asked the Minister of State for Defence what assistance is being provided by the Royal Air Force air mobility forces to Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and the other countries south of the Sahara, which are at present affected by famine.

A Royal Air Force reconnaissance team arrived in the Ivory Coast on 22nd June to assess the situation. Members of the team returned at midday today and I have had the advantage of consulting them. It seems that an airlift, using three Hercules C-130 aircraft, could usefully be employed, and plans are proceeding.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what has been the percentage reduction in the value of wages and salaries paid to members of Her Majesty's Forces, who are stationed in each of the EEC countries, since the Government decided to float the pound, and if he will also take into account the increase in the cost of living, in those countries, up to the latest available date.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the introduction from 1st May of lower fixed exchange rates for the Forces to replace those which had been in force before the pound was floated. Rates of local overseas allowance were increased from the same date in compensation.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what allowances are receivable by other ranks in the Army and RAF during service in Germany, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland, respectively; and what conditions are attached to them.

Many allowances are payable in various circumstances. I take it my hon. Friend is interested in the main allowances paid to offset extra costs overseas, and to compensate for separation. Local overseas allowance is payable, without conditions, to all members of the Forces stationed in Germany and Hong Kong, but not to those serving in Northern Ireland. Separation allowance is paid when a husband and wife are separated for longer than is regarded as normal.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what is the cost to public funds of advertising and promotions for the purpose of recruitment to Her Majesty's Forces.

The provision in Estimates for the current financial year is about £6.1 million.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on recruiting.

The downward trend in recruiting which set in during the latter part of 1972–73 has continued. This was not unexpected, in view of the very good recruiting we have achieved over the last two or three years and the raising of the school leaving age, both of which have reduced the size of the recruiting pool.

asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a further statement about military operations in Northern Ireland.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to his Question earlier today.

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he will pay an official visit to Shetland.

I have no plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest percentage of registered disabled who are unemployed.

On 14th May 1973, 12.4 per cent. of registered disabled people were unemployed.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the unemployment statistics and percentages

		Number of unemployed		Percentage rate of unemployment
		8th June 1970	11th June 1973 (Provisional)	8th June 1970	11th June 1973 (Provisional)
Great Britain	…	523, 638	545, 958	2.3	2.4
North West Region	…	72, 132	95, 336	2.5	3.3
Merseyside Development Area	…	30, 288	44, 351	3.8	5.8
Birkenhead*	…	2, 368	4,276
Bebington*	…	619	947	Rate not available—see footnote
Ellesmere Port*	…	609	820
*Employment exchange areas which are part of the Liverpool travel-to-work area for which the unemployment rate was 4.3 per cent. on 8th June 1970 and 6.6 per cent. on 11th June 1973. Rates can be calculated for this area as a whole but not separately for its constituent parts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many letters he has received in the last year regarding the need to implement the Equal Pay Act; and what action he is taking to ensure its enforcement by 1975.

Since 1st June 1972 my right hon. Friend has received some 20 letters about the need to implement the Equal Pay Act. My Department published on 11th June a leaflet explaining the practical steps which firms need to take in planning implementation of the Act, copies of which were distributed to some 400,000 employers. In addition, provision is made in the Price and Pay Code for the reduction of existing differentials between men's and women's rates by up to one-third outside the pay limit in 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what study he has given to the industrial dispute at the parliamentary printers; whether the demands advanced by the union side are in conformity with the rules of the current phase of the Government's counter-inflation legislation; and if he will make a statement.

This dispute has now been settled. Although it has not yet been reported to the Pay Board, the on 18th June 1970 and 18th June 1973 or the nearest convenient date in each case under the following headings: National, North Western, Merseyside, Birkenhead, Bebington and Ellesmere Port.

Following is the information:terms of the settlement are believed to be within the pay limit.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what consultations he has had with the EEC Commission on the question of works councils legislation.

The draft European Company Statute prepared by the Commission contains proposals for employee participation which include the setting up of European and group works councils. I recently discussed the proposals with the Commissioner responsible for the harmonising of company law and my Department is keeping in close touch with the Commission about them.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will establish, under the provisions of the Industrial Relations Code, a register of all companies in the United Kingdom which have set up works councils or employee consultative councils.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the number of male and female redundancies as notified to his Department in each United Kingdom planning region in each of the past 12 months.

