asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the increase in the number of employees of fire authorities in each of the past four years.

The returns made to the Home Office by fire authorities in England and Wales of the strengths of their brigades on 31 December each year show the following changes: in 1975, an increase of 2,098; in 1976, an increase of 404; in 1977, a decrease of 446; and in 1978, an increase of 1,441. These figures include whole-time and part-time members of brigades and control room staff, but not civilian employees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen have been issued with firearms during each year since 1950; what percentage this is of the total police force during each of these years; and on how many occasions these firearms were used in each of these years.

I am arranging for the relevant information to be collated, and I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which local government districts in England he has, since 26 July, received reports from the Local Government Boundary Commission with regard to new electoral arrangements; and for which he has made orders under schedule 9 to the Local Government Act 1972.

Since 26 July we have received reports from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England proposing new electoral arrangements for the districts of Birmingham, Bristol, East Lindsey, Hinckley and Bosworth, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, Restormel, Redditch, Salford, South Tyneside and Wakefield. We have made orders for Bolton, Calderdale, Carlisle, Coventry, Doncaster, Harborough, Harrogate, Kingston upon Hull, Lewes, Newbury, North Wiltshire, Rochdale, Rotherham, Ryedale, Sedgefield, Stockport, Teesdale, Trafford, Warwick, Waverley, Wealden, Wear Valley, West Norfolk, West Wiltshire and Worthing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use was made of the special patrol group in connection with the recent visit of the South African Barbarians rugby team.

The chief constable of West Midlands tells me that 76 officers of the special patrol group of the West Midlands police were deployed for the Barbarians match at Coventry on 17 October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the chief constable of the West Midlands police for a report on police action in respect of the South African rugby team's match at Coventry on 17 October.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the chief constable of the Devon and Cornwall police for a report on police action on the occasion of the South African rugby team's match at Camborne on 6 October.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the chief constable of the Devon and Cornwall police for a report on police action on the occasion of the South African rugby team's match at Exeter on 3 October.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an individual police officer has any right of conscientious objection to duties which require him to protect, defend or supervise the activities of avowedly racist bodies or groups, either local or from overseas.

The police are not required to protect avowedly racist bodies. Their duty is to preserve order and prevent crime.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances a prisoner is required to have a light on in his or her cell all night.

A dim amber light is kept on at night in the cell of an inmate regarded as a potential escaper, to allow staff to observe that the inmate is present. In addition, governors may permit other inmates whose presence must regularly be checked overnight—for example category "A" inmates and potential suicides—to have a light on continuously, rather than have one switched on and off at each check; and in prison hospitals low-intensity lights are normally provided and used in single rooms and wards to aid observation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the results of the monitoring of medicine and drugs for the period 1 January to 31 March, and, if available, the second and third quarters of the current year.

The figures are not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Member when they are.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can now state the results of the consideration which he was giving in July to the question of the admission of scientologists to the United Kingdom.

I am actively considering this matter but have not yet reached conclusions.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many persons were employed in the Civil Service on 1 May 1979; and how many were employed on the most recent date for which figures are available.

There are no figures available for 1 May but on 1 April there were 732,000 persons employed in the Civil Service. On 1 July, the most recent date for which figures are available, there were 724,000 civil servants.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland when next he will meet the Lord President of the Court of Session.

No date has been fixed for me to meet the Lord President of the Court of Session but my noble Friend the Lord Advocate has frequent informal meetings with the Lord President of the Court of Session from time to time whenever necessary.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland when he plans next to meet the Lord Justice-General.

No date has been fixed for me to meet the Lord Justice-General but my noble Friend the Lord Advocate has frequent informal meetings with the Lord Justice-General from time to time whenever necessary.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland whether he is satisfied with the present arrangements for enforcing custody orders furth of Scotland.

The question of enforcement furth of Scotland of custody orders made by Scottish courts, and vice versa, is an exceptionally difficult one which can only be resolved by international agreement. The Government are anxious to secure such agreement, while preserving the principle of our law that the interests of the child must be the overriding consideration in custody cases, and to this end the United Kingdom is taking an active part in a number of international negotiations which I very much hope will soon achieve a measure of success.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the modernisation of their nuclear deterrent; and if, in particular, he intends to offer facilities in the United Kingdom for the installation of cruise missiles.

To maintain the effectiveness of the strategic deterrent; to support the need for NATO collectively to modernise its long-range theatre nuclear forces; and to take consequential action as necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will now answer questions relating to Arts Council grants.

It is not the practice of Ministers to intervene in the allocation of the Arts Council grant to its clients.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidelines he proposes to issue on pupil-teacher ratios in view of the cutback in public expenditure on education.

It will be for each local authority to decide on the pupil-teacher ratios in its area, in the light of the resources which will be available to it.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will consider allowing local authorities to charge for nursery school education.

