asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations have been made to the European Economic Community about the possibility of butter blending in an enlarged European Economic Community.

As there is no regulation in force in the European Economic Community prohibiting butter blending, it would not be appropriate to make representations.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he can now state when he anticipates achieving the Government's objective of reducing the total number of civil servants, and the costs of administering the public services.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Kimball) on 5th May.—[Vol. 816, c. 368–9.]

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he is satisfied that defence policies in Western Europe can be harmonised without the reintroduction of conscription in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The abolition of conscription by the United Kingdom created no obstacles to the continuing process of the harmonisation of defence policies in Western Europe and I see no reason why this process should now depend on the reintroduction of conscription.

asked the Minister of State for Defence when he intends to open recruitment of personnel for H.M. Dockyard, Devonport, in the industrial and non-industrial categories.

A selective and limited recruitment of industrial and non-industrial staff is currently taking place at H.M. Dockyard, Devonport.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what is the total number of men enlisted in the Ulster Defence Regiment to the latest convenient date; and how many of these are on one-year contracts.

As at 7th June the strengtth of the Ulster Defence Regiment was 4,143 of whom about 800 were committed to one year's service.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will increase the mileage allowance for members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

All mileage rates are kept under review and there are no grounds for specially increasing those for members of the Ulster Defence Regiment at present.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether a regimental band or bands are being created in the Ulster Defence Regiment, and how much equipment has been provided.

There is no intention to form a regimental band in the Ulster Defence Regiment. However each of the battalions in the regiment is forming a corps of Pipes and Drums from existing members of the battalion whose duties in the corps of Pipes and Drums will be in addition to their normal duties. A proportion of the necessary equipment has already been provided.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of providing all members of the Ulster Defence Regiment with adequate insurance cover while travelling to and from duty.

As I informed the hon. Member on 29th April, members of the Ulster Defence Regiment are covered by the provisions of the Royal Warrant concerning pensions and other grants in respect of death or disablement when travelling to or from duty. These are the same provisions which cover members of the Regular Forces. Any resultant awards are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Security.—[Vol. 816, c. 199.]

asked the Minister of State for Defence what representations have been made to him about the pay and conditions of mechanical examiners in the Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich; whether he is aware of their dissatisfaction over their recent pay award, and in particular the discrimination against some of them in specialist pay; and whether he will make a statement.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind a claim by craftsmen in the Directorate of Quality Assurance (Weapons). This claim is that the introduction of a new system of craft allowances should not deprive any of them of the pay and status of mechanic examiner, a grade for which they were originally engaged and tested. The new allowance system applies to craftsmen generally in the industrial Civil Service and was agreed with the trade unions at national level in the Joint Co-ordinating Committee for Government Industrial Establishments. It provides for allowances of £2, £3, £4 or £6 to be paid in addition to the basic craft rate for work calling for the exercise of additional skills and other attributes.Of a total of some 700 craftsmen in the Directorate, about 170 are not in fact employed as mechanic examiners, the duties of which grade attract the £4 allowance, or are so employed only intermittently. The effect of conceding the claim would be to create for each of these 170 craftsmen a personal entitlement to the mechanic examiner craft allowance for the whole of their remaining career in the Directorate. The management view is that here, as elsewhere, only the allowance appropriate to the work the craftsman actually performs should be paid. Most of the 170 are on work which qualifies for the £3 allowance. A very small number of jobs qualify only for the £2 allowance and it was always the intention in their case that this should be made up to the allowance level of £2·50 which they enjoyed under the arrangements which applied before 1st July, 1970.The issue has been the subject of several discussions between management at Departmental level and the national officers of the trade unions concerned. At a meeting on the 25th May management reiterated their opposition to the claim as tabled, but conceded that the way in which the new allowance system would affect them might not have been made sufficiently clear to the craftsmen concerned. They have been offered the £4 allowance until such time as the difference between this figure and that appropriate to the work they are doing is overtaken by increases in basic pay. I very much hope that this offer will be accepted.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are his Department's plans for the employment exchange in Knighton Lane, Buckhurst Hill.

It is planned to move Buckhurst Hill Employment Exchange from its present accommodation into a newly erected government-owned building at 284, High Road, Loughton, Essex. The new office will be known as Loughton Employment Exchange. Occupation is expected towards the end of 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the estimated total cost of the National Board for Prices and Incomes from its inception to its closure; how much of this figure was accounted for by wages to permanent staff and how much in consultancy fees; what was the total cost of printing and distributing the Board's Reports; and what was the revenue from the sales of these publications.

