asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT on the basis of information available to him from international sources, the amount spent per head of the population out of public funds on afforestation in each European country over the past 25 years, together with a comparison of the amount so spent in the United Kingdom.

The European information is not available, but in any case the comparison with the corresponding expenditure in this country would not be relevant in view of the much higher proportion of natural forest in most European countries.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement about the effect on meat supplies and prices of the National Farmers Union proposal to withhold stock from the market for one week beginning 11th May.

If farmers follow this course it is bound to cause some inconvenience to others. However, my Department has been in touch with the trade interests chiefly concerned with supplies and I am satisfied that stocks available in cold stores, together with meat coming forward from other sources —both home and overseas—will be sufficient to meet essential needs. There is no reason for any increase in retail prices on this account.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what percentage the cost of diabetic foods has risen in each year from 1960 to 1969.

I regret that this information is not available, because special foods of this kind are not separately distinguished in the official statistics of food prices.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in Hansard full details of the allowances and expenses of civil servants on a salary of £3,250 per annum when away from home on official business; and on what basis allowances are made for expenses incurred when travelling to and from their home to a job situated in an area different to that from where they are normally employed.

A civil servant on a salary of £3,250 per annum would receive subsistence allowance at the rate of 95s. per day (105s. in London) for the first 30 days of absence and lodging allowance of 45s. per day (50s. in London) thereafter. Allowances for travel between home and other places than those of their normal employment are based on the additional expenses involved.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many civil servants are employed as information officers at the latest convenient date; and of these how many are employed in Wales.

The number of Information Officers and equivalents in Departments' Information Branches on 1st April, 1970, was 486, of whom 10 were in Wales; of the 476 in the rest of Great

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will now make a further statement about the implementation of the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act, 1969.

My Department has assumed responsibility for the administration of this Act and will be embarking shortly on a series of con-

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the percentage of children in the Basildon and Brentwood Urban District Council areas who go to university and other places of higher education; and what is the national average.

The best approximation to the requested information is obtained from the available statistics of award holders and of entrants to colleges of education. Full value awards may, however, be given for courses outside the usual interpretation of higher education and these are not separately distinguished. The following are the figures for Essex and for England and Wales inclusive of such students; I regret that I have no figures for parts of local education authorities.sultations with interested parties. These will relate mainly to the content of the regulations which will need to be prepared before the Act is brought into operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity which trade unions have the highest ratio of annual days lost per 1,000 members through official and unofficial disputes, respectively.

I regret the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will now make a statement about the Chairman of the Commission for Industry and Manpower.

I have asked Mr. Aubrey Jones whether he would be prepared to accept an invitation to serve as Chairman of the Commission for Industry and Manpower when it comes into existence and he has told me that he would be prepared to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Government proposals to mark the 25th anniversary of the end of the war against the Third Reich.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Renée Short) on 6th May.— [Vol. 801, c. 115.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he has for increasing retirement pensions and social security rates; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has no statement to make.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is aware that there are many persons in Southern Rhodesia supporting the illegal Smith régime, some holding so-called official positions of state, who are holding titles; and whether he will take whatever steps may be necessary to remove these titles from these persons.

I am aware that there are a number of persons holding titles who serve the illegal régime in Southern Rhodesia in various capacities. The question whether these titles should be removed is complicated and will require considerable study.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in view of the ambiguity regarding the present relationship under international law between the State of Cambodia and the United States of America, he will now take steps to compel United Kingdom citizens leaving this country for Cambodia to take out appropriate insurance cover against the hazards of war, acts of belligerency and Acts of God.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will withdraw recognition from the Government of the United Arab Republic and other Arabian States.

No.

asked the Minister of Technology if he will introduce legislation to amend the Local Employment Act, 1960 and the Industrial Development Act, 1966 in order to remove the anomalies arising from the eligibility of site development costs for payment of grant to firms in development districts.

We are aware of certain difficulties in the administration of the Local Employment Acts in their present form, but we cannot undertake to introduce amending legislation in the lifetime of this Parliament.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what consideration his Department has given to the proposals of the International Chamber of Commerce, a copy of which has been sent to him, for an across-the-board elimination of tariffs, over a ten-year period; what discussions there have been with other Governments about these proposals; and if he will make a statement.