No. My right hon. and learned Friend has no present plans to introduce legislation for that purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures Her Majesty's Government propose to take to cope with any redundancies in teachers, caretakers, cleaners, school meal staff and other non-teaching staff in the education services.

If such redundancies should arise, they are for discussion between the employing authorities and staff concerned. There are well-established procedures for consultation; statutory provision exists for redundancy payments—subject to length of service and minimum weekly hours of work—and for payment of accrued superannuation benefit to staff aged 50 for over with at least five years' reckonable service; employers may also enhance such payments at their discretion.

asked the Prime Minister how many public appointments with salaries in excess of £5,000 per year required to be made by Ministers before 31 December; and if she will list these appointments in the Official Report.

No central record is kept of appointments made by Ministers.Two publications list paid appointments made by Ministers—the "Directory of Paid Public Appointments made by Ministers", and the White Paper on public boards of a commercial character, Cmnd. 7417. Both of these documents are available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in view of the Price Commission's report on spare parts for motor cars and the stated adverse effect of the use of copyright to protect functional articles, he will seek to revise the law of copyright to exclude these articles.

In its conclusions and observations the Price Commission's report on costs and margins in the manufacture and distribution of car parts expressed the view that the potential effect of existing copyright legislation on the viability of specialist component manufacturers should be taken fully into account in the current review of copyright legislation.Since the Whitford committee report on copyright and designs law—Cmnd. 6732—is currently under consideration, this will be done.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has had any discussions with the Scottish Tourist Board and the Highlands and Islands Development Board about the poor summer tourist season in Scotland currently; and whether he has any proposals to reverse this trend in 1980.

We are in regular contack with both Boards about the state of the tourist industry in Scotland and about the measures they take to assist its growth.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when next he plans to meet the chairman of the Scottish Development Agency.

My right hon. Friend and I have met the chairman and the chief executive on numerous occasions since coming into office and there have also been two formal meetings with the full board. There is thus a continuous process of consultation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to introduce legislation to enable council house tenants to buy their houses; and if he will make a statement.

The legislation will be introduced as early as possible in this Session of Parliament. The legislation will give public sector tenants the right to buy their houses at prices which will be discounted to take account of the time during which they have been tenants in the public sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to split up the Strathclyde region into more manageable and more coherent units of local government in the course of his review of local government.

I hope to announce soon the terms of reference and membership of the review committee promised in the Conservative manifesto for Scotland. I cannot anticipate the recommendations of the committee, but the manifesto said that we do not believe there is a need for further full-scale reorganisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made in the conversations over Scottish devolution.

In the light of the bilateral discussions held before the Summer Recess the Government are inviting the other parties to join in inter-party discussions. The suggested agenda and terms of reference will be issued shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the hill farming review to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friends and I expect to complete the review and announce our conclusions in November.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which body in Scotland is to be responsible for the cattle and beef industry's affairs; and if he will give an assurance that the Scottish agriculture industry will not be controlled by any other body based in England.

Ministerial responsibility for this and other agricultural matters in Scotland is vested in me. I discharge these responsibilities through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. A statutory body, the Meat and Livestock Commission, has, however, a special responsibility for promoting the efficiency of the production, marketing and distribution of livestock and livestock products in the whole of Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to indicate his decision on the proposed Moss Morran development, as the delay in making this decision is retarding progress of the works at St. Fergus in East Aberdeenshire.

I announced my decision to grant outline planning permission for the proposed petrochemical developments at Moss Morran and Braefoot Bay on 9 August 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to visit the prisons in Scotland and hold discussions with the prison officers on their present conditions of pay, service and housing.

During the course of the parliamentary recess my right hon. Friend visited Barlinnie prison and Barlinnie special unit. I have during the same period paid visits to Inverness, Penninghame and Peterhead prisons, to Glenochil young offenders institution and detention centre, and to Polmont borstal.In the course of these visits we spoke with a number of officers about matters of mutual interest, but we did not specifically enter into discussions on prison officers' pay and conditions since the committee of inquiry into the prison service in the United Kingdom, under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice May, was then considering the terms of its report. The committee has now reported and its report will be published shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will have talks with the regional and district councils in Scotland on the anomalies in the Planning (Scotland) Regulations.

If the hon. Member would give examples of such anomalies I shall look into them.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will bring forward proposals to amend the planning regulations in respect of the present system in Scotland, where delays of up to six months can take place before an applicant is able to obtain a decision from the appropriate authority.

The great majority of applications are dealt with in under two months, but I am considering what can be done to reduce unjustifiable delays. It is, however, open to an applicant to appeal to the Secretary of State if a decision is not made on his application within two months.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he proposes to abolish the present planning regulations which permit the calling in of planning applications after they have been approved by the initial authorised authority.

It is not possible to call in a planning application once planning permission has been issued. The power of a regional council or my right hon. Friend to call in an application before then is a valuable part of the planning system, but I am considering how to define more closely the circumstances in which it should be used.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek to abolish the Scottish health boards and have the work carried out by the local health councils.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will issue a statement on his discussions on 18 September with the chairman of British Rail, and what was the result of his discussions arising out of the telegram sent to him by the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire, East regarding the long-term plan for rural railway services for passengers and freight in the light of future energy problems.

