asked the Minister for Trade whether he will make a statement on the progress made in the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on port state control which took effect on 1 July.

The results of the first three months, up to 28 September 1982, are encouraging. These show that 1,642 ships have been inspected throughout the region comprising the 14 European States. Of these, 63 ships were found to have serious deficiencies, these deficiencies being serious enough to detain or delay the ships for their rectification.During this period the Department of Trade surveyors inspected 558 foreign ships in the United Kingdom's ports, that is, approximately one third of the total number. Of these, three ships were detained for having serious deficiencies. There were more deficiencies revealed by the Department's surveyors but these were of a lesser significance and were either put right before the ship sailed or were left to be corrected at the next port of call.The commitment the United Kingdom made to inspect 25 per cent. of visiting foreign ships during the first year should be achieved without difficulty. The rate of inspections since the end of September has been maintained at a high level and five ships were detained because of serious deficiencies.Unfortunately, in contrast, a number of the other maritime authorities have made little contribution to port State control within the first three months. This is partly as a consequence of their not having an established Government surveyor force to deploy on this work.No reports have been received of United Kingdom ships being unduly delayed or experiencing any difficulty as a result of port State control.

asked the Minister for Trade what has been the increase in manufactured imports during the past three years, by percentage and by value.

The information, on a balance of payments basis, is as follows:

Year	Value (£ million) difference	per cent. change
1979	+5,590	+25
1980	+1,120	+4
1981	+852	+3

asked the Minister for Trade what was the number of ships in the Merchant Navy in January 1981, January 1982 and September 1982.

The information requested is as follows:

Number of United Kingdom owned and registered merchant ships (500 gross registered tonnage and over)
	Number
End December 1980	1,143
End December 1981	994
End September 1982	913

asked the Minister for Trade (1) if he has made representations to the European Commission concerning the extension of the concessions in the EEC regulation No. 1028/79 to handicapped individuals importing goods from outside the European Community as well as approved organisations; and if he will make a statement;(2) on what date the United Kingdom ratified European Economic Community regulation No. 1028/79 of 8 May 1979 on the importation free of common customs tariff duties of articles for the use of handicapped persons; and if any member States have not yet ratified the regulation;(3) in the last year for which figures are available how many applications of relief for duty were made under EEC regulation No. 1028/79 on the importation free of common customs tariff duties of articles for the use of handicapped persons, annex E paragraph 1 and annex E paragraph 2, respectively; how many applications were approved under each paragraph; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Minister for Trade what is the total number of companies in the West Midlands that have gone into liquidation since May 1979; and if he will give comparable information for the three and a half years to May 1979 and the change in percentage terms.

I regret that there are no official figures available for company liquidations by region within England and Wales.

asked the Minister for Trade what is the current level of bankruptcies in the construction industry in Scotland and in other industries in Scotland.

I regret that figures giving an industry breakdown of bankruptcies—which relate to individuals and partnerships—in Scotland are not available. The total numbers of company liquidations—arising from insolvency—in Scotland during the 12 months ending September 1982 were 82 in the construction industry and 443 in other industries.

asked the Minister for Trade what were the contents of the report by the controller of the national air traffic services into allegations about air traffic operations at Aberdeen airport.

I have received a very full report from the controller of the national air traffic services who has conducted a special review into air traffic control around Aberdeen and in the adjoining North Sea airspace.The national air traffic services consider that they can continue to cope with the traffic demand given the customary spirit of compromise which the different airspace users have developed in the course of long established consultative processes, and the new arrangements and support facilities which are in train.I am arranging for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library.

asked the Minister for Trade what was the balance of trade in textiles and clothing with (a) other European Economic Community countries, (b) the rest of the world for 1981 and for 1982 to the most recent practicable date.

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

asked the Minister for Trade whether, pursuant to his answer of 28 October, Official Report, c. 470, he has completed his consideration of possible prosecutions for breaches of regulations prohibiting aerial advertising in relation to an alleged incident at Menwith Hill on 4 July; what considerations he has borne in mind; and whether he has received statements from observers of the alleged incident.

I have received statements from observers but have not yet completed my consideration of possible prosecutions.

asked the Minister for Trade whether there have been any recent developments in the establishment of direct air services on new routes between regional points in the United Kingdom and countries in Europe.

