asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take immediate steps to discontinue the practice employed at the Inner London Crown Court of causing defendants who have surrendered to bail being led through the street in handcuffs and the practice in other courts that such persons should be locked in cells.

A defendant surrendering to bail at the Inner London Crown Court is not taken into custody until he is summoned to the dock. If bail is not then renewed he will be held in a cell during any adjournment and may exceptionally have to be handcuffed while being escorted to and from the court.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for improving court accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for providing and improving accommodation for magistrates' courts rests with local authorities and magistrates' courts committees. My right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Chancellor and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment are responsible for accommodation for the Crown and county courts. Substantial court building programmes are in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he received a request from the hon. Member for Ilford, North to refer to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal a newly discovered alibi in the case of Patrick Murphy, convicted of murder; what action he took; on what grounds he considered appropriate any inquiries other than those necessary for the taking of the alibi statement; why he has taken so long to reach his decision; and if he will make the reference forthwith.

My predecessor first received representations from my hon. Friend last December. A statement was obtained from the new witness to whom my hon. Friend refers and my Department has undertaken a full review of other aspects of the case with a view to assessing the significance of this statement. I am studying the reports which I have received, and also the transcript of a recent television programme. I hope shortly to reach a conclusion on this complex case, which I shall communicate to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offers of jobs and accommodation for Ugandan Asians have been received by the Resettlement Board from private and public sources in each of the local government areas of the United Kingdom.

So far over 1,100 employers have offered jobs. More than 2,000 offers of accommodation have come from private sources. Local authorities have offered some 1,600 dwellings. The work required to set out the individual offers by local authority area would not in my view be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of local authorities in Wales which are prepared to provide homes for Uganda Asian refugees, those which have indicated that they are not prepared to provide accommodation and those which have not replied to his appeal.

Nineteen authorities in Wales have made firm offers of accommodation to the Uganda Resettlement Board. Several others have said that they may be able to do so. Twenty authorities have indicated that they would have great difficulty in providing accommodation at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give the number of stateless Ugandan Asians who have arrived in this country; why they were admitted and under what statutory authority; and whether the 10 stateless Ugandan Asians at Greenham Common Camp, Berkshire, have been split up from their families.

Apart from those admissible as dependants of United Kingdom passport holders, 73 people of undetermined nationality from Uganda have arrived in the United Kingdom. They have been refused admission. Their arrival is being reported to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Meanwhile they are being allowed to remain temporarily in resettlement centres. Nine at Greenham Common are separated from their families.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he was able to state on 23rd October, 1972, that up to 20th October just under 17.500 Ugandan Asians had been admitted into Great Britain but he was unable to state how many of these were children; and whether he will arrange to have a detailed analysis made of these immigrants according to age groups, sex and business qualification, trades or industry and publish the same in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The total number arriving from Uganda is quickly available, but it takes a few days to classify the information and to say how many are children. The hon. Member has since been supplied with the information he asked for. As regards the second part of the Question, a great deal of information is being collected and I will consider how this can most usefully be analysed in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give, for the latest and most convenient stated date, the number of Ugandan Asians that have been admitted into the Metropolitan Police Force since their enforced exit from Uganda commenced; what positions they have been appointed to; and at what salaries.

None up to 2nd November. But two have joined the Metropolitan Police civil staff, and two Ugandan Asians already resident here have joined the Metropolitan Police Force since 4th August.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that notwithstanding his appeal for Ugandan Asians to avoid the red areas more than 200 have moved into the London Borough of Newham; and as this borough has a severe housing, schooling and unemployment problem, what action he has taken or intends taking to prevent further immigrants entering this and similar areas.

A number of refugees have notified the Uganda Resettlement Board of their intention to go to the London Borough of Newham, in many cases to join friends and relatives there. The board, which is endeavouring to achieve the maximum dispersal of the refugees, warns all new arrivals about the problems facing those who go to areas where social facilities are under strain; but in the last resort neither the board nor the Government have powers of direction.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the prima facie evidence submitted to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North showing that some of the Ugandan Asians now resident in camps in Great Britain are taking advantage of Great Britain's hospitality within the fields for which he has ministerial responsibility in the camps provided, what action he proposes to take to change this situation.

I am not aware that the hon. Member has submitted any such evidence to us.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that homeless families in London and other cities who are given temporary half-way accommodation are compelled to move out and find their own housing after a stated period; and what action he has taken, or intends to take, to ensure that Ugandan Asians in reception centres are treated on the same basis as British-born homeless now in temporary accommodation.

Local authorities are aware that it is the Government's view that homeless families who have been provided with temporary accommodation should not be compelled to leave it unless they have suitable alternative accommodation to go to. Refugees from Uganda are similarly accommodated in resettlement centres until suitable arrangements have been made for them elsewhere.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now give further details of the actual costs incurred by the Uganda Resettlement Board; how far his estimate of £1 million per month has proved correct; what are the salaries and expenses of the chairman and members of the Resettlement Board and the wages and salaries of its staff; and whether he will publish details of the directions he has given to the board about its financial procedures.