As a result of my right hon. Friend's general discussion with the chairman of British Rail I was satisfied that the British Railways Board took into account all relevant factors in considering the future of these operations. However, responsibility for rail policy and investment rests with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the chaotic state which arose on the West Coast of Scotland due to the granting of seven-day fishing licences, he will take steps to ensure that all future licences will be limited to five-day fishing which is the traditional method used by people fishing in Scottish waters.

I have no evidence that the conditions of the licence for the present mackerel fishery have resulted in any difficulties in the fishery, which appears so far to have been a generally satisfactory one. I am, however, continuing to keep the fishery under close review. The licence conditions for future fisheries will be determined by the circumstances of the fishery at the time, after such consultation as is necessary with the relevant interests.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the shortage of feeding materials for cattle and the financial strain on farmers and growers as a result of the winter of 1978 and the effect on crops of the poor summer of 1979, he will state what steps he now proposes to take to assist the farming industry.

I am considering urgently whether any special help might be given to those farmers in remote areas who have been most seriously affected by the weather conditions of 1978 and 1979. More generally, my right hon. Friends and I are reviewing the economic situation in hill farming to determine whether any increases in hill livestock compensatory allowances are justified, and hope to announce our conclusions in November.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of threats of murder against the officers in Peterhead prison, he will set up a commmittee of inquiry into conditions at this prison, in order to protect the lives of the prison officers and other staff.

I am aware of the publication of a letter containing such a suggestion, but do not think that the setting up of a committee of inquiry would serve any useful purpose in connection with it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons are employed in the planning departments in the following local authorities and at what total cost to the ratepayers (a) Grampian regional council, (b) Banff and Buchan district council, (c) Gordon district council, (d) Aberdeen district council and (e) Kincardine district council.

The information requested is not available to my Department. The staffing of individual local authorities and of departments within them is a matter for each local authority to determine.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on behalf of the Caledonian Retirement Homes Association Limited; what was the nature of all such approaches; and what was the response to these approaches and the reasons given.

The association approached by hon. Friend the Minister responsible for home affairs and the environment with a request for a meeting to discuss the provision of accommodation for the elderly in Scotland, but because of his other commitments he was not able to meet this request. The association was however offered a meeting with Scottish Office officials, and this has been arranged for Monday 29 October.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set up an inquiry into alleged malpractice regarding the purchase of colostomy products for the National Health Service in Scotland.

No. I have already written to my hon. Friend about pricing procedures for colostomy appliances supplied on prescription.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) which local authorities in Scotland operate a waiting list for old people's homes; and what is the size of such waiting lists;(2) what methods are used by local authorities in Scotland who do not operate waiting lists to assess demand for part IV accommodation; and what is their current assessment of such demand.

Practice varies with regard to the operation of waiting lists for old people's homes and other methods of assessing demand, and detailed information on these matters is not available centrally. In providing residential accommodation local authorities have regard to certain target figures and to the particular needs of their areas, which may be assessed by local surveys. Authorities are also exploring ways in which old people can be assisted to maintain their independence in their own homes.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many places in old people's homes local authorities have at present, by authority (a) under construction and (b) in planning stage; and what is the current timetable of starts for those in category (b) above;(2) what plans exist for homes for the elderly confused currently under construction or in the planning stage.

The number of places in local authority old people's homes currently under construction is as follows:

Central	30
Fife	116
Grampian	30
Highland	70
Lothian	40
Strathclyde	52
Western Isles	24
	362

Many such projects included in local authorities' 1978 financial plans are at an early stage of planning, with projected starting dates from 1979–80 to 1983–84; information regarding the number of places is not available. It has not been the policy of authorities to provide homes solely for the elderly confused and there are no plans to build any. Some elderly people with mild mental disability are accommodated in residential homes for the elderly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if it is his policy to encourage further sporting links with the Republic of Albania; and if officials of his Department made contact with Albanian officials regarding the recent football games between Glasgow Celtic and an Albanian team.

Sporting links with Albania are a matter for individual clubs and governing bodies. My Department had no contact with Albania about the recent games played by Glasgow Celtic.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to authorise the start of the electrification of the Ayrshire railway lines as announced by the previous Government.

My right hon. Friend is not aware that the previous Administration made any such announcement. Strathclyde regional council was informed on 26 July that my right hon. Friend accepted the Glasgow-Ayr electrification as a suitable project for its transport programme. It is for the regional council to decide a starting date for the project, within its allocated capital expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current number of geriatric beds in each health board area; and what plans each health board has for new bed spaces currently (a) under construction and (b) at planning stage.

