asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in how many of the 528 legal operations for the termination of pregnancy performed after the twenty-fourth week of gestation during the first three years' operation of the Abortion Act, 1967, it proved possible to save the life of the child.

The information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to investigate the technical possibilities for production and the consequent costs of a two seater three-wheeler car for disabled persons.

When the current invalid vehicle review has been completed, we will take whatever steps may be necessary to implement the decisions which emerge.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the scheme for assistance with the cost of conversion of privately-owned cars to hand control for disabled people; if he will consider extending the scheme to increase the mobility of such disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

Severely disabled persons eligible for the issue of a departmental vehicle may, if they so elect, receive instead a grant once in five years towards the cost of converting their own vehicle to hand control up to a maximum of £90. The whole of the invalid vehicle scheme is at present being reviewed and we hope to announce the outcome before very long.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the cost of advertising the family income supplement scheme to the latest available date; how many families now benefit from the scheme; and what is the total amount so far paid out in benefits.

£310,000 has been spent on advertising the family income supplement scheme. About 90,000 families are benefiting under it, including about 65,000 families with head in full-time work receiving the family income supplement and about 25,000 families receiving additional supplementary benefit under Section 13 of the Act. On the best estimate I can make, expenditure on both kinds of benefit to date amounts to nearly £2 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the proportion of people, entitled to family income supplement, actually claiming their entitlement.

The proportion at 26th November was 41 per cent. on the basis of estimates which, as I explained in my answer to the hon. Member for Cornwall, North (Mr. Pardoe) on 18th November, are subject to wide margins of error. The figure of 41 per cent. does not include either claims awaiting determination or families receiving additional supplementary benefit under the Family Income Supplements Act.—[Vol. 826, c. 203–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether every unsuccessful applicant for attendance allowance has a right of appeal.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the procedure of the Attendance Allowance Board in connection with applications for constant attendance allowance and the review of unsuccessful applications.

A claimant to attendance allowance whose claim is rejected because the Attendance Allowance Board decides that the medical conditions are not satisfied can apply to the board for a review. The procedure to be adopted by the board on review or otherwise is a matter for the board, but if the hon. Members will let me know of any difficulties I will, of course, pass the information to the board.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will reconsider the method of informing the parents of handicapped children that they have been refused attendance allowance.

I understand that the Attendance Allowance Board will be reviewing this and other procedures in the light of initial experience in administering this completely new benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he has issued instructions to his Department's officers not to issue sick certificates to trade unionist whose trade union have not registered in accordance with the Industrial Relations Act; and if he will make a statement.

No fresh instructions have been issued in relation to trade unions. Section 9 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1955, limits the right to receive copies of National Insurance medical certificates to members of registered friendly societies or registered trade unions, but current practice is under review.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will initiate a review of the effectiveness or otherwise of various filtering devices available for reducing the intake of nicotine and tar in cigarette smoking.

I will ask the Standing Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health to consider in due course whether such a review would be of value.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations have been held between his Department, regional hospitals and the Royal Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to ensure that there is neither confusion nor distress on the part of parents who may be given the weights of babies in kilograms.

None. I am not aware of any such confusion or distress.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress in establishing hospital ethical committees following his reply to the hon. Member for Wood Green on 27th July last.

We are at present awaiting reports from hospital boards about progress in establishing hospital ethical committees.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the hospitals which responded to the inquiry of the Royal College of Physicians in regard to ethical committees have included lay members on those committees; how many of these are teaching hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

As the hon. Member knows from my reply to her Question earlier today, we will make the information available from the full inquiries currently being made by my Department when they are complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make it an official requirement for all clinical investigations on man to be submitted for approval to hospital ethical committees; and if he will make a statement.

Ethical committees set up in accordance with the guidance given in 1968 were designed to ensure specifically that clinical investigations which were not of direct benefit to the individual patient were subject to appropriate scrutiny and that such projects were subject to the approval of the committee. It would be inappropriate for us to attempt to define in detail the circumstances in which individual clinicians should make use of the machinery of the ethical committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make arrangements to publish regular reports listing the hospitals which have ethical committees, the names of the members of these committees and some indication of their work during the period covered by the report.

As the hon. Member knows, my Department is making ad hoc inquiries to establish the present position. We will await the outcome before considering whether further information is needed. To call for more detailed returns, and on a regular basis, would in our view make an unjustifiable addition to the work of hospital boards.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what contribution is being made by Her Majesty's Government to the funds of the Battered Child Research Department of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, having regard to the major contribution made by this organisation to the treatment of battered children and the consequent reduction of the workload of the statutory services concerned.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is independent of Government funds and has undertaken this valuable work from its own resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the manner in which social security offices conduct their business; and if he will make a statement.

