asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further steps he now proposes to take to reduce the level of unemployment.

As I said in my Budget Statement, I shall be ready to act at any time of the year if circumstances warrant it. This month's substantial reduction in unemployment is a welcome development.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will initiate a study into the causes of the incidence of high unemployment associated with low wages on a regional basis.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will reconsider the refusal of his Department to order the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to abide by the decision of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in the case of Mr. John Hope Beech.

As I told my hon. Friend in correspondence, I have already reconsidered all aspects of this case and have come to the conclusion that it would not be appropriate to waive the tax liability which Mr. Beech has incurred.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total income from excise duty on beer, spirits and wines during the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

The yield in the financial year 1971–72 of the excise duties on beer, spirits and wines produced in the United Kingdom is provisionally put at £782 million; and the total revenue from alcoholic drink at £999 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a state- ment on his Department's work on European Economic Community proposals for economic and monetary union.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend the Minister of State gave on 12th April.—[Vol. 834, c. 202.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what study he has made of the proposals by the Chinese delegation at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at Santiago for a world monetary conference; and if he will make a statement.

I have noted the remarks of the Chinese delegation on this subject on 22nd April. I remain of the conviction that international monetary reform should be pursued within the established and relevant international organization—the International Monetary Fund—and we are devoting our best efforts to that end.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of the fact that the weekly take-home pay of a man with a wife and three children under 11 years of age with a weekly wage of £30, whose previous year's pay had been the same, and allowing for tax repayment and welfare benefits due, is £27·60 when in work, and £30·95 when out of work whilst in receipt of Pay As You Earn repayments, what action he intends to take to remedy this anomaly.

I agree this is an anomaly; but it lasts for only a limited period in any one case; it arises because short-term national insurance benefits are not within PAYE. No Government have yet found a way to tax these benefits without disproportionate staff costs.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total cost of tax relief on mortgage interest and the number of persons benefiting in each of the last 10 years.

The Estimates are:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total gain which he estimates will accrue to current surtax payers from those relevant changes he announced in the Budget on 21st March.

About £40 million for a full year resulting from the increases in the personal allowances and in the surtax threshold.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he treats cohabitors as wives or husbands, as the case may be, for income tax and other fiscal purposes.

No. A cohabiting couple are treated as two single individuals for tax purposes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received for the imposition of a betterment levy on film companies in which the National Film Finance Corporation has an interest.

None.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money per annum the Treasury would lose by allowing tax relief on contributions to bona fide trade unions.

Of the order of £10 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the net increase or decrease in National Savings in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in the same period three and six years previously.

In the financial year 1971–72 the amount invested in National Savings increased by £735 million. This compared with an increase of £78 million in 1968–69 and a decrease of £19 million in 1965–66.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the increase in the money supply, M3, in both percentage and money terms, in the 1971–72 financial year.

This information will be published next month in the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. As my hon. Friend knows monthly figures are available up to mid-March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the increase in revenue which will arise from the application of the projected 50 per cent. Corporation Tax in 1973–74 to larger unquoted companies.

As my right hon. Friend made clear, he referred to a 50 per cent. corporation tax rate in his Budget speech solely for purposes of illustration. No estimates have therefore been made on the basis of this rate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the continual increase in the work involved in the production of Form P11D, he will consider a revision of the limit of £2,000 per year under which these forms are not required.

I have noted the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average annual rate of growth in the following periods, 1945 to 1951, 1952 to 1957, 1958 to 1964, 1965 to 1970, and 1971.

The information is given in the table below. It is based on the growth of gross domestic product at constant—1963—factor cost using the average of the estimates based on expenditure, income and output data. Estimates for the years before 1948 are not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the administration of Pay-As-You-Earn income tax will be completely computerised; and what plans he has for the computerisation of other tax schedules.

The programme for automating PAYE has been suspended since major changes in the system of person taxation would be involved should the Tax Credit Scheme outlined in my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement be proceeded with.Plans are proceeding independently to transfer to computers some of the work of tax collection and of work in connection with Schedule D, corporation tax and capital gains tax assessments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that whereas the official rate of exchange for the £ sterling is 13·30 francs the French banks are only allowing British tourists 12·50 francs to the £ sterling; and if when he next visits Paris or has discussions within the European Economic Community he will raise this matter with the French Ministers concerned.