The number of geriatric beds in each health board area is set out in the following table 1.It is planned to provide, as part of the major Health Service building programme, approximately 450 additional geriatric beds, of which 90 will be in buildings now under construction. These are listed by health board areas in table 2. The major programme also makes provision for some 1,000 geriatric beds to replace existing facilities. In addition, health boards finance from their ordinary capital allocations smaller schemes to provide new and replacement accommodation. Full details of these projects are not available centrally.

TABLE 1
Geriatric beds at 30 September 1978
Argyll and Clyde	987
Ayrshire and Arran	628
Borders	225
Dumfries and Galloway	271
Fife	504
Forth Valley	519
Grampian	829
Greater Glasgow	2,262
Highland	394
Lanarkshire	1,096
Lothian	1,387
Orkney	49
Shetland	87
Tayside	864
Western Isles	100
Scotland	10,202

Average available staffed bed figures in NHS hospitals, joint user hospitals and institutions with which health boards have contractual arrangements.

	Long Stay
Health Board	Assessment	Excluding General Practitioner Units	General Practitioner Units only	Total
Argyll and Clyde	125	30	—	155
Ayrshire and Arran	—	—	—	Nil
Borders	22	58	—	80
Dumfries and Galloway	27	—	—	27
Fife	190	—	—	190
Forth Valley	166	28	—	194
Grampian	10	—	29	39
Greater Glasgow	140*	170	—	310
Highlands	23	52	—	75
Lanarkshire	178	40*	—	218
Lothian	430	16	—	446
Orkney	—	—	43	43
Shetland	—	—	—	Nil
Tayside	72	33	—	105
Western Isles	—	14	—	14
Total	1,383	441	72	1,896
* Numbers given include 41 and 40 persons respectively waiting for beds provided outside NHS hospitals under joint user or contractual arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what action he now intends to take to assist the industrial and employment position in the

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland which health boards operate waiting lists for geriatric beds and what is the current waiting list in each case; what methods are used by authorities which do not operate waiting lists to assess unsatisfied demand for geriatric beds; and what is their current assessment of such demand.

All health boards operate separate waiting lists for assessment and long-stay geriatric beds. Numbers waiting in each category, as at 31 March 1979, were as follows:Black Country areas of the West Midlands, in view of the number of factory closures and redundancies which have taken place;(2) what action he now intends to take to prevent more factory closures and redundancies in the Black Country areas of the West Midlands.

The Government's policies are designed to encourage industrial expansion and employment throughout the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry why the article "Eliminating technical barriers to trade within the EEC" in Trade and Industry of 3 August refers to a Commission proposal on precious metals (OJ 16.1.76) which was withdrawn on 13 October 1977 by the Commissioner.

This item continues to appear in the Trade and Industry article 100 checklist because there has been no formal withdrawal of this proposal promulgated in any of the series of the "Official Journal of the European Communities", although it is understood that there was a communication from the Vice-President of the Commission to the President of the Council in 1978 stating that the Commission had decided to withdraw its proposal.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what aid he is prepared to render to the wool textile and clothing industry until such time as the Government have taken measures to deal with unfair competition and distortion of trade from within the EEC;(2) what measures the Government propose to deal with unfair competition and distortion of trade from within the EEC in relation to the wool textile industry.

The Government are ready, provided they can obtain reasonably firm evidence with the help of the industry about other member States' practices, to have recourse to all the machinery of the Rome Treaty to ensure fair conditions of competition within the EEC. In so far as problems facing the industry stem from wider economic factors, the Government's general policies should progressively help to provide more favourable conditions for profitable and efficient operations by the industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what steps are being taken by the Government by means of stockpiling or other measures to ensure a continuous supply to United Kingdom civil industry of platinum group metals, chromite ore, vanadium, manganese and cobalt;(2) if he will hold discussions with the steel industry about safeguarding supplies of essential alloy metals such as chrome, manganese, cobalt, vanadium, titanium and molybdenum, in the event of disruption caused by civil disturbance or international conflict in the principal countries of supply;(3) what discussions are being held with other EEC States about maintaining strategic reserves of essential minerals for civil industry such as platinum group metals, ferro-chrome, vanadium, manganese and cobalt.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 October 1979]: Responsibility for procurement and stockpiling of raw materials lies first and foremost with industrial users. There is, however, continuing and frequent contact between industry and Government on the supply situation, including the need for stockpiling in order to reduce the risk of a disruption of supplies. The steel industry, being a major user of many important strategic materials, is included in these discussions.The Government also exchange views and information with other EEC member States about raw material supply questions, including stockpiling.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many school leavers in the East Flint constituency have obtained apprenticeship and Government training awards, by year, since 1974.

Information is not available in the form requested. Employers providing apprenticeships outside industrial training board arrangements or in the non-training board sector are not required to provide detailed figures and the information available to industrial training boards from employers within their arrangements is not broken down to the constituency level. Information on the residence of training award holders could only be obtained from individual industrial training boards at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what progress has been made over the last summer towards completion of the feasibility study of improvements to Tan-yr-Unto bend, Llanbedr D.C., Clwyd;(2) when he expects actual road improvements to be commenced at, and in the vicinity of, Tan-yr-Unto bend, Llanbedr D.C., Clwyd.

