asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is aware that under the Employment Transfer Scheme, since 1st September, 1969, free return fares for unemployed workers attending employment interviews away from home have been payable subject to the eligibility conditions prescribed in this scheme; and that since 21st September, 1972, an overnight's subsistence allowance has been paid normally restricted to workers living in restricted areas; under what statutory authority he extended this to cover the Ugandan Asian immigrants; and in how many cases he extended it to cover British-born citizens in non-restricted areas.

The Employment Transfer Scheme is administered by the Secretary of State under Section 5 of the Employment and Training Act, 1948. My right hon. Friend has decided that overnight subsistence allowances should be available to all workers whether in assisted or non-assisted areas with effect from 21st September, 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons were employed in the steel industry in Scotland at the most recent date for which figures are available.

At June, 1971, the figure was 28,500.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will consider setting up a wages council for the fireworks industry.

I have no evidence that the interests of the workers in this industry would be best served by the establishment of a wages council.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what fresh training facilities he proposes to introduce into the Government training centre on the Port Glasgow industrial estate; and what improvements in numbers and quality he is encouraging in training schemes in local industry outwith shipbuilding.

Ninety-five training places are available at Port Glasgow Government training centre. A fur-there 502 places are available at other GTCs within daily travel of Port Glasgow and it is planned to add a further 172 places at these by next spring. Also within daily travel and covering a wide range of skills are 141 training places in employers' establishments and 212 at colleges of further education. Some 107 firms are involved in group schemes in the daily travel area.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places at Government training centres in the Northern Region were unfilled at the latest available date; and what percentage of the places available they represent.

On 30th October, 291 places were unfilled representing 18 per cent. of the total available places.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to encourage the improvement of low wage rates especially amongst women workers in the waterproof clothing and related industries on Tyneside.

Minimum rates in most branches of the clothing industry are determined by wages councils and the effectiveness of these arrangements is currently being examined by the Commission on Industrial Relations. Progress towards equal pay will of course help to improve the wage rates of women workers generally.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present level of unemployment in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

At 9th October the number of people registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Newcastle-under-Lyme employment exchange was 1,321.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what rules of confidentiality govern staff in his Department in the handling of personal information, whether stored manually or on computer.

The staff of my Department are required to observe the provisions of the Official Secrets Acts and of the Statistics of Trade Act, 1947, when information has been obtained under that Act. Additionally, departmental instructions to staff generally and more specific instructions to computer staff emphasise the need to maintain confidentiality and privacy.The Government will in due course publish a White Paper which will deal with the privacy of personal information held in Government computers.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will tabulate the 10 industrial groups with the highest average weekly gross earnings, giving the hours worked per week, including overtime, and per year, including holidays and statutory holidays, and expressing this remuneration in hourly and annual terms, indicating how recent wage awards have now altered the position as to which groups receive the highest remuneration.

The most recent information available on a weekly and an hourly basis relates to October, 1971, and is that given in my reply to my hon. Friend on 2nd March 1972. Information is not available on which to base corresponding annual figures.Since wage awards in many cases do not conform precisely to Minimum List headings these figures cannot be updated. The industrial analysis of the results of the April, 1972, New Earnings Survey are due to be published in the December issue of this Department's

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the number of men and women registered at the Woolwich employment exchange as wholly unemployed at the latest available date.

At 9th October 1,553 males and 296 females were registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Woolwich employment exchange.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received concerning the difficulties of Eltham residents who are unemployed registering at the Woolwich employment exchange; and whether he will consider opening a branch exchange in Eltham.

I have received no representations since the correspondence which I had with the hon. Member last July. The need for local office facilities is kept under regular review but I have at present no plans to open a branch employment exchange in Eltham.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many public holidays per year are legally authorised in the United Kingdom; and how this figure compares with each of the other member countries of the European Economic Community.

There are no statutory public holidays in the United Kingdom. Six days are generally observed as public holidays but there are local variations. The corresponding number in the Netherlands is seven, in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, 10, in Germany, 10 to 13 and in Italy, 17.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the weekly average number of redundancies in Scotland notified to his Department in the first nine months of 1972; and how this compares with the same period in 1971.

In the first nine months of this year redundancies involving a weekly average number of 500 workpeople were notified to my Department in Scotland, compared with a weekly average of 880 in the corresponding period of 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish statistics showing the percentage of total unemployment and of male unemployment for each employment exchange in Scotland and for each of the standard regions of Scotland.

Following is the available information:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the figures showing males and females wholly unemployed in each county and city in Scotland at the nearest available date, with details of unfilled vacancies; and how this compares with the position in June, 1972.

