asked Her Majesty's Government:What measures they are taking to obtain reliable information about the true extent of heroin use and addiction among young people who are not known through official sources, in view of the disturbing increase in heroin addiction and in light of the research referred to in the report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that figures derived from the Addicts Index are a serious underestimation of the gravity of the problem; andWhether they are satisfied that sufficient resources will be made available to ensure that future developments in heroin addiction are closely monitored, and what steps they are taking to this end.

Official estimates of trends in drug misuse in the United Kingdom are based on published statistics of seizures, offences, and notifications of addicts, supported by information from the police and the agencies concerned with treatment and rehabilitation. These estimates can however provide only a partial indication of the prevalence of drug misuse. Research commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Security in 1980 suggests that the total number of those dependent on opioid drugs in the United Kingdom may be five times the number recorded in the Home Office Addicts Index on the basis of notifications received from doctors.The Government have recently given a high priority to research into the epidemiology of drug misuse, but it is important to achieve a balance between epidemiological research and research on other aspects of drug misuse. In response to the report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on treatment and rehabilitation, the Government announced last December a central funding initiative under which applications are now being considered for funds to support local studies of the size and nature of the problems associated with the misuse of drugs. The Department of Health and Social Security are also currently funding a project to assess the prevalence of drug misuse in Bristol.The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which has a statutory responsibility for advising the Government on all aspects of drug misuse, is currently reviewing its own requirements for information. We will consider the scope for additional research and collection of data in the light of its conclusions.

of Ilton asked Her Majesty's Government:Why guide dogs for the blind are not permitted to accompany their owners in HM prisons and courts of law.

No instruction exists centrally prohibiting guide dogs for the blind from having access to either Prison Department establishments or courts. Any request from a blind visitor to bring a guide dog into a prison would be considered sympathetically. Should a blind person with a guide dog have difficulty gaining admittance to a court, the matter should be raised initially with the clerk to the court. However, if the noble Baroness has a particular case in mind I should be happy to look into it if she will supply me with details.

of Alderley asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list those organisation which are invited to nominate persons to become arbitrators on the Lord Chancellor's panel constituted in accordance with Schedule 6 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948; and how many persons on the current panel are nominees of each of the organisations.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is invited to provide nominations to the panel of arbitrators. Two hundred and twenty-four persons are on the current panel.

of Alderley asked, Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are prepared to consider nominations to the Lord Chancellor's panel of arbitrators constituted in accordance with Schedule 6 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948 from organisations representing farmers and landowners; and if not, why not.

Farmers and landowners are the parties at arm's length to the disputes which are subject to these arbitrations. Arbitrators nominated by organisations representing these interests would not be seen to be impartial.

of Alderley asked, Her Majesty's Government:Whether they vet nominations to the Lord Chancellor's panel of arbitrators constituted in accordance with Schedule 6 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948; and, if so, whether they will state what criteria are applied.

Nominations to the panel are scrutinised by the presidents of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers and the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers; and are provided to the Lord Chancellor through the Royal Institution. Arbitrators are predominantly Chartered Surveyors, who are persons found in practice to have the experience and qualities which fit them for appointment.

of Alderley asked, Her Majesty's Government:How many cases of nominations to the Lord Chancellor's panel of arbitrators constituted in accordance with Schedule 6 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948 have been rejected in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

None.

of Alderley asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will indicate how many arbitrators are currently on the Lord chancellor's panel constituted in accordance with schedule 6 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948.

Two hundred and twenty-four.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list in the

It would be difficult to provide a comprehensive list, since the organ-isations invited to suggest candidates for appointment to the nationalised industry consumer councils vary according to the needs and circum stances of the council concerned. We welcome nominations from all quarters, and ourselves approach a wide range of bodies including consumer organisations, the CBI, the TUC, local authorities and organisations representing the interests of the disabled and the elderly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why there is a lack of standard procedures throughout the country on the sending out of milk and vitamin tokens to families entitled to such tokens, in view of the fact that Health Visitors report that this uneven service is adversely affecting the health of children and pregnant women.

There are standard instruction codes which detail the procedures for the issue of welfare milk and vitamin tokens. I have no reason to believe that the majority of claimants do not receive the correct entitlement. Nevertheless, I accept that there have been errors in some cases, and ways of simplifying and improving the existing procedures are being studied. Meanwhile, last month local office managers were asked to ensure that these benefits are properly issued in every appropriate case.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action is being taken to assist sufferers from, and to extend the research into, brucellosis, and what preventative action is being taken to stop the spread of this serious disease among humans.

