asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many primary classes in Birmingham schools exceed 35 pupils.

In January, 1970, 1,608.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many objections or petitions about the proposed introduction of entry charges to art galleries she has received to the latest convenient date.

Up to Monday, 25th January, a total of 289 letters of objection to museum charges had been received in the Department of Education and Science. Of these 36 were on behalf of various organisations and 19 took the form of petitions bearing between them 1,764 signatures.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what changes she proposes to make in the application of the original decision to charge for entrance into museums and galleries as a result of the discussions she has had with their representatives.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given today in reply to the Question by the right hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Strauss).

asked the Secretary of State for Educaiton and Science whether she has received the communication from Mrs. Marjorie Helps, the secretary of Newham Arts Council, protesting against the imposition of entrance fees into the British Museum, exhibitions and national libraries; and what was the nature of her reply.

No record can be found of the receipt of the communication referred to.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will make a statement on Government policy on the development of Covent Garden Market site as an artistic and cultural centre.

I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has received from the Greater London Council a proposal to amend the development plan for the Covent Garden area. I cannot anticipate what his eventual decision will be on the proposal. My noble Friend is considering plans commissioned by the Board of the Royal Opera House for extensions and improvements to the existing building.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will make it a condition of the Government grant to the Arts Council that increased support will be given to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company.

No. This is a matter for the Arts Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will call a round table conference with all appropriate statutory and non-statutory organisations to discuss the future of the Youth Service.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action she is now taking to improve the educational facilities available for autistic children.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further developments have taken place regarding the education of autistic children.

A circular of guidance will shortly be issued about educational provision for autistic children.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many education authorities officially recognise the problem of dyslexia; and how many provide some form of remedial treatment.

Precise information is not available to answer the first part of the Question. Most education authorities have remedial reading services for children who are backward in learning to read, whether they are considered dyslexic or not.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will consider reducing the age at which young people may join local authority youth clubs, which are financed out of public funds.

There is no stautory limitation on the age of admission to local education authority youth clubs. This is a matter for the judgment of the authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the maximum grant payable to a first-degree student at a redbrick university, living away from home, in January, 1961, and in January, 1971; and what is the latter amount expressed in 1961 purchasing power.

In January, 1961, £255 for students living in college or hall and £240 for those in lodgings. In addition, most L.E.A.s paid vacation grants of up to £25 where the parents' net income fell below £1,400. These rates were later replaced by a single rate, which in January, 1971, was £380, including a grant of £38 towards vacation maintenance. Based on increases in the general retail price index this represents a purchasing power of £250 in 1961.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will take steps to establish an independent fund into which teachers' and employers' contributions would be paid for the purposes of teachers' superannuation, and which would be under the control of trustees half of whom would be teachers' representatives.

Not at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many new primary school places were provided between 1964 and 1970, inclusive.

1,245,000 up to 30th September, 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were at university in 1964 and what was the figure for 1970.

In the academic year 1964–65 there were 153,500 full-time students in universities in Great Britain and in the then colleges of advanced technology and Heriot Watt College. The provisional figure for 1970–71 is just under 228,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish the survey on which her estimates of school buildings requiring replacement were based.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25th January.—[Vol. 810, c. 31–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many of the 1,300 independent schools which are not recognised as efficient have been refused recognition because of inadequate buildings and how many because of unsatisfactory teaching.

The great majority of the unrecognised independent schools are day schools which have never applied, or been considered, for recognition as efficient. Recognition was refused to, or withdrawn from, 139 schools considered since 1968 and still in existence in December, 1970, in seven cases because of inadequate buildings, in nine because of unsatisfactory teaching and in 123 for both of these reasons.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the approved school building programme for Rochdale County Borough in each of the last four years; and what future building programmes are approved or envisaged.

Following is the information: Programme Year Projects £000 1967–68 … … 2 277 1968–69 … … 3 390 1969–70 … … 4 433 1970–71 … … 3 358* 1971–72 … … 2 243 1972–73 … … 1 75 * Including £255,000 for raising the school leaving age.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will introduce legislation to amend those sections of the Education Act, 1944, dealing with special education treatment.

I am considering in what respects the existing Education Acts could be improved. In doing this, I am, of course, paying attention to the provisions covering special education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what grants she intends to make to the British Film Institute for the financial years 1971–72 and 1972–73.