I am satisfied that in general my staff provide a courteous and efficient service, but we are always striving to improve our standards.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what instructions are to be given by his Department to local social security offices to ensure that retired people are in receipt of sufficient income during the coming winter months.

Local offices have standing instructions to assist people to obtain all the benefits to which they are entitled. Social Security benefits were increased substantially last September.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons he estimates are now in receipt of supplementary benefit compared with the end of the Government's first year of office and at the time of the General Election.

In September, 1971, there were 2,935,000 people receiving supplementary benefit, an increase of 47,000 over June, 1971, and 262,000 over June, 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much has been paid out in the last 12 months for which figures are available by his Ministry in hire-purchase payments for persons in receipt of supplementary benefits, and how this compares with the previous 12 months.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the cost of paying supplementary benefit to unemployed school leavers under 16 years of age.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to pay supplementary benefit to school leavers under 16 years of age.

No. The maintenance of young people under 16 is the responsibility of their parents. If the parents are receiving supplementary benefit, the child's requirements are taken into account. The school-leaving age is being raised to 16 next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further steps he now intends to take to ensure that all outstanding local authorities, which have not yet done so, proceed to the speedy preparation of registers of local disabled persons.

All the responsible local authorities already have such registers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now revise his policy on advertising vacancies in the National Health Service; what change in policy there has been since his Department's circular issued in 1954 (HM(54)(24)); and what is his estimate of the saving of resources if, instead of advertisements in journals which are almost exclusively circulated among nurses and midwives already employed in the National Health Service, his Department issued regular information of posts vacant.

A circular letter was issued in February, 1968, advising on economies to be obtained by control of content, selection of media and numbers of advertisements. Any further revision of policy will be considered in the light of the recommendations of the Committee on Nursing which is considering recruitment. A detailed study would be needed to assess the potential savings suggested by the hon. Member but I doubt whether they would be large or whether the system would necessarily be as effective as advertising in the nursing journals which have a wide circulation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement concerning the introduction of a disability pension following his investigations into various other systems already operating in Europe.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has studied the Disablement Income Group document on disability pensions in Europe, a copy of which is in his possession; whether he accepts the findings of the report; and if he will consider the introduction of a disability pension in the United Kingdom.

I am aware of the report by the Disablement Income Group Charitable Trust. Officials now studying the administration of disability schemes in some foreign countries will report to me in the spring. These reports and the results of a further study now being put in hand will cover only part of a complex problem and I have, therefore, no statement to make.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he can give a date for the opening of the adolescent psychiatric unit at the Prestwich Hospital for the purpose for which it was intended; and whether he will make a statement.

Not yet. The regional board's proposal for the consultant post will very shortly be put to the Advisory Committee on Consultant Establishments. It was necessary first, in consultation with the board and in the light of expert advice, to get the duties of the post carefully defined. When approval of the post has been given it will taken time to select and appoint the new consultant, and in turn for him to take part in the selection of staff for the unit. In the meantime the unit is being put to good use as an admission ward for adult mental illness patients.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to encourage the practice of transferring pension rights between occupational schemes when the beneficiary changes his job; and if he will write to the trustees and managers of all approved schemes, explaining the policy of the Government in regard to transferability.

We have made it clear in our White Paper that we hope schemes will increasingly use transfer arrangements as an alternative to preserving pensions. In the light of consultations on our proposals affecting occupational schemes we will consider how we might further publicise particular aspects.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what survey has been made of the incidence of ill health among ex-Far East prisoners of war.

A survey was recently completed at the Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, of the effects of captivity on the nervous and liver systems of ex-Far Eastern prisoners of war treated at the hospital between 1946 and 1968.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will do as is done in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and make arrangements whereby, on the death of an ex-Far East prisoner of war, the widow receives automatically extra payment beyond the rate of widow's pension.

Every widow whose husband dies as a result of his war service receives a war widow's pension which is paid at a special preferential rate. In deciding claims full account is taken of the effects of the hardships endured by Far East prisoners of war but I do not think it would be right to award a war widow's pension where death is not connected with service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for encouraging community development work by voluntary organisations.

Most work of this kind is essentially local and will attract local government support. The Government are sponsoring experimental community development projects in a number of areas and voluntary community work is elsewhere supported through the Urban Programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the savings in the financial year ending April, 1972, resulting from the Government's decision to stop unemployment benefit for the first six days of any lay-off.

About £1½ million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will arrange, in the interest of increasing employment in the Northern Region, to authorise earlier completion dates for projects such as hospitals, child care units, &c., where financial resources have already been granted.

My right hon. Friend has allocated £8 million to hospital and local authority schemes in the Northern Region from the additional resources for the relief of unemployment in development and assisted areas, and it is for the hospital boards and the local authorities to select schemes which can be substantially completed by March, 1973. The rate of progress of approved building schemes is not restricted.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the irregular attendance of Mrs. Joan Mary Sheldon, of 129, High Street, Chellaston, Derby, on which grounds her employment as an established officer of the Civil Service was terminated, was certificated sick leave; and why she was not retired on medical grounds.

Mrs. Sheldon's irregular attendance was almost wholly covered by medical certificates. She was not retired on medical grounds because the Medical Adviser of the Civil Service Department was not satisfied that Mrs. Sheldon was

"incapable from infirmity of mind and body to discharging the duties"

of her situation and that that infirmity was likely to be permanent. This is the requirement for the issue of a medical certificate under the Superannuation Act, 1965.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress by local authorities in providing telephones for the severely handicapped under the provisions of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970.

This information is not at present available, but we will include it in the statistical information we will be obtaining from local authorities about services provided under the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent patients needing artificial limbs, adjustments or replacements are attended to by unqualified prosthetists, without the guidance and direction of a fully qualified prosthetist.

An unqualified prosthetist may attend to patients during the last stages of his period of training, but his work is supervised by a qualified prosthetist under the general direction of a medical officer.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give figures to show the depreciation of the purchasing value of the various social welfare benefits due to the rise in the cost of living since the last adjustment.

As measured by the movement in the General Index of Retail Prices up to October, 1971, social security benefits have decreased in purchasing power by about 0·6 per cent. since the increases given last September.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take steps to refund the over-payment of Social Insurance contributions by monthly-paid employees who had to pay the higher rate of contribution for a whole month on their salary date following the 20th September, despite the fact that the month in question will have included a period when other employees were still paying at the lower rate.

No. The contributions to which the right hon. Gentleman refers have been correctly paid and the question of refund does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration he is now giving to the location of the headquarters of the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board.

None, but in the consultations on National Health Service reorganisation the location of the headquarters of the future regional health authority in this part of ale country is one of the matters that has been raised.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he is now taking to improve the staffing position in the casualty departments of hospitals in Greater London.

Hospital boards aim to provide a more efficient accident and emergency service at fewer but better staffed and equipped centres. This will make better use of manpower and make the service more attractive to doctors in training. In addition, boards have been asked to provide more consultant posts in this specialty.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average stay in hospital for appendicitis.

In 1969 the average length of stay in England and Wales was eight to nine days.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to encourage the routine screening of cervical carcinoma for women under 35 years of age.

We have no immediate plans for encouraging the routine screening of younger women.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he is now likely to receive advice from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on diagnostic procedure dealing with the pathology of lung diseases.

This matter is part of the major pneumoconiosis review being carried out by the council. It is not possible to forecast when the council will be in a position to report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what study is presently being made or planned for the immediate future of the threat to the health of young children by environmentally dispersed lead.

Studies involving children are at present being undertaken or planned in London, Derbyshire, Glasgow and South Wales and the needs for further research are being considered both within my own Department and in the Medical Research Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what reply he has sent to the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain who has advised him either to reduce or to abolish prescription charges.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of my reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied that the hospital service obtains cold-store and refrigeration equipment at the most favourable prices; and if he will make a statement.

Yes: a wide range of this equipment is available to the Hospital Service through contracts arranged by the Department of the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce legislation to provide for a one-parent family allowance, related to average earnings and the cost of living for unmarried mothers.

The question of a special benefit for one-parent families is one of the matters being considered by the Finer Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what effect local government reform will have on the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board and on local health services in South Yorkshire metropolitan and neighbouring regions.

No immediate effect, but under the simultaneous reform of the National Health Service the boundaries of the new health authorities will in general follow those of local government to facilitate collaboration. The Sheffield Regional Hospital Board will disappear and I am considering the special problem of regional boundaries in this part of the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations, in the interests of retirement pensioners who have difficulty in travelling to collect their pensions, his regional offices seek to have with the Post Office before a decision to close a local post office is finalised.

