asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications how many applications there have been in each of the past five years for the partial refund of the cost of a television licence by people who no longer possess a receiver, and how many refunds have been made.

This information is not available. A partial refund would not be made on those grounds alone, but would normally be made if a licence were surrendered, for whatever reason, very shortly after it had been issued.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will give a general direction to the Post Office to review its charges for the counter services provided for other Government Departments.

No. These charges, which include an agreed profit margin, are a matter for negotiation between the Post Office and Her Majesty's Treasury acting on behalf of the Government Departments concerned.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications how many of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not normally used to obtain regular departmental staff but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies. On 18th June 1973 there were five such staff in this Ministry.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will issue a general directive to the Post Office for the evaluation of and advice about com- munication between deaf persons by using an adapted telex instrument in conjunction with an ordinary telephone line on the basis of the information sent to him by the hon. Member for Willesden, West.

The Post Office is aware of this device and is evaluating it along with other aids to enable the deaf to use the telephone.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further discussions have been held with representatives of the CBI and the Retail Trade Consortium concerning a revised code for the guidance of the Price Commission during the autumn; and if he will make a statement.

The current talks with the TUC and CBI are exploring a wide range of subjects relevant to the overall objectives of the counter-inflation programme. We are not, at present, considering the specific revision of the code. When we do, we will consult the Retail Trade Consortium and all other interested parties, as required under the Counter-Inflation Act 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will now establish a committee of inquiry into the brewers' policy of switching public houses from tenants to managers.

Management of tied houses is one of the subjects which I propose to discuss when I meet the brewers shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take into urgent consideration, when examining proposals for new power stations, the full implications of an overdependence on oil as a source of energy.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take powers to require non-executive directors of public companies to make separate annual reports to the shareholders and to the employees, expressing their view as to the efficiency of the management and the propriety of their conduct.

I hope to encourage constructive public discussion on the whole question of company structure before making any firm proposals in this field.

A. Mill prices per tonne for waste paper and board*
						Fibre-board containers	Clean baled newspapers
						£	£
1962	…	…	…	…	…	9·35	8·12
June 1964	…	…	…	…	…	9·35–9·60†	8·36–8·61†
November 1964	…	…	…	…	…	10·09–10·34	8·86–9·11
1967	…	…	…	…	…	9·84–10·09	8·86–9·11
1968	…	…	…	…	…	10·82–11·07	9·84–10·09
April 1969	…	…	…	…	…	11·32–11·57	10·82–11·07
December 1969	…	…	…	…	…	11·80–12·05	12·30–12·55
1971	…	…	…	…	…	12·00–12·25	12·50–12·75
1972	…	…	…	…	…	12·75–13·50‡	12·75–13·50‡
April 1973	…	…	…	…	…	14·75–15·50‡	13·75–14·50‡

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied that, in relation to the price movements and the tonnages of waste paper salvaged, the price incentive to collect waste paper is adequate to enable local authorities

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give for the last 10 years representative prices offered by waste paper processors to local authorities for clean, baled newspaper and cardboard, respectively, the average and total value and tonnages of imported wood pulp for paper and board manufacture, the number of local authorities salvaging waste paper in each year and the total tonnages salvaged, and the prices of waste paper and wood pulp imported, respectively.

The available information is as follows:operating salvage schemes to recover waste paper for re-cycling without incurring losses which have to be met out of the rates.

The waste paper market is governed by commercial forces, and local authorities must make their own decisions. They are encouraged to collect waste paper for recycling if they consider that the operation is economically viable.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will include in his forthcoming legislation measures to prevent company shares being transferred to the chairman and managing directors of such companies.

I am not aware of any need for a general prohibition on the acquisition by chairmen and managing directors of shares in their companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what growth in electricity demand is envisaged in the next five years; and what measures are being taken to meet this demand.

The Electricity Council announced in March that the simultaneous maximum demand for electricity in England and Wales under average cold spell weather conditions was expected to rise to 56,500 MW in the winter of 1978–79 compared with the peak demand of 40,639 MW met last winter. I am considering the programmes proposed by the Electricity Council and boards for capital investment over the next five years, which are designed to meet this forecast demand for electricity.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many shares are currently held by the Goverment in International Computers Limited.

ICL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Computers (Holdings) Ltd. The Government hold 3·5 million £1 ordinary shares in IC(H), representing 10·49 per cent. of the total issued share capital.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Government money has been invested in International Computers Limited since January 1969.

In the broad sense of the term, Government investment in the International Computers (Holdings) Ltd. group since January 1969 totals approximately £30 million. This is made up of the £3·15 million balance of the purchase price of the Government's £3·5 million shareholding acquired under the 1968 computers merger scheme; the remaining £9·5 million of the £13·5 million grant towards the research and development expenditure of the group also provided under the 1968 arrangements; the £14·2 million for further research and development support which I announced last July; and about £3·1 million paid and committed under various cost-shared development contracts placed since January 1969.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what he estimates to have been the penetration of foreign car markets by United Kingdom manufacturers with (a) commercial vehicles, and (b) motor cars.

The following is the information for 1971, the latest year for which full data are available.

UNITED KINGDOM VEHICLES AS SHARES OF TOTAL NEW REGISTRATIONS IN MAJOR FOREIGN MARKETS
Main Markets*	Commercial Vehicles (Per cent.)	Motor Cars (Per cent.)
Australia	11·6	14·4
Austria	9·3	17·5
Canada	0·2	4·0
France	0·7	1·7
German Federal Republic	0·2	0·8
Italy	0·8	4·1
Japan	Negligible	Negligible
Netherlands	17·7	10·0
New Zealand	57·0	56·1
Portugal	44·4	33·3
South Africa	21·2	19·6
Spain	24·4	7·0
USA	Negligible	0·9
* Fuller analyses are given in the source quoted; a copy is in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in view of public concern, if he will urgently examine all forms of advertisement for cash in hospital only insurance schemes with a view to making immediate use of his powers under Clause 41 of the Insurance Companies Bill when the legislation becomes law.

Clause 41 of the Insurance Companies Bill confers power to prescribe by regulations the form and contents of insurance advertisements, and to make different provision in relation to insurance advertisements of different classes or descriptions. Before making any regulations I propose to consult interested organisations, and I should expect cash in hospital insurance schemes to be amongst the items considered. We have put down a new clause in Committee dealing with misleading statements, etc., inducing a person to enter into a contract of insurance.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what general directions he has given to the British Gas Corporation with regard to the renewal of industrial contracts by the corporation with a view to preventing restriction on the domestic market.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the concept of nuclear steel works and its implications for the future capital programme of the British Steel Corporation.

The possible use of nuclear heat for steelmaking is currently being studied by several European steelmaking and nuclear interests, including the British Steel Corporation. But this concept is unlikely to find practical application within the period of the corporation's 10-year development strategy.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans have been submitted to him by the Gas Corporation for the setting up of substitute natural gas plants; and what is the estimated capital cost of such projects.

British Gas is world leader in the technology of producing substitute natural gas, and there is already limited manufacturing capacity in operation for the further development of these techniques, which could be expanded if and when necessary. No specific proposals to construct new production plants have, however, been put to me.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many on-shore oil finds there have been in Great Britain this year; where they are; and what is their extent.

One company has announced the discovery of hydrocarbons in Lincolnshire. The extent of the discovery has not yet been determined.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the German and British disagreement on the Commission proposals for a subsidy on exports of coking coal, half of which would be paid for by the steel industry.

Discussions within the Community are proceeding, but I can assure the hon. Member that there is no disagreement between the British and German Governments.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the number of price increases sanctioned by his Department and the Price Commission for the longest stated period of time and the actual or percentage increases in each case.

The approval of price increases by my Department was confined to phase 1 of the counter-inflationary measures which ran from 6th November 1972 to 28th April 1973. Details of price increases allowed were given in the OFFICIAL REPORT of 7th May, in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Alan Williams)—[Vol. 856, c. 23–30.]The Price Commission makes its own announcements of price increase approvals. It has recently issued statistics of approvals given so far.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set up an inquiry into non-tariff barriers to the export of British cars to Japan; and if he will make a statement.

My Department is already in close touch with the motor industry about non-tariff barriers to trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the full range of facilities his Department offers to exporters.

These services are fully described in the "Export Handbook" and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House. The British Overseas Trade Board is responsible for the direction and administration of these services.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the meetings that have taken place in Wales on the Celtic Sea oil exploration programme in which his Department was involved.

Meetings in Wales at which my Department was represented took place on 17th May 1972, 20th September 1972, 6th October 1972, 15th November 1972, 16th January 1973, 6th February 1973, and 30th April 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will initiate an inquiry under the appropriate legislation into the affairs and financial dealings of the Scottish Co-operative Society.

I have been asked to reply. No.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not normally used to obtain regular departmental staff; but temporary staff to meet shortage mainly in the typing grades are hired from agencies. At present there are 225 such staff in headquarters and 10 in the regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will now arrange for war service to be reckoned as pensionable employment when assessing the amount of teachers' pensions.

War service is already pensionable service for teachers who at the time either were employed in pensionable teaching service or had been admitted, or accepted for admission, to a recognised course of teacher training.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many of all staff employed by her Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not normally used to obtain regular departmental staff but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies. On 18th June there were 23 such staff in the London headquarters and none in the regions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools are now receiving help under the educational priority area programme; and if she will publish a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT showing the number of these schools in each county borough, in each of the Outer London boroughs and in the Inner London education area.

Educational priority areas have never been designated as such. But extra assistance has been and is being given to local education authorites with areas of special social needs in a variety of ways, notably under the urban aid programme and through the designation of schools of exceptional difficulty. There are some 530 such schools at which additional payments are made to the teachers. Such areas already benefit from the improvement and replacement programmes for school building and will benefit further from the nursery education programme announced in Cmnd. 5174. It would be impracticable to provide comprehensive lists.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress is being made towards the provision of specialised treatment and accommodation for autistic children and adolescents; how many children and adolescents suffering from this condition he estimates that there are in England and Wales, and in Greater London and Essex, respectively; and how many places there are in special units or clinics in which the appropriate intensive treatment and education can be provided.

In most cases of autism the needs are thought to be for education and training rather than medical treatment. There is no firm evidence as yet that where medical treatment is called for this is best provided in special units. There are 10 special hospital units at present but most children and adolescents receiving medical treatment are with other mentally disordered children and young people. No reliable estimates can be made of incidence. There are wide variations in views among the professions as to what constitutes autism.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what price is being asked of the Staffordshire County Council for the Loggerheads Sanatorium land for use for social purposes;(2) whether he will use the Loggerheads Sanatorium for a hospital for the young chronic sick;(3) whether he will develop the Loggerheads Sanatorium as a national centre for holidays for the disabled and those who look after them;

This property is no longer considered suitable for hospital purposes. The Staffordshire County Council has expressed interest in acquiring it without specifying the intended use, which is for the council's decision. In accordance with established procedures, it will be offered at current market value to be assessed by the district valuer.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the future of emergency and accident hospital facilities for the north-east of Manchester.

The accident and emergency services for North-East Manchester have recently been reviewed by the Manchester Regional Hospital Board, which has submitted to me proposals for rationalisation of these services, involving the possible closure of one or more of the existing accident and emergency departments in the North-East Manchester Hospital Group.I have agreed that the board should consult with local health authorities and interested groups on certain of their proposals; others are still under preliminary consideration in my Department. Until these consultations and studies are complete I cannot make a statement on the future of the services. I do in general foresee the likelihood of a measure of concentration of the facilities with a view to increased efficiency and an overall improvement in the standard of accident and emergency services for the area. This would be in accord with my general policy on the provision of these services.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will introduce legislation to provide full insurance cover for all ambulance personnel.

Under the terms of the National Health Service Reorganisation Bill, if enacted, I shall assume responsibility for the conditions of service of ambulance personnel on 1st April 1974. From that date they will, if injured on duty, be subject to the same conditions for injury benefits as apply to National Health Service staff generally. As the hon. Member will know from the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey, East (Mr. William Clark) on 19th June, a new and improved injury benefits scheme for the National Health Service will be introduced shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many epidural anaesthetics have been administered in the last two years in North Staffordshire hospitals; and how many of these have been given to National Health Service patients.

Type of Authority	Administrators		Treasurers		Nurses
	min.	max.	min.	max.	min.	max.
	£	£	£	£	£	£
REGIONS
Regions with 3,500,000 population or above	7,779	9,249	7,524	8,994	5,769	6,549
Regions below 3,500,000 population	7,524	8,994	7,278	8,748	5,589	6,369
MULTI-DISTRICT AREAS i.e. areas with two or more districts Areas (Teaching) with 800,000 population or above	7,032	8,502	6,786	8,256	5,301	6,036
Areas (Teaching) with less than 800,000 population	6,786	8,256	6,582	8,019	5,145	5,880
Non-teaching areas with 800,000 population or above	6,582	8,019	6,378	7,782	4,989	5,724
Non-teaching areas with 450,000 to 799,999 population	6,174	7,545	5,970	7,308	4,677	5,412
Non-teaching areas with 150,000 to 499,999 population	5,766	7,071	5,565	6,834	4,362	5,097
SINGLE DISTRICT AREAS i.e. areas with no sub-division into districts
Single district area (Teaching)	6,786	8,256	6,582	8,019	5,145	5,880
Single district areas with 325,000 population or more	6,378	7,782	6,174	7,545	4,833	5,568
Single district areas with 175,000 to 300,000 population	5,970	7,308	5,766	7,071	4,521	5,256
Single district areas with 75,000 to 150,000 population	5,565	6,834	5,364	6,597	4,200	4,935
DISTRICTS
Teaching districts	6,582	8,019	6,174	7,545	4,989	5,724
District with 325,000 population or above	5,970	7,308	5,565	6,834	4,521	5,256
Districts with 175,000 to 300,000 population	5,565	6,834	5,163	6,360	4,200	4,935
Districts with 100,000 to 150,000 population	5,163	6,360	4,743	5,886	3,993	4,722

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what are the total contributions paid into the pension fund by a man insured from the earliest eligible date and assuming he retired this year at the age of 65; and what is the total of his employer's contributions and the State contribution;(2) what was the sum applied to pensions in the weekly national insurance contribution for an adult male in 1927

The information requested is not available without a survey of individual patients' records.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the salaries in the reorganised National Health Service for the chief administrative, finance and nursing posts in England for regions, areas, single-district areas and districts with population banding where appropriate.

The salaries, which are regarded as provisional, which were notified to employing authorities on 21st May 1973 are:and at each successive increase in contribution.

The National Insurance Scheme has long been financed on a pay-as-you-go basis, and contributions are not allocated to specific benefits. The best that can be done is to estimate by considering the income from each source and the expected outgo on the various benefits over a short period, a notional apportionment of the elements making up the total contributions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received from the Royal College of Nursing on the marked disparity in the salaries of members of management teams in which each member is reckoned to hold comparable responsibility; why, at regional level, the member of the team responsible for nursing will get nearly £40 per week less than the member responsible for administration; and if he will make a statement.

I saw representatives of the staff side of the nurses and Midwives Whitley Council, which includes representatives of the Royal College of Nursing, on 16th May before the provisional salaries were announced. The staff side subsequently informed me that it wished to see my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, and he received a deputation on 20th June. In fixing the provisional salaries regard was had to the responsibilities of the new posts—as far as these can be assessed at present—compared with existing chief nursing officer posts, and to the relevant provision of the pay code which is that the rate for new work should not be more than the current rate paid for the same or most nearly similar work by the same or other employers.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the differences in hours worked and in responsibilities carried by members of the same management team at regional level where the population exceeds 3·5 million which warrants the differences in pay for an administrator receiving £7,779 per annum, a treasurer/finance officer receiving £7,524 per annum and a nursing officer receiving £5,769 per annum; and if he will make a statement.

The chief administrative, finance and nursing officers of the new regional health authorities will not take up their posts until the autumn and they will not become fully operational until April 1974. For this reason the salaries have to be fixed on the basis of a provisional assessment of the responsibilities of the new posts and they must also conform with the provisions of the pay code relating to new work. As I have already announced, the salaries will be reviewed in 1975 in the light of actual experience of the new posts, when all relevant factors will be taken into account.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many physiotherapists are at present employed in the National Health Service and the whole-time equivalent this number represents; how many students are at present in training; and what is his estimate of the number who will leave employment in the next 12 months and the number of appointments now needed fully to man the service;(2) how many physiotherapists in the grade of Superintendent I are now employed in the National Health Service; and what is their average age, the average number of years they have been in employment since qualification and their present minimum and maximum pay per week;(3) what is the present minimum pre-entry educational qualification for physiotherapists; at what age one is accepted into the training course; how long the course lasts; and what is the weekly take-home pay of a newly qualified physiotherapist aged not less than 21 years.

The most recent staffing returns available centrally show that at 30th September 1972 the number of physiotherapists employed by hospital authorities in England and Wales totalled 4,689, in terms of whole-time equivalents, including 3,402 working whole time. The returns do not detail actual numbers of staff working part time, nor the numbers in individual grades. However, a survey made in 1969 showed that there were then 173, whole-time equivalents, in the Superintendent I grade; the average age was about 45 and the average number of years' experience about 17. Students undergoing training at present will mainly comprise those enrolling at schools in England and Wales in the years 1970 to 1972 for which I understand enrolments total 2,264. It is not possible to make any meaningful estimate centrally of numbers of physiotherapists leaving the service in the next 12 months, nor, in the absence of any generally accepted standard of provision, is it possible to estimate the overall needs of the service.The starting salary of a newly qualified physiotherapist is £1,110, irrespective of age. Take-home pay varies with individual circumstances. The minimum and maximum of the Superintendent I scale are £1,383 and £1,755 respectively. These are the salaries operative from 1st April 1972. I understand that the Whitley Council has reached agreement on revised salaries to operate from 1st April 1973 which will be promulgated when Pay Board approval has been obtained.For entry to training physiotherapy students are required to have, as a minimum, five passes in specified subjects at Ordinary level in the General Certificate of Education and to have attained the age of 18.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to obtain uniform treatment from local authorities for district nurses who wish to take a health visitor course, so that all are equally encouraged to extend their qualifications.

I have urged local authorities to continue sponsoring students for health visitor training until April 1974 when the new health authorities will take over this responsibility. Until then it is for the local authorities to select individual candidates.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether lie is satisfied that, in the Birmingham area, there is no undue delay in the payment of increased social security benefits which take account of increased rate assessments.

Owing to pressure of work the revision of supplementary benefit to provide for increased rate assessments is being deferred until a renewal order book is due, when arrears are being given. Arrangements have been made with the city of Birmingham housing department for the deferment of the payment of the increase in rates by tenants who are experiencing difficulty until their supplementary benefit is increased.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what criteria he has laid down for the authorisation of expenditure by relevant local authorities on establishing and running local health centres for general practitioners and their patients.

The essential prerequisite to the establishment of a health centre is the agreement of local family practitioners to participate in its operation. Then, under present arrangements, local health authorities proposing to finance the construction of a health centre by raising a loan require the prior consent of my Department. The cost of building each centre is approved individually having regard to the extent of the facilities proposed to be provided. The running costs of a health centre are a matter for the local health authority in consultation with the executive council and the practitioners concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of speech therapists including part timers employed in Carlisle and Cumberland, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many elderly people are waiting for entry to geriatric beds in the Carlisle and Cumberland areas, respectively, covered by the Northern Regional hospital area.

On 25th June 1973 the waiting list in the East Cumberland Hospital Management Committee area based on Carlisle was one, and nil in West Cumberland.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the price increases since April 1973 in the canteens covered by the hospitals in Carlisle and Cumberland, respectively; and if he will indicate the reasons for these increases.

This information could not be obtained in the time available. I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has now received the Finer Report on one-parent families; if he will publish it; and if he will make a statement.

The committee has not completed its report, but hopes to do so before the end of the year. It is my intention to publish the report when I have received it.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not used to obtain regular depart- mental staff, but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies.On 18th June 1973 there were 190 such staff in headquarters, of whom two were outstationed in headquarters offices in the regions.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service, as, at the latest date for which details are available, 12·4 per cent. of the working population were engaged in the non-industrial Civil Service compared with 9·4 per cent. in June 1964 and 11·1 per cent. in June 1969, and as this trend is contrary to announced Government policy, what steps he is taking to reduce the figure to the 1970 level.

The figures quoted by my hon. Friend include the staff of local authorities. The percentage of the working population engaged in the whole Civil Service, industrial and non-industrial, was 2·65 per cent. in 1964, 2·80 per cent. in 1970 and 2·78 per cent. in 1972.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he intends to alter the boundaries of the standard regions used by Government Departments to bring them into line with new local government boundaries for England and Wales.

As I indicated to my hon. Friend in my reply of 31st January, these boundaries will need to be reviewed both in the light of the new local government boundaries and in the light of the forthcoming report of the Commission on the Constitution.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service how many of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not used to obtain regular departmental staff, but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies. On 18th June there were 50 such staff in the London headquarters and 11 in the regional offices.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what discussion he intends to have with the authorities at Darlington before deciding the sites for the transfer of Government work from London.

If the local authority wishes to put any views to me I shall be glad to hear them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many full-time employees have ceased to be employed in the agricultural industry in each of the last three years.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT as much detailed information as may be readily available giving the actual prices charged in the Members' Dining Room, Cafeteria and Tea Room over the longest period of time, showing where prices have risen and by what amounts, and, during this period, the increased costs for wages of the staff, rent, rates, or other overheads for which charges have to be met.

I have been asked to reply.Details are given below of actual prices charged in the Members' Dining Room, Members' Cafeteria and Members' Tea Room, also the increase in cost of staff wages, from February 1971 to June 1973. To obtain the information requested in the latter part of the hon. Member's Question would involve disproportionate expense.

There was a net reduction of 4,100 in the number of regular whole-time agricultural workers in England and Wales between 1970 and 1971 and 2,300 between 1971 and 1972. These represent about 2 per cent. and 1 per cent. respectively of the total full-time labour force. Figures for 1973 are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not normally used to obtain regular departmental staff but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies. On 18th June 1973 there were 45 such staff in the Ministry, all at the London headquarters.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many gallons of sherry were imported into Great Britain in 1970, 1971 and 1972 from Spain and, separately, from other countries; what will be the quota for Great Britain under the recently concluded agreement with the Common Market; and if he will make a statement.

Following are the United Kingdom sherry import figures in millions of gallons:

	1970	1971	1972
From Spain	9·37	10·96	13·07
From Cyprus	3·87	4·29	4·60
From South Africa	1·49	1·80	1·51
From Australia	0·27	0·49	0·33

The recently concluded agreement in the Council of Ministers relates to a mandate for negotiations between the Community and Mediterranean countries. It includes proposals for tariff concessions on Spanish sherry and takes appropriate account of United Kingdom interests; but details cannot be given until the discussions between the Community and Spain take place.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the supplementary payments to refiners of raw sugar will continue after 30th June.

The Community has now fixed the prices for raw and white sugar operative in the United Kingdom from 1st July, and I do not consider that there is any immediate prospect of these prices resulting in a refining margin that would be adequate to ensure the refining and marketing of the sugar purchased under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement. The supplementary payments to refiners, which my right hon. Friend announced in his statement to the House on 28th March—[Vol. 853, c. 1306–16.]—will therefore be continued. The expected cost of the payments in respect of the period from 1st February 1973 to the end of the current financial year is £11 million. A Supplementary Estimate for this sum will be presented shortly, and until this is passed recourse will continue to be had to the Contingencies Fund. It is intended to seek specific statutory authority for these payments through the Finance Bill at present before the House.

asked the Minister of State for Defence how many, of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not normally used to obtain regular departmental staff but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies. On 18th June there were about 80 such staff in the London headquarters and about 50 throughout the regions.

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he will himself attend a conference of Welsh local authorities to discuss the problems caused by low-flying military aircraft or alternatively arrange for a junior Minister to attend the same.

No. I am very conscious of the problems which military low-flying training can cause in the districts concerned, but these are unfortunately the inescapable costs of maintaining a modern efficient Air Force. Every effort is already made to keep disturbance to a minimum, but if the local authorities concerned would write to me on any specific points about which they are concerned I will see that they receive careful attention.

asked the Minister of State for Defence how many low-level flights by military aircraft there were over Wales in the month of May.

1,030.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many of all staff employed by his Department at headquarters and in the regions were obtained from private employment agencies.

Private employment agencies are not normally used to obtain regular departmental staff but temporary staff are hired from time to time from the agencies. On 18th June there were 68 such staff in London headquarters and 11 throughout the regions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many projects have been completed under the Operation Eyesore scheme in the Kidsgrove urban district.

Fourteen projects estimated to cost £29,449 have been approved. I have no information about the number completed. No grant claims have yet been received from the council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in his new proposals for the granting of power to rate empty property, he has considered allowing differing scales of charges for varying types of hereditament.

Yes. The Government propose that local authorities should have discretion to levy rates on empty property selectively at differing scales up to 100 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now announce a deferment of the Channel Tunnel project until the alternative options have been examined in more detail.

I have nothing to add to what I said in the debate on 15th June

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the central Government expenditure on sport in the United Kingdom in each of the past years.

The information is as follows:

	Great Britain (in addition to the relevant element in rate support grants to Local Authorities)	Northern Ireland
	£m.	£m.
1964–65.	0·91	0·13
1965–66	1·34	0·15
1966–67	1·53	0·21
1967–68	1·90	0·36
1968–69	2·34	0·46
1969–70	2·54	0·54
1970–71	3·02	0·46
1971–72	3·73	0·47
1972–73	4·617	0·48
1973–74*	6·44	1·53
* Estimates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total expenditure on sport by local authorities in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years.

I am sending the hon. Member such information as is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy with regard to the future level of central Government expenditure on sport in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The Government will continue to support the sports councils in their task of fostering the knowledge and practice of sport and physical recreation and the provision of facilities. The amounts that can be made available for the purpose must depend on economic circumstances and on the claims of other services, but I recognise the strength of the case for a rising level of support.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amount of money allocated to the three sports councils by Her Majesty's Government to the latest convenient date.

The three sports councils assumed executive responsibility on 1st April 1972. Grants-in-aid to the three councils for 1972–73 totalled £4·52 million; the corresponding estimates for 1973–74 total £6·44 million.In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland spent £97,500 last year on commitments to sports bodies which were undertaken before the Scottish Sports Council was established, and expects to spend £30,000 for that purpose this year. In England and Wales, outstanding departmental commitments were taken over by the Sports Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amount of money allocated by Her Majesty's Government to national voluntary organisations connected with the general development of sport in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years.

