asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has of a connection between recent rises in food prices and actions taken by either food retailers or food manufacturers; and if he will make a statement.

The food industry is co-operating fully with the Government and I am satisfied that every effort is being made to avoid price increases during the standstill period.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many complaints about price rises have been made to his Department since June 1970.

About 7,850.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what increase has taken place in retail food prices between July 1970 and November 1972; and what estimate he has made of the impact of the Programme for Controlling Inflation, Command Paper No. 5125, and policies inherent in the First Stage, on retail food prices, during the first quarter of 1973.

As to the first part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton) and others. As to the second part, I would refer him to the reply which I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Bothwell (Mr. James Hamilton).

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will consider making awards to organisations who notify him of illegal price increases.

No.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decisions have been reached about prices for manufactured milk products in 1973; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend made on 27th November in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Oswestry (Mr. Biffen).—[Vol. 847, c. 35–6.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many complainants to the present price monitoring body have so far expressed their satisfaction at the action taken on their behalf; and what proportion that is of the total.

Where investigation is complete, food price increases were considered to be outside the terms of the standstill in about 5 per cent. of the cases, and traders have reduced those prices. I conclude that those complainants are satisfied. I have no reason to doubt that the great majority of other complainants believe that the inquiries have been satisfactorily carried out.

Fisher asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what item of food has given rise to the largest number of complaints received by the Ministry's prices unit in the Midlands.

Coffee.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he intends to take to ensure the supply of cheaper beef.

Increased supplies of imported chilled beef have followed the Government's suspension of the tariff. Our national beef herd is expanding rapidly under the policies of this Government, and extra beef is the only way to contain prices. But it cannot be produced quickly to meet the present strong demand for beef which is world-wide.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why poultry food in pellet form has increased in price over the past two weeks, and what that increase has been in percentage terms to the small user buying less than one hundredweight.

The prices of processed animal feedingstuffs were increased because of the considerable rise in the costs of raw materials. I understand that the average percentage increase in pelleted poultry feeds was of the order of 5 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the average percentage increase in the price of fertiliser and feeding stuffs to the agriculture industry in 1972 to date.

The price of most fertilisers was increased by 7½ per cent. from 1st October 1972. The price for all types of feedingstuffs show a rise of 9 per cent. between December 1971 and October 1972.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what have been the increases in the price of bacon and eggs during the period of the wages standstill.

There has been no change in the first-hand prices of bacon produced in the United Kingdom but those of imported bacon have risen by amounts ranging from £14 to £35 a ton and as a result there have been small increases in retail prices in some shops. Egg prices have shown seasonal increases of the order of 3p-4p a dozen at the firsthand level and rather less at the retail level.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes there have been in the food retail price index in the second and third quarters of 1972; and what were the comparable figures for 1971.

The percentage changes in the Food Index were as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action has been taken against those in breach of the prices and incomes standstill.

In those few cases where food price increases were considered to be outside the terms of the standstill, manufacturers or traders have been called on to reduce them and have done so.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further discussions he plans to have with leaders of the retail food trade about the operation of the arrangements for restraining increases in food prices.

I have had a number of such meetings since 6th November and my officials continue to maintain close contact with the retail food trade.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many meetings have been held with the National Farmer's Union about his intentions concerning the effect of the operation of restrictive practice legislation on that body; when discussions first began; how often meetings are held; and when he expects the discussions to end.

Five meetings have been held, at irregular intervals, since July last year. Further developments are linked with the Government's review of agricultural marketing.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the wheat denaturing premium.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the grain trade will be given the information about allowances under European Economic Community regulations for incorporating and/or denaturing wheat for animal feed after 1st February 1973.

We are still negotiating with the Community but, whatever the outcome, my right hon. Friend is satisfied that denaturing operations will prove profitable.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will give an assurance that the agricultural chemicals approval scheme will remain unaltered following accession to the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.

The Community has no current or proposed measures governing the efficiency of agrochemicals; and if there were to be any developments of that kind we should expect to play a very full part in shaping them. Meantime our agricultural chemicals approvals scheme will continue as hitherto.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is now in a position to announce forthcoming changes in the Hops Marketing Board, arising from Great Britain's accession to the European Economic Community on 1st January 1973.

