asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total cost to all nationalised industries of voluntary and imposed price control up to September 1973; and to what extent this will have to be met by Government subsidy.

No accurate estimate is practicable, but the cost in the current year of deficit grants and surpluses forgone may be of the order of £400 million. Estimates for earlier years would be even more speculative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will propose the introduction of a different road fund licence.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, South-East (Mr. Rost) on 21st November.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider reducing the road fund excise licence in view of the present shortage of road vehicle fuel.

I have noted the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he remains satisfied with the strategy of floating the pound.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied with the working efficiency of Centre 1, East Kilbride; and if he will make a statement.

The initial problems of the centre have been overcome and it is now working much more smoothly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider doubling the taxation relief to first-time buyers earning less than £4,000 per annum on mortgage repayments where the interest is in excess of 8 per cent. and the value of the property is less than £15,000.

My hon. Friend's proposal amounts to an extra subsidy from other taxpayers to first-time home-buyers. I cannot agree to this, but I expect the proposed selective scheme based on deferred mortgage payments to provide a good deal of help.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the extent to which the increase of the minimum lending rate announced 13th November 1973 will reduce investment.

Hardly at all.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the planned growth rate for 1974.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is satisfied that the economy is following the course defined in the 1973 Budget Statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the rate of economic growth for the current year.

The rate of growth of the economy is in line with the Budget forecast of an average of 5 per cent. per annum over the 18 months to the middle of 1974. As I made clear at the time of the Budget, it was intended that, during the latter part of that period, the rate of growth would be more in line with the growth of productive potential. That is now happening, and I expect this more moderate rate of growth to continue during 1974.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will revise his target for productive potential growth rate, in view of recently announced credit measures.

No, Sir.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the directive recently issued by the Inland Revenue permitting employers to provide widowers' pensions on the same basis as widows' pensions in occupational pension schemes applies to the pension scheme for Members of this House.

It is for employers or other operators of pension schemes to decide whether to amend their schemes to provide these benefits. Amendment of the parliamentary pensions scheme is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, on the basis of the General Index of Retail Prices, is the purchasing power of the £ sterling now, taking it as 100p on 18th June 1970.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, on the basis of the General Index of Retail Prices, is the purchasing power of the £ sterling, taking it as 100p on 18th June 1970.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, on the basis of the General Index of Retail Prices, is the purchasing power of the £ sterling now, taking it as 100p on 18th June 1970.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the value of the £ sterling now compared to June 1970, based on the General Index of Retail Prices.

Taking the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling as 100p in June 1970, its value in October 1973 is estimated to be 75½p on the basis of the change in the General Index of Retail Prices.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the value of the £ sterling fell during the last 12 months.

On the assumption that the hon. Member is referring to the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling then on the basis of the General Index of Retail Prices this has fallen by 9 per cent. between October 1972 and October 1973.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his present policy with regard to proposals from the Council of the EEC that all rates should be harmonised; and whether he will indicate the industries in the United Kingdom which would be affected if such harmonisation were strictly applied to their goods and services.

The EEC Commission has made no proposals to the Council prescribing harmonised rates of value added tax or excise duties.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much living standards have risen since June 1970; and how this compares with the increase in the standard of living between October 1964 and June 1970.

The standard of living, measured by real personal disposable income per head, rose during the five and a half years between the fourth quarter of 1964 and the second quarter of 1970 by 8½ per cent. The corresponding figure for the three years between the second quarter of 1970 and the second quarter of 1973 was 13½ per cent. At an annual rate, the standard of living during the first period of five and a half years rose by 1½ per cent. a year and during the second period of three years by 4½ per cent. a year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will instruct Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to extend from 14 days to 28 days the period required for production of Customs and Excise Specification Form C273.

No. I have no evidence that exporters generally find difficulty in keeping to the 14-day deadline.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the standard rate of income tax would have to be increased to provide a free television service.

Between a half and one percentage point, depending on how the cost of a free service is calculated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he expects to receive in a full financial year from value added tax on medical research by charitable trusts.

