asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to implement the Quirk Report within the Principality.

I have invited comments on the report from a range of interested bodies in Wales. The comments will be carefully considered in consultation with the other Departments concerned before the Government take decisions on the recommendations of the report.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the positions and the salaries of persons he and his predecessor have nominated to positions on public boards and committees during each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what studies are being made by the Welsh Council with regard to the possibility of setting up a body in Wales similar to the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

I understand that the Welsh Council's study of Mid-Wales is completed and that I shall receive a report shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will request the Welsh Council to make a survey of the contribution of Government advance factories to the economy of rural Wales.

No. I understand that the Welsh Council has undertaken a study of Mid-Wales and I expect a receive its report shortly. I would also draw the hon. Member's attention to the report prepared in the Economics Department of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, published in 1972 and entitled, "Mid Wales. An Assessment of the Im- pact of the Development Commission Factory Programme".

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many children below the age of normal school attendance are now receiving full-time and part-time nursery education in Wales and in Glamorgan, respectively; and what increase in these numbers is likely during the next five years.

In January 1972 the latest date for which information is available, the following number of children under statutory school age were attending maintained schools:

Glamorgan
	Full-time	Part-time
Nursery schools	424	214
Nursery classes	3,647	148
Other primary school classes	5,910	25
Wales
Nursery schools	1,207	1,919
Nursery classes	5,889	1,219
Other primary school classes	23,334	116

Projects included in the urban aid programmes will add a further 3,430 full-time equivalent nursery places in Wales by 1975.In addition the nursery programme announced last December includes£1·8 million for 1974–76 and this will provide over 4,000 additional full-time equivalent places in Wales.By 1978 I expect about 20,000 full-time nursery places to be available in Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what further action he proposes to take following the details from ICI Ltd. concerning the redundancy retraining and reinstatement of employees affected by the transfer of the company's research and development department from Pontypool to Harrogate.

I am in close touch with the firm and the progress that is being made in its discussions with its staff. I have also arranged that the Welsh Office will participate in the work of the group comprising representatives of the firm, the county council and the district council, to consider other uses for the site and buildings.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many Government built or Government aided factories are untenanted in Mid-and North Wales; what is the total cost of the Government investment in these factories; and for how long they have been empty.

I have been asked to reply.Seven factories built by the Department or the Development Commission at a cost of£660,000. Four of these have been unlet for less than a year, one for between one and two years and two for somewhat over two years. Information about other factories for which Government aid was given is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will now make a statement on Government assistance to the shipbuilding industry.

Such a statement must await the outcome of the Government's consideration of the Booz-Allen report on the shipbuilding industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the effects on United Kingdom exports of the recent amendment incorporated in the United States Defense Appropriations Act prohibiting the US Defense Department from purchasing equipment containing a specified range of foreign-produced speciality metals.

Information available on trade in these metals and on goods containing them does not enable an estimate to be made of the amount of trade frustrated by this provision. But while it remains a part of the United States Defense Appropriations Act it poses a serious threat to such exports.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many advance factories were let or sold in 1972; and how this compares with the previous two years.

Forty-two advance factories were allocated in 1972. The corresponding figures for 1970 and 1971 were 28 and 23 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will next announce a programme of advance factories in development areas.

The largest ever programme of advance factories in assisted areas was announced on 15th January 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements exist with the new EEC Commissioner for Consumer Affairs for the exchange of information on consumer protection matters.

Both my right hon. and learned Friend and I will be having discussions with the commissioner when he visits the United Kingdom next week. There is also a well established liaison on consumer policy matters with the Commission's officials.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek to amend the law to ensure that companies proved to have sold short weight cannot successfully defend themselves on the grounds that it was a fault on the part of the machines used and not of their employees.

I am not persuaded that amendment is necessary. The Weights and Measures Act 1963 makes certain defences available to the trader who inadvertently gives short weight because of a genuine mistake, accident or other cause beyond his control. To invoke such a defence he must satisfy the courts that he took all reasonable precautions to avoid committing the offence.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the separate regional figures of the number of applications each region has received for aid by reason of special financial assistance under the Industry Act; how many have been approved; at what cost; and

APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER SECTION 7 OF THE INDUSTRY ACT RECEIVED BY 31ST JANUARY 1973
						Value of applications
Region					Number of applications received	Loans£	Grants£
Northern	…	…	…	…	143	47,451,000	578,000
North West	…	…	…	…	116	27,658,000	353,000
Yorkshire and Humberside	…	…	…	…	33	1,785,000	365,000
South West	…	…	…	…	24	3,529,000	179,000
East Midlands	…	…	…	…	16	1,387,000	35,000
West Midlands	…	…	…	…	Nil	—	—
Wales	…	…	…	…	75	8,083,000	322,000
Scotland	…	…	…	…	119	28,439,000	475,000
Total	…	…	…	…	526	118,332,000	2,307,000

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the proposed increase in the charge for each concessionary fare voucher on London Transport will be covered by the terms of the Counter-Inflation Bill.