I must ask the hon. Member to await the publication of the Estimates.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many extra places and facilities will be provided by the latest building programme for the polytechnics.

The teaching accommodation element in projects for polytechnics included in the 1971–72 further education design list is equivalent to some 5,000 additional places; projects are also included to improve library and communal facilities and to provide 500 places for students' residence.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she proposes to continue to contribute to the Czecholovak Student Scholarship Fund after the end of the current year.

Yes. Subject to Parliament's voting the necessary funds, my right hon. Friend proposes to make further grants to the Czechoslovak Student Scholarship Fund in the three financial years 1971 to 1974 towards the cost of maintenance grants to students for whom the fund undertook responsibility. With these further grants I expect the Government's total contribution to the fund to reach about £47,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will extend the terms of reference on the James Inquiry into teacher training to include in-service training.

The Inquiry's terms of reference allow the committee to give the question of in-service training whatever consideration it thinks necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in use in Teesside were built before 1902; and how many replacements are in announced building programmes.

Twenty-one and five.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current annual cost to local authorities of the payment of union and/or Students' Representative Council fees of students in receipt of local authority financial assistance at institutions of further education.

I regret that this information is not available, but the Department is collecting relevant information in respect of a sample of colleges.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will withdraw Student Union subscriptions from the list of approved fees payable from contributions made by local authorities.

I do not consider this practicable at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement regarding the Government's approval of a 10 per cent. interim pay rise for university teachers.

The University Academic Salaries Committee, upon which the Government is represented through officials of the Department, agreed on 3rd December that the salaries of non-clinical academic staff should be increased by 10 per cent. from 1st October, 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement about Government policy for the acquisition and management of nature reserves and the conservation of wildlife generally.

The Natural Environment Research Council, of which the Nature Conservancy is a part, establishes and manages as National Nature Reserves representative habitats in Great Britain for the purposes of study, research and preservation of their distinctive fauna, flora and physical character. The council also provides advice on measures required to secure the conservation of wildlife and natural features in the countryside generally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the precise questions to which the Natural Environment Research Council is currently trying to find an answer, and state when the Council expects to publish its conclusions in respect of each question, what machinery exists for securing action in the light of the Council's recommendations, and what is the cost to public funds of the Council's work.

The Research Council's latest annual report indicates the fields of research supported. The council publishes details of the results of research in various forms as these become available. In the current financial year the council's grant in aid is estimated at £13,919,000. Action on the council's recommendations is taken by a wide range of bodies within and outside Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what sum of money was granted from central Government or other official or semiofficial funds in the year 1970 to the Cranfield Institute of Technology, Bedford, for research purposes; and what amounts will be similarly granted in the estimate for 1971.

In the financial year 1969–70 Cranfield received £145,000 from research grants and contracts from Government Departments and other official bodies. It expects to receive about £210,000 in 1970–71 and does not foresee any significant change in 1971–72.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of classes in primary schools with more than 40 pupils, and secondary schools with more than 30 pupils in the county of Northumberland and in the Newburn Urban District, respectively.

In January, 1970, 48 classes in primary schools in Northumberland had more than 40 on the register and 361 classes in secondary schools were taught as groups of over 30. Information about individual districts is not readily available in my Department.

69. Mr. Rhodes asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the sum total of primary schoolchildren in school classes of over 35 pupils in the constituency of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, East, at the commencement of winter term 1970 and at the commencement of spring term 1971, respectively.

I regret that this information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are being taken to reduce the number of pupils per class in maintained schools in Northumberland County.

Northumberland will be helped by its share of the building programmes and of the rapidly increasing supply of teachers. My right hon. Friend is willing to consider applications for increased quotas of teachers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received from the Committee on Adult Education concerning the proposals to save £5 million per annum by means of increases in fees charged for non-vocational courses for those in employment; and what reply she has sent.

The proposal covers fees for non-vocational courses and for vocational courses for those already in employment. The chairman conveyed to me the committee's anxiety about the possible effect on the size and social composition of the non-vocational enrolment and their hope that in the forthcoming discussions the statutory duty of local education authorities in this field would be emphasised. I replied that my Department would ask LEA's to consider the relative importance locally of all courses, vocational and non-vocational, which it was their statutory duty to provide, and to take account of individual hardship.

56 and 57. Mr. asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) on what date she expects to announce the setting up of the Teachers' Council; and if she will make a statement;

(2) what steps she has taken to implement the report of the working party on the Teachers' Council; how many of the relevant bodies have submitted their views on this report to her; and how many have yet to do so.