I have nothing to add to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Alfred Morris) on 18th May, 1972.—[Vol. 837, c. 192.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give a detailed list of the employees within his Department who on 12th May had a basic wage of £17·20 or less.

The number of employees in the Treasury with a basic wage of £17·20 or less on 12th May, 1972, was 88. This comprised 37 clerical officers, 30 clerical assistants, 14 typists, two audio typists and five cleaners.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the results of his approach to the European Economic Community for a lowering of the proposed 1 per cent. stamp duty on company capitalisation and the ½ per cent. in the case of mergers; and to what extent the implementation of this draft proposal on harmonisation of this duty in Great Britain will raise the revenue return to the Treasury based upon the latest annual company returns.

These consultations are not yet complete.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual yield of the value added tax from services and goods.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Mr. Sheldon) on 18th May.—[Vol. 837, c. 162.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the current investment figures in industry; and if he will make a statement.

No. But I expect industrial investment to rise substantially over the next 12 months following the expansionary measures and investment incentives announced in the Budget.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will initiate and chair joint talks between the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry for the purpose of setting up a national conciliation agency independent of Government.

Further discussions are already in prospect.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the figures of male unemployment to the latest date; and how they compare with two years previously.

The total numbers of males registered as unemployed in Great Britain at May, 1972, and May, 1970, were 723,733 and 494,968, respectively. The figure for May, 1972, is provisional.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a breakdown of the average hours worked per year, in 1971, by manual workers in industry and commerce in the United Kingdom; and if he will compare this with the position in the European Economic Community countries;(2) if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a breakdown of the average hours worked per year, in 1971, by non-manual workers including staff and supervisors in industry and commerce in the United Kingdom; and if he will compare this with the position in the European Economic Community countries.

I regret that 1971 estimates are not available. Nor are there comparable estimates for Great Britain and EEC countries for any recent year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the total number of vacancies for employment as notified to him from the employment exchanges in the South Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency; and what were the number of vacancies six months ago.

At 8th May the provisional numbers of people registered as unemployed in the areas covered by the Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard employment exchanges were 2,752, 618 and 113, respectively. The corresponding figures for November. 1971, were 2,327, 933 and 121.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures for the number of unemployed as notified to him from the employment exchanges in the South Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency, and the figures for six months ago.

At 3rd May the provisional numbers of notified vacancies remaining unfilled in the areas covered by the Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard employment exchanges were 797, 136 and 133, respectively. The corresponding figures for November, 1971, were 649, 124 and 86. The statistics relate only to notified vacancies remaining unfilled and do not purport to measure the total unsatisfied demand for labour.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, what is the average weekly hourly wage rate in manufacturing industry for the latest available year in each of the economic planning regions for males and females.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what forthcoming redundancies have been notified to his Department as a result of the curtailment of film production at Shepperton by British Lion Films Limited.

I understand the future of Shepperton Studios is still under consideration, and my Department has not been informed of any redundancies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average hourly wage rate for non-manufacturing industry, for the latest available year, in each of the economic planning regions, for males, and females, respectively.

For non-manufacturing industries, the latest available estimates relate to April, 1971, rather than the whole year. The following were obtained from the New Earnings Survey

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average weekly total earnings in non-manufacturing industry, for the latest available year, in each of the economic planning regions, for males and females, respectively.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment, in view of his responsibilities in relation to the Dock Labour Scheme, what report he has received of disciplinary action being taken by the registered port employers against their employees regarding the breach of their contracts of employment caused by registered port employees refusing to handle containers.

The National Dock Labour Board, which is responsible for the administration of the Dock Labour Scheme, is not required to report to my right hon. Friend on action taken in individual cases under the disciplinary provisions of the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered dockers are employed in stuffing and stripping containers in the port areas, in close proximity to these areas and within the limits recommended by Bristow, and inland away from the ports; how the total figure compares with all these, whether registered or not, employed in stuffing and stripping containers; and if he will indicate how the figures have changed in the last 10 years.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of persons employed in clerical and other office occupations in 1961, 1966 and 1971, respectively, showing figures for males and females separately and the percentage which each of the figures represents of the total numbers employed at the respective dates.

The information requested is as follows for 1961 and 1966:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the numbers of persons employed in clerical and other office occupations in 1961, 1966 and 1971, respectively, for each of the regional planning areas of Great Britain, showing the percentage which each of the figures represents of the relevant total

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the total numbers employed in clerical and other office occupations as a percentage of the total employed in each of the regional planning areas at the latest date for which figures are available.