No changes are at present under discussion.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking with regard to the size of the national sheep breeding flock.

My right hon. Friend will be considering what steps may be necessary in the context of the annual review.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will bring in legislation to establish a central hygiene service for meat both for export and for home consumption.

No. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given him on 17th October to a similar Question.—[Vol. 843, c. 1.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set up an inquiry to investigate and report on conditions in workers' houses managed by the Forestry Commission on a national basis.

My right hon. Friend is not aware of any need for an inquiry. If the hon. Member has particular cases in mind, perhaps he would write to me or to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the increase necessary in the size of the pig herd to produce 50 per cent. of British bacon requirements and maintain the present level of other pig meat products.

United Kingdom pig slaughterings in the first seven months of 1972–73 would have had to be some 3·6 per cent. higher to provide enough home-produced pigmeat to supply 50 per cent. of our total bacon supplies as well as the same level of home-produced pigmeat for pork and other pigmeat products.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the Ministry charge to the farmer for licensing a bull in 1971; and what is the charge by the Ministry and recommended charge for veterinary officers under the present scheme.

In 1971, the licence fee was £2·75. Under the new arrangements introduced earlier this year the Department's fee is £1 and the fee recommended by the British Veterinary Association for inspection by a member of the Veterinary Panel is £7; this is reduced to £5 for a second or subsequent bull inspected at the same time on the same premises.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to regulate the catching power of the British inshore fleet, whether by numbers or by some other means; and if he will make a statement.

None, Sir. Measures already in force, which regulate types of fishing gear used, sizes of fish landed, and which impose closed seasons and closed areas are considered to be quite sufficient at present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will pay an official visit to Carmarthenshire to meet dairy farmers.

My right hon. Friend will try to meet as many farmers in as many parts of the country as he can, but he has no immediate plans to visit Carmarthenshire. As the hon. Gentleman will know, his responsibilities in Wales are shared with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement about Dutch elm disease.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Handsworth (Mr. Sydney Chapman) on 8th December.—[Vol. 847, c. 537–9.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of the United Kingdom's total requirements for timber is met by home production.

Between 7 per cent. and 8 per cent. according to the latest available statistics.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement regarding the fish conservation agreement which he has signed as a member of the North-West Atlantic Fisheries Commission.

An agreement comes into force on 1st January limiting catches of cod and certain other species in most parts of the convention area. It is the first large-scale use of this highly effective form of conservation, and Her Majesty's Government welcomes it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with the West German Government regarding the Icelandic fisheries dispute upon the 50-mile limit.

Officials of the Federal German Government visited the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 8th December for discussions, and officials of my Department were present. This was one of a continuing series of exchanges with the Federal Government.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his discussions with the National Farmers' Union on 23rd November, on ways in which the union's code of practice for straw burning can be made more effective, with the aim of avoiding risks of damage or nuisance and of preserving the wild life of the countryside.

The meeting called by the National Farmers' Union was attended by representatives of several Government Departments and of a wide range of other organisations, including those concerned with farming, the Fire Service, and the amenity and wild life of the countryside. There was general agreement that there would be little risk of damage or nuisance if straw and stubble burning was carried out according to the advice in the Union's code of practice, and that more should be done to bring this advice to the notice of those concerned and to pursuade them to follow it. Suggestions were also made for some improvements in the code. The Union, in consultation with my Department and others, will now be considering ways to revise the code and to improve the publicity for it, in order to make it more effective. The union is also to set up a working party to consider alternative means of disposing of and using straw, and my Department will be keeping in close touch with these studies.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date deficiency payments will cease to be payable to cereal growers and meat producers, respectively.

It is not possible to forecast the dates at this stage.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what special steps he is taking to ensure that oil companies operating in the North Sea pay British tax on profits made.

Profits made by such companies are already liable to United Kingdom tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he is giving to future corporation tax policy in order to ensure that companies extracting oil from the North Sea do not evade paying sums to the Treasury.

My right hon. Friend is well aware of suggestions that oil companies may not pay corporation tax at the full rate on their North Sea profits, but he has no statement to make.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the British contributions to, and receipts from, the European Economic Community Budget in 1973 on the assumption that the exchange rate for the pound sterling is fixed at its present international value.