Yes, Sir. Proposed increases on or before 28th April come within the standstill arrangements. After that date they will be subject to the provisions of the Counter-Inflation Bill as enacted.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the reasons for the several explosions of gas in 1972 which led to eight deaths.

In view of the varied and complex nature of the circumstances, which do not lead to a simple statistical analysis, I will place a report in the Library when all the facts for 1972 are available.

The following table shows details of the number and value of applications for loans and grants under Section 7 of the Industry Act received to 31st January 1973. The value of loans and grants actually offered in all regions to 31st January 1973 is£18·4 million and£1·89 million respectively. The number of jobs estimated to be provided, maintained and safeguarded is approximately 15,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the total value of the United Kingdom space budget, the percentage this represents of the total European budget and the corresponding figures for France and Germany.

There is no United Kingdom space budget as such. Expenditure on space activities in the United Kingdom is undertaken by a number of Government Departments and other public sector bodies. During 1972–73 the total of this expenditure is expected to be some£32 million. This represents some 15 per cent. of the total expenditure which Western Europe as a whole expected to incur on space activities in 1972. Of this European total the French space budget accounted for about 30 per cent. and the space budget of the Federal Republic of Germany for some 40 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the organisations in which Her Majesty's Government have a financial interest and which are concerned with European co-operation in the aerospace industry.

Within the United Kingdom aircraft industry, the Government own Rolls-Royce (1971) Ltd. and 69 per cent. of the ordinary share capital of Short Bros. &Harland Ltd. Both these companies have formed links with European partners on a number of projects. The United Kingdom is a member of the European Space Research Organisation and makes a financial contribution to its programmes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many existing firms in Carmarthenshire carried out expansion projects in the periods 1965 to 1969 and 1970 to 1972; and what was the total of new jobs created thereby.

Accurate figures are not available either about expansion in the manufacturing sector or in the service sector in which approximately half the insured employees of Carmarthenshire work.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new firms came to Carmarthenshire in the periods 1965 to 1969 and 1970 to 1972; and what was the total number of jobs created.

Accurate figures are not available owing mainly to the lack of information on the service sector in which approximately half the insured employees of Carmarthenshire work.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive the report of the West Cumberland Task Force; and if he will give an undertaking to publish the report in full.

I expect to receive the report by the end of March. In accordance with the accepted practice governing officials' advice to Ministers, task force reports will not be published.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline his plans for assisting areas in Scotland likely to be affected by closures in the steel industry.

Officials of my Department will co-operate with the Scottish Office and the Department of Employment in the special reconstruction team which is being set up under the direction of the Scottish Economic Planning Board to tackle the consequences of the rationalisation of the steel industry in Scotland. They will advise in particular on the use we should make of the Industry Act to attract new jobs. Six new advance factories will be built in steelmaking areas in Scotland in the next two years under the new programme announced last month.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the capital indebtedness of the National Coal Board and what is the annual amount paid in interest; and if he will give permission to the National Coal Board to retain the capital raised by Her Majesty's Government's enforced sale of the board's non-coal producing assets.

At the end of the National Coal Board's last financial year the board's capital indebtedness, apart from bank overdrafts, was£666·9 million, consisting of net loans from the Government. The interest payable on Government loans during that year was£38·8 million. The board's capital indebtedness at the end of its current financial year is expected to be reduced to about£400 million by the capital reconstruction provided for in the Coal Industry Bill. The board does not need permission to retain any proceeds from sales of assets.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with the Chairman of the National Coal Board; and if he will make a statement.

I have had discussions with the board about allegations, made after a draft report by an NCB official came into the hands of the Press in April 1972, that suppliers of equipment had induced the Board to buy too many spare parts at too high a price. The matter has now been investigated by the board's Government-appointed auditors.The chairman of the board announced on 11th January that the auditors found no evidence to support these allegations, and that they did not consider there were serious inadequacies in the board's procedures relating to the purchase of the equipment concerned. The auditors' report has now been completed and is being released to the Press and other interested parties today. The report confirms the preliminary findings and makes some proposals for improvements in procedures.While the report gives no grounds for supposing that there is any serious weakness in procedures for purchasing other equipment, the board has nevertheless decided to put in hand a more general review of its purchasing procedures. The review will be carried out by independent experts.The report makes reference to an earlier investigation into allegations of impropriety in the business conducted between the board and Bonser Engineering Limited. Those allegations, which imputed impropriety on the part of certain members of the NCB, were at the Government's request investigated in 1970 by Mr. Michael Kerr, QC, now Mr. Justice Kerr. Mr. Kerr found that there was no substance whatever in the allegations. The DTI is today issuing a Press statement about that investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice Her Majesty's Government give to British industrialists operating in South Africa about the level of wages payable to black African employees, about the practice of job reservation for whites, about the provision of separate facilities for whites and blacks on their industrial premises, about the establishment of works councils for employees and about the provision of in-service training facilities for all employees.

