asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the sensitive items listed in paragraphs 15, 19, 21 and 22 of the White Paper on the Tokyo Round of tariff negotiations (Cmnd. 7724) the current level of tariff and the level proposed for 1 January 1987.

Owing to the number of different products and duty rates involved, a full reply could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The information which follows illustrates the tariff rates for a range of sensitive products mentioned in the paragraphs of the White Paper referred to. If the hon. Member is interested in other particular products, I would be grateful if he would write to me.

CCT Tariff Descriptions and Tariff Heading No.	1 January
	1982 Per cent.	1987 Per cent.
Urea containing more than 45 per cent. by weight of nitrogen on the dry anhydrous product: 31.02B.	12·1	11

Share of each European Community Country's Imports which came from each other European Community Country in 1980
Percentages
	Imports into
	Belgium/ Luxembourg	Denmark	France	F R of Germany	Greece	Ireland	Italy	Netherlands	United Kingdom
Imports from
Belgium/Luxembourg	—	3·5	8·4	7·2	2·0	2·0	3·6	11·6	4·8
Denmark	0·5	—	0·6	1·7	0·6	0·7	0·9	0·9	2·2
France	14·4	4·3	—	10·8	6·2	5·2	13·9	6·7	7·7
F R of Germany	19·7	18·5	16·2	—	13·9	6·9	16·6	22·2	11·4
Greece	0·2	0·2	0·3	0·8	—	0·1	0·5	0·4	0·3
Ireland	0·4	0·3	0·6	0·4	0·4	—	0·3	0·5	3·6
Italy	3·6	2·9	9·4	8·0	8·2	2·4	—	3·2	4·6
Netherlands	16·4	7·1	5·4	11·6	3·9	2·8	4·2	—	6·8
United Kingdom	8·1	12·1	5·4	6·7	4·6	50·8	4·4	8·2	—

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish a table showing what proportion of each EEC member State's exports is taken by each other EEC member State.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish a table showing what proportion of each European Economic Community member State's imports is from each other EEC member State.

Following is the information:

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade to what extent British Airways has been subsidised from public funds for each of the last five years; and what form that subsidy has taken.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total number of bankruptcies in England and Wales, and Scotland, respectively, in each quarter since June 1979.

Figures for England and Wales, both actual and seasonally adjusted, were published in British Business, 22 January 1982. Actual figures for Scotland for sequestrations—the equivalent of bankruptcies in English law—are given as follows. Because of their small size relative to the numbers in England and Wales, the figures are not seasonally adjusted nor included in the regular quarterly article.

Sequestrations in Scotland
	Number
1979
3rd quarter	30
4th quarter	37
1980
1st quarter	50
2nd quarter	33
3rd quarter	29
4th quarter	38
1981
1st quarter	44
2nd quarter	31
3rd quarter	48
4th quarter	58

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give the level of imports of vehicle light bulbs in numbers and value for each month in 1981.

Information for the months March to August remains unavailable at present. Information for the rest of 1981 is given against code number 8520–1210 under SITC(R2) item 778.21 in table IV of the relevant issues of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, copies of which are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many members of the engineering examining staff in the quality, assurance and standards division are qualified electronic engineers capable of examining correctly electronic equipment; and what were the numbers from 1978 each year to the latest date.

All the examiners at the national weights and measures laboratory have had the necessary competence to examine correctly electronic equipment during the period in question. Of these the following numbers have been specialists in electronics:

Year	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982
Number of specialists	6	6	7	9	10

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what effect the possible 22 per cent. increase in the amount of low-cost textiles and clothing entering the United Kingdom under the terms of the new multi-fibre arrangement protocol will have on future employment prospects in the textile and clothing industry; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the Government's schemes for assisting British exporters to develop overseas markets and his latest estimate of the likely disbursements under each scheme during the current financial year.