In pursuit of our continuing policy of liberalisation in aviation matters, I am glad to say that we have recently secured the agreement of the Danish Government to the introduction of a service by Genair between Humberside and Esbjerg. This is typical of the kind of service which the smaller airlines will have greater freedom to develop if agreement is reached on the proposed EC Directive on inter-regional air services. We are giving this measure our full support. The next meeting of the Council of Ministers, at which I shall be seeking adoption of the EC directive on inter-regional air services, is on 16 December 1982 in Brussels.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received regarding the abolition of investment income surcharge; and if 'le will make a statement.

I have received a number of representations suggesting that the burden of investment income surcharge should be reduced or abolished altogether. We have already made considerable progress in this direction by increasing the threshold from £1,700 (£2,500 for the aged) to £6,250 since we took office. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to do more, but further progress will depend on available resources.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss of revenue resulting from raising the salary limit used in calculating the tax implications of company cars from £8,500 to (a) £10,000, (b) £12,000 and (c) £15,000.

In a full year, at 1982–83 levels of income and tax rates, the revenue cost of raising the £8,500 limit to the levels suggested would, in relation to car benefits alone—and excluding any effect in relation to car fuel—be (a) £7 million, (b) £15 million and (c) £25 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a direction to the Crown Estate Commissioners under section 1(3) of the Crown Estate Act 1961 to apply to their tenancies in London those provisions of the housing legislation which provide protection to tenants in regard to fair rents and leasehold enfranchisement; and if he will make a statement.

I am not prepared to give such a direction. The provisions of the Rent Acts which afford protection to tenants in regard to fair rents already apply to the Crown Estate Commissioners. The commissioners also offer enfranchisement to all their leaseholders who qualify under current legislation, except for a very small number of cases in three historic areas.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish, prior to the Finance Bill, draft clauses on deep discounted and indexed stock and second hand bonds.

I shall bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind, but the considerations are different for the different subjects mentioned by my hon. Friend.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the percentage increase over the previous year in each year since 1965 of the gross national product, the retail price index and the amount of the uprating of public service pensions; and, in each, what were the reasons stated for the uprating.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 November 1982; c. 298]: The percentage increases in gross national product and retail prices, and the annual percentage uprating in public service pensions for each year since 1965 are as follows:

Annual Percentage Increases in GNP, RPI and the Public Service Pensions Uprating
	Seasonally Adjusted Money GNP (at market prices)	All Items RPI	Public Service Pensions Uprating
1965	6·4	4·9	—*
1966	7·6	3·9	—*
1967	5·7	2·4	—*
1968	6·2	4·6	—*
1969	8·3	5·3	—*
1970	9·4	5·9	—*
1971	11·5	10·3	—*
1972	11·5	6·1	9·9†
1973	15·0	9·3	9·3
1974	13·1	16·5	16·5
1975	26·1	26·1	26·1
1976	17·8	13·8	13·8
1977	15·6	17·7	17·7
1978	16·4	7·4	7·4
1979	15·5	11·4	16·0
1980	17·0	21·0	16·5
1981	11·1	11·3	9·06
1982	9·3	9·2	11·0

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, further to the letter of his right hon. Friend the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne dated 7 October, he can confirm that instructions concerning the family of Mr. Wai Kwok Tse have now been passed to the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

Yes. Instructions were sent on 1 November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in discussions over the possible introduction of taxi destination boards; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's review of controls over taxis and private hire cars throughout England and Wales continues and we are not therefore in a position to put forward any proposals for schemes whereby taxis could display destination boards.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which areas of England and Wales cannot at present receive VHF stereo radio; and if he will make a statement on when VHF stereo radio will be available to Anglesey.

Of those areas in England and Wales which can receive the BBC's national radio services on VHF, only those covered by the Blaenplwyf, Haverfordwest and Llanddona transmitters, and their associated relays receive these services in mono. The BBC plans to convert the Llanddona transmitter, serving Anglesey, to provide a stereo service by mid-1984. There are a number of areas in England and Wales with no VHF radio service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has studied the estimate made by the National Pistol Association of the costs of the issue and renewal of a firearms certificate; what is the discrepancy between these amounts and those now proposed by his Department in respect of the same; and if he will make a statement.

We are aware of this estimate but have not seen the research paper on which it is based and are not therefore in a position to comment on it. I understand that the association estimates that fee levels much lower than those recently proposed by the Government would be sufficient to recover the full costs of operating the licensing system. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the government have decided not to increase firearms fees for the time being, for the reasons given in my reply to my learned Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr) on 10 November.—[Vol. 31, c. 149.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are any cable television companies in Wales who are at present carrying Channel 4 United Kingdom programmes and not S4C programmes.

