asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any steps are being taken to ameliorate the present delays in the publication of written answers.

The Official Report has now arranged to provide to the Vote Office on the morning after written answers are delivered a Supplement in the form of a proof copy of all answers not included in the current Daily Part. The Supplement will include answers received by the Official Report by 5 pm the day before publication—12.30 on Fridays. Answers appearing in the Supplement and all outstanding answers will thereafter be published in succeeding Daily Parts.It is hoped that the provision of this extra material will go some way towards making good the present shortcomings in the availability of the

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in view of the fact that he has no knowledge of the time taken by ministerial Departments in replying to letters from hon. Members, whether he will take action to ascertain the average time taken by the various stated Departments in replying to mail sent to them by the taxpayer in general and hon. Members in particular.

Responsibility for replying to correspondence rests with individual Ministers, who are well aware of the need to respond as quickly as possible. In my reply of 3 April to the hon. Member's previous question on this topic I was indicating that my office does not keep detailed records of response times. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind I suggest that he brings it to the attention of the Minister concerned.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will publish a list of her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for 15 April.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 April.

I refer my hon. Friends and the hon. Members to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Huddersfield, East (Mr. Sheerman).

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the continued Russian occupation of Afghanistan, she will seek an early meeting with the leaders of the Russian Government.

No. It is unlikely that such a meeting would prove useful at present.

asked the Prime Minister if she will visit the Lancashire Hill area of Stockport.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the timing of the electricity boards' nuclear power programme.

The Government's general policy for the future development of the nuclear programme was set out in my right hon. Friend's statement of 18 December. He confirmed in the House yesterday the wish of the generating boards to proceed with the two AGR stations at Heysham and Torness, and also made clear that, in view of the heavy costs of these and other capital projects, the Government have urged the CEGB, the SSEB and the other boards to identify economies wherever possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the activities of the risk appraisals group of the Health and Safety Executive; what are its powers; to whom it is accountable; and under what legislation it was established.

Informal arrangements have existed since 1972 whereby planning authorities are asked before granting planning permission for developments at or in the vicinity of "major hazard" sites to consult the Health and Safety Executive. The request to planning authorities is contained in DOE circular 1/1972. A major hazard is defined for this purpose, and not very elegantly, as a situation where, if any incident occurred, there might be substantial loss of life or serious injury outside the confines of the workplace.The major hazards risk appraisal group is a committee of inspectors in the Health and Safety Executive with expertise in explosives, fires and chemical hazards. The group meets each week to advise on proposed developments referred to it by planning authorities. The group's role is purely advisory and it has no power to enforce its recommendations. The group was not established under legislation but was set up following discussions between the Secretaries of State for Employment, Environment, Wales and Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many planning applications were referred to the risk appraisals group of the Health and Safety Executive in 1979; and what was the average time taken for the group to come to a decision on an application.

469 planning applications were referred to the major hazards risk appraisal group in 1979. It would involve disproportionate cost to calculate the average time required by the group to make a recommendation in all 469 cases, but an estimate has been obtained using as a sample the 30 cases received during December 1979. Two of these planning applications are still outstanding—the median time needed to reach a decision in the remaining cases was 35 days.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, pursuant to the Under-Secretary of State's reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe on 27 March, concerning the proposed study of local employment rates in Manchester, he will publish in the Official Report his letter to Manchester city council on this matter.

[pursuant to his reply, 2 April 1980, c. 216]: Following is the text of the letter sent to the Manchester city council:

"At the meeting on 21 February I promised to look into your suggestion about deriving 'residence-based' unemployment figures for Manchester from Departmental records.

There has been close consideration over some period between local authorities, the Department of Environment and this Department with regard to 'residence-based' unemployment figures. In particular, there have been detailed discussions of the issues in the National and Local Government Statistical Liaison Committee, which is chaired by the Department of the Environment.

At the suggestion of that Committee a feasibility study was made in a number of employment offices in different parts of the country to see whether it was practicable to re-classify the individual records of registrants into local authority areas. It was found to be practicable, but costly. Bearing in mind that the present compilation is largely a manual exercise, we could not contemplate on economy grounds re-coding individual records to local authority areas for the local authorities who would be interested in having such data. In fact we have been unable to agree to similar requests from the Liverpool and London local authorities who, it must be recognised, are in some respects facing even greater problems than those of Manchester.

However, there is some prospect of securing progress on another front. My Department and the Manpower Services Commission's Employment Services Division will be carrying out trials towards a planned computerisation of the unemployment and vacancies statistics. Should these prove successful, and there is every prospect of this, it will be possible to provide computerised analyses according to areas other than employment office ones by use of the post-code which is gradually being introduced into addresses in individual records. It is hoped that this planned computerisation will be complete, ie cover the whole country, by mid-1983.

In advance of that, investigations are in hand at the moment, between officials here and at the Department of the Environment, to see whether the existing computerised system for the payment of unemployment benefit can be used to provide earlier information by a comparable method, ie by using post-codes. The information may be less complete than from the computerisation plans referred to above, but it is hoped that they may provide a useful guide to unemployment by local authority areas. A progress report on this approach will probably be made to the National and Local Government Statistical Liaison Committee at its next meeting this summer. You may wish to write to the secretariat of the local authority side of the Committee to ask to be kept informed about progress on both these computer-based developments."

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has taken any steps to encourage the use of alternatives to the ring-pull can for beer and other beverages.

