asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest available prices in Great Britain, France, Italy and West Germany, from information available from international sources, for the following foods, one pound of roast beef, one pound of butter, one pound of tea, one pound of sugar, one pound of cheese, one pint of milk, one large loaf and one dozen eggs.

Precise comparisons of retail prices in different countries are not possible due to differences in product definition, quality and systems of distribution. But a broad indication of retail price relativities for the main foodstuffs in the European Economic Community and the United Kingdom was given in table 7 of the White Paper, Cmnd 4289, published earlier this year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the United Kingdom's proposal of a six-year transition period for agriculture as part of the negotiations for United Kingdom entry into the European Economic Community was made with the agreement of the United Kingdom National Farmers' Union.

The National Farmers' Unions of the United Kingdom are kept fully in touch with developments. In putting forward this proposal their views were taken into account along with all the other relevant considerations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consultations with the United Kingdom National Farmers' Unions will be appropriate as part of a national annual review of agriculture in an enlarged European Economic Community.

It is too soon to say precisely what arrangements would be appropriate in an enlarged Community.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent the fall in food prices this summer and early autumn differed from the average fall in food prices experienced during the last five years; and if he will give particulars.

Taking the months June to September, the fall in the Food Index this year between the highest level (July) and the lowest (August) was 2·6 points. The average fall between the highest and lowest months in the corresponding period of each of the five years 1965–69 was 2·7 points.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the movement of food prices during the last four months shows an underlying tendency to increase or decrease, when seasonal factors are discounted.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, West (Mr. Bob Brown) on 24th November.—[Vol. 807, Cols. 75–76.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take in the light of the advice to him of the Farm Animals Welfare Advisory Committee, in its Report to him of September, 1970, that on scientific grounds there is no justification for discouraging the tethering of cattle and pigs, but that on ethical grounds the Codes of Practice should be amended so as to discourage tethering for other than short periods.

In view of the report by the State Veterinary Service my right hon. Friend proposes to amend the relevant paragraph of the Cattle Code to recommend the use of tethers and ties of a suitable design which does not cause injury to cattle.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take on the advice to him of the Farm Animals Welfare Advisory Committee, in its Report to him of September, 1970, that on ethical grounds it is important to define precisely what constitutes dim lighting for poultry and veal since near darkness is objectionable, but that on scientific grounds there is no justification for changing what is recommended in existing codes relating to such lighting.

None. The State Veterinary Service survey found no evidence that dim lighting causes pain or distress.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, because of the lack of sufficient competition between manufacturers of snack foods, he will cause them to be referred to the Monopolies Commission.

I have no evidence that there is insufficient competition in this field.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will sanction the expenditure of £42 million on nursery schools.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government regarding the payment of fees in local authority nursery schools.

This change would require legislation. I am considering all aspects of nursery education, including this possibility, and have no statement to make at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of full-time students in universities, colleges of education and advanced further education in Great Britain in the current academic year.

The provisional figure is 227,850 in universities at the beginning of the current year. Corresponding numbers for colleges of education and advanced further education are not yet available. The 1969–70 numbers were:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action she intends to take to ensure that the Velasquez portrait of Juan de Pareja, which is to be auctioned at Christie's salesrooms today, is kept in this country.

My noble Friend is taking no action at present. An export licence from my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Trade and Industry would be required before the painting could be exported from this country. If an application for an export licence were made and the expert adviser to the Department of Trade and Industry considered that it should not be granted because of the national importance of the picture, the matter would be referred to the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art. If this committee upheld the national importance of the picture, it could recommend the withholding of a licence for a period to enable a public collection in the United Kingdom to make an offer for it at a specified price. If such an offer were made an export licence would not be issued.

asked the Attorney-General who appoints the General Commissioners of Taxes; on what basis they are appointed; what qualifications are called for; what salaries are paid; when these were last adjusted; and to what extent they were increased.

