asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action the Government propose to take in relation to the United Kingdom customs duties on beef and veal following the European Economic Community Finance Ministers' decision to suspend 50 per cent. of the common customs tariff on beef and veal.

We are consulting our major preferential overseas suppliers about suspending our import duties on fresh, chilled and frozen beef and veal. We are proposing to suspend totally because the incidence of our full rates of duty is less than the cut which the EEC has decided to make in the common Customs tariff.

asked the Minister of State for Defence (1) if he will state the circumstances in which Robert Henry Gillespie, a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, of Millex, Ballygawley, County Tyrone, was shot and killed;(2) if he will state the time on Saturday, 20th May, 1972 when an Army Land Rover picked up Mr. Gillespie at his home at Mollex, Ballygawley, County Tyrone; at what time he was shot and killed; and why the Land Rover had no escort.

At about 9.20 a.m. on 20th May an Army Land Rover carrying two officers and two soldiers called at the house of Lance-Corporal Gillespie to transport him to Headquarters, 8 Ulster Defence Regiment at Dungannon.At about 9.40 a.m. the vehicle was ambushed on the Aughnacloy/Dungannon road. Two shots were fired from high ground to the left of the vehicle and as it accelerated away a further three shots were fired, one hitting Lance- Corporal Gillespie. He died in hospital at about 10.15 a.m.The Land Rover was fitted with protective materials, all the occupants were armed and one of the soldiers was acting as guard, but no other Army vehicle was present. These arrangements were in accordance with the normal practice for patrols operating in that area in daylight.

asked the Minister of State for Defence (1) why, on Friday, 19th May, 1972, Lieutenant-Colonel Blackwell, Officer Commanding Sixth Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, told Mr. Gillespie to report to Kellyneal House at 10 a.m. on Saturday, 20th May, 1972;

Mr. Gillespie appeared before his company commander at Aughnacloy in the first instance; he was remanded to appear before the battalion commander at Dungannon. Since 20th May, 1972, there have been 16 such remands; all—including the case of Mr. Gillespie—originated at company level, three from Aughnacloy and 13 in the Dungannon companies.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what was the charge which Mr. Gillespie was to answer on Saturday, 20th May.

The charge related to absence from guard duty.

asked the Minister of State for Defence why Mr. Gillespie was made to appear at 10 o'clock on Saturday, 20th May, 1972, on a charge when in fact he had just completed eight hours' guard duty; and if he will ensure that in the future no member of the Ulster Defence Regiment will have to appear on any charge until a reasonable time is given for rest after guard duty.

The time and place for disciplinary hearings must be left to the commanding officer's discretion having regard to the availability of witnesses and others concerned. This is necessarily more difficult in a part-time force like the UDR.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what was the amount of money owing by the Army to Mr. Gillespie when he was killed; why the payment of this money was delayed; and on what date the final payment was made to Mr. Gillespie's next of kin.

The amount owed by the Army to Mr. Gillespie at the time of his death was £142·96. I cannot accept that there was unreasonable delay; letters of administration were granted on 26th July and were seen in my Department on 28th July. Payment was made to Mr. Gillespie's father on 2nd August.

asked the Minister of State for Defence for what period of time Mr. Gillespie served in the Irish Guards; and where he served.

From 1962–68; in the United Kingdom, the British Army of the Rhine and Aden.

asked the Minister of State for Defence why a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, acting under orders, visited Mr. Gillespie's home and removed the General Service Medal which Mr. Gillespie had been awarded for service in Aden; and who has the possession of the medal now.

The medal was removed in error with his military clothing and equipment. It is now held by the Army Medal Office at Droitwich and is being returned to his father.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will give details of the membership of the Committee of Inquiry into the Veterinary Profession, its terms of reference and when it is expected to report.

I have been asked to reply.The Chairman of the Committee is Professor Sir Michael Swann, LL.D., F.R.S,. and the membership consists of—

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will have the terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry into the Veterinary Profession extended so as to refer specifically to the question of the need for a veterinary college for Wales.

I have been asked to reply.No. Under its present terms of reference the committee is able to consider any aspect of veterinary education.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the Committee of Inquiry into the Veterinary Profession has examined any evidence relating to veterinary education in Wales; and of what nature is the evidence submitted.

I have been asked to reply.I understand that some written evidence on this subject has been examined by the committee but I regret that I am unable to disclose its nature.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the earnings gap in manufacturing between Scotland and the United Kingdom, expressed as a percentage, for the period 1960 to the latest available date.

The following information, relating to overall averages, is derived from the regular inquiries into earnings. It is affected by influences such as variations in the pattern of industry and may not therefore give a precise indication of differences in earnings for comparable work.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the average weekly earnings in September, or the nearest available date, of men manual workers aged 21 years and over in manufacturing in the United Kingdom and Scotland; and if he will express Scottish earnings as a percentage of United Kingdom earnings.

In October, 1971, the latest date for which information is available, average weekly earnings of men manual workers in manufacturing in the United Kingdom were £31·37. For Scotland the corresponding figure was £30·30; i.e. 96·6 per cent.of the United Kingdom figure.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he proposes to bring the Employment Medical Advisory Service Act into operation.

My right hon. Friend will do so on 1st February, 1973.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will seek power to ban the advertising of alcoholic drinks from television.

Any initiative to ban the advertising of alcohol on television is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Social Services, Environment and the Home Department.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will arrange for an exhibition of aspects of the Post Office telecommunications and postal services to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall.

Yes. I have arranged with the authorities of the House for such an exhibition to be staged in the Upper Waiting Hall for the week beginning 6th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish estimates of investment in Scotland by the private manufacturing sector of industry in each of the years between 1960 and the nearest available date; and if he will express these figures as a percentage of the private sector's investment in the United Kingdom.

The available information is set out in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he anticipates issuing the first anti-dumping regulations to protect British footwear manufacturers from unfair competition.

The Department announced on 27th October that it was investigating an anti-dumping application by the British Footwear Manufacturers' Federation concerning imports of men's leather footwear from Czechoslovakia, Eastern Germany, Poland and Romania. I cannot as yet say how long the investigation will take or what the outcome will he, but I can assure my hon. Friend that the Department is carrying out its inquiries with all possible speed.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from or on behalf of the food industry about the effect of the Trade Description Act, 1972, on ways in which food will have to be labelled in the future.

I have received a number of representations from trade associations and individual firms requesting a temporary or permanent relaxation of the Act. Many of these are still being considered, but I have already announced that there will be a temporary relaxation, for six months, for prepacked foodstuffs supplied by retail.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the activities of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation of which the United Kingdom is a member.

Copies of the Ninth Annual Report of the Eurocontrol Organisation, summarising its activities during 1971, have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many in- quiries his Department has received about the availability of the advance factory at Mosshill, Ayr, since the introduction of the new regional policy measures.

Five inquiries have been made, and one concern is now firmly interested.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will detail the economic benefits gained by the West Midlands from the implementation of the Government's new regional and industrial development policies, especially with regard to the directive that industrial development certificates will be more readily granted than hitherto for schemes of factory modernisation.

The new policies will assist factory modernisation in a region whose economic wellbeing is essential to the national economy, including that of the assisted areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the number of applications made by firms in the West Midlands for industrial development certificates in respect of modernisation schemes, since the publication of the letter sent by the Secretary of State for the Environment, dated 19th June, to the Chairman of the West Midlands Economic Planning Council; and if he will state the number of applications approved.

I regret that meaningful figures are not available as modernisation is often only one of the factors taken into account in determining an IDC application.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many out-patients were treated at Singleton Hospital, Swansea, and Morriston Hospital, respec- tively, in the year ended 31st December, 1971; and how many consultants were on the staff of each hospital during that year.

The information requested is as follows: