asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the feed formula arrangement for pigs is to be ended.

This is a matter for further consideration in the light of developments.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to provide more tugs for service in the seas around Iceland.

The Government are considering the availability of suitable tugs, but we also have in mind the possibility of resuming negotiations with the Icelandic Government if harassment is stopped.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his most recent figures for the likely rise in United Kingdom food prices during the transitional period were based on stable farm prices within the EEC.

The estimate assumed that the relativities between prevailing world and EEC prices would remain unchanged.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many pints of milk could have been bought by the retirement pension for a married couple in October 1950, June 1970, and could be now, on the assumption that the whole pension was so spent.

On the basis of information collected for the purposes of the Index of Retail Food Prices, 101 pints of ordinary milk could have been bought in October 1950, 176 in June 1970 and 198 in February 1973.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many eggs could have been bought by the retirement pension for a married couple in October 1950, June 1970, and could be now, on the assumption that the whole pension was so spent.

On the basis of information collected for the purposes of the Index of Retail Food Prices, 126 standard eggs could have been bought in October 1950, 517 in June 1970 and 554 in February 1973.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many 1¾ 1b white unwrapped loaves of bread could have been bought by the retirement pension for a married couple in October 1950, June 1970, and could be now, on the assumption that the whole pension was so spent.

On the basis of information collected for the purposes of the Index of Retail Food Prices, 92 1¾ 1b white unwrapped loaves of bread could have been bought in October 1950, 92 in June 1970 and 105 in February 1973.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he hopes to complete his investigations into the possibility of imposing a complete ban on the import of whale products.

I have nothing to add to the statement which I made on this subject on 15th March.—[Vol. 852, c. 1464.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on his discussions in London with Commonwealth Trade Ministers, with particular reference to the policy of Her Majesty's Government on guaranteed access to the EEC for 1·4 million tons per year of Commonwealth sugar.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of his talks with the trade ministers of the sugar exporting countries of the Common wealth on 28th and 29th March 1973.

These talks were summarised in the agreed communiqué issued at the end of the conference, the text of which is as follows:Representatives of the Governments of Barbados, Belize, Fiji, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritius, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, and the United Kingdom, and of the Common wealth Sugar Exporters' Association, met at Lancaster House, London, on March 28th and 29th 1973, for consultations on the arrangements for Commonwealth sugar exports to the European Com munity after 1974, when the Common wealth Sugar Agreement will be replaced by arrangements to be worked out between the exporting countries concerned and the Community as a whole.The discussions took place against the background of the Community's under taking on imports of sugar after 1974 from the developing Commonwealth sugar-exporting countries, as set out in Part III of Protocol 22 to the Treaty of Accession; the Joint Declaration of Intent; and the communiqué issued after the Lancaster House discussions on June 2nd and 3rd 1971, which was subsequently placed on record with the Community.In accordance with that communiqué, all the Governments affirmed that they would continue to regard the Community's undertaking as "a firm assurance of a secure and continuing market in the enlarged Community on fair terms for the quantities of sugar covered by the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement in re-respect of all its existing developing member countries." The United Kingdom Government re-affirmed that they stand by their assurances contained in that communiqué without reservations, and that they will continue to do so. The exporting countries present made it clear that they had accordingly already planned the future of their sugar industries on the strength of those assurances of long-term access to the enlarged Community and that they would continue to do so.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will review the basic qualification for entry into the United Kingdom armed services so as to exclude citizens of the Irish Republic.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 30th November 1972 in reply to a similar Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Sir J. Langford-Holt).— [Vol. 847, c. 177.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent requests she has received from teachers' organisations for statistics related to teacher supply; what is the nature or categories of figures, known to her, that she has not chosen to supply; and what reasons she has given for not so doing.

The National Union of Teachers asked at the end of January about the projections in the White Paper. In my reply I said that the latest population figures were under study and that my proposed advisory committee would no doubt have the opportunity to consider the assumptions underlying the projections.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with regard to the safety arrangements for sub—contract self—employed labour working on scaffolding in the building trade.

Safety in relation to the self—employed was discussed in the report of the Committee on Safety and Health at Work chaired by Lord Robens, and its recommendations on this subject are currently being considered. A sub committee of my Joint Advisory Committee on Safety and Health in the Construction Industries is preparing a report on scaffolding safety. I appreciate the safety problems in this difficult area and I am satisfied that they are being properly examined.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to improve employment opportunities for disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

The measures which the Government have already taken to expand the economy have, I am glad to say, improved the employment position of disabled people significantly over the last year. In addition, as my right hon. Friend made clear to the House on 3rd August 1972, we intend to improve the employment and training ser vices provided for disabled people by my Department, and have embarked upon a consultative programme with my National Advisory Council on the Employment of the Disabled and others concerned about how best to achieve this improvement. Four trials, designed amongst other things to show whether improved vocational assessment facilities can be provided, are due to start next month. Discussions are proceeding with the council on how the disablement re settlement officer service can best be improved in the context of the modernisation of the general employment service. My right hon. Friend plans also to publish consultative documents on the future of the quota scheme and of sheltered employment as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the amount spent by his Department on education and advice on industrial health and safety in each of the last four years.

The work that officers of my Department do in the field of industrial health and safety includes as part of their normal duties both education and advice as well as enforcement. The two cannot be distinguished and are not costed separately. The total costs of maintaining the Factory Inspectorate have been approximately £4·5 million, £5·1 mil lion, £5·7 million and £6·0 million in the financial years 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72 and 1972–73 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will print in the OFFICIAL REPORT: (a) the number of tenants claiming rent rebates, and (b) what percentage of these is drawing supplementary benefit

This information is not avail able. The total number of tenants in England and Wales receiving a rent rebate and the number of them who are also receiving supplementary benefit will be included in the data collected by the Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants after the end of this financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average price of a two-bed roomed house in 1933, 1947, 1957, 1967 and 1972. respectively.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will urge local authorities to carry out a survey of empty properties in their areas and into the best methods for making use of them for short-term housing.

Some local authorities, and particularly some London boroughs, have already carried out surveys of empty dwellings in their areas and are taking steps to ensure that short-life residential property is put to use as far as practicable. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services and I recently met representatives of the London Boroughs Association and the Greater London Council, and the LBA agreed to examine what scope there was for it to give guidance to its authorities on the use to which short-life property might be put.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest available figure for empty domestic properties owned by his Department.

Any property surplus to official requirements will, if the location permit, be offered to the appropriate local authority before sale on the open market. At present, 14 units are being dealt with under the disposal procedures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the latest available figure for empty domestic properties in the United Kingdom.

The 1966 sample census recorded about ½ million dwellings vacant, or about 3 per cent. of the total stock. National data from the 1971 Census are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the number of projects for which the British Railways Board has received grant-aid under the special environmental assistance scheme; and what is the total of grant-aid awarded.

Under Section 8 of the Local Employment Act 1972, grant-aid is payable only to local authorities. A number of local authorities have, however, agreed to carry out work under the scheme on railway land or buildings with, in appropriate cases, a contribution from the British Railways Board. The total estimated value of these projects may be around £¼ million.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance, financial and otherwise, Her Majesty's Government have given to the Government of Iceland in respect of the disaster caused by volcanic eruption; how the level of British assistance compares with that from other countries; if he is now satisfied that enough help has been given by this country; and if he will make a statement.

On 8th February Her Majesty's Government made a donation of £10,000 to the Icelandic Red Cross for the relief of those made homeless by the Westmann Islands eruption. Full details of donations from other Governments are not available. We believe our contribution was useful and timely. It was comparable with donations made by the Governments of the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany. We understand that Iceland's Nordic partners made substantial offers of assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what costs will be met by Her Majesty's Government in connection with the exhibition of Chinese cultural treasures to be held at the Royal Academy of Arts from 28th September 1973 to 23rd January 1974.

Her Majesty's Government will have no responsibility for the operating costs of the exhibition. They do, however, intend to indemnify the Government of the People's Republic of China against loss of, or damage to, loaned exhibits to the value of approximately 99 million Yuan (about £20 million) whilst in the United Kingdom, and to share equally with the Government of France a similar indemnity whilst the exhibits are in transit from Peking to Paris and from Paris to London. The agreement with the Chinese Government will be published soon.Parliament will be asked to approve a token Supplementary Estimate in due course. In the meantime, should a claim arise an advance will be sought from the Contingencies Fund.

asked the Secretary of Slate for the Home Department if he will hold an inquiry into the use by the Metropolitan Police of dogs and fire hoses against young girls at Wembley Stadium on the occasion of the David Cassidy concert there.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis assures me that no dogs or fire hoses were used by members of his force.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to issue a supplementary register of Northern Ireland voters in order to enable those voters who were unable to vote in the border poll election to do so in future elections.

The chief electoral officer is making a report to my right hon. Friend, which he will then consider.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the proposed merger of the road passenger undertaking of the Belfast Corporation and Ulsterbus will take place.

There have been lengthy negotiations between the management and the trade unions concerned about the terms and conditions of employment which would apply in a merged road passenger undertaking under the ownership and financial control of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company. It was not, however, possible to reach agreement on these matters before 1st April 1973—the intended date of the merger.Accordingly, it has been agreed that the Belfast Corporation bus undertaking will be transferred by the Transfer of Functions Order under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 to the Holding Company on 2nd April 1973. The existing terms and conditions of employment will continue to apply to the transferred staff pending further negotiations between management and trade unions.An immediate payment of £1 million to the Belfast Corporation has been authorised which, with the £750,000 reported to the House on 26th May 1972, is intended to deal with the losses of the Corporation undertaking up to 1st April 1973. In order to ensure that essential bus services can be maintained in Belfast, further financial assistance after 1st April will be necessary. Until the further negotiations between management and trade unions have been completed, I am not able to forecast an exact date for the proposed merger.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications how many letters he has received asking him to authorise post offices to refund the unexpired portion of a television licence to consumers on producing their retirement pension book.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers of self-employed weavers in each of the islands of the Outer Hebrides for each of the last 10 years and at the latest available date.

Annual figures are not available, and the figures that are available do not distinguish self-employed weavers from other weavers. Figures derived from the 1966 sample census are given in the table below for the number of weavers and the number of self-employed persons without employees in each administrative subdivision of the Outer Hebrides. 1971 Census figures should be available in about one year's time.

NUMBER OF WEAVERS AND NUMBER OF SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS WITHOUT EMPLOYEES, OUTER HEBRIDES, CENSUS 1966✶
	Weavers	Self-employed persons without employees
Stornoway Small Burgh	70	140
Lewis District of County	1,130	1,050
Harris	—	120
North Uist	20	220
South Uist	—	220
Barra	—	20
✶ Derived from 10 per cent. sample.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide training facilities for Harris tweed weavers in the operation of double width looms.

I have been asked to reply.Training approved by the Wool, Jute and Flax Industry Training Board for Harris tweed weavers and based on single width looms is provided by the Lewis Castle Technical College at Stornoway.I understand that a suitable double width loom for Harris tweed weaving is still in the course of development, and that a delegation from Harris which recently inspected the prototype considered that, while the design of the machine was excellent, it was at present too heavy for constant manual operation, and too slow.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many private beds are available in hospitals serving the Hamilton constituency area; and in what hospitals.

There are no authorisations for private in-patient accommodation at any hospital serving the Hamilton constituency area.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will bring the conditions for refusing permission to developments subject to certain levels of aircraft noise in Scotland into line with those of England;(2) if he will seek to bring the permissible levels of aircraft noise in Scotland into line with those in England.

The guidance I have issued to Scottish local planning authorities does not reflect any difference in policy and approach from that issued in England. It is my intention that similar circumstances will be similarly treated in both countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will consider introducing a weekly social insurance benefit equal in amount to the standard rate for unemployment benefit as of right for single persons who have been obliged to give up employment to care for elderly or infirm relatives at home on production of medical evidence of such dependency, and providing for a Class 1 insurance credit to be awarded to such single persons; and what is his estimate of the cost of such concessions, bearing in mind the saving to public funds when the elderly and infirm are cared for at home by their own relatives.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if, with a view to legislation, he will estimate the number of single persons who have been obliged to give up employment in order to care for elderly or infirm relatives at home;(2) if he will introduce legislation to provide a weekly social security benefit, equal in amount to the standard rate of unemployment benefit, for single persons who have been obliged to give up employment to care for elderly or infirm relatives at home, on production of medical evidence of the relative's dependency, to be awarded for as long as he or she is caring for the relative at home;(3) if he will introduce legislation to provide for a Class 1 insurance credit to be awarded to single persons who have been obliged to give up employment to care for elderly or infirm relatives at home, on production of medical evidence of the relative's dependency, to be awarded for as long as he or she is caring for the relative at home.

I have no proposals on these points. Under existing arrangements, the attendant may of course qualify for supplementary benefit, and in the case of a single woman this can cover the cost of her (non-employed) contribution for retirement pension purposes. Attendance allowance may be payable to the handicapped person, and extension of the allowance will benefit an increasing number of families. The number of people who have had to give up work to act as attendants is uncertain, and no reliable estimate can be made of the cost of the changes suggested.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated annual cost of allowing all the children of deceased fathers to keep their allowances on the remarriage of their mothers; and what is the cost of allowing this concession wholly to the children of war widows and partially to the children of industrial widows.

The answer to the first part of the Question is about £500,000 in the first year rising eventually to about £6 million a year. The estimated cost of the children's allowances which are now paid after the remarriage of war and industrial widow pensioners is about £500,000 a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will increase the allowance for heating included in the calculation of supplementary benefits in the cases of those suffering from respiratory diseases.

No. Basic provision for heating in the supplementary benefit scale rates is already increased by discretionary additions to benefit in appropriate cases to take account of poor health or bad accommodation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether a person who is paid back into the reserve pension scheme will benefit from bonuses declared under Clause 76 of the Social Security Bill where those bonuses relate to years in respect of which he is paid back into the reserve pension scheme.

No. Bonuses represent mainly profit on the investment of contributions and therefore cannot arise in respect of periods before the contributions were received into the reserve pension fund.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) in view of paragraphs 19, 67 and 138 of the Price and Pay Code (Cmnd. 5247), if he will give an undertaking to electrical installation contractors that the trading structure for the manufacturing industry will not be enforced on the electrical installation industry; (2) as the electrical contracting industry is labour intensive, if the Government will consider exempting competitive tendering in the construction industry under paragraph 10 of the Price and Pay Code, in view of the similarity between this method of trading and auction sales; (3) in view of the special circumstances of the construction industry, what steps the Government have taken to consult the various trade associations within that industry such as the Electrical Contractors Association, the Electrical Telecommunication and Plumbing Union on the likely effect the Price and Pay Code will have on their industry.

I have been asked to reply.The arrangements for control of prices in the construction industry are set out in paragraph 100 of Cmnd. 5267. There would be no justification for exempting all or part of the construction industry from the control. However, the special construction panel will be able to advise the Pay Board and Price Commission on how the Price and Pay Code might be applied to the special circumstances of construction. Consultations have been held with leading employers' bodies in the industry, including one of which the Electrical Contractors Association is a member. The main construction operatives' bodies have been invited to discuss the Government's proposals but have not so far taken up this offier. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment is shortly seeing both sides of the electrical contracting industry to discuss the application of Part II of the Code to the industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, when the deficit of a nationalised industry is written off or its assets written down by statute against its debts to the Government, any adjustment is made to its accumulated tax losses; and if he will make a statement.

The treatment of accumulated tax losses of a nationalised industry following a reconstruction depends on the relationship between the loan or public dividend capital being written off on the one hand, and the deficit incurred or the expenditure on the assets written off on the other. Under existing law there would not necessarily be an adjustment in every case unless specific provision had been made in the legislation providing for the reconstruction.In the view of my right hon. Friend it would be proper to ensure that, when a nationalised industry has its loans from the Government or its public dividend capital written down, its accumulated tax losses should also be reduced to the extent that deficits or assets have been written off. Accordingly, he intends in due course to introduce legislation to this end; it will apply to any reconstruction which is authorised during the current or any future Session. This legislation will not affect the tax liability of a nationalised industry until its profits for tax purposes exceed the balance of accumulated allowances or reliefs remaining after the adjustment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will postpone the imposition of value added tax on works of art and antiques, bearing in mind that art and antique dealers and auctioneers will be unable to operate the special scheme contained in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Notice No. 712 as important practical matters of procedure have not been finalised by Customs and Excise.

No. There are no outstanding questions of procedure which need delay the introduction of value added tax. Any trader who is not clear about the position on any specific point should consult Customs and Excise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much productivity rose in manufacturing industry in each of the past 10 years.

The table below shows the year to year percentage increases in output at constant prices per person employed in manufacturing industry:

1963	4·6
1964	7·2
1965	2·2
1966	1·6
1967	2·8
1968	7·0
1969	2·1
1970	1·5
1971	3·1 (provisional)
1972	7·3 (provisional)

Output is measured by the index of manufacturing production. Persons employed include employees, employers and self-employed persons; full-time and parti-time workers are all counted as full units. The figures are published regularly in the Monthly Digest of Statistics.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what orders are being made under the Counter-Inflation Act 1973 and the Counter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972.

The table below shows the orders which will be published and come into operation in the next few days. A small number of further orders will need to be made later.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of public equity capital outstanding; and what was the return upon it in the financial year 1972–73.

The amount of public dividend capital outstanding is £625 million, of which £500 million is held by the British Steel Corporation and £125 million by the British Airways Board.As the financial results of these industries for 1972–73 will not be finalised for some months, my hon. Friend will appreciate that it is not possible to state the amount of dividend which will be paid for the year.