As the following table shows, the incidence of brucellosis has decreased markedly since the introduction of the National Brucellosis Eradication Scheme in cattle in the mid-1970s:

Table
England and Wales Laboratory Reports
1970–365
1980–22	(including 7 cases contracted abroad)
1981–26	(including 12 cases contracted abroad)
1982–17	(including 6 cases contracted abroad)

Brucellosis does not spread directly from man to man but from cattle to man, most usually in untreated milk. Pasteurisation of milk is the most effective preventive measure. Brucellosis is a prescribed occupational disease under the Industrial Injuries Scheme. Disablement benefit is payable to workers who contract the disease as a result of employment involving contact with infected animals or carcasses, or with laboratory specimens or animal vaccines. Early diagnosis and treatment with tetracycline antibiotics produces a quick recovery. Research into the disease lies most usefully in animals. The State Veterinary Service run by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food monitors and investigates any incidence of brucellosis in cattle, and the Central Veterinary Laboratory has a laboratory programme looking at residual brucellosis problems.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress they have made in extending unified grading in the Civil Service and whether they will make a statement?

In my Statement to your Lordships' House on 14th July, I announced that one of our major priorities in the personnel field for this year was to extend unified grading arrangements in the senior levels of the Civil Service.Pay and grading structures can have a significant impact on efficiency because they affect the organisation of the work itself, as well as the way 'in which the skills and abilities of staff are deployed. At present, unified pay and grading arrangements apply' only at very senior levels—the grades of Under-Secretary and above—in what is known as the Open Structure. The Government now intend to rationalise and simplify the grading structure at the next levels by extending unified grading downwards to the Senior Principal grading level.As a result, some 100 separate occupational grades, covering nearly 6,000 senior managerial staff, will be replaced by three unified grades. These will broadly equate to the Senior Principal and Assistant Secretary levels, and a level between Assistant and Undersecretary.Unified grading removes occupational distinctions which can be artificial impediments to the deployment of staff at levels where managerial abilities and skills are often more important than the practice of particular specialisms. This will make it easier to move staff between jobs to develop talent and broaden experience; and so help to improve the efficiency of the Civil Service by helping to ensure that the best man or woman is selected for each job on merit. It is of particular importance that we have arrangements to make the best use of staff in a smaller Civil Service.The preparatory work for this change has been carried forward sufficiently for me to be able to announce now that the new unified grading structure at these levels will be brought into effect from 1st January 1984. Steps to align pay in the new unified grades will also take effect from that date, subject to transitional arrangements where appropriate. The cost will be met within existing public expenditure provisions.

of Parkes asked Her Majesty's Government:How much is being spent in the present financial year on special schools and other educational provision for the physically and mentally handicapped.

Expenditure on physically and mentally handicapped pupils is not separately recorded. Most of it will be in special schools and some in ordinary schools. The outturn of expenditure for the present financial year will not be available until late in 1984, but on the basis of local authorities' budget estimates, expenditure by local education authorities on special schools will amount to some £405 million in 1983–84. In addition, authorities are budgeting to spend some £60 million on transport from home to school for pupils attending special schools and some £95 million in fees for handicapped pupils educated at independent and non-maintained schools.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

(i) in which Foreign and Commonwealth States (22 out of 125) Her Majesty's Envoys are Knights or Dames;

(ii) which States (103) have not been so honoured; and

(iii) which States (31) are those in which the United Kingdom has no resident representative at all.

The following is the information required.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average size of farms in the United Kingdom as compared with those in West Germany, France, Italy and the USA, expressed in both hectares and acres.

The information requested is as follows:

Average size of farms 1981
	Hectares	Acres
United Kingdom	69·4	171·5
Federal Republic of Germany	15·5	38·3
France	25·5	63·0
Italy	7·4	18·3
United States of America	173·6	429·0

Farms are defined in the European Community member states as agricultural holdings having a minimum of lha of utilised agricultural area. In the USA farms are denned as places having annual sales of at least $1,000 of agricultural products.Data for Italy relate to 1977.Sources: EUROSTAT and USDA