Written Answers

                    The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.
                

Written Answers To Questions

Thursday 2 December 1982

Scotland

Black Report

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on any action he proposes to take in Scotland following the publication of the Black report on inequalities in health.

My Department was not involved in the preparation or publication of this report and I do not consider that any action is called for on my part. I would however expect that some of the general issues identified in that report in relation to the health care needs of different groups in the community will be considered by health boards in assessing their priorities in accordance with the recommendations of the report "Scottish Health Authorities Priorities for the Eighties" by the Scottish health service planning council.

Office Floor Space

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the amount of office floor space constructed in Scotland for each year since 1975.

I regret that this informaton is not held centrally.

Trade

Laker Group

asked the Minister for Trade what information he has as to the amounts owing to people holding scheduled flight tickets sold by the Laker Group; and whether any of the amounts owing have been repaid by Mr. Rowland of Lonrho Ltd.

I am informed by the receivers that just under 17,000 people held scheduled tickets on Skytrain with a total value estimated at £3·85 million. Some of them were able to use their return coupons with other airlines. How many remain with unused coupons is not yet known. I have no information on Mr. Rowland's plans to repay ticket-holders.

Nickel

asked the Minister for Trade if there exists any tariff or quota on the importation of nickel or nickel products into the United Kingdom.

There are no quantitative restrictions on the importation of nickel and nickel products into the United Kingdom. Imports from other member States and the EFTA countries are free of customs duty. The customs duties chargeable on imports originating in the countries which do not have preferential arrangements with the Community are as follows:

Tariff Heading 1	Description 2	Rate of Duty 3 Per cent.
75·01	Nickel mattes, nickel speiss and other intermediate products of nickel metallurgy; unwrought nickel (excluding electro-plating anodes); nickel waste and scrap	Free
75·02	Wrought bars, rods, angles, shapes and sections, of nickel; nickel wire	5·4
75·03	Wrought plates, sheets and strip, of nickel; nickel foil; nickel powders and flakes:
	A. Plates, sheets, strip and foil	6·2
	B. Powders and flakes	0·5
75·04	Tubes and pipes and blanks therefor, of nickel; hollow bars, and tube and pipe fittings (for example, joints, elbows, sockets and flanges), of nickel:
	A. Tubes and pipes and blanks therefor; hollow bars	7
	B. Tube and pipe fittings	4·6
75·05	Electro-plating anodes, of nickel, wrought or unwrought, including those produced by electrolysis:
	A. Not prepared beyond casting	3·7
	B. Other	4·6
75·06	Other Articles of nickel:
	A. Nails, tacks, staples, hook-nails spiked cramps, studs, spikes and the like; bolts, nuts, screws and similar articles; washers and spring washers:
	I. Screws, nuts, rivets and washers turned from bars, rods, angles, shapes, sections of wire, of solid section, of a shank thickness or hole diameter not exceeding 6mm	4·1
	II. Other	4·6
	B. Other	5·8

The main exceptions are goods imported from the other member states or from the EFTA countries which are free of customs duty.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

asked the Minister for Trade (1) if he will list in the Official Report the members appointed to each non-departmental advisory body associated with his Department, stating in each case the fees or salaries paid and the full-time and other known part-time appointments held;(2) if he will list in the

Official Report the members appointed to each non-departmental executive body associated with his Department, stating in each case the fees or salaries paid and the full-time and other known part-time appointments held.

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

asked the Minister for Trade when he last conducted an overall review of the National Consumer Council in accordance with the requirement laid down in section 7 of "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: A Guide for Departments"; on what grounds he decided to retain the body; and what areas for savings in finance and manpower were identified.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1982, c. 61]: The council has 16 members at present and, together with its Scottish and Welsh subsidiaries, employs 51 staff. It meets 10 times a year. Its grant-in-aid amounted to £1·086 million in 1981–82.A review of the council in 1981 confirmed its continuing role in the representation of consumer interests. Its modest size and wide remit limit the scope for savings; but its grant-in-aid is subject to tight financial and manpower controls.

asked the Minister for Trade when he last conducted an overall review of the British Hallmarking Council in accordance with the requirement laid down in section 7 of "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: A Guide for Departments"; on what grounds he decided to retain the body; and what areas for savings in finance and manpower were identified.

[pursuant to his reply, 29 November 1982, c. 62]: The council meets three or four times a year. Its staff consists of one part-time secretary. Its costs, which amounted to £14,208 in 1981, are wholly met by the assay offices. Under the Hallmarking Act 1973, my right hon. and noble Friend appoints 10 of its members. It has 17 members at present whose appointments expire on 31 December. Reappointments and new appointments by my right hon. and noble Friend will be announced shortly.We reviewed the council in July, and concluded that the duties laid on it by the Hallmarking Act could not be better performed in other ways.

asked the Minister for Trade when last he received written advice from the Insurance Advisory Panel; and what action he has taken as a result.

[pursuant to his reply, 1 December 1982, c. 205–6]: The panel of insurance advisers was set up in March 1976 to advise the Secretary of State on the exercise of his powers under the Insurance Companies Act 1974 and, in particular, to identify potential danger areas in good time so that action could be taken to prevent crises developing. There are at present 17 advisers, with one vacancy. Those appointed cover a wide range of the insurance field with some advisers from the insurance trade unions as well as people from the companies, Lloyd's, brokers and representatives of policyholders' interests.Though there have been two meetings of the panel to discuss general policy issues—in May 1976 and in January 1979—it does not provide collective advice, written or oral. The advisers are usually consulted individually about matters within their own particular expertise and experience and their advice is taken into consideration in relation to the exercise of the Secretary of State's responsibilities under the Insurance Companies Acts.Appointments, which are unpaid, are made by the Secretary of State. No direct expenditure has been incurred in relation to the advisers since 1978–79. The fact that the panel seldom meets collectively means, for example, that it does not require a secretariat. A modest amount of routine expenditure is incurred by my officials in consulting the advisers individually, but it is not possible to estimate this separately from the total costs of officials' activities.

France (Alcoholic Beverages)

asked the Minister for Trade whether he will outline the representations which he has made to the Government of France regarding their new law applying a discriminatory levy on alcoholic beverages above 25 per cent. volume; and whether he is considering any retaliatory action on French exports of alcohol below 25 per cent. volume to the United Kingdom.

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

Companies (Political Donations)

asked the Minister for Trade if he will consider amending the Companies Act 1967 to make the disclosure of political donations by unlimited companies mandatory; and if he will make a statement.

Section 19 of the Companies Act 1967 already obliges an unlimited company to include in the directors' report which it is required to lay before its shareholders in general meeting certain particulars of political contributions made during the financial year. I have no plans to change the general exemption for unlimited companies—in section 1 of the Companies Act 1976—from the requirement to deliver to the registrar copies of documents required to be comprised in the accounts.

European Community

asked the Minister for Trade (1) what was the total value of exports of manufactured goods to the original six members of the Common Market in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; what were the comparable figures in the comparable period in 1973; if he will provide figures of imports of manufactured goods from the six member States in each period, respectively; and if he will express each total as a percentage of total United Kingdom exports and imports of manufactured goods;(2) what was the ratio of exports to imports of manufactured goods for the original six European Economic Commission members and for the rest of the European Economic Community respectively, in the most recent annual period for which figures are available.

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

Industry

Support For Innovation Scheme

asked the Secretary of State for Industry how many successful applications there have been within the support for innovation scheme; and what were the respective manufacturing sectors.

Since the inception of support for innovation in May 1982 through the merger of the product and process development scheme with the research and development support available from the Department's R and D requirements boards and the various special schemes promoting new technologies, 502 offers of support, amounting to £40 million have been made towards R and D projects.Of these 502 projects supported approximately 20 per cent. were for R and D projects in the mechanical and electrical engineering industries, 7 per cent. in the automation instrumentation and control industries, 6 per cent. in the electronics, computer and telecommunications industries and 12 per cent. to the chemicals, textiles, footwear and paper industries, 30 per cent. were for microelectronics applications in all sectors, 9 per cent. for robotics and 8 per cent. for software product development.In addition to assistance in R and D projects support is also available within the general scope of support for innovation for other activities such as consultancy, technical enquiries, training and awareness, demonstrations and so on, but it is not possible, without disproportionate cost, to produce comprehensive information on the numbers of applicants who benefited from this support.

Grants paid by Department of Industry: £'000
	Yorkshire and Humberside	Grant per head of population	Scotland	Grant per head of population	Wales	Grant per head of population
		£		£		£
1972–73^*	842	·17	6,169	1·18	905	·33
1973–74	4,609	·94	37,416	7·18	15,313	5·57
1974–75	11,460	2·34	65,342	12·52	32,218	11·68
1975–76	18,071	3·69	99,404	19·09	47,052	17·01
1976–77^†	23,515	4·81	108,195	20·79	62, 359	22·53
1977–78^‡	31,200	6·40	105,006	20·21	70,400	25·43
1978–79	46,200	9·47	107,344	20·72	71,500	25·77
1979–80	39,800	8·15	70,168	13·58	50,663	18·26
1980–81	53,000	10·85	113,265	21·98	103,475	37·26
1981–82	61,800	12·65	142,739	27·70	122,171	43·99

^* The figures for years 1972–73 to 1975–76 comprise regional development grant paid under Part I of the Industry Act 1972 and shipbuilding grants paid under Part III of the Act.

^† The figures for year 1976–77 comprise regional development grant only. (Figures for the years prior to 1977–78 for selective financial assistance are expressed in terms of offers made and are not available in grant paid form.)

^‡ The figures for years 1977–78 to 1981–82 comprise regional development grant and selective financial assistance (under Part II of the Industry Act 1972) for Yorkshire and Humberside; and regional development grant only for Scotland and Wales, responsibility for selective financial assistance in Scotland and Wales having been transferred to their respective Secretaries of State with effect from 1 July 1975.

Car Component Suppliers

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Meriden on 25 November, if he is satisfied that United Kingdom-based automotive components suppliers who have lost business to imported components are still benefiting from the special assistance the Government have made available to BL.

Yes. BL sourced some 90 per cent. of its total requirements form United Kingdom suppliers in 1981. BL remains ready to buy from United Kingdom suppliers where they are competitive on price, quality and delivery.

Loan Guarantee Scheme

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will instigate a sample survey to establish the number of jobs created as a result of the loan guarantee scheme.

In the two sample telephone surveys conducted by the Department of Industry, the interviewers attempted to assess the increase in employment in those firms sampled as a result of the loan guarantee scheme. The results of the first survey were published in July of this year and copies were placed in the Library of the House.

Grants

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) what has been the total amount of grants from his Department to the Yorkshire and Humberside region in the last 20 years or since records have been kept;(2) if he will show the total amount of grants from his Department to

(a) the Yorkshire and Humberside region, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales by year since 1959; and if he will express these figures in terms of group income per head of the population.

To provide all the information requested (if it is available) would require a disproportionate amount of effort. The following table shows only what can readily be extracted from the annual report on the Industry Act 1972.The information is as follows:I hope to be in a position to publish the results of the second telephone survey shortly. However, it must be recognised that there is a considerable degree of uncertainty in assessing the job creation impact of the scheme at this early stage and also in isolating the effect of the scheme from other factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish details of the claims made by each participating bank, under the loan guarantee scheme, for each month since its start in 1981.

As with details of guarantees issued to individual participating banks, details of claims made by each of the banks are subject to commercial confidentiality. I regret that I am therefore unable to provide the figures requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish the income received and the payment made to banks by his Department in the financial year 1981–82 and to the most convenient date in 1982–83 under the loan guarantee scheme.

The latest figures requested, on a comparable basis, are as follows:

	Premium income (£'000)	Payments on called guarantees (£'000)
1 June 1981 to 31 March 1982	735	208
1 April 1982 to 31 October 1982	1,960	3,295

The Department has also received a small amount in respect of realised security; further recoveries from those cases where the guarantee has been called are likely, although the amounts involved will be relatively small. The amount received in premium income for November 1982 is not yet available but further payments have been authorised in November to meet claims, which accounts for the figure of £4·5 million I reported to the House in the debate on 26 November 1982.

Marine Engineering

asked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he has now received the consultants' study of marine engineering capacity in the United Kingdom commissioned by him recently; and if he will make a statement.

I am at present considering the consultants' report on public sector engine capacity. This raises a number of complex issues, and it will be sometime before I am able to report to the House on it.

Sale Of National Products

asked the Secretary of State for Industry what are the implications for his Department of the European Court decision on 29 November regarding campaigns to promote the sale of national products.

The judgment referred to has only very recently been given and its details are still being considered. My Department has not, however, been engaged in the kind of activities carried out by the Irish Government which were the subject of this case, nor is there a body in this country similar to the Irish goods council.

Telecommunications Industry

asked the Secretary of State for Industry if it is his intention that the Telecommunications Bill should allow special arrangements within the proposed office of telecommunications in order to ensure that smaller firms are able to take advantage of opportunities to participate in the expansion of the telecommunication industry.

Small firms are particularly well placed to take advantage of the Government's policy of liberalising the supply of telecommunications apparatus and services and are already doing so. My right hon. Friend has given approval for various items of apparatus made by small firms to be sold to the public for connection to British Telecommunications' networks, and small firms may take advantage of the general licence for value added network services. I am making arrangements for counsellors participating in the Department's Small Firms Service to give expert advice to small firms on how they may take advantage of liberalisation.I do not envisage additional special arrangements for small firms within the Office of Telecommunications. The Bill will, however, make better provision for the promotion of competition in telecommunications from which small firms can only benefit, and clause 49(1) of the Bill empowers the Secretary of State to give the Director General directions to have regard to such considerations as the desirability of promoting the interests of small firms when carrying out his functions.

Japan And United States (Investment And Employment)

asked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will initiate an inquiry into the reasons why the percentage of direct investment from Japan to the European Economic Community which came to the United Kingdom has fallen since 1 January 1973;(2) what was the percentage of Japanese direct investment in the European Economic Community which took place in the United Kingdom in 1981; and when the percentage of European Economic Community direct investment by Japan in the United Kingdom was last at its current percentage level;(3) what was the total amount of net United States direct investment in the United Kingdom in 1981; and what percentage of United States direct investment in European Economic Community manufacturing industry this total represents;(4) what is the latest total of people employed by Japanese controlled manufacturing enterprises in the United Kingdom; and what percentage of the United Kingdom employment in manufacturing industry this total represents.

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

Energy

Domestic Supplies (Disconnections)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many consumers of area gas boards or regional electricity boards were disconnected for debt during the quarters ended 31 March, 30 June and 30 September.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 May—[Vol 23, c. 340]—concerning the quarter ended 31 March. Following the revisions to the code of practice and the monitoring arrangements agreed between the industries and the consumers councils I have asked the chairmen of the British Gas Corporation and the Electricity Council to provide the later information direct to the hon. Member.

Plutonium

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the United Kingdom Government provide figures for civil plutonium production to the International Atomic Energy Authority under the tripartite safeguards agreement broken down into weapons grade, fuel grade and reactor grade.

Figures for the production of civil plutonium are provided to Euratom and to the International Atomic Energy Agency under the terms of the UK/ Euratom/IAEA Safeguards Agreement (Cmnd. 6730). The agreement requrires reports on nuclear material, including special fissionable material. Plutonium is a special fissionable material and it is reported in terms of its total weight. It is not broken down into grades.

Coal Industry

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether his policy of selling nationalised industries will apply to the coal industry.

The Government are committed to returning to the private sector activities that would be better carried out there. We have already identified a number of such activities and continue to look for others throughout the nationalised industries.

Wytch Farm (Sale)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy where and with whom he has had discussions concerning the sale of British Gas's share in Wytch Farm oilfield in Dorset; and when he expects the conclusion of these talks and the public offer for sale to be announced.

British Gas announced the public offer for sale of its 50 per cent. interest in PL 089, which includes the Wytch Farm oilfield, on 29 July 1982. The closing date for bids was 1 October 1982, and British Gas is currently assessing a number of bids for its interest. The negotiations are commercially confidential, and it would not be right for me to speculate on the outcome while they are still in progress. The Government are not directly involved in the negotiations, which are being conducted by British Gas, and I have had no discussions with any of the bidders concerning the sale whilst it has been in progress.

