asked the Secretary of State for Defence why Bristol Channel Ship Repairers has not been asked to tender for Government contracts.

Bristol Channel Ship Repairers has not been asked to tender for Ministry of Defence work because Her Majesty's Government have for many years been engaged in litigation with C. H. Bailey Ltd., the parent company. On legal advice, the Ministry of Defence has not placed any work with the Bailey group during this time.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if Bristol Channel Ship Repairers has asked to be put on the list for tendering for Government contracts.

in 1972 Bristol Channel Ship Repairers asked to be given the opportunity to quote for Ministry of Defence work, but was informed that the Department was unable to invite tenders from it.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions have taken place within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation about production of the neutron bomb by the United States Government.

As I explained in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston, South (Mr. Thorne)—[Vol. 958, c. 536]—the United States Defence Secretary confirmed at the ministerial meeting of NATO's nuclear planning group in October that President Carter was retaining the options he had decided upon in April. A copy of the communique issued after the meeting was placed in the Library of the House on 21st November.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his United States counterpart about the possible production and use of the neutron bomb.

None, other than those to which I referred in my earlier answer to the hon. Member today.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents; how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the past nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

A total of 4,900 Ford vehicles are currently in official use in the Ministry of Defence. They constitute approximately 7 per cent. of the Ministry's total fleet of wheeled prime mover vehicles. No Ford vehicles have been delivered to the Department during the past nine weeks.Some 500 vehicles are on order from Ford for the Ministry of Defence. A further 921 are on order for other Government Departments and other customers.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest assessment of the relative strengths of Warsaw Pact Powers and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for (a) main battle tanks, (b) artillery, (c) tactical aircraft, and (d) soldiers, respectively.

I refer the hon. Member to chapter 1 of the"Statement on Defence Estimates 1978"(Cmnd. 7099). This gives ratios for the balance of forces in these categories in Central Europe between NATO countries—including French forces in the Federal Republic of Germany—and the Warsaw Pact.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, having regard to the progress made by Swan Hunter in constructing the through-deck cruiser HMS"Illustrious"resulting in her launch on 1st December 1978, and to the serious lack of new work in the Tyne yards at a time of record unemployment, he will now announce the ordering from Swans of a further through-deck cruiser.

The order for the construction of the third anti-submarine cruiser has today been placed with Swan Hunter Shipbuilders on Tyneside. The ship will be called HMS"Ark Royal ".

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the contribution he made to the debate on the Community energy situation at the EEC Energy Council on 30th October is available to the House.

I have placed copies of my contribution to the debate in the Libraries of both Houses and have made arrangements for it to be printed and made available to the Energy Commission as an Encom paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a list of companies which have applied for licences, either individually or in groups, in the sixth round of offshore licensing.

The companies are as follows:Sixth Round of Offshore Petroleum Licensing: List of Companies which have applied for Licences, either individually or in groups.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are his current estimates of the level of oil reserves in the United Kingdom continental shelf and his forecast of oil production in each year up to 1982.

Up-to-date estimates will be published next spring in my report to Parliament on the Development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom"—the"Brown Book ". Current forecasting work which is still continuing suggests, however, that our total offshore oil reserves might lie in the range 2,300 million-4,200 million tonnes. The upper end of this range has been reduced to 4,200 million tonnes from the 4,500 million tonnes given in the 1978 Brown Book, to reflect the disappointing results of drilling in the Celtic Sea. The lower end of the range is not directly comparabe to the 3,000 million tonnes given in the 1978 Brown Book, largely because of a change in statistical presentation which reduces the lower end of the range to a point where it has the same probability as the upper end.There has been continuing slippage in the development of fields so that production before 1980 is likely to be lower, but production in the early 1980s is likely to be higher than forecast in the 1978 Brown Book; the forecast of net self-sufficiency in oil in 1980 is unchanged. Current indications are that production will lie within the following ranges—figures from the 1978 Brown Book:

	Million tonnes
1978	53–54 (55–65)
1979	80–90 (80–95)
1980	90–110 (90–110)
1981	110–135 (100–120)
1982	115–140 (105–125)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the number of licences held by the British National Oil Corporation as sole licensee, the date of the grant of each block and the work so far undertaken on each block so allocated.

The Corporation holds three licences as sole licensee. These were granted on 5th April 1978. Information about the Corporation's offshore activities will be published in the Corporation's annual report.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how many assignments of North Sea licensees' interests have been submitted to him for approval to the latest date for which figures are available; and in how many the British National Oil Corporation has secured a substantial interest as a condition of his consent to the assignment;(2) to the present date, in how many licences the British National Oil Corporation has secured a carried interest following the competition of farm-in agreements for which his consent is required.

Since 1st January 1976—the date when the British National Oil Corporation was established—108 applications have been received. Excluding assignments for participation purposes and those involving an internal reorganisation of its licence interests, the Corporation has secured interests in 10 licences. Details of the transactions are commercially confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the chargé d'affaires in Buenos Aires last took up human rights cases with the Argentine authorities.

Our chargé d'affaires in Buenos Aires is in regular contact with the Argentine authorities over human rights cases.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women have died in custody so far in 1978; what was the age and offence of each; when they died; and what was the cause of death.