The information is, for April, 1966, as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the percentage changes between 1961–66 and 1966–1971, respectively, in the number of persons employed in clerical and other office occupations in each of the regional planning areas.

The information requested is as follows for 1961 and 1966:

The information requested is as follows for the percentage change between 1961 and 1966:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the amount paid out in unemployment benefit for the years 1960. 1965, 1970, and 1971.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give a detailed list of the employees within his Department who on 12th May had a basic wage of £17·20 or less.

On 12th May there were 3,420 Department of Employment staff with a weekly wage rate or salary equivalent of £17·20 or less, without overtime and before deduction of tax and national insurance. Of this number 3,097 were under 21 and 3,376 were on pay scales with maxima above the figure stated. Details are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has received the document "Railway Pay Talks" sent out by the British Railways Board, a copy of which has been sent to him; and whether he will publish this in the OFFICIAL REPORT or quote the extracts giving the present basic rates and proposed basic rates of railwaymen.

Yes. The present and proposed basic rates of pay quoted in the British Railways Board document "Railway Pay Talks" dated 11th May, 1972, were as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress has been made so far in his Department's examination of electro-mechanical equipment production and standardisation for house-bound disabled persons.

I assume my hon. Friend is referring to the fact-finding group which has been examining questions relating to the provision of aids and equipment for the disabled. Its report has just been completed and is being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, following the Foster Report on Scientology, he has completed his consultations with the relevant professional associations: and if he will make a statement.

No. I await the views of some organisations I consulted; these are expected shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the design of spectacle frames issued under the National Health Service was last considered.

The range of spectacle frames available under the National Health Service is constantly under review. Within the broad specifications laid down by my Department, detailed design is a matter for the individual manufacturers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many corneas were removed from patients in hospitals administered by the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board in the last 12 months; if a register has been maintained which gives the names of the consultant doing a corneal graft and his patient; if within his terms of service a consultant may export or sell corneas; and if he will make a statement.

320; a register giving the name of consultant and patient has been maintained. Though this is not a matter specifically dealt with in the terms and conditions of service of consultants, there is no question of selling corneas.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Library the advice given by his Department about the use of eyes of deceased patients for corneal grafting; what further steps he proposes to take to prevent pressurising of the relatives who have been bereaved; and if he will make a statement.

The advice is contained in circular HM (61) 98, a copy of which I am placing in the Library.I would deplore any suggestion of undue pressure being brought to bear on the relatives of deceased patients and if the hon. Member has any particular case in mind and will send me details, I shall look into it.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the available supply of eyes needed for corneal grafting is adequate to the demand in each of the regions administered by hospital boards.

I have no detailed information, but I have had no representation to suggest that overall the supply is inadequate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services since the adoption of the system of paying unemployment and sickness benefits by Giro, what percentage of these payments have had to be reissued as duplicates, as a result of losses in transmission.

About 0·06 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to encourage companies to take out group subscriptions to private health schemes.

This is not a matter for me, though I have many times expressed my belief in the rights of people to exercise the option of seeking treatment privately rather than through the National Health Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated annual cost of paying the necessary staff with travelling, subsistence allowances, extra office accommodation and expenses required to track down cohabitors; and if he will express this as a proportion of the money saved.

It is estimated that some £400,000 of the cost of employing special investigators was attributable to work on cases of alleged cohabitation in 1971. This is 45 per cent. of the benefit estimated to be saved.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people over 65 years of age are known to his Department to be residents of nursing and old people's homes which are administered privately and by organisations other than local authorities, respectively, at the latest available date; and how these figures compare with each of the previous five years.

The following table gives the available figures for registered old persons' and disabled persons, homes in England and Wales. No figures are available of persons over 65 resident in nursing

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consult the appropriate committee with a view to exempting sufferers from ankylosed spondylitis from charges for prescriptions.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Marks) on 9th May.—[Vol. 836, c. 301.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children under 15 years of age are now in the care of local authorities in England and Wales.

On 31st March, 1971, the latest date for which figures are available, 60,693 children of or below compulsory school age were in the care of

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps are taken by his Department to ensure the highest standards in the lighting, local authorities in England. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales informs me that on the same date 2,603 such children were in the care of local authorities in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children between the ages of five to 15 years of age are in the care of local authorities in the Greater London area; what are the figures for each borough; and how these compare with the figures for the last five years.

