asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will provide a full and comprehensive list of all workers for whom he is responsible within the Palace of Westminster who, additionally to hon. Members, have settled their salary or wage claims for 9·6 per cent. or less during the current year.

Three Officers of the House (the Clerk of the House, the Clerk Assistant and the Clerk of Committees) received salary increases in the current year of 9·6 per cent. or less. The increases were applied as the result of the Civil Service pay settlement for the grades to which their posts are linked.

asked the Lord Privy Seal what was the outcome of the meeting held this month with the Government of the Republic of Ireland concerning the delimitation of the continental shelf between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The meeting scheduled for October has been postponed and will now take place in Dublin on 1 December.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how many Vietnamese refugees are still in Hong Kong.

There were 30,530 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong on 29 October, of whom 288 had arrived in the preceding month.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what best approximate estimate he has made of the loss each year to the Treasury in tax revenue of cutting 10 per cent. off marginal rates of income tax each year for three years.

The full-year cost of reducing the income tax rates by 10 per cent. at 1980–81 income levels would be about £8·5 billion. The new rates would then be 20 per cent., 35 per cent., 40 per cent., 45 per cent. and 50 per cent. The cost of further reductions in later years would depend on incomes and allowances in those years.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if there is any EEC regulation that requires national legislation by the United Kingdom to impose value added tax charge on entry fees by amateur competitors in sports events organised by value added tax registered sports bodies.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will provide estimates, for each financial year

	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Industrial and commercial companies; net (1) increase in book value of stocks over the calendar year,
£million	3600	6000	2500	5700	5400	4100	9100
%	23·1	31·5	10·1	20·5	16·3	10·7	21·3
	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81
All companies; reduction in corporation tax receipts due to stock relief (2),
£ million	750	1400	1250	1400	1350	1150	2000
NOTES: (1) The figures quoted are estimates of the net increase in the book value of stocks for all industrial and commercial companies. Estimates of gross increases and decreases which give rise to stock relief and recoveries are not available.
(2) After allowing for stock relief recoveries; separate estimates of the effect of stock relief before recoveries are not available. I hope that it will be possible to give further information, including material bearing on (b) of my hon. Friend's Question, in the consultative document foreshadowed by my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether there has been any recent reduction in the proportion of postgraduate funding in arts subjects which goes to taught masters of arts courses, rather than research degrees; and whether it is his policy to bring about such a reduction.

No. My right hon. and learned Friend does not have a policy of reducing awards in this field. There has been no reduction in the number of studentships available in the humanities and the proportion of these allocated to taught courses rather than research degrees has remained at about 40 per cent. The number of studentships awarded specifically for study in arts subjects depends upon how many candidates of sufficient standard wish to study in this field.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether any provisions exist within his present policies

The information available at present is as follows:to ensure that fees charged to overseas students in higher education have regard to the merits of individual cases.

It is the Government's policy progressively to withdraw subsidy from overseas students in general beginning with those starting courses on or after 1 September 1980. This is reflected in the arrangements approved by the Secretary of State in pursuance of section 41 (2) of the Race Relations Act 1976, which specify the fees to be charged. Institutions and local education authorities retain discretion to vary such fees in individual cases where this appears appropriate and does not involve discrimination against other students which is unlawful under the Race Relations Act 1976.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage of school pupils remaining beyond statutory leaving age in England.

In January 1980, the latest date for which information is available, the percentages of pupils remaining at maintained schools (other than special schools) beyond the statutory school leaving age were as follows:

Aged	Percentage
16*	25·0
17	18·5
18	6·1
19	0·5
* Excluding pupils with birthdays in September to December 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the teacher-pupil ratios in (a) pri-

