asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will reconsider the policy of the closure of small schools in Northern Ireland. particularly in North Down.

No change in the policy is at present contemplated.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements he is making for the carrying out of local government functions pending the local government elections.

With a few exceptions local government functions will remain with the present local authorities for the time being.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future of technical education in Northern Ireland generally and in Co. Antrim particularly.

I am confident that the new area boards for education and libraries which are to be established will fulfill their statutory duties as regards technical education in County Antrim no less than anywhere else: and that together with the Ulster College, which since 1971 is responsible for providing facilities for higher courses, they will be able to meet any reasonable demands. While individual colleges may vary in strength depending on local needs, expenditure of over £8 million on new colleges since 1968 and 100 per cent. increase in the numbers of full-time and day release students in the past 10 years indicate the important place of further education in future educational developments.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are currently being taken to protect the homes and families of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Police Reserve.

The measures taken vary from place to place and it would not be in the interests of security to disclose details.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current level of employment in the construction and agriculture industries, respectively.

The latest figures available, which relate to June 1971, are as follows:

	Construction	Agriculture
Employees	42,840	6,540
Employers and Self Employed	7,990	44,480
Total	50,830	51,020

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated total cost to the Exchequer of the military and other emergency operations since the start of the present troubles in 1969.

The cost of military operations falls on the Exchequer; the estimated extra cost of these in Northern Ireland from August 1969 to the end of March 1973 is £51 million. The Government announced in August 1971 that it would contribute up to £400,000 to an emergency relief fund; it is estimated that about £285,000 will have been paid by March 1973. Domestic expenditure in Northern Ireland, including increases arising from the troubles, is met by the Northern Ireland Exchequer.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are now detained unconvicted in Northern Ireland, other than persons awaiting trial for criminal offences and those detained pursuant to interim custody orders or detention orders under the Detention of Terrorists (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.

Apart from people recently arrested by the security forces, none.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appeals against the making of detention order under the Detention of Terrorists (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 have now been heard; and how many of them have been allowed.

Three notices of appeal have been lodged, but none has yet been heard.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requests for a cease-fire have been made to him in the last month; and what was the nature of his response.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast, East (Mr. McMaster) earlier today.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in the light of the report by Dr. Wilfred Stephens, Chief Education Officer for a London borough, a copy of which is in her possession, that since 1968 when the borough's schools went comprehensive, the number of ordinary level passes has dropped, she will initiate a review of the examination record of comprehensive schools, through Her Majesty's Inspectorate.

The first 11-plus entry to comprehensive schools in the borough has not yet taken an external examination so it is too early to draw any conclusions about the effect of comprehensive development. I therefore think it would be unwise to draw far reaching conclusions from this report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science in view of her recent official visit to a school in the London Borough of Lambeth, if she will now make a similar visit to schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

My right hon. Friend has at present no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will now seek to meet the Uganda Resettlement Board to discuss the problems of placing the children of these refugees into schools.

The placing of the children of Asian refugees from Uganda in schools is a matter for the local education authorities in whose areas they have settled.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science which national museums and galleries will be able to locate their facilities for the sale of publications in an area to which the public would not have to pay for access, and which national museums and galleries will be unable to do so.

Provided there is space in the building, it is for the authorities of each museum and gallery to decide whether they wish to sell their publications inside or outside the area for which a charge of admission is made. I understand that, as arrangements stand at present, all the national museums and galleries will sell their publications in areas to which access is free except the British Museum, the British Museum (Natural History), the Imperial War Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wallace Collection. In these cases it was decided to be impracticable to organise the charging arrangements so as to keep the publication area outside the charging points. Every effort has been made to meet the wishes of the authorities on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will request the trustees of the national museums and galleries to issue to donors of cash or works of art to any of them, of a value of £25 or above, benefactors' cards valid in perpetuity for free entrance to all of them.

This is one of the matters which can be considered when my noble Friend reviews the arrangements for charges at the end of three years. The cost of instituting a special card, which would have to be proof against transfer, would not be justifield for a small number of cases. I am also doubtful about the principle that gifts to one institution should entitle access to all. As regards the period of validity, a card issued to an individual could not of course be valid in perpetuity.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will seek to obtain and publish the names of junior schools in England and Wales, built over 90 years ago, where the children have to eat their means in another building.