In the order of £5 million, about £2·6 million of which was for staff salaries and wages and £0·8 million for consultancy fees. The total cost of printing and publishing the Board's reports, including copies for Parliamentary and official use, is estimated at £150,000 and net revenue from sales at £75,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many persons were injured while on pedestrian crossings in England during the last 12 months.

5,968 non-fatal casualties in 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many children up to the age of seven years, and from seven to 14 years, respectively, were injured while on pedestrian crossings in England during the last 12 months.

473 and 1,284 non-fatal casualties respectively in 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many children up to the age of seven years and from seven to 14 years, respectively, were injured while on pedestrian crossings in Greater London, Inner London and the London Borough of Hackney, respectively, in the last 12 months.

Following are the figures for 1970:

	G.L.C. Area	Inner London	Hackney
Children under 7 years of age	214	118	15
Children between 7 and 14 years of age	521	244	21

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many persons were injured while on pedestrian crossings in Greater London, Inner London and the London Borough of Hackney, respectively, during the last 12 months.

1,848, 1,045 and 58 respectively during 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many pedestrian crossings in England, Greater London, Inner London and the London Borough of Hackney, respectively, are divided by road islands.

I regret that the information requested is not available and to obtain it would be inordinately expensive.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the cases involving injuries and fatalities while on pedestrian crossings during the last 12 months, in England, Greater London, Inner London and the London Borough of Hackney, respectively, took place on pedestrian crossings which were divided by road islands.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the future of the Sports Council.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Mr. Charles Morrison).—[Vol. 818, c. 365–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects lighting of the A45 from the Birmingham boundary to Thurlaston roundabout to be completed.

Lighting of A45 is being dealt with in three sections and work on the urban length through Coventry is almost completed. The remaining rural lengths are in an advanced stage of design, but investigations are still taking place into details of the scheme in the vicinity of Birmingham Airport and it is not possible at present to say when installation work will be started.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment by what date he expects to announce the results of his review of the Compensation Code.

I shall announce details of our proposals when our comprehensive review of the Compensation Code has been concluded. This review is going ahead with all speed.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to negotiate with the European Economic Community on the terms of the association arrangements for Commonwealth countries.

We have secured in the negotiations the renewal of the Community's 1963 Declaration of Intent for all the independent Commonwealth countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and for Mauritius, Fiji, Western Samoa and Tonga. This offers each of these countries the opportunity of negotiations with the enlarged Community including the United Kingdom on arrangements which could include full association. These negotiations could begin at any time but since the Community have agreed to the maintenance of the status quo in our trading relations with these countries until the renegotation of the Yaoundé Convention in 1973, we would not expect these negotiations to begin until then.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Asian countries of the Commonwealth have yet decided their policy as to associated status with an enlarged European Economic Community.

We have not, since their position was considered in the negotiations, had any indication from Asian Commonwealth countries of how they intend to conduct their trading policies in relation to an enlarged Community. No doubt they will be guided by the Community's offer to examine with them, after enlargement, problems in the field of trade with a view to reaching appropriate solutions and the Community's wish to expand and reinforce their trading relationships with these countries. As I told the hon. Member on 8th June, associate status is not open to Asian members of the Commonwealth.—[Vol. 818, c. 317.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has now made to the European Economic Community regarding the safeguarding of United Kingdom fishing interests between the six-mile and 12-mile limits.

Given that Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands and the other applicants for European Economic Community membership have certain historic fishing rights within the 6–12 mile belt, it is considered that our existing conservation and policing regulations, which already apply to vessels of these countries fishing within the belt, would continue to be used to safeguard fishing stocks in these areas. These regulations could be supplemented on a non-discriminating basis if the danger of over-fishing arose.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are taken by the Government, in view of the grants paid out of public funds, to ensure that the material published by the European Movement achieves the same degree of factual accuracy as the Factsheets on Britain and Europe.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office satisfy themselves that the grant-in-aid given to the European Movement is spent for the purposes for which it is provided. These are to assist in organising exchanges of views with other Europeans. The grant is not available for publicity work directed at opinion in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is aware that there is no dentist in the Eltham area who is willing to treat National Health Service patients in the provision of dentures; and what representations he proposes to make to the Area Dental Health Executive on the matter.