The estimates of Community Budget contributions and receipts in the Public Expenditure White Paper, to be laid before Parliament today, were prepared using the declared sterling parity. While any change in the fixed parity would adjust the figures, any particular calculation such as my hon. Friend asks would be hypothetical.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he agreed to the European Economic Community Budget figure of £1,850 million for 1973 having regard to the fact that the White Paper, Command Paper No. 4715, estimated that the Budget would be £1,400 million in 1973 and would rise to only £1,600 million by 1977.

The Community budget for 1973, as finally adopted, totals about 4,250 million units of account (£1,770 million). The figure of £1,850 million relates to an earlier draft of the Budget, before it was agreed that certain agricultural expenditure should be transferred to a supplementary 1972 budget.To obtain a true comparison with the estimate in Command 4715 of a budget of £1,400 million on which our actual contribution would be based, a number of factors have to be taken into account. The total of 4,250 million units of account includes 170 million units of account which will be financed by the original member States, 47 million units of account which will be covered by miscellaneous receipts, and 250 million units of account for repayments to member States in respect of collection costs of levies and duties. This produces a figure of 3,783 million units of account at mid-1973 prices, equivalent to £1,576 million using an exchange rate of £1=2·4 units of account.Allowing for the different price basis, this compares very closely with the Command 4715 estimate of £1,400 million at 1971–72 prices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he estimates to be the loss to the revenue if employees' contributions to the reserve pension scheme proposed in the Social Security Bill were allowed tax relief in the same manner as contributions to occupational pension schemes.

Approximately £25 million, on the assumptions made by the Government Actuary in his report on the financial provisions of the Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he expects the present trends to higher interest rates to have on his plans for steady growth of the economy at 5 per cent., industrial investment and money supply; and if he will make a statement.

The recent rise in short-term interest rates will help to moderate the expansion of money and credit to rates consistent with the 5 per cent. per year growth in the economy which our policies are designed to achieve.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that the deputy chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise has informed Littlewoods Pools that value added tax will not apply to football pools agents with over £5,000 per annum income, if he will take steps to ensure that those local offices that have given contrary advice to manufacturers' agents make an appropriate correction.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18th December to a Question by the hon. Member for Heywood and Royton (Mr.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether value added tax will be chargeable on the use of hire cars; and whether on travelling time and on waiting, respectively.

The charge for the use of a hire car, inclusive of all charges for travelling or waiting time, will be subject to the standard rate of value added tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for each individual nationalised industry, the total sums paid out from the date of nationalisation in writing off operational costs.

Details of capital debt and revenue deficits written off since 1946 are as follows:of the loss of revenue arising from the increase in the housekeeper and dependant relative allowance to £100 and the blind person allowance to £120.

If the hon. Member means the increases announced in connection with the unified system of tax, in which the blind person's allowance is provisionally put at £130, the costs are negligible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many orders, to the latest convenient date, the Royal Mint has received for the proof issue of the Silver Wedding crown piece.

Up to 8th December orders had been received for about 90,000 pieces.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many orders from overseas customers to the latest convenient date the Royal Mint has received for the souvenir sterling issue of coinage.

Up to 8th December orders had been reecived for about 180,000 sets.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many orders from the United Kingdom to the latest convenient date the Royal Mint has received for the souvenir sterling issue of coinage.

Up to 8th December orders had been received for about 200,000 sets.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a general direction to the Bank of England to ensure trade union recognition.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by what amount he estimates wages in the United Kingdom would increase on the basis of a payment of a guaranteed minimum of £20 a week for a full week's work and on the assumption of no consequential rise in other wages and the maintenance of present levels of employment; and what would be the estimated savings to taxpayers and ratepayers from family income supplements and other subsidies of all kinds.

A guaranteed minimum of £20 for a working week excluding overtime, given these assumptions, would cost between £15 and £16 million per week or a little over 2 per cent. of the total United Kingdom wage and salary bill.It is estimated that the savings to taxpayers from family income supplement would be approximately £100,000 a week. I regret that information is not available about savings from other subsidies.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions and convictions there were during 1970, 1971 and 1972 under the provisions of the Factories Act.

In 1970, 2,940 informations or complaints were heard under the provision of the Factories Act 1961 and there were 2,749 convictions. The corresponding figures for 1971 were 3.058 and 2,885 and the figures up to the 1st December 1972 are 3,250 and 3,047.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment in what proportion of successful or settled claims for industrial injuries based on breach of statutory duty a prosecution under the Factories Act was instituted in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many letters he received during the month of November from the Greater London area regarding the cost of living; and if he will make a statement.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what safeguards exist to prevent the names of people on the professional and executive register who are seeking employment being given to companies seeking investors.

Investment opportunities offered by companies are not handled by the Professional and Executive Register, and staff instructions provide that the names of people on the register are submitted only to employers whose vacancies offer a normal contract of service. These instructions are being re-stated and re-emphasised.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what reason was given by Scott James of Westminster Ltd. as grounds for obtaining the name of a potential investor from the professional and executive register.

It is likely that a name was disclosed to this firm in response to a telephone inquiry expressing interest in a candidate whose employment details were included in a brochure circulated periodically to employers in the London area. The inquirer was not included in the brochure distribution list, and was seeking the name of a potential investor; however these facts were unfortunately not established—otherwise the information would have been refused. The stronger precautions are being taken to guard against a recurrence of this type of case.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will set up a working party to consider the law in relation to industrial injuries and the creation of a single system to replace the current dual system of insurance and common law claims with increased rates of compensation.

The Robens Committee recommended that there should be a review of the present system of actions at common law for compensation for injuries sustained at work.The establishment of a Royal Commission, announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister this afternoon, takes account of this recommendation.

Vacancies of this type are not handled by the Professional and Executive Register, and staff instructions provide that the names of people on the register are submitted only to employers whose vacancies offer a normal contract of service. These instructions are being re-stated and re-emphasised.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment by how much the numbers employed, respectively, in coalmining, the steel industry and the textile industry changed in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region between June 1965 and June 1970, between June 1970 and June 1971, between June 1971 and June 1972; and what is his estimate for the year from June 1972.

The following table shows changes in the estimated numbers of employees in employment in the Yorkshire and Humberside region:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, as part of his study of the Robens Report, he will consider introducing legislation providing for compulsory medical examinations of all industrial workers in processes where there is a danger or potential danger to health.

No. Legislation on these lines was not suggested by the Robens Report. The Factories Act and regulations made under it already require the medical examination of workers employed in certain hazardous processes. From 1st February 1973 the responsibility for carrying out these examinations will be with the Employment Medical Advisory Service. The service will also undertake the medical examination of other workers where it appears that their health may be affected by the conditions of their employment but the first and most important method of protection for workers must be effective control of the working environment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, as part of his study of the Robens Report, he will consider introducing legislation to provide for compulsory codes of safety, joint safety committees and other methods of cutting down injury and disease in industry.

All the recommendations of the Robens Committee are aimed at cutting down injury and disease in industry.The committee considered that there was scope for both statutory controls and non-statutory codes of practice. On the question of joint safety committees, the committee recommended that there should be a statutory obligation upon employers to consult with their employees on safety and health matters, but that precise arrangements for consultation should be determined between those concerned. All of these matters are under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he proposes to take to resolve the dispute over recognition between the Bank of England and the National Union of Bank Employees.

Officials of my Department have met representatives of the National Union of Bank Employees and the Bank of England. I understand that the Bank is at present seeking the staff's views on arrangements for representation.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, taking March 1972 as base, he will show by planning region the number of jobs which have been available month by month for every 100 adult males, adult females, young men and young women.

The following table shows the number of notified vacancies remaining unfilled per hundred unemployed:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many work permits for skilled sewing machinists in the clothing industry have been issued for 1972.

Up to the end of November 1972 permits were issued for the employment of 99 foreign women as sewing machinists. Since 1st January 1972 permits have not been issued for men to take semi-skilled work in industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to increase the number of ambulance services that provide, in conjunction with intensive care units for patients suffering from coronary attacks, a special emergency service in which doctors go out with the ambulance to bring in the patients, in view of the necessity for speed in such cases.