British Gas (Chairman)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will limit the pay rise, in money terms, of the chairman of British Gas to the average increase offered to workers in the gas industry.

In determining the pay of board members I take account of all relevant factors.

District Heating Systems (Oil Costs)

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the present average price per gallon of oil used in district heating systems.

Prices of petroleum products do not vary according to the circumstances of their end use; no specific price data are therefore available for heating oils delivered for use in district heating systems.Typical consumer prices, inclusive of duty, in mid-October 1982 for heating oils likely to be used in such systems are as follows:

	Pence per gallon
Burning oil (standard grade)	99·1
Gas oil (35 secs)	99·4

Note: In some cases actual prices paid may be cheaper by virtue of rebates granted to customers.

Opencast Coal

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will introduce legislation to raise the minimum distance from occupied dwellings at which opencast coal may be worked.

The Government are considering this matter in the light of the report of the Commission on Energy and the Environment on coal and the environment.

Fuel Prices

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report the percentage increase in (a) domestic gas prices and (b) domestic electricity prices, based on the relevant components of the retail price index between (i) February 1974 and May 1979 and (ii) May 1979 and October 1982.

The information requested is given in the following table:

	Percentage increase in the price for:
	(a) domestic gas	(b) domestic electricity
	per cent.	per cent.
19 February 1974 to 15 May 1979	72·8	169·6
15 May 1979 to 12 October 1982	97·7	82·6

Source: General Index of Retail Prices, Department of Employment.

Overseas Development

Laparoscopes (India)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received an official request from the Government of India for the supply of laparoscopes since 29 July.

Requests were received recently for the provision of laparoscopes for the States of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. They are now being discussed with the Indian authorities concerned.

Providenciales (Holiday Village)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the reply of the Minister for Overseas Development to the hon. Member for Basildon of 26 November, Official Report, c. 580, whether he is satisfied that the terms of the agreement between the Turks and Caicos Islands and Club Méditerranée are being observed; whether there is any provision in the contract for the reimbursement of British funds should the contract not be fulfilled; whether work has yet commenced on the holiday village on Providenciales; and if he will make a statement.

It is for the parties to the agreement in question, not the British Government, to satisfy themselves as to whether its terms are being observed or not. I am aware that the Turks and Caicos Islands Government are far from satisfied and are considering legal action. There is no specific provision in the agreement for the reimbursement of British funds should it not be fulfilled. There is, however, provision for either party to the agreement to refer any breach to arbitration, in which event it will be possible for damages arising out of such a breach to be claimed. Work has not yet started on the village.

Prime Minister

Engagements

Q4.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q5.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q8.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q9.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q10.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q11.

asked the Prime Minister whether she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q12.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q13.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q14.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q15.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q16.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q17.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q18.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q19.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q20.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q21.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q24.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q25.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q26.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q27.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q29.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q30.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q32.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q33.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q34.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q35.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official duties for Thursday 2 December.

Q36.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q37.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q38.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q40.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q41.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q42.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q43.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q44.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official duties for Thursday 2 December.

Q45.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q47.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q48.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q49.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q50.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q51.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

Q52.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q53.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q54.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q55.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 2 December.

Q57.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 2 December.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

Bank Of England (Governor)

Q6.

asked the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet the governor of the Bank of England.

Q23.

asked the Prime Minister when she next plans to meet the governor of the Bank of England.

Q31.

asked the Prime Minister when she next plans to meet the governor of the Bank of England.

Q39.

asked the Prime Minister when she next plans to meet the governor of the Bank of England.

Q58.

asked the Prime Minister when she next plans to meet the governor of the Bank of England.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Q7.

asked the Prime Minister what is the practice of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in informing crew members of the destinations of vessels in which they serve and of the likely duration of voyages.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to his similar question on 22 November by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces.

Confederation Of British Industry

Q22.

asked the Prime Minister when she next plans to meet the Confederation of British Industry.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Factory Closures

Q28.

asked the Prime Minister how many hon. Members she has met to discuss factory closures since she last answered oral questions; and how many job losses were involved.

One, and some 215.

Wisbech

Q46.

asked the Prime Minister whether she intends to pay an official visit to Wisbech.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Philippines

Q56.

asked the Prime Minister if she will ensure that no British aid is given by the Commonwealth Development Corporation to the Philippines until all intimidation of farmers ceases.

My right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development held a meeting on 29 November with a number of MPs and representatives of the Commonwealth Development Corporation, the British Council of Churches, the Catholic Institute for International Relations and other bodies who have expressed concern about the corporation's proposal to invest in an oil palm project in Mindanao. He undertook to consider the matter further and will reach a conclusion as soon as possible.

Joint Intelligence Committee

asked the Prime Minister if she will institute a formal investigation into how the classified standing Cabinet Office instruction on the confidentiality of the Joint Intelligence Committee, together with details of the committee's operation, was made available to The Times newspaper and published in part on Monday 29 November.

No.

Argentina

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 29 November, on what issues other than sovereignty Her Majesty's Government consider that negotiations with Argentina are unlikely to be productive.

There is no evidence to suggest that any bilateral negotiations with Argentina are likely to be productive at present.

Falkland Islands

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply on 29 November, by what means communications with the United States Government were maintained during the Falklands crisis; and why details of such communications remain confidential.

We communicated with the United States Government during the Falklands crisis through the usual means. The Government do not divulge details of confidential exchanges with other Governments.

Public Appointments

asked the Prime Minister how many women are on the list of persons available for public appointment.

There are 727 women on the central list held by the public appointments unit in the Management and Personnel Office. Specialised lists are also held in certain other Departments.

asked the Prime Minister what percentage of public appointments in the past year were drawn from the public appointments unit; and how many of these were (a) men and (b) women.

Records are not held in a form which would enable the information sought to be given without incurring disproportionate costs. The latest report from the Equal Opportunities Commission, however, showed that during 1981, the latest year for which figures are available, 23 per cent. of appointments made were of women. The public appointments unit loses no opportunity to increase the number of suitable women on its register and to put their names forward for consideration by appointing Ministers.

Mr Ian Smith (Talks)

asked the Prime Minister what subjects were discussed in her recent meeting with Mr. Ian Smith of the Republican Front of Zimbabwe.

This was a private meeting and I cannot reveal details of our discussion.

Employment

Unemployment Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of increase between April 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than 52 weeks for (a) England, (b) each county in England, ranked from highest to lowest and (c) each of the economic regions.

The following table gives the percentage increases between April 1979 and October 1982 in the numbers registered as unemployed—old basis—for over 52 weeks for the areas and in the form specified.

	Percentage increase
England	231·1

County	Percentage increase
Buckinghamshire	460·1
Staffordshire	402·8
West Midlands Metropolitan	402·8
Hertfordshire	353·7
Berkshire	351·2
Northamptonshire	341·7
Bedfordshire	320·8
Greater London	293·2
South Yorkshire Metropolitan	285·5
Greater Manchester Metropolitan	281·7
Shropshire	272·2
Cheshire	270·7
West Yorkshire Metropolitan	267·1
Cleveland	262·4
Surrey	261·1
Essex	258·1
Derbyshire	255·4
Lancashire	250·6
Leicestershire	236·5
Cambridgeshire	234·4
Kent	229·6
Nottinghamshire	211·8
Norfolk	208·9
West Sussex	207·2
Durham	204·7
Cumbria	204·1
Oxfordshire	201·2
Humberside	201·0
Suffolk	197·8
Warwickshire	193·1
Hereford and Worcester	191·5
Gloucestershire	188·8
Somerset	182·0
Dorset	181·3
Lincolnshire	180·5

County	Percentage increase
East Sussex	180·3
Hampshire	172·9
Isle of Wight	171·0
Wiltshire	167·7
Avon	147·5
Devon	129·9
Merseyside Metropolitan	121·2
Tyne and Wear Metropolitan	111·7
Cornwall	103·8
Northumberland	100·6
North Yorkshire	84·4

Region	Percentage increase
South East	267·7
East Anglia	212·0
South West	147·7
West Midlands	356·0
East Midlands	235·3
Yorkshire and Humberside	239·1
North West	196·7
North	159·5

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of increase between October 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than two years for (a) England, (b) each county in England, ranked from highest to lowest and (c) each of the economic regions.

The following table gives the percentage increases between October 1979 and October 1982 in the numbers registered as unemployed—old basis—for over 104 weeks for the areas and in the form specified.

	Percentage increase
England	163·3
County
Buckinghamshire	395·9
Northamptonshire	307·2
West Midlands Metropolitan	273·4
Cleveland	253·5
Hereford and Worcester	235·3
Warwickshire	232·0
Berkshire	223·3
Staffordshire	207·9
Cheshire	204·9
Greater Manchester Metropolitan	195·4
Hertfordshire	195·1
South Yorkshire Metropolitan	190·9
Greater London	187·0
Shropshire	187·0
West Yorkshire Metropolitan	181·2
Bedfordshire	180·6
Lancashire	164·8
Leicestershire	164·6
Nottinghamshire	163·3
Essex	160·7
Derbyshire	157·4
Cambridgeshire	147·2
Wiltshire	145·6
Norfolk	144·5
Kent	143·4
Humberside	140·3
Durham	138·7
Oxfordshire	135·9
Gloucestershire	135·7
Suffolk	135·4
Lincolnshire	124·8
Cumbria	118·9
East Sussex	118·2
Hampshire	117·0
West Sussex	116·2

	Percentage increase
Dorset	112·2
Isle of Wight	107·8
Somerset	107·5
Tyne and Wear Metropolitan	105·5
North Yorkshire	104·9
Merseyside Metropolitan	102·7
Avon	98·9
Northumberland	96·4
Devon	96·3
Surrey	89·0
Cornwall	71·7
Region
South East	167·5
East Anglia	142·4
South West	103·5
West Midlands	253·1
East Midlands	169·1
Yorkshire and Humberside	169·8
North West	143·4
North	138·2

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the rate of increase between October 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than 52 weeks for (a) England, (b) each county in England, ranked from highest to lowest and (c) each of the economic regions.

The following table gives the percentage increases between October 1979 and October 1982 in the numbers registered as unemployed (old Basis) for over 52 weeks for the areas and in the form specified.

	Percentage increase
England	243·0

County	Percentage increase
Buckinghamshire	475·8
Berkshire	403·7
Northamptonshire	398·8
Hertfordshire	374·1
Bedfordshire	345·2
West Midlands Metropolitan	339·1
Staffordshire	336·4
Warwickshire	328·0
Cheshire	312·2
Greater London	299·3
Hereford and Worcester	296·6
Greater Manchester Metropolitan	294·9
Shropshire	289·1
Essex	288·5
South Yorkshire Metropolitan	284·2
Lancashire	279·5
Cambridgeshire	272·5
Cleveland	262·1
West Yorkshire Metropolitan	260·8
Norfolk	253·9
Kent	248·8
Derbyshire	248·0
West Sussex	242·4
Oxfordshire	242·3
Isle of Wight	235·2
Humberside	232·0
Suffolk	229·8
Hampshire	222·0
Cumbria	220·9
Surrey	220·6
Gloucestershire	213·9
Durham	213·5
Nottinghamshire	210·7
East Sussex	209·2
Dorset	208·1

County	Percentage increase
Somerset	203·2
Leicestershire	199·7
Wiltshire	195·8
Lincolnshire	192·3
North Yorkshire	183·6
Northumberland	164·9
Devon	162·9
Avon	148·4
Tyne and Wear Metropolitan	141·2
Merseyside Metropolitan	118·6
Cornwall	117·1

Region	Percentage increase
South East	286·6
East Anglia	251·2
South West	166·6
West Midlands	332·3
East Midlands	230·1
Yorkshire and Humberside	256·7
North West	203·3
North	184·9

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number unemployed by order of the Standard Industrial Classification and the number of vacancies in each region of the United Kingdom in October 1982.

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

Unemployment Statistics (Penistone)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list the percentage figure of unemployment in each area of the Penistone constituency for each year since 1978 and the latest percentage figure produced by the new counting method;(2) if he will list for each area in the Penistone constituency the number of unemployed for each year since 1978 and the latest figure produced by the new counting method.

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

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the rate of unemployment in the following countries (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Norway, (c) Greece, (d) Austria and (e) Japan.

The latest available seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rates estimated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are:

Unemployment as a percentage of total labour force
	per centage
United Kingdom	13·4 (October)
Norway	2·4 (August)
Austria	3·0 (June)
Japan	2·5 (September)

These unemployment rates have been adjusted by the OECD to conform with definitions recommended by the International Labour Office.OECD does not estimate a standardised rate for Greece. In August the national rate for Greece on a seasonally adjusted basis was estimated at 2·8 per cent.—number registered at employment offices expressed as a percentage of total employees. This rate is not comparable with the above OECD standardised rates owing to differences in coverage and definitions.

Redundancies

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of redundancies in the following industries during the last 12 months (a) steel, (b) oil, (c) food and (d) engineering.

Not all the information is available in the form requested. There are no comprehensive statistics on redundancies, and the industrial classification used for redundancy statistics does not permit the figures to be broken down into exactly the industries requested, except at disproportionate cost.The available information on the number of redundancies, involving 10 or more employees, notified to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur during the last 12 months in these industries in Great Britain, is given in the following table.

Northern Region: Unemployment—January 1979 to October 1982
	Unadjusted Including School Leavers				Seasonally Adjusted Excluding School Leavers
	New Basis (Claimants)		Old basis (Registrations)		New Basis(Claimants)		Old Basis (Registrations)
	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees
1979
January	117·5	8·6	121·6	8·9	108·4	8·0	111·0	8·1
February	117·1	8·6	121·3	8·8	110·3	8·1	112·5	8·2
March	113·6	8·3	117·8	8·6	110·3	8·1	112·2	8·2
April	108·7	8·0	113·2	8·3	107·1	7·9	110·0	8·0
May	105·3	7·7	109·6	8·0	106·6	7·8	108·8	7·9
June	111·5	8·2	119·1	8·7	106·1	7·8	108·6	7·9
July	120·2	8·8	127·8	9·3	106·1	7·8	109·0	8·0
August	118·6	8·7	125·0	9·1	105·2	7·7	108·1	7·9
September	115·0	8·4	120·3	8·8	105·7	7·8	109·1	8·0
October	112·0	8·2	117·2	8·5	106·6	7·8	109·5	8·0
November	111·9	8·2	117·0	8·5	107·0	7·9	110·0	8·0
December	112·6	8·3	117·7	8·6	107·8	7·9	111·3	8·1
1980
January	120·9	9·0	125·8	9·3	110·0	8·2	113·1	8·3
February	122·3	9·1	128·0	9·4	113·6	8·4	117·1	8·6
March	121·5	9·0	127·1	9·4	116·6	8·6	119·7	8·8
April	126·9	9·4	132·3	9·7	121·3	9·0	124·2	9·2
May	123·6	9·2	128·9	9·5	123·5	9·2	126·2	9·3
June	133·9	9·9	142·7	10·5	126·0	9·3	128·8	9·5
July	148·2	11·0	157·2	11·6	130·1	9·7	133·8	9·9
August	152·9	11·3	160·7	11·8	135·4	10·0	138·7	10·2
September	154·9	11·5	161·8	11·9	139·2	10·3	143·5	10·6
October	153·8	11·4	160·9	11·9	143·4	10·6	147·4	10·9
November	161·2	12·0	168·3	12·4	152·2	11·3	156·7	11·5
December	168·8	12·5	175·9	13·0	160·5	11·9	165·3	12·2
1981
January	180·3	13·8	187·4	14·1	165·5	12·6	170·3	12·8
February	181·3	13·8	188·7	14·2	169·4	12·9	173·7	13·0
March	181·0	13·8	188·1	14·1	173·5	13·2	177·3	13·3
April	181·9	13·9	189·1	14·2	175·7	13·4	180·4	13·5
May	183·7	14·0	190·9	14·3	179·9	13·7	184·4	13·8
June	181·9	13·9	202·7	15·2	182·3	13·9	187·0	14·0

Redundancies Reported as due to Occur, November 1981 to October 1982^, in Selected Manufacturing Industries in Great Britain*
	Number
Iron and Steel Manufacturing^† (MLH 311–313)	18,917
Other Mining and Quarrying^‡ (MLH 102–109)	1,388
Mineral Oil Refining Lubricating Oils and Greases (MLH 262–3)	1,569
Food^║ (MLH 211–229)	14,704
Engineering (Orders VII-X)	77,690

Notes:

^* Including provisional figures for September and October 1982.

