asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what research is being undertaken by his Department into the need for, and the provision by local authorities of, physical aids, television sets, telephones and talking books for persons who are registered as physically handicapped.

There are several research projects financed by my Department which are relevant to these needs. Statistical information about the provision made to meet them will become available in the summer of 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what work is being done on the design and evaluation of aids for the disabled; what steps are being taken to improve assessment of the technical needs for the disabled; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the first report published on 8th December, 1971, under Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, 1970, HC 30, 1971–72. I expect the second report to be available shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that enough money is being made available through the rate support grant in response to requests from local authorities to meet the needs for help revealed by surveys to identify handicapped persons; and if he will make a statement.

The forecasts of relevant expenditure attracting rate support grant in 1971–72 and 1972–73 provided for increased spending on services for the handicapped. Local authorities' views on further expenditure will be taken into account in the negotiations on grant for 1973–74 which are to take place later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the position of retirement pensioners' wives who are between the ages of 60 and 65 years with a view to increasing the concessions and benefits available.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to exemption from prescription charges. Help is available to those who cannot afford to pay prescription charges and we see no reason to alter the existing arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will exercise his discretion under Article 65 of the Royal Warrant to authorise the payment dates of war disablement pensions following successful appeals, in accordance with the assessments made by the chairmen of pensions appeal tribunals, and not from the dates when applicants first submit their cases for appeal.

I set out the circumstances in which my right hon. Friend exercises his discretion in my reply to my hon. Friend on 23rd June. I have written to my hon. Friend about the problem which caused him concern and think that we have resolved the difficulty.—[Vol. 839. c. 207.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further advice he now intends to give local authorities about the provision of telephones for persons housebound by age or infirmity in the light of his current studies of methods of communication.

The local authority associations concerned have recently recommended to their members revised minimum criteria for the provision of telephones, and these are given below. Additionally, we are in touch with the two studies which the National Council for the Care of Old People is sponsoring into methods of communication, but reports on these will not be available for some time.Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for free installation and/or rental of telephones for the elderly or handicapped to the Supplementary Benefits Commission have been rejected by that body, but subsequently accepted by a local authority, within the latest available 12-month period.

I regret that information in the form requested is not available. Under arrangements recently made between the commission and local authority associations designed to avoid duplication of action, applications for help with telephone costs are considered in the first instance by local authorities. The commission will, however, consider assisting in cases which appear to a local authority to satisfy the commission's criteria for giving help.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many telephones have been supplied to elderly or handicapped persons in England and Wales in the latest 12-month period for which figures are available, through the Supplementary Benefits Commission; and what has been the total cost.

In the 12-month period ending February, 1972, the commission provided help with the cost of telephones in 19 cases in England and Wales. The help given may have been with rental or installation costs, or both, in part or in full, according to individual circumstances; and records are not kept in such a form as to enable the total cost to be given.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the level of social security payments following the flotation of sterling; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in view of the effect which the floating of the £ sterling will have on the sick, unemployed, and war pensioners, if he will now raise the payment of all welfare benefits.

I am confident that the proposed increases in retirement pensions and related benefits from October will more than compensate for any erosion of purchasing power since the last uprating.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what study he has made of the weekly budget submitted by the hon. Member for Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire on behalf of one of his constituents in relation to his evaluation of social security benefits; and what reply he has sent.

My reply points out that the retirement pension will be increased in October by 75p, which will give a further modest increase in purchasing power, and reiterates the Government's pledge at least to maintain and where-ever possible to improve the value of pensions through our annual reviews.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will now consider a review of the system of the payment of social security benefits to ensure payment of increases immediately they are agreed by the Government.

The procedures were recently reviewed by a working party under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Meyjes, the leader of the businessmen's team in the Civil Service Department. This very thorough investigation produced a number of useful suggestions, but the uprating of millions of pensions with other associated benefits is an immense task and the working party found that a significant reduction in the time needed was not practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in view of the increase in the cost of living caused by the floating of the £ sterling, if he will now take action to increase the 75p due to pensioners in the autumn and to bring this payment forward to July.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the additional cost of back-dating the increase in retirement pensions and other benefits from October, 1972 to May, 1972.

