asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied that the Answer to the Written Question (

To the best of our knowledge, the information contained in that reply is correct. The allowances paid to members of the European Parliament are a matter for that body, however, and I shall write to my noble friend when I have inquired into the particular matter he raises.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What inquiries they have made about the extent to which justices' clerks have compiled lists of doctors and psychiatrists prepared to do court work, and when the outcome of these inquiries may be expected to be made public.

The Government have not thought it right to add to the burden that courts have been facing for the last few weeks, but these inquiries will be made as soon as practicable.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many reports were prepared on persons remanded on bail for psychiatric examination in each of the years 1976 to 1979 inclusive; and how many reports were prepared on persons remanded on bail and in custody respectively for psychiatric examination in 1979 in each police force area in England and Wales.

Information on the number of psychiatric reports prepared by medical officers on persons remanded on bail is normally included in Report on thework of the Prison Department (Paragraph 157 of the issue for 1979, Cmnd. 7965); the information for the years 1976 to 1979 is brought together in the following table. For the total number of such reports in 1979 on persons remanded in custody I would refer the noble Lord to the reply given to a Question by him on 10th October (Official Report, vol. 413, cols. 715–716). A breakdown by police force area is not available.

Psychiatric reports by medical officers in prison department establishments in England and Wales on persons remanded on bail 1976–79
Year	Number of Reports
1976	268
1977	198
1978	219
1979	258

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of the retail price index, which plays so great a part in

Retail Prices Index
	Indices Jan. 1974 = 100				Percentage Change over a year earlier
	All items	All items excluding tobacco	All items excluding alcoholic drinks	All items excluding tobacco & alcoholic drinks	All items	All items excluding tobacco	All items excluding alcoholic drinks	All items excluding tobacco & alcoholic drinks
Jan. 1975	119·9	119·7	120·0	119·8	19·9	19·7	20·0	19·8
Jan. 1976	147·9	147·3	147·8	147·1	23·4	23·1	23·2	22·8
Jan. 1977	172·4	171·5	172·3	171·2	16·6	16·4	16·6	16·4
Jan. 1978	189·5	188·0	189·5	187·9	9·9	9·6	10·0	9·8
Jan. 1979	207·2	206·1	207·9	206·8	9·3	9·6	9·7	10·1
Jan. 1980	245·3	244·2	245·7	244·5	18·4	18·5	18·2	18·2
Sept. 1980	270·2	268·9	270·0	268·6	15·9	16·0	15·5	15·7

asked Her Majesty's Government:What have been the profits and losses of the British Steel Corporation, after provision for interest and depreciation, for each year since nationalisation expressed in 1979 survey prices; and

In the retail prices index, alcoholic drink has a weight of 8·2 per cent. and tobacco of 4·0 per cent. The construction of the retail prices index follows the recommendations of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee which includes representative of the TUC, the CBI and trade and consumer organisations together with leading academic experts and government statisticians. While the Committee has explicitly recommended that the index should reflect price changes over the whole field of goods and services purchased by households, I accept that there may be a case for publishing the contributions of alcohol and tobacco separately.Retail prices indices for all items excluding alcoholic drink, or tobacco, or both can be readily computed from published information. Figures for such indices compared with those in the "all items" index for the period since January 1974 were as follows:from which sources have net losses been financed.

The profits and losses of the British Steel Corporation after provision for interest and depreciation for each year since nationalisation expressed in 1979 survey prices are as follows:

	£ million 1978–79 prices
1967–68	29 Loss
1968–69	70 Loss
1969–70	29* Profit
1970–71	27 Loss
1971–72	175 Loss
1972–73	7 Profit
1973–74	71 Profit
1974–75	117 Profit
1975–76	360 Loss
1976–77	117 Loss
1977–78	478 Loss
1978–79	309 Loss
1979–80	470 Loss
*The 1969–70 financial year covers only six months as a result of a change in the accounting period from a September to a March year-end. The corporation's net losses have been financed out of capital provided by the Government; since 1st April 1978 this has been through subscriptions of capital under Section 18(1) of the Iron and Steel Act 1975.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following their Answer of 6th October (H.L.