None. Nevertheless, the packaging industry has been developing alternatives: so far none has proved to be entirely satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many local authorities have built units of wheelchair housing in each of the last three years;(2) how many units of wheelchair housing have been started by housing associations in each quarter of the last three years;(3) how many units of wheelchair housing have been started by local authorities, excluding new towns, in England and Wales in each quarter of the last three years;(4) how many units of wheelchair housing have been started by new towns in England and Wales in each quarter of the last three years;(5) if he will publish a breakdown by number of bedrooms of the number of units of mobility housing that have been built by local authorities in each of the last three years;(6) how many local authorities have built units of mobility housing in each quarter of the last three years;(7) how many units of mobility housing have been started by housing associations in each quarter of the last three years;(8) how many units of mobility housing have been started by new towns in each quarter of the last three years;(9) how many units of mobility housing have been started by local authorities in each quarter of the last three years;(10) how many units of wheelchair housing by the number of bedrooms have been built by local authorities during the last three years.

The available information is as follows:

DWELLINGS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THE CHRONICALLY SICK AND DISABLED: LOCAL AUTHORITIES, NEW TOWNS AND HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS, ENGLAND AND WALES
Number
	Dwellings started						Dwellings completed by local authorities (including new towns)
	Wheelchair			Mobility			Wheelchair		Mobility
	Local authorities	New Towns	Housing associations*	Local authorities	New Towns	Housing association*	Dwellings	Number of authorities	Dwellings	Number of authorities
1977—First quarter	104	10	9	648	7	191	96	(29)	82	(13)
Second quarter	133	12	25	961	4	153	187	(44)	163	(19)
Third quarter	148	20	182	2,027	32	710	146	(43)	348	(37)
Fourth quarter	209	5	178	1,700	4	622	203	(38)	419	(51)
	594	47	394	5,336	47	1,676	632	(104)	1,012	(83)
1978—First quarter	149	4	120	1,599	28	525	135	(34)	616	(50)
Second quarter	115	13	9	1,608	21	267	122	(30)	576	(50)
Third quarter	241	87	144	2,194	177	953	259	(50)	1,126	(83)
Fourth quarter	215	3	65	1,603	132	267	129	(35)	887	(56)
	720	107	338	7,009	358	2,012	645	(97)	3,205	(133)
1979—First quarter	106	4	34	1,118	25	590	107	(32)	913	(64)
Second quarter	106	1	9	1,240	35	423	132	(35)	1,554	(99)
Third quarter	75	14	77	1,007	2	310	120	(33)	1,556	(94)
Fourth quarter	272	11	9	2,465	61	993	155	(51)	1,906	(101)
	559	30	129	5,830	123	2,316	514	(121)	5,929	(215)
* Figures are for England.

( ) = Number of authorities.Information on the number of bedrooms in units of mobility and wheelchair housing is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the increase or decrease in local authority rates for each of the borough and district councils in Kent.

The figures for each of the borough and district councils in Kent are:

INCREASE IN GENERAL RATE (1980–81 OVER 1979–80)
	Poundage P	Percentage
Ashford	16·51	17·15
Canterbury	17·46	16·99
Dartford	18·22	16·93
Dover	16·64	16·26
Gillingham	15·68	17·37
Gravesham	18·00	18·83
Maidstone	15·51	15·91
Medway	14·51	14·69
Sevenoaks	13·17	13·09
Shepway	17·40	16·80
Swale	14·51	14·35
Thanet	17·80	16·90
Tonbridge and Malting	16·00	16·06
Tunbridge Wells	15·40	16·54

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many local authorities have made improvement grants for works required for making dwellings suitable for disabled occupants' accommodation, welfare or employment in the last three years;(2) how many improvement grants have been made for works required for making dwellings suitable for disabled occupants' accommodation, welfare or employment in each of the last three years.

A total of 294 local authorities in England and Wales have reported making 344, 688 and 1,126 such improvement grants in the years 1977, 1978 and 1979 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made in producing the circular on design guides; and whether he will make a statement.

Advice to planning authorities about the control of design and appearance of development will be included in a circular about development control which I hope to issue soon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the multi-disciplinary team previously providing professional advice on the Community Land Act, and to the Environmental Board, has now been disbanded; and what saving, if any, has accrued to public funds.

Yes. The savings in the current year will be £110,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Standing Committee on Exports is still in existence; and, if so, whether he will make a statement on its activities.

No. The Standing Committee on Exports was a sub-committee of the National Consultative Council on Building and Civil Engineering on which my right hon. Friend made a statement on 2 April—[Vol. 982, c. 290]—I emphasise our continuing commitment, together with that of my hon. Friends at the Department of Trade, to provide assistance and advice for exporters in the field of construction and building materials.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he intends to raise at the next meeting of his ministerial colleagues in the European Economic Community the subject of the prohibition of the importation of goods from Iran in support of the action taken by the United States Government.

The situation is already the subject of close consultations within the European Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) whether he will list, by volume in millions of proof gallons and by value in £ sterling for each of the calendar years 1978 and 1979, the total exports of bottled Scotch whisky, the total exports of bulk malt Scotch whisky and the total exports of bulk blended Scotch whisky, to each of the following countries: the United States of America, Australia, West Germany, France, New Zealand, Belgium, Luxembourg, Japan, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and South Africa;(2) Whether he will list by volume in millions of proof gallons and value in £ sterling for each of the calendar years 1978 and 1979, the total exports of bottled Scotch whisky, the total exports of bulk malt Scotch whisky and the total exports of bulk blended Scotch whisky; and if he will express these figures as a percentage of total exports of Scotch whisky.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what specific recommendations have been made, or specific action taken, since 27 June 1979 by the Overseas Projects Board of the British Overseas Trade Board to assist the construction industry; and what further action he envisages.

Copies of the second report of the Overseas Projects Board, which was published on 5 March, have now been deposited in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament. It will be seen from the report that the board has considered issues of concern to the project industry as a whole. Since the construction industry constitutes an important part of the project industry, these are of particular interest to the construction industry. The Board maintains close contact during the course of its work with the main trade associations concerned with overseas projects, including those representing the construction industry.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the future of the Middle East Development Division.