Guidance on the regulations or practices governing manufacture in overseas countries is part of the normal services available from Her Majesty's commercial representatives in South Africa and from export services staff in my Department. A note prepared by the Department on setting up subsidiary companies in South Africa, which covers many of the points listed by the hon. Member, is available on request.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will table a copy of the letter to the Minister of Aerospace, dated 6th February, from the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority containing the authority's advice about the Maplin project.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce legislation to prohibit the use in hospitals, hotels, public buildings, concert halls, cinemas, theatres, cars and private homes of furniture or furnishings of which polyurethane foam plastic is a component, unless the plastic has received flame-retardant treatment.

I have been asked to reply.I am not convinced that such a prohibition would be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will recommend to chief constables a common police practice in taking oral statements, whereby those statements purporting to be made orally by suspects and accused persons will in future be signed by such persons page by page as an acceptable record, so that trials may be shortened.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to his Question of 22nd February.—[Vol. 851, c. 139.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to place an embargo on the import of replica firearms.

My right hon. Friend is urgently considering the whole problem of replica firearms, whether made in this country or imported.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have taken place in the last 12 months for crimes involving the use of replica firearms; and what sentences have been pased.

I regret that this information is not available; but in 1971—the latest year for which figures are available—the number of offences recorded as known to the police in which imitation firearms were used as a threat or as a blunt instrument to cause injury or damage was 86.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he commenced consultation on the use of hexachlorophane in non-medical toilet preparations; how many meetings have been held; when he expects to conclude his inquiries; and if he will make a statement.

Consultations by the Home Office began in October last year and, apart from interdepartmental discussions, four meetings have so far been held. The determination of limits for hexachlorophane in relation to the wide range of products and different applications involved is a complex matter, but we are making every effort to reach a decision soon.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, prior to the Government coming to a decision concerning any constitutional changes in Wales, he will arrange for opinion in the Principality to be tested on the main recommendations of the Crowther Commission on the Constitution.

I cannot anticipate either the recommendations of the commission or the Government's decisions on them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public money was granted as legal costs to Mr. Francis Bennion following his private prosecution of Mr. Peter Hain.

This information is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many permits have been awarded to EEC nationals for residence in Northern Ireland since 1st January 1973.

I regret that this information is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase payments to the city of Leicester by reason of 15·1 per cent. of the children in its schools being either born outside Great Britain or in Great Britain to parents who were born abroad in the last 12 years, and by reason of that percentage being the highest of any local education authority area in the country.

Under Section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 the corporation may claim grant at the rate of 75 per cent. towards the cost of extra staff employed to cater for the needs of immigrants. Grant-aided expenditure in the current financial year is estimated at£237,381.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new proposals he has to assist the city of Leicester following upon the visit to that city of the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department.

I had a very useful exchange of views with representatives of the City of Leicester Corporation during my visit on 7th February. A meeting has subsequently taken place between officials to discuss one aspect of the problem and, if necessary, further discussions will be held, in the light of my visit, about the continuing assistance that is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of motoring offences involving drink or drugs were not proceeded with because the alleged offender claimed diplomatic immunity in each of the last five years; and to what missions such persons were accredited.

The following table shows the number of motoring incidents reported by the police in England and Wales in 1971 and 1972 in which there was some indication that drink or drugs might be involved, and in respect of which the possibility of criminal proceedings was not pursued because of diplomatic immunity. I shall write to the hon. and learned Member giving him the figures for the earlier years as soon as they are available. In such cases the Foreign and Commonwealth Office express concern to the appropriate head of mission.

			1971	1972
Algeria	…	…	—	1
Australia	…	…	2	1
Austria	…	…	1	—
Bulgaria	…	…	—	1
Cameroon	…	…	1	—
Canada	…	…	1	—
Czechoslovakia	…	…	—	2
Gabon	…	…	1	1
Guyana	…	…	—	1
India	…	…	—	3
Iran	…	…	1	—
Iraq	…	…	1	—
Ireland	…	…	—	1
Jamaica	…	…	1	—
Japan	…	…	1	2
Kenya	…	…	1	3
Kuwait	…	…	2	—
Malawi	…	…	1	—
Morocco	…	…	1	—
New Zealand	…	…	1	1
Nigeria	…	…	1	1
Norway	…	…	2	—
Panama	…	…	—	1
Pakistan	…	…	—	1
Poland	…	…	1	—
Saudi Arabia	…	…	—	1
Senegal	…	…	—	1
South Africa	…	…	—	1
Soviet Union	…	…	1	—
Uganda	…	…	—	1
USA	…	…	2	1
Venezuela	…	…	—	1
Zaire	…	…	1	2
Totals	…	…	22	26

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now publish a complete list of firms or persons who made application for any part of the Carlisle and District State Management Scheme, and the price submitted; and if he will make a statement.

As I indicated in reply to a Question by the lion. Member on 5th December, the report to be made to Parliament on completion of sale will give details of successful tenders. Details of unsuccessful tenders will not be disclosed.—[Vol. 847, c. 394–5.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons to date have been made redundant as a result of the sale of the Carlisle and District State Management Scheme; and what estimates he has of further redundancies on completion of the sale of the scheme.

Twenty-one members of the staff under notice of redundancy have so far left the employment of the Carlisle and District State Management Scheme with the agreement of the Department to take up other employment. The remaining 1,032 staff have received formal notice of redundancy. It is expected that a large number of them will be offered employment either by the new owners of the hotels and public houses or by other Government Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, during the sale of the Carlisle and District State Management Scheme, any clause was entered into the agreement that any premises bought must not be sold until some time had elapsed.

No. General Condition of Sale No. 5(a), however, requires the vendor's consent to the assignment of the contract resulting from the acceptance of any tender.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost to date of the sale of the Carlisle and District State Management Scheme.

Following are payments made to date:

To Messrs. Sidney and Graham Motion and Messrs. Storey, Sons and Parker:

			£
Fees on account	…	…	15,000
Expenses	…	…	1,180·62
Cost of printing	…	…	3,894·68

To Messrs. W. L. Tiffen and Sons and Messrs, Gibbings and Johnston:

Fees on account	…	…	3,635·88
Expenses	…	…	144·40
Total	…	…	23,855·58

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics he has regarding break-ins and burglaries in blocks of flats where the owners have installed main door push-button security systems to which tenants have to reply; what estimate he has made of the effect of the fact that in the absence of a reply the intruder can assume the flat is vacant; and if he will make a statement.

Push-button security systems provide additional security by restricting entry at main entrances as well as at flat entrances. Statistics are not, however, available on, nor has any esti-

					Public expenditure*	Gross domestic fixed capital formation by manufacturing industries	Wages and salaries†	Corporate profits‡
1962	…	…	…	…	26·9	4·6	63·6	16·8
1963	…	…	…	…	26·7	3·9	62·7	17·8
1964	…	…	…	…	27·4	4·2	62·7	18·0
1965	…	…	…	…	28·0	4·5	62·7	17·5
1966	…	…	…	…	29·3	4·6	63·7	15·9
1967	…	…	…	…	31·2	4·2	62·7	16·5
1968	…	…	…	…	30·9	4·3	62·7	16·0
1969	…	…	…	…	29·9	4·7	63·5	14·7
1970	…	…	…	…	30·2	4·9	64·5	13·5
1971	…	…	…	…	30·7	4·4	64·6	13·6
The percentages in the first two columns are based on the expenditure estimate of GDP at factor cost; those in the last two columns on the income measure of GDP at factor cost.
* Excluding transfer payments which do not contribute directly to the expenditure estimate of GDP. (A substantial part of public expenditure consists of transfer payments which imply final expenditure by the private sector, not the direct pre-emption of resources by the public sector.)
† Including pay in cash and in kind of HM Forces.
‡ Gross trading profits of companies and gross trading surplus of public corporations after deducting stock appreciation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of United Kingdom public sector contracts have gone to United Kingdom companies in the last three years; and what are the

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the positions and the salaries of persons he and his predecessor have nominated to positions on public boards and committees during each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost to public funds.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures showing the proportions of the gross domestic product taken up by public expenditure, by wages and salaries, by corporate profits, and by investment in manufacturing industries for each year from 1962 to the latest convenient year.

The following is the information expressed as percentages of gross domestic product at factor cost:

Over the two years ended March 1972, 95 per cent. by value of all contracts for stores and equipment placed by Government Departments went to companies in the United Kingdom. I regret that the other information requested by the hon. Gentleman is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his intention that a dealer operating the special VAT scheme contained in Customs and Excise Notice No. 712 may include an item in the special scheme if the seller or purchaser fails to sign the certificate required by the special scheme.

It is not expected that obtaining the certificate will generally present any difficulty, but any case in which it proves to be impossible will be considered on its merits.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the special VAT scheme for works of art and antiques contained in Customs and Excise Notice No. 712 is optional with regard to eligible articles bearing in mind the wording of paragraph 8 of that notice.

The scheme is optional.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedure is envisaged in the special VAT scheme contained in Customs and Excise Notice No. 712 in respect of works of art or antiques

CHANGES IN MONEY STOCK: NARROW DEFINITION
			United Kingdom (M1)		France	Germany	Canada	Japan	USA
Change over end of previous year)			£ million	Percentage	Percentage	Percentage	Percentage	Percentage	Percentage
End of:
1962	…	…	n.a.	n.a.	18	7	3	17	2
1963	…	…	n.a.	n.a.	15	7	7	35	4
1964	…	…	249	3	8	9	9	13	4
1965	…	…	301	4	9	8	14	18	5
1966	…	…	3	0	8	2	7	14	3
1967	…	…	674	9	5	10	15	14	7
1968	…	…	349	4	8	8	14	13	6
1969	…	…	27	0	1	6	-5	21	4
1970	…	…	830	9	11	9	13	17	4
1971	…	…	1,055	11	11	13	27	30	6
n.a. = not available.
Source:
United Kingdom: Financial Statistics and Bank of England Historical Abstract.
Other countries: IMF "International Financial Statistics", annual supplement and subsequent monthly issues.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the positions and the salaries of persons he and his predecessor have nominated to

No special procedure is necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bodies in Northern Ireland had registered for value added tax by 31st January.

Sixteen thousand seven hundred.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the rise and fall in the money supply (M1 and M3) over the past 10 years in the United Kingdom, compared with similar figures for other comparable countries available to him from international sources, over the same period.

The International Monetary Fund compiles figures of the money stock in its member countries which are broadly comparable to the narrow definition (Ml) adopted in the United Kingdom. The table below gives figures taken from this source for a number of major industrialised countries. Comparable international figures to the broad definition of money in the United Kingdom (M3) are not available.positions on public boards and committees during each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost to public funds.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what documentation he will require to be produced to establish a person as a resident of the Irish Republic for the purposes of Section 6(2) of the Customs and Excise (Personal Reliefs) Order 1968 (Amendment) Order.

Normally, none. This order governs the duty-free allowances for travellers who are resident either in Northern Ireland or in the Republic of Ireland and who frequently cross the land boundary. The question whether such a traveller is resident in either country in the sense defined in the order seldom arises: if it does, the answer would normally be obtained by questioning him. If the need arose, he would be asked to make a written declaration.

					Number of directors nominated by Her Majesty's Government
Name of Company					At 1st January 1970	At 1st January 1973
British Petroleum Company Ltd.	…	…	…	…	2	2
British Sugar Corporation	…	…	…	…	Chairman and 2 directors	Chairman and 2 directors
Cable and Wireless Ltd.	…	…	…	…	Chairman and 2 directors	Chairman and 3 directors
Cowal Ari Sawmilling Co. Ltd.	…	…	…	…	2	2
International Computers (Holdings) Ltd	…	…	…	…	1	1
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company*	…	…	…	…	n.a.	3
Power Jets (R+D)Ltd.†	…	…	…	…	Chairman and 2 directors	Chairman and 2 directors
Rolls Royce (1971) Ltd.	…	…	…	…	n.a.	7
SB (Realisations) Ltd.	…	…	…	…	Chairman and 2 directors	Chairman and 2 directors
Suez Finance Company	…	…	…	…	2	2
Notes:
* At 1st January 1970 the port authority was a public trust, not a company, and was called the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board. There were four directors appointed by Her Majesty's Government to that body.
†Power Jets (R+D) Ltd, was in voluntary liquidation as at 1st January 1973, and the powers of the board are therefore purely nominal.
This list includes only directors nominated in respect of interests acquired by Government Departments in companies. It does not include directors nominated by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation (IRC) and the Shipbuilding Industry Board, nor those directors nominated by the IRC before its dissolution on 30th April 1971 to companies in which Her Majesty's Government retained an interest on 1st January 1973, and who were still serving as members of the boards of those companies at that date.
A director had also been nominated to a company as at 1st January 1970 in respect of assistance given under the Local Employment Act 1960: it is not the practice to disclose the names of individual companies assisted under this legislation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many vessels

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT as at 1st January 1970 and 1st January 1973 the companies in which Her Majesty's Government had an indirect shareholding through public corporations or nationalised industries; and what was the value and number of shares held in each case, respectively.

I would refer the hon. Member to the annual reports and accounts of these bodies.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list as at 1st January 1970 and 1st January 1973 the companies in which Her Majesty's Government had appointed directors stating the number of directors in each case, respectively.

Following is the information:entering United Kingdom ports, calling after 4.0 p.m. on Fridays and sailing prior to 9.0 a.m. on Mondays, have not had reports made, itemising the manifest of cargo and passengers aboard, and submit- ted to the local customs house as a result of the overtime ban by Customs and Excise staff;(2) how many vessels entering United Kingdom ports, calling after 4.0 p.m. on Fridays and sailing prior to 9 a.m. on Mondays, have not had Customs and Excise clearance received by their masters on form S.35 after examination of their ships' papers;(3) in how many cases of vessels entering United Kingdom ports, calling after 4.0 p.m. on Fridays and sailing prior to 9.0 a.m. on Mondays, have photo copies of clearance certificates and relevant documents been produced in retrospection, contrary to Customes and Excise regulations regarding safety at sea.

I am not aware of any instances in which the proper procedures have not been carried out. But if the hon. Member has any case in mind perhaps he would write to me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give details in the OFFICIAL REPORT of the action taken by his Department in the calendar year 1972 to reduce prices to the consumer and with what success in each instance; and in how many cases these actions were taken since the imposition of the Government's freeze in November 1972.

There are many ways in which the Government's economic policies in 1972 helped to reduce prices or to reduce the rate of increase in prices—for example the reduction in indirect taxes in the 1972 Budget, the policy of restraint on the nationalised industries' prices which supported the voluntary policy of price restraint agreed by the Confederation of British Industry and the first stage of the counter-inflation policy introduced on 6th November. It is not possible to list in detail actual price cuts resulting from the Government's policies.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the reasons which caused the redesignation of Gibraltar for exchange control purposes as a sterling area country.

Gibraltar was re-included in the Scheduled Territories for exchange control purposes because of the unique circumstances of the territory, which acceded to the European Economic Communities together with the United Kingdom on 1st January 1973.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of income remitted into the United Kingdom in respect of direct overseas investment in the year 1971 or the latest year for which figures are available.

This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value of all direct investment overseas owned by residents of the United Kingdom as of 31st December, 1971, or the latest year for which figures are available; and what percentage of such investment was in (a) countries a the eight present members of the EEC and (b) the United States of America.

Following is the information.

BOOK VALUE OF OVERSEAS DIRECT INVESTMENTS OWNED BY UNITED KINGDOM RESIDENTS AT 31ST DECEMBER 1968*†‡
Book value
Area			£m.	Per cent.
Total	…	…	5,585·3	100·0
EEC	…	…	775·3	13·9
USA	…	…	600·0	10·7
* The latest date for which information is available.
†Source: Business Monitor, April 1971.
‡ Excludes oil, insurance and banking.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is aware that many building firms are still employing lump labour as well as men registered unemployed; if he will study the information supplied to him by the hon. Member for Heywood and Royton regarding firms in his constituency; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware that many firms in the building industry employ labour-only sub-contractors, but this has been a feature of the industry for many years and I cannot accept the implication that all forms of labour-only sub-contracting are equally undesirable. I have no evidence that many building firms are knowingly employing registered unemployed men.I am looking into the information given in the hon. Member's letter of 14th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make provision for a secret ballot to be held at the Ford Motor Company's establishments under the Industrial Relations Act; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that negotiations between the company and the unions concerned are still continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has, with regard to European engineering industries, about the hours normally worked per week, the number of days' holiday and the hours worked per year in other member countries of the EEC compared with the United Kingdom.

The following tables give the most comparable information available.

WEEKLY HOURS WORKED* IN THE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING INDUSTRY BY MANUAL WORKERS
Country		Period	Hours
Belgium	…	April 1972	42·0
France	…	March 1972	44·5
Germany	…	April 1972	43·1
Italy	…	April 1972	42·2
Luxembourg	…	April 1972	48·3
Netherlands	…	October 1971	44·0
Ireland	…	March 1972	43·4
United Kingdom	…	October 1972	42·7
* For countries other than the United Kingdom and Ireland the figures are for "hours offered" i.e. the hours offered by employers to their work-force

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will print in the OFFICIAL REPORT the value of the lowest decile male manual worker's wage as a percentage of median earnings for each year since 1964.

The following all-industry estimates are derived from the New Earnings Surveys 1968 to 1972. They relate to gross weekly earnings of full-time manual men aged 21 and over in Great Britain whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. They are subject to sampling error.

				Per cent.
September 1968	…	…	…	67·3
April 1970	…	…	…	67·3
April 1971	…	…	…	68·2
April 1972	…	…	…	67·6

Directly comparable estimates of the same reliability for the other years from 1964 onwards are not available but such evidence as there is indicates that this percentage has remained relatively constant over a long period.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men over the age of 45 years are registered as unemployed in the Oldham area.

On 8th January there were 685 unemployed men aged 45 and over in the Oldham and Chadderton employment exchange area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations Her Majesty's Government are making to the FFC Commission about its forthcoming meeting on a common ports policy for the EEC.

None, because I know of no such meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what booklets are published by his Department, or Her Majesty's Stationery Office, that give guidance to objectors at public planning inquiries; and what literature of this or similar description is available at planning offices and at public inquiries.

The Department's booklet on planning appeals procedure contains guidance of use to objectors at planning inquiries. It is available from the offices of the Department on request and a copy is sent to every appellant in an inquiry into a planning appeal. A booklet on inquiries into road proposals is being prepared.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider providing that with an improvement grant for installing a bathroom a grant may be made to ensure an adequate water supply to the bathroom, in view of evidence sent to him by the hon. Member for Heywood and Royton.

In the course of my right hon. and learned Friend's comprehensive review of the policy affecting older housing he is considering whether any changes are needed to the existing house improvement grants scheme. I will study carefully the evidence which has been provided by the hon. Member but I am not convinced that it would be right to extend the scope of a housing grant to cover the cost of works outside the curtilage of the particular dwelling. I will write more fully to the hon. Member as soon as I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to amend the legislation whereby improvement grants are refused unless the expected life of the house is more than 15 years, and if he will reduce the number of years in order to ensure that there are not people living in houses without inside bathroom and toilet in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities have discretion to make grants in exceptional cases where the expected life of the house is only 10 years. The Government's aim is to ensure that within a decade no one is required to live in an unfit or substandard house. The current review of policy affecting older houses will include an appraisal of the existing grants scheme to see what changes are needed to help in achieving this objective.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the arrangements for monitoring fumes from commercial stacks; what is the division of responsibility between the Alkali Inspectorate and local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Many kinds of fumes emitted from works registered under the Alkali etc. Works Regulation Act 1906 are regularly monitored by the Alkali and Clean Air Inspectorate with reference to fixed standards, while the remainder are kept under observation and monitored as often as necessary. I am satisfied that these arrangements generally work well but will be glad to look into any particular problems that are the responsibility of the inspectorate which the hon. Gentleman may have in mind. With regard to the supervision of emissions from non-registered industries, which is the responsibility of the local authorities, there is no general power to monitor fumes, as opposed to grit and dust, but my right hon. and learned Friend is currently considering making use of his powers under Section 7 of the Clean Air Act 1968 to apply the monitoring provisions of that Act and of the 1956 Act to metallurgical fumes from cold blast cupolas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek powers to require the registration and annual licensing of all gipsy caravans by local authorities, thereby enabling the latter to know precisely how many permanent sites they are obliged to provide under the Caravan Sites Act 1968 and enabling the owners of the former to make a contribution towards the cost of providing sites.

No. I am not aware that the question of establishing the precise number of gipsies in an area is impeding local authorities at the present time in carrying out their duty to provide sites. Local authorities charge rents to gipsies on official sites.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment by whose authority preparations have started on parts of the North Wales Hydro-Electric Scheme before the Bill to authorise the scheme has been passed by this House.

I have been asked to reply to this Question.I am informed that only exploratory survey work, which does not anticipate parliamentary approval of the scheme, is presently being carried out at the site with the approval of the local planning authority.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will suggest to planning authorities that they should make it a condition of planning consent for new supermarkets or shops over a specified size that some toilet accommodation should be provided for customers.

No. Such a condition would not normally be within the scope of planning powers.Section 89 of the Public Health Act 1936 gives power to local authorities to require the provision of sanitary conveniences for people using cafes and restaurants, including supermarkets and shops incorporating eating places. The question of the level of provision of lavatories in all kinds of buildings—including shops—is being examined in connection with the proposals for a Building Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if, in order to assist his consideration of the Layfield Report, he will hold public meetings with residents living within each London borough to discuss their views on the report on the future development of London; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will seek to hold a public debate in the near future to discuss the Greater London Development Plan.

The 237 days of public inquiry into the plan have already provided an opportunity for public participation on an unprecedented scale. There will be a formal opportunity for the public to make representations, and if necessary a further public inquiry or inquiries, after I publish my draft modifications and before I take formal decisions on the plan.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will produce a cheap version of the Report of the Panel of Inquiry on the Greater London Development Plan.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will produce a cheap version of the Report of the Panel of Inquiry on the Greater London Development Plan.

Members of the public who do not wish to buy the full report are able to inspect it at the offices of the Greater London Council and the London borough councils. I am willing to consider whether there is a need to publish a shorter version.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he proposes to take to enable local authorities to implement the proposals contained in the Greater London Development Plan Report of the Inquiry, paragraph 6.27.

The panel's recommendations are being studied in connection with a general review of policy on older housing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to introduce his proposals on the control of office development permits for Greater London as outlined in the Layfield Report.