^† No finer industry breakdown is available, except at disproportionate cost.

^‡ This includes natural gas extraction and all other quarrying and mining, except for coal, as well as oil and petroleum extraction. No finer breakdown is available except at disproportionate cost.

^║ These figures, for food manufacturing, do not include the distribution and serving of food.

Unemployment Statistics (Northern Region)

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish his figures for the number unemployed for the Northern region for each month since 1979 on the old and on the new basis.

The information is as follows:

	Unadjusted Including School Leavers				Seasonally Adjusted Excluding School Leavers
	New Basis (Claimants)		Old basis (Registrations)		New Basis (Claimants)		Old Basis (Registrations)
	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees	Number (000's)	Percentage of all Employees
July	189·0	14·4	211·9	15·9	185·7	14·2	190·1	14·3
August	193·9	14·8	217·2	16·3	188·9	14·4	194·6	14·6
September	208·9	15·9	219·7	16·5	192·2	14·7	197·7	14·8
October	207·8	15·9	216·2	16·2	194·1	14·8	199·3	15·0
November	207·6	15·8	215·5	16·2	195·0	14·9	200·6	15·1
December	206·1	15·7	213·9	16·1	194·3	14·8	199·9	15·0
1982
January	214·4	16·5	222·2	16·7	195·8	15·1	201·1	15·1
February	210·0	16·2	217·7	16·3	194·5	15·0	199·0	14·9
March	205·0	15·8	212·7	16·0	194·7	15·0	198·8	14·9
April	206·7	15·9	216·7	16·3	197·4	15·2	202·6	15·2
May	205·2	15·8	213·1	16·0	199·8	15·4	205·1	15·4
June	204·2	15·7	223·0	16·7	203·1	15·6	208·4	15·6
July	211·0	16·3	233·2	17·5	206·6	15·9	211·2	15·9
August	213·7	16·5	238·8	17·9	207·8	16·0	215·2	16·2
September	229·3	17·7	241·4	18·1	210·5	16·2	218·0	16·4
October	224·2	17·3	234·3	17·6	210·9	16·2	217·9	16·4

Note: The figures on the new basis (claimants) incorporate estimates prior to May 1982.

Enterprise Allowance Scheme

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to publish his review of the effects in the five pilot areas of the enterprise allowance scheme; and whether it remains his intention that the enterprise allowance scheme should cease in March 1983.

We are collecting information about the progress of the enterprise allowance scheme currently operating in five pilot areas. But we are not yet in a position to come to a decision about the scheme's future.

Work Permits

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether a decision has yet been made to continue after 1982 the special annual quota of work permits for workers from the dependent territories whose level of skill is below that required by the general work permit scheme.

Yes. It has been decided to allow for each of the two years 1983 and 1984 a quota of 200. Within the figure of 200 no more than 150 permits will be allowed for any one territory.

Public Sector Contracts

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in (a) current prices and (b)

Orders Obtained by Private Building and Civil Engineering Contractors in the Public Sector for Great Britain; 1978–1982 Current Prices
(£ million)
Year	Housing	Gas, Electricity, Coal Mining	Railways	Education	Health	Roads	Water and Seweragy
1978	1,271	306	69	257	261	424	262
1979	1,056	362	50	331	287	446	278
1980	758	541	79	330	320	562	294
1981	672	492	39	281	478	781	340
1982^*	464	231	15	141	230	345	162

1975 prices the level of new orders obtained by contractors since 1978 in the following public sectors (i) housing and (ii) water and sewerage.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in (a) current prices and (b) 1975 prices the level of new orders obtained by contractors since 1978 in the following public sectors (i) roads and (ii) railways.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in (a) current prices and (b) 1975 prices the level of new orders obtained by contractors since 1978 in the education sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list in (a) current prices and (b) 1975 prices the level of new orders obtained by contractors since 1978 in the fuel industries public sector.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in (a) current prices and (b) 1975 prices the level of new orders obtained by private contractors since 1978 in the public health sector.

I have been asked to reply on behalf of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Transport, Education and Science, Energy, and Social Services.The information is as follows:

1975 Prices
(£ million)
Year	Housing	^† Gas, Electricity, Coal Mining	^† Railways	^† Education	^† Health	Roads	^† Water and Seweragy
1978	951	220	50	183	186	305	186
1979	679	207	29	189	164	268	159
1980	399	242	35	156	151	249	139
1981	346	226	18	137	233	381	166
1982^*	228	109	7	68	110	172	78

^* First six months.

^† These series are approximate only since deflators specific to the individual sectors are not available; general public sector deflators have been used as a proxy.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Radioactive Material

44.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to complete the negotiations with the French Government on bilateral emergency warning arrangements in the event of any release of radioactive material in one country that might affect the other.

Negotiations are nearing completion. I hope that an exchange of letters constituting the agreement will be possible by the end of the year.

International Organisations (Diplomatic Immunities)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all international organisations situated in the United Kingdom which have been accorded diplomatic immunities since 1970.

No international organisation receives immunity under the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964. Those governmental international organisations in the United Kingdom which have been accorded the more limited privileges and/or immunities under the provisions of the International Organisations Acts 1968 and 1981 since 1970 are:

The Commission of the European Communities
The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux
The European Investment Bank
The European Parliament Information Office
The European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts
The International Cocoa Organisation
The Inter-American Development Bank
The International Rubber Study Group
The International Lead and Zinc Study Group
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund
The International Maritime Satellite Organisation
The International Whaling Commission
The Joint European Torus
The Oslo and Paris Commissions

Single Women Diplomats (Personal Relationships)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the rules governing the personal relationships of single women in sensitive diplomatic posts; and how these are supervised.

In addition to the written regulations governing general principles of conduct, which apply to all members of the diplomatic service, guidance on personal relationships is given at security courses to all those posted overseas. Among other matters covered at these briefings, single people are told that they are expected to conduct their private lives with discretion; and that their private relationships should not affect their work, give rise to justifiable criticism or make them vulnerable to pressure of any kind. At sensitive posts special briefing, both oral and written, tailored to the circumstances of each country is given to staff on arrival.Staff are under instructions to report immediately any indication that there is anything unusual arising from a contact with a foreign national.Heads of mission are responsible for the supervision of all their staff, with the assistance of their heads of chancery and post security officers.

Diplomats (Security)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many diplomats have been involved in criminal proceedings arising from breaches of security over the last 20 years; how many of these cases involved a personal relationship with a member of the opposite sex and how many a homosexual relationship; and of those involving a relationship with the opposite sex, in how many instances the diplomat concerned has been (a) male or (b) female; and what has been the average number of (a) male and (b) female diplomats in post throughout the 20 years.

The details requested are not immediately available. As soon as I have the information, I shall write to my hon. Friend.

Chemical And Biological Weapons

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on chemical and biological weapons.

We have already stated that we believe lethal chemical weapons, probably including mycotoxins, have been used in South East Asia. The continued use of these weapons, as indicated by the latest American evidence, calls for vigorous condemnation by the civilised world and further demonstrates the need for early agreement to ban possession of these weapons. I am placing a copy of the United States Government's informative paper in the Library of the House.

Northern Ireland

Road Accidents

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if any special action will be taken to attempt to reduce the number of road accidents in Northern Ireland over the Christmas and new year period.

Yes. I understand that a Royal Ulster Constabulary campaign is to be announced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many of the road accidents occurring during the Christmas and new year period over the last five years resulted in (a) death and (b) serious injury; and what were the full casualty figures;(2) how many road accidents have taken place in Northern Ireland over the Christmas and new year period in each of the last five years.

The information is as follows:

Christmas period	No. of accidents	No. of deaths	No. of injuries
23–27 Dec. 1977	79	8	115
22–26 Dec. 1978	82	5	122
21–26 Dec. 1979	82	6	118
23–27 Dec. 1980	74	3	106
23–28 Dec. 1981	93	6	138

New year period	No. of accidents	No. of deaths	No. of injuries
31 Dec. 1977 and 1 Jan 1978	28	1	24
31 Dec. 1978 and 1 Jan. 1979	17	0	20
31 Dec. 1979 and 1 Jan. 1980	14	0	18
31 Dec. 1980 and 1 Jan. 1981	27	1	43
31 Dec. 1981 and 1 Jan. 1982	37	3	61

Information about the seriousness of injuries is not readily available from police records and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Education And Science

Student Grants

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the real value of student grants compared with May 1979.

The main rate of mandatory award for students living away from home other than in London was 10 per cent. higher, in real terms, in the academic year 1978–79 than in academic year 1982–83.

Perq Computers

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department will extend its provision of PERQ computers to other higher education institutions as well as universities.

The Department has arranged for PERQ computers to be available for purchase by polytechnics on the same favourable terms as are available to universities. Additional expenditure in 1982–83 will be authorised on request, and will be poolable between all authorities in the normal way.

Great Ringstead Primary School

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what figures for the current cost of Greater Ringstead voluntary aided primary school, broken down under the appropriate expenditure headings, he is using in his consideration of the proposal for the school's closure.

I understand that Norfolk education authority is still considering whether to publish statutory proposals to cease to maintain this school. At present, therefore, this is not a matter for my right hon. Friend.

Courses (Full-Fee Costs)

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated full-fee cost for (a) a three-year course, in higher education and (b) a complete course in medical school.

On the basis of the unit costs in 1980–81, the latest year for which such information is available, the estimated institutional costs, excluding mandatory maintenance awards for students, is as follows:

	£ at 1980–81 prices
(a) Cost of a three year undergraduate course in higher education	11,000
(b) 5 year MB course in a medical school	35,000

Defence

Mr Bart Khan

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what Ministry of Defence establishments Mr. Bart Khan, of the Birmingham-based firm of Micro-Xenox, was permitted to visit; what associations he had with the Ministry of Defence; and on what basis.

Mr. Bart Khan of Micro-Xeno Ltd, is known to have visited the Admiralty surface weapons establishment (ASWE) at Portsdown, Portsmouth, in October 1981.He was invited to visit a member of that establishment to provide information on a new computer memory following the appearance of an article describing this product in a copy of the "Electronic Times" dated August 1981. It was thought at that time that the memory might have some application to work which was then being undertaken within the establishment. In the event it turned out that the performance did not meet the Admiralty surface weapons establishment requirements, and negotiations ceased. Mr. Khan was not given access to any classified information.A number of other inquiries about Micro-Xeno Ltd products were addressed to the firm, either in writing or by telephone from other Ministry of Defence establishments. As far as can be ascertained no other actual visits were made by Mr. Khan as a result of these inquiries.

Clothing (Flammability)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken or proposes to take to reduce the risk of flammability in clothing worn by men serving in Her Majesty's forces.

With regard to Royal Navy clothing, proposals have been agreed to develop fire resistant action coveralls and to provide working dress and coveralls in fire resistant cotton to replace polyester-cotton. The Army and Royal Air Force authorities are keeping the matter under continuous review.

Sky Flash Missile

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is considering further purchases of the Sky Flash missile.

A further order is currently under consideration.

War Widows (Payments)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum pension and capital sum, in current prices, from all sources payable to widows of privates who were killed in (a) the 1914–18 war, (b) the 1939–45 war, (c) Northern Ireland before 1973, (d) in Northern Ireland after 1973 and (e) in the Falklands; and if he will set out in detail (i) the sources of payment, (ii) the criteria for them, (iii) the reasons for the differences and (iv) the dates when provision for widows was extended.

Since the answer is inevitably very long I have written to the right hon. Member and placed a copy in the Library.

Queen's Flight

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any proposals to replace the Andover aircraft in service with the Queen's Flight with more up-to-date aircraft.

I have nothing to add at present to recent statements that the Government have made on this subject.

Harm Missiles

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards ordering HARM missiles from the United States of America.

A formal request has been issued for proposals for an active defence suppression weapon. The high speed anti-radar missile will be among the solutions considered, along with the British Aerospace air launched anti-radar missile.

National Finance

Income Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing in terms of current prices the current income tax allowances and tax bands for (a) a single person and (b) a married couple with two children, both on average earnings, compared to 1972–73, 1962–63 and 1952–53.

For 1982–83 the single person's allowance is £1,565, the married man's allowance is £2,445 and the first £12,800 of taxable income is chargeable at 30 per cent. Information of income tax allowances and tax bands current in the three earlier years in question may be found in "The Taxes Acts" Vol. 1 [H.M.S.O.]. Copies of the 1981 edition are available in the Library. Average weekly earnings—of male manual workers—are estimated as follows:

	Earnings £
1952–53	8·93
1962–63	15·86
1972–73	35·45
1982–83	140·30

Mortgage Relief

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the threshold for mortgage income tax relief to £35,000.

I refer my hon. Friend to my recent reply to the hon. Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers)—29 November 1982.—[Vol. 33, c. 77.]

Personal Wealth

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of taxpayers whose personal wealth exceeds £100,000, the total amount of personal wealth in excess of £100,000, and the contribution which owner-occupied property makes to these figures.

The latest available figures relating to type and size of wealth are for 1978, when 195,000 individuals are estimated to have had identified personal wealth exceeding £100,000. The average amount of such wealth in excess of £100,000 is estimated at some £110,000 per individual. Some 125,000 of these individuals are estimated to have possessed owner-occupier property valued on average at some £44,000 per owner-occupier. These figures are as defined for table 4.13, amended, of "Inland Revenue Statistics 1982", a copy of which is in the Library.

Fringe Benefits

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the earning minimum of £8,500 for the assessment of fringe benefits under schedule E for higher paid employees was set; what that minimum would be if it were adjusted to take account of the subsequent inflation; and what would be the estimated cost to the Revenue of making such an adjustment.

The figure of £8,500 first applied for the year 1979–80. The corresponding current level, if subsequent inflation were allowed for, would be about £11,800.To raise the limit to this level would cost about £25 million in a full year at 1982–83 levels of income and tax rates. This figure takes no account of changes in relation to car fuel which have effect from 1983–84.

Value Added Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer which European Community countries require importers to pay value added tax on imports as soon as they land in the country to which they are sent; and whether he will consider a similar procedure in the United Kingdom, particularly with regard to imports from countries which themselves enforce this procedure against United Kingdom exports.

Available information suggests that in principle Denmark, France, Germany, the Irish Republic and Italy require immediate payment of VAT on importation, but that in practice all countries except Italy allow approved importers to defer payment of VAT at importation under the general arrangements for deferred payment of customs duty. The United Kingdom, together with Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, operates a postponed accounting system linked to the periodic VAT return. The European Commission, in its proposal for a fourteenth Council directive on VAT, has recommended harmonisation of VAT import procedures within the Community on the basis of a postponed accounting system. There are no proposals to change our existing practice.

Tax Allowances

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current purchasing power of the son's or daughter's services' tax allowance as compared with its purchasing power in 1974; and if he will uprate the allowance.

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

Income Tax

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the amount of income tax payable per week by a married couple would be in the following circumstances: man earning £150 per week and wife not working, man earning £100 per week and wife £50 per week, man earning £75 per week and wife £75 per week; and what would be the amount of income tax payable by two single persons each earning £75 per week assuming no other income tax reliefs.

The information is as follows:

Earnings per week		Total tax
Husband £	wife £	per week £
150	—	30·89
100	50	21·87
75	75	21·87

The total tax payable by two single persons each earning £75 per week would be £26·94 per week.

Inflation

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate of the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the tax and price index.

In October 1981 the level of the tax and price index was 158·2—Jartuary 1978 = 100. In October 1982 it stood at 169·9, an increase of 7·4 per cent. on a year earlier.The year-on-year increase in the tax and price index is not a measure of the annual rate of inflation as such. This is better provided by the RPI itself. The tax and price index provides a guide to the average increase in gross taxable income needed to compensate taxpayers for an increase in retail prices.