As part of the Government's policy to reduce Civil Service manpower, it has been decided that the ODA's Middle East Development Division should be withdrawn from Amman some time between March and June 1981. The reason for closure reflects the need for the most economic deployment of manpower in relation to administering the changing balance in the aid programme. It in no way reflects lessening interest in the region on the part of Her Majesty's Government. Following withdrawal it is envisaged that advice to heads of mission in the region will in general be provided from London.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the cost of implementing the Summer Time Act in 1978 and 1979.

It is impossible to estimate the net cost, if any, of the operation of the Summer Time Act 1972 in any particular year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the establishment for traffic wardens in the Metropolitan area; and what was the shortfall on the latest date for which figures are available.

On 31 March the strength of the Metropolitan Police traffic warden service was 1,075, compared with a ceiling of 1,800.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is the policy of his Department to advertise for recruits to the traffic warden service; if so, where; and what sum of money is available for such advertising.

Decisions on the initiation and financing of recruitment campaigns for traffic wardens are a matter for individual police authorities. In the Metropolitan Police district the Commissioner, with our support, is conducting a campaign in national and local newspapers to recruit extra wardens: provision of £191,000 had been made for the financial year 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to reduce the shortage of traffic wardens in the Metropolitan area.

A study of Metropolitan Police traffic wardens' pay by representatives of the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the Civil Service Union is now taking place. In the meantime rates of pay are being increased with effect from 1 January 1980 to reflect an agreement which has recently been reached in the National Joint Council for Administrative, Professional and Clerical Services. The Commissioner is, with the support of my right hon. Friend, maintaining his efforts to improve recruitment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of traffic wardens employed in the Metropolitan area on 31 December 1977, 31 December 1978 and 31 December 1979.

1,532, 1,342 and 1,099 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to ensure the continuity of essential public services on the Trades Union Congress "Day of Action" on 14 May.

We are keeping the situation under review with my right hon. Friends principally concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in respect of the number of telephonic interceptions published in Cmnd. 7873, what was the average length of time of a warrant, and whether the number of warrants refers to the number of individuals or if one warrant can be made in respect of groups of individuals, a family or a company;(2) whether he will publish in the

I have nothing to add to the contents of the White Paper (Cmnd. 7873) and to what I said in the House on 1 April.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider introducing regulations requiring the fitting of tyre pressure equalising devices for vehicles with twin rear wheels.

I welcome the development of such devices, but am not convinced that it would be justifiable on safety grounds to make their use compulsory.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will bring forward proposals to reduce the hazard resulting from the spray produced by heavy vehicles travelling at speed, particularly along motorways; and if he will bring forward legislation to reduce the maximum speed for heavy vehicles to 50 mph in wet conditions.

Research is continuing to establish more effective mechanical ways of limiting spray, but at present there is no basis for any amendment to the legal construction standards.A speed limit of 50 mph on heavy vehicles travelling in wet conditions on motorways would entail problems both in definition and enforcement. It is, however, open to the police to take account of wet conditions in deciding whether to signal temporary advisory speed limits on motorways.

asked the Minister of Transport how many heavy goods vehicle testing stations are being sold; and what is their location.

My right hon. Friend is considering the changes in testing arrangements needed in order to involve the private sector, and aims to announce his proposals before too long.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what will be the content and the money value of the first phase of the construction of the new Llanelli hospital;(2) whether the commencement date of the construction of the new Llanelli hospital remains January 1983;(3) whether the provision of a maternity unit is included in the plans for the new Llanelli hospital.

The content of the first phase of this new hospital, including the question of maternity provision, is in the consultative planning stage. Until this is determined I am unable to comment on the money value or on the likely starting date.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will now undertake and publish a survey showing the number of families on the waiting lists for council houses in Wales.

We have no proposals to undertake a survey showing the numbers of families on the waiting lists for council houses in Wales. They do not provide an accurate assessment of housing needs.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if the principle of current cost accounting is to be applied to the Welsh water authority; and if so, how much extra on average the water consumer will have to pay because of the introduction of such a system.

Yes: current cost accounting will be introduced by the Welsh water authority from 1 April 1981. It is not yet possible to say what the effect will be on the level of the authority's charges.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the promotion of tourism in Wales.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he has any plans to give extra financial aid to hospitals in Wales to install kidney machines; and if he will make a statement.

We have received bids from health authorities, but are not yet ready to announce how much extra money may be made available this year for the expansion of renal dialysis, to which we continue to accord high priority.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what increase in the strength of British air defence has been effected in the last nine months.

The build-up of Sky Flash missiles for the Phantom force has continued. The transfer of Phantom aircraft from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force has been completed and they are now available for home defence. A Rapier squadron for low-level air defence has been formed at RAF Lossiemouth. The new radar site at Nancekuke is operational; and NATO has funded improvements to the radar station at Saxa Vord. In addition, three Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment squadrons have been formed for the ground defence of Royal Air Force airfields.Work on the implementation of the package of air defence measures that I announced last July is coming along well: for example, the first Sidewinder missile has just been fired successfully from a Hawk training aircraft, and trials should be completed in the next few weeks; and spares and support items are being built up to equip the new Lightning squadron. The decision was also taken recently to proceed with the improved Skyflash Mk. 2 missile, which is expected to enter service towards the mid 1980s, and will represent a major enhancement of our air defence capability.For the longer term, the first Tornado F2 development aircraft has already flown, and production aircraft are likely to be ordered later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his recent ministerial visit to China.

I refer my hon. Friend to the full answer I gave him on 31 March reporting on my visit.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the People's Republic of China.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch and Lymington (Mr. Adley) on 31 March.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied with the safety of the multi-role combat aircraft, Tornado.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, in the event of either a conventional war in Europe or one in which theatre nuclear weapons are used, how the British Government intend to defend West Berlin.