I list the disbursements under the British Overseas Trade Board Schemes, operated by my Department, to assist British exporters, and also those schemes of assistance which do not include any direct disbursements. In addition advice and assistance in individual markets is available to exporters from regional offices, headquarters staff in the market branches and posts overseas, through personal contact and a range of publications. The list is as follows:

Estimate of gross disbursements expected for the financial year 1981–82
	£000
Trade missions and other related activities	1,827
Trade fairs and similar activities	15,900
British export marketing centre, Tokyo	450
Market entry guarantee scheme	1,641
Grants in aid and other assistance to non-official trade organisations	1,257
Industrial training schemes	210
Overseas projects fund	2,650
Assistance to overseas marketing research	450
Other miscellaneous export promotion expenditure	346
	24,731

Other BOTB export schemes not involving disbursements are:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the statutory provisions and other regulations governing the handling of baggage and other goods at British airports and the bodies responsible for their enforcement.

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

asked the Prime Minister whether the principal grade in the Civil Service is normally entitled to secretarial assistance; and what proportion of principals have such assistance.

No grade in the Civil Service has a strict entitlement to such assistance. A civil servant is only entitled to such assistance if it has been established that the nature and duties of his post necessitate a secretary. A principal would not normally be allowed secretarial assistance under these criteria but, in any instance where the criteria were satisfied, secretarial assistance would be provided, probably on a shared basis. The number of principals with this assistance is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Prime Minister whether at any time in negotiations with President Reagan's Administration for the purchase of Trident missiles it has been proposed or implied that the supply of plutonium by the United Kingdom to the United States Of America should be part of an overall agreement.

No. The exchange of nuclear materials for defence purposes between the United Kingdom and the United States is governed by the 1958 agreement on co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for mutual defence purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the new police procedure of keeping lists of sensitive premises occupied by minority groups will apply to the National Front, the Communist parties, Trotskyist organisations and other such minority and front organisations.

The police have always taken special precautions in respect of certain premises and localities where it is in the interests of effective law enforcement to do so. Such places are identified by the police on the basis of operational judgments, not by focussing on particular organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that the degree of independence of chief constables is necessary for them to fulfil their police functions; if he will review their powers and seek to amend them so as to make chief constables more accountable to the public; and if, in view of recent misjudgments by, and public criticisms of, individual chief officers, he will examine the suitability of all existing holders of the rank of chief constable to hold their posts.

Yes; no; no.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Deparment if, in view of the substantial costs being met by local ratepayers in cases where additional police are required in the vicinity of football grounds, particularly where special police precautions are necessary, he will review the policy under which no contribution is normally made by the organisers to the cost of policing matches and similar occasions outside the ground.

No. The police have a general duty to preserve order in public places.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what annual pension will be payable to Dr. A. Clift when he retires on 31 March 1982; and what the pension would have been in the case of retirement on 31 March 1978.

It is not the practice to give details of an individual officer's pension entitlements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the police are having difficulties in recruiting constables.

No. All forces outside London have reached, or are close to, their authorised establishments and are having no difficulty in finding suitable recruits to fill vacancies when officers retire. The Metropolitan Police are still over 1,000 below establishment but nearly 300 recruits are joining the force each month.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in his reply to the hon. Member for Warrington of 23 February, Official Report, c. 328, he based his assessment that the keeping of central records of details of the circumstances of recorded offences was not possible within limited resources on an estimate of the cost of such a practice in respect of all recorded offences, or of rape only.

The assessment given related to recorded offences of rape alone.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nuclear bomb-proof shelters there are at present in the United Kingdom; and how many people they will accommodate.

No central records are kept of premises intended for use as shelter in the event of a nuclear attack.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce amendments to those police regulations which in their present form prevent police authorities from insuring police officers against personal injury because they are not their employers in law.

It is doubtful whether police authorities have an insurable interest in police officers, who are not employees and whose conditions of service are prescibed in detail in regulations. The Police Pension Regulations 1973, as amended, provide specifically for police officers who are injured or killed on duty. The benefits available to police officers injured on duty are currently being considered by the police negotiating board.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the volume of statistics prepared by the Metropolitan Police from which the tables contained in the answers to the hon. Member for Basildon and the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 2 March 1982, Official Report, c. 78 to 81, were taken.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the information referred to is not contained in any volume of statistics relating to the Metropolitan Police district.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Macclesfield of 2 March, Official Report, c. 80, he will list those police force areas for which information relating to personal assault, burglary and criminal damage and persons of West Indian or African appearance is collected centrally.