Following is the information:heating and general accommodation facilities in private nursing and old people's homes.

I am sending the hon. Member copies of the regulations which require the managers of nursing homes registered under the Public Health Act, 1936, and old persons' homes registered under the National Assistance Act, 1948, to provide reasonable accommodation and adequate lighting and heating. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the registering local authorities and not with my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what reports he has received of the treatment of old persons in private nursing and old people's homes, the staffing conditions, the rates of pay and hours worked by staff, and the practices adopted by the proprietors of such homes in respect of the Department's regulations and inspection.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a similar Question from him today

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the health hazard involved and their unavailing efforts, what action he will take to assist the Wandsworth Borough Council and the Blue Cross to cope with the increasing wild cat population of the borough.

I understand that neither the public health department of the London Borough of Wandsworth nor the Blue Cross is aware of either a recent increase in the numbers of stray cats or of any health problems caused by stray cats in the area. The council received a complaint about 12 stray cats from one part of the borough and they have arranged for the Blue Cross to round them up. However, if the hon. Member has information which suggests that stray cats may be creating a health hazard in this area, I would suggest that he gives full details to the borough's medical officer of health.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Library a copy of the document containing revised terms of service for general practitioners which has been sent to local medical committees as a result of his discussions with the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association.

The document was circulated by the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association; I understnd it will supply a copy to any hon. Member who wishes to have one.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if it is the practice of his Department to require that there be withheld from general practitioners who are not members of local medical committees the details of negotiations between his Department and the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association on terms of service for general practitioners.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale (Mr. Bray) today.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on his recently issued document relating to family doctors' conditions of employment; and what discussions he has had on its contents and proposals with the British Medical Association.

Revision of the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations, 1966 (Statutory Instrument 1966 No. 1210), which include as Schedule 1 the terms of service for medical practitioners, has been under discussion with the medical profession's representatives for a number of years. A draft of revised regulations and terms of service has emerged from these discussions, and authority was given to the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association to circulate the draft terms of service, with a memorandum on the relevant provisions of the draft regulations, to local medical committees—of which there are some 130 in England and Wales—prior to their annual conference this year.The draft is subject to further consultations and liable to amendment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now agree to recognise siderosis as an industrial disease.

No. There is no evidence to suggest that this condition of itself gives rise to disablement or affects capacity for work.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence his Department has which suggests that smoking cannabis is as dangerous to health as smoking tobacco.

More study is still needed about the smoking of cannabis and its effects. But the types of risk involved are essentially different from the risks of smoking cigarettes, and the two cannot meaningfully be compared.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what research his Department is undertaking into the health hazards of smoking cannabis.

None at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many non short-stay patients were in psychiatric hospitals on the most recent date for which statistics are available; and what proportion of this figure it is expected will be discharged or transferred to residential homes, hostels, and approved private accommodation, respectively, by 1977–78.

At the end of 1970, patients who had been in hospitals three months or more numbered about 100.000 in mental illness hospitals and units and 56,000 in hospitals and units for the mentally handicapped.No predictions can be made of the proportions of these likely in the next five years to be suitable for and discharged to other forms of care. Much will depend on the expansion, which is already under way, in residential and other services in the community. We shall shortly be asking local authorities to tell us about the rate at which they plan to improve these services over the next five to 10 years.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is now taking to safeguard the interests of National Health Service patients, especially in regard to quality of treatment and number of beds available, in the light of the increasing use of private health insurance schemes.

I do not accept that the use of private health insurance schemes is endangering the interests of National Health Service patients or that safeguards are needed beyond those provided in Sections 1 and 2 of the Health Services and Public Health Act. 1968.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what effect he estimates a continuation of the present 7 per cent. annual growth rate in the number of those subscribing to private health and medical schemes will have on the number of people using National Health Service facilities in five years' time.

Just under 2·1 per cent. of patients treated in National Health Service hospitals are private patients. I have at present no reason to believe that this proportion, which has remained virtually unchanged over recent years, will show any marked increase in the foreseeable future.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure that National Health Service equipment is not used to carry out private operations by consultant surgeons.

No. This equipment is among the hospital facilities that may be made available for private patients treated under Sections 1 and 2 of the Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968, and is covered by the hospital charges payable by them.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will bring forward the commencement date for the new partial/constant attendance allowance.