The Department has consulted the teachers' associations and other interested bodies on the proposals in the working party's report. Twenty-seven have, and two have not yet, replied. It would be unwise for me to take decisions until I have all the replies.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will send circulars to local education authorities encouraging them to establish more remedial classes and to reduce the sizes of such classes wherever possible.

No. I welcome the increased attention being paid to remedial teaching, but its organisation is for local education authorities and schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her estimate of the cost of training a fully qualified dentist, doctor and nurse, respectively; and if she will make a statement.

The best estimate I can give is that the cost of training, excluding any capital element, is of the order of £10,000 for a doctor and £9,000 for a dentist. I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services that hospital authorities' expenditure on training nurses cannot be identified.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, in view of a recent report of the Leeds Regional Hospital Board on the current shortage of junior hospital staff in the Bradford and Halifax areas, and in view of plans for new hospital building in Bradford, she will now encourage the establishment of an undergraduate school of medicine at Bradford University.

I have nothing to add to the answer given to the Question by my hon. Friend on 17th December.—[Vol. 808, c. 394–5.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she proposes to accelerate the provision of more adequate standards of sanitation in rural schools.

Progress is made each year through the minor works allocation. In 1972–73 the £38.5 million for primary school improvements in the major programme will result in the replacement of many schools with unsatisfactory facilities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of primary schools to be built in the Mexborough and Staincross divisional education area within the next five years.

Nine new primary schools for this area are included in current major building programmes, for starts between 1970 and 1973. No decision has yet been taken about the school building programme for 1973–75.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what instructions her Department has given about implementing those Sections of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970, for which she is responsible.

Guidance to authorities is contained in paragraphs 31–35 of Circular 13/70. I would also refer the hon. Member to the Answer given in reply to the Question by the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley) on 19th November last.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many local education authorities in the West Midlands make grants specifically designated to provide any form of education for gypsy children.

I have no information on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will circulate to local education authorities copies of the Report of the Meeting of Experts on the Contribution of Education to International Understanding and Peace, held from 17th to 28th August, 1970, under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

No. Much of the report is directed to national Governments which, unlike the British Government, control the curriculum in their schools and colleges.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what directions she has given for further cuts in research expenditure over and above the £5 million announced last October; what is her estimate of the amount by which medical research will be affected; and if she will make a statement.

Until the review of research council expenditure referred to in Cmnd. 4578 is complete, I cannot say how the research supported by the Medical Research Council will be affected.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will take steps to retain in Great Britain the proof sheets of work by Alexander Pope containing handwritten notes by the poet, sold to a dealer on behalf of an American, the retention of which sheets has been advised by the Department of Trade and Industry's expert adviser, and the money for whose purchase and retention in Great Britain had been raised by the British Museum.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has taken note of the views of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and has refused an export licence.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will define the term, educational, as it is used by her Department in determining the eligibility of a body to be regarded as a charity.

The question whether any particular institution is to be regarded for the purposes of the law of charity as established for the advancement of education is determined in accordance with principles laid down in decisions of the courts. It is not possible to summarise these principles in answer to a Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date she intends to invite applications from schools for direct grant status.

I cannot add to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock (Mr. Cormack) on 5th November last.—[Vol. 805, c. 421.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration is to be given to the building of a new primary school for St. Gabriel's Parish in Upper Holloway, Islington; and if she will make a statement.

I understand that the Westminster Diocesan Commission has asked the Inner London Education Authority to submit to the Department a proposal to build a new Roman Catholic primary school in Upper Holloway. If the authority includes this project in its proposals for the next school building programme, my right hon. Friend will certainly consider it.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, when approving the building of new primary schools in London, she takes into account the environment of the area, and the danger to small children in highly industrialised districts from traffic hazards, etc.; and if she will make a statement.

Priority is given to the provision of new schools to meet increases in the school population. The planning of these schools is a matter for local authorities, which do their best to avoid congested or dangerous sites. In addition, resources are devoted to the improvement and replacement of unsatisfactory 19th century primary schools for which there is a long-term need. In determining which projects in this second category should be included in building programmes I take into account a number of factors, including the quality of the physical environment and the need to replace schools on inadequate, divided or dangerous sites.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the numbers of non-graduate and graduate teachers, respectively, who qualified in each of the five years 1966 to 1970 and the expected numbers for 1971.