Numbers of serious offences of violence against the person, burglary and criminal damage recorded by the police are collected centrally from all 43 police forces in England and Wales. Information on the arrests for such offences is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the figures for personal assualt, burglary and vandalism in each year from 1977 onwards (a) in the Metropolitan Police area and (b) in each police district of the Metropolitan Police area and the figures relating to persons of Asian appearances arrested for such offences expressed in total figures and as a percentage of the whole.

The detailed information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will set up a wide-ranging inquiry into all aspects of surveillance devices, including telephone tapping of public and private telephones, interception of letters, and filming of telephone callers in public telephone boxes.(2) if he continues to be satisfied that telephone tapping, interception of communications and other surveillance devices are under effective ministerial control; and if he will make a statement.

The White Paper "The Interception of Communications in Great Britain" (Cmnd. 7873) makes it clear that the use of interception is under strict Ministerial control. I see no need for an inquiry into these arrangements. I am reviewing the current guidelines on the use of surveillance equipment by the police.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the response to the public consultations on the feasibility of a Severn barrage.

A variety of interesting opinions and comments have been received. Some of these raise complex issues, and the Government are currently evaluating them.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the cost per therm of generating electricity through nuclear energy.

Generation costs for nuclear power stations in operation, on historic costs, are given in the 1980–81 annual report of the Central Electricity Generating Board: they are 1·65 p/kwh for Magnox stations and 1·45 p/kwh for the AGR. These convert to 48·34 p/therm for Magnox and 41·04 p/therm for the AGR. These costs do not provide the basis for a direct comparison with the cost of other fuels or for an appriasal of the cost of nuclear electricity from new investment.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the representations he has received in the past month concerning increased gas prices and their effect on inflation.

I have received a number of representations about the increases in domestic gas prices announced by the British Gas Corporation on 25 February. The Government's policy on gas prices was debated and endorsed by this House on 2 March.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has set British Gas Corporation a profit target to be met in the year 1982–83.

British Gas' current financial target is to achieve a pre-tax return of 3·5 per cent. on net assets at current cost over the three-year period 1980–81 to 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce the new financial target for the British Gas Corporation for the period from March 1983 onwards.

After consultation with the British Gas Corporation, I expect to announce an agreed financial target for years subsequent to 1982–83 later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will now give a firm date when the Dungeness B power station will make its first contribution to the national grid; what was the initial estimate of the building cost ; and what is the final costing.

Subject to the completion of power-raising and commissioning tests on the first reactor at Dungeness B, the CEGB advises that it can be expected to supply power to the national grid during the summer. The station's cost was estimatd at £106 million at the prices prevailing when the station was approved in 1965. The latest estimate of costs to completion is £570 million, or £260 million at 1965 price levels.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what will be the total increases in gas and electricity prices for 1982; and on what dates he expects that the increases will take place.

The British Gas Corporation announced on 25 February that domestic gas prices would rise by 12 per cent on 1 April and a further 10 per cent. on 1 October. Not all the area electricity boards have yet finalised their tariffs for 1982–83, but I would anticipate that price increases for domestic consumers of under 10 per cent. from 1 April will be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a further statement on the nuclear power station programme.

I have nothing to add to my remarks during the debate on nuclear power on 1 February. The Government remain determined to provide a framework within which the full potential of nuclear power can be realised.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his policy towards the drilling for oil in national parks and in sites of special scientific interest.

It is my policy to encourage comprehensive exploration for oil and gas. The location of drilling requires specific consent including that of the planning authorities. For some sites the necessary consents may not be forthcoming. In such cases it might be possible to evaluate potential and produce by drilling from an alternative site. However, any strata explored for petroleum must be covered by a licence.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to ensure greater transparency of energy prices throughout the European Economic Community.

The United Kingdom has consistently pressed for transparency of energy prices throughout the European Community. In December, under the United Kingdom's chairmanship, the Council adopted important conclusions on pricing, including a reaffirmation that transparency is a necessary and urgent condition for the implementation of agreed principles on economic energy pricing. Action to increase transparency will be further considered by the Energy Council planned for 16 March.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will tabulate in the Official Report, from information available to him, the current average price of gas per therm, and electricity per unit, in the United Kingdom and each EEC country at the present time for industry and the domestic user, respectively, indicating where possible known trends from announced increases over the next 12 months.