No VAT is chargeable on non-commercial medical research carried out by charitable trusts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, as part of his review of the operation of value added tax, he will estimate how the tax affected old-age pensioners' holidays taken in the United Kingdom during the holiday season 1973, and take into account representations he has received about its effect on these holidays; and if he will make a statement.

It is misleading to single out one item as an indication of the overall effect of the changeover from purchase tax and SET to VAT. Retirement pensions are reviewed annually; and I believe it is right to allow pensioners to decide how they spend their money—on holidays or other items of discretionary expenditure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the loss of revenue if all pensions income were to be relieved of income tax.

It would cost about £450 million to exempt from tax all pensions, national insurance and occupational pensions, excluding widows' pensions, where the information on which to base an estimate of the cost of tax exemption is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the tax threshold of the single retirement pensioner has been raised since 15th June 1970.

The age exemption threshold, which fixes the level of income below which people of 65 or over are not liable to tax, has been increased for a single person from £475 in 1969–70 to £700 today. This represents an increase, in real terms, of about £170.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of phase 3 policies on the income of shareholders.

Dividends during stage 3 are normally restricted to an increase of 5 per cent. over those declared for the previous year. The exceptions allowed for increased capital and so on mean that the average increase will be somewhat higher than 5 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that when computer errors cause financial loss to civil servants, Service men, pensioners or the customers of nationalised industries, such loss is not borne by the individuals concerned.

A decision on whether it is appropriate to make good any financial loss from public funds will not normally be affected by whether an error is due to a human mistake or to a computer failure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the matter of EEC economic and monetary union is next to be discussed by the EEC Council.

On 3rd and 4th December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's latest estimate of the current rate of inflation in Great Britain.

Monthly movements in the General Index of Retail Prices, which is not seasonally adjusted, tend to be volatile. It is misleading, therefore, to express them at an annual rate. The latest figures, published on 16th November, show that the index increased by 99 per cent. in the 12 months to October.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT basic details of the average increases in the cost of living over the last three and a half years as compared with the average increase in wages and State retirement pensions.

Between June 1970 and October 1973 the retail price index rose by 32½ per cent. or at an annual rate of 8½ per cent. Over the same period both hourly wage rates and the State retirement pension rose by 55 per cent. or at an annual rate of 13½ per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to proposals for introducing an income tax rebate scheme under which excessive increases in income would be identified and a tax rebate granted to those increases which were not excessive.

I am aware of the scheme which my hon. Friend has in mind. The difficulties it would create are very considerable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total sum borrowed overseas by the Government and other public authorities, including local authorities and nationalised industries, since the beginning of 1973.

Between 1st January and 31st October 1973 the nationalised industries and local authorities borrowed in foreign currency for domestic purposes approximately £1,000 million at current rates of exchange. There has been no overseas borrowing by Her Majesty's Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money has been borrowed abroad by each nationalised industry before and after June 1970, respectively.

Following is the information :original purchasers of 3½ per cent. War Loan he estimates are still owed their money; and what would be the cost of redeeming their loan at 1952 money values and present-day money values, respectively.

I am afraid that it would be too costly to analyse the stock registers to find this information.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, as part of his counter-inflation policy, he will discourage the sales promotion of luxury goods on credit terms of the kind drawn to his attention by the hon. Member for Willesden, West.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what authority paragraph 8 of the Treasury Explanatory Booklet LR.13 1972 states that an election for separate taxation of wife's earnings does not mean that a separate return is required from the wife, but that the present obligation of the husband to make a return of his wife's earnings remains; and if he will make a statement.

The statutory authority for this statement is paragraph 7 of Schedule 4 to the Finance Act 1971. There is also provision, under Section 38 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970, whereby either a husband or wife may elect to be separately assessed for tax purposes. In that event each may make an independent return of his or her own income. These two provisions—for separate taxation and for separate assessment—can operate independently of each other or, of course, together.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek by fiscal means to bring down the rate of rise of company profits to a level comparable with that permitted for wage increases.