The board's current expenditure suggests that the final cost of the resettlement centres will be within the figure which my right hon. Friend referred to. The chairman's salary is £500 a month; one other board member receives his normal Civil Service salary; the board's monthly salaries bill for headquarters staff is £7,000; and £21,000 a month is borne by the parent Departments of staff seconded to the board's headquarters. The board is required to prepare estimates of expenditure, on the basis of which my right hon. Friend will seek the approval of Parliament. For some forms of expenditure the prior authority of the Home Office is needed. The board's accounts will be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Ham, North may expect the communication promised to him on Monday, 23rd October, 1972, giving details of the number of immigrant children admitted into Great Britain since the Ugandan Asian problems.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 6th November. I will reply as soon as possible to a further letter which I received yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give details of the number of letters he has received from the general public and Members of Parliament on the subject of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda.

Since the beginning of August, some 3,000 and some 400, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give details of the proposed financial arrangements to be made by the Uganda Asian Resettlement Board to local authorities engaged in re-habilitating the Ugandan Asians and of the extent to which he or the board discussed these arrangements with the local authorities concerned or their associations.

After consulting the local authority associations, the Uganda Resettlement Board sent a letter to local authorities on 1st November, giving details of the financial assistance that will be available. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has received from the Uganda Resettlement Board that Asians are seeking to make the resettlement camps their permanent homes; and if he will make a statement.

I have received no such evidence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of Ugandan Asian British passport holders who had arrived in Great Britain on Monday, 23rd October, 1972, and on Tuesday, 24th October, 1972, respectively.

The number of Uganda Asians who had arrived by 23rd October was just under 19,000. The number who had arrived by 24th October was 19,144.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the amount of outstanding fines levied by magistrates' and Crown courts; and what steps are being taken to collect them.

The total amount of fines outstanding on 30th June, 1972, in England and Wales, outside inner London, was £7,495,932. This figure included fixed penalties and fines in respect of which the time allowed for payment had not expired. Advice has been given to justices' clerks on means of improving their fine enforcement machinery.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to form a special police squad for the protection of airports and civil aviation from the dangers of hijacking and importation of arms.

I do not think that this particular course would be appropriate. But measures against terrorism have been reviewed following recent tragedies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to magistrates on using the Children and Young Persons Act, 1969, for supervision orders to probation officers relating to older children showing behaviour problems.

None, Sir. The decision whether to make a supervision order in respect of a particular young person and the designation of the supervisor are matters for the juvenile court in accordance with its powers under the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to initiate amending legislation to enable any person who has pleaded guilty without legal advice in a magistrates' court to a first offence punishable with imprisonment to have the right of appeal against conviction.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will issue guidance to chief constables regarding the circumstances in which the police proceed against women accused of child-stealing.

The chief officer of police is responsible for deciding whether to prosecute in a particular case and it is not for me to guide him.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to amend the Offences Against the Person Act to provide for the crime of multiple rape and aiding and abetting the same with a a minimum mandatory sentence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to increase the penalty for rape, where more than one man is involved, to a minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.

No. The offences of rape and aiding and abetting rape are already punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Minimum penalties are open to considerable objections.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen were murdered in the execution of their duty in the periods 1900 to 1964 and 1964 to the latest available date.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to his Question on 26th October.—[Vol. 843, c. 361–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps designed to prevent girls being employed as mini au pairs.

If my hon. Friend will let me have particulars of cases which suggest that the existing arrangements are unsatisfactory I shall be glad to consider them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the disturbances in the prisons during the summer.

From May to September there were some 130 demonstrations affecting 41 prison establishments in England and Wales. I made it clear that governors had my full support in dealing firmly with disorders, and that order and good discipline was the only sound basis for constructive reform in prisons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the agreement reached on police pay at the biennial review on 31st October will be put into effect notwithstanding any subsequent measures requiring such pay agreements to be limited in any respect.

The operative date of the increase was 1st September and therefore, in accordance with paragraph 13 of the White Paper, it will be implemented.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the lowest rate of payment for a 19year-old police recruit and the actual pay, including rent allowance, of a married new entrant to the police force.

£1,251 a year. The rent allowance depends on the cost of housing in the locality.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are paid a tax-free rent allowance, either additional to or inclusive of their salary; how many receive a rent-free home; whether all police officers are entitled to free prescriptions, glasses and dental treatment or reimbursement of such expenses; and what are the average weekly earnings of a policeman on the beat in the country as a whole and in London, respectively.

Approximately two-thirds receive a rent allowance, which is always additional to salary; approximately one- third are provided with accommodation; all officers are entitled to the facilities described; in June, 1972, average weekly earnings were £49·70 in London and £38·50 in the rest of England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the concern felt by the Police Federation at the inadequacy of police pay, and the fact that the police on the lowest scale of £21 to £22 per week are resentful of immigrant Asians being granted as much as £28 per week in welfare benefits, whether he will take steps designed to increase the lower-paid police pay to £28 per week forthwith.

I am not aware of the police being resentful at the rates of supplementary benefit available to everyone in need in this country. As to police pay, the hon. Member will now be aware that on 31st October the Police Council concluded negotiations on the police biennial pay review and reached agreement on revised scales of pay which will be effective from 1st September, 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the British Safety Council about the setting up of a 24-hour emergency telephone service to give information about dangerous chemicals involved in road accidents; and what reply he has sent.

The Director General of the British Safety Council has written to my right hon. Friend about the need for such a service and the council's readiness to help in running it. He has been told that the Home Office is consulting the Chemical Industries Association and that guidance has already been issued by the Department about means of dealing with fires or spillages involving inflammable liquids and corrosive substances.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with representatives of the Chemical Industries Association about the setting up of a 24-hour emergency telephone service; and whether he will make a statement.

Officials in the Home Office confirmed with the Chemical Industries Association earlier this year that the association would consider the practicability of such a service. This consideration is not yet complete.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what advice is given by his Department to fire brigades about dealing with fires or spillages involving inflammable liquids, corrosive substances and dangerous chemicals involved in road accidents;(2) what advice is given by his Department to chief constables about dealing with fires or spillages involving inflammable liquids, corrosive substances and dangerous chemicals involved in road accidents.

Advice on these matters is given to fire authorities and chief officers of police by means of circulars and a published booklet, copies of which I am sending to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list the inflammable liquids, corrosive substances and dangerous chemicals which are subject to the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act, 1928.

The Act applies to several hundred substances. They are listed in the following Orders in Council, copies of which have been sent to the hon. Member:

• Petroleum (Carbide of Calcium) Order 1929 —SRO 1929/992.
• Petroleum (Mixtures) Order 1929—SRO 1929/993.
• Petroleum (Compressed Gases) Order 1930—SRO 1930/34.
• Petroleum (Inflammable Liquids and Other Dangerous Substances) Order 1947—SRO 1947/1443.
• Petroleum (Liquid Methane) Order 1957–SI 1957/859.
• Petroleum (Carbon Disulphide) Order 1958 —SI 1958/257.
• Petroleum (Corrosive Substances) Order 1970—SI 1970/1945.
• Petroleum (Inflammable Liquids) Order 1971 —SI 1971/1040.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics are kept by his Department of accidents involving the conveyance of inflammable liquids, corrosive substances and dangerous chemicals by road.

Statistics are kept of accidents involving death or personal injury from substances to which the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act, 1928, has been applied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research is being conducted by his Department into the conveyance of inflammable liquids, corrosive substances and dangerous chemicals by road.

Research into such matters as the properties of dangerous substances, the suitability of types of containers and forms of packaging, and methods of dealing with spillages is carried out at various Government establishments and by industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call a conference of those concerned with the administration of the law to discuss possible changes in the law to deal with offences of violence, particularly of the type known as mugging.

The law on offences against the person is already under review by the Criminal Law Revision Committee. Persons convicted on indictment of robbery or assault with intent to rob are now liable to imprisonment for life. Moreover, I have already asked chief officers of police for information about offences of this kind and measures taken to deal with them.For these reasons I do not consider that such a conference is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will extend the terms of his inquiry into the offences of robbery, known colloquially as mugging, to include other forms of organised violence against the person including assaults occasioning actual and grievous bodily harm, rape and attempted rape.

I have asked chief officers of police to collect and report to me factual information about the incidence in their areas of the offences colloquially called mugging. I do not think it necessary to make similar inquiries into other offences because more precise information about them is already available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to regulate the use of public offices in London by criminal and terrorist organisations.

While I shall continue to watch the situation and shall not hesitate to use my existing powers, I do not believe, for reasons I have made clear on other occasions, that on present information legislation of this kind would be appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that homeless people temporarily billeted in halfway houses have to clean their accommodation, ablutions and toilets etc.; whether the same operates with the Ugandan Asians in resettlement camps or whether as at Heathfield and Piddlehinton these duties are being undertaken by contractors; and at what costs to public funds.

Management of accommodation provided by local authorities for homeless families is a matter for those authorities.At most of the centres used by the Uganda Resettlement Board cleaning contractors have so far been employed to bring the accommodation up to acceptable standards of hygiene and cleanliness. The position is being reviewed. It is still too soon to give estimates of costs of particular items of expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details giving the date when Ronald Larby joined the police force; what action was taken to check his record and character; what progress he made in the force and on what dates; what charges and allegations were made against him and by whom; what was the result of the investigation; and whether this investigation was carried out by officers of a force independent of that in which Larby served.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause an investigation to be made into the ex parte allegation that police attacked and assaulted a 15-year-old boy in Stratford, London, E.15, on Friday evening, 27th October, details of which have been supplied to him.

I have referred the complaints to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for investigation under the Police Act, 1964.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the hon. Member for West Ham, North wrote to him on 8th August regarding allegations into police conduct in Forest Gate, E.7, and that by 2nd November, 1972, other than formal acknowledgement, no substantive reply had been received; and whether he will take some action to expedite this case and to ensure that such delays do not occur in the future.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to a Question by the hon. Member on 26th October.—[Vol. 843, c. 364.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the police to present to him their report into matters pertaining to the Real Estate Fund of America Company and its subsidiaries.

The police are submitting reports on these matters, not to my right hon. Friend but to the Director of Public Prosecutions. It is not possible to say when their inquiries will be completed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information, as contained in the communication dated 24th October, 1972, which he sent to the hon. Member for West Ham, North, in reply to his letter of 28th September, was not readily available within a few days of receipt of the original communication; why it took so long to send a reply; and whether he will expedite such replies in the future.

None of the information was readily available. There was no undue delay in obtaining the information and sending the reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Ham, North may expect a reply to his request for an investigation into a possible breaking of the law by a police officer, details of which were contained in the hon. Member's letter dated 25th October last.

DATES OF APPOINTMENT AND SALARY INCREASES OF CHAIRMAN OF
HORSERACE BETTING LEVY BOARD
Date			Salary	Percentage increase
			£	per cent.
16th November, 1967		Appointed Chairman on part-time (4 days a week) basis	4,800	—
1st September, 1968		Appointment, and salary, converted to full-time basis	6,000	Nil
1st July, 1969	…	Three stage increase in salary in the light of the recommendations of the 1969 report of the N.B.P.I. on "Top Salaries in the Private Sector and Nationalised Industries."	6,600	10
1st July, 1970	…		6,900	4·5
1st July, 1971	…		7,200	4·2
1st January, 1972	…	Increase in the light of the recommendations of the1972 report of the Review Body on Top Salaries and of the salary rates payable for comparable posts.	10,000	39
Note
The increase of salary on 1st September, 1968 did not involve any percentage increase in the rate of the salary. The increase in amount was 25 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, as a means of strengthening the Government's desire for wage and salary restraint, he will not suspend the retrospective salary award to the retiring chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board, in view of the fact that this has almost trebled since his first appointment in 1967.

My right hon. Friend has no power to do so, even if he thought it appropriate. This award gives effect to commitments entered into before the announcement on 26th September of the Government's proposals for voluntary price and pay restraint.

As soon as possible after the observations of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis have been received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the date when Lord Wigg was appointed Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the salary and the dates when his salary was adjusted upwards; and by what cash and percentage amounts in each instance, including the most recent retrospective award.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the deep concern felt by Mrs. E. Locke, of Stratford, a British-born citizen, at the failure of his Department to allow her brother to enter Great Britain, in view of the fact that the grandfather was British; and whether he will allow Mrs. Locke's brother, Mr. W. N. Hargreaves, to enter Great Britain.

On the information available to me Mr. Hargreaves, who is a citizen of India, does not qualify for settlement in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what computers are used by his Department; for what purposes; and where they are located.

The Home Office has a number of computers, some of which are operated jointly with the Metropolitan Police. They are used for payrolls, stores and other administrative services, general and criminal statistics and records, traffic tickets and related offences and for research and experimental work. Most of the installations are in the London area but some of the research and experimental work is being carried out in Birmingham and Wythenshawe.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the arrangements made for diversion of traffic in London on 31st October, 1972, on the occasion of the Opening of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

The arrangements made by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis were similar to those made in previous years. Although traffic appeared to be heavier than on previous occasions I understand that no undue delays were reported.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will investigate the use of embassies in London for the purpose of storing and distrbuting arms for terrorist activities.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave today to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham (Mr. Goodhart).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether exemption from parking restrictions in Cannon Row granted to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis under the City of Westminster (Waiting and Loading Restriction) Order applies when those cars are being used to convey their owners to and from work; and why, and under what statutory authority, such privileges are granted to police officers and not to other motorists.

The answer to the first part of the Question is "No". Accordingly the second part does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the exemption granted by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from parking restrictions to police officers when using their private cars under the City of Westminster (Waiting and Loading Restriction) Order also applies to fire brigade officers and ambulance officers; and how the two latter categories identify their cars for exemption purposes.

As I have already explained, the order provides that the restrictions shall not apply to

"vehicles when used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes".