Nearly £200 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the latest percentage of persons claiming family income supplement of those who are eligible for such.

The number of families receiving family income supplement at the end of May was approximately 80,000. This represents roughly half the number estimated to be eligible; about three-quarters of those entitled to £2 a week or more were receiving the benefit.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what, after the next pension uprating, will be the relative contributions for the same basic retirement pensions of the average and below-average earners compared with those with above average earnings.

After 2nd October a man with average earnings of £31 per week who is fully participating in the gradu- ated scheme will pay flat-rate and graduated contributions totalling £1·95 compared with £1·33 for a man earning £18 and £2·73 for a man earning £48 or more. Entitlement to basic retirement pension will, however, still be based on the payment of flat-rate contributions, and payment of graduated contributions will confer title to graduated pensions in addition and to earnings related supplement to short-term benefits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many working days were lost in 1971 in Great Britain due to mental illness.

Information is available only about days of certified incapacity notified to the Department in connection with claims to sickness benefit. The number of such days attributed to mental disorders in the 53 weeks ended 5th June, 1971, was 30·5 million, of which 18·3 million related to incapacity lasting throughout the period.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he proposes to ensure the future of cottage hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

The future of cottage hospitals is linked with policy on community hospitals on which, as I said in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham (Mr. Moate) on 13th June, I intend to make a statement when the current consultations are complete.—[Vol. 838, c. 1239–40.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many residential units there are for the mentally handicapped in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region; what number of places there are in each unit; and how many are being planned for 1975.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he has for remedying the injustice at pre sent suffered by pensioners taking their pensions quarterly in arrear in that during the first quarter they are unable to obtain concessions in the fields of travel, education and entertainment to which the pension book normally entitles pensioners.

The operation of concessionary schemes and the documentary evidence required are the responsibility of the organisations promoting them. When a retirement pension is awarded, an entitlement notice is issued to the pensioner and this is usually accepted in lieu of a pension book by organisations offering concessions.A person not paid by order book who requires an alternative means of identifying himself as a pensioner is issued with a card confirming his status on request.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the fact that it has been decided that the Huntingdon and Godmanchester bypass should be built within a few yards of Huntingdon hospital, and of the consequences of this decision on life and work in the hospital, whether he will arrange for the East Anglia Hospital Board to expedite the building of the new hospital which it is proposed to build in Hinching-brooke Park.

Extra money provided by the Government for hospital building has enabled the East Anglian Regional Hospital Board to start construction of a new hospital this year instead of the mid-1970s as originally intended.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will investigate the circumstances in which a child died whilst being attended to by a person not being a medical practitioner but practising as such in the Forest of Dean; and if he will inquire to discover what other cases have occurred in similar circumstances.

I am aware of Press reports and am making urgent inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the provision of general medical services by the person in question.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the proportion of causalty officers and other medical and nursing staff unable to converse fluently, and to write, in English; and what is the policy of the National Health Service in this regard.

The appointment of hospital staff, and the assessment of their suitability for the work they will have to do, are matters for hospital authorities. Immigrant doctors must first undertake a period of attachment to a hospital during which their use of English is assessed in clinical situations, unless they are in a category exempted from this requirement under arangements providing other safeguards. Guidance will shortly be issued on orientation arrangements for student nurses from overseas.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now introduce regulations to pay retired members of the Federated Superannuation Scheme for Nurses and Hospital Officers allowances analogous to the in creases in National Health Service pensions provided under the Pensions (In crease)Act, 1971.

Yes. Draft regulations have recently been agreed with representatives of the staff interests and will be made very shortly. Payment will be retrospective to 1st September, 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he has had with hospital management committees since the publication of the consultative document "National Health Service Reorganisation" in May, 1971.

Consultations have been held with hospital management committees collectively on the consultative document itself and on a number of other matters related to health service reorganisation, as well as with some individual committees on specific issues.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultation he has had upon the need for local authorities to provide buildings and staff for the care of patients who will be moved from psychiatric hospitals when the National Health Service reorganisation begins to operate in April, 1974.