Exchange Rate

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it remains Government policy to leave the exchange rate for the £ sterling to the judgment of the market.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the right hon. Member for Stepney and Poplar (Mr. Shore) on 18 November.—[Vol. 32, c. 417.]

Laker Airways

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, as a creditor in the Laker Airways liquidation in respect of Her Majesty's Inland Revenue, and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, he has agreed, or has been asked to agree, to the expenditure involved in the case being brought against a group of international airlines; and if he will make a statement.

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

Pension Funds

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to increase substantially the payments to be made by public servants to their pension funds.

As I explained in the debate on 22 October, the Government believe that public servants should make appropriate contributions to the total costs of their pension schemes.

Social Services

Mental Patients (Day Care Facilities)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many local authorities do not directly provide day care facilities for the mentally ill, and if he will name these authorities;(2) which local authorities have no day care places available in their areas for the mentally ill;(3) what day care provision is available in Barnsley for the mentally ill;(4) what day care facilities exist in Buckinghamshire, Bury, Calderdale and Dudley for the mentally ill.

Statistics on the provision of day centres for people who are mentally ill, by local authorities in England, are published annually in the Department's booklet "Department of Health and Social Security: Personal Social Services: Local Authority Statistics" (Reference No. A/F81/8). The figures for 31 March 1981 are available in the Library of the House. Those for 31 March 1982 should be available early next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many day care places for the mentally ill are provided by (a) local authorities and (b) voluntary organisations; and if he is satisfied with the rate of progress in providing day care places.

The number of places provided by local authorities in day centres for people who are mentally ill was 4,907 in 1981. These are the latest available figures. An unknown number of additional places was provided by local authorities in mixed day centres. The number provided by voluntary organisations is not known. I would also refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Edge Hill (Mr. Alton) on 28 May 1982.—[Vol. 24, c. 444.] I am pleased that progress is being made, and hope that the circular which we have in mind will assist further progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of mentally ill patients currently in hospital who could be discharged to the community if the appropriate facilities were available.

Our discussion document "Care in the Community" suggested that up to 5,000 people now in hospital may be capable of leading more independent lives. I have no reason to change this broad estimate.

Maternity Services

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he intends to implement the recommendation in the first report of the Maternity Services Advisory Committee that health authorities should establish local maternity services liaison committees with adequate representation of all groups to ensure integration between the specialist and community services;(2) if he will implement the recommendation of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology working party on antenatal and intrapartum care, that standards of antenatal care should be the responsibility of a maternity services liaison committee; and if he will make a statement;(3) whether he intends to implement recommendation 25 of the report on training for obstetrics and gynaecology for general practitioners by the joint working party of the Royal College of Obstetrics and the Royal College of General Practitioners, calling for maternity services liaison committees representative of all those providing maternity services to be established in all districts; and if he will make a statement.

In their reply to the second report of the Social Services Committee, which contained similar recommendations, the Government indicated that this was a matter for health authorities to consider. I am sure they will find the detailed comments in all three reports useful to them in deciding, with the professionals concerned, what precise arragements would be most effective in their own local circumstances.

Vibration White Finger

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people suffer from vibration white finger; and whether he will act on the advisory committee's recommendation to add it to the list of prescribed industrial injuries.

Precise information is not available. The Government have already accepted in principle the recommendations of the industrial injuries advisory council that the more severe stages of this condition should be prescribed as an industrial disease for certain occupations, but implementation must await the availability of resources.

National Insurance Contributions

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the loss of revenue from the reduced rate national insurance contribution for working wives and widows in the current financial year and the forecast for 1983–84.

It is estimated that the loss of revenue will be £355 million in 1982–83, and £325 million in 1983–84.

Farmer's Lung

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many sufferers from farmer's lung (a) are recognised at present to be suffering from the disease, (b) died during 1981, their deaths being attributed to this disease and (c) were first recognised to be suffering from the disease during the past 12 months.

Information in the form requested relating to (a) and (c) is not available. However, it is estimated from the hospital inpatient inquiry that during 1979 there were 70 hospital cases; during 1980, 351 laboratory reports of farmers lung were received by the communicable disease surveillance centre; and in 1981, 14 cases were newly diagnosed in connection with claims from employed earners for injury or disablement benefit under the industrial injuries scheme. As to (b), in 1981, 12 deaths where the underlying cause was farmer's lung disease were registered.

Infant Formula

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the code of practice he has recently discussed and agreed with the manufacturers of infant formula.

We expect to issue the draft code of practice drawn up by manufacturers of infant formula, in consultation with relevant Government Departments, together with a draft health circular, for consultation later this month. Copies of these documents will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fostering

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department monitors the level of provision by local authority social services departments on fostering services.

The Department receives statistical and financial information from each local authority on the level of child care services, including fostering. A summary is published in "Children in Care in England and Wales, March 1980", a report to Parliament by the Secretaries of State for Social Services and for Wales. Further detail is contained in the Departmental publication "Children in Care of Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 1980, England", Reference A/F80/12. Copies of both are in the Library of the House. These data provide the Department with a broad picture of service development to help complement information from other sources, for example, research projects and the work of the Department's social work service.

£000s
	Support Services
Region	Maintenance Contracts						Service and Maintenance Contracts
	Medical and surgical equipment		X-ray equipment		Laboratory equipment		Catering		Laundry		Cleaning
	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82
Northern	398	480	416	460	160	247	9	22	208	226	297	222
Yorkshire	564	759	215	223	185	190	—	—	287	423	542	540
Trent	1,006	1,495	400	553	457	525	40	70	155	221	294	346
East Anglia	196	231	144	175	136	147	nil	—	26	15	789	907
North West Thames	806	1,031	364	539	271	369	41	27	849	858	737	895
North East Thames	904	973	682	715	484	512	44	63	1,002	972	1,983	962
South East Thames	907	949	601	631	281	381	40	28	1,095	992	594	624
South West Thames	504	643	385	569	173	212	41	72	590	698	793	631
Wessex	495	861	282	381	135	152	28	—	237	283	192	182
Oxford	177	292	126	114	154	147	7	7	470	641	1,281	972
South Western	495	742	334	390	260	295	14	31	719	809	161	166
West Midlands	857	1,201	361	595	246	401	17	34	328	375	458	481
Mersey	644	625	391	380	167	241	6	2	223	160	184	231
North Western	755	900	382	424	376	511	nil	2	468	538	549	545
All Regions	8,708	11,182	5,083	6,149	3,485	4,330	287	358	6,657	7,211	8,854	7,704
Board of Governors	245	290	341	364	84	73	691	382	520	456	784	827
Total	8,953	11,472	5,424	6,513	3,569	4,403	978	740	7,177	7,667	9,638	8,531

£000s
Support Services											Contractual arrangements for patient care
Region	Service and Maintenance Contracts								Total
	Engineering maintenance		Building maintenance		Ground etc. maintenance		Vehicle maintenance
	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82	1980–81	1981–82
Northern	1,729	2,406	2,223	3,710	73	67	361	729	5,874	8,569	925	1,046
Yorkshire	3,295	3,084	4,119	5,164	285	303	337	253	9,829	10,939	1,302	1,452
Trent	2,597	2,766	2,618	3,930	95	164	844	833	8,506	10,903	1,054	1,210
East Anglia	1,230	1,408	1,073	1,727	17	40	239	287	3,850	4,937	1,350	1,618
North West Thames	4,405	5,110	4,753	5,642	316	384	524	545	13,066	15,400	3,421	3,615
North East Thames	5,233	5,813	5,737	6,564	231	258	480	489	16,780	17,321	3,032	3,208
South East Thames	3,702	4,531	4,928	5,101	219	253	446	442	12,813	13,932	1,506	1,752
South West Thames	4,093	3,809	3,967	4,108	288	425	377	469	11,211	11,636	5,167	5,716
Wessex	1,728	1,896	1,529	2,492	99	98	429	351	5,154	6,696	896	1,042
Oxford	1,445	1,834	1,279	1,558	190	170	558	602	5,687	6,337	780	1,002
South Western	2,814	3,669	2,500	3,566	107	117	955	946	8,359	10,731	1,223	1,499
West Midlands	4,041	4,055	4,471	5,326	268	280	512	605	11,559	13,353	1,474	1,910
Mersey	2,229	2,753	2,349	3,076	176	208	268	294	6,637	7,970	1,905	1,576
North Western	3,648	5,181	4,240	6,883	393	499	268	312	11,079	15,795	4,502	5,154
All Regions	42,189	48,315	45,786	58,847	2,757	3,266	6,598	7,157	130,404	154,519	28,537	31,800
Board of Governors	909	1,425	1,190	1,300	52	35	17	21	4,833	5,173	4	42
Total	43,098	49,740	46,976	60,147	2,809	3,301	6,615	7,178	135,237	159,692	28,541	31,842

Notes:

1. The figures are derived from annual financial statements submitted to the Department by NHS authorities excluding the Prescription Pricing Authority and Dental Estimates Board.

2. Minimal expenditure (ie less that £1,000) has been indicated by the use of a dash (—).

3. No detailed analysis of authorities' expenditure on contractual arrangements for patient care is held centrally.

Private Contracts

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove on 24 November, Official Report, c. 498, concerning privatisation in the National Health Service, if he will break down for each region the figures for payments to outside contractors for support services and for contractual arrangements for patient care to indicate the services provided.

The information requested for authorities in England is as follows:

Lambeth

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in the Lambeth inner city partnership area how many single parents are on supplementary benefit; and what was the figure for May 1979;(2) in the Lambeth inner city partnership area how many people are in receipt of supplementary benefit; and what was the figure for May 1979.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. The numbers receiving supplementary benefit from the local offices situated within the Lambeth inner city partnership area at August 1982 and May 1979 were as follows:

	(Thousands)
	May 1979	August 1982
All Supplementary Benefit	20·7	37·3
Single parent families^*	3·7	5·8

^* Excludes some single parents included in other groups; eg widows unemployed etc.

Source: 100 per cent count of claims in action.

Death Grant

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the current rate for the funeral grant was last changed; and if he will increase the grant in view of the current high level of the cost of funerals.

The death grant was increased to its current standard rate of £30 in 1967. We are now considering what, if any, action should be taken with regard to the grant in the light of the public response to the proposals we put forward in the consultative document.

Fluoridation

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the Official Report the letter sent by his Department on 4 July signed by Miss V. M. Langrish, in reply to a communication from Mrs. Margaret Brady, M.Sc., requesting information on the question of the Ministry's attitude to the fluoridation of water.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the Department's letter of 14 July 1982 to Mrs. Brady, since none was written on 4 July. The reply answered at some length specific technical questions concerning fluoridation and does not therefore lend itself to publication in the Official Report. Mrs. Brady has on very many occasions in the past requested information of an equally technical nature. Given the limited resources available to the Department, our reply of 14 July pointed out that we could not undertake to answer future letters on such details.

Blind Persons (Social Workers)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many specialist social workers for the blind have had training in the needs of the mentally handicapped;(2) what is the total number of specialist social workers for the blind employed in England.

These statistics are not kept by central Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what assistance is available to help social workers for the blind obtain training to assist the blind multi-handicapped;(2) if he will take steps to increase the provision for social workers dealing with the blind of specialist training in the needs of mentally handicapped people on a regional basis.

The responsibility for training, and the identification of training needs of social workers rests with the employers and the central council for education and training in social work. If the need for such training was established regionally and a course was approved by CCETSW, limited financial assistance would be available centrally from CCETSW—to the courses—and from the Department—to students—to supplement expenditure by employers.

Multi-Handicapped Blind Persons

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest estimate of the numbers of multi-handicapped blind (a) men and (b) women.

At 31 March 1980, the latest date for which figures are available, the total number of people, including children, registered as blind with an additional handicap was 8,901 male and 15,212 female.

Supplementary Benefit

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide a breakdown of the number of those in receipt of supplementary benefit in Glasgow by the following classifications, (a) sick and disabled, (b) single-parent families, (c) registered unemployed, (d) unemployed on long-term scale, (e) pensioners and (f) others.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. The numbers claiming from the local offices in Glasgow, not including the Cumbernauld Office, at August 1982 are given in the following table. These figures will include some people living outside Glasgow.

	(Thousands)
Sick and disabled	7·0
Single parent families^*	10·0
Registered unemployed	51·6
Unemployed on long term scale rates	1·2
Pensioners	34·0
Others	1·6
All Supplementary Benefit	105·5

^* Excludes some single-parent families in other groups, eg widows, unemployed etc.

Source: 100 per cent. count of claims in action.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in Glasgow are currently claiming supplementary benefit; how this compares with the previous three years; and how many in each case are pensioners.

Information is not available in the precise form requested. The numbers claiming from the local offices in Glasgow, not including the Cumbernauld Office, at August of each year are given in the following table. These figures will include some people living outside Glasgow.

	(Thousands)
	1979	1980	1981	1982
All supplementary benefit	80	84	92	105
Supplementary pensioners	35	34	34	34

Source: 100 per cent. count of claims in action.

Neonatal Intensive Care

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will increase the number of neonatal intensive care cots in those regions where the perinatal mortality rate is higher than the national average.

Regional and district health authorities know that we expect them to give a high priority to the further education of perinatal mortality through the improvement of maternity and neonatal

		Estimated average gross weekly earnings
Grade		1981–82	Under current proposals
		£	£
Nursing Auxiliary	Minimum	72·34	81·24
Nursing Auxiliary	Maximum	92·45	103·82
Student Nurse (1st year)	Minimum	69·72	78·30
Student Nurse (3rd year)	Maximum	76·15	85·52
State Enrolled Nurse	Minimum	90·97	102·16
State Enrolled Nurse	Maximum	109·74	123·24
Staff Nurse	Minimum	99·85	112·13
Staff Nurse	Maximum	121·75	136·73
Ward Sister	Minimum	123·04	138·17
Ward Sister	Maximum	157·74	177·14
Senior Nursing Officer	Minimum	143·81	161·50
Senior Nursing Officer	Maximum	167·15	187·71
Radiographer (Basic Grade)	Minimum	100·75	113·14
Radiographer (Basic Grade)	Maximum	119·29	133·96
Radiographer (Top Grade)	Minimum	204·14	229·25
Radiographer (Top Grade)	Maximum	227·98	256·02
Physiotherapist (Basic Grade)	Minimum	94·62	106·26
Physiotherapist (Basic Grade)	Maximum	112·03	125·81
Physiotherapist (Top Grade)	Minimum	231·67	260·17
Physiotherapist (Top Grade)	Maximum	241·01	270·65
Clerical Officer (aged 16)	Minimum	45·48	50·33
Clerical Officer	Maximum	86·55	95·77
Senior Administrative Assistant	Minimum	131·65	145·69
Senior Administrative Assistant	Maximum	160·46	177·58
Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer	Minimum	111·65	123·67
Medical Laboratory Scientific Officer	Maximum	150·68	166·91
Ancillary Group 3 men	—	100·49	111·31
Ancillary Group 3 women	—	82·78	91·70
Leading Ambulancemen	—	169·81	^*188·09
Qualified Ambulancemen	—	142·62	^*157·98

^* An additional 0·5 per cent. of the pay bill is available for the implementation of a salaried structure which is currently being discussed.

Dental Caries

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence he has as to the correlation between the availability of fluoride toothpaste in the United Kingdom and the incidence of dental caries.

The reasons for the reduction in dental caries in this country are thought to be complex and are a matter for continuing research. It is however services, but they plainly have to weigh up the needs in this area against those of other priority groups, like the elderly, mentally ill and mentally handicapped.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many postpartum mothers with their babies have been denied neonatal intensive care in each of the London regions in 1979–80, 1980–81 and 1981–82.

I regret that this information is not available.

National Health Service (Pay)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the average current earnings of Health Service workers for the last full year.

Following are examples of the estimated average gross weekly earnings for selected grades of National Health Service staff for 1981–82, together with the estimated value of the current proposals under the financial framework proposed for the years 1982–83 and 1983–84, subject to the outcome of negotiations in the Whitley Councils.widely considered to have resulted from a combination of factors, of which the increased use of fluoride toothpaste is an important one.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the proportion of children in the population in 1982 without any tooth decay; and to what extent the number of caries-free children has increased during the past 10 years.