The British forces in Berlin are highly trained and well equipped. Their presence, together with forces of France and the United States, represents the determination of the three Powers to maintain their rights and responsibilities relating to the city and their commitment to protect Berlin's freedom and viability. The other member States of NATO are committed to support the position of the three Powers. I cannot, of course, discuss operational plans.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he proposes to take for the encouragement of the Army Cadet Force.

The Army Cadet Force makes a useful contribution to our national life as a youth service and as a source of recruits to the Regular Army. The Government will continue to provide support for the ACF within available resources. Recruiting campaigns will be mounted at national and local level and we shall support the efforts of Territorial, Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve associations to find suitable officers and adults, who are so important to the well-being very of the force.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about military operations in Northern Ireland, with particular reference to the border.

The Armed Forces continue to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the fight against terrorism in Northern Ireland. In the first quarter of this year, 167 people were charged with terrorist offences, including 26 for murder and 21 for attempted murder. There have also been a number of important finds of arms and ammunition both in the Province itself and by the Irish security forces in the Republic. Terrorist violence—albeit at a reduced level—continues and has this year claimed the lives of three regular soldiers and four members of the UDR. Along much of the border the RUC is able to conduct policing with reduced day-to-day military support, while the UDR is now supplementing the Regular Army at a number of border stations in the West of the Province. South Armagh presents special problems however, and regrettably, serious attacks on the security forces continue to take place there.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence by what proportion of gross national product he expects expenditure on defence to rise during the current financial year.

As a proportion of gross domestic product, defence expenditure according to the NATO definition is expected to increase from 4.9 per cent. in 1979–80 to 5.1 per cent. in 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence which blocks of expenditure within his Department breached its cash limits in 1979–80 and why; and what steps he has taken to prevent a repetition in 1980–81.

By convention cash limited Defence expenditure is controlled as a single aggregate block within which shares are allocated to Votes 1, 2, 4 and 5. I expect the outturn on Votes 2 and 4 to exceed the provision as amended by the Winter Supplementaries, but to be within provision as revised in the spring Supplementary Estimates. The main reasons for the increase in spring supplementary provision on these Votes are faster progress and billing by contractors and non-availability of receipts. Every effort is being made to match programmes to cash limits in 1980–81.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the recruitment achieved to date for the regiment squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and on what plans he has for a further expansion of Royal Air Force reserves.

Recruitment to the regiment squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force is going well. They have already reached over half their planned strength and should reach full strength before the end of the year. There are no plans at the moment for the formation of further squadrons, but the situation will be kept under review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much is to be spent by the Government on improved methods of sheep breeding.

The Government spent approximately £830,000 in 1979–80 on improved methods of sheep breeding. I expect a similar amount of research on this subject to be funded in 1980–81.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the current level of herring stocks and of the improvement brought about by the ban; and what are the reasons for the shortfall between current levels and those predicted as likely to result from the ban.

An estimate of the size of the spawning stock of North Sea herring in 1979 will not be available until after the herring assessment working group of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea has met later this month. However, it forecast in 1978 that the total spawning stock for 1979 would be about 435,000 tonnes compared to an estimate of 180,000 tonnes at the time the United Kingdom national ban was introduced in 1977. The rate of stock recovery is necessarily dependent on many factors including annual variations in recruitment which result from a number of different causes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he intends to phase in the return to herring fishing rather than permitting a new free-for-all once the current ban is ended.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended a ban on directed fishing on a number of herring stocks in 1980. ICES has, however, been asked to advise on the criteria which would allow fishing to start on stocks for which a ban is currently in operation, and any arrangements for a resumption of these fisheries would depend on its advice, including the size of any total allowable catch that was recommended.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why the presence of fluoride in certain foods and food additives is restricted by the Fluorine in Food Regulations 1959, as amended, and the Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations 1974, as amended.

The limits contained in these regulations reflect the advice of the Food Standards Committee in its 1957 report on fluorine, to the effect that, while it was no longer necessary to manufacture certain food ingredients from materials with high levels of fluoride, limits consistent with good manufacturing practice should nevertheless be retained.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are his estimates for the most recently available year of the proportion of their catch taken by France, Germany, Holland, Denmark and Belgium within (a) the British 200-mile and (b) the British 50-mile fishing limits, and the proportion of British catches made outside those two limits.

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. The most recent year for which information was supplied to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea in sufficient detail to permit an estimate to be made, but for the 200-mile belt only, was 1976. In that year the proportions were as follows:

Country	Estimated proportion of total 1976 catch taken within United Kingdom 200-mile belt (percentage)
France	40
West Germany	12
Netherlands	29
Denmark	38
Belgium	42

The proportion of the total United Kingdom catch taken outside the United Kingdom 200-mile limit in 1976 was 33 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the present level of sluicegate prices governing the entry of poultry meat into the European Economic Community and with the working of the formulae for their computation.

We are not satisfied that the current sluicegate prices are in line with current production costs. The Commission is reviewing them in accordance with the provisions of the Community regulations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the results of the European Commission's survey of poultry meat hygiene inspection; and whether he will cause it to be published.

Our latest information from Commission officials is that their report should be ready by next month. I shall make the report available to interested organisations as soon as it is received.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it is his intention to seek an amendment to the Poultry Meat Hygiene Regulations covering the sale of immersion chilled birds subsequently sold fresh rather than frozen when the present derogation expires in 1982.

The requirement that immersion chilled poultry meat should subsequently be sold frozen and not fresh and the provision for a derogation for domestic sales until August 1982 are contained in EEC directive 78/50. The Commission last year proposed an amendment to the directive which would remove the freezing requirement. We have strongly supported this proposal, but it has not so far been agreed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current state of negotiations within the European Economic Community with regard to the development of practicable techniques for assessing the water content of broiler chickens offered for sale: and if he will give an assurance that no regulations will be introduced until such time as full agreement has been reached within all sectors of the industry.

