asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he can now say when he will introduce legislation to deal with the rate burden on domestic central heating.

I cannot yet add to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Gentleman on 7th February.— [Vol. 850, c. 116.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will reconsider his decision not to allow the Cumbernaud Development Corporation within the provisions of the Housing Financial Provisions (Scotland) Act, to modify the statutory rent increases to enable the corporation to close the differential between new town rents and those of local authorities in Scotland in line with the special arrangements for certain local authorities in England.

I see no reason at present for modification of the rent increases being applied by Cumbernaud Development Corporation. Scottish new town housing is relatively modern and in a good environment, and differences between the average rent levels in the new towns and those of the Scottish local authorities reflect this.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many council tenants he estimates are paying a nil rent as a result of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972.

Several thousands, and there will be an increase when the needs allowances are raised this month. In addition, there are also other tenants receiving supplementary benefit whose total rent is met.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the pilot scheme for giving State aid to religious buildings in use.

I have nothing yet to add to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell) on 13th December. [Vol. 848, c. 141–2.]

asked the Secretary of Stale for Scotland what action he is taking to improve the facilities available in Scotland for further and higher education in petroleum technology and related fields.

Scottish universities and central institutions already provide higher education courses in fields relevant to the oil industry. My right hon. Friend's Department is in consultation with other interested Departments on what further specialist courses may be required to meet the needs of the industry. Below this level the petroleum industry has been given information as to the relevant courses available in the further education service in Scotland and invited to indicate any changes in existing courses or any new courses it might require.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to come to a decision over the scheme to reorganise secondary education in Edinburgh.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 4th April to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang).—[Vol. 854, c. 435–6.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time between an application being made for legal aid in Scotland and the applicant receiving a decision.

Information in the form asked for is not readily available; but a recent sample survey of applications for legal aid in the Court of Session showed that, of the successful applications in the sample, 70 per cent. were granted within 12 weeks of the application being made. The average time taken for an application to be granted was between two and three months. This small sample related only to legal aid for proceedings in court: applicants for legal advice under the new scheme introduced in April normally receive an immediate decision on eligibility.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time between the granting of a jury trial as mode of proof in the Court of Session and the date on which the case is actually taken.

The average time elapsing between the granting of a motion for a jury trial and the date on which the trial takes place is at present approximately six months, excluding vacation periods.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Lebanese Government concerning the use of the Lebanon by organisations as headquarters in planning the assassination of persons resident in the United Kingdom.

We have made it quite clear in the United Nations and elsewhere that we hope that all the Governments concerned in the Middle East will exert themselves to control violence. There can be no Government in the area who are not aware of our attitude on this point.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what circumstances the vice-consul at the consulate-general in San Francisco absented himself from his post at the end of March; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Gwilym Hughes took up duty as British vice-consul in San Francisco in November 1972. On 19th March 1973 he was involved in an altercation with the local police following a minor traffic incident. He failed to report to his office on 26th March. It was subsequently ascertained that on 28th March he left for Sydney, Australia, where he was interviewed on 4th April by the British Consul-General and encouraged to return to London. He was suspended without pay from 27th March. Mr. Hughes is being replaced in San Francisco.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement about his efforts to obtain the release from ZANU captivity of Mr. Gerald Hawkesworth.

We are continuing our efforts to establish the whereabouts of Mr. Hawkesworth, but the position remains as set out in the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Haltem-price (Mr. Wall) on 20th February.—[Vol. 851, c. 55.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about the condition of Mr. Niesewand, a British subject imprisoned in Rhodesia.

I have seen reports in the Press and from the broadcasting media that Mr. Niesewand had lost weight and was in a depressed state of mind. I have no further information about his health. My hon. Friend will have noted the recent announcement that his appeal has been successful.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much is paid by Government Departments which lease or rent office accommodation from property development companies in Scotland per annum to the latest convenient date; and what was the amount paid in 1970.