The reorganisation of the National Health Service from April, 1974, will be a change in administrative structure and will not of itself necessitate any transfers of patients. The need for this will arise from the changes already under way, but likely to take many years to complete, in the pattern of treatment and community care for the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped. Joint planning by hospital and local authorities is already in progress to assess the changes that will be needed locally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent he has facilitated the National Health Service Reorganisation Management Study with the officers, staff and management consultants concurrently reorganising health services in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The management study has had available to it the report of the Project Team on the Reorganisation of Health and Personal Social Services in Northern Ireland, and the consultative documents prepared by the Scottish Home and Health Department on the "Administrative Structure of Health Boards" and the "Management of District Health Services", together with other working papers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he proposes to discuss the final report of the National Health Service Reorganisation Management Study with the British Medical Association, Medical Practitioners' Union, Royal College of Nursing, National Association of Local Government Employees, Confederation of Health Service Employees, National Union of Public Employees and other organisations of persons within the National Health Service before he reaches any conclusion which changes the work and responsibilities of the categories concerned.

Before I reach conclusions, there will be full opportunities to comment on the report and I shall, where appropriate, arrange discussions with interested organisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the multi-disciplinary experience of the Hospital Advisory Service has been considered by the consultants in charge of the National Health Service Reorganisation Management Study; and if he will seek evidence from the Hospital Advisory Service before completing his White Paper.

The material examined by the Management Study Group has included the annual reports of the Hospital Advisory Service and reports on the internal management of particular hospitals; and the White Paper will take account of its rôle in the National Health Service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the terms of reference of the National Health Service Reorganisation Management Study include an examination of the collaborative and participatory kinds of organisation which exist in other countries which have comprehensive health care provided by the State.

Not explicitly, since in the time available it was necessary for the study to concentrate on the circumstances in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied that those involved in the management, voluntary and administrative, of the National Health Service are fully informed of the progress towards administrative reorganisation consequent upon his consultative document; how many representations were made to him; and if he will make a statement.

My consultative document was followed by wide consultations and discussions; comments were received from nearly 600 organisations and individuals. I shall announce my conclusions in the White Paper which is to be published shortly. It is my intention to ensure that all concerned are kept fully informed about proposals and decisions relating to the administrative reorganisation of the service.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he can now state the date when he will lay his proposals for changes in the National Health Service before the House.

I expect to publish a White Paper shortly, though I cannot yet state an exact date for this.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which local authorities charge patients receiving supplementary allowance for chiropody services.

I regret that the information requested is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has now received a report from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on the diagnostic procedure in determining pneumoconiosis; and if he will make a statement.

The council has not yet completed its major pneumoconiosis review, of which this is one aspect. I am unable to say when it will be in a position to report.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will establish a unit price with the manufacturers of valium and all other tranquillisers used in the National Health Service to ensure that the same rate of cost applies to tablets of 10 milligrams as that paid for tablets of two and five milligrams.

No. Several factors affect the price of one strength of a drug compared with other strengths. I realise that there are special circumstances at present in the case of valium, but the price of that drug is already the subject of a reference to the Monopolies Commission and I assume that any unusual pattern in the price will be amongst the matters considered by the commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will advise hospital dispensers and hospital supplies officers that whereas two 5 milligram tablets of valium cost l·54p one tablet of 10 milligrams is priced at 1·80p.

No. Under a contract recently placed for the supply of valium to hospitals in the National Health Service the price of two 5 milligram tablets is 0·03p more than the price of one 10 milligram tablet, based on the price for a pack of 100 tablets.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for further research work to determine the extent of the disease of rickets amongst Birmingham schoolchildren; and what money his Department proposes to allocate for this.

The whole question of rickets was last extensively reviewed in 1969 when the conclusion was reached that there was no evidence of an important incidence of sub-clinical deficiency. We are, however, seeking expert advice on the present situation and when this has been studied in the Department I shall write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many mentally- and physically-handicapped children were in long-stay hospitals at the latest date for which figures are available.