I am assured that the Post Office gives full consideration to the needs of retirement pensioners before a local post office is closed. Facilities already exist for a pensioner who is unable to get to a post office to nominate someone else to cash his pension for him.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will publish the revised edition of A Guide to Social Security.

The revised edition has been embodied in a new up-to-date booklet "Family Benefits and Pensions" which has also replaced "Family Benefits—Your Right to Claim Them". This booklet has already been circulated to all hon. Members as well as voluntary organisations, welfare departments of local authorities, the clergy and many other people who come into personal contact with those who may be eligible to claim family benefits and pensions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were awaiting admission to hospitals in the area of the Manchester Regional Hospital Board at the latest date for which figures are available; what was the average period of waiting; if he will provide figures for men, women and children, separately; and if he will make a statement.

There were 69,041 on 30th June, 1971. Separate figures for men, women and children are not available. Waiting time varies according to the specialty and the circumstances of each case and an average figure would have little meaning. Urgent cases are admitted without delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people resident in the Wythenshawe constituency of Manchester were awaiting admission to hospitals in the area of the Manchester Regional Hospital Board at the latest date for which figures are available; what was the average period of waiting; if he will provide figures for men, women and children, separately; and if he will make a statement.

Hospital statistics cannot be related directly to constituency boundaries, but patients from the Wythenshawe constituency would, in the main, be referred to Wythenshawe Hospital. At 26th November, 1971, the numbers awaiting admission to the hospital were 176 men, 393 women and 183 children. Of these, ill men, 312 women and 102 children had waited less than three months. Waiting time varies according to specialty and the circumstances of each case and an average figure would have little meaning. Urgent cases arP admitted without delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the staff-to-population ratio of community nursing services in all county boroughs of England and Wales.

The 1970–71 figures should be available for publication early in the New Year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement giving guidance to local authorities concerning appropriate staff-to-population ratios in community nursing services.

We are considering the need for guidance on this and related matters with the object of maintaining and developing the local services.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the adequacy of the nursing strength at St. James's Hospital, Portsmouth.

The ratio of nursing staff to beds at St. James's Hospital, Portsmouth is above the average for psychiatric hospitals in the Wessex Region and the country as a whole.The nursing staff establishments of hospitals in the region are determined by the hospital management committees concerned, which are free to recruit nurses within the financial allocations made to them by the regional hospital board.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the cost to the National Health Service of 50 anti-emetic tablets in each of the following brands, Avomine; Dramamine; Ancoloxin Debendox and Maxolon.

The information is as follows:

	Total net cost to the National Health Service of 50 tablets
Avomine Tablets 25mg	48p
Dramamine Tablets 50mg	55p
Ancoloxin Tablets	117p
Debendox Tablets	122p
Maxolon Tablets 10mg	137p

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the annual cost of family allowances.

About £345 million gross.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the waiting periods for initial out-patient appointments with consultants in each of the various clinics and specialities at the Nottingham hospitals; and what steps are being taken to obviate lengthy periods of waiting for patients.

Urgent cases are seen without delay. The waiting time for other patients varies so much according to the specialty and the circumstances of the individual case that an average figure would have little meaning. I am aware that some patients have to wait longer than could be wished but extensive developments are now taking place at the Nottingham hospitals, including the construction of a new university hospital, which, together with planned increases in medical staffing, will bring about a major improvement to the services in the Nottingham area.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many staffed geriatric beds are available in the Nottingham hospitals; what is the waiting list for such beds; and how many old people have died in the last 12 months while awaiting beds;(2) whether he has estimated, on population trends, how many geriatric beds are likely to be needed in the Nottingham hospitals by 1976; what is the figure; and what plans have been prepared to meet the present and future demands for such beds.

There are 631 geriatric beds in the Nottingham University and Nottingham and District Hospital Management Committee Groups; 92 persons are on the waiting list, 226 persons died while awaiting admission to a geriatric bed in the year ended 30th September, 1971: 97 of these died at home; most

Hospital							Nursing Staff Establishment	Nursing Staff (Whole-time equivalent in post on 30th September, 1971)
1. Nottingham University Hospital Management Committee:
(a) Nottingham General Hospital				…	…	…	523	468 (-55)
Paddington Hall Hospital			…	…	…	…
(b) Highbury Hospital		…	…	…	…	…	151	137 (-14)
The Cedars Hospital		…	…	…	…	…	49	42 (- 7)
(c) Nottingham Children's Hospital				…	…	…	98	107 (+ 9)
(d) Nottingham Women's Hospital				…	…	…	116	114 (- 2)
Nottingham Eye Hospital			…	…	…	…	46	47 (+ 1)
2. Nottingham and District Hospital Management Committee:
(a) Nottingham City Hospital			…	…	…	…	557	525 (-32)
(b) Sherwood Hospital		…	…	…	…	…	209	198 (-11)
(c) Ellerslie House	…	…	…	…	…	…	8	5 (- 3)
(d) The Firs Maternity Hospital			…	…	…	…	47	29 (-18)
3. Trent Vale Hospital Management Committee:
(a) The Coppice Hospital		…	…	…	…	…	44	43 (- 1)
(b) Mapperley and St. Anne's Hospital				…	…	…	258	247 (-11)
(c) St. Francis Hospital		…	…	…	…	…	74	74 (—)

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average annual cost of providing children's spectacles under the National Health Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the shortages of nursing staff at each of the Nottingham hospitals.

The number of nurses on 30th September, 1971—the latest date for which figures are available—in hospitals in the County Borough of Nottingham, compared with the nursing establishment for which the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board has allocated funds this year was as follows:

The cost to public funds in 1970 was about £½ million in England, excluding the cost of sight tests.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many representations he has received about the quality of children's spectacles provided under the National Health Service.

Less than 10 in the past five years.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to improve the quality of children's spectacles provided under the National Health Service.

We are satisfied with the quality of the children's spectacles supplied under the National Health Service which have to comply with British Standards.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the fact that only a small proportion of limb deficient children in this country are using artificial limbs, if he will establish an inquiry to find out why the proportion is so small, and publish the reasons in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

No. The premise is wrong.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it was not foreseen that either bigger gas cylinders or alternative means of energy storage would be needed as children using artificial limbs grew bigger; what is the supply time of existing means of energy storage; if he has satisfied himself that this cannot be improved by adopting methods used in other countries in the world; and if he will make a statement.

Research into the design and production of a larger gas cylinder began some six years ago. Technical and testing problems, mainly concerned with safety factors, delayed full production until last July. This container represents the limit of storage capacity of carbon dioxide which can reasonably be carried on the person; for most patients it holds sufficient gas to last for about a day. Pressurised gas is certainly as efficient as alternative sources of energy supply now available for this kind of apparatus, but the Department is sponsoring a study into the feasibility of using electric hydraulic power.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the conclusions reached by the Inspection Directorate of the Ministry of Technology regarding drawings and specifications of the Myoelectric arm design produced by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment; how many patients are using this arm; if he will publish a summary of the clinical reports in the OFFICIAL REPORT; and if he will make a statement.

The Inspection Directorate was not asked to evaluate the hand but to undertake quality assurance and production control, should it have been decided to proceed with commercial production. All the trial hands issued to patients have now been returned. Further arms modified by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment are being manufactured and will be tried on patients. Should any developments of sufficient significance emerge, they will be made known.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in his Chief Medical Officer's next report, he will arrange for there to be an assessment of the present position of prosthetic provision in this country, an assessment of the next developments in the provision of more efficient limbs, and an account of the extent of international co-operation in this field.

The Chief Medical Officer is responsible for the content of his report to my right hon. Friend. He normally includes a chapter reviewing problems and progress in the treatment of the limbless.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is now in a position to make an announcement about limb research and development.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Abingdon (Mr. Neave) on 5th August. The new advisory committee on artificial limb research and development has already commenced its work.Information about specific research projects will be included in the report under Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970, which

my right hon. Friend expects to lay before Parliament very shortly.—[Vol. 822, c.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the fact that in an answer on 11th May 1971, he stated that full discussions and comparisons have taken place regarding artificial limbs produced and supplied in other countries, whether he will now indicate when and where his Department tested the Myoelectric limbs produced in Austria, Germany and Italy; and if he will make a statement.

The first Biochemical Research and Development Unit study of the Austrian and German myoelectric systems took place in October, 1968, with more recent models being obtained from time to time. The technical specifications of the Italian developments do not differ significantly, so that they were not subjected to detailed examination.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the extent of the direction he gives to regional hospital boards and hospital management committees to employ qualified doctors and nurses in their hospitals; and what proportion of permanent staff doctors consists of locums engaged through agencies;(2) what is the number of doctors employed by regional hospital boards or hospital management committees whose services were obtained through agencies in the month of September, 1971.

