asked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, what representations have been made by the Church Commissioners to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in connection with the Agricultural Holdings Bill [Lords].

The First Church Estates Commissioner wrote to the Minister on 26 August 1983While welcoming many of the changes included in the Bill, the Commissioners are urging the Minister to reconsider that part of the Bill that creates a new formula for settling farm rents, which they believe to be imprecise and extremely complicated, in place of the well tried existing system based on open market value. With their long experience in the ownership of over 500 farms, the Commissioners believe that the proposed formula cannot achieve the declared objective of increasing the number of farms available for letting.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will make a statement on Government policy towards energy conservation, both domestic and industrial.

I refer to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney) on 31 October.—[Vol. 47, c. 259.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken to encourage and support research in the field of energy conservation; and if he will make a statement.

My Department supports research into both the technology of energy efficiency and the economic and organisational factors affecting its uptake, through commissioning specific research projects, funding research agencies and offering financial incentives. This includes research on economic aspects of energy efficiency conducted within my Department, research into consumer attitudes by the Central Office of Information, and the work of the building research energy conservation support unit and the energy technology support unit.Sixty-five projects developing energy-efficient technologies have been approved under my Department's energy conservation research and development programme and 219 projects with high potential for replication have been approved under the energy conservation demonstration projects scheme.Recent economic and organisational projects have included:

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make specific grants available to local authorities in order to enable them to make available to the public advice and information about energy conservation.

My Department has published a variety of material describing measures which can be taken by the public to use energy more efficiently. Copies of this material can be supplied, free of charge, to any local authority — or any other body — for public dissemination.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what are the principal objectives for the new energy efficiency office; and how its success will be measured.

I refer to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney) on 31 October—[Vol. 47, c. 259.]

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current annual rate of public expenditure on renewable energy sources research in each of the European Community countries, converted to pound sterling at the present rate of exchange.

The most recent information available to me, collected on a comparable basis, is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has made a decision regarding value added tax payments on Airey house remedial works; and if he will make a statement.

To qualify for VAT zero rating, work to an existing building must amount to a structural alteration and must not be work of repair and maintenance. Repair or maintenance is liable to VAT at the standard rate, and there can be no special or general relief for Airey house remedial works in that respect. However, Customs and Excise have been examining a particular kind of remedial work devised for Airey houses by Leeds city council which involves replacing the load bearing structure with a new cavity brick and block wall. They accept that this particular form of work constitutes an alteration of the Airey house which will properly attract relief from VAT by way of zero rating because the work goes substantially beyond the repair or maintenance of the existing structure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the statement of the Chief Secretary on 27 October, Official Report, column 419, regarding the level of public expenditure for 1986–87, is a new policy; and if he will make a statement.

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider, when a suitable legislative opportunity arises, amending the Banking (Scotland) Act 1845 to (a) raise the limit on the fiduciary issue of Scottish bank notes to a level commensurate with the devaluation of the currency since 1845, (b) allow the Trustee Savings Bank to issue its own bank notes on a comparable basis to the existing three Scottish banks and (c) give the Treasury powers to grant a similar right to any new banks that might be established in the future.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer who was the contractor chosen by Her Majesty's Stationery Office to print the Action on Smoking and Health Scottish Committee booklet "The Scottish Epidemic".

William Blackwood and Sons Limited, Edinburgh.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the profit or loss incurred by Her Majesty's Stationery Office on the printing, including subcontracted printing, of publications for non-governmental organisations in each of the past five years.

I regret that information in the form requested is not required for management purposes and is therefore not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what guidelines Her Majesty's Stationery Office operates concerning printing, including subcontracted printing, of publications for non-governmental organisations.

I refer my hon. Friend to the HMSO Trading Fund Order 1980.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many approaches Her Majesty's Stationery Office received in 1982 from non-governmental organisations wishing it to carry out printing contracts; how many of them were refused; and what were the reasons.

I regret that information in the form requested is not required for management purposes and is therefore not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of its printing work Her Majesty's Stationery Office carries out itself; and how much is carried out by outside contractors.

An estimated 25 per cent. in the current year, reducing to 21 per cent. next year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any proposals for legislation to facilitate arrangements under which employees can acquire units in an authorised unit trust scheme by means of deduction from salary made by their employer.