At the end of 1970 there were in hospital about 6,300 mentally handicapped children, many of whom are also physically handicapped. An estimate made in April, 1969, of the number of physically handicapped children in non-psychiatric wards who had been in-patients for four months or more showed a total of some 1,400.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has now received the Disablement Income Group Occasional Paper on a National Disability Income; what representation he has received on this subject from the Disablement Income Group and other relevant organisations; and if he will make a statement on the possible creation of a disability income.

I have seen a copy of the occasional paper and I am fully aware of the views of the Disablement Income Group. I would refer the hon. Member to the steps which the Government have already taken and are taking to mark out the special position of the chronically sick and disabled, through the introduction last year of the invalidity benefit preferences and of the attendance allowance, and now through the proposed extension of the latter.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is his Department's policy regarding the provision of domiciliary physiotherapy services in health centres; what encouragement and support is given for the provision of such services; what estimate he has made of economies and improvements in service that would arise from the provision of such facilities; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will accept the recommendadation of the Tunbridge Committee Report on Rehabilitation that comprehensive limb fitting and appliances centres associated with district general hospitals should be developed as special referral centres, each one to cover the needs of a population of 1½ to 2 million; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will accept the recommendation in paragraph 184 of the Tunbridge Committee Report on Rehabilitation that as many handicapped children as possible should attend normal schools and that special provision should be made for them in all new schools; and if he will make a statement;(4) if he will accept the recommendation in paragraphs 217 of the Tunbridge Committee Report on Rehabilitation that hospital authorities should nominate a suitably trained consultant psychiatrist to be responsible for the supervising at all stages of rehabilitation in mental illness hospitals and mental illness departments of district general hospitals; if he will give special consideration to the provision of suitable training facilities by the appropriate bodies for training such staff; and if he will make a statement;

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) and my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Norman Lamont) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will accept the recommendation of the Tunbridge Committee Report on Rehabilitation for the co-ordination of common training for the remedial profession for the first year and a considerable proportion of the second year; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will accept the recommendation in paragraph 348 of the Tunbridge Report on Rehabilitation that the age of entry to training for the remedial profession should be reduced to 17 years; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will accept the Tunbridge Report recommendation that training for the remedial profession should be concentrated into some 20 centres in England and Wales; if he will consider integrating these centres with centres of further education; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) and my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Norman Lament) earlier today. Any alteration to training arrangements will need to be considered in the first place with the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine, the body responsible for co-ordinating the activities of the relevant registration boards.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to deal with the increase in the practice of adding drugs to large volume injections and to promote the general recognition of the hazards to health this involves.

I am aware of the concern about this practice felt by some doctors, nurses and pharmacists and last year my Department circulated to hospital pharmacists a report on certain pharmaceutical aspects. The need for further guidance is under consideration although ultimately decisions on clinical practice are matters for the three professions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many studies are currently being made by his Department on the conservation of teeth and preventive dental care.

None directly, but my Department is sponsoring several research projects that could lead to the development of improved methods of treating and preventing dental caries.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many interdepartmental meetings have been held in each of the last three years with the Department of Education and Science with a view to improving dental health care in schools; and what additional policies and what new initiatives for the treatment and prevention of dental decay in schoolchildren have resulted from them.

The two Departments are in constant consultation on the dental care of children. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and I are advised by a jointly-appointed chief dental officer and supporting professional staff. Both Departments are represented on a committee which is meeting at about monthly intervals and is examining, among other matters, means of maintaining a high standard of dental care for school children in the context of a reorganised National Health Service.With my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, and in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science, I am commissioning a survey of the dental health of schoolchildren aged 5 to 15. This is in an advanced stage of planning and will provide an up-to-date assessment of the state of children's dental health and the extent to which their need for treatment is being met.The improvement of dental services for children and young people is one of the principal matters which the Working Party on the Dental Services has been asked to consider.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is now taking to improve the availability of dentists and dental auxiliaries in areas where there is a shortage.

