asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the state of security on the border area.

The number of security incidents on the border in January was 28. This compares with 52 and 41 in November and December of last year.The security forces continue to take all practicable steps to control terrorist activity in these areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations took place with the political parties in Northern Ireland before accepting the offer from the Department of Political Science at Queen's University, Belfast, to conduct a research project into the border poll.

None, Sir. My right hon. Friend considered that such research would assist him in his report to the House about the border poll, and he therefore had no hesitation in accepting the offer. The secrecy of the ballot will not be prejudiced.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will give details of the Northern Ireland advance factory programme.

For details of the last review of the advance factory programme I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Chigwell (Mr. Biggs-Davison) on 17th November 1972. Since then, factories at Belfast and Craigavon and two at Londonderry totalling 16,000 sq. metres in area, have been completed. Contracts have been placed for two factories, totalling 4,500 sq. metres at Bangor and Londonderry. The planning of the remainder of the programme is proceeding satisfactorily.—[Vol. 846, c. 246–48.]

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has received the report of the working party on the purchase of privately-owned houses by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive; and if he will make a statement.

This report has now been received and is being given careful consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much expenditure on goods and services in Northern Ireland in 1972–73 is expected to exceed income; what proportion of this deficit is due to agricultural subsidies; what proportion to the current disturbances; and what proportion of the current agricultural subsidies will in future become the responsibility of EEC institutions.

Payments to the Northern Ireland Exchequer, transfers to Northern Ireland National Insurance Funds and United Kingdom agricultural subsidies in Northern Ireland are expected to amount to about £200 million in 1972–73. Of this total agricultural subsidies and the Remoteness Grant are expected to be about £28·3 million. All these payments are over and above the payment representing reserved taxation raised in Northern Ireland less certain deductions, and exclude the cost of military operations which is borne directly by the Ministry of Defence.It is not possible to quantify all the effects of the disturbances on expenditure or to indicate what proportion of agricultural subsidies will in future become the responsibility of EEC institutions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what inquiries she has made concerning turnover in staff per year in schools in different parts of England and Wales and within the areas of large education authorities.

The Department has, on occasion, made spot checks on turnover in individual authorities, but no inquiries have been made in respect of separate schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received from parents of Teesside children and from the local education authority regarding the dispute between the Teesside Education Authority, the National Association of Schoolmasters and the Union of Women Teachers; and what reply she has made.

I have received letters from parents expressing concern about the disruption of their children's education. I have drawn attention to the committee of inquiry established on 11th January and, more recently, to the return to normal working on 22nd January.Representatives of the authority visited the Department at their request on 8th January.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the maximum grant payable to a first degree student at a redbrick university, living away from home, in January 1963 and in January 1973; and what is the latter amount expressed in 1963 purchasing power.

In January 1963 the ordinary maintenance grant for a student at a university other than Oxford, Cambridge or London was £300 if he lived in lodgings and £320 if he lived in a hall of residence. In January 1973 the rate of grant was £445 in both cases. The latter figure reduced in proportion to the difference in the retail price index between these dates would become about £268.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the value of a university student's maintenance award in the years 1962 and 1972, respectively; and what sum at 31st December 1972 would have given the equivalent spending power to the 1962 grant.

For 1962–63 the standard maintenance grant for a student at a university other than Oxford, Cambridge or London was £320 if he lived in a hall of residence, £300 if he lived in lodgings and £240 if he lived at home with his parents. For 1972–73 the equivalent figures are £445 for living in halls of residence or lodgings and £355 for living at home. The 1962–63 figures increased in proportion to the changes in the retail price index over the period December 1972 would become £532, £499, and £399 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students were attending Scottish universities at the most recent date for which figures are available; and what percentage increase this represents by comparison with the position 10 years previously.

The provisional number of full-time students attending Scottish universities in 1972–73 is 38,300. This represents an increase of 59 per cent. over the 24,000 students at the same institutions in 1962–63.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further action she has taken designed to ensure that the use of gummed coloured paper containing dangerous levels of lead is discontinued in schools; and if she will make a statement.

All local education authorities were asked in a letter issued on 15th December 1972 to see that coloured gummed papers used in schools came within the safety limits for lead and other substances laid down in administrative memorandum No 2/65 issued by the Department of Education and Science.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will issue a circular to local authorities regarding the costing and sale of school photographs.

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will give a detailed breakdown showing how and in what way £21,000 is to be spent on salaries and expenses connected with the organisation of Fanfare for Europe showing who received these payments and what amounts were paid; and what sum is expected to be spent on the Anglo-French Month being organised by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in March.

Expenditure on salaries and expenses is expected to fall within the following estimated totals:

	£
Director's salary	5,000
Assisting staff (including one in Scotland)	10,500
Office expenses	5,500
	21,000

The approved funds for Fanfare for Europe include £10,000 towards the cost of the Anglo-French Month being organised by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in March.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will consider amending the school leaving age in order to allow pupils to leave school at the end of the first term after reaching their sixteenth birthday.

No. I think it best to retain the arrangement of only two leaving dates a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a financial contribution towards

JANUARY 1972—MAINTAINED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
			Primary		Secondary		Primary and Secondary
Local Education Authority			Number of schools	Full-time pupils	Number of schools	Full-time pupils	Immigrants as a percentage of all pupils (See Note)
England Counties
401 Bedfordshire	…	…	168	34,067	37	19,256	6·0
402 Berkshire	…	…	263	57,200	52	34,660	0·9
403 Buckinghamshire	…	…	300	65,589	66	41,254	4·8

The detailed arrangements for the operation in 1973–74 of the new fund announced on 30th January 1973 are being worked out and an announcement will be made in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the number of pupils at primary and secondary schools in England and Wales for the year ended December 1971, as supplied to the hon. Member for West Ham, North; why it takes one year to collate this information; and when the figures for 1972 may be expected: and whether she will publish these when they are to hand.

The following table gives details of the number of maintained primary and secondary schools in the area of each local education authority in England and Wales in 1972, the number of full-time pupils on roll and the percentage of these pupils who were immigrants as defined for the purposes of the Department's statistics. Detailed information is collected from every school in England and Wales about the number of pupils, teachers, classes and, where appropriate, immigrants in January of each year. The returns by local education authorities to the Department are not completed until the spring. After that the checking and analysis of the details take several months, and information about immigrant pupils is not therefore available until the autumn. A summary of the information is published in the Department's "Statistics of Education".Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the usual term for the appointment of an hon. Member to the Medical Research Council.

Under the earlier charter of the Medical Research Council, hon. Members were appointed by Order in Council for as long as they were Members. Under the present charter no member of the council, apart from the chairman and deputy chairman, may be appointed for a term of more than four years in the first instance. Resignations and appointments made to bring terms of office into line with those of other members of the council have had the effect that hon. Members have served on the council for varying periods.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with co-ordination between the Departments concerned with current and capital subsidies for the nationalised industries.

Yes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the correlation between changes in money supply (M3) and changes in the level of unemployment.

Although it is generally agreed that changes in monetary condi-

NET INCOME OF TWO CHILD FAMILIES (CHILDREN AGED 6 AND 10) ON AVERAGE INDUSTRIAL EARNINGS
£ per week
			October 1964		October 1970		October 1972		Annual percentage increase in income in real terms
			Earnings	Net income	Earnings	Net income	Earnings	Net income	1964–1970	1970–1972
Wales	…	…	18·04	16·12	27·93	22·27	34·19	28·10	0·7	3·4
Scotland	…	…	16·92	15·31	27·04	21·67	33·42	27·20	1·1	3·2
England	…	…	18·32	16·34	28·26	22·47	34·81	28·12	0·6	3·0

(1) The figures for average earnings in Wales, Scotland and England in October 1972 have been estimated by assuming that they bear the same relationship to the United Kingdom figure as they did in October 1971, the latest date for which separate figures are available.(2) Net income is obtained by adjusting for FAM, tax and national insurance contributions as appropriate; and deducting the cost of school meals, milk and a representative amount of prescriptions, dental treatment and spectacles.(3) To obtain the increase in real terms the net income figures are deflated by the retail price index.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much it cost to collect purchase tax in each of the past five years.

The cost of collecting purchase tax cannot be separated from that of collecting other Customs and Excise revenue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish separate tables for Wales, Scotland and England showing the annual percentage increase in real net income from October 1964 to October 1970, and from October 1970 to October 1972, of a family with two children aged six and 10 years, with earnings of £15, £20, £50, £100, and £200 per week, and of the national average, respectively, taking into account charges for school meals, milk and health charges.

For those families where the income is stated in money terms, the relevant figures are set out in the reply given by my hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Ralph Howell) on 22nd December 1972, since the tax and benefit rates are the same throughout the United Kingdom.—[Vol. 848, c. 497.] For the family on national average earnings, the information relating to England, Scotland and Wales is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to the Exchequer of a negative rate of value added tax at 7½ per cent. and 10 per cent. on food.

If my hon. Friend means subsidies of 7½ and 10 per cent. on final consumer expenditure on food probably about £550 million and £750 million respectively.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring newspaper delivery charges into line with newspapers and exempt such charges from VAT.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give further consideration to placing the noncommercial fund-raising activities of charities on the same basis as the welfare and non-business activities of local authorities so far as VAT is concerned.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many charities will now be liable to VAT; and if he will list them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the purchasing value of the £ sterling has fallen since 1958; and, from information available from international sources, how this reduction compares with the figures for the member countries of the European Economic Community.

The table below gives estimates of the fall in the internal purchasing power of the currency of each of the nine countries of the European Economic Community between 1958 and November 1972, the latest date for which data are available for all countries. For the United Kingdom, the estimate is based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for calendar years up to and including 1968 and on changes in the General Index of Retail Prices thereafter. For the other eight countries the estimates are based on movements in the consumer price indices published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

			Percentage fall in internal purchasing power of currency between 1958 (average) and November 1972
United Kingdom	…	…	44
Belgium	…	…	35
Denmark	…	…	53
France	…	…	47
Germany	…	…	34
Irish Republic	…	…	49
Italy	…	…	42
Luxembourg	…	…	32
Netherlands	…	…	47

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families with dependent children and at least one parent in employment have incomes below the tax threshold.

This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to extend the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act to cover stamp duties.

I have no statement to make at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will now take to ensure that citizens unfit to plead in murder cases because of insanity are released on parole only after a sufficient time lag to prove cure; and if he will report on the case of Mr. Hugh Mason, allowed home on parole from Middlewood, Sheffield, unsupervised less than four years after such an offence, indicating how many other such offenders have been similarly released, the grounds for their release, and how soon this has been after the offence had been committed in each case.

All cases of patients subject to the special restrictions in Section 65 of the Mental Health Act 1959 are considered with great care, particular regard being had to the safety of the public, and consent to the grant of leave of absence is given only if on clear medical advice it is considered safe to do so; the timing depends on the particular facts of the case, including the patient's mental condition and his response to treatment.The following is a statement on the case of Mr. Hugh Mason and the related matters raised by my hon. Friend:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his meeting with representatives of charitable organisations concerning the problems surrounding the use of the Queen's head on stamps to be sold by the Post Office as part of a fundraising scheme for charities; and whether he will make a statement.

I saw a representative of the National Council of Social Service on 25th January. As British stamps carry the portrait of the Sovereign, the possible issue of a charity surcharged stamp by the Post Office raised the question inter alia of officially associating the Sovereign with charitable fund raising, against which successive Governments have advised. It would be invidious for the Sovereign, as for the Government themselves, to be put into the position of appearing to decide which among very many deserving charities should be supported in this form of public appeal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he proposes to conduct into the operation of Sections 14 and 37 of the Criminal Justice Act 1972.

A number of possible studies of the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1972 are under consideration, but detailed plans have yet to be determined.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report of the investigation into matters pertaining to the stoppage of a prominent person, of whom details have been supplied, by the police for alleged speeding and the manner in which full details were revealed to the Press before the person concerned had been advised of any action.

The report has now been received and I shall write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what are the areas referred to in paragraph 65 of the Home Office's explanatory memorandum on the Criminal Justice Act 1972; what are the practical problems he acknowledges; what action he is taking to deal with these problems; and by what date he expects them to be eliminated; and(2) what consultations he has had with representatives of magistrates and the probation and after-care service on the implications of the November 1970 sur- vey into the working of Home Office circulars 188 and 189/1968; what conclusions he has arrived at as to the reasons for widespread non-compliance with the circulars; what action he now proposes to take to secure compliance; and whether he will make a statement.

We are about to send to the secretaries of a number of probation and after-care committees a consultative document which seeks information, and the views of local magistrates and probation officers, about the extent to which social inquiry reports are obtained and the obstacles, if any, to the wider use of such reports in their areas. I hope that the replies will give a clearer picture of the problems referred to in the right hon. Member's Questions. There can be little doubt that the other heavy demands on probation service resources are a constraint on the provision of social inquiry reports; the strengthening of the service to enable it to meet these demands continues.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what official notification he has received from the staff of the Prime Minister's office relating to their intention to strike on 6th March.

None.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) what priority he has allocated to the Wigan travel-to-work area for the provision of jobs which will result from the implementation of the dispersal of Government offices programme; and if he will make a statement;(2) what priority he has allocated to the Skelmersdale and Holland UDC area for the provision of jobs which will result from the implementation of the dispersal of Government offices programme; and if he will make a statement.

Places in the North West Region have been considered, along with places in other regions, as potential receiving areas. The final choice will he made in the light of regional needs and of the operational needs of the work dispersed from the capital.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether chairmen and members of Government boards and statutory authorities where appointments are made by Her Majesty's Government on a paid or expense allowance basis are, as with Ministers, compelled to refuse radio and television payments when offered these for broadcasting.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 9th November 1972.—[Vol. 845, c. 250.]

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT as detailed a list as may be readily available of all Members of Parliament of both Houses who hold appointments made by Her Majesty's Government or for which Her Majesty's Government accept responsibility on a full- or part-time basis; how many hours per week or per month are spent on these activities, the salaries and expenses paid, or claimed; whether any of these are tax-free; and when the appointments were made.

No. There is no list readily available which would provide the information requested.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what security arrangements are applied by the European Commission before British nationals are appointed to the staff.

This is a matter for which the Security Office of the Commission is responsible. British nationals, like the nationals of any other member State employed by or applying for appointments in the Commission, are subject to the security rules of the Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the communication sent to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North on 31st January, regarding action to be taken by the Government to reduce prices in the shops; and whether, in view of the information supplied to him he will discuss this matter with the CBI.

To date about 300 price increases have been withdrawn as a result of action under the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act. Part III of the Counter-Inflation Bill proposes powers to ensure that prices and charges correctly reflect the tax changes associated with the introduction of the VAT. We are already in discussion with the CBI and others on this. In the meantime I shall continue to welcome price reductions in anticipation of tax changes; tax reductions by any firm have a competitive impact on other firms.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make regular three-monthly statements on Her Majesty's Government's efforts to provide alternative jobs for steelworkers made redundant by the rationalisation of the British steel industry.

Applications for assistance under the Industry Act are handled in strict confidence. I will however bear in mind the desirability of making information available about new projects in all cases where this is acceptable to those concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what requests he has had from the British Steel Corporation for permission to increase its productive capacity of cold reduced steel sheet.

The British Steel Corporation's development programme which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 21st December, provides for a substantial expansion in the corporation's productive capacity for cold reduced steel sheet.—[Vol. 848, c. 1576–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is the minimum estimate of coal required to meet the requirements of the iron and steel industry in the enlarged Community in 1973;(2) what percentage of energy requirements it is estimated that each member country of the EEC will import in 1973; and what are the sources of the supply;(3) what is the estimated proportion of British coal in tons of the total production to be produced in EEC countries in 1973;(4) what is his estimate of the amount that coal will supply of the energy requirement in the enlarged Communities for 1973.

The answers to these Questions would depend on 1973 energy forecasts for the enlarged Community and these have not yet been published.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information was provided by his Department as a result of the decision of the European Parliament in Strasbourg to have its Special Committee for Energy, Research and Nuclear Energy examine the energy industry and research policy in the new member States.

I have had no request for such information from the committee which I would expect to look to the European Commission for it. I am always ready, of course, to help United Kingdom members of the European Parliament with factual information so that they can participate in discussions on an informed basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of India's exports to the United Kingdom will become subject to tariff or quota restriction as a result of British membership of the European Communities in the absence of any special trading agreements.