asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the number of unlicensed dogs in England and Wales in 1960, 1965, 1970 and 1971.

No such estimates have been made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many dog licences were issued in England and Wales each year between 1960 and 1971.

Following is the information:

Dog licences issued in England and Wales
1960	…	…	…	2,540,045
1961	…	…	…	2,515,481
1962	…	…	…	2,550,107
1963	…	…	…	2,598,488
1964	…	…	…	2,645,374
1965	…	…	…	2,659,629
1966	…	…	…	2,650,269
1967	…	…	…	2,684,506
1968	…	…	…	2,749,843
1969	…	…	…	2,717,971
1970	…	…	…	2,702,811
1971	…	…	…	2,722,910

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many complaints has he had concerning the use of the Iron Maiden by pig breeders; and what replies he has sent.

We have received 477 complaints about the Protecta system and replied that the installations seen by our veterinary staff have not in their view caused any unnecessary pain or distress and on the evidence available we consider that the system is acceptable under proper management.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement giving details of the arrangements which will apply in Northern Ireland for the supply of potatoes to granule manufacturers at special prices.

The arrangements applying in Northern Ireland will be comparable with those for Great Britain except that payments to growers or to merchants on their behalf will be undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, which performs similar functions in connection with normal market support operations. This will mean that the factory at Newry need not be closed.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how soon he expects to be able to publish a revised list of members of public boards of a commercial character as at 1st January, 1972.

I would refer the hon. Member to Cmnd. 4876 which was presented to Parliament on 27th January, and published on 28th January.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what is the number of men and women the Services require to recruit to bring them up to their full strength, as at the most recent convenient date.

On 1st April, 1972, the overall strength of the Navy and Army will be virtually in line with requirements, and the R.A.F. will have some surplus. However, within these total numbers, there are still shortages in some branches and trades, and some shortages of officers in the Army and Navy.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what school buildings in the Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden and Mossley areas are accepted to be unsatisfactory by her; and what action is being taken.

A list of schools provided by the Lancashire Local Education Authority in May, 1970, contained nine primary schools in Division 24—Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden, Mossley, Audenshaw and Denton—which the authority regarded as wholly or partly in need of replacement. They are as follows:

• Ashton-under-Lyne, Cockbrook C.E.
• Ashton-under-Lyne, Hurst County.
• Ashton-under-Lyne, Parochial C.E.
• Ashton-under-Lyne, St. James' C.E.
• Ashton-under-Lyne, St. Peter's C.E.
• Audenshaw C.E.
• Denton, Russell Scott County.
• Denton, Christchurch C.E.
• Denton, St. Anne's County.

The authority has not yet proposed these schools for replacement or improvement in a major building programme.No secondary schools in Division 24 were regarded by the authority as wholly or partly in need of replacement.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present average wage level, and what is the duration of the average working week, for Remploy employees; and how these compare with the averages for workers in other employment.

Current average earnings of severely disabled adult men employed by Remploy are £18·50 in relation to a 40-hour week. Actual average earnings and hours for those at work are very slightly less. Comparable figures for October, 1971, for all industries covered by my Department's regular inquiry into the earnings and hours of full-time manual workers are £30·93 and 44·7 hours.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many males and females, respectively, registered under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts in Lanark shire, in each of the years from 1970 to the nearest available date in 1972 and also in the Hamilton constituency area.

Since May, 1970, my Department has collected information about the number of persons registering under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, 1944. But I regret that this information is analysed only on a national or regional basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men over 50 years of age are at present registered as unemployed in the London area; and for what period they have been unemployed.

Following is the information:

NUMBER OF MEN AGED 50 YEARS AND OVER REGISTERED AS WHOLLY UNEMPLOYED IN GREATER LONDON AT 10TH JANUARY, 1972 ANALYSED ACCORDING TO THE PERIOD OF TIME FOR WHICH THEY HAD BEEN REGISTERED
One week or less	…	…	1,215
Over 1 and up to 2 weeks	…	…	1,417
Over 2 and up to 3 weeks	…	…	514
Over 3 and up to 4 weeks	…	…	680
Over 4 and up to 5 weeks	…	…	762
Over 5 and up to 6 weeks	…	…	853
Over 6 and up to 7 weeks	…	…	743
Over 7 and up to 8 weeks	…	…	612
Over 8 and up to 9 weeks	…	…	710
Over 9 and up to 13 weeks	…	…	2,249
Over 13 and up to 26 weeks	…	…	4,706
Over 26 and up to 39 weeks	…	…	2,549
Over 39 and up to 52 weeks	…	…	1,389
Over 52 weeks	…	…	4,095
Total	…	…	22,494

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many persons, male and female, respectively, who are currently unemployed are receiving no unemployment benefit, and what percentage of the unemployed this figure represents;(2) how many of the people, male and female, respectively, included in the most recent unemployment figures are in receipt neither of unemployment benefit nor of supplementary allowances; and what percentage of the unemployment figures these people constitute.