Company profit margins are controlled under the price code. In the 18 months up to the first half of 1973 profits net of stock appreciation grew at an annual rate of 13½ per cent., which is much the same rate as the rate of growth of earnings over that period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation to control the price of land.

I have been asked to reply.No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give consideration to proposing allowing farmers a rolling average over three years for tax purposes.

I have noted my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion but our studies suggest that this proposal would create more problems than it would solve.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute a special inquiry into the facts of the case of Michael Hunt, detained at Chelmsford Prison.

This case was the subject of a careful investigation by a senior officer of the Hertfordshire police earlier this year. On present information my right hon. Friend sees no grounds for any further inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce, as a matter of urgency, legislation on the implementation of the Speaker's Conference on Electoral Law, having particular regard to that legislation which affects Service men.

A measure enacted now could not, in any case, be effective for next year's register, and the Government consider it preferable to await further recommendations from the conference before embarking upon legislation. Meanwhile, the Government are concerned to ensure that Service men are made fully aware of their right to register and receive the forms for that purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether in order to save electricity, he will put the clock forward by one hour.

No, Sir. Such a change would not secure any significant saving of electricity but would be likely to have a disruptive effect on many outdoor industries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Chilean nationals have been admitted to the United Kingdom since the change of government; how many Chilean nationals were admitted in the year previous to this change; and what is their respective status in the United Kingdom.

I regret that the information is not available in the precise form requested. For statistics of Chilean nationals admitted during 1972 I would refer my hon. Friend to the Annual Statistics of Foreigners Entering and Leaving the United Kingdom (Cmnd. 5309). Following are the numbers and categories of admissions of Chilean nationals in 1973 so far.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-nationals of Chile, resident in Chile at the time of the change of government, have now been admitted to the United Kingdom.

Two are known to have been admitted so far, one the wife of a Chilean national.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give either a detailed list or summary of the rules, regulations, directives, duties and levies as imposed by the Common Market which affects his Department in any way; and to what extent these have increased or decreased prices and costs or made any difference to the expenditure of his Department, the consumer, or taxpayer for which he has ministerial responsibility.

No. The English texts of Community secondary legislation adopted before the enlargement of the Community are published in the Special English Edition of the Official Journal. An index to that edition has been published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Secondary legislation adopted since 1st January 1973 is listed on the front pages of the issues of the Official Journal in which the texts are published. All these publications are available in both the Vote Office and the Library.The second part of the Question could be answered, in so far as that is practicable, only at an unjustifiable cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he intends to take designed to prevent the loss of 200 jobs in Dungannon.

TBA Industrial Products Limited, which has been established in Dungannon since 1947, decided some time ago to build a new plant which would result in the running down in 1975 of the now outdated glass fibre producing section of the Dungannon factory. The Northern Ireland Ministry of Commerce has been negotiating for several months to secure the new plant for Dungannon. Despite a generous offer of assistance the company has decided to locate the plant in Lancashire. I regret that the consequence for Dungannon is the loss of these 200 jobs, but the Ministry continues to negotiate for further employment opportunities in this and other high unemployment areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many house searches have been carried out by the security forces in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the last 12 months; and how many of these houses have been searched more than once, more than three times and more than six times.

I have been asked to reply.The information is not available in the form requested and it would require disproportionate effort to obtain it. The average number of occupied houses searched in the Province as a whole between 1st November 1972 and 31st October 1973 was just under 1,300 a month.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what records of house searches are kept by the security forces.

I have been asked to reply.A weekly total is kept centrally. A form is made out for each search. Two copies are handed to the householder and two copies are retained for use in the event of a claim being submitted through the civil authorities. In addition units keep a record of searches they conduct.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he is aware that during house searches the security forces ask the religion of the occupants; and if he will issue instructions to the security forces not to ask that question.

I have been asked to reply.It is not the general practice for the security forces to ask people their religion during house searches. In certain circumstances it is desirable for the security forces to know the religion of people in their area, since this information may be valuable in helping them to prevent disturbances of an inter-sectarian nature. However, even when questions are asked about a person's religion he is not obliged to answer.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will send a freezer trawler to the South Atlantic for the purpose of catching a significant quantity of local fish species and to ascertain the potential of these Atlantic waters.

I feel that it is preferable to concentrate our exploratory efforts on grounds nearer home which are within the economic range of operation of our trawler fleet. I shall announce the results of the recent voyages in the North-East Atlantic as soon as they have been fully assessed, and I shall discuss them with the industry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT as much detailed information as may be available giving the numbers and grades of agricultural workers on 1st November 1973 whose basic rates of pay were below the national average wage of £42 per week and showing how far below the national average their wages were.

Details of the minimum weekly rates of wages of various categories of agricultural workers in England and Wales, operative from 1st April 1973, are given in the Agricultural Wages Board Order No. 1 of 1973. The rates are minimum rates for a standard working week, whereas the figure of £42 per week quoted by the hon. Member—which presumably refers to an estimate of £41·90 derived from the New Earnings Survey 1973—represents the average of gross weekly earnings, including overtime pay, bonuses, etc., of men aged 21 and over in all manual and non-manual occupations in April 1973. The corresponding average for manual occupations was £38·10 per week, and that for the various grades of workers affected by the Agricultural Wages Board orders in England and Wales was £27·40. Precise information about the numbers in each grade is not available, but it is estimated that not more than 5 per cent. had earnings above £42 per week.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the State veterinary service has sufficient veterinary officers to be able to discharge its duties effectively.

My Ministry's veterinary service has been below strength for some years, and it is to the credit of all concerned that it has responded so well to the demands made of it. I want to see an increase in recruitment and am taking a close personal interest in discussions now in progress about this.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about the future of the State veterinary service; and what replies he has sent.

Representations about problems affecting the staffing of my Ministry's veterinary service have been made by the British Veterinary Association and by the Institution of Professional Civil Servants which represents veterinary officers. I have made clear that I am anxious to resolve these problems and am taking a close personal interest in discussion now in progress.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average price paid by farmers for denatured wheat in August, September and October, respectively.

No comprehensive statistics are available, but from merchants' price lists the following can be extracted as simple averages of quoted Prices :

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken to secure the amendment of the regulations controlling the sale of apples in the European Economic Community to take account of the requirements of British producers of culinary apples, especially Bramleys; and if he will make a statement.

There is no internationally agreed definition of culinary apples. We have, however, secured a special relaxation in the quality standards for apples to permit an increase in size range for Bramleys. In the light of the surplus of apples in the original Community any Bramleys exported will in practice have to reach at least the Community's Class II standards. In these circumstances I do not contemplate any further discussions at present, since the officers of my Department who are responsible for the administration of quality standards on our domestic market are fully aware of the special characteristics of this variety. I am confident that Bramleys will continue to be sold here to meet the demand for them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the EEC directive banning the sale of uneviscerated poultry applies to game birds.

The directive concerned applies to the following domestic birds : hens, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks and geese.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services for how long £9·60 has been the limit of the amount a retirement pensioner is permitted to earn before he has to pay tax; by how much the value of the £ sterling has dropped during that period; and what figure is required to make up the discrepancy.

I assume my hon. Friend has in mind the level of net earnings at which the retirement pension of persons under age 70—age 65 for a woman—begin to be reduced under the earnings rule. The present limit was introduced in September 1971. Between then and October 1973 the drop in the value of the £ sterling, based on the change in the General Index of Retail Prices, was 16 per cent., and on this basis the present-day equivalent of £9·60 would be £11·43.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek powers to suspend the pensioners' earnings rule for the Christmas period.