Hospital authorities have been instructed that before allowing a person to take up duty in any medical post, they should satisfy themselves that he is appropriately registered and, therefore, inter alia holds a medical qualification recognised by the General Medical Council. Hospital authorities are similarly responsible for verifying the qualifications of nurses. As regards doctors engaged through agencies I cannot add to my reply to the hon. Member on 28th October.—[Vol. 823, c. 457–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the total qualified nursing staff in each regional hospital consists of agency nurses; and what were the comparable figures in 1964.

Following is the information. As the agency nurse figures are not available for 1964, figures for 1965 are given.

PROPORTION OF TOTAL QUALIFIED NURSING STAFF CONSISTING OF AGENCY NURSES IN REGIONAL HOSPITAL BOARD HOSPITALS
	1965	1971
Regional Hospital Board	Per cent·	Per cent·
Newcastle	Nil	Nil
Leeds	0·03	0·02
Sheffield	0·2	0·3
East Anglian	1·1	1·0
North West Metropolitan	1·1	2·0
North East Metropolitan	2·8	5·1
South East Metropolitan	0·6	0·8
South West Metropolitan	2·3	4·9
Wessex	0·3	0·7
Oxford	1·3	1·6
South Western	0·4	0·4
Birmingham	0·1	0·4
Manchester	Nil	0·1
Liverpool	Nil	Nil

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will withdraw the directive issued to local authorities submitting new recommended minimum rates for welfare accommodation.

No. The rates were changed to keep them in step with the increase in the retirement pension and supplementary allowances which came into operation at the same time, as they have been periodically since 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many younger chronic sick patients in hospital are accommodated in wards used wholly or mainly for elderly persons; what action he is taking to reduce these figures; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have today laid statements under Section 17(2) of the Act, covering the six-month period ended 30th June, 1971. It should not be assumed that all these patients need or wish to be accommodated in special units for the younger chronic sick. Nevertheless, the main task in achieving a reduction in the number of patients inappropriately placed in geriatric departments is to provide more such special units. As I have announced previously, money has been set aside to be used specifically for this purpose over this and the next three financial years. This extra money has so far been used to finance 26 special units on which a start is to be made this year or next. In addition six other units are being financed from boards' normal resources in those years. This will raise the number of units from 28 to 60 and the number of beds in special units from about 700 to over 1,500. I intend that progress should be maintained so long as there is a need for more units.

SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFITS
Average Earnings				Effective data of rate		Single non-householder plus standard rent addition	Per cent. of average earnings	Single householder plus average rent	Per cent. of aaverge earnings
		£				£		£
October, 1966	…	20·30	…	November, 1966		3·95	19·5	5·77	28·4
October, 1967	…	21·37	…	October, 1967	…	4·05	19·0	6·18	28·9
October, 1968	…	23·00	…	October, 1968	…	4·25	18·5	6·54	28·4
October, 1969	…	24·83	…	November, 1969		4·40	17·7	6·86	27·6
October, 1970	…	28·05	…	November, 1970		4·75	16·9	7·39	26·3

The average earnings figure for October, 1971, will not be available until February, 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the value of a single person's National Insurance pension as a percentage of average earnings for the periods October 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, and 1970–71, respectively.

The value of the standard rate retirement pension expressed as a percentage of the average earnings of male manual wage earners at October since 1964 is as follows:

Year	Percentage
1964	18·6
1965	20·4
1966	19·7
1967	21·1
1968	19·6
1969	18·1
1970	17·8

The average earnings figure for October, 1971, is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the value of a single person's supplementary benefit allowance as a percentage of average industrial earnings for the periods October, 1966–67, 1968–69 and 1970–71, respectively.

The value of a single person's supplementary allowance or pension as a percentage of the average earnings of adult male manual workers during the respective years is shown below. The amounts of supplementary benefit used in the comparison are based on the increased rates which came into force in October/November of each year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is now the size, area and extent of buildings erected in Fulwood as headquarters of the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board; and how the position differs from that five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago.

The available information is as follows:

	Gross area in sq. ft.
1971	91,843
1966	76,062
1961	30,691
1951	13,186

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are now employed by the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board; of this total how many are located in the headquarters at Fulwood, Sheffield; and how the present position differs from five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago.