The deaths of 47 male and four female prisoners have been reported by prison department establishments this year to date. Four died in January, four in February, five in March, seven in April, four in May, five in June, 10 in July, five in August, four in September, one in October, and

	Age	Offence	Cause of death
1.	28	Burglary	Natural causes: acute cardiac failure
2.	23	Murder	Suicide: strangulation due to self-suspension
3.	37	Wounding	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
4.	21	Burglary, theft	Natural causes: rare blood disease
5.	38	Drug offences	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
6.	36	Burglary, robbery	Natural causes: acute bronchopneumonia
7.	31	Grievous bodily harm	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
8.	71	Theft	Natural causes: acute bronchopneumonia
9.	65	Arson	Natural causes: chronic bronchitis and emphysema
10.	61	Indecent assault	Natural causes: coronary thrombosis
11.	54	Fraud	Natural causes: renal, cerebral and myocardial infarction
12.	25	Murder	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
13.	56	Theft	Natural causes: coronary thrombosis
14.	39	Burglary, criminal damage	Natural causes: coronary artery atheroma
15.	25	Robbery	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
16.	58	Fraud	Natural causes: septicaemia, hepatitis
17.	18	Theft	Natural causes: acute congestive cardiac failure
18.	41	Burglary	Natural causes: respiratory failure, pulmonary embolism
19.	27	Assault	Natural causes:myocardial degeneration infective hydated cysts
20.	23	Drug offences	Accidental death: asphyxia
21.	28	Fraud	Natural causes: status elepticus
22.	33	Murder	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
23.	28	Grievous bodily harm	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
24.	66	Threatening behaviour	Open verdict: brain damage
25.	72	Threatening behaviour	Natural causes: heart failure
26.	43	Wounding	Natural causes: haemopericardium ruptured infarct
27.	33	Manslaughter	Suicide: haemorrhage (throat wounds)
28.	27	Theft	Natural causes: coronary thrombosis
29.	61	Theft	Natural causes: coronary thrombosis
30.	40	Wounding	Natural causes: death after operation for cancer
31.	51	Wandering abroad	Natural causes: coronary occlusion
32.	17	Indecent assault	Killed by fellow inmates
33.	39	Theft	Natural causes: pulmonary oedema, leukaemia
34.	48	Murder	Natural causes: coronary occlusion
35.	66	Buggery	Misadventure: bronchopneumonia
36.	62	Indecent assault	Natural causes: coronary thrombosis
37.	42	Theft	Natural causes: aortic and mitral insufficiency
38.	56	Theft	Natural causes: bronchopneumonia
39.	28	Theft	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging
40.	34	Criminal damage	Suicide: asphyxia by hanging

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many beds are available in prison hospitals; how many State registered nurses and State enrolled nurses, respectively, are employed by the prison service to treat patients in such hospitals; and how these figures compare with the relevant figures for the National Health Service.

On 31st December 1977, the latest date for which figures are available, the total number of hospital beds in all prison service establishments in England and Wales was 2,191. A nursing complement consisting of 124

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures are available regarding the amount paid to prison officers for overtime work and/ or special allowances (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the salary bill.

In the financial year 1977–78 a total of £82·96million was paid to prison officers in England and Wales in respect of wages, overtime, and allowances. Overtime payments accounted for £18·18 million—21·9 per cent. of the total—and allowances for £16·81 million–20·3 per cent. The figure for overtime payments does not include continuous duty credit payments for the period, which are being made retrospectively during the current financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents; how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the past nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

The information in respect of road vehicles is as follows: 540; 53 per cent.; none; 101—which have been ordered through the Ministry of Defence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his reply on 10th November to Written Question No. 102 of 3rd November, what particular criteria were involved and what assessments were made in each case in replying to Written Questions of 3rd November which were answered by the hon. Member for Halifax (Dr. Summer-skill) on 8th November.

The information asked for in the four Questions answered by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State on 8th November is not available in the Home Office. To have asked each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales to search their records and reports would have entailed heavy expenditure of time and money, particularly by the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will detail the amount of police time spent inquiring into applications for street collection permits, the cost of these inquiries and related administration, and the proportion of the total cost recovered in fees from the organisers of street collections.

No fees are payable for street collection permits. Details of police time spent on inquiring into applications for such permits and the cost of this are not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all increases made since 1968 in those charges referred to in section 5 and the schedule to the Public Expenditure and Receipts Act 1968.

I am concerned only with the fee for the issue of a licence under section 25 of the Burial Act 1857—which is covered by the Fees (Increase) Act 1923. Increases in this fee were made on 1st May 1976, from £2 to £4, and on 1st April 1978, from £4 to £5.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what charge is made by the police for the issue of a pedlar's certificate; what is the total cost of police time and administration in that connection; and whether he proposes to seek an amendment to the law to enable him to recover the full cost from the person benefiting from the licence.

The fee charged for the issue of a pedlar's certificate is £1·25. In the Metropolitan Police district, the Commissioner estimates the annual cost of administering the Pedlars Act 1871 at £5,000. Corresponding information in respect of other police areas is not at present available centrally. I propose, however, to invite other chief officers of police to provide estimates of the cost of this work and, in the light of this information and chief officers' views, I will consider whether the fee should be increased.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are made for inspection and advice by the police of security arrangements at commercial explosives stores; and what charge is made to the owners of such stores for the police time involved.