No. The information could not be obtained without undue expenditure of time and effort. In the three building programmes 1972–75 over 1,500 old primary schools will be replaced.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals she now has to implement the Rothschild Report on research.

The Government's decisions on the organisation of Government

			Numbers in special schools (other than hospital schools)		Proportion per 10,000 of school population
Handicap			England	West Riding	England	West Riding
Blind	…	…	1,036	47	1·22	1·41
Partially sighted	…	…	2,020	49	2·37	1·48
Deaf	…	…	3,285	154	3·86	4·64
Partially hearing	…	…	1,967	75	2·31	2·26
Physically handicapped	…	…	9,231	276	10·85	8·31
Delicate	…	…	6,563	100	7·71	3·01
Maladjusted	…	…	6,254	63	7·35	1·90
Educationally subnormal	…	…	79,209	2,511	93·08	75·59
Epileptic	…	…	800	30	0·94	0·90
Speech defects	…	…	446	3	0·52	0·09
Total	…	…	110,811	3,308	130·21	99·59

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what new school buildings have been approved to start in East Suffolk in 1974–75.

The information is as follows:

• Lowestoft, North Gunton, Church Lane First
• Trimley, St. Mary County Primary.
• Peasenhall Primary.
• Fressingfield Controlled Primary.
• Aldeburgh Primary.
• Lowestoft, Oulton, Christmas Lane First.
• Lowestoft, North Oulton Broad Middle.
• Lowestoft, South Elm Tree Middle.
• Lowestoft, South Pakefield Middle.
• Bradwell Middle.
• Halesworth Middle.
• Claydon Secondary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the number and the proportion of children in England who are attending each type of school providing special education;(2) what is the number and proportion of children in the West Riding of Yorkshire who are attending each type of school providing special education.

The following figures relate to January 1972:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the number of children in the West Riding of Yorkshire who are in need of each type of special education and who are not yet in attendance at appropriate schools;(2) what is the number of children in England who are in need of each kind of special education and who are not yet in attendance at an appropriate school.

The numbers of children awaiting admission to special schools —other than hospital special schools—in January 1972 were:

	West Riding	England
Blind	4	122
Partially Sighted	4	205
Deaf	4	126
Partially Hearing	5	221
Physically Handicapped	29	691
Delicate	6	831
Maladjusted	52	1,790
Educationally Subnormal	285	10,761
Epileptic	1	47
With Speech Defects	3	107
Total	393	14,901

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she has considered the recommendations in the report, "Work Out of School", by Dr. Emrys Davies, which was sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Security, a copy of which is in her possession; and if she will make a statement.

I have seen the publication "Work Out of School". The employment of school children is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services and is the subject of frequent consultation between our Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in view of her responsibility for the arts, she will seek powers to ensure that children with the most exceptional ability in music and ballet have access to suitable education; and if she will make a statement.

I propose to make to the Yehudi Menuhin School for Young Musicians and the Royal Ballet School (Lower Division), which provide specialised education for small numbers of the most highly gifted children in these fields, grants for the operation of a fee remission scheme which will enable these schools to charge the fees necessary to meet their costs without debarring any child for lack of parental means. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I will lay before Parliament in the near future a draft statutory instrument for this purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters critical of Government policies on immigration have been received by his Department in the last month.

In the month ended 8th December, about 1,100.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to make the annual reports of chief constables more widely available.

This is a matter for each police authority and chief constable. I see no need to volunteer advice to them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will hold a review of the working of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, with particular reference to care and supervision orders.

My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Social Services, the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Home Secretary keep the working of the Act under review; and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services has, in particular, arranged for a follow-up of a survey of certain aspects of the working of the Act which his Department carried out in 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what length of time elapsed before the Metropolitan Police Centre Ticket Office issues form B.9/50; how many clerks are employed in dealing with this section of the office; and how often the form is sent out after the penalty has been paid.

The answer to the first part of the Question is an average of 80 days. Staff are not employed exclusively on this operation, and the second part of the Question, as also the third part, could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will initiate legislation to ban the sale of badger cubs as pets in the United Kingdom.

We have no reason to think that legislation for this purpose is needed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was spent on Piddlehinton camp, from the time the decision was taken to prepare it for Ugandan Asians until the latest available date; how many Ugandan Asians occupied it; for what period; and at what cost per head.

Piddlehinton camp was used by the Uganda Resettlement Board as a resettlement centre from 19th October to 17th November. During that time 447 refugees passed through the centre. Final figures for the costs of preparing the camp for use and operating it as a resettlement centre are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he intends to lay the local election rules before Parliament.

As early in January as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the policy of his Department towards the maintenance of adequately manned fire services where local authorities are unwilling or unable to provide the necessary public funds for recruiting sufficient personnel to meet the manpower level regarded as technically necessary by the same local authorities.

Responsibility for providing a fire brigade of sufficient size to meet efficiently all normal requirements rests with the fire authority concerned. HM inspectors provide us with information as the manner in which fire authorities discharge their functions under the Fire Services Act 1947, and we have no reason to believe, from their reports, that fire authorities are failing to carry out this responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with Portsmouth City Council on whether the present number of personnel in the city's fire service is sufficient; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has not had such consultations, but he has received advice from HM Inspector of Fire Services. We have no reason to believe that the strength of the Portsmouth Fire Brigade is insufficient to meet present requirements. I understand that the fire authority is reviewing future requirements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many major road accidents fire appliances have been involved in while on the way to emergencies this year to the latest available date; and if he will publish figures for the period 1960 to 1971.

I regret that this information is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have for the reform of the House of Lords.

None at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ugandan Asians have returned to resettlement camps, having once left them, since last August.

About 60 people have, exceptionally, been readmitted to the Uganda Resettlement Board's centres.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of Ugandan Asians in resettlement camps in Great Britain in the week ended 2nd December 1972.

On the morning of 4th December there were 10,089 refugees in the Uganda Resettlement Board's centres, compared with 10,315 on 1st December, as I told the hon. Member on 7th December.—[Vol. 847, c. 475–6.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain to what extent the resettlement of Ugandan Asians is proceeding according to the Government plans; and to what extent the housing, schooling, welfare, employment, wages, etc., compares with the indigenous population of the areas where these refugees are settling.

I am in close touch with the Uganda Resettlement Board on all matters related to the resettlement of the refugees. I do not consider that any special investigation is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now give an assurance that the inhabitants at all of the Ugandan Asian resettlement camps now have to keep their own quarters clean and tidy and that the contractors who were employed to do this have now been dismissed.

In all the Uganda Resettlement Board's centres the residents clean their own quarters. Contractors are used for certain communal areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he has not yet been able to inform the hon. Member for West Ham, North, what action he is proposing to take against a police officer, details of which are in his possession, for breaking the law.

I wrote to the hon. Member today.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Ham, North may expect a reply to his communication requesting an independent investigation into the charges and allegations that police in Newham had assaulted one of his constituents; and why the letter from the mother of Garry Mills, making the charges and allegations, was sent by his Department to the police station against which the charges were made; and whether he will make a statement.

I have written to the hon. Member. His constituent's letter was referred to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for her complaint to be investigated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give reconsideration to the request made by the constituent of the hon. Member for West Ham, North, to allow his brother, M. Amin, to enter and settle in Great Britain.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 30th November explaining that it was open to this applicant to exercise his right of appeal against the decision of the entry certificate officer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Chief Petty Officer Lo Wai Yu, who has served 20 years in the Royal Navy and has a job to go to in Great Britain on retirement from the Royal Navy, has been refused permission to settle in this country; and whether he will review this case.

Chief Petty Officer Lo Wai Yu has not been refused permission to settle in this country. He has made an application for naturalisation which has not been granted. It will be open to him to apply for settlement when he completes his service with the Royal Navy. Any application he may then make will be most carefully and sympathetically considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Girdhar Masrani, a Ugandan citizen. has been held in Pentonville Prison.

Mr. Masrani was refused admission and detained because he came here for settlement without an entry clearance and was unable to make out a case for admission under the immigration rules. He has been moved to Greenham Common resettlement centre.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable of the Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary on his refusal to supply Prisoner T. Brett with details of Sergeant Ward's police detention sheet.

The supply of information from police records is a matter for the chief constable, who has, I understand, arranged for some details to be supplied through the force prosecuting solicitor.The hon. Member is mistaken in supposing Mr. Ward to be a police officer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received the communication dated 2nd December 1972 from the hon. Member for West Ham, North, regarding approaches to the Greater London Council concerning Government action to relieve the congestion of London traffic; and whether he will make a statement in connection with the same.

There is nothing I can usefully add to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member's Question on 7th December.—[Vol. 847, c. 488.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has further evidence of the source from which the Warsaw Pact country-made rocket launchers were supplied to the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House on 7th December, we formally asked the Soviet Embassy on 6th December for the cooperation of the Soviet authorities in establishing the channel of supply of the rockets. The embassy was given full details including details of markings. The Soviet Embassy undertook to report the request, and I very much hope that the co-operation of the Soviet authorities will he forthcoming.—[Vol. 847, c. 1668.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the visit of the Nigerian Commissioner for External Affairs to the United Kingdom.

Dr. Arikpo visited the United Kingdom as the guest of Her Majesty's Government from 28th November until 3rd December. This was part of the continuing series of exchanges at ministerial level between our two Governments in which my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Overseas Development visited Nigeria earlier this year. My right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary plans to go there early in 1973 and we hope that thereafter General Gowon will visit this country. We had a full and friendly discussion with Dr. Arikpo on all the principal matters which affect our relations. The Commissioner also had talks with my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Defence, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Minister for Overseas Development.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the visit of the Prime Minister of Quebec to the United Kingdom.

The Premier of Quebec came to this country to fulfil business engagements on behalf of the Government of Quebec. My right hon. Friend was pleased to have the opportunity of a talk with Mr. Bourassa when he called on my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at No. 10 Downing Street.

was also the guest of honour at a lunch given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at which my noble Friend Lady Tweedsmuir was host.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate the question of safety in aircraft.

I share my hon. Friend's concern that the high standards of air safety in this country should be maintained. It was for this reason amongst others that the Civil Aviation Authority was set up to draw together the various aspects of safety regulation. The authority is fully alive to the importance of this aspect of its work. I do not, therefore, consider that there is a need for a Royal Commission on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is aware that several trades unions at their Whitsun, Easter and Summer annual conferences decided to raise their union subscriptions for their members from the start of the New Year; and as these actions were taken before the introduction of the counter-inflation legislation, whether he will allow the new subscriptions to be paid from 1st January.

I know that certain unions have been considering subscription increases. Whether trade union subscriptions come within the provisions of the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act depends on whether the unions are to be regarded as operating in the course of business as defined in the Act. I am advised that trade unions operating as such will usually not be operating in the course of business and will therefore be outside the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a table showing the royalty charges on oil in each oil producing country; and if he will indicate in each case when the charge was increased and by how much.

The information in the form sought is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Royalty rates vary not only between countries but between contracts in individual countries; and different methods are used for assessing the value on which they are charged.Following are the ranges of rates in force in certain countries in 1972:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now state when he expects to issue the International Management and Engineering Group report.

Before the end of the month.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is satisfied that a move to the European Coal and Steel Community basing points pricing system, in such a manner as to offer no net accretion of profitability to the British Steel Corporation or to the private steel sector, on 1st January is in conformity with the provisions of the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act; and if he will make a statement.

The standstill applies to steel prices and I expect United Kingdom steel producers to adopt the ECSC pricing system only when it ends.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what will be the cost to public funds of subsidies to preserve employment and to cover losses incurred as a result of special agreements with the electricity generating board to burn extra coal in Scotland per ton of coal mined in Scotland; and what proportion of the average prices realised for coal produced in Scotland during the latest available calendar year this will represent.

Arrangements for the burning of additional quantities of coal by the South of Scotland Electricity Board have not yet been finalised, and I am not in a position to assess their cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to participate in National Tree Planting Year 1973.

I propose to launch Tree Planting Year at a Press conference on Wednesday, 3rd January.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state, for each of the last 10 years, the average local authority rent level and the average sale price of new and secondhand houses.

Information on local authority rents for the last ten years is contained in Supplementary Table XXX of Housing and Construction Statistics No. 1.Average prices of new private dwellings mortgaged with building societies in the years 1963–71 in Great Britain and of secondhand dwellings mortgaged

in the years 1967–71 in the United Kingdom are given respectively in Tables 3 and 38 of

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment by what amount the last estimate of £2·2 million for the construction of the underground car park in New Palace Yard has already been exceeded; and by what date the car park is now expected to be completed.

The estimate has not been exceeded; and I hope that the work will be completed early in 1974.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if lie will list the names and professions of members so far appointed by him to rent scrutiny boards in each area, and state the proportion who are estate agents, chartered surveyors, solicitors or barristers and the proportion of board chairmen from these professions.

No, Sir. An up-to-date list of all rent assessment panel members, including those appointed under section 51(1) of the Housing Finance Act 1972, giving their qualifications, is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why, in one region, four valuers, surveyors and lawyers have been appointed by him to the rent scrutiny board, compared with three laymen.

The responsibility for the selection of rent scrutiny board members rests with rent assessment panel presidents and not with the Secretary of State.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he is not appointing any councillors to sit on the rent scrutiny boards.

My right hon. and learned Friend does not regard membership of a rent scrutiny board as compatible with service as a councillor.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the demolition by Bradbury Construction of the thousand-year-old barn at Nether Padley, Derbyshire.

I am investigating the circumstances in which this late medieval barn was demolished.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in the light of the recent fatal accident on the A27 outside Boundstone comprehensive school, he will authorise the imposition of a 30 m.p.h. traffic speed limit in the area.

No, I much regret the recent fatal accident, but a 30 m.p.h. limit would be quite unrealistic and not an effective solution. I am however arranging for a pelican crossing to be installed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the importance of expediting the development of the advanced passenger train, he will make some additional finance available to the British Railways Board to ensure that this development work is given the maximum priority.

Research and development is continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the map to be published annually showing the motorway and the trunk road programme, he will distinguish between the two types of road, in view of the distinction between a special road and an all-purpose road which affects the operation of certain classes of motor vehicles.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what instructions rent officers have received with regard to the phasing of rent increases registered under the Rent Act 1958 after the 90-day freeze period.

Rent officers have been fully advised of the contents of the Counter-Inflation (Rents) (England and Wales) Order 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the arrangements for increasing rents during the period of the freeze; and if he will make a statement.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses were sold in East Suffolk during the third quarter of 1972.

Local authorities in East Suffolk reported selling 36 council houses during the quarter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of housing starts in both the public and the private sectors in East Suffolk during the third quarter of each year since 1965.

The numbers reported are as follows:

DWELLINGS STARTED, EAST SUFFOLK
	Public sector*	Private sector
Third quarter of:
1965	115	547
1966	225	607
1967	227	527
1968	12	639
1969	166	466
1970	58	448
1971	72	546
1972	74	626
*Local authorities, housing associations and, from 1st January 1967, Government Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, as part of his consideration of the redevelopment of Parliament Square, he will ascertain approximate numbers of persons passing through or under the Square on a weekday by the following modes, foot, cycle, taxi, bus, private cars, and underground; and if he will make a statement.

Traffic flows in Parliament Square are one of the many considerations affecting the redevelopment of the area and studies are at present being carried out into this aspect. I am not yet ready to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will include in the criteria used in assessing the need for a zebra crossing representations made by local councillors, church organisations, community councils and associations, other voluntary bodies and individuals.

No, the criteria are objective, but such factors are taken into account.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the environmental aspects to be considered in determining whether a zebra crossing is justified.

Safety is the main environmental aspect taken into account. Other environmental considerations include old people's homes, communities severed by main roads and the special problems of seaside towns.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will include in the criteria used in assessing the need for a zebra crossing the circumstance where a large number of elderly people in an old people's home and elderly people's dwellings are separated from a major shopping centre by a main road.

This is already included.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into all matters pertaining to the speed-up of road traffic in general and London and the major cities in particular.

No.

asked the Lord President of the Council if, with a view to improving the medical services for Members of Parliament, he will introduce a chiropody service in the House of Commons.

No. The medical facilities in the House were considered in detail by the Services Committee only last year, and it decided that no changes needed to be made. It will, however, keep the matter under review.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he is now able to inform the House of the Government's conclusions regarding the Fifth Report of the Select Committee on Science and Technology.

The Government have considered the Select Committee's Fifth Report. The Population Panel is due to report by about the end of the year. The Government do not believe that any useful purpose would be served by their commenting on the issues raised by the Fifth Report of the Select Committee until the panel has reported and the Government have considered its conclusions and recommendations. At that stage there will be an obvious opportunity for a serious and wide-ranging discussion.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is aware that there has recently been a reduction in the home help service in the Kettering area of Northamptonshire, in some cases from four hours to three hours and in others from three hours to two hours per week; and whether he will take steps to restore the service to its previous level.

I am informed that the number of home helps employed by Northamptonshire County Council has increased by 14 per cent. in the current financial year, but owing to sudden large upsurge in demand the amount of help given to a small number of existing cases has had to be reduced slightly. Many more people are however now getting a service previously unavailable to them. Recruitment of additional staff is a matter for the council.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for the early detection of kidney disease in groups at high risk, before irreversible damage has been done.

We have no such plans at present. I understand that a number of expert committees are studying problems of kidney damage including the possibility of preventive measures in certain cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the operation of Section 1 of the Act that allows a parent to remove a child in care at will and then return it to care; and whether he will review the circumstances surrounding this section of the Act.

I assume that the Question relates to Section 1 of the Children Act 1948. I am not aware of any need for a general review of the operation of this provision at present, but I have noted the relevant recommendations of the Departmental Committee on the Adoption of Children.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will investigate the extent to which local authorities are carrying out their obligation to provide temporary accommodation to homeless families with children; and if he will make a statement on the present position.

I am satisfied that local authorities generally are seeking to discharge their responsibilities in this respect, but following the recent reports of the joint working parties on the position in London and South-West England I am discussing with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and representatives of local authorities what steps should be taken to improve the arrangements for accommodating homeless families with children.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will ascertain and publish the number of children who are currently in the care of local authorities as a result of homelessness; and how many of these have been in care for over two months.

I regret that this information could not at present be obtained without special inquiry; I am considering what additional information might be sought in the annual returns which local authorities will be asked to submit after 1974. The available information, based on provisional figures, is that 2,988 children whose families were homeless were recorded by local authorities in England and Wales as received into care in the year ending 31st March 1972. Present returns do not show what other factors may also have been present in these cases, or the length of stay in care.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to provide money to set up additional clinics throughout the country for those persons wishing to give up smoking; and if he will make a statement.

Hospital authorities and local health authorities are able to set up additional clinics if they so wish. My Department is at present studying the efficacy of such clinics and is comparing the various methods used and the results obtained to determine whether to encourage the setting up of further clinics.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what are the average salaries of a pre-registered house officer in the hospital service and a senior house officer in the hospital service, respectively;(2) what are the average weekly hours worked in the hospital service by pre-registered house officers and senior house officers, respectively;(3) what extra payments are allowed to pre-registered and senior house officers in the hospital service and what payments there are for night, weekend or holiday periods.

The salary scale for a house officer is £1,749-£2,025; a provisionally registered house officer may not proceed beyond the first incremental point —£1,887. The scale for a senior house officer is £2,280-£2,634. Hospital doctors do not work fixed hours; but junior and intermediate grades are entitled to minimum periods of time off under the conditions specified in their terms of service and, if these are encroached on, extra duty allowances are payable at rates determined on the advice of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration. The rates for house officers and senior house officers respectively are at present £6·50 and £8½40 per unit of minimum off-duty time lost. Information about average salaries and hours is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, how many

TABLE A—SUPPLEMENTARY ALLOWANCES ISSUED INITIALLY FOR A LIMIT ED PERIOD SINCE 16TH MAY 1972
				Appeals to Tribunals
Statistical Period	Allowances limited initially to maximum of four weeks	Number of allowances renewed at end of four weeks	All refusals	Claimant successful	Claimant unsuccessful
17th May 1972 to 20th June 1972 (5 weeks)	778	20	15	Nil	Nil
21st June 1972 to 18th July 1972 (4 weeks)	1,167	36	21	Nil	3
19th July 1972 to 22nd August 1972 (5 weeks)	1,954	92	50	Nil	4
23rd August 1972 to 19th September 1972 (4 weeks)	1,200	87	39	Nil	Nil
20th September 1972 to 24th October 1972 (5 weeks)	1,514	83	35	2	11

TABLE B—SUPPLEMENTARY ALLOWANCES REVIEWED AFTER THREE MONTHS
				Appeals against cessation of Benefit
Statistical Periods†			Allowances on which a limit of a further four weeks benefit was imposed*	Claimant successful	Claimant unsuccessful
22nd March 1972 to 20th June 1972	…	…	310	Nil	Nil
21st June 1972 to 19th September 1972	…	…	333	Nil	4
*The total number of cases reviewed after three months is not recorded.
The figures in this column include cases where claims terminated before the end of the four weeks or were renewed.
† Quarterly Returns.