No cable companies served by transmitters in Wales have been authorised to substitute Channel 4 UK for S4C programmes. Companies with sufficient capacity on their system are permitted to relay both.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many, and which, police forces do not have a force welfare officer.

All forces in England and Wales have made arrangements for force welfare but seven—Cambridgeshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, North Wales and Nottinghamshire—have not appointed a full-time force welfare officer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report on an annual basis since 1975 the number of persons found guilty of excess alcolhol in the blood, in charge of a heavy goods vehicle.

The information requested is not available separately for drivers of heavy goods vehicles and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on findings of guilt of drivers of all types of vehicles is published annually in "Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales Supplementary Tables"—part of offence group 3 in tables 4 and 6 of the issue for 1980—a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the proposals in the Rothschild report of 1978 that certain forms of Chinese gambling, namely, pai kau and fan tan should be authorised as games which may be played in any casino and that new casinos catering particularly for chinese gambling should be encouraged in areas where illegal gambling is believed to exist.

It is the Government's policy to permit, subject to appropriate controls, only those forms of gambling for which there is a genuinely widespread and unstimulated demand. Consideration of the recommendations in the Royal Commission's report and of the problems of enforcement to which their implementation might give rise is continuing in consultation with the Gaming Board and others, including representatives of the Chinese community.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) applications for citizenship, (b) grants of citizenship, and (c) outstanding citizenship applications there were in each month of 1982, or quarterly during 1982 if the information is not available in monthly form; what are the total figures for 1982 up to the most recent available date, of (i) applications for citizenship, (ii) grants of citizenship and (iii) outstanding citizenship applications; and how many staff were in post to deal with citizenship applications on 30 June and 30 September.

The information requested is as follows:

1982	Applications received	Applications granted	Applications outstanding
January	5,305	2,798	68,461
February	5,444	3,131	75,423
March	6,405	3,187	79,771
April	9,333	3,248	78,269
May	4,953	2,971	82,723
June	2,940	3,924	79,701
July	3,827	4,240	74,626
August	3,664	6,712	76,263
September	3,769	7,855	73,739
October	5,848	8,352	69,040
1982 up to 31 October	51,488	46,418	69,040

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims have been made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board following the Toxteth riots in July 1981; how many have been settled and how many are outstanding.

I understand that 337 applications have been received; 176 have been settled; and 161 are still under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply of 28 October, Official Report, c. 541, whether he has yet replied to the request he received from the Merseyside police committee for a public inquiry into the use of CS gas in Toxteth in July 1981; and if he will publish his reply in the Official Report.

I hope that it will be possible for a reply to be sent to the committee shortly. I shall arrange for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when the committee have received my reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilians were injured during the Toxteth disturbances in July 1981; and how many injuries were serious and how many were minor.

There is no means of recording this information comprehensively, since members of the public are not required to report injuries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to issue guidelines to local authorities in England and Wales setting out the new arrangements for administering grant-aid under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966.

My Department has today issued a circular to local authorities in England and Wales setting out the new guidelines on section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966. A copy of the circular has been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether any conclusions have been reached on the sale of houses by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

Yes. I am pleased to be able to announce that the authority sees scope to reduce its housing stock by selling houses to employees who are already tenants at Harwell, Culham, Risley and Winfrith. The authority will shortly be inviting applications and sales will take place as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a list of material unaccounted for at each nuclear fuels establishment during each year since 1977.

[pursuant to his answer, 11 November, c. 267]: The information is as follows:

BNFL Springfields
Year	Plutonium Kg (T)	HEU Kg U235	LEU Kg U	Natural U te U	Depleted U te U
1977–78	Not Applicable	*	+249	-9·7	-0·9
1978–79	Not Applicable	*	-897	-6·8	-20·0
1979–80	Not Applicable	*	-502	+1·1	+13·6
1980–81	Not Applicable	*	+115	-6·4	+10·4
1981–82	Not Applicable	*	-322	-1·6	+7·3

BNFL Sellafield
(Windscale prior to 1980–81)
Year	Plutonium Kg (T)	HEU Kg U235	LEU Kg U	Natural U te U	Depleted U te U
1977–78	+24·1	-3·1	+1	+0·065	+8
1978–79	+20·2	+0·2	-6·6	-0·010	+19
1979–80	+5·5	-1·4	-2·7	+0·6	-2
1980–81	-9·9	+0·5	+3·1	-0·1	+3
1981–82	-10·5	-0·1	-1·8	-0·4	-19·7