Following is the information:RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT AT 9TH OCTOBER, 1972, FOR EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE AREAS, EITHER SINGLY OR GROUPED TO FORM TRAVEL-TO-WORK AREAS, AND FOR PLANNING REGIONS OF SCOTLAND

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed adult males there are in Scotland for every notified vacancy; and what is the corresponding situation in Wales, Greater London and in each of the standard regions of England.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the number of redundancies reported to his Department in the North Lanarkshire employment area for each month since June, 1970.

The numbers of redundancies recorded by my Department as being due to occur each month since June, 1970, in the North Lanark-shire travel-to-work area are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures showing the job losses or gains in manufacturing in the region composed of London and the South-East in each year between 1960 and 1971; and if he will show the losses and gains in each month in 1972 to the nearest convenient date.

Precise information about job losses and job gains is not available but an indication of net annual changes can be obtained by comparing the levels of the mid-year employment estimates, the latest of which are for June, 1971.Following is the information available:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of unemployed in each of the 32 London boroughs.

Information is not available for the precise areas covered by the London boroughs. The following table shows figures for the employment exchange areas in Greater London:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of men at present registered as unemployed in the Greater London area; and what were the figures for 1970, 1965, 1960, 1955, and 1950.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to encourage the Engineering Industry Training Board to take on school-leavers who are unable to find an employer.

My Department is already sharing with the Engineering Industry Training Board the cost of up to 2,500 awards to provide a year's training for school leavers this summer who would otherwise have lost the opportunity of entering apprenticeship.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration he is giving to the Report of the Robens Committee on Safety and Health in Industry.

Preliminary consultations with the CBI, TUC, local authorities and other interested organisations on the Report's recommendations have been taking place. The Government will decide the broad form and content of legislation in the light of these.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how much working time he estimates it took a worker earning the current national average weekly wage to earn the price of a standard loaf, a pint of milk, a dozen eggs, a suit of clothes, a refrigerator, a small car, the average rent of an unfurnished house, and the average cost of a new house, in specimen years between 1951 and 1971.

Following are the times in minutes required to earn the price of those items for which average prices are available:special measures to alleviate unemployment among teenagers.

Special measures have already been taken. Unemployment amongst young people has fallen by over 40,000 since August. I expect unemployment to continue to fall and employment opportunities to increase as a result of the various measures already taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now take steps to amend the Industrial Relations Act.

Immediately, none. As I have said before, I am fully prepared to discuss with the unions, employers or any other responsible bodies, constructive proposals for improving the operation of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now set up machinery to review on a regular basis manpower economics, wage rates, hours worked, and remuneration in different industries.

Information about wage rates, earnings and hours is published regularly by my Department. I am giving consideration to the most profitable ways in which the Office of Manpower Economics can be asked to make analyses of some of this material.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department has been informed of the industrial dispute at Gardner's Limited Eccles; if he will instruct his officers to use their good offices to bring this dispute to an end; and if he will make a statement.

Agreement on a formula to end the dispute was reached on 31st October. This was accepted by a mass meeting of strikers on 2nd November, and work was resumed on 6th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will announce his decision on whether to seek to impose a statutory limitation on the availability of medicinal products containing hexachlorophane; and if he will make a statement on the inclusion of this ingredient in cosmetic and toilet preparations.

An Order under the Medicines Act, 1968, has been prepared which is designed to limit to prescription only the sale or supply of medicinal products containing hexachlorophane. Consultations as required by the Act with organisations representative of interests likely to be affected by the Order are now taking place. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department is considering the problem as it affects cosmetics and toilet preparations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what change there has been in his policy regarding the size of population to be served by a district general hospital; what is the advice issued by his Department concerning the size of hospital, specialities to be included, and the size of the catchment area; and if he will make a statement.

District general hospitals are being planned to serve populations up to about a quarter of a million people, covering all the main specialties apart from a few concentrated in regional units. My right hon. Friend will be considering further advice in the light of a report by a Central Health Services Council Committee and of operational research and other studies in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects the negotiations on a revised career grading structure in the National Health Service for members of the remedial professions, including physiotherapists, to be concluded.

I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to my reply to the hon. Member for Pontefract (Mr. Harper) on 6th November.—[Vol. 845, c. 94.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects negotiations on a revised career grading structure in the National Health Service for members of the remedial professions.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Pontefract (Mr. Harper) on 6th November.—[Vol. 845, c. 94.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action has been taken to remind hospital casualty departments of the dangers from toxic fumes when foamed plastics are burned on bonfires; and if he is satisfied that sufficient equipment is available for immediate examination of casualty patients overcome by smoke from bonfires to avoid irreparable lung damage from toxic fumes.