Before the occupier of an explosives store can lawfully keep any explosive other than fireworks, gunpowder and certain safety ammunition, he must be in possession of a police certificate issued in accordance with regulations made under the Explosives Act 1875 and stating that he is a fit person to keep explosives at that store. Before a certificate is issued, and periodically afterwards, the police check that the security arrangements at the store are satisfactory. Similar arrangements under the Emergency Powers (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953 cover the acquisition and possession of gunpowder. No charge is made for the issue of a certificate, and any charge for police time involved in inspection is a matter for the chief officer concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what charge is made for an occasional justices' licence to enable the holder of a full on-licence to sell intoxicants for a special event at a place other than his usual premises; what inquiries are made by the police about the licensee, the person organising the special event, and the premises in which the event is to be held; and what proportion of the cost of these inquiries is recovered in the charge made.

At present the charge made for an occasional licence is £2. Under the Licensing (Fees) Order 1978 this will be increased to £2·50 on 1st January 1979. The fees charged for occasional licences and other justices' licences are payable to justices' clerks, and are intended to cover the cost of work done on licensing matters by the staff of magistrates' courts, not by the police. The extent of any inquiries undertaken by the police in connection with applications for occasional licences no doubt varies with the wishes of the licensing committee concerned and the resources which particular forces can make available for this work. No information is available centrally about police practice in this matter or about the cost of such inquiries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Written Answer to the hon. Member for Dunbartonshire, East (Mrs. Bain) on 6th November, in which he states the Government's intention to introduce legislation to increase the age limits relating to the purchase and possession of air weapons by young people (a) what are the legislative measures proposed, (b) how the real need for these measures was identified and what statistical evidence can be advanced in support of their introduction, (c) what are the anticipated effects and benefits from these measures, and (d) what data will be available in future, with the same parameters as the evidence in (b) to enable statistically valid assessments to be made of the effect of the measures proposed in (a).

(a) To raise to 18 the minimum age for purchase of an air weapon or its possession in a public place, and to 16 for possession more generally, subject to exceptions for possession when the weapon is securely covered or when the possessor is under supervision of a person aged 21 years or over. (b) These measures were proposed in the consultative document on the control of firearms in Great Britain (Cmnd. 5297) published in 1973 and attracted general support from interested bodies. (c) A reduction in the incidence of misuse of air weapons by young persons.I shall write to the hon. Member about statistics.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents; how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the last nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the total amount of money paid to Enterprise Ulster out of Government funds since it was set up.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th November 1978; Vol. 959, c. 284], gave the following answer:Enterprise Ulster has received £29,000,564 since its establishment on 5th September 1973 up to 31st March 1978.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the number of jobs which were tendered for by small private landscaping firms which have been undertaken by Enterprise Ulster.

pursuant to his reply[Official Report, 30th November 1978; Vol. 959, c. 284], gave the following answer:I am not aware of Enterprise Ulster undertaking work tendered for by small private landscaping firms and I have received no direct complaints that it has done so. Enterprise Ulster does not, of course, tender for contracts, and it is the Government's and Enterprise Ulster's intention to undertake only work which would not otherwise be carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the leading officials of Enterprise Ulster, the dates of their appointments. their qualifications and the amount of their salaries and expenses, respectively, and the dates when their terms of office expire.

, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th November 1978; Vol. 959, c. 284], gave the following answer:The leading officials of Enterprise Ulster are:

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what plans Her Majesty's Government have for contributing to the United Nations university.Mrs. Hart: I have decided to pledge £5 million to the endowment fund of the university for work for the developing countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what progress the Director General of Fair Trading has made in his discussions with Rank Xerox Limited on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on the supply of indirect electrostatic reprographic equipment in the United Kingdom.

The Director General has now completed the discussions with Rank Xerox (UK) Limited which my right hon. Friend invited him to undertake following the publication of the Commission's report on 16th December 1976. As a result of these discussions, Rank Xerox (UK) Limited has given certain undertakings to my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents; how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the past nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

The number of Ford vehicles in use in my Department is 104. This represents 25 per cent. of the total fleet. No vehicles have been delivered during the past nine weeks. My Department is at present committed to purchasing six Ford vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will institute a screening procedure to discover the incidence of hydatid disease in each area of Wales.

I am advised that there is no practicable method of screening for this disease.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide a special fund and facilities to Powys area health authority so that it may test for and establish the incidence of hydatid disease in each area of the county.

Discussions have taken place between officials of my Department concerned with health and agriculture and the Powys health authority. The problem of hydatid disease is best attacked by vigorous health education measures to reduce the incidence of the disease in dogs and sheep as well as in humans.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will arrange for intensive studies to be carried out in areas of Wales where the incidence of hydatid is known to be high so as to establish accurately all those suffering from it.