The information is as follows:

	£ million
1968–69	0·90
1969–70	0·98
1970–71	1·27
1971–72	1·47
1972–73 (Northern Ireland only)	(0·02)

Since 1st April 1972 grants to sport in England, Scotland and Wales have been a responsibility of the three sports councils.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amounts of money allocated to sport by countries in the EEC, from international sources available to him, in each of the past five years.

This information is not comprehensively available in any meaningful form.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will confirm that there will be no delay in the issue of grant by his Department for the construction of the Sherfield-on-Loddon bypass as soon as the Hampshire County Council has completed the statutory procedures under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967.

The tenders which were recently received are double the estimate when this scheme was admitted into the principal road programme two years ago. A careful reappraisal is therefore necessary before any decision on grant can he made. I am writing to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what reports he has received as to the escape of toxic wastes from sites in England; and what action he is taking thereon:(2) if he will list the names and locations of the sites in England upon which toxic wastes have been dumped which are being, or are to be, investigated by his Department;(3) what machinery he has set up to carry out investigations on sites on which toxic wastes are dumped.

Under the Deposit of Poisonous Waste Act 1972 local authorities are responsible for dealing with any problems arising from the inappropriate disposal of toxic wastes to land in their area. They do not make regular reports to the Department on such cases but can and do seek advice and assistance from officers of my Department on various aspects when necessary. I have already announced our intention to introduce legislation giving the new county councils wider control powers and responsibility for waste disposal.In order to make an overall assessment of the pattern of waste disposal in England as a basis for future strategies, we have initiated a review of all the sites on which wastes, toxic or otherwise, are currently being tipped. This review is being carried out by refuse disposal authorities with the help of river authorities and the Institute of Geological Sciences who are making theoretical assessments of pollution risks, but the review is not yet complete.To assist local authorities further my Department is developing a programme of research to investigate the nature and destination of contaminants in the percolate from tips; details were given in my reply to the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Mr. Abse) on 21st June. This programme will include investigations on a range of sites which will be selected so as to provide information about the effects of different wastes, chemical variables, different site conditions, and different geological factors in the underlying strata.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many general improvement areas have now been designated; and if he will publish a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT showing the number of such areas in each county borough and in each London borough.

570 general improvement areas have been declared under the Housing Act 1969. The number of such areas in each county borough and in each London borough are as follows:

County Boroughs	No. of G.I.A.s
Barrow in Furness	1
Bath	2
Birkenhead	5
Birmingham	9
Blackburn	16
Bolton	4
Bournemouth	1
Bradford	5
Brighton	2
Bristol	3
Burnley	1
Bury	3
Coventry	2
Darlington	3
Derby	2

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the long-term plans of his Department in regard to office accommodation for the Department of Health and Social Security for each of the separate regions of the United Kingdom.

My Department's long-term plans for office accommodation for the Department of Health and Social Security are for the provision of a network of 371 integrated local offices in England and Wales and 55 in Scotland.The locations currently involved group by Department of Health and Social Security regions are set out in the table below.Over half of these have already been provided and the remainder are either in course of provision or future planning.In addition, where deemed necessary by the Department of Health and Social Security, a network of supporting public caller offices is being provided.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek to obtain and publish details of the size of the average mortgage now being advanced in the West Midlands and of the same figure in each of the past 10 years.

Figures for the average building society mortgage advance in the West Midlands are available only from 1969 and are as follows:

1969	£3,109
1970	£3,364
1971	£3,760
1972	£4,624

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average cost of a new house in the West Midlands now; and what it was in each of the past 10 years.

Figures for the average price of new dwellings in the West Midlands region mortgaged with building societies are available only from 1969 and are as follows:

1969	£4,422
1970	£4,624
1971	£5,182
1972	£6,269

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average rent for a council house in the West Midlands now; and what it was in each of the past 10 years.

This information has been published annually since 1967–68 by the Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants in "Housing Rent Statistics". Copies are available in the Library.