Since nation-alisation in 1967 the following amounts, in 1979 survey prices, have been provided to meet the British Steel Corporation's financial requirements over successive five year periods:

	£ million
	April 1965 to March 1970	April 1970 to March 1975	April 1975 to March 1980
PDC and capital subscribed under section 18(1)	—	80	3,100

asked Her Majesty's Government:What numbers and categories of people are entitled to cheap travel on British railways, and what is: (

The entire population is entitled to take advantage of reduced rail fares of one kind or another, with the exception of children under five who travel free. British Rail follow a market pricing policy and offer discounts only where it makes sense commercially. The question of travel concessions to British Rail employees is entirely a matter for the Railways Board. I understand that they have not attempted to assess the cash value of these concessions because of the very wide variations in the travel patterns of individual employees.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of the provision for more generous tax treatment for charitable donations under four-year covenants from April 1981, donors or beneficiaries from unexpired seven-year covenants will qualify for higher tax repayments.

Donors under unexpired seven-year covenants will also qualify for higher rate tax relief from 6th April 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What industries and employments are now subject to wages councils and what numbers are covered by each.

My Lords, the table below lists the existing 34 wages councils and gives estimates of the number of workers covered by them.

Estimates of numbers of workers in field of operation of Wages Councils
Wages Council	Estimated No. of Workers covered*
Aerated Waters (E. and W.)	13,500
Aerated Waters (Scotland)	1,400
Boot and Shoe Repairing	7,900
Button Manufacturing	3,300
Coffin Furniture and Cerement-Making	500
Corset	10,500
Cotton Waste Reclamation	400
Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing (E. and W.)	96,800
Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing (Scotland)	1,300
Flax and Hemp	2,300
Fur	5,100
General Waste Materials Reclamation	20,200
Hairdressing Undertakings	128,600
Hat, Cap and Millinery (Great Britain)	7,800
Lace Finishing	700
Laundry	39,200
Licensed Non-residential Establishment	470,000
Licensed Residential Estallishment and Licensed Restaurant	530,000
Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household Goods and Linen Piece Goods	5,600
Made-up Textiles	6,500
Ostrich and Fancy Feather and Artificial Flower	1,500
Perambulator and Invalid Carriage	2,100
Pin, Hook and Eye, and Snap Fastener	900
Ready-made and Wholesale Bespoke Tailoring	114,700
Retail Bespoke Tailoring (GB)	5,000
Retail Food and Allied Trades	522,800
Retail Trades Non-Food	563,700
Rope, Twine and Net	4,000
Rubber Proofed Garment Making Industry	800
Sack and Bag	1,800
Shirtmaking	24,400
Toy Manufacturing	23,300
Unlicensed Place of Refreshment	121,900
Wholesale Mantle and Costume	46,000
	2,784,500
*These estimates are derived mainly from numbers found to be employed in establishments visited on inspection by the Wages Inspectorate in recent years. The establishments in question do not form a representative sample for statistical purposes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many cases of legionnaires' disease there have been in hospitals in Britain during 1980, how many patients have died and how many are recovering; and what research is being carried out.

Of the known cases of legionnaires' disease this year, 21 are considered to have acquired the infection in hospital; six have died. The Public Health Laboratory Service began research on legionnaires' disease in 1977 and in January 1979 they undertook a collaborative study to define the clinical and epidemiological aspects of the disease. Reported cases have been extensively investigated to discover possible sources and method of spread. The PHLS has also been engaged in research on the ecology of the Legionella pneumophilia organism and this is being extended in 1981. An investigation into the incidence of legionnaires' disease and other infections among package tourists and other travellers is in progress in Scotland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the size of the staff of the Charity Commission.

The number of staff of the Charity Commission in post on 1st November 1980 was 328.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied that four inquiries under Section 6 of the Charities Act 1960 represent an adequate degree of supervision of over 130,000 registered charities, in the last year for which records are available.

I understand from the Charity Commissioners that it is only in the most serious and difficult cases that a person is formally appointed to hold an inquiry, and that four such appointments were made in 1979. The commissioners carry out some hundreds of other inquiries into the affairs of charities each year, but the number of these inquiries is not known. The number of formal appointments made in no way reflects the degree of supervision of registered charities exercised by the Charity Commissioners.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What studies are currently being financed by the Department of Health, area health authorities or the Medical Research Council on the association between unemployment and other social ills and morbidity and mortality rates.

Two departmentally funded projects are expected to produce relevant information:

(a) The Department's cohort study of men who registered as unemployed during the autumn of 1978. This includes questions on the effects of unemployment on health.

(b) Families and the effects of unemployment. A small-scale study by Dr. L. Fagin of the London Hospital and Mr. M. Little.