MAINTAINED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS. PUPIL-TEACHER RATIOS WITHIN SCHOOLS
				Primary schools			Secondary schools
				January of each year			January of each year
				1978	1979	1980	1978	1979	1980
GREATER LONDON
Barking	…	…	…	22·7	22·3	21·6	15·6	15·5	15·1
Barnet	…	…	…	22·2	21·5	21·2	15·7	15·4	15·0
Bexley	…	…	…	25·8	25·1	24·2	17·1	17·2	16·9
Brent	…	…	…	20·4	18·7	18·7	14·7	13·9	13·6
Bromley	…	…	…	26·0	24·5	23·9	16·8	16·7	16·3
Croydon	…	…	…	23·7	23·0	22·6	16·9	16·3	16·3
Ealing	…	…	…	21·4	20·4	20·0	16·0	15·6	15·6
Enfield	…	…	…	25·8	24·0	22·5	17·3	16·8	16·6
Haringey	…	…	…	22·5	20·9	20·1	16·3	16·0	15·4
Harrow	…	…	…	23·3	22·1	21·1	14·8	14·9	14·7
Havering	…	…	…	25·2	23·6	23·4	17·3	17·0	16·1
Hillingdon	…	…	…	23·3	23·0	23·3	16·3	16·5	16·6
Hounslow	…	…	…	22·4	21·9	20·8	15·7	15·9	15·6
Kingston-upon-Thames			…	22·3	22·1	21·7	16·4	16·1	16·2
Merton	…	…	…	22·5	22·2	21·2	17·9	17·6	17·1
Newham	…	…	…	22·6	21·4	20·2	16·6	16·1	15·9
Redbridge	…	…	…	24·7	24·1	24·3	17·4	17·1	17·2
Richmond-upon-Thames			…	23·4	22·2	21·1	18·2	17·0	16·3
Sutton	…	…	…	25·5	24·0	24·7	17·2	17·3	17·3
Waltham Forest	…	…	…	22·8	22·4	21·7	14·8	14·7	14·5
Inner London	…	…	…	19·2	18·7	17·9	15·1	14·9	14·5
WEST MIDLANDS
Birmingham	…	…	…	24·2	23·9	23·3	16·6	16·5	16·2
Coventry	…	…	…	24·2	22·7	22·4	16·2	16·0	15·9
Dudley	…	…	…	26·9	25·5	25·0	18·0	17·7	17·5
Sandwell	…	…	…	25·4	24·4	23·6	16·3	15·8	15·7
Solihull	…	…	…	24·8	23·5	23·0	16·5	16·1	16·3
Walsal	…	…	…	24·2	22·6	22·4	16·1	15·8	15·5
Wolverhampton		…	…	22·1	21·1	20·2	16·1	15·6	15·6
MERSEYSIDE
Knowsley	…	…	…	23·9	23·4	23·6	16·7	16·3	16·2
Liverpool	…	…	…	22·1	21·1	21·3	16·6	16·1	16·3
St. Helens	…	…	…	24·3	23·8	23·8	16·5	16·2	16·1
Sefton	…	…	…	25·1	23·6	23·0	17·5	17·2	17·0
Wirral	…	…	…	24·9	24·2	23·6	17·4	17·1	16·9
GREATER MANCHESTER
Bolton	…	…	…	25·7	25·2	24·5	16·9	16·5	16·3
Bury	…	…	…	24·0	23·5	23·0	16·7	16·5	15·9
Manchester	…	…	…	23·5	21·9	21·7	15·6	14·9	14·6
Oldham	…	…	…	26·0	52·2	24·5	17·8	17·6	17·4
Rochdale	…	…	…	23·7	22·9	23·3	15·7	15·4	15·5
Salford	…	…	…	24·4	23·5	22·5	16·1	15·8	15·4
Stockport	…	…	…	26·9	26·3	24·7	17·2	17·3	17·0
Tameside	…	…	…	24·5	24·1	24·7	16·8	16·5	16·7
Trafford	…	…	…	22·0	22·2	23·9	16·7	16·5	17·0
Wigan	…	…	…	23·6	22·6	21·8	16·2	15·8	15·6

The ratio of pupils per qualified teacher in maintained primary and secondary schools in each local education authority in England for the years 1978, 1979 and 1980 is given below. Information about schools in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. The pupil-teacher ratios, being a measure of volume, require no adjustment for constant prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why there is no mention of student union fees in the award regulations.

The students' union fees which are payable by a local education authority under a mandatory higher education award are stipulated in paragraph (d) of schedule 1 to, and indirectly referred to in regulations 17, 23(1) and 25 (2) of, the Awards Regulations (The Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1980: Statutory Instrument 1980 No. 974).

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the capitation allowances in (a) primary schools, and (b) secondary schools for each local education authority in England and Wales for each of the last three years, at constant prices.

My Department does not prepare expenditure figures for each local education authority, but analyses of their estimates and expenditure are contained in the education statistics published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the failure of the Pesticides Advisory Committee to assess and control pesticides in the case of 2,4,5-T, if he will either abolish or restructure the committee.

The Government continue to have confidence in the soundness of the committee's advice, and there are no plans for abolishing it. As for possible restructuring, the recommendations made in the seventh report of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution for extending the committee's role are being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many, (a) bankruptcies, and (b) company liquidations have been notified to his Department in each of the last 12 months; and if he will break the figures down to show the industrial and commercial sectors concerned.

Monthly totals up to September 1980 were published in British Business 17 October 1980, page 318. An analysis by industry up to the second quarter of 1980 is shown on page 360 of British Business 24 October 1980. No industrial analysis is available monthly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is the Government's policy towards the practice of flags of convenience; and if he will be seeking discussions at international level with a view to regulating this practice.

The Government consider that, provided internationally agreed safety and social standards are fully observed, each nation should be free to set the economic criteria for the admission of vessels to its register. In discustion of flags of convenience within UNCTAD and OECD, the United Kingdom opposes any measures which would reduce competition in international shipping and raise the cost of international trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the serious situation with beef prices at the markets in Scotland, he will review the stringent standards being applied to beef going into intervention; and if he will make a statement on what relaxations of the present standards could be implemented.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the proposed industrial developments in the oil and gas industries in the East Aberdeenshire constituency, he will now consider bringing forward the programme for the road alignment at Tipperty, the Ellon bypass, and the re-alignment of the Peterhead to Fraserburgh road to provide for the increase in road traffic at these locations.

I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the French failure to observe EEC legislation with regard to the operation of the co-responsibility levy, as reported by the EEC Court of Auditors, he will now review the commitment by farmers in the United Kingdom to contribute to the levy.

No. There is nothing in the Court of Auditors' report which would in any way justify the United Kingdom Government, or that of any other member State, relieving milk producers of their contribution to the co-responsibility levy. The criticism of the French Government was with respect to a period of three months during 1977. Since that time, I gather from the Commission, the levy has been charged on French producers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the decrease, in real terms, in agricultural income from hill and upland sheep since (a) 1979 and (b) 1978.

Information is not available for hill and upland sheep alone since the majority of such sheep are on farms which also have cattle.Estimates of net income on hill and upland farms generally in the current year (1980–81) are necessarily very tentative at this stage, because the main autumn sales of hill livestock are not yet complete in all areas, Present indications are that net incomes in real terms have improved in some areas, but declined in others, compared with 1979–80 but that in all areas they remain below the 1978–79 level.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the increased production costs in the hill farming sector, he will give immediate consideration to effecting substantial increases in (a) the hill cow allowance, (b) the hardy ewe subsidy and (c) the less hardy ewe subsidy.

A review of hill livestock compensatory allowances is at present being carried out in conjunction with the farmers' unions and the Government's decisions will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether there has been a decrease in United Kingdom milk production since the beginning of 1980 as compared with the comparable period in 1979; and what is the percentage decrease.

No. United Kingdom milk production in the first nine months of 1980 is provisionally estimated to be 0·9 per cent. higher than in the comparable period of the previous year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in the light of the failure to adjust the strict standards for beef going into intervention which has caused a considerable reduction in beef prices, whether he will further use the power available to him to relax the British intervention standards immediately.

No. Prices for carcase beef are at about the same level as they were last year. I am keeping the situation under close review; but I do not believe that changes in the intervention standards would materially improve producers' returns.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will undertake not to allow the production of pâté de foil gras in Great Britain.

I do not consider that such action would be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attacks were reported to the Metropolitan Police that have taken place on black or Asian people living in London during each of the last five years.

The available information is given in the table below. The figure for 1976 is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his replies to the hon. Member for Ormskirk on 29 July, Official Report, Volume 989, column 601, whether in the absence of precise figures he will give provisional ones.