County	Net revenue expenditure on education*	Net revenue expenditure on education per head of population*	Net revenue expenditure on education per pupil†	Net revenue expenditure on schools per pupil‡
	£ million	£	£	£
Clwyd	49·7	131	646	458
Dyfed	40·4	124	665	478
Gwent	58·9	134	644	475
Gwynedd	26·7	118	601	443
Mid-Glamorgan	72·7	135	638	466
Powys	15·4	146	769	574
South Glamorgan	50·5	131	664	456
West Glamorgan	50·5	137	689	515
*Net revenue expenditure on schools, further education, administration and inspection, child guidance, youth service and other education services, excluding school meals and milk.
†Net revenue expenditure on education as defined in footnote * divided by the number of pupils in maintained nursery, primary, secondary, and special schools.
‡Net revenue expenditure on nursery, primary, secondary and special education—excluding the costs of further education, administration and inspection—divided by the number of pupils in maintained schools.

asked the Attorney-General if he will take steps to attempt to extradite Joyce McKinney and her co-defendant from the United States of America so that they may stand their trial at the Central Criminal Court.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost to public fends of the special temporary employment scheme to grow exotic vegetables for the Asian community in

Although the incidence of known cases of hydatid disease in humans in Wales as a whole is low, a high proportion of these cases has occurred in Mid-Wales. Because of difficulty in identifying the disease without thorough individual examination, it is not practicable to establish accurately all those suffering from it.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the expenditure on education in each county in Wales and the amount of the expenditure in each county (a) per head of population and (b) per person of school age.

The information based on 1977–78 outturn prices is as follows:Loughborough; how many people it will employ; what wages they will be paid; how the wages compare with prevailing agricultural wages; and whether the jobs provided will be confined to New Commonwealth immigrants.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the information is as follows:(1) The maximum cost of the scheme will be £100,171. £93,771 of this is for wage costs and £6,400 for various running costs.(2) The scheme will employ 29 people for 52 weeks.(3) Wages will be paid at the following rates:—

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give for the longest and most convenient stated period of time the number of occasions upon which he has taken action against company directors for excluding the Government's incomes policies so far as their own directors' pay is concerned; and what was the action taken in each instance.

The action taken by my Department is, in all cases to follow-up possible breaches of the pay policy which may come to attention, not only from the systematic monitoring of major settlements, but from a wide range of sources including published information and queries from hon. Members and members of the public.The records kept of contacts with companies do not enable information to be provided about the number of occasions on which follow-up action was taken in respect of possible breaches involving specific categories of employees.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many widows were disqualified from entitlement to grants for training opportunities scheme courses in the past two years for which figures are available as a result of the overlapping benefits rule; and what would have been the cost of making such grants.

None. I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the eligibility conditions for acceptance for training under the training opportunities scheme are the same for widows as for all adult trainees. Widows are entitled to receive the basic training allowance which is payable to all TOPS trainees plus, if appropriate, children's allowance. However, if a widow is in receipt of a national insurance benefit, this may be affected because of the principle that a double payment of a maintenance allowance may not be made from public funds.The national insurance benefit of a widow without dependants is normally replaced by the more favourable rate of training allowance.A widow who is in receipt of a widowed mother's allowance under the national insurance scheme with additions for children may, if this is more advantageous to her, choose to continue to draw her full widowed mother's allowance, in which case an abated training allowance—currently of £80·5 a week—is payable.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department or the Manpower Services Commission maintains details of training opportunities scheme students by socio-economic classification.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the latest unemployment percentages for the North Wales intermediate area, the Welsh development area, the Scottish development area and the North-West England intermediate area.

Following is the information at 9th November:

	Percentage rate of unemployment
North Wales intermediate area*	10·5
Welsh development area	8·4
Scottish development area	8·1
North-West intermediate area	5·6
*The percentage rate for North Wales relates to the intermediate area plus part of the Llandudno travel-to-work area outside the designated area.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will inquire into the scale and basis of the pay offer recently made by the Labour Party to its employees, which appears to breach the Government's pay guidelines.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps are taken by the fire brigade to inspect and advise on petroleum stores; what is the total cost of these inspections, and the connected administration; and what fee is charged to the owner of the store.

I am advised by the Health and Safety Commission that in some areas the fire brigade takes full responsibility for licensing petroleum stores. In others, consumer protection departments or trading standards departments are responsible for the issue of licences but may call upon the fire brigade to inspect and advise to determine the conditions which may appropriately be attached to licences, to ensure that petrol is kept safely; and from time to time, as may be necessary, to ascertain whether the licensing conditions and/or the provisions of the relevant legislation are being observed.An accurate estimate of the total cost of these operations is not available and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. But a recent survey has shown that the costs of enforcement and administration of the petroleum licensing provisions of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 in respect of all but four of the 67 first-tier local authorities are roughly estimated at a total of £2¼million per annum. The only charge to the owner of the store is the fee for a licence which costs per annum, £10 for up to 2,500 litres, £15 for amounts over 2,500 litres, and up to 50,000 litres, and £30 for more than 50,000 litres.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the safety measures taken at the Shell oil terminal off Anglesey and the composition of the terminal committee.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the meeting held by the EEC Council of Ministers (Labour and Social Affairs) on 27th November 1978 at which Her Majesty's Government were represented.