A soil survey has been completed and the report from consulting engineers is expected before the end of the year. I cannot at present say when major works might be started. Measures have, however, been taken to reduce the risk of accident and these are proving to be beneficial.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what current proposals he has for the improvement of the A5 trunk road in the vicinity of Maerdy Post Office, near Corwen, Clwyd.

There are no immediate plans to alter the trunk road layout near Maerdy post office, but, as my hon. and learned Friend knows, a route study is being undertaken to determine what improvements are needed in the longer term to a length of the AS which includes Maerdy.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much electricity is produced or saved in a full year if £1,000 million is invested in (a) a new nuclear power station of the kind to be built at Torness or Heysham, (b) a new coal-fired power station similar to Drax B, (c) a new oil-fired power station similar to the Isle of Grain and (d) energy conservation measures using existing technology to economise in the final use of electricity.

Investment decisions on generating plant are taken in the light of total lifetime costs and benefits and no meaningful comparison can be related solely to initial capital investment or to a particular year. Similar considerations apply to the appraisal of opportunities for investment in energy conservation, which are not normally specific to electricity, and whose costs and benefits vary. Meeting longer term United Kingdom energy needs will require substantial investment both in the energy industries and in energy conservation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now seek to obtain figures to show the separate production costs for coal produced from deep mines and coal produced by contractors under licence from the opencast executive; and if he will make a statement.

In schedule 8 to its accounts for 1978–79 the National Coal Board has added information to show, for that year and for 1977–78, the separate operating results, before interest, of the mining areas and the opencast regions. A copy of the accounts is in the Library of the House.For 1978–79, the average cost per tonne for mining areas was £24·87 and the average cost per tonne for opencast regions was £18·12.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the building of nuclear power stations.

The Government believe that nuclear power has a vital role to play in energy policy and that continuing orders for nuclear power stations are essential for meeting this country's long-term energy requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many domestic consumers were disconnected by each gas or electricity area board as a result of nonpayment of accounts during the quarters ending 30 June and 30 September.

Figures for the number of gas and electricity domestic consumers disconnected for non-payment of accounts during the quarter ended June 1979 are as follows:

Area Electricity Board
London	3,470
South-Eastern	1,016
Southern	924
South-Western	612
Eastern	2,321
East Midlands	2,548
Midlands	3,368
South Wales	680
Merseyside and North Wales	1,674
Yorkshire	2,649
North-Eastern	1,724
North-Western	2,430
	23,416
Gas Region
Scottish	582
Northern	1,123
North-Western	1,185
North-Eastern	586
East Midlands	492
West Midlands	1,287
Wales	139
Eastern	478
North Thames	1,069
South-Eastern	849
Southern	181
South-Western	34
	8,005

Figures for the quarter ended 30 September are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a further statement on his plans for the British National Oil Corporation.

As already announced, the Government are pursuing their objective of giving the public the chance to participate directly in BNOC's oil producing business. A statement will be made in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the Health and Safety Executive report on the transport by road of Plutonium Nitrate, completed in June, will be published.

The Government are giving careful consideration to all aspects of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's proposals on the transport of plutonium nitrate by road and ship from Dounreay to Windscale, including the advice contained in a report prepared by the Health and Safety Executive. The report will be published and the Government's decision on the AEA's proposals announced in due course.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will give details of where the cuts in the aid programme for 1979–80 are being made, in both multilateral and bilateral fields; and what statements he has made to multilateral agencies and Governments of recipient countries concerning commitments for 1980–81.

The £50 million reduction has meant the deferment or curtailment of some expenditure, both multilateral and bilateral, planned for 1979–80. It is not the practice to publish details of planned expenditure, other than those shown in Supply Estimates. Where necessary, talks are taking place with recipient Governments and agencies about rephasing planned expenditure. The aid programme for 1980–81 has not yet been determined.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will seek a substantial reduction in the future expenses allowances of the 13 EEC commissioners of £2,100,000 in the current year.

No. The figure quoted by the hon. Member seems rather exaggerated. In 1979 the total allocation for entertainment and representational allowances for the Commissioners amounted to £241,881, and other expenses, including mission expenses, travel and subsistence to £464,236.The European Court of Auditors has recently recommended stricter control of expenditure by the Commissioners. The recommendations have been broadly accepted by the President of the Commission.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on Rhodesia.

I made a statement this afternoon.

asked the Lord Privy Seal why the British embassy in Jordan has no telex communication; and whether, in view of the increasing commercial importance of the country, he will ensure that telex facilities are installed immediately.