Although the numbers of dentists and ancillary dental workers continue to increase, I am concerned that their distribution is uneven and have asked the Working Party on Dental Services to consider and recommend ways and means of resolving the problem.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to advise local authorities on the allocation and building of premises suitable for physically handicapped married couples.

Guidance issued by my Department in 1965 on the provision and design of residential homes for the physically handicapped contains advice on the provision of double rooms for married couples. My officers keep this in mind when considering local authorities' plans for new homes and we do not consider any further guidance on the principle is needed at the present time.Advice in relation to the provision of housing is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he has agreed to give an increase of 254 per cent. to those general medical practitioners who have trainee assistants by raising the annual payments from £240 to £850.

The increased payment to general practitioner trainers forms part of a series of inter-related changes in fees and allowances recommended by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration which, taken together, are designed to increase the intended average net remuneration of general medical practitioners by 7½ per cent. It was considered that, in view of the accepted need to bring about an immediate expansion of vocational training in general practice, a substantial increase was desirable in the trainers' allowance, which hitherto has only been in the nature of honorariums.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he has endorsed the increase of drug prices, in many cases reaching 50 per cent., contained in the trade price list, issued July, 1972, sent to him by the hon. Member for Willesden, West; if these increases are within the arrangements of the voluntary price regulation scheme; if the form of the covering letter, which by implication makes his department partly responsible for the increases, has his approval; and if he will make a statement.

The price increases of National Health Service medicines contained in the trade price list sent to me by the hon. Member were agreed by the Department under the Voluntary Price Regulation scheme because the financial information supplied showed that they were justified. The draft of the covering letter was not referred to the Department, but I see no reason why the company should not allude to the negotiations which took place. The average increase on National Health Service turnover was less than 5 per cent. The highest individual increase was 9·5 per cent. and no increase was made on one major product.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of State retirement pensioners, plus the total sum paid out during the financial year 1971–72, together with the number and total sum paid out to those pensioners who were in receipt of social security benefits.

At 31st December, 1971, 7,650,000 people were in receipt of retirement pensions, of whom 1,805,000 were in receipt of supplementary pensions. The cost in 1971–72 is estimated to be of the order of £2,066 million for retirement pensions and £260 million for supplementary pensions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the new district general hospital in Nuneaton will be completed; and whether he will make a statement about its progress.

It is too early to forecast a completion date. The Birmingham Regional Hospital Board intends to complete the planning by 1974–75.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a chronological sequence of time and dates when his Department were first requested to have in inquiry into the alleged ill-treatment of patients at South Ockendon Hospital; why, in the case of the spastic son of a West Ham storekeeper, details of which have been supplied to him, it has taken seven years for this investigation to be made; and whether he will make a statement.

All such complaints made to my Department have been looked into through normal administrative channels. I believe that my predecessor sent the hon. Member in 1969 a full reply on the complaints about the individual case he mentions. I cannot accept the apparent implication in the Question that a formal inquiry should be the standard procedure for investigating such complaints. The present committee of inquiry was set up by me after the hospital management committee had requested that complaints which it had started to investigate should be referred to a wider inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements he is making for the co-ordination between the Manchester and Newcastle Hospital Boards for provision of units for the young chronic sick whose homes are in Furness and North Lonsdale, in view of the proposed alterations in boundaries of the two boards.

No changes are proposed in the boundaries of the Manchester and Newcastle Regional Hospital Boards. When the reorganisation of the National Health Service comes into effect, it will be for the new authorities to work together in providing health services, as the present authorities do; the new boundaries will not be barriers to the movement of patients.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what tests his Department employs for measur- ing hearing normalcy; and if a scale of normal hearing on age basis has been produced.

My Department does not employ such tests, but I am advised that simple tests usually include conversational voice and forced whisper tests at various distances and pure tone audiometry. These are often supplemented by speech audiometry using phonetically balanced word lists and sentences at different levels of amplification. From these audiometric tests research workers have developed average score lists for speech discrimination in relation to age. I understand that the results of research work showing the average hearing loss with age are available to expert workers in the field.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will announce the arrangements for cereals which will apply following entry into the European Economic Community, including details of the compensating amounts payable, the location of intervention controls and the levels of intervention prices.