The Property Services Agency which is responsible for finding accommodation for nearly all Government Departments and agencies was paying rent to property development companies for offices in Scotland to the value of £1·115 million per annum as at 31st March 1973. The comparable figure as at 31st December 1970 was £0·645 million.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has received the report of the Harwell survey, to which his Department contributed assistance, on waste disposal in the mid-Mersey valley; and if he will make a statement.

My Department has received a copy of the preliminary survey carried out by the Harwell Hazardous Wastes Service on behalf of the Working Party on the Disposal of Waste in the Upper Mersey Valley. The survey was limited to an assessment of the current situation and includes an estimate of the industrial wastes arising, their nature and present methods of disposal. The survey is a valuable piece of work, not least because it demonstrates the importance of a co-operative attitude on the part of the public authorities and industry in analysing the problems involved in achieving a satisfactory waste disposal policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce further legislation to provide for the control and inspection of private tips by county councils.

My Department is currently consulting the local authority associations and other interested bodies on proposals for further legislation in the waste disposal field which it is hoped to introduce during the lifetime of this Parliament. One of the proposals is to give the new county councils in England and the new enlarged district councils to be established in Scotland and Wales powers to license and regulate the operation of all waste disposal sites.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will establish an advisory service on industrial waste disposal at his Department.

The proper disposal of industrial wastes is primarily a task for industry itself, though the local waste disposal authorities are likely to be increasingly concerned to ensure that suitable facilities are provided, and that disposal operations are properly conducted. Officers of my Department are ready to advise on general issues; and in addition the Hazardous Wastes Service at Harwell is able to advise and assist on specific problems involving the more difficult or toxic wastes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many successful prosecutions there have been in England and Wales under the Disposal of Poisonous Wastes Act 1972; and what has been the average fine imposed.

Statistics relating to Great Britain for 1972 have not yet been collated, but I am aware of one successful prosecution under Section 1 of the Act resulting in fines of £150 and £50 for each of the offenders; there has also been a recent conviction which has now gone to appeal. There has been a marked reduction in the number of reported dumping incidents since the passage of the Act containing, as it does, severe deterrent penalties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to set up a working party with industrial and local authorities to investigate the separation of hazardous waste from general industrial waste and methods of rendering innocuous hazardous wastes.

Two informal working groups are in the process of being established by my Department to consider detailed aspects of legislation in the waste disposal field which is currently the subject of consultation with local authority associations and other interested bodies. One working group will have the following terms of reference:

"to consider the Department's proposals for new legislation in the waste disposal field, with particular regard to the special authorisation procedure for the more difficult wastes, to advise the Department as appropriate on these matters, to define the categories of difficult wastes more closely and to prepare guidance for all concerned on the appropriate means of disposal for such wastes".

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in the guidelines study of the urban environment of Sunderland.

The consultants have submitted their report and arrangements are in hand for its publication.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to provide that owners of property subject to compulsory purchase and classed as unfit should have the same right to market value as owner-occupiers of similar property.

No, Sir. But the amount of the payment additional to site value made when an unfit house has been well maintained was doubled by an order approved by the House last November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the experiments now being conducted by the Road Research Laboratory on developing a "Sleeping Policeman"; and when he expects these speeding deterrents to be installed in residential areas;(2) when he expects to give approval for the installing of "Sleeping Policeman" in the Greater London Council area, in an effort to deter speeding by motor vehicles in residential areas;(3) in view of the willingness of the London borough of Wandsworth to allow the Road Research Laboratory to experiment with a "Sleeping Policeman" in its borough, this matter has not been proceeded with by the laboratory; and if he will make a statement.

I will consider the possibility of trials on public roads in the light of the experiments now being carried out by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give advice to Scottish industry on the consequences for it of the phasing out of the regional employment premium in 1974.

The consequences for industry will depend on the rate and method of the phasing out of the premium and on the state of the economy at the time.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken by the members of the EEC to co-ordinate energy requirements, including oil import policies, with the United States of America and Japan.