Hospital authorities have been given information about published advice on the medical treatment of patients exposed to gases and vapours. Major accident and emergency departments are equipped to provide the necessary treatment for all types of case, including patients overcome by toxic fumes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much of the £1,000,163 paid out in supplementary allowances to strikers and their dependants during the building strike has been repaid.

In addition to the amount paid during the dispute, which is not recoverable, post-dispute payments totalling £132,736 were made and are being recovered in accordance with the Social Security Act, 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much of the £5,523,480 paid out to strikers and their dependants in the mining strike has been repaid.

None, because the provisions of the Social Security Act, 1971, for recovering supplementary benefit paid following resumption of work did not take effect until 3rd April, 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total amount paid out so far this year in supplementary benefits to strikers and their dependants; and if he will express this figure as a percentage of the total paid to strikers and their dependants in 1968.

Approximately £7·5 million and 2,239 per cent. respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many special assessment officers were engaged in paying out supplementary allowances to strikers and their dependants during the miners' strike, and the builders' strike, respectively; and how many special assessment officers are now employed by his Department.

Payments to strikers and their dependants are made by officers of the Department who are temporarily diverted from other duties; there is no question of employing special assessment officers for this purpose. The staff cost of dealing with claims arising from the miners' dispute was about 10,000 man-weeks; it is not practicable to make a corresponding estimate for the building workers' dispute.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of the American tourists stranded at Gatwick Airport in August have now repaid the money received from the Department of Health and Social Security; how much money is outstanding; and what is being done to recover this amount.

So far, a sum amounting to £300 out of the £310 paid out has been repaid voluntarily; no further action is proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the administration of disability pensions to unemployed persons, with particular reference to the case brought to his attention by the hon. Member for Heywood and Royton, whereby a disabled constituent of his has been informed that if he remains unemployed for 12 months his unemployment benefit will then be reduced from £7 to £2 per week.

I understand that the matter which concerns the hon. Member is the treatment of disability pensions under the Supplementary Benefits Scheme, and I am writing to him.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what instructions have been given to officers of his Department regarding the non-payment of unemployment benefit to non-strikers who are now out of work at Gardner's Limited, Eccles: if he will reverse his Department's policy regarding unemployment benefit; and if he will make a statement.

None. Claims to unemployment benefit arising from this dispute are being dealt with in the normal way by the independent determining authorities. As I have already promised, I will let the hon. Member know the final outcome of these claims, but we have no proposals for changing the law on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is aware of the hardship caused by the non-payment of social service benefits to strikers and non-strikers at Gardner's Limited, Eccles, and the difficulties faced by the families of these workers; if he will reverse his Department's decision on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

The question whether supplementary benefit is payable for the dependants of a person involved in a trade dispute and, if so, how much is entirely a matter for the Supplementary Benefits Commission and there is a right of appeal against any determination made by the Commission. I have writen to the hon. Member about payments of benefit made so far in the dispute at Gardner's Limited, Eccles, and I have no statement to make.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of general practitioners and the average number of patients on the lists in Sunderland for the latest available date.

Eighty-five and 2,567 respectively. There are, in addition, three doctors practising as assistants.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has received the communication dated 28th October, together with a letter from Mr. R. White, pointing out that he and his wife who are disabled are having to manage on a £11·25 pension plus a small superannuation pension and asking for £28·40 per week; and if he will take steps to ensure by whatever means are available this payment to this man and his wife.

Yes; and I have arranged for inquiries to be made into Mr. White's circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give an assurance that all applicants for supplementary pensions or awards with a wife and two children are granted £28·40 per week on the similar basis to that made to the person, details of whom are in his possession.

This Question implies that the applicant concerned, who as the House will know, is Dr. Acharya, a Ugandan Asian, is getting better treatment than a British-born person in similar circumstances. This is not the case. All applicants get precisely the same treatment from the Supplementary Benefits Commission but the amount of supplementary benefit will depend on the individual circumstances. For that reason I cannot give an assurance in the terms of the question which fails to take into account the widely varying individual circumstances of applicants.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the normal pension entitlement of a retirement pensioner and his wife with two children of school age; whether such a person with housing provided or rent allowance in lieu is entitled to claim a supplementary pension making his net total disposable income up to £28·40 per week.

The rates of national insurance benefit are specified in Schedule 1 to the National Insurance Act, 1972. The amount of any supplementary pension will depend upon individual circumstances and claim forms are available at post offices or local social security offices.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is aware that Mrs. M. A. M. Hyms, a British-born citizen with a British passport, in an identical situation to Ugandan Asians, has not received the same treatment so far as welfare and other benefits are concerned; and whether he will ensure that she does receive identical treatment.