As my right hon. Friend informed the House on 22nd June, he expects to be able to make an announcement by the end of this month.—[Vol. 839, c. 776.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ask the Foods Standards Committee to consider the desirability of requiring sausages sold to catering establishments to contain the same percentage of meat as is required for sausages on sale to the public.

The exemption of sales to caterers from the compositional standards provisions of the regulations applying to meat products is intended to allow the caterer freedom in the preparation of the meals supplied to his customers although the meals themselves must comply with the standards. The need to continue to include sausages within the scope of this exemption will be reviewed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to publish the consultative document on land drainage in relation to water reorganisation.

I hope soon to be able to make an announcement on the future organisation of land drainage. A consultative paper will follow thereafter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent action has commenced to implement the Common Market rulings that British apple orchards must be grubbed-up; how far this has proceeded; when he expects it to be concluded; and when he expects to announce the agreed terms of compensation to the orchard owners.

There are no such rulings.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the costs of grubbing-up orchards were included in the Government's original estimates for entry into the European Economic Community.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many married couples have applied for separate taxation of the wife's earnings in accordance with the provisions of the Finance Act, 1971, to the latest convenient date.

This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is yet in a position to state how, on the introduction of value added tax, the Government will treat stocks of wines, spirits and tobacco in the hands of suppliers which will already have borne duties.

No. I would refer my hon. Friend to what my right hon. Friend said in his Budget Statement and to the White Paper on Value Added Tax (Cmnd. 4929).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether goods made or assembled by disabled people in sheltered workshops, diversionary centres or by home craftwork schemes are exempt from value added tax.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State in the debate on this subject in the Committee stage on the Finance Bill on 16th May.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will detail the list of the 32 of his staff who will receive increases in their salaries under the Boyle Report; what their salaries are at present; and what they will be under the Boyle proposals.

There is one Permanent Secretary in the Treasury who will have his salary increased from £15,000 to £16,750; seven Deputy Secretaries—and equivalents—who will have their salaries increased from £9,000 to £10,500; and 20 Under-Secretaries who will have their salaries increased from £6,750 to £8,250. In addition there are four staff on intermediate salary rates which will be increased by comparable amounts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer which countries in the European Economic Community distinguish between the construction process and the professional services allied to it in applying different rates of the value added tax.

The answer depends on the interpretation of the laws of the individual EEC countries: but my understanding is that France, Germany and Luxembourg make such a distinction and Belgium and the Netherlands do not.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent workers in receipt of the average family income of £30·99 benefited from his proposals on income tax reductions.

The great majority have benefited by £1 a week.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a detailed statement giving the net salary take-home pay, after payment of income tax and surtax, for a man, with wife, on a gross salary of £20,000 per annum for the financial year 1971–72; and what amount of saving in tax and surtax resulted from the annual Budget for this year compared with the three previous years.

£8,587 after deducting income tax for 1971–72 and surtax for 1970–71 payable in 1971–72. The reduction compared with1968–69, 1969–70 and 1970–71 was £1,141, £1,141 and £1,134, respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, since under the terms of the Basle Agreement of 1968 Her Majesty's Government are obliged to top up the sterling value of the bulk of the reserves held in London by overseas sterling area countries if this falls below $2–40, what is the cost to date of the fall in the value of the £ by 6·3 per cent. of its former value.

Nil.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will list, for the longest and most convenient stated period of time, the amounts of public funds paid to Mr. Dan Smith and Mr. George Pottinger; for what purposes they were paid; and whether during this period any such moneys were paid to Mr. John Poulson.

The information is not readily available. The only payments to Mr. Pottinger have been in respect of salary and allowances appropriate for the various posts he has held in or on secondment from the public service.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he will not support the Belgian and Dutch Governments in their efforts to arrange a joint floating of all the currencies of the countries of the European Economic Community.