No. Apart from the practical difficulties involved, a proposal of this kind would help only the minority of pensioners who are able to work and who are thus already in an advantageous position.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the marital condition, age, and the grounds upon which the abortions were performed in the cases of the 769 operations notified during 1972 as being carried out in England and Wales on women whose normal place of residence was given as Northern Ireland ;

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what study he has made on the documented medical reports on the subsequent effects of induced abortion which have been produced by other countries over the last 15 years.

I am aware of the various reports that are available and most of these will no doubt have been studied by the Committee on the Working of the Abortion Act. I am awaiting its report and will be interested in the committee's views on the conclusions to be drawn from these studies. Some of the results must be interpreted with care when applying them to the situation in this country. Differences in such matters as the definition of these effects, the method of collecting data, the legal criteria for abortion and medical practice in the country concerned can considerably (2) how many deaths were notified following abortions carried out in England and Wales on women whose normal place of residence was given as Northern Ireland during 1972.

There were 775 legal abortions performed in England and Wales during 1972 on women usually resident in Northern Ireland. Details are as follows :affect the validity of individual results.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make it obligatory for post-abortion cases necessitating readmission to be notified in order that adequate statistics can be compiled.

I do not consider that it would result in meaningful statistics, even if it were practicable. There would be difficulties in deciding what time limit after the operation should be specified, as to when such further notification should be made. Confusion could arise when readmission was due to some other intervening condition or when the condition was not readily identifiable as necessarily due to abortion. In cases where the operation had taken place elsewhere patients might be reluctant to divulge that they had had an abortion. Some further cases of complications would be treated at home by general practitioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will give either a detailed list or summary of the rules, regulations, directives, duties and levies as imposed by the Common Market which affect his Department in any way; and to what extent these have increased or decreased prices and costs or made any difference to the expenditure of his Department, the consumer or taxpayer for which he has ministerial responsibility.

No. The English texts of Community secondary legislation adopted before the enlargement of the Community are published in the Special English Edition of the Official Journal. An index to this edition has been published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Secondary legislation adopted since 1st January 1973 is listed on the front pages of the issues of the Official Journal in which the texts are published. All of these publications are available in both the Vote Office and the Library.The second part of the Question could be answered, in so far as this is practicable, only at an unjustifiable cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about the level of care for the mentally handicapped and mentally ill following the decision of his Department not to provide finance for more than 45 per cent. of schemes submitted for the mentally handicapped and 85 per cent. of schemes submitted for the mentally ill.

I expect the pace of development of services in England for the mentally handicapped during the next two or three years to fall little short of that forecast in the White Paper "Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped". Cmnd. 4683.I fully recognise that the existing levels of community care for the mentally ill are inadequate in many cases. The lists of projects provisionally approved for the current three-year period indicate a marked expansion over existing levels; and I envisage further substantial increases in the future.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if nurses are the only category in the hospital service who receive overtime payment for weekends and night duty worked over the normal working week at the rate of time and one-quarter, while other categories get double time; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for this distinction.

The rates of enhanced payment for night and weekend duty are determined by the Whitley Council appropriate to the group of staff concerned, and various rates are in operation.Only staff covered by the Ancillary Staffs Council agreement receive double time and this is limited to Sunday or rest-day duty.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards allowing arrangements to be made to provide heating for playgroups in the same way as heating for schools in present conditions; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Two factors usually will apply. Firstly the premises may be exempt from the scope of the restriction if, for example, they are used wholly or mainly for education. Otherwise if a playgroup meets in premises which are heated by electricity and which have no form of alternative heating application may be made for a licence and this will normally be granted. The application should be made to the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry in whose area the premises are located. Electric storage heaters may in any case be used between the hours of 00.30 and 07.30.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, at his next meeting with the CBI, he will discuss the monthly trade figures.

Yes, certainly, if the subject arises.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the level of exports from the United Kingdom to the EEC for the nine months January to September 1973, at constant prices; what are the comparable figures for 1972; and what are the comparable import figures for the same period.

Estimates of overseas trade at constant prices are made only for total trade and not for individual areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will be replying to the Report on Nuclear Power Policy from the Select Committee on Science and Technology.

The Government's observations on the Second Report from the Select Committee on Science and Technology, Session 1972–73, on Nuclear Power Policy are being published today and copies are available in the Vote Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will take action to ensure that all physically disabled and registered car owners are able to receive adequate petrol allocation during the fuel and energy crisis.

I would refer the hon. Member to my hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Dunfermline Burghs (Mr. Adam Hunter) on 27th November.—[Vol. 865, c. 98.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a White Paper on fuel and power policy.

I shall consider doing so when the current uncertainties about energy have cleared a little.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, as part of his consideration of the rationalisation of production of Concorde, he will seek to ascertain and publish how many production man-hours have been lost at BAC Filton during 1973 on Concorde production, as a result of industrial disputes, and the corresponding figures lost at Toulouse.

I am concerned at the consequences for Concorde production of delays arising from industrial disputes and I have discussed the position with the management of BAC.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking designed to ensure that horticultural growers whose production depends on a constant supply of fuel oil for heating greenhouses obtain it.

My Department, with assistance from the oil industry, is arranging matters so that suppliers will be better able to deliver oil to consumers against their allocations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in the interests of fuel economy, he will, as a temporary measure, impose restrictions on the activities of private flying clubs.

The activities of private flying clubs are already subject to the cuts in fuel supply announced in the House on 19th November. I hope all of these restrictions will be temporary.—[Vol. 864, col. 948–55.]

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the progress of the development of the prototype fast breeder reactor at Dounreay.

Integrated commissioning of the prototype fast reactor at Dounreay started in July with sodium filling of the primary circuit. The complete range of tests in temperatures up to 250 degrees C proceeded smoothly and according to timetable. Satisfactory operation of the sodium circulating pumps and the control rod mechanisms and satisfactory behaviour of the core structure were confirmed. Whilst the temperature was being raised for higher temperature tests the instruments on one of the three sodium pumps gave unsatisfactory indications and on examination one of the shaft bearings was found to have seized. The pump will be replaced with a spare, but meanwhile commissioning of the primary circuit continues using other pumps.During commissioning of one of the three secondary circuits—in which steam is raised—the bearing failed on the pump, which has now been removed for replacement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the British Airways Board has submitted further proposals to him about the future organisation of the group's affairs.

The board has submitted a third report on organisation to my right hon. Friend, and in accordance with Section 39(2) of the Civil Aviation Act 1971 this report is being laid before Parliament today. Copies Commissioning of the other two circuits is proceeding. The fuel handling equipment is being tested ready to load fuel in December and achieve criticality in January. Provided satisfactory progress is maintained significant power operation is expected in the spring.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the length of time between reference and report of all cases referred to the Monopolies Commission in the past five years.

The information is as follows :—are available in the Vote Office. The report states that it is the opinion of the board that the two air corporations should be dissolved on 1st April 1974. My right hon. Friend is accordingly laying before Parliament today the necessary order under Section 57 of the Civil Aviation Act 1971 to dissolve the corporations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has set the British Airways Board a financial objective, in accordance with Section 50 of the Civil Aviation Act 1971.

After consultation with the board and with the approval of the Treasury, I have decided that it would be reasonable to expect the British Airways Board to achieve an average rate of return on mean net assets of 8 per cent. over the period 1972–75, which will be its first three years of operation. I am making a formal determination accordingly under Section 50 of the 1971 Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will amend by subsequent orders the Electrical Heating (Restriction) Order 1973 so as to allow the electrical heating of churches and chapels and other places of worship for religious services ;(2) if he will consult with leaders of religious denominations in Great Britain as to hardship caused to religious congregations by the banning of electrical heating in churches and chapels under the Electrical Heating (Restriction) Order 1973.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will permit the use of electric heating in churches for a reasonable period before and during church services; and if he will also permit the use of electric heating for buildings in which Sunday schools are held.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will amend the Electrical Heating (Restriction) Order 1973 so as to enable places of religious worship which have as their only form of heating electric underfloor heating to use electricity for such purposes during the hours of restriction.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will relax the emergency regulations regarding electric heating so as to enable places of worship heated by electricity to use their appliances on Sundays.

I have issued a licence authorising the consumption of electricity for the purpose of heating any premises for use as a church, chapel or other place of worship or religious education for not more than six hours in any period of seven days. This is in addition to night storage heaters provided electricity for these is used only between 00.30 hours and 07.30 hours.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firm investment decisions for the location of industrial developments in Scotland have been taken by German industrialists since June 1970.

The Department is aware of four German firms which have decided to locate in Scotland since June 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has given consideration to the introduction of compulsory third party insurance for powered boats.

We have considered this fully, and conclude that, while third party insurance is clearly desirable and is frequently taken out, the administrative effort in making it compulsory would be disproportionate to the improvement in safety which would result. Emphasis is therefore being placed on education and publicity to improve boating safety, and to this end a seaway code is being published next February.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what statistics are available to his Department about the number of accidents, at sea and on inland waters, in which powered boats are involved; whether he can give the number of cases in which third parties have been injured; and whether he will give the figures for 1970, 1971 and 1972.

The total number of incidents at sea concerning motor vessels recorded by Her Majesty's Coastguard in the years ended 31st March 1971 and 1972 were 319 and 445 respectively. In the year ended 31st March 1973, during which the method of recording was changed, incidents concerning powered pleasure craft totalled 530. Information on injuries to third parties is not available.The Department is considering to what extent collection and presentation of the statistics might be improved in order to bring out more clearly the implications for small craft safety. Wider issues including accidents on inland waters will be considered by the Home Office working party on drowning accidents and safety measures, announced on 14th November 1973, on which the Department will be represented.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received alleging that the stage 3 price code has been disregarded in respect of the distribution and retailing of petroleum products; and what action he has taken.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the expenses so far incurred by his Department in connection with the investigation under Section 165(b) of the Companies Act 1948 into the affairs of Pergamon Press Limited by the inspector appointed by his Department in 1969, including legal expenses and the remuneration of the inspectors and their assistants.

Bills rendered so far by the inspectors for their work which has resulted in the three reports total £134,750. An estimate of the Department's legal costs cannot be given till the litigation is completed.

asked the Prime Minister if he has any plans for a further meeting with the leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers.

I met the National Executive Committee of the National Union of Mineworkers yesterday. I have no plans for a further meeting.

asked the Prime Minister how many public speeches he has made on Government policy in 1973.

So far this year I have made 65 public speeches outside this House.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will place in the Library a copy of his public speech on Government policies at the Lord Mayor's Banquet on 12th November.

asked the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of his public speech on Government policy made at the Guildhall on 12th November.

I did so on 13th November.

asked the Prime Minister if the public speech by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in London on 14th November on the trade deficit represents the Government's policy.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister when he next plans to make an official visit to the City of London.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. Carter) on 27th November.—[Vol. 865 c. 113.]

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the coordination between the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Health and Social Security, the Home Office and the Minister for the Civil Service on the matter of pension rates and entitlement.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister if he will instruct all Ministers with offices within the Whitehall area that they should not use their official cars for travel to and from their offices and the House of Commons but should walk during the period of the energy crisis.

No. Ministers need their official cars to meet their ministerial and parliamentary responsibilities. Arrangements have already been made to reduce petrol consumption to a minimum resulting in a saving of about 15 per cent. over previous levels.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make it the practice of his administration to give full answers to Questions by hon. Members rather than to refer them to a document in the Library, bearing in mind that the objects of Questions include informing the Member, placing the answer on the record, and providing the local Press with the information requested.

Whenever possible my right hon. and hon. Friends endeavour to give substantive answers but there are occasions when, for the convenience of the House, it is better to refer an hon. Member to information in the Library or in a previous answer or to write him a letter.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give either a detailed list or summary of the rules, regulations, directives, duties and levies as imposed by the Common Market which affect his Department in any way; and to what extent these have increased or decreased prices and costs or made any difference to the expenditure of his Department, the consumer or taxpayer for which he has ministerial responsibility.

No. The English texts of Community secondary legislation adopted before the enlargement of the Community are published in the Special English Edition of the Official Journal. An index to this edition has been published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Secondary legislation adopted since 1st January 1973 is listed on the front pages of the issues of the Official Journal in which the texts are published. All of these publications are available in both the Vote Office and the Library.The second part of the Question could be answered, in so far as this is practicable, only at an unjustifiable cost to public funds.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service why his Department needs 18 information officers.

The 18 information officers employed by the Civil Service Department include the four staff in the information grades employed in the Prime Minister's Office. Six are employed in the CSD headquarters in Whitehall and eight in the Civil Service Commission Careers Information Division at Basingstoke. The number of information officers employed is that required to undertake the very wide range of duties involved.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service when he now expects to make an announcement concerning the dispersal of civil servants, following the publication of the Hardman Report.

We published the report as a basis for consultation with staff and other interests. Although we are still receiving representations consultation is nearing completion. We hope to make an announcement soon.

asked the Minister of State for Defence why a contract for the making up of 40,000 combat suits was entered into for manufacture in Portugal; and whether he was satisfied that no comparable facilities were available within the United Kingdom.

The decision to place the contract was taken on grounds of price in accordance with the Government's policy of seeking the best value for money. Facilities for making up the garments at a comparable price were not available in the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of State for Defence what steps he has taken to monitor the increase in prices of combat suits manufactured in Portugal; and whether he will re-examine the contractual arrangements.

None—there have been no increases. The contract was awarded at fixed prices and contains no provision for variation. No grounds exist for re-examination of the contractual arrangements.

asked the Minister of State for Defence if he will instruct all RAF bases to cease all air military exercises during the present fuel crisis, and in particular at the Bentwaters base.

No. A certain number of flying exercises are essential if our forces are to be kept properly trained. But the number and scope of such exercises is being reduced to the minimum required for this purpose. I understand that a similar policy is being followed by the United States Air Force at Bent-waters and its other bases in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will introduce a training programme which will enable qualified teachers in their later years of service to qualify as auditory training teachers to enable partially hearing persons effectively to use modern hearing aids and techniques.

Existing courses for experienced teachers wishing to train as specialist teachers of deaf and partially hearing children include study of audiology. The question of auditory training with regard to the rehabilitation of deaf persons generally is under consideration by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will give either a detailed list or summary of the rules, regulations, directives, duties and levies as imposed by the Common Market which affect her Department in any way; and to what extent these have increased or decreased prices and costs or made any difference to the expenditure of her Department, the consumer or taxpayer for which she has ministerial responsibility.

No. The English texts of Community secondary legislation adopted before the enlargement of the Community are published in the Special English Edition of the Official Journal. An index to this edition has been published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Secondary legislation adopted since 1st January 1973 is listed on the front pages of the issues of the Official Journal in which the texts are published. All of these publications are available in both the Vote Office and the Library.The second part of the Question could be answered, in so far as this is practicable, only at an unjustifiable cost to public funds.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why she has decided that the North-East London Polytechnic should no longer operate in Waltham Forest.

On educational and economic grounds I have inivited the joint education committee for the polytechnic to reconsider the proposals contained in its development plan in order to take account of the needs of the Waltham Forest Technical College which is at present working under difficulties in a number of inadequate buildings. The withdrawal of the polytechnic from Waltham Forest would release accommodation for use by the technical college and reduce from three to two the number of main sites on which the polytechnic now operates. The timing of the withdrawal depends on the provision of alternative accommodation for the polytechnic.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average cost per student per annum in universities, polytechnics and colleges of educaton, respectively.

In 1972–73, excluding student maintenance and boarding costs, in colleges of education £1,265, £995 and £612 respectively at November 1972 prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science for what reasons the European Chair of Rehabilitation at Southampton University has not yet been filled; and if she will make a statement.