My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Social Security, my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Home Office, and I represented the United Kingdom Government.The Council successfully settled two important issues—the directive on the equal treatment of men and women in social security and the Social Fund aid for youth employment.Under the directive on equal treatment in social security, member States will have six years to eliminate differences in treatment between men and women in most areas of social security provision. Pension ages and child benefits are excluded, as are increases of long-term benefits for a dependent spouse. The Council agreed that a further instrument should be prepared to apply the principle of equal treatment to occupational schemes.I am glad to say that the Council also agreed on a new category of aid under the European Social Fund to promote employment of young people. The new aid will be available to assist schemes for recruitment subsidies for unemployed young people. The aid will also support job creation programmes of public benefit, excluding jobs in central Government or on the ordinary establishments of local authorities. The United Kingdom has already benefited considerably from the Social Fund and I would expect us to get a reasonable proportion of the new aid.The Council received a progress report on the proposal for a directive on illegal migration and illegal employment. It was recognised that the proposal creates difficulties for this country and other member States, but discussions will continue with a view to finding a generally acceptable solution.Among other subjects considered and noted by the Council were the 6th annual report of the European Social Fund and the second European social budget. In relation to the latter the Commission was invited to proceed towards proposals for a third social budget. The Council also heard an oral report from Commissioner Bredeling on the recent tripartite conference.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will take steps to establish a national navigation authority for the better management commercially and recreationally of Great Britain's inland waterways as proposed by the Inland Waterways Association.

The proposal to create a national navigation authority is an integral part of the Government's wider proposals for the water industry set out in the White Paper"The Water Industry in England and Wales: The Next Steps ", on which action will be taken when the parliamentary timetable permits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations have been made to him by the Countryside Commission to designate as an area of outstanding natural beauty parts of Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria; and if he will make a statement.

None. The Commission is considering designating the North Pennines as an area of outstanding natural beauty, but it has not submitted a designation order to the Secretary of State for confirmation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sheltered housing units there are per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over, in England and Great Britain, respectively.

From recent surveys it is estimated that the local authority and new town stock of sheltered accommodation is about 26 and 24 units per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over in England and Great Britain respectively.Similar information about sheltered accommodation provided by housing associations in England and Wales will be available early next year.I understand from the Secretary of State for Scotland that, because of different design standards, the Scottish statistics are not directly comparable with those for England and Wales, and that it is planned to publish shortly full results for Scotland.Figures are not available for the private sector.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received representations from local authorities which have exhausted their allocation of money for insulation grants for the current year; and if he will list the authorities concerned.

My information is that a large number of authorities have committed, or are about to commit, all their allocation. In the light of the success of the scheme I am making a further £7 million available in the current year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents; how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the past nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

The information is as follows: 465; 10 ·5 per cent.; None; 156.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in the light of the recent increase in property prices, he will authorise an increase in the mortgage advance limit by authorities outside the Greater London area from £13,000 to £15,000.

The £13,000 limit is designed to direct local authority lending towards properties at the lower end of the market. The average local authority advance between April and September this year in the South-East region outside Greater London was £7,500. This compares with an average building society advance of £11,800—all borrowers—or £11,100—first-time borrowers. I see no reason to increase the limit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many cases there have been during the last year where home buyers on new developments have experienced difficulties owing to sellers defaulting on their obligations to make up roads; and, if no such figures are available, whether he will issue a circular to local authorities suggesting that they be collected and reported to him.

I have been asked to reply.I know of only one case of this kind. Street works authorities were advised by circular in 1974 to make wider use of the powers available to them to prevent these problems arising.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish the expenditure of education for each local authority in England; and what these represent: (a) per head of population and (b) per person of school age.

My Department does not prepare figures of expenditure or of unit costs for each local education authority, but this information can be derived from the education statistics published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many and what percentage of students aged 19 years and over, to whom only the discretionary grants apply, are having to pay college fees; and how much these fees are.

Statistics are not available to show the number of students paying their own tuition fees for courses which do not attract mandatory awards. For such courses the tuition fees recommended by the local authority associations for home students over the age of 19 are £210, for certain advanced courses, and £156 for non-advanced courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what sums she has expended in each of the years 1974 to 1977, respectively, on assistance to Rhodesian students admitted for the purpose of furthering their schooling.

Aid to students from overseas is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Overseas Development. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to his Written Question on 30th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest pupil-teacher ratios in primary and secondary schools in each education authority

This information is given in my Department's statistical bulletin 7/78, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest figures for expenditure on nursery education by each education authority; and what expenditure per thousand population and per thousand children under five years of age this represents.

My Department does not prepare figures of expenditure for each local education authority but this information can be derived from the education statistics published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what increased financial provision he will make to step up the research and development work into dispersal cleansing methods of oil pollution at sea; and if he will make a statement on the current generation of oil dispersant chemicals.