General Commissioners of Income Tax in England and Wales are appointed by the Lord Chancellor on the advice of local advisory committees established by him for this purpose. Candidates are recommended to the Lord Chancellor for appointment on the basis that they are personally suitable in point of character, integrity and understanding and that they have some knowledge or experience of the administration of income tax legislation and of the way in which this legislation affects taxpayers. As local knowledge is important, persons are not normally recommended for appointment unless they either reside or work in or near the taxation division to which they will be allocated. Persons over the age of 65 or currently in the service of the Inland Revenue are ineligible for appointment.General Commissioners hold office during the pleasure of the Lord Chancellor but they are required by law to retire at the age of 75.General Commissioners are not paid salaries or fees but they are entitled to subsistence and travelling allowances.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give the wage or salary of a shorthand typist in the Civil Service on the date in October, 1964, when Members of Parliament salaries were raised to their present level; and what is the present salary for this category of civil servant.

The maximum of the basic scale for a Shorthand Typist Grade I was £13 18s. 0d. per week in October, 1964. It is £19 1s. 0d. today.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what reasons are acceptable to him as grounds for members of the Armed Forces not wishing to serve in Northern Ireland.

In general terms, none. Members of the Armed Forces accept at the time of joining that they must be prepared to serve anywhere at any time.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what machinery there is for members of the Armed Forces to indicate their reasons for not wishing to serve in Northern Ireland.

Members of the Armed Forces can make requests or state complaints through their commanding officers.

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he will state defence expenditure as a percentage of the gross national product at factor cost for the years 1967–68, 1968–69 and 1969–70, and estimates for the following three years, including expenditure on military defence other than the defence budget in total, and as a percentage of gross national product at factor cost.

The information requested is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what assistance he will be giving to the employees who will be losing their jobs in consequence of the General Electric Company/Associated Electrical Industries decision to close its transformer factory at Wythenshawe, Manchester; what preliminary action he is taking; and if he will make a statement.

Until such time as full discussions have taken place between management and union representatives, formal arrangements for giving assistance to redundant employees cannot be made. My local officers are, however, in close touch with the firm and will be ready to give advice and information about alternative jobs to those who require our help.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment among building workers at Newcastle-under-Lyme.

At 9th November, 1970, the provisional percentage rate of unemployment for the construction industry in the Stoke-on-Trent travel-to-work area, which includes Newcastle-under-Lyme, was 6·7. Rates cannot be calculated for Newcastle-under-Lyme alone.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what are the standard week earnings of workers engaged in the production of tyres;(2) what the standard week earnings of workers employed in passenger road transport;(3) what are the standard week earnings of workers engaged in road transport;(4) what was the average number of hours overtime worked in each industry, respectively, at the last possible date;(5) what the average wage for a standard week for men and women, respectively, in retail distribution at the last possible date in Great Britain and North Staffordshire respectively;(6) what are the standard week earnings of those engaged in the catering industry in Great Britain and North Staffordshire, respectively.

The results of the New Earnings Survey 1970, published today in the Employment and Productivity Gazette, include the following estimates of average earnings and hours in April, 1970 of full-time manual men aged 21 and over employed in the industries shown (Minimum List Headings of the Standard Industrial Classification 1968). They are subject to sampling errors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take steps to indicate at intervals to travellers on the M6 the distance from Newcastle-under-Lyme and adjacent suburbs.

I will consider this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will make an estimate as to the percentage of defective tyres in use on motorcars at present on the road;(2) to what extent he estimates that the fall in sales of motor-car tyres during 1970 as compared with the same period last year indicates a higher percentage of defective tyres in use.

Spot checks indicate that about 8 per cent. of motor cars at present in use have one or more defective tyres. This shows an improvement on the figure for 1969, which was 10 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on what criteria he assess the effectiveness of the Highway Code as an instrument of drawing the attention of motorists to the law,

Its sales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the effect of the continuation of British Standard Time upon road accidents; and whether such estimates show a variation in the proportion of such accidents between the North and South of England.