The latest information available to me on gas and electricity prices to domestic and industrial consumers in EEC countries is given as follows. The information is derived from four separate enquiries carried out on different dates.In making international comparisons it must be borne in mind that difficulties can arise in times of changing prices and exchange rate fluctuations. There can, moreover, be a wide range of prices within countries and differences in the method of collecting the data may not always provide comparable figures.With regard to future price trends in EEC countries, I refer my hon. friend to the reply I gave to this oral question earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the energy Ministers of EEC countries plan to meet next; and if he will take steps to review current and forecasted energy prices for industry and the consumer with a view to establishing how British prices compare with those available to users in other EEC countries.

The Council of Energy Ministers of the European Communities will next meet on 16 March. We will be further considering the action to increase transparency of energy prices throughout the EC following the important conclusions on pricing adopted by the Council in December 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has any plans to protect non-domestic high energy users particularly in the steel, ceramics, refractory and chemical industries from the recently announced increases in gas and electricity prices.

The Government are fully aware of the problems facing large energy intensive industries and we are keeping their position under urgent review.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is yet in a position, following his answer of 8 February, Official Report, column 731, to make a statement on the effect of standing charges on low income consumers.

I refer the hon. Member to my oral answer today to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, North (Mr. Durant).

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what effect the fall in world oil prices will have on the price of domestic heating oil bills in the United Kingdom.

The price of oil products, including domestic heating oil, is a commercial matter for the oil companies and traders, who will take account of both costs and competition in each market. The price of crude oil is a major element in the cost of products. Product prices are therefore likely to move in sympathy with crude oil prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had in relation to the transfer of staff from the British National Oil Corporation to Britoil about the preservation of index linked pension rights; and if he will make a statement.

I am discussing with the British National Oil Corporation the question of pension rights, along with other issues connected with the sale of shares in Britoil. Staff of the corporation do not have rights to index linked pensions.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the progress of exploration for oil on land and under United Kingdom territorial waters, including potential production of discoveries made during 1981.

The current level of exploration is higher than for many years, largely due to the substantial increase in the number of land licences awarded, thirteen exploration wells were drilled on land during 1981. No wells were drilled in territorial waters. Two of the wells had encouraging results but will require appraisal drilling to confirm their potential.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take steps to monitor the manpower levels of the Scottish gas boards.

The manpower levels of Scottish Gas is a matter for the British Gas Corporation. I will ask the chairman to write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the 81 per cent. of the North Sea oil contracts placed in the United Kingdom represent value added within the United Kingdom in the years 1979, 1980 and 1981.

I shall answer my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy, in view of the drop in world oil prices, if he will make, a statement as to the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the depletion of the United Kingdom's indigenous oil resources.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 March 1981, c. 84]: The Government's general approach to oil depletion policy was announced on 23 July 1980. I shall be making a further statement in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications were received in the present financial year and in each of the last two financial years for firearms certificates for shotguns, rifles, handguns, and air-rifles and pistols; and in each year, in each case, how many applications were refused.

Information relating to financial years and to the different types of firearms is not readily

Permanent Headquarter Staff
	Superintendent	Chief Inspector	Inspector	Sergeant	Constable	Clerk	Clerical Assistant	Typist
1978	1	1	1	1	1	5	21	3
1979	1	1	1	1	1	5	22	2
1980	1	1	1	1	1	5	21	*—
1981	1	1	1	1	1	5	22	—
1982	1	1	1	1	1	5	24	—
*Typing services centralised 26 February 1980.

Pay*
	Superintendent	Chief Inspector	Inspector	Sergeant	Constable	Clerk	Clerical Assistant	Typist
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
1978	7,620	5,690	5,010	4,360	3,490	2,628	2,216	2,221
1979	9,060	6,610	5,880	5,180	4,150	2,878	2,295	2,335
1980	11,810	8,610	7,710	6,840	5,360	3,123	2,600
1981	14,310	10,480	9,390	8,290	6,460	4,077	3,343
1982	16,260	11,980	10,750	9,460	7,380	4,392	3,607
*Average pay for the grade or rank excluding allowance and overtime.