The department is currently considering a proposal from Queen Mary College, London University for a research study which would test the hypothesis that there is a link between unemployment and mortality rates.Consideration is also being given to a Third National Morbidity Survey which it is hoped will start in mid-1981. This study would, over a period of 12 months, look at the morbidity encountered in a sample of general practices spread over the country, and relate the findings to the social and environmental factors recorded in the 1981 Census. A number of Medical Research Council Units are undertaking research which might have a bearing on morbidity and mortality rates and the link with phenomena such as unemployment. For instance the Social and Applied Psychology Unit (administered jointly with Social Science Research Council) examines occupational stress and strain and the effects of redundancy and unemployment; the Applied Psychology Unit assesses work performance after sleep loss, under noisy and hot conditions, after alcohol intake, and at times of increased anxiety; the Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry studies sections of the population where there is a high risk of particular psychiatric illnesses and examines the attendant social and psychological factors; the Environmental Physiology Unit, which closed on 30th September this year, conducted research into the anatomical and physiological problems arising in working and living environments. No information is held centrally about research undertaken by area health authorities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated price-elasticity of (

There is no reliable way of estimating in advance what would happen to the number of visitors to Kew if the admission charge was to be doubled or trebled.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the minutes and other relevant documents of the Inter-Departmental Prisoners of War Co-ordinating Committee (Finance), which sat during the Second World War, will be deposited at the Public Record Office, Kew, and what reference number will be assigned to them.

All surviving Ministry of Defence documents relating to the work of this committee have already been transferred to the Public Record Office. No single reference number in the PRO contains a comprehensive collection of the proceedings of the committee, but its activities are recorded in many documents lodged in classes Air 2, ADM 1 and 116, and WO32.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Day to day enforcement of the regulations affecting vehicle noise is a matter for the police, which, in the County of Avon, is the Avon and Somerset Police Authority. The Department of Transport's vehicle examiners may also cover noise in spot checks of heavy goods vehicles; and silencer and exhaust systems are checked in the annual tests of cars and motorcycles over three years old and of all heavy goods vehicles.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which authority is responsible for carrying out the control of the 40 mph limit in the Borough of Cheltenham between hours of 6 and 10 p.m.

The Gloucestershire Constabulary is responsible for the enforcement of speed limits in Cheltenham at all times.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the growing traffic chaos, and the danger of pollution to the Palace of Westminster, they will now consider making this area a "no-go" area to heavy vehicles and coaches.

No. Traffic regulation in London is the responsibility of the Greater London Council. Heavy lorries not requiring access are already banned from the central area of London, which includes Parliament Square. The exclusion of coaches from this area, which includes places of the greatest historical interest, would be hard to justify.

This is a matter for the Post Office under the powers of autonomy granted it by the Post Office Act 1969.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to deal with the implications of the judgment of the House of Lords in the case of

This matter is still under consideration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish details of the waiting lists for admission to hospitals in each of the four administrative Board areas in Northern Ireland for each quarter since December 1977, and in the following specialties: general surgery; ear, nose and throat; gynoecology; tonsils and adenoids; orthopaedic surgery; other specialties.

The information is as follows:

HEALTH BOARD	SPECIALTY			QUARTER ENDED
				31.12.77	31.3.78	30.6.78	30.9.78	31.12.78	31.3.79	30.6.79	30.9.79	31.12.79	31.3.80	30.6.80
Eastern	General Surgery	…	…	2,963	2,601	2,736	2,833	3,000	3,195	3,453	3,263	3,345	3,329	2,918
	Ear, Nose and Throat—Total	…	…	2,838	2,553	2,683	2,452	2,431	2,874	2,881	2,670	2,606	2,404	2,524
	*Tonsils and Adenoids	…	…	(1,599)				(1,111)				(894)
	Gynaecology	…	…	1,536	1,124	1,095	984	1,004	992	1,049	1,031	1,059	1,092	1,159
	Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery	…	…	3,470	3,677	3,926	4,046	4,139	4,454	4,880	4,699	4,695	4,599	4,891
	†Other Specialties	…	…	5,087	5,223	5,650	5,098	5,042	5,129	5,198	5,182	4,916	5,055	5,189
				15,714	15,178	16,090	15,413	15,616	16,644	17,461	16,845	16,621	16,479	16,681
Northern	General Surgery	…	…	1,138	1,310	1,174	1,282	1,206	1,175	1,060	943	820	667	638
	Ear, Nose and Throat—Total	…	…	882	902	946	925	986	948	977	924	899	904	845
	*Tonsils and Adenoids	…	…	(632)				(691)
	Gynaecology	…	…	522	513	525	455	443	396	525	499	484	486	345
	Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery	…	…
	†Other Specialties	…	…	47	67	68	53	50	74	53	51	57	70	73
				2,589	2,792	2,713	2,715	2,685	2,593	2,615	2,417	2,260	2,127	1,901
Southern	General Surgery	…	…	876	849	963	896	939	999	870	798	770	757	778
	Ear, Nose and Throat—Total	…	…	1,337	1,329	1,414	1,366	1,332	1,375	1,359	1,290	1,198	1,066	1,196
	*Tonsils and Adenoids	…	…	(728)				(731)
	Gynaecology	…	…	281	338	386	413	437	545	484	478	509	565	593
	Traumatic and Orthopaedic Surgery	…	…
	†Other Specialties	…	…	64	79	90	88	88	110	106	73	79	95	100
				2,558	2,595	2,853	2,763	2,796	3,029	2,819	2,639	2,556	2,483	2,667
Western	General Surgery	…	…	484	494	632	613	659	844	727	774	752	774	526
	Ear, Nose and Throat—Total	…	…	390	392	420	383	430	594	796	733	727	801	787
	*Tonsils and Adenoids	…	…	(204)				(238)
	Gynaecology	…	…	453	424	431	334	397	454	441	426	311	284	274
	Traumatic and Othopaedic Surgery	…	…	460	301	369	423	297	340	331	358	340	335	336
	†Other Specialties	…	…	162	202	172	192	216	298	243	180	186	237	187
				1,949	1,813	2,024	1,945	1,999	2,530	2,538	2,471	2,316	2,431	2,110
	TOTALS (all Boards)	…	…	22,810	22,378	22,680	22,836	23,096	24,796	25,433	24,372	23,753	23,520	23,359
*Where available.
†Excludes psychiatric and mental handicap hospitals

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they accept the principle that familiarity with traffic warning signs breeds contempt; and if so whether they will discourage the display of deer warning signs on the highway except where woods or forests border the highway.

The use of signs giving information which is not seen to be relevant may indeed devalue them. It has not so far been suggested that the deer sign is being used unnecessarily. At present this sign may be used only with the consent of my right honourable friend the Minister of Transport. He proposes to remove that control in the forthcoming revision of the traffic signs regulations. We have no reason to suppose that unnecessary use of these signs will result.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish details of the Nursing Services in each of the four Health and Social Services Board areas in Northern Ireland, for each quarter since 1977, and for the following categories:—

The information is as follows:

EASTERN BOARD
Quarter Ending	Total Nursing Staff	Trained Nurses Full-Time	Other Nurses Full-Time	Trained Nurses Part-Time	Other Nurses Part-Time
31 March 1977	9,041	3,027	3,342	1,720	952
30 June 1977	9,144	3,060	3,396	1,742	946
30 Sept. 1977	9,218	3,060	3,442	1,776	940
31 Dec. 1977	9,257	3,124	3,410	1,778	945
31 March 1978	9,453	3,102	3,313	1,804	964
30 June 1978	9,531	3,070	3,631	1,853	977
30 Sept. 1978	9,608	3,057	3,693	1,850	1,008
31 Dec. 1978	9,641	3,155	3,565	1,903	1,018
31 March 1979	9,796	3,161	3,660	1,947	1,028
30 June 1979	9,812	3,132	3,661	1,987	1,032
30 Sept.1979	9,922	3,123	3,732	2,022	1,045
31 Dec. 1979	10,048	3,195	3,684	2,104	1,065
31 March 1980	10,253	3,227	3,778	2,184	1,064
30 June 1980	10,376	3,321	3,774	2,220	1,061
30 Sept. 1980	10,591	3,309	3,067	2,288	1,087