My inquiries indicate that dentures are available under the National Health Service from dentists in the Eltham area. The Inner London Executive Council will be glad to help any patient in the area who finds difficulty in getting accepted under the Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a copy of the National Health Service Form O.S.C.3 (Rev. 2/71) which is sent as an explanatory leaflet to those requiring certain exemptions from paying for spectacles, etc.

Yes. Form O.S.C.3 is a general explanatory leaflet sent to all patients who have an approved National Health Service prescription for glasses.Following is the form:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of those local authorities who support or provide a Family Planning Service, and those authorities who have extended their Family Planning Service by providing advice in the home.

At 31st March, 1971 all local health authorities in England except one (Isles of Scilly) reported support for, or the provision of, a family planning service to some extent. The following are the names of the 58 authorities who report establishment of a domiciliary service in at least part of their areas:

LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES IN ENGLAND WHO PROVIDE A DOMICILIARY FAMILY PLANNING SERVICE
County Councils
Berkshire	Surrey
Buckinghamshire	West Sussex
Cambridge and Isle of Ely	Westmorland Wiltshire
Huntingdon and Peterborough	Yorkshire (East Riding)
Nottinghamshire	Yorkshire (West Riding)
Oxfordshire
Staffordshire
County Boroughs
Birmingham	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Bournemouth	Oxford
Bury	Portsmouth
Canterbury	Reading
Carlisle	Rotherham
Chester	Sheffield
Darlington	Southampton
Hastings	Southend-on-Sea
Ipswich	Wakefield
Leeds	Walsall
Liverpool	Warley
Manchester	York
London Boroughs
Barking	Islington
Barnet	Kingston-upon-Thames
Brent
Camden	Lambeth
Ealing	Lewisham
Enfield	Newham
Hackney	Richmond-upon-Thames
Hammersmith
Haringey	Sutton
Havering	Waltham Forest
Hillingdon	Wandsworth
Hounslow

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were awaiting admission to St. Cross Hospital, Rugby, on the last date for which figures are available; and what was the figure for each of the last five years.

1,066 on 31st March, 1971. Figures relating to 31st December for the last five years as are follows:

1966	…	…	…	1,079
1967	…	…	…	1,269
1968	…	…	…	1,091
1969	…	…	…	1,095
1970	…	…	…	1,038

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will prosecute for infringement of the Race Relations Act the London West Indian Standing Conference for promising cash assistance exclusively for coloured candidates in London borough elections.

It is not for my right hon. Friend to institute prosecutions. In any event, criminal prosecutions under the Race Relations Acts are about incitement to racial hatred.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will replace the President of the National Savings Movement.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can now state when he proposes to repeal the disallowance provisions for interest on loans.

As my hon. Friend is no doubt aware, the normal practice is to reserve announcements of this character for a Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made with his studies of a negative income tax; and whether he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Chief Secretary on 18th May to the hon. Member for Kensington, South (Sir B. Rhys Williams).—[Vol. 817, c. 1056–7.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is yet in a position to assess the loss of foreign currency since 25th March, caused by events in East Pakistan.

No estimate is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what extra assistance has been requested from and granted by the Export Credit Guarantees Board in respect of British companies affected by the situation in East Pakistan.

No application has been made to the Export Credits Guarantee Department for any general extension of facilities in respect of business with Pakistan. As was announced on 13th May, no cover is currently available for this market.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what impact present events in East Pakistan have had on the jute industry; what assessment he has made of the situation since 25th March; and if he will make a statement.

Recent events in East Pakistan have so far had little effect on the United Kingdom jute industry. I understand that stocks of raw jute in Dundee are mostly adequate for present production for some months. In one or two cases, a shortage of particular grades has meant some short-time working, but I hope that shipments on the high seas and those now being made from East Pakistan will relieve the situation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average annual fall in the value of money since 1958 in the United Kingdom and in each of the European Economic Community countries.

Taking the purchasing power of the £ sterling to be equivalent to 100 pence in 1958, its value in 1970 is estimated to have been 678 pence, a fall of 32·2 per cent. or an average rate of 3·2 per cent. annually for the twelve years. This estimate is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index over the period.For comparison with member countries of the European Economic Community, the only published indices refer to retail prices. Figures based on these price indices, and using the General Index of Retail Prices for the whole period in the case of the United Kingdom, are shown in the following table.