TABLE C—CUMULATIVE TOTALS OF SUPPLEMENTARY ALLOWANCES ISSUED FOR LIMITED PERIODS OCTOBER 1968 TO OCTOBER 1972
Awards made initially for four weeks at outset of claim	252,987
Awards reviewed after three months and at that point limited to a further four weeks (to 19th September 1972)	15,144
Allowances extended at end of four weeks without appeal	10,992
Appeals against curtailment of allowances:
Claimant successful	411
Claimant unsuccessful	2,486

In England 5,086 and in Wales 337 as at September 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, for each month since 16th May 1972, how many unemployed persons have had their entitlement to a supplementary allowance terminated after, respectively, four weeks and three months; how many have had their application for a renewal of their allowance accepted and how many have had it refused during each of these months; how many have appealed successfully and how many unsuccessfully; and what is the cumulative total to date since July 1968 in each of these categories.

Following are the figures requested in so far as they are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will specify the average effect of the proposed tax credit scheme on the income of retirement pensioners who are, respectively, in receipt of a supplementary pension, and receiving a retirement pension plus, respectively, £0·01–£1·99, £2–0·99, £4–£5·99, £6–£7·99, and £8 or more, giving the information separately for single persons and married couples, and specifying the number of households in each income category, both single and married.

I regret that information in the form requested is not available. For a single retirement pensioner with standard

Date Rule Reapplied			Office
			LONDON NORTH REGION
19th October 1972	…	…	Bedford, Hertford, Luton, St. Albans, Stevenage, Watford.
			LONDON SOUTH REGION
5th May 1972	…	…	Bognor, Brighton (2 offices), Bromley, Crawley, Croydon, Crystal Palace, Guildford, Hove, Kingston, Lewes, Morden, Orpington, Redhill, Surbiton, Sutton, Thornton Heath, Wimbledon, Woking, Worthing.
10th July 1972	…	…	Battersea, Dover, Eastbourne, Folkestone, Hastings, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Wandsworth.
			LONDON WEST REGION
10th April 1972	…	…	Aldershot, Harlesden, Hounslow, Twickenham.
19th April 1972	…	…	Newport Pagnell, Reading, Slough, Uxbridge, Wembley.
24th April 1972	…	…	Southall.
1st May 1972	…	…	Fareham, High Wycombe, Newbury.
8th May 1972	…	…	Harrow.
31st May 1972	…	…	Bournemouth.
12th June 1972	…	…	Portsmouth.
26th June 1972	…	…	Oxford.
10th July 1972	…	…	Acton, Chelsea, Ealing, Hampstead, Holborn-Finsbury, Kensington, Kensington and Chelsea North, Paddington, St. Marylebone, St. Pancras, Westminster.
19th October 1972	…	…	Aylesbury, Banbury, Basingstoke, Havant, Newport (I.O.W.), Southampton (2 offices), Winchester.
			SOUTH WESTERN REGION
12th May 1972	…	…	Bridgwater, Exeter (excluding Okehampton Employment Exchange Area), Gloucester, Poole, Salisbury, Stroud, Swindon, Taunton. Trowbridge, Weston-super-Mare, Yeovil.
16th June 1972	…	…	Bath.
20th July 1972	…	…	Bristol (4 offices).
31st July 1972	…	…	Cheltenham.
…	…	…	WEST MIDLANDS REGION
8th May 1972	…	…	Kidderminster.
16th May 1972	…	…	Dudley.
22nd May 1972	…	…	Brierley Hill, Hereford.
24th May 1972	…	…	Worcester.
10th July 1972	…	…	Redditch, Wolverhampton (2 offices).
17th July 1972	…	…	Newcastle (Staffs.).
1st August 1972	…	…	Stoke-on-Trent (2 offices).
7th August 1972	…	…	West Bromwich, Smethwick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the total number of single, separated, divorced or widowed mothers dependent

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services at which offices throughout the country the four-week rule limiting supplementary benefit for the unemployed is now being applied; and at what date it was reapplied in each of these areas.