In enforcing it the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis makes no distinction between the private vehicles of officers of the fire brigade, ambulance and police services. There is no special identification for such vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take action to ensure that the public and Members of Parliament are not kept waiting for three and four weeks to be informed that their complaints are being looked into or have been passed to other authorities; and whether he will ensure that such formal information is sent within a week or 10 days of receipt of such letters of complaint.

I do not accept the implications behind this Question. Every attempt is made to acknowledge letters on receipt. Interim replies are sent if it is clear that a substantive reply cannot be sent for some time.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to prevent intrusion into Cliftonville Cricket Ground, Belfast; and if he will make a statement.

The security forces are aware of the situation and will give it the maximum attention possible consistent with their many other commitments.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his financial proposals to assist city centre traders in Belfast.

The Government intend to bring in immediately a new scheme providing for grant assistance to city centre traders in Belfast, Londonderry and Newry. A retail business within the defined area will qualify if it can demonstrate both a substantial loss of turnover and the likelihood of an early cessation of trading as a result of the civil disturbances. Total assistance is likely to cost £1 million in a 12-month period, and will take the form of grants per employee in eligible firms, thus encouraging managements to retain staff they might otherwise have been forced to make redundant.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the total number of deaths which have taken place in Northern Ireland as a result of the current terrorist campaign up to 24th March, 1972, and from 25th March, 1972, to date, respectively.

From 1st August, 1969, to 24th March, 1972, 293 persons died as a result of terrorist activity. In the period between 25th March, 1972, and 8th November, 1972, a total of 333 people have died.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the report of the working party on Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, will be published.

Wednesday, 22nd November, 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the Patton Report on the development of the centre of Ballymena was received by the Ministry of Development, Northern Ireland; and on what date the Department's findings on that report will be published.

The report by Mr. H. A. Patton, the independent inspector who conducted the public inquiry into objections to the Ballymena town centre plan, was received by the Ministry of Development on 26th May, 1972. It is hoped that the Department's decision in relation to the objections will be issued very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will give an assurance that the results of the plebiscite to be held in the near future in Northern Ireland will be given in figures for the Province as a whole, and not split up into different areas.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his intention to divide the results of the referendum on the future of Ulster in relation to the United Kingdom into counties with an option for those counties to decide their constitutional position individually.

No. The Bill before the House provides for a poll to enable the people of Northern Ireland as a whole to make known their wishes.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish the White Paper setting out the Government's proposals for Northern Ireland.

Proposals for the future Government of Northern Ireland will be published as soon as possible after the consultations on the paper for discussion have been completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the advice tendered to him by the advisory commission will be made public, particularly advice and recommendations on draft Orders in Council, which are to be introduced into the House and which have not been debated at Stormont.

No. The attribution of assenting or dissenting views to the Commission as a whole would not be a correct reflection of the way in which it works. After listening to the often diverse views of its members, my right hon. Friend takes the necessary decisions on his own responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many houses have been allocated by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive since 24th March, 1972; and how many applicants are currently on the waiting list.

Information is not readily available for the period specified. During the three months ending 30th September, 1972, 2,083 dwellings were let by the Housing Executive.The Housing Executive is at present examining the waiting lists inherited from former housing authorities in order to eliminate duplication, and an accurate figure for the number of applicants is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the hon. Member for Down, North can expect to receive a reply to the matter of the flight of Protestant families from the Twinbrook housing estate, and the part played in their expulsion by two local officials of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

My noble Friend Lord Windlesham has written to the hon. Member explaining the position.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will publish a table of functions allocated to the district councils, to each category of area board and provincial authority, and to the regional parliament of Northern Ireland in the reorganisation of local government.

General information about the allocation of functions is given in the report of progress on the reorganisation of local government and other services, published by the Government of Northern Ireland in November, 1971. A guide to the reorganised services for the use of the general public will be published in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will end internment without trial and employ the criminal law against those involved in violent or unlawful action in Northern Ireland other than by means of the Special Powers Act.

The Detention of Terrorists (Northern Ireland) Order, 1972, which came into operation on 7th November, does away with internment by order of the Executive and creates new independent machinery to consider cases of suspected terrorists who cannot be brought before the ordinary criminal courts. This is an interim measure pending the report of the Diplock Commission which is considering changes in the administration of justice in order to bring terrorists to book.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will give a list of those persons employed in his Department or for whom he has ministerial responsibility who were on 23rd October receiving salaries or wages of £28·40 per week; what were their grades or classifications; and whether in these cases rent allowances were paid in addition to these incomes.

Details of staff who on 23rd October were earning £28·40 a week could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the sites planned for industrial development in West Belfast, and indicate the location of the planned advance factories.