The following are the figures:

The numbers of students successfully completing full-time courses of initial training, are as follows: Academic year Post graduate courses Other courses Total 1965–66 … 3,945 20,368 24,313 1966–67 … 4,226 23,408 27,634 1967–68 … 4,890 27,801 32,691 1968–69 … 5,661 29,876 35,537 1969–70 (estimate) … 6,500 33,250 39,750 1970–71 (estimate) … 7,250 34,550 41,800

Notes:

1. The above figures relate to students in colleges of education, colleges of education (technical), departments of education in polytechnics, university departments of education and art teacher training centres.

2. From 1966–67 onwards the figures for "other courses" include students obtaining the teachers' certificate in the year indicated but proceeding in the subsequent year to a course leading to a B.Ed. degree. The numbers so included are 241 in 1966B.Ed. degree. The numbers so included are 241 in 1966–67, 1,526 in 1967–68, 2,451 in 1968–69, 3,041 in 1969–70 and an estimated 4,000 in 1970–71.

3. A few students entering postgraduate courses have graduate equivalent qualifications and a small number of graduates enter courses other than postgraduate courses.

4. The figures represent those succeeding in examination at the first time of taking. They do not allow for students retrieving a failure.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will issue a circular advising local education authorities in the educational priority areas to employ more teachers' aides.

I have nothing to add to the reply given by my hon. Friend on 19th November, 1970.—[Vol. 806, c. 453.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, when she is drawing up the next major building programme, she will increase the resources allocated to the authorities concerned for schools for handicapped and maladjusted children.

The total building programme for special education is now fixed for 1971–72 at £7.1 million. Approximately one third of this is allocated to the needs of the physically handicapped and the maladjusted. I shall keep the needs of this sector of the capital programme in future years under careful review.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she proposes to take to obtain priority for allocations of fuel to schools in order that children can pursue their education in the normal way.

The local education authorities concerned are doing their utmost to provide alternative heating. Supplies of fuel are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, with whom I have been in touch.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children are being denied their normal education as a result of their schools being closed owing to lack of fuel.

It has not been possible to obtain full and accurate information from every local education authority involved. Individual authorities with which the Department has been in contact are doing everything possible to provide alternative forms of heating. Schools that are closed will be reopened as soon as the supply of oil is resumed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she is taking to ensure that emergency heating arrangements are being made in those schools at present wholly or partly closed due to the strike of oil delivery men.

Local education authorities are doing their utmost to provide alternative heating where this is practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in London are now closed; and for what reasons.

I understand from the Inner London Education Authority that 78 of its schools, including 10 schools for handicapped pupils, are wholly or partly closed. This is because of the lack of oil for heating as a result of the strike of some tanker drivers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress is being made towards the implementation of the recommendations of the Lewis Committee on the use of finger spelling and signing in the education of the deaf; and if she will encourage the separation in school organisation teacher training of the needs of the totally preligually deaf child from the needs of the partially hearing.

My Advisory Committee on Handicapped Children is considering what research projects may be possible in this field. Deaf and partially hearing children are normally taught in separate classes, or in separate schools. Different training for the teachers of these groups is not considered desirable as the categories overlap and they have many common learning problems.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average annual cost to public funds, both local education authority grant and University Grants Committee grant, per student reading achitecture in British universities.

About £815.

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he is aware of concern amongst the workers at the Royal Naval Armament Depôt at Antrim, Northern Ireland, because the agreement that the working week should commence on Monday has been broken; and if he will take steps to have the position remedied.

Under arrangements dating from 1967 the wages of employees at this depôt are calculated on a pay week of seven days ending on Friday. This is therefore the basis of payments under the Guaranteed Week Agreement, and I am satisfied that this Agreement has been correctly observed.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will take steps to provide the £20,000 needed to preserve the 153-year-old frigate "Foudroyant", launched in Bombay harbour and then know as the "Trincomalee", so that she may remain in use as a training ship for Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

The "Foudroyant" is owned by the Foudroyant Trust and is not used for naval training. I regret that there are no funds available on Defence Votes to assist in her preservation. We have, however, offered to dock her at a reduced rate.

asked the Minister of State for Defence how many members of the security forces in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted, or are being prosecuted, by the Northern Ireland Government; and what assistance is provided by the Army towards their defence.