No. I regret to say that this is not feasible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and provide a full and comprehensive list of all workers for whom he is responsible within the Palace of Westminster who, additionally to hon. Members, have settled their salary or wage claims for 9.6 per cent. or less during the current year.

Neither the police officers nor the Commissioner's civilian employees in the Palace of Westminster received a pay increase of less than 9.6 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to allow prisoners in England and Wales to wear civilian clothes.

Unconvicted prisoners and women prisoners are not obliged to wear prison uniform. There are no plans to change the present arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to make special provision for Gaelic programmes on the proposed fourth television channel.

The fourth channel outside Wales is intended to start as a United Kingdom Service without regional variations, and accordingly no special requirements are being laid upon it as to the inclusion of programmes in languages other than English. But once the channel has become viable, there is nothing to prevent the IBA and the fourth channel board from including Gaelic programmes in the schedules in Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask for a report on the progress into the investigations by West Yorkshire police into the death of Helen Smith.

I understand that, at the request of the deputy coroner, inquiries into certain aspects of the death of Miss Smith have been made by the West Yorkshire police and are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the amount of grant-aid, if any, which he has given in (a) the financial year 1979–80 and (1)) the current financial year to the South Wales anti-poverty action centre through the medium of his Voluntary Services Unit; for what specific purposes any such aid has been given; and whether, before authorising the giving of any such aid, he considered fully the accounts and activities of that organisation.

Grants paid by the VSU to the South Wales anti-poverty action centre attract retrospective contributions of 50 per cent. from the Commission of the European Communities. In 1979–80 the VSU grant totalled £68,750. £57,800 has so far been paid during this financial year. The object of the centre is summarised in the contract with the EC as being to provide advice and support to self-help groups.In accordance with the funding practice of both VSU and EC, the centre has regularly presented reports of its activities and finances which have been taken into consideration in recommending further funding.The EC programme ends on 30 November. Payments after that date will be decided after I have considered reports which I asked for following representations made to me.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong have arrived in the United Kingdom since 30 June.

I understand from the joint committee for refugees from Vietnam that during the period 1 July to 30 September the number of refugees received into this country from Hong Kong was 1,555.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Liverpool, Scotland Exchange (Mr. Parry) on 29 October 1980—[Vol. 991, c. 277–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the additional costs to the BBC of setting up a Welsh television channel; how he anticipates this cost will be reflected in the individual licence fee; and if he proposes to introduce legislation to enable him to impose differential licence fees on Wales to cover the additional costs.

The BBC will be required to supply the Welsh fourth channel authority with Welsh language programmes free of charge. The corporation was already planning to increase the number of hours of Welsh language television programming that it provides, and the cost of that increase will be no greater because the programmes are to be shown on the fourth channel. It is unlikely that there will be any significant additional costs to the BBC as a result of the special arrangements for the fourth channel in Wales.In announcing the present level of the television licence fees last November, I made clear that I had taken into account the need for the BBC to prepare to increase its Welsh language television broadcasts by the autumn of 1982. The costs of Welsh language broadcasting by the BBC will continue to be taken into account in future, as they have been in the past, in assessing the level of the television licence fees. Those fees take account of the BBC's obligations to provide a comprehensive broadcasting system for the whole of the United Kingdom. The answer to the last part of the question is "No."

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the employment prospects on Merseyside; and if not, what action he proposes to take.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Liverpool, Scotland Exchange (Mr. Parry) on 29 October 198—[Vol. 991, c. 277–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to reduce unemployment on Merseyside.

[pursuant to his reply; 29 October 1980, c. 222]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 29 October.—[Vol. 991, c. 277–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he proposes to seek further legislative provision in the light of recent research on the potential health effects of the operation of photocopying machines.

No. I am advised by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the available scientific evidence with regard to the health effects of the operation of photocopying machines does not justify the introduction of legislative provision beyond that already existing in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. However, the matter will be kept under continuing review by the Health and Safety Executive.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many (a) men, and (b) women were unemployed in Wolverhampton at the latest convenient date; what percentage of the work force this represents in each case; and if he will break the figures down into the various age groups;(2) how many school leavers were unemployed in Wolverhampton at the latest convenient date; and how many vacancies there were at (a) the school careers office, and (b) generally in the same period;(3) if he will list the number of (a) men, and (b) women who were unemployed in the Wolverhampton travel-to-work area for each of the last 18 months.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Commission will be reporting and recommending action on the proposal for legislation banning children under 16 years of age from driving farm tractors.

The chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that the commission has this matter under consideration but is not yet in a position to put forward recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the costs of abolishing the two-year qualifying period for maternity pay and reinstatement in the current financial year, and 1981–82.

No precise information is available on the number of women who do not qualify for statutory maternity rights. However, the recent Policy Studies Institute report, "Maternity rights—the experience of women", indicates that nearly 50 per cent. of working women do not qualify under the present provisions.On the assumption that the annual earnings of women who do not qualify for maternity pay is broadly equal to those that do, removal of the qualifying conditions would approximately double the present total annual rebate figure of £32 million. There is no direct cost associated with the right to reinstatement.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the cost of increasing maternity pay from 90 per cent. to 100 per cent. of average earnings in 1980–81 and 1981–82.

Maternity pay is at present based on 90 per cent. of a week's pay less the amount of the flat-rate national insurance maternity allowance. I estimate that increasing the 90 per cent. to 100 per cent. in this calculation would increase public expenditure by nearly £6 million in a full year by reference to current earnings levels.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage of school leavers unemployed in the Liverpool travel-to-work area and the Merseyside special development area, respectively, at the latest available date.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 223]: Unemployment percentage rates are not calculated for school leavers. At 9 October there were 5,762 unemployed school leavers under 18 years of age in the Liverpool travel-to-work area and 8,245 in the Merseyside special development area. They represented 7.9 and 8.1 per cent., respectively, of all those registered as unemployed in these areas. The figures are provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average time a disabled person has to wait between being offered a place on an ERC course and being able to start the course; and has this time altered within the last two years.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 224]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that in August 1980 the average waiting period for ERC courses was about five weeks in the case of those able to attend an ERC on a daily basis; and about six weeks for those needing to go into lodgings for the period of their attendance. The equivalent figures for August 1978 were about seven weeks and 11 weeks respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the obligation of companies under the Companies Act 1980 to report their policy on employing disabled people will in any way replace their obligation under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 to report their implementation of the quota scheme; and whether their statement of policy will in any way be treated as a substitute for legal compliance with the quota.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 224]: The provisions of the Companies (Directors' Report) (Employment of Disabled Persons) Regulations 1980 are entirely additional to the requirements of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944. They do not affect the obligation of employers to comply with, and keep records on their implementation of, the quota scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how are the number of disablement resettlement officers currently distributed according to Manpower Services Commission areas.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 225]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the distribution of disablement resettlement officer posts by areas is as set out in the table below. This allocation is currently being revised.

Distribution of disablement resettlement officers by ESD areas as at May 1980:
Area	Total
London NW	18
London NE	18
London S	23
South East	21
Southern	22
Eastern	30
South West	21
North West	21
Manchester	30
Merseyside	23
Wales	31
Western	16
West Midlands	42
Scotland W	37
Scotland E & N	28
North East	31
East Pennine	47
East Midlands	31
Total	490

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disablement resettlement officers there were in post on 1 April for the five years from 1975.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980 c. 225]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that precise information on the number of posts in the preceding five years is not available. Before 1 April 1980 there was a national total of 516 disablement resettlement officer posts. A recent examination has shown that following a redistribution between areas and a revised system for determining staffing levels, the total number of DROs was 490. The MSC is now implementing further changes with a view to ensuring that there will be a total of around 520 DRO posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people both registered and unregistered, have been trained in computer programming under TOPS or similar schemes during each of the last three years: and how many have subsequently found employment in the computer industry.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 225]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the total number of people completing computer programming training under TOPS for the financial years in question is:

1977–78	1978–79	1979–80
900	1170	1900

but that information about the proportion of disabled people and about the subsequent employment experience of the trainees supported is not readily available. However, the following information is available in respect of training for blind or partially sighted people supported at the Royal National Institute for the Blind's commercial college in London:

	1977	1978	1979
Numbers trained	3	9	13
Numbers in employment	3	8	12

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what provision are the Government making to train disabled people for work in the computer industry.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 225]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a wide variety of courses are supported under the training opportunities scheme in colleges of further education and private colleges for which disabled people wishing to train in this field are eligible. For those disabled people who need residential training, TOPS sponsors trainees on the computer programming course at Queen Elizabeth's training college, Leatherhead, which is run in conjunction with International Computers Limited.The MSC also supports the training of blind or partially-sighted people in computer programming in the Royal National Institute for the Blind's commercial college in London.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered disabled people are currently employed in the computer industry.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 225]: I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that this information is not available as no statistics are kept on the numbers of registered disabled people by industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of job vacancies in the computer industry.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 October 1980, c. 225]: At 8 August, the latest date for which the quarterly industrial analysis is available, there were 526 notified vacancies remaining unfilled at employment offices and 29 at careers offices in the United Kingdom in the electronic computers manufacturing industry (Minimum List Heading 366 of the Standard Industrial Classification).Vacancies notified to employment offices are estimated to be about one-third of all vacancies in the economy as a whole. Because of possible duplication the figures for employment offices and careers offices should not be added together.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will consult the appropriate trades unions on the effect of the moratorium on defence contracts.

I have had discussions with different sections of industry to try to find the least damaging way from their point of view to continue after the moratorium to control defence expenditure and to bring it in line with our cash limits. I hope to make an announcement very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether special consideration can be given to the operation of the Government's moratorium on defence clothing purchases in the assisted destroyed after six years. The evidence areas.

During the moratorium exemptions have been granted for certain purchases of defence clothing and some of the resultant orders have, or will, benefit firms in assisted areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, in view of the large increase in recruitment and the general need for more uniforms, he will end the moratorium on the purchase of Armed Forces clothing and allow a contract with Edegard Ltd. of White-haven and Workington to go ahead.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, in view of the large increase in recruitment and the general need for more uniforms, he will will end the moratorium on the purchase of Armed Forces clothing and allow a contract with Edegard Ltd. of Whitehaven and Workington to go ahead.

A number of urgent clothing requirements have been exempted from the moratorium but these were not items which H. Edegard and Sons Ltd. supply. My right hon. Friend will shortly be making an announcement about what will follow the initial three-month period of the moratorium.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has concluded the study into deductions of pay from British officer prisoners of war; and if he will make a statement.

Following representations received from Flight Lieutenant Roth regarding the deductions from pay of officers held prisoner in the Second World War, which were made public in an article in The Daily Telegraph at the end of August 1980, a study was launched under my chairmanship. Extensive searches were made into the records of all three Services, the Public Record Office and the Treasury. Unfortunately, documentary evidence is far from complete.The Navy Department still hold some officer pay records from the Second World War in ledger form but no comparable individual pay records exist for the Army or the RAF. Pay records are normally relating to the Army and the RAF is consequently more circumstantial, but it is clear that the policy of all three Services with regard to POWs throughout the war was co-ordinated by a tri-Service committee and that a common policy on pay matters was followed.I have discussed the matter at some length with a number of ex-POWs and representatives of ex-officer associations.The study has examined initially the basis of the then Government's policy in relation to POW pay and looked for evidence of promulgation of this policy throughout the Services. It has then sought evidence of arrangements for handling returning POWs with particular emphasis on their pay. A key question has been to discover the existence of evidence to indicate that any payments were made, thereby giving

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will publish a list of those projects which Her Majesty's Government have helped with in the past three years in Jamaica; how much they cost; what is the current level of aid; and what projects they cover.

There has been no project aid. In 1978 and 1979 the United Kingdom committed a total of £27.5 million as non-project aid as part of an international programme led by the IMF.