Regulation EEC 2976/76 was adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 1976. Arrangements for the application of the in-plant tests in the United Kingdom came into operation in December 1977. Consultations in Brussels and with the various interests concerned are taking place about the application of the other tests for which provision is made in the regulation.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service, for the longest and most convenient period of time, what is the amount of moneys spent by the Government hospitality fund on vodka: how much of this expenditure was on Russian vodka; and whether he has decided to change the purchase to vodka produced outside of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The amount of money spent by the Government hospitality fund on vodka since July 1974 is £1,985·56. Of this sum £619·80 was spent on Russian vodka. The rest was produced in the United Kingdom.The Government hospitality fund has no plans at present to buy Russian vodka, but, if it requires vodka, will buy vodka produced in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what action he will take against civil servants who refuse to work as normal on the Trades Union Congress "Day of Action" on 14 May.

The normal rules for dealing with this type of action by civil servants will apply. There will of course be "no pay for no work".I very much hope, however, that civil servants will not take part in the "Day of Action" and that they will continue to carry out their full range of duties.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he has any plans to implement the proposals of the Fulton committee on the Civil Service.

The fundamental aims of the Fulton committee, to maintain a Civil Service

"equal to the tasks of modern government"—

"Report of the Committee", Cmnd. 3638, paragraph 300—

with particular emphasis on economy and efficiency, remain continuing and active objectives. Many of the committee's recommendations have already been implemented in full or in part. If my hon. Friend has any particular proposal in mind, perhaps he would table a specific question.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he is satisfied that the present Civil Service structure is adequate to meet the needs of the next decade.

I am confident that the structure of the Civil Service will adapt appropriately to the needs of the next decade. As time goes on, it may well be necessary to make changes in the structure of the Civil Service especially as it is difficult to make predictions so far ahead. For the moment I believe that the structure is generally adequate for the tasks that the Government require of the Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now update the figures in section 9, on page 129 of Cmnd. 7439 relating to teachers surplus to maintenance of pupil-teacher ratios in the light of the conclusions of Cmnd. 7841.

I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the amount of money donated by the Government to the Royal Veterinary College during the most recent year for which figures are available; and for what purpose this money was used.

University grants are allocated to individual universities through the University Grants Committee, and the University of London is responsible for distributing its share between its constituent schools, including the Royal Veterinary College. The latest published figures relate to 1975–76 and are in volume 6 of the Department's "Statistics of Education". The provisional figure for Exchequer grants for 1978–79 in respect of the college is about £2·2 million.Government funds are used by the Royal Veterinary College to fulfil the objectives laid upon it by its Royal Charter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his estimate of the cost of implementing the Flowers report recommendation to build a new dental school at Tooting to replace the Royal Dental School and a new dental school at St. Mary's.

The plan to rebuild the Royal Dental Hospital School alongside St. George's Hospital at Tooting has existed for some years and accommodation for pre-clinical students at Tooting is already being occupied. The regional health authority plans to start the clinical building in 1982–83 at a building cost of £8·2 million at July 1979 prices, though no final approval has yet been given to the project.It is not possible to give a realistic estimate of what the cost would be of transferring the Eastman Dental Hospital and the Institute of Dental Surgery to a site alongside St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, and of creating a new pre-clinical school. There is at present no firm proposal for such a development.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to make mandatory on local education authorities the awarding of fourth-year grants to students pursuing courses such as law degrees where a fourth year is required to achieve their professional qualification.

As we made clear during debates on the Education (No. 2) Bill, we have no intention, within the immediate future, because of the current financial position, of introducing legislation to enable mandatory awards to be extended to professional and vocational courses not at present eligible.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has considered the proposals of the Tameside education authority for the reorganisation of secondary schools in its area; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend gave to him on 1 April.—[Vol. 982, c. 164.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the arrangements for the validation of sub-degree courses in agriculture and related subjects.

My right hon. and learned Friend shares the desire of those concerned with arrangements for the validation of sub-degree courses in agriculture and related subjects that some rationalisation of the existing pattern of courses and awards should be secured. It is clear from efforts to achieve this over a number of years that no solution is feasible unless it stems from a concensus of views among those concerned and rests on a common commitment to its success.The consultations recently undertaken by the Technician Education Council did not suggest that the proposals put forward at the Department's request had so far attracted the necessary degree of commitment. They and others more recently advanced include features which merit careful consideration by those concerned, and we hope this will open up an approach which commands general support.We consider it important that such an approach, whilst recognising the particular needs of agriculture for a vertically integrated pattern of provision below degree level, should not isolate this area from developments in related subjects or from the work of bodies validating courses generally at this level by, for instance, introducing a distinct and separate system of awards; and should recognise fully the roles and responsibilities of the validating bodies concerned, including not only those with a major current interest, but also TEC and BEC.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department's inspectors will be associated in any way with the formal Norwegian inquiry into the Alexander Keilland disaster.

This inquiry is entirely a matter for the Norwegian authorities. My Department is, however, naturally concerned to learn all it can from the inquiry with a view to minimising the risk of any similar occurrence on the United Kingdom continental shelf. In the meantime, arrangements have been made for all semi-submersible rigs operating on the UKCS to be surveyed, and my inspectors are keeping closely in touch with the progress of the Norwegian investigations.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he intends to sever diplomatic relations with Iran in support of the action taken by the United States Government.

The Government have throughout made clear their support for the United States in this crisis, and we are considering urgently with our partners in the European Community what further measures we should take.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether Her Majesty's Government have any plans to hold discussions with the Argentine Government on the Falkland Islands.

Representatives of the British and Argentine Governments have agreed to meet at the end of April in New York to discuss the Falkland Islands and related issues.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the figures of warrants for postal and telephone interceptions issued by the Secretary of State for Scotland contained in Cmnd. 1873.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth (Mr. Ewing) on 3 April 1980.—[Vol. 982, c. 306.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many units of wheelchair housing have been started by local authorities, excluding new towns in Scotland in each quarter of the last three years.

