt on the course.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many sorts of businesses for which his Department is responsible are required to have a licence or registration with his Department, and if he has any plans to extend this requirement.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 26th May 1978; Vol. 950, c. 781–2], gave the following information:The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission has now informed me that the following sorts of businesses and activities are required under the health and safety legislation indicated to have a licence or registration:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many prohibition notices and how many improvement notices, respectively, have been served in each year for which records are available and during those months of 1978 for which records are available; in how many and what percentage of cases those served with such notices have appealed against them to industrial tribunals; and what has been the outcome of such appeals.

The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that numbers of prohibition notices and improvement notices served in the years 1975 to 1977 and January-March 1978 were as follows: