asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will give priority in her consideration of school building proposals to reducing primary school classes which have 45 pupils or more.

In January 1972, the latest date for which figures are available, only 0·33 per cent. of primary classes in England contained more than 45 pupils. Many of these were in open plan and team teaching systems, and I expect the remainder to be eliminated progressively as primary numbers decline and the supply of buildings and staffing standards improve.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what studies have been undertaken by her Department relative to the provision of amenities for each group of young people up to the maximum age group for which her Department accepts responsibility in England and Wales; whether she has received any recommendations about this subject; and if she will make a statement.

The report of a Government survey of the youth service and similar provision for young people, commissioned by my Department, was published in June 1972. Copies were placed in the Library. Other relevant research is nearing completion at the universities of Keele and Leeds.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations have been made to her by the National Union of Teachers on teacher supply.

I met a deputation of the NUT on 2nd April. It said that it would be publishing its own estimates of the number of teachers needed. I have not had any communication from it since that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will have a departmental inquiry into the reasons why, between December 1971 and August 1972, the number of teachers leaving the London borough of Brent was double that of the neighbouring borough of Harrow, the figures being 30·4 per cent. and 15 per cent.; and if she will provide for the terms of reference to include the cost of housing and the difficulties of finding accommodation.

No, but my right hon. Friend is in consultations at national level about the possibility of conducting a sample survey among all authorities of teacher turnover during the current school year, and of the reasons for it.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received from local education authorities seeking a widening of the category of pupils eligible for maintenance allowances; and what reply she has sent.

There have been a few representations in recent years, concerned with extending the range of eligibility for allowances to those of compulsory school age. These allowances were never intended for that purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will set up a committee to inquire into the large proportion of children of West Indian origin attending schools for the educationally subnormal, and to make recommendations.

No, Sir. I hope later this year to issue guidance to local education authorities on the educational assessment, placement and review of children of immigrants needing special help.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action she is planning to take to raise the qualifications needed for entry into teacher training colleges.

Increasing numbers of students with two or more GCE passes at A level are being admitted to colleges of education and this will be the normal minimum qualification for entrance to the new Dip.HE and B.Ed courses, which should start by 1975. The existing certificate courses with their lower entry qualifications will be phased out as soon as the teacher supply situation permits.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many letters she has received from student organisations regarding maintenance grants; and what replies she has sent.

About 70. The replies explained that the matter of student support was being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will consult the Director and Trustees of the Science Museum as to their views on the preservation of Broomhill House, Tunbridge Wells, with its early electrical installations, and their recommendations as to its use for the housing of the British Piano Museum.

Broomhill House is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Social Services and any question of making accommodation available to the British Piano Museum would be for him. The advice of the Science Museum on the preservation of the electrical installations would be available if required.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will arrange for a feasibility study to be made of the establishment of the British Piano Museum in Broomhill House, Tunbridge Wells.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to his similar Question today.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she expects to make a statement about appointments to the British Library Board.

A number of part-time appointments to the British Library Board have been made under Section 2(1) of the British Library Act 1972. In addition the Chief Executive, Dr. H. T. Hookway, has been appointed a full-time member. The remaining appointments to the board, including that of the chairman, will be announced as soon as possible.The following have been appointed part-time members of the Board of the British Library under Section 2(1) of the British Library Act 1972:—The Rt. Hon. the Lord Adeane GCB GCVO (Appointed by Her Majesty The Queen).Dr. J. W. Barrett CBE, Director, Monsanto Chemicals Limited.Mr. John Brown CBE, Publisher, Oxford University Press.Dr. G. Chandler, City Librarian, Liverpool.Dr. A. N. L. Munby, Librarian, Kings College, Cambridge (Appointed on the nomination of the Trustees of the British Muesum).Mrs. Alison Munro CBE, High Mistress, St. Paul's School for Girls.Dr. A. E. Ritchie, Secretary and Treasurer, Carnegie Trust for Universities of Scotland, lately Dean, Faculty of Science, University of St. Andrews.Professor Glanmor Williams, Professor of History, University College, Swansea.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when she expects to be in a position to implement the proposals of the Quirk Report on Speech Therapy; and which proposals these are.

My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Social Services, Scotland and Wales and I have now accepted the committee's recommendations that speech therapy services should be unified and that they should in future be organised under area health authorities in England and Wales and under health boards in Scotland. Officials of the four Departments are meeting to discuss how these decisions should most effectively be implemented and to consider the other recommendations in the Quirk Report which call for action by the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date the Paymaster-General wrote to the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries in answer to its representations to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise regarding zero rating under value added tax for purchases by public museums and galleries.

My noble Friend wrote on 19th March to the chairmen of the Trustees of the national museums and galleries about value added tax as it will affect purchases by those institutions, and sent a copy to the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many persons left art colleges with diplomas in the summer of 1972; and how many of those persons obtained employment in a field relating to their training.

Diplomas are awarded by a number of bodies and institutions in art and design and the information asked for is not centrally recorded. A survey of the employment of art college leavers in 1968 was conducted for my Department and published last year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her present policy regarding the provision of grants to facilitate the attendance by students at courses of transcendental meditation.

Any such courses would not qualify for mandatory awards. Any grants made would be entirely at the discretion of individual local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she intends to take action to prevent increased slaughter of wildlife designed to forestall the implementation of the convention of international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora.

No. We already operate a range of import controls covering animals, birds, plumage, whale products and certain furs, hair and skins and there is no question of encouraging trade in specimens likely to be covered by the Convention before it is ratified.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will take steps to reduce the annual levy of £45 payable by employers in respect of plumber employees to the Construction Industries Training Board to the levy of £15 payable in respect of other employed tradesmen.

The levy rate in question, which applies to a number of other craftsmen in mechanical engineering services, was proposed by the training board as appropriate in relation to its training and financial policies. My right hon. Friend saw no reason not to accept the board's judgment. The rates of future levies will depend on what the board may propose and my right hon. Friend's view of its proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women, respectively, are registered with the Professional and Executive Register in the employment areas covered by the Macclesfield constituency.

Seventy-four men and 10 women resident in the Macclesfield constituency are currently enrolled with Professional and Executive Recruitment.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men over 50 years of age are registered with the Professional and Executive Register in the employment areas in the Leek parliamentary constituency.

The figures are the same as those given on 7th May 1973 in response to a similar Question from my hon. Friend.—[Vol. 855, c. 40.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the names of the firms which have requested the Commission on Industrial Relations to investigate their existing machinery for the settling of disputes.

There is no provision for the CIR to carry out investigations at the request of firms. Questions are referred to the commission for inquiry either by the Secretary of State or by the National Industrial Relations Court.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue instructions to ensure that there is no repetition of the incident in which Mr. McGurran was inadvertently removed to Northern Ireland instead of to the Republic of Ireland.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how

	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971
Persons committed for trial and indicted for murder	150	158	165	188	241	236	271	270	293	331
Found:
Insane on arraignment/unfit to plead	8	10	8	8	4	8	3	10	2	7
Guilty but insane/not guilty by reason of insanity	7	2	2	—	1	1	2	—	2	1
Convicted of:
Murder	44	37	52	51	69	65	76	79	99	90
Manslaughter ("Section 2")*	38	52	35	46	60	47	49	57	65	72
Manslaughter (Other)	31	35	38	47	75	85	89	81	82	111
Lesser offence	2	2	1	5	1	1	4	3	8	4
Acquitted	20	20	29	31	31	29	48	40	35	46
* Verdict of diminished responsibility under section 2 of the Homicide Act 1957.
Note: The above figures relate to the year in which the offence was recorded by the police.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) of those men, women, boys under 18 years of age and girls under 18 years of age reported missing in 1972 and subsequently traced, how many and what percentage were traced (a) within a week, (b) within a month, (c) within three months, (d) within six months, and (e) not for over six months of such report;

The following table gives the latest corrected figures for offences of murder known to the police in England and Wales:

1962	…	…	…	…	…	129
1963	…	…	…	…	…	122
1964	…	…	…	…	…	135
1965	…	…	…	…	…	135
1966	…	…	…	…	…	122
1967	…	…	…	…	…	154
1968	…	…	…	…	…	148
1969	…	…	…	…	…	118
1970	…	…	…	…	…	135
1971	…	…	…	…	…	173

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many charges of murder were brought in the United Kingdom by the police in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and how many convictions resulted.

The following table gives the latest available information relating to persons committed for trial and indicted for murder in England and Wales:(2) of those men, women, boys under 18 years of age and girls under 18 years of age who were reported missing in 1972, how many and what percentage have since returned to their homes;(3) how many and what percentage of men, women, boys under 18 years of age and girls under 18 years of age who were reported missing and subsequently traced were found to be dead; and how many of such deaths were attributed to suicide or to murder, respectively;

I should not feel justified in asking chief officers of police to undertake the substantial labour of extracting this information, so far as it is available, from their records.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men, women, boys under 18 years of age and girls under 18 years of age in care of local authorities or in custody absconded or were otherwise missing during each of the last five years for which records are available.

Information about escapes and absconds from prison department establishments is not available in exactly the form requested. Records refer to persons under and over the age of 21 years rather than 18. The totals shown below include prisoners who have escaped from closed establishments, absconded from open establishments or while outside an establishtment under escort, and who have failed to return from authorised absences from prison.

		Over 21		Under 21
		Men	Women	Men	Women
1968	…	464	14	27*	—*
1969	…	522	20	1,399	25
1970	…	672	17	1,120	9
1971	…	770	18	1,972	32
1972	…	730	23	1,150	70
* Statistics of absconds from borstal institutes are not available for 1968

Responsibility for children in the care of local authorities rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will confirm that the next London borough elections will be held in May 1974.

This will be the effect of paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to the Local Government Act 1972, unless otherwise provided by an order made under Section 8(2) and approved by Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now give the electorate of all parliamentary constituencies which, on the register for 1973–74, total over 81,000 and under 40,000.

Following are the provisional figures:

1973 ELECTORATE (PROVISIONAL FIGURES)
TABLE A. 57 Constituencies with Electorates over 81,000
England (50 constituencies)
Constituency	Electorate
Meriden	96,966
Ormskirk	96,105
Newton	95,002
Wirral	93,329
Rother Valley	91,135
Wallsend	90,602
Horsham and Crawley	90,300
Basildon	90,292
Thurrock	90,155
Abingdon	89,958
Brigg and Scunthorpe	89,920
South Fylde	89,909
North Norfolk	89,252
South Norfolk	88,766
East Hertfordshire	88,354
Maidstone	88,247
Don Valley	88,123
Ipswich	88,043
Lichfield and Tamworth	87,934
North Somerset	87,890
Harwich	87,878
Gravesend	86,818
Bromsgrove and Redditch	86,124
Bebington and Ellesmere Port	86,004
Canterbury	85,952
Torbay	85,461
Basingstoke	85,295
Isle of Wight	85,217
Bury St. Edmunds	85,167
Teesside, Stockton	85,081
Kettering	84,617
Weston-super-Mare	84,403
Wellingborough	84,372
Cambridgeshire	83,835
Hemel Hempstead	83,431
Arundel	83,300
Derby North	83,263
Sudbury and Woodbridge	83,167
Leek	83,157
Daventry	82,965
Bosworth	82,799
Poole	82,789
Barkston Ash	82,769
Southampton, Itchen	82,414
Halesowen and Stourbridge	81,951
Winchester	81,739
Melton	81,704
Kingston upon Hull East	81,300
Liverpool, Garston	81,297
Hertford and Stevenage	81,048

Scotland (1 constituency)
Constituency				Electorate
Midlothian	…	…	…	87,801

asked the Secreary of State for the Home Department if he will give the average electorate of parliamentary constituencies in Greater London according to the register of February 1973.

The provisional figure is 58,340.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now give the average electorate of parliamentary constituencies in England, Wales and Scotland, respectively, according to the register of February 1973.

Provisional figures are: England, 64,757; Wales, 55,722; and Scotland, 51,946.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how soon he expects to publish the McKay Report on firearms.

My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Home Secretary presented to Parliament on 9th May a Green Paper "The Control of Firearms in Great Britain" (Cmnd 5297). This is based upon the report of Sir John McKay's review, which will not be published separately.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now in a position to indicate the total number of crimes of violence in England and Wales in 1972; and by what percentage this total exceeds or is less than the comparable total for 1963.

The number of indictable offences of violence against the person recorded as known to the police in England and Wales in 1972 was 52,432, which represents an increase of 161 per cent. over the corresponding figure for 1963.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now in a position to state the total number of persons convicted for murder, manslaughter and attempted murder, respectively, in 1972; and by what percentage these totals exceed or are less than the comparable totals for 1963.

Figures for 1972 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists convicted of driving without the payment of road fund tax were also convicted of driving without adequate insurance cover in each of the last five years.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists were convicted of driving without the minimum insurance cover in each of the last five years.

The numbers of convictions in England and Wales for using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks were as follows:

1967	…	…	…	…	104,355
1968	…	…	…	…	102,439
1969	…	…	…	…	102,405
1970	…	…	…	…	105,585
1971	…	…	…	…	106,828

Figures for 1972 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the workings of the Gaming Act; and if he will make a statement.

I am satisfied that the Act is achieving what Parliament intended.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many gaming licences in total there are in the United Kingdom since 1st January 1972 to the latest available date: and how these figures compare with the previous five years;

	1970	1971	1972	1973
Total gaming licences granted and renewed in Great Britain as at 1st January in each year	—	128	145	134
Total gaming licences granted and renewed in Liverpool as at 1st January in each year	—	7	4	4
Total gaming licences revoked in Great Britain	—	1	—	—
Total gaming licences revoked in Liverpool	—	—	—	—
Applications for gaming licences outstanding in Liverpool	—	—	—	—
Total income from grant, renewal and transfer of gaming licences in Great Britain (approximate)	£129,500	£37,000	£43,750	Not yet available
Notes:
1 These figures refer to clubs licensed under the Gaming Act 1968 for general gaming other than bingo.
2. The relevant provisions of the Act came into force on 1st July 1970.
3. Fees for the grant, renewal and transfer of licences under the Gaming Act 1968 are payable to licensing authorities. The bulk of these become payable at the end of May each year.
4. The figures for total income under the Gaming Act 1968 do not include duty payable under the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1972.
5. The Gaming Act 1968 does not extend to Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many raids by police have been made on illegal gaming establishments in Liverpool since 1st January 1972 to the most recent avail-

The available information is as follows:able date; and how these figures compare with the previous five years.

The Chief Constable of Liverpool and Bootle informs me that the number of search warrants executed under Section 43(4) of the Gaming Act 1968, which relates to premises in which there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence against the Act has been or is about to be commited, is:

1969	…	…	…	10
1970	…	…	…	6
1971	…	…	…	7
1972 to date	…	…	…	7

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted for illegal gaming in Liverpool since 1st January 1972 to the most recent available date; and how these figures compare with the previous five years.

I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible with information relating to 1972, the latest date for which statistics are available. I regret that the information relating to previous years cannot be obtained without a disproportionate cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed in his Department; and what percentage is registered disabled.

28,809, but of these over 46 per cent. are employed in prison officer and immigration officer grades on work which is unsuitable for disabled persons. The percentage of registered disabled staff in relation to other posts in the Home Office is at present 1·8. The shortfall is due to a shortage of disabled applicants for posts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to date to public funds of the admission, maintenance and settlement of the Ugandan Asians who have been permitted to enter Great Britain since 1st July last.

In the financial year 1972–73, the Uganda Resettlement Board spent an estimated £4·4 million. This figure includes grants made by the board to local authorities up to the end of the financial year: further grants in respect of expenditure incurred by local authorities during that period will be made by the board during the current financial year. In addition, the Government contributed £50,000 to the Uganda Asian Relief Trust. Payments of supplementary benefit to the refugees are not separately recorded.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he proposes to grant permission to the wife and children of the person commonly known as Michael X to be admitted to the United Kingdom; and if so, under what title.

Mrs. Malik has applied to the British High Commission in Georgetown, Guyana, for an entry certificate to return to this country with her children. The application is being considered. I will let the hon. Member know the outcome.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it was decided to introduce a check band to be worn on caps issued to officers of the Metropolitan Police.

In pursuance of a recommendation by the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales that diced cap bands should be worn by all police forces.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek powers to ensure that no private enterprise security company shall be permitted to issue their employees with uniforms similar to those issued to police officers.

It is already an offence under Section 52 of the Police Act 1964 to wear uniform so nearly resembling that of a police officer as to be calculated to deceive.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what was the percentage annual increase in the price of bacon and eggs, respectively, between October 1964 and 18th June 1970 and between 18th June 1970 and the present date;

The following table shows the percentage increases in average retail prices, as collected for the purposes of the Index of Retail Food Prices between 13th October 1964 and 16th June 1970, and between 16th June 1970 and 20th March 1973, the latest date for which information is available:

		Percentage increase in average price
Item		October 1964-June 1970	June 1970-March 1973
Bacon
Collar*	…	35·4	47·3
Gammon*	…	30·6	38·2
Middle cut, smoked*	…	43·7	42·1
Back, smoked	…	32·0	47·3
Back, unsmoked	…	N.A.	46·7
Streaky, smoked	…	46·7	55·9
Eggs, per doz.
Large	…	19·5	38·0
Standard	…	39·3	51·1
Medium	…	59·0	69·8
Fresh Vegetables
Onions	…	132·1	27·7
Mushrooms, per ¼ lb.	…	N.A.	23·3
Tomatoes	…	90·4	42·5
Fish
Herrings	…	60·6	54·4
Kippers (with bone)	…	45·2	53·6
Cheese, cheddar type	…	13·0	75·4
Comparable information is not available for pig trotters or tripe.
* Or Scottish equivalent.
N.A. = Figures not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many letters he received opposing the cut in the rate of grant of the Farm Capital Grants Scheme, and how many in favour.

My right hon. Friend and I have received 63 letters commenting on the cut. As might be expected, most of those who wrote criticised the decision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the traffic and engineering studies for the proposed new Thames crossing to be completed; and at what stage the views of the Essex County Council and county district councils most closely concerned will be sought.

These studies are unlikely to be completed for at least 18 months. The views of local authorities will of course be sought before decisions are made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money was paid out in discretionary improvement grants to Manchester in 1970, 1971 and the first half of 1972.

The precise information requested is not available, but the allowable cost of discretionary improvement work, including conversions, approved for local authority dwellings in Manchester County Borough was nil in 1970, £96,100 in 1971 and £18,800 in the first half of 1972. The annual contributions to be paid to Manchester County Borough for this work are based on these amounts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing units were started and completed in both the public and private sectors in the London borough of Sutton for each year since 1965.

The figures, excluding Greater London Council building, from 1966 to 1972 appear in Table 5 of Local Housing Statistics Nos. 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21 and 25, copies of which are available in the Library. Table 7 of Local Housing Statistics shows completions for the GLC in the borough. During 1965, 275 dwelling starts and 242 completions were reported for the public sector; the corresponding private sector figures were 584 and 499.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether there was referred to his Department the level of charges applied by National Car Parks, &c, at Basingstoke; whether he is satisfied that the terms of phase 1 and phase 2 of the Government policy for control of prices was complied with in this instance; and whether he will make a statement.

These complaints have been referred to my Department. National Car Parks Ltd. has agreed to make appropriate reductions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the results of the joint studies on the Channel Tunnel project.

The results of the various studies—technical, economic, financial environmental—referred to in the Green Paper are beginning to come in. They will be made available as quickly as possible. I understand that the British Channel Tunnel Company will be publishing tomorrow a summary of the results of the economic and financial studies; a fuller report will be available later this month. As already announced, the report of the study on the economic and social implications for Kent is being printed and is expected to be published on 21st May. Further material will be published as it becomes available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will now introduce measures to make the sheeting of lorries mandatory; and if he will make a statement.

No. The Code of Practice on Safety of Loads on Vehicles which I issued last year advises when sheeting and other methods of securing loads are appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now make a statement regarding financial loss allowance, subsistence and travel allowances for members elected to the new authorities under local government reorganisation.

Members of the new local authorities will initially be able to claim subsistence, travelling and financial loss allowances on the basis of the present arrangements. This will continue to be the position of non-elected members, but as from 1st April 1974 the elected members will become eligible for the new attendance allowance under the Local Government Act 1972 in substitution for financial loss allowance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions in each of 1971, 1972, and 1973 to date in the area covered by his Department's South-West regional office (a) planning permission was refused by local planning authorities on a direction by his Department on road traffic and access grounds, (b) how many appeals were lodged against such refusals, (c) how many of these appeals were determined in the South-West area office without reference to London, and (d) how many of the appeals were successful.

The numbers of cases in which the Regional Controller (Roads and Transportation) South-West regional office directed refusal of plan-

	1971	1972	1973 to date
Cases referred to Regional Controller (Roads and Transportation)	1,358	2,118	825
Cases in which a direction was issued	385	713	167

The numbers of appeals lodged against refusal where there had been directions from the Regional Controller (Roads and Transportation) in the same years are:

1971	1972	1973 to date
16	24	26

Appeals have been determined in the South-West regional office since September 1972. Those in which directions by the Regional Controller (Roads and Transportation) have been issued are:

1972 (September to December inclusive)	1973 to date
5	16

The results of appeals in cases where there were directions by the Regional Controller (Roads and Transportation) are as follows:

		Allowed	Dismissed
1971	…	2	14
1972 (to end of August)	…	1	18
Remainder of 1972	…	2	3
1973 to date	…	3	13

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the names of the new members of the Aycliffe Development Corporation Board.

My right hon. and learned Friend will be consulting the local authorities concerned within the next few weeks. The names of new members will be announced after those consultations.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the

I have been asked to reply.The United Kingdom contribution in respect of butter subsidies will form part of the general arrangements laid down in the Treaty of Accession for the overall United Kingdom contribution to the Community budget. In 1973 this contribution is about 8¾ per cent. and in 1974 about 11 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he now has about Mr. Hawkesworth, a British subject captured by African guerillas; what action is being taken to secure his release; and whether Mr. Chitepo was questioned about this matter while he was in the United Kingdom.

As my right hon. Friend told the House on 9th May, we are trying to obtain information on Mr. Hawkes-worth's whereabouts. We have not so far succeeded. We had no contact with Mr. Chitepo while he was in the United Kingdom.—[Vol. 856, c. 475.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement about the number of British firms which have sought and obtained from his Department political advice about the situation in South Africa.

British firms are of course in touch from time to time with my Department, as well as with the Department of Trade and Industry. But no record is kept of the numbers involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the outcome of his inquiries into reports that Servicemen are being recruited from military camps in South Africa to serve in the forces of the illegal regime in Rhodesia.

I have been assured by the South African Government that no such recruitment is taking place.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the official visits paid to this country by Ministers or senior officials of the Government of Romania, and official visits made to Romania by Ministers and senior officials from Departments of the United Kingdom Government, between 1970 and the present time.

The following official visitors from Romania have visited the United Kingdom since 1970.1970

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what official visits are planned for the remainder of 1973 between the Governments of the United Kingdom and Romania.

We look forward to several visits to Romania this year. Announcements will be made as appropriate.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the arrangements of the European Community for protecting its institutions from the unauthorised disclosure of information; what representations he has made to the Commission and to the Council of Ministers about this since Great Britain joined the Community; and if he will make a statement.

Problems of this kind will be considered in the course of the work on the reinforcement of the institutions which was commissioned by the summit.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to secure the release of more land for housing.

While there may be difficulties in particular localities which will require attention, there is no evidence to suggest that either the public housing programme or private housing development is being adversely affected by a general shortage of land.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will consider referring to the Monopolies Commission the question of price fixing by fruit and vegetable wholesale merchants, in the light of the prevalence of this practice exemplified by the situation in Belfast.

I have been asked to reply.Price-fixing agreements are registrable under the Restrictive Trade Practices Acts and subject to examination by the Restrictive Practices Court. If my hon. Friend has evidence which suggests that fruit and vegetable wholesalers are parties to such an agreement, I would ask him to submit it to the Registrar of Restrictive Trading Agreements, Chancery House, 53 Chancery Lane, London WC2 1SP.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he now hopes to produce the Green Paper on a possible Scottish Assembly.

The Government intend to publish proposals for further devolution in Scotland as a basis of discussion and consultation once the Local Government (Scotland) Bill has been enacted and the report of the Commission on the Constitution has been received and examined.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Transport Group about the effect on its operations of the creation of passenger transport authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Before the Greater Glasgow passenger transport area was designated, representations made by the Scottish Transport Group were carefully considered and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Development held discussions with the chairman and his board.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to indicate the total number of crimes of violence in Scotland in 1972; and by what percentage this total exceeds or is less than the comparable total for 1963.

3,724 crimes of violence were known to the police in Scotland in 1972, an increase of 1,788, or 480 per cent., compared with the corresponding figure in 1963. The figure for 1972 is provisional. Crimes of violence consist of murder, attempt to murder, culpable homicide, assault, threat, rape, assault with intent to ravish and indecent assault.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is now in a position to state the total number of persons convicted for murder, culpable homicide and attempted murder, respectively, in 1972; and by what percentage these totals exceed or are less than comparable totals for 1963.

The information for 1972 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to have completed the coastal survey concerned with onshore developments arising out of the needs of oil and related industries.

I hope that interim conclusions from the survey will be ready for discussion with local planning authorities during this summer.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are employed in his Department; and what percentage is registered disabled.