No such proposal is currently under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to be able to announce to what extent he estimates the floating of the £ sterling will, in general, increase the costs of all British imports, and food imports in particular; and to what extent he expects these increases will raise the cost of living.

Past experience shows that it is extremely difficult to assess the effect on import prices and the cost of living of exchange rate changes, and it will be a considerable time before a reliable estimate can be made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is now the Government's policy regarding the need to end the floating of the £ sterling and return to a fixed parity before Great Britain can enter the Common Market.

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend told the House on 29th June.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, taking the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling, as published by the Central Statistical Office, as 100 at 1st May, 1970, what was the corresponding figure at 30th April, 1972.

Taking the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling to be l00p in May, 1970, its value in May, 1972, is estimated at 87p.This estimate is based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for calendar years adjusted by movements in the General Index of Retail Prices for the months at the beginning and end of the period. Prices were recorded on 19th May, 1970, and 16th May, 1972.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now announce the membership of the committee which is to consider the relationship between the price of children's footwear and the incidence of foot abnormality and other matters.

Yes. The appointment of Mrs. AlisonMunro to be chairman of the committee has already been announced. I am now glad to be able to announce that the following have accepted invitations to become members:Professor C. D. Harbury.Mr. E. W. Howlett, Managing Director, Norvic Children's Shoes Limited.Mrs. P. H. Mellors.Colonel G. W. Noakes, OBE, TD, JP, Managing Director, William Timpson Limited.Mr. W. Sayle-Creer, MB, ChB, Mch, Orth, FRCS, LRCP.Mr. H. F. Christopherson, Commissioner of Customs and Excise.The Secretary will be Mr. P. Jefferson Smith of HM Customs and Excise.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will seek to call a national conference of employers, trade unions, organisations concerned with safety, and the legal and medical professions, in order to encourage greater attention to the need for industrial safety.

:The forthcoming publications of the Robens Report on Safety and Health will provide the opportunity for wide ranging public debate on this matter. My right hon. Friend will bear the particular suggestion in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what training schemes and facilities are available to encourage residents of the

The main responsibility for training lies with the industry and the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board. In order to meet the training needs of individuals the Government are rapidly expanding the facilities for courses in Hotel and Catering occupations available under the Vocational Training Scheme and are aiming at a throughput of over 1,000 trainees in 1973. Many courses in catering are also available in Colleges of Further Education.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment on what date he will publish the report of the special inquiry, under the chairmanship of Sir Brian Windeyer, into the circumstances which gave rise to the cases of lead poisoning at the Rio Tinto Zinc smelter at Avonmouth.

As my right hon. Friend announced on 29th June in a written reply to my hon. Friend the member for Bristol, North West, he hopes to publish the Report before the end of this month.—[Vol. 839, c. 409.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of job vacancies for boys and girls, respectively, up to 18 years of age notified to the Caerphilly and Gelligaer youth employment bureau in 1968, 1971 and to date in 1972.

Cumulative totals of vacancies notified are not available. The following table gives the number of noitified vacancies remaining unfilled in the Caerphilly careers office area on the count dates in June and October of the years in question:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to find employment for young people up to 18 years of age in the Caerphilly and Gelligaer youth employment area of Glamorgan; and if he will make a statement.

Careers officers are doing all they can to assist young people to find jobs. Employment opportunities should improve as the Government's economic measures take effect. The particular problem of job opportunities for the less well qualified is

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to ensure that employers do not avoid the full impact of the Equal Pay Act by grading posts in such a way that women's jobs receive lower grades and therefore lower pay.

My right hon. Friend has at present no evidence that employers generally are seeking to evade the Act in this way. The report of the Office of Manpower Economics, to be published shortly, should indicate if there is a need for any action.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the rate for notified vacancies to people registered as wholly unemployed in the Western Isles at the latest available date.