Mrs. Hyms is receiving the full rate of supplementary benefit for her present circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent the assets available in foreign banks to applicants from Uganda are taken into account before welfare and other financial benefits are granted; and whether a written authorisation is obtained from the claimants and recipients to their banks declaring the amounts in both credit and deposit accounts.

For supplementary benefit purposes assets available to a claimant in a foreign bank are taken into account according to the normal rules for the treatment of capital. The amounts of any such assets are always verified in the appropriate way.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he has taken or proposes to take to advertise the Family Income Supplement Scheme to Asian immigrants from Uganda.

Members of my Department are continuously available at airports and resettlement centres to advise Ugandan immigrants on all aspects of social security. There is no need for special steps over family income supplement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give, without revealing the identity of the recipients, the amount of welfare payments made in capital grants to Ugandan Asian immigrants either in total or as average payments per person, and similar details regarding unemployment, sickness and supplementary pension payments.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 25th October to a similar Question.—[Vol. 843, c. 326.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the £40 paid by his Department to Mr. Kesharlal Acharya and the £28.40 per week until March of next year is additional to the family allowances; and what the gross income of this family is at the moment.

No, because there is no entitlement to family allowance; the normal scale rate for a married couple over pension age, which is £10·65, plus the normal allowances for three teenage children dependent on him and quite a substantial rent.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the general rule regarding the amount of cash held by a retired couple before supplementary pension can be paid; and whether he is aware of the concern felt by pensioners being refused any supplementary payments whilst persons who have never contributed are granted as much as £28 per week; and whether he will take steps to assuage this concern.

The rules for the treatment of resources and the assessment of requirements for supplementary benefit purposes are set out in leaflet SB 1 a copy of which I am sending the hon. Member. Any retired couple whose requirements amount to £28 a week—because, for instance, they may have dependent children and a high rent—can receive a supplementary pension equal to the amount by which their resources fall short of that amount. Supplementary benefit does not depend on the payment of contributions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give, for the latest and most convenient stated date, the number of retirement pensioners who were in receipt of supplementary pensions of £28·40p per week; and how many of these have been issued with order books guaranteeing such payments until March, 1973.

Information is not available in the form requested. All supplementary pensioners are paid by order-book issued in advance for up to six months.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give an indication of the alternative methods likely to be prescribed for calculating the minimum personal pension needed under an occupational scheme to exempt the employee concerned from the reserve pension scheme.

Under the standard recognition test laid down in the Social Security Bill, 1972, for exempting employees and their employers from contributing to the reserve pension scheme, their occupational scheme must provide a minimum level of personal retirement pension based on their reckonable earnings throughout the whole of their relevant period of employment. This test can readily be applied to average salary pension schemes. The Bill enables alternatives to the standard test to be prescribed for money purchase and final salary schemes, and for schemes which provide death benefits by allocating a part of the man's personal pension. These alternative tests will be more precisely formulated after further consideration but our proposals are likely to be broadly on the following lines.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proposals he has received for the reorganisation of hospital services in the south central area of Liverpool; and whether he will make a statement.

The Liverpool Regional Hospital Board and the Board of Governors of the United Liverpool Hospitals recently put to me proposals for the reorganisation of hospital services in the South and Central area of Liverpool. The Boards propose a series of changes in hospital provision in this area, to be carried out over a period of 15 years, designed to rationalise, develop and modernise hospital services and facilities. To facilitate implementation the boards also propose that hospital services in the area should forthwith be brought under a unified administration by designation of the hospitals of the South Liverpool Hospital Management Committee to the Board of Governors of United Liverpool Hospitals.The boards' final recommendations incorporate substantial modifications which take account of views expressed to them during extensive preliminary consultations. I have also myself received delegations representative of local interests including members from both sides of the House.Generally I welcome the boards' proposals as an important and constructive step towards the provision of a better balanced hospital service in the City of Liverpool. I have now given the boards my approval to proceed subject to attention being given to the following points:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will seek to arrange for all tax offices which deal with London taxpayers to have a London telephone number to cut out expensive long-distance telephone calls by taxpayers.

No. The Inland Revenue has extended its inquiry office facilities in London and this removes the need for long-distance telephone calls by taxpayers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the precise measures adopted by Ministers in the European Economic Community at their meeting on 30th and 31st October about inflation and price stability.