On 8th November, 1971, the latest date for which the requisite information is available, it is estimated that about 355,000 males and 77,000 females who constituted 47 per cent. of the 926,000 persons registered as unemployed were not receiving unemployment benefit. Of these people about 144,000 males and 47,000 females or 21 per cent. of all registrants were receiving neither unemployment benefit nor supplementary allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will initiate a study to consider the setting up of a public authority to dispose of all noxious waste free of charge and to meet the cost by a tax on toxic materials or on products or processes that generate toxic waste.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement regarding the present state of supply of bricks for the construction industry.

I have nothing to add to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dart ford (Mr. Trew) on 8th March last.—[Vol. 832, c. 341.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will ensure that transfers of staff during the reorganisation of water and sewage services should be on terms not less favourable than those enjoyed by the staff concerned at the time of transfer.

We have proposed that staff should be guaranteed terms and conditions which are not less favourable until they are served with a written statement of new terms and conditions. The remuneration incorporated in such a statement will have to be no less favourable, provided the duties of the staff concerned are reasonably comparable. The other terms and conditions of service will continue to be no less favourable, irrespective of the comparability of duties. In any case where a person suffers diminution of emoluments directly attributable to reorganisation he will be entitled to claim compensation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will take steps to create the Trent and Severn areas as separate regional water authorities.

The Government are reviewing the areas proposed for regional water authorities in the light of the comments submitted in response to Circular No. 92/71, some of which have suggested separate authorities for the Trent and Severn basins.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what communication he has received from the Stafford shire Potteries Water Board concerning the reorganisation of water and sewage services; and what was his reply.

The Board has submitted certain comments in response to the departmental Circular No. 92/71 and the first three consultation papers issued in connection with reorganisation. These are being considered together with the other comments received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will ensure that the proposed regional water authorities are controlled by a majority of representatives who have been elected by local authorities.

A consultation paper will be issued shortly, as a basis for discussion, on the constitution of the proposed regional water authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what investigations are being made into the problem of the disposal of sludge and effluent from coal washeries, in particular, by his Department, by the National Environmental Research Council, and by other organisations under contract to his Department.

I am not aware of any particular problems requiring investigation in respect of the disposal of waste from coal washeries. Effluent, if discharged to a river, is subject to control by the river authority; sludge is usually disposed into specially constructed lagoons. These lagoons are subject to the safety measures required under the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act, 1969, and regulations there under. I understand that, in addition, the National Coal Board has introduced further safeguards by laying down stringent engineering standards and is financing research work, some of which is undertaken at universities, on problems associated with the disposal of colliery refuse.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many trees, or groups of trees, have been made the subject of preservation orders in each of the county boroughs in England and Wales and London boroughs up to 31st December, 1971; and how these figures compare with 31st December, 1970.

Details of the numbers of trees, or groups of trees, subject to tree preservation orders are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish a complete survey of rivers in relation to pollution.

Volume 1 of the Report of the 1970 River Pollution Survey of England and Wales was published in December, 1971. Volume 2, which will complete the report, is expected to be ready early this summer. A supplementary survey is now in progress to bring much of the information up to date as at the beginning of 1972. River authorities have been asked to complete this review by the end of March, and a summary of the results will be published later in the summer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what he is doing to develop an early warning system for new chemicals, whose pollution effects are little known.

I have had discussions with the Confederation of British Industry, which has agreed to co-operate in devising an effective system. I am now considering what administrative arrangements would be required.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent he encourages local authorities to parti- cipate in profit-making reclamation schemes from waste disposal.

As far as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to require returns of hazardous wastes to be made to his Department on an annual basis.

The Statistics of Trade Act, 1947, already enables information about hazardous waste to be collected by competent authorities including the Department of the Environment. Proposals for statutory annual returns to be made to central Government are not at present under consideration but the notification procedure proposed under the Deposit of Poisonous Waste Bill will enable local authorities to collate information about the wastes which fall within that procedure. The Bill imposes a duty on local authorities to keep records and my Department will have access to these, as necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he is making of the uses to which old tyres, made into granules, and broken glass can be put for road infilling.