Such information is not at present available but a survey on children's dental health in the United Kingdom to be carried out in 1983 by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys on behalf of the health departments will permit comparisons to be made with a similar survey which was carried out in 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence he has as to the extent of the decline in the incidence of dental caries in schoolchildren compared with the level obtaining (a) 15 years ago and (b) 10 years ago (i) in areas with water fluoridation and (ii) in areas without water fluoridation.

The first national survey of children's dental health took place in 1973. A further survey is due to take place in 1983, the main purpose of which will be to measure any changes that have occurred in the dental health of children in England and Wales since 1973. Such national studies have not been used to measure the effectiveness of fluoridation. However, epidemiological surveys to measure the prevalance of dental caries in children have also been carried out by many health authorities and independent researchers. While the Department does not collect centrally comprehensive information on all such studies, in general the results show a marked reduction in the prevalence of dental caries over recent years, particularly in those areas where water supplies are fluoridated.

Health Care

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of gross domestic product was spent on health care in the following countries (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America, (c) West Germany and (d) France in 1979, 1980 and 1981 and at the latest available date in 1982.

It is not possible to make reliable comparisons of the share of national income spent on health services because of substantial differences between the systems of health care provided and the different ways in which spending on health is shown in national accounts. Nor do comparisons take account of differences in value for money. Subject to those substantial qualifications, figures calculated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for 1980 or the nearest available year, are as follows:

	Percentage
United Kingdom	5·7
United States of America	9·6
Federal Republic of Germany	8·0
France	8·0

These figures were last revised in October 1982 but may be subject to further revision.

Benefits

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the value in real terms of child benefit as compared with the figure for April 1979;(2) what is the value in real terms of unemployment benefit for a married couple compared with the figure for November 1979;(3) what is the value in real terms of the invalidity pension for a married couple as compared with the figure for November 1979.

These figures cannot be provided because outturn prices for November 1982 will not be available until later this month. I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Birth Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the current annual number of births to mothers of New Commonwealth and Pakistan ethnic origin; and how this compares with the number of births to New Commonwealth and Pakistan ethnic parents assessed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in its maximum projections of New Commonwealth and Pakistan ethnic populations between the present and 1991.

The latest estimate of the number of births in England and Wales of New Commonwealth and Pakistan ethnic origin, including those of mixed origin, is 60,000 in the period mid-1979 to mid-1980. The "maximum projection" by OPCS was not given for individual years but implied an average of 62,000 births per annum between 1976 and 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out the percentage of live births attributed to mothers of New Commonwealth and Pakistan ethnic origin for each of the past 10 years.

The available information relates to the birthplace of mothers. The proportion of births in England and Wales to mothers born in the New Commonwealth or Pakistan is as follows for the years 1971–1980. The figure for 1981 will be published as soon as it is available.

Births to mothers born in the New Commonwealth or Pakistan as a percentage of all births
Date	Per cent.
1971	5·8
1972	5·9
1973	6·1
1974	6·2
1975	6·6
1976	7·2
1977	7·8
1978	8·0
1979	8·2
1980	8·5

Immigration

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, for each of the past 20 years, what has been the New Commonwealth and Pakistan population at 1 January, the estimated net influx through migration during each year, the estimated natural increase, the thus calculated end period figure, the actual end period figure and the discrepancy between these last two.

Estimates of the size of the population of New Commonwealth and Pakistan ethnic origin and components of change are not available on an annual basis for the years preceding 1971.Mid-year estimates of the size of the population for the period 1971–80 and the components of change were published in OPCS Monitor Pp1 81/6, a copy of which I am sending to my hon. Friend.

Unemployed Persons (Families)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the approximate number of children in families affected by unemployment at the nearest available date; and what were the comparable figures for 1979, 1980 and 1981.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley) on 28 October 1982.—[Vol. 29, c. 491–2.]

Birth Control

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in which institutions in the United Kingdom research on (a) the intra-vaginal ring and (b) the polyurethane sponge is being carried out.

This information is not centrally available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans for encouraging the use of the sheath as a method of contraception either through sales or free prescriptions at National Health Service family planning clinics.

No.

Transport

Motorways

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total length of motorways built in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981.

In England, 15, 57, 48 and 20 miles of motorway were opened in the years specified.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of motorway are currently under construction.

Seventy miles of new motorway are currently under construction in England. In addition, six and a half miles of the M1 are being widened.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of motorway have been built within the last 12 months.

Between the end of November 1981 and the end of November 1982, 18 miles of motorway were completed in England.

A13 (Improvements)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the latest estimated cost in relation to proposed improvements on the A13 trunk road of (a) the improvement to the existing line of the route through Rainham, including the cost of all flyovers and (b) the alternative "Marshes" route.

Design of the improvements on the A13 between the M25 and Thames Avenue has not yet reached the stage of preparation of revised estimates. The latest estimates for this length of road are, therefore, those of November 1980:

(a) including the improvement of the existing route through Rainham and the cost of all flyovers £31·4 million

(b) including the alternative "Marshes" route £50·8 million.

East London River Crossing

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he now expects a public inquiry to be held into the proposed East London river crossing;(2) when he now expects to start on the East London river crossing; and what is the estimated completion date;(3) when he expects to publish draft orders under the Highways Act 1980 and compulsory purchase orders in connection with the East London river crossing.

Further design work leading to the publication of draft orders has not yet reached the stage at which it is possible to give definite publication dates. Thereafter progress is dependent on factors outside the control of the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his most recent estimate of the total cost of the proposed East London river crossing; and how much is accounted for by (a) bridge construction, (b) road construction and (c) property acquisition.

The current estimate for the total cost of the proposed East London river crossing is £110 million; including:

	£ million
Main bridge across the Thames	36
Other structures	30
Road construction, including consequential Statutory Undertakers works	28
Land and property acquisition	16

Macclesfield (Bypasses)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many trunk and local bypasses are being planned for the constituency of Macclesfield in 1982–83 and 1983–84.

I understand that Cheshire county council plans to open its new A537 east-west route through Macclesfield on 7 December, and that it hopes to start work in 1983–84 on the proposed southerly extension of Churchill Way, Macclesfield. If my hon. Friend would like further information, may I suggest an approach to the county council.Our proposed A523 Macclesfield relief road is included in the main trunk road programme for 1984 and 1985. Statutory orders were published in October last.

Invalid Tricars

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the reply, Official Report, 17 November, c. 195, what his Department's policy is with regard to the fitting of hazard warning lights to tricars in present use.

A retrospective requirement for users to fit hazard warning lights to existing invalid tricars would be costly and difficult to implement, and the accident record is not such as to justify a step of that kind. But, as I said in answer to the hon. Member on 17 November, we shall be making this a requirement for new vehicles.—[Vol. 32, c. 195.]

Road Safety

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the total expenditure by his Department on publicity campaigns on road safety over the last 10 years; and if he will break down these figures for television advertising, press campaigns, and so on.

Total expenditure in the 10 years 1972–73 to 1981–82 was £35,405,000. A breakdown of costs between the various media used is not available for the whole period, but for the last six years the division of costs, excluding production costs, was as follows:

	per cent.
TV	82·2
Poster	9·5
Press	3·7
Cinema	3·1
Radio	1·5

M1-A1 Link Road

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) why he has published draft orders for the M1-A1 link road before providing Daventry district council with the relevant costings and other information necessary to make a proper comparison between this proposal and the alternative strategy favoured by the district council and the parish councils representing people affected by the western section of the proposed link road, as the Under-Secretary of State indicated when she met council representatives in July;(2) whether he will take steps to provide Daventry district council with all the information it requires to assess the relative merits of the M1-A1 link road and the alternative strategy.

As I told my right hon. Friend and the council's representatives in July, we are keen to commence public debate on the proposals for this important scheme. The draft orders have been published so that public debate can proceed.My Department has already provided the council, and its consulting engineers, with substantial amounts of the information it has asked for. We shall do all we can to provide the remainder as soon as it is available. In the meantime discussions are continuing between my officials and the council's representatives.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what are the latest estimated costs of building the proposed M1-A1 link road between Catthorpe and Thrapston and of the alternative strategy of completing the planned A45 improvements as far as Thrapston and improving the A427 and the A6116.

The estimated costs at November 1981 prices are as follows:

(a) constructing the M1-A1 link road between Catthorpe and Thrapston £70m

(b) the alternative strategy of completing the planned A45 improvements as far as Thrapston and improving the A427 and A6116 £50m

However, even if the improvements of the A45, A427 and A6116 were carried out—and there are no plans for improving the A427—they would not do all that the M1-A1 link road is planned to do.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment is available to his Department of the relative benefits to industry in the Midlands of speeding up east-west traffic flows by (a) improving the A45 and the A427 and (b) building the western section of the M1-A1 link road.

The western section of the M1-A1 link road would provide a more direct and satisfactory route between the Midlands and the east coast ports. Typical journey times between common points would be 63 minutes via the M1-A1 link, 72 minutes via an improved A45, and 85 minutes via an improved A427. The western section of the M1-A1 link would also be the quickest and most effective way of improving access to Corby and Kettering, which are in urgent need of improved road communications.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has held with the Council for the Preservation of Rural England arising from its objections to the western section of the proposed M1-A1 link road.

None, though the council has made its views clear in correspondence.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has held on the effect on agriculture of the proposed M1-A1 link road; and how many farms would be wholly or partially affected.

My Department has consulted regularly with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In all, 108 farms would be affected in some way.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has held on the effect of the proposed M1-A1 link road on the site of the Naseby battlefield; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is in regular touch with the Society for the Preservation of the Field of the Battle of Naseby. I understand the strength of feeling on this issue and I am anxious to limit the effect on the site as far as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport why a statement by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 19 August, ruled out a route for the M1-A1 link road passing south of Naseby because ground conditions were unsuitable, in view of the suggestion in the draft scheme first published, that the road might pass north or south of Naseby.

A southern route avoiding the bad ground conditions would be closer to the village than envisaged at the time of public consultation in 1974. The draft orders just published therefore provide that the road will pass north, not south, of Naseby, but a final decision will not be taken until we have fully considered all the objections and representations received, together with the report and recommendations of the inspector conducting the public inquiry. We are displaying, alongside the draft orders, plans of a viable southern route so that the merits of both can be fully considered at the inquiry.

Motor Cars (Petrol)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars currently licensed are of makes for which the use of two star petrol is advised by the manufacturers.

I regret that this information is not available.

Land Compensation Claims

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will publish in the Official Report details of the total amount of money paid out by his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available on interest payments on land compensation claims; and how much each annual amount represents as an average of the total claims settled in each of those five years.

The information is as follows:

Year	Compensation (£ Thousands)	Interest (£ Thousands)	Interest as Percentage
1977–78	19,080	4,099	21·5
1978–79	20,147	4,004	19·9
1979–80	23,388	4,734	20·2
1980–81	28,588	6,014	21·0
1981–82	24,461	4,778	19·5

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many claims made under the Land Compensation Acts 1961 and 1973 which were settled in the last two years for which figures are available took, respectively (a) less than one year, (b) one to two years, (c) two to three years, (d) three to four years, (e) four to five years and (f) more than five years to settle from the time of the date of entry to the claimant's receipt of final payment.

I regret that this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many claimants under the Land Compensation Acts 1961 and 1973, during the years 1976 to 1981, received payments of interest on their claims prior to the completion of the sale of their land; and under what legislative provisions such payments were made.

It is not the Department's practice to make advance payments on account of interest on compensation for the compulsory purchase of land. Where entry is taken under section 11 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, interest is payable from the time of entry until the time the compensation is paid. The compensation, or the outstanding balance where payment on account has been claimed under section 52 of the Land Compensation Act 1973, and the interest are both payable when the land is transferred.

A1 (Archway)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans for the widening of the A1 road south of the Archway, London N.19.

None. The A1 south of the Archway is not a trunk road but is a metropolitan road for which the Greater London Council is the highway authority.

A1 (Highgate)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many people and organisations have lodged objections to the proposed A1 widening scheme at Highgate.

To date 169 letters of objection have been received, involving 414 signatories as some are signed by more than one person. In addition objections have been received from two local authorities and eight other organisations.

Roadworks (Signs)

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report, the siting distances of the end of roadworks traffic signs on (a) major roads, (b) minor roads, (c) dual carriageways and (d) motorways.

The general departmental advice for the siting distance of the "end of roadworks" signs is related to the traffic speed of the road. For under 30 mph, 30–50 mph and over 50 mph roads the recommended siting distances are 10–30 metres, 30–45 metres and 45–90 metres respectively. In urban areas the "end of roadworks" sign may be omitted in certain circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report the siting distances and minimum number of traffic signs required in advance of roadworks on (a) major roads, (b) minor roads, (c) dual carriageways and (d) motorways.

There is a statutory requirement to ensure road safety at roadworks, but not to provide a minimum number of traffic signs nor to define the siting distances. My Department has published advice on these matters, principally in the traffic signs manual. As the information in relation to signing in advance of roadworks is rather detailed, I shall write to the hon. Member.

Cyclists

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has made an assessment of the extent to which cyclists are prevented from hearing on-coming motor traffic when they are listening to personal tape recorders whilst cycling; and whether the use of this type of equipment by cyclists constitutes a hazard to road safety.

I have no evidence that the use of this type of equipment is a road safety danger. But it seems to me only sensible that cyclists should take extra care if they are using it and we have advised them accordingly.

Environment

Football Association

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what subjects he has discussed at meetings with the Football Association over the past year.

In the past year I have discussed many aspects of football with the Football Association. These range from World Cup pre-planning to the state of football, its attendances and so on. The dominant theme in all our discussions has, however, centred on the major problem of football hooliganism both in this country and abroad.

Council House Sales

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in the Lambeth inner city partnership area, how many council tenants have exercised their right to buy.

The Department does not have this information. But for information relating to the right to buy performance of the London borough of Lambeth in the whole of its area I refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, North (Mr. Durant) on 24 November.—[Vol. 32, c. 532.]

Council Houses (Islington)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homes owned by the London borough of Islington remained empty at 1 November, or at the nearest convenient date.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction to the hon. Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Cartwright) on 23 November 1982—[Vol. 32, c. 474]—which included each London housing authority's vacant dwellings at 1 April 1982.

John Holt Vintners, Liverpool

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received any representations concerning the proposed closing of John Holt Vintners, Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

I have received none. Matters relating to the wine making industry are for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Housing Improvement Allocation

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list for each local authority in England the housing improvement allocation for the years 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84;(2) if he will list for each local authority in England the housing improvement allocation expressed as a percentage of the total allocation for the years 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83 and 1983–84.

This information is not available. Since 1980–81 housing investment programme allocations have been made in a single block covering all forms of housing capital expenditure. It is for local authorities themselves

New Construction (including extensions)
Floor Space (thousand sq. metres)
	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Industry
Northern region	450·5	728·7	358·0	477·7	224·8	447·3	421·4
Darlington	6·2	94·9	8·8	2·1	5·6	2·0	47·3
Sedgefield	71·7	45·5	16·7	23·4	10·2	29·4	32·5
Teesdale	0·6	—	—	3·1	2·5	1·5	0·6
Wear Valley	1·9	4·2	3·5	2·5	7·9	9·8	4·8

to determine their own priorities for investment within the total resources available to them, including capital receipts.

Local Authority Housing (Expenditure)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each local authority in England the amount of capital receipts spent on housing expenditure and the expenditure expressed as a percentage of the total capital receipts of each authority.

I shall answer this question shortly.

Alexandra Gate, Hyde Park

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to the reply, Official Report, 29 November, c. 45, concerning the closure of the Victoria Gate, Hyde Park, why it was decided to undertake repairs of the Alexandra Gate at that time of the year; and when those repairs will be concluded.

Urgent repairs were required to the quadrants on which the gates operate to avoid danger to the policemen opening and closing them and to prevent damage to the gates. Weather permitting, the necessary work will be completed during the weekend of 4–5 December.

Listed Buildings (West Midlands)

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many notices of applications for listed building consent were received in the West Midlands regional office of his Department during October.