Within the parliamentary constituency of West Belfast the Ministry of Commerce owns two industrial estates. At Adelaide-Balmoral some 35 acres are available for factory building; at Whiterock, preparatory siteworks are proceeding in association with the Whiterock Industrial Estates Company Limited for an estate of 12 acres. Negotiations are also proceeding with the Belfast Corporation for the acquisition of a new 20-acre estate at West Bog Meadows, and the availability of a further 20 acres suitable for factory development is being investigated.At Adelaide-Balmoral, two advance factories totalling 7,800 square metres are already available; tenders for a third are being sought. Tenders for an advance factory of 630 square metres at White-rock will shortly be invited. The Ministry of Commerce is also planning a larger factory for West Bog Meadows.In addition, the Ministry has acquired a 50-acre extension to its Dunmurry industrial estate close to West Belfast, with further advance factories available and being built.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the incidents on the border between Northern and Southern Ireland in each month of 1972; and if he will break them down to indicate their nature and give the number of casualties resulting there-from.

I have been asked to reply.Between 1st January and 31st of October, 1972, there were a total of 261 border incidents involving violence initiated by Irish Republican Army units south of the border. The totals by month were:

January	23
February	25
March	35
April	26
May	24
June	18
July	11
August	31
September	34
October	34

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will indicate the date on which a map was handed by his Department to the Irish Government showing training camps; and what official reply has been received from them in response thereto.

I have been asked to reply.Maps showing training areas and the locations of Irish Republican Army Active Service Units were handed to the Irish Government on 25th May. A number of maps have been presented to the Government of the Republic at regular intervals since the beginning of this year. The other relevant dates were 20th January, 2nd March and 20th September. Apart from an undertaking, to have them carefully studied, there has been no formal reply from the Government of the Republic. A further map was presented on 9th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will exclude any possibility of financial sanctions to the detriment of the Wallace Collection because of the trustees' decision to allow the public free access on one day weekly at a cost of some £3,000, bearing in mind that the Exchequer stands to benefit from the remaining six days' admission charges.

The arrangements under which a free day might be allowed at the Wallace Collection are still under discussion between the trustees and my noble Friend the Paymaster-General.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what were the numbers of maintained nursery schools at the latest available date.

In January, 1972, 524 in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what amount of public funds is being devoted to Fanfare for Europe; and on which Vote it will be carried.

The Government have set aside £350,000, for which parliamentary approval will be sought in due course. Of this, £250,000 is for events being organised by Lord Goodman's Committee and this sum will be borne on my Department's Vote. A sum of £100,000 has been allocated for other activities, which are being overseen by Lord Mancroft's Committee, and this money will be apportioned to the appropriate Votes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether, in view of the exceptional circumstances as explained in the communication from the Reverend Mother Prioress of the Saint Angela's Ursuline Convent School, under date of 26th October, sent to her by the hon. Member for West Ham, North, she will agree to the raising of the school-leaving age grant as awarded to be deferred until 1973–74;(2) whether, in view of the exceptional circumstances connected with the case, affecting the Saint Angela's Ursuline Convent School, raising of the school leaving age grant and its possible withdrawal, she will take action to expedite the hearing of the appeal against the compulsory purchase order by the owner of 95 Upton Lane, Forest Gate, E.7.

My right hon. Friend hopes that an early date for the public inquiry about the compulsory purchase order can be arranged. If it proves impossible to start building work before the end of March, 1973, alternative arrangements will be made to enable the project to go forward next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will give a list of those persons employed in her Department or for whom she has ministerial responsibility who were, on 23rd October, receiving salaries or wages of £28·40 per week; what were their grades or classifications; and whether, in these cases, rent allowances were paid in addition to these incomes.

It is not possible to provide the information asked for in the first part of the Question without undue cost. None of the staff of the Department receives a rent allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements she has made for compensating the national museums and galleries in the event of loss of, or damage to, objects they have lent for exhibitions arranged by the Arts Council and British Council.

It has been agreed that when a national museum or gallery makes a loan for an exhibition arranged by the Arts Council or the British Council, the Treasury will, subject to individual approval in each case, give a guarantee that parliamentary authority will be sought at the next appropriate stage in the supply procedure to make good the full extent of the financial cost of any damage or loss, without subsequent adjustment to the normal funds available to the museum or gallery and, in particular, its purchase grants. The guarantee will give the museums and galleries, subject to parliamentary approval, a full equivalent of the financial safeguard against loss or damage which could have been obtained if the Arts Council or British Council as borrowers had taken out commercial insurance.

asked the Minister of Stale for Defence what action he is taking to make the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic more secure.

I have nothing to add to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Chigwell (Mr. Biggs-Davison) on 19th October, 1972.—[Vol. 843, c. 437–8.]

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he is aware that a number of British Servicemen and their families lost part or all of their possessions in a fire in a baggage store in Malta; what compensation and other arrangements have been made; and if he will make a statement.