The Transport and Road Research Laboratory has studied the possibility of using both these materials for infilling but it appears very unlikely to be economic.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will change the method by which grants are payable for the restoration of derelict land so as to make the grant payable ab initio, allowing local authorities to refund the after value when the land is disposed of or developed.

No account is taken of the after-value of derelict land which is to be used by local authorities for amenity purposes or public open space. In other cases grant is ordinarily payable on the net cost of restoration schemes after deducting the estimated after-value of the land. But in suitable circumstances grant may be paid on the gross cost and any necessary adjustment made when the land is sold or developed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he can estimate the date when the General Development Order can be revoked.

I hope to lay a new order consolidating and amending the present General Development Order during the present Session. I cannot at this stage give a more accurate date, as consultation on certain matters has yet to be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring to the notice of local authorities in the Lake District the grants payable under the Requisitioned Land and War Works Act, 1945, so that they may be encouraged to remove, without cost to themselves, the obsolete military pillboxes which mar the landscape.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 14th February.—[Vol. 831, c. 32–3.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy in principle to extend the levy system used in the ironstone industry to restore derelict acres to cover all extractive industries.

The local authority associations' representations mentioned in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend on 9th December included this suggestion, which my right hon. Friend has under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how work on ancient monuments and historic buildings is organised in his Department.

The creation of my Department has enabled a more inte- grated approach to be made to the closely related fields of ancient monuments, historic buildings and conservation areas. I am now carrying this integration one step further forward by creating a new directorate to cover the whole of this field. It will come into being at the beginning of the new financial year in April, and will report to my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Housing and Construction.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, following the exchange of ambassadors with the People's Republic of China, he will do everything possible, through diplomatic channels, to further the sales of Concorde airliners to China, including flying in Concorde, if he visits Peking.

My right hon. Friend would beglad to go to China but not in the immediate future as his programme is too heavy. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, is co-ordinating arrangements to support the manufacturers' sales effort for Concorde.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions, in criminal proceedings by juries, have been by a majority decision in each year since majority verdicts were introduced; and what proportion of all guilty verdicts returned by juries were by a majority decision.

This information is not immediately available, but I shall write to my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number, and proportion of the whole, of jury verdicts in criminal proceedings which have resulted in verdicts of not guilty in each year since 1965; and how many of these were returned at the direction of the judge.

Information in the form requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.The following table shows, for England and Wales and for the years for which the statistics are available, the numbers and proportions of persons found not guilty by juries after pleading not guilty.

Year		Persons pleading not guilty	Persons found not guilty after pleading not guilty	Column (3) as a percentage of column (2)
(1)		(2)	(3)	(4)
				Per cent.
1968	…	10,251	4,764	46·5
1969	…	10,837	5,432	50·1
1970	…	12,721	6,324	49·7

Information on the number of directed acquittals is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons who committed murder in England and Wales between 1961 and 1971 are still in detention; and what relation these figures bear to the number of convictions in those years.

The available figures are for the period 1st January, 1961, to 31st December, 1970. In that period in England and Wales 598 persons were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment or detention during Her Majesty's Pleasure under Section 53(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933. 503 of them are still serving their sentences.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of recipients receiving benefits under the pre-1948 Workmen's Compensation Acts.

Figures of the total number of persons in receipt of payments under the old Workmen's Compensation Acts are not available. Persons receiving weekly payments of workmen's compensation are, however, able to claim benefit under the Workmen's Compensation (Supplementation) Scheme and there were 12,441 weekly allowances in pay- ment under this Scheme at 30th September, 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take steps to bring persons receiving benefit under the Workmen's Compensation Acts up to parity with benefits under the Industrial Injuiries Act, 1948; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Workmen's Compensation (Supplementation) Scheme already provides help for those entitled to weekly payments of workmen's compensation who are incapable of following their pre-accident occupation. Benefit varies according to whether the worker is partially or totally incapable. For those who are totally disabled the supplement is sufficient, with the workmen's compensation, to bring total benefit up to the pension payable for 100 per cent. disablement under the Industrial Injuries Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number on the hospital waiting list in the South-East Metropolitan Hospital area, the Brighton area, and the East Sussex County Council area, respectively, at the end of 1971; and what were the figures for each year in each area between 1960 and 1970.