I expect this to be one of the major topics before the Council of Ministers when it considers energy matters later this month.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board to hold an examination into the land department.

No. I have no evidence that such an examination is needed.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give a general direction to the National Coal Board to review its methods of selling houses.

No. I am satisfied that the board's established procedure is operating successfully. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind and sends me details, I will ask the chairman to investigate it.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the provisions of the law relating to private security firms' personnel opening and searching baggage at airports in Great Britain.

Searches of baggage and passengers, whether by private security organisations or otherwise, are carried out at the request of airlines, which may by contract refuse to carry a passenger or his baggage without a search.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether the project definition study of a maritime VSTOL aircraft for the Royal Navy has been completed.

Yes. Work by industry on the project definition study has now been completed. The results of the study are now being discussed with the project teams in industry and are the subject of analysis and evaluation by the department. We expect to announce our decision to the House before the Summer Recess.

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the work and operation of the Military Police in Northern Ireland; and what plans he has to extend their activities.

The Royal Military Police in Northern Ireland assist the civil authorities in the maintenance of law and order. Working very closely with the Royal Ulster Constabulary, they undertake patrols and help to provide a police presence in a number of areas; and they take part in the joint RUC-RMP task force. The possibilities for extending their use in these rôles are kept under review.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he can now make a statement about further improvements in the Armed Forces occupational pension scheme.

Last year we revised and improved the rates of pensions and retired pay. We are now introducing substantial improvements in benefits for invaliding and for widows and dependent children. These improvements apply to those who give service on or after 31st March 1973.

asked the Minister of State for Defence how many civilians are currently employed at the Royal Armoured Corps Gunnery School at Lulworth and on its associated tank gunnery ranges.

One hundred and thirty-six.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Catholic schools in Northern Ireland have been attacked since and including 1969.

The information requested is not readily available and lengthy inquiries would be needed. I will write to the hon. Member about any details which can be provided without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were killed in the county of Antrim in 1972 and up to 31st March 1973, respectively.

The police have records of 128 people who were killed or found dead in 1972; this figure includes 88 who died as a result of motor accidents, 37 whose deaths were apparently connected with the security situation, and three deaths from other causes.In the first quarter of 1973, 19 people died as a result of motor accidents. Seven deaths, apparently connected with the security situation, were also reported.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many licensed taxis, proportionate to population, there are in Belfast and Londonderry, respectively.

The number of taxis licensed for motor vehicle duty purposes proportional to the population is, in Belfast, 1 to 1,464, and in Londonderry, 1 to 960.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give a detailed breakdown of the 19,500 houses vacant in Northern Ireland, and, in particular, if he will indicate those which are (a) owned by the Housing Executive, (b) formerly owned by owner-occupiers, (c) those which were formerly tenanted houses, owned by private land- lords; and if he will give what information he has as to the number of those houses which have been vacant for more than six months, and the number of houses which were left by persons who would have been entitled to be on the Housing Executive's emergency waiting list.

I regret that this information could not be made available without disproportionate effort.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been on the housing emergency list during each month since 1st April 1972, and if he will break down the figures between Belfast and other areas; and if he will also indicate how many of those people currently on the list have been on the emergency list for more than one month.

The information is not available in the form requested. Information about the Emergency Housing list operated by the Housing Executive, which covers all areas except Londonderry, is as follows:

Date			No. on Emergency List
1st April 1972	…	…	939
15th June 1972	…	…	248
27th July 1972	…	…	407
29th August 1972	…	…	519
11th September 1972	…	…	502
6th October 1972	…	…	511
30th October 1972	…	…	476
29th November 1972	…	…	565
28th December 1972	…	…	534
29th January 1973	…	…	607
22nd February 1973	…	…	645
26th March 1973	…	…	639
20th April 1973	…	…	650

Of the 650 current emergency cases 540 have been on the list for more than one month.There are at present 45 people on the emergency list operated in Londonderry by the Development Commission. It is not possible without disproportionate effort to provide a monthly breakdown of this list.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the income from farming per unit of labour per year for 1971, as calculated by the Common Market Commission, compares as between Great Britain and the Community average excluding Great Britain.

The sum total of farmers' net incomes, landowners' net rents, farm workers' wages and interest charges averaged per person in agriculture is estimated at 4,097 units of account (£1,707 converted at £1=2·40 ua) in the United Kingdom in 1971 and at 2,833 ua (£1,180) in the rest of the European Community. Persons in agriculture include both farmers and workers.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take following the report of the Forestry Commission Research Station that Dutch elm disease has been introduced to this country as a result of the import of timber from North America.

Arrangements have been made to control the importation of potentially infectious elm from North America, and to have it made harmless by appropriate treatment. The possibility of further measures is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in view of the increase in the price of petrol and other fuels, he will discuss with food manufacturers and distributors the possibility of Government financial assistance to prevent food price increases.

No.

asked the Attorney-General how many cases there have been in 1972 when defaulting judgment debtors in county courts in England and Wales have moved from addresses communicated to the court at the time of entry of such judgment without notifying the court of the change of address.

Statistics of such cases are not collected.

asked the Attorney-General what research has been done by his Department into the question of debtors failing to notify any change of address to the county court, thereby depriving judgment creditors of any effective remedy; and if he will make a statement.

No research specifically directed to this question has been undertaken, although the Payne Committee on the Enforcement of Judgment Debts (Cmnd. 3909) considered whether the whole burden of ascertaining a debtor's circumstances for the purposes of executing a judgment against him should rest on the creditor. It is an offence under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 for a debtor whose wages have been attached to fail to notify the court of a change of employment. The difficulty of tracing absconding debtors will be taken into account in considering further implementation of some of the recommendations of the Payne Committee.

asked the Attorney-General when he expects the report on the working of the Welsh Language Act by Lord Justice Edmund Davies to be published.

As I informed the hon. Member for Cardigan (Mr. Elystan Morgan) on 11th April, my noble Friend the Lord Chancellor is studying Lord Justice Edmund Davies' advice and hopes to make a statement shortly.— [Vol. 854, c. 297.]

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will indicate what proportion of the money used for research and development expenditure on computerisation is devoted by Her Majesty's Stationery Office to indexing and making available the content of the statute law and subordinate legislation, as distinct from being concerned with the mere printing by computer of the new edition of the Statutes in Force; and if he will give the amount spent under each heading.

Her Majesty's Stationery Office is using new techniques including computer-assisted photo composition in order to print the revised edition of the Statutes in Force. The necessary research and development work was undertaken as part of the application of these techniques to a wide range of HMSO printing, and costs are not separately available. There is no comprehensive index, but copies of magnetic tapes of the text will be on sale for printing and information retrieval purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many secondary grammar schools have been replaced by comprehensive schools in each of the past 20 years.

Information in this form could not be provided without disproportionate expenditure of time and money. The table below shows changes in the number of maintained grammar and comprehensive schools in England and Wales year by year from January 1952 to January 1972, the latest date for which figures are available.

		Grammar Schools	Comprehensive Schools
1952	…	1,189	9
1953	…	1,184	11
1954	…	1,181	13
1955	…	1,180	16
1956	…	1,193	31
1957	…	1,206	43
1958	…	1,241	86
1959	…	1,252	111
1960	…	1,268	130
1961	…	1,284	138
1962	…	1,287	152
1963	…	1,295	175
1964	…	1,298	195
1965	…	1,285	262
1966	…	1,273	387
1967	…	1,236	508
1968	…	1,155	748
1969	…	1,098	962
1970	…	1,038	1,145
1971	…	970	1,373
1972	…	893	1,591

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures at the Dartford and Gravesend employment exchanges, respectively.