The latest estimates of the effect of British Standard Time on road accidents are given in paragraphs 48–56 of the Review of British Standard Time (Cmnd. 4512) published last month. During the period of the experiment, accident statistics show that there was an overall improvement in road casualties during the relevant times of the day but the crude figures of savings of casualties need to be treated with reserve. I am arranging for a summary of a further analysis made by the Road Research Laboratory to be placed in the Library of the House during the next few days.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has now completed his examination of the relationships between the Sports Council and the Government; whether he will announce changes in the composition of the Sports Council; and whether he will ensure that on this council there is at least one Commonwealth citizen belonging to one of the coloured races.

My examination of this matter is not yet complete. I would deprecate any discrimination as to race or colour in appointing members of the Sports Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has considered the effect on the environment, with particular reference to noise at night, of development of the land that lies between the Harold Wood Hospital and the Colchester Road at Gallows Corner in Hornchurch.

It is the function of the local planning authority to consider the effect on the environment of a particular development proposal when deciding a planning application.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations have been made to him by Southwell Rural District Council in respect of an improvement grant application by Mrs. M. Beardsley and in connection with properties 2/4 Friend Lane, Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire; and what reply he is sending.

No such representations have been received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether he will request the Francis Committee to examine the desirability of encouraging local councils to set up fair rent advisory groups to centre all information including planning and finance in one office;(2) whether he will request the Francis Committee to consider the question of reducing the five-year period, over which fair rents are phased to obtain the market value, to a period of one year for landlords who are of pensionable age.

Housing advisory services and the phasing of rent increases are both under consideration but as the Francis Committee now hopes to report quite soon I would not wish to give them any fresh remit at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the negotiations for the entry of the United Kingdom into the European Economic Community, he will seek to ensure the entry of New Zealand dairy products to the United Kingdom market free of quotas, levies and duties after the end of any transitional period.

The British delegation has submitted proposals to deal with the problems of New Zealand exports of dairy products. These proposals are confidential, but we have asked for some form of continuing arrangements subject to review, in order that we can assess the position as we go along. We have no reason to suppose that there is any country in the Community which does not accept that this is a special problem which must be dealt with in a special way.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in view of Great Britain's negotiations to join the Common Market, he will give an assurance that the Channel Islands will for all purposes be regarded as part of the United Kingdom, or make a statement as to what changes will be proposed.

The Channel Islands are not an integral part of the United Kingdom. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has had some discussion with the representatives of the Channel Islands, but we have not dealt with their position in Brussels yet.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in view of Great Britain's application to join the Common Market, he will explain how the European Parliament deals with Parliamentary Questions, both oral and written; and whether, prior to finalising any agreement with the Six, he will propose changes from the present system.

Article 142 of the Treaty of Rome provides that the European Parliament shall adopt its own rules of procedure.The procedure followed by the European Parliament in dealing with Questions is explained in Chapter 11 (eleven) of the European Parliament Rules of Procedure, which were published in the

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider giving serving prisoners the benefit of legal aid on proceedings before visiting magistrates where these are liable to result in a loss of more than a period of one month's remission.

My right hon. Friend does not think that this is necessary or practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will review the power of visiting magistrates to award a loss of remission amounting to a period of over three months on any sentence.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that this power is a neecssary sanction for serious offences against prison discipline.

asked the Secretary of Stale for the Home Department in view of the overcrowding at Armley Prison, whether he will expand the remand centres in the South Yorkshire area.

The best method of relieving the overcrowding in Leeds and other local prisons is to provide more training prisons to which men can be transferred after sentence. Planning clearance has already been given for two new training prisons in the North, and my right hon. Friend hopes to include at least three others in the building programme on which we are now embarked.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the recommendations of the Review Body on Local Government in Northern Ireland, which would result in an increase in the size of the Northern Ireland House of Commons and Senate, and which would involve an amendment of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920; and what action he proposes to take.

My right hon. Friend will await the Northern Ireland Government's consideration of the recommendations of the Macrory Report.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what estimated loss to Post Office revenue would result from the exemption from television licence charges of all television receiving sets privately owned by chronically sick persons who are permanently resident in hospitals and institutions in the United Kingdom.