We have long been anxious to install telex in as many of our overseas missions as resources permit. Our embassy in Amman was included in the current year's installation programme along with several other missions of commercial importance. Lack of funds caused the programme's postponement but we hope to arrange for the Amman installation as a first priority in 1980–81.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if, pursuant to his reply of 23 May to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr, he will now list the departmental documents which were withheld from the Public Record Office because they contained passing references to security, but which have been released to the Public Record Office since 1 February.

None of these documents has yet been released. Revised instructions to reviewers have been issued and are now being implemented. The backlog will be cleared as soon as practicable.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what discussions are currently taking place with the Spanish Government with a view to reopening the border between Spain and Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and noble Friend had a preliminary discussion of the Gibraltar problem with the Spanish Foreign Minister in New York on 24 September. They agreed that it was in both countries' interests to seek ways of resolving present differences over Gibraltar. The discussions are to be continued.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what further progress has been made in discussions with the United States Government towards ending the requirement for United Kingdom citizens to obtain a visa before visiting the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.

As I indicated in my reply of 11 July—[Vol. 970, c. 443]—the American Government are well aware that we regard a reciprocal waiver of visas for United Kingdom citizens as highly desirable. I understand that their Administration are still considering proposals for the abolition of the visa requirement for certain categories of visitor.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is satisfied that the requisite steps have been taken to prevent the issue of British passports to known terrorists either in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia or adjacent countries.

British posts overseas are required to refer to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office applications for concessionary passports for Rhodesians, whether resident inside or outside Rhodesia, with full particulars of the individuals concerned and purpose of travel, except in cases which fall within the categories specifically listed in the Attorney-General's statement of 17 June 1968.—[Vol. 766, c. 739.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the conclusion of the report of the Select Committee on nationalised industries in February 1978 that if no merger were to occur between the British Waterways Board and the water industry, the Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council should continue to function as an independent advisory body.

We are aware of the Select Committee's recommendation, and appreciate the good work the Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council has done in the past, but in the context of the Government's general policy on quangos we did not regard the case for retaining this organisation as sufficiently strong.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to make adjustments in the rate support grant to reduce the discrimination against rural areas.

I must ask my right hon. and learned Friend to await the announcement of the rate support grant settlement in November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much land has been purchased by each of the London dockland boroughs under the Community Land Act.

The information up to 31 March 1979 is as follows:

	acres purchased
Docklands land board	2·7
Greenwich LBC	1·6
Lewisham LBC	2·3
Newham LBC	0
Southwark LBC	0
Tower Hamlets LBC	0·6

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to seek to give the London dockland urban development corporation powers to purchase land similar to those exercised by the Land Authority of Wales.

My right hon. Friend has in mind that the main legislation should afford the urban development corporations the potential power to acquire land, by compulsory purchase if necessary, to reclaim and develop it, to provide infrastructure, and then to sell it or lease it. Urban development councils would exercise these functions in circumstances in which the private sector could not be expected to carry them out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to repeal the Community Land Act.

A Bill will be introduced very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the current membership of the radioactive waste management advisory committee, with a note on the particular expertise of each member.

The committee consists of 11 independent scientists, four members from the nuclear and electricity industries and three from the trades unions with members in those industries. The members are:

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he took on or subsequent to Friday 15 September to inform bodies or persons of his announcement concerning inner urban areas and proposals for urban development corporations; and which persons or bodies he informed of his announcement.

My right hon. Friend sent copies of the text on 13 September to the leaders of all the partnership authorities, to the chairmen of the local authority associations, the chairman of the Dock-lands joint committee, the chairmen of the Port of London Authority and the Merseyside Docks and Harbours Company, and to hon. Members of this House who had asked related questions during the current Parliament. In addition, my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State, Lord Bellwin, sent copies of the text to all the leaders of the programme authorities.Since making his announcement my right hon. Friend has sent copies to all hon. Members with constituency interests in areas affected by the proposed urban development corporations, and also various organisations with a general interest in inner city policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the reasons for the abolition of the advisory committee on co-operatives; and how much money is expected to be saved in the current financial year by this action.

The committee was set up in 1976 to provide advice on co-operatives to the Housing Corporation and to act as a representative forum for the co-operative housing movement. The corporation has now established its own contacts with individual co-operatives. The savings in a full year are estimated to be about £4,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the use of 17 Bloomsbury Square, following the decision to build the National library elsewhere, in view of the fact that this fine building has been occupied by squatters; if he will take urgent steps to ensure that no damage occurs as a result; and if he will make a statement.

An originating summons claiming possession of the property was issued in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, and was served yesterday.My right hon. Friend wishes to include this building, with others, in an auction early next year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that the USSR does not discriminate against the selection of Jews in teams competing in international sporting events; and if, in view of the authenticated reports of discrimination against Jews in the Soviet Union, he will seek to clarify the policy of the USSR on the selection of teams for international sporting events and the Olympic Games in particular before encouraging further sporting contests with that country.