These proposals have been studied with interest. I understand that the I.C.C. has already submitted them to G.A.T.T., which is the appropriate forum for international consultations on these questions. As I said in an answer to the hon. Member for Black-pool, South (Mr. Blaker) on 29th April, the G.A.T.T. is at present actively engaged in a study of the question of non-tariff barriers to trade; it is also carrying out a study of the post-Kennedy Round tariff position and is to study possible techniques of negotiation. On the basis of these studies the Contracting Parties at their next Session will consider the possibilities of further action. Her Majesty's Government will continue to take an active part in all stages of this work.—[Vol. 800, c. 1227–8.]

asked the Minister of Transport what representations he has received about the insurance provisions covering long-distance lorry drivers; and what reply he has sent.

I have only received representations from my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Alfred Morris). These were the subject of an answer given on 24th April.—[Vol. 800, c. 188.]

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that a number of five-ton rubbish lorries, now being used on road-building work on his behalf, are not licensed and insured in accordance with the law; and what action he takes to ensure that the various contractors and sub-contractors employed by him and his agents on work connected with road-building use vehicles which are correctly licensed and insured.

All Ministry contractors are expected to comply with the law so far as their own lorries are concerned and to take reasonable steps to ensure that any sub-contractors also comply. The attention of all major contractors was drawn to the problem of illegal operation as recently as 30th April and their co-operation was sought in bringing about its reduction. Enforcement action is also taken by Ministry examiners where appropriate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the rise in the general price level between the fourth quarters of 1964 and 1969; and how much of this was attributable to increases in expenditure taxes, higher import prices, higher interest rates, price increases aiming at higher returns on capital, pricing policies aimed at making consumers pay a higher proportion of capital investment, increased wages and salaries, and other factors, respectively, showing separately the estimated effect of each factor.

Between the fourth quarters of 1964 and 1969 the general price level, as measured by the price index for total final expenditure on goods and services, rose by 23 per cent. An analysis of this increase is not available in the form specified by my hon. Friend but about 24 per cent, of this rise was attributable to net taxes on expenditure, 14 per cent, to prices of imports of goods and services, 50 per cent, to income from employment and 12 per cent, to gross profits and other trading income.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what are the earnings in real terms weighted for social security benefits, methods of financing such benefits, the level and method of taxation, the differences in prices and the pattern of consumer expenditure, at a convenient date since the changes in the parities of the mark and franc, of manual workers in manufacturing industries, expressed in sterling in the United Kingdom and each European Common Market country, respectively, from information available from international sources of the European Common Market.

I have been asked to reply.I regret that information on which to make comparisons in this form is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the number of people not now liable to pay income tax.

No precise estimate is possible; but the number of married men and single adults not liable to tax for 1970–71 is likely to be in the region of 8 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will detail all the components of the official definition of the stock of money.

The money supply as officially defined comprises notes and coin held by residents other than banks plus deposits by residents with the United Kingdom banking sector. Further information is given in the new edition of Notes and Definitions to Financial Statistics, page 22.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a version of table F4 on page 297 of Professor Reddaway's First Report of the Effects of the Selective Employment Tax, using the time period 1954–55 to 1963–64, instead of the time period 1954–55 to 1964–65 as was used in the report.

No. I cannot undertake to provide revisions of Profes- sor Reddaway's work of the kind requested by the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the income velocity of circulation of money in 1970.

It is not customary to publish forecasts of this item.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the increase in domestic credit expansion in 1969 and 1970 on the basis of an income velocity of circulation of money of 2·84 and 2·94 in each year.

My right hon. Friend has made no estimates of domestic credit expansion on this basis.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost of exempting from tax all overtime earnings.

It is not possible to provide the required estimate since the Inland Revenue statistics do not distinguish overtime earnings from total earnings.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total current value of investments held by nationalised industries in outside companies.

The information is contained in the annual reports and accounts of the nationalised industries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what assumptions the Government Actuary prepared the table appearing on page six of his report on the House of Commons Members' Fund published on 27th February, 1970.

The basis adopted by the Government Actuary for the approximate projections on page 6 of the report was the experience of the mortality of former Members, and their widows, as disclosed by his examination of the statistics of the fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what indemnities the National Museum of Wales have given to cover the possible damage to, or loss of, objects of value on long-term loan to them; and what is the value of such indemnities.

Yes. Taking into account an indemnity given in respect of a recent long-term loan, the current approximate value of indemnities given by the museum against total loss of loaned objects while in the custody of the museum is £1 million.