Informationn on overtime payments is not available in the detail requested, but the total expenditure on overtime and allowances for this staff in the financial years 1978–79 to 1981–82 is as follows:

1978–79	£16,000
1979–80	£14,500
1980–81	£17,200
1981–82 (Estimate)	£17,900

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many legally-held shotguns, rifles, handguns and air weapons have been stolen in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; of these (a) how many have subsequently been recovered and (b) how many of

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers and of which ranks, and how many civilian staff and of which grades, are employed at police headquarters on the processing of applications for, and renewal of, firearms certificates; what were the numbers in each case in each of the preceding four years; what are the present salaries for each grade and rank; what were the respective sums in each of the preceding four years; and what was the average paid to each grade and rank in overtime in those years.

The information on staffing levels and average salaries as at 1 January 1982 and in each of the four preceding years is as follows:those recovered have been returned to their owners; of the weapons stolen how many were weapons belonging to members of the Army, the Ulster Defence Regiment, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve, respectively; and how many weapons so stolen have been identified as being used in (i) murders and (ii) attempted murders; and of the weapons so identified formerly how many belong to civilians or to the security forces.

Information on the numbers and types of legally-held weapons stolen in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years is given in the following tables. The additional information requested cannot readily be made available from police records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many shotguns, rifles, handguns, air rifles and pistols, respectively, are at present held on firearms certificates in Northern Ireland; how many firearms certificates are due for renewal in the present financial year and in each of the two preceding years: and in each case, in each year, how many applications for renewal were refused.

At 31 December 1981 the total number of weapons held on firearm certificates in Northern Ireland was 115,940, as follows:

Shotguns	76,087
Rifles	13,765
Handguns	10,184
Air weapons	15,103
Miscellaneous	801

Details of the number of firearms certificates due for renewal and the number of renewal applications refused during the last three calendar years are as follows:

	Firearms certificates due for renewal	Renewal applications refused
1979	18,695	92
1980	16,711	79
1981	39,422	78

Information on firearm certificates and the weapons they cover which were due for renewal in each financial year is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether John McKeague, who was murdered on 29 January, had ever applied for and been refused a firearms certificate for a personal protection weapon; and whether and for what periods he had been under police guard because of threats to his life.

It would not be in the public interest to give information about such personal protection measures.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many extradition applications have been made by the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the authorities in the Republic of Ireland since the introduction of extra-territorial courts legislation.

Since the introduction in the Republic of Ireland of the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act 1976, 141 arrest warrants, 34 of them related to terrorist-type offences, have been forwarded by the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the Garda Siochana.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, further to the reply of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 8 February, Official Report, columns 259–60, he will list the main items included in the figure under the heading "Other European Community Suppliers" given in respect of the Royal Mint, the Stationery Office, and Computers and Telecommunications.

Over 90 per cent. of the Royal Mint's purchases from other European Community suppliers were blanks for various coinage orders. In the case of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, the main items were office machinery, chemicals, photographic equipment and paper products. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency's purchases were primarily ancillary equipment for computer systems. In many cases delivery was not available from suppliers in this country.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the saving to the Exchequer of withdrawing the income tax exemption for gilt edged at the standard rate, including war stock, in the case of overseas residents.

Interest on Government securities paid to non-residents may be exempted from United Kingdom tax under specific provisions of domestic law or through double-taxation agreements. I am afraid that it would not be possible without disproportionate cost to provide a reliable estimate of the saving to the Exchequer if this interest were not exempt.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the latest period for which figures are available (a) the amount of corporate income for tax purposes subdivided into manufacturing, and so on, (b) the losses in the current year before taking account of any reliefs and (c) the amount of interest payments allowed before calculating the figure under (a) above; and what were the capital and stock relief allowances, respectively, excluding any amounts carried over from the previous year.