In the Oban employment exchange area, part of which is in the Western Isles, and in the Stornoway area, at June, 1972, there were 9·4 notified vacancies to every 100 people registered as wholly unemployed. The figure relates only to notified vacancies remaining unfilled and does not purport to measure the total unsatisfied demand for labour.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures to alleviate the position of unemployment among young people in Birmingham have currently being studied by the National Youth Employment Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of boys and girls, respectively, up to 18 years of age who were unemployed in the Caerphilly and Gelligaer youth employment areas of Glamorgan in October, 1968, October, 1971 and at the nearest convenient date.

The information is as follows:been taken by his Department; and what further measures he plans to take.

Training opportunities have been made available to young people in the area under both the 1971–72 Industrial Training Board Awards Scheme and the Vocational Training Scheme. Further training measures submitted by the Birmingham Education Committee are under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from the Trades Union Congress and Confederation of British Industry regarding the development of industrial training in this country; if he will place in the OFFICIAL REPORT their observations on incentives for training; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received memoranda from the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress concerning various aspects of the Government's proposals for industrial training. We have also discussed these representations with the two bodies. I give below extracts from the memoranda of the two organisations, setting out their views on incentives for training. My right hon. Friend is currently considering the various opinions which have been expressed on our proposals, and he hopes to announce conclusions on the main issues before the House rises for the Summer Recess.

CBI: "In its review of the new proposals a great deal of comment has reached the CBI. Most of this has concerned the future of Industrial Training Boards. Support for the ending of the present levy/grant systems has been widespread although a significant amount of comment has suggested that to stop them simultaneously and abruptly in all industries may be ill-judged.

Concern has been expresed in many quarters about the adequacy of the NTA's estimated budget of £25 to £40 million. The CBI shares this concern, even if the selective grants to be made by the agency are to be directed mainly to the encouragement of training over and above firms' individual needs in areas where there are actual or anticipated shortages. The mechanics of such an arrangement would be difficult and, when combined with the other fields in which continued financial support would be required, there will not be enough money within the proposed budget to enable effective grants to be given. These other fields will have to be negotiated between ITB's and the NTA, but they should include continued support for existing long-term training grant commitments; the establishment and support of group training schemes; first-year apprentice and technician training; and a number of ITB training facilities which are valued by their industries. There is also an urgent need (as we have pointed out in our recent statement—"Supply and Demand in Higher Education") to give substantial financial support to encourage the provision of more industrial training places for sandwich course students."

TUC: "No scheme is acceptable which reduces the importance of levy/grant and at the same time does not provide for a means of inspection of the volume of training and the level of standards adopted by firms in the industry. In any scheme of the latter type, there should be provision for financial penalties to be imposed on employers who do not fulfil their training responsibilities. This does not preclude further development of Board's advisory services nor does it mean that ways should not be found of refining levy/grant schemes or exploring other financial mechanisms.

In the longer term, there is a case for introducing a payroll tax on all employers, large and small, from which they could seek some relief if they could show on their tax return that they had fulfilled their training responsibilities. This is being examined further by the General Council particularly in the context of the TUC's proposed National Manpower Board. Basically, however, the principle that employers must be prepared to make a substantial contribution to training to meet their needs is supported by the General Council and from this perspective, the Government's intention to end levy/grant schemes after 1972–73 and to replace them with a very limited system of selective grants from public funds is retrogressive."

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many men are now unemployed in North Staffordshire; and how this compares with 1970 and 1971;(2) how many women are unemployed in North Staffordshire; and how this compares with 1970 and 1971.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers he expects to be seeking work in North Staffordshire at the end of the summer term.

About 3,800 young people are expected to leave school for employment at the end of this summer term in North Staffordshire.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Factory Inspectorate is now up to strength; and if he will publish its establishment target and its present numbers.

The authorised cadre of the Factory Inspectorate is 742 and on 1st July there were 709 factory inspectors in post. It is expected that normal recruitment action will fill most of these vacancies in the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what constitutes an offer of suitable employment as this phrase is used by his Department; and if he is satisfied that the figure of 16,221 cases last year of those refusing offers of suitable employment who were disqualified from receiving credits of national insurance contributions and benefits, does not understate the real position, in the light of the way the words, suitable employment, are interpreted.