I understand from my my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Social Services that the number of chronically sick persons permanently in residential institutional accommodation and hospitals is unknown, as is the number of these people with privately-owned television sets. In my reply to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, West (Mr. Bob Brown) on 23rd November, I explained that the Government's policy is not to grant licence concessions to any particular groups of people but to give people in need, from whatever cause, adequate cash benefits which they can spend as they choose.—[Vol. 807, c. 27.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to instruct regional hospital boards to indemnify all staff working in mental hospitals against possible attacks made on them by patients.

Provision already exists by way of sick pay under Whitley Council agreements, eligibility to claim industrial injury benefits or compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and, in cases of permanent incapacity, the superannuation and injury allowance arrangements of the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average weekly cost of keeping an elderly person who is in the care of a local authority.

About £13 a week gross.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average weekly cost of keeping an elderly person in a geriatric ward of a hospital.

Separate costs for geriatric wards are not available. In 1969–70 the approximate average cost per in-patient week in hospitals where the beds were wholly or predominantly allocated to geriatric patients was £24 5s. 0d.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he has now taken to remind local authorities and others concerned of the need to take precautionary action against the dangers of hypothermia among elderly persons; and if he will give details of the advice he has given.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of Circular 19/70, which was issued on 11th November. This drew attention to the precautionary measures which can be taken by local authority and other medical staff, and by local authority social services departments and voluntary organisations, and to instructions which have been given to officers of the Supplementary Benefits Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take steps to reduce the minimum age for recruitment of nurses to 17 years.

This is a matter for the General Nursing Council. I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply on 3rd November to my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Dodds-Parker).—[Vol. 805, c. 325.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department will issue a plain-English guide to the Family Income Scheme.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many men and women over the age of 80 years living in the Uxbridge constituency have been granted pensions under the recent Act.

Up to and including 25th November, 124 pensions had been awarded under Section 1 of the National Insurance (Old Persons' and Widows' Pensions and Attendance Allowance) Act, 1970 to persons in the area covered by our Uxbridge local office.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons in the Willesden area over 80 years of age have been granted a pension under the recent Act.

Up to and including 25th November, 523 pensions had been awarded under Section 1 of the National Insurance (Old Persons' and Widows' Pensions and Attendance Allowance) Act, 1970 to persons in the Willesden area, divided as follows between the two local offices which cover that area:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the ratio of hospital beds to population in the Doncaster area; how this compares with the national average; and how it compares with the ratio in 1964.

6·5 per 1,000 population in 1969 compared with 9·4 for England and Wales. In 1964 the ratios were 5·4 and 10·0.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many hospitals in Great Britain provide treatment for sufferers from migraine.

Any hospital with appropriate consultant medical staff is able to provide treatment for migraine. In addition, six hospitals in England are known to have special clinics. Services in Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are known to suffer from migraine.

There are no national statistics, but I am advised that medical opinion would accept that migraine affects between 3 and 8 per cent. of the population.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to provide adequate employment opportunities to replace those lost by the General Electric Company/Associated Electrical Industries decision to close its transformer factory at Wythenshawe, Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

Applications for industrial development certificates for the Wythenshawe area will be considered on their merits in the light of all available information, including the prospective loss of employment opportunities at the G.E.C. factory.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects work to start on the Doncaster advance factory.

This must depend on when we secure entry to the land, but I hope that work will start in the early spring.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement under Section 13 of the Air Corporations Act, 1967, about aircraft purchases by British European Airways Airtours Limited, and British European Airways Helicopters Limited.

B.E.A. Airtours Limited is ordering, with my approval, seven secondhand Boeing 707—123Bs at a cost of up to £10·4 million for delivery in time for the 1972 season. We have also agreed that B.E.A. Helicopters should purchase a further Sikorsky S61N helicopter at a cost of up to £630,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will now make an announcement about the Chairmanship of the British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways.