Yes. We would welcome schemes of this sort as a general contribution to wider share ownership. As matters stand, however, units acquired by an employee in these circumstances can potentially be subject to an income tax charge on the growth in their value after acquisition under section 79 of the Finance Act 1972. We propose to provide an appropriate exemption from this charge in next year's Finance Bill. The exemption will apply to units acquired under such schemes on or after 6 April 1984. In the meantime, the Inland Revenue will be discussing the conditions for it with the Unit Trust Association and the Association of Corporate Trustees.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport why the scheduled improvements to Muston Bends on the A52 road in Leicestershire have not yet been carried out; when they will be; what is the reason for the delay; and whether he will expedite this work because of the bad accident record there.

My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that a contract will be awarded in the next few days and construction is expected to start early in December.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents there have been on the M4 in Wiltshire in the first 10 months of 1983; if he will subdivide these into the categories of (i) fatal, (ii) injury and (iii) non-injury, giving dates and locations in each case, together with the causes where known; and if, in the light of these accidents, he plans any additional safety measures.

Accident data are supplied by the police on the understanding that details of individual accidents are not made generally available. I suggest that my right hon. Friend gets in touch with Wiltshire constabularly in this instance to see what can be produced.Accidents reports to my Department do not cover non-injury accidents, nor do they include causes. Summary data of injury accidents on the M4 in Wiltshire between 1979 and 1981 are in table 7 of "Road Accident Statistics for English Regions 1981", a copy of which is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to progress on the development of the railbus; and if he can give a date for it being brought into passenger service.

We approved the construction of 40 of these vehicles last year. I understand that the British Railways Board plans to introduce these units into full passenger service next May in West Yorkshire and that proposals for the construction of a further 150 are now in preparation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to announce his decision on the Liverpool city council's secondary schools reorganisation proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will seek to make compulsory the insurance by coach operators of the lives of their drivers.

I have been asked to reply.The law at present requires that coach operators insure against risks to their drivers arising from the operator's negligence or fault. Any extension of such insurance cover is for negotiation between employers and work people.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will visit each of the schools listed for closure in the Liverpool city council's reorganisation of secondary education proposals that have been submitted to him.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has as to how many children are currently attending each of the schools listed for closure in the proposals for secondary school reorganisation submitted to him by the Liverpool city council; what are the sizes of the forms of entry; how many applicants placed each school as their first preference in 1983; and how many O and A-level passes were achieved by each school.

The information requested is set out below:

My right hon. Friend will announce his decision when the statutory procedures laid down in the Education Act 1980 have been completed and after he has been able to consider all the relevant factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will meet parents of pupils at Aigburth Vale girls school, Mossley Hill, to discuss its future.

If the hon. Member writes to me I shall make arrangements to meet a deputation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if it is his policy to require local education authorities submitting proposals for secondary school reorganisation to provide for single-sex education.

The Government's policy in respect of single sex education is set out in circular 4/82. The nature and content of statutory proposals is a matter for the proposers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will place in the Library a copy of the full report on education cuts carried out by the Hertfordshire county council.

This report is not addressed to me and is, I understand, a document prepared by Hertfordshire county council for its own purposes. The hon. Member should address her request to the authority.

asked the Secretary of State or Education and Science what percentage of absences from school of school teachers arises from (a) sickness and (b) other reasons, for primary schools and for secondary schools, respectively.

This information is not collected by the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his latest estimate of the current staying-on rates in full-time education in each English region; and what effect the youth training scheme is having on those rates.

Estimates for English regions are not yet available. Early returns to the 1982–83 school leavers survey indicate that the proportion of pupils in England reaching the minimum school leaving age and staying on to the first year sixth form this autumn was 31½ per cent., a fall of 1–1½ percentage points compared with the previous year. It is provisionally estimated that the proportion attending full-time further education courses fell from 20 per cent. in 1982–83 to 17 per cent. in 1983–84; the proportion attending part-time courses rose from 9 to 16 per cent. over the same period.The estimates for 1983–84 include those on YTS undertaking the training element of the schemes in further education establishments. It is not clear how far YTS has affected education participation rates, particularly since YTS itself is currently under-subscribed. The position is being closely monitored as more information becomes available. There is some evidence that job opportunities for minimum age school leavers have increased significantly in many parts of the country and this would also have an effect on participation rates.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has had any representations as to the relative value of a higher national diploma and a university degree; and whether his Department gives any advice to employers concerning such qualifications.