Adequate powers already exist and trials with coronary care ambulances are going on but have not yet been fully evaluated.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will further review the limitation on the amount of earnings an invalidity pensioner can receive without losing his pension.

A further review would be premature at present since the limit on earnings from medically approved work was raised from under £2 to £4·50 a week as recently as 2nd October 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much of the figures for members' contributions, employers' contributions, and net interest earnings in 1971 given in Table 8 in the Government Actuary's Fourth Survey on Occupational Pension Schemes 1971 is attributable in each case to non-contributory pension schemes.

It has not yet been possible to complete analysis of the second and third items, but as soon as estimates are available I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it took him until 11th December 1972 to reply to the letter dated 2nd November from the hon. Member for West Ham, North regarding attendance allowance for the child of Mr. D. P. Perry; and whether he will expedite such replies in the future.

As the hon. Member raised questions about supplementary benefit as well as attendance allowance I hoped to be in a position to give him a full answer by holding the reply for a little while longer than usual. I am writing to him about the supplementary benefit aspects. Replies are always sent as expeditiously as possible, and I regret any inconvenience caused by the delay in this particlar case.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what records his Department keeps of the prices agreed with drug manufacturers under the voluntary price regulation scheme; and whether the dates of such agreements are recorded.

My Department maintains a detailed record of the price of every ethical medicine subject to the voluntary price regulation scheme and also of all price changes made as a result of negotiations based on annual financial returns submitted under the voluntary price regulations scheme or for any other reason. Dates are, of course, recorded but the detail is not arranged, nor is it readily identifiable, by groups according to general descriptions of types of product.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether district nurses are allowed more than three days to deal with family bereavements without having to take any further time off as unpaid leave or as part of their annual holidays.

The General Whitley Council agreement, which applies to district nurses, gives employing authorities discretion to grant special leave with pay in cases of urgent domestic distress such as bereavement. The normal period of absence allowable under the agreement is three days but this may be extended to six days in all in cases of special hardship.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in his arrangement for catchment areas of district general hospitals under the reorganised administration of the National Health Service, he proposes to issue advice on the numbers of population he would regard in the categories of minimum, normal and maximum.

Guidance on any variations in the size of district general hospitals will be related to the population of the catchment areas they are intended to serve.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, since fluorine has been discovered to be responsible for lameness in cattle within certain concentrations, if he will make a statement of the effect of the gas on the human body and the general nervous system.

In 1965 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food published a report on an investigation into animal fluorosis. Following the report my Department carried out an investigation to determine whether there was any hazard to the health of humans living in the vicinity of works emitting fluorides. The results have been published in the scientific Press and were summarised in a paper read to the Health Congress of the Royal Society of Health at Eastbourne in April 1971. They indicated that outside the works there was no hazard to man either from air-borne fluorides or from the consumption of vegetables which might be contaminated by deposited fluorides. Earlier investigations by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food had shown that there was no hazard from the consumption of either meat or milk from animals which might be suffering from fluorosis.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, since fluorine causes herbage contamination in certain areas, to what extent this adds to the quantity of fluorine in water supply; and to what extent this factor affects the quantity of fluorine needed to be added to drinking water for dental purposes.

I am advised that the deposition of fluoride on herbage would not have a significant effect on the quantity of fluoride in water supplies; numerous factors contribute to the amount present in water. When for dental protection fluoride is added to water the amount is varied as necessary to raise the concentration to the optimum level of one part per million parts of water.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what discussions are taking place between his Department and British Rail after the four suicides by patients due to insufficient railway fencing adjacent to Knowle Mental Hospital; and what action is being taken.

A meeting was held between representatives of the Knowle Hospital Management Committee and the British Railways Board on Friday 15th December. It is hoped that agreement will shortly be reached on improvements in the fencing adjacent to the hospital and that work will start early in the New Year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the number of people in receipt of supplementary benefit in the week ended 8th December; and how many of these received the £10 Christmas donation.

About 2·9 million people were receiving supplementary benefit, about 1 million of whom were under pension age. The payments were made to about 1·9 million supplementary pensioners, of whom all but about 100,000 also qualified by virtue of receipt of retirement pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to give his formal consent to the Yorkshire Regional Plan for Community Homes, submitted to his Department on 31st December 1971, in view of the urgent need to increase the facilities required to deal with juvenile delinquency in the city of Leeds.