The concentrate dispersants currently licensed under the Dumping at Sea Act 1974 for use in the waters off the United Kingdom work effectively over a wide range of types of oil, but not all, and their toxicity, and hence their effect on marine life, is very much less harmful than earlier products. The scale of the research and develop-

	Increase in total duty free quotas	Increase/Decrease in apparent home consumption
1974	Approximately—27 per cent, on this trade for 1973 from EFTA sources	+4 percent.
1975	9·5 per cent.	-25 per cent.
1976	1·8 per cent.	+18 per cent. (53 weeks)
1977	0·7 per cent.	+1 per cent.
1978	1·5 per cent.	+5per cent, (estimated)
Source: PM 481 for September1978

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will arrange for and publish a report from his officials on the apparent failure of the performance of the dispersant spraying operation at the"Christos Bitas"oil spill; and if he will make a statement.

We published an account of the"Christos Bitas"operation on 27th November, which includes a section on the efficiency of the dispersants used. This operation was very successful, first in that the great bulk of the oil remaining aboard that tanker was pumped of, and second in that dispersant spraying prevented the greater part of the oil that was spilled from coming ashore.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will institute an ment programme on methods of dealing with oil spills is under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the percentage increase in the duty-free quotas for paper products from former European Free Trade Association partners in each year since 1971; and what has been the corresponding increase in home consumption of such products.

Prior to 1974, imports into the United Kingdom of paper and board products from EFTA countries had been admitted duty-free without quota. Duty-free quotas were imposed in 1974.The following statistics for year on year increases in home consumption exclude newsprint, which is covered by a separate EEC quota for all sources:independent inquiry into the oil spillage from the"Litopia"at the Anglesey Oil Terminal, which caused pollution of beaches on the North Wales coast.

The oil spillage was from a ruptured discharge hose forming part of the terminal equipment. The contingency arrangements for dealing with such a spill were activated quickly and were largely successful. I have received a report on the operation which is being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will arrange that some anti-pollution capability is available in the Conway-Llandudno area, in view of recent oil pollution from the"Litopia ".

The tugs at the Anglesey marine terminal are permanently equipped for dispersant spraying and are, therefore, well placed to respond promptly, as in the"Litopia"incident, to any spill at the terminal. My Department's stocks of spraying equipment and dispersant for dealing with oil spills at sea are held in or near ports from which we can obtain suitable spraying vessels at short notice. If necessary, these vessels would rapidly join forces with the terminal tugs.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) how many flights have been made to and from Stansted airport by Ugandan Airways since 1st January 1977; and if he will list the monthly figures for the time period;(2) how many flights have been made to and from Stansted airport by Ugandan Airways since 1st August; and if he will list the weekly totals for that period.

TABLE 1
SINGLE LEG FLIGHTS BY UGANDA AIRLINES CORPARATION CARRYING CORGO TO AND FROM STANSTED AIRPORT DURING PERIOD 1ST AUGUST TO 31ST OCTOBER 1978—WEEKLY TOTALS IN BRACKETS
August	17	(3 3 3 4 4)
September	23	(7 1 10 5)
October	7	(2 2 3 0)
Total	47

TABLE 2
SINGLE LEG FLIGHTS BY UGANDA AIRLINES CORPARATION TO AND FROM STANSTED AIRPORT DURING PERIOD 1ST JANUARY TO 31ST OCTOBER 1978
	1977	1978
January	26	16
February	15	12
March	28	24
April	28	12
May	36	17
June	40	16
July	32	9
August	27	17
September	17	23
October	4	7
November	8	—
December	14	—
Total	275	153

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report any information available to him on the annual average mileage driven by private car owners in the Highland region, the Glasgow district, in Scotland as a whole and in England or any region of England.

Excluding business use, the average annual mileage for Great Britain as a whole is 7,000.I regret that figures for individual districts and regions of Scotland are not available. We shall make estimates for Scotland and England as a whole and for the regions of England, and I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what new studies he has commissioned to investigate the effects of trunk road construction on regional economic development; and how many civil servants are employed in research in this field.

I have not commissioned any new studies on this topic recently. The role of trunk roads in regional development is, where appropriate, considered in the development of regional strategies and of particular road schemes. No civil servants are, however, employed full-time on studies directly on this point.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report, in order of priority, all road schemes included in"Policy for Roads: England 1978"on which cost benefit analysis has been carried out, indicating, where available, their net present value to cost ratio according to cost benefit analysis.

Cost benefit analysis is carried out for all the schemes in the trunk road programme. For most of these the COBA system is used. At the early stages of design the COBA assessment is based on broad estimates of costs and benefits and its main value is to compare options. The assessment is refined as preparations of schemes proceed but is still likely to vary as modifications are made during the design process. A firm estimate is made at the public inquiry stage. A revised version of COBA has been introduced and schemes are being re-assessed on this basis. A complete list of net present value COBA ratios on a consistent basis is, therefore, not available at present. The figures will be published as schemes reach public inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many public inquiries held since the publication of the Leitch committee report have specified anything more or less than a 15-year design standard for roads.

One trunk road scheme which has come to public inquiry since the publication of the Leitch report was designed to meet estimated traffic flows less than 15 years after opening.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the expected increase in the retail price index arising from the increase in the cost of petrol following his decision to abolish vehicle excise duty.