The following table shows provisional figures for 9th April 1973:

		Number unemployed	Percentage rate of unemployment
Dartford	…	713	2·9
Gravesend	…	1,122

A rate of unemployment can be calculated for the Dartford and Gravesend travel-to-work area as a whole but not separately for its constituent parts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much productivity rose for all industries and services in the years 1965 to 1970; and in the years 1971 and 1972.

Percentage increases over the previous year in gross domestic product at constant prices per person employed are as follows:

1965	…	…	…	1·9
1966	…	…	…	1·5
1967	…	…	…	3·1
1968	…	…	…	4·6
1969	…	…	…	2·5
1970	…	…	…	2·6
1971 (provisional)	…	…	…	3·6

Sufficient employment data to make an adequate provisional estimate for 1972 is not yet available.The estimates of gross domestic product are based on output statistics. Persons employed include employees, employers and self-employed persons; full-time and part-time workers are all counted as full units. The figures are published regularly in the

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage share in the total tax revenue of each EEC member is taken by, respectively, direct taxes,

DIRECT TAXES, SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS AND INDIRECT TAXES AS PERCENTAGES OF REVENUE FROM TAXES* AND SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS IN 1971
						Direct taxes	Social security contributions	Indirect taxes
Belgium	…	…	…	…	…	32·4	29·9	37·7
Denmark†	…	…	…	…	…	46·6	5·1	48·3
France	…	…	…	…	…	18·2	41·4	40·4
Germany	…	…	…	…	…	30·8	32·0	37·2
Irish Republic‡	…	…	…	…	…	30·4	9·2	60·4
Italy	…	…	…	…	…	21·4	38·9	39·7
Luxembourg‡	…	…	…	…	…	39·7	33·4	26·9
Netherlands	…	…	…	…	…	35·3	37·5	27·1
United Kingdom—
1971	…	…	…	…	…	40·8	14·5	44·7
1972	…	…	…	…	…	39·2	16·1	44·7
✶ Revenue from taxes comprises taxes on income and taxes on expenditure received by central government and local authorities.
† Figures relate to 1969.
‡ Figures relate to 1970.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will give a general direction to the Post Office to amend postal addresses in the light of local government reorganisation.

No. This is clearly within the direct responsibility of the Post Office and it is not a subject on which I would expect to give a general direction.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will designate Rugby a separate district under the reorganised National Health Service.

It is for the area health authority, when appointed, to propose district arrangements. In this task the authority will no doubt have regard to

The information is given in the following table:the preparatory studies recently completed by the area joint liaison committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the extra cost of a four-wheel invalid carriage compared to the P65 and P70 carriages.

The cost of a vehicle for a disabled person varies according to the nature and extent of the modifications necessitated by the individual disability in each case. A general estimate of this kind is accordingly inappropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many invalid three-wheelers are at present in the reserve fleet for temporary loan purposes.

About 2,500.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many disabled people have invalid three-wheelers.

18,770 disabled people have invalid three-wheelers from my Department. I have no knowledge of the number owned privately.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications have been made in the last year to the Supplementary Benefits Commission for discretionary grants for sports clothing and equipment for schoolchildren; how many of such applications were refused and how many granted; what was the total expenditure last year on this item; and what proportion the total number of successful applications was estimated to be of the number of families in receipt of supplementary benefits who have children of school age.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what accommodation for parents of children is being provided in the new general hospital at Withybush.

Two rooms will be available for mothers to stay with their children. There will also be four overnight stay rooms in the hospital for visitors in general.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps the Welsh Hospital Board has taken to ensure the appointment throughout Wales of social workers to work with consultant paediatricians, child psychiatrists and other specialists who treat children.

This was one of a number of recommendations made in November last year by the Welsh Hospital Board's Working Party on Children in Hospitals in Wales. The Welsh Hospital Board accepted these recommendations and has set up a review body to progress their implementation.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will request the Welsh Council to make a survey of the effect of the current price of food upon low-income families in Mid-Wales and to publish a public report.

No.