£ million
	All Companies††	Manufacturing	Distribution	Other Home Industrial and Commercial	North Sea oil and gas	Financial
Gross case I income*	25,100	8,100	4,200	5,000	7,000	3,300
Gross losses*		1,300	450	650		300
Other income	8,600	1,600	700	3,900	***	2,400
Capital allowances claimed†	16,100	5,500	2,450	3,950	2,300	1,900
Stock relief claimed‡	5,200	3,200	1,200	600	***	200
Profits chargeable to corporation tax**	8,500	1,850	1,250	2,700	1,200	1,500
Notes:
***negligible
*Gross case I income and losses are recorded in tax assessments after deducting short-term interest payments from gross trading profits; the latter two items are not separately recorded for statistical purposes. The total amount of interest payments allowable is not therefore available for these individual sectors.
†Net of balancing charges. Allowances "biting" against profits in the same year are lower.
‡Net of stock relief withdrawn. Relief "biting" against profits in the same year is lower.
**Income for tax purposes, after deducting all allowed reliefs, including amounts carried over from previous years and deductions for payments of petroleum revenue tax for North Sea oil and gas companies.
††Excluding companies based in the United Kingdom but operating mainly overseas.
‡‡ Including holding companies of groups.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each year since 1960 (a) the trading profit for tax purposes of (i) corporations and (ii) other

£ million
	Companies (*)			Other Persons(†) (Unincorporated businesses)
	Gross(‡) trading profits	Capital(§) allowances: claimed	Stock(║) relief: claimed	Interest (¶) payments	Gross(**) trading profits	Capital(§) allowances: allowed	Stock(║) relief allowed
1960	3,736	1,213	—	378	1,629	200	—
1961	3,643	1,352	—	422	1,725	209	—
1962	3,595	1,451	—	469	1,774	219	—
1963	4,103	1,752	—	506	1,907	229	—
1964	4,544	2,040	—	603	1,974	258	—
1965	4,741	2,161	—	764	2,147	258	—
1966	4,592	1,839	—	1,005	2,278	247	—
1967	4,625	1,702	—	1,121	2,419	261	—
1968	5,254	1,839	—	1,335	2,663	278	—
1969	5,668	2,145	—	1,581	2,840	287	—
1970	6,035	2,525	—	1,752	3,137	328	—
1971	6,907	3,668	—	1,877	3,763	405	—
1972	8,072	4,569	—	2,145	4,635	511	—
1973	10,325	5,450	2,500	3,229	5,406	598	—
1974	11,469	6,598	5,500	4,272	5,684	711	58
1975	11,961	8,093	3,100	4,461	6,350	864	65
1976	15,530	9,269	5,350	4,899	7,438	1,000	115
1977	19,061	11,162	4,400	5,180	8,609	1,121	217
1978	21,594	13,090	3,900	5,364	10,315	1,389	265
1979	26,776	14,302	9,250	8,222	11,670	1,565	340
1980	24,979	16,356	5,200	11,965	12,900	1,740	240

For accounting periods ending in the financial year 1980–81, corresponding approximately to activity in the calendar year 1980, the information is as in the following table.persons,

The available information is shown in the following table and notes. The historical information In respect of trading profits for the companies sector is as shown in the national accounts, in which the definition differs in some respects from that used for tax purposes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the average amount of Treasury bills outstanding in 1973 and in 1981; and if he will show each as a proportion of (i) central Government debt, (ii) the public sector borrowing requirement and (iii) the money supply.

The value of Treasury bills outstanding was £3,093 million on 31 March 1973 and £2,057 million on 31 March 1981. These figures are shown as proportions of the National Debt, the public sector borrowing requirement and the money supply in the table following.

Treasury bills outstanding
	31 March 1973	31 March 1981
As a proportion of
(i) the National Debt (as at 31 March)	0·084	0·018
(ii) the PSBR (for the preceding financial year)	1·229	0·156
(iii) £M3 seasonally adjusted (at the end of banking March)	0·120	0·030

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, for the latest available period, was the gross trading profit of farmers for tax purposes; how many persons were in each income range; what was their total income; if he will distinguish between companies and other persons; and what was the taxable income after relief.