BNFL Capenhurst
Year	tonnes U
1977–78	+3·7
1978–79	-3·0
1979–80	+0·3
1980–81	+2·5
1981–82	-0·4

AEA—Winfrith
Year	Plutonium Kg (T)	HEU Kg U235	LEU Kg U	Natural U te U	Depleted U te U
1977–78	+0·2	-0·6	+0·1	+0·011	-0·013
1978–79	+0·3	-0·1	-0·1	+0·019	+0·001
1979–80	+0·1	*	-0·4	-0·019	Nil
1980–81	+0·4	-0·2	-23·9	-0·003	Nil
1981–82	+0·3	*	-1·7	-0·008	Nil

AEA—Windscale
Year	Plutonium Kg (T)	HEU Kg U235	LEU Kg U	Natural U te U	Depleted U te U
1977–78	*	+0·3	-25·3	+0·116	-0·303
1978–79	-0·2	+0·1	-0·5	+0·082	+0·073
1979–80	-0·2	-0·7	+3·5	+0·020	-0·014
1980–81	+0·6	-0·1	+1·8	+0·036	+0·002
1981–82	+0·3	-0·3	+1·7	-0·004	+0·009

AEA—Harwell
Year	Plutonium Kg (T)	HEU Kg U235	LEU Kg U	Natural U te U	Depleted U te U
1977–78	+0·2	-0·4	-5·7	+0·007	+0·001
1978–79	*	*	-0·1	+0·107	*
1979–80	-0·1	*	*	+0·018	-0·007
1980–81	+0·2	-0·1	*	-0·015	-0·003
1981–82	-0·2	*	-0·1	+0·005	+0·006

AEA—Springfields
Year	Plutonium Kg (T)	HEU Kg U235	LEU Kg U	Natural U te U	Depleted U te U
1977–78	Not Applicable	-0·2	-2·6	-0·146	-0·089
1978–79		-0·1	+10·5	+0·480	+0·179
1979–80		*	+9·8	+0·238	+0·028
1980–81		+0·1	+9·5	-0·150	-0·004
1981–82		*	+14·9	+0·016	-0·019

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will list the reports published by each of the Select

Date of
Committee	Report	Publication	Government Observations
Agriculture	First	23 July 1982	November 1982
	Second	21 October 1982	—
Defence	First	18 March 1982	10 June 1982
	Second	22 July 1982	6 October 1982
Education, Etc.	First	*7 December 1981	1 February 1982
	Second	16 February	11 May 1982
	Third	8 March 1982	29 June 1982
	Fourth	*15 March 1982	23 July 1982
	Fifth	* 26 July	11 August 1982
	Sixth	29 July 1982	—
	Seventh	7 August 1982	8 November 1982
	Eighth	19 October 1982	—
	Ninth	28 October 1982	—
Employment	First	*19 November 1981	31 March 1982
	Second	*18 December 1981	27 October 1982
	Third	*18 February 1982	21 April 1982
	Fourth	*19 June 1982	23 June 1982
	Fifth	*26 June 1982	—
	Sixth	*15 July 1982	10 November 1982
Energy	First	15 February 1982	Not appropriate
	Second	11 March 1982	27 May 1982
	Third	18 May 1982	Submitted but not yet published
	Fourth	27 May 1982	Not appropriate
	Fifth	1 July 1982	—
Environment	First	8 September 1982	—
	Second	9 September 1982	—

The information is as follows:

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will list the number of formal evidence sessions for each of the departmental Select Committees in each Session since their inception.

The information is as follows:

Committee	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Agriculture	16	16	14
Defence	23	21	26
Education, Science and Arts	20	36	30
Employment	21	25	23
Energy	25	19	18
Environment	11	2	13
Foreign Affairs	22	14	20
Sub-Committee	15	9	10
Home Affairs	18	12	15
Sub-Committee	23	17	13
Industry and Trade	24	19	18
Scottish Affairs	18	18	15
Social Services	13	35	23
Transport	30	19	18
Treasury and Civil Service	23	12	22
Sub-Committee	10	7	19
Welsh Affairs	21	28	24

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will set out for each Session since their establishment the number of meetings held by each departmental Select Committee and their sub-committees and the number of pages of (a) evidence, and (b) reports each has so far produced.