Governing bodies of sport in this country and the International Sports Federation are independent of Government. I have no locus in their participation in international sporting events, including the Olympics, except that in the case of South Africa the Government accept the Commonwealth statement agreed at Gleneagles in 1977.The Government deplore any form of anti-Jewish discrimination which may occur in the Soviet Union, whether in sport or elsewhere.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make a statement on the visit to Great Britain of the multi-racial Barbarians rugby team from South Africa;(2) why he requested the rugby football unions to cancel the invitation which they had extended to the multi-racial Barbarians team from South Africa.

I have nothing to add to the Government's statement of 14 September on the current tour of this country by the South African Barbarians rugby club. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.This statement gives the background to my request to the home rugby unions to reconsider their invitation to this club. It arose from the Government's obligations under the Commonwealth statement on apartheid in sport of 1977, commonly known as the Gleneagles agreement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many persons were employed by local authorities on the most recent date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures 12 and 24 months previously, respectively.

Following is the information for England and Wales:

Full-timers	Thousands
June 1977	1,712
June 1978	1,708
June 1979	1,735
Part-timers	Thousands
June 1977	899
June 1978	914
June 1979	936
Full-time equivalents	Thousands
June 1977	2,069
June 1978	2,069
June 1979	2,104

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what special steps are being taken in the interest of environmental and personal health to reduce the current level of lead in petrol.

I have been asked to reply.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the average waiting period for a driving test in (a) Mold, Clwyd and (b) Wales as a whole.

At 5 October the waiting periods were:

(a) Mold, Clwyd—28 weeks

(b) Wales as a whole—25½ weeks.

asked the Minister of Transport how many properties in the Great Barr and Perry Beeches areas of Birmingham have had double glazing fitted under the Noise Insulation Regulations due to the M6 motorway; and for how many of these properties a payment was made under part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973.

This information is not readily available but I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport how many letters his Department's West Midland office has sent out to residents in the Great Barr and Perry Beeches area of Birmingham withdrawing offers of double glazing under the Noise Insulation Regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Offers of noise insulation have been made to a number of householders in the vicinity of the M6 following the revised interpretation of the Noise Insulation Regulations 1973. There is no legal duty on the Department to make these offers. Unfortunately, through an administrative oversight, offers were made in 123 cases where full compensation had already been paid under part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973. In these cases it was not appropriate to provide insulation, since it would have resulted in a double payment from public funds to mitigate the effect of traffic nuisance. When the error was discovered, individual letters were sent explaining why the offers in these cases had to be withdrawn. I am sorry if expectations have been raised without foundation and very much regret the error.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he is taking to prevent abuse of the orange badge scheme.

I intend to concentrate the assistance provided by the orange badge scheme on those who have the greatest difficulty in walking. It is in their interests above all, in that the orange badge should be respected as a genuine indication that the car user needs to be assisted and enabled to park as near as possible to his or her destination. The misuse of badges leads to frustration and annoyance to the genuinely disabled as well as to other road users.I therefore propose that the entitlement to claim an orange badge should be restricted to the following four categories:

asked the Lord Privy Seal (1) what effect his proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation overseas service would have upon broadcasts in the following languages: Hausa, Swahili and Somali;(2) what effect the proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation overseas service would have upon the relay station in Singapore;(3) how many overseas listeners are likely to be lost as a result of the proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation's overseas services;(4) in what areas of the world the English language world service will cease to be available if the proposed reduction in overseas services takes place;(5) what effect the proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation's overseas services would have upon broadcasts in the following languages: Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Hindi, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil and Nepali;(6) by what percentage the overseas service will be reduced by the proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation's overseas services;(7) how many countries and how many services will be affected by the proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation's overseas services;(8) in what areas of the world the British Broadcasting Corporation's vernacular broadcasting will cease if the proposed reduction in overseas services take place.

As I promised in the House on 26 July—[Vol. 971, c. 415]—discussions have taken place between officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the management of BBC external services to minimise the repercussions of any cuts. An announcement about the effects of the Government's public expenditure review on the BBC external services will be made in due course.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what representations he has received from overseas about the proposed reduction in the British Broadcasting Corporation's overseas service.

Over 50 letters from overseas have been received by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state any decision reached by the EEC Council of Finance Ministers on 11 September last covering the proposal to transfer to the aid section of the EEC budget net payments in respect of imports of cane sugar from common agricultural policy countries.

The Budget Council agreed on 11 September to return provision for ACP sugar to the agricultural title of the budget.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any intention of raising the present 15p tax-free limit on luncheon vouchers, established more than 30 years ago, to a figure which more closely represents its current cost in real terms.

We favour concentrating on tax reductions across the board—which help everybody—rather than extending selective reliefs of this kind.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the increase in (a) the money supply, (b) manufacturing output per head, (c) manufacturing output and (d) gross domestic product; and if he will provide an estimate of the degree of correlation between the money supply and output, and between output and output per head.