							Government US $	Non-Government US $	Total US $
1975	…	…	…	…	…	…	94,894,993	13,305,652	108,200,645
1976	…	…	…	…	…	…	92,214,405	12,470,091	104,684,496
1977	…	…	…	…	…	…	104,377,940	12,583,953	116,961,893
1978	…	…	…	…	…	…	143,399,359	13,660,434	157,059,793
1979	…	…	…	…	…	…	158,621,557	29,389,883	188,010,440

of which the United Kingdom Government contributions were:—

								Regular	Programme	Special appeals and specific projects
								$	£	$	£
1975	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	4,318,500	(2,000,000)	2,827,100	(1,025,000)
1976	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	3,977,500	(2,300,000)	Nil	Nil
1977	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	5,803,800	(3,300,000)	1,085,400	(790,000)
1978	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	8,655,100	(4,500,000)	2,858,800	(1,192,142)
1979	…	…	…	…	…	…	…	12,272,500	(5,800,000)	6,902,700	(1,581,816)
The 1979 figures reflect a special response in the International Year of the Child.

UNICEF has not yet published similar figures for 1980 but the United Kingdom Government contribution to the regular programme is £4.3 million and to specific projects it is £2,046,719. In 1980, £2,933,000 has also been paid to UNICEF for relief and rehabilitation work in Cambodia; for disbursement through UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will publish in the Official Report a list showing the annual contributions to the United Nations development programme for the last five years to the latest convenient date.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what adjustments to the calculation of expenditure per capita in his reply, Official Report, 8 August, column 468, would render the respective figures for the three areas and for Northern Ireland reasonably comparable.

The removal of £5.8 million for payments to the Northern Ireland Development Agency, thereby reducing the expenditure per capital to £71, is an appropriate adjustment to make the Northern Ireland figure reasonably comparable to the figures for the three areas mentioned in the written answer of 8 August 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the percentage increase in output per man-hour over the past 10 years in (a) the nationalised industries and (b) private manufacturing industry.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much money has been paid in the form of regional development grants in (a) Scotland, and (b) Dundee since 1974; and what was the total number of firms involved in both cases.

Between 1 April 1974 and 30 June 1980, nearly £568 million of regional development grant was paid in Scotland. I regret that similar information is not available for Dundee.The total of grant payments over £25,000 in the Dundee travel-to-work area between 1 October 1974 (the earliest date from which information is available) and 30 June 1980 was about £4.8 million. Such payments are estimated to account for about 60 per cent. of all grant payments.I regret that information about the number of firms receiving grant is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what attitude has been adopted by Her Majesty's Government to the EEC draft directive on shipbuilding, document 9866/80, of 25 September; and what financial provision is expected to be made.

The draft directive has been welcomed in principle by the Government. The draft directive does not of itself involve any charge on public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what new changes have been made to relieve the burden of form filling on small firms.

I am happy to announce three decisions that will result in further valuable reductions in the form-filling burden affecting the production industries. A restructuring of the system of quarterly inquiries into manufacturers' sales will achieve a reduction of 28,000 per annum in the number of forms sent out and consequential savings of some £1½ million in manpower costs at the business statistics office. A wider use of sampling in the annual census of production will produce a further annual saving of over 10,000 forms and £125,000 in manpower costs.In both these cases the reduction in the form-filling burden will accrue to smaller firms. Thirdly, there will be an appreciable reduction in the number of questions included in the annual minerals inquiry form. An effective service to Government and industry will be maintained.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he has any plans to examine at first hand the current state of industry in the Black Country.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 October 1980, c. 336): My right hon. Friend has no plans to visit the Black Country in the near future. The Government are, however, well aware of the situation there, particularly through recent visits to the area by my noble Friend the Minister of State, Department of Industry, and myself.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what recent representations he has received over the position of industry in the West Midlands and in the Black Country.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 October 1980, c. 336]: In recent months the Department of Industry has received a number of representations about the position of industry in the West Midlands and the Black Country from a variety of sources, including from the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what steps it is now intended to take to reverse the increasing number of redundancies and closures in the West Midlands.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 October 1980, c. 336]: The industrial and employment prospects of the West Midlands depend on firms producing competitively goods that customers want to buy. That is a task for industry. The Government's policies are intended, given time, to help create the conditions in which competitive and enterprising industrial firms can develop.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if, in any year since the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community, his Department failed to take up any portions of the Community funds that were available as a part of any allocation scheme between member States; and whether there was any category of funds for which the United Kingdom could have applied but did not.

[pursuant to his reply, 30 October 1980, c. 334]: No. It is the Government's policy to claim from the Community all the receipts to which we are entitled.