The information available about wheelchair dwellings completed in the public sector is as follows:

NUMBER OF DWELLINGS COMPLETED
	Wheelchair (including sheltered wheelchair) housing
Stock at 31 March 1979	440
1979 second quarter*	13
1979 third quarter†	4
1979 fourth quarter‡	13
* Based on returns from 50 authorities.
† Based on returns from 48 authorities.
‡Based on returns from 44 authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many units of wheelchair housing have been started by new towns in Scotland in each quarter of the last three years.

The information about starts given in the table below excludes units started in each calendar year by adaptation of existing houses:

New Town		Total
East Kilbride	Nil	—
Glenrothes:
First quarter 1978	6	6
Cumbernauld	Nil	—
Livingston:
Second quarter 1977	5	5
Irvine:
Second quarter 1977	7
Fourth quarter 1977	6
Second quarter 1978	16	29
		40

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of ratepayers in each region of Scotland is receiving rate relief; and what is the percentage of ratepayers who are in arrears with payment of rates.

The number and percentage of householders in receipt of rate rebates in each region of Scotland in 1978–79—the latest available year—is set out in the following table. Information on the numbers of recipients of other types of rate relief, and on the percentage of ratepayers in rates arrears, is not available centrally.

RATE REBATES 1978–79
	Number of recipients	Percentage of householders
Borders	6,990	16·8
Central	15,856	16·7
Dumfries and Galloway	8,400	14·6
Fife	26,404	20·8
Grampian	26,385	14·5
Highland	9,054	11·8
Lothian	60,327	21·2
Strathclyde	192,595	21·6
Tayside	25,542	16·4
Orkney	531	7·0
Shetland	498	6·6
Western Isles	1,068	9·3

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many registered disabled persons are employed by each of the area health boards in Scotland; and what percentage of those employed by the boards is registered disabled.

As at 1 June 1979, the latest date for which figures are available, the numbers and percentages of staff employed by health authorities in Scotland who are registered as disabled were:

	Primary	Secondary
Percentage of school population attending schools in Strathclyde region*	48·0	49·7
Percentage of teaching force employed in schools in Strathclyde region*	45·6	47·7
Percentage of students on initial teacher training courses in colleges of education in Strathclyde region†	46·5	48·1
* The figures are derived from the September 1979 school census and relate to education authority schools in session 1979–80. Figures for grant-aided schools at that date are not yet available and no information is collected about independent schools.
† The figures are derived from a return made by the colleges of education in October 1979 and relate to the numbers of students in training at Craigie, Hamilton, Jordanhill and Notre Dame colleges.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish figures showing the number of students admitted during each of the past three years to courses of teacher training in Scottish colleges of education who were intending to teach mathematics; and what estimate he has made of the numbers likely to teach mathematics in his provisional figures on intake in session 1980–81.

The numbers of students admitted to teacher training courses leading to a teaching qualification (secondary education) in

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of Scotland's school population is attending (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in the Strathclyde region; what percentage of Scotland's teachers is employed in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in Strathclyde region; and what is the percentage of students in Scottish colleges of education, both primary and secondary intake, within the Strathclyde region.

The information requested is as follows:mathematics in each of the last three years are as follows:

Session	No. of students
1977–78	185
1978–79	147*
1979–80	156
*includes 18 students admitted to additional mid-session courses of secondary training at Hamilton and Notre Dame colleges starting in February 1979.

The colleges of education have been asked, in allocating places for the 1980–81 session, to give highest priority to qualified applicants for training in mathematics and certain other shortage subjects. This means that in practice all suitable applicants in mathematics are likely to be admitted.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which area health authorities are operating community care projects; and what is their purpose in this exercise.

I understand that the question refers to the community care project for the elderly which is currently being operated by the social services department of the Kent county council. There are a considerable number and variety of schemes which individual social services authorities have introduced in order to foster the development of care in the community including some which incorporate some of the features of the Kent project. Comprehensive information on all such innovative schemes is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the decision of the appeal tribunal regarding the entitlement of Mr. Dennis Clifford Stone to social security benefit, he will instruct the Controller (Wales) within his Department to commence payment.

The relevant payment was issued on 9 April.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the arrangements whereby workers declared redundant are ineligible for unemployment benefit if the firm in which they work is concerned in an industrial stoppage.

I am aware of concern about this issue; but the long-standing rule that a claimant declared redundant whose employment has not terminated before a trade dispute begins is dealt with in the same way as other workers who have lost employment because of a trade dispute at their place of employment seems to me broadly right. As my hon. Friend knows, workers receiving payment in lieu of notice are in any event not eligible for unemployment benefit. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State will be writing to my hon. Friend about this problem.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why a question on the number of cars available for the use of a household was omitted from the 1981 census.

In order to reduce demands on the public, the topics in the draft Census Order 1980 have been confined to those the Government consider to be most essential.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, further to the assurances given to the House on 19 March by the Minister with special responsibility for the disabled that the overwhelming majority of local authorities are not cutting their expenditure on services for disabled people, Official Report, column 508, he will provide the information from local authorities on which his statement was based.

In the debate to which the question refers, I fully recognised the difficulties facing local authorities and the difficult choices they have to make. However, contacts with local authorities indicate that most are doing all they can to respond to our request that they should not make cuts which would affect the most vulnerable sections of our society.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of general dental practitioners, hospital and community dentists for each of the 1,000 per head of the population within each of the regional health authorities and for each of the last five years.