Of the 7,132 employees in my Department at 1st April 1973. 3·1 per cent. were registered disabled. These figures exclude the staff in the prison service and State hospital where very few disabled persons can be employed.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now take action on his proposal to the Disablement Income Group meeting on 5th May which called for an evaluation of the aids now available to the disabled, by using that section in his Department which deals with those disabled by deafness to evaluate the range of commercial hearing aids now available for purchase by the hard of hearing, and to publish a report.

No. Advice about aids is available from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will add those suffering from cystic fibrosis to categories entitled to free prescriptions.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Stirling and Falkirk Burghs (Mr. Ewing) on 12th December 1972 and to my hon. Friend the Member for Leek (Mr. Knox) on 10th April 1973.—[Vol. 848, c. 71; Vol. 854, c.245.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what instructions are issued to regional hospital boards concerning the design of hospital buildings and extensions; and whether he will consider providing unit design modules for such buildings.

Guidance is issued, mainly in the form of building notes and technical memoranda. In collaboration with regional hospital boards, standard designs are being developed for the most frequently used departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consider issuing instructions to regional hospital boards regarding the greater use of industrial building techniques for new hospital buildings and extensions to existing hospitals, in view of the great savings in cost, without sacrifice of quality, which these modern systems offer.

Boards are responsible for deciding the most appropriate type of building construction for use in any particular scheme, and among the factors they take into account are the probable length of life of the building and the capital and likely maintenance costs. I am sure that they are aware of the advantages or disadvantages of using modern building systems in particular schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many major hospitals building projects have been completed since 1970; how many new hospital buildings started; and how many mental or sub-normality hospitals were included in these totals.

During the period 1st April 1970 to 31st March 1973, 133 major hospital building schemes—costing £250,00 or more—were completed, including nine at mental illness and mental handicap hospitals and six units for mental illness or mental handicap at general hospitals. In the same period 215 major schemes—costing £250,000 or more—were started including nine at mental illness and mental handicap hospitals and 20 units for mental illness or mental handicap at general hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure greater efficiency in hospital ancillary services with a view to effect savings in public expenditure by limiting unnecessary services and making better use of manpower and modern systems.

I am continuing to encourage the application nationally of incentive schemes for hospital ancillary staff. In addition, management services studies continue to be undertaken in the ancillary field and to an increasing extent regional hospital boards are making use of a review technique known as management survey, the scope of which includes ancillary services and which seeks to promote the best use of all resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many sick and disabled people were receiving supplementary allowances in Wales in December 1972; and how many were also receiving National Insurance benefits, giving the figure for males and females

As at November 1971—the latest date for which full information is available—about 15,000 men and 11,000 women. Of these, approximately 10,000 men and 2,000 women were also receiving National Insurance sickness or invalidity benefit or industrial injury benefit

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the annual expenditure on home help services each year since 1968, respectively.

The net expenditure in England for each financial year from 1967–68 was

					£ million
1967–68	…	…	…	…	18·4
1968–69	…	…	…	…	20·8
1969–70	…	…	…	…	21·9
1970–71	…	…	…	…	25·6
1971–72	…	…	…	…	32·9

The figure for 1972–73 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for attendance allowance have been made in Wales since the inception of the scheme, how many were granted on first application; bow many as a result of a review; and how many are still under consideration.

It is estimated that there have been just over 20,000 claims for attendance allowance in Wales, of which 8,200 have been allowed on first application and 1,600 on a successful application for review. There are currently about 1,100 claims under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many coal miners now receive benefit for the disease of pneumoconiosis and silicosis; and how many miners died from these diseases each year since 1969.

At 30th September 1971, the latest date for which figures are available, about 41,000 coal miners and former coal miners were receiving benefit for these diseases out of the Industrial Injuries Fund. As regards deaths, I would refer to the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Dormand) on 29th March.—[Vol. 853, c. 386–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, following the action by hospital ancillary workers in Portsmouth, in respect of queue jumping, he will now take steps to phase out private pay beds in St. Mary's and the Royal Hospital; and whether he will make a statement.

There is authority for admitting up to 23 private patients to hospitals in the Portsmouth Group, including 17 to St. Mary's and the Royal Hospital, where I understand that such admissions are at present not being made because of industrial action. I see no reason to alter the existing authorisations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the estimated cost of a second runway at London, Gatwick, airport.

There are no plans to build and, consequently, no estimate of the costs of such a runway. In 1970, the British Airports Authority estimated the cost of the type of runway it was then contemplating at about £7 million at 1970 prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the Exchequer resources likely to be available for the expansion of Manchester Airport up to 1990.