The information is as follows:

Committee	Number of meetings	Number of pages of Evidence	Reports
Session 1979–80
Agriculture	34	479	34
Defence	43	289	32
Education, Science and Arts	45	898	135
Employment	32	551	25
Energy	35	463	0
Environment	37	78	13
Foreign Affairs	43	526	115
Sub-Committee	23	501	—
Home Affairs	32	458	60
Sub-Committee	34	226	—
Industry and Trade	31	162	11
Scottish Affairs	36	652	73
Social Services	34	1,733	199
Transport	45	229	28
Treasury and Civil Service	45	722	32
Sub-Committee	21	107	—
Welsh Affairs	36	646	53
Session 1980–81
Agriculture	24	507	61
Defence	40	763	48
Education, Science and Arts	44	232	22
Employment	33	833	67
Energy	40	1,175	104
Environment	24	478	91
Foreign Affairs	38	759	230
Sub-Committee	30	629	—
Home Affairs	30	354	155
Sub-Committee	35	1,330	—
Industry and Trade	38	1,304	122
Scottish Affairs	33	344	60
Social Services	35	1,343	141
Transport	34	925	114
Treasury and Civil Service	39	1,041	189
Sub-Committee	14	116	—
Welsh Affairs	35	810	109

Committee	Number of meetings	Number of pages of Evidence	Reports
Session 1981–82
Agriculture	23	436	51
Defence	40	919	68
Education, Science and Arts	51	1,783	357
Employment	30	399	36
Energy	40	1,705	101
Environment	25	547	84
Foreign Affairs	36	186	44
Sub-Committee	34	119	—
Home Affairs	28	326	124
Sub-Committee	22	606	—
Industry and Trade	31	590	49
Scottish Affairs	36	997	145
Social Services	39	788	163
Transport	30	1,090	220
Treasury and Civil Service	34	723	126
Sub-Committee	25	1,199	—
Welsh Affairs	29	676	37

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what was the total cost of financing and administering each Select Committee for 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81 and 1981–82.

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

asked the Lord President of the Council which of the reports of the departmental Select Committees have been debated in the House; which reports have been mentioned on the Order Paper as relevant to a debate; and what percentage of the total number of reports published each of these represents.

The following Reports have been the subject of specific motions debated in the House:

Second Report of the Home Affairs Committee, 1979–80, Race Relations and the 'Sus' law.

Second Report of the Social Services Committee, 1979–80, Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality.

Fourth Report of the Social Services Committee, 1980–81, Medical Education.

This represents two per cent. of reports made.In addition, the First Report of the Committee on Welsh Affairs of Session 1979–80 on the role of the Welsh Office and associated bodies in developing employment opportunities in Wales was debated on a motion for the Adjournment of the House on 22 January 1981 and the First Report of the Committee on Energy of Session 1980–81 on the nuclear power programme was debated on a motion for the Adjournment of the House on 1 February 1982.In addition to the above, the following Reports have been referred to on the Order Paper as relevant to a debate:

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will list in the Official Report, the total cost of specialist advisers for each of the departmental Select Committees for each Session since their formation, the total number of days for which these advisers were paid, the per diem allowances for these advisers, and the number who are employed on a full-time basis.

The information is being assembled and I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Lord President of the Council what is the percentage attendance rate of hon. Members for each of the departmental Select Committees; and what is the percentage turnover of hon. Members on each of these Committees for each Session since their inception.

The information is as follows

Session 1979–80	Attendance per cent.	Turnover per cent.
Agriculture	84	0
Defence	72	0
Education, Science and Arts	71	0
Employment	74	0
Energy	71	9
Environment	69	18
Foreign Affairs	81	0
Sub-Committee	45	25
Home Affairs	92	0
Sub-Committee	89	20
Industry and Trade	84	0
Scottish Affairs	86	0
Social Services	73	11
Transport	73	0
Treasury and Civil Service	92	0
Sub-Committee	75	14
Welsh Affairs	81	12

Session 1980–81	Attendance per cent.	Turnover per cent.
Agriculture	77	33
Defence	72	9
Education, Science and Arts	68	0
Employment	69	22
Energy	66	9
Environment	67	18
Foreign Affairs	69	18
Sub-Committee	75	17
Home Affairs	84	18
Sub-Committee	89	0
Industry and Trade	81	9
Scottish Affairs	78	31
Social Services	66	22
Transport	69	9
Treasury and Civil Service	88	18
Sub-Committee	73	14
Welsh Affairs	75	0