Paragraph 22 of the Government statement published with the panel's report states that the Government must at this stage reserve their position on the panel's recommendation that the system of office development permits should be discontinued.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce as soon as possible his proposals for improving poor housing in certain areas of greater London as outlined in the Layfield Report, and for ensuring the protection of tenants' rights of people at present living in such housing.

In the course of my review of policy affecting older housing I will consider what changes are necessary in the light of the panel's report. I issued a circular only last month drawing the attention of local authorities to the substantial increases in the maximum penalties provided in the Criminal Justice Act 1972 for harassment and unlawful eviction and urging authorities to take firm action to ensure that tenants were made fully aware of their rights.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the statement made in the Greater London Development Plan, he will announce his proposals designed to produce an increase in the number of council houses being built in London, as soon as possible.

As part of my policy to increase the provision of housing by all agencies in greater London, I shall continue to give the London housing authorities every encouragement to enlarge their programmes for building houses to rent. The services of the Action Group on London Housing are available to help them overcome any specific problems, such as land availability.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will call a meeting of members of the councils of all the London boroughs to discuss with them his views on the reduction of employment in the greater London area, as outlined in the Greater London Development Plan.

I shall be willing to consider any views which the London borough councils, either individually or collectively, may wish to express on the panel's report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many copies of the Greater London Development Plan, the price of which is£10·26½, he proposes to have printed.

3,000 copies of the report and Government statement have already been printed. Further copies will be printed as necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to allow objectors at the recent public inquiry into the Greater London Development Plan to recover, in whole or in part, their costs.

No. Objectors at inquiries into development plans are expected to bear their own costs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to increase any admission charges at public buildings or monuments under his control during the period of price restraint.

This matter is under consideration in the light of the Government's programme for controlling inflation but admission prices will be held at present levels during stage 1 of that programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the panel's opinion, paragraph 6.94, Greater London Development Plan Report of the Panel of Inquiry, he will now review his policy concerning the approval of compulsory purchase orders, in cases where this is the only way in which rented property can be improved and maintained as rented accommodation.

The panel's recommendations are being studied in connection with a general review of policy on older housing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the continuing delays encountered in holding public inquiries on compulsory purchase orders with the consequent inability to acquire and redevelop the land involved, he will take steps to reduce such delays.

The best prospect for reducing delays in holding public inquiries is to make more inspectors available. Over the last six months 62 new inspectors have been recruited and more are expected to join the Department in the course of the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of public inquiries currently pending in respect of compulsory purchase orders, the number of inspectors available to conduct such hearings and the comparative figures in each case for 28th February 1972.

Public inquiries into 334 compulsory purchase orders submitted to the Secretary of State mainly under housing, planning and highways legislation have currently been arranged but not yet held. Comparable figures for 28th February 1972 are not available. Including the Department's panel of inspectors, there are at present 220 inspectors available to hold these inquiries, though they represent only part of the casework with which the inspectors are called upon to deal. The corresponding number at 28th February 1972 was 153.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he accepts the conclusion that the take-up of improvement grants often means a loss of privately rented accommodation, stated in the report of the panel of inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

For the past 50 years or so, both in London and nationally, there has been a steady decline in the amount of privately rented accommodation and an increase in owner-occupation. In my review of policy affecting older housing I am, of course, examining the allegations that improvement grants may recently have contributed to these changes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the positions and the salaries of persons he and his predecessor have nominated to positions on public boards and committees during each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost to public funds.Details in respect of nationalised industry boards are set out in an annual White Paper, currently Command No. 5207.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will confirm that the building of the Maplin airport and the resultant noise shadow over Kent will not prejudice development on the Isle of Sheppey or on the mainland of Kent and would not be regarded as a sustainable objection to the granting of planning permissions.

The forecast noise shadow for Maplin, published in April last year in our consultation document on runway siting, does not suggest that level of noise exposure over Sheppey and Kent would reach 40 NNI—the level at which we advise local authorities in circular 10/73 to begin considering whether to place planning conditions on development. I cannot of course anticipate local authorities' own decisions in these matters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the land reclamation costs for the Maplin project as estimated first by Roskill and then by his Department in 1972 for the site C costings, compared with the latest estimates; and how much of the increase is attributable to an increase in land area, how much to inflation and how much to an escalation in costs.

These estimates were prepared on different bases and are not readily comparable. The Roskill research team estimated reclamation costs to be£70 million at 1968 prices for an area of approximately 10,500 acres for the airport. The consultation document on runway siting estimated reclamation costs for site C at£107 million at 1971 prices for a different and larger site for the airport. Current estimates of£175 million at 1972 prices apply to an area of 18,500 acres, including seaport development. When compared with the Roskill figures some 60 per cent. of the increase is attributable to the increased area to be reclaimed, about 22 per cent. to inflation and the balance covers estimates of Crown Estate Commission charges and other contingencies.