Since late 1969, 216 members of the Regular Armed Forces have been prosecuted in civil courts for traffic and other offences in Northern Ireland: another case is pending. Five of the offences were committed whilst on duty. Legal assistance is provided when appropriate.

asked the Minister of State for Defence how many accidents the Royal Air Force Red Arrows team have recorded in the period from 1st January 1969; how many deaths and injuries to aircrew have resulted; how many aircraft have been written off and damaged and at what cost; what compensation has been paid to dependants; and what has the maintenance of the team cost.

Apart from the accident on 20th January in which four men were killed, there have been six flying accidents in this period, in which one crew member was killed and two injured. In all six aircraft have been written off and two damaged. The aircraft destroyed were replaced from reserves already held without additional capital expenditure. The cost of repairing those damaged cannot be readily distinguished from the cost of aircraft repair and maintenance for the team generally. The average annual cost of the team is £450,000, including repairs and maintenance. The sums payable to the widows of the three married officers remain to be assessed.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what plans he now has for the transfer of the Royal Air Force Marine Craft Unit, Falmouth, to new premises outside the Borough of Falmouth; what stage former plans had reached towards reaccommodation at former Territorial Army premises within the Borough of Falmouth; what is the reason for this change of policy; and what plans exist for the rehousing in or near the projected depot for members of the unit currently billetted elsewhere.

I am looking into the matter and I will write to my hon. Friend in due course.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether, in the current review of the Royal Air Force's Auxiliaries and Reserves, including flying units, he will consider the possible applications for them of new aircraft soon to be ordered by Royal Air Force, Training Command.

All relevant factors will be considered.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he is now able to increase the grant-in-aid to Polish ex-Servicemen in the United Kingdom.

Yes. A sum of £95,000 is to be made available to the British Legion in 1971–72 for the relief of distress among Polish ex-Servicemen in the United Kingdom. This is £25,000 more than the amount provided in 1970–71.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from chief constables as to what cities in England and Wales have restricted areas as far as normal policing is concerned, and as to what extent this situation has been brought about by the lack of manpower and lawlessness in such areas.

There are no such areas in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ban political marches for the remainder of this year.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on crowd safety at football grounds.

In consultation with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister with special responsibility for sport, I have decided that there should be an independent appraisal of the effectiveness of existing arrangements for crowd safety at sports grounds in Great Britain, and of the improvements which could be brought about within the present framework of law. Lord Wheatley has agreed to undertake this task and to include in his report his opinion on the nature of any alterations in the law which appear to be needed. He will begin work as soon as possible and will concentrate in the first place on safety at football grounds. He will be helped by an assessor having police experience of crowd control and will be able to call on such professional and other help as he finds he needs.

It will take some time to carry through an appraisal of this kind. Meanwhile, as an immediate measure, the Government have thought it desirable to arrange for a small team of experts, headed by Mr. Walter Winterbottom, to be made available to discuss safety precautions with football clubs having regard to their local circumstances. The football authorities have welcomed this. The experience gained through this programme of visits to a number of grounds will be put at the disposal of Lord Wheatley.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now completed his consideration of the suggestion that returning officers in Parliamentary elections should place candidates' deposits in a deposit account so that interest might accrue to their credit.

Not yet. The matter is shortly to be considered by the Electoral Advisory Conference.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the basis upon which Russians are immediately allowed to enter and remain in this country on request; why similar conditions are not permitted for British citizens of the Commonwealth; and whether he will introduce legislation to provide for British Commonwealth citizens to be treated on the same basis.

Applications by foreign nationals and Commonwealth citizens to enter and remain in the United Kingdom are dealt with in accordance with the law and any applicable immigration rules, in the light of all relevant circumstances. As to legislation, I would invite the hon. Member to await the Bill foreshadowed in the Gracious Speech.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of shotgun certificates issued since 1st May, 1968.

On 31st December, 1969, there were in force 637,108 shotgun certificates issued by the chief officers of police in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visitors' shotgun certificates have been issued since 1st May, 1968.

My right hon. Friend has not felt justified in asking chief officers of police to provide this information.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT figures showing the number of indictable offences involving firearms for 1969.

The number of indictable offences involving firearms known to the police in England and Wales in 1969 was 3,298 (as compared with 2,503 in 1968). In 1,308 of these offences a firearm was fired or presented, in 109 a firearm was carried but not used and in the remaining 1,881 a firearm was involved only by being misappropriated. The corresponding figures for 1968 were 878, 83 and 1,542. The increase in the number of offences in which a firearm was fired or presented is mainly due to a marked rise in the offences involving air guns. It is thought that improved reporting partly accounts for the increase in the figures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he will not recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission, or appoint an independent committee of inquiry, to investigate the general subject of government by referendum and proportional representation.

Because these are essentially matters for Parliament to consider.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date amending regulations will be laid providing for pay instead of a suspension allowance for policemen, allegations against whom are being investigated.

They were laid yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take action to ensure that in his proposed Bill on immigration the control of numbers and types of immigrants will be on such a basis as not to distinguish between the colour of such immigrants irrespective of whether they come from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, or any of the African Commonwealth countries and with regard to foreign countries, especially from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Our immigration control does not discriminate on the basis of colour, and the Government will not propose that it should.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many building workers are currently out of work in the Bishop Auckland, Shildon, Barnard Castle employment exchange areas.

At 11 th January, 1971, there were 382 persons registered as unemployed in the Bishop Auckland, Shildon and Barnard Castle Employment Exchange areas who last worked in the construction industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is now taking to help the Construction Industry Training Board resolve their financial difficulties.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Harrow, West (Mr. John Page) on 14th January, 1971. To allow the board to take advantage of a subsequent change in interest rates he has since agreed to a slightly shorter period of repayment of the Government loan. The board will now begin to repay this debt, with interest, on 30th June, 1971, and complete repayment on 31st December, 1975.—[Vol. 809, c. 128–9.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will invite representatives of the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress to an official joint meeting with him at No. 10 Downing Street to discuss the Trades Union Congress wage proposals.

I have no plans to do so. Ministers have carefully considered the T.U.C. proposals and have discussed them with the T.U.C. and C.B.I. at the meeting of the National Economic Development Council on 6th January. There will be further opportunities at the Council and elsewhere to discuss methods of tackling cost inflation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many workpeople, male and female, respectively, have lost their employment since 30th June, 1970, through redundancy or closures of factories in the Rhymney, Pontlottyn, Bargoed, Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly and Senghenydd Labour Exchange areas.

Not all redundancies and closures are notified to my Department and our information is not therefore comprehensive. However, records show that the following numbers of workpeople lost their employment through redundancy or closures during the period 30th June, 1970, to 27th January, 1971— Area Males Females Pontlottyn … … 275 39 Bargoed … … 63 42 Ystrad Mynach … … 74 13 Caerphilly … … 24 3 Senghenydd … … Nil Nil 436 97

Rhymney forms part of the Pontlottyn employment exchange area.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current rate of male unemployment in the Pontlottyn, Bargoed, Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, and Senghenydd Labour Exchange areas.

Percentage rates of unemployment can be calculated only for complete travel-to-work areas. At 11th January the rate for males in the Bargoed travel-to-work areas which includes Blackwood as well as Bargoed,

ESTIMATES OF GROSS WEEKLY EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME ADULTS IN APRIL, 1970, OBTAINED FROM THE NEW EARNINGS SURVEY Fylde Sub-division North Western Region Great Britain £ £ £ Manual workers Men aged 21 and over 23.8 26.1 26.2 Women aged 18 and over 12.0 12.7 12.9 Non-manual workers Men aged 21 and over 28.2 34.4 35.7 Women aged 18 and over 16.9 16.7 17.6 All workers Men aged 21 and over 25.5 28.8 29.4 Women aged 18 and over 15.4 15.0 15.8 All workers, excluding those who pay was affected by absence Men aged 21 and over 25.8 29.5 30.0 Women aged 18 and over 15.7 15.5 16.3 All the estimates are subject to sampling error.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men were registered as unemployed at

Pontlottyn and Ystrad Mynach Employment Exchange areas, was 9.1 per cent. Caerphilly and Senghenydd form only a small part of the Cardiff travel-to-work area for which the rate for males was 4.7 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many work permits have been issued to French and other foreign engineering workers for the purpose of enabling them to learn how to make spare parts for those classes of armaments no longer supplied by the United Kingdom to the Republic of South Africa.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of current average earnings in the Blackpool area.

Yes. The table shows estimates for the Fylde sub-division of North Western Region in the OFFICIAL REPORT. They relate to April, 1970, and were obtained from the New Earnings Survey.

the Blackpool Employment Exchange in January; and how many men aged 65 years and over and under 26 years.

At 11th January, 1971, there were 2,450 males registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Blackpool Employment Exchange: 2,422 were wholly unemployed of whom 10 were 65 years of age and over and 474 were under 25 years.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what sources of employment have moved to the Blackpool area in the last two years; and how many new jobs have been created.

I am aware of 15 establishments which have opened in the Blackpool travel-to-work area during 1969 and 1970. When the position was last reviewed in August it was estimated that these establishments employed some 470 workers.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total of working days lost for the years 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1970, in respect of workers stood-off as a result of official and unofficial industrial stoppages, respectively.

The information is not available because estimates of the number of working days lost through industrial stoppages are not compiled separately for: (a) workers stood-off (that is indirectly involved at the establishment where the dispute occurred), and (b) workers directly involved (that is parties to the dispute).

It follows that separate information for those stood-off is not available for disputes known to have been official.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations have been made to him regarding the registration of the professions in current measures, and particularly concerning the engineering profession.

A number of organisations which negotiate on behalf of their members have made representations concerning their difficulties in obtaining registration under the proposals in the Industrial Relations Bill because of their chartered status or incorporation under the Companies Acts. The Government are now considering how to amend the Bill to facilitate the registration of such organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons residing in the Rother Valley constituency are in full-time employment; and what proportion of such workers is engaged in the mining industry, the iron and steel industry, local authority activities, agriculture, and distributive trades, respectively.

At June, 1969, the estimated number of employees in employment in the area covered by the Rotherham, Maltby and Dinnington Employment Exchanges, which is similar to the Rother Valley constituency, was 66,100. Of these, 13 per cent. were in mining and quarrying (Order II of the Standard Industrial Classification, 1958), 24 per cent, were in the iron and steel industries (minimum list headings 311, 312 and 313), 3 per cent. were in local government service (MLH 906), less than 1 per cent. were in agriculture and horticulture (MLH 001) and 9 per cent. were in the distributive trades (Order XX).

The estimates do not distinguish separately those resident in the area and those employed on a full-time basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will request the Wilberforce Inquiry into the electrical power workers' dispute to consider and report on the é1,500 per annum increase in the salary of the General Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union and the various increases ranging from £400 per annum to £970 per annum to be paid to the other officials of this trade union.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average period for which adult males registered at the employment exchanges in the Edinburgh area during the period June to December, 1970, inclusively were unemployed.

A detailed analysis is made four times a year—in January, April, July and October—showing the length of time the wholly unemployed

NUMBER OF MEN (AGED 18 YEARS AND OVER) REGISTERED AS WHOLLY UNEMPLOYED AT THE EDINBURGH, LEITH AND PORTOBELLO EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES ANALYSED ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF WEEKS THEY HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY ON THE REGISTER Total 2 weeks or less Over 2 and up to 4 weeks Over 4 and up to 8 weeks Over 8 and up to 26 weeks Over 26 and up to 52 weeks Over 52 weeks 1970 June … … 5,470 657 490 936 — — — July … … 6,039 858 751 1,027 1,673 872 858 August … … 5,952 780 607 942 — — — September … … 5,953 840 623 740 — — — October … … 5,707 786 554 865 1,642 923 937 November … … 5,915 801 595 801 — — — December … … 6,212 838 652 883 — — —

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number registered as unemployed in the Edinburgh area at the latest current date, giving the totals for males and females, respectively.

At 11 th January there were 8,245 persons—7,309 males and 936 females—registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Edinburgh, Leith and Portobello Employment Exchanges.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the rate of unemployment among registered disabled persons.

On 7th December, 1970, 12.0 per cent. of registered disabled persons were registered as unemployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of firms obliged to employ a quota of disabled persons are fulfilling their obligations.

42.7 per cent. A considerable number of firms fail to satisfy the quota obligation because those available do not have the skill or experience to meet the requirements, or in some cases, because they have disabilities which make them unsuitable for a particular working environment, or, again because of personal factors, such as immobility which create difficulties.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the have been on the register. A less-detailed analysis is made for other months. The following table shows information from both analyses:

rate of unemployment among registered disabled persons in development areas.

On 7th December, 1970, the rate of unemployment among registered disabled persons in the development areas as a whole was 16 per cent.