The information is as follows:

General Dental Practitioners* per 1,000 population†

Hospital Dentists§ per 1,000 population†

Community Dentists║ per 1,000 population†

Regional Health Authority

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979‡

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979‡

1975

1976

1977

1978

l979‡

Northern

0·18

0·18

0·18

0·19

0·19

0·015

0·015

0·016

0·017

0·017

0·037

0·036

0·037

0·038

0·038

Yorkshire

0·20

0·21

0·22

0·22

0·23

0·010

0·014

0·014

0·014

0·016

0·029

0·030

0·029

0·029

0·029

Trent

0·18

0·18

0·19

0·19

0·20

0·012

0·012

0·013

0·013

0·014

0·024

0·023

0·024

0·025

0·024

East Anglia

0·20

0·22

0·22

0·23

0·23

0·012

0·011

0·011

0·011

0·012

0·031

0·032

0·032

0·032

0·032

North West Thames

0·39

0·39

0·40

0·41

0·40

0·013

0·013

0·012

0·012

0·012

0·034

0·031

0·033

0·034

0·035

North East Thames

0·27

0·28

0·28

0·27

0·28

0·026

0·023

0·026

0·026

0·027

0·034

0·033

0·031

0·030

0·031

South East Thames

0·28

0·29

0·29

0·29

0·30

0·029

0·032

0·031

0·032

0·033

0·033

0·030

0·034

0·030

0·032

South West Thames

0·34

0·35

0·36

0·36

0·37

0·022

0·019

0·024

0·024

0·025

0·031

0·034

0·034

0·033

0·032

Wessex

0·27

0·28

0·27

0·28

0·28

0·012

0·012

0·012

0·013

0·013

0·044

0·042

0·041

0·042

0·044

Oxford

0·24

0·24

0·25

0·25

0·26

0·009

0·009

0·010

0·010

0·011

0·029

0·028

0·028

0·030

0·030

South Western

0·28

0·29

0·30

0·30

0·31

0·019

0·018

0·019

0·021

0·020

0·035

0·036

0·037

0·035

0·036

West Midlands

0·19

0·20

0·21

0·21

0·21

0·018

0·019

0·020

0·020

0·021

0·031

0·030

0·030

0·032

0·031

Mersey

0·22

0·23

0·24

0·24

0·25

0·018

0·019

0·021

0·020

0·022

0·032

0·029

0·031

0·034

0·033

North Western

0·19

0·20

0·21

0·22

0·22

0·017

0·017

0·019

0·020

0·021

0·028

0·030

0·031

0·035

0·034

* Dentists at 30 September each year who provided National Health Service General Dental Services, excluding dentists employed by Health Authorities.

† Mid-year estimates of civilian population.

‡ Provisional figures based on 1978 population figures.

§ Whole-time equivalent at 30 September each year excluding general dental practitioners holding appointments under paragraph 107 of the Terms and Conditions of Service of Hospital Medical and Dental Staff or Hospital Practitioner appointments.

║ Whole-time equivalent at 30 September each year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the names of the studies considered by the Committee on Safety of Medicines during its recent review of the safety of Debendox; whether the committee had available to it the complete transcript of the recent United States court trial; and, if so, how many copies were available to the committee, and how long it had to study it before it made its recommendation to the Minister on 27 March;(2) if the studies of Debendox considered recently by the Committee on Safety of Medicines were of a sufficient scale to have provided a reliable indication of whether or not Debendox could be a teratogenic agent carrying the following degrees of risk of danger to the foetus (a) one in 100, (b) one in 500, (c) one in 1,000 and (d) one in 10,000;(3) if he will publish in the

The Committee on Safety of Medicines in its recent review of Debendox considered a large number of published and unpublished epidemiological and animal teratology studies. The most important of the published studies were as follows:

• Rothman et al. (A J Epidemiol 109: 433 (1979)).

Teratogenicity Testing in Humans: A Method Demonstrating Safety of Bendectin: Smithells R W, Sheppard Shiela (Teratology 17: 31–35 (1978)).

Antenatal exposure to doxylamine succinate and dicyclomine hydrochloride (Bendectin) in relation to congenital malformations, perinatal mortality rate, birth weight and intelligence quotient score: Shapiro S et al (Amer J Obstet Gynec 128: 480–85 (1977)).

An evaluation of the teratogenicity of certain antinauseant drugs: Milkovich L, van den Berg J (Amer J Obstet Gynec 125: 244–48 (1976)).

Morbidity and drugs in pregnancy: Birmingham Research Unit (J R Coll Pract 25: 631 (1975)).

A controlled Retrospective Survey in Evaluation of Teratogenicity: Bunde CA and Leyland HM (J New Drugs 5: 193–98 (1965)).

General Practitioner Clinical Trials Drugs in Pregnancy Survey (Practitioner 191: 775–80 (1963)).

Congenital Abnormalities in Children born in Alberta during 1961: A Survey and a Hypotesis: le Van (Canad Med Ass J 89: 120–26 (1963)).

An epidemiological study of congenital reduction deformities of the limbs: Smith ESO et al (Brit J of Preventive and Social Medicine 31: 19–41 (1977)).

Maternal Drug Histories and Congenital Abnormalities: Greenburg G, Inman WHW et al (BMJ 1977 2: 853–856).

The studies provided a substantial amount of scientific evidence on the basis of which the committee felt that it could reach a conclusion. The full transcript of the United States proceedings was not available, but the committee had no reason to believe from the final submissions made in the case that any new first-hand evidence had been presented which the committee had not considered. The committee will continue to monitor published evidence; the secretariat has asked for a complete transcript, which it will study when available and will report further to the committee. It will also keep the committee informed of the nature of any further proceedings in the case concerning the interpretation of the jury's decision.None of the studies considered by the committee demonstrated that the incidence of births of malformed children to mothers who took Debendox was greater than the spontaneous incidence of such births in the United Kingdom or that any specific abnormality was present in these children. Further studies involving very large numbers of women over a period of years would be required to attempt to identify any incidence of risk to the foetus of the sizes mentioned in the right hon. Gentleman's question, and there would be considerable difficulties in assessing the data collated.The relationship between the drug and possible teratogenesis was investigated at various stages of pregnancy in some of the studies but they contained no uniform statement of gestational age at the time of prescription of the drug which would provide total figures of the number of women who had taken the drug prior to any particular date in their pregnancy.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the machinery by which information about the birth of children with deformities is collected; if he will publish the number of such births in each of the last five years; if he will express these as a percentage of all births; whether any information on the drugs taken by women who give birth to children with congenital malformations is collected: and, if so, by whom and in what form;(2) if he will establish machinery to collect information about the drugs taken during pregnancy by women who (a) have miscarriages and (b) have stillborn babies.