My right hon. Friend has received no specific representations on this matter. While the Department publishes general information about the various kinds of higher education courses that are available, it is for employers to form their own judgment about the relative value of different qualifications. Higher national diploma courses can be particularly valuable in providing practical training in vocational subjects, and priority is being accorded to their development by the national advisory body for local authority higher education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give favourable consideration to the suggestions by a number of Scottish university principals that universities in Scotland should no longer be financed via the University Grants Committee but, instead, via a system of full cost fees payable to the university for every student they admit.

My right hon. Friend is willing to consider the feasibility of any constructive scheme for innovation in the way universities are funded. He has not, however, received a proposal that full-cost fees should be instituted at Scottish universities.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what percentage of absence from duty of civil servants arises from (a) sickness and (b) other causes.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes any change in the arrangements whereby hotels can install multiple television receivers on payment of one licence fee.

We are looking at the question of television licences for hotels, but cannot say at this stage what conclusion will be reached.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to amend the British Nationality Act 1981 to make eligible for full British citizenship children of British doctors and others who are recruited for service overseas by Her Majesty's Government and whose children, if born overseas during their period of contract, do not enjoy the same citizenship status as their parents unless they are technical co-operations officers classed as Crown servants.

No. The British doctors and others referred to do not serve the Crown overseas. They are in the service of the overseas authorities that employ them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why nine young people were denied bail overnight and were photographed against their will when arrested outside South Africa House on 8–9 June.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that nine people taking part in a demonstration outside the South African embassy on the evening of 8 June were arrested and charged with offences of obstruction and using threatening words and behaviour. One of those arrested was a juvenile. He was released on bail. The others were detained in custody until their appearance in Bow street magistrates' court the following morning. The demonstration continued overnight, and I understand that the decision to withhold bail was taken in the interests of preventing the commission of public order offences. These cases are at present sub judice.I also understand from the commissioner that it is normal practice in his force for photographs to be taken of persons arrested for public order offences; photographs are taken with the arresting officers also in the shot to avoid disputes about identity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a national syllabus for instructing volunteers accepted by county councils to serve in civil defence in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983 is in preparation.

A working party of officials and local authority representatives is considering the standardisation of training of civil defence volunteers, including the feasibility of a standard national syllabus of training.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the number of young people given a youth custody order exceeds the planned accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

In accordance with section 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 priority in the use of youth custody centre places is accorded to youth custody trainees with sentences between four and 18 months and to juveniles with sentences not less than 21 days. On 30 September 1983 the total number of remaining young prisoners and youth custody trainees was about 8,370 and the certified normal accommodation of the youth custody centres was 7,126. In view of the shortage of youth custody centre places, plans are being made to change some detention centre accommodation to use for youth custody centre. In the longer term additional youth custody places will become available under the prison building programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the light of the international obligations of Her Majesty's Government to suppress terrorism, what records Her Majesty's Government keep of which international terrorist organisations maintain offices in the United Kigdom; and if he will make a statement.

We seek to keep ourselves informed of any activities by international terrorists in the United Kingdom, but it would not be in the public interest to make our procedures known. When evidence of unlawful activities comes to light, the police take appropriate action.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the number of cases brought under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 regarding video cassettes which were (a) heard before magistrates and (b) tried at Crown court; and if he will name the film titles in respect of each successful prosecution.

The information collected centrally on prosecutions under this Act does not distinguish separately offences involving video cassettes and does not record the titles of video cassettes in respect of which successful prosecutions have been brought. Records available to us for 1982, which may be incomplete, of proceedings under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 show that 282 defendants were proceeded against summarily in magistrates' courts, of whom 121 were found guilty, and that of the 257 defendants who appears for trial at the Crown court, 113 were found guilty.

asked the Attorney-General how many men and how many women have been convicted in Northern Ireland on the word of the so-called "supergrasses" up to the latest group of convictions.