The effect of the net saving to private motorists and the small increase in business costs will be broadly neutral.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he

	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79
	£/head	£/head	£/head	£/head
Cheltenham	2·7	3·7	—	3·0
Cotswolds	1·3	0·9	0·1	2·0
Forest of Dean	2·4	3·1	3·6	4·2
Gloucester	3·5	3·7	3·7	3·3
Stroud	4·4	3·5	2·2	2·3
Tewkesbury	3·1	2·4	2·8	2·8

The figures are derived from the financial and rating statistics published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy."South Gloucestershire"is taken to mean the Forest of Dean.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has had from members of the public concerning his decision to abolish vehicle excise duty.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Christchurch and Lymington (Mr. Adley) and Bromsgrove and Red-ditch (Mr. Miller) on Wednesday 29th November 1978.—[Vol. 959, c. 409–410.]

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he will send a circular to local authorities about the law relating to the provision of bicycle facilities.

An advice note to local authorities on cycling facilities in built-up areas should be issued early in January. It contains guidance on design aspects, traffic signs and road markings, as well as a section on legal provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now state the amount of support given to each retirement pensioner in (a) Gloucester, (b) Cheltenham, (c) the Cotswoldsk, (d) Tewkesbury, (e) Stroud, and (f) South Gloucestershire as concessionary bus fare support in 1978, 1977, 1976 and 1975.

The expenditure incurred by the local authorities on concessionary fares, expressed as an amount per elderly resident, is estimated to be as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report those local authorities which provide retirement pensioners with half or more of their bus fares in 1978.

This information cannot readily be determined because many authorities issue tokens whose value to pensioners depends on the journeys they make and on local fare levels.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much money

						£'000s
				1976–77	1977–78	1978–79
Avon	…	…	…	659	613	730
Gloucestershire	…	…	…	254	173	251
Hereford and Worcestershire	…	…	…	269	339	494
Somerset	…	…	…	69	152	300
Gwent	…	…	…	428	515	575

The figures are derived from the financial and rating statistics published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Separate figures for Worcestershire are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving injuries took place on the A21 trunk road in the counties of Kent and Sussex during the most recent 12 months; and what accident rate per 1 million vehicle miles this represents.

The following information is available.

Injury Accidents on A21 Trunk Road
Kent	79 from 1.10.77 to 30.9.78
Sussex	31 from 1.11.77 to 31.10.78

I regret that information on the related accident rate is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what changes to his Department's programmes have significantly affected his cash limits for 1978–79.

Provision for investment in ports to meet industrial needs has been increased by £5 million. In addition, the Winter Supplementary Estimates presented on 30th November provide for up to £5 million to be paid by my Department and that of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment towards severance costs for staff and registered dockworkers of the Port of London Authority. The latter forms part of the support for PLA which I announced on 31st July. These additional requirements have been met from provision on the motorways and trunk road was spent on concessionary bus fare support in (a) Gloucestershire, (b) Somerset, (c) Avon, (d) Gwent and (e) Worcestershire in 1977 –78 and 1976–77; and how much was planned for 1978–79.

Details are as follows.Programme which is not required for that purpose. The cash limit for DTp block 2 for roads etc. has accordingly been reduced by £10 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services from how many women, in each of the past five years for which figures are available, invalidity pension has been withdrawn on these women becoming widows and entitled to widow's pension; what has been the annual saving on invalidity pension; and what has been the annual cost of widows' pensions in these cases over the same period.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women who were widowed in the last two years were receiving invalidity benefit earned on their own contributions and lost such benefit as a result of the over-lapping benefits rule; and what was the annual value of the lost benefits.

Figures showing the number of women who cease to receive invalidity pension on becoming widow beneficiaries are not available, but it is estimated that in 1978–79 there will be fewer than 400 such cases. The value of their contributory invalidity pensions—if paid for the full year—at current rates, would be somewhat less than £ ½million, while the value of their widow's benefits would be rather more than this amount. It would, of course, cost much more than this to duplicate benefits for all widows who might also qualify for an invalidity pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many one-parent families are on supplementary benefits.

A total of 326,000 one-parent families were receiving supplementary benefit in November 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many one-parent families there are in the United Kingdom;(2) of the total number of one-parent families how many are widows, widowers, divorcees, separated, or single girls who have never married.

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

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES RECEIVING FIS—Great Britain; April 1978
	Age of head
	Under21	21–25	26–50	Over 50	All
Estimated number of families	2,700	6,400	30,500	1,600	41,200

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the infant mortality rate among one-parent families compared with the remainder of the population.

Information is not available for one-parent families as such. However, there is information about the mortality of legitimate and illegitimate children. Deaths of children under one year of age per 1,000 live births in England and Wales in 1977 were 13·2 for legitimate children and 19·1 for illegitimate children.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, what savings (a) in staff numbers and (b) in staff costs would be achieved if the recovery and collection of maintenance from husbands, ex-husbands and other close relatives of one-parent families on supplementary benefit were ended.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 30th November 1978; Vol. 959, c. 293], gave the following information:Of an estimated total of 1,800 staff employed by my Department on work relating to the liability of relatives the number actually engaged on recovery of maintenance cannot be identified.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in how many of the total number of one-parent families the sole wage earner is in the age bracket 16–18 years, 19–21 years, 22–25 years, 26–30 years, 30 –40 years, and over 40 years, respectively.