Following is the information:

		Numbers waiting in
Year		South-East Metropolitan Area (including teaching hospitals)	Brighton and Lewes Hospital Management Committee area	East Sussex County Council area
1971	…	35,122	3,592	10,298
1970	…	39,744	4,053	11,226
1969	…	41,370	3,924	10,740
1968	…	40,510	3,738	10,363
1967	…	40,908	3,597	10,111
1966	…	42,116	3,485	9,473
1965	…	40,849	3,487	9,024
1964	…	39,472	2,878	8,019
1963	…	34,961	2,126	7,062
1962	…	35,381	2,129	6,947
1961	…	34,438	2,267	6,899
1960	…	34,516	2,357	7,413

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many patients were admitted to hospitals in England and Wales during the period of the coal strike as emergency cases, cases of confirmed cancer or suspected cancer, for termination of pregnancy, and for other reasons, respectively.

Information in the form requested is not available. My Department will be reviewing statistically the effect upon the hospital service of the recent dispute in the coal mining industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average length of time that patients, who have had non-urgent surgical operations performed at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in the last six months, had been waiting for such operations.

The information relating to this recent period is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the present arrangements for doctors to whom the Attendance Allowance Board has delegated the task of dealing with claims for attendance allowance to perform their tasks.

The Attendance Allowance Board tells me that it has every confidence in the doctors who, under its directions, have the duty of dealing with claims to the attendance allowance in accordance with the statutory provisions. We share this confidence and we are grateful to both the board and the staff for their efforts in the introduction of this new allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has for encouraging the expansion of the electrical switchgear industry in South Wales.

The Government have already taken steps to bring forward public investment, including investment by the electricity generating and supply authorities, and to stimulate exports. The switchgear industry in South Wales also qualifies for the extensive Government support available to an industry in a development area which wishes to expand.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what he is doing to encourage the re-cycling of scrap materials.

It is basically for industry to exploit the commercial advantages of re-cycling. However, the Government recognise the importance which attaches to this activity and keep it under review to determine whether more intensive recovery is practicable. There is a continuing programme of work at Warren Spring Laboratory in connection with the recovery and re-cycling of scrap material.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research he is doing on extracting metallic content from coal spoil-heaps; what are the costs involved; and to what extent he estimates such extraction could be an incentive to local authorities to combat pollution.

Appraisals of methods of extracting metallic content from coal spoil-heaps have yet to identify a process with prospects of economic viability. On the evidence available there is no significant risk of pollution from this source.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to stop the importation of scrap steel at £26 per ton from the United States of America.

No. The purchase of raw materials, including the arrangement of imports of ferrous scrap, is a commercial matter for the steel industry. Imports at present are negligible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to publish the work of the Warren Springs Laboratory on air pollution.

The results of the work of the Warren Spring Laboratory on air pollution are published regularly in the scientific Press and elsewhere. A major forthcoming report—on the National Survey of Smoke and Sulphur Dioxide—will be published in four volumes by H.M.S.O. during the latter half of this year. Volume 1, covering the general position in the country as a whole together with the detailed reports on the South-East and London, will be available in early summer. The succeeding three volumes, containing detailed reports on the remaining regions, will appear at intervals thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in setting up the National Export Board, and if he will list the names of members who have been appointed.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 1st March, 1972, to my hon. Friend the Member for Flint, West (Sir A. Meyer).—[Vol. 832, c. 134–5.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the size of British investments in Taiwan.

A precise figure is not available but my information is that they are very small.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Great

Name		Duty	Rest	Duty	Rest	Total hours in 28 days before accident
Captain Neal	…	11·30	45·15	7·45	16·00	44
First Officer Shorrock	…	7·15	136·45	7·45	16·00	60
Flight Engineer Sayer	…	5·00	34·00	7·45	153·45	67
All times to the nearest ¼ hour.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give from international sources available to him, the proportion of total domestic income taken

Information for 1970 is published in Volume I of the Annual Statement of Trade of the United Kingdom for 1970 and for 1971 in Tables 11 and V of the December, 1971, issue of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the effect on textile production in Great Britain of the removal of the requirement that imported textiles bear an indication of their country of origin.

It is not possible to establish any effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in the light of the recently published report, he will state in respect of each flight deck crew member of the Comet, G—APDN, which crashed in Spain on 3rd March, 1970, the total number of hours flown in the previous 28 days, and the previous two duty periods and rest periods before that during which the accident took place, respectively.

The table below sets out the two duty and rest periods for each member of the flight deck crew of Comet G—APDN immediately prior to the accident flight on 3rd July, 1970, and the total hours flown in the 28 days before the accident.up by trading profits of companies, in 1970 and 1971 in the United States of America, West Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Japan as compared with the United Kingdom.

I regret that this information is not at present available.