Although the term "super-grass" has no precise meaning the question is taken to relate to certain trials for terrorist offences that have taken place in the courts of Northern Ireland in which evidence was given for the prosecution by individuals who were in some cases themselves admitted accomplices of the accused.In the sense in which the term "supergrass" is now commonly used, trials based on the evidence of such individuals began during 1982 and since June 1982 54 men and five women have been convicted on the basis of such evidence.

asked the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor is satisfied with the operation of the procedures for dealing with complaints against members of the Law Society.

These procedures are primarily a matter for the Law Society. The society has announced its intention of seeking wider powers, through legislation, to enable it to deal more effectively with some complaints. Following recent legal proceedings, the lay observer is examining the society's treatment of the complaints made by the applicant in that case against a named individual.

asked the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor has any plans to seek to establish a body independent of the Law Society to investigate complaints against Law Society members; and if he will make a statement.

The lay observer who is an independent office-holder, is appointed by the Lord Chancellor in order to investigate complaints about the Law Society's treatment of complaints against solicitors. He is currently examining a complaint referred to him by the applicant in recent court proceedings. The lay observer presents an annual report to the Lord Chancellor. The Law Society itself intends to seek further powers.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements of 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister what are her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 November.

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, including one with the Commonwealth Secretary-General.

asked the Prime Minister if she will pay an official visit to Daresbury.

I have at present no plans to do so

asked the Prime Minister whether she will seek an official meeting with President Andropov, in advance of the deployment of ground-launched cruise missiles at RAF Greenham common, to discuss the lack of progress in the Geneva negotiations.

No. I do not believe that a meeting at this time would induce the Russians to repair their omission of the last four years. They have failed to realise that NATO will not accept a Soviet monopoly of medium-range missiles.

asked the Prime Minister how she intends to ensure that the United Kingdom European Community budget rebate for 1983 is paid in full and on time.

The Government look to he Community's institutions to implement the agreement reached at Stuttgart.

asked the Prime Minister if she has received an invitation to visit Mozambique in 1984.

During his recent visit to this country President Machel invited me to visit Mozambique. I said that I hope to be able to take the invitation up at a mutually convenient time.

asked the Prime Minister if, further to her reply to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) Official Report, 19 July, c. 75, she will publish detailed evidence of the savings that have resulted from local authorities putting services out to competitive tender.

No systematic information is collected by the Government. Detailed evidence of such savings has however been published in the local government press, notably a survey in the Local Government Chronicle of 17 June 1983 and elsewhere. On refuse collection and street cleansing alone, savings of over £30 million, over the contract periods involved, have been claimed by the 18 authorities which have contracted-out some or all of these services.

asked the Prime Minister if she has any plans to pay an official visit to Liverpool.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with the degree of co-ordination between the Home Office and the Scottish Office on research into the results of the flexible hours introduced in Scotland under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976; and if she will make a statement.

I am satisfied with the degree of co-ordination between the two Departments on the effects of the implementation of flexible licensing hours in Scotland.

asked the Prime Minister how many of the staff of (a) the Exchequer and Audit Department and (b) the Audit Commission for England and Wales have annual salaries of (i) under £15,000, (ii) between £15,000 and £30,000, (iii) between £30,000 and £60,000, and (iv) over £60,000; what percentage of the total staff each category represents in each case; and what is the salary of the Comptroller and Auditor General and of the chairman of the Audit Commission in England and Wales.

On (a) the information requested is as follows:

number of staff with annual salaries of:

(i) under £15,000—696 (84 per cent. of total staff)

(ii) between £15,000 and £30,000—136 (16 per cent. of total staff)

(iii) between £30,000 and £60,000—1 (negligible per cent. of total)

(iv) over £60,000—nil.

asked the Prime Minister what is her policy on the use of British forces and naval equipment to offer Yasser Arafat an evacuation route from the Lebanon for himself and his forces.

No such action is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a list of those high technology companies, by sector, in Scotland which have received regional development grants since 1979 and those high technology companies which have received other forms of regional assistance.