The following is the information at 24th October 1972:on supplementary benefit, and the total number in each category, respectively, not dependent on supplementary benefit, but earning less than £8 a week and earning £8 a week or more.

The numbers in the respective categories receiving supplementary benefit in November 1971 were as follows:

single mothers	62,000
separated mothers	103,000
divorced mothers	42,000
widowed mothers	26,000

Excluding widows with national insurance widows' benefits, it is estimated that the total number of single, separated, divorced or widowed mothers not receiving supplementary benefit at that time was about 190,000. Of these some 60,000 virtually none of whom were in full-time work, are estimated from the Family Expenditure Survey to have been earning less than £8 a week and 130,000 are estimated to have been earning £8 a week or more. We have no reliable breakdown of these figures within the particular categories mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further discussions he intends to have with representative organisations on requirements relating to the recognition of occupational pension schemes and the preservation of pension rights.

We hope to discuss with representative organisations the detailed use to be made of the regulation-making powers we are seeking in both these connections under the Social Security Bill. To this end, a document has been prepared in my Department setting out the relevant regulation-making powers and indicating the way in which they might be used, subject to parliamentary approval. Copies have been sent to the Trades Union Congress, the Confederation of British Industry and the main pensions organisations; and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Prime Minister if he is now in a position to say when he will make an official visit to Birmingham.

I hope to visit Birmingham in February 1973 for the ceremony marking the start of the work on the National Exhibition Centre.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the representations made to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North, and residents of the London Borough of Newham seeking the appointment of a Minister for Immigration, he will now appoint such a Minister.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 30th November.—[Vol. 847, c. 616–17.]

asked the Prime Minister whether he has received any response from the Trades Union Congress to his offer to have continuing talks on the economy.

asked the Prime Minister when he proposes to resume talks with the Trades Union Congress.

My hon. Friend and the hon. Gentleman will have seen reports that the General Council of the TUC is to consider next week a recommendation from its Economic Committee that it should seek a meeting with me. As I have told the House, I am willing to resume talks at any time.—[Vol. 847, c. 387.]

asked the Prime Minister what plans he has for meeting the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, separately or together, in the first quarter of 1973.

I am ready at any time to meet the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress either separately or together, but there are no arrangements for such a meeting at present.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent meeting with the Nigerian Commissioner for External Affairs.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent official meeting with the Nigerian Minister for External Affairs.

I had a friendly and constructive talk with Dr. Arikpo on 30th November. The talks were confidential, but I expressed to Dr. Arikpo the hope that General Gowon would come here in 1973.

asked the Prime Minister if he will now seek to pay an official visit to Bangladesh.

I have no plans at present for such a visit.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the reports he has received of the meetings between the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Trade and Industry and the Scottish Council (Development and Industry).

My right hon. Friends met representatives of the Scottish Council, Development and Industry on 1st and 8th December respectively. The Scottish Council explained its views on the economic situation in Scotland and on future developments in the steel industry there. My right hon. Friends undertook to ensure that the council's views on these matters were considered by the Government.

asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 29th November.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to a similar Question from the hon. Member for Wandsworth, Central (Mr. Thomas Cox) on 7th December.— [Vol. 847, c. 502.]

asked the Prime Minister what future official discussions he has arranged with the Leader of the Greater London Council.

I expect to meet Sir Desmond Plummer on several occasions in the near future, but I have at present no arrangements for official discussions with him.

asked the Prime Minister what periodicals are taken by his official library at No. 10 Downing Street.

A large number of official publications and other periodicals which are relevant to the work of my office.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is proposed that a gift should be presented on behalf of the House of Commons to the Parliament of Western Samoa to mark their tenth anniversary of independence.

No gift was made by the House of Commons to the Parliament of Western Samoa when Western Samoa became independent on 1st January 1962, because Western Samoa did not apply at that time to join the Commonwealth. Following Western Samoa's accession to the Commonwealth in August 1970, it seems appropriate to mark the occasion of independence by the presentation of a Mace to the Parliament of Western Samoa. I am sure that the whole House will wish to offer to Western Samoa its best wishes for the future.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make an official visit to Bournemouth and Christchurch.

I have at present no plans to do so.