Session 1981–82	Attendance per cent.	Turnover per cent.
Agriculture	80	11
Defence	75	27
Education, Science and Arts	72	11
Employment	70	22
Energy	54	9
Environment	71	64
Foreign Affairs	84	18
Sub-Committee	84	33
Home Affairs	75	0
Sub-Committee	87	0
Industry and Trade	71	9
Scottish Affairs	74	38
Social Services	70	11
Transport	74	9
Treasury and Civil Service	85	57
Sub-Committee	61	14
Welsh Affairs	76	18

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will list in the Official Report the names of the specialist advisers to each of the departmental Select Committees; and what fees are paid to them.

The names of the specialist advisers who are assisting or have assisted departmental select committees are as follows:

Agriculture—Professor D. Britton, Mr. E. Neville-Rolfe, Professor C. Spedding, Professor John Ashton, Professor A. J. F. Webster.

Defence—Brigadier K. Hunt, Rear-Admiral E. F. Gueritz, Air Vice-Marshal R. Harding, Professor L. Freedman, Mr. Henry James, Mr. C. Pincher, Mr. S. Jenkins and Mrs. V. Adams.

Education, Science and Arts—Mr. M. Lightfoot, Mr. J. Myerscough, Professor W. Brammer, Dr. J. Crichton Campbell, Mr. A. Travers, Mr. A. C. Morris, Mr. M. Shattock, Mr. S. Heaven, Dr. J. F. Harbinson, Dr. S. Worrell, and Mr. P. Shea, Mr. J. Dawson, Professor Vickery, Mr. C. Rainbow, Dr. P. Andrews, Mr. P. Mann, Mr. A. Garrett, Mr. D. Dougan.

Employment—Dr. K. Ewing, Professor B. Harvey, Mr. I. Hudson, Mr. H. Scholes, Mr. G. Warnock, Dr. P. M. McCormick, Mr. R. Lewis.

Energy—Mr. J. Chesshire, Mr. J. Surrey, Professor W. Murgatroyd, Professor P. O'Sullivan, Mr. W. Orchard, Mr. A. Kemp, Mr. G. Manners, Mr. H. Gott, Professor D. Burn, Dr. N. Dombey.

Environment—Mr. J. Stevenson, Mr. A. Murie, Mr. D. Webster, Mr. V. Watts, Mr. A. Bovaird, Mr. M. Harloe, Dr. C. Whitehead, Dr. K. Young.

Foreign AffairsMr. D. Watt, Mrs. J. Statler, Mr. G. White, Dr. A. J. Payne, Dr. C. Clarke, Dr. D. Browning, Dr. W. Little, Sir Melvyn Rosser, Professor J. M. Hirst, Mr. N. Clark, Mrs. C. Geldart, Dr. K. Dawisha, Mrs. N. Crawshaw, Brigadier F. Henn, Dr. J. Finnis, Dr. G. Hills, Professor C. Elliott, Dr. P. Howell, Mr. A. Bottrall, Mr. J. Cathie, Mr. J. Mitchell, Dr. P. Mosley, Mr. J. Stephen, Dr. C. K. Colclough, Mr. G. Bridger.

Home Affairs—None.

Industry and Trade—Mr. J. J. Boyd Barrett, Mr. T. A. J. Cockerill, Mr. G. Firth, Mr. J. M. Jamieson, Mr. D. G. Rhys, Mr. A. G. Thorne.

Scottish Affairs—Mr. M. Maclennan, Mr. D. Heald, Ms. D. Dawson, Mr. J. M. Ross, Mr. J. B. More, Professor L. C. Hunter, Mr. A. McGregor, Professor D. I. Mackay, Mr. A. Mackay, Professor T. Carbery.

Social Services—Professor E. O. R. Reynolds, Professor R. Beard, Professor E. Alberman, Professor R. Klein, Mr. M. O'Higgins, Mr. K. Shuttleworth, Professor T. Clark, Professor J. Parkhouse, Mr. N. Hendry, Dr. S. Engleman, Mr. M. Fogarty, Mr. H. Billing.

Transport—Mr. W. R. Shirrefs, Dr. S. Glaister, Mr. A. Bull, Professor A. D. May.