The method of collecting information about the birth of children with malformations is described in published reports by staff of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. In view of their length, I am arranging for copies of these reports to be sent to the right hon. Gentleman and placed in the Library of the House.The number of babies—live and still—having malformations at birth notified in the last five years for which figures are available are as follows:

Year	Number of malformed babies	Percentage of all live and still births
1974	12,729	1·97
1975	12,230	2·01
1976	12,384	2·10
1977	12,402	2·16
1978	12,767	2·12

Information on the use of drugs taken by women who give birth to children with congenital malformations is collected for the survey carried out by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and referred to in my reply to the right hon. Gentleman on 3 April. This is based on a sample of children with malformations notified to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys together with data for normal babies.The central collection of additional data on drugs taken by women during pregnancy who have miscarriages or have stillborn babies would have considerable resource implications, but the possibility of doing so will be kept under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) when a new issue of the Register of Adverse Re actions was published; on average, how many copies are circulated; and what would be the cost of circulating it to all general practitioners;(2) pursuant to his reply of 11 March to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, how many of the 1,777 medicinal products, about which 65,268 reports of suspected adverse reactions were received between January 1970 and 4 March, were, (a) cleared of suspicion of causing adverse reactions, (b) had their product licences withdrawn or (c) were voluntarily withdrawn from the market by the manufacturer respectively;(3) what is his estimate of the cost of sending annually to all medical practitioners a list of all the medical products for which the Committee on Safety of Medicines receives a suspected adverse reaction report for the first time during the preceding 12 months;(4) for each of the last five years, how many yellow cards received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines referred to medicinal products about which the committee had not previously received any reports of adverse reactions;(5) pursuant to his reply of 11 March to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, for each of the 14 drugs or groups of drugs for which yellow warning notices have been issued, whether the first reports of suspected adverse reactions came from, (a) the yellow card system, (b) the manufacturing company or (c) other sources.

When reports of suspected adverse reactions are received in respect of individual patients, they are scrutinised by the professional secretariat of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and, where appropriate, are referred to locally based medical officers for follow-up with the doctor who submitted the report. The professional secretariat then considers whether to draw the individual reports, together with any previous ones, to the attention of the CSM's sub-committee on adverse reactions; if not, the reports will none the less be included in the cumulative record which is referred to the sub-committee at each meeting, each member scrutinising a section in depth. The question which most usually concerns the CSM and the sub-committee is whether the suspected adverse reactions are of a nature and frequency to justify further investigations or action in respect of the product—for example, restricting its availability, requiring warnings to be inserted in the product literature; it is not generally a question of formally clearing a product of suspicion of causing adverse reactions.Revocation of a licence has seldom been found necessary when action to remove a product from the market has been indicated. More usually the licence holder co-operates by withdrawing it before that stage is reached. It would not be practicable, to check all voluntary withdrawals against the Adverse Reaction Register to determine the relationship between reports and withdrawals.The CSM's sub-committee is, as stated above, regularly provided with a summary of reports of all suspected adverse reactions. This includes a statement of the number of reports received by drug and suspected adverse reaction, for each of the previous five years and for the current year to date, which enables the sub-committee to evaluate recent reports against the pattern of earlier years. It is the cumulative or developing picture which is most likely to reveal the need for some action, and the register would inevitably be less helpful and informative to general practitioners and others making only occasional reference to it. It is mainly for this reason that it is not thought practicable to issue it, or annual lists of newly-reported suspected reactions, to all general practitioners on a personal basis.The seven-volume register was last issued to medical schools, postgraduate medical centres, etc., in 1977. The total number of copies issued was 2,300. The cost of distributing copies to all general practitioners would probably be in the region of £500,000. The cost of issuing an annual list has not been estimated for the reasons mentioned but would clearly be substantial. I have no knowledge of any representative medical association ever suggesting that personal copies of the register or lists should be issued.As well as referring to the points where copies of the register are held, doctors are also at liberty to make enquiries of the CSM's secretariat. In addition, medical libraries generally hold copies of publications on the side effects of drugs, based on worldwide literature searches and careful, critical examination of these reports.For each of the 14 groups of drugs for which yellow warning notices have been issued, the suspected reaction was mentioned in the medical literature before yellow cards gave adequate indication of hazard but thereafter the yellow card system provided valuable confirmatory data. Moreover, of the products referred to in "Current Problems", in seven out of 22 the CSM's reference preceded any known reference in the medical literature.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in the current tax year, he has carried out a review as required by section 21 of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 for the purpose of determining whether earnings factors have maintained their value in relation to the general level of earnings obtained in Great Britain.

Yes. I have carried out such a review and have concluded that earnings factors have not maintained their value. As required by section 21, I shall therefore be making an order to provide for them to be increased. In accordance with clause 3(3) of the Social Security Bill at present before Parliament, this order will be subject to the negative resolution procedure and will be made as soon as possible after the Bill receives the Royal Assent.The order will provide for a revaluation of earnings factors for 1979–80 by 19·7 per cent., the amount by which the Department of Employment's monthly index of average earnings—new series—increased between December 1978, the end of the period on which the 1979 review was based, and December 1979, the latest date for which a firm figure is available. The order will also provide for a consolidated increase in earnings factors for 1978–79 of 35·6 per cent., a figure which takes account of the increase in those earnings factors provided for in the Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order 1979, SI 1979, No. 832.