Following is the information, relating to Great Britain:

		REDUNDANCIES NOTIFIED IN THE PLANNING REGIONS OF GREAT BRITAIN FROM JUNE 1972 TO MAY 1973
		Northern	Yorkshire and Humberside	East Anglia	South Eastern	South Western	Wales	East Midlands	West Midlands	North Western	Scotland
June 1972
Males	…	1, 510	1, 190	220	3, 830	240	500	180	530	1, 920	2, 360
Females	…	150	220	30	1, 330	120	230	70	130	510	700
Not distinguished	…	150	—	—	—	—	170	220	1, 040	150	—
Total	…	1, 810	1,410	250	5,160	360	900	470	1,700	2, 580	3, 060
July 1972
Males	…	720	650	120	2, 430	170	500	580	1, 590	1, 160	820
Females	…	210	330	50	1, 050	140	130	120	180	290	420
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	440	320	—	—
Total	…	930	980	170	3, 480	310	630	1, 140	2, 090	1, 450	1.240
August 1972
Males	…	450	490	360	2, 840	70	70	10	—	1, 450	640
Females	…	200	140	170	870	60	50	130	—	440	280
Not distinguished	…	20	—	—	—	—	—	2, 250	1, 260	170	—
Total …	…	670	630	530	3, 710	130	120	2, 390	1, 260	2, 060	920
September 1972
Males	…	360	500	30	2,300	830	490	170	170	1, 660	930
Females	…	10	100	80	860	30	110	20	20	630	430
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	60	830	240	—
Total …	…	370	600	110	3, 160	860	600	250	1, 020	2, 530	1, 360
October 1972
Males	…	440	560	380	2, 770	500	100	820	810	1, 340	1, 820
Females	…	460	190	130	1,000	150	5	140	60	850	380
Not distinguished	…	100	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	100	100
Total	…	1,000	750	510	3, 770	650	105	1, 060	970	2, 190	2,200
November 1972
Males	…	560	740	30	2,360	100	140	290	270	2,500	1,310
Females	…	250	260	—	1,350	20	5	40	50	450	360
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	—	730	250	90	—	—
Total	…	810	1,000	30	3,710	120	875	580	410	2,950	1,670

		Northern	Yorkshire and Humberside	East Anglia	South Eastern	South Western	Wales	East Midlands	West Midlands	North Western	Scotland
December 1972
Males	…	390	180	—	1,040	380	80	10	200	1,670	1,030
Females	…	770	90	—	680	110	150	150	50	570	510
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	10	170	770			80
Total	…	1,160	270	—	1,720	500	400	930	250	2,320	1,540
January 1973
Males	…	630	1,800	340	3,680	310	310	140	80	780	1,170
Females	…	60	150	20	1,230	70	70	10	90	390	530
Not distinguished	…	700					10	270	40	—	—
Total	…	1,390	1, 950	360	4, 910	380	390	420	210	1,170	1,700
February 1973
Males	…	1,050	540	190	2,430	620	270	820	300	700	1,260
Females	…	10	590	20	1,670	40	50	190	120	360	170
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	290	—	—	—
Total	…	1,060	1,130	210	4,100	660	320	1,300	420	1,060	1,430
March 1973
Males	…	240	210	170	1,860	80	130	80	330	1,110	830
Females	…	40	110	110	1,650	30	70	60	30	450	410
Not distinguished	…	—	—				—	—	—	—	—
Total	…	280	320	280	3,510	110	200	140	360	1,560	1,240
April 1973
Males	…	240	800	—	1,490	160	270	210	1,060	190	760
Females	…	60	100	—	1,430	140	90	10	270	130	540
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	50	100	—	—
Total	…	300	900	—	2,920	300	360	270	1,430	320	1,300
May 1973
Males	…	570	900	10	1,450	240	20	30	100	470	1,070
Females	…	30	130	30	1,060	50	30	30	20	180	440
Not distinguished	…	—	—	—	—	—	380	—	20	100	—
Total	…	600	1,030	40	2,510	290	430	60	140	750	1,510

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will take steps designed to ensure that employees who are not members of unions are afforded an adequate measure of consultation in British industry;(2) if he will seek to amend the Industrial Relations Act to establish works councils.