Treasury and Civil Service—Dr. P. G. Neild, Mr. T. S. Ward, Mr. P. A. Ormerod, Mr. D. Savage, Dr. P. W. Robinson, Mr. J. A. Likierman, Professor B. Tew, Professor J. Williamson, Dr. D. K. H. Begg, Professor W. H. Buiter, Mr. J. A. Kay, Professor A. B. Atkinson, Mrs. H. Parker, Dr. A. Budd, Professor H. Rose, Professor D. Hendry, Professor M. Miller, Mr. P. J. Butler, Mr. M. Stonefrost, Mr. B. Henry, Mr. C. Johnson, Professor M. Beesley, Mr. D. Heald, Mr. M. Marks, Mr. J. Redwood, Mr. W. Plowden, Mr. R. Matthews, Mr. N. Hepworth.

Welsh Affairs—Mr. J. G. Lloyd, Professor R. Macve, Mr. D. R. Thomas, Mr. W. D. Jones, Professor D. Morris, Mr. B. Moore, Mr. J. Rhodes, Mr. J. J. Boyd-Barnett, Mr. F. H. Wise.

Specialist advisers are remunerated on a per diem basis which varies between £22 and £70. Individual rates are not disclosed.

asked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough, as representing the House of Commons Commission, how many visits have been made by each of the Departmental Select Committees (a) abroad and (b) within the United Kingdom in each Session since their appointment; and what was the cost of such visits to each Committee.

The information is being assembled and I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will list the number of memorandums presented to each of the departmental Select Committees for each Session since their appointment by central Government Departments.

The information is as follows:

Committee	Number of memorandums
	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Agriculture	10	9	18
Defence	32	31	17
Education, Science and Arts	21	24	35
Employment	4	5	4
Energy	18	11	17
Environment	3	6	9
Foreign Affairs	51	53	49
Sub-Committee	25	37	28
Home Affairs	8	11	9
Sub-Committee	2	24	23
Industry and Trade	65	34	54
Scottish Affairs	12	12	24
Social Services	17	10	20
Transport	9	12	18
Treasury and Civil Service (including Sub-Committee)*	33	43	71
Welsh Affairs	5	5	11

asked the Lord President of the Council (1) to what extent the redundancy scheme for hon. Members would be improved or worsened, and at what costs to the Exchequer, if their scheme was placed on the same basis as that in operation for the registered London dock workers.;(2) whether he will propose that Members of Parliament should receive the same or similar types of severance pay as those announced by the Department of Education and Science on 4 November, for teachers and lecturers.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 18 October.—[Vol. 29, c. 23.] It is not valid to compare the arrangements for severance pay for hon. Members with any redundancy scheme which may be available for registered dock workers, as the circumstances are completely different.

asked the hon. Member for Middlesbrough as representing the House of Commons Commission, what is the policy of the Commission regarding the choice of airline for hon. Members and officials of the House travelling on official Parliamentary business.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 November 1982, c. 74.]: The Commission has laid down no specific policy on this matter, but Select Committees and House delegations to international Assemblies are expected to travel on British airlines whenever possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment in the East Midlands among the following groups (a) men, (b) women and (c) 16 to 18-year-olds; and what was the corresponding figure for 1979.

The following table gives the numbers registered as unemployed in the East Midlands region for the groups specified at October 1979 and October 1982.

	October 1979	October 1982
Male	51,413	138,329
Female	22,347	56,205
Aged 18 and under (included in previous columns)	9,569	27,064

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the most recent figure for the level of unemployment among 18 and 19-year-olds; and what was the corresponding figure for 1979.

At October 1982, the number of people aged 18 and 19 years registered as unemployed in the United Kingdom was 381,282. The corresponding number at October 1979 was 135,998.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the latest percentage level of unemployment in each of the following travel-to-work areas, together with the comparable percentages for November 1979: (a) Liverpool, (b) Birmingham, (c) Leeds, (d) Manchester and (e) Sheffield.

The following is the information for November 1979 and October 1982, the latest available.

Travel-to-work area	Percentage rate of unemployment
	November 1979	October 1982
Liverpool	12·3	20·2
Birmingham	6·2	18·0
Leeds	5·0	13·2
Manchester	5·4	14·5
Sheffield	4·8	14·5

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on (a) male and (b) female unemployment for the Liverpool, Scotland Exchange constituency as shown in the 1981 census returns.