The available information is as follows:

HEADQUARTERS STAFF OF SHEFFIELD REGIONAL HOSPITAL BOARD
Located at
Year	Fulwood House	Elsewhere	Total
Present	572	137	709
1966	392	68	460
1961	222	13	235
1956	132	4	136
1953	110	—	110

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that the County Land Agents' Office submitted to the Gloucestershire District Office of his Department on 26th August, 1971, plans for dredging of Beckford Brook in the Parliamentary constituency of South Worcestershire to prevent further flooding and hardship to local residents this winter, and that no action has been taken; whether he will approve the scheme forthwith under ministerial grant; and if he will make a statement.

My Department received proposals from the Worcestershire County Council on 26th August for the improvement of Carrant Brook upstream of Beckford. These have been approved for grant-aid.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further representations he has received on the effects on the British fishing industry of the European Economic Community fisheries policies.

My Department continues to keep in frequent contact with all sides of the fishing industry about the implications of the common fisheries policy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the catch of salmon and grilse by licensed drift neeting off the North-East Coast of England for 1968, 1969 and 1970 and his provisional estimate for 1971, respectively.

River authority licences in this area permit the use of various types of net, so it is not possible to give precise catches by drift nets. However the total catches of salmon and grilse by licensed nets off the Northumbrian and Yorkshire River Authorities' areas was 27,000 fish in 1968, 53,000 in 1969 and 100,000 in 1970.I cannot yet give a reliable estimate of the 1971 catch, but preliminary information suggests that it may be about the 1969 level.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that the recommendations made in the report on soil structure are being carried out; and if he will make a statement.

This valuable and comprehensive report has been widely read and discussed but as my right hon. Friend said when the report was published on 12th January, the longterm problems it revealed cannot be put right overnight, but I am satisfied that good progress is being made on the problems to which it drew attention. In particular, the amount of field drainage being done each year continues to increase. A good deal of advisory work is being done by my Department's Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and a group of its specialists has been vigorously following up the report's recommendations and implications. Experimental work in train at the time of the inquiry has been extended.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is now able to make a statement on the negotiations which his officials have been having in Brussels on the question of the colour and content of such items as kippers, bloaters, sausages, meat pies, chocolates, cakes and custards.

The E.E.C. has as yet no directives on individual commodities. If proposals of this kind should come forward, the Community has agreed that we should be consulted in advance. Discussions with the Community about directives on additives to food, including colours, are to be followed by the consideration by an expert group of our proposals for colours. The criteria of acceptability will be those of safety-in-use and need, adopted previously by the Six, and followed in this country by the Food Additives and Contaminants Committee.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that in the European Economic Community slaughter premiums on 235,000 cows have been paid since the Community initiated its plan to cut milk production in the countries of the Six, that farmers received $200 for each cow slaughtered and $200 for each cow whose milk does not reach the market; to what extent this will affect British farmers on Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community; and at what costs.

These schemes have been withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many deputations he has received since 18th June, 1970, on the subject of unemployment.

My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State and I have received a total of seven deputations.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have lost their jobs during the last six months as a direct consequence of industrial disputes.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unskilled workers had been unemployed for at least six weeks at 31st October, 1971.

I regret that the information is not available. At 11th October, the latest date for which information is available, 521,235 wholly unemployed people had been registered for more than six weeks, but the statistics do not indicate how many of these were registered for employment in unskilled occupations.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what changes he envisages in the rôle of the present Industrial Court as a result of the implementation of the Industrial Relations Act, 1971.

The Industrial Court, which will be renamed the Industrial Arbitration Board, will retain its present independent status and will continue to discharge the same functions as the former Industrial Court. It will remain a statutory body independent of both my Department and the National Industrial Relations Court. It will have one addiional function. The Industrial Relations Act, 1971, extends its jurisdiction by providing for trade unions to present claims to the board for new terms and conditions of employment when the National Industrial Relations Court has authorised them to do so, in cases where an employer has failed to disclose information needed for collective bargaining or has refused to comply with an order requiring him to recognise a trade union. Any award made by the Industrial Arbitration Board would become part of the specified employees' contracts of employment.I should like to pay tribute to the Industrial Court's long and successful record of achievement and to emphasise the continuing importance which the Government attach to its rôle in the future.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the method used to calculate the working population of any given area.

The working population is an estimate of employees, including the registered unemployed, employers and self-employed persons, and members of Her Majesty's Forces, including those stationed overseas. Only national estimates are made—for the United Kingdom and Great Britain.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications how many petitions he has received requesting the free provision of television licences for retirement pensioners; and what replies he has sent.