NORTHERN BOARD
Quarter Ending	Total Nursing Staff	Trained Nurses Full-Time	Other Nurses Full-Time	Trained Nurses Part-Time	Other Nurses Part-Time
31 March 1977	2,382	1,191	595	516	80
30 June 1977	2,375	1,180	592	525	78
30 Sept. 1977	2,446	1,208	636	525	77
31 Dec. 1977	2,427	1,197	603	551	76
31 March 1978	2,468	1,188	632	571	77
30 June 1978	2,438	1,186	587	579	86
30 Sept. 1978	2,474	1,201	606	581	86
31 Dec. 1978	2,508	1,216	603	606	83
31 March 1979	2,571	1,228	636	624	83
30 June 1979	2,604	1,219	634	659	92
30 Sept. 1979	2,650	1,204	663	683	94
31 Dec. 1979	2,663	1,212	645	710	96
31 March 1980	2,749	1,209	684	751	103
30 June 1980	2,774	1,213	678	774	109
30 Sept. 1980	2,815	1,247	692	768	108

WESTERN BOARD
Quarter Ending	Total Nursing Staff	Trained Nurses Full-Time	Other Nurses Full-Time	Trained Nurses Part-Time	Other Nurses Part-Time
31 March 1977	2,544	1,294	975	225	50
30 June 1977	2,587	1,339	968	224	56
30 Sept. 1977	2,621	1,329	1,006	230	56
31 Dec. 1977	2,579	1,332	958	233	56
31 March 1978	2,658	1,340	1,021	241	56
30 June 1978	2,694	1,349	1,027	264	54
30 Sept. 1978	2,811	1,384	1,086	280	61
31 Dec. 1978	2,689	1,374	986	271	58
31 March 1979	2,747	1,386	1,040	67	54
30 June 1979	2,794	1,420	1,043	277	54
30 Sept. 1979	2,815	1,428	1,051	285	51
31 Dec. 1979	2,798	1,468	993	289	48
31 March 1980	2,862	1,485	1,016	303	45
30 June 1980	2,646	1,498		291	43
30 Sept. 1980	2,919	1,529	1,048	301	41

SOUTHERN BOARD
Quarter Ending	Total Nursing Staff	Trained Nurses Full-Time	Other Nurses Full-Time	Trained Nurses Part-Time	Other Nurses Part-Time
31 March 1977	2,567	1,172	883	436	126
30 June 1977	2,538	1,189	779	442	129
30 Sept. 1977	2,585	1,191	816	451	127
31 Dec. 1977	2,576	1,211	791	444	130
31 March 1978	2,629	1,229	821	448	131
30 June 1978	2,635	1,250	795	456	134
30 Sept. 1978	2,734	1,220	860	517	137
31 Dec. 1978	2,779	1,232	537	563	147
31 March 1979	2,870	1,216	882	622	150
30 June 1979	2,911	1,211	848	691	161
30 Sept. 1979	2,981	1,187	890	724	180
31 Dec. 1979	2,944	1,158	843	758	185
31 March 1980	3,022	1,158	868	803	193
30 June 1980	3,016	1,158	843	825	190
30 Sept. 1980	3,041	1,141	883	827	190

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish details of the School Medical Service in each of the four health and social services board areas in Northern Ireland and for each quarter since December 1977, for the following:—

This information is only available on an annual basis and is contained in the annual reports of the respective health and social services boards. Since a good deal of statistical information is involved I would refer the noble Lord to the published annual reports of the boards, which are available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much of the £4 million allocated in 1977 towards areas of special need in Belfast has so far been expended; what projects in those areas have been completed by the city council; and to what objects is it proposed that any outstanding balances should be devoted.

All the special monies devoted to the Belfast Areas of Need (BAN) including the inner city aid announced in March 1977 and the construction industry aid announced in November 1977 have been fully taken up by projects which either have already been completed by the city council, Government departments and area boards or are still in progress. In addition further substantial resources have been diverted to BAN from existing departmental programmes.The inner city aid funds have been used to finance 57 projects in BAN including community centres, provision of pre-school play group facilities and day centres. The funds allocated to Belfast City Council amounted to £1·5 million. This money has been used to finance seventeen schemes which either have been completed or are in the course of implementation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why it is their policy to prosecute for contempt a person who gives to another a document which has been read out in open court.

It would not be appropriate to comment on this matter until forthcoming court proceedings are completed.

asked the Leader of the House:Whether he has any statement to make regarding a change in the format of the

As Members of your Lordships' House will recall, the House agreed on 21st December 1976 that the size of the Official Report should be changed to A4 format as soon as a new Hansard printing press was in operation. The change in the format of the Official Report of your Lordships' House will therefore take place from the beginning of the new Session and bound volumes in the new format will be available in due course.10.30 p.m.House resumed.10.32 p.m.House adjourned again during pleasure.House resumed.