The results for the 1981 census of population for the Liverpool, Scotland Exchange constituency show that substantial proportions of economically active men and women living in the constituency are unemployed. The high incidence of unemployment among those living in the constituency confirms my Department's knowledge about the pattern of unemployment in the Liverpool travel-to-work area, in which the constituency lies. As the census data do not identify those registered for employment and are based on place of residence, the proportions calculated from the census data are not comparable with the unemployment rates for travel-to-work areas published by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what he estimates will be the impact on unemployment statistics in the calendar year 1983 of (a) his youth training scheme, (b) the Manpower Services Commission schemes for the long-term unemployed and (c) the dropping from the register of unemployed of those without entitlement to benefit.

We estimate that at 31 December 1983 the effect on unemployment statistics of these three measures will be as follows:

(a) The youth training scheme (including residual elements of the youth opportunities programme): approximately 250,000.

(b) The community programme: approximately 100,000.

(c) Forecasts are not made of the unemployed, whether or not they are entitled to benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons have been unemployed for longer than (a) six months and (b) 12 months in the United Kingdom, and in the Bishop Auckland constituency; and if he will give the corresponding figures for May 1979, October 1980 and October 1981, the increase each year in percentage terms and the total increase in percentage terms between May 1979 and the present time.

[pursuant to his reply, 9 November 1982, c. 124–25.]: The latest figures, which are for October, are not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when, and for what reason, Mr. Samy Zalabany, an Egyptian citizen, of Widmore Drive, Hemel Hempstead, was granted a work permit; and when this matter was most recently reviewed.

My Department has no record of the issue of a work permit in respect of Mr. Zalabany, or of receiving an application for one.

Lewis asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons from the Asian subcontinent were refused work permits in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years.

The number of refusals under the work permit scheme for nationals of the countries of Indian subcontinent was as follows:

	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981
India	81	49	52	61	26
Pakistan	42	40	33	43	16
Bangladesh	20	18	31	13	7
Sri Lanka	42	43	13	21	8
Totals	185	150	129	138	57

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to be able to assess the results of the current pilot trials for the enterprise allowance scheme and consider whether to extend the scheme to other towns.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply of 25 October to the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Wainwright).—[Vol. 29, c. 294.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether anyone from Merseyside attended the courses offered to ex-psychiatric patients at the employment rehabilitation centre at Egham, Leicester and Sheffield.

No psychiatric patients from Merseyside attended courses at the employment rehabilitation centres at Egham, Leicester and Sheffield as there is a centre at Liverpool, which provides similar facilities. Ex-psychiatric patients from Merseyside who need residential provision are catered for at Preston ERC.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average level of pay settlements (a) in the textile and clothing industry and (b) in all industries in 1981–82.

The information required is not available. My Department does not monitor pay settlements comprehensively or in detail.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people were engaged on youth opportunities programme schemes at the latest available date; and what was the figure for November 1979.

It is estimated that there were 265,000 places filled by young people on the youth opportunities programme at the end of October 1982, the latest date for which figures are available. There were 95,000 places filled by young people at the end of November 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if school leavers with special educational needs, including mentally handicapped pupils and young people, will be admitted to the proposed new training schemes and in particular the new training initiative on an equal basis with their non-handicapped peers.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how much money has been given through the Manpower Services Commission for work with women's refuges in each year since 1979; and what is the number and nature of the projects for which money has been given.

A substantial number of projects involving work with women's refuges received support under successive special employment programmes for adults and may continue to do under the new community programme. Projects under these programmes are locally controlled and comprehensive information is not available centrally about the numbers of employees or sums of money involved. I will write to the right hon. Member about the the type of work undertaken.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will give the age and sex breakdown of the unemployment figures for (a) Wolverhampton and (b) the West Midlands at the last available date; and what are the comparable figures for the same period in 1979, 1980 and 1981;(2) how many

[pursuant to his replies, 8 November 1982, c. 76.]: The latest figures, which are for October, are not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been found for the long-term unemployed under the community programme; and over what period.

[pursuant to his reply, 10 November 1982, c. 159.]: I regret that the number of temporary jobs already approved under the community programme is 4,041 and not 40,041 as stated in my previous reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, further to the Government's welcome for the charter for the 1980s for disabled people world-wide, how many disabled people are involved in the preparation of plans in his Department for rehabilitation and training of the disabled; if he will indicate the policy of his Department in this regard; and if he will make a statement.