I would refer my hon. Friend to what I said during the debate on the Second Reading of the National Insurance Bill on 18th May.—[Vol. 837, c. 789–91.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many disabled people have now been granted the attendance allowance; in how many cases the allowance has been refused; how many cases are at present under review; and if he will make a statement.

By 9th May it is estimated that about 89,000 claims for the attendance allowance had been successful and about 54,000 had been rejected because the medical requirements were not satisfied. These figures take account of claims allowed following a successful application for review. At the same date 7,200 cases were under review. About 74,000 allowances were currently in payment. The difference between the numbers of successful claims and of allowances currently in payment is accounted for by deaths and by suspensions of the allowance consequent on admissions to hospital or prescribed accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will institute an inquiry in his Department into the problems facing registered disabled persons as a result of the growing trend to the self-service of goods and services.

This appears to me to be a matter for the commercial organisations concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will set up an inquiry to investigate the incidence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema among electric arc welders, figures for the ratios of his Department's visiting welfare officers as a proportion of the population in the following areas, the London Borough of Harrow, Middlesex, the Greater London area and South-East England as a whole.

I have written to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting lists at the Ipswich and East Suffolk Hospital.

The hospital management committee has under continuous review all aspects of the local hospital service. A reduction of 39 per cent. in the waiting list has, as a result, been achieved since 1st January, 1970. Additional facilities for day surgery are to be provided at the Heath Road wing of the Ipswich Hospital which are expected to reduce waiting lists still further.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average waiting time at Ipswich and East Suffolk Hospital for beds for the various specialities for which figures are available.

Information in the form requested is not available, but the following table gives the numbers of patients at the Ipswich Hospital who have waited for the times stated:with a view to having it classified as an industrial disease.

No. Research into the various aspects of these diseases has been carried out over a wide field and includes surveys of their incidence among welders. These surveys have not shown any variation among welders from the general incidence. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema are extremely common among the general population and there is no evidence to suggest that they could satisfy the conditions for prescription as industrial diseases laid down in Section 56 of the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, 1965.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners were receiving supplementary pension at the latest available date; and of these how many were receiving a special allowance for extra heating.

In November, 1971, the latest date for which the requested information is available, 1,919,000 retirement pensioners were receiving supplementary pensions. Of these 159,000 were receiving a special allowance for heating.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has now received a report from the advisory group set up last year, under the chairmanship of Sir John Peel, to consider the ethical, medical, social and legal implications of the use of foetuses and foetal material for research; what action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement.

Yes, I have received the report which is being published today. The recommendations cover a wide variety of important issues which my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Education and Science and I propose to consider in detail in the light of comments received before deciding on a course of action.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give a detailed list of the employees within his Department who on 12th May had a basic wage of £17·20 or less.

10,902 made up as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is aware that imported cigarettes are on sale without the Government health hazard warning printed thereon; and whether on health grounds, and to produce parity with British cigarette manufacturers, he will now take the necessary action to ensure that all cigarette packets on sale in Great Britain contain the health hazard warning.

My agreement with the United Kingdom manufacturers covers over 99 per cent. of the packets of cigarettes sold in this country. I understand that the manufacturers have had discussions with cigarette importers and overseas manufacturers, some of which have already agreed to print warnings on their packets.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT full details of the limitation on the rates of pensions payable to British citizens who move abroad to live in the countries of Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg before 5th July, 1948; and to what extent Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community will change this situation.

The limitations are effective only where the person concerned left the United Kingdom before 30th September, 1946, when increased pension rates were introduced in advance of the National Insurance Scheme which became fully operative from 5th July, 1948. The pension rate payable to such persons was fixed at that applying in the United Kingdom at the time of leaving or of reaching pension age, whichever was later. On entry into the European Economic Community, these limitations will no longer apply to United Kingdom nationals under the Community's social security rules. These rules will apply to acceding States from 1st April, 1973, and all United Kingdom nationals within the enlarged Community entitled to a United Kingdom national insurance pension will then receive a pension at the full appropriate rate currently payable in the United Kingdom and also any subsequent increases of that pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent, on Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community and the extension of the Six to the Ten, British citizens who have moved to live in Denmark and Norway will be entitled to claim their full British pension rights together with increases which have taken place since their removal, and so far as future increases are concerned.