I regret that the only available information of this kind is for those one-parent families who receive family income supplement (FIS). The 40,000 or so families on FIS are not necessarily typical of the very much greater number of one-parent families at work. Moreover, the information is not available for the precise age-bands stipulated by my hon. Friend. I have, however, given the FIS estimates in the following table in the hope that they will be of some assistance to my hon. Friend.The current collection arrangements by which maintenance payments are diverted to the Department are designed both to assure claimants of a regular income and to eliminate the administrative costs involved in dealing with the additional claims for supplementary benefit which would otherwise arise in the many cases where the liable relative defaults. To end these arrangements would, in my view, penalise claimants and increase staff numbers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the latest figures showing the expenditure of each social services authority on the care of the elderly; and what expenditure per 1,000 population and per 1,000 retired people these sums represent.

Information is not collected in this form. Detailed information about expenditure by individual local authorities on the personal social services is contained in the statistical information service publications of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which are in the Library.It is estimated that, in national aggregate terms, about half the expenditure by local authorities on the personal social services is on services for the elderly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department has yet found the correspondence relating to the case of Mr. D. P. Merfield, the constituent of the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam; and when he will answer the urgent matters raised.

I shall be writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents; how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the past nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

23; approximately 7 per cent.; 1; 1.This information is in respect of Department of Health and Social Security vehicles only.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green can expect a reply to his letter of 29th September relating to pay and conditions of service of Mrs. Hegarty and others employed as school health visitors and school nurses in Birmingham.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 29th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many young offenders have been taken out of custodial institutions and placed in foster homes as recommended by the Select Committee on Expenditure that examined the working of the Children and Young Persons Act.

The number of children boarded out in foster homes in England on 31st March 1977 was 32,500, an in- crease of 1,000 on the previous year. I regret that young offenders placed in foster homes cannot be separately identified in this figure.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now set up an independent inquiry into the proposed development of a new regional department at the Christie Hospital, Manchester, for the treatment of children with cancer; and if he will make a statement.

As my hon. Friend knows, I visited the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital on 8th September and the Christie Hospital on 26th September. In view of the representations of my right hon. and hon. Friends and hon. Members, I have concluded that I should seek independent advice on the matter. I have asked the North-Western regional authority to suspend further work meanwhile on setting up the unit at the Christie Hospital. I regret the length of time it has taken to announce this decision, but there have been problems in connection with the independent advice which have been difficult to resolve. I shall announce further details as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will reconsider the conditions under which married women are treated as incapable of performing normal household duties for the purpose of the housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension.

Ministers have given detailed considerations to the views expressed to them about the corresponding regulations laid on 12th September. The Government have now decided to ask the National Insurance Advisory Committee (NIAC), which reported on the original regulations, to review the rules by which incapacity for household duties is judged.We have accordingly made a formal reference to NIAC as folows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to stop the spread of salmonellosis.

My right hon. Friend the Minister, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services have made various regulations under the Food and Drugs Act designed to improve hygiene standards in the production of meat for human consumption.My right hon. Friend the Minister is also considering the practicability of introducing controls on the processing of animal protein for animal feeding stuffs which would be designed to reduce the incidence of infection.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many Ford vehicles are in official use in his Department; what proportion of all vehicles in operation this represents: how many of these vehicles have been delivered in the past nine weeks; and how many more vehicles his Department is committed to purchase from the Ford Motor Company.

The number of Ford vehicles — including tractors — in official use in my Department is 231, represent- ing 30 per cent. of all vehicles in operation. The Ministry purchases vehicles through the Ministry of Defence and not directly from Ford. No Ford vehicles have been delivered during the past nine weeks. Fifteen are currently on order from the Ministry of Defence.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what meetings are being held with the farmers' unions as part of the annual review of agriculture.

Meetings to be attended by officials of my Department and of the other agriculture departments and representatives of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales, the National Farmers' Union of Scotland, the Ulster Farmers' Union and the Farmers' Union of Wales will take place in London on 4th, 5th and 6th December. These meetings have equal status.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the average family spend on food in (a) Great Britain and (b) West Germany, respectively; and if he will express this as a percentage of average income.

I have been asked to reply.The information available is as follows:

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE ON FOOD— INCLUDING MEALS OUT
	United Kingdom (per week) £	West Germany (per month) Deutschemarks
1973	9·63	371
1977	17·74	Not available

The percentage of United Kingdom average household expenditure on food in 1977 was 24·7 per cent. For West Germany, the percentage is estimated from the weights used in compiling the consumer price index, to be about 27 per cent.Figures quoted are subject to sampling error.Sources: Family Expenditure Surveys 1973 and 1977; Wirtschaft Und Statistik 1973 and 1975.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an assurance that any sanctions applied to car manufacturers will not be drawn up in such a way that Government Departments and public bodies are obliged to buy cars of foreign manufacture.

Every effort will be made to ensure that discretionary action applied to car manufacturers will not lead to additional imports.

Taylor asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has declined to list in the Official Report those car manufacturers in the United Kingdom which have settled the current pay claims of their employees within the Government's pay guidelines.

Because to date only one United Kingdom car manufacturer has reached a pay settlement in the current pay round and that one—Ford—settled in breach of pay policy.