Records of payments of regional assistance do not identify high technology companies as a separate category and the information requested is therefore not available, although details of individual payments of regional development grant of £25,000 or more and of offers of selective financial assistance of £5,000 or more are published quarterly in British Business.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many sub-post offices were closed by the Post Office in England, Scotland and Wales in 1982; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many proposed closures of sub-post offices in 1982 were deferred after the Post Office had taken into account representations from the local community; and if he will make a statement;(3) what was the average saving to the Post Office on the closure of a sub-post office within its jurisdiction in 1982; and if he will make a statement;(4) whether Her Majesty's Government have any plans to privatise the Post Office, or any of the services it provides through sub-post offices.

Decisions about opening and closing of individual sub-post offices are matters for the Post Office as part of the corporation's day-to-day operational responsibility for the network.There has been a pattern of change in the sub-post office network over the years as the Post Office has opened and closed sub-post offices to reflect changes in population distribution, retirements and other factors. In making decisions on the future of specific sub-post offices the Post Office carefully reviews relevant factors and keeps local interests informed in accordance with the code of procedure agreed with the Post Office Users National Council in 1981.In the financial year 1982–83, 172 sub-offices in England, Scotland and Wales were closed, of which 81 closed because there was no applicant with suitable premises. During the same period 90 sub-post offices opened, giving a net reduction of 82. The average saving to the Post Office from each sub-post office closure was about £6,000. In some cases a decision to close a sub-post office was deferred pending consideration of fresh evidence from the local community, but meaningful data on the extent of such deferrals in 1982–83 are not available.The possibility of privatising all nationalised industries in whole or in part is kept under review. There are no immediate plans to privatise any part of the Post Office.Sub-post offices are, of course, already operated by private business men as agents of the Post Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the performance of the English Industrial Estates Corporation in building and letting small units.

Yes. About 89 per cent. of the EIE's current developments are under 2,500sq ft. In the year to the end of September 1983 the corporation completed 631 such units and let 757, both being record achievements, and the latter being almost double the level achieved in the previous 12-month period. Moreover, in September alone, 96 units were occupied and over 200 inquiries received from prospective tenants.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made with the review of regional policy.

In answer to a parliamentary question on 2 November from my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Miller) my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced his intention to publish shortly a White Paper on future regional industrial policy.—[Vol. 47, c. 394.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total amount of European

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will review the need for the existing frequencies for cordless telephones to be withdrawn at the end of 1986.

When the frequencies for the legal cordless telephone service were announced in August 1982, there was uncertainty about the use of the channels at 47 MHz after 1986. The Government have since announced that the frequency band 41 to 68 MHz is to be used primarily for land mobile services in future and there is, therefore, no longer a need to withdraw the frequencies used for the cordless telephone service after the end of 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, further to his reply of 3 November 1983, c.

Details of some of the assistance which has been made available to industry in Cornwall in each year since 1972 from the European Investment Bank and under the Industrial Development Act 1982 are as follows:439, concerning the National Enterprise Board, he will now give details of the amount of money invested in each of the companies listed in his reply in the period 1 January 1983 to 30 September 1983; and if he will give similar details of disposals made in this period.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the licence granted to Mercury Communications Ltd. in February 1982.

No. The text of the licence granted to Cable and Wireless in respect of the Mercury telecommunication system is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms went into liquidation in 1982 and to the nearest available date in 1983.

This information is included in the latest quarterly article on insolvencies published in British Business, 28 October, page 466.

asked the Lord Privy Seal how much of the increase in hon. Members' salaries between 1979 and 1983 was attributable to the implementation of the review body's recommendations made before April 1979.

No increase in Members' pay between 1979 and 1983 was attributable to the implementation of the Review Body on Top Salaries' recommendations made before April 1979.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if it is intended that the Review Body on Top Salaries should make any recommendations relating to hon. Members' salaries over the next three years.

No. The House voted on 26 July in favour of planned increases in hon. Members' salaries to a pre-determined figure of £18,500 on 1 January 1987. Thereafter movement in hon. Members' salaries will be linked to movements in the salary of the senior principal grade—or its successor—in the Civil Service. These arrangements will be subject to review by any future incoming Parliament.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement about the Government's response to the recommendations of the third report from the Select Committee on House of Commons (Services) in Session 1982–83.