A United Kingdom national living in Denmark or Norway and entitled to a United Kingdom national insurance pension would, under the Community's social security rules which would apply from 1st April, 1973, receive from that date a pension at the full appropriate rate currently payable in the United Kingdom and also any subsequent increases of that pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why, by 16th May, he was unable to give the date when the review of the Food and Drugs Act is to take place.

A general review of the Food and Drugs Act is not considered necessary at present and it would not be practicable to estimate when one will take place.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he has made for discussions with the Foreign Minister of Iceland, Mr. Augustsson, following his arrival in London on 25th May; whether he will be seeing the Minister for Fisheries, Mr. Josefsson; and if he will make a statement.

I shall be taking part in discussions with the Icelandic Ministers in company with my noble Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. My right hon. Friend hopes to see Mr. Josefsson during his visit.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what is the extent of carcinogenic hazard which the Veterinary Products Committtee have assessed in the advice tendered to him in the use of hormones in food given to calves and other farm animals; when he will announce his decision on the banning of injectable oestrogens; and if he will make a statement.

As regards the first part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 16th May.—[Vol. 387, c. 50.]My Department is now considering, in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Security, the implementation of the recommendations of the Veterinary Products Committee in regard to injectable preparations of oestrogens. Our conclusions will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Regulation No. 2451/71/EEC of 15th November, 1971, on calculating the financial compensation for certain fishery products will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

This regulation supplements the main fisheries marketing regulation, 2142/70, which among other things provides for a form of market intervention. Under this, organisations of producers withdrawing fish from the market at price levels laid down by the Community can be partially compensated from the Community's Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (FEOGA). This voluntary system of intervention will be available to United Kingdom producers after 1st January, 1973. The compensation paid from FEOGA will go some way towards meeting the cost to the producer organisation of indemnifying its members for the fish which they have withdrawn. Our interpretation of the purpose of the later regulation, 2451/71, is that the level of compensatory payment to a producer organisation is directly linked to the rate of indemnity paid to individual producers, so that, as the latter rate diminishes, the compensatory payment is proportionally reduced.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Directive 72/2/EEC of 20th December, 1971, making a seventh amendment to the Directive on the approximation of the laws of member states on preservatives for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption, will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

This directive will have no effect on the use of preservatives by the British food industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Regulation 2839/71/EEC of 24th December, 1971, extending the period of applicability of additional quality classes of certain fruits and vegetables will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

This regulation, which extends to 31st December, 1974, the period in which class III standards for certain fruit and vegetables may operate, will be superseded on our accession to the EEC by the agreement annexed to the Treaty of Accession (Cmnd. 4862–II, page 24) under which the application of class III standards may be extended until 31st December, 1977. These standards are brought into operation as necessary to meet consumer requirements in the Community.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Regulation 2520/71/EEC of 24th November, 1971, fixing, for the marketing season 1972–73, minimum prices for exports to third countries of certain flowering bulbs and tubers will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

Trade in spring flowering bulbs is mainly done in the autumn, and the regulation which will apply in Britain from 1st February to 31st May, 1973, is unlikely to have any effect on British industry. Arrangements will be made to inform British interests of the Community system, which follows an earlier voluntary arrangement between British and Dutch bulb interests.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Regulation 55/72/EEC of 10th January, 1972, laying down conditions for inviting tenders for the disposal of fruit and vegetables which have been withdrawn from the market, will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

This regulation, which will apply in Britain on 1st February, 1973, is not expected to have any immediate effect as British prices for fresh fruit and vegetables are above Community intervention levels. Contingency arrangements will be made, however, for the proposed Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce to operate its provisions.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Regulation 2697/71/EEC of 17th December, 1971 on the procedure for imports of olive oil from Morocco will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

This regulation gives effect to provisions in the Association Agreement between Morocco and the EEC for imports of olive oil into the Community. It provides a preference for Morocco in a way which does not affect the import price. It would not therefore affect British industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how and in what way the adoption of Regulation 2725/71/EEC of 20th December, 1971, amending Regulation (EEC) No. 888/68 as regards the definition of preserved beef and veal will affect British industry engaged in these activities; and whether he will make a statement.

This amending regulation reduces the total content of beef and jelly which preserved foods must contain in order that frozen beef may be imported free of levy for use in their manufacture. The operation of this arrangement in the United Kingdom is being discussed with the interests concerned.