The latest available figures are:

Agricultural companies	Accounting periods ending in the financial year to
	31.3.1978	31.3.1979
Number with gross trading profit for tax purposes ('000)	7	8
Gross trading profit for tax purposes (£m)	180	220
Taxable income after reliefs (Profits chargeable to CT) (£m)	50	50

Agricultural companies are those whose main activity is agriculture. Their trading profits may include profits from nonagricultural activities. Companies whose main activity is not agriculture are excluded although they may also carry on agricultural activities.Gross trading profit is after deduction of short-term interest and before any adjustments for losses, stock relief and capital allowances.Taxable income after reliefs includes income other than trading profits and is after deduction of losses, stock relief, capital allowances and other reliefs.

Individuals	Income tax year 1978–79
Number of cases ('000)	297
Gross profit for tax purposes (£m)	1,280
Taxable profit (£m)	850

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the average amount of floating debt in 1951, 1961, 1971, 1977 and 1981 together with the average rate of interest paid and the ratio of the floating debt to total debt and to the money supply.

Figures of the Floating Debt and the total National Debt outstanding at 31 March each year and the annual amount of interest paid thereon are published for each financial year in the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund accounts and supplementary statements to those accounts. Prior to 1 April 1968, when the National Loans Act 1968 established the National Loans fund, the National Debt was a liability of the Consolidated Fund.Details of the Floating Debt and the total National Debt and interest payments thereon for 31 March each year were given annually in the Finance Accounts of the United Kingdom. the money supply figures are published in the Bank of England

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total amount of borrowing funded since May 1979, the total interest payable annually, the average rate of interest and the comparable average rate of interest in the financial year 1971–72.

The figures provided for total Government borrowings on marketable securities relate to financial years ending on March 31; the interest on funded Government borrowing paid is the total on all funded stocks during the financial years in question. These figures are published annually in the Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund accounts and supplementary statements to those accounts. The average rate of interest is the average on the total funded borrowing outstanding on March 31 in each of the years stated.

Financial Year	Total Funded Government Borrowings £	Interest on Funded Government Borrowings £	Average rate of interest in year
1978–79	7,845,075,000	4,925,717,280	8·4
1979–80	15,125,250,000	6,150,488,122	8·7
1980–81	16,183,660,000	7,708,769,133	8·9
1971–72			5·1

	Guarantee Section		Guidance Section		European Social Fund		European Regional Development Fund
	Size	Percentage change	Size	Percentage change	Size	Percentage change	Size	Percentage change
1976 (MUA)	5,365·0	—	218·2	—	256·3	—	277·3	—
1977 (MUA)	6,166·8	14·95	296·7	35·98	316·9	23·64	372·5	34·33
1978 (MEUA)	9,278·6	—	323·6	—	284·8	—	254·9	—
1979 (MEUA)	10,434·5	12·46	403·4	24·66	595·7	109·16	513·1	101·29
1980 (MEUA)	11,306·2	8·35	601·3	49··06	735·2	23·42	726·7	41·63

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent the figure of £9,250 million in table 4B of paragraph 4(10) of the Green Paper on Corporation Tax (Cmnd 8456) would have been reduced if the present system of stock relief had been in operation.

Under the present system of stock relief, stock relief available to be claimed by companies in 1979 would have been approximately £2,250 million lower. For the reasons explained in the Green Paper on corporation tax, these figures do not indicate the effect of stock relief on the yield of corporation tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the adoption of the proposal in paragraph 6(3)(1) of the Green Paper on Corporation Tax (Cmnd 8456) for the abolition of imputation and the retention of the 52 per cent. rate of tax would lead to a substantial reduction in staff in the Inland Revenue.

I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 7·10 of the Green Paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of interest paid by companies is effectively set off against corporation tax in the tax year in which the interest is paid.

I regret that the information requested is not available centrally.

asked the Chancellor of Exchequer whether he is satisfied that the increase in the amount of taxed and untaxed income from abroad declared in 1980–81 is fully consistent with the increase in assets held overseas since May 1979.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 2 December 1981 [Vol. 14, c. 130]. Since the information as to income is not available, it is not possible to make a comparison with assets held.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the annual growth in expenditure on (a) agricultural price guarantee spending, (b) agricultural restructuring, (c) the European social fund and (d) regional aid within the Community in each of the past five years within the European Community budget.