I am appointing Mr. Keith Granville, the present Deputy Chairman and Managing Director, to be Chairman of B.O.A.C., and Mr. Henry Marking, the present Chief Executive, to be Chairman of B.E.A. from 1st January, 1971. Sir Anthony Milward is retiring at the age of 65 years after 25 years' service with the Corporation. Sir Charles Hardie has been Deputy Chairman of B.O.A.C. since 1964 and agreed to take on the chairmanship in January, 1969, on a temporary basis while the report of the Edwards Committee was under consideration. I am extremely grateful to both for their valuable services to the Corporations and to British civil aviation. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade announced on 24th November that the Government had decided to introduce legislation this Session to establish an Airways Board to exercise strategic control over B.O.A.C. and B.E.A. I shall accordingly on this occasion appoint the chairmen for a period of three years in the first instance. I hope to make an announcement shortly about the remaining members of the two boards.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the gain to the revenue of abolishing tax relief as from April, 1971, on interest paid on loans used to buy houses; and of the loss to the revenue of placing all such loans on option mortgage terms.

An estimate for 1971–72 is not available. The yield for 1970–71 is provisionally estimated at about £300 million. If all loans secured on houses were converted to option mortgages there would be a considerable gain to the Exchequer because the extra tax yield would outweigh the subsidy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total sum of money paid by the building and construction industry in Great Britain in selective employment tax in the latest 12-month period for which figures are available.

I regret that I can only estimate the amount paid by particular industries. The most recent estimate is that in the current financial year the building and construction industry will pay about £135 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to add the building industry to the list in Section 2 of the Selective Employment Payments Act, 1966 in order to help stabilise freehold prices of residential properties.

I do not think it would be appropriate to give special treatment to any industry in advance of the abolition of the tax. Proposals for the abolition of S.E.T. will be laid before the House at the appropriate time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many post-war credits are still unpaid; and what is the total sum involved.

I cannot give firm figures; but it is estimated that some 6¼ million holders of post-war credits have not yet been repaid and that the total amount unpaid is £150 million, on which £47 million interest has accrued to date.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the health hazards of tobacco smoking, he will withdraw the facilities for the purchase of duty-free cigarettes available to persons departing from the United Kingdom.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the finding by the Parliamentary Commissioner in the case of E. R. Mansell, that, owing to the maladministration of the Estate Duty Office, the two beneficiaries have suffered considerable loss, he will reconsider his decision that no compensation can be given to the beneficiaries.

This matter has been considered again most carefully. I am afraid that in all the circumstances of this case it would not be appropriate to pay compensation.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether, in view of the increase in traffic on the A5 highway at Pentrefoelas, he will authorise either the building of a subway or the provision of some other safe means, such as a footbridge, for crossing the road.

The situation at Pentrefoelas is being investigated, and arrangements will be made shortly for a meeting of interested parties to discuss the results.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much public money, national and local, respectively, to the nearest convenient date, has been spent on landscaping and reseeding pit heaps.

I regret that separate figures for these particular items in reclamation projects are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking in order to conserve visual amenity, to ensure that the proposed Coalite plant at Rossington is adequately screened by trees.

The permission for the Coalite plant requires trees and shrubs to be planted within 12 months from the date when the development starts. The local planning authority has imposed screening conditions on the per- mission for the stocking ground and is considering making tree preservation orders to safeguard some of the existing trees.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of public concern at the lack of progress in the scheme to extend the Croydon Flyover westwards to link with the M23 at Beddington, he will announce a date for the completion of the plans.

The Greater London Council, as highway Authority for this scheme, has arranged to discuss its proposals with my Department. I hope this will enable the Greater London Council to produce plans for consultation with authorities affected.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now review his decision not to approve a runway extension at Leeds-Bradford Airport in the light of new evidence since his decision of popular feeling revealed by a ballot showing that 2,362 voted for the extension and 713 against.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Bradford, West (Mr. Wilkinson), Bradford, East (Mr. Edward Lyons), and Normanton (Mr. Albert Roberts) on 4th November, 1970, on this subject.—[Vol. 805, c. 358.]