I hope it will be possible for the House to debate the recommendations of this report in the near future. I have therefore asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to arrange an exhibition of the proposals put forward for phase I of the site by the Casson Conder partnership, and to ensure that copies of an up-to-date version of Casson Conder's feasibility study are available in the Vote Office before the debate. The exhibition will be held in Westminster Hall and will last for two weeks starting on Monday 14 November. The Government will decide what further action to take on these proposals in the light of the views expressed by the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and assistance he gives to doctors recruited and deployed by his Department who are seeking full British citizenship for their children on the grounds that they were serving outside the United Kingdom and their wives were already pregnant when the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to whom any such inquiries would normally be referred.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he took to inform staff recruited for service overseas before the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force that children born to them would not necessarily have full British citizen status; and when.

British embassies and high commissions were fully informed about the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force in January 1983, and material was sent to them during 1982 to assist in explaining the Act to British nationals serving abroad. The Overseas Development Administration wrote individually to technical co-operation officers and supplemented staff in May 1983 informing them of the provisions of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will consider paying for wives of technical co-operation officers and overseas social aid scheme staff to return to the United Kingdom for confinements, both on health grounds and in order to ensure that their children where otherwise eligible will become British citizens other than by descent.

The wives of technical co-operation officers—TCOs—are already entitled to return to the United Kingdom for confinements at public expense.My officials are at present considering whether, on health grounds, public funds should be used to extend the same concession to the wives of overseas service aid scheme and British expatriate supplementation scheme officers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will instruct the Advisory Committee on Pesticides to publish the nature and findings of any studies it carries out on pesticides.

The committee has published a number of such studies since 1964, at the request of successive Governments.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) when the Advisory Committee on Pesticides will next publish an annual report;(2) whether he will review the arrangements whereby information supplied by industry to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides is treated as confidential.

These matters are under consideration, in the context of the Government's response to the seventh report of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why a British passport has not yet been issued to Mr. H, about whom the hon. Member for Wantage has written to the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in response to Mr. H's application made on 30 December 1982 despite verbal assurances given by the British consulate concerned since June 1983 that the matter was in hand.

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State wrote to my hon. Friend on the matter yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the age, rank and qualifications of the United Kingdom's resident high commission representative in Grenada; what staff and facilities in Grenada are at his disposal; and on what occasions he has communicated with the governor-general since the death of Mr. Maurice Bishop.

The British high commissioner's resident representative in Grenada is Mr. John Kelly. He has the rank of second secretary. The high commissioner and members of his staff also visit the island regularly from Barbados. Mr. Kelly is aged 42. He has served with Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service since 1959 in a number of posts and has carried out a wide variety of duties. He occupies a four-room office and has access to telex facilities both to the British high commission in Bridgetown and direct to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.He is assisted by one locally engaged member of staff. Mr. Kelly communicated with the governor-general on every day between Thursday 20 October and Monday 7 November, except for the period 26–28 October when he was confined to his house by the fighting and the governor-general was himself incommunicado. He called personally on the governor-general on each of these days except for 20 October and 23 October when he spoke to the governor-general on the telephone.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of urban aid and rate support grant paid to each local authority within the county of Cumbria and the Cumbria county council; and how it compares in real terms with each preceding year since 1979.

The figures are set out in the following tables. The rate support grant figures for 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1980–81 are final entitlements revalued to 1981–82 prices. The rate support grant arrangements changed in 1979–80 and in 1981–82. The figures are not therefore comparable over a run of years. The 1978–79 figures for the districts include resources and domestic elements while the county received only the needs element. In 1979–80 the districts first received a share of needs element, and the entitlement of the county was therefore reduced. In 1981–82 under the block grant system, grant compensating for differences in both resources and needs was paid to each tier of authority, increasing the grant to the county and reducing the entitlements of the districts commensurately. The figures for 1981–82 onwards are of payments made to date and include block grant, after holdback, and domestic relief grant. They are in cash terms.The urban programme figures show new traditional urban programme approvals from 1979–80 to 1983–84. The figures do not take account of continuing commitments in connection with projects from earlier years. They are given in cash terms.