A revised plan was submitted in February of this year and an updated version in September. The work of analysing this very detailed plan in consultation with the regional planning committee, and of flitting it into a national pattern alongside other regional plans, is nearing completion and my right hon. Friend hopes to be able to approve it shortly to come into operation on 1st April 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the take-up rate for family income supplement for the departmental region which includes Twickenham; how this compares as a

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will recon-

Nearly 6,000 families in the London (West) departmental region and about 84,000 families in Great Britain were receiving family income supplements at the end of September 1972, the latest date for which figures are available. In each case these families contain less than 1 per cent. of the population of the relevant area. In Great Britain as a whole the take-up is estimated to be about half of those eligible for the benefit. No estimates of the numbers of eligible families are available for smaller areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number of claimants to whom the four-week rule was applied in each quarter since the rule was first introduced in 1968.

Following is the information:consider his decision to freeze the agreed pay claim of the National Union of Public Employees, in view of the industrial action by hospital workers on this matter and its effect on patients.

I remain of the view that as soon as guide lines are known for the next stage of the Government's policy for controlling inflation, negotiations should be resumed on the claim made by all unions representing hospital ancillary staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is aware of the shortage of speech therapists in Nottinghamshire; what vacancies exist and what action he is taking to ensure better speech therapy facilities for the mentally handicapped and others, especially in Newark and district.

I understand that some hospital authorities responsible for services in Nottinghamshire are currently in need of speech therapists. As regards the general development of speech therapy services the hon. Member will be aware of the recently published report by a committee chaired by Professor Randolph Quirk on which the relevant authorities and bodies are being asked for their comments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will authorise the continuation of the negotiations on the pay of hospital ancillary workers.

I remain of the view that these negotiations should be resumed as soon as guide lines are known for the next stage of the Government's policy for controlling inflation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many nursing staff and others are working for the National Health Service as self-employed persons; and how their incomes vary from those of staff doing the same kind of work on an employed basis.

2,877 agency nurses were in National Health Service hospitals in England and Wales at 31st March 1972 and agency doctors worked about 700 man-weeks in England in the 12 month period ending 31st August 1972. Comparable information is not available centrally about the number of administrative and clerical and para-medical staff.Realistic comparisons between the incomes of agency nurses and doctors and those directly employed is not possible because of a number of factors: payments made by agencies vary; directly employed nurses and doctors are paid on scales and not on flat rates; and National Health Service staff enjoy a number of valuable advantages such as paid sick leave and holiday and superannuation benefits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the measures being taken to eliminate fire risks in hospitals in the Portsmouth Group Hospital Management Committee.

The Wessex Regional Hospital Board has allocated additional capital for this purpose. The most urgent work will be completed in this financial year, and the management committee hopes to complete next year the work remaining.Urgent action is being taken on the smoke and fire protection of escape routes, the provision of additional means of escape where necessary, and on the installation of efficient fire alarm systems. An area fire officer has been appointed for the Portsmouth group to advise on fire safety generally and to assist hospitals in maintaining a high standard of staff training in fire precautions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the shortage of anaesthetists in hospitals of the Portsmouth Group Hospital Management Committee and on the steps which he is taking to overcome this shortage, with particular reference to the needs of accident and emergency departments.

There are in this group slightly fewer anaesthetist staff, in relation to population, than in England as a whole. Last July my right hon. Friend approved the establishment of an extra consultant post to provide, inter alia, for the needs of the accident and emergency department, but I am informed by the regional hospital board that the post has not yet been filled. I understand that the regional hospital board has asked the group to review anaesthetic commitments, and will consider, in the light of that, whether any other additional posts are needed. Any such posts in the registrar grade or above would need my right hon. Friend's approval.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are currently in receipt of attendance allowances.

On 6th October 1972, the latest date for which figures are available, about 82,000 people were drawing an attendance allowance under the provisions of the National Insurance Acts.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the increased cost to the State of extending the increase in pension currently available to a pensioner in respect of a child undergoing full time education at college or university from the age of 19 years to the age of 21 years.