Tables showing all four of these variables are published regularly in Economic Trends. Partly because of time lags and different definitions of some of the variables, there are no unique estimates of the two sets of correlations to which the hon. Member refers. In the long run, however, there is a close relationship between monetary growth and inflation. In the short run, if inflationary expectations are high, a low rate of monetary growth will tend to exert a depressing effect on output, but the size of this effect depends heavily on the extent to which pay settlements exceed those which can be justified by improvements in productivity.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of real personal disposable income for each quarter since January 1946; and what has been the percentage change in each quarter compared with that quarter a year previously.

The available information is given in the following table. Quarterly estimates of real personal disposable income before 1955 are not available.

REAL PERSONAL DISPOSABLE INCOME, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
	£ million 1975 prices	Percentage change on corresponding quarter of preceding year
1955—
1st quarter	10,164	—
2nd quarter	10,363	—
3rd quarter	10,421	—
4th quarter	10,348	—
1956—
1st quarter	10,550	3·8
2nd quarter	10,553	1·8
3rd quarter	10,627	2·0
4th quarter	10,630	2·7
1957—
1st quarter	10,717	1·6
2nd quarter	10,765	2·0
3rd quarter	10,760	1·3
4th quarter	10,804	1·6
1958—
1st quarter	10,960	2·3
2nd quarter	10,869	1·0
3rd quarter	10,985	2·1
4th quarter	10,982	1·6
1959—
1st quarter	11,181	2·0
2nd quarter	11,553	6·3
3rd quarter	11,590	5·5
4th quarter	11,732	6·8
1960—
1st quarter	11,951	6·9
2nd quarter	12,188	5·5
3rd quarter	12,392	6·9
4th quarter	12,529	6·8
1961—
1st quarter	12,648	5·8
2nd quarter	12,841	5·4
3rd quarter	12,811	3·4
4th quarter	12,746	1·7

	£ million 1975 prices	Percentage change on corresponding quarter of preceding year
1962—
1st quarter	12,708	0·5
2nd quarter	12,708	-1·0
3rd quarter	12,898	0·7
4th quarter	13,010	2·8
1963—
1st quarter	13,110	3·2
2nd quarter	13,216	4·0
3rd quarter	13,612	5·5
4th quarter	13,723	4·7
1964—
1st quarter	13,762	5·0
2nd quarter	13,810	4·5
3rd quarter	14,034	3·1
4th quarter	14,047	2·4
1965—
1st quarter	14,134	2·7
2nd quarter	14,124	2·3
3rd quarter	14,345	2·2
4th quarter	14,454	2·9
1966—
1st quarter	15,027	6·3
2nd quarter	14,443	2·3
3rd quarter	14,361	0·1
4th quarter	14,485	0·2
1967—
1st quarter	14,441	-3·9
2nd quarter	14,757	2·2
3rd quarter	15,091	5·1
4th quarter	14,919	3·0
1968—
1st quarter	15,340	6·2
2nd quarter	15,184	2·9
3rd quarter	14,858	-1·5
4th quarter	15,037	0·8
1969—
1st quarter	15,194	-1·0
2nd quarter	15,242	0·4
3rd quarter	15,147	1·9
4th quarter	15,422	2·6
1970—
1st quarter	15,457	1·7
2nd quarter	15,958	4·7
3rd quarter	15,986	5·5
4th quarter	15,951	3·4
1971—
1st quarter	15,735	1·8
2nd quarter	16,160	1·3
3rd quarter	16,208	1·4
4th quarter	16,482	3·3
1972—
1st quarter	16,797	6·8
2nd quarter	17,684	9·4
3rd quarter	17,309	6·8
4th quarter	17,807	8·0
1973—
1st quarter	18,139	8·0
2nd quarter	18,703	5·8
3rd quarter	18,556	7·2
4th quarter	18,671	4·9
1974—
1st quarter	18,588	2·5
2nd quarter	18,405	-1·6
3rd quarter	18,879	1·7
4th quarter	19,179	2·7

	£ million 1975 prices	Percentage change on corresponding quarter of preceding year
1975—
1st quarter	19,326	4·0
2nd quarter	18,631	1·2
3rd quarter	18,456	-2·2
4th quarter	18,294	-4·6
1976—
1st quarter	18,805	-2·7
2nd quarter	18,611	-0·1
3rd quarter	18,989	2·9
4th quarter	18,368	0·4
1977—
1st quarter	18,382	-2·3
2nd quarter	17,981	-3·4
3rd quarter	18,230	-4·0
4th quarter	18,967	3·3
1978—
1st quarter	18,931	3·0
2nd quarter	19,502	8·5
3rd quarter	20,015	9·8
4th quarter	20,234	6·7
1979—
1st quarter	20,404	7·8
2nd quarter	20,727	6·3

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out in the Official Report the percentage of the total tax cuts announced in his Budget for the following levels of earnings: up to £2,000, £4,000, £5,000, £8,000, £10,000 and £15,000; and also show the percentage of the tax cuts he announced, excluding those announced in April 1979.

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