Twenty-five requesting either free or cheaper television licences for retirement pensioners. The reply given has been on the lines of my answer to the hon. Members for Newcastle-under Lyme (Mr. Golding) and Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) and my hon. Friend the Member for Louth (Mr. Jeffrey Archer) on 17th November.—[Vol. 826, c. 391.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the need for an organisation to replace the Consumer Council.

A number of protests were received when the council's grant was ended. No representations for an organisation to be created with comparable functions have been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the aircraft type, flight number, and operators' names of the machines that flew at low altitude and high power-output over central London at 0230 hours and 0410 hours, respectively, on Wednesday, 24th November; and why these flights were authorised at these hours.

On 24th November a Boeing 707 operated by Trans Mediterranean Airways landed at Heathrow at 0246 and a Boeing 707 of B.O.A.C. and a Boeing 727 of Lufthansa at 0414 and 0419 G.M.T., respectively. No special authorisation was required for these landings.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the total value of British exports to Canada in each of the last five years.

Information for 1966 to 1970 is given in Table 275 of the Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1971; the latest figures are given in Table V of the Overseas Trade Statistics for October, 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the financial expenditure incurred by the British Government during the last year to help promote the selling of British products in Canada.

A figure for last year is not available but I estimate that the expenditure likely to be incurred in 1971–72 by my Department and other Government Departments on the promotion of exports to Canada will be, very approximately, between £¾ million and £1 million, including staff costs and general overheads.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the cost effectiveness of the £197,600 paid to the National Wool Textile Export Corporation in the year ended 31st March, 1971, in particular relation to the increase in real value of wool textile exports within the same period.

No such estimate can be given. The export performance of the wool textile industry is influenced by many factors, including some outside the control of the industry. No direct relationship between expenditure on export promotion from the funds made available to the National Wool Textile Export Corporation and the value of wool textile exports can be established. The Corporation's funds are all contributed by the industry itself.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to bring male employment to the Meadowfield Industrial Estate; and if he will make a statement.

Four factories on the estate totalling with extensions 135,000 sq. ft. and expected to employ about 750 (70 per cent. men) have already been let and a further 20 acres of land has been leased for private development. The one vacant advance factory on the estate has been suggested to 14 firms planning projects which are mainly male-employing. The Department continues to draw the attention of suitable firms to the advantages of locating at Meadowfield.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his discussion with the European Economic Community on fisheries policy.

I would ask my hon. Friend to await the statement which my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will, with permission, make on his return.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will now make representations to the Government of the Irish Republic about the three unauthorised flights over Northern Ireland of Alouette helicopters from the Irish Republic, reports of which have been received by the Ministry of Defence.

No. I would refer to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 29th November.—[Vol. 827, c. 30–31.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the recent negotiations with the Smith régime in Rhodesia.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend made to the House on 25th November and to the White Paper published on the following day.—[Vol. 826, c. 1536–40.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in the course of his discussions in Salisbury, the question of Rhodesia's outstanding external indebtedness was raised.

I made it clear to Mr. Smith that we would regard an acknowledgment of liability for their outstanding external debt as a prerequisite of the financial negotiations which would need to follow a political settlement and I obtained a satisfactory assurance on this point.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff of the British High Commission in Canada are responsible for the promotion of the selling of British products in Canada.

Fifty-five.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what repayments of loans made by the United Kingdom to the Pakistan Government have been made in each year since 1965; and by how much it is estimated that Pakistan will default in 1971 and 1972.

The Pakistan Government has made the following repayments of principal and interest on British official loans since 1965:

	£
1965	1,555,736
1966	2,788,529
1967	3,897,105
1968	3,982,436
1969	2,904,003
1970	3,254,678
1971	1,400,911

The Pakistan Government has informed the British Government that the moratorium on the servicing of aid loans which it declared for the six month beginning 1st May, 1971, has been extended until 31st January, 1972. By the end of 1971 the unpaid debt will amount to £2,584,362. No payments are due in January, 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much economic aid has been paid by the United Kingdom to Pakistan in each year since 1965; and what are the estimates for 1971 and 1972.

Disbursements of economic aid including technical assistance to Pakistan since 1965 have been as follows:

	£ million
1965	9·938
1966	10·739
1967	11·947
1968	9·540
1969	11·148
1971	10·618

It is estimated that under existing agreements £5·5 million will be disbursed in 1971. In addition £2 million which has been pledged to the United Nations for relief to East Pakistan is likely to be disbursed this year. In the present uncertain situation I cannot give any estimate of disbursements in 1972.