There was a fire on 5th October in a civilian warehouse at the Commercial Quay in Grand Harbour operated by the National Cargo Handling Co., Malta. A magistrate's inquiry is currently looking into the cause of the fire. Among the goods destroyed or damaged were 13 cases of personal effects belonging to two civilian employees of the Meteorological Office and three Royal Navy personnel who had recently been posted to Malta. All Service and civilian personnel posted abroad are advised that the Ministry of Defence accepts no liability for the safe carriage of their property in transit, and they are recommended to make their own insurance arrangements.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will give, for the latest and most convenient date, the number of Ugandan Asians who have been admitted to the armed forces since their enforced exit from Uganda commenced, and what numbers have been admitted to each branch of the forces.

To date none of the Ugandan Asians who have recently arrived in this country has been enlisted in Her Majesty's forces.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT as much detailed information as may be available giving the numbers, ranks and classification of serving men and women in the forces who were on 23rd October in receipt of incomes of £28·40 per week, or less; and whether, in these cases, rent allowances were additionally paid.

Salaries of £28·40 per week or less are paid to privates and lance corporals (and equivalents in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force), to juniors and apprentices, and to ranks up to corporal or equivalent in the Women's Services. Some of these also qualify for additional pay and allowances. Rather less than half of Service men and women at these levels are married. Those who are married and who live in rented private accommodation receive a rent allowance designed to refund to them any private rent over and above what they would pay in a Service married quarter.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will give a list of those persons employed in his Department or for whom he has ministerial responsibility who were, on 23rd October, receiving salaries or wages of £28·40 per week; what were their grades and classifications; and whether, in these cases, rent allowances were paid in addition to these incomes.

It would not be possible to provide this information without undue cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement concerning the results of the Summit as they affect the prospects for regional policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a ministerial broadcast on agreements recently made on the establishment of a Common Market regional policy.

I would refer the hon. Members to the Summit communiqué and to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 23rd October.—[Vol. 843, c. 792–814.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will now make a statement regarding the future of Shepperton Studios, in particular on the National Film Finance Corporation's report and British Lion's rôle in the proposed reorganisation;(2) if he will withhold a final decision on the future of Shepperton studios until after the matter has been debated in the House.

The decision on the future of Shepperton Studios rests with the National Film Finance Corporation. I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to a Question from the hon. Member for Putney (Mr. Hugh Jenkins) on 7th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in considering the issue of licences for exploration for oil in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf off the shores of Scotland.

The criteria under which discretionary licence applications were judged in the last licensing round in 1971 were:

(a) in the case of a company incorporated in a country outside the United Kingdom, the extent to which equitable reciprocal treatment was accorded in such other country;

(b) the extent to which the applicant would further the thorough and rapid exploration of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom Shelf, particular attention being paid to financial and technical ability of the applicant to carry out an acceptable work programme, the details of which were to be submitted;

(c) exploration work already done by or on behalf of the applicant relevant to the area applied for;

(d) the overall performance of the applicant on other production licences;

(e) the extent of the contribution which the applicant has made or is planning to make to the seconomy of the United Kingdom including the strengthening of the balance of payments and the growth of industry and employment.

Before discretionary licences were issued the applicants agreed to minimum work programmes which in the case of the last round provided for the drilling of 225 wells at a cost of over £200 million.Licensees are required by the terms of their licences to give the Government information about the progress of their exploration activity.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect that the present level of effort expended on searching for oil in the North Sea will have on the search for North Sea gas; and if he will make a statement.

Oil and gas are found in similar structures and may be mixed together. Any exploration effort therefore increases the chance of finding gas.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in view of the case of Beckett versus Cohen in reference to the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968, he will make a statement on the working of the Act.

I am considering the implications of this judgment, but in view of the possibility of an appeal I should prefer to make no statement at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent he is satisfied that the national demand for coal in 1977 will be met by production from British collieries; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his Question on coal production on 3rd November.—[Vol. 845, c. 33–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will review the licence currently held by British Air Ferries for flights from South-end to Ostend in view of the company's failure, on 25th October, 1972, to provide enough aircraft to carry out its scheduled flight plans.

This is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria he uses in deciding whether to renew licences for the commercial carriage of passengers by privately owned airlines.