Average annual percentage fall in the value of money 1958 to 1970
United Kingdom	…	3·4
European Economic Community
Belgium	…	2·6
France	…	4·0
Germany	…	2·4
Italy	…	3·3
Luxembourg	…	2·2
Netherlands	…	3·7

Source: O.E.C.D. Main Economic Indicators.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has regarding disclosure requirements in the accounts of public and private companies; and when he proposes to implement them.

We are studying this matter but we shall not have proposals until further progress has been made in the Government's review of company law.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is yet in a position to assess the effects on imports and exports of events in East Pakistan.

It is too early to assess what the effects will be on our trade with Pakistan as a whole, although there has undoubtedly been considerable short-term disruption. Separate records are not kept of United Kingdom trade with East and West Pakistan.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his policy towards the provision of L-Band aeronautical navigation and communication satellite systems.

The United Kingdom agrees with the recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation that L-Band frequencies should be used for aeronautical satellites. In addition, it is Government policy that possible provision of such satellites should be responsive to the needs of that Organisation and should be progressed within a broad international framework. The United Kingdom is therefore supporting the current experimental and evaluation work being carried out by the European Space Research Organisation. At the same time, together with our European partners, we are seeking wider international co-operation, particularly with the United States.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what amounts of grants were paid to the Scottish Textile Research Association in Dundee during each year of the quinquennial period ending in June of this year; and what amounts he proposes to pay the Association from the beginning of the new quinquennium starting on 1st July.

The information required is:

Year			Grant for Jute Work	Grant for Polypropylene Work
			£	£
1966–67	…	…	20,387	7,964
1967–68	…	…	19,385	9,652
1968–69	…	…	15,726	18,310
1969–70	…	…	16,337	18,750
1970–71	…	…	10,942	25,302
			(estimate)	(estimate)

No decision has been taken on the grant to be paid to the Association for the period commencing 1st July next, since no application for renewal of grant has been made. When it is, the case will be treated on its merits.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if, in view of the uncertainty regarding the supply of raw jute because of the emergency situation in East Pakistan, and the consequent need on local employment grounds to encourage diversification into polypropylene, he will reverse his decision to stop the grant to the Scottish Textile Research Association for this purpose;(2) whether, in view of the high level of unemployment in the jute industry in the Dundee area and the fact that it is geographically concentrated in an area remote from alternative centres of employment, he will reconsider his policy towards the Scottish Textile Research Association and ensure that its Government grant for the forthcoming year is increased, in order to enable the Association to develop alternative uses for jute textile machinery skills.

The British Jute Trade Research Association, now the Scottish Textile Research Association, was given substantial grant terms for the first three years of the quinquennium 1st July, 1966 to 30th June, 1971, to help prepare the jute industry for the inevitable introduction of polypropylene on a large scale. An extra grant was offered at the rate of 100 per cent. of industrial income instead of a basic rate of 55 per cent. (subsequently 50 per cent.) and the period of this extra grant was subsequently extended to cover the last two years of the quinquennium. During the five years the Research Association has accumulated a considerable amount of data of value to firms who wish to use polypropylene, and this has already been of assistance locally. The extra help over research was intended to be an exceptional pump-priming step for a limited period only, and it is not felt that the supply position on jute warrants the extension of this special grant or that such an extension would have immediate relevance.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the statement by his Department in a letter to the right hon. Member for Dundee, East, that they saw no future for the Scottish Textile Research Association, was made with his authority.

Yes. The statement by my right hon. Friend also mentioned that the Department would do what it could to assist the Research Association in the short term.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to publish the results of his inquiry into the fire on the liner s.s. "Oriana" which broke out on 11th August, 1970.

This inquiry was a preliminary inquiry under Section 465 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894. Such inquiries are intended to guide the Department on further action that may be necessary, and the reports on them are not suitable for publication.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has decided the level of quota of British films to be borne by exhibitors during the year beginning 1st January, 1972.

My right hon. Friend has decided to accept the advice of the Cinematograph Films Council and to leave the exhibitors' quota at 30 per cent. for the first feature films and 25 per cent. for supporting programme for the year beginning 1st January, 1972.