The Government are considering all aspects of employee participation, including the nature and scope of joint consultative arrangements. No decision has yet been reached about possible legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many casualty departments, open and providing 24 hours service daily, were available in the Greater London area, to the nearest available areas in which figures are available in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1971 and 1972, and what increase or decrease is proposed for 1973;(2) how many citizens living in areas outside the metropolitan conurbations are estimated to live within 10 miles of a casualty department open 24 hours a day; and how many are estimated to live farther away; if he will further estimate comparative figures for 1950, 1960, 1970, 1971 and 1972; and what changes are expected in 1973;(3) how many casualty departments, open and providing 24-hours service daily, were available to the public in the major conurbations and cities outside the Greater London area, or such nearer areas for which figures were available, in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1971 and 1972; and what increase or decrease is proposed for 1973;(4) how many casualty departments were open to the public in England and Wales in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1971 and 1972; and what changes are anticipated in 1973.

Not all the information requested is readily obtainable and I would not feel justified in asking hospital boards to undertake a special statistical survey. Over the last decade the policy has been to concentrate services on a smaller number of fully equipped and staffed accident and emergency departments and it is known that while there were in England and Wales 789 casualty departments in 1960, the number of accident and emergency departments in 1970 was 680 with plans to reduce it by this year to about 620. I expect a further reduction of this number as more new or upgraded major departments are brought into use.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the number of doctor hours of duty, and of qualified nursing hours of duty, worked on an average 24 hour period, in casualty departments in England and Wales in 1950, 1960, 1970, 1971 and 1972; and what changes are expected for 1973.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners were in receipt of supplementary benefit on 1st June 1973, in the Departmental area relating to the new West Derbyshire District Council; and how this compares with June 1972.

I regret that this information is not available in the form requested. The West Derbyshire District Council area is served by three local supplementary benefit offices whose total catchment area is greater than the local authority area. At May 1973, the latest available date, 21,200 retirement pensioners were receiving supplementary benefit in these local office areas, compared to 22,900 in May 1972.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why he has appointed only persons coming from the hospital sector as chairmen of regional health authorities in England and if this indicates a change of policy from that declared during the passage of the Bill that the reorganised National Health Service would not mean a take-over of the other two sectors by the hospital sector.

Although the chairmen whom I propose to appoint have had some service on hospital authorities some have had equal or longer experience in local government. There is accordingly no question of any change in Government policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will arrange an investigation to ascertain the amount of retirement pension and supplementary benefit recipients spend on food.

No. Information of this kind is already available from the Family Expenditure Survey, which shows that in 1972 one-person households where at least three-quarters of the total income was derived from retirement and/or supplementary pension spent on average £2.97 on food.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what steps he is taking to recruit more physiotherapists so as to ensure that all hospitals have the services of these specialists;(2) how many physiotherapists are at present employed in British hospitals;(3) how many British hospitals do not have any physiotherapists on their staffs.

The needs of the service and its recruitment policy depend to some extent on how the function of the physiotherapy and associated professions is likely to change and develop in the future, and in this connection I have invited a small professional working group to give me views on the future role of the professions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to increase the number of rheumatology specialists serving the Leeds Regional Hospital Board area above the present number of 2.3.

None. It is for the Leeds Regional Hospital Board to assess the regional needs and the priority of any demand for rheumatological services on its resources; and in assessing the number of consultants required in this specialty it would take account of the present referral pattern for patients suffering from rheumatism, some of whom are treated by consultants in other specialties. One of the three Chairs in Rheumatology in England is at Leeds, and this should provide a stimulus for the service and base for training.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of teaching hospitals that have at least one geriatric ward, and the numbers and names of those teaching hospitals which do not have this provision.

During 1972, 17 out of 21 boards of governors administering teaching hospitals with general district responsibilities had geriatric beds available within the teaching hospital group. No such provision existed in the teaching hospital groups at Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of the resolution on fluoridation passed by the World Health Assembly in July 1969, if he will now examine the possibility of introducing fluoridation of water supplies where the fluoride intake from water is below the optional level.

I have already given general approval under Section 12 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 to all local health authorities to make arrangements in their area to add fluoride to public water supplies in quantities sufficient to raise, where it is naturally deficient, the level to that which is optimal for the prevention of dental decay.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will establish a committee of inquiry into the difficulties faced by many pensioners in drawing their pensions owing to the distance of the nearest sub-post office.

No. I understand that the needs of pensioners is one of the factors taken into account by the Post Office in the provision of counter services. I should be willing to investigate any case where a pensioner is having difficulty in drawing his pension.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will ensure that persons employed in the National Health Service and living in homes provided by the hospital authorities are not evicted when they reach the age of retirement until adequate alternative accommodation has been made available.

This is a matter for the relevant hospital authorities. They naturally make every effort to avoid the unpleasant necessity of eviction, with all the distress that this can entail. However, the needs of patients must always be the prime concern, and when staff accommodation is in short supply priority must be given to those who continue to care for them. I understand that cases of eviction are fortunately very rare.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to ban the marketing of poisonous drugs otherwise than in child-resistant containers, having regard to the recommendations in this regard made by the British Standards Institution.

I have nothing to add to my reply to the hon. and learned Gentleman's Question on this subject on 27th June.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children under the age of five years were admitted to hospital suffering from accidental poisoning during the last 12 months for which records are available: and by what percentage was each of such figures higher or lower than in each of the previous five years.

The estimated number of hospital in-patient spells of children aged under 5 years suffering from poisoning or suspected poisoning, including non- accidental, which are not separately identified, was some 25,400 in 1971. The percentage increase of this figure over each of the preceding five years was 8 (for 1970), 3, 26, 42 and 71 respectively. Poisonings by gases and fumes have been omitted throughout.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of delays in Preston in adjusting supplementary benefits to take account of rent rebates under the Housing Finance Acts, he will take action to speed up the making of these adjustments.

The adjustment of supplementary benefit payments in Preston consequent upon rent increases and rent rebate changes has now been completed. The work, involving more than 3,000 cases, was completed as quickly as possible following receipt of particulars of the revised rents and rebates from the local authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the cost to the social security system of making payments to wives not receiving maintenance payments from their husbands as a result of a court order to this effect.

I regret that this information is not available as the only social security benefit at present paid in these circumstances is supplementary benefit, and the reasons for payment of this are not analysed. The hon. Member may, however, wish to know that, on the basis of information obtained annually of the amount of supplementary benefit paid out to various categories of claimants, it is estimated that in 1972 about £80 million was paid to about 148,100 separated wives where it was necessary to pursue the question of liability to maintain. This sum was paid after taking into account about £7 million in maintenance payments received by the wives themselves. It is not possible to make a reliable estimate of how much of the £80 million was paid as a direct consequence of the failure to meet maintenance orders.During the financial year 1972–73 the Department recovered about £12½ million from persons liable to maintain. It is not known how much of this sum was in respect of separated wives.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he now expects to receive the report of Lady Sharp's Committee into the provision of vehicles for the disabled.

Within the next few months.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he now proposes to publish the report of the inquiry into the invalid vehicle service.

As soon after receipt as practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice and assistance is given by his Department to improve domiciliary assistance for the aged and disabled to allow such people to live at home within their known environment; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 22nd June.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what financial assistance his Department is prepared to give to social services departments of local authorities which are faced with increased demands for domestic help of all types for the disabled and the aged; if he is aware of the impact of equal pay on recruitment for such workers; and if he will give major assistance for this type of social service worker.

Expenditure by local authorities on home help services is relevant expenditure for the purposes of rate support grant. Account is taken in determining the quantum of grant both of changes in the cost of services and of the forecast scale of provision.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what assistance was given by the Department to Lady Sharp in compiling her report on vehicles for disabled drivers; what experience the officials concerned had of invalid vehicles other than those issued by the Department; and if he will make a statement.

My Department's resources, including the knowledge of doctors and engineers experienced in the vehicle needs of severely disabled people, have been and remain at Lady Sharp's disposal to supplement information acquired from other sources. Professional knowledge within my Department about such vehicles necessarily extends beyond those which are issued.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will extend the Subsidy Regulations 1973 to cover all persons receiving means-tested benefits.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the definition of persons on social assistance, for the purposes of the Butter Subsidy Regulations 1973, was agreed with the EEC Commission.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many geriatric beds are at present available in the Wessex Regional Hospital Board area; how many of these are in district general hospitals, geriatric hospitals and community hospitals, respectively; what plans have been submitted to him by the Wessex Regional Hospital Board to increase the number of available geriatric beds; and what increase he has approved.

At 31st March 1973, the latest date for which information is available, 2,595 beds were available of which 790 were in district general hospitals, 222 in other acute hospitals and 1,583 in geriatric hospitals. No community hospitals designated as such exist at present. These beds represent 8.3 per 1,000 elderly population. It is the board's policy, as soon as resources permit, to increase the ratio to the Department's recommended planning norm of 10 per 1,000. Firm plans already exist to provide a further 217 beds, raising the ratio to 9 per 1,000 by 1978. The board is now considering the recommendations of a working party concerning the care of the elderly throughout the region, with a view to establishing priorities, the rate at which the recommendations may be implemented, and the need for adjustment of the board's capital programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans have been submitted to him for a community hospital in the borough of Eastleigh; and what reply he has given.

None—because, although I announced in April the Government's general policy to create a network of community hospitals complementary to district general hospitals, detailed guidance will not be ready for issue to health authorities until later this year; we are in the process of consultation on it. The regional hospital board is waiting for this before submitting plans, but I understand that these will include appropriate provision for Eastleigh.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what answer he has sent to the letter from the Middlesex Pharmaceutical Committee regarding chemist contractors, and if he has acceded to the request for discussions with his officials.

I am sending the hon. Member copies of two recent letters to the Middlesex Pharmaceutical Committee, which together with the other local pharmaceutical committees of the Greater London area and representatives of the Central NHS (Chemist Contractors) Committee have been invited to a meeting with officials.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evaluation has been made by his Department of the phonetype system of communication which enables deaf persons to communicate with each other using the medium of the telephone system, particulars of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Willesden, West; and if he will advise local authority social services departments on the criteria by which judgment should be made for the free supply to disabled persons.

My Department is well aware of this device but has not yet been able to undertake a technical evaluation. A research study is proceeding on the comparative merits of various communication systems for the deaf, and until it is completed it would be premature for me to try to advise local authorities on criteria by which they could assess the need for the phonetype or any similar system.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons, in the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board's areas are suffering from loss of speech due to a brain injury and are unable to receive proper treatment due to the shortage of speech therapists.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many speech therapists are engaged by the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board,(2) if he will give the number of speech therapists employed by each regional hospital board; and how far these figures fall short of the numbers required.

On 30th September 1972 the following were the numbers of speech therapists employed in the hospital service in England:

Region	Numbers of Speech Therapists (whole-time equivalents)
Sheffield	14
Newcastle	8
Leeds	17
East Anglia	5
North West Metropolitan*	19
North East Metropolitan*	12
South East Metropolitan*	15
South West Metropolitan*	17
London Teaching Hospitals	28
Oxford	21
South-western	8
Birmingham	16
Manchester	16
Liverpool	9
Wessex	5
*Excluding Teaching Hospitals.

Need is difficult to quantify but I appreciate that many authorities would like to employ more speech therapists. The hon. Member will be aware that the departments concerned are actively considering recommendations made by the Quirk Committee; these include proposals to increase the number of speech therapists and to deploy their skills more effectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the number of persons in England and Wales who have had their larynxes surgically removed, and are receiving treatment by speech therapists on the technique of using "oesophagal voice", and how many are not receiving such training because of the shortfall of suitable speech therapists.

It is estimated that since 1967 around 2,670 patients in England and Wales have undergone laryngectomies. Although no information is available about the numbers receiving training in the use of the oesophagal voice technique I understand that any surgeon undertaking this form of surgery would wish to arrange for such training to be provided, and these patients would normally have priority for the available speech therapy services.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what reply he has sent to the Society of Audiology Technicians about the memorandum urging the issue of a behind-the-ear hearing aid, an additional copy of which has been

PAYMENT OF SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT ARISING FROM TRADE DISPUTES
Dispute		Date		During dispute	Recoverable post-dispute benefit
				£	£
Parliamentary Press	…	To 28th June 1973	…	Nil	Not applicable
Chrysler Limited	…	To 28th June 1973	…	17,633	Not yet available
Fine Tubes Limited	…	15th June 1970 to 15th June 1973	…	30,318	Nil
Perkins Diesel	…	To 28th June 1973	…	878	Not applicable

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of cases dealt with by unemployment review officers over the last three years were referred for a medical opinion on the claimant's physical condition and also for a psychiatric opinion; to what extent the proportion of referrals differs between unemployment review officers sent to him by the hon. Member for Willesden, West.

None, but I have noted the society's views.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what has been the aggregate cost to date of payments of supplementary benefit to those involved in the industrial dispute at the parliamentary printers, and to their dependants; and of administrative arrangements necessitated thereby;(2) what was the aggregate cost to public funds of payments of supplementary benefits to those involved in the recent industrial dispute at Chrysler Motors, and their dependants, of payments made after resumption of work and not recovered, and of administrative arrangements necessitated thereby;(3) what was the aggregate cost to public funds of supplementary benefit paid to those involved in the industrial dispute at Fine Tubes Limited, and to their dependants, of payments made after resumption of work and not recovered, and of administrative arrangements necessitated thereby;(4) what has been the aggregate cost to date of supplementary benefit payments to those involved in the dispute at Perkins Diesel Engines, and their dependants, and of administrative arrangements necessitated thereby.

Following is the information:and between regions; and what proportion of cases referred to medical practitioners are confirmed as having some mental or physical disability.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 28th June 1973], gave the following information:I regret that the precise information requested is not available. In dealing with claims to supplementary benefit from

unemployed people all officers, not only unemployment review officers, have regard to the claimant's physical and mental condition. A claimant may be referred to the Department of Employment's disablement resettlement officer if he appears to be disabled but not registered as such, or to his own doctor where there is a question of ill health. No statistics are kept of such referrals. Claimants may also be referred to the regional medical service to resolve any doubts about capacity for any or for a particular employment, and, if appropriate, for advice about the need for treatment or rehabilitation. The numbers so referred in the last three years in each region are shown below; there are no statistics on the specific reasons for referral and the results are not centrally recorded.

Region	1970	1971	1972
Northern	226	113	78
Yorkshire and Humberside	134	90	42
East Midlands and East Anglia	220	136	138
London North	66	39	37
London South	148	135	75
London West	90	39	45
South Western	140	186	125
West Midlands	594	505	394
North Western (Manchester)	146	88	67
North Western (Merseyside)	530	481	283
Scotland	284	152	84
Wales	25	34	61
Total	2,603	1,998	1,429

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the length and content of training for unemployment review officers; and whether any standard or qualification is required at the end of training before this type of work can be entered upon.

, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 28th June 1973], gave the following information:Those selected to be unemployment review officers generally have had considerable experience of local office supplementary benefit work and the normal training given to all executive officers. They are initially trained on the job, and subsequently attend a two-week residential course at Leicester University, run by members of the University School of Social Work. The course, which includes lectures, discussions, films, project work and visits of observation, is designed to provide an introduction to social and psychological influences on human behaviour with especial reference to the problems of unemployed people, and to consider aspects of the social services with which the officer has contact. It does not test standards of work or lead to a formal qualification. Additionally there are departmental regional seminars directed towards particular problems.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what effect the cuts in public expenditure have had on social services departments which have applied for loan sanction for projects for the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped.

None. The capital resources available for these purposes were excluded from the effect of the cuts recently announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many local authority applications for loan sanction for capital projects in the mental health field were refused in the current financial year; and whether the completion of the targets set out in the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped" will now be achieved.

I expect approvals in the current year for mental handicap projects to be in line with the forecast in paragraph 208 of "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped"(Cmnd. 4683) and some 60 per cent. in value higher than in 1970–71. Proposals by local authorities were, however, in total very much larger, and it has been necessary to defer projects for 3,684 training centre and 1,691 residential places for the mentally handicapped and for 82 day centre and 50 residential places for the mentally ill.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many collisions at sea are known by his Department to have taken place in the English Channel for each year from 1962–72; how many in each year involved British-registered ships, French-registered ships and ships flying flags of convenience, respectively; and what, if any, was the loss of life in each year.

The comparative table below shows the information available to my Department for those years relating to ships registered in the United Kingdom and France and the total numbers

COLLISIONS AT SEA IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 1962–72
Year			Collisions involving U.K.-registered ships	Collisions involving French ships	Total collisions known to the Department	Total deaths known to the Department
1962	…	…	15	1	26	33*
1963	…	…	11	2	18	2
1964	…	…	23	7	39	—
1965	…	…	14	1	23	2
1966	…	…	6	2	13	6
1967	…	…	9	—	13	—
1968	…	…	12	4	23	—
1969	…	…	11	2	21	5
1970	…	…	7	1	16	3
1971	…	…	5	4	21	15†
1972	…	…	3	1	12	—
Totals	…	…	116	25	225	66
*28 from 1 Yugoslav ship.
† 10 from 1 Greek ship.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek to obtain for the use of Members the report entitled "Uranium Occurrences in Great Britain" drawn up by the Institute of Geological Sciences on behalf of the Atomic Energy Authority.

The Institute of Geological Sciences is at present engaged in writing up and collating the results obtained during the survey for uranium. It expects that the report will be published in about November of this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the ores containing uranium which have been discovered in the United Kingdom.

Several uranium-bearing ores have been discovered in the United Kingdom. The main mineral occurring in north Scotland is pitchblende, of collisions and deaths. It should be noted that considerably more United Kingdom ships use the English Channel and that the Department's information about them is more complete.Those countries to which the description "flags of convenience" may be applied is to some extent a matter of subjective judgment. If my hon. Friend would care to let me know which countries he has in mind I shall supply whatever information is available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to consider the uranium so far discovered in the United Kingdom as a strategic reserve to be developed in phases as national fuel policy demands.

These deposits would not be exploitable at today's world prices, but they provide useful evidence of reserves which might become workable in the future. I have no plans to restrict their eventual exploitation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list any ores containing thorium which have been discovered in the United Kingdom.

Ores of thorium were not specifically sought during the five-year programme which has recently been completed. They do not normally occur in the same environment as uranium ores, though, as they are radioactive, they would have been detected if present. None in commercial quantities was, however, found.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the provisions in the agreement between all the parties involved in the acceptance and publication of a basing point price system which conflicts with the provision of the Restrictive Trade Practices Acts 1956–68.

I have no knowledge of any such agreement, but in any case it is for the Registrar and the Restrictive Practices Court to decide whether agreements fall within the scope of the restrictive practices legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, under the basing point pricing system, he will publish a price element to cover seaborne routes between Community ports as an integral part of transport costs from the basing point.

This is a matter for the steel industry. In quoting prices for delivery elsewhere in the Community, producers must identify the transport element separately.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why it takes up to 12 weeks to register a company, eight weeks to obtain approval for a name, and three weeks before documents lodged for filing are inserted on the file; what steps he is taking to reduce these long periods; and if he will make a statement.

The right hon. Member is not wholly correct. The present time taken to approve a proposed name is approximately five weeks; registration of an approved name takes approximately one week; the filing of documents takes two weeks.The cause of these delays is the greatly increased flow of applications for incorporation; 120,000 applications were dealt with in the first 25 weeks of this year, compared with 80,000 and 66,000 for the same periods in 1972 and 1971.My Department is dealing with the problem by a combination of substantial increased staff, further mechanisation, and the use of computer systems.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the current delay in the Companies Registration Office between receipt of an application concerning the availability of a name for the registration of a proposed company, and the reply to that application being given; what was the approximate delay respectively one year ago and two years ago; and what action he is taking to eliminate the delay.

The current delay in dealing with an application for clearance of a proposed name is approximately five weeks. A year ago it was 10 weeks and two years ago two weeks. Extra staff were repeatedly provided and trained during 1972. The results are evident above, and the situation continues to improve despite an increased receipt of applications. Further steps will be taken as necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline the Government's case for siting the European Trade Mark Office in London; and what representation he has made thereon.

Negotiations on the draft European Trade Mark Convention have not yet begun in the context of the enlarged Community. The Government are considering their position on the various provisions of the draft of which the site of the Office is one.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made in achieving the planned reduction in the number of night jet movements at Heathrow for 1973.

As explained in the letter sent to my hon. Friend on 26th June, the total of night jet movements since 1st April is a little higher than for the comparable period in 1972, though the number of take-offs is less. It remains the intention, as announced on 4th April, to secure an overall reduction of about 10 per cent. by comparison with last year, and my officials have recently discussed the position with the airlines. I am hopeful that, with their co-operation, our objective can be achieved, but if voluntary agreement is not forthcoming further restrictions will be imposed to keep the total to the target level.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why the proposed formation of a joint company by the British Steel Corporation and Arthur Lea and Sons Ltd. requires the approval of the EEC Commission.

By virtue of Article 66 of the Treaty of Paris and Article 2 of the Treaty of Accession.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will seek powers which would enable him to cancel any notice issued by the Pay Board to the effect that all those, including employers, concerned with pay negotiations have an obligation under the Counter-Inflation Act 1973, when dealing with pay matters, to "follow the Pay Code".

I have been asked to reply.My right hon. Friend does not intend to seek any further powers additional to those already available under paragraph 18 of Schedule 1 and paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to the Counter-Inflation Act 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he intends to appoint new members of the Monopolies Commission.

Yes, I am making seven new appointments of part-time members. They are:

• Mr. George Francis Ashford, OBE.
• Mr. Dallas Edmund Bernard.
• Laura Margaret, Lady Hall.
• Dr. Francis Edgar Jones, MBE, FRS.
• Mr. John Stephen Sadler.
• Miss Rita Stephen, MBE.
• Professor Harry Street.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is proposed by Her Majesty's Government arising from the judgment of the International Court in respect of the French nuclear test proposals.

None.Her Majesty's Government are not involved in the cases before the International Court of Justice and there is no cause for action on our part.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish Her Majesty's Government's conclusions when they have completed their considerations of proposals by the EEC Commission for strengthening the powers of the European Assembly.

Her Majesty's Government's views will be made known in due course.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the draft decision of the Council of Ministers of the Common Market in respect of the production of vaccine to counter A22 foot-and-mouth virus, indicating what action will be taken by the British Government and at what estimated cost.

This decision, adopted on 26th March, provides for a stock of vaccine against types of foot-and-mouth disease which have not caused disease in Western Europe and against which the routine vaccination undertaken by mainland member States would be ineffective. This reserve will be produced and stored outside the territory of the Community. It will augment the action being taken by the FAO European Commission for the control of foot-and-mouth disease. The vaccine, if not needed in the Community, could be available to assist a third country. Provision for expenditure in 1973 will be made in the supplementary budget to be published in the Official Journal, the contribution of the United Kingdom to actual expenditure amounting to some 8½ per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the reasons for the increase in the price of home-produced soya meal from £56.88 per ton on 14th June 1972 to £192.83 on 13th June 1973; and what estimate he has made of the implications of this increase for food prices.

The current world shortage of sources of high-protein ingredients for animal feeding stuffs has increased the demand for soya beans, which British manufacturers of soya meal must obtain in competition with processors in other countries. As regards the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his similar Question on 21st June.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the retail price of Guinness as

1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973
240.4	252.2	260.1	259.1	273.8	260.1
Source: General Index of Retail Prices.
Beer: average price per pint of draught beer sold in public bars and bottled beer for consumption off the premises.
Milk: average price per pint of ordinary, pasteurised milk.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will issue a circular advising all Departments to grant leave of absence on full pay to civil servants who are members of local authorities to attend their civic duties, or to a civil servant who is the spouse of a local authority member to accompany his or her spouse where this is necessary in the performance of civic duties.

Civil servants who are members of local authorities may be allowed up to a maximum of 18 days' special leave with pay a year to enable them to engage in local government work. In addition, they may be allowed special leave without pay. These arrangements are consistent with the recommendation in paragraph 532 of the report of the Committee on the Management of Local Government.Special leave for a civil servant to accompany his or her spouse in the performance of civic duties is at the discretion of the employing Department. Where such leave is allowed it will normally be unpaid.