WEST MIDLANDS REGION
(Schemes of 15,000 sq. ft. and over)
			Approvals
			Number	Area '000 sq. ft.	Estimated Additional Employment*	Refusals Number†
1971
August	…	…	6	140	90	1
September	…	…	9	186	140	Nil
October	…	…	9	342	360	Nil
November	…	…	14	478	220	1
December	…	…	11	445	820	1
1972
January	…	…	12	380	1,300	2
February	…	…	15	661	240	Nil
March	…	…	16	416	350	1
April	…	…	19	503	540	3†
May	…	…	21	1,369	1,560	1
June	…	…	23	931	830	Nil
July	…	…	10	593	600	2
August	…	…	11	868	830	1
September	…	…	13	639	390	Nil
* Jobs estimated by the applicants to arise when the projects are complete and fully manned.
† Details cannot be provided where fewer than three schemes are involved because of the risk of disclosing information given in confidence by firms. The three refusals in April, 1972, amounted to a total area of 65,000 sq. ft. and a total estimated additional employment of 230.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with measures being taken at airports in Great Britain to prevent possible hijacking of aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

There is close liaison between the Government and airlines which have been advised to maintain stringent security measures to combat hijacking and other acts of violence. The Government are meeting the costs of British and overseas airlines in searching their passengers and baggage at our airports and have recently completed com-

This is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications for industrial development certificates have been received in respect of the West Midlands in each month since June of this year; how many square feet of new factory space were involved; what was the job potential forecast by the applicants; and how these months compare with the previous 10 months.

The following table gives the available information:prehensive security surveys of the major British airports.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will prepare and publish a report on the impact of the breathalyser test since its inception, and make a statement thereupon.

Assessments of the effect of Part I of the Road Safety Act, 1967, up to 1970 were given in the annual report of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory for 1971, and in Road Accidents 1970, published by my department. The analysis will be brought up to date in Road Accidents 1971, which will be published about the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the statutory provisions which govern the scope of expenditure by an urban district council under Section 6 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act, 1963.

No. This would involve listing all the other powers of urban district councils to spend money, which would entail a disproportionate expenditure of time and effort. If the hon. Member has a specific problem on the scope of Section 6, perhaps he will set down a Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is aware of the delay in the review of a speed limit near Crossfield Farm Estate in Eccles on the A57; to what extent his Department is responsible for this delay; what suggestions have now been made by his Manchester office to overcome the problem; and if he will make a statement.

The answer is somewhat complicated. I am writing fully to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of applications in the county court in the greater London area by landlords seeking possession of furnished accommodation, over the last 12 months, or another convenient period.

The number of court actions for possession is available only for all tenures for England and Wales, and for London for 1970 only. In London there were 15,521 actions for possession of residential premises of all tenures in that year. Figures for England and Wales for 1970 and 1971 are published in Civil Judicial Statistics 1971 (Cmnd. 4982).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of all the roads in East Suffolk for which his Department has responsibility that are scheduled to be built, modified or rerouted within the next five years.

The following schemes to improve existing trunk roads in East Suffolk are expected to be completed within the next five years:

• A12 Wrentham to Lowestoft.
• A12 Hopton Bypass.
• A12 Ufford and Wickham Market Bypass.
• A12 Dualling at Bentley Longwood.
• A12 Dualling Lattinford Bypass.
• A12 Improvement Darsham Garage to High Street.
• A12 Wangford Bypass.
• A12 Dualling of Woodbridge Bypass.
• A12 Improvement at junction of Chevallier Street and Bramford Road, Ipswich.
• A12 Roundabout North of Bascule Bridge. Lowestoft.
• A45 Claydon Bridge Reconstruction.
• A45 Stowmarket-Needham Market-Claydon Bypass.
• A45 Dualling west of Haughley New Street to Rougham.

In addition to the above, small road improvements schemes and maintenance are continually in hand.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is aware that there are many British citizens in insanitary and inadequate housing accommodation, some in halfway houses, and some having to be split up from their families, and that this situation is prevalent in the London Borough of Newham; and whether he will arrange that such persons shall be offered accommodation at the resettlement camps in the same way and on the same basis as the Ugandan Asians.

I do not think that temporary accommodation in former Service camps is the answer to the problems that are concerning the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the communication sent to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North from Mrs. M. A. M. Hyms regarding her housing conditions and related matters, which are on a par with those confronting the Ugandan Asians, he will arrange for her to be offered the same assistance as that offered to these immigrants.

While I sympathise with Mrs. Hyms over the difficulties she has encountered since her return to England I do not think that her position is altogether on a par with that of the Uganda Asian refugees. So far as her personal case is concerned, I have nothing to add to what my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security said to the hon. Member in his letter of 27th October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy not to seek to revise the Local Government Superannuation Acts by ending the provisions that if a man through ill health or for other reasons has to take a lower-paid job, he can still pay contributions to the Superannuation Fund at the rate appropriate to the pay of his previous occupation.

My right hon. and learned Friend with the agreement of the local authority associations intends that such an employee retiring not later than 10 years after the reduction of pay should be entitled to superannuation benefits calculated on previous salary and total length of superannuable service. The employee would pay superannuation contributions based on his new, and not his previous salary.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will take steps, if necessary by legislation, to make New Year's Day a public holiday in England and Wales.

The White Paper "A Programme for Controlling Inflation: The First Stage" makes clear that the standstill applies to improvements in terms and conditions of employment, including holidays.