During October 1982 the West Midlands regional office of my Department received a total of 30 applications for listed building consent; six out of the 30 were from local authorities as owners, the remainder were private applications.

Office And Factory Floor Space

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the amount of (a) office and (b) factory floor space constructed in the Northern region and Bishop Auckland constituency for each year since 1975.

Information for constituencies is not available. The following estimates, for the Northern region and for local authorities partly in the Bishop Auckland constituency, are based on hereditaments assessed by Inland Revenue valuation offices during the financial year.

Floor Space (thousand sq. metres)
	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82
Commercial Offices
Northern region	69·2	69·7	53·9	46·4	39·7	29·9	59·4
Darlington	5·0	1·2	1·3	1·7	1·2	1·5	5·9
Sedgefield	0·9	1·4	0·4	2·0	0·7	0·1	—
Teesdale	0·1	—	—	—	—	0·2	0·1
Wear Valley	0·2	0·5	1·0	0·5	—	0·2	0·1

Home Department

Criminal Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long the one man given an immediate sentence of imprisonment for drunkenness in 1981 was sentenced; where he was held; and for how long.

We shall reply as soon as possible.Mr. Kilroy-Silk asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when and where a deaf and dumb boy was sentenced to a short, sharp shock treatment; what happened to him; and if he will make a statement.(2) when and where a boy who had undergone open heart surgery was sentenced to a short, sharp shock; what happened to him; and if he will make a statement.

Each of the four detention centres operating tougher regimes receives all persons sentenced to three months detention in a detention centre by courts in the centre's geographical catchment area. Each trainee is examined by the medical officer within 24 hours of reception. Those who are found to be unfit for the regime are transferred to a detention centre not operating a tougher regime as soon as practicable and, until their transfer, take no part in the normal regime of the centre. A deaf and dumb trainee was received by New Hall detention centre on 16 February 1981 from Manchester city magistrates' court and was transferred to Werrington House detention centre. A trainee who had previously undergone open heart surgery was received by Send detention centre from Bedford juvenile court on 23 July 1981 and was transferred to Blantyre House detention centre. Another trainee who had undergone open heart surgery was received by New Hall detention centre from Bolton magistrates' court on 13 July 1982 and was transferred to Buckley Hall detention centre.

Tottenham (Civil Disorder)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis with regard to incidents of public disorder which occurred in Tottenham, London during the afternoon and evening of Tuesday 2 November; and if he will make a statement on the nature of these disturbances.

We understand from the Commissioner that at 12.40 pm on 2 November two beer barrels were dropped from a first-floor walkway on to a police car at the Broadwater Farm Estate, Tottenham. Considerable damage was caused to the car, but the occupants were not injured. At 3 pm two officers were called to a flat on the estate to investigate a racial daubing. As they were conducting their investigation, one of the officers was struck on the head by a youth with a billiard cue and a hostile crowd gathered. The officers were given security in the flat, from where they were safely escorted by colleagues, although in the course of that a police van was damaged. Additional officers were deployed on the estate during the evening and, whilst a crowd gathered, there were no further incidents. The damage and the assault on 2 November were among the most serious of a number of incidents which have taken place on the estate since July. The police have responded by continuing both to dedicate additional officers to duties there and by initiatives to improve relations with the residents; the area has recently been quiet.

Immigration

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of potential husbands of British women citizens who will be permitted to enter the United Kingdom for marriage under the new immigration rules from each of the United States of Amercia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Africa generally, South Africa, and East European countries.

The number of men admitted for marriage, by nationality, is published annually in "Control of Immigration: Statistics"—column 14 of tables 1(a) and 1(b) of the latest issue, Cmnd. 8533. The total number of admissions for marriage of fiances from the countries specified was about 100 in each year from 1978 to 1981. It is not possible to make a precise estimate of future such admissions under the new rules because of lack of knowledge about the citizenship status of the women they entered the United Kingdom to marry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent acceptances for settlement from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan, excluding United Kingdom passport holders, have increased between 1971 and 1981.

Total acceptances for settlement by nationality are published annually in "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom", table 4 of the latest issue for 1981, Cmnd. 8533. Total acceptances for settlement from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan excluding United Kingdom passport holders dropped from 30,600 in 1971 to 28,200 in 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out for each of the last eight years the numbers of (a) men and (b) women accepted for settlement on arrival or on removal of time limit from the Indian Sub-continent and Sri Lanka for the combined reasons of marriage or affiancement.

Figures of men and women accepted for settlement by reason of marriage are published annually by nationality in "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom", tables 2 and 3 of the latest issue for 1981, Cmnd. 8533. During the period specified it has not been possible for people to be settled on account of affiancement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dependants were accepted for settlement from the Indian Sub-continent and Sri Lanka for each of the years 1970, 1971, 1980 and 1981.

Total acceptances for settlement of dependants from the Indian Sub-continent numbered 18,300 in 1980 and 18,100 in 1981; included are acceptances on arrival of all children and women other than with a United Kingdom grandparent, and acceptances on removal of time limit other than of men for marriage and of men or women after four years approved employment with a United Kingdom grandparent or exempt from deportation. The information available for 1970 and 1971, which is published in table 3 of "Control of immigration statistics" for 1970 and 1971—Cmnd. 4620 and 4951 respectively—relates only to acceptances on arrival of dependants accompanying or coming to join the head of household; such acceptances from the Indian Sub-continent and Sri Lanka numbered 14,800 in 1970 and 11,700 in 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average number over the last five years by which women accepted for settlement from the New Commonwealth and Pakistan exceeded men accepted for settlement; and what is his assessment of the reasons for any difference.

Over the five years, 1977–81 the number of women citizens of New Commonwealth countries and Pakistan accepted for settlement exceeded the number of men by an average of about 6,700 per year; this average is derived from the figures published in Table 12 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics 1981" (Cmnd. 8533). During this period many women came to the United Kingdom to join husbands who had settled in this country in previous years.

Demonstrations (Assaults)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the growing practice of persons in demonstrations throwing dangerous missiles and physically assaulting the person with whom they disagree, and the sentences at present available to the courts for such offences, he will seek to increase the penalties for these types of offence.

The case for a specific offence of missile throwing and related penalties, which the Select Committee on Home Affairs found unjustified, is being considered in the course of my review of the Public Order Act 1936 and related legislation. I am satisfied about the adequacy of the maximum penalties generally available to the courts for offences of assault, which include, on conviction on indictment, one year's imprisonment for common assault, five years' imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm or for malicious wounding, and life imprisonment for causing grievous bodily harm.

Public Disorder (Hounslow)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis concerning incidents of public disorder which took place in Hounslow on Monday and Tuesday, 22 and 23 November; and if he will make a statement on the nature of these disturbances.

We understand from the Commissioner that at approximately 11.30 pm on Monday 22 November two petrol bombs were thrown at a police patrol car on the Beavers Housing estate, Hounslow, driven by a woman police officer answering a hoax call. One of the bombs hit the car, but the officer was not injured. Five more petrol bombs were subsequently found in the area. Eight people have been arrested on charges of causing criminal damage by fire with intent to endanger life. Some of these people had been among seven arrested as a result of a disturbance at a nearby public house on the previous Saturday night, in which six police officers were injured.

Magistrates Courts (Stockport)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the progress that has been made in preparing plans for the new magistrates courts in Stockport; when he expects to announce the next allocation of permissions to build new magistrates courts; and whether Stockport's courts will be on that list.

Yes. A start is being offered on this scheme in 1984–85; and an official letter has very recently gone to the metropolitan borough of Stockport to this effect.

Remand

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the national average number of those held on remand in (a) England and Wales and (b) Liverpool in 1981; and if he will make a statement.

The total average daily population of untried and convicted unsentenced prisoners in England and Wales in 1981 was 6,905; the corresponding figure for Liverpool prison was 7. Such prisoners are not normally held at Liverpool prison at present, but we are considering the feasibility of establishing a remand function there to enable the prison to assume responsibility for the majority of men remanded by courts on Merseyside.

"Neighbourhood Watchers"

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has that police forces are using "neighbourhood watchers" in conjuction with local police to combat crime; what studies his Department has made of the efficacy of these schemes; and if he will make a statement.

All police forces promote the good neighbour scheme in which householders are encouraged to ask a neighbour to keep an eye on their homes when unoccupied. The Department has not studied the scheme but research into similar schemes in North America has shown them to be successful in reducing crime.

International Child Abduction (Hague Covention)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has yet come to a decision on whether the United Kingdom will sign the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction.

A consultative document on the considerations relating to the United Kingdom's signature of the convention will be issued shortly by the Lord Chancellor's Department. A copy will be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what countries have so far signed the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction finalised in October 1980 by the Hague conference on private international law.

The convention has so far been signed by Belgium, Canada, France, which has also ratified it, Greece, Switzerland and the United States of America.

Custody Of Children (Council Of Europe Convention)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken following the adoption of the United Kingdom's signature to the Council of Europe convention on recognition and enforcement of decisions relating to custody of children on 20 May 1980 to give effect to its terms.

Ratification of the Council of Europe convention cannot be considered in isolation from the question of signature and ratification of the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction. The legislation which would be required to give effect to the conventions would also need to establish which should apply in areas where the two conflict.

Custody Orders

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether legislation has yet been prepared to provide for the enforcement of custody orders between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland without the need for further judicial proceedings in the jurisdiction other than that in which the order was made.

The Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission are currently preparing a joint report and draft Bill on the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of child custody orders within the United Kingdom and the harmonisation of the rules governing jurisdiction to make such orders.

Custodial Sentences

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what are the ages. locations, offences and times spent in custody of each of the two 14 to 16-year-old boys given an immediate prison sentence for vagrancy in 1981;(2) what are the ages, locations, offences and times spent in custody of the two 17 to 20-year-old girls given an immediate prison sentence in 1981 for vagrancy;

(3) what are the ages and length of time spent in prison of the six women sentenced to immediate imprisonment in 1981 for vagrancy and the four imprisoned for fine defaults;

(4) if he will set out the ages, prison in which held and length of time spent in custody of each of the 28 men aged 60 years and over given individual sentences of imprisonment in 1981 for vagrancy;

(5) how long each of the 24 14 to 16-year-old boys spent in custody, who were found not guilty or not proceeded with in 1981 and yet who had been held on remand in custody;

(6) how long each of the 53 14 to 16-year-old girls given a non-custodial sentence in 1981 spent in custody after being held on remand in custody. Mr. Mayhew: We shall reply as soon as possible.

Vagrancy Offences

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what attempts were made to find accommodation for and generally rehabilitate those imprisoned in 1981 for vagrancy offences; and if any of them were received into prison for more than once in the year.

Prison and probation staff do all they can to help inmates cope with the problems that arise during imprisonment and with plans for resettlement. Persons who have been convicted of vagrancy offences are specifically asked on reception into prison whether they want help in finding accommodation on release, though in practice not many take advantage of this offer or stay more than a few days in accommodation that is found for them. I regret that information on the number of persons received into prison for vagrancy offences on more than one occasion during 1981 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Video Films (Children)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a study into the psychological effect on young children of watching home video films of an adult category.

We are not satisfied that such a study would produce reliable results, even if it were possible to undertake it without incurring risks to the children themselves. We are aware, however, of the general concern of the possible effects of the material referred to by the hon. Member and we will keep the matter under close review.

Mental Health Act 1959 (Unsentenced Detainees)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unsentenced people suffering from mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1959 were in custody on 31 December 1981 and 30 June 1982.

Since September 1981 the six-monthly census of the number of persons in prison department establishments whom the medical officer considered to be mentally disordered within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1959 has been taken on 30 September and 31 March. The number of unsentenced inmates recorded in the censuses for 30 September 1981, 31 March 1982 and 30 September 1982 were 157, 148 and 160 respectively.

Metropolitan Police (Earnings)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the average current earnings of a Metropolitan Police constable including allowances for the last full year.

The average of all Metropolitan Police constables' pay and pay-related allowances over the year 1 September 1981 to 31 August 1982, excluding recruits under training, was £10,836 per officer. In addition, the 66 per cent. of Metropolitan Police constables who were not provided with free official accommodation were paid rent allowance at an average cost of £1,944 per officer.

Animal Experiments

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) cats, (b) dogs, (c) rabbits and (d) birds were used in experiments to test the safety of food additives during the last 12 months;(2) how many

(a) cats, (b) dogs, (c) rabbits and (d) birds were used in experiments to test and develop substances used in industry during the last 12 months;

(3) how many rabbits have been used in experiments to test cosmetics and toiletries during the last 12 months;

(4) how many (a) cats, (b) dogs, (c) rabbits and (d) birds were used in experiments to develop and study the use of plant pesticides during the last 12 months.

The latest available information is for 1981, and is published in table 2 of "Statistics of experiments on living animals: Great Britain 1981" (Cmnd. 8657) copies of which are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the draft convention on the control of animal experiments together with ancillary documents.

I am putting in the Library copies of the text of the draft convention and, when available, of the draft explanatory report, as they were agreed by the ad hoc committee at its recent meeting. Copies of draft appendix A—Guidelines on Accommodation and Care of Animals—and of draft appendix B—Statistical Tables—will also be placed there when they have been agreed.

Animal Cruelty

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will provide the names of the 16 licensees who infringed the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 during 1981 and the premises where the infringements took place;(2) if he will provide the names of the members of the Home Office advisory committee on animal experiments who are presently licensed to perform experiments on live animals under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876;(3) why proceedings were not taken against the 16 persons who infringed the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 during 1981; and if he will make a statement.

No. It is not our policy to provide names and details of individual licensees or of persons who have infringed the Act. The reasons proceedings were not taken against those persons who infringed the Act or their licence conditions in 1981 are referred to in paragraph II of Appendix A to "Statistics of experiments on living animals: Great Britain 1981" (Cmnd. 8657).

Magistrates' Courts (Reporting Restrictions)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will introduce legislation to clarify the circumstances in which magistrates' courts may re-impose reporting restrictions when such restrictions have been lifted by them in the same case;(2) if he is satisfied with the working of section 8 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980; and if he will make a statement.

Section 8 as amended in 1981 appears to be working as Parliament intended. We have no reason to think that any clarification or other amendment is required.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Agricultural Tenancies

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Government have decided whether to introduce legislation in this Session of Parliament on agricultural tenancies as requested by the National Farmers Union and the Country Landowners Association; and if he will make a statement.

It has not been possible to find time for the implementation of the NFU-CLA proposals during the current Session of Parliament.

Common Fisheries Policy

16.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the current situation regarding full agreement on the common fisheries policy package.

30.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the latest position reached in the negotiations on the common fisheries policy.

I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Member to the statement by my right hon. Friend on 30 November.

42.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken by Her Majesty's Government or by the European Economic Community to see that the Danes do not exceed the fishing quotas recently allocated them by the European Economic Community.

If overall agreement on a revised common fisheries policy is not achieved by the end of the year, the package agreed by nine member States will be implemented so far as possible by national measures. The Commission has convened a high level working party for 6 December to consider the form that such measures might take.

Animal Compound Feeds

17.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of inclusion of cereal substitutes in animal compound feeds.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to imported materials and does not intend to include byproducts of the United Kingdom food processing industries which have traditionally been used in animal feed.Imports in 1981–82 of materials loosely referred to as "cereal substitutes"—manioc, maize gluten feed, grain screenings, citrus and sugar beet pulps, and the residues of grain milling, brewing and distilling—amounted to about 2·3 million tonnes, equivalent to some 13 per cent. of total supplies of concentrated animal feeding stuffs in that year.

Unfit Meat

18.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Meat (Sterilisation and Staining) Regulations 1982 are having the intended effect of preventing the illicit trade in unfit meat.

The regulations came into operation on 1 November and it is too early to assess what affect they are having. I believe, that with effective enforcement by local authorities and vigilance by meat companies the new regulations should provide a sound basis for the prevention of illegal trade.

Barley

19.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tonnes of barley have been accepted for intervention in the United Kingdom in the current season; and what are the comparable figures for the last two years.

Between 1 August and 30 November this year 1,032,000 tonnes of barley were accepted for delivery into intervention stores in the United Kingdom. The corresponding figures for 1980 and 1981 were 462,000 and 270,000 tonnes respectively.

European Community (Exports To Russia)

20.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much subsidised European Economic Community food and wine has gone to the Soviet Union to date in 1982; and what were the figures for 1981.

No further figures for 1981, beyond those which my hon. Friend already has, are yet available. I have asked the European Commission for some figures for 1982 and I shall write to my hon. Friend when these are received.

21.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to prevent the sale of subsidised agricultural produce to the Soviet Union.

The management of the export refunds system is a matter within the competence of the Commission. We have made our views on the subject clear to them.

Meat Industry

22.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the profitability of the abattoir sector of the meat industry.

Despite the closures of recent years, there is still significant overcapacity in the industry which is adversely affecting profitability. The Meat and Livestock Commission has recently published proposals for an industry-financed rationalisation scheme to tackle this problem.The present stability in cow numbers, and the prospect of larger numbers of sheep and pigs coming forward for slaughter, should be helpful to the industry.

Pesticides

23.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to publish his most recent survey on the use of pesticides.

Reports on surveys of pesticides applied to soft fruit and hops, in orchards, and from the air will be published early next year.

Animal Feeding Stuffs

24.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the extent of the cost element which led him to reject mandatory ingredient listing for animal feeding stuffs.

The estimates submitted to me so far vary widely, but indicate that there could be a considerable burden upon agriculture. As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary made clear in her reply of 15 November to the hon. Member, we are ready to consider any new evidence that may be submitted.

Agricultural Land

25.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the progress to reduce the loss of good agricultural land, particularly such land lost to urban development.

Yes.

32.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of agricultural land have been lost to new road schemes in the most recent convenient period.

I regret that this information is not available.

Plant Breeders (Rights)

26.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will bring forward legislation to extend the plant breeders' rights to include the ultimate product, such as cut roses as well as rose bushes.

The Plant Varieties Bill introduced in another place envisages the extension of rights to the sale of imported parts or products of a variety protected in the United Kingdom. With this addition the interests of plant breeders should be adequately safeguarded.

Fishery Protection (Coastguarder)

27.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has completed his review of the suitability of the British Aerospace Coastguarder for use on fishery protection and related duties.

Not yet.

Agricultural Surpluses

28.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will assess what proportion of the present surpluses in agricultural products in the European Economic Community countries is due to the common agricultural policy and what is due to improved technology, plant breeding, genetic improvement and the like.

The increase in agricultural production in the Community over the last 20 years, despite the massive outflow of labour from farming, is largely the result of technical improvements. Whether the adjustment of agricultural structure and the uptake of technical progress would have been the same or different in the absence of the common agricultural policy is a hypothetical question on which no reliable assessment would be possible.

Agriculture Industry

29.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the state of the agriculture industry; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The industry is in a very satisfactory state, and is expanding.

Chrysanthemums

31.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what he intends to do to prevent the introduction of chrysanthemum white rust fungus.

I believe that existing Community and domestic legislation provides adequate safeguards against the introduction of white rust. I shall not hesitate to make use of them to maintain our eradication policy.

Poultry

33.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will implement paragraph 37 of the summary of recommendations of the Farm Animal Welfare Council report on the welfare of poultry at the time of slaughter.

All veterinary surgeons are professionally bound to ensure the welfare of animals, and official veterinary surgeons in poultry slaughterhouses are no exception. The Government will shortly be publishing their proposals for action in response to the Farm Animal Welfare Council report, and will include proposals for encouraging local authorities—who are responsible for enforcing the legislation on welfare in slaughterhouses—to recognise the responsibilities of the official veterinary surgeon in this respect.

Fruit And Vegetables (Destruction Costs)

34.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the scale and cost of the destruction of fruit and vegetables brought into intervention in the European Economic Community in the last year for which figures are available.

The information for the 1980–81 marketing year is as follows:

	Amount
Quantity withdrawn (tonnes)	1,004,839
Cost of withdrawal (ECUs)	111,196,260
Percentage unfit for consumption	30·3

Source: Commission of the European Communities.

Note: The cost of produce unfit for consumption is not separately identified.

Sheep

35.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fat sheep either in carcase form or live were exported to France in the last month; and what were the comparable figures for the last two years.

Trade statistics are not yet available for October 1982. The comparison requested has therefore been made for September. The figures (in tonnes carcase weight, including carcase equivalent of live exports) are:

	Tonnes
September 1980	9
September 1981	2,021
September 1982	1,021

Source: HM Customs and Excise export statistics.

Marginal Land

36.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to discuss marginal land problems with other European Economic Community Agriculture Ministers.

Discussions on the United Kingdom's case for extending its less favoured areas are presently under way between my officials and those of the European Commission, most recently on 17 November. It is not possible to predict at this stage when the issue will come before the Council of Agriculture Ministers.

Wheat

37.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the standard of wheat accepted by the Community as suitable for bread-making is the same in all European Economic Community member States.

In order to be accepted into intervention at the bread wheat reference price, wheat must pass standards laid down in great detail in Community regulations which are applicable in all member States.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether any laboratory tests for assessing the suitability of bread -making wheat for intervention purposes to British stores are made outside the United Kingdom by the Intervention Board.

Yes. Some tests are carried out in Belgium to relieve pressure on United Kingdom facilities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied that British farmers submitting samples of bread-making wheat for intervention purposes are not at a disadvantage to those European farmers submitting similar samples to their respective agencies.

I am well aware of our producers' concern that a lower proportion of bread-making wheat offered for intervention in the United Kingdom has passed the prescribed tests than in some other member States. My Department is continuing to investigate the matter with the co-operation of the European Commission.

Milk Marketing Board (Initiatives)

38.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to ensure that in the case of any further marketing initiative taken by the Milk Marketing Board similar to that for Lymeswold cheese there is adequate production to meet demand.

I am delighted that with Lymeswold Dairy Crest has created a new milk product which has attracted such tremendous public demand. I understand that everything possible is being done to increase production of Lymeswold to meet the substantial demand for it in the shops.

Fish Guide Prices

39.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received any representations concerning the European Economic Community Commission's proposals for fish guide prices in 1983.

Yes, through the customary annual consultations which take place between officials and a wide range of bodies, representing catchers, processors and consumers, which have an interest in the European Commission's yearly price proposals for the fisheries sector. I have also received direct representations from a number of hon. Members.

Magarine

40.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of margarine consists of animal fats, fish oil and vegetable oils; and of these, what proportion, on average, consists of imported materials.

Manufacturers' returns for 1981, the latest information available, show that animal fats represented 13£3 per cent., marine oils 48·7 per cent. and vegetable oils 38 per cent. of oils and fats used in the production of magarine. These returns do not separately distinguish imported supplies.

Tomatoes

41.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he intends to implement the recommendations which relate to his Department in the National Economic Development Office report on tomatoes.

The agriculture economic development committee has published the tomato report in order that the rcommendations of the centre for European agricultural studies, which prepared it, can have the benefit of public debate. Many of the suggestions are essentially matters for the industry itself, and initially I shall wish to consider its reactions.

Fishing Fleet

43.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is now able to announce his intentions regarding financial help to the distant water fleet of Hull.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, Central (Mr. McNamara) earlier today.

Bovine Tuberculosis

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many badgers' setts have been gassed during the operation of the policy of gassing badgers to halt the spread of bovine tuberculosis; and how many setts were gassed more than once.

For the period from the commencement of gassing in August 1975 to the suspension of its use as the main method of badger control on 26 June 1982, a total of 4,478 setts in the south-west of England were gassed. Figures for the number of setts gassed more than once are not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether the policy of gassing badgers has halted the spread of bovine tuberculosis; and what is the incidence of the disease today in the area where the policy has been operating compared with the incidence in the same area in 1975;(2) how many herd outbreaks and individual cases of bovine tuberculosis occurred in 1980, 1981 and so far in 1982.

The following table shows the total number of herd breakdowns with tuberculosis and the total number of reactors in those breakdowns, for the counties of the south-west region and for the rest of England. My hon. Friend will be pleased to note that the incidence of the disease has generally decreased over the period in question.

Bovine tuberculosis in cattle—total herds with reactors and number of reactors
	Cornwall		Devon		Dorset		Avon
	(1)	(11)	(1)	(11)	(1)	(11)	(1)	(11)
1975	252	506	30	73	23	86	60	120
1980	133	214	50	132	14	19	33	67
1981	107	213	56	148	11	12	14	25
1982+	54	91	34	81	2	2	20	50

	Gloucester		Somerset		Wiltshire		SW Region
	(1)	(11)	(1)	(11)	(1)	(11)	(1)	(11)
1975	99	209	20	112	23	54	507	1,160
1980	31	72	7	12	29	119	297	635
1981	44	97	3	15	42	138	277	648
1982+	20	29	7	10	18	28	155	291

+ Figures cover 1 January–30 September

(1) Total herds with reactors

(11) Number of reactors

Rest of England
	(1)	(11)
1975	171	354
1980	43	106
1981	42	86
+1982	57	101

+ Figures cover 1 January–30 September

(1) Total herds with reactors

(11) Number of reactors

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total cost to date of the policy of gassing badgers to halt the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

The cost of the badger control operations in the south-west of England, indluding salaries and equipment, from August 1975 to 26 June 1982 is estimated at about an average of £140,000 per annum.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether the policy of gassing badgers to halt the spread of bovine tuberculosis is still being operated;(2) why the policy of gassing badgers to halt the spread of bovine tuberculosis has been stopped.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Sir A. Kershaw) on 14 July 1982.—[Vol. 27, c. 389.]

Milk

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West, Official Report, 15 November, c. 70, concerning the price of milk, he will set out the actual rises in costs of production, processing and distribution.

The milk price determinations are made after a review of an extensive and detailed range of data, including estimates and projections based on costings of individual dairies prepared by independent accountants. I refer the hon. Member to my statement on 22 December 1981 providing the details of my acceptance of the Binder Hamlyn proposals. On milk production costs from the cow the net result after taking account of improved yields was an increase of about 5 per cent.

Dogs

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated number of livestock killed by dogs for the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

During 1978, the last year for which figures are available, approximately 5,700 livestock were reported to have been killed by dogs in Great Britain. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 now imposes a specific requirement on owners to control their dogs when in the vicinity of sheep, and my Department continues to publicise the common sense preventive measures that can be taken by dog owners.

Alcoholic Drink Exports (French Tax)

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the Scotch Whisky Association and other United Kingdom producers of alcohol regarding the new French tax on stronger alcoholic beverages; and what response he has made.

My Department has received representations from the Scotch Whisky Association and the Gin Rectifiers and Distillers Association about the French proposal for a tax on spirit drinks, the revenue from which would be earmarked for a national social security fund. These trade associations regard the exemption of drinks under 25 per cent. alcoholic strength as discriminatory. If the proposed charge appears to be in breach of the treaty it will be for the Commission to take appropriate action.

British Wine Industry

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to halt the decline in the British wine industry due to imports from European Economic Community countries.

Sales of British wine, which is made in the United Kingdom from imported materials, have declined in recent years, apparently because of a change in consumer taste away from fortified wines such as British sherry. I have received no representations from the industry about this.

Foot And Mouth Disease

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have been taken to improve the warning and control systems against foot and mouth disease since the last outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

Despite the lapse of time since earlier outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, the procedures applied to the 1981 outbreak worked well. The Ministry has conducted a further intensive review of working arrangements and a number of detailed modifications have been made to take account of the experience gained.

"Food From Britain" Project

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the implications of the decision of the European Court on 29 November relating to financial aid for campaigns aimed at boosting domestic sales of national products for the £14 million which he has allocated to the "Food from Britain" project; and if he will make a statement.

The European Court judgment related to a "Buy Irish" campaign sponsored by the Irish Government, the stated purpose of which was the protection of the Irish economy from imports by means of import substitution. Food from Britain is not a parallel. Like the agricultural marketing organisations of certain other Community countries, such as SOPEXA in France and CMA in Germany, which have not been challenged by the European Commission the objective of "Food from Britain" will be to improve agricultural and food marketing in the widest sense on both the home and export markets. The achievement of quality, consistency and value for money in British food will be its priorities.

Wales

Blind Persons (Specialist Social Workers)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of specialist social workers for the blind employed in Wales.

This information is not available centrally.

Unemployment Statistics

asked the Secretary of State for Wales by how much employment has fallen in the Principality during the second quarter of 1982.

The number of employees in employment in Wales fell by 8,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the rate of increase between October 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than two years for (a) Wales and (b) each county in Wales, ranked from highest to lowest.

The information is as follows:

Percentage increase in the numbers unemployed for more than two years between October 1979 and October 1982.

Wales	165·3
West Glamorgan	255·1
Gwent	178·8
Mid Glamorgan	171·5
South Glamorgan	162·0
Clwyd	147·3
Dyfed	127·2
Gwynedd	95·5
Powys	75·0

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the rate of increase between October 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than 52 weeks for (a) Wales and (b) each county in Wales, ranked from highest to lowest.

The information is as follows:

Percentage increase in the numbers unemployed for more than 52 weeks between October 1979 and October 1982
	Per cent.
Wales	199·6
West Glamorgan	280·6
Mid Glamorgan	214·7
Dyfed	207·6
Gwent	204·7
Clwyd	187·1
Powys	182·5
South Glamorgan	153·9
Gwynedd	133·3

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the rate of increase between April 1979 and October 1982 in the number of persons registered as unemployed for more than 52 weeks for (a) Wales and (b) each county in Wales, ranked from highest to lowest.

The information is as follows:

Percentage increase in the numbers unemployed for more than 52 weeks between April 1979 and October 1982
	Per cent.
Wales	200·0
West Glamorgan	348·0
Mid Glamorgan	227·4
Powys	208·8
Gwent	196·3
Dyfed	183·2
South Glamorgan	174·2
Clwyd	158·7
Gwynedd	105·8

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of unemployed by order of the standard industrial classification and the number of vacancies in Wales at the latest available date.

The information is as follows:

Wales
		Notified vacancies remaining unfilled May 1982		Notified vacancies remaining unfilled August 1982
Standard Industrial Classification	Unemployed May 1982	Employment Offices	Careers Offices	Employment Offices	Careers Offices
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing	2,238	32	9	70	7
Mining and Quarrying	2,822	20	—	17	—
Food, Drink, Tobacco	3,431	84	6	73	4
Coal and Petroleum Products	437	7	—	9	—
Chemical and Allied Industries	2,095	47	4	75	1
Metal Manufacture	11,473	23	1	37	6
Mechanical Engineering	3,819	98	4	121	2
Instrument Engineering	310	13	1	8	5
Electrical Engineering	3,256	118	3	114	3
Shipbuilding	316	5	1	1	1
Vehicles	2,807	73	1	48	1
Metal goods not elsewhere specified	4,051	106	3	122	9
Textiles	1,688	47	1	39	3
Leather, Leather Goods	157	8	1	6	2
Clothing and Footwear	2,039	99	11	71	11
Bricks, Pottery, Glass, Cement	963	29	—	27	—
Timber, Furniture, etc.	1,715	63	2	70	3
Paper, Printing, Publishing	1,480	74	2	71	8
Other Manufacturing	3,557	60	3	62	1
Construction	28,412	416	13	439	19
Gas, Electricity, Water	720	38	5	43	—
Transport and Communication	6,268	129	3	97	7
Distributive Trades	14,789	879	48	795	42
Insurance, Banking, Finance	2,415	339	6	307	7
Professional and Scientific Services	6,624	697	8	644	8
Miscellaneous Services	15,496	2,660	29	1,436	25
Public Administration and Defence	8,952	693	6	693	7
Unclassified	35,914	—	—	—	—
Total	168,244	6,857	171	5,495	182

The industrial analysis of the unemployed was discontinued from May 1982. The industrial analysis of unfilled vacancies is compiled on a quarterly basis.

Vacancy statistics are not a measure of the total number of vacancies in the economy; the figures relate only to notified vacancies remaining unfilled on the day of the monthly count. A survey conducted in 1977 indicated that, on average, only about one third of all vacancies are notified to the public employment service.

Vacancies notified to employment offices—jobcentres are mainly for adults aged 18 and over, but include some vacancies for persons under 18.

Vacancies notified to careers offices are mainly for young persons under 18, but may include some vacancies suitable for adults. A vacancy is sometimes notified to both services by an employer and will be included in both counts; for this reason the two sets of figures should not be added together to give a figure for total unfilled vacancies.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number unemployed by order of the standard industrial classification and the number of vacancies in each of the employment offices in West Glamorgan in October 1982.

	Cymmer			Gorseinon			Morriston
Standard Industrial Classification	1	2	^*3	1	2	3	1	2	3
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	5	—	—	9	3	2	10	—	—
Mining and quarrying	40	—	—	64	—	—	35	—	—
Food, drink and tobacco	2	—	—	10	—	—	35	2	2
Coal and petroleum products	—	—	—	2	—	—	34	—	—
Chemicals and allied industries	43	—	—	2	—	—	27	—	—
Metal manufacture	36	—	—	341	1	—	363	—	—
Mechanical engineering	2	—	—	54	2	1	46	—	—
Instrument engineering	1	—	—	3	—	—	6	—	—
Electrical engineering	16	—	—	18	—	—	28	1	2
Shipbuilding and marine engineering	—	—	—	5	—	—	2	—	—
Vehicles	11	—	—	45	—	—	44	—	—
Metal goods not elsewhere specified	11	—	—	42	—	—	58	2	4
Textiles	1	—	—	10	—	—	7	—	—
Leather, leather goods and fur	1	—	—	6	—	—	1	—	—
Clothing and footwear	5	—	—	24	—	—	36	—	—
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement	2	—	—	6	—	—	30	1	4
Timber, furniture etc.	6	—	—	12	—	—	43	10	1
Paper, printing and publishing	12	—	—	3	—	—	13	—	—
Other manufacturing	5	—	—	83	1	—	80	—	2
Construction	138	—	—	190	2	10	576	13	6

The information in respect of latest available dates is as follows:

	Cymmer			Gorseinon			Morriston
Standard Industrial Classification	1	2	^* 3	1	2	3	1	2	3
Gas, electricity and water	—	—	—	4	1	—	6	—	—
Transport and communication	15	—	—	26	1	1	101	1	—
Distributive trades	19	—	—	163	8	8	274	15	10
Insurance, banking etc.	—	1	—	21	4	2	31	5	2
Professional and scientific services	8	—	—	41	5	3	101	17	15
Miscellaneous services	19	—	—	119	38	7	235	19	11
Public administration and defence	22	7	—	75	5	3	272	8	8
Unclassified by Industry	117	—	—	362	—	—	891	—	—
Total—All Industries	537	8	—	1,740	71	37	3,385	94	67

1. Unemployed at May 1982.

2. Number of vacancies unfilled at May 1982.

3. Number of vacancies unfilled at August 1982.

^* Cymmer vacancies unfilled for August included in Port Talbot totals.

^† Resolven vacancies unfilled for August included in Neath totals.

	Neath			Pontardawe			Port Talbot
Standard Industrial Classification	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	10	—	—	1	—	—	22	1	1
Mining and quarrying	50	—	1	30	—	—	35	—	—
Food, drink and tobacco	35	—	—	3	—	—	55	1	3
Coal and petroleum products	69	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—
Chemicals and allied industries	64	—	1	5	—	—	117	1	1
Metal manufacture	474	—	2	102	—	—	974	—	1
Mechanical engineering	56	—	—	21	—	—	36	1	8
Instrument engineering	10	—	—	4	—	—	26	—	—
Electrical engineering	40	—	—	9	—	—	22	4	1
Shipbuilding and marine engineering	2	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—
Vehicles	65	—	1	6	—	—	89	—	—
Metal goods not elsewhere specified	208	1	5	32	—	1	155	3	1
Textiles	2	—	—	1	—	—	—	2	4
Leather, leather goods and fur	1	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
Clothing and footwear	47	—	—	14	—	—	110	13	8
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement	16	—	—	1	—	—	12	1	—
Timber, furniture etc.	33	11	3	19	—	—	37	2	4
Paper, printing and publishing	21	—	—	5	—	—	12	10	6
Other manufacturing	92	—	—	9	—	—	50	—	—
Construction	559	2	42	83	1	—	942	28	38
Gas, electricity and water	11	3	1	5	—	—	10	—	1
Transport and communication	129	4	2	14	—	—	121	2	3
Distributive trades	379	14	12	55	2	—	276	12	14
Insurance, banking etc.	55	1	1	16	—	1	43	6	11
Professional and scientific services	125	7	7	25	1	—	127	4	7
Miscellaneous services	289	24	15	50	7	2	376	32	37
Public administration and defence	179	3	13	80	2	1	217	20	51
Unclassified by Industry	739	—	—	129	—	—	1,317	—	—
Total—All Industries	3,760	70	106	721	13	5	5,184	139	200

1. Unemployed at May 1982.

2. Number of vacancies unfilled at May 1982.

3. Number of vacancies unfilled at August 1982.

^* Cymmer vacancies unfilled for August included in Port Talbot totals.

^† Resolven vacancies unfilled for August included in Neath totals.

	Swansea			Resolven			Ystradgynlais
Standard Industrial Classification	1	2	3	1	2	^† 3	1	2	3
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	42	—	—	3	—	—	3	—	—
Mining and quarrying	23	—	—	22	—	—	46	—	—
Food, drink and tobacco	154	5	18	4	—	—	1	—	—
Coal and petroleum products	34	3	3	—	—	—	1	—	—
Chemicals and allied industries	105	9	13	—	—	—	7	—	—
Metal manufacture	727	1	1	174	—	—	8	—	—
Mechanical engineering	125	6	19	4	—	—	15	—	—
Instrument engineering	13	1	1	—	—	—	47	2	2
Electrical engineering	72	9	8	42	—	—	11	—	1
Shipbuilding and marine engineering	57	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Vehicles	117	11	11	21	—	—	10	—	—
Metal goods not elsewhere specified	214	22	20	7	—	—	6	1	—
Textiles	49	4	4	1	—	—	11	—	—
Leather, leather goods and fur	4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—

	Swansea			Resolven			Ystradgynlais
Standard Industrial Classification	1	2	3	1	2	^† 3	1	2	3
Clothing and footwear	68	9	10	11	—	—	19	—	—
Bricks, pottery, glass, cement	16	3	4	2	—	—	—	—	—
Timber, furniture etc.	42	2	1	5	—	—	4	—	—
Paper, printing and publishing	40	6	4	1	—	—	1	1	1
Other manufacturing	314	3	14	6	—	—	4	—	—
Construction	1,677	30	54	84	1	—	83	—	1
Gas, electricity and water	37	2	4	5	—	—	1	—	—
Transport and communication	477	17	9	11	1	—	17	—	1
Distributive trades	1,258	91	143	36	—	—	34	1	1
Insurance, banking etc.	189	44	35	5	—	—	10	1	1
Professional and scientific service	445	48	62	6	—	—	24	1	—
Miscellaneous services	972	90	157	26	1	—	57	3	12
Public administration and defence	605	43	33	28	—	—	44	—	1
Unclassified by Industry	2,324	—	—	102	—	—	135	—	—
Total—All Industries	10,200	461	632	606	3	—	599	10	21

1. Unemployed at May 1982.

2. Number of vacancies unfilled at May 1982.

3. Number of vacancies unfilled at August 1982.

^* Cymmer vacancies unfilled for August included in Port Talbot totals.

^† Resolven vacancies unfilled for August included in Neath totals.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the number of long-term unemployed as a percentage of all enployees in (a) October 1979 and (b) October 1982 for (i) Wales and (ii) each county in Wales.

The information based on the latest available employee population estimates is as follows:

	October 1979	October 1980
Wales	2·1	6·2
South Glamorgan	1·9	4·8
Mid Golamorgan	2·8	8·9
West Glamorgan	1·4	5·3
Gwent	2·4	7·3
Dyfed	1·6	5·1

Full-time Workers: Distribution of Gross Weekly Earnings

Per cent.

Under £40

£41 to £50

£51 to £60

£61 to £70

£71 to £80

£81 to £90

£91 to £100

£101 to £110

£111 to £120

£121 to £130

£131 to £140

£141 to £150

Over £150

Males^*

^←

1·6

^→

3·2

4·7

7·0

9·8

11·1

10·5

^←

23·6

^→

28·5

Females^†

1·5

4·3

13·8

16·2

16·5

10·9

11·0

6·0

4·0

3·4

^←

5·0

^→

7·4

^* Aged 21 and over.

^† Aged 18 and over.

Employment

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of people employed in manufacturing industry in Wales in September as compared with June 1979; and how many jobs were lost in mechanical engineering during this period.

In June 1982 the latest date for which information is available, 226,000 were employed in the manufacturing industries. The corresponding figure for June 1979 was 312,000.Figures for mechanical engineering in the same period are not available.

	October 1979	October 1980
Powys	1·4	3·9
Gwynedd	2·1	4·9
Clwyd	2·8	8·0

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the numbers of full-time working (a) males and (b) females aged 21 years and over in each of the counties of Wales in the following gross weekly earning bands (i) under £40, (ii) £41 to £50, (iii) £51 to £60, (iv) £61 to £70, (v) £71 to £80, (vi) £81 to £90, (vii) £91 to £100, (viii) £101 to £110, (ix) £111 to £120, (x) £121 to £130, (xi) £131 to £140, (xii) £141 to £150 and (xiii) over £150.

The figures are not available for countries Information on a Wales basis is available expressed in percentage terms as follows:

Perinatal And Infant Mortality

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what were the perinatal and infant mortality rates, respectively, for each social class where babies were born into married households in (a) West Glamorgan and (b) Wales, in the period 1979–80 and for the most recent available period.

The available information is contained in the following table:

Perinatal and infant mortality rates by social class of father, 1979–80
	Social Class					All Social Classes^*
	I	II	III	IV	V
West Glamorgan
Perinatial rates^†	7·2	13·4	13·4	15·3	27·1	14·7
Infant rates^‡	7·2	11·1	12·2	12·5	18·8	12·7
Wales
Perinatal rates^†	9·5	10·2	13·2	17·1	17·4	13·4
Infant rates^‡	8·9	8·5	10·8	13·3	16·2	11·3

^* Including residual social groups not ascribed to a particular Social Class.

^† Per 1,000 total births.

^‡ Per 1,000 live births.

Note: Social class was derived using the 1980 Classification of Occupations.

Lorries (Accidents)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many lorries jack-knifed in fatal and serious accidents in the Principality in 1981.

10.

Assisted Areas

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in the Official Report(a) the current assisted area status with the relevant sub-categories, for each employment exchange area in the Gower parliamentary constituency and (b) the comparable status of each in April 1979.

The information is as follows:

Employment office area	Assisted area status
	December 1982	April 1979
Swansea	IA	DA
Gorseinon	IA	DA
Morriston	IA	DA
Pontardawe	DA	SDA
Ystradgynlais	DA	SDA
Garnant	DA	SDA

Travel-to-work area	April 1982	May 1982	June 1982	July 1982	August 1982	September 1982^*	October 1982^*
Aberdare	—	—	—	15	—	47	422
Aberystwyth	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bargoed	13	48	28	28	90	87	120
Barmouth	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Blaenau Ffestiniog	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Brecon	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Caernarfon	12	12	24	56	106	37	44
Cardiff	287	163	157	152	169	167	135
Cardigan	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Carmarthen	—	—	—	—	22	11	28
Colwyn Bay	5	6	6	—	11	51	10
Denbigh	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Ebbw Vale	61	40	40	31	189	83	319
Fishguard	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Holyhead	—	—	—	—	—	57	146
Lampeter	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Llandeilo	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Llandrindod Wells	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Llanelli	49	48	112	365	75	130	58
Llangollen	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
Llanwrst	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Machynlleth	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Merthyr Tydfil	—	98	—	350	—	—	43
Milford Haven	114	3	42	—	14	—	—

Redundancies

asked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the number of notified redundancies for each county in Wales since April 1982;(2) if he will publish in the

Official Report the number of notified redundancies in each travel-to-work area in Wales for each month since April 1982.

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the available information relates to those notified redundancies which have taken place. The members are as follows:

A. Counties
	April 1982 to October 1982
South Glamorgan	1,038
Mid Glamorgan	3,052
West Glamorgan	2,525
Gwent	2,710
Dyfed	2,362
Powys	181
Gwynedd	630
Clwyd	826

Travel-to-work area	April 1982	May 1982	June 1982	July 1982	August 1982	September 1982 ^*	October 1982 ^*
Monmouth	—	—	369	—	—	—	—
Neath	222	21	34	—	88	10	90
Newport	212	194	137	75	111	156	183
Newtown	—	143	12	—	—	—	26
Pembroke Dock	402	213	79	—	24	24	549
Pontypool	80	35	51	49	18	82	170
Pontypridd	76	144	39	24	24	65	182
Port Talbot	269	404	77	385	271	224	295
Pwllhelli	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Rhyl	—	—	12	—	—	28	30
Shotton	62	22	60	68	115	80	38
Swansea	220	87	143	226	106	174	121
Tenby	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Towyn	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Welshpool	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Wrexham	43	30	31	19	38	130	53

^* Figures for September and October are provisional.

Factories And Offices

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the amount of (a) factory and (b) office floor space constructed in Wales for each year since 1975.

Thousand sq. metres
	(a) Industrial		(b) Commercial Offices
Year	New	Increased by extension	New	Increased by extension
1974–75	175·9	87·1	42·6	7·1
1975–76	161·3	139·4	67·6	6·5
1976–77	207·6	81·4	52·8	4·5
1977–78	104·9	115·5	37·6	8·2
1978–79	218·6	200·9	48·0	4·8
1979–80	204·5	148·2	21·2	7·4
1980–81	349·6	106·7	27·3	5·0

Note: These figures exclude certain elements on the ground of the type of establishment concerned. The most important industrial exclusions are of large scale plant such as steel mills, refineries, and so on. Office exclusions relate to untilities, transport, Coal Board and mineral working, local and central Government, hospitals, educational and leisure premises. A full list of exclusions is given in "Commercial and Industrial Floorspace Statistics for England 1978–81".

Health Authorities (Vacancies)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state the numbers of vacancies for community nurses, midwives, health visitors, physiotherapists and radiographers unfilled in each of the

Figures for "new" and "increased by extension" changes in industrial and commercial office floor space in Wales from 1974–75 onwards are shown in the following table.health authorities in Wales; and what is the average time posts in each category have been unfilled for each authority.

This information is not centrally.

Volume 33: debated on Thursday 2 December 1982

Written Answers To Questions

Scotland

Black Report

Office Floor Space

Trade

Laker Group

Nickel

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

France (Alcoholic Beverages)

Companies (Political Donations)

European Community

Industry

Support For Innovation Scheme

Car Component Suppliers

Loan Guarantee Scheme

Grants

Marine Engineering

Sale Of National Products

Telecommunications Industry

Japan And United States (Investment And Employment)

Energy

Domestic Supplies (Disconnections)

Plutonium

Coal Industry

Wytch Farm (Sale)

British Gas (Chairman)

District Heating Systems (Oil Costs)

Opencast Coal

Fuel Prices

Overseas Development

Laparoscopes (India)

Providenciales (Holiday Village)

Prime Minister

Engagements

Bank Of England (Governor)

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Confederation Of British Industry

Factory Closures

Wisbech

Philippines

Joint Intelligence Committee

Argentina

Falkland Islands

Public Appointments

Mr Ian Smith (Talks)

Employment

Unemployment Statistics

Unemployment Statistics (Penistone)

Redundancies

Unemployment Statistics (Northern Region)

Enterprise Allowance Scheme

Work Permits

Public Sector Contracts

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Radioactive Material

International Organisations (Diplomatic Immunities)

Single Women Diplomats (Personal Relationships)

Diplomats (Security)

Chemical And Biological Weapons

Northern Ireland

Road Accidents

Education And Science

Student Grants

Perq Computers

Great Ringstead Primary School

Courses (Full-Fee Costs)

Defence

Mr Bart Khan

Clothing (Flammability)

Sky Flash Missile

War Widows (Payments)

Queen's Flight

Harm Missiles

National Finance

Income Tax

Mortgage Relief

Personal Wealth

Fringe Benefits