At its meeting in Luxembourg, the Council of Ministers decided to try to reduce the rate of increase of consumer prices to 4 per cent. between December, 1972, and the end of 1973. It agreed to adopt appropriate monetary and budgetary policies to this end. It also agreed on measures in the fields of agricultural, competition and employment policies. Not all the precise measures it adopted are applicable to the acceding States; but the Resolution records the agreement of the acceding countries, including the United Kingdom, with the Council's objectives and their readiness to take action to promote their achievement. Moreover, the acceding countries will play a full part in considering proposals about possible anti-inflationary action in the field of commercial policy, which the Commission may be making before 31st January. The official text of the Resolution agreed by the Council of Ministers will be published in due course in the Official Journal of the European Communities, and will then be available in the Library.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what correlation exists between the rate of increase of the money supply (M3) and the rate of inflation.

There is no simple direct relationship between money supply and inflation. Although there is a fairly close correlation, over long periods, between changes in M3 and changes in national income, the relationship does not tell us, of course, whether a rise in money supply is occasioned by changes in money incomes or vice versa.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much it is estimated that the total value of all land in England and Wales and the United Kingdom, respectively, has increased over the last two years, or another convenient period.

No official estimate is available of the increase in value of all land in England and Wales or in the United Kingdom in recent years.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the level of invisible earnings from income of British football pool promoters from selling coupons abroad.

This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the manner in which widows are treated for pay-as-you-earn purposes, with particular reference to arrears of tax that have arisen due to inefficiencies of local tax offices, an example of which has recently been given to him by the hon. Member for Heywood and Royton; and if he will make a statement.

Arrears of PAYE tax arising through errors in tax offices are considered for remission under the White Paper of 14th July, 1971 (Observations by the Government on the First Report from the Select Committee on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration—Cmnd. 4729). I have not received details of the example affecting a widow to which the hon. Member refers, but I will consider it if he will let me have them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that most civil servants, commissioners and others appointed to positions in the European Economic Community receive their salaries free of tax; and whether, if these persons are domiciled in Great Britain, and commute to and from Great Britain and Brussels or other countries of the European Economic Community they will be liable to British income tax.

Persons appointed as commissioners or officials of the European Communities are subject to tax imposed by the Communities on their salaries and other emoluments from the Communities, and they are in consequence exempt from national taxes on such income. Income other than from the Communities will continue to be subject to United Kingdom tax under the normal rules.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that some of the civil servants and commissioners appointed to the European Economic Community are maintaining their homes in Great Britain and commuting to and from Brussels and other countries of the European Economic Community where first-class air fares are paid for; and, as all other employees are taxed on travel expenses to and from their home and work, whether tax is assessed in these cases.

Commissioners and other officials of the European Communities who choose to maintain their homes in the United Kingdom will not be reimbursed for the cost of travel between their homes and their place of employment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the salary paid to Sir Frank Figgures, Director General of the National Economic Development Office; whether this is in addition to his stated Civil Service pension; and what is his gross income and expenses.

His salary is £15,750 a year, the same as that of a Permanent Secretary. His Civil Service pension is wholly suspended during his re-employment. Sir Frank Figgures receives no expense allowance, and his gross official income is therefore as stated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take action to ensure a speedy resolving by the Inland Revenue Department of matters pertaining to the affairs of Portal Engineering Company Limited, in liquidation, so as to facilitate the winding-up of this business.

The Inland Revenue does not wish to hold up the liquidation of this company but, for reasons which have been explained to the hon. Member, the speed with which settlement can be reached is not entirely in its hands.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain to what extent the practice is prevalent of immigrants claiming income tax relief for their children, both legitimate and illegitimate, residing in the countries of the father's origin, on the production of postal order and money order counterfoils sent to persons in the country of birth of the tax-claimant, where such despatched moneys are spent on such items as holiday funds and other matters not connected with the upkeep of the children, with a view to seeking powers to control this abuse.

No. As I have already informed the hon. Member, I do not consider that any investigation is called for.On the further points raised, the hon. Member has been in correspondence with me and I have already replied.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now announce the Government's proposals concerning the long-term strategy for the steel industry.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Edward Taylor) and the hon. Member for Fife, West (Mr. William Hamilton), on 6th November.—[Vol. 845. c. 42.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on the energy policy discussions during the European Community's summit conference.

The conference invited the Community institutions to formulate as soon as possible an energy policy guaranteeing certain and lasting supplies under satisfactory economic conditions. The United Kingdom intends to play an active role in the process of study and policy formulation that will now ensue.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the amount of the proposed European Economic Community Regional Fund; what is the likely United Kingdom contribution to the fund; and what level of benefit is likely to be derived from it by the United Kingdom.

I cannot anticipate the outcome of the Community's work on this subject during 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is aware that under a Common Market ruling British industry